RNRcruisers

This is why I ignore emails and "sale" notices. 

Haha too funny! I am reading this at work and almost gave myself away by laughing out loud! Sounds like a fun trip - definitely not too long!

On 5/9/2024 at 2:36 PM, KKB said:

 

Vista lounge is not used as well as it could be IMO. I have seen trivia (MUCH MUCH better venue for trivia than Live!), karaoke & bands here on other ships. Nope. None of these. Not once. 

Bingo, Platinum/Elite lounge, recorded ballroom music, movies & comedians. And not all of those everyday.

 

 

We were on Regal this February. Totally agree about the Vista Lounge. Such a nice large space and was hardly ever used. We were a group of 6 and found the best place to meet up before dinner was Good Spirits. 

We also try to avoid the elevators (or I do and DH grudgingly goes along), but on our last cruise I was using a knee scooter (broken foot) so obviously had to. My DH wasn't mad about that 😆

Sounds like a great trip! Thanks for the review!

I love sea days and can't wait until I am retired so can take those long cruises.

On 5/4/2024 at 2:34 PM, FancyPants21 said:

One final thought... OceanNow...

 

It is a total waste of time. I so wanted it to work and to use it but after we tried a few times we just gave up and never used it again. Drinks would either not turn up at all indicating they were delivered when they were not or delivered to the wrong location, or the wait was up to an hour. That is not a viable service IMO and again, IMO, this service should be totally withdrawn until they can find a way to make it work consistently. I have heard others have a better experience but if they can't make it work most of the time then the service shouldn't be offered at all IMO.

We had pretty good luck with it last February on the Regal. We mostly used it to order drinks. Sometimes it was a little slow but always eventually arrived. Beats standing in a line at a bar IMO. Thanks for the great Live.

Sounds like a fabulous trip so far! We were in Barcelona one day on a cruise in 2015. Need to go back! Looking forward to the rest of your trip!

I am another who prefers smaller ships. We were on Caribbean February of 2023 and it was fine. We were on the Regal this past February and actually decided we prefer the Caribbean. No ship is perfect but for us, smaller is better. That isn't to say we wouldn't go on the Regal again but it would depend on the itinerary. And personally I would always cruise for 6 days over 4 days! 😅

Yay! I’m so excited to have traditional dining back!

Totally agree with OP. It is a fun splurge for me and worth it to have little to no balance due at the end of the cruise. Where I would probably not purchase the Plus, would be for a longer, port intensive cruise. For me, the object of the trip is different than a warm weather cruise and the "spoil myself" aspect wouldn't be the same.

On 3/24/2024 at 7:27 PM, CanadianBurger said:

 
By biggest beef about the entertainment, and this is happening fleet-wide, is the doubling-down of having more and more loud entertainment in the Piazza to the detriment of the venues around it.

 

100% agree with this. There are so many better places for this type of entertainment. We were sitting in the International Cafe one morning (on the Regal, not Sun), enjoying our coffee and ocean view, and a zumba class starts in the piazza. Not very peaceful. And in the evenings the piazza is just too crowded and loud. Crooners didn't even get used because of the noise in the piazza. Doesn't make sense to me.

20 hours ago, northbeachgirl said:

This is an ocean view, 5318 pretty cabin, but you are going to hear engine noise while underway and also when you get to port and they open the door for debarking . If you are sensitive to noise you should consider getting a cabin on a higher deck. The sideways inside cabins looked spacious from what I could see as I walked past on deck 17. 

Thank you! That looks pretty roomy but I am not sure if the noise would bother me. And I believe that level is the only one with these window staterooms.

On 4/1/2024 at 1:46 AM, northbeachgirl said:

I was worried that all deck 5 ocean view cabins were going to be noisy but we are currently in 5318 and all though it does have some noise when we are underway once docked it is quiet. I love the window seat but I would never book an ocean view again. I would prefer an inside cabin on a higher deck. Guest services has been a struggle for us as we are onboard for 3 b2b’s. Every 10 days we had multiple communications with guest services struggling to get a place to sleep because 5429 was uninhabitable due to the noise issues.

 

 

Do you have pictures of these rooms? I wonder if there are others like 5429 that are noisy or if more are like the one you are in now.

Is the noise the reason that you would prefer an inside higher up? The insides look really small from the one picture I have seen. I think the average sq. footage of them is substantially less than the insides on other Princess ships.

16 hours ago, Snaxmuppet said:

 

I have read on the forum that this is stooping and that additional mains will now carry an extra charge (not just lobster). 

 

We will often order an entree for our table to share - maybe a pasta dish or just something we all want to taste. We did this as recently as this past February. We have never been charged for it.

We took a cruise to Bermuda once. The weather was the worst we have ever had on a cruise. It poured the whole way there and poured the whole time we were at the island. The sun finally came out on our last morning. And this was in June! Should probably give it another try.

On Regal last month Alfredo's was open before the MDR for embarkation lunch, maybe 11? We boarded early.

Seems like those living in the area already have an advantage in that they don't have to fly to cruise. 

There is a lot of time for everything to start running smoothly. I would go into it with a positive attitude and I bet you'll have a great cruise.

3 hours ago, Nebr.cruiser said:

I'm not saying we will never do another cruise from Galveston, but we'd give it a hard think, mostly because of the transportation problems but also because the first and last days can be very cool in the winter.

I agree, that is another reason I would hesitate. 

We cruised out of Galveston last month and decided we will avoid it in the future. The airports are too far and a hassle and expense to get transportation. 

I am curious about this also. I loved traditional dining and would definitely do that if it were an option. I also wonder if it means Princess might bring it back on some other ships?...

DH and I always have it set up as a queen and it is fine. Last year on the Caribbean Princess we had a guaranteed room and they gave us one with the upper bunks folded up against the wall. In that case, it would have been better to have the bed set up as twins since the bunks made walking around the outside of the bed difficult - even for me and I am short!

Our very first cruise in 1990 we had twins that couldn't be made into a queen. I think that was more common on older ships 🙂

On 3/20/2024 at 10:52 AM, ceilidh1 said:

 

- the ship is full but doesn’t feel crowded

 

 

 I'm happy to see this. Crowding is always one of my biggest concerns.

I haven't had any of those problems but I know that can be frustrating. That being said, on board is totally separate. I am sure you will have a great time!

10 hours ago, CanadianBurger said:

The only time it’s felt crowded is trying to walk around deck 7 of the Piazza during the Captain’s Party. I think half the ship was crammed in there. Other than that, not at all. I will say that we avoid peak times for things, so maybe that helped. 

I saw a FB post from someone on the ship with a picture of a huge line up for MDR, saying this was the norm. Maybe it was the opening time? I think they said it was people with reservations. This wasn't your experience?