Live from the Regal Princess - Jan 18th-25th

[Grego]

We agree that the HC, Bistro and Pastry areas are part of the gems of the Royal class ships. Having been on those ships for over 20 days, we probably ate there at dinner time 15 of them. The layout is great ( you must walk the area first and scout it out then fill the plate ) the choices and themes are different each meal and finding a seat seems much easier than the other ships.

[abisha]

Thanks for posting your review..I sail on her in 2 1/2 more months. I really thought the buffet was great on the Ruby, so I already know it will be even better on the Regal based on everyone's comments.

[lor74]

Today was a nice day at sea. The day started early with breakfast at Sabatini's. The rest of the morning/afternoon was spent at the pool. I relaxed, did laps and played some basketball. Ro was doing the rotisserie all day. Lunch at the buffet was very similar to yesterday, just a few items changed. By the end of the week I will have turned into a lamb! I had some other items mid day, and dinner was also there. I ate too much today 😔😜. Ro got a glass of champagne from the waterfall event, and we saw the show Sweet Soul Music. It was nice to see something new, but I miss the days when the productions actually told a story and were not just singing & dancing to a specific genre of music. Tomorrow is St Thomas.

 

I am posting some pics of patters and menus when I can. There will be hundreds of random shots from throughout the ship posted when I get home.

 

 

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[mistyann]

Today was a nice day at sea. The day started early with breakfast at Sabatini's. The rest of the morning/afternoon was spent at the pool. I relaxed, did laps and played some basketball. Ro was doing the rotisserie all day. Lunch at the buffet was very similar to yesterday, just a few items changed. By the end of the week I will have turned into a lamb! I had some other items mid day, and dinner was also there. I ate too much today 😔😜. Ro got a glass of champagne from the waterfall event, and we saw the show Sweet Soul Music. It was nice to see something new, but I miss the days when the productions actually told a story and were not just singing & dancing to a specific genre of music. Tomorrow is St Thomas.

 

I am posting some pics of patters and menus when I can. There will be hundreds of random shots from throughout the ship posted when I get home.

 

 

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Can't wait to see the Patters, trying to plan for our cruise on the Regal in April :D

[lor74]

To the person who asked about the head chef at Alfredo's, the only answer I got was "Antonio, Italian guy"

 

 

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[Jerlyn]

To the person who asked about the head chef at Alfredo's, the only answer I got was "Antonio, Italian guy"

 

 

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Thank you so much, this will help. I lost my purse on the ship and had it written down with a recipe, but it has not shown up yet. Thank you again

[lor74]

Today was St. Thomas. We woke up bright n early, and had our usual breakfast. We then went ashore shortly after arrival to walk around and check out the shops. We didn't buy anything. The rest of the day was spent by the pool. It was a nice day. We went to the early show Fiera!. It was very good. It was Italian night at the buffet. The selection puts the older ships to shame, and it so nice to not have to stand in line anymore.

 

Tomorrow is St. Maarten.

 

With 3 days to go, I can already say that I am a fan of the new build. Whatever negative points people have been talking about since the Royal came out, are greatly out weighed by the pros. I'll get into them at the end of my trip.

 

 

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[sunsetbeachgal]

There are many of us, myself included that are fans of the Royal class ships. The changes made on the Regal were very good (aft plunge pool, more aisles in Princess Theater, window and extra doorways in Princess Live). Was told that R3, the third ship will have the center staircase.

Edited January 22, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[Astro Flyer]

There are many of us, myself included that are fans of the Royal class ships. The changes made on the Regal were very good (aft plunge pool, more aisles in Princess Theater, window and extra doorways in Princess Live). Was told that R3, the third ship will have the center staircase.

Hopefully they'll also finish (paneling, carpeting, etc.) the already existing midship stairs for passenger use when the Royal & Regal have their first drydocks along with other refinements added on the Regal & R3. ;)

Edited January 22, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[richstowe]

Hopefully they'll also finish (paneling, carpeting, etc.) the already existing midship stairs for passenger use when the Royal & Regal have their first drydocks along with other refinements added on the Regal & R3. ;)

I was shocked when I first read that there actually is a staircase but they reserved it for service use . Wow !:eek:

I hope that it can and will be altered to pax use. That will however deprive many of something to complain about. :rolleyes:

[Astro Flyer]

I was shocked when I first read that there actually is a staircase but they reserved it for service use . Wow !:eek:

 

I hope that it can and will be altered to pax use. That will however deprive many of something to complain about. :rolleyes:

 

Dave's excellent photos (dmwnc1959) show the midship stairways that are only useable by passengers in an emergency because they don't look nice.

 

 

In part 1 on the 11th row of photos (on my device) you can see those stairways.

Edited January 22, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Grego]

Dave's excellent photos (dmwnc1959) show the midship stairways that are only useable by passengers in an emergency because they don't look nice.

 

 

In part 1 on the 11th row of photos (on my device) you can see those stairways.

 

Again, they aren't used because they don't look nice but there for the crew to have midship access. The studies done indicated that these stairs on other ships weren't used that much and the traffic by the crew was much more which required their stair access. Like everything else, if Princess makes them passenger available because of few people that can't walk 1 minute further to use the other stairways or wait a minute for the elevator and then complain then it's like every other unnecessary change - balcony smoking for example.

[Astro Flyer]

Again, they aren't used because they don't look nice but there for the crew to have midship access. The studies done indicated that these stairs on other ships weren't used that much and the traffic by the crew was much more which required their stair access. Like everything else, if Princess makes them passenger available because of few people that can't walk 1 minute further to use the other stairways or wait a minute for the elevator and then complain then it's like every other unnecessary change - balcony smoking for example.

 

It's just your opinion & there are many that would disagree about how often midship stairs get used. If Princess did a study they were sadly mistaken & didn't learn from their mistake on the Grand about 15 years ago. And if a survey that finishing the midship stairs for passenger use was unnecessary, then why has it been posted that the 3rd ship will have midship stairways above deck 7?

 

And others will disagree on your point that it's a 1 minute walk which doesn't bother me but it's inconvenient when midship & only going one floor. On other ships I use the stairs & leave the elevators for those with mobility issues. That's currently not an option on the Royal/Regal but apparently will be on the 3rd Royal-class ship.

 

In my opinion comparing balcony smoking to no passenger midship stairs is like comparing apples & oranges.

[richstowe]

Congrats Grego

It takes a certain quality to turn a thread entitled Live from the Regal Princess into a smoking rant.

Good job . :(

[krsw44]

Hi lor74!

Please keep posting we sail in 3weeks and love your opinions!!

[Colo Cruiser]

[Working 2 Cruise]

Great report, thank you!

[enymarsh]

lor74,

We so very much appreciate the time you have taken to share your cruise!!

Thanks so much for your posts! We are coming aboard on Sunday and we can't wait!!!

[lor74]

Yesterday was a hot one in St Maarten. We walked around and took some pictures, but otherwise spent the day by the pool. We went to see the early show which was comedian Dan Grueter. Most of his set involved banter with the audience which we enjoyed. It was Brazilian and Greek night at the buffet. We have never seen such a spread before, and I cannot overstate how good the buffet is on this ship!

 

We were docked right next to the Allure, and I got a preview of what our next week will include - thousands of younger people! Should prove interesting.

 

Tonight is lobster night, and the show is Spectacular. It is a beautiful sea day.

 

 

 

 

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[enymarsh]

Yesterday was a hot one in St Maarten. We walked around and took some pictures, but otherwise spent the day by the pool. We went to see the early show which was comedian Dan Grueter. Most of his set involved banter with the audience which we enjoyed. It was Brazilian and Greek night at the buffet. We have never seen such a spread before, and I cannot overstate how good the buffet is on this ship!

 

We were docked right next to the Allure, and I got a preview of what our next week will include - thousands of younger people! Should prove interesting.

 

Tonight is lobster night, and the show is Spectacular. It is a beautiful sea day.

 

 

 

 

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Yum!!! my mouth is already watering! We can't wait to check out this great buffet everyone is talking about!! We also love comedy... should be great!!

[dmwnc1959]

We were docked right next to the Allure, and I got a preview of what our next week will include - thousands of younger people! Should prove interesting.

 

 

Thank you for a great Live report! And I hope you enjoy Allure of the Seas, she is a wonderous achievement and in a class of her own. I spent a week on her and dined everywhere I could except the MDR (save for one breakfast buffet there). Vintages has some superb tapas, the Picasso Select was a meal in itself. And don't forget to try Giovanni's Table, Chops, and if possible, 150 Central Park, all really great restaurants. Have fun!!!

 

:D

[lor74]

Week 1 summary:

 

When the Royal Princess was first announced, it was my intention to book her for my Jan 2014 vacation. After reading all the initial reviews and all the complaints, I came to the conclusion that it was not the right ship to choose for a Caribbean itinerary. We ended up doing 14 nights on the Crown b2b which was fine. I then thought we would do a Can/NE in Oct. on the Royal, but we ended up on the CB. Finally when it came time to book the Jan 2015 trip, I was set on a new experience, and the Regal & Allure were booked.

 

I was actually a little nervous leading up to the trip for fear of being disappointed in the new build....then we received our Suite cabin assignment. This was the beginning of a great trip on Princess' new flag ship! It only took a few days for me to decide that this is now my favourite ship, here's why:

 

The entire ship is modern and stylish. The atrium is very well designed with more space and better traffic flow. The pursers desk is out of the way, and you no longer need to walk through the crowded photo gallery. I had big concerns regarding the main pool area, and on the first day thought it would be a problem for me....it was not. The fountain is a waste of space, but they do put loungers up there on sea days. There is shade around the pool, but it varies depending on the position of the ship relative to the sun. There is a lot of shade to be found on the sun deck. The loungers are also of a better quality. There are still 4 pools to choose from, and none of them were ever overly crowded. The ride is also much smoother and the pools don't get wavy the way the older ships do. Motion in general was not an issue, even in our wake view cabin. The addition of hot tubs and showers on the sun deck are a plus as well. It is much easier to find a table to eat at outside near the pool, and we never had trouble finding a seat inside at the buffet. We ate all lunches and all but 2 dinners at the buffet. The selection is much bigger than the other builds, and the quality is very good. A big plus was the big selection of salad/vegetables. I have never eaten so much at lunch time! We had breakfast in Sabatini's everyday, and that experience was identical to the other 2 trips that we were lucky enough to have it. Our meal in the Crown Grill was also very good. The dinning room doesn't interest us much anymore, and with the buffet being as good as it was, we barely considered it. We made a 6pm reservation for tonight's formal night. Hopefully the lobster will be better than the last formal night we had gone to. The entertainment had gotten very stale for us over the past two years. It was refreshing to see all new shows and performers. The crew were wonderful, like we would expect on any Princess ship.

 

Promenade deck- I would jog around it on the other ships. I never even went outside to see what it looked like on this ship. There is a proper running track on deck 18.

 

Explorer's Lounge- It is our favourite venue to sit up front and watch comedy acts or play trivia. We did not see anything in the new areas of this ship, so I have no opinion.

 

Seawalk- What sea walk? Literally every passenger who actually noticed it, would walk across it once and never again...unless you were using it to get around slow moving traffic.

 

Fountain- the real estate could have been used better. It is a waste of space

 

Central stairs- as someone who regularly uses any of the staircases to go up and down, the stairs are not used much in general. I guess when the crowd is younger they will be used more, but during a week like this one where the average age is "older", they are not. For someone like me it would be more convenient to have them as an option, but the fact that they are not there is not even a talking point. The elevators are all currently working, and seem to be faster.

 

Shade- not hard to find

 

Alfredo's- we only ate there once, but it is a nice option to have.

 

New tv system- it is wonderful. I don't know how big they are in a standard stateroom, but in our suite we had large lcd screens. There are not many live channels to choose from, but the on demand library is quite large. I watched a lot of movies, and once something new is shown on MUTS, it will be added to the tv system.

 

Wifi- the intranet is a nice feature to be able to see the day's schedule, and view your account. The Internet is hit and miss. The speed varies based on location throughout the ship and actual location at sea/port.

 

Casino- I normally gamble quite a bit, but decided that I didn't want to potentially lose US $ which already cost me 20% on conversion. I didn't play at all, no bingo either.

 

Aft balcony soot- It is still a problem on this ship, but from what I have read, I assume it used to be worse. You could not go outside barefoot in the morning before the steward had a chance to clean it. He did a thorough job every morning, and would remove the cushions at night. It did not prevent us from going outside.

 

Buffet- Better than I would have ever expected! I ate too much and feel guilty....oh well, what can you do 😜

 

As of now, the only other thing I have to say, is that my favourite food item has been the lamb shawarma available everyday for lunch. I could not get enough of it, and I barely like lamb!

 

I will continue to post anything that comes to mind while on the Regal, or answer any questions. I will try to post the rest of the patters and menus to my Flickr as well. I have not decided yet if I will continue to post in this thread from the Allure, or if I will post a review at the end of the cruise.

 

 

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[Mom33]

Thank you very much for your perspective on cruising the Regal Princess. Glad you enjoyed your cruise. :D Enjoy your next cruise on the Allure.

[lor74]

Tonight did not go according to plan. We arrived on time for our 6pm reservation, and sat at a table for 2 by the window....so far so good. It the took 20 minutes for our order to be taken. The waiter was handling his entire section by himself. When finally ordering, Ro wanted a Caesar salad, and was told they are out because of a lack of romaine lettuce. She got a Thai roll instead, tomato soup and the lobster. I ordered the soup, ravioli and lobster. It took another 25 minutes to start eating and the lobster came out an hour after we sat down. It also took an hour to get my water refilled. The food was fine, but it was not worth the wait for a single lobster tail. Our 2 neighbours were on the dessert course, and when we left after skipping dessert, they still hadn't received their coffee. Our next stop was the theatre for the 8:30pm show, but on arrival at 8:10pm, the doors were being closed because it was already a full house (we arrived at 8:15 for the other shows). We detoured to the gelato shop for the first time ever. One punch on the coffee card, and we got 3 scoops of chocolate, cookies n cream, and dolce. They were all good. Next we went to have a look at the buffet. Sure enough, they had almost all the items that were served in the dinning room except for the lobster. There was also a giant bowl of romaine lettuce and pre-made Caesar salad! Perhaps I will make it to the 10:30pm show.

 

 

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[lor74]

I see that my Flickr posts are in public and not the album I had posted.....if you want to see the patters, click on the link I had posted and then click to see all of my photos on the home page of my profile

 

 

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