Regal Holiday Cruise: Notes and Review

Regal Princess Holiday Cruise: Random notes on Food, Dining, Excursions & more

12/18/2016 to 1/8/2017

We were celebrating our 25 wedding anniversary on this cruise and traveling with another couple. Prior to getting on this ship we visited Key West for 5 days, and after the cruise we visited Palm Beach, and Fort Myers for another 5 nights. Embarkation was quick and easy, and disembarkation was also a breeze, we were off the ship and at the car rental agency (at the port) in 30 minutes, making this the fastest disembarkation we ever experienced! That was a pleasant surprise in light of the horrible shooting incident that occurred a few days prior to the end of the cruise at Ft. lauderdale International Airport. I will post some of the places we visited pre-cruise, and during the cruise at the end of this review, in case you are not interested it this info.

Food and Dining

We had assigned seating for the 5:30 slot initially, although we had to wait until the second night to get our table for 4. We got a great water side table in the 6th floor Concerto dining room, but the nice things ended there. Our waitress Marina was terrible, not so much in her personality but in her complete inability to be flexible and get us through our meals in less than 2 hours. We intentionally ordered few courses; usually a salad or appetizer and main course. Occasionally we had dessert, and an extra appetizer but regardless of how much or how little we ordered, the food came on a rigid schedule and we only got served as quickly as the slowest table in her group of tables she served. She seemed to favor the groups that spoke her native language, she lingered a lot around them. We spent way too much time waiting for our courses, and even when we asked her to get us out by 7, she said this was not possible! I had never experienced this kind of response on Princess. We were all very unhappy with this service.

The food was not good, it never came as requested (white meat,no sauce, and so on) and in general was old,soggy, poorly plated, and just all around unappealing. We talked to the head waiter but he was of no help whatsoever. The only thing we got consistently was the extra veggies we ordered to come nightly but we even with that we had problems with the way they were prepared. Floran, our head waiter in Concerto argued with us no matter what we said. We asked for a large plate of steamed veggies and keep getting oil/butter soaked veggies and when we asked Floran about this he argued and I was so uncomfortable that I wanted to walk out right then and there. The last thing I wanted to do was argue about my food preferences and restrictions. Floran was creepy, he was neither friendly nor kind and we could not stand to see him sulking around the dining room. It seemed like he was more than ready to get off the ship, major burn out?

After countless misses and much aggravation, we left the MDR (Concerto) and began eating In the Buffet where at least we had control of what we did and did not want. The Horizon Court buffet was quite good, in the end we were all happy with that choice. Although I asked to meet the Maitre'd, he was invisible throughout the meals and we only met him at the most traveled cocktail party. We began dreading the dining room, the service and the food. We finally decided to try the buffet, based on cruise critic recommendations, and never went back to our assigned table. It was very disappointing, to say the least

Cruise Director Staff, Players, Venues, and Games

The Commodore Giuseppe Romano was a delightful man, very accessible and always walking through the ship. I had the pleasure of meeting his wife during one of the Captain's Circle parties, we were sitting up front with the most traveled couple (friends from a prior cruise) and they introduced us to her. The cruise director Kelly Rose was never available and she was not very friendly at all, some of her staff were nice, while some of them were not so nice such as a nasty girl named Yris (with a major chip on her shoulders) who was the worst; mean, harsh, nothing kind nor gracious about her and nobody liked her at all. On the other hand, Natalie was a doll and we all enjoyed playing with her. Alex was fantastic, from Serbia, he was a kind and fun kid who tried hard to communicate well and I caught him many times self correcting himself which made me thrilled as a former ESL teacher because he was a dream student. After 21 days we all noticed a marked improvement in his language and speech. Alex enjoyed telling jokes and in doing so he created a unique presence (brand) which was so funny and playful. I caught a lot of people whooping it up and laughing a lot with him, that in itself was hilarious making the total experience so much better. Alex always had his questions projected onto screens which was another great strategy and very helpful to all. Finally, he was flexible and willing to repeat questions creating an overall sense of kindness and fun. I am a huge fan of this lovely gentleman, I expect he will go far with Princess.

We enjoyed the club 6 venue much better than Princess live, and only used the Vista lounge occasionally, which was also better than P. live. At least they had adopted using clipboards in P Live which gave us something to write on. Nonetheless it is an unfriendly venue, cold and dark, uncomfortable seats and not very inviting for group games. We stopped going to the night games for this reason. I missed the nightly music quizzes, as well as the interesting Discovery trivia which we had enjoyed last year on a Royal Transatlantic. The evening Trivia games were also mis represented in the patter, we would expect a general knowledge and then find that it was really an entertainment trivia. Not a biggie to me, this really bothered some of the players. This cruise was probably the worst organized I've been on with regard to games and such, there seemed to be a communication problem and more than once we were left waiting for somebody to show up and run a trivia game advertised in the patter. I had never seen this before. The players were fairly well behaved, there were no arguments and no cheating that I saw although the staff warned us to not use google for answers. This cracks me up, who googles for answers? I imagine people who feel they need to use google, or whatever tactic to find answers, are probably not smart enough to actually use it effectively. We had so many clips, flashlights, and caribeners that I was giving them away to anybody who needed them!

We had an 11 year old join our trivia team, his name was Noah. Noah was one hell of a great kid, we all adored him very much, not only did he contribute to our team, he was always prompt and cheerful. We met his mother and father, and we all saw where Noah got his charm and smarts

Medical Center: Medical Services and Pharmacy

I got a bad flu which plagued me throughout much of the cruise, turning into a bad cold that hung on and on. I used the Medical center several times during the cruise, and was grateful that I had insurance as the bill was in excess of $2000, for services and meds. The staff at the center were efficient and mostly gentle, I spent hours in a room getting IV meds, and oxygen, and Doctor Jen was kind and effective and I greatly appreciated her care. She also treated my husband Ken who did not ever get the flu but did get a bad cold. I was put on quarantine for a few days which restricted me to my room, although Ken was not restricted since he did not have the flu. They took me off quarantine after two days without seeing me again, I guess that is normal and didn't realize that I was no longer able to spread the flu after a few days on anti-biotic. While on quarantine they gave me a special menu that I could order from but I was so ill I barely ate anyway. They asked that Ken not bring me food from the buffet, or the IC, although he was free to eat anywhere he wanted. In any event I stayed away from people for about a week because I didn't like coughing and blowing my nose in public, especially since that flu turned into a bad cold! Although I did not enjoy being sick, this would by my favorite way to experience illness in that there was plenty of options available for me to eat and drink, and the interactive TV system offered many movies, apps, and TV shows to view including those being made live on the ship.

One interesting thing I noted in the Medical Center was that there was an option to buy over the counter medical items separate from seeing the doctor. These items included sea sickness meds, Tylenol, skin creams, and more items that you would find in a pharmacy. In the past these items were available in one of the onboard stores, but on the Regal they are only available in the medical center. These items were very expensive considering they were all generic. I learned long ago that it is best to bring the basics with you on a cruise, especially if you are susceptible to certain problems.

Captains Circle and Elite benefits

There were several special Captains Circle Host activities including the Captains Circle party, and most traveled cocktail party or luncheon, they had both for the b2b cruises. The Captains Circle hostess Patrizia was lovely, she helped me get the special suite bag that was unavailable to me last October when we were on the Crown Princess in the Vista suite. I really appreciated that since I guess they no longer give those bags away to suite passengers, so I was lucky she found one on the ship. She was quite busy throughout the cruise. We were invited to the most traveled cocktail party which was a nice experience, the food was very good and desserts even better. Aside from all of this, as an elite, we ordered our special canapés on formal nights but could not get chocolate dipped strawberries. I had taken to writing in a request for them on the form on previous cruises and always got them, until this cruise. They called me and offered those strawberries for a price, they were no longer included in the Elite perk, In fact there were few choices available to us and It was a joke! So much for that perk. On the positive side, our laundry was done in one day, if I left it out in the morning it was always delivered back the following evening. Considering that the cruise was packed, I was thrilled with this. I don't know home many elites were on the ship, there was more on the Christmas leg, and less on the New Years leg. Don't hold me to this but I think it was something between 300-400.

Kids and families

There were a lot of families with kids on the first leg of the cruise, the 11 days that covered Christmas and Chanukah. These kids and families were quite well behaved, aside from the normal running through the halls I saw no problems at all. These delightful teens on board were adorable, kind, and well behaved, what alien had taken over their bodies? I was so impressed with all these youngsters, kudos to their parents. The second leg of the cruise, covering New Years, had a lot less kids and more teens and young adults. It was also a problem free experience although there were quite a few parents who were upset to discover their 14-20 year olds drinking on some of the boozy beach excursions. I have no judgement here, my parents would not have minded if I drank a little as long as they kept me on their radar. If you are traveling with your kids and don't want them to be drinking, it's best to pick and choose your excursions carefully. There was no special security for kids (as there had been in the past) so don't assume the kids will be ok unsupervised while on the ship. I have witnessed some pretty wild behavior as kids will be kids and there is probably a lot of experimenting going on. I'm just saying, keep connected to your kids.

We met a lovely young couple from NYC whom we all took to immediately, they were a delight to play trivia games with. On the last night of the first cruise, he sang in the Voice competition and after he finished his song, he proposed to her and she said yes! That was awesome to see, a treat reminding me that indeed we were on the Love Boat.

Christmas Day and Chanukah on the Regal Princess

The ship was all decked out for the holidays and it looked lovely. Christmas/Chanukah day was lovely on the ship, everybody decked out in their fanciest holiday clothing and lots of Santa's helpers everywhere. Many folks were celebrating Chanukah, although most of the bustling activities in the Piazza were Christmas themed. Even I had to make a few cookies, decorated with yummy gooey frosting and lots of sprinkles, a calorie bomb that was just what my inner child needed! They had several activity stations set up in the Piazza including the cookie decorating, and card making/coloring which was very cool, even I enjoyed coloring the black velvet holiday cards.

Christmas day just zipped by. I was very impressed and really enjoyed watching the adorable kids all dressed in their finest clothes, run around filled with excitement. There was Christmas Caroling, or rather singing as I was told Christmas Carols are more religious while singing songs about Frosty the Snowman is not. Either way, it was delightful to watch there was Christmas singing all day long, beautiful children filled with good cheer and happy faces, and of course Santa was giving out gifts to all the kids, not a bad one in the whole bunch!

Happy times were everywhere except in the dining room. I was hoping that there would be a special brunch, which did not happen. I've experienced these brunches on the small ships and miss them.

Public Rooms

Although the Regal is currently the newest ship in the Princess fleet, it seemed very "tired" to me. The furniture was out of date and well worn, and the carpets were in bad shape everywhere. I noticed some logistical changes from the Royal such as the bar next to Princess Live no longer offered cookies on the bar, so one could help themselves to cookies, and instead you had to asked the bartender for them. He seemed bothered when I always asked for water and cookies, especially when I wanted multiples. Princess Live was laid out differently on the Regal as well, they had access to the back of the room in addition to the main entrance, so you could enter and exit early or late without a fuss. The casino was opened to the Promenade deck above making shopping a smelly experience, and I heard that this was going to be changed on the new Majestic, which I think is a very good idea.

Cabin 7319 on the Regal

I found the bed to be very uncomfortable, and when I asked for an eggcrate or extra pillow tops I was told there were no extras the ship. There did not seem to be a way to make the bed more comfortable, at least our room steward had nothing to offer. The pillows were very hard, I asked several times for softer down pillows and was told they were soft down pillows. Interestingly, our room steward was able to finally find a softer pillow for me a few days before the end of the cruise. We had been very generous with him throughout the cruise and I can't figure out what the magic words were, but it took me 19 days to get that soft pillow! I had a tough time sleeping with a constant headache every night. It was probably in part due to my flu/cold, but our friends also experienced this lack of comfortable pillows and beds, as well as a headache

The cabin was a good deal for the money considering there was no real obstructions and only the lifeboats top could be seen below the water. The balcony was small, the same size throughout the ship in all but a few rooms, and full suites. We had a small love seat and a bit more room but no desk, and less storage than the regular balconies. We had the room configured as a queen, rather than singles and this created more space and nobody had to sleep next to a wall. The walk in closet configuration was the same as on many Princess ships giving us plenty of room to hang clothes, as well as the storage cubbies and a smallish safe. On either side of the bed was a two drawer nightstand, adding more storage. I missed the desk, a trade off for the love seat.

We liked staying on the Emerald deck and loved the location so close to the front stairs/elevators so we could easily take the stairs if we wanted, solving the problem of the often beleaguered lack of midship stairs beyond the Promenade deck. The forward stairs are much closer to the atrium and International Cafe than the rear stairs/elevators. Also close to the spa, excursion desk, and the front desk.

Cleanliness

I experienced some curious cleaning practices on this ship, while I was quarantined (2 days) they would not vacuum my room. I had spilled a drink, and some non-dairy cream powder, and asked for it to be cleaned and my room steward sent in a "specialist" who came in with a spray bottle and hand swept it up. This cleaning "specialist" did not clean my room at all except for the specific issue I had asked for and I noted that in general things were only attended to if I asked for them. Anyway some of the powder creamer caked onto the carpet and I waited until I was taken off quarantine to ask again about vacuuming. I had to ask for sheet changing to get it done more often than whatever schedule they used. I was super fastidious in light of the flu and cold which I could not seem to shake, and started doing my own cleaning using anti-bacterial wipes on the door knobs, telephone, tv remote, light switches, countertops, and more in an effort to promote wellness. I had never taken to this practice in the past although I know lots of people do, and from now on I'll be doing just that. It's not fun missing ports on a cruise.

Ports and excursions

The ports were all beach/water related as one would expect to find on a Caribbean Island cruise. They were also filled with so much shopping in the same old boring stores (Diamonds International, Del Sol, EFFY, and so on) with very little variety. If you like shopping in DI in every port, there is certainly an opportunity to collect a plethora of free charms, and more every where you go. Beyond that, there are few unique places and even the craft markets are filled with junk made in China. I'd skip those places and focus on what you want to do on each island. There is a lot of history on these islands and many are quite old, being established as slave ports and heavily involved in slave trading. Some of the islands are quite beautiful and mountainous with lush rainforests and waterfalls everywhere. Some of the islands (like Grand Turk) are flat with and/or without sandy beaches. Do your research here so you know where you want to go and what suits you. The more you know about each of these islands, the easier it is to determine whether to take local taxis or shuttles, or pay for ship tours. Frankly, I think the ship tours are way to expensive, and they do not necessarily insure quality control. I would be very comfortable using taxis from the port or better, using those recommended vendors you find on sites like Cruise Critic and Tripadvisor. Good private guides know how to avoid the chaotic ship tours and the traffic and overload of people they bring. If you know what you want to do and where you want to go, it is easy to find transportation once off the ship. Always shoot to be back at the port at least an hour before the all aboard designated times and you should be fine. At the end of this review I will include some of my experiences in the ports that I did not miss due to illness.

Excursions, Islands, and pre- cruise activities.

1/5/2017 Grand Turk

Woke up the morning we were visiting Grand Turk to clear skies, the ocean was as smooth as glass. We were slated to arrive by 1pm, and stayed until 6. I was well versed in the chaos of mid day arrivals and knew to wait a half hour after they opened the doors and let the initial round of people push their way out! This strategy worked well.

The approach to Grand Turk is a trip; we were practically on the shore and I couldn't believe the ship could get so close. I could see the eyes of the massive amounts of people already on the beach! The water looked beautiful, and very crowded. The beach was right off the ship pier and was packed wall to wall with lounges of all types and they were free for the taking. If you are aiming to grab one, get your towels and possessions on one as quick as possible because you are In the land of chair hogs! Be mindful if you arrive mid day as there are other ships filled with people who probably grabbed the chairs. If you really want to spend a day at the beach, grab a cab to the other side of the island where I assume it's much less crowded.

We were docked next to a Carnival ship which was blasting loud music, also of note here was the beautiful ship which was tendering close to us. I can't remember the current name but it was the original Royal Princess and very good looking.

This port was built by the Carnival Corp to house it's mega ships, including the Regal, and dredged to allow these mega ships to gain close access to the stores and beaches. It's just a short walk to shopping galore, and the very popular Margaritaville (however it's spelled) which sports a large pool teaming with tan bodies layered upon each other in what is described as quite a spectacle. We passed on visiting this place, having gotten our fill of it in Key West.

By the time we got to the beach, there was not a free lounge in site and while all of them were "taken", there was nobody on any of them. I get the impression that most people head directly for the lounges and grabbed them, there are no rules here and even if there were, nobody is here to enforce them! If you are visiting this place and happen to get here early in the morning, I bet you would have no trouble getting a lounge chair, but beware of mid-day arrivals. There are a lot of toys available to rent here, including a hilarious couch like tow called "Big Bertha" in which a small group of people are towed in circles and very close to the ship.

There is a real town here which is a $5 pp taxi ride away, and there you will find more stores and a museum. We passed on that and lingered a bit on a few shaded benches we found among the shops, and did some people watching. Also of note was a delicious and expensive smoothie place called Froots. For just under $10 we got a large smoothie to share. Aside from the standard Stores that are at every port, and even on the ship, there is only one unique and lovely shop which sells sweet feminine lacy beach cover ups which were beautiful and very pricy. There was also a crafts market where they sold stuff that was probably made in China with the tags taken off--I know this because I saw the same stuff at the duty free store where they keep the made in China tags on!

After a few hours we are ready to get back on the ship. It was not very crowded and we enjoy having it mostly to ourselves. FYI throughout this cruise one of the most interesting things I heard was parents talking about taking their kids on excursions where the booze flowed freely, and watching their 15-20 year olds getting hammered! I have no idea if these were ship tours or private tours, and frankly I think it's a parents prerogative to decide what is OK and what is not. For me it's always best to be armed with knowledge and know what you are exposing them to.

1/4/2017 St. Kitts

Our day in St Kitts we had booked a half day ship tour "scenic railway ride and circle Island drive" which was a 3 hour tour, we booked the latest one, giving us time to shop a little before the tour. This island is beautiful; lush greenery with volcanic mountains, lots of flowers, goats and chickens everywhere, and I found this lovely leaf-like looking insect that was so interesting.

The shopping area is right off the ship, there are many stores, markets, and tourist type places to spends your money at. I discovered Cariloha, shirts and sheets made out of bamboo and I just love this stuff. I'm planning on buying one set of the best sheets as a "pity gift" to make up for all the islands and excursions I missed, Works for me! ;)

We arrive at the assigned place for our afternoon tour, we pile into a small buss and begin our auto journey to the train station, along the way we learn a lot of interesting facts about slaves and slave traders here in the Caribbean. We pass some beautiful homes, and lots of poverty which is abundant here in the Caribbean. There are several Anglican Churches around, and all buildings are colorful in light pastels. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the train station, which looks more like a field than a station. Our driver reminds us over and over about tipping him, this seems like overkill here and I wonder if he does not get paid unless he gets tips. This 3 hour tour costs $99.95 pp. Anyway he drops us off and tell us we will see him after the train ride.

We go to the top of the double decker train, which is covered on top and open at the sides. And off we go to circle the island. This train was built a century ago to haul sugar cane from the fields to the sugar mills in the capital city of Brasseterre. Our guide illuminates various sites and fills us with interesting facts about life as a slave here, such as how the woman would use herbs to abort their babies and make themselves less attractive to slave traders.

Along with our guide, we have some gospel singers who treat us to many lovely songs which really enhance the experience. These girls are quite good, and just add to the ambiance of this place.

Our tour circles the northeast coastline, hugging the sides of a mountain and offering us spectacular views of black and white sand beaches, reefs, sea life, and lots of birds. The views are magnificent and there is plenty of room to roam from side to side, insuring you can get photos from both sides. However, beware of your footing, as it is tough to navigate from the upper deck and the train moves a lot. Wear good deck shoes/tennis shoes/flip-flops or any shoe that provides you with stability and control. This is not a good place to wear your high heel shoes! They do have bathrooms on the trains, all on the first floor. Finally, they do provide unlimited water, sodas, piñata coladas, daiquiris, and more with or without booze.

We get back to the ship with 45 minutes to spare, but I am pooped and we go abort right away. This has been my fullest day of activities since coming down with the dreaded flu, I am so happy to have experienced St. Kitts and can't wait to come back and swim in it.

I did make it to the most traveled cocktail party and that was lovely, it happened yesterday after our day in Barbados and I'll write about it sometime in the next few days.

12/26/16 Aruba

This was my 5th visit to Aruba and having seen the island many times, we decided to walk around and shop! It was time, I had been restraining myself from the jewelry shop on board and needed some retail therapy.

We were docked farthest from the exit and ended up walking a lot, and after eating upstairs in the Buffet I needed to walk it all off anyway. We walked up the main drag then found several markets open, on the street just behind the main drag, the one that parallels it. On the way I collected all this free crap--cloth bags, fake jewelry, that charm bracelet and charm that I've thrown away so many times I can't tell you and yet, I got them again! Honestly, I can't give them away to kids I know! Maybe I'll find a kid who will like them on the ship.

There are a few nice clothing stores here that I really like, I bought a cotton dress and a soft long sleeve top for the cold evenings in the air conditioning. I found the Cumin cheese I love so much, I had hoped to find some slices of it but did not, so I bought a whole wheel at a great price of about $8, along with some yummy black licorice candies, and cookies for Kenny who proclaimed he would not eat them. Later that night he gobbled up the whole pack.

There are a slew of open markets all around the port, we browsed through them but didn't buy a thing as there was nothing hand made and just the regular stuff like magnets and tee shirts. I have many Aruba magnets.

Just FYI, there are many taxi/drivers around the port area and they are easy to find and easy on the pocketbook, averaging about $45 an hour for up to 6 or 8 people depending on how much you are willing to squeeze in. There is a lot to see in Aruba, if you haven't been you will enjoy this island. There are many cultural sights here, Butterfly gardens, Churches and a very cool Temple, caves, and of course beaches and resorts with fantastic snorkeling and diving. It is an easy island to do on your own.

12/24/2016 Dominica

We had a fun on our own on the lovely island of Dominica, which was the first Caribbean Island to become a "green" island. There is a vibration here that is lovely and much different from the other islands we have visited on this s trip, and I really like it here. We took our time getting off the ship, first playing trivia and then disembarking to find a big covered market right across from the ship. Prices were a bit inflated here, as I later discovered, so be mindful of this when you get here.

We took a $2 ship shuttle to downtown Roseau, it took about 10 minutes to get there. The weather was hot with some dark clouds on the horizon. The shuttle is a great way to get around and all the drivers around down town honored the $2 price so we were free to walk as we wanted and wonder the colorful streets, filled with ruins and lovely colored homes and buildings, and a vast array of beautiful flower filled balconies and landscaping. The shuttle drop off/pick up was conveniently located at the beginning of an open market where the prices were better and the vendors were very open to bargaining!

The open market was filled with gorgeous hand woven baskets, trivets, and more hand made items. Of course the regular magnets and shot glasses, and typical island clothing were also available at very reasonable prices. I loved the fact that everybody called me "mama" which charmed me so, and melted my heart which made it more difficult to bargain! LOL this was going to be the most difficult problem I encountered as I travel these islands, they are filled with poverty which is heartbreaking and I feel crappy even trying to make deals.

As we worked our way through the open market, wending our way through the streets, I found some awesome small covered baskets which I bought in quantity for gifting the folks on the ship who work so hard to make my vacation wonderful. We also found nice hand made magnets, flashlights, and even beautiful hand carved wood art. We enjoyed this market, and headed for the farmers market when it started to rain. At that point, I wished I had bought some rain ponchos-- don't forget to bring these items whenever you come to these islands as it always rains a little on and off, and when it rains it really pours! Of course I cannot find these anywhere and plan to buy some on the ship at the next opportunity.

We spy a supermarket (loosely defined) and go inside to buy some essentials like candy and ginger snaps. The market is quite crowded, filled with people shopping for the fixings for Christmas dinner I imagine. We find some colorfully named homemade pastries such as "Shamie's Sex In the Pan" dessert, which looks like it sounds and we must photograph it of course! As we check out I notice they are handing out free calendars which I take for my room, and it is a lovely reminder of Dominica.

By now it is raining pretty hard and we decide to head back to the ship. We are offered an air conditioned Van ride for the same $2 pp that we paid for the ship transfer and take it back to the ship. Of course we stop at the market across from the ship, and I find a large handmade basket which I buy for a very reasonable price of $30 and I love it. Not sure how I will get it home but I will figure that out later, I cannot seem to let go of it so I know I must have it! Back on the ship, we head to Horizon Court buffet and have some yummy ice cold lemonade, and spy a beautiful rainbow which eventually becomes a double rainbow! It's just beautiful

As far as I am concerned, this is the nicest Island we have visited, and it is my second time here so I feel strongly about this. In the past we used a tour guide named Levi Bumpling, and took a strenuous excursion to a gorge where we swam up to a lovely waterfall, the names escape me now but I can give specifics when I return home next year. We also hiked up a river to natural hot springs where we sat and soaked, stopped for local drinks, and snorkeled Champagne beach. This was 6-7 years ago, but I highly recommend doing one of all of these excursions, as well as going on your own through the town. Either way, you will totally enjoy this place!

12/22/2016 Antigua

Woke up to a cloudy day with some bits of sun, I always expect some rain in the Caribbean and indeed we got that. However it only rained for a half hour and then it cleared up and we had good weather for most of the day.

We took a ship tour: Nelson's Dockyard, Shirley Heights, and lunch by 4WD. It cost us $120 pp. it was terrible, beware of this ship tour. Here is the low down. We found our tour and followed the guide into our 4WD which fit 10 people. We started out toward our first destination which was Shirley Heights although in the moment it was unclear where we were going and the driver--big Mike--was talking into a poor mic and we could not really understand what he was saying. We headed out of town and up into the mountains in on a paved road. At one point it started to rain pretty hard and I was bummed out that I had chosen the seat closest to the back and got soaked. No biggie, my hair got wet and so did my right side but it was hot and I didn't have to maintain a hairdo and just let it curl.

We arrived at our first destination, got out of the 4WD and scrambled to the building which was Shirley Heights visitor's center. Wrapped in a ship towel, we went into a small auditorium with swivel seats, screens, and enactments surrounding the room. The movie started and ran from one screen to the next in a circle with various enactments highlighted as the movie played. We swiveled with the movie and enjoyed it a lot, it lasted about 15 minutes, not enough to time to dry out but still very pleasant.

After the movie, we hung out and some photographed the scenery while others shopped in the gift shop, or just waited to go back to the 4WD. Getting in and out of this vehicle was difficult and everybody banged their heads on the low hard roof, and knocked their knees on the seats and sides. It took me one time to learn to be mindful of the roof and sides, and we all reminded each other about watching their heads as well. It was still raining as we headed back to the 4WD, I could not find the rain poncho I thought I packed and wished they had been provided to us by Princess. I was very thirsty and also wished we were offered water, another glaring miss by Princess. All the private tours we have taken everywhere provide water, beer, or sodas.

As we headed to the dockyards, it stopped raining and I started to dry out. We stopped at another lookout, snapped some photos, got back into the 4WD, more head bumping, more jostling around, and maybe 45 minutes later we arrived at the dockyards which were very interesting with lots of shops, a museum, scenic docks, lots of greenery, and of course a lovely local bakery. Me and my friend Pat ditched the museum in favor of walking around and finding the bakery (behind the museum), while the boys visited the museum. The orientation talk lasted a few minutes and then we were given 15 minutes to look around. This was a lovely place and I could have spend a few hours here taking in the sights and donating some money for the mandatory magnet which is my way of remembering that I had visited this place in the years to come! I later met people who had wisely hired a taxi and went directly to the dockyards where they spend as much time as they wanted.

When will I learn to avoid ship tours like this? I booked this tour, and many others, because I had never been to Antigua and figured the ship tour would give me a taste of this place. It left a bad taste, but I am getting ahead of myself here and there is more to tell of this tour.

Leaving the dockyards, and after another round of head bumping and more, we headed for the next location, a beach where we would eat lunch and be free to swim. We arrived at some nameless location and were seated after much discussion between our guide and the restaurant employees. We grabbed a table for 4, and went to the buffet line. We were given a fork wrapped in a napkin and a plate. I could see that there was only a few things to eat; salad, rice, macaroni and cheese, and some chicken legs. Also there was some pre poured water or pineapple juice. I got a small portion of salad and asked for more twice. Some guy was portioning out lettuce leaves 3 at a time and it was clear that I was not going to get more. I took some Mac and cheese and sat down to eat. The Mac and cheese was cold and yucky, and all I ate was a small amount, maybe 7 leaves, of salad. I went back to ask for more but it was all gone. The guides had taken all the rest of the food for themselves!

I asked why couldn't they bring us out more salad and was told there was none left. I told my guide that I was refused salad and he got upset, brought the man who refused me and together they stood above me and and argued loudly about how I better not complain because if I did they would lose their jobs. They intimated me and my group, and frankly I was frightened and just told them to forget about it and that I was fine with what was served. I was not fine but realized that this was not the way to deal with the food problem. We all could not wait to get out of there.

I visited the bathroom which had only one of 3 toilets working, the broken toilets were filled with terrible smelly stuff and of course there was a long line of ladies waiting to use that one toilet. Of course there was no toilet paper and I was happy that I was carrying my own Kleenex. After about 45 minutes we all piled back into the 4WD and headed back the ship. I could not wait to get there. All the folks we were traveling with were upset and complaining about the excursion, most of them spitting mad!

I recommend taking a taxi on your own to visit Shirley Heights and the lovely Nelson Dockyards, rather than the ship tour. At $120 pp, you will save a lot of money and frustration, and do bring a sandwich from the ship, or whatever you like, or choose your place to eat at the dockyards as there were several choices.

Pre Cruise in Key West--Dry Tortugas National Park 12/16/2016

Accessed from Key West

We finally made it to the Dry Tortugas, a National Park which has to be the most difficult to get to and we accessed it from Key West using a ferry service/private excursion that cost a lot, $130 per person. This included a basic breakfast of bagels and cream cheese, not so fresh fruit, coffee, and juices/water, some inaudible information that was announced over an open mic and which was drowned out by people talking over it as well as the noisy ferry engine. This also included admission to the national park, a basic tour of the fort, an option to snorkel using their snorkels and fins, and finally a deli style luncheon with all the fixings for turkey, tuna, and PBJ sandwiches, potato salad, chips, and sodas/water. The drinks were free during the time lunch was served, but after that, we got charged for those same drinks. Make sure you grab the drinks you may want on the ride home as everything cost $ on that long ferry ride home. This practice was cheap and bothered the heck out of me; while I can understand charging for alcohol, charging for water was not right, especially in light of the hi cost of the excursion. It took all day to go there, explore, take a tour and/or snorkel, eat, relax, and ride back to the marina in Key West. The ride back was much quicker than the ride to the Tortugas. Finally, there were plenty of seats on the ferry, both open and under cover, and the bathrooms were lean and well supplied.

The staff were nice enough and they seemed knowledgeable in the history of the fort including the pragmatics of building this huge masonry structure so far from the resources they needed to construct it. It was built one brick at a time as there were no resources available on the island needed to build this. Also, there was no freshwater available on the island and all the drinkable water was either shipped in or caught in the cisterns which were built into the fort to catch rainwater.

The fort (called Fort Jefferson) was built in the early 1800's and used during the Civil War as a deterrent for pirates and other hostile groups, although no shots were ever fired. The Captain of the fort was known for his ability to intimidate with words rather than actually firing bullets. There was an impressive moat surrounding the fort and a drawbridge used to let people in or out. During the time it was used there was a lot of illness and many soldiers did not survive. There was a small island off the larger island which was used as a hospital to separate the ill from the well people. There was a famous Doctor, the one who treated the man Booth who killed President Lincoln. He ended up being the one doctor who was able to help some of the ill and somewhat redeemed himself, at least in some people's eyes.

We walked around the impressive fort, and was able to climb up to its second and third floors, although Ken had a touch time with the heights when on the top of the structure. We could have walked the entire fort from the third floor if we wanted but Ken found it much too challenging so we did not spend much time there. The second floor was also unite impressive and a bit shadier, we did walk around some of this area.

The surrounding water and coral reefs were magnificent, the water so blue, or blue-green and just the most inviting you can imagine. Unfortunate we were with friends who did not like beach activities so we did not take advantage of that surpurb aspect of the Dry Tortugas. Next time we go we shall spend time in the water,as well as more time in the fort.

Food and Dining

We had assigned seating for the 5:30 slot initially, although we had to wait until the second night to get our table for 4. We got a great water side table in the 6th floor Concerto dining room, but the nice things ended there. Our waitress Marina was terrible, not so much in her personality but in her complete inability to be flexible and get us through our meals in less than 2 hours. We intentionally ordered few courses; usually a salad or appetizer and main course. Occasionally we had dessert, and an extra appetizer but regardless of how much or how little we ordered, the food came on a rigid schedule and we only got served as quickly as the slowest table in her group of tables she served. She seemed to favor the groups that spoke her native language, she lingered a lot around them. We spent way too much time waiting for our courses, and even when we asked her to get us out by 7, she said this was not possible! I had never experienced this kind of response on Princess. We were all very unhappy with this service.

 

The food was not good, it never came as requested (white meat,no sauce, and so on) and in general was old,soggy, poorly plated, and just all around unappealing. We talked to the head waiter but he was of no help whatsoever. The only thing we got consistently was the extra veggies we ordered to come nightly but we even with that we had problems with the way they were prepared. Floran, our head waiter in Concerto argued with us no matter what we said. We asked for a large plate of steamed veggies and keep getting oil/butter soaked veggies and when we asked Floran about this he argued and I was so uncomfortable that I wanted to walk out right then and there. The last thing I wanted to do was argue about my food preferences and restrictions. Floran was creepy, he was neither friendly nor kind and we could not stand to see him sulking around the dining room. It seemed like he was more than ready to get off the ship, major burn out?

 

After countless misses and much aggravation, we left the MDR (Concerto) and began eating In the Buffet where at least we had control of what we did and did not want. The Horizon Court buffet was quite good, in the end we were all happy with that choice. Although I asked to meet the Maitre'd, he was invisible throughout the meals and we only met him at the most traveled cocktail party. We began dreading the dining room, the service and the food. We finally decided to try the buffet, based on cruise critic recommendations, and never went back to our assigned table. It was very disappointing, to say the least

We were on Regal in both June and October. In June, we found the MDR food and service to be very good. Come October, the ship had a new Maitre D' (Federico Arcos who I assume is still there) but same Executive Chef. Food was still good but service was lacking (although our headwaiter did get things corrected). Now I hear the Executive Chef has changed as well and I've seen other negative comments about food quality.

Like you, I observed (and commented in another CC thread) that the new Maitre D' (Arcos) was only seen in his ceremonial roles and was never seen actually working the dining rooms (unlike the Maitre D' in June, Francisco Patricio, who was very visible frequently by the entrance of one of the dining rooms).

I used to think that the specific Maitre D' and Executive Chef didn't make that much of a difference. They are largely following corporate standard on menus and service standards. But clearly I was wrong. They do seem to make a difference. If the rest of the staff knows they are keeping an eye on things, they perform. But if they're invisible, the rest of the staff start realizing they don't need to live up to standards and they don't.

Thank you for the review. It is beautifully written and I feel as though I got to know and like you when it was all said and done. You also shared lots of information about the ship and excursions which I found helpful. Happy Sailing!

Sorry to hear the food was not good and that you had to visit the doctor.

I enjoyed and appreciate your review, but feel the need to comment about one of your statements in the "got the flu" section.

They took me off quarantine after two days without seeing me again, I guess that is normal and didn't realize that I was no longer able to spread the flu after a few days on antibiotic.

The flu is viral. Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. You could have had a bacterial infection superimposed over the original flu, but you would have been contagious from the flu for as long as 7 days.

If you had a bacterial infection in addition and were taking antibiotics for that, probably a couple of days of quarantine would suffice.

JF, in certain parts of the country, it is common to use "flu" to describe everything from the common cold to actual Influenza. For the most part, when I hear someone say they have "the flu", I assume they really mean a cold unless I have good reason to think otherwise.

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JF, in certain parts of the country, it is common to use "flu" to describe everything from the common cold to actual Influenza. For the most part, when I hear someone say they have "the flu", I assume they really mean a cold unless I have good reason to think otherwise.

 

 

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They tested me for the Flu ans it was positive, I also had a bad cold. Double bummer!

I enjoyed and appreciate your review, but feel the need to comment about one of your statements in the "got the flu" section.

They took me off quarantine after two days without seeing me again, I guess that is normal and didn't realize that I was no longer able to spread the flu after a few days on antibiotic.

 

The flu is viral. Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. You could have had a bacterial infection superimposed over the original flu, but you would have been contagious from the flu for as long as 7 days.

If you had a bacterial infection in addition and were taking antibiotics for that, probably a couple of days of quarantine would suffice.

I stayed away from people for about a week, I will not go out and spread my germs regardless of whether it was my vacation or not. I feel responsible to not expose anybody to my germs, so regardless of being taken off quarantine I continued to stay in until i felt better and was not coughing or sneezing.

Thank you for the review. It is beautifully written and I feel as though I got to know and like you when it was all said and done. You also shared lots of information about the ship and excursions which I found helpful. Happy Sailing!

Thank you for your kind words, it really means a lot to me. :)

Sorry to hear the food was not good and that you had to visit the doctor.

Oh well, all experiences are good experiences if I learn from them! I would have never gone to the buffet if I had not gotten such rave reviews from CC.

Awesome review. We will be on the Regal in March for the third time

And won't waste our time going to the

MDR. We've never dined in the

MDR on the Regal, choosing the buffet and Alfredo's and Crown Grill instead. This just reaffirms that we made the right decision

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I was on the last cruise to Canada for the season, and found the food in the buffet to be better than most. It was a 5 day cruise and we ate either in a specialty restaurant or the buffet. I did remember reading that MDR was full of people complaining abiut long lines , slow service ,and poor quality of food.

This is a very strange formula to have the buffet, as A + and the MDR as a D.

I find your characterization of the ship as "tired" to be so mystifying as to cause me to wonder if you were actually on the Regal Princess and not some other ship named Regal. I was all around the ship and never saw carpet in bad shape or well-worn furniture. If you think a two-year-old ship is worn and tired, then clearly your standards are far too high for mass market cruising. Have you considered a private yacht?

Thanks for the review, but you said the ship looked tired, could not disagree more and the beds are very comfortable.

You don't say what type of cabin you booked, but in guessing a Deluxe obstructed view - based on having a small loveseat and being Emerald deck?

If so, why would you say you had no desk? I've yet to be in a Princess ship cabin that has no desk, including Emerald obstructed view deluxe cabins on Royal class ships...There's most definitely the desk to sit at, right attached /next to the mini-fridge and cabinet. These cabins do have less storage than a standard balcony, as the loveseat takes the place of where the mini-fridge with some side shelves are in standard balconies....but the desk is most definitely there, with desk chair, drawer with hair dryer, mirror over desk, outlets, telephone, etc.... Was your cabin that drastically different? And if so - please let us know which cabin number, so we can avoid it in the future.

As for the ship being tired - if you say so. We sailed her and would be hard pressed to make the observation. For us, it's hard to believe she has a Drydock scheduled already, she was in such great shape.. Unless I was really nitpicking and actively looking for something to be a bit off, it would have been hard to believe she is over two years old already...

Glad you enjoyed parts of your sailing... Happy sails in the future.

We were on the Regal just last Oct. Sure glad I did not encounter Floran and Marina at the MDR. Our Cruise Director Martyn Moss worked well. Maybe the crew was too homesick on Christmas.

Interesting review. I was on the sailing before you and thought the food was great. The ship was very clean, unlike some carnival ships I've been on. I do ageee with you on the beds. They were so awful! Makes it hard to go back on the ship when sleeping was tough. That ship needs new matresses!

JF, in certain parts of the country, it is common to use "flu" to describe everything from the common cold to actual Influenza. For the most part, when I hear someone say they have "the flu", I assume they really mean a cold unless I have good reason to think otherwise.

Cold are also caused by viruses, so anti-bacterial meds would do no good for those either.

Thanks for your comprehensive report.

About the poor shore excursions.

Did you express your displeasure with the shore excursion desk? The experiences you describe should make you eligible for a partial refund.

The Regal "tired"? You lost me there...

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Yes I described the Regal as tired, and I meant it! I do fancy being on a yacht, doesn't everybody? Oops you are correct there is a desk but I had it covered with crap! My bad...

Thanks for your comprehensive report.

 

About the poor shore excursions.

 

Did you express your displeasure with the shore excursion desk? The experiences you describe should make you eligible for a partial refund.

The Head of excursions is Glenda and she is a doll. I mentioned our bad experience and of course so gave us a partial refund, Princes is always good about that and they rely on feedback to weed out the bad vendors. Nothing makes me happier than being able to book a ship excursion (so easy) and have a great experience.

I enjoyed and appreciate your review, but feel the need to comment about one of your statements in the "got the flu" section.

They took me off quarantine after two days without seeing me again, I guess that is normal and didn't realize that I was no longer able to spread the flu after a few days on antibiotic.

 

The flu is viral. Antibiotics only work for bacterial infections. You could have had a bacterial infection superimposed over the original flu, but you would have been contagious from the flu for as long as 7 days.

If you had a bacterial infection in addition and were taking antibiotics for that, probably a couple of days of quarantine would suffice.

I am with you on this. Antibiotics doesn't work on flus or colds. I had the real flu once and can honestly say I was down for 10 days and didn't want to do anything for a good 7 days. Everyone I know with flu has had a similar experience where they wanted to stay in bed for at least a week. You can be contagious for probably 5 days after symptoms.

If it is caught early, tamiflu supposedly helps. It wasn't out there when I had the flu.

I am with you on this. Antibiotics doesn't work on flus or colds. I had the real flu once and can honestly say I was down for 10 days and didn't want to do anything for a good 7 days. Everyone I know with flu has had a similar experience where they wanted to stay in bed for at least a week. You can be contagious for probably 5 days after symptoms.

 

If it is caught early, tamiflu supposedly helps. It wasn't out there when I had the flu.

I was so sick, my oxygen intake was at 80%. I've never been that sick in my life, thankfully I was on a Princess ship because they have great medical care. I took antibiotics because I got a secondary respiratory infection, a girls gotta breathe! I also took Tamiflu, as did my husband although he did not have to flu and never got it. We both had bad colds as well.

I was tired for much of the cruise, maybe that made me see the ship as tired. Projection happens!

Amelia,

Thanks for the review.Happy wedding anniversary.

We are boarding the Regal end of next week so this held our interest.

We were also on a Christmas cruise with our family. Noticed how well behaved all those 700 plus kids were on the ship (including our 4 teens). I still have visions of that Star Princess cruise to SA at Holiday time with those kids running wild.

I too noticed that the dining room food (we were on the ruby) was lacking . We had the opposite on our early fixed dining experience. Our wait staff served so fast, we felt like we were being thrown out.

The last night the waiter served my grandaughter's main course while we were eating our appetizers.

My husband and I plan on visiting the Regal's dinner buffet often. Will try the dining room and see what kind of service we encounter.

Thank you again for the wonderful review (sorry you were sick).

G:D