Royal Princess WOW …………..

In my last blog, I told you about how I was lucky enough to get a place on a four day mini cruise on the Royal Princess on 1st May. This was to be my first time sailing with Princess Cruises so I was beyond excited. The ship had just completed its Transatlantic sailing from Miami to Southampton so I did hear through the grapevine that a lot of passengers were staying on for the next cruise, which was to be a 12 night cruise taking in the British Isles and Ireland. We were just doing a tiny part of the cruise (Southampton to Dublin) but would it be enough to get a taste of what Royal Princess could offer?? Boarding at Southampton can go one of two ways – very smooth or chaotic! Our experience was of a well oiled machine and we breezed through check-in and had time for a quick cuppa before boarding. We arrived at the port very early but the place was still full of people. We were allocated a boarding number and so the wait began and the excitement built. After around an hour, our number was called and off we went. First Impressions Walking first on board we were greeted with cheery, friendly staff. Our pictures were taken when we got on board and not at the terminal in Southampton, which happened on our last MSC cruise in 2017 also, which makes for ease in the terminal but long queues when trying to actually get on board the ship. This aside my first impression of the ship was that she is a looker! A gorgeous, airy atrium meets you as you step on board. The centre of the ship feels like a huge ballroom but with loads of lovely intimate seating around the edges on all the decks it slices through, it means it doesn’t feel too imposing. All of the bar & cafe areas around the Atrium were buzzing full of life already and I could really see this being the heart of the ship and a great place to meet up with friends – new and old – in the evening before dinner.             Ship in general After a quick visit to our stateroom (I will tell you more about our lovely cabin in future blogs) we headed to visit the pool area and to sample our first cocktail of the trip. The weather in Southampton was bright but cold and windy so we were not looking forward to the prospect of the sailaway party 🙂     As you can see from my photo’s above the pool area was large, very clean and spacious and you can just imagine yourself laying here baking whilst enjoying a day at sea (obviously in warmer climates). I really loved the movie screen and it’s great that is plays during the day and not just in the evening. We visited the Seaview bar for our cocktail and those of you who watch the TV show that featured the Royal Princess you will know that this is where the bar staff do their ‘Flaring’ (think Tom Cruise in the movie Cocktail). Even on this chilly May afternoon, the barman was happy to entertain us. See my video link below to get a taste of their talents https://photos.google.com/photo/AF1QipOq8lV6klqS9ILvyD7EsEOeIwhhQTKfLcZw7Y6E So that was my first thoughts on Royal Princess. Next time I will tell you how we got on with a ships tour that included the galley and behind the scenes in theatre. I will also be sharing my thoughts over the next few weeks on the staterooms and the food so, be sure to look out for my blogs.