Things I loved about the Regal (and a few not-so-good things, just for good measure)

[CineGraphic]

My wife and I had a fantastic time on the Regal, sailing 1/3/16 - 1/10/16

Since everyone already knows the obvious pros and cons of the ship, I'll just stick to particulars.

 

Parked off-site for less than $42.00 for the entire week.

Free shuttle was quick and easy.

Driver took a short-cut which took us right to the front of the long line waiting to enter Port Everglades. (airportparkinginc.com located at the Embassy Suites)

 

Embarkation: We arrived around 12:30, short line at security, had to show my 2 bottles of wine to the "wine table".

Check-in lines were about 6 deep each.

It looked like we might have to wait a while, but the line to our left was moving 3xs faster than the others, so we moved over and were on-board within minutes, after avoiding the embarkation photo-op.

Alfredo's was the perfect place to have an embarkation lunch.

The pizza was fantastic, and the veal ravioli in cream sauce, is my new crack.

Creamy, cheesy, so good, it's bad for you.

We were given a nice window seat.

My only wish would have been that the waitress picked-up on the fact that we'd need extra plates when I told her that were were sharing everything.

It was turn-around day, and she was on auto-pilot. No biggie.

 

Cabin: C539, balcony.

The flowers I pre-ordered were already in place, a nice surprise for my wife.

Worth every scent, (pun intended)

A perfect way to start the cruise, and the flowers lasted for almost the entire week.

 

A coupon for our bottled water package was also in the room, but the coupon for our coffee card was not.

Called guest services, and before you knew it, we had our card.

We also called room service about our water and they said to just leave the coupon on the phone when we leave the room.

When we came back, the water was already in the mini-fridge, chilling. Perfect.

 

We noticed that our safe was stuck open, with the lock engaged.

Our steward, Joseph, made a call and it was quickly fixed. (dead battery)

We slipped Joseph a few sheckles and asked him for some wine glasses, a top-sheet, (duvets are too hot for us in the Caribbean), and he took care of things right away.

Rooms and public areas were always clean. Kudos to the housekeeping staff.

 

Towels: To be blunt, rough, motel grade. That's motel, NOT hotel. You can do better, Princess.

 

Fruit bowl: Never refilled, but no shortage of fruit to be found elsewhere, so we filled the bowl ourselves.

No biggie. Nothing was going to ruin our vacation.

 

Tote bag: Only one left in the room on the first night.

At first I was a tad miffed, and then I thought, "what in the hell was I gonna schlep anyway!?"

Again, nothing was going to ruin our vacation, not even a $1.00 bag.

 

Sail-away was pleasant.

The Regal was 2nd to leave out of 8 ships in port that day.

We avoided the big party on 16 and enjoyed ourselves on our balcony.

Later we hung-out on the Horizon Terrace, which soon became our favorite place to eat our meals, or hang-out.

Service was hit-or-miss depending on the time of day.

 

Horizon Court: Entering from the aft helps to avoid the crowd.

Omelet station was quick.

I ate bagels with cream cheese and lox for 7 days straight, which is something I look forward to.

The weakest link was the bagel, typical grocery store fodder. Not nearly as good as all of the other baked goods on board.

American Bacon was the other big looser, mostly limp and fatty, rarely crispy.

Plenty of other breakfast meats to choose from, all good. My wife enjoyed English Bacon.

A nice cheese selection can be found during all 3 daily meals.

All of the various stations were fully manned and everyone was attentive and helpful.

'm tempted to get one of those lemonade dispensers for my home.

 

Main Dining Room: Anytime dining was good overall.

We offered to share the first night, thinking that we'd have to wait for a table for two. We ended up waiting alone at a table set for 6 for quite a while before we finally gave up.

Sharing on subsequent nights went much better. We met some wonderful people.

We never ordered any of the Curtis Stone dishes.

 

Ultimate Balcony Dinner: Called room service about booking the UBD for the 1st formal night, so we could avoid dressing up.

Unfortunately the person on the other end didn't know when that would be and by the time they called me back, that night was fully booked.

We opted to enjoy our UBD for the 2nd formal night, Friday.

When booking, room service sends someone to your room to show you the menu and arrange any special requests.

I requested a Caesar Salad instead of what was offered, and was told, "no problem". Twin lobster tales for my wife, and a filet for me.

The appetizer was crab in puff pastry, yummy. The lobsters were delicious. Sadly, the filet was dry.

The Caesar salad I ordered was initially a no-show, but one appeared in mere minutes, once they realized the mistake.

Bravo to my waiter, Ariel and his assistant.

The table was set beautifully, and the flower arrangement was really lovely. A photographer showed up and took 3 quick pics which were available the next day.

The chocolate desserts were top-notch, as was the service.

The next morning you simply call room service to pick-up the table.

Everyone should do this at least once. Well worth the $100

 

Entertainment: We didn't see any of the production shows, but I ended up participating in the finals of Voice of the Ocean.

Having the chance to rehearse and perform with the 7 piece band was worth the cost of the cruise, all by itself. Great musicians, and staff. Nice spread of fruit and champagne for us backstage.

The Polonia String Quartet played in the piazza daily. They sound great anf are well-trained, but I found the costumes to be cheesy.

The other bands on-board were all good.

It seems that you can't go a single day without hearing somebody play, "What a Wonderful World". I swear I heard it 4 times in one day, all from different performers.

 

On Board Shopping: Liquor and cigarette prices were not good, even worse for Canadians due to the exchange rate. Found a nice 50th anniversary tee shirt for less than $15.00. Shop staff looked bored and uninterested, especially in the high-end jewelry boutique.

 

Casino: Well staffed at all times

 

International Cafe: Attentive, quick staff. Buy a coffee card!

 

Gelato: Only tried it once. Mint Chip was not good. The mint tasted overly artificial and they used tons of small, sharp, hard chocolate chips. The only gelato that I've ever had to chew.

 

Interactive TV: Had fun watching old Love Boat re-runs. It only took me 30 seconds to find an episode featuring Charo. My wife and I giggled at many of the now unknown and forgotten faces of the lesser co-stars. Sadly, the TV was missing the channel that would show the ship's current position. Several co-passengers mentioned missing this as well. Some staff insisted it was there, others knew it was missing. I would have also liked to have been able to see my on-board account balance on the TV, but that wasn't available either. I felt bad wasting paper when checking my balance at one of the terminals near guest services.

 

Fellow Passengers: A nice mix of folks from all over, with more families than usual, and even a few infants. In our room on embarkation day, there was a pamphlet for parents reminding them that they are responsible for their children at ALL times, and that a missing child report is taken seriously and comes with certain consequences. It was well worded, and it seemed to work. I didn't see or hear any kiddies running down the hall or lighting up every button on the elevators. One woman wore a Trump t-shirt into the casino, I bit my tongue. Hard.

 

Overall, we had great service, and the ship was very clean. We purchased 2 future cruise credits and currently looking to book a 10 day sailing next, but we can't decide if we want to do the Panama Canal or a 10 day Caribbean.

[Croptop]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Regal with us. Much appreciated.

 

You've already done the Caribbean so I say go for the Panama Canal!

[Pam in CA]

Thanks for the review. As for the limp bacon, just ask for crispy bacon and they'll bring it. That's what I do. :)

[marty1950]

Hi Pam, Great pictures, looks like you had a great time on your cruise. Thanks for sharing. Gary:)

[Northender]

Thanks for the review. Any reason why you did not order the Curtis Stone dishes?

 

I love crispy bacon also. I put a few pieces on a plate and hand them to one of the staff and ask to cook a little more. They always smile.:)

[sunsetbeachgal]

Nice review...thanks! I love that ravioli in the sinful sauce at Alfredos too!

 

Question...you mentioned the bottled water package...do you know if this has to be ordered before sailing or can it be purchased on the ship?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

[CineGraphic]

Any reason why you did not order the Curtis Stone dishes?

 

After reading about them here, I didn't even glance at them on the menu.

[CineGraphic]

Question...you mentioned the bottled water package...do you know if this has to be ordered before sailing or can it be purchased on the ship?

 

I don't know why one couldn't order it on-board, but then again, i don't run a cruise line. If you can't order it on-board, I'd sure like to know why not!

Be safe, pre-order.

[Rockymountainsparky]

Really enjoyed your review. Thanks.

[Pmorton3360]

I preordered the water for next cruise. I had actually not seen it before. 12 bottles for $6.90.

[kendon]

Great review! Love the ship too. We'll be on her once again...7 weeks to go!

 

I really agree about the bath towels...sandpaper.

[Eppe4]

Thanks so much for your wonderful review! I love that fact that you weren't going to let "anything" ruin your cruise. We'll be on the Regal for 2 weeks starting on 2/21 and then again for 25 days starting in Aug.. We loved the Royal and are excited to be on the newest of the jewels! We all fell in love with Alfredo's and spent many fun lunches and dinners there with family.

 

We've been doing the specialty restaurants for the past few years on formal nights but maybe next month we'll try the UBD, it's one of the few things we've not tried.

 

If you take the partial Panama Canal cruise look into the train trip to the west coast from Gatun Lake. We loved seeing the Ca. coast while on our Canal cruise.

[spyro1952]

Thanks for your great review. I will be on the Regal on Feb. 28th. Have done quite a few on the Royal but first time on the Regal.

Do you recall who your Captain was?

Thanks again.

[StLouisCruisers]

Thanks for your great review. I will be on the Regal on Feb. 28th. Have done quite a few on the Royal but first time on the Regal.

Do you recall who your Captain was?

Thanks again.

 

Last month it was Ed Perrin. Is he still on board?

[baronessk]

the veal ravioli in cream sauce, is my new crack.

 

 

I LOVE this comment!!!

 

 

 

 

Interactive TV: Sadly, the TV was missing the channel that would show the ship's current position. Several co-passengers mentioned missing this as well. Some staff insisted it was there, others knew it was missing.

 

 

It IS there and it is also VERY hard to find. What IS missing from the "new" Ship's position screen is wave height. I found the new Interactive TV to be cumbersome and it took some time to get used to.

[CineGraphic]

Interactive TV: Sadly, the TV was missing the channel that would show the ship's current position. Several co-passengers mentioned missing this as well. Some staff insisted it was there, others knew it was missing.

 

 

It IS there and it is also VERY hard to find. What IS missing from the "new" Ship's position screen is wave height. I found the new Interactive TV to be cumbersome and it took some time to get used to.

 

We checked every menu and sub-menu and found nothing.

On our last sea day, after the art gallery had closed, I noticed a chart that was set-up that detailed our voyage.

[geocruiser]

I preordered the water for next cruise. I had actually not seen it before. 12 bottles for $6.90.

 

Where on Princes's web site did you find the water package? I can't find it on My Princess.

[Pmorton3360]

My Princess to personalizer to onboard reservations to beverage package. Very last choice is the water.

Edited January 21, 2016 by Pmorton3360

[geocruiser]

My Princess to personalizer to onboard reservations to beverage package. Very last choice is the water.

 

Found it. Thanks

[Lanwood]

Good Review. We were on the same cruise, including the previous 7 days.

Also enjoyed watching the Love boat at night before bed. I think we got half way through season 2 before it was time to go....

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review. I enjoyed reading it.....:):):)

 

Bob

[arctickitty]

Thank you for posting your review; it was very easy to read and get the details.

[satxdiver]

Thanks for the review of the Regal. We board her in 11 days. You surely had a positive attitude toward the cruise. Three meals plus served every day, no cooking, no cleaning up, bed made for us, bathroom cleaned twice a day, etc. what is not to like.

[CineGraphic]

Three meals plus served every day, no cooking, no cleaning up, bed made for us, bathroom cleaned twice a day, etc. what is not to like.

Let's not forget that there's chocolate everywhere!