Regal Princess Review B2B Nov 2014

[JerryinBWB]

Two slightly different cruises B2B on the Regal Princess----some thoughts and observations. We did a lot, but I won't comment on all unless someone has a question. I will be happy to answer any questions.

 

My wife and I did the 3-day Inaugural Caribbean cruise on the Regal Princess, then stayed on for a 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise. We had done the Inaugural 5-day Caribbean cruise on the Royal Princess in 2013. The ships are obviously very similar. The cruise experience may vary. The 3-day cruise turned out to be the best. The 5-day cruise last year was a close second, and the 7-day cruise was the least fun, but also very good.

 

The Caveat: After almost 30 cruises on six different cruise lines, it is clear to me that different people have very different opinions about food, service, entertainment-----just about anything and everything remotely related to the cruise experience. So my comments are my own, and may (probably do) differ from others who may have even been on the same cruises.

 

The Boarding Process: My wife and I were onboard, in our cabin, had our luggage, were completely unpacked, and ready to go "adventuring" by Noon. This may be a new record for us. So, yes. The process was smooth and efficient for us.

 

Piazza: I think most folks agree that it is great. Lots of options on three decks. It is spacious, a great place to meet folks, to relax, to have drinks, or to eat. Some days I thought the temperature could have been a bit cooler.

 

The Aft Pool. Well, it is really just slightly larger than a large hot tub. But it does provide an aft pool option which is an good thing. There are many other chaise lounge/chair and table options nearby as well as a bar. So, yes, it is an improvement over the Royal.

 

Food: The expanded Horizon Court is dramatically better than Horizon Courts on other Princess ships other than Royal. There is much more "room to maneuver" and many more food choices. The various International foods were great overall. There will always be some items a person does not care for, and some to be loved, but no one should go hungry on the ship --- even if you only eat in the Horizon Court.

This trip the dining options included Crab Shack, Wine and Fondue Dinner, and lots of chocolate-related options. They were all good. You will have to decide if they are worth the additional charge (Crab Shack and Fondue). We did the Wine Makers Dinner, but did not do Crab and Fondue.

This trip we did Anytime Dining and only ate there on Formal Nights. We never had to wait to be seated, and always enjoyed our table mates. This may not have been the case for others. The food was quite good, some things better than others. The service was quite adequate. The temperature was too hot.

Alfredo's keeps getting better and better and is well-positioned on the Piazza. The lines do get long at lunch time.

The Wine Maker's Dinner was an enjoyable event for twelve of us. The setting seems nicer than the Chef's Table setting. The food was quite good. The wine seemed to be good and never ending. We had twelve very nice people which always makes things better.

Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar is on the Piazza, and is really very good if you are a sushi fan. You have several options for sushi and other related food, and the drinks come from the Crooners' Bar next door. One sushi platter ($20) is certainly adequate for two people to share. We enjoyed it.

Much has been written about Sabbatinis and Crown Grill. I have nothing new to add. We enjoy them on some cruises - when we are in the right mood, I guess. We did neither on this trip, but heard positives about Crown Grill.

 

Cabin Choice: We had a Deluxe Balcony Cabin, but also visited numerous other cabins on a cabin crawl. The Sideways Insides looked pretty neat--if you like inside cabins. The layout looks bigger. Not sure they are bigger, but they are efficiently laid out. If you get a Deluxe Balcony you get a sofa, but you sacrifice tabletop space. Balconies? There are very nice sized regular and deluxe balconies, but you need to select your cabin carefully. The Aft Deluxe balcony we visited had a very much larger balcony; very nice. We asked about soot--they said they had not had a problem. Who knows? It may depend on ship's speed and direction and wind and ???? Our Deluxe Balcony had a very small balcony as compared to other Princess ships we have been on. For my taste, too small. However, we visited two other Deluxe Balconies, one near mid-ship where the balcony shape is different and therefore quite adequate --- plus a well placed Deluxe Balcony Obstructed which had virtually no obstruction whatsoever, and a larger balcony. So my advice is do your research, look at Deck Plans, check with various folks who have had balconies and you can find a balcony that will be just as satisfactory as those balconies we were used to on other Princess ships. We think we might actually prefer the regular balcony cabin to the Deluxe -- sacrificing the sofa for more table top space, particularly if the actual balcony is larger. The same seems to be true of Mini-suites. You get the larger bathroom with the tub, so larger shower area. You get the larger sofa, but you need to carefully select the cabin to get a larger balcony.

 

Onboard entertainment: There was a difference between entertainment on the 3-day and 7-day cruises; even in some cases where the same entertainers were involved. My guess is that the demographics were different on the two cruises, but maybe the differences were Cruise Director decisions, or something else. The 3-day seemed to have more young professionals and fewer retirees. The very good band on the 3-day played sets in the Piazza, and the younger crowd danced happily. That created a certain, and good, atmosphere throughout the Piazza. The older crowd complained that they had less opportunity for cha-cha, waltz, and tango. On the 7-day, that same very good band played in the Vista Lounge while a different group played in the Piazza and was certainly geared to the older crowd. The atmosphere was very different. This is neither praise nor criticism, merely a reminder that cruises -- even on the same ship -- can be very different. Last year's 5-day cruise was over Halloween, for example, and many people came in the spirit, wore costumes, and stayed up late dancing. A very good and lively band was in the Piazza on that cruise, too, and the lively atmosphere carried throughout.

There was other entertainment on the 3-day cruise that was only on board for that cruise. They included a rock violinist, Jane Cho and a singer, Michael Falzon; both very much superior (my opinion) to most of the singers and musicians on the 7-day.

The show Fiera, in the Princess Theatre was new, I believe, and is very, very good; better than any Princess show in recent memory. Once again I will say that the singers and dancers can change. We saw a show on last year's Royal Inaugural Caribbean that was very, very good. We saw it again on a subsequent cruise with different lead singers--it was much less good.

The Original Love Boat cast was onboard for the 3-day cruise, was out and about, did a round table discussion, etc, so that was "entertainment" that will probably never be repeated. Charo's appearance was fun, I think for folks of all ages. She is quite the guitarist.

Other entertainment varies, as you know. And I am not sure if anyone picks a cruise based on onboard entertainers??? One comedian may be very funny; one may be terrible. The String Quartet was good, but not great. We had a different String Quartet two months ago on Ruby Princess that we preferred. Tom Franek played in Crooners' Lounge and is very talented; has quite a repertoire, but his midnight to 1:00 AM or later show may have been too late for some folks. Other piano players had less "pep." It really depends on what you like. Generally, the shortened 30-45 minute shows in Princess Theatre are just OK for me, seldom really good. Fiera and Celebration are exceptions. They are a bit "fresher." But I think it is true that the Princess Theatres on Royal and Regal provide a modern venue with excellent lighting, sound, set variations, and stage options. I would love to see longer, perhaps even Broadway, shows on Princess, but there is no indication that might happen.

 

Enclave: We used the Enclave in the Spa every day on the 7-day cruise. It is a great experience, in my view. The new no-key locker system is an upgrade from other Princess Thermal Suites. The additional pool in the center of the Enclave is a nice addition. There are pros and cons associated with having the Fitness Center up on Deck 17 aft and the Lotus Spa (and Enclave) on Deck 5 forward. If you go from Fitness Center to Enclave, you have quite a hike. But the Fitness Center, while not large, is well equipped, and the Enclave is very nice.

 

Club 6: Elite/Platinum evening get-together was in Club 6. It is, I believe, such an elongated and narrow lounge that seating was often difficult to find or did not really facilitate conversations/meeting very many new friends. The food, service, etc were all good as usual for these sessions, but the lounge is poorly shaped for this event

 

Overall Facilities: it seemed that many, make that MANY, public access toilets were clogged up or flooded (mostly in ladies bathrooms, but not always). I suppose this can happen on any ship. We had never seen it so common as on this cruise. A worker told me (who knows how accurate his info might be) that the toilet drains are too small and therefore clog easily.

Our cabin steward asked us to conserve towels, if possible, because the laundry was not running at normal output and could not be repaired until the ship returned to Ft. Lauderdale. Our laundry was an extra day late returning-allegedly because of this problem. We did see more small problems on this ship than we have noticed before. The door to our refrigerator uses a magnet to stay closed. It had never been installed in our cabin. It was no big deal and was quickly installed when we mentioned it to our cabin steward. There was a loose glass enclosure in the Enclave, as well as some loose light strings. None of these things was a big deal, but it appeared, at least, that the final checks in the Summer had missed a few things. Maybe just coincidence that we saw them all.

 

The "elevator situation" ----- much has been said about the elevators on Royal and Regal. I have two thoughts. First, it is really not that big a deal, one can manage, but second, the "traffic flows" do seem more challenging than on other ships. Not normally one to be "lost," I actually did have more trouble staying oriented and getting where I wanted go on this ship than on other Princess ships. Maybe it was just me.

 

Disembarkation: never seems to be fun, but the ship docked about 6:00 AM, maybe slightly before, and we were driving out of the parking garage just after 7:00, so not too bad. I think we beat the long waits at the elevators that others may have experienced. Immigration checks seemed to be pretty efficient.

 

The bottom line is that you can have a wonderful cruise experience on Regal Princess, just as on any ship. It is not the same as other Princess ships. It is better in many respects, perhaps not so good in others. The ship, the passengers, the itinerary all make a difference.

 

A final observation (probably of no consequence)--we were on the largest ship in the Princess fleet, but were docked in St. Maarten next to Allure of the Seas. The Regal looked downright small in comparison.

 

Any questions? I will try to answer. I do not want to ramble on any more.

Edited November 17, 2014 by JerryinBWB

[paul929207]

Thanks for taking the time to post

[SOLIVITA LADY]

Thanks for posting. We will be on Regal in April and were on Royal last year. We enjoyed the Royal so should like the Regal.

 

Jackie

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

[CruisinFinsUp]

Thanks for the review!

 

Do you recall how much you paid for the Enclave please?

 

Thanks!

[Miss L.A.P.]

Thank you so much for your post.

 

We were also on the 3 day inaugural cruise and had a deluxe balcony on the Aloha deck. We really enjoyed seeing the crew of the Love Boat (as well as hearing the ships' horn with the Love Boat theme) and all the little extras on board because of the inauguration festivities.

 

In regards to the deluxe balcony, we decided we were never going back to a regular balcony. Even though the balconies are still pretty small, we truly enjoyed having the couch as an extra seating area.

 

We are looking to book a 10 day on the Royal and will take your advise on doing the research to find a bigger balcony.

[yoyosma]

Great info for my upcoming cruises on Regal in January. Thank you.

[dchip]

Thanks for the review. looking forward to cruising on the Royal again in April.

 

Cheers, Denise

[JerryinBWB]

Thanks for the review!

 

Do you recall how much you paid for the Enclave please?

 

Thanks!

 

The Enclave was $149 for seven days on this cruise.

[JerryinBWB]

Thank you so much for your post.

 

We were also on the 3 day inaugural cruise and had a deluxe balcony on the Aloha deck. We really enjoyed seeing the crew of the Love Boat (as well as hearing the ships' horn with the Love Boat theme) and all the little extras on board because of the inauguration festivities.

 

In regards to the deluxe balcony, we decided we were never going back to a regular balcony. Even though the balconies are still pretty small, we truly enjoyed having the couch as an extra seating area.

 

We are looking to book a 10 day on the Royal and will take your advise on doing the research to find a bigger balcony.

 

I am not sure what we would book next time - - - if we got a great, large balcony cabin for less (not sure what is significant) dollars and could only get a deluxe balcony with small balcony, we might opt for the regular balcony. It would also depend on the itinerary - - and how much and how we planned to use the balcony. You are correct. The couch is very useful. I try to avoid that word "never" because I might actually find a remarkable deal on some cabin I might not otherwise consider---particularly on some last minute offer. ???

[Sanibel*Gal]

Jerry - Thanks so much for posting - we are taking our first cruise on the Regal December 7th so this has been a big help.

 

Andrea

~~~~~~~

[eandj]

Thanks for the thoughts Jerry....

 

I'm curious...One of the reasons I love MDR dining on Princess is that they offer great fish entres- a variety, as well as most nights offering two fish choices. I read the menus might be smaller of Regal. Please tell me that the fish entrees continue to be offered.:o

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Hi Jerry,

 

Sounds like you had a good trip, I was booked on the Regal for TG with the family but had to cancel so now DS and I are doing the CB over TG. I would have enjoyed seeing the changes that they made from the Royal but that will have to wait.

Glad you had fun and always fun to hear your experiences onboard.

Regards to all.

[JerryinBWB]

Thanks for the thoughts Jerry....

 

I'm curious...One of the reasons I love MDR dining on Princess is that they offer great fish entres- a variety, as well as most nights offering two fish choices. I read the menus might be smaller of Regal. Please tell me that the fish entrees continue to be offered.:o

 

Yes, we checked the menus most days; lots of good fish dishes.

[JerryinBWB]

Hi Jerry,

 

Sounds like you had a good trip, I was booked on the Regal for TG with the family but had to cancel so now DS and I are doing the CB over TG. I would have enjoyed seeing the changes that they made from the Royal but that will have to wait.

Glad you had fun and always fun to hear your experiences onboard.

Regards to all.

 

Hi Julia, we haven't seen you guys in a while. Hope all is well with you. Enjoy your TG cruise.

[Mom33]

Thanks for your thoughts on your Regal Cruise.:D

[Topo Gigio]

Are there a lot of the MDR items in the Horizon Court?

[Lanwood]

Thanks for the review. Good read.

Some nice insights of what to expect....

[taxatty]

Thanks for your review! I was also on the 3 day cruise. Princess probably loaded up on the entertainment because of all of the VIPs on board. I agree that the dance band with the male and female vocalists in the Piazza was excellent--probably the best one of its type I've heard on Princess. The only downside to the Regal that I discerned was that it seemed more crowded throughout the ship (especially in the pool area) than any Princess or RCI ship I've been on.

[eandj]

 

Without having to get up at dawn, Am I going to have trouble finding a chaise in the sun? Not necessary to be at a pool, are there other open areas with chairs? Sounds like dh will have trouble finding shaded areas?

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Loonbeam]

On most nights it seemed like at least one or two of the MDR items were on there. It was so spread out, hard to tell, plus some items do not translate well to buffet service..

 

Are there a lot of the MDR items in the Horizon Court?

[taxatty]

Without having to get up at dawn, Am I going to have trouble finding a chaise in the sun? Not necessary to be at a pool, are there other open areas with chairs? Sounds like dh will have trouble finding shaded areas?

The Lido and Sun deck chairs in the shade were almost all fully covered with towels, books or humans by around 9:00 AM. There are lots of tables and chairs other than deck chairs in the shade on Lido. To find a shady deck chair, I had to climb up high to get one that facing the MUTS screen and was in the shade by 10:30 AM due to the wall next to it. Also try the shady side of the Promenade deck for more chairs.

[JerryinBWB]

Thanks for your review! I was also on the 3 day cruise. Princess probably loaded up on the entertainment because of all of the VIPs on board. I agree that the dance band with the male and female vocalists in the Piazza was excellent--probably the best one of its type I've heard on Princess. The only downside to the Regal that I discerned was that it seemed more crowded throughout the ship (especially in the pool area) than any Princess or RCI ship I've been on.

 

Yes, interesting. Some days felt crowded to me, some did not. I'm not sure why, but perhaps the rainy sea day kept more people inside. I remember not feeling crowded on the Royal. Certainly the Piazza area is crowded just after the theatre show is over, for example. Maybe someone else has an explanation.

[JerryinBWB]

Without having to get up at dawn, Am I going to have trouble finding a chaise in the sun? Not necessary to be at a pool, are there other open areas with chairs? Sounds like dh will have trouble finding shaded areas?

 

I suppose it may vary by cruise or even day to day, but I really don't think it will be a big problem. We found lots of space near the aft pool, for example. The sea days will probably be a bigger problem than the port days. We were in Princess Cays twice within a week because we did the B2B, and we did not go ashore one day. Pool space was easy to find that day. See taxatty's response above.

Edited November 18, 2014 by JerryinBWB

[TLC535]

Hey Jerry...Thanks for your thoughts...which concur with ours on the 3 day sailing...we both really enjoyed meeting you & Maria and look forward to "stalking" you in the future ;):D