the good the bad the ugly regal princess

[jensensgrandma]

I will start with the bad

 

- worst embarkation ever ! arrive early , dont try to come at 1230 as they tell you . you will miss lunch completely and be in long lines.

 

- service in the dinning rooms is slow and nothing like it use to be. the waiters seem very inexperienced and stressed out. you also wait at least an hour for a table in the anytime dinning unless you get there right when it opens. The hostess in symphony strictly enforces the dress code. One of our group had dress shorts to his knees with a polo shirt on italian night and was told he had to change . formal night is absoulutel formal - guys had to have jackets to get past her.

 

- room service food was terrible and the wait on line to reach them took an average of 20 minutes. Also , very inexperiienced . I called to book the ultimate balony dinning experience and was told there was no such thing. finally got the manager who apologized .

 

- dont book cabin r710 or r712 unless you want to feel like you are sleeping on a washing machine. in over 25 cruises , i have never felt so much vibration.

 

-long lines for everything. NOt enough crew or space to handle the passengers. The theater is small and if you are not there 30 minutes early just forget about it.

 

-bar service around the pool not happening. I saw 3 servers for a fully crowed pool deck.

 

- over all level of service down . I asked for chicken fingers for my grandson at 500 . he was starving and didnt like most of the food. The manager in the horizon court said i would have to wait till 6pm. years ago they would have gotten for him in a minute

 

The good

 

The bartenders in the bars were excellent. Most seemed like the old princess staff that i remember. Fun and excellent service. Visti mooney at the princess live bar and Anthony at crooners. They are excellen.

 

The entertainment was awesome. Dont miss Troy. The atrium was always fun .

 

over all food was very good

 

ship is beautiful

 

The ugly was my complete flip out at the customer service desk after having to deal with Peter for the third time. He is incompetent and rude. I had my daughter and son in law on the cruise for their honeymoon. Peter didnt know what a honeymoon was. So many special arrangments we made were totally screwed up. Having said that - on the last night Princess made it right and gave them a very special night.

 

I would book princess again but not this ship until they get the crew to passanger ratio corrected and get them better training . Just wondering if it nots because they are going into dry dock in april and they just dont care right now.

[srpilo]

Welcome to Cruise Critic

 

Thanks for your report, I'm sure everyone here will value it's content

Srpilo

[cruzsnooze]

I sailed on the Regak last month and didn't like the ship. The service was terrible in the dining rooms, the lines were long every where AND NO SEATS TO SEE THE SHOWS.

[Ethel5]

It's a shame that you've had over 25 cruises and just now joined Cruise Critic. You missed a lot of valuable information including that shorts are not allowed in the dining room for dinner. Thank you for reporting that they are enforcing the formal night requirement of jackets for men.

[Linerguy]

What was it Winnie the Pooh would say?......"Oh bother."

[cheeseclan]

Where did you hear that the Regal is going into dry dock in April 2016?

[ar1950]

Where did you hear that the Regal is going into dry dock in April 2016?

 

Probably a misunderstanding based on the cabin category changes for some cabins that will happen after April. Deck plans on most ships now ask to choose between booking before April 17, 2016 or after April 17, 2016. A lot of people apparently think there will be some sort of physical changes made to the ships (that could be a real problem if most of the fleet were out of commission at the same time.....::eek:).

Edited November 9, 2015 by ar1950

[jensensgrandma]

I actually have been on cruise critic since 2001 but I changed my email address and it was just easier to make a new profile. I got confused about the shorts because on ncl you can wear what you want in the anytime dinning. my guy was dressed very nicely compared to some of the men that had pants with stains all over them. lol. .... it may have just been a rumor but I heard that it was going to have changes made to the regal and i guess i believed it because when you book the cruise the cabins are different after april 2016. so my mistake, maybe it was just a rumor

[WISH84]

Thank you for reporting that they are enforcing the formal night requirement of jackets for men.

 

"Like"

 

;)

[azcruiser64]

"The hostess in symphony strictly enforces the dress code. One of our group had dress shorts to his knees with a polo shirt on italian night and was told he had to change . formal night is absoulutel formal - guys had to have jackets to get past her."

 

About time.

[jensensgrandma]

what I thought was funny was that several women were dressed like slobs with their bra straps showing!

[CineGraphic]

what I thought was funny was that several women were dressed like slobs with their bra straps showing!

But there are no rules regarding bra straps, are there? :D

[Steelers36]

"The hostess in symphony strictly enforces the dress code. One of our group had dress shorts to his knees with a polo shirt on italian night and was told he had to change . formal night is absoulutel formal - guys had to have jackets to get past her."

 

About time.

 

I'm on REGAL right now and was on the previous 5-day the OP was on. Her note on dress enforcement with jackets required has to be isolated to that one individual. Not a general truth. I am aware of a guy turned back with shorts on casual night because I forgot my wine and encountered him on the elevator.

 

I agree on the shorts situation.

 

On formal, yes most people were "dressed up". Had to hunt for black tie, but plenty of jackets. Last cruise only had 1 formal night. I wore my jacket and not the tie. Will go with tie tomorrow I expect.

 

We were in Concerto, so I cannot speak to the woman manning Symphony door. Maybe I should check her out.

 

Also, be aware there are TWO separate entrances to the DR, with even tables on port side and and odd tables on starboard. One could simply enter the DR on the opposite side and walk over to one's table if there is an isolated "heavy" enforcement.

 

But why not make the effort, even if not to the letter of Princess' recommendations?

[Working 2 Cruise]

Doesn't look like the OP has cruised in many many years and thus her expectations weren't met. Just a bit of research would have alleviated many of the bad and ugly...

 

Princess isn't a 5 star hotel, rather a comfortable 4 Star.

 

Lines - if you go at peak times anywhere, yes, you'll encounter lines.

 

Some cruises are better than others. I think expectations were too high and thus the end result disappointed.

 

As far as dining is concerned, if you go at non peak times, you'll usually find far better service.

[Paula_MacFan]

As far as dining is concerned, if you go at non peak times, you'll usually find far better service.

 

I thought maybe I was the only one bothered by that......:)

[sonomaphil]

- dont book cabin r710 or r712 unless you want to feel like you are sleeping on a washing machine. in over 25 cruises , i have never felt so much vibration.

 

-I had my daughter and son in law on the cruise for their honeymoon. Peter didnt know what a honeymoon was.

 

Just what every honeymoon couple wants, a mother across the hall.

[BigJohnL]

what I thought was funny was that several women were dressed like slobs with their bra straps showing!

Please tell me you're kidding. Do you really equate visible bra straps with dressing like a slob? I ask because there is no smiley after your comment.

[srpilo]

Doesn't look like the OP has cruised in many many years and thus her expectations weren't met. Just a bit of research would have alleviated many of the bad and ugly...

 

Princess isn't a 5 star hotel, rather a comfortable 4 Star.

 

Lines - if you go at peak times anywhere, yes, you'll encounter lines.

 

Some cruises are better than others. I think expectations were too high and thus the end result disappointed.

 

As far as dining is concerned, if you go at non peak times, you'll usually find far better service.

 

Nina some good points .. But I'm leaning a little the other way..

 

Specificly, when I see a Princess review thats listing disappointment over finding no chicken fingers available , that tends to imply to me that the poster was looking forward to more of a 1 star cruise where chicken fingers might be available 24/7, and not a Princess 5 star cruise where they're surprised that such items are not readily available ...

 

See, how easy it is for everyone to read a review differently :D

Srpilo

[jensensgrandma]

omg , I guess noone should ever give their opinions on this site or they get attacked. For the record, I cruise at least 3 times per year and I have been on the premium lines as well. I never said I disagreed with the dress code. Just giving heads up to people that might not be aware that Princess is enforcing it as other lines do not. The guy in the elevator was not the person with me as we left and took the stairs to alfredos.Yes , I do think bra straps are slobby and the chicken fingers were for a five year old. My point was simply that there isnt any going out of the way anymore like they use to years ago. Not across the hall at all and since you dont know the situation of why I went on the cruise you should keep your opinion to yourself. I just cant believe you all get so upset about someones opinion. Isnt that what the site is for? The reviews for the cruise I was on were all consistent with mine. Did you all attack those people too or was I just special. geez , what a happy bunch

[satxdiver]

Interesting comments by the OP on their last Regal cruise. These are large ships with 3600+ pax aboard and so yes there will be lines at various times if everyone decides to do the same thing as the same time. One has to adjust to when and where the crowds tend to be and not be there.

 

Interesting comments about "enforcing" the dress code. I have never seen the jackets on men at formal night enforced. I have seen no shorts enforced on men not young boys. What I want to see is the dress code enforced on women who can wear just about anything by putting a few sparkles on them including pajamas. Well they looked like that! The best of all is women wearing flip flops in the MDR by simply putting a small flower on them. Try that one men.

 

Yes I am male.

[perditax]

Thinly veiled sniping at the hostess who was just doing her job, no?

[eandj]

I sailed on the Regak last month and didn't like the ship. The service was terrible in the dining rooms, the lines were long every where AND NO SEATS TO SEE THE SHOWS.

 

Of course there are seats to watch the shows. :D

Even if arriving 10 min. preshow, there were always seats, albeit in poor locations. We figured out that the production shows required 20 min.or longer preshow arrival to be assured a seat. We found that acceptable. If there are good entertainment options, we don't mind arriving early. As do most others. If the theater had lots of empty seats, it wouldn't say much for the evening shows.;)

[eandj]

Dbl

Edited November 10, 2015 by eandj

[sonomaphil]

Of course there are seats to watch the shows. :D

Even if arriving 10 min. preshow, there were always seats, albeit in poor locations. We figured out that the production shows required 20 min.or longer preshow arrival to be assured a seat. We found that acceptable. If there are good entertainment options, we don't mind arriving early. As do most others. If the theater had lots of empty seats, it wouldn't say much for the evening shows.;)

 

Yup, I think the no seats complaint is the same as the no deck loungers complaint. There are both available, just not in the exact perfect area where they want it.

[caribill]

The hostess in symphony strictly enforces the dress code. One of our group had dress shorts to his knees with a polo shirt on italian night and was told he had to change . formal night is absoulute formal - guys had to have jackets to get past her.

 

Three cheers for the hostess enforcing the dress code.

 

- over all level of service down . I asked for chicken fingers for my grandson at 500 . he was starving and didnt like most of the food. The manager in the horizon court said i would have to wait till 6pm. years ago they would have gotten for him in a minute

 

The Horizon Court starts dinner service at 6 PM. So at 5 PM they do not have the dinner items available. Years ago I suspect they could not have conjured up what has not yet been prepared.

 

 

Thanks for your report. Obviously some of the staff needs more training (example: when you requested the UBD).