Regal Princess Eastern Caribbean February 15th--with Photos!

[GolfMom321]

When I found out my son had the week off from school, I said "we're going away somewhere warm!" We decided on the cruise, and asked my parents to join us. So it was Mom and Daddy, me, and my teens (18 and 19). We've done family cruises before, usually with my brother, and my sister and her family. But it's been awhile...

 

Day 1, Sunday--Embarkation: Getting into the port was a nightmare! Took 45 minutes to go about 3-4 blocks. This is the route Princess tells you to take. After dropping off the parents and kids, I had to go to FLL to return the rental car, and take a taxi back. That took less time than those 3-4 blocks! I went out by the 20th street exit, and came back that same way, and there was minimal traffic. MUCH better.

 

I met up with the kids, filled out our health forms, and went through to checkin. Not really sure what the benefit to “Priority Checkin” was, because we were in the same lines as everyone else, and they were LONG! After checking in, we went into a lounge (again, not a priority lounge or anything special), where at least they told us which rows would board first. So we were among the first in that group to board. Meanwhile, Mom and Dad were kept waiting in the wheelchair lounge (waiting for a “pusher”), and, despite their head start of at least 30 minutes, got onboard just a few minutes before we did.

 

Unfortunately, they forgot to ask to be dropped off at Alfredos, so they were sitting up in Horizon Court, waiting for their room to be ready. I directed them down to Alfredo’s where we had agreed to have lunch. There was practically no one in there, and they told us we were to go to the buffet or MDR for lunch. I said we were told they were open, and we got seated. Why the secrecy? In any event, the service was obscenely slow. I made good use of that time by stopping by the Passenger Services Desk and the Tour Desk to handle a few things. We finally got our pizza. Now, we’re from NJ, home of REAL pizza. GOOD pizza. This was ok, but just not up to Jersey standards!

 

By the time we were finished, our cabins were ready, so we went up to check them out. Our luggage came later, but before muster, so we were able to unpack. I went over to the Suite Concierge Lounge to make our dinner reservations. The gentleman working there was wonderful (sadly, I have forgotten his name), and helped with many details over the course of the week.

 

The muster drill was fine, and we had carefully planned to arrive as late as possible, so as not to be stuck in the way back, taking forever to get out at the end. So we ended up standing along the rail of the Wheelhouse Bar, just across from my parents, who were seated in the wheelchair section. I helped my kids and parents with their life vests, but didn’t put mine on.

 

When muster ended, we somehow ended up still behind the crowds, so I sent the kids up to the room with my life vest, and headed up to the Horizon Terrace for the informal meet and greet. It took awhile, but we had a good turnout, and it was nice to put faces to names. At sailaway, it was so cool to hear the “Love Boat” theme played on the ship’s horn.

 

We had dinner at the Crown Grill. It was excellent, as always. Unfortunately, the seas were a bit rough, and Daddy and Danny were feeling the effects of the waves. I’d gotten them some Dramamine, and Daddy showed up about ½ hour later, feeling better. The lobster was much improved from our last trip, which was a nice bonus.

 

After dinner, Laura and I headed up to Princess Live for an evening of trivia and game shows. As expected, we got teamed up with others, both from our roll call and otherwise. We won one game, and came away with what would be our only water bottles of this cruise. I also ran into Robbie, from the Cruise Staff, who had been on the Royal last summer. I was so happy to see that he and Michele were both on the Regal—they are both a real hoot!

 

Next--Princess Cays

[GolfMom321]

Our original plan was to rent a bungalow for the day, as Mom can’t do the beach, and Daddy needs to avoid the sun. When we saw the forecast for 68-70 degrees, we decided it was too cool for a beach day, so we cancelled. It ended up being a little warmer, but we didn’t regret our choice.

 

The kids on deck, overlooking Princess Cays

 

The lines for the tenders were VERY long all morning. I went to Trivia instead, and won the first of many flashlights. We had lunch at the Trident Grill (very long lines, not very good food), and then boarded the tender to Princess Cays. As soon as we got off, we noticed the very long line waiting to get back on board. It had clouded up, and was breezy, so people had given up on the beach. It did make it nicer to roam around and see things. It seems to be a very nice setup, with plenty of lounge chairs, and plenty of shaded spots for lunching. We found our bungalow, and were SO glad we hadn’t bothered with it! It was TINY—barely room for a table and 4 chairs, with no windows other than the sliding door at the front. Mom would have lasted 10 minutes in there, and been begging to go back to the ship! We walked around, took some pictures, bought the requisite magnet for the fridge, and joined the long line for the tender. It actually moved fairly quickly, and we were soon back on board.

 

Plenty of empty chairs

 

The bungalow

 

The line for the tender

 

The tender heading out to the ship

 

Dinner that night was in the Symphony Dining Room. I opted for the Fettucine Alfredo in a Parmesan Bowl. As always, it was wonderful. And naturally, I had to have my Princess Love Boat Dream. Now I knew I REALLY was on a Princess Cruise!

 

Princess Love Boat Dream YUM!

 

Back to Princess Live for an evening of fun and games, and then I caught the 10:30 show of The Unexpected Boys (tribute to the Four Seasons). Having seen “Jersey Boys” on Broadway, I wasn’t expecting much, but they were quite good, and I enjoyed the show. I think Princess has really kicked their entertainment up a notch or two.

 

Next--Our First Sea Day

[crusinpeg]

If you think Princess pizza isn't that good ..you should try RCL.....UGH!!!!!!!

[GolfMom321]

If you think Princess pizza isn't that good ..you should try RCL.....UGH!!!!!!!

 

:eek::eek::eek::eek::eek:

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review, thanks for posting.

[Cruz4Sun]

Great photos! Thanks for posting and enjoy your cruise.

[GolfMom321]

Morning Trivia was the only thing on the schedule until the first Princess Pop Choir rehearsal at 11:15. Unfortunately, the timing meant I missed the first BINGO. The kids had said they would take Grandma, but they ended up sleeping til past noon, so no one went. Rehearsal was fun, with a good turnout.

 

We opted for the British Pub Lunch at the Crown Grill. The Fish & Chips was excellent, as was the bread and butter pudding.

 

We had our Slot Pull and our Meet & Greet scheduled for 2:00 and 3:30, so that took up the afternoon. The Slot Pull was great fun, and after 27 of us got 8 pulls each, we got back all but $5 of what we had put in. Not bad for an hour’s entertainment! The Meet & Greet was also very nice. We were in Club 6, and Martyn, the Cruise Director, came to speak with us. He was just wonderful, and we had a very good Q&A with him.

 

The Slot Pull

 

Afternoon Trivia followed. . My team won--got another flashlight, which seems to be the standard prize this cruise. I went to the Future Cruise desk and made a deposit on a future cruise. No idea where, but I did get some brochures for future planning. Daddy and Laura had gone up to do the golf putting contest, and came in 1st and 3rd! The reign continues!

 

Having decided on our last cruise that we would forego all future formal nights, we dined at Sabatini’s. I got Lobster Three Ways, which was “different”, but pretty good. We watched a bit of the Champagne Waterfall in the Piazza, which was cool. Then it was back to Princess Live for more Trivia, and the Liar’s Club. I laughed until my stomach hurt. I’d planned to hang around afterwards for karaoke, but was so tired I opted to go up to the cabin. I missed the balloon drop too, which I had really wanted to see. Oh, well. Next cruise!

 

Lobster Three Ways (it tastes better than it looks!)

 

Laura with Robbie and his cool white glasses

[GolfMom321]

We got up early and had breakfast at Sabatinis. I just love the fresh squeezed OJ!

 

Having been to St. Thomas before, and not wanting a beach day or a shopping day, we had opted for a boat trip to St. John, while Mom and Daddy took a short tour of St. Thomas by bus. We got off and looked around the shops at the port for a bit. Had to get our magnet and some postcards! We’d gotten a coupon for Free WiFi in a jewelry store, so we headed in there. Unfortunately, it was only for one person, so I put it on my phone and had to share with the kids. It didn’t work well with Danny’s Instagram and Facebook, as they both locked him out due to using an unfamiliar phone in a foreign country. (fortunately, we were able to correct that onboard using my free internet time—can you imagine an 18 year old without his Social Media??)

 

Soon it was time to board the boat for our trip to St. John’s. This was a Princess tour, but being so far from the ship, we felt safer that way. The boat ride over was great fun. We sat on the outside and got sprayed from the very high surf. It dried quickly in the warm sunshine. We saw some whales on our way over—an unexpected bonus!

 

On arrival in St. John, we found our tour group. Our tour was on an open air safari vehicle. Our driver, Chris, was hilarious, and also very knowledgeable and friendly. We had a great trip around the island, around some hairpin curves, seeing beautiful overlooks of the beaches, and walking around the Annaberg Sugar Mill ruins. We walked down to the beach at Caneel Bay, and the kids put their feet in the water long enough for a photo. We got some snacks and drinks there, which was good, since there was no stop for lunch on this trip. At the end, we had some time to walk around, so we stopped and got smoothies to tide us over til dinner. The boat trip back was less eventful—no whales, no spray—but very nice nonetheless.

 

The kids on the beach in Caneel Bay

 

Anneberg Sugar Plantation

 

Our bright red Safari tour bus

 

View of another beautiful beach

 

Back onboard, I went and booked my next cruise! The Venetian Passage, a 19 day transatlantic, starting in Venice, and stopping in Dubrovnik, among other ports. These two were at the top of my list of places I want to go! I tried to convince my sister to go with me, but she declined, so it will be just me. Given the amount of time I’ve spent alone on this trip, I figured I’d be just fine.

 

Dinner was back in the Symphony Dining Room, for Italian Night. I had the Pasta Fagioli soup, which was very different, but quite good. The Shrimp and Scallops Gratin was to die for! And of course we had Crème Brulee for dessert.

 

Creme Brûlée

 

One of the activities for the evening was Geography Trivia. I actually convinced my parents to come, and they seemed to enjoy it. We didn’t do too badly, but we didn’t win either. I hung around for the “Yes/No Gameshow”, which was a riot. Ryan, the Deputy Cruise Director, is a real character, and made this one even better. Afterwards, I went to the Princess Theater for the production show, Fiera!. It was very well done and I enjoyed it.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for the start of your review. I'm looking forward to more!

[GolfMom321]

I have a new favorite Caribbean Island! WOW! We booked through a private tour company, Bernard’s Tours, which put us in a van of 27 instead of a big bus of 48, and at a much better price. We were very happy with our choice. Our driver was great. He had coolers of beer, soda, water, and “The Eye Opener”, a rum punch that he said we had to finish (there were 2 bottles). We tried it, and it was aptly named! I let the kids each try a taste (they’re over 18), and they agreed it was quite strong. Our group had no problem finishing off both bottles.

 

Our tour bus

 

We toured both the French and Dutch sides of the island. I prefer the Dutch side. We stopped to see some iguanas in the wild—the Iguana Farm is usually a tour stop, but is currently closed. In Marigot, the French capital, we stopped for lunch at Serafina’s, a wonderful French Patissierie. They had sandwiches, pastries, and other yummy looking things. We looked through the marketplace, I got a magnet, and visor for $5 to replace the one I’d left on the ship.

 

Hello Mr. Iguana!

 

We went to Maho Beach, next to the airport. The planes fly really low overhead, but the place was just mobbed, and walking in the sand was difficult. We experienced the plane landing, and then went and sat at a bar and had some cold drinks and free WiFi until it was time to get back on the van. We really enjoyed our tour, and the scenery was just beautiful.

 

Maho Beach

 

One of the many beautiful beaches we saw

 

Back at the port, we stopped and got some Belgian chocolates (obscenely priced), and some macaroons. Both were delicious. We were docked next to Allure of the Seas, which dwarfed the Regal. I can’t imagine how a ship that enormous stays afloat!

 

That is one BIG boat!

 

Back on board, I did another round of Trivia, but there was a lot of time where there was nothing to do that interested me, so I did a load of laundry. It was $3 each for the washer and the dryer. There’s a token machine in the laundry room, you just swipe your cruise card and select the number of tokens you need. I’d brought some soap and dryer sheets, but there’s an option to get tokens for those too, and they are sold right there.

 

Dinner in the Symphony began with my favorite—the Goat Cheese Souffle. It was so good I thought about having another one for my dinner. But I ordered my favorite fish (and one I can not find at home), Orange Roughy. It was so salty I almost spit out the first bite. Needless to say, I couldn’t eat it. The waitress was so apologetic, but I assured her it was fine, and just ordered that second soufflé instead! With a Princess Love Boat Dream for dessert, I was quite satisfied.

 

Goat Cheese Souffle

 

I went to watch the comedian, Eric Lyden, who was wonderful and had me holding my stomach from laughing. There was a Love Boat deck party that didn’t interest me, and that seemed to have pre-empted all other activities, as there was no trivia or game shows that evening. There was also no karaoke, which seemed odd.

[GolfMom321]

We opted for another early breakfast at Sabatini’s. I’m always amazed at how few people take advantage of this suite perk. Of course, we only did it twice out of 7 days, so maybe everyone else does likewise. The kids slept in again. I straightened out our disembarkation groups—they had Danny separate from me and Laura, and at the wrong time. Simple change and we were good to go.

 

I went to AM Trivia and did fairly well, then went up to wake the kids so they could take Grandma to BINGO. I went to Pop Choir rehearsal, and then grabbed a quick lunch.

 

Next it was off to the spa with Laura for our massages. Mine was OK. Not the best, not the worst. I really didn’t like the hard sell of product afterwards. It’s weird, but my experience has been that the best massages are often followed by little to no hard sell, and vice versa.

 

I showered at the spa, and then went up for afternoon BINGO. I had the same luck as Mom and the kids this morning—none! Oh, well, it was fun.

 

It was formal night again, so we were booked at the Crown Grill. This time, knowing how good the lobster was, we all ordered that, except Daddy, who went for the lamb. We were all very happy with our dinners. Laura had a S’More’s dessert that looked better than it tasted. On the way out, we stopped to have a photo done of Mom and Dad—Mom had gotten her hair done, and looked very nice, so we took advantage of the opportunity.

 

Laura's dessert

 

Mom's fancy hair

 

I arrived late for trivia, which was Mardi Gras themed. The questions were ridiculously difficult, and no one seemed to know the answers until near the end. I knew most of those, and I gave some answers to the couple behind me, who ended up winning! I had some time to kill, so I stopped at the International Café for some dessert (I LOVE this place!), and then went to the Internet Café to check email.

 

Laura joined me for Name That Tune, and we came in second. Next was the Marriage Match game show, which is always a favorite. This one was much less risqué than many I’ve seen, but just as hilarious. One of the guys, when asked “what will your wife say is your favorite condiment”, answered “Trojans”. We all nearly died laughing. The team we were rooting for won. They looked like they walked straight off the set of The Sopranos!

 

Marriage Match game. Can you guess which one was our favorite?

[homeinboca]

 

One of the guys, when asked “what will your wife say is your favorite condiment”, answered “Trojans”. We all nearly died laughing.

 

We were on the Regal a month earlier, saw the marriage game and the exact same answer was given. Pretty funny, but you have to wonder if it's a set up. Great review, we loved the Regal as well.

 

Ron

[GolfMom321]

I’m always so disappointed when we get to the last day. Partly because I know the fun is ending, but mostly because it means I have to pack! And what I spent 2 weeks on at home has to be done in about 2 hours. With the kids underfoot. Still, there was a lot of fun to be had, and I wasn’t missing a thing!

 

So I was up early for AM Trivia, and then went to the Culinary Demonstration in the theater. The Executive Chef and the Maitre D’ are quite a pair. They are apparently brothers-in-law, so they know each other very well, and that made it even funnier. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to stay for the Galley tour afterwards, since I had Pop Choir practice. But with a packed house, I don’t imagine that tour would have seen much.

 

After practice, we went down for the Pub Lunch again. Mom discovered that she didn’t like the Ploughman’s lunch, and Daddy wasn’t big on the Steak and Kidney Pie. We all liked my fish and chips! And the English Trifle for dessert was good too.

 

I spent the afternoon packing, with a break for a Jeopardy style game show that was great fun. The Pop Choir performance was in the Piazza, and I was very happy that my family all turned out to watch. I think we put on a pretty good show—even doing choreography on the rolling seas!

 

Princess Pop Choir

 

We had our last dinner in the Symphony, complete with the parade of Baked Alaska. I enjoyed my last Princess Love Boat Dream. Eric Lyden was doing another comedy show, different from the first, so I went to that and had some laughs. Then it was time for Farewell Trivia and the last game show. It’s always hard to say goodbye to the folks we meet and share trivia with. But that’s the price we pay for cruising!

 

The always amazing Fettucine Alfredo

 

We stood out on our balcony and looked at all the cruise ships close by. There were 8 including the Regal. I finished the last of the packing, and put our bags out. We had opted for the Princess EZ Check. Put out your bags and don’t see them again til you land at your home airport. WONDERFUL idea!!

 

One of the ships near us

[GolfMom321]

We ordered room service breakfast, rather than brave the crowds up at the buffet. We said goodbye to Mom and Daddy, since they were going back by train and we were flying. Then it was time to head down to the disembarkation lounge for our group. Before we knew it, we were off the ship! Fortunately, we didn’t have to go find our luggage, and going through immigration was a breeze. It took almost no time—10-15 minutes max.

 

Having read about the difficulty in getting a taxi, I’d made sure we got off early enough to make our 11:35 flight. Everything was very well organized, and we had only a short wait. We got to the airport with time to spare.

 

Our bag claim in Newark--notice all the warm weather places people were returning from!

 

Overall Thoughts:

Food—Mostly good to excellent, with a few exceptions. The Crown Grill is definitely worth the $25 charge. Desserts are much too good!

Cabin—We had a suite, so that in itself makes for a good experience. Even with 3 of us, there was plenty of room, and a ton of storage space.

Activities—Most of the time there was more going on than I had time to do, having to choose between 2 things I wanted that were at the same time. But there were also some times when there was nothing that interested me. Overall, I think the Cruise staff did a fantastic job.

Entertainment—as I said earlier, I think Princess has really improved in this area. I’m not a big fan of production shows, but Fiera! was excellent, as was the Frankie Vallie tribute. The comedian was outstanding both nights. And there was always music being played in the Piazza and in other lounge areas, which was nice.

Ports/Shore Excursions-- Princess Cays was a nice surprise, even though we were there so briefly. The bungalow are really, really small. St. Thomas has changed a lot since I was there last. On another cruise, I might do a tour there instead of gong over to St. John. That said, we loved St. John, and the ship’s tour was very good. St. Maarten was our favorite, and doing a smaller private tour was a good choice. Having 3 sea days was wonderful, and makes me look forward to the transatlantic, which has 10!!

Public Rooms—I know a lot of people don’t “

 

[Cruz4Sun]

Thanks so much for your imformative thread. Can't wait to try the Regal experience myself.