LONG Report: Regal Grand Med, October 2014

[Suskies]

We are back from a spectacular Grand Mediterranean cruise on the Regal. I’ll post each day separately.

 

Some background: We’re in our 60s and have lost count of the number of cruises we’ve been on over 34 years. This was our fifth Princess cruise; we’ve also been on the Emerald, Crown, and Caribbean.

 

We picked this cruise because we wanted to do an eastern Mediterranean itinerary that included Venice, Athens, and Istanbul. Surprisingly few itineraries include all three of those! We usually take week-long cruises, so as we planned this 12-night cruise we were careful to try to pace ourselves—we wanted to relax as well as see the sights.

 

I’m not super tech-savvy, but on this trip I wanted to see if I could use my Kindle in place of paper maps and guidebooks. I ended up sticking with the paper guidebooks—I find them easier to quickly flip through to find the description of whatever I’m looking at—but the guides at http://www.TomsPortGuides.com were a great addition—they describe in great detail exactly where the ship docks in port and how to get from the port to town.

 

We couldn’t use Google maps because our phones don’t work in Europe, and my Kindle works only with a wifi connection. But the free Maps.Me app for my Kindle, with offline, zoomable maps, was fantastic. I bought the “pro” version which let me mark on the maps the spots we wanted to see and add notes for each spot I marked.

 

Just for fun, we checked cruisett.com before we left, to see how many other ships would be in port the same day as the Regal. It turned out to be pretty in accurate—there were almost always one or more ships than what the website listed.

[Suskies]

We left a couple of days before the cruise, partly for the peace of mind of getting to the ship on time if the flight was delayed and partly to have a day in Barcelona. We used United frequent flyer miles to splurge on business class seats, and we got the best deal (used the fewest miles) by flying out of Newark on TAP Portugal. We checked in smoothly and were in the business class lounge a good three hours before departure, which was delayed about 90 minutes because of the plane’s late arrival. The plane was older; the business class seats reclined about 170 degrees but were smaller and narrower than United or USAirways business class. So we got some sleep but not a lot. We did sleep through breakfast, waking up just before landing in Lisbon to change planes.

[Suskies]

In Lisbon, something unexpected happened: when we got off the plane there was a young man with a sign with our names. DH whispered to me, “Are we being arrested?” No—the young man (very nice) simply got us through shorter lines at customs and security, walked us to our gate to show us where it was, then took us to the business lounge. We don’t know why we merited the special attention—not all business passengers did. With the arrival delay, our connection was very tight, and if we’d gone through the normal customs/security lines we probably would have missed our connection. So our guess is this is a TAP Portugal service for business class passengers with tight connections. Whatever the reason, we were impressed with this service!

 

We only had about 20 minutes in the lounge to use the restrooms and grab some breakfast before we had to leave to board our flight. I had pre-purchased Aerobus tickets from the Barcelona airport to town and, after arriving in Barcelona and collecting our luggage, it was easy to find and board the bus, which took us to Placa de Catalunya, arriving around 1 PM.

 

Our hotel was Room Mate Pau, a one-minute walk from the bus stop, which we chose because of the rave reviews on Trip Advisor, its perfect location, reasonable rates, and breakfast included with the room rate. When we checked in, we got a bait-and-switch pitch: “You booked a standard room, which is on the 1st floor looking over the street. That room isn’t available yet. If you want to pay 10 euros a night more, we have a superior room available now. It’s larger and on the 5th floor.” We took the upgrade and immediately got showers and naps. From the name, you might think the hotel was a step above a hostel, but actually it was really nice—one of those ultra-modern, trendy boutique hotels, immaculately clean. We’d stay there again in a heartbeat.

 

We spent three days in Barcelona four years ago, so we’d already seen the major sights. (The Barcelona Bus Turistic tours are an excellent orientation for first-timers.) After we got up in the late afternoon, we walked around the Eixample district, up Rambla Catalunya, where there are a lot of outdoor cafes. We ended up eating an early dinner. (We hadn’t had lunch.) DH had a four-cheese pasta and I had an “Iberian pizza”: fresh tomatoes, shaved ham, and shaved parmesan (no sauce) on a crust so thin and crunchy it shattered when I tried to cut it. It was delicious—I think they glazed the ham or tomatoes, as they tasted slightly sweet—and memorable!

 

After dinner, we walked around Eixample some more, mostly up and down Rambla Catalunya and Passeig Gracia, ogling the marvelous architecture, before getting ice cream at the Haagen Dazs on Rambla Catalunya. By this point we were truly running on empty, so we went back to the hotel and simply struggled to stay awake as long as we could so we wouldn’t wake up at 3 AM. We were asleep by 9 PM and slept until 7:30 AM.

[Suskies]

The breakfast at the hotel was great—very broad selection of items—and then we headed out, first down Las Ramblas to visit La Boqueria market. Because it was relatively early, it wasn’t too crowded, so we took our time wandering through it.

 

Then we meandered through the Barri Gotic (Gothic Quarter), enjoying the charming streets. We went through the Cathedral, then the Picasso Museum. It’s not a comprehensive museum—it’s mostly his very early works, through his early 20s. It was fascinating to see him evolve from a traditional artist into what he became.

 

Then we wandered back through the Barri Gotic to the big plaza just east of La Rambla and south of Carrer de Ferran for tapas for lunch. Then we went back to La Boqueria to pick up some takeaway cups of fresh fruit for an afternoon snack, then back to the hotel to relax.

 

At dinnertime, we walked through the Barri Gotic (couldn’t get enough of it!) to Barceloneta for dinner. We walked by the carnival along Moll de Barceloneta, then walked along the beachfront, checking restaurant menus. We ate at one of the restaurants right off the boardwalk with a view of the beach and Mediterranean. DH’s “barbecued” (grilled) steak came with the smallest baked potato we ever saw, about the size of a golf ball. Then we walked back through Barceloneta and Barri Gotic to the hotel.

[Suskies]

We woke up excited. Usually we look on a cruise ship as our vacation and the ports as icing on the cake. With this itinerary, however, we’ve been so focused on the ports that periodically we’ve had to remind ourselves that, oh by the way, we’re going to be on a lovely new Princess ship!

 

We asked the hotel to reserve a taxi for us at 10:45, and by 11:00 we were at the port along with plenty of other passengers. Boarding began at noon with the Premier and Elite passengers, then we were in Group 1. The only unpleasant part of boarding was the dozens if not hundreds of people waiting by the boarding entrance to board, despite the pleas of the staff to stay seated until their group number was called. It felt like going through a cattle chute, but we were through in a few minutes and on board by 12:15. Our cabin was ready, so we dropped off our stuff and headed for lunch on the Lido deck. We had pre-ordered canned sodas, internet time, and some shore excursions, and all the paperwork was there, although it took time to get the canned sodas: we had to make several inquiries before we found out that the vouchers had been given to Room Service, and of course it was hard to get through to Room Service at first. Also our booking came with a free specialty dinner, and we knew from the fine print that we’d be pre-assigned one. We got 6:30 PM at Sabatini’s on the night of the Toulon port, when we weren’t planning on doing much in port, so this was perfect. There was a long line at the Internet Center to sign up for bonus minutes, so I was glad I ordered mine in advance.

 

First impressions of the ship: As with every Princess ship we’ve been on, it’s beautiful. The layout is different from other ships we’ve been on, but the changes are all smart in terms of getting the best value out of the space. The atrium is much bigger and all white and gold, so it practically glows. There’s now a seafood bar and pizza restaurant in addition to all the atrium spots on older ships. The shops now have their own “mini-atrium” with a spiral staircase going down to the casino. The art and photo galleries now have their own alcoves. The Explorer Lounge has been replaced by the Princess Live lounge with stadium seating. The back of the ship now has a second large theater—Vista Lounge. Princess Theatre is smaller—no balcony level—and there are fewer Movies Under the Stars seats. There is just one nightclub—Club 6. On other Princess ships, there were so many evening venues that many of them were often half-empty, especially the ones at the top of the ship, so the consolidation makes sense. Our only disappointment was that the promenade deck is no longer suitable for exercise walking—it’s now closed at both ends. But on this cruise we walked so much in the ports that it didn’t matter.

 

We also liked the Lido deck layout. We’re not pool people and don’t sunbathe, so cutting back from 2 pools to 1 doesn’t bother us. We really liked the expansion of the Horizon Court and Bistro, because sometimes they can be terribly crowded. We also liked making the back deck into a covered open-air seating area, with comfy wicker chairs and tables. The Horizon Court and Bistro are decorated differently—one mostly white, one in browns—so they’re easier to tell apart. The court offers a full meal, while the bistro offers more limited options. The bistro now has some bar-stool seating—nice for a quick bite and they also let people not right by the windows see the view. Tip: Before you start loading your plate, take a moment to walk through all the aisles—the food varies. All desserts including ice cream are now in an area called the Pastry Shop—another good idea.

 

We mostly like spending at-sea days curled up somewhere quiet with a good book, and there are several good spots for this on the Regal, depending on scheduled activities. Our favorites were Crooners at the top of the atrium, the hallway outside Princess Live and the Crown Grill, and the terrace at the back of the Lido deck.

 

We were surprised that the newest cruise ship in the world has such poor internet service. I pre-purchased service but could not register online--had to go down to the internet lounge. There was just one staffer doing this for relatively short windows of time, so there was a long, slow line the first couple of days. Also, we couldn’t get internet service in our cabin. We met a passenger later who explained why: wifi routers are white boxes on the ceiling, about a foot square, with blue lights. You need to be near a router to get wifi. Our cabin was quite a distance away from the nearest router in our hallway, so no wifi in our cabin. After we learned this, we made sure to sit near a router box when we wanted to get online. Another tip: Wifi is much faster early in the morning, when fewer people are online.

 

We’ve mostly gotten standard cabins with balconies, but on this cruise we splurged on a mini-suite. What a great room! We loved the bigger bathroom and more shower space. The sitting area has a large couch and big desk, and I liked being able to draw the curtain in the middle of the room and read in the sitting area while DH took a nap. Storage space seemed to be about the same as in standard cabins. We brought more clothes than usual, because we had to plan for weather from the 50s to the 70s, and we had no problem putting it all away. As at European hotels, you need to insert your room key card into a slot near the door to turn on the electricity.

 

Walking space was still tight, though. There’s not much space around the bed, and there’s less than a foot clearance between the coffee table and sofa and the coffee table desk. We often had to step aside to let the other through various spots in the cabin. The balcony is small. It has two reclining chairs, a table, and ottoman, with the ottoman tucked under one of the chairs. But there’s not enough space to use them all. If both chairs are reclined, there’d be no space for legs, and if one person pulls out the ottoman, there’s not enough room for the other to sit comfortably. I’d rather give up a foot or two of mini-suite space for some elbow room on the balcony.

 

The hallways outside the cabins are decorated with beautiful photos of sights from Princess cruises around the world. It’s a nice way to break up the monotony of the hallways, and I found myself sometimes stopping to look at them—really beautiful.

 

This evening we ate dinner in one of the dining rooms but got dessert at the International Café so we could enjoy the live music in the Piazza. Then we went to the welcome show, where we learned that about half the passengers were Americans. There were hundreds of Canadians, Australians, Brits, and New Zealanders, as well as a lot of Asians. Altogether the passengers came from over 40 countries. It was fun meeting people from other parts of the world throughout the cruise.

[Suskies]

We spent a lot of time researching and debating how to spend this day. Most of what I read suggested that wasn’t much to do in Toulon, but other places in Provence or on the French Riviera were pretty far away and meant a long day out and about. Because we had some intense days coming up, we decided to spend this day poking around Toulon and then relaxing on the ship. The Toulon town website had good suggestions on things to do. Princess offered a boat-bus shuttle to town for $25 per person, but we took the public boat-bus, about a 15-minute walk along the shoreline (you can see the stop from the ship—the boats are light and dark blue), for 2 euros per person each way. The ride across the harbor takes about 20 minutes. We walked around the historic part of the town, which was really charming and classic Mediterranean: narrow cobblestone streets, tall row houses with shuttered windows. There were lots of sidewalk cafes in the historic area and along the waterfront, where the buildings are more modern. Because it was Monday, many shops were closed. After walking around and seeing the cathedral, we went back to the ship for lunch and a nap. I did our first load of laundry, which cost $3 for the washer, $3 for the dryer, and $1.50 for detergent. Some of our really heavy socks and sweats didn’t dry fully on one dryer cycle.

 

At boarding time in the afternoon, the captain announced that there were a few missing passengers and he was holding the ship just a short while for them. We met those passengers later in the cruise. On the advice of their travel agent, they had rented a car. A taxi was supposed to take them back to the ship, but the driver, who didn’t speak English, instead took them to the boat-bus shuttle stop on the other side of the bay. They didn’t have their passports with them and were scared to death about missing the ship. They also said that, when they boarded, other passengers booed them and said nasty things to them. They were nice people and we felt badly for them. A cautionary tale about booking one’s own tours.

 

In the evening we had our free specialty dinner at Sabatini’s. We were seated by a window just as the ship was pulling away from Toulon at sunset—how romantic is that! Everything was delicious. DH said his pasta with short rib sauce was the best pasta dish he’d ever had.

 

Then we headed off to the soul music production show in the Princess Theater. It was standing room only and not very good, so we went to the Piazza and enjoyed the entertainment there. What a great venue that’s become—nice place to relax while you’re waiting for a show somewhere else to start. Then we played Scrabble in the lounge area outside the Princess Live theater, then headed off to bed.

[Suskies]

We’d already seen Florence and Pisa on a tour, and the only big attraction we hadn’t already seen was the Uffizi. We researched getting to Florence from Livorno and decided the easiest way was to take Princess’s “Florence on Your Own” shore excursion, which provided bus transportation and six hours on our own in Florence. I pre-purchased Uffizi tickets and audio guides for 10:30 AM—about 45 minutes after the bus was scheduled to arrive. After the Uffizi, we wanted to wander around Florence and soak up the atmosphere, and I researched all the piazzas, streets, and sights we might want to see and marked them on our Maps.Me map.

 

The plan did not turn into reality. The bus was held up by some traffic, so we had to sprint over to the Uffizi. The lines at the Uffizi, even for those with prepurchased tickets, were long and confusing. We had to stand in a long, slow line to redeem our prepaid vouchers for tickets, then another long, slow line to enter the museum. Altogether, it was an hour from when we arrived to when we entered the exhibits. Then the galleries were crowded with tour groups, especially in front of the major paintings. Altogether, with a break for the rest rooms (another line) and a snack, by the time we left the Uffizi we only had a couple of hours before we had to return to the bus. We walked around the Duomo, but the streets were packed with tourists and tour groups (there were four cruise ships in Livorno, plus bus tours and independent travelers), so it was hard to get up close to, say, the Baptistery bronze doors or simply stop and enjoy the buildings. The Duomo and Baptistery were largely covered with scaffolding and shrouding, being cleaned, and the cleaned parts looked fabulous—a striking difference from the uncleaned parts. We went over to Piazza Republicca for lunch, which got us away from the crowds; we had an outdoor lunch in perfect weather and great fun watching the café touts trying to attract business. Then we took our time meandering back to the bus group meeting point, and that was pretty much all we did. We need to find out when Florence is not crowded and come back again—maybe January?

 

We were so tired that we ate in the Lido. Then we went to the Rock & Roll Music Trivia game, which DH won. Then back to the Lido for dessert/bedtime snack and off to bed.

[Suskies]

We’ve been to Rome several times and seen all the big sights, so at this port we had just one must-see: DH wanted to see the pope at his weekly public audience in St. Peter’s Square. Then we simply wanted to wander around. Again, I marked on Maps.Me all the piazzas, streets, and sights we might want to see. I pre-purchased train tickets from Civitavecchia to the Roma-San Pietro stop near the Vatican. Getting train tickets is MUCH easier than a few years ago—the website is in English, as are the machines at the station. (One thing they still don’t make clear is that you have to validate your ticket within 6 hours of departure by sticking it in a little green machine that stamps it with the date and time.)

 

But once again things didn’t turn out quite as planned. We’d been on a cruise stop at Civitavecchia about four years ago, and I assumed things would be the same as then. Wrong! I should have done my homework. The cruise ship pier is about 2 miles long (literally), so there are free shuttle buses to the port entrance. At this stop, there were 5 ships docked, and the Regal was all the way at the far end. Getting off the pier was incredibly slow and confused; I think every tour bus in central Italy was parked there, and we had to ask several people which was the shuttle bus. After we found it, boarded it, and waited for it to leave, it crawled slowly down the pier, stopping for every other bus pulling out ahead of it. Then, instead of stopping at the port entrance to let us out, it turned north, stopping in a parking lot about a 10-minute walk from the port entrance. So the walk from the shuttle bus stop to the train station was 20 minutes instead of 10. Although I’d allowed an hour to get to the train station, we missed our train. If you plan on taking a train, I’d advise leaving 90 minutes beforehand, especially if you’re leaving in the morning rush.

 

Despite the delays, going by train is the way to go—it’s comfortable, reliable, and faster than driving. We took an express train back, and the trip was just 45 minutes.

 

So, we arrived in Rome an hour late, but we had no problem getting into St. Peter’s square, and we only missed the first 10 minutes of the pope’s service.

 

After the service, we walked through Piazza Navona and had lunch at one of the cafes facing the Pantheon. Then we walked over to see the Trevi Fountain being renovated. We spent the rest of the afternoon tracking down some churches we hadn’t seen in the Quirinale area. We first tried San Carlo alle Quattre Fontaine, but it was closed for renovations. After walking through the Quirinale Gardens, wetried Santa Maria della Vittoria, but it was closed in the early afternoon. At this point (it was a warm day, high in the low 80s), we walked down to Piazza Repubblica for a café break—a very pleasant half hour—and then tried Basilica di Santa Maria degli Angeli e dei Martiri, which faces Piazza Repubblica. Here we hit gold. While it looks nondescript from the outside, inside it’s a huge, gorgeous church converted from the Baths of Diocletian by Michelangelo. It also has a meridian line with a calendar set by a pinhole light in a wall. The weird thing was it wasn’t mentioned in either of our guidebooks, and I have no idea how I learned about it and marked it on my map! Truly a hidden gem. We promised ourselves that, on our next visit to Rome, we’re going to continue to seek out its “hidden treasure” churches.

 

Despite going at a relaxed pace, we were exhausted by the time we got back to the ship. We ate dinner in the dining room, then sat on one of the upper levels of the Piazza to listen to the string quartet before turning in early.

[Suskies]

DH had never seen Pompeii or Capri, so we booked the Princess shore excursion to Pompeii, Sorrento, and Capri. The tour groups met in the Princess Theatre at 7 AM, so we had to set our alarm for 5:45 to get dressed, get breakfast, and be there on time. (The earliest time listed on the room service card is 6:30-7, which would have been too late. A passenger told us later, however, that we could have written an earlier time on the card…and also written on the card anything special we wanted to eat.) It was another beautiful warm day, with highs around 80.

 

Our tickets cautioned that the tour might operate in reverse order, and it did. We first walked from the ship to the jet boat to Capri, which was like a ferry. We had headsets for the entire day that the guide used to give us logistical info as well as sightseeing info. The farther away we were, the harder the guide was to hear and understand, so I tried to stay close to him. At Capri, we took the funicular and waited at the top because our group did not all get on the same funicular. Our guide then took us on a short walking tour over to the Gardens of Augustus, and then we had about half an hour free before he met us at the top of the funicular to get us back down. Tip: In the piazza at the top of the funicular, there is a booth selling lemon ice with fresh orange juice. It’s 5 euros, but treat yourself! He squeezes the oranges into the lemon ice right in front of you, and it’s delicious. At the bottom of the funicular, we boarded a ferry and again waited for the rest of our group to come down the next funicular.

 

Once we arrived in Sorrento, we had a short (5-minute) bus ride up the cliff to the town, and then a 5-minute walk to the restaurant where we had lunch: manicotti, a plate with a slice of chicken, peas, and potatoes, and lemon cake for dessert. After lunch our guide walked us to a store featuring intarsia pieces, and we had about 15-20 minutes free. DH and I walked around to other shops, and I bought some dry pasta as a souvenir.

 

Then we boarded a motorcoach for a 45-minute drive to Pompeii, which had some spectacular views of the coastline. At Pompeii we had the requisite cameo factory demonstration (I remember one from my last visit to Pompeii 40 years ago!) and then we had our tour of the ruins, which lasted about 75 minutes and was excellent. Of course everyone was tired by this point, but on the positive side the ruins weren’t crowded and it was getting cooler. Then another pause at the cameo factory area for rest rooms, refreshments, and souvenirs and then our drive back to the ship. We arrived closer to 6 PM than the advertised 5:30.

 

While it was a great day—we saw so much—it was also a reminder why DH and I do things more on our own. Our guide was incredibly patient and kind, but on such a fast-paced tour, one can’t help but feel herded about. We felt we never had time to really enjoy what we were seeing and experiencing. There was also the inevitable hurry-up-and-wait, such as waiting at the end of the funiculars for the rest of the group to come down and at the end of lunch for the table that hadn’t been served their coffee on time. If you want something slower-paced at this port, it would be easy to take the jetboat over to Capri and back on your own—the jetboat dock is right next to the cruise ship pier.

 

By the time we got back to the ship, after three full days we were exhausted. After showers, we found that the dining rooms had a wait for anyone without a reservation, so we ate again on the Lido deck. Then, once again, we sat on one of the Piazza’s upper levels listening to the string quartet before heading to bed at 9 PM. Clocks went ahead one hour as the ship sailed for Greece.

[Suskies]

After the last three days, it was heavenly to sleep in. I slept until 8 AM, then headed to the Lido deck for coffee and to check my e-mail until DH got up around 10. Apparently everyone else on the ship slept in; I saw scarcely anyone til 9 AM. We had a late breakfast on the Lido deck and then went to Crooners, the lounge at the top of the atrium, to read—lovely until the martini demonstration started in the Piazza. Then we got lunch on the Lido and ate outside by the pool before heading back to our cabin for a nap. Today the high was in the low 70s, so the pool area was not too busy or crowded—we had no problem finding a table.

 

Second impressions of the ship: It’s beautiful, and it’s big! But it generally doesn’t feel crowded. Because the layout is a bit different from other ships, several times we headed off in the wrong direction, and it can be a long walk back. By this point I figured out the Lido layout: From front to back, there are first the burger and pizza places, then the pool, then the soft ice cream place. Then comes the Horizon Bistro area in creamy colors with a somewhat limited menu. Then the Pastry Shop, with desserts. Then the Horizon Café, decorated with more browns, at the back of the ship, with more elaborate dishes. There are two aisles, each with different food, plus a short aisle connecting them where you can find all-you-can-eat shrimp cocktail at night. Then finally there’s the Horizon Terrace, covered and open air, out back. So it can take some time to explore all the different food options on the Lido and decide what you want.

 

The skywalks are cool—we detoured to walk on them whenever we walked through the pool area. I didn’t take time to study this carefully, but my impression was that, from the skywalks, one could see at least part of the balconies of maybe 20% of the ship’s cabins. If you want complete privacy on your balcony, get a cabin fore or aft.

 

Another thing I noticed: the Lido deck balconies have a considerable overhang from the Sky deck above. That might affect how shady those balconies are.

 

Another cool thing about the pool area is that in the evening it is lit with different colors of lights. Sometimes they were pink, sometimes blue, sometimes yellow. Pretty!

 

Tip: Avoid the central elevators. We met two passengers who said the captain had told them that the lack of stairs in the center of the ship is THE major design flaw of the Regal, and future Princess ships will again have a center stairway. Because there are no central stairs (beyond Decks 5-7), the central elevators generally busier than the others. Plus, as others have pointed out, the central elevators not all wired together, and you have to push four different buttons to summon them all. As a result, the elevators often stop when no one wants them anymore. So if you want an express rather than local ride, head for the elevators fore or aft. Also, when you come back on board from a port day, the elevators at the ship entrance will be swamped; walk up a flight or two of stairs to Decks 5 or 6 and take the elevators at the other end.

 

Another tip: Crooners is almost always quiet and empty—because the Piazza often has entertainment, it’s rare for Crooners to have its own live entertainment, even in the evenings. Pianists are usually in the Piazza or at the Wheelhouse Bar outside the Crown Grill restaurant.

 

Yet another tip: Food at the atrium restaurants, except the seafood bar and gelato place, is free, but you have to pay for any beverage other than water. Free coffee, tea, iced tea, and lemonade (and, on request, milk and OJ) are available only on the Lido deck (and in the dining rooms).

 

For this cruise we made an unprecedented decision. We knew that, with such a busy itinerary, on this cruise the ship would be more a floating hotel than a destination of its own—we’d eat dinner, go to bed, and get up and go off and see more stuff. So we decided not to pack any formal clothes and eat on the Lido deck on formal nights. The Princess Patter now states that guests should wear formal attire in the dining rooms; it no longer says formal attire need be worn throughout the public areas of the ship.

 

We had prime rib in Horizon Café, then went downstairs and played Scrabble in the hallway outside Princess Live. A short set of Abba songs played in the Piazza, and there were easily a hundred couples dancing—more than we’ve ever seen dance on any Princess cruise. Moving more entertainment to the Piazza was a smart idea.

[Suskies]

Overnight I felt the ship shudder a bit, which reminded me that, so far, the water had been remarkably smooth. The ship is the quietest and smoothest we’ve ever been on—we didn’t even feel the thrusters when the ship docks.

 

This morning, however, there were white caps when I woke up. I could see us passing along a coastline in the dark, and when I went up to get coffee, it was really windy around the pool. Because of the dark, I couldn’t see what was happening, but around 7:30 the captain came on and announced that the stop at Mykonos was being cancelled because the high winds made it unsafe to dock. So we had an extra day at sea. The crew scrambled to come up with some extra activities. Mostly, however, I saw a lot of people reading on their Kindles. We spent the morning reading at Crooners, then had lunch at Alfredo’s, the upscale pizzeria in the atrium. The pizzas were great!

 

The upsides to missing Mykonos were (1) we got more rest and (2) we went through the Dardanelles in late afternoon rather than overnight. We watched the shoreline and other ships from our balcony for a while, then when it got too windy and cool, we moved up to the Lido deck.

 

We ate dinner in one of the dining rooms. We’re learning that, if you want a table for 2 in an anytime room, you need to come early or have a reservation. We’ve also found that desserts on the Lido deck are better than those in the dining rooms (better selection), so we’ve been skipping dessert in the dining room and instead getting something in Horizon Bistro or the International Café.

 

Overall the food has been good, not great (fresh fruit is good, not great, for example), but I keep reminding myself that the kitchens are preparing meals for 3600 passengers—given that, the food is remarkably good. The presentation is beautiful—every dish looks like a work of art.

 

This evening we saw the show in the Princess Theatre: Jesse Hamilton, one of the ship’s singers, who was really good. We didn’t go to many shows, partly because we’re not big on production shows and partly because the shows we wanted to see have been standing-room-only by the time we got there. So we came early to Jesse’s show and, of course, this show didn’t fill! Tonight was supposed to be a Beatlemaniac show, but they were supposed to board in Mykonos. They boarded in Istanbul and we heard them the following night.

[Suskies]

We had never been to Istanbul, and DH had never been to the Middle East. Istanbul was so different from anything else we’d seen that we decided we didn’t want to do a tour—we wanted to wander around and soak up the atmosphere. So we decided to take the ship’s shuttle to the Grand Bazaar, try to get into the Blue Mosque if the lines weren’t too long, then walk around the Sultanahmet district. The tram would have been cheaper but we didn’t know how crowded it would be at rush hour. Also, it would have required Turkish lira, and we didn’t know how hard it would be to find an ATM at the port. (As it turned out, we walked right past an ATM.) The ship docked at 8 AM, and we left our cabin promptly at 8 to get on the first shuttle at 8:30 AM to beat the lines at the Blue Mosque. It was cloudy all day, with a high in the 60s—perfect for walking.

 

We didn’t beat the lines—they were huge when we arrived around 9 AM, including many tour groups—so we decided to skip the Blue Mosque and try instead to get into some of the other historic mosques. We walked around the park between Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque, then walked through the neighborhood behind them. We walked through the lobby of the Four Seasons hotel, which you’d never guess was the prison in Midnight Run. Then we walked up Divan Yolu (the main street). The Grand Bazaar was closed because it was Sunday, and many/most shops around it were closed on Sunday morning. On some streets, every shop was open, but on others, they were all closed. The ones that were open were almost all cheap clothes and souvenirs. The salespeople were assertive and persistent but not enough to really anger us. The first mosque we tried—Beyazit—was closed for renovations. We stopped at a sidewalk café for coffee and simit (basically a cross between a soft pretzel and a sesame bagel) then walked down to Sultanahmet mosque, which we could enter with no line at all. It doesn’t have much tile work, but it still stunning—about the size of the Blue Mosque and beautiful. There was a good exhibit in English explaining Islam.

 

Then we walked back to Divan Yolu for lunch at Amedros, which we found through Trip Advisor. It was wonderful—more upscale than most of the restaurants we saw—one of the best meals of the cruise. I had chicken kebabs (real chicken, not the meatballs) and DH had chicken with rice seasoned with cinnamon, apricots, raisins, almonds, and honey. We received complementary liqueurs with our bill.

 

During the morning we learned that Istanbul has some pretty steep hills. Our tentative plan had been to go to the Egyptian Bazaar and some mosques near it in the afternoon, but now we saw that we’d have a steep, long climb to get back to the shuttle meeting point (or take a tram back to the pier). We decided instead to end our visit and go back to the ship. It was good to return relaxed and fulfilled rather than exhausted. Instead of pushing ourselves on this stop, we want to come back to Istanbul and see more.

 

When we got back to the ship, we sat on our balcony for a while and enjoyed the incredible view. We had an odd-numbered cabin that looked south. We could see the Sultanahmet district, including Topkapi Palace, Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, Sultanahmet Mosque, the New Mosque, and Galata Bridge, as well as the Asia side of Istanbul and south to the Sea of Marmora, plus all the activity in the harbor (tankers, ferries, tour boats). We saw one of the small Princess ships pass by on its way to the Black Sea.

 

We didn’t have much time before the Beatles trivia game, so we ate in the Lido again, and then DH won the Beatles trivia game (over teams of Brits!!!). Then we went to one of the upper levels of the Atrium until the second Beatles tribute show. Our evenings have settled into a pattern: We either listen to the music in the Atrium or play Scrabble in the hallway outside the Princess Live theater or Wheelhouse Bar, where there’s often piano music. We didn’t have paper or pencil the first time we played Scrabble on board, so we played just for fun, and we enjoyed it so much that’s how we kept playing it throughout the cruise.

[Suskies]

In the interest of pacing ourselves, we had decided not to take any tours or shore excursions at this port, instead walking a bit around Kusadasi and then relaxing on the ship. We did some laundry as soon as we got up, then relaxed with our Kindles in Crooners. The weather was perfect, and after the ship docked and the tour groups went ashore, we had a lovely lunch on the open Horizon Terrace at the back of the Lido deck. Then we went ashore to walk through the bazaar area. It was nicer than what we saw of the bazaar area in Istanbul—cleaner and a bit more upscale—but the shops were mostly the same mix of souvenirs and knock-off sneakers and “leather” handbags. We found the outskirts of the bazaar more interesting; here we saw some supermarkets and other shops geared toward locals. The cafes, interestingly, didn’t provide English translations of their menus. We didn’t see anything we wanted to spend our remaining Turkish Lira on, so we’ll save it for another trip.

 

In the evening we continued our pattern of eating in the dining room but getting dessert later on the Lido deck. The dining room dessert selection is limited; beyond the “always available” items, ice creams, and a sugar-free choice, there are just two choices, while the Lido typically has half a dozen or more choices. Desserts tend toward the mousse/whipped cream variety. If there are cake layers, they’re often soaked with some kind of syrup. After dinner, we continued our pattern of listening to the dance music in the Atrium, going to a trivia game, and playing Scrabble near the Wheelhouse.

 

After over a week on board, I was starting to feel I knew my way around but still sometimes making mistakes. Once I headed to the Princess Theater but ended up at the Vista Lounge at the other end of the ship. Another time, I tried to get to the fore elevators on Deck 5 before dead-ending in the Passenger Services area and remembering Deck 5 doesn’t go all the way through.

[Suskies]

The captain explained that we couldn’t dock in Pireaus until 9 AM because ferries have priority during rush hour. We had never been to Greece, so we took the “Acropolis and Time On Your Own in the Plaka” shore excursion. I marked on a map the sights around the Plaka that we might want to see. (My Maps.me app didn’t work well in Athens because it was all in, um, Greek.)

 

We’ve had magic days on this cruise, and this was one of them. It didn’t feel that way at the beginning, when our bus was crawling through rush hour traffic, or when we were one of what looked like 100 bus loads of tourists all trudging up to the Acropolis. But the sight of the Parthenon close up is astounding (one of those “I can’t believe I’m here” moments) and worth the crowds (which started to thin out anyway). The tour cautions that the climb is 80 steps. The climb actually isn’t bad; it’s spread out over several walks, and with the crowds the climb is slow. A greater concern is that much of the walk and steps are marble that have been worn very smooth and slippery over the past 100 years. Definitely wear rubber-soled shoes!

 

After the Acropolis, we had a brief bus tour, including two drives past the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with the soldiers in Greek uniform. Then we had about two hours free in the Plaka district. By this point it was about 2 PM and we were more than ready for lunch. We found a lovely tree-shaded restaurant in Plateia Lysikratous and had a wonderful, leisurely, delicious, romantic lunch. Afterwards we simply walked around the charming Plaka streets until it was time to reboard the bus.

 

Our cabin balcony had a marvelous view of Piraeus and Athens beyond (although the Acropolis was hidden by hills in Piraeus). We watched other cruise ships and ferries leaving before watching our own sailaway. Then we had dinner and saw the Princess Theatre show: Ria Jones, who sang show tunes and pop standards. She was terrific—a real pro who commanded the stage. Then up to the Lido for dessert before turning in.

[Suskies]

Today was our idea of a perfect, relaxing day at sea. We started our last at-sea day with a quiet, leisurely breakfast in one of the dining rooms. The dining room wasn’t very full, and the staff was super-attentive. Unlike at dinner, portions were huge—enormous bowl of oatmeal and about a dozen strips of bacon with my eggs. Then we spent the morning relaxing in the Piazza, first checking e-mail and then reading. It’s such a pleasant place! We spent so much time there on this cruise. There’s always something going on, mostly a piano, string quartet, or what we call a “swing and sway” dance music combo. We both planned to see a movie, but the Piazza is so pleasant we just stayed there. We ate lunch in the dining room again—it’s open for lunch only on at-sea days. We then tried Club 6 as another quiet reading spot, but we could hear the ping-ping-pings of the casino next door plus there was a passenger selling insurance (!!!) to a fellow passenger.

 

In the evening we ate in the Horizon Court (formal night, and we didn’t pack formal clothes), then we played more Scrabble (in the library that same passenger was selling insurance again—on formal night!!!), played the music trivia game (great fun!) and went to see “comic” Josh Daniels in the Vista Lounge—really funny!

[Suskies]

Today was another magical day! The previous morning was so nice that we repeated it today: breakfast in the dining room, followed by checking e-mail and reading in the Piazza. Then in late morning we went back to our cabin to watch the sail-in to Venice down the Guidecca Canal. Even though it was cloudy and hazy, the sail-in was spectacular! We ordered room service lunch and ate while we watch the Doge’s Palace and the Grand Canal drift by. (The ship went very slowly.) It’s a sight you can’t seem from anywhere but a cruise ship. We were really glad we got an odd-numbered (starboard) cabin on one of the higher decks.

 

Overall, which side of the ship had the best views on this itinerary? We had an odd-numbered (starboard) cabin, and here’s what we saw:

Barcelona: Out to sea

Toulon: The port (La Seyne-sur-Mer), not across the bay to Toulon

Livorno: Out to sea

Civitavecchia: The port

Naples: The ship dock is perpendicular to the coast, so both sides have a view of Naples.

Istanbul: Incredible view—see description under Istanbul port above

Kusadasi: The ship dock is perpendicular to the coast, so both sides have a view of Kusadasi.

Piraeus: The city and the passenger-vessel piers, with some of Athens in the distance

Venice: Sail-in past San Marco (once docked, the view was to the mainland; the other side had the view toward Venice, but the Grand Canal is about a mile away, so the view is not overwhelming)

 

Once the ship docked, we went ashore, first to see what disembarkation would be like the following morning for independent travelers. If you are not using Princess transportation, there is a about a ¼ mile walk from the ship to a “People Mover” overhead tram that takes you another quarter mile to Piazzele Roma for 1.30 euros. I couldn’t see a way to walk this short distance. From there, unless you’re leaving the city by bus, everywhere you go involves humping your luggage over stepped bridges. There are porters who will haul your luggage for you.

 

After we saw all this, we simply started walking around Venice. We had already been to Venice, so we started by seeking out some campos (piazzas) and churches we hadn’t seen before. Eventually we made our way to Rialto, the walk becoming more touristy as we went, and from there to Piazza San Marco. We took our time, stopping at some of the campos to sit on a bench and getting a snack at a café. Everytime you cross a canal, there’s an incredibly beautiful picture. Eventually we made our way back to Piazzele Roma, then back on the People Mover, and back to the ship.

 

By this point we were exhausted, so we had a quick dinner in the dining room, then packed and collapsed into bed. I returned our Scrabble game to the library—and again got lost—I was on the wrong floor—12 days and I still hadn’t learned the layout! I did run up to the Lido to grab dessert and finally saw the fountain show—it had always been scheduled late or when something else was going on. It’s pretty but nothing special—I’ve seen fountains in public parks that do more.

[Suskies]

We booked our own hotel: the Antiche Figure, across from the train station, because it was close enough to the port and bus station that we thought we’d be able to handle our luggage ourselves. And we did! After one last breakfast in the dining room, we waited in Crooners until it was time to head to the Princess Theatre and disembark. We collected our luggage and headed to the PeopleMover, then from Piazzale Roma walked to the hotel. There were two small bridges and DH carried our two big pieces over them. When we checked in, our rooms were not yet ready, so we headed out. The hotel was great, but the typically small rooms made us appreciate our ship mini-suite even more!

 

We had researched various ticket packages on VeneziaUnica (http://www.veneziaunica.it/en). We pre-purchased the Chorus Pass, which gets you into about 15 churches, a 3-day vaporetto pass, and a bus to the airport on Monday morning. We now went to the nearest vaporetto stop, got our vaporetto pass, and hopped onto a vaporetto for a trip down the Grand Canal. We got off at San Marco and headed to San Zaccharia church, then ate lunch at a waterfront café looking over one of the world’s great views. Then we took a vaporetto to see our first Chorus Pass church, then another one back to our hotel. After a nap, we had dinner at a restaurant recommended by our hotel, then took another vaporetto down the Grand Canal and back to see it at night.

[Suskies]

We stayed in Venice until Monday, because flights home on Monday used far fewer frequent flier miles—enough to more than pay for the extra nights in Venice. (All our friends sympathized with us: “You poor things! Had to stay in Venice a couple of extra days!”) On Saturday, we focused on seeing Chorus Pass and free churches, because many were closed on Sunday. They were all amazing, both in terms of architecture and the art within. Our favorites were Santa Maria dei Miracoli, for its amazing marble work, and San Sebastiano, for its jaw-dropping Veronese paintings. We would recommend the Chorus Pass to anyone—it’s great seeing the art in the environment for which it was designed, the churches aren’t crowded because of the admissions fee, and the pews are a great place to sit and rest for a few moments. Getting around was half the fun—we learned the vaporetto system (think subway system on water) and saw a lot of parts of Venice off the (literally) beaten path. It was great going at our own pace—we stopped for a snack in a campo overlooking one of the churches and had lunch at a pizza place in Cannareggio over looking San Michele island. We ended back at the hotel for a short nap before a great dinner at another restaurant near the hotel.

 

On Sunday—the last day of this amazing trip—we wanted to take things easy. After a leisurely breakfast at our hotel, we decided to see Burano, which our guidebook described as incredibly picturesque. The trip took quite a while—we had to take two different vaporetto lines—but was worth it. We’ve never been in a place more charming. The houses are all painted different, bright colors. We had another leisurely meal—lunch with fish that the server assured us was swimming in the lagoon that morning. Then we walked around the side streets before taking two more vaporetti back to our hotel to rest and pack. The weather was perfect, by the way.

 

For our last dinner, we ate at the same place we ate the night before, but this time at a table overlooking the Grand Canal. Truly a romantic end to a lovely vacation!

 

A word about the vaporetti: While they are a great way to get around, they are crowded, slow, and, if the temperature is over 65, hot (as are the shelters at the vaporetto stops). They are not air conditioned, and most have maybe 4-6 outdoor seats. We thought the lines ringing the island would be less crowded than those going down the Grand Canal, but the boats are smaller so they’re just as crowded. So you may be ready for a shower when you get off!

[Suskies]

We pre-purchased Aerobus tickets from Piazzelle Roma to Marco Polo airport with our 72-hour vaporetto pass. When we arrived in Venice, we learned that there are TWO Aerobuses: ACTV and ATVO. We figured out which one we had tickets for, and got up at 3:45 AM to make the first bus at 4:35 and from there make our 6:45 AM flight to Frankfurt. We learned that business class on Lufthansa consists of the same seats used in Economy, but the middle seats are left unoccupied. At Frankfurt we had a layover of several hours in the business lounge because our flight to the US was delayed, but then it was smooth sailing (so to speak) home to the US.

 

Overall, this was the best vacation we’ve ever had—truly the trip of a lifetime. DH took over 700 photos! The things we saw and did were amazing (sorry I’ve used that word so much, but I can’t think of a good synonym), and the lovely Regal Princess was the icing on the cake. After 34 years of cruising, this is the only cruise that I’d want to repeat port for port, because there is so much to see and do at each port.

 

Also, this cruise had the nicest people we've ever encountered on a cruise. On past cruises we've met too many people complaining about the food, lines, whatever. On the Regal everyone we met said they were having a wonderful time and enjoying the trip.

 

My main advice for this itinerary would be don’t try to see everything, because you can’t, and you’ll kill yourselves trying. Pick and choose a few things that especially interest you, and include plenty of time to relax and simply enjoy where you are, be it on the ship or an amazing (there’s that word again) port.

 

My other advice is use these boards! The people posting here are a wealth of information. The more research and planning you do, the more you'll get out of a vacation like this.

 

I’d be happy to answer any questions if I can.

[homeinboca]

I just read your whole review from beginning to end and enjoyed it tremendously. It truly is the trip of a lifetime and brought back great memories of our trip last summer on this very same itinerary on the Royal. I could do this trip again in a heartbeat! Thanks!

 

Ron

[Bostonjetset]

Great review and so detailed! Thanks for taking the time!

I'm glad you had a wonderful trip. Europe is always a special place to visit.

 

We are taking the Regal in the Caribbean this March so you have whetted my appetite for the ship. It is our first time on Princess.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Fantastic review! Really enjoyed reading it and you gave some great tips. I look forward to hitting these same ports one day when DH has enough vacation time to take off for that long. Thanks for the review!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great review! Thank you!

 

We did this exact itinerary on the Royal Princess last year and guess what, we missed Mykynos too due to high winds. Our trip was with DD, SIL and two little granddaughters, and to see it through their eyes was once in a lifetime for us as well, even though we had been to most of the ports previously.

Edited October 22, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[searoses]

Great trip report....have this itinerary booked for next fall on the island...have 11 mo to get in shape for all that walking!..... thank you for taking the time....

[Sea Day Cruiser]

Wonderful review. Thank you for writing such a detailed one.

 

 

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