Regal Recap (Feb. 21-28)

[Tropic5115]

Back to reality after a wonderful week on the Regal. I think DH and I both agree that this was one of our favorite ships.

 

We spent a pre and post cruise stay at the Hyatt Pier 66, we had loyalty points to use so both stays were free for us. We loved the location of the hotel but really felt that if we had to pay for the room it would not have been worth the price. There are renovated rooms but we definitely did not get one of those. The room was dingy and felt like being in any basic motel room facing a parking lot…Oh well…it was free. We loved walking around the Marina looking at the yachts and walking up and over the 17th street bridge to watch the cruise ships leaving port. Spent some time on Las Olas and walking up and down the Hollywood beach board walk. We actually did a lot more pre-cruise than usual because this time around we rented a car from Avis. We don’t usually rent a car, just try to find a hotel with a good location but when I found out Avis was located right at the Hyatt it made this so convenient and they shuttled us to the pier for no cost the next morning.

 

Embarkation was a little crazy, we should have waited another hour or so to go to the ship but we were anxious and excited. We arrived right around 12 but they were not boarding yet so the lines to enter the terminal were very long. Even the line for priority boarding was huge but once they did start boarding the line moved very quickly and we were on board in about 15 minutes after that.

 

No problem going to our room before 1:00, it was ready to go (Riviera 529). We prefer the upper decks and to be in the back of the ship but we booked a little late so this was the best we could do.

 

The ship is beautiful and the staff were very attentive and friendly all week. We never saw our room steward but he did a great job keeping everything clean and getting in and out around our schedule. We are Elite and decided to switch out our bar set-up for water which was great and they lasted the whole week.

 

Since we had 3 sea days on this itinerary we bought the week pass to the Enclave. We usually enjoy the Thermal Suites and went every day for an hour to relax before dinner. It was maintained very well, always very clean, an abundance of fresh towels and glasses for water. Luckily it was never busy when were there. I was disappointed that the stone loungers were never heated but still spent time using them. I really liked the fact that you now receive a card to access the room, we always hated to see people using the facilities without paying for the pass since it was so easy to access on other ships.

 

We felt that the food was excellent this trip. We had lunch on embarkation day at Alfredo’s and really enjoyed the pizza, much better than the ones out on the deck. We ate at Sabatini’s on the first night and Crown Grill on the last, something we do every cruise. Both restaurants had excellent service and food. Always love the International café and actually visited the Gelato shop much more than we thought we would. It was $3.50 for 3 scoops and the nice thing was if you didn’t want three scoops you still paid $3.50 but could come back at any time and get your other scoops you didn’t use. It was marked on the receipt for you. I had no problem eating three scoops at a time :p but I heard others being told about this when they were ordering.

 

If we were not at a specialty restaurant we are usually in the dining room for dinner (Symphony). We choose anytime dining and went around 8:00pm each night, never waited at all. We enjoyed our fettuccine Alfredo every night along with our regular entrees. I think the Parmesan basket got a little bigger and better each night! There were daily flambé desserts available besides what was on the menu…loved the bananas foster, cherries jubilee and peaches. We didn’t try the Curtis Stone options, we ended up liking the daily selections on the menus each night. We ate most lunches in the buffet or at the grill and found a great selection at both. Like the spread out design of the horizon court, no more long lines to get food. Never any trouble finding a table at lunch either.

 

We don’t usually love the nighttime entertainment onboard, we usually stick with MUTS most nights. The movies on MUTS last week were The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Woman in Gold and Spectre. We did attend the Voice show that they are doing now and thought that was actually really good. They really did a great job making it a lot like the TV show. There were some great musicians on board throughout the day in the piazza that we really enjoyed stopping and listening to as well.

 

The ports were fine, we have been to St. Thomas and St. Martin many times. We chose this itinerary for the ship and less for the ports of call. We had a really nice beach day at Princess Cays and rented two of the floating chairs…loved them!

 

We did the ship tour to St. John/Trunk Bay while in St. Thomas. We have never been to St. John so liked that the ship handled all the transportation there. I would not hesitate to do this again, just beautiful! If you are nervous about transportation to St. John the ship also has a “St. John on your own” that provides the ferry back and forth and lets you do your own thing. The ferry is right at the cruise port so you don’t have to taxi to the other side of the island. I only wish they gave you a little more time. We had less than 3 hours in St. John and could have spent all day if we could.

 

In St. Martin we walked around the shops and had lunch at the Barefoot Terrace restaurant (right across from where the water taxi parks). The food was decent but they had really great frozen drinks and you can’t beat the view from the upstairs terrace. This was the second time we have been here and will definitely go back. Just a great place to relax with a drink in the shade and watch the happenings on the beach.

 

I had the opportunity to participate in the Ultimate Ship tour on this voyage, I have signed up before but was never chosen to attend. It seemed pricey at first but it was totally worth it! We saw so many behind the scenes places and I just loved the time we spent on the bridge. Don’t hesitate to do this, it’s a must do just once!

 

Disembarkation was quick and easy for us, we always choose the walk-off option to avoid the craziness and so we can keep our luggage with us. We had to wait a few minutes in our designated meeting area but were off the ship, through customs and in a taxi in about 15 minutes.

 

Great week on the Regal, can't wait to see her again next year!:D

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[trystran72]

Sounds like a great vacation - thanks for sharing!! Alfredos is such a yummy choice for embarkation! :)

 

How many people were in your Ultimate Ship Tour? Looking forward to taking this tour someday soon!

[Keith1010]

Fantastic review.

 

Keith

[zoyabean]

Thanks for the great review! We are on the Royal in 3 weeks doing the same itinerary. I'm going to add your restaurant suggestion for St. Maarten to my list.

[chrysalis]

Thanks for the great review! We are on the Royal in 3 weeks doing the same itinerary. I'm going to add your restaurant suggestion for St. Maarten to my list.

 

Are you sure that you are on the Royal in 3 weeks doing that same itinerary?

[Tropic5115]

trystran72- It was a small group, I think only 10 of us.

[j3000]

thanks for review 5115! We're on Regal Apr 3rd - cant wait! couple questions:

"We are Elite and decided to switch out our bar set-up for water which was great and they lasted the whole week." - can you explain a little more what you mean here by 'set-up for water'?

Also - the "walk-off" option on disembark? what does this mean?

Thanks!

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks 'Tropic5115' for your review & we've also enjoyed our Regal & Royal cruises. The only things we do not like about this class of ship is that there isn't one on the West Coast and Asia gets one before us. ;)

 

I wasn't aware that at Gelato's it's possible to spread out the scoops and we save some money by using a coffee card punch instead of paying $3.50.

[Mom33]

Thanks for sharing your experience on the Regal. The Royal and Regal are fast becoming popular ships with many repeat cruisers. The Regal is in the top ten list of favorite large ship cruises on CC. :D

[TSM AND JP]

Thank you for your review. We board the Regal Princess this Sunday. You mentioned that you did self disembarkation. What time did you do that?

[Linerguy]

thanks for review 5115! We're on Regal Apr 3rd - cant wait! couple questions:

"We are Elite and decided to switch out our bar set-up for water which was great and they lasted the whole week." - can you explain a little more what you mean here by 'set-up for water'?

Also - the "walk-off" option on disembark? what does this mean?

Thanks!

 

Elite passengers receive a complimentary bar set up in their room. If they don't want the bar set up, they can switch it out for other things...bottled water, coffee cards, etc.

 

"Walk-off" is the same as self-assist.....meaning you carry everything with you (i.e. ALL your luggage) and just leave the ship.

[iriemon]

Thanks for your review. Been on the Royal and now on the Regal in April. Regarding the tour you did to St John's do you know the exact name of the tour? There are multiple ones and since you enjoyed it so much want to look into it. Thanks

[j3000]

thanks Linerguy.

[arb18]

Did you do Princess Cays first or last? If you did it last, which days were formal nights?

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review.:):):)

 

I enjoyed reading it and I am even more excited for my Regal cruise at the end of the year!

[amanda384]

Thanks for the review! We head out 2 weeks from today for our 3/20 cruise on the Regal. We're doing the Western itinerary so we have 4 ports of call. Reading great reviews gets me even more excited!

[SenorBruce]

Thx for your very thorough, spot-on review. We are on the Regal in Oct 2016, NYC to FLL repo. Also stopping at St. Maarten, your comments and experience are appreciated as we are deciding our port activities. This will be our 29th Princess cruise, we never get tired of cruising.

[CastroValley1]

Thank you for your detailed review. It was very helpful. I will now check out the excursions.

[KirkNC]

Bon voyage!

[WISH84]

Great review... Thanks for posting. We love the Regal.

[2BCruising]

Enjoyed your review. Brings back wonderful memories from our Regal cruise this past January. Like you, we picked this particular cruise because of the ship. The Regal is also my favorite ship. Wonderful cruising experience.

[lvrodmic]

Thank you for your very detailed review. I did have a question about taking your luggage off. Does Princess Cruise provide "Express Luggage" where you put your luggage out, it is picked up and then taken directly to your airline. Usually a $20 or $25 charge. Such a great service. They offer it on Carnival and hoping they offer it on Princess. I leave on April19th for the Regal and can't hardly wait. Your review makes me even more excited.

Mickie

[Clarea]

Thanks for the excellent review.

[Astro Flyer]

Thank you for your very detailed review. I did have a question about taking your luggage off. Does Princess Cruise provide "Express Luggage" where you put your luggage out, it is picked up and then taken directly to your airline. Usually a $20 or $25 charge. Such a great service. They offer it on Carnival and hoping they offer it on Princess. I leave on April19th for the Regal and can't hardly wait. Your review makes me even more excited.

 

Mickie

 

Princess offers that service & it costs $20/pp for their EZCheck service which provides airline boarding passes & luggage transfers.

 

It's primarily from USA ports (last April it was available for limited flights from Copenhagen to the USA) and the recent forms I've received stated that luggage weight limits were waived. They charge airline baggage fees to your shipboard account & you provide flight info including locator code to determine if luggage fees should be charged. A few days before the end of your cruise you receive an application form & because participation is limited returning the forms to the Passenger Service Desk quickly is recommended.

Edited March 20, 2016 by Astro Flyer