Trip Report for Regal Princess Thanksgiving Cruise! With Patters and Menus

[amanda384]

Day 3 - At Sea!

 

I love sea days. We slept in a bit, and after a quick buffet breakfast my younger daughter and I went to Animal Planet Trivia, at which we performed abysmally. BUT, throughout the course of the ship my husband and I won trivia 3 times! I had quite a bag of Princess Swag by the time we were done. Wine stoppers, water bottles, notebooks and a string bag.

 

My husband loves cars and went to the Common Interest @ Sea get-together in Club 6 for car enthusiasts. But it turned out to be more geared toward people who collected cars rather than just have a ton of knowledge about them so he was back quickly and we went to Afternoon Tea. Afternoon Tea is one of the things I most look forward to about sailing. Maybe I'm just being nitpicky though but I found the sandwiches VERY heavy on the mayo this time around and I'm not a huge fan of mayo to begin with. The pastries and scones were nice, though. They do try to push you to share a table, but at that point in the day I usually need a pick-me-up and am not at my conversational best, so we mostly stuck with tables for 2 throughout.

 

Tea is in the Concerto Dining Room and is still free. They did do Royal Tea in the Piazza on the last sea day but it didn't seem worth it to me. Others might disagree! It was $10 for tea service and an additional $10 to add a glass of sparkling wine.

 

Annoying incident: My family went to the Captain's speech and champagne waterfall in the piazza in the evening. We were on Deck 5 in front of Gelato. Someone put their empty champagne glass on one of the Gelato tables. As I was stepping back to take a photo of the waterfall, a woman walked by swinger her arms and smashed the glass on the floor. Shards exploded everywhere and got me in the leg, causing me to bleed. She didn't even stop to apologize, just glanced at me and kept walking! Two crew members started sweeping up but didn't say anything to me. My husband and I were headed for our Crown Grill reservation and the woman there gave me a bandaid. I wasn't gushing blood or anything, but I was a little irked that no one (culprit or crew) asked if I was okay and needed help. Not irked enough to make a big scene or anything, but it started our special dinner off on a grim note.

 

The Crown Grill made up for it though! I'm not as big a steak person as my husband but he loved his bone-in Kansas City. I got a rib-eye and it was perfectly cooked. Medium-rare is tough on a relatively thin cut but it was red without being cold. We added a lobster tail and shared it. As others have said, the only surf and turf is with a filet mignon and still costs an additional $10. So I just ordered the $10 lobster tail separately from my ribeye. I had my usual milk chocolate and peanut butter bar dessert. All in all I can't say Crown Grill is comparable to the really good steakhouses in NYC/Chicago/etc. but for the price it more than holds its own. Crown Grill is always my husband's favorite meal on board so I am happy to do it for him!

 

Finally, at night we saw the Beatlemaniacs in Princess Theater. I loved it! At the end of the show they get the audience to dance to "Twist and Shout" which I thought was a blast. They are a great tribute band. FWIW, we never had trouble getting a seat on Deck 7 in the theater for the 10 PM show, 10 minutes prior to start time. I assume the 8 PM is more crowded. If you missed the show, they did a performance in the Piazza the following night so that was nice.

 

Next up, Day 4, Falmouth!

[Gatormomma]

Only sailing I've read so far. Life vest was needed on ours on the CB last Sept.

 

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I am not in favor of not bringing the lifevest! If I ever needed it I want to be secure that I know how to handle it!

[amanda384]

I am not in favor of not bringing the lifevest! If I ever needed it I want to be secure that I know how to handle it!

 

I assume you are still allowed to bring it, it's just not required. The demo is pretty clear though so I didn't feel at a disadvantage. Also, in order to watch TV in the room you have to sit through a Loveboat-themed safety video so you can always practice in the room along with the demo!

[cloveygrl]

Only sailing I've read so far. Life vest was needed on ours on the CB last Sept.

 

 

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This is what they plan on doing now and will eventually get around to all ships (I don't know why it would need to be tied to ***** but it may be - more video screens - better networking?)

[mrpayroll]

Enjoying your review so far . Will be on Regal in January , but doing Eastern.{ ? }:)

[amanda384]

Day 4: Falmouth, Jamaica!

 

I got up early on Day 4 to spend the morning at the Retreat Pool. The water was cold!! An excellent wake-up call. There was never a problem for me getting a lounger at the Retreat. I loved it, especially the shaded ones. For the most part the morning swimmers were doing laps but we had a few nice chats. I had one of those "moments" one morning when I was laying on the lounger, with a gentle breeze and a cold drink as I read a great book and I was like, "Can I live here? Can this be life??" It helped not having kids shouting in the pool! Nothing against kids, of course, but they do add an element!

 

We didn't do any shore excursions in Falmouth but we got off the ship to poke around the port and have lunch at that touristy-est of tourist traps, Margaritaville. Lame, but every Caribbean cruise I have the desire to hit one up. I loved the one in Ocho Rios but at this one we got shuttled into a sort of uncomfortable table in a dark, non-airconditioned room so it wasn't as pleasant. A Cheeseburger in Paradise never disappoints though. ;)

 

Back on the ship for more pool time and dinner in the MDR. My kids went to the Lido to watch Wonder Woman and my husband and I went to the Vista Lounge to see the Randy Heddon Quartet do a tribute concert to Billy Joel. Billy Joel is my favorite singer/artist so I had a blast even though I am also a lyrics perfectionist and there were a few songs where the lyrics were... inventive. My husband kept teasing me because I would turn and make funny faces at him whenever they got words wrong. But they were talented!

 

When it was over we had missed the very beginning of the "Born to Dance" Production Show so we decided to skip it and instead went to Crooners where we enjoyed the very talented (and quite funny!) Liam Stewart. I highly recommend checking him out if you are on the Regal! He did a great variety of songs beyond what you would typically here at a piano bar, although he also did the classics.

 

I think this was my favorite day/night of the cruise. My kids were not as enthused as I was. :( They weren't happy with the kids club, but I don't think that is necessarily a reflection on the offerings so much as that my daughters are introverted and don't really take proactive steps to spark friendships on board. They have fun playing with other kids in the pool but don't take it to the next step where they meet up and do things together on the ship. I often "caught" them watching movies on demand in the stateroom for hours on end and I mean, everyone vacations/relaxes in their own way, but my husband and I do wish that they would get more into the spirit of things! Rough ages, I guess!

 

Next up, Turkey Day/Grand Cayman!

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[goldie099]

Following! Sailing on the Regal in just under 3 weeks!!

[Keith1010]

I enjoyed the second report and will continue to follow.

 

Keith

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for your review.

Tony

[Gus2013]

Thanks for your review and the Patters. Really enjoy seeing them again. We sail out on the Regal on January 14th and I can't wait!!!!:hearteyes::ship: