Regal Princess review Mar 29-Apr 5

[Sxxacy]

I will comment on the things we experienced… as a couple in our early 30’s – our 9th cruise.

 

EMBARKATION/ALFREDO’s

Very smooth. We arrived too early, around 10:30, and were checked in and waiting to board the ship for about an hour – but that was our fault for getting there so early. They opened the doors at 11:30 and we were on board about 10 minutes later (after the platinum/elite guests). We are Ruby (4th cruise) members on Princess. As suggested by others on Cruise Critic (CC), we went straight to Alfredo’s for lunch. We each ordered a pizza and shared the veal ravioli. The pasta had one of the richest, most delicious cream sauces I had ever eaten – delicious! The pizzas were very good. Nice and light. DH tried a calzone later in the week and it was nice and cheesy but a bit heavy on the dough ratio.

 

ROOM

We had a standard balcony, Dolphin deck, D603, and it was nice enough. Nothing special. Asothers described, the balcony is on the smaller side but we had no issues with it. We were out there on the port days and sometimes to read at sea. The size of the balcony was not a “make or break” for us. The shower had the curtain, which isn’t preferable but there are magnets at the bottom so it clings. The water pressure was really weak – this is a pet peeve of mine, especially since I have long hair – so it takes forever to rinse. But again, this was not a deal breaker on the cruise. Hair dryer is weak. I brought my own. Our steward, Edwin, was nice enough and took care of the few requests we had but we rarely spoke to him, let alone saw him. I don’t think his English was strong. Our room was always made up for us 2-3x/day. No complaints.

 

FOOD

We usually eat in the MDR 5+ times on a 7 day cruise and like many others that have been on this ship, we found ourselves unable to stay away from that buffet! Having been on a Carnival cruise in the fall with very little selection on the buffet, I was very excited to see the EXTENSIVE variety of food items available at the buffet every day at lunch and dinner! Breakfast also had a beautiful variety of items, but they were mostly the same every morning, as is the case with all breakfast items. My favourite was the eggs Benedict I ate literally every day. Though, on the last sea day they had an array of chocolate items in the breakfast buffet which was a fun surprise (chocolate dipped cookies, chocolate croissants, chocolate breads, puddings, French toast etc.).

 

The favourite food items that stood out from the buffet: taco station, beef tenderloin, ribs, pork/shrimp dumplings, breaded shrimp/scallops, deep fried cheese balls, key lime pie and chocolate raspberry tarts, fresh soft cookies and the cheesecakes. I’m probably forgetting some. The selection was great.

 

Crown Grill – we ate there once and it was delicious. You can order as many of anything on the menu as you’d like and it’s included in the $25 surcharge. We ordered the scallops, sea bass, filet mignon and ribeye and they were all amazing – especially the filet mignon. We tried the sampler for dessert (a small portion of all of them) and they were good, but no amazing. Personal taste though. We enjoy rich, heavy desserts – not the fluffy ones.

 

Main dining room – we only ate here once, for the formal night with Lobster and Beef Wellington. Service was slow, but maybe that was because it’s the most popular night in the dining room. The Beef Wellington is my favourite meal on the cruise, and I was not disappointed. Very tasty.

 

International Café – other than room service, this was the only food option available after 10:30pm. It always had a nice selection of salads, snacks and desserts. The tomato quiche they had one evening was delicious!

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We went to 80% of the shows. We saw the magician, Scott Alexander, and he was pretty good. The Comedian, Carl something – he was hilarious. The regular crew shows were good. Fiera was definitely their best production show. That one was insanely packed – definitely show up early for it. The marriage game show was good, but they held it in the Princess Live “theatre” which has very limited seating. Not sure why they would do that when that show is one of the passenger favorites. For sure, a lot of people were turned away because there wasn’t enough room for everyone.

 

THE SHIP

It’s beautiful, sparkly, new and clean. All of the staff we encountered were friendly and helpful.

 

PORTS

Princess Cays – we are big on snorkeling, so we never even attempted to find a lounger – other than to put our bag on while we went swimming. For those that do snorkel, go to the LEFT when you get off the tender. To specify, when you are facing the ocean/ship, the best snorkeling is on your far right. I clarify because I read different reviews on which way to go for snorkelling-some said left and some said right. Perhaps it depended on which way they were facing. We went to the far right (if facing the ocean) and down some little steps to the beach… the area was a bit rocky but just get your gear on and go right – that’s where you’ll find some fun stuff to see. We didn’t eat anything from the BBQ so I can’t comment on that.

 

St. Thomas – we took a cab ($9 pp one way) to Coki beach because we had read on CC that they had good snorkeling. It’s a good 20 minute cab ride each way. We tried both sides of the beach and neither had anything but grass or dead coral/rocks. We did see a turtle, which was the only silver lining to that snorkel trip. Disappointing. Aside from the snorkeling failure, the beach itself was BEAUTIFUL. It’s smaller but the sand is smooth and there are no rocks to worry about in the water. There are drinks available and snorkel equipment can be rented. Same with chairs and umbrella’s – not sure of the prices though. Our cab ride back was only $7 per person.

 

St. Maarten – we did the all day (9:30am-4pm) excursion with Captain Bob through Soualiga Destinations (it is the #1 excursion on trip advisor). It appealed to us because of the day on a boat, multiple snorkel stops, and rave reviews on trip advisor. If you take this excursion for the snorkelling, try something else. Yes we stopped 3x to snorkel, and one of them had a few turtles, but that’s it. No live coral or colourful array of fish. I’m not sure that anywhere in St Maarten has better snorkeling, just be advised that if you’re hopeful for good snorkeling on this excursion, you’ll be disappointed. Other than that, the driver we had for the day, Sam, was really fun. You arrive, check in, then have a 30 minute ride out to the first island area for snorkelling. This ride is on open ocean, and it was a rocky day – so be prepared that they ride could be really rough with a lot of bouncing. We stopped at 4 different places for the day. The lunch offered is a choice of chicken, fish or ribs and then either rice or fries. No dessert. The fish was dry, and the fries rather boring and cold. If I did it again, I’d get the rice and ribs. We also took a trip to the famous Maho beach (where the planes practically touch the beach) but didn’t get to see any planes come in. The trip back to the pier was a race between our boat and another which was lots of fun. He sped up to 75MPH.

 

GYM

Good enough for what it was. I also found it disappointing that the spa is no longer attached to it. On previous cruises and cruise lines, I would certainly enjoy a sauna or steam room after my workout. I did enjoy the rain-shower shower heads they had in the gym change room though (but there are only 2). Although I failed to make it to one of the classes, I liked that ZUMBA was offered twice a day on sea days at no additional cost.

 

DISEMBARKATION

We were “White Group 1” which was scheduled to get off at 7:55am. We waited in the dining room for our group to be called for about 5 minutes and were on our way off. By 8:30am, we were in a taxi. The process was quick and painless! While waiting for our taxi to FLL airport, a Princess rep approached us and offered their shuttle for $11 per person. I found that to be strange… clearly, everyone is aware of the Princess shuttle, and as we were clearly standing in the taxi section, we chose not to use it. For the record, the Princess shuttle would have cost us $22 total for 2 of us, and the cab cost us $14.

 

[Amtrack Springfield]

Thanks for the review. We were on the Regal last November and had a great time.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

We stopped going to Coki Beach many, many years ago.

I believe that there is a big decline in the snorkle experience all over the Caribbean compared to what it was 20 years ago. :(

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great review...you just had to go and mention that veal ravioli in the decadent cream sauce!!;)

[lindy sails]

Thanks for your review. I was on the same cruise and loved the Regal-beautiful new ship. My last 3 cruises were on the Celebrity Eclipse and the Allure. So it was great to be back, I had the same cabin type and agree with your comments. I really liked the new flat screen tv's and the great movie selection. Just needed more time to see more.

I too enjoyed the shows and comedians. The casino was very good to me on the second night and paid for most if my cruise. I thought dinner in the MRD was very good. I ate one night in the buffet and one night in the Crown Grill excellent! I thought all of the deserts and pastries were better than what I eaten on any cruise ship, I did splurge &

Purchased a seat in the Sanctuary in the sun. Not very crowded but the manager was strict and would not allow anyone to change chairs. The best sun chairs come with the cabanas and they were always empty. They served high tea at

3:30 and it was wonderful. It is located next to the adult pool which is convenient for a quick

swim. There is a bathroom in the Sanctuary which was nice.

Really enjoyed IC, Vines, Alfredo's, Crooners, the Trident Grill. Didn't get to try the new seafood bar and a few other bars. I thought the really pushed the wine tasting. Almost forgot to mention the Winemakers Dinner. It was fabulous dinner and well worth the $40. Everyone loved Loftsi our host who thoroughly explained the wine pairing. The desert was so decadent we asked to meet the pastry chef

Who we applauded.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Where did you dock in St Thomas? Havensite or Crown Bay?

[lindy sails]

Thanks for your review. I was on the same cruise and loved the Regal-beautiful new ship. My last 3 cruises were on the Celebrity Eclipse and the Allure. So it was great to come home to Princess. I had the same cabin type and agree with your comments. I really liked the new flat screen tv's and the great movie selection. Just needed more time to see more.

I too enjoyed the shows and comedians. The casino was very good to me. on the second night and paid for most of my cruise. I thought dinner in the MRD was very good. I ate one night in the buffet and one night in the Crown Grill excellent! I thought all of the deserts and pastries were better than what I have eaten on any cruise ship, I did splurge & purchased a seat in the Sanctuary in the sun. Not very crowded but the manager was strict and would not allow anyone to change chairs. The best sun chairs come with the cabanas and they were always empty. They served high tea at 3:30 and it was wonderful. It is located next to the adult pool which is convenient for a quick swim. There is a bathroom in the Sanctuary which was a plus.

Really enjoyed IC, Vines, Alfredo's, Crooners, the Trident Grill. Didn't get to try the new seafood bar and a few other bars. I thought they really pushed the wine tasting. Almost forgot to mention the Winemakers Dinner. It was fabulous and well worth the $40. Everyone loved Loftsi our host who thoroughly explained the wine pairings and awesome dinner. The desert was so decadent we asked to meet the pastry chef

Who we applauded.

 

Sorry I wanted to add a few other sentences.

Enjoyed the ship instead going to Princess Cays. We docked at Haven Sight and did a little shopping there. Went to the Orient beach, Margot, and Grand Case for lunch. We hired a taxi and had a great day. The cruise was too short! Needed more time to see and do everything on the ship. Can't wait to book another cruise on the Regal.

Embarkation arrived at 11 -10 mins checked in on the ship by noon. Platinum line went quickly. I was off the ship by 8:45-in the shuttle by 9am. I spent one night pre cruise at Embassy Suites and it was fine. Used their shuttle $8 to get to the port. Quick & simple. L

[Mom33]

Thanks for your review. I'm glad to hear you had a great time.:D

[lindy sails]

Nice job Sxxacy!