Shoobie1124

How is the weather? Our family is on that ship and we are worried about rain in the bahamas! :) Would love to see pics and more details!

That should obviously be break!

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Hello! Last ear we had a wonderful beach break excursion in costa maya. We went to maya chan, which is a day resort that caps at 100 ppl each day. For $60 pp we had transportation, lunch, all,you can drink. A private cabana, chairs, floats, sand castle contest for the kids Etc. it was PERFECT. Is there anything similar st Thomas? We want to avoid the super crowded beaches. Thanks!

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Hello! Last ear we had a wonderful beach break excursion in costa maya. We went to maya chan, which is a day resort that caps at 100 ppl each day. For $60 pp we had transportation, lunch, all,you can drink. A private cabana, chairs, floats, sand castle contest for the kids Etc. it was PERFECT. Is there anything similar on San Juan? We want to avoid the super crowded beaches. Thanks!

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We had an aft balcony on the floor and didn't notice any soot on our 12 day we loved the room!

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Hi - We started in Barcelona and had an extra 2 days there. it was GREAT! We stayed at the Marriott Renaissance and were easily able to walk everywhere we wanted to go. I would definitely suggest staying in the city as opposed to near the port or airport.

We did the hop on hop off bus, both routes. Took our time getting off at the stops that interested us. And had a lovely evening strolling Le Ramblas and finding outdoor cafes to eat, both on the "main drag" and off onto the side streets where there were fun squares of restaurants etc.

Hi! We must have missed them on Sea days-- there were only 2 of them and we searched the patter but couldn't find anything to say which would be open. We usually didn't dock until later in the day ( sometimes 1:30 pm) so having the same things at Breakfast and Lunch for 12 days got old! It has also been nice on Disney to have a relaxed sit down breakfast option when time in the morning allowed. The room service for breakfast was gross, we only did that the first day ( the egg sandwich) As "Pro- Disney" as this review sounds, we are not Disney Maniacs in the least, we initially took it for our son and thought Princess would end up being our go to "adult" cruise line.

Hello CC friends! After 2 Disney Cruises, I just returned from a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise on Princess' newest/largest ship, The Regal.

I wanted to do a quick recap of the pros and cons in case other families were considering the differences between the two.

We LOVE DCL, and have only been on the Fantasy. We have traveled both with and without kids on Disney and have been blown away each time. We knew that this trip would be without kids, and Princess had an itinerary that worked best with our schedules and wish list.

The Ship

Both Ships are stunning. Although many people complain that Regal doesn't have one central grand staircase, the Piazza was beautiful and had a similar feel of Fantasy - Bright, Marble and Gold accents etc.

Pools

The larger of the main pools on Princess was around 7 feet deep, so not many kids played in there compared to the big pool on Fantasy where the kids bob around and watch movies. There is a smaller pool that is about 4.5 feet deep surrounded by wading pool area that is about 2 inches deep. That area was always packed. Although there were only 688 kids on board, the pools didn't seem as crowded as Fantasy - but the kids were MUCH more noticeable. I think its because no life guard to say no to horse play and parents were not as vigilant watching their kids. If you were seated ANYWhere around the main pools kids would be splashing you with cannonballs, running past you, bumping into you. I was amazed at how with so many LESS children how much more they were noticed.

Ditto for all of the 4 hot tubs in the main pool area, always PACKED with children.

The adult pool was lovely and Quiet and we really enjoyed that area - but missed satellite falls!

Dining-

We were overall VERY disappointed the entire cruise when it came to food. The premium restaurants (20$ per person) had the quality of DCL main dining rooms. And there was no place for a Remy or Palo type meal. Pool side grill was incredibly limited ( Burgers, Hotdogs, Pizza and Grilled chicken... no other options for the entire 12 days) We really missed having a main dining room option for breakfast or lunch. The buffet got very repetitive, and nothing was outstanding.

Service-

Dining room service was atrocious. We had anytime dining, which means we could go to one of 2 dining rooms anytime between 5 and 10 pm. We enjoyed the flexibility - but I think since the servers knew they would only see us once and were not needing to made a good impression for a tip - they really could care less about the service aspect. They were all pleasant, but lacked the personable touches Disney servers have. They almost seemed bored or sometimes annoyed to tell us that days specials etc. (Looking around instead of at us when explaining things etc, like they were looking for a clock when their shift was over!) Ditto for buffet servers. Again - nice, always said good morning, but not spectacular.

Entertainment

This is where Princess was heads and tails above DCL. Their stage shows were spectacular. I understand the audience demographic is different- but the shows were technically much better on Regal. Better dancing/singing/Music. The other AWESOME thing that Princess had was a "Live TV Station" where they had interactive game shows in the evening. Games like The 10,000 Pyramid, Jeopardy, Family Feud type shows w/ audience participation- even a murder mystery night! We enjoyed the newly wed game on DCL - but these were all so much fun. I want to write a letter to DCL and hope they add more!

Kids Activities -

Since we did not have children onboard I cannot give a first hand account, but I did visit during open house and talk to the kids club staff. we 100% will never be able to take our kids on anything other than Disney. The clubs were so boring! And everyone had to be doing the same thing. If it was craft time, everyone did the craft. The councilor said it was easier that way when they were "so busy" ( she said this when there were 9 kids in there!) They have 10 mins of free time between each organized activity. Our 8 year old DS would have been miserable. They had board games, a toddler sized playground outside ( that they used about 30 mins a day) and a few movie areas and small wii station that was available during the 10 min free time. I can't speak about the teen area, but I don't think they had their own hot tub or any "Chill out" area since they were all hanging out all over the ship.

The club hours wouldn't have been convenient for us either - I think it was 9-12, 1:20-4:30 and then 6:30 -10? or something like that?

Rooms

Obviously smaller than DCL and we really missed the split bath. The bed was very comfortable and our room steward was wonderful. I would have liked more drawer space- but the closet was very big and they supplied a lot of hangers so we just ended up hanging everything.

Extra expenses - The extra costs for soft drinks was frustrating. We ended up doing the soft drink package that was $8 a day per person. The full package was around $45 a day pp.

Overall - It was a pretty ship and a great itinerary. but lacked the attention to detail and personable touches that makes Disney spectacular. My only wish would be that DCL take some hints from Princess on the after dinner adult games that had a packed audience every night

Hello CC friends! After 2 Disney Cruises, I just returned from a 12 day Mediterranean Cruise on Princess' newest/largest ship, The Regal.

I wanted to do a quick recap of the pros and cons in case other families were considering the differences between the two.

We LOVE DCL, and have only been on the Fantasy. We have traveled both with and without kids on Disney and have been blown away each time. We knew that this trip would be without kids, and Princess had an itinerary that worked best with our schedules and wish list.

The Ship

Both Ships are stunning. Although many people complain that Regal doesn't have one central grand staircase, the Piazza was beautiful and had a similar feel of Fantasy - Bright, Marble and Gold accents etc.

Pools

The larger of the main pools on Princess was around 7 feet deep, so not many kids played in there compared to the big pool on Fantasy where the kids bob around and watch movies. There is a smaller pool that is about 4.5 feet deep surrounded by wading pool area that is about 2 inches deep. That area was always packed. Although there were only 688 kids on board, the pools didn't seem as crowded as Fantasy - but the kids were MUCH more noticeable. I think its because no life guard to say no to horse play and parents were not as vigilant watching their kids. If you were seated ANYWhere around the main pools kids would be splashing you with cannonballs, running past you, bumping into you. I was amazed at how with so many LESS children how much more they were noticed.

Ditto for all of the 4 hot tubs in the main pool area, always PACKED with children.

The adult pool was lovely and Quiet and we really enjoyed that area - but missed satellite falls!

Dining-

We were overall VERY disappointed the entire cruise when it came to food. The premium restaurants (20$ per person) had the quality of DCL main dining rooms. And there was no place for a Remy or Palo type meal. Pool side grill was incredibly limited ( Burgers, Hotdogs, Pizza and Grilled chicken... no other options for the entire 12 days) We really missed having a main dining room option for breakfast or lunch. The buffet got very repetitive, and nothing was outstanding.

Service-

Dining room service was atrocious. We had anytime dining, which means we could go to one of 2 dining rooms anytime between 5 and 10 pm. We enjoyed the flexibility - but I think since the servers knew they would only see us once and were not needing to made a good impression for a tip - they really could care less about the service aspect. They were all pleasant, but lacked the personable touches Disney servers have. They almost seemed bored or sometimes annoyed to tell us that days specials etc. (Looking around instead of at us when explaining things etc, like they were looking for a clock when their shift was over!) Ditto for buffet servers. Again - nice, always said good morning, but not spectacular.

Entertainment

This is where Princess was heads and tails above DCL. Their stage shows were spectacular. I understand the audience demographic is different- but the shows were technically much better on Regal. Better dancing/singing/Music. The other AWESOME thing that Princess had was a "Live TV Station" where they had interactive game shows in the evening. Games like The 10,000 Pyramid, Jeopardy, Family Feud type shows w/ audience participation- even a murder mystery night! We enjoyed the newly wed game on DCL - but these were all so much fun. I want to write a letter to DCL and hope they add more!

Kids Activities -

Since we did not have children onboard I cannot give a first hand account, but I did visit during open house and talk to the kids club staff. we 100% will never be able to take our kids on anything other than Disney. The clubs were so boring! And everyone had to be doing the same thing. If it was craft time, everyone did the craft. The councilor said it was easier that way when they were "so busy" ( she said this when there were 9 kids in there!) They have 10 mins of free time between each organized activity. Our 8 year old DS would have been miserable. They had board games, a toddler sized playground outside ( that they used about 30 mins a day) and a few movie areas and small wii station that was available during the 10 min free time. I can't speak about the teen area, but I don't think they had their own hot tub or any "Chill out" area since they were all hanging out all over the ship.

The club hours wouldn't have been convenient for us either - I think it was 9-12, 1:20-4:30 and then 6:30 -10? or something like that?

Rooms

Obviously smaller than DCL and we really missed the split bath. The bed was very comfortable and our room steward was wonderful. I would have liked more drawer space- but the closet was very big and they supplied a lot of hangers so we just ended up hanging everything.

Extra expenses - The extra costs for soft drinks was frustrating. We ended up doing the soft drink package that was $8 a day per person. The full package was around $45 a day pp.

Overall - It was a pretty ship and a great itinerary. but lacked the attention to detail and personable touches that makes Disney spectacular. My only wish would be that DCL take some hints from Princess on the after dinner adult games that had a packed audience every night

We have only cruised on the Disney Fantasy... And have LOVED Remy and Palo for fine dining. Does the regal have anything like that? ( not just the up charged pizzerias etc... But rather full dining experiences)

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2013/03/remy-champagne-brunch-review/

http://disneycruiselineblog.com/2013/12/remy-dinner-review/

Do we need to make reservations as soon as we board?

Has anyone had any experience waiting until 36-48 hours before a cruise to book? I want to surprise my mom with a spring break trip if the price drops on the disney fantasy. We could book up to the thursday before - so no need to plan ahead. It would just be waiting for the price to drop. I know that is a sell out week. But I thought it was worth asking!

It would be the April 12th date.

We are looking into a cruise on the serenade or the freedom - it seems that kids love the freedom of the seas, but I'm interested on any reviews of the serenade. Our son is 7 and loved the kids club on Disney, but probably wouldn't do rock climbing etc

Hello Cruisers! I understand that when sister ships are unveiled there are often changes in the 2nd and 3rd ships after feedback from the first. With so much negative feedback on the Royal - do you think that princess is making any changes to the Regal?

I know that some things like balcony size and main staircase won't be changed... but what about other things?

My 8 year old son sounds very similar. He really enjoyed the kids club on the Disney Dream. He's been on 7 cruises... Cunard, Carnival, Celebrity, and Disney. When he was younger he was OK with the "organized activities", but as he has gotten older he has been less interested. I sort of see his point... we usually do our family vacation at the end of the summer, so he has had 6 weeks of organized activities (camp), then he gets stuck for 2 weeks at his little sisters daycare, and then finally we go on vacation. More "camp" is really the last thing he wants on vacation. He just wants to be left alone to be able to play video games. So I've booked the Disney Fantasy for next August.

 

Celebrity wasn't bad -- they did have some "video game time", but the problem was it was usually towards the end of the evening when I wanted to pick him up.

 

I'm interested on sailing on Royal Caribbean with the kids, so i'm interesting in hearing more about how the kids program is structured.

My son LOVED the fantasy - although I was worried he was playing too many video games - I thought he would have more fun with the gagaball etc. but he wasn't isolating himself - all of the games were team sports wii, driving against each other etc. ( I thought he would be all by himself but he had a great time and was still interacting with other kids)

Just as you mentioned - after so many weeks of camp etc, I think he will be disappointed in more organized activities

Hello Cruisers!

We did our first Disney Cruise on the Fantasy last year and cannot wait to book another one. Because of school/work we can only go on Spring break which means crowded ships and extra costs!

We were considering the 5 night Wonder...but our TA suggested the RCCL Freedom for 7 nights, for almost 2k less!

We have a 7 year old son - who enjoys the characters but it wouldn't make or break him not to see them. And is not into the extreme sports at all (He wouldn't rock climb at all) But he LOVED the Lab on the Fantasy. (Basically the video games and interactive play floor etc.)

I asked on the disney board and they said there are a lot of craft type things that he is not into. He would do free play with other kids - but wouldn't be into organized crafts/decorating things/bingo all the time. Is there a place where kids can just play or any wii type things?

Have your video game obsessed boys enjoyed the organized activities after being on a DCL cruise with free play?

Would he enjoy the clubs on RCCL as much as the Fantasy? Are there enough adult only areas that we can enjoy? (Serenity Cove was pure BLISS! ) and any adult only dining options we could take advantage of that are as wonderful as Remy and Palo?

Disney was great because it was a vacation for us too - we would hate to resent going on a longer cruise if he hated the kids club and we didn't have time to relax because of meltdowns!

Again - 7 year old boy, likes video games, interactive electronics, but not extreme sports or characters.

Thanks!

Gillian

Hello Cruisers! We are looking into booking our first Mediterranean cruise for the summer (Grand Mediterranean on the Regal) and I am interested in some of the excursions. The last time I travelled in Europe I saw many of the same cities on my own - and did MUCH more in one day than what the typical excursion includes.

Has anyone found that they spend too much time in one place instead of seeing as much as possible?

Also, I am new to the boards - can anyone direct me to the board that would tell me which excursions are not to be missed or if there are better options booking independently vs. princess.

Thanks!

Gillian

They are different routes - but the ports are similar, on Azamara we would be missing Barcelona, Florence, Turkey and Greece - but we would have more time in the other places. We wanted to avoid Beach days in Greece which is why our TA suggested this one in the first place.

On princess I have been to all of the ports before but my husband hasn't been to any. On Azamara there are more places I have not visited.

The Azamara itinerary is --

Sat Jul 12 Venice, Italy 6:00pm

Sun Jul 13 Korcula, Croatia 1:00pm 10:00pm

Mon Jul 14 Dubrovnik, Croatia 7:00am 2:30pm

Mon Jul 14 Kotor, Montenegro 8:00pm

Tue Jul 15 Kotor, Montenegro 3:00pm

Wed Jul 16 Parga, Greece 9:00am 6:00pm

Thu Jul 17 Taormina (Giardini Naxos), Sicily, Italy Noon 7:00pm

Fri Jul 18 Amalfi, Italy 9:00am

Sat Jul 19 Amalfi, Italy 5:00am

Sat Jul 19 Capri, Italy 8:00am 6:00pm

Sun Jul 20 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy

the Princess Regal Itinerary is

Tue Jul 1 Barcelona, Spain 7:00pm

Wed Jul 2 Toulon, France 7:00am 6:00pm

Thu Jul 3 Florence / Pisa (Livorno), Italy 7:00am 7:00pm

Fri Jul 4 Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy 7:00am 7:00pm

Sat Jul 5 Naples / Capri (Sorrento), Italy 7:00am 7:00pm

Sun Jul 6 At Sea

Mon Jul 7 Mykonos, Greece 7:00am 2:00pm

Tue Jul 8 Istanbul, Turkey 8:00am 6:00pm

Wed Jul 9 Ephesus / Kusadasi, Turkey Noon 7:00pm

Thu Jul 10 Athens (Piraeus), Greece 9:00am 5:45pm

Fri Jul 11 At Sea

Sat Jul 12 Venice, Italy 1:00pm

Sun Jul 13 Venice, Italy Disembark

Thank you so much for your insight. It would be the regal princess - their new ship. The main draw is the "free excursions" promotion that azamara is running currently. We are definitely going to Europe for the ports, which is making the decision harder. We are not big partiers - you will find us in bed by midnight, not in the discos - so I know we won't miss the nightlife. Just the pools/dining options.

I am looking forward to hearing more comparisons

Gillian

Hello Cruisers!

We did our first Disney Cruise on the Fantasy last year and cannot wait to book another one. Because of school/work we can only go on Spring break which means crowded ships and extra costs!

We were considering the 5 night Wonder...but our TA suggested the RCCL Freedom for 7 nights, for almost 2k less!

We have a 7 year old son - who enjoys the characters but it wouldn't make or break him not to see them. And is not into the extreme sports at all (He wouldn't rock climb at all) But he LOVED the Lab on the Fantasy. (Basically the video games and interactive play floor etc.)

I asked on the disney board and they said there are a lot of craft type things that he is not into. He would do free play with other kids - but wouldn't be into organized crafts/decorating things/bingo all the time. Is there a place where kids can just play or any wii type things?

Would he enjoy the clubs on RCCL as much as the Fantasy? Are there enough adult only areas that we can enjoy? (Serenity Cove was pure BLISS! ) and any adult only dining options we could take advantage of that are as wonderful as Remy and Palo?

Disney was great because it was a vacation for us too - we would hate to resent going on a longer cruise if he hated the kids club and we didn't have time to relax because of meltdowns!

Again - 7 year old boy, likes video games, interactive electronics, but not extreme sports or characters.

Thanks!

Gillian

Hello cruisers! My husband and I are looking into a Mediterranean cruise this summer and our top choice was a princess 10 day Barcelona to Venice. My TA suggestion a similar itinerary in 8 days on azamara. We are 30 something's and although we are not big partiers we loved the variety in pools and relaxation that larger ships provide. We have cruised princess, NCL, and Disney ( Disney Being or favorite because of food, pools and service)

Can anyone give "real world reviews" comparing the service etc?

Thanks!

Thanks everyone! Two more question. I sailed princess with my family in1999 but I was 16 - am I correct in assuming that I am once again a "first timer" ? Since I was under 18?

Also, we have done Disney cruises and loved bringing our own alcohol on board, does princess give that option?

Hello! My name is Gillian and my husband and I are looking into booking the July 1st regal sailing. Has anyone who has been on the royal ( or princess in general perhaps) - is the adult only pool only available for a fee? Also, does princess typically have many last minute deals we should wait for?