acp1119

First off, must say how gorgeous this ship is! We tried to view every little public area and spent time in most. Loved every second. We lucked out with perfect sailaway weather out of NY Harbor, with great music and margaritas.

Since we booked this cruise over a year ago, we did get the Sip n Sail promo and it was worth it's weight in gold! Will try to always plan in advance to take advantage of this.

Have read over the last few months, concerns and questions about the Regal and about Princess in general. Will try to answer those not covered (at least what I've seen recently).

- Gelato IS included in the AIBP! Yummm!

- Lack of midship stairs was a bit inconvenient but one gets used to navigating around the ship.

- One of my biggest disappointments was the Promenade deck. I love doing laps and not only did this deck not encircle the entire Ship, there were areas so narrow you had to walk sideways to let others pass in the opposite direction. There are only a few deck chairs/loungers mostly midship on this deck resulting in a serious lack of areas to relax and enjoy the surroundings. Letdown for sure.

- Want to put my "two cents" in on Princess Live! We attended a handful of events there and enjoyed every one. Cruise Director and staff were just great and full of laughs.

- Production shows were fantastic - Bravo and Fiere. Singers, dancers, music and set all professionally done.

- Horizon buffet was surprisingly good -- selection and quality. However, we enjoy the MDR and were actually disappointed several times with service and quality of food and selection. We're fairly easy to please but did not compare with prior Princess cruises. Seems that there were a lot of "green" crew members aboard. Not sure what was going on.

- Had the usual barrage of promos (coffee cards, wine tasting, etc) first few days of the cruise (mostly while eating) but subsided after that.

 

Itinerary was good: Newport, Boston, Bar Harbor, Saint John and Halifax. We did have to skip Saint John due to weather/high wind concerns, but another day at sea was just right!

Will continue in a bit on ports and excursions. Feel free to ask questions as needed. Have a great day!

-

I was on the same cruise with you and you summed it up perfectly! Regal is exquisite and everything you said I would agree wholeheartedly with.

Angela

We were on the Regal when it skipped St John. Pilot from St John got on board with the Captain and they decided that the cross winds and cross currents made it unsafe to go into port. The tides in St John have to be timed just right. Even though we missed St John we were very happy that Princess takes no chances with their passengers safety. Had a great day at sea. The Cruise Director, Martyn Moss and his staff did a great job!!

Thank you all so much for this thread. You make me laugh every day!!!

Good one. Made me laugh this morning. Thank you! If only people would just learn to chill out, relax...you are on a cruise. Be thankful and happy you can afford to go on a cruise. Many people would change places with you in a second. My husband had surgery for lung cancer this year and is now cancer free. We are going on this cruise to celebrate his success. So don't sweat the small stuff! Enjoy life and your vacations.

Thanks everyone. Guess I will need to save space calorie wise for gelato and crepes. Lol.

Ok, so I leave for the Regal on Saturday 10/15. I have the AIBP. Anyone been on Regal recently know if I can get Gelato with the AIBP. And are there crepes anywhere?

Thanks for posting these updates! We will also be boarding the Regal this Saturday- October 8th with my sisters / hubbies from the west coast. Looking forward to your next update(s)!

Have a good time!!! I get on as you get off.

Hope you had a good time!!! Let us know what you thought was the best and not to miss. I leave in 7 days!! And formal nights? Any good movies? Best port?

7 days to go!!!! I want to pack!

Totally agree! I feel so relaxed as soon as we set foot on board! My happy place!

 

We fly in the day before, have breakfast at the hotel, head over early, try to get into the first few groups boarding. We pre-purchase our drink stickers - they are already on our cards at checkin - so first stop is usually the bar in the Piazza & International Cafe, then visit our cabins to drop belongings, then go to the pool bar. On Royal / Regal we goto the Seaview bar for sure. Perhaps then walk thru the buffet to visit the rear bar! (see a theme here?) The only other thing we would add is that we like to go for a swim or at least sit by the pool until Muster.

Plan on following your theme. We have the AIBP. But no swim for us...we are leaving out of NY in October. Lol.

I just don't understand why people get themselves all upset over such trivial things. You are on vacation!! Relax!! Consider yourself lucky to be fortunate to afford a cruise. I guess I'm just one of those who smile and always look on the bright side of things. Make a new friend while waiting on line. Have another drink while waiting. There are other choices. Next time do traditional and you will have no wait. At home if I want to go to a popular restaurant sometimes I have to wait or I make a choice to go somewhere else.

 

Chill out, be happy, relax. It's better for your health. And again count your blessings. Lots of people would love to be able to afford a cruise and change places with you on that line!!

And so back to my original response.....chill out, have a drink while waiting and talk to your fellow cruisers. Relax!!! But since I have traditional, I'll have a drink before, during and after. Lol Happy Cruising!!!

Oh....thank you for all the explanations. So if I miss my early traditional, since part of the reason is I didn't want to have to wait, I can check ATD and if there is a wait, go to the buffet. But if it is late enough and there is no wait, then I am not inconveniencing any ATD diners and I can get a table there. And yes...I will not be going to ATD at 5:30 and waiting when I already have a table in traditional at that time!!

I totally understand the complaint about traditional going to an anytime dining room. I guess what I didn't get is the complaint that there is a wait. I think there is a wait no matter how many traditionals go. But that being said, I am cruising on Oct 15th on Regal and I have early traditional. If for some reason we can't make it on time, I will go to the buffet or Alfredo's that night. I do agree...if you signed up for traditional you shouldn't go to anytime. I signed up for traditional because we need the structure or we probably would miss dinner. Lol. And the other reason is that I don't want to be waiting to be seated. So I promise to respect the anytime diners. It is just courtesy.

Can I ask a favor please. Would you check the Patters and let me know what dining room is being used for traditional early 5:30. Thanks.

Hope you are enjoying the cruise and the Regal.

Angela

Thank you for posting. I am leaving on Oct 15th on Regal. You already answered one of my questions...formal night on Sunday. Please post when you know the 2nd formal night. Really appreciate the info.

Would be very appreciative is someone would post any info for the 2016 New England / Canada cruise on Regal. Interested in formal nights, entertainment too good to miss, dining room assignments. Activities? Line Dancing, Ballroom Dancing lessons? Movies?

Would be very appreciative is someone would post the Patters for the 2016 New England / Canada cruise on Regal. Interested in formal nights, entertainment too good to miss, dining room assignments. Activities? Line Dancing, Ballroom Dancing lessons? Movies?

Wheelhouse. It's aft just before the elevators and stairs, usually has a live band several hours a night. Or Crooners in the atrium, enjoy whatever happening in atrium then head aft and take stairs or elevators on down.

The aft dining room is the always traditional dining room - and the set up as far as how to get to it is the same as it is on Grand class ships... Aft, then stairs or lift...it's not anymore difficult or confusing than Grand class is...

Thank you...Thank you!!

I have early TD and from everything I read it will probably be in the Allegro Dining Room. If we want to go for a drink before dinner, where is the best place to go since the only way to get to the Allegro seems to be the aft lifts and stairs.

Really hoping for the Concerto since it looks like that is easier to get to. So Regal cruiser...let me know.

Thanks

Ok, so just to be clear, I am going on a New England / Canada cruise. When we go into port in Rhode Island, Boston and Bar Harbor, I don't need to take my passport with me. I just need my princess cruise card and DL to get back on board the ship. What about in Canada? Do I need to carry my passport?

I just don't understand why people get themselves all upset over such trivial things. You are on vacation!! Relax!! Consider yourself lucky to be fortunate to afford a cruise. I guess I'm just one of those who smile and always look on the bright side of things. Make a new friend while waiting on line. Have another drink while waiting. There are other choices. Next time do traditional and you will have no wait. At home if I want to go to a popular restaurant sometimes I have to wait or I make a choice to go somewhere else.

Chill out, be happy, relax. It's better for your health. And again count your blessings. Lots of people would love to be able to afford a cruise and change places with you on that line!!

Another method is to go to the casino. Place your cruise card into a slot and select, say $100. Then you cash out. The $100 will be charged to your on board account and you will have the cash. Of course if you want to play the slot a little you can do that also.

 

You can also go to a bank in town at the port.

 

Another option is to just bring the cash along with you and store it in your cabin safe.

Thanks. Another great tip. I am bringing cash with me but just in case it's good to know the easy ways to get more.

Instead of using your credit or debit card onboard at an ATM, why not just ask at reception for US$300 or whatever and they simply hand you the cash and add it to your bill at the end of the cruise with you simply using your cruise card they add it to your on board account. The complete total of your cruise including cash advances is regarded as a sale and not a cash advance, this is sometimes lower interest.

 

Regards John

Thanks John....good to know.

14 days, 10 hours!!!!

We leave a list of our preferred handypeople on our kitchen table' date=' in case the friend checking our house notices a problem (i.e electrician, furnace guy, etc). We always leave our itinerary with family, as well as give them the emergency number for the cruise line, in case there is any emergency at home.[/quote']

 

Also if you have a pet sitter, leave them the number of your vet and the nearest emergency vet. I also make copies of our passports, id's, credit cards. I take one copy with me and leave one copy home.