SeaCBear

Yes, I would say the trip was about 30 minutes. It's not far, but we stopped a few times - sometimes at docks, and sometimes just in the middle of the water!

I think 15 would be the return fare. 7 Euros for the one-way trip sounds about right - I think that's what we paid. A good deal I thought!

I think the boat was only about 1/3 full by the time we reached the port, but this was at about 10:15 or 10:30 in the morning.

We found the Alilaguna stop with no trouble, and it was almost empty. We purchased our tickets easily at the ticket counter, and within minutes we were on board. Now, we weren’t really that far from the port, but it took a lot longer to get there than we had expected. A few stops to pick others up, and a few stops in the water to let other ships go by. I didn’t really mind, it was all interesting, but you certainly need to leave lots of time for this trip.

 

2 questions, pls:

1) According to Alilaguna's schedule, the trip from S. Marco to port should be 30 min. Was it correct?

2) How much was the ticket? I can't figure from their website if it is 7 Euro or 15 Euro?

It is reassuring to see that Alilaguna is not crowded, as we plan to take it from the airport to S. Marco and after 2 days - to port.

Many thanks, Dani[ela]

Well, we're from Canada, so my phone carrier is Rogers. We always had data roaming turned off, but did not put our phones in airplane mode, so we could still get texts or phone calls from home.

We used the Wifi on board our ship (the Regal Princess), and we found many restaurants and other places in Venice (and other ports) also had WiFi. But, you don't need to have data roaming on or Wifi to use Google Maps, or other apps like OffMaps2, or MapsWithMe (there are many more). If you download the maps you need when you are connected, you can then use the maps in port, and your built in iPhone GPS will know where you are, and direct you.

I hope that makes sense!

Thanks for the review. We will be on her for the maiden voyage to Fort Lauderdale so we will be back in Venice again in October for a couple of days before embarkation on the Regal.

I wondering if you can tell me what phone service you were on in Venice and what GPS app you were using. Having been there twice before, I think I know my way around, but....I am getting older. Let me know if you needed to be connected to a cell provider to use the GPS.

 

Thanks

Hi Wire Fox Terrier (love your name :-) - we booked the tour of the Doge's Palace here.

Hi

 

Really enjoyed your review!

 

Please could you tell me which company you used to book this tour?

 

Many thanks

Heather

Thanks so much for all the recent, and very nice comments. It does take a lot of time to write these reviews and post the photos, but I enjoy doing this, and it's all worth it if I can feel I've helped even just one person plan their cruise, or helped one person excited about their upcoming trip. :)

Happy cruising!

Sorry for the delay in responding - I was out of town for the weekend.

Yes, we had the All Inclusive package and for us, it was very good value. We enjoyed all our espressos, cappuccinos, bottles of water, glasses of wine beers, martinis and scotches!

And yes, you can get a glass of wine anywhere on board with the AI package, including the dining room or any bar.

love reading your post but have a question on the drink package. Did you get the bar package and does it include glasses of wine anywhere on the ship to include the dining room? do you think it's good value?

Thanks very much Zukini :)

I love your blog! Just took a look and have bookmarked it for future reference - thanks!

Thanks for another great photo review. Brings back memories of our stop in Istanbul on the Star Princess in 2011. What a great city!

Hi Dave - the People Mover is a relatively new monorail system that takes you from the port to the Piazzale Roma. I think the cost was less than 2 Euros each. There's lots of good information at this site.

There are also water taxis, and the Alilaguna water bus service (the blue line).

There's a lot more information here.

We found the People Mover to be very efficient and quick (it's a very short ride) and inexpensive. The Alilaguna was not a fast ride (there may be a few stops), but comfortable enough and interesting, and also good value.

It is many years since we were in Venice. What are the options for getting into Venice from the port? What is the People Mover? We have taken water taxis before and wonder if there is one close to the cruise terminal.

 

Dave

Hi CruisingGatorGirl - I'm not sure I understand what you mean by making your phone international - do you mean you will purchase a data roaming package for Europe?

To use apps like Yelp or TripAdvisor on the fly, when you're walking around in Mykonos for example, you will need a data roaming package. For us, here in Canada, a data roaming package for Europe is very expensive, but it may not be with your provider. But I'm not sure it's really necessary. You have a number of other options.

You could buy a Wifi packaage on board the ship and then use TripAdvisor or Yelp etc. before you head off the ship.

Or, and this is what we did, you can get Apps like MapsWithMe, or OffMaps2 (there are many that are similar) - and download the maps you need to your iPhone before you leave home (like Mykonos).

Or yes you can use Google Maps. I used Google Maps in Venice. I loaded my presaved map of Venice on to my iPhone while on board the ship, using the Wifi package we had. Once we were in Venice, Google maps showed me where I was at all time, and if we were heading in the right direction (we often were not :) ). My husband preferred using MapsWithMe or OffMaps2.

Once you have the maps on your phone, when you're walking around in a port the iPhone's GPS will know where you are when you're looking at the map - you don't need data roaming or Wifi for this.

I hope this all makes sense!

Thank you for the wonderful review! We plan on DIY when we were in Mykonos.

 

I have a question regarding the iPhone.

 

We are thinking of making one of ours international just the month we will be gone. Can you use the google maps/map that comes with the phone just like you would at home? We also are big Yelp and TripAdvisor people (like you , it sounds :)) will those work abroad?

 

Say we are in Mykonos and want to find a good restaurant near by, can we just pull up Yelp?

 

We would NOT be using our iPhones to call home/e-mail/etc, we WOULD be using them for the map feature and Yelp/Trip Advisor

 

Thank you in advance :)

Thank you Eileen and Benny! I wish you a wonderful cruise, I'm sure you'll love it.

Thank you so much for your excellent review and amazing photos.

I have followed a few reviews of Regal and yours is the best by a long shot.

Really appreciate you taking the time to detail everything so well.

We are joining Regal on 30th August in Venice for 1st trip through Med and are getting very excited.

 

Happy future cruising.

 

Eileen & Benny

Yes, that's correct. For the trans Atlantic cruise we did in 2012, on the RCI Mariner of the Seas, we were in a Royal Family Suite. This is the only suite we've ever had on a cruise.

For some reason, probably just being in the right place at the right time, I was able to book the family suite for just a few hundred dollars more than it was going to cost us for two regular balcony cabins (one for my husband and me, and one for our son). It was amazing - we had two bedrooms, two bathrooms, a dining/living area, and an ENORMOUS balcony.They usually only allow groups of at least 5 people to book the Royal Family Suite, so I have no idea why I was able to book it online, but as we were on board for two weeks with many sea days (and perfect weather) it was heaven.

But, sorry, I digress... I know this is the Princess board :)

Did you see that she said it was her balcony on the Royal Caribbean Mariner of the Seas NOT the Regal Princess.

Also, from the look of that furniture I would venture to guess that she was in a suite!

HI woomera - you can't pre-book the Sanctuary before you board. Once on board, you can book an entire week, a day or select days, or even 1/2 days. If you're interested, you should probably head to the Sanctuary as soon as you board to choose your loungers (some are full sun, others mostly shade, etc.) and make your reservation.

Once you have reserved, you will be charged for the days you've booked, unless you cancel, even if you don't show up that day at all. Apparently there were some no-shows on the Regal, but the manager told me he would still have to charge them.

All of the information above applies to the Royal/Regal Princess - the procedures and policies may differ for other Princess ships.

Please can you tell me how to pre book the sanctuary?

Thank you! :)

On my next cruise (Cunard Queen Victoria Baltic) in August, I don't think I'm going to even bother taking my camera, just my iPhone. That'll be a first for me, on a big trip.

Truly amazing pictures.....:):):)

 

Bob

On the Regal last week the internet worked well most of the time, although there was no connectivity at all in the Sanctuary area. But in our cabin, and in the Piazza area it worked well enough for us to FaceTime home every day.

We had just a regular size balcony, and while it certainly wasn't as big as some balconies we have had on other ships, it was adequate.

This was our balcony on the RCI's Mariner of the Seas!

The tour was in a new Mercedes van. it was very comfortable - two seats on one side, and two or three single seats on the other. The air conditioning worked well, and Dimitris asked several times if it was cool enough for us. They provided cold bottled water.

I thought our guide, Michael, was terrific, but PK Travel uses many different guides. Michael provided a LOT of detail, but you didn't have to listen too closely if you didn't want to, and he answered any and all questions with enthusiasm. The van was small, but he did use a microphone so we had no trouble hearing him.

At lunch we were on our own to do as we pleased in the Plaka - Michael pointed out different areas for shopping and restaurants, and we agreed as a group how long we wanted ( 1 1/2 hours).

I really don't there's anything I would change about the tour. We saw a lot, and really felt that we got a very good overview of Athens in the short time we were there.

Yes, that choreographed marching that the soldiers do is very unique! :D

Great review! Thank you very much for taking the time to post.

 

A few questions are we are considering PK Travel as well (still debating on full day tour of Athens or 1/2 day Athens, 1/2 day Cape Sounion.)

 

What kind of car/bus did you have for the tour? With the size tour group that you had (10), did you have a hard time hearing the guide? Did you get a pick of lunch places and did you all sit together as a group? Were you happy overall with the tour guide? Was there anything about the tour you didn't like? Anything you wished you did instead?

 

And...my husband would have been making the Monty Python Silly Walk comments too, lol! :)

I didn't take a photo of any bar menus, but I snap a shot of the coffee menu last week on the Regal, in case it's of any use.

It appears that the prices of the beverages have increased, but without hard numbers it is difficult to use the beverage package evaluator to learn whether the Ultimate Package is a worthwhile expense. Would someone who is going on a cruise in the near future please capture the new prices for us? If the prices go up, is the price of the Ultimate package going up too?

Thank you so much Ken & Darlene - I'm glad I could help to build your excitement! Hope you have a wonderful cruise.

SeaCBear, thank you for a wonderful review of the Regal Princess. I thought your review and pictures was one of the best I've followed. You did an excellent job!!! My wife and I also enjoyed looking at the many photographs by passengers in the hallways on the Royal Princess last November. I'm so glad they continued this on the Regal. Can't wait to board the Regal Princess this November and I'm even more excited than ever after ready your review.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

Thanks STCKcruises :-)

Well, we enjoy wine but are not too picky, so the wines available by the glass were fine for us. We didn't consider buying any bottles of wine with the discount, so I don't know the answers I'm afraid.

Hopefully someone else has used the AI package to purchase bottles with the 40% discount?

It's us that should be saying thank you. This has been a great and really helpful review from SeaCBear. I have a question that I wonder if you can help with and that I've not been able this far to get an answer to elsewhere. I see that you both bought the AI package so you may not have used the 40% wine bottle discount. But if you did, I'm wondering how it works and if it only applies in the MDR orbif it can be used to buy a bottle elsewhere eg deck bars and H Court. I'm interested because when we go on Regal in July I will take the AI package but my wife who is not as big a drinker will only be taking the soft drinks one. However, it would be great if I could use the discount to buy her bottles of wine onboard and that she could take a glass from in the cabin as well as in MDR. Hope that question makes sense.

 

Many thanks again for such a great review and pictures too. 😃

 

 

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On the both the Royal and Regal there is a specialty coffee station in the Pastry area in the buffet. So if you don't mind paying, or if you have a coffee card or the All Inclusve package, you can get a very good coffee, or cappuccino, or espresso, etc. in the buffet. No need to go to the International Cafe.

Some final observations on the Regal Princess ….

First of all, in my reviews I think I missed talking about an entire sea day. But really, there probably isn’t a lot to say. I know we spent the day in the Sanctuary, and enjoyed it as always. But what I did not talk about yet was our dinner that night in the Crown Grill. We had made a reservation for 8 p.m., and we were seated immediately upon arrival. Our waitress was charming and cheerful, and also the same waitress who had served my son and me on the Royal Princess last January, although not surprisingly she didn’t remember me. She was also very good at her job, although her sidekick, who was trying hard, was not quite as efficient. But I think he was still wearing his training wheels :-). We enjoyed some sparkling wine with our starters – I had the scallops, followed by filet mignon, accompanied by grilled asparagus, mushrooms, and fries (because although we rarely eat French fries, we just felt like them!). My husband had the enormous Porterhouse steak (22 ounces?) which shocked me. And he ate most of it. But I think it was because after the first night, and the terrible prime rib, he only ordered the vegetarian entrees in the dining room. For dessert I had the sampler. My husband ordered the cheesecake, but wasn’t able to eat it all because it was still partially frozen. It was a good meal, and the best dinner we had on board all week.

A few more random comments….

• I still can’t understand why there are no cup holders in the Princess Theater. Surely adding cup holders would encourage people to purchase drinks? It’s just such a pain to have to hold a cold sweating drink through a performance, and it makes it very difficult to applaud of course!

• I had hoped that the “Celebrations” store might be eliminated on the Regal. I rarely saw anyone in this store on the Royal, and this was also true on the Regal.

• The watch store seems to have snagged a prime location, and to me it seems to be a waste of space, but we noticed it was often quite busy, so I suppose it generates sufficient revenue to warrant a premier spot.

• I liked the passenger produced art in the halls – the photographs taken around the world by passengers. I often stopped in the hallways to look more closely at a photo.

• We never found the elevators to be too small or crowded, but the ship was only carrying about 2500 passengers.

• I wish it wasn’t necessary, when you have purchased an All Inclusive beverage package, to have to sign for each and every drink.

• The Piazza works well – it really does function as a gathering sport or town centre. It’s where we headed each evening, and it was always fun to watch the dancing or other entertainment happening below, from our perch in Crooner’s, the Ocean Terrace bar, or Bellini’s. I think the bars on the Regal/Royal are particularly well done – they remind me of nice hotel bars.

• Princess Live seemed much busier and more popular on this cruise than on the Royal last January. It could be that the demographics were so different – there were many more couples on this cruise, and on the Royal Princess cruise over New Year’s there were few couples and many large groups.

• Our favourite spaces were the Horizon Terrace, Crooners, the Wheelhouse Bar and the Sanctuary. We also enjoyed the Sea View bar a couple of times – you certainly can’t beat the view, although for some reason we went there more at night than during the day. It was always VERY quiet up there at night.

• We never did get to a MUTS, although they had some good movies playing. It was often a little chilly or windy – or both - at night (but they do provide blankets) and I tend to get a little bit dressed up for dinner even when it’s not formal night, and didn’t really feel like lying on a chaise lounge all dolled up ;-) But I did catch the last few minutes of a James Taylor concert while we were still in Mykonos, and the picture and sound quality were amazing. During the day they would sometimes show photos of the ports the ship had or would be visiting. Other concerts were also played during the day – Bov Jovi, Beyonce, ColdPlay, Paul McCartney, etc.

• Almost all staff we dealt with were friendly, cheerful, helpful and usually efficient. We enjoyed talking to Mesley and Ashley in the Wheelhouse Bar, and Oscar in Crooners. Illarion in the Sanctuary does his job very well, and is always very client-focussed (and also has one of the best schedules on the ship I think – he told us he’s finished by about 6:30 each night and so has every evening free.)

• Our biggest disappointment, as you’ve no doubt already guessed, was the food. I really don’t think we’re that difficult to please, or that fussy, and we’re not demanding. But the dining room food in particular was just not of the same quality as we’ve enjoyed on Celebrity, Royal Caribbean (although it was closer to RCL than Celebrity) or our Viking River cruise (which is, I know, a bit like comparing apples to oranges). I don’t think it was as good as the food we had on the Royal last January. After about the second day we just didn’t really look forward to dinner. Our best dinners were in the Crown Grill (which was full), and the buffet the night we were in Istanbul and wanted to sit outside. I am hoping that, as new staff becomes used to the menu, the ship and each other, the quality will improve.

• The entertainment on offer was a bit hit or miss for us. We didn’t stay for Annette Wardell. We popped into the Four Divas show but weren’t impressed enough to stay. I wish we had checked out Fiera!, but we didn’t. We enjoyed Eric Stone, although is repertoire was very similar every night. We didn’t go to any of the game shows, trivia or Karaoke in the Princess Live, so I can’t say if these shows were good or not. The Evolution band and the Orphea band were both excellent – the best entertainment we saw on board. We also enjoyed the Alegria String Quartet. We wanted to see the Ian Ross Jazz Trio, but somehow kept missing them. We’ve never been disco people at all (not even when we were in our ‘20’s), so I can’t comment on the Club 6. We did walk through and it felt a bit dark and claustrophic, but perhaps all discos feel like that :-)

• Communication to all staff about the AI beverage package, and what is or is not included, needs work.

• But, we feel the AI package worked well for us, and if we sail Princess again (and we’re considering either a Panama Canal cruise or a Hawaii cruise) we would get it again (and hope that the food is better!). In addition to the cocktails, beers for my husband (I’m not a beer drinker), glasses of wine and Scotch nightcaps, we really enjoyed the cappuccinos and espressos, and bottled water to take off the ship or back to the room. But don’t get me started about Gelato’s ;-)

• The port lecturer, Julio Delgados, was very good and helpful.

• Our room attendant, Pratch (Pratchley), was also very good. We didn’t see him a lot or often (we were rarely in our cabin) but he kept our room very clean, he responded to the few requests we made promptly, and he was friendly.

I hope I'm presenting a balanced review. Would we cruise with Princess again? Absolutely, in fact I'm sure we will. And my preference would be to sail on either the Regal or Royal Princess, although I've heard good things about some of the older, smaller ships and wouldn't mind giving one a spin! :-)

Overall, we had a wonderful time. The ship is beautiful, and there are far more positives than negatives to report. Those you of who have an upcoming reservation on the Royal will, I'm sure, enjoy your cruise immensely.

Thank you sincerely to all of you who have been following along, and for the many nice comments and lovely feedback. It's all very much appreciated.

As always, if there are any other question, I'll do my best to answer!

And to close, two more photo compilations from the ship.

Aww, thank you so much :) :o

I am going to be sad when the last review is given. Have so enjoyed your trip. You have a great gift for writing.

Good point. We were there Saturday/Sunday and only the Grand Bazaar was closed on the Sunday. The Blue Mosque, Cistern and Hagia Sophia were open both days.

Each of the major attractions is closed to the public one day of the week. Make sure they are open the day you will be there. If one of them is closed to the public that day, a ship's tour will usually still be able to go there.

We took the Princess shuttle in Mykonos, for $10 each (or 7 Euros) for a return trip. This had to be paid in cash, it couldn't be added to your on board account. The shuttle in Istanbul was also $10 each, return, but the charge could be added to your sea pass account.

In Venice they had a water taxi shuttle for $19 each, but we didn't use this, we took the People Mover instead which was only a few Euros, and much faster.

In Corfu Princess provided a free shuttle to the end of the pier only. From there you had to walk or take a taxi (we did neither as we had rented a car). It was about 10 Euros each way to the town of Corfu.

For PK Travel in Athens we paid 60 Euros each for the day, plus entrance fees of 12 Euros (for the Acropolis and Temple of Zeus) and 5 Euros for the Acropolis Museum. Lunch was not included, and we all did our own thing. They did provide cold bottled water on the van. They have a variety of tour options and are very friendly and professional to deal with, so I would get in touch with PK Travel and tell them what you're looking for. Pete's (the owner) daughter handles all the email communication and administrative duties, and she was very prompt and professional.

This is the tour van we were in, and our guide Michael is in the striped shirt.

Could you please tell me how much the princess shuttle bus was in Mykonos, and in any other port if you can remember please x

 

Also interested in the total cost of tour with Pk travel, we are a party of 8 looking to book a private tour.

Yes I'd love to go there again, which is such a surprise to us as we had NO real interest in going before!

Glad you had a lovely day in Athens. Athens is a gorgeous place, I am glad we got to stay there a few years ago. Hope to return next year! :D

Mykonos IS beautiful. I would love to visit when it's a little less crowded but that's just the way it is with beautiful places in the world, especially those that get cruise ships!

We sort of ambled along to the windmills from where the bus dropped us off, but if you just walked straight there I would estimate it wouldn't take longer than 15 minutes, possibly 20.

Wow how beautiful is Mykonos!! :D

 

How long did it take you to walk to the windmills??

 

Cheers! :cool: