Princess Regal - Photo Review (11-16-14) + BVE

[Av8tor]

Was the Princess@SeaMessenger app finally working? WE're sailing in a couple of weeks on Regal and hope it works by then.

 

Still haven't seen an "app" available at Google's Play Store, but as of last week there is a message capability on the Regal's Princess@Sea on-board Wi-Fi home page. It's free to use for event schedules, account monitoring and messages, but there is no sound notification of new messages, you just have to check it to see if any have arrived - not so useful in that regard...

[icat2000]

The photos are great. Thanks for the review.

[Av8tor]

Here's the Sanctuary area living up to its mellow and tranquil nature...

 

 

 

Just a minor note so others aren't confused: Those photos are actually of the Retreat Pool (adults only) and Retreat area with poolside cabanas. The Retreat area and pool are free, but there is a charge for the cabanas. The extra cost Sanctuary is just forward of the Retreat pool/area (under the canopies forward of the wind screen).

 

 

Below is a shot of the whirlpool tubs hanging out up over the pool area plus, in the center of the shot, the planked area where, at night, there's a short dancing waters, fountain show to a mix of music. We watched it once. Color water shooting up to music cues. Cute. Not quite the fountain show you see outside the Bellagio in Vegas and it just didn't seem worth sacrificing all that premium top deck space for, in my jaded opinion.

 

 

 

 

I agree that the fountain area was (and still is) just a waste of valuable deck space near the main pool.

 

 

Finally, there is the aft-pool. This is one of those areas that the smokers commandeered.

 

 

 

I also agree that's it's too bad that the nice aft pool area always seems to be commandeered by the smokers.

 

 

 

 

Great review by the way and fantastic photos.

[Mom33]

On our Caribbean cruise on the Royal, the fountain space had many uses.

1. Fountains were used during part of the day for a water play area for children.

2. Part of the day, the fountains were off and additional loungers were added to the deck for sun worshippers. Deck space right by the pool is most important to many.

3. The fountains were lighted and choreographed to music at night.

4. The deck party was on Lido with the fountain deck used as a dance floor.

5. The Princess dancers performed a show on the fountain deck.

 

:D

[Happy2Crews]

Love your photos WinksCruises.....can you tell me what kind of camera you are using and lens? We'll be cruising next month on the Regal, however I'm sure my photos are not going to look anything like yours. Thanks so much for the posts....we have enjoyed them as they add to our excitement. Cheers! :)

[WinksCruises]

can you tell me what kind of camera you are using and lens?

 

Sure. The camera is actually a few years old. The Nikon D90.

 

The fun is in using a wide angle lens.

 

Many of these shots were taken using a Tokina 10-17mm Fisheye lens. The neat thing about this particular lens is it lets you "zoom" from a pronounced fish eye effect to a standard wide angle... so nice range and versatility.

 

Other shots were taken with the standard 18-105mm lens. And some actually came from my wife's iPhone.

 

Enjoy your trip and consider taking a lot of pictures. It's fun!

[AmberTeka]

I check this site twice a day to see if you have posted more pic, Patters or written more of your review.

 

I would say that to get that kind of interest...........your review is going pretty good. And your dear wife is an inspiration to all of us to hit the gym every now and then. Lovely lady!

 

To me, the antication of a cruise is part of the fun. And a great motivation to stay on my diet and get out and walk a bit if I want to hit Alfredo's and the other tantalizing food offered on the Regal.

 

Thanks again. And Ron Goodman was my CD on the Crown once. He is the only CD, in over 25 cruises in the past 10 years that I remember. he was everywhere. On TV. shaking hands when you sat down to see the Theater productions. Smiling. Nice to the max. Once I was on an elevator with him, and he was with the Male Lead Singer. Both of them were shaking our hands, asking us if we were having a good time ( Well, Yeah. Pretty good). He is a genuinely nice man, who really does like people, and he is a credit to Princess and Carnival.

Edited December 7, 2014 by AmberTeka

[edwar2cf]

Is the aft pool area on the Regal designated as a smoking area? If not, would Princess not do anything about it? It looks like a beautiful spot that all should be able to enjoy.

[WinksCruises]

Is the aft pool area on the Regal designated as a smoking area? If not, would Princess not do anything about it? It looks like a beautiful spot that all should be able to enjoy.

 

I agree, it is a prime piece of on board real estate. So it's a surprise that it's also one of the few designated smoking areas. Deck 17. In theory, smoking's only permitted on the starboard side - but there's a cute lounge area situated under the jogging deck and it just naturally became a section where many smokers congregated.

 

Here's Regal's smoking policy:

 

[tequilasunrise]

Don't fret too much about the soot. Chances are, if you weren't aware of it as an issue, you probably wouldn't notice it, he said Pollyannishly. It's not a big deal. The aft facing cabins are a real treat and the balconies are probably the most spacious on the entire ship, so enjoy!

 

Actually, breathing in the soot can cause health issues. I would be judicious about using the balcony. Princess should probably make these cabins into window suites. It is unethical and a bit disturbing that they deny it is an issue when the room stewards have to do extra cleaning because of it. They obviously know. What else are they not telling us? :eek:

[tequilasunrise]

Thanks for the review!

[WinksCruises]

Thanks for all your encouraging comments and kind words. And a special thanks to those of you who have made the effort to correct and/or clarify information about onboard features that I often mischaracterize thanks to a fuzzy recollection.

 

To continue with the review, here’s a hodgepodge of random notes:

 

Just a couple of weeks before our sailing, Princess hosted the US christening of the Regal where cast members of The Love Boat TV show were re-united as part of the festivities. Evidence of their special visit was still apparent throughout the ship. And every time we set sail, the opening bars of the Love Boat theme song were played over the ship’s horns. This was pretty embarrassing when Regal, still docked, would answer the single horn blast of a departing fellow ship's with our ostentatious little ditty. It seems generally out of place and over-the-top when leaving a simple port like St. Maarten’s.

 

The Love Boat... Soon will be making another run...

 

I forgot to mention the Captain’s Circle welcome back coupon book which was sitting in our stateroom the morning we arrived. As many of you on these discussion boards have previously mentioned, the value of the coupon book seems to shrink with each subsequent voyage. Most coupons give you a discount only after you buy something else at full price - and as other astute Cruse Critic members have pointed out, the 10% and 15% savings they offer are generally given by the shops during other onboard promotions during the week anyway – so there’s nothing really generous or special about the coupon book deals.

 

Couponing on the high seas..

 

As suite guests, we had access to the Concierge lounge on Riviera deck, awkwardly situated between the laundry room and the Wedding Chapel (which hosted several weddings - as well as Friends of Bob, Bible Study and other passenger sponsored get togethers). Worse than the fact that Princess still doesn’t seem to know what to do with this lounge, the suite guests don’t seem to know either. I would pop in every now and then during the week to get some ice tea or sneak a cookie, and the room was almost always deserted. Our Concierge, Julianna, was professional and pleasant enough – coming through with flying colors on the few items she helped us with. But the lounge itself seems painfully underused and wasted… when compared to the similar lounges on Royal Caribbean.

 

The underused Concierge Lounge and Julianna its host.

 

One sea day afternoon, the bartenders at the Sky Walk bar hosted a Bar Flair Show where they whirled bottles and mixed drinks to the amusement of the gathered crowd. It wasn’t quite like watching Tom Cruise’s antics in "Cocktail", but not as bad as the bar top dancing you see in "Coyote Ugly" either… landing somewhere in the middle of a spectrum between entertaining and amateurish. But the crew seemed to be having real fun with it.

 

Sky Walk bar antics

 

After 6 days of picture perfect skies, we were blasted by stormy weather and rocky seas as we made our way back to Ft. Lauderdale on the last day. Suddenly, the ship felt crowded for the first time all week and the atrium filled up with antsy guests trying to find indoor diversions to use as procrastination activities to fend off their cruise ending packing chores.

 

Stormy weather on the final day kept all the revelers cooped-up inside.

 

DW took the stormy seas as an opportunity to visit the Future Cruise kiosk, despite our now seemingly dismissed travel strategy to focus on a single cruise line, like Royal Caribbean, whose amenities seem to match best to our needs and likes and where we've built up the most cruise capital. Using the convenient excuse that RCI doesn’t sail a Mexican Riviera itinerary, DW loaded up on West Coast / Hawaii cruise literature and, unbeknownst to me, threw down a Future Cruise Deposit with assurances of “Don’t worry, it’s fully refundable,” when I discovered the charges! She was not alone in her future cruise fever; the director's desk was busy with a line of people cued up throughout that final sea day.

 

Why hello there Cabo San Lucas!

 

Next up... (if you can stands it!) some brief reviews of this itinerary's ports of call.

Edited December 7, 2014 by WinksCruises

[lhall85917]

I am enjoying your review, as I posted earlier, we were also on this sailing. It is interesting to see things from other's experiences.

You mentioned "And every time we set sail, the opening bars of the Love Boat theme song were played over the ship’s horns. This was pretty embarrassing when Regal, still docked, would answer the single horn blast of departing fellow ships with our ostentatious little ditty. It seems generally out of place and over-the-top when leaving a simple port like St. Maarten’s." Our opinion was the opposite - I loved the horn on the ship and from what I could tell, others on other ships did too. While docked, I saw people on their balconies on another ship clap when it played. Even as veteran cruisers, we felt that this is one simple thing that set this ship apart from others.

[Birdie 0229]

Thank you for taking the time to post thoughtful and well-written reviews. You highlight the good and are judicial with your comments about things that were not to your liking. The photos are fantastic. We'll be on the Regal in an aft cabin on the Riviera deck for Christmas week. Enjoy your future cruises. Based on your review and photo, I will be splurging with the chocolate martini at the Wheelhouse.

 

I'm looking forward to the port reviews.

 

Best regards.

Edited December 7, 2014 by Birdie 0229

[Canadian Tyler]

 

In addition to the officers, we took great pleasure in asking the ship photographers to be in our photos, insisting they assume the same ridiculous poses they’re always wrestling us into! They were good sports about it!

 

Harassing the Photographers... What do you think? Worth $24.95 a shot, right?

 

Well heck... we haven't even talked about any of the ports-of-call. But seriously, there's so much happening on the ship, can Maho Beach be anything more than an afterthought at this point? Let us know if you want to step ashore and take a peek at Princess Cays, St. Thomas or St. Maarten... otherwise, it's on to more ship shots. Later...

 

Now that's funny!

 

Would love to hear about the ports. Can I assume there was some madcap hunt for postcards?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Edited December 8, 2014 by Canadian Tyler

[Dawnaurora]

I could see the closest couple decks being at risk of "window peepers", :rolleyes: but below that wouldn't one need to stop on the walk to purposely look to spy on deck sitters? Doubt you could see into those rooms.

 

Yes, 'immediately below' is a couple decks. There is some tinting to the glass doors but it isn't completely effective and one can see in. Being a single female, I am not going to trust that all tipsy men, etc. will never stop and try looking. There were a few people on balconies underneath, but they were clearly aware they were seeing and being seen. Which could get old.

 

Theoretically, visual upskirting from the promenade deck (via telephoto lens, esp) is a possibility in the wrong skirt. The angle SHOULD be wrong from the balconies due to strategic placement of opaque glass, but I couldn't verify that. People who are sensitive about not wanting to unintentionally do that might not want balcony cabins a deck or two below. Not everyone is in a bathing suit.

 

The skywalk is a nice touch and I liked the down view, but it's a very tricky desifn to execute.

[tequilasunrise]

Using the convenient excuse that RCI doesn’t sail a Mexican Riviera itinerary, DW loaded up on West Coast / Hawaii cruise literature and, unbeknownst to me, threw down a Future Cruise Deposit with assurances of “Don’t worry, it’s fully refundable,” when I discovered the charges!

 

Why hello there Cabo San Lucas!

 

I like your wife!! I have done this to my husband so many times...but of course we've never gotten a refund yet :D

[Eskimo88]

Thanks for posting your review. We were on the Regal back in the fall for our mediterranean cruise. You took some great pictures with your fish eye lens.

[mph045]

Thank You Very Much for the pictures and reviews-very much appreciated! We travel in 2016 aboard Regal

Question on FCC-is it now only good for 2 years vs 4 years like we had back in 2011??

Did you partake in the wine package silver/gold program[5-12btls]

Do you know if you travel B2B do you have to attend the second weeks muster[2011 they told us not to attend].

Any pictures of the dinner menus? or what they serve each week-do they still have cpts gala/french/italian/welcome aboard/nights?

[paradiselivin1]

Loving your review ~ thanks for taking the time. Hope our cruise is as much fun as yours obviously was & sure it will be with a chocolate martini or three..:D

[RotaryMike]

Yes, 'immediately below' is a couple decks. There is some tinting to the glass doors but it isn't completely effective and one can see in. Being a single female, I am not going to trust that all tipsy men, etc. will never stop and try looking. There were a few people on balconies underneath, but they were clearly aware they were seeing and being seen. Which could get old.

 

Theoretically, visual upskirting from the promenade deck (via telephoto lens, esp) is a possibility in the wrong skirt. The angle SHOULD be wrong from the balconies due to strategic placement of opaque glass, but I couldn't verify that. People who are sensitive about not wanting to unintentionally do that might not want balcony cabins a deck or two below. Not everyone is in a bathing suit.

 

The skywalk is a nice touch and I liked the down view, but it's a very tricky desifn to execute.

 

If any "tipsy women" want to look, i'll wave back to them. Maybe those not wearing bathing suits are trying to get rid of their tan lines before they get to Orient Beach . We'll be under the bar on the port side - i like to sit on my balcony, just a warning to anyone "going commando" at the bar. :D:D:D

[WinksCruises]

Question on FCC-is it now only good for 2 years vs 4 years like we had back in 2011??

 

Did you partake in the wine package silver/gold program[5-12btls]

 

Do you know if you travel B2B do you have to attend the second weeks muster[2011 they told us not to attend].

 

1. Any pictures of the dinner menus? or what they serve each week-do they still have cpts gala/french/italian/welcome aboard/nights?

 
I believe the FCC is two years, and it's automatically refunded if you don't use it.
 
Did not partake in the wine programs
 
Sorry, don't know about the B2B policy on muster
 
I posted a dinner menu earlier in the review. There was definitely an Italian Night, and as I mentioned before, a "retro" Classic Cuisine of Cruising night. But we didn't go to the MDR too many nights

[WinksCruises]

 

Situated along a sandy stretch of Eleuthera Island in the Bahamas, Princess Cays is the cruise line’s 40 acre private resort. Chances are if your voyage originates in Southern Florida, your itinerary will dump you here at some point. For our trip on Regal, it was the first port of call on the morning after leaving Ft. Lauderdale.

 

The biggest drawback to the stop is the tendering process. For some reason, Princess never built a pier here. Which means every time a ship pulls in, both food and passengers have to be hauled ashore by the lifeboats. It’s time consuming - and both times we’ve done it, we’ve been treated to a 10-minute thrill ride on choppy seas packed in with crew and passengers. In fact, we’ve been told that sometimes the seas are so rough the port stop is cancelled.

 

The Tendering Process...

 

Once there, it’s a beautiful resort… and a little more peaceful and less “commercial” than the Laberdee “private resort” Royal Caribbean caters to. There are plenty of beach chairs and things to do, including shopping at some vendors - who take your cruise card. There is also a private area you need to pay for and reserve ahead of time. And there are a handful of bungalows also available to rent. We rented one last time we visited, but decided it wasn’t really worth the expense given the short amount of time you’re actually there.

 

A place to eat, private bungalows (for a price) and gorgeous beach living.

 

Here’s a tip. Most passengers head left when they get off the tenders… which makes sense since that’s where beach chairs, water activities and the stores are clearly located. But if you head right, instead, and cross over the bridge, you’ll be treated to a much less busy side of the resort. It has a similar array of beach chairs and clam shells, a volleyball court and bar, plus a food court where they serve lunch from. It’s just a lot more quiet and less crowded.

 

Since people always seem to ask… yes, there are lockers available. There are restrooms. They provide a free serving-tray barbecue lunch. There is a small souvenir store and a local crafts bazaar. There are bars and live bands.

 

Lockers-R-Us

 

Is it worth getting off the ship for? I think so. If the day is nice and you don’t mind waiting for a tender. It makes for a pleasant beach day, but just know there really isn’t too much else to do... and we found the lunch is pretty mediocre, preferring to head back to the ship a little early and do lunch there instead.

 

The best part of the beach side barbecue...

 

I guess if they'd built a pier, we'd be moaning about the long walk!

[WinksCruises]

. Can I assume there was some madcap hunt for postcards?

 

On St. Maarten for sure, home to the prized risque French nudie cards! :)

[mph045]

Thank You=Appreciate it all.