Does the Regal have Off Limits?

[KathiSF]

Does the Regal Princess have "Off Limits" for teenagers? The Princess book says the Regal has a "Youth & Teen Center". How does this work?

[sradogna]

Hi Kathy,

 

My family and I were just on the Regal in May. My son is 17 years old and said that there was no 'Off Limits' area. He was a little disappointed because he really enjoyed this on the Sapphire.

 

In general, the activities on the Regal were geared towards the younger children (12 and under). It could have been because there weren't many teens on board. My son had a good time but it was certainly not the same as on the Sapphire.

[KathiSF]

Thanks Sradogna, I was afraid of that. One of the people traveling in my group has a daughter who just turned 13. She is so thrilled to be a "teenager". I know she will be dissapointed.

 

I noticed you gave the Sapphire a higher "grade" than the Regal. Would you mind telling me why? I was on the Sapphire last month and found her to be a very lovely ship but a bit crowded for my taste. I'd be very interested in your opinion

[sradogna]

Hi Kathy,

 

The absence of a dedicated teen area didn't affect my son as much as the absence of teens. I remember the first day, the children's program director told me that on this sailing they wouldn't be holding the computer classes for the teens so I'm assuming that they make at least some attempt to give them activities when there are more teens sailing.

 

As for the Sapphire vs Regal, that is such a subjective question. First, you have to understand that the Sapphire trip was my favorite cruise of all 10 that I've been on. Even though I loved the Sapphire (more on that in a minute), the main reason for this was the lovely group of cruise critic friends. We had a very active roll call for up to a year before the sailing and when we finally boarded we all hit it off and it made for a great cruise. We had no cruise critic friends on the Regal and it made a big difference.

 

Regarding a comparison of the ships, I'll start by saying there is NO such thing as a bad cruise and we had a lovely time on the Regal. Havng said that, there were just a few things that made the Sapphire better for me. One of these was the dining. I loved the 'anytime' dining concept on the Sapphire and I found the buffet to be better organized and with better food selection and quality. I am probably not what you call a traditional cruiser in terms of dining in that I really don't enjoy the formality of the main dining room every night.

 

As for the crowds, I personally never minded the people on the Sapphire as I never experienced a line for anything I wanted to do. On the Regal, I waited in a line at the buffet everytime I ate there and often had trouble finding an open table inside. Of course, this was an Alaska sailing, and everyone wanted to eat inside so that had a lot to do with it. In general, because of the smaller size and less choices in public areas I just felt more crowded on the Regal then on the Sapphire.

 

The only other differences that mattered to me was the indoor pool on the Sapphire and in general just the more varied choses in public areas. I loved Club Fusion because you could watch a show and play video poker at the same time. Of course, the childrens area (an important concern for me because we travel with 4 children) was just better on the Sapphire. The younger children had a great time on the Regal, but there was actually one day (the last) where they couldn't go to the program at all because the winds were so strong they had to close the upper deck and the only entrance to the kids area is via the outside upper deck.

 

In summary, both ships were lovely, I just felt more at home on the Sapphire. I would sail the Regal again if the price and itinerary were right, but I probably would check out all options for sailing on a larger ship first and it wouldn't be my first choice for Alaska because of the outdoor entrance to the kids area and the lack of an indoor pool.

 

You know how it is though, if you go with the right attitude you'll have a great time no matter what ship :D

 

Sharon