An exciting day awaited me as I travelled to Southampton to board the magnificent Royal Princess for the day. I was one of a handful of competition winners lucky enough to secure themselves a space on this highly accredited visit. Check in was smooth and we boarded the ship on time. My honest first thought was wow! We had boarded on deck 5, finding ourselves in the absolutely breath-taking Piazza. The sheer size and grandeur of this glamorous venue was overwhelming. The smell of freshly brewed coffee and crisp baked bread from the international Café filled the air and excitement grew as we started our tour.
Yes I was excited! Piazza selfie.
We first explored the cabins, starting at inside – perfectly presented, and surprisingly spacious, with a large flat screen television. The bathroom as you would expect was small, but perfectly adequate for its use. We then moved straight to the balcony cabins. No outside cabins on Royal Princess, and the same with Regal Princess (Royal’s sister ship), which I think is a good move by Princess. The cabins were well fitted with plenty of space and storage. I did try the beds – heaven! I did however find a downside, the actual space of the balcony is disappointing, they are small and barely fit the two chairs and table. Although this is a downside, we must remember they have no outside cabins so must cut something somewhere. I also noticed a very minimal difference in the overall size and layout of the mini-suite, I’m not sure it would be worth the extra money from a deluxe balcony, even with the added benefits a mini-suite brings.
We didn’t get to see any higher grades than the mini-suites but felt confident we had a good feel after seeing the cabins we had. A few particular things that made the ship with me include the pools on deck 16, with a fantastic light, fountain and laser show that looked fantastic.
Sky Deck selfie!
The breath taking Piazza.
Don’t look down! Seawalk deck 16.
Also the SeaWalk, for those who were brave enough to walk on the extended platform that reaches out over the water a few hundred feet below got a good feeling of what it was like to be a sea bird, flying with the ship. It really was an experience, but absolutely fantastic feeling, and great views of the ship.
We met in the Concerto Dining room on deck 6 for the best meal I have ever had on a cruise ship. Comforting Fettuccini in a crisp parmesan basket. Succulent Trout Amandine, perfectly balanced with lots of flavour. Tempting milky hazelnut Soufflé with amaretto cream.
Fettuccini, to die for.
Trout, tastes a lot better than it looks!
Souffle, yum!
This ship would be fantastically suited to families looking for excellent children facilities, particularly for families with older children as the teen clubs are brilliant, hot tub parties and sport competitions, what more does a teenager want?
I loved Royal Princess so much that I have already picked my sailing out for next year with her.