A staunch detractor “considers” sailing on Regal Princess

[dickinson]

Princess Live! has 280 seats.

 

Best number I could find for Explorers is "more than 250". Do you have a more exact number?

 

Sorry, but no I don't. I tried googling and found the stat about Princess Live is what you said. I could not find anything about Explorers. I am just going on my memory from May of what Princess Live looked like. Certainly is a different set up than Explorers but definitely it looked A LOT smaller.

[caribill]

Sorry, but no I don't. I tried googling and found the stat about Princess Live is what you said. I could not find anything about Explorers. I am just going on my memory from May of what Princess Live looked like. Certainly is a different set up than Explorers but definitely it looked A LOT smaller.

 

It is a lot smaller. My guess is about one-third the space.

[OceanPrince]

I went on the Royal and Regal last year.. It was such a let down when I recently went back onto the (super)grand class... on the Caribbean Princess (CB).

 

- The CB buffet sucked compared to Regal. Regal has a salad section, dessert section... just much bigger! the CB buffet was crowded with passengers, foods that dont belong next to other are thrown together cuz space is tight.

 

- The TV!!!. On the Regal, it's an interactive on-demand entertainment system like Netflix but with live TV. I just choose what movies I want to watch and when I want to watch it. On CB, I missed dining room dinner twice cuz I wanted to finish a movie. On Regal, I would just turn off the TV in the middle of the movie, then resume the movie whenever I like!

 

- Sportscourt. The basketball court on the CB is a joke. Rubbery basketballs on a small rubbery-surfaced half court. The sportscourt on the Regal is a small full-court with a smooth surface that allows for leathery basketballs. It also doubles as a volleyball and soccer court.

 

- Pools! The retreat pool was my fav. CB pools just seems dated.

 

- Muts. The Movies under the Star was much better quality on the Regal.

 

- Overall bling, as the kids would say. All the public areas is newer, chic'er, nicer, etc etc. The Atrium, halls, casino area, etc are so beautiful on the Regal, like a new Vegas hotel.

 

If I could exclusively sail on Royal class ships, I would.

 

P.S. I usually do not care the the song and dance performances, but there is a production show exclusive to the Regal called Fieria. I thoroughly enjoyed that show. Check it out if you go on Regal.

Edited July 8, 2015 by OceanPrince

[Woobstr112G]

I was on the Royal. The promenade deck actually has a few areas where you can sit outside in lounge chairs. The one area I saw was like a HUGE deck so if you enjoy sitting outside there then this might be nice for you.

 

We really enjoyed the Royal. None of your top issues are things that would stop me from going on her again. Every ship has its cons but for me this is not enough for me to say never again. We were in Club 6 for trivia a couple of times and I smelled no smoke. The casino actually has a large open area in the ceiling. Maybe the people on my cruise were not smokers?

 

We ate one night in the Crown Grill and the Wheelhouse did not interfere with our enjoyment. Maybe itinerary and passenger demographics make a difference.

 

I say go for it! These things won't ruin your cruise. If you decide you prefer older ships well then at least you will know this for sure.

 

When you could find one.....

 

Bob

[dickinson]

When you could find one.....

 

Bob

 

I was on a cold weather TA and British Isles cruise. There was no one outside there :D I'm sure it would be different on a warm weather cruise.

[Grego]

Yes, the Retreat pool area is free (not sure why it wouldn't be.)

 

Princess Live is a little weird but I actually liked attending some shows there. It's more intimate than the big lounges and theater.

 

As for the pool, just go to the Retreat pool. It's separated from the main pool.

 

We had drinks every night in the Wheelhouse. It didn't bother us that we were right near the Crown Grill.

 

With new ships having to conform to the newer marine standards, there isn't much choice regarding the lifeboats on Promenade deck. Particularly for a line that does muster inside and not out on deck.

 

The Grand also doesn't have a central staircase and I haven't seen constant harping about that for the past 14 years. :) Yes, it's an inconvenience if you are midship. I personally don't book cabins midship on any ship as I much prefer being towards the aft.

 

Yes, the Skywalk is useless but it doesn't take away from anything. It's a gimmick. Once you've walked across, you forget it's even there.

 

Yes, I missed Skywalkers but then I also missed the Adagio Lounge. Club 6 is nice but the smoke from the casino next door has gotten into all of the furniture and it smells, as will you. :(

 

The aft pool on the Regal is kind of a bandage, slapped on.

 

Overall, I feel that the many improvements such as the Horizon Court, Horizon Bistro, outweigh the negatives. There are many things to like about the Royal/Regal and I've really missed them on my other cruises.

 

Totally agree. I'm tired of the lack of central staircase issue. It takes less than 1 minute to walk to either forward or aft stairways or the elevators arrive in about the same time.

HC, Bistro and Pastry areas are the best of all the other other ships.

The ship overall is beautiful and the extra activities in the Piazza are great.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

I was on a cold weather TA and British Isles cruise. There was no one outside there :D I'm sure it would be different on a warm weather cruise.

 

Very true. I was once the ONLY passenger on deck (that I could see) on an Alaska cruise. It was 30 degrees F, and windy. No problem getting a lounger that day :).

 

My real issue with the Regal and Royal is the combo of largely eliminating "loungeable" promenade decks, and reducing the size of balconies as well. If the cruiselines want to take away deck chairs on prom decks, then at least make the balconies large enough to relax on. Not all of us want the noise and crowding of the pool areas, when and if chairs are available, and the Sanctuaries often book up :(.

Edited July 9, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[RDC1]

Are you sure about the number of seats? Sure didn't look that way!

 

The problem is not the number of seats, but more the issue is accessing them. Entry is through a small area. Limited time from one event to the other means congestion at the access point (Royal), points (Regal). Theater type seating mean stepping over others to get to seats. Poor venue for team events like Trivia. People often cross in front of the seats to get to the far side instead of going around the back, even with the event in process.

[Nrknits]

I was on the negative side too as we saw these ships being built and discussed. Thant being said, we've sailed the Royal twice now, mostly because of timing, itinerary, etc... And it is NOT our favorite ship.

We really miss the wrap around promenade. We do walk it multiple times a day and the "jogging track" on the Royal/Regal is upstairs in the sun and vey slippery in the morning's condensation (I know, because I slipped on it).

No center stairs, really dislike this. We try to use the stairs when ever possible and this ends up being inconvenient. My pedometer likes it because we always have to walk forward or aft to use the stairs.

We really miss Skywalkers and/or the Adagio lounge. Two of our favorite places. Club 6 (for Platinum lounge is no comparison. Crowded, no view and the food is on the dance floor with "lighting" that changes the color of it. Very odd to pickup a brown tomato.

Princess Live and odd venue. Seating is tight, hard to make teams for the games they hold there and hard to sneak out if you are enjoying the show.

There are some good things:

Alfredo's, free, yummy what more could you ask for.

Atrium is beautiful, large International Café, you pay more for gelato on these ships

Buffet is amazing. So many choices and variety. And you want to die from the smells from the bakery everytime you walk by.

Outrigger Bar is a nice aft hideaway spot on the ship.

So all this being said we have enjoyed our trips on the Royal, we now know what to expect and I will probably sail on her again. Though given a choice, same itinerary, same price between the Royal/Regal and another Princess ship, I will choose the other ships.

[PescadoAmarillo]

NRknits, very nicely stated, and a nice acknowledgement of the fact that, while these ships offer some very nice features that may or may not appeal to everyone, there are also drawbacks that may or may not affect everyone. Like you, we would sail on the Royal or the Regal again...in the absence of other options. Looking at the 2016-17 Caribbean itineraries, I think we'll be running out of other options about then, as the Caribbean Princess is also not a favorite of ours. The question for us is whether we will be moving to another cruise line for our Caribbean itineraries (as we did when the RC ships got too large), or simply make the best of Princess' newest ships. Honestly, if they'd just tone down the noise in the Piazza and improve the elevator programming, I think I could live with the rest.

[caribill]

The problem is not the number of seats, but more the issue is accessing them. Entry is through a small area. Limited time from one event to the other means congestion at the access point (Royal), points (Regal). Theater type seating mean stepping over others to get to seats. Poor venue for team events like Trivia. People often cross in front of the seats to get to the far side instead of going around the back, even with the event in process.

 

as shown below

 

[dickinson]

as shown below

 

 

Oh my!!!!:eek: What was going on there? I never saw so many people! We saw some congestion but NOTHING like this. Looks like they might be selling bingo tickets. If so when we cruised in May they did it at Vista Lounge. Maybe whatever was going on here they realized it didn't work and instead started using another venue.

[caribill]

Oh my!!!!:eek: What was going on there? I never saw so many people! We saw some congestion but NOTHING like this. Looks like they might be selling bingo tickets. If so when we cruised in May they did it at Vista Lounge. Maybe whatever was going on here they realized it didn't work and instead started using another venue.

 

We were coming out of princess Live! (which had been full for our event) and waiting outside were the people attending the Bingo immediately following our event.

 

Since our event was full, none of the Bingo folk could slip in early.

Edited July 10, 2015 by caribill

[Colo Cruiser]

Oh my!!!!:eek: What was going on there? I never saw so many people! We saw some congestion but NOTHING like this. Looks like they might be selling bingo tickets. If so when we cruised in May they did it at Vista Lounge. Maybe whatever was going on here they realized it didn't work and instead started using another venue.

 

 

It was that way pretty much every night on the Regal even without selling bingo cards.

[PescadoAmarillo]

as shown below

 

 

That...is very depressing.

[Oh2B@C]

Good Lord... that ONE picture ALONE could make me re-think my entire plans!!! Of course I wouldn't be going into Princess Live that often, if ever, except for Trivia.

[SoCal Cruiser78]

 

Ugh. My idea of cruise hell :(.

Edited July 11, 2015 by SoCal Cruiser78

[Colo Cruiser]

Good Lord... that ONE picture ALONE could make me re-think my entire plans!!! Of course I wouldn't be going into Princess Live that often, if ever, except for Trivia.

 

 

You don't have to, but you still have to get past it. :eek:

[PescadoAmarillo]

You don't have to, but you still have to get past it. :eek:

 

With no Promenade Deck to handle the overflow. On the Grand Class ship, we've often just walked outside to avoid a bottleneck by Ezplorers and the photo gallery.

[caribill]

With no Promenade Deck to handle the overflow. On the Grand Class ship, we've often just walked outside to avoid a bottleneck by Ezplorers and the photo gallery.

 

We do that all the time. Really makes a difference in getting from aft to forward, both timewise and in the fresh air of the sea.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes we did that too.

[Oh2B@C]

With no Promenade Deck to handle the overflow. On the Grand Class ship, we've often just walked outside to avoid a bottleneck by Ezplorers and the photo gallery.

 

OK, this is unreal... I never even considered that issue when I harped on PL. I just thought it was a waste of space considering they had to sacrifice the Explorer's Lounge. But now I have to admit, it IS REALLY a waste of space from a traffic flow standpoint.

 

At least the photo gallery isn't on deck 7, can you imagine?!?!:eek:

 

Looking at the deck plans for Regal, there's really no way around. Let's say I wanted to get from Vista Lounge or Wheelhouse Bar to the Atrium, or vice-versa. Can't use the outside deck; can't go to deck 6 or 5 and go under. The only solution to save time is to take the stairs UP to deck 8 and that is no solution at all.

 

The other great thing about Explorer's is that you could leave/arrive via the exit stage right (our right as you face the stage), plus there are bathrooms there, very convenient for a pre-event "purge" as it were (sorry if that offended anyone :o)

 

But how much of a deterrent would all this be? Still not enough to make me avoid sailing on her at least once, but I know I would miss Explorer's terribly (have I said that already?:confused:) The itinerary will be the deciding factor. Right now, other than the 10-day NYC-FLL repo, I see some 7-day B2B Caribbean cruises I might want to try in January 2016. Lots of time to think this over.

[caribill]

The other great thing about Explorer's is that you could leave/arrive via the exit stage right (our right as you face the stage), plus there are bathrooms there, very convenient for a pre-event "purge" as it were (sorry if that offended anyone :o)

 

 

There are bathrooms quite near Princess Live!, a little bit aft of the entrance to Princess Live!

 

They are well hidden, one of the best kept secrets on the ship. No sign in the main passageway.

[Pam in CA]

We were coming out of princess Live! (which had been full for our event) and waiting outside were the people attending the Bingo immediately following our event.

 

Since our event was full, none of the Bingo folk could slip in early.

I've taken two 17-day cruises on the Royal and never saw anything like this... not even close. On the other hand, I've seen similar congestion many times on other Princess ships.

[Oh2B@C]

There are bathrooms quite near Princess Live!, a little bit aft of the entrance to Princess Live!

 

Yes, but not along the "escape route" that leads to the outside promenade :cool:

 

I've taken two 17-day cruises on the Royal and never saw anything like this... not even close. On the other hand, I've seen similar congestion many times on other Princess ships.

 

Maybe it's because you don't play Bingo! :D

 

And the only congestion I've ever experienced on the Crown/Ruby/Emerald is at the Photo Gallery, no big surprise there - but you can use the outside promenade to bypass that congestion as well.

 

 

Here's a totally different question: Does there seem to be a dearth of interior staterooms? Looking at the deck plans, I see a lot of empty space in the middle of many decks. I am sure one of you fine folks have done some sort of count... I mean, if you've bothered to count the seats in Explorer's vs Princess Live... ;)