Regal Cruise- 1/06/19

[CaribbeanJen]

Just spent a week on the Regal to celebrate my 50th birthday.  

Some random facts:

Second time on the Regal (and we've cruised in the Royal). 

It was our 6th Princess cruise so we're now Platinum.  

We have cruised Norwegian 3 times. 

2 couples came along.  One had cruised with us twice before (also on the Regal) and the other was experiencing their first cruise.  

 

Overall- it was a FANTASTIC way to celebrate a milestone birthday!  

The first-time cruisers are now hooked.  They bought future cruise credit and are sending me links to cruises.  We've bookmarked two.  

The experienced couple have decided to put cruises on hold for a while.  

 

Food

My husband I thought the food was good, but it's definitely not the same as it used to be.  The quality has decreased but we are willing to overlook that for the most part.  The experienced couple were quite displeased with most of their meals. The first timers thought everything was fantastic.  I am only sharing this because I think it's fair to say that if you have past cruises to compare things then you are more likely to be disappointed.  

I was worried because I'd heard that the lobster had changed and is no longer served with drawn butter.  It turns out that we loved the change and thought it was delicious.  The risotto was perfect and there was no need for drawn butter.  

I thought the cookies were warm on the last cruise.  Am I remembering wrong?  They were not warm this time.  Not even soft.  

 

Dining Service

The dining room- This was by far the biggest disappointment. We had mostly terrible dining service. We are accustomed to personable and attentive wait staff.  We only had for one night.  The rest of the time we had extended wait times for everything. The ship was not sailing at full capacity and the dining room was about 1/3 empty when we were there.  I actually felt embarrassed about the crappy service because the first-timers had no idea that it wasn't normal.  We tried both dining rooms with the same results.  

 

Crown Grill- The service was absolutely terrible.  We were seated and no one talked to us for 30 minutes!   Someone poured water but there was no offer for drinks.  Exactly 30 minutes later a woman appeared and said she would be taking care of us.  Then the whole meal went off as though we were all stuck in a slow-motion movie. Everything took forever.  The experienced couple had steaks that were so bad that they didn't have to pay for the meal.  My husband's steak was just so-so.  My filet was perfect so I have no complaint about that.  Again, I felt bad for the first-timers because on previous cruises Crown Grill had been a highlight.  We had really talked it up.  

 

Stateroom

We always get a balcony room.  It works perfectly for us.  Our room steward was fast and he was magical.  I have no idea how he managed to make our messy room look so neat. 

 

Room Service  

It was hit or miss.  They were great about bringing our coffee and fruit each morning which also served as our wake-up call. However, when we called for wine glasses they simply never came.  

 

The Enclave

Me and my two friends purchased passes to the Enclave.  I was worried because the last two times I've cruised they did not have the stone bed heated. (I declined purchasing the pass last time because of this.)  This time the beds were heated (although they ought to be hotter).  We loved the Enclave.  It was never crowded.  There were no lounger hogs. (I'd read about them here before we sailed.)  We visited for about an hour almost every day.  The showers are wonderful so that's a nice bonus.  

 

Upper/Pool Deck

It was pretty easy to find good places to sun even when there were 6 of us.  I was happy to "help" the staff by removing towels from empty loungers and placing them in the bin.  It's astounding how many people forget their towels when they leave the loungers.  One thing we noticed was that no one ever approached us to offer drinks. I guess they are not staffing for that anymore?  

 

Movies Under the Stars

We usually enjoy this feature but the films running this time were either not our taste or the timing was weird.  This is not really a complaint because you can't please everyone.  We did watch a football game one night-- well the guys watched it and I took a nap.  

 

Platinum Perks

I was excited to be cruising platinum but in the end it wasn't much of a perk. We had priority boarding and our friends were allowed to board with us but beyond that I don't see much benefit.  The free 150 minutes of internet are sucked out of your account even if you logout.  It happened to my husband twice and he had to keep going back to the internet cafe to get them loaded.  I ended up buying a week-long package.  

 

Casino

The casino stole a bunch of money from me....well not really, but I suck at gambling.  My husband won $500 in a slot tournament so I forgave them.  

 

Shows (and other event meetings)

We went to one show and it was well done.  I wonder if I'm not cultured enough because I was bored by the songs sung in other languages.  (I'm a college professor so shhhhh....) 

Me and my two female friends went to a spa makeover thing.  While I enjoyed trying the skincare products I didn't enjoy the intense sale pitches for their pricey services. 

The experienced couple own a jewelry store and ended up talking to a guy in one of the ship stores.  That led to my friends husband being asked to be in the fashion show.  We all attended and the show was fun.  I liked how they picked 'real' people to model. HOWEVER-- after the show they kept us there for an extended time while they showed us products for sale on the ship. They went too far and took far too long with this.  

 

It was a wonderful cruise and although I'm a little sad by the corners being cut and as a couple with 15 year's experience with Princess, we notice.  I think our next cruise will be with Norwegian on one of their mid-sized ships.  (I love the Pearl.)  The first-timers are already planning to come along and I'm hopeful they will get to experience the wonderful service that is usually a part of cruising.  

 

I included a pic of me and my husband on the night of my 50th.  He surprised me with a diamond ring that was served with my birthday cake.  (It helps when your best friend owns a jewelry store.)   I also included a pic of all us from the first day.  The blonde and guy with a hat are the first timers.  

[floridalover5623]

Did you go to the buffet any lunch or dinner and if so what did your think? 

[CaribbeanJen]

Just now, floridalover5623 said:

Did you go to the buffet any lunch or dinner and if so what did your think? 

 

We did visit the buffet for lunch and one time for dinner.  I love the buffet because I can try new foods with no risk and there's always something I like.  I gained 2 pounds on the cruise and I blame the buffet.  

[floridalover5623]

1 minute ago, CaribbeanJen said:

 

We did visit the buffet for lunch and one time for dinner.  I love the buffet because I can try new foods with no risk and there's always something I like.  I gained 2 pounds on the cruise and I blame the buffet.  

They really make it appealing to have lots of choices. 

Something for everyone. 

[hllwdcruiser]

It's disappointing to read about all the cutbacks. You are just mirroring what other reviewers have mentioned recently. Since you mention that you ate in both dining rooms, I'm assuming you ate in Anytime and are late diners? 

Three years ago on the Regal we had sub par service in the MDR and Crown Grill but in 2017, again on the Regal, we actually noticed some improvement both in the food and service. We are traveling with three other couples, two are newbies but one is experienced on other lines. 

I know it is a pipe dream but I'm really hoping that someone in Princess is reading these reviews and steps up to the plate, so to speak. We are Platinum too and are not seeing much benefit from the status or any reason to continue on to reach elite. We, like you did, are introducing our friends to Princess. If they don't deliver but on the contrary disappoint, what is our incentive to continue sailing with them? In my mind they are being penny wise and pound foolish. 

[antmaril]

I, too, was on the 1/6 sailing of the Regal. We had Club Class dining and the service was exceptional.  However, I don’t think you should have to pay extra for good service in the dining room.   We didn’t go to any Specialty restaurants, so I can’t comment on that.  I was on this same cruise last year and I think the entertainment on board this time was lacking a little.  We had a great time, but I did notice cutbacks compared to last year.  

[CaribbeanJen]

1 hour ago, hllwdcruiser said:

It's disappointing to read about all the cutbacks. You are just mirroring what other reviewers have mentioned recently. Since you mention that you ate in both dining rooms, I'm assuming you ate in Anytime and are late diners? 

Three years ago on the Regal we had sub par service in the MDR and Crown Grill but in 2017, again on the Regal, we actually noticed some improvement both in the food and service. We are traveling with three other couples, two are newbies but one is experienced on other lines. 

I know it is a pipe dream but I'm really hoping that someone in Princess is reading these reviews and steps up to the plate, so to speak. We are Platinum too and are not seeing much benefit from the status or any reason to continue on to reach elite. We, like you did, are introducing our friends to Princess. If they don't deliver but on the contrary disappoint, what is our incentive to continue sailing with them? In my mind they are being penny wise and pound foolish. 

 You said it perfectly.  That's exactly what my husband and I were discussing.  What is the motivation to stay with Princess to reach Elite?  I am not saying I won't cruise with them again but I'm considering other options as well.  If our next cruise is similar to this one then it's unlikely we will be back.  

[floridalover5623]

13 hours ago, CaribbeanJen said:

 You said it perfectly.  That's exactly what my husband and I were discussing.  What is the motivation to stay with Princess to reach Elite?  I am not saying I won't cruise with them again but I'm considering other options as well.  If our next cruise is similar to this one then it's unlikely we will be back.  

We've seen some cutbacks over the years but not anything that the other cruise lines haven't done also (or increased their price accordingly).

Maybe we've just become numb to it all but I'll be looking a little more closely at the Regal in the near future, once again. 😉

[cruisequeen4ever]

The Crown Grill food is still awesome, but the service has been really slow the past few years, and I’m not meaning fine dining slow; I’m meaning too slow.

[floridalover5623]

Just now, CaribbeanJen said:

 

We did visit the buffet for lunch and one time for dinner.  I love the buffet because I can try new foods with no risk and there's always something I like.  I gained 2 pounds on the cruise and I blame the buffet.  

We just went to the buffet last night & everything was great. Nothing to complain about & there was hardly anyone there. I guess they were all at the DR.

The Regal is living up to the reputation of the Royal class ships in every way so far & I haven't noticed any degrade in quality so far.

We shall see.

[hllwdcruiser]

5 hours ago, floridalover5623 said:

We just went to the buffet last night & everything was great. Nothing to complain about & there was hardly anyone there. I guess they were all at the DR.

The Regal is living up to the reputation of the Royal class ships in every way so far & I haven't noticed any degrade in quality so far.

We shall see.

This is good to know. It's amazing how different everyone's impressions are. I will definitely report back on mine next month!

[momsmad69]

Do you happen to know what the current drink prices are?  In 2016 most drinks were less than $10.