Royal Princess Alaska On Board Activities

Review of On Board Cruise Activities while at sea on The Royal Princess Alaska (my first cruise)

I couldn’t wait to experience all that a cruise has to offer onboard! I read about a lot about all of the fun on board cruise activities: broadway-like shows, browsing the shops, relaxing at the spa. Here is my take on some of the things I found to do while at sea on The Royal Princess Alaska.

Movies On The Lido

It was so much fun to watch movies on the deck! The film selections were relatively current and on our trip included Mary Poppins Returns, Bohemian Rhapsody and The Greatest Showman. They provided cute (but thin and itchy) plaid blankets to keep warm, which was a nice touch. Note that each movie was shown multiple times, and often did not match those times announced on Patter (daily newsletter).

Evening Featured Shows on Royal Princess Alaska

The Motown Encores show was everything I expected a cruise ship ship show to be: tacky, sparkly to excess, and cheesy as hell. With very few exceptions, the choreography and musical talent was akin to what I imagine a Midwestern high school performance would be. The lack of diversity of performers was a throwback to a 1950s Catskills retreat; for me, four caucasians and one asian attempting to sing songs of The Temptations bordered on offensive.

The other show that we saw was Michael Misko: Magician, Comedian, Cracker of Wise. Let the name “Cracker of Wise” be your answer to How funny was it? (Not so much). Both the magic tricks and the jokes had such long set-ups that we lost interest before the punchlines.

Game Shows on Royal Princess Alaska

There were several game shows every evening. Some of the choices were: TV Theme Tune Trivia, Who Sang It and Where In The World Am I? We found rated them “meh”.

Casino on Royal Princess Alaska

I would have spent a fortune at the casino, especially on our first sea day when it was chilly and rainy, but it was so small, and didn’t have any super fun slots like Ellen or Sex and The City…disappointing!

Shopping on Royal Princess Alaska

Princess really missed the mark here. They had us as a captive audience for three Sea Days, and they only had four shops: One with Swarsky crystal, one with Chico’s clothing and Alaska souvenirs, one with Effy Jewelry and watches, and one with liquor, candy and cigarettes. They held many raffles, give-aways, and Home Shopping Network-like lectures about the jewelry that were long and boring.

Spa on Royal Princess Alaska

WOW! The spa was terrible. The space to change was tiny and crowded, and the locker size was inadequate. The waiting space was shabby and cold…not the cozy atmosphere one expects from a spa. Also, there were no clean water cups available, just a pile of dirty dishes.

My massage therapist came to get me 15 minutes after the appointment was meant to begin. Rather than apologizing, she said hurriedly “I have to clean my space…I’ll be back in about 10 minutes”. This was another major princess fail, because I then cancelled all three of my massage appointments. The spa manager tried to make it right by giving me free admission to The Enclave for the week (plunge pool, sauna, etc…who ever heard of having to pay extra for these amenities when you are already paying $200+ for a spa treatment?!) and a free body scrub that smelled nasty.

The Gym on Royal Princess

The gym on the ship was huge, clean and beautiful. There were tons of machines, no wait, and the most incredible view you can imagine through the floor to ceiling windows! A highlight for sure!

Formal Night

One person’s idea formal dress is not equal to that of another person’s. Attire on formal dress nights on our cruise ranged from fly fishing outfits to tuxedos for men, and from ripped jeans shorts to sequined gowns for women. Basically formal night meant a larger crowd waiting to get seated for dinner and many photo opportunities (backdrops that mostly had no connection to Alaska that were set up for professionally posed pictures to be taken).

Swimming

The deck of the Royal Princess has two pools and two hot tubs. They were small but fine and great to occupy Nina on the two sea days that were sunny and warm. Sadly, there is no indoor pool on The Royal.

Activities for Kids

They have three age groups for the kids club. The middle age group room looked like fun to me, with computers, an art area, etc., but my daughter hated it and, when I arrived to pick her up, was waiting for me like a sad puppy with her nose pressed against the glass. I am not sure why one of the staff members didn’t work to get her involved in an activity…she was there less than two hours.

A Family Movie Night was offered, and since the movie was of interest to Nina, we went. When we got there, we were greeted by the ship’s Cruise Director, Matt O’Brien. He was wearing a pair of striped old skool Dr. Denton PJs (like a Union suit) and I liked him immediately. He was so kind and sweet with every child who entered the room! After some chit-chat, Matt read the children a picture book. This may have been the highlight of all of the activities that I experienced while onboard the Royal Princess Alaska.

If you are planning a trip to Alaska, here are some other topics you may be interested in:

• Anchorage Alaska With Kids
• Road Trips From Anchorage – Wasilla, Seward, Palmer and Denali
• First Day on Royal Princess Alaska – Recommendations for what to do when you first board a cruise ship
• Food Aboard The Royal Princess Alaska – My review of the food that we ate during my first cruise
• Ketchikan Alaska Excursions – including The Alaska Raptor Center
• Juneau Alaska Excursions – including dog sledding on Mendenhall Glacier and evening whale watch
• Skagway Alaska Excursions – including glass blowing and panning for gold