Thoughts on the Regal Princess

I think my primary concern regarding a ship of this size would be the impact of 3600 passengers on a small port. Would anyone with experience care to comment on this? Love to hear your thoughts!

Nearly all of the cities on this itinerary are large cities and so 3600 passengers did not seem to have a negative impact. Even little Tallinn, which was probably the smallest port we visited, seemed to handle it well. I can't recall any tender ports on this itinerary (that's not to say they were none but I just can't remember any). That probably would have been an issue if we had to tender in a few ports.

Nearly all of the cities on this itinerary are large cities and so 3600 passengers did not seem to have a negative impact. Even little Tallinn, which was probably the smallest port we visited, seemed to handle it well. I can't recall any tender ports on this itinerary (that's not to say they were none but I just can't remember any). That probably would have been an issue if we had to tender in a few ports.

If my recollection is right, we did the tender in Stockholm last year.

We're thinking about booking a Scandinavian itinerary on the Regal Princess this summer, but I've heard mixed reviews about the ship. What are your thoughts and experiences on the Regal Princess?

Unlike many on the boards, I have not been on numerous Princess ships, just one, Regal. Having been on Carnival the "Fun Ships" i really didn't know what to expect and honestly, had my mind made up that this wouldn't be fun. WRONG WRONG WRONG. This ship was stunning in every concept of the word. It did take me a good day to get my bearings as to directions and such, but I found it incredibly easy to navigate around. I don't like buffet food ( bad experience on Carnival), but thought wth and try this. OMG, for buffet food by far better than any other ship or land buffet I had ever been on.

I loved it so much, I am going BACK on Regal in Feb 2017 and am even more excited than I was before. Because of things I discovered close to the end of the cruise, now I will experience the entire cruise :)

Thanks for all the fabulous Regal tips. We are very excited and counting down the days to our Scandinavia & Russia adventure on June 25th.

Our high energy California family group of 11 consists of; my parents, sisters, husbands + nieces & nephews (11, 13, 15, 18). We will be arriving in Copenhagen 3 days early staying at the Absalon Hotel and plan to explore the beautiful city renting bikes from the Hotel.

Does anyone recall how late into the evening the spas stay open?

Thanks for all the fabulous Regal tips. We are very excited and counting down the days to our Scandinavia & Russia adventure on June 25th.

Our high energy California family group of 11 consists of; my parents, sisters, husbands + nieces & nephews (11, 13, 15, 18). We will be arriving in Copenhagen 3 days early staying at the Absalon Hotel and plan to explore the beautiful city renting bikes from the Hotel.

Does anyone recall how late into the evening the spas stay open?

Must be a grand family holiday. Enjoy!

They have a new "floating dock" in Stockholm that was used for the first time ever on our May1-12 cruise, no tenders needed. It was perfect!

They could be called French Balconies. As I said earlier they are microscopic. I had a deluxe balcony which was anything but deluxe. Forget having a meal out there. What was Princess thinking?

You didn't book a deluxe balcony. You booked a deluxe balcony room which means the cabin is larger than a standard balcony room. It is explained very clearly on the website what a deluxe room is.

They are not like French balconies at all. A french balcony is simply a door that opens to the outside but you are prevented from going through the door due to railings. A room where you can open the door and go outside where there is a table and chairs is a balcony.

You didn't book a deluxe balcony. You booked a deluxe balcony room which means the cabin is larger than a standard balcony room. It is explained very clearly on the website what a deluxe room is.

 

They are not like French balconies at all. A french balcony is simply a door that opens to the outside but you are prevented from going through the door due to railings. A room where you can open the door and go outside where there is a table and chairs is a balcony.

Good call on the size of the balcony. We don't feel they are too small, just smaller.

I also second the emotion as to the beauty and layout of the Royal Class ships. We have been on both for a total of 5 voyages now and have a BTB lined up for the Baltic and British Isles/TransAtlantic in August and are eagerly looking forward to being on the Regal Princess again.

Unlike many on the boards, I have not been on numerous Princess ships, just one, Regal. Having been on Carnival the "Fun Ships" i really didn't know what to expect and honestly, had my mind made up that this wouldn't be fun. WRONG WRONG WRONG. This ship was stunning in every concept of the word. It did take me a good day to get my bearings as to directions and such, but I found it incredibly easy to navigate around. I don't like buffet food ( bad experience on Carnival), but thought wth and try this. OMG, for buffet food by far better than any other ship or land buffet I had ever been on.

 

I loved it so much, I am going BACK on Regal in Feb 2017 and am even more excited than I was before. Because of things I discovered close to the end of the cruise, now I will experience the entire cruise :)

I completely agree with you. I think many of the criticism of this type of ship are from the highly experienced Princess who have become accustomed to some of the design features of other Princess ships such as the Grand Class. On the Grand class ships there are walkaround promenades, larger balconies particularly on Caribe deck where the balcony is almost 9-10 ft deep, and AFT pools. These are features that are not typical of most contemporary cruise ships.

I was also an experienced Carnival cruiser when I went onboard the Royal the first time so for me I did not feel I was missing out on anything. In addition, since I had only been on one Princess cruise before I went I was not bothered by the comparisons between Club 6 and Skywalkers or the size and location of the Wheelhouse bar. I did not have point of reference to raise complaints. Personally , I love the Royal / Regal Class of Princess ships and they are actually my favorite class at this time and in fact I can't wait to get back on the royal in 28 days :).

Just off the Regal (TA + Baltic 25 days), absolutely loved the ship! :) I had my concerns, sailing single on such a large ship, but it was great!

On the tendering, not necessary at the port for Stockholm. There is a new dock system, used it the first time, worked out great. A long walk but beats tendering!

I had a cabin just beyond the forward stairwell, so no center stairs concern. I do agree a set of stairs would be more convenient but didn't see it as an issue at all.

Our Baltic portion was full to the max, and I didn't feel crowds to be an issue. However, people were talking about the buffet area congestion, I walked to the Bistro area, always found seating.

The theater was always crowded for shows but for me, not a deal breaker. I don't get the smoke comment for the casino as smoking was only allowed on one side. Compared to other ships I've sailed, it was much better.

I did not have any meal in the dining room that wasn't well prepared, right temperature and I was surprised how good the strip steak and filet mignon were. I didn't order them 1st cruise, but did after seeing my table mates ordered them on the 2nd, good quality.

The ports were busy, fairly crowded but can't be avoided with several ships in port and this will only increase at the height of the season. I enjoyed all the ports, first time for Baltic and I will definitely do this cruise again. There is way too much to see to cover in one cruise.

I would definitely sail on the Regal again, beautiful ship with a super crew.

The tiny balconies on the Regal & Royal are one of the biggest drawbacks of the new designed ships. They're OK for viewing but not for dining of any sort unless you have one of the larger ones. Try inviting a few friends over for a glass of wine at a sail-a-way & you'll quickly realize how small they really are.

That being said the newer designs are still much better in many aspects for our money & we'll be back to the Royal very shortly. :D

Just off the Regal (TA + Baltic 25 days), absolutely loved the ship! :) I had my concerns, sailing single on such a large ship, but it was great!

 

On the tendering, not necessary at the port for Stockholm. There is a new dock system, used it the first time, worked out great. A long walk but beats tendering!

 

I had a cabin just beyond the forward stairwell, so no center stairs concern. I do agree a set of stairs would be more convenient but didn't see it as an issue at all.

 

Our Baltic portion was full to the max, and I didn't feel crowds to be an issue. However, people were talking about the buffet area congestion, I walked to the Bistro area, always found seating.

 

The theater was always crowded for shows but for me, not a deal breaker. I don't get the smoke comment for the casino as smoking was only allowed on one side. Compared to other ships I've sailed, it was much better.

 

I did not have any meal in the dining room that wasn't well prepared, right temperature and I was surprised how good the strip steak and filet mignon were. I didn't order them 1st cruise, but did after seeing my table mates ordered them on the 2nd, good quality.

 

The ports were busy, fairly crowded but can't be avoided with several ships in port and this will only increase at the height of the season. I enjoyed all the ports, first time for Baltic and I will definitely do this cruise again. There is way too much to see to cover in one cruise.

 

I would definitely sail on the Regal again, beautiful ship with a super crew.

Thank you for a balanced positive review. I also cruise solo a lot, but this time travelling with my daughter on Baltic cruise in less than four weeks. Woo Hoo.

We have enjoyed our cruises on the Regal Princess and agree with most of the points made here. If the size of the balcony is troublesome, you can find larger ones forward and aft facing as well as midship on all decks. [emoji846]

We've sailed twice on the Royal and once on the Regal. Although they are not our favorite, (we prefer the smaller ships) we would not hesitate to sail either again if the itinerary were right. Thoroughly enjoyed both.

Yes, the balcony is small. But the hallways seem a bit wider and the bathrooms are a tad bigger. The theater seating is rather cramped, and doesn't have the little lift-out tables other Princess ships have. But the other entertainment venues are quite roomy.

YES THERE IS a central stairway. However, it is crew only on the stateroom decks. It is open to all on the activity decks; promenade, Plaza and Fiesta.

Alfredo's is great, and the buffet is absolutely the best of ANY ship we have been on of any of the 4 cruise lines we travel! The seafood bar is also great (their ceviche is awesome). They also have a gelato shop which is very nice. The Piazza area is absolutely beautiful.

They never felt crowded (except on Halloween night on the Royal, when the Piazza was crowded with costumed revelers! GREAT FUN!!)

One would be hard pressed to not enjoy a cruise on the beautiful Regal or Royal Princess!

They also have a gelato shop which is very nice.

The gelato was OK but no better than the ice cream they had in the DR. Definitely not worth the punches. I'd rather use them for my coffee.;)

We had the same problem with the Regal in April/May 2015. The weather was bad most of the Baltic cruise and everyone was inside. The ship was planned with the expectation that some people would be outside. The area around the Piazza was always packed and there were loud activities all day, beginning with Zumba at 9:00. I heard people with a cabin on the Emerald Deck complaining that they heard the Piazza noise in their cabin. We love Princess but don't know if I would book the Regal again.

I can't comment as an experienced Regal traveler but we are booked on the Regal for the June 1st sailing in the Baltics. We choose this large ship as we are sailing with our friends and the husband is claustrophobic. His has been on small ships in the past and did not enjoy them so this is an experiment as much as a vacation for him. We are fortunate enough to have booked a couple of Owners Suites and looking forward to the oversized cabins and balconies.

I think that the Regal uses two options in Stockholm. Our sailing is scheduled to sail to Nynashamn, which as I understand is about an hour ride into Stockholm. The upside is we are in Stockholm until 7:00 pm. Other sailing sail directly into Stockholm, through the archipelago, which is supposed to be absolutely phenomenal. However, those sailings depart Stockholm at 2:00...so a trade-off on the amount of time in port.

In any event we are really looking forward to experiencing the Regal, negatives aside.

The ship was planned with the expectation that some people would be outside.

EVERY ship is built/planned with the expectation that some people will be outside.

We loved the Regal and just got off the Baltics cruise May1-12. Our balcony on B420 had plenty of space and the deck chair reclined.

Shelbell340:

We will be embarking on Monday. Cannot wait. Who was the Captain on your cruise? Were there good shows, movies etc on board?

Any info would be appreciated.

Thanks

Hi cheese clan:

I have no idea who the captain was but we had the smoothest cruise of our lives, great weather too. We watched Movies under the stars, Star Wars, Deadpool, Spotlight etc. I went to the comedy shows and the others went to the nightly shows, everyone was entertained. We loved all of the ports, except Berlin was too long of a ride to get there and too little time to enjoy the city. Omg, Stockholm, Tallinn and St. Petersburg were amazing. We loved the Regal! Check out our friends/bartenders Franz & Juan Carlos at the Skyview Bar by the pool. And Milieca at Vines were wonderful, hard working Princess employees who made our cruise so much fun.

Thanks for the info. Will check out your recommendations. Was the Captain possibly Commodore Guiseppe Romano???

We are sailing the Regal in August, and Giuseppe Romano will be the captain on our cruise.

We are sailing the Regal in August, and Giuseppe Romano will be the captain on our cruise.

We did a seven day Caribbean in early April and the 14 day transatlantic to Copenhagen in late April and Commodore Romano was at the helm of the Regal. He appears to be an American citizen judging by the map of the cruise. Very professional, we had a very small problem aboard and he kept us well informed.

The Regal is a beautiful ship but I agree about the small balconies. We had a balcony on the Caribbean cruise but an interior on the transatlantic. As far as the cabins went there was no difference between the two except for the natural light from the outside.

Two completely different types of passengers. On the Caribbean cruise you could always find a quiet corner to read or enjoy your morning coffee however on the transatlantic it was much harder to do so. Also the shows were far more packed. We enjoyed the Regal, great food, great adult beverage, great entertainment and great staff!