Just off the Regal 3/5-3/12 2017

[4cats4me]

The ship is still in great shape,

Third sailing in two years on the Regal

This time we had a regular balcony cabin instead of a deluxe balcony or mini suite, as we had the preceding two trips

Rough seas for first two days and bad wind. Had to wear jeans and polar fleece jackets for the first two days. Coldest Caribbean cruise we've ever taken, in fact, colder than some of our Alaskan cruises we have taken.

Never did get any good pool time as it was just too cool for us. Weather improved on days six and seven and there was not a chair to be had even though the weather didn't seem all that exceptional

Temps from 73 to 75 with the strong winds it felt more like 60° or high 50s on a couple days.

 

Two tugboats had to take us out of Fort Lauderdale

rough seas began immediately.

 

Dominican republic it rained but it was still enjoyable , however , we later heard that Many tours had been canceled

 

Saint Thomas was bright and sunny. However, still quite windy, and a shopkeeper mentioned how the day before they had had 45 MPH gusts [emoji33]. Evidently, we were there on the best weather day in a while.

At Saint Kitts, we thought we were going to blow off the pier, the winds were gusting so strongly. Seriously, wind was blowing so fiercely, I could barely move at times.

 

Now, that said, we had a wonderful cruise on the Regal. We felt badly for those who'd come from cold climates who would be anticipating great Caribbean weather.

 

We arrived at the port at 11:00 to embark, having left our hotel at 10:30. We were going to UBER from the Hyatt Place since our last experience with a shuttle last year was not so great due to a 45-minute shuttle ride since we were last to be dropped off out of six ships, so the shuttle driver came into the lobby this time and was kind of trying to solicit our business to fill the shuttle. Surprisingly, we saw nobody in the lobby waiting for a shuttle, which was a stark departure from preceding years where the lobby would be full. However, it was between shuttle times, being 10:30

 

Anyway. I told him I would be happy to take a shuttle but that I would not be willing to wait 45 mins to go to every ship, so he asked us which ship and I told him the Regal, and he says, oh, you WILL be the first drop-off, but I told him that I was ready to leave now, and did not want to wait until 11:00, so he took us right then, which was very nice.

So what should have been a 10 minute drop-off still turned into a half hour due to so much traffic arriving at the port. Problem was the disembarking passengers had been delayed due to a luggage delay due to the heavy winds, and apparently the luggage was one hour behind or something, so all the busses were lined up waiting for passengers who hadn't yet disembarked, even at 11:00, and the busses created a traffic jam, because all of us shuttle vans were lined up, just sitting and waiting, so our shuttle driver was nice enough to offer to let us out instead of having to sit in all that mess.

And the line to embark was u like any other we've ever been in,

All the way to the end of the building and wrapped around, and regular line mixed in with priority line for a portion, but then the doors opened around 11:10 and the priority embarkation began and we were all processed through Quite quickly. Must have been 400 people in front of us in just the priority boarding line

All I know, is we got in line around 11:03 and were onboard by 11:36, a record.

 

We were able to go right to our stateroom, u nlike the other two trips on Regal where we had to wait until 1:00.

 

We did a lot of things this time that we hadn't done before, and didn't do the things that we usually do.

 

We went to the showroom every night. We LOVED Bravo and liked Fiero a lot as well. The vocalists were excellent! There was a guest opera star who supplemented the vocalists in Bravo. Wow! So incredibly talented.

 

A wonderful pianist who was like Liberace on steroids that was so good that I bought his CDs. He is an entertainer in Las Vegas.

 

Steve Moris, a longtime favorite had a couple shows throughout the week. We love him.

 

We never ate in the dining room.

 

We always at the buffet or Crowne Grill. Excellent food once again

Completely packed on both nights we went, unlike the other years we'd gone. We think it might have had something to do with some of those promos that Princess was offering last year where they were giving a free specialty restaurant dinner if booking a cruise by a certain date. It was unreal, not a table to be had. We ate earlier, bit even later it seemed packed.

 

We went to our free Elite wine tasting. It was much nicer than we expected, held in the Symphony dining room. There were 140 of us there, some had paid for it though, but due to both of us finally being Elites we decided to take advantage of our freebie.

 

We never did laundry, so can't comment on turnaround time.

 

400 Elites on board. Have no idea how many Platinums.

 

We only Went to the elite platinum lounge one night and there were so many people there that people were lined up just to get a chunk of cheese and a cup of celery sticks, and I mean a long line like 30 to 35 people.

They we're letting people order anything they wanted for five dollars of those that usually appear on the lounge menu throughout the week.

 

We kind of did a lot of nothing on this cruise with no plans except to relax. We enjoyed a few of the movies onboard,

 

We did not go to the spa

 

We did enjoy movies under the stars or the sun or whatever it's called.

 

However we would prefer a Caribbean band throughout the day

 

There was a steel drum guy on board he was entertaining and he was excellent.

 

For the first time I noticed something on the ship: no dance floor in the wheelhouse and that just seemed odd to me. Many musicians every night playing great songs but no where to dance. Club six dance floor is a joke as it is about the size of a postage stamp.

Regardless, we still enjoy club six.

 

Drinks are buy one get one for a dollar at crooners every day from three until four and again at the club from 11 until 12

 

 

Our cabin steward was excellent

Our room number was a B718. The room was about five cabins back from aft and it had a pronounced shimmy at all times, so much so that on the first night I thought my brain was going to vibrate out of my head when I was propped up against the wall with my pillows trying to read. But because of the seas were rough, the shimmy seemed diminished somewhat.

 

I think Next time we would prefer a deluxe balcony because we really missed having a little sofa, so in the future we would be pleased with obstructed deluxe balcony versus reg. Balcony.

 

We thought the employees seemed stressed and overworked compared to those on the Grand, who were so happy.

We had the same impression last year on the Regal as well.

Last year we thought it was a fluke, but we got the same feeling this time around as well.

When we talked with the crew members on the Grand, we asked if they would like to work on the Regal, and their response was always, oh no, ma'am .... Too big!

 

 

 

 

 

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[EightFurryPaws]

We are just off the Regal also. Boarded February 26, and enjoyed our 14 day cruise.

 

Yes, it was windy on certain days. The first wasn't quite as windy and the second. But for sure, I'll take the weather we experienced on the trip over what we can home to in Michigan each and every day. I can't wait to show off my tan tomorrow at work.

 

But what I really want to say is Bravo to Princess!!

On our last night into Lauderdale, the Regal received a distress call from a small fishing boat. The Captain kept the passengers informed throughout the entire ordeal. Our cabin was just above the life boat which was used to bring

fuel to the boat.

 

The old fishing boat was at sea for 10 days with 6 people aboard. All they wanted was fuel to get to the next port. Princess jumped into action, and within an hour of receiving the mayday call, they had the fuel. All I could think of was I hoped that little, old fishing boat gets to safety before a storm approached.

 

Passengers were all out on their balconies cheering on the crew. This is the second time we've seen Princess come to the rescue of a boat in distress. Last year was on the Royal in the Med.

 

Another cool thing I have never seen before, we were heading back to Lauderdale and the Captain announced the

Royal was passing us on the port side headed to Antigua. Two sister ships passing in the day.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

[caribill]

Third sailing in two years on the Regal

 

We are just off the Regal also.

 

Thanks to both of you for the reviews.

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

[ckrcjr]

We were also on this sailing - our second time on the Regal as we sailed her last March as well. She is a gorgeous ship and we had a fantastic time even despite the winds the first few days. We found the crew to be outstanding and very happy as every single crew member we saw, smiled and spoke to us.

 

We had a deluxe balcony cabin on Dolphin deck and loved the cabin and location. Typically we like the aft facing cabins, which we had last year, however, since the reclassification, we decided to go with a deluxe balcony and it was great. We had the champagne breakfast on the balcony one day - fantastic.

 

We did not attend the production shows since we saw them last year, but we did attend all of Steve Moris' shows and he was the best ever. Could listen to him for hours and he provides pure entertainment.

 

The rescue of the fishing boat was amazing. Captain Street is one of our favorite captains and it was wonderful how he kept everyone informed during the process. He also participated in the Liars game show and it was great to see the other side of him. Billy Hygate was the CD and he was one of the best we have ever seen.

 

We had such a great time on this cruise. We were travelling with many friends and everyone thought this cruise was definitely awesome - despite the weather, which no one can control. For as windy as it was, we felt the ship handled it very well. Would have loved for it to have been calmer and warmer, but we were still on a ship, away from work - and it was wonderful!

 

Loved hearing the Love Boat theme played when we passed the Royal Princess. You can't help but smile!

 

We are counting down to our next cruise this August to Alaska on the Star, but would definitely book the Regal again in a heartbeat!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Great reviews, we love the Regal too for many reasons!

 

 

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[geocruiser]

We were also on this sailing - our second time on the Regal as we sailed her last March as well. She is a gorgeous ship and we had a fantastic time even despite the winds the first few days. We found the crew to be outstanding and very happy as every single crew member we saw, smiled and spoke to us.

 

We had a deluxe balcony cabin on Dolphin deck and loved the cabin and location. Typically we like the aft facing cabins, which we had last year, however, since the reclassification, we decided to go with a deluxe balcony and it was great. We had the champagne breakfast on the balcony one day - fantastic.

 

We did not attend the production shows since we saw them last year, but we did attend all of Steve Moris' shows and he was the best ever. Could listen to him for hours and he provides pure entertainment.

 

The rescue of the fishing boat was amazing. Captain Street is one of our favorite captains and it was wonderful how he kept everyone informed during the process. He also participated in the Liars game show and it was great to see the other side of him. Billy Hygate was the CD and he was one of the best we have ever seen.

 

We had such a great time on this cruise. We were travelling with many friends and everyone thought this cruise was definitely awesome - despite the weather, which no one can control. For as windy as it was, we felt the ship handled it very well. Would have loved for it to have been calmer and warmer, but we were still on a ship, away from work - and it was wonderful!

 

Loved hearing the Love Boat theme played when we passed the Royal Princess. You can't help but smile!

 

We are counting down to our next cruise this August to Alaska on the Star, but would definitely book the Regal again in a heartbeat!

 

Was the rescue of the fishing boat on the 3/5 cruise, or the week before? If it was the 3/5 cruise I missed it.

[4cats4me]

Was the rescue of the fishing boat on the 3/5 cruise, or the week before? If it was the 3/5 cruise I missed it.

 

 

 

On 3/11 during sunset

 

 

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[4cats4me]

We are looking to book Regal again but not until the prices come down or the perks go up .... So much pricier for 2018 than years past. We are next booked on Celebrity for the fall. We got a much better deal on X than we can get on Princess. Shocking, but true [emoji2][emoji33][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji483][emoji322][emoji322][emoji322][emoji322][emoji322]

 

 

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[geocruiser]

On 3/11 during sunset

 

 

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I did not know. I did say to my DH that we slowed down. Maybe that was the time. We were in the cabin at that time.

[geocruiser]

On 3/11 during sunset

 

 

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OK, we missed it. We were in our cabin and heard nothing. Did the Captain give the fuel or take them on board?

[ckrcjr]

Was the rescue of the fishing boat on the 3/5 cruise, or the week before? If it was the 3/5 cruise I missed it.

 

It was during sunset. The Voice of the Ocean had not yet started and the Captain was scheduled to be a coach, however, once he made the announcement about the fishing boat, his name was removed and replaced with Steve Moris. I believe Princess gave them enough fuel to get to the Bahamas. To the best of my knowledge, they did not bring them onboard. I can only imagine how those onboard the fishing boat felt when they saw the Regal turn around and head back to them.

[geocruiser]

It was during sunset. The Voice of the Ocean had not yet started and the Captain was scheduled to be a coach, however, once he made the announcement about the fishing boat, his name was removed and replaced with Steve Moris. I believe Princess gave them enough fuel to get to the Bahamas. To the best of my knowledge, they did not bring them onboard. I can only imagine how those onboard the fishing boat felt when they saw the Regal turn around and head back to them.

 

did they get the life boat from the starboard side of the ship?

[wrongwaywatson]

Good job, Princess!

[4cats4me]

OK, we missed it. We were in our cabin and heard nothing. Did the Captain give the fuel or take them on board?

 

 

 

Gave them fuel. They were on our side, port side

Captain announced that Regal would give them Enough fuel to get to their next port.

 

 

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[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[Woobstr112G]

Thank you for the reviews.....:):):)

 

Bob

[4cats4me]

Forgot to mention that we really loved using the messenger app for Princess at Sea instead of having to carry the Patter with us, we could always access it from our iPhones. We also liked being able to message one another as well.

 

 

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[plan09]

Forgot to mention that we really loved using the messenger app for Princess at Sea instead of having to carry the Patter with us, we could always access it from our iPhones. We also liked being able to message one another as well.

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Thanks, good to know about the app.

[PrincessNancy]

Thanks for all of your reviews!

[hllwdcruiser]

 

We thought the employees seemed stressed and overworked compared to those on the Grand, who were so happy.

We had the same impression last year on the Regal as well.

Last year we thought it was a fluke, but we got the same feeling this time around as well.

When we talked with the crew members on the Grand, we asked if they would like to work on the Regal, and their response was always, oh no, ma'am .... Too big!

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I am so disappointed to read this :(

We were on the Regal in February last year and had the exact same impression of the staff in comparison to the ones on our previous sailings on the Coral, Ruby, Crown and the like.

And, again, like you, we were hoping it was just a one off and took a risk on booking the Regal again. We sail in less than two weeks in an obstructed deluxe. There are so many things we love about the ship and perhaps with our diminished expectations we'll be happily surprised.

Thanks so much for your review - :)

[4cats4me]

I am so disappointed to read this :(

We were on the Regal in February last year and had the exact same impression of the staff in comparison to the ones on our previous sailings on the Coral, Ruby, Crown and the like.

And, again, like you, we were hoping it was just a one off and took a risk on booking the Regal again. We sail in less than two weeks in an obstructed deluxe. There are so many things we love about the ship and perhaps with our diminished expectations we'll be happily surprised.

Thanks so much for your review - :)

 

 

 

We had a wonderful time, but I am a very perceptive person, and based on our experience 11 months ago, I thought I would start asking around on the Grand to the employees who I love to chat with, and I flat out asked them if they would rather be on the newer ships, like Regal and Royal, and I kid you not, not one person responded with a positive comment. They looked like deer in the headlights and said, oh, no ma'am! I asked them why, and the answer was always "it's too big." It is harder on the waiters because the kitchen is farther away, longer walk e.g. cet, it is harder on room stewards because their access closets with linens aren't staged like they are on the smaller ships. They have to run to far end of the ship to load up on supplies, unlike Grand where the closets are every few feet

Logistically, it just isn't an easy ship to work on.

The buffet is way larger than on the Grand. Yet the amount of buffet stewards didn't seem quite as plentiful. They have more people to attend to, more passengers water cups to fill.

I did not mean to convey that all employees are walking around all mopey and sad-faced, but I can say that some did seem tired out and sad.; just an observation on a human level. One example is our waiter in Chops, he could barely come up for air, he was running around so quickly. He had our 7 tables to wait PLUS that table full of 11 or 12 in the wine room or whatever it is called. We could barely get his attention for anything, and it wasn't his fault, as he was doing the best he possibly could.

 

 

 

 

 

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[Guest arowe6]

Thanks for your review! I would kill (ok maybe not that extreme) to be on the Regal right now. Alas, not until December I think.

 

-Andrew :)

[cruiserking]

I see Regal is headed to dry dock next month. Does anyone know if it's mechanical or aesthetic too?

 

Jonathan

 

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