Royal vs. Regal Princess cruises

[Fortun8]

Hello,

    I am booked this summer on Royal Princess and sailed her in January of 2014 last.  But I wanted

to find someone who has been on both Royal and Regal Princess and can compare the two. Regal always

gets high marks and stunning reviews but not so much Royal Princess. What is different about the two

coming out within a year of each other? I heard Regal has a pool on the back that Royal does not but 

what about the other amenities and food and entertainment, is there a difference?

Fortun8

[Astro Flyer]

The small splash pool on the aft end of the ship is the only difference that I recall between the ships.

 

I sailed the Royal last month & everything was up to Princess standards.  I’ve sailed the Royal in 2013, 2014, 2017 & 2019 and the Regal in 2015.  Both were great & my choice would be based on price & itinerary.

 

With the Royal now on the West Coast that’s my preferred ship because I can drive to the ship & prefer those itineraries to the Caribbean.

Edited June 29, 2019 by Astro Flyer

[TNT5197]

We've sailed on the Regal four times and the Royal just once.   The last time on the Regal was last November and the Royal was several years ago.  The difference I found is there is an aft pool on the Regal and the smoking area on deck 17 is (in my opinion) a lot more accommodating.    Friends who recently sailed the Royal said it wasn't what it used to be.   

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree they are the same other than the aft dipping pool.

 

[Lynniepoo]

We have been on both, but sailed more times (and more recently) on the Regal than the Royal.  I don't recall much difference between either ship, but (I think) the Royal is older than the Regal, maybe showing a little wear and tear?

[tawlaw1526]

We’ve been on both Royal and Regal 3 times each and love them both equally as much.  

[cattman]

We sailed both ships within 6 months of each other(Regal in December for the second time, Royal in May) and while both ships are almost identical, we found the service, food and entertainment  to be much better aboard the Regal. Now we realize things like service and entertainment are static and change with the itineraries and crews but the quality of both our Regal cruises was head and shoulders above that experienced on the Royal.

 

We could not understand why Princess would drop the ball on the Royals' first Alaska season(no deck bbq's or parties during fantastic weather, old tired shows instead of the new Stephen Schwartz shows we saw on the Regal, boring menus, lousy selections in the International Cafe). Also, the Royal's elevators seemed painfully slow - something we never noticed aboard the Regal.

 

The only thing the Royal had over the Regal were the new beds... but by this time the Regal may have them too.

Edited July 9, 2019 by cattman

[musicpro442]

9 hours ago, cattman said:

 

 

.... old tired shows instead of the new Stephen Schwartz shows we saw on the Regal, boring menus, lousy selections in the International Cafe). Also, the Royal's elevators seemed painfully slow - something we never noticed aboard the Regal.

You do know the Royal is slightly older than the Regal and that two of those "old, tired shows" are identical on both?

 

You also know that shows have to run an average of 5-10 years before companies spend millions to have them replaced, don't you?

 

If not, now you know.

 

Yet, they did replace a show. Encore just launched on the Royal in late 2017 and a year before that in 2016 on the Island and Coral.

 

I'd hardly call that show old.  

 

#TheMoreYouKnow

Edited July 10, 2019 by musicpro442
Specificity

[MissP22]

4 hours ago, musicpro442 said:

You also know that shows have to run an average of 5-10 years before companies spend millions to have them replaced, don't you?

Understood, but they certainly could bring in some different guest entertainers from time to time instead of the same old ones that haven't changed their routine in 20 years. They consistently reuse the same ones over & over. I'm sure there must be some different performers who would like to perform on a cruise ship for a change.

[musicpro442]

10 hours ago, MissP22 said:

Understood, but they certainly could bring in some different guest entertainers from time to time instead of the same old ones that haven't changed their routine in 20 years. They consistently reuse the same ones over & over. I'm sure there must be some different performers who would like to perform on a cruise ship for a change.

Oh, well, that's a different set of old and tired vs. the production shows.  They do bring in new acts every year (in fact, I'm told there is a booker in Santa Clarita who does just that) but hiring new guest entertainers is a risk for the line because a) they've only seen a 15-minute showcase or a 5-minute reel before they booked them and b) the performers are rarely polished their first few shows trying to learn each demographic for each specific line.  And if their shows aren't well received or attended, the ship's and the entertainers' ratings might suffer, which, if you don't know how the system works, could be their death knell before they've ever even begun.

 

It's a gamble and it's hard to predict what each cruise of passengers will want.  Someone's always going to be disappointed.  And if you don't go to every single solo show because, "oh, I don't like soul/Broadway/instrumental/classical" then you can't really complain about the acts being old and tired because, in my experience, there's usually at least one new act onboard I haven't seen before, even if it's not my cup of tea.   

 

Maybe you haven't seen the new-ish ones like Solomon Jaye, Jassen Allen, Lou Gazzara, Barbi McCulloch, Divas3, Andrew Diessner, Ashlie Amber Harris, etc., but they are phenomenal new acts, many with great resumes on land, who are getting a shot alongside the veterans.

 

Again, booking new talent is always a gamble with new acts, and the industry is trying to redefine itself to suit the influx of newer, younger cruisers.

 

Patience.

Edited July 10, 2019 by musicpro442
.

[MissP22]

1 hour ago, musicpro442 said:

Again, booking new talent is always a gamble with new acts, and the industry is trying to redefine itself to suit the influx of newer, younger cruisers.

All I can say is that Princess certainly isn't taking much of a gamble with their guest entertainers over the past 15 to 20 years. 

[musicpro442]

2 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

All I can say is that Princess certainly isn't taking much of a gamble with their guest entertainers over the past 15 to 20 years. 

Most businesses don't.

 

Would you if you had to spend thousands per week on new talent that you don't know will be well received? 

 

Be patient.  There are great new acts coming up every year.  But they have to first prove themselves to be all over the fleet.

[MissP22]

1 minute ago, musicpro442 said:

Most businesses don't.

 

Would you if you had to spend thousands per week on new talent that you don't know will be well received? 

 

Be patient.  There are great new acts coming up every year.  But they have to first prove themselves to be all over the fleet.

I have been patient and it been ages since we last saw anything new.

Maybe the Beatlemaniacs  was the last new show they've had.....and today it can't be considered new any longer.

Maybe we cruise to much to expect anything really new.

[musicpro442]

16 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

I have been patient and it been ages since we last saw anything new.

Maybe the Beatlemaniacs  was the last new show they've had.....and today it can't be considered new any longer.

Maybe we cruise to much to expect anything really new.

But overall is cruising too much a bad thing?  😁

[geoherb]

Another difference is the walkways between the outside decks on the Promenade Deck. The Regal has them accessible to passenger; the Royal's are off limits to passengers. Matt O' is supposed to be back soon on the Royal as CD. That's a plus for us, although we're not going to be able to take advantage of it.

[Potstech]

Hace sailed them both and they are basically the same. But the staff makes a huge difference.  Regal has had way better staff on the Excursion and passenger services desks than the Royal.  Do not know why but have not liked the staff on the Royal on the last two trips on her. 

[MissP22]

13 hours ago, musicpro442 said:

But overall is cruising too much a bad thing?  😁

Obviously not since we keep returning. 

We still have hope for new guest entertainers to appear or even for the older ones to change their routines. 

[richsea]

One advantage Royal has over Regal is that cruise director Matt O. can usually found on her. Best cruise director we’ve seen in over 40 sailings.

[voljeep]

9 minutes ago, richsea said:

One advantage Royal has over Regal is that cruise director Matt O. can usually found on her. Best cruise director we’ve seen in over 40 sailings.

what makes a cruise director "best" ? exactly what

[richsea]

1 hour ago, voljeep said:

what makes a cruise director "best" ? exactly what

He is all over the ship, & when he hosts an event, he makes it so much more enjoyable with his humor & wit. So many CDs remind us of Bill Murray’s Nick the Lounge Singer on SNL many years ago, with their stock schtick. Matt is totally spontaneous.

[Jeter02]

Pretty much identical. I've been on both several times. It comes down to staff and how it it is ran. The crew in Regal are an outstanding bunch, who really pride on excellence in everything.

[nattie]

We have been on Royal for B2B (dec18/Jan19) and on Regal for two different sailings (April 18 and June 19). IMHO they are effectively identical ships. Aside from Medallion actually working on Regal on last sailing, I could not discern any effective difference between the ships.

[cattman]

On 7/9/2019 at 10:04 PM, musicpro442 said:

You do know the Royal is slightly older than the Regal and that two of those "old, tired shows" are identical on both?

 

You also know that shows have to run an average of 5-10 years before companies spend millions to have them replaced, don't you?

 

If not, now you know.

 

Yet, they did replace a show. Encore just launched on the Royal in late 2017 and a year before that in 2016 on the Island and Coral.

 

I'd hardly call that show old.  

 

#TheMoreYouKnow

Uh... 5 to 10 years?? So anyone who has cruised enough to achieve Elite status has to sit through the same show from seven years ago, or pass on the entertainment?? Give me a break..

 

Princess made a big deal about the Schwartz partnership; our December cruise aboard the Regal had at least one of his new shows. It was fresh and unique. 

 

#TheMoreYouKnow

Edited July 11, 2019 by cattman

[Jeter02]

27 minutes ago, cattman said:

Uh... 5 to 10 years?? So anyone who has cruised enough to achieve Elite status has to sit through the same show from seven years ago, or pass on the entertainment?? Give me a break..

 

Princess made a big deal about the Schwartz partnership; our December cruise aboard the Regal had at least one of his new shows. It was fresh and unique. 

 

#TheMoreYouKnow

I stopped going to shows years ago. If I'm wandering around the ship, and happened to be nearby and hear  a good song, I'll stop by to watch that one and them continue my wandering. 

 

They do a lovely job on their shows, I'm just on the same ship cruise after cruise. I don't mind, as I come onboard to truly just relax and unwind.

[cattman]

18 minutes ago, Jeter02 said:

I stopped going to shows years ago. If I'm wandering around the ship, and happened to be nearby and hear  a good song, I'll stop by to watch that one and them continue my wandering. 

 

They do a lovely job on their shows, I'm just on the same ship cruise after cruise. I don't mind, as I come onboard to truly just relax and unwind.

Now that's a great alternative - especially with the long days in Alaska, where watching whales from your balcony with a glass of wine can be much more entertaining than the shows

Edited July 11, 2019 by cattman