Is the Regal layout really that bad?

[hospsafe]

We are looking at doing the cruise out of Copenhagen next June/July. Princess has both the Emerald and the Regal doing the same itinerary. The family, wife plus two kids will be going.After reading the reviews today and knowing my kids arent fans of elevators, is the Regal really difficult to navigate using just the stairs? You cant push the beds together either?

[Colo Cruiser]

We are looking at doing the cruise out of Copenhagen next June/July. Princess has both the Emerald and the Regal doing the same itinerary. The family, wife plus two kids will be going.After reading the reviews today and knowing my kids arent fans of elevators, is the Regal really difficult to navigate using just the stairs? You cant push the beds together either?

 

 

Not dificult at all. We never even thought twice about the missing central staircase the entire time we were onboard.

Depending on the cabin setup whether the beds can be pushed together or not, this is the same on any Princess ship.

[whatcruiseisnext]

Hands down....choose the Regal!

[sunsetbeachgal]

It is easy to navigate, if yiur kids like stairs then consider a cabin near the forward or aft elevators and stairs. We were on Emerald Deck near the forward stairs and thought it was an excellent location.

 

The Regal and Royal have some connecting cabins with an interior connecting door. Others can advise you about pushing the lower beds together on quad cabins, I have a feeling the answer is no. We had a deluxe balcony that had a sleeper sofa, which we did not use, but I think it was only a single sleeper.

Edited February 22, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Would have to be Emerald, for the simple reason just so many more viewing options,

 

yours Shogun

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

If you book a cabin near the central elevators it can be a wait using them at peak times especially when you're located on deck 8 & only want to go to deck 7- aggravating. We don't paralytically love the Regal or Royal but they do have lots of better new features which appeal to many people.

[Mom33]

We had a mid-ship cabin on both the Royal and the Regal and had no problems maneuvering around. However, the aft elevators to the Traditional dining room, do not access anything below deck 7 other then the dining room on deck 6. This configuration exists on the Grand Class ships also.

:D

[JimmyVWine]

It's not so much that Regal's layout is "so bad" as it is that Emerald's is better. One can debate the features of the two ships. But as for layout and outdoor space for viewing, Emerald wins.

[Working 2 Cruise]

You'll find that many people are set in their ways and have trouble adapting to changes.

 

With that said, all ships have pros and cons... but I wouldn't hesitate to sail the Royal or Regal. In fact, we just may do that hopefully in early 2016...

[hospsafe]

ok...I will ask a dumb question. Several people of mentioned lack of places to view. Can you please explain further? I have now watched two videos on each and I dont see much of a difference. I personally dont mind going outside and looking from the upper decks. If it was an Alaskan cruise that would be different.

 

Another question, what side of the ship for the cabin if doing the Berlin, St. Peterburg etc cruise?

[ksm77]

We were on the Regal transatlantic 17 days. We loved the Regal. Great ship. We rarely use the elevators on any ship no problems using the stairs on Regal. As others have said there is no central stairway on the Regal. We had a deluxe balcony cabin in the very back of the ship. It was a short walk to the stairway. I think you will enjoy the Regal so many features that the other ships do not have. I was not looking forward to cruising on the Regal as we had heard so many negative things about it. None of what we heard proved to be true for us.

[caribill]

ok...I will ask a dumb question. Several people of mentioned lack of places to view. Can you please explain further? I have now watched two videos on each and I dont see much of a difference. I personally dont mind going outside and looking from the upper decks. If it was an Alaskan cruise that would be different.

 

Another question, what side of the ship for the cabin if doing the Berlin, St. Peterburg etc cruise?

 

As far as views, no forward view at all on the Royal and Regal unless you purchase being in the sanctuary for $40/day or have a cabin at the front of the ship. Every other Princess ship has at least one place for a view forward that anyone can use.

 

And the view from much of deck 18 on the Royal and Regal is good for the sides, but you will be standing in the jogging track in order to see the view.

 

As for which side of the ship on the Baltic Cruise. Really does not matter. Most of the time you will be too far from land to see land.

[metairiegal]

It's not so much that Regal's layout is "so bad" as it is that Emerald's is better. One can debate the features of the two ships. But as for layout and outdoor space for viewing, Emerald wins.

 

I totally agree. And while on the Regal, we ran into several people saying the same thing.

 

ok...I will ask a dumb question. Several people of mentioned lack of places to view. Can you please explain further? I have now watched two videos on each and I dont see much of a difference. I personally dont mind going outside and looking from the upper decks. If it was an Alaskan cruise that would be different.

 

 

We had an inside cabin, so we were looking for places to view the water and found them few and far between. No deck that goes all the way around, the promenade deck has a couple of sections with some chairs. On port days it was easy to find a chair but on sea days, all the chairs were taken every time we looked. No inside area front or back for viewing of the water. And the blue tinted glass makes a clear view especially hard to find. Maybe if we had had a balcony cabin we would feel different.

[IECalCruiser]

ok...I will ask a dumb question. Several people of mentioned lack of places to view. Can you please explain further? I have now watched two videos on each and I dont see much of a difference. I personally dont mind going outside and looking from the upper decks. If it was an Alaskan cruise that would be different.

 

Another question, what side of the ship for the cabin if doing the Berlin, St. Peterburg etc cruise?

The main issue with the Royal and Regal is the lack of public viewing space forward. Along the side and aft there really isn't much difference.

 

As far as the Baltic cruise, there really isn't much difference which side of the ship you are on. You will see both sides sailing in and out of St. Petersburg and Oslo. The ship does make a difference on the Baltic cruise because the Royal and Regal can't sail up the Stockholm Archipelago. I would choose the Caribbean or Ocean for a 2015 cruise and the Emerald or Pacific for a 2016 cruise.

[Shogun]

Hi Emerald has a forward observation deck, aft you can stand on a number of decks up high you skywakers great views , you also have Adargio bar and Sabartinis to view from.

 

Yours Shogun

[jagsfan]

Emerald is perfect for the Baltic. Sailing in and out of different ports you will see plenty on both sides of the ship and forward. Especially sailing into Oslo or Stockholm. The Baltic and Alaska you really want to see out in all directions.

[KenP]

I prefer Emerald. Has center stairs and public forward outside viewing options. I have been on both.

[JimmyVWine]

You'll find that many people are set in their ways and have trouble adapting to changes.

I don't think that is fair at all. Whenever someone asks: "Which ship for Alaska? " and someone answers "Coral or Island because of their advantage in outdoor viewing areas and smaller passenger load", no one takes them to task for being set in their ways or "anti-Grand Class" because from any objective measure, that is a fair answer. So when the same question is asked in comparison to the Grand Class ships and the Royal Class ships, the same level of objectivity should prevail. One can set up any number of side-by-side comparisons and start putting check marks beside each class of ship for all sorts of pros and cons. But when it comes to outdoor viewing areas, there is no objective measure by which Royal Class gets that box checked. Perhaps it might be the only category that a Royalist would give to the Grand Class. But give it they must. One cannot debate that Coral/Island comes in first in that category; Grand Class comes in second; and Royal Class comes in third. That is not "set in one's ways." That is an objective measurement.

[Mom33]

We are looking at doing the cruise out of Copenhagen next June/July. Princess has both the Emerald and the Regal doing the same itinerary. The family, wife plus two kids will be going.After reading the reviews today and knowing my kids arent fans of elevators, is the Regal really difficult to navigate using just the stairs? You cant push the beds together either?

 

No it isn't. Actually either ship will give you the same Princess service, food and accommodations for your Baltic trip. It is a very port intensive cruise. You will find little time to relax and fully experience either ship. Your days will be spent exploring the ports the ships visit. Enjoy your cruise which ever ship you pick. :D

[IECalCruiser]

No it isn't. Actually either ship will give you the same Princess service, food and accommodations for your Baltic trip. It is a very port intensive cruise. You will find little time to relax and fully experience either ship. Your days will be spent exploring the ports the ships visit. Enjoy your cruise which ever ship you pick. :D

Actually, there is one significant difference. We had a very relaxing time sitting on our balcony sailing through the Stockholm Archipelago to and from Stockholm. You would miss that on the Regal. Other than that, the cruise is so port intensive that it will make little difference for the rest of your cruise. Edited February 23, 2015 by IECalCruiser

[kitkat343]

Princess is our favorite cruise line, but for the Baltics we chose another cruiseline since we were traveling with our 3 year old child and were concerned with the logistics of dealing with the Regal/Royal's inability to dock directly in Stockholm. This trip was amazing, but it is very tiring, and by not docking in Stockholm you will need to tender and take a 45 minute train to Stockholm. Fortunately, the train station is very close to the port.

 

You will miss the sail in through the gorgeous archipelago, and also please bear in mind that the Vasa gets very crowded. It is highly recommended that you arrive there early. It looks like the Regal docks at 7 am in Stockholm, and the Vasa opens at 8:30 during the high tourist season. You can certainly try to get there as soon as possible, but it might be hard to arrive prior to the crowds. When the Vasa fills up, they will stop admitting people and you will need to wait outside the museum until people exit to protect the ship.

[GolfMom321]

I just got off the Regal this morning (well, now it's yesterday morning...), and I did the Baltics and Russia on the Royal last July.

 

LOVED both ships! They were very easy to get around. Yes, the lack of central stairs above deck 7 could be an issue, depending on where your cabin is, but we were in a mid-aft on Riviera (Deck 14), so mostly used the Aft elevators.

 

I didn't find any problems with the tendering into Stockholm, but that wasn't my favorite port anyway, so it didn't matter. If coming through the archipelago is important to you, then the smaller ship would probably be a better choice.

 

We were on the port side and loved the views in each port.

 

Whatever you decide, you will have a great time with this awesome itinerary. Enjoy!

[cruiselvr1]

Actually, there is one significant difference. We had a very relaxing time sitting on our balcony sailing through the Stockholm Archipelago to and from Stockholm. You would miss that on the Regal. Other than that, the cruise is so port intensive that it will make little difference for the rest of your cruise.

This is the one reason my DW and I would skip the Royal class. We enjoy spending our time sitting on the balcony, usually we opt for the caribe deck lg balconey. During the drill,when you must use the stairs it would seem to be very hectic getting to the two staircases?

[dmwnc1959]

During the drill,when you must use the stairs it would seem to be very hectic getting to the two staircases?

 

 

On embarkation day when the Emergency Drill is conducted - as would be the case in an actual emergency - the center stairwell is open for all passengers to use in order to access their muster stations. You can see pictures here:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showpost.php?p=40839710&postcount=108

 

:D

[IECalCruiser]

This is the one reason my DW and I would skip the Royal class. We enjoy spending our time sitting on the balcony, usually we opt for the caribe deck lg balconey. During the drill,when you must use the stairs it would seem to be very hectic getting to the two staircases?

During the muster drill, most if not all of the normally crew access stairs including the center stairs are open and guides are there to direct you. Learning the stairs you should use is one of the primary reasons for the muster drill. We were all the way forward on Emerald deck on the Regal. As we exited our cabin and started walking toward the forward public stairs we were directed to crew stairs and down one flight where we exited to the Promenade deck. We were then directed to other stairs that took us down to Fiesta deck and the forward portion of the lower level of the Princess Theater, our muster station.