Cruising the Caribbean on the Re_al Princess : A pictorial review

Love love your pictures - can someone tell me what is the concierge lounge?

From the Princess web site : " Suite guests have use of a dedicated concierge lounge, an exclusive area to relax or work, with access to full front desk services, plus light snacks and beverages. Here, these guests have dedicated staff to assist with such things as shore excursions, specialty dining or Lotus Spa reservations. The space also serves as a private disembarkation lounge for suite guests. Seats 24 ." And here's a photo inside .

That purple-ish sunset photo is outstanding!

I'm loving these updates...I miss that Regal!

What a gorgeous ship! i am not sure i like those high back chairs, way too many heads have rested on the high backs leaving assorted products and other deposits behind. Eweeee.:eek:

We surly thought that it was and that the good points far outweighed any shortcomings ! :) :D

That purple-ish sunset photo is outstanding!

 

I'm loving these updates...I miss that Regal!

Thanks Kim , it's a bit blurry but the colors were fairly accurate . It was a pretty , starry night - but you can't really capture the stars on a speeding ship . ;)

Heading up to the Lido deck , the prospect of a last day sunrise didn't look too good .

But there was a flurry of activity as the chair hogs went hog wild ! Please note that I didn't say hog chair . This is a hog chair .

So what is a chair hog ?

This definition comes from seathog .com and yes , they do have a website !

SeatHog – noun – \ˈsēt-hog\ – a selfish or clueless individual who deprives another individual of any reasonable or unimpeded opportunity to sit down.

I have seen standard hogging on ships before ( books , a shoe , cruise line towel ) , but I was really impressed with the level of professionalism displayed on this day .

Large clothespins

Towels from home

What the well dressed chair will wear ( and drink ) !

How many hogged chairs do you see in this picture ?

I really had the urge to throw a towel and my flip flops on top of the hot tub net - thus marking the hot tub as mine .

So where are the chair hog police when you need them ? Video: Carnival cruise line eliminates deck chair hogs .

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6dO1eFSVe2Q

Disclaimer : NO chair hogs were harmed in making this segment .

I'm glad that I stayed on the deck watching the morning's game of musical chairs , because a glimmer of hope for a nice sunrise appeared on the horizon .

And as the ship's lights faded , the sunlight broke thru

Zoomed in for a closeup

Here it is , a golden sunrise over Cuba .

And a faster shutter speed yielded a different result

And meanwhile , on the deck , the pace was beginning to pick up .

It's a shame that some folks thru down their towels and didn't wait because they missed a great sunrise from the deck !

LOL Hog chair :D they should scatter those around deck although I fear the irony would be lost...

LOL Hog chair :D they should scatter those around deck although I fear the irony would be lost...

Yea agreed ..:D But birds of a feather . We liked the way that it was handled on the X - Eclipse . ;)

Our favorite chair hogging technique ... and it works !

Really like your chair hog technique. I must confess, I've been known to use that same technique at times! :D

The Hog Chair is cute! :p

Those chair hog policies like the ones you posted sound good. I just wonder if they enforce those policies. :confused:

The sunrises are awesome! While I see my fair share of sunsets, I'm not exactly a morning person, so the sunrises I see are relatively rare. It's a shame really because I do think mornings are beautiful.

Really like your chair hog technique. I must confess, I've been known to use that same technique at times! :D

 

The Hog Chair is cute! :p

 

Those chair hog policies like the ones you posted sound good. I just wonder if they enforce those policies. :confused:

 

The sunrises are awesome! While I see my fair share of sunsets, I'm not exactly a morning person, so the sunrises I see are relatively rare. It's a shame really because I do think mornings are beautiful.

We really loved our balcony , but there is some loss of privacy . Here's a photo from the Horizon Terrace with the camera resting on the rail .

We don't know if the policies are enforced on the Carnival but on Celebrity we didn't see the little notes on the outdoor pool chairs - where the hogging is most prevalent .

We really do enjoy our quite sunsets ( especially from a cruise ship ! ) , but my habit of early rising goes back to surfing with my high school buds at sunrise . And 28 years of riding down to be in Miami at 7 AM developed a habit that still stays with me to this day . :eek:

Yea agreed ..:D But birds of a feather . We liked the way that it was handled on the X - Eclipse . ;)

 

 

 

 

Our favorite chair hogging technique ... and it works !

 

Reminds me of my cruise on the Navigator of the Seas a few years ago. My friend and I took the on board scuba certification class. We ended the cruise with our scuba diver certification (just needed a couple more open water dives to be fully OW certified).

Anyway, we did the pool dives in one of the main two ship's pools at 7 a.m. We were out there with all our gear around 6:30 and piled our stuff on about six or eight chairs right next to the pool. Chair hogs showing up shortly afterwards were aghast to see that prime real estate was taken up by scuba divers, and even worse, those scuba divers had the pool all to themselves until sometime after 9:30 or so. Our instructor was late, so we didn't get started when we should have but still had all those skills to get through. The other pool was open and available, but boy oh boy were people going nuts that they couldn't use "our" pool until almost 10 a.m. :p Wish I'd been able to get a photo, but since both my friend and I weren't exactly available to take pictures, being underwater and all, it's just a fun memory.

We arrived at the outdoor pool (10.30 ish) and found 2 VACANT loungers, which we claimed.

About an hour later a group of 6 women arrived and in very loud voices told everyone in hearing distance that ' We had taken their chairs.'

At lunch time we left and very quickly, one of the group leapt up to claim our vacated loungers. Her friend said ' I wouldn't sit on those, you'll get their germs.'

To add to the story, the next day, we were on a Ho-Ho bus in Dunedin (NZ) when the same group of women got on. As they came up the stairs, the first woman turned to her friends and in the same loud voice declared, ' That's the man who took our seats.'

We hadn't taken anyone's seats, they were vacant! The pool attendant had obviously done his job well.

Reminds me of my cruise on the Navigator of the Seas a few years ago. My friend and I took the on board scuba certification class. We ended the cruise with our scuba diver certification (just needed a couple more open water dives to be fully OW certified).

 

Anyway, we did the pool dives in one of the main two ship's pools at 7 a.m. We were out there with all our gear around 6:30 and piled our stuff on about six or eight chairs right next to the pool. Chair hogs showing up shortly afterwards were aghast to see that prime real estate was taken up by scuba divers, and even worse, those scuba divers had the pool all to themselves until sometime after 9:30 or so. Our instructor was late, so we didn't get started when we should have but still had all those skills to get through. The other pool was open and available, but boy oh boy were people going nuts that they couldn't use "our" pool until almost 10 a.m. :p Wish I'd been able to get a photo, but since both my friend and I weren't exactly available to take pictures, being underwater and all, it's just a fun memory.

This story made me LOL :D So much so , that I would like to award it a special trophy .

And so you out hogged the hogs and had no picture ? Fortunately after perusing the web I was able to locate a photo of a scuba pool hog and so , here you go .

We arrived at the outdoor pool (10.30 ish) and found 2 VACANT loungers, which we claimed.

About an hour later a group of 6 women arrived and in very loud voices told everyone in hearing distance that ' We had taken their chairs.'

At lunch time we left and very quickly, one of the group leapt up to claim our vacated loungers. Her friend said ' I wouldn't sit on those, you'll get their germs.'

 

To add to the story, the next day, we were on a Ho-Ho bus in Dunedin (NZ) when the same group of women got on. As they came up the stairs, the first woman turned to her friends and in the same loud voice declared, ' That's the man who took our seats.'

 

We hadn't taken anyone's seats, they were vacant! The pool attendant had obviously done his job well.

Oh Jackie I'm so sorry . :( This is a close encounter of the worse kind . -One with a sounder of angry , militant chair sows ! What cruise line was this ?

Your encounter is certainly not something that most civil people do not wish to deal with on holiday , nor at any other time ! Their leader's behavior sounds like that of Squealer of Animal Farm fame .

I'm not sure what the cruise lines can do to discourage this aggressive , bullying behavior , but acknowledging it is a start in the right direction . In the meantime , maybe a place holder like this one that I found on Cruise Critic would be a good investment and you can suggest to the angry people that they can just " talk to the pig " . :) :D

After breakfast on our last day we headed down the elevator , to the rear of the ship , to get as close to the wake as possible .

And guess what ? The chairs there had been hogged !

Here's a Dutch Tilt photo designed to simulate the chaos and noise from the ship's props .

And the real thing on video :

Back in our room , the flowers from our UBD still looked great !

Our next big event was a Super Tuscan wine tasting at Sabatini's .

And for all the moms

:) :D

We arrived at the event 10 minutes early and there was quite a line already and so we sat towards the rear .

The tables were set nicely and ready for some serious tasting .

There were cards describing each wine laid at every place setting with chicken scratching being optional .

And the MC was the Maitre d' .

Each wine was paired with a small bite :

Ruffino Chianti Ducalle , Riserva

Smoked Duck Breast

Guado al Tasso

Chicken Parmigiana and Polenta

Tignanello presented by Vladimir

and paired with mushroom Ravioli

Luce Della Vite

Steak

Ornellaia

And a lamb chop

Deliziosissima !

And after all of the small bites and wine , we were still hungry ! And as we were leaving Sabatini's , we paused for a photo , or two .

After a short walk to Alfredo's , we ordered a calzone

and a Hawaiian Pizza , which were both delicious . :) :D

And below us in the Atrium , a community choir was singing a song from The Sound of Music , which seemed all too appropriate on our last afternoon on the Regal , So Long , Farewell .

Reminds me of my cruise on the Navigator of the Seas a few years ago. My friend and I took the on board scuba certification class. We ended the cruise with our scuba diver certification (just needed a couple more open water dives to be fully OW certified).

 

Anyway, we did the pool dives in one of the main two ship's pools at 7 a.m. We were out there with all our gear around 6:30 and piled our stuff on about six or eight chairs right next to the pool. Chair hogs showing up shortly afterwards were aghast to see that prime real estate was taken up by scuba divers, and even worse, those scuba divers had the pool all to themselves until sometime after 9:30 or so. Our instructor was late, so we didn't get started when we should have but still had all those skills to get through. The other pool was open and available, but boy oh boy were people going nuts that they couldn't use "our" pool until almost 10 a.m. :p Wish I'd been able to get a photo, but since both my friend and I weren't exactly available to take pictures, being underwater and all, it's just a fun memory.

That is a funny story! Makes me want to take a scuba refresher course on board our next cruise just to see if I can disturb some chair hogs. :D Would that be really mean of me?:p

This story made me LOL :D So much so , that I would like to award it a special trophy .

 

 

 

 

And so you out hogged the hogs and had no picture ? Fortunately after perusing the web I was able to locate a photo of a scuba pool hog and so , here you go .

 

 

Love the trophy, and especially the scuba hog. How did you ever manage to find that scuba hog?

That is a funny story! Makes me want to take a scuba refresher course on board our next cruise just to see if I can disturb some chair hogs. :D Would that be really mean of me?:p

 

La,la,la ....I saw nothing . :) :D

 

Love the trophy, and especially the scuba hog. How did you ever manage to find that scuba hog?

With an online search . Here's another which I modified slightly . ;)

With an online search . Here's another which I modified slightly . ;)

 

 

OMG! I LOVE that. :D

I was pretty proud of myself in Coz this last time, 45 - 50 minutes and still had air to spare - no more air hogging :)

OMG! I LOVE that. :D

 

I was pretty proud of myself in Coz this last time, 45 - 50 minutes and still had air to spare - no more air hogging :)

Well done Karen , it seems like that pool work has paid off ! :) :D

And if you should ever find the need for more spare air - it's available , just ask . ;)

On Valentine's morning , under the cover of darkness , we slipped back into PE .

Past the web cam

The Allure of the Seas was in port already

Back in our berth near the 17th street causeway , you can see the iconic Pier 66 building . I still remember this building being completed when I first began high school . It featured a rotating restaurant on the top .

We used self service for our luggage and we were off of the Regal while many people we sleeping . And while waiting for our ride to the car park , I noticed something funny as we looked at the Regal's sign .

The G letter in the sign was flickering , and mostly burned out . And as I looked at the sign , some words from a song that was released in 1965 , the same year that pier 66 had opened , reached back in my memory giving me a partial title to this thread :

When my eyes were stabbed

By the flash of a neon light

That split the night

And touched the sound of silence

And the people bowed and prayed

To the neon god they made

And the sign flashed out its warning

And the words that it was forming

And so the title was born , Cruising the Caribbean on the Re al Princess . But the question about neon god remains unanswered . Was she a Regal Princess or a Re al Princess ?