Ken the cruiser

For those interested here’s the results of this morning’s internet speed test. But more to the point, I’ve been able to continually post to this thread with these blistering speeds! 😂

This morning after a well needed sleep and then going up to the buffet for breakfast, we headed to the theater for a Gibraltar port talk, which was quite entertaining! We remembered the port “expert”, Julio Delgado, from our Easter Island cruise in Jan 2020 and he is a hoot! Afterwards while in search of the cabanas, we walked across the sky walk.

Just checked out the cabanas on deck 17 aft. The price is $20 pp for 1/2 day and $40 pp for the full day. As far as if they are worth it, I’ll leave that up to you other than to say this is all you get. There is nothing extra included.

Day 2 - July 3 - Sea day

This evening, after dinner in CC Dining, where there were maybe 10 other people eating when we left at 7 pm, we went in search of any resemblance of a partially covered promenade to get our 1 1/2 mile walk in every day to burn some calories. As you may have heard they have done away with the full promenades on the Royal class ships. However, we were able to find some shaded as well as uncovered areas to walk on deck 7 that should do nicely. Then we headed to the theater to watch a very funny British comedian, Josh Daniels. He was definitely worth going to see, even though jet lag is really starting to set in. 😁

Went to Crooners and here’s both pages of their price list.

I sure will, as soon as I figure out where they might be hiding it. I’m curious if my alcoholic drinks of choice, Riesling, Moscato and Baileys, fall into the “cheap” bracket. 😁

Day 1 - July 2 - Barcelona Embarkation Day

Just did another test after checking out the completely self-serve buffet, which I might add was quite tasty! The download speed was now an acceptable 3.21 mbps, which BTW is better than what we have experienced on most of our previous X and PCL cruises this year. I used Ookla’s speedtest.net this time with the primary server located in Miami.

Just checked and the download speed in our cabin when we boarded was a whopping 168 kbps! But, on the bright side I had no problem uploading the above pictures.

Yes, that was our flight and we reached the Barcelona gate on time.

We have arrived!!! Checking into the cruise terminal went smoothly. It took maybe 15-20 minutes from our airport transfer to checking in at the terminal to boarding the ship. Views from the plane on the flight over. And the most important view, the one from our balcony! 😁

We just boarded our international Delta flight in Atlanta. Next stop Barcelona with a scheduled arrival time of 9:20 am !!! 😁

While waiting for the time we can drive to the airport, I found this interesting CC article as of June 22, 2022 regarding satellite internet service onboard a cruise ship. Here's what it said about Carnival ships. However, there are exceptions. Prices are being driven down as some cruise lines (the Carnival family of brands, for instance) begin to use hybrid systems that combine satellite connections with cheaper land-based links. For instance, Carnival offers passengers a cheap social media package Wi-Fi option in addition to their full-power internet packages. If you need video calls or streaming services, you'll need to pay more. Does Princess offer different internet service packages? I don't remember seeing any options to upgrade the Princess Plus "bundled" internet service on our upcoming Regal cruise. Do Cruise Ships Have Wi-Fi? And 6 Other Things You Need to Know About Internet at Sea (cruisecritic.com)

Here's an interesting CC article as of June 22, 2022 regarding satellite internet service onboard. Do Cruise Ships Have Wi-Fi? And 6 Other Things You Need to Know About Internet at Sea (cruisecritic.com)

It sure looks like it.

We will. BTW I forgot to mention we eat early for health reasons. I tell ya, it's tough getting old but we will endure!! 😂

Good morning everyone! I just checked and the first flight from our home airport is already on its way to Atlanta! There are some patches of light rain in the forecast this afternoon, so I guess it's looking like a go! So, let's get the party started with one of my favorite Queen songs!!

Just saw this article today. Holland America Line is changing its COVID-19 testing requirements for selected sailings onboard the new Rotterdam. “As health protocols around the world continue to evolve, we are adjusting our policies to align with those of the countries we visit,” the company said in a statement sent to travel advisors. As a result, guests sailing on the 2021-built vessel on July 10, July 17 and July 24 won’t need to show a negative COVID-19 test before boarding. Holland America Removes Pre-Boarding COVID-19 Testing for Selected Sailings - Cruise Industry News

Thanks! This is going to be such a great cruise!! We have been waiting for over 3 years to go on this itinerary, literally from one end of the Med to the other and then back again!! Princess definitely had a vision IMHO when they linked these 3 itineraries together. 😁

Unfortunately, according to the CCL SHB rules, you have to submit the application at least 3 weeks prior to the cruise start date: The benefit is applicable on sailings through July 31, 2023 aboard the brands listed below. Certain restrictions apply. Applications to receive these benefits should be made at least three weeks prior to cruise departure date. https://www.carnivalcorp.com/static-files/50351a91-4dc0-4f6b-bfec-684647e6129f

We usually get there as soon as they open for dinner and since it’s just the two of us most of the time, our waiters are usually able to bring us the next course without too much delay since the prime dining time in CC dining is usually between 6-7 pm. Then it’s off to the theater at least 30-40 minutes early, with our deck of cards in hand, to find good seats that are strategically placed so no one is sitting directly behind us. That is one thing we have found when cruising with Princess. You need to get to the theater early if you want to find good seats before it gets packed, as is usually the case with the early show. I understand our strategy may not be the norm. But after cruising with Celebrity and Princess for over 90 days since cruising started back up, one develops certain set of strategies to avoid some of those “undesirable side effects” from cruising during a pandemic. 😁

That’s our problem. On Princess it’s Club Class dining and on Celebrity it’s now Blu. So on our future bookings, those are our new minimum standards. After all, isn’t “food” what it’s all about on a cruise! But I have to say when it comes to wine, Moscato is my favorite!! 😁

Why do I feel like it's a good time to suggest to my son to buy 100 shares? Obviously, it would be too late for him to reap the SHB perk on our upcoming 21 day Princess cruise he'll be on in a couple of days. But he is also booked on a 20 day Seabourn cruise next July and would get $250 of that back in shareholder benefits OBC on that cruise.

LOL!! War Eagle!! I'll try my best not to disappoint. As far as Club Class mini-suites go, we very much enjoy the "no reservation" aspect of Club Class dining. We also very seldom choose the "extra dish", unless it's Lobster Thermidor or some similar dish, but we do like that we can eat in usually less that 60 minutes and the food is always hot and very tasty! As far as the Regal itself goes, it will be the newest and biggest Princess ship we've sailed on. The previous ships we've sailed on include the Diamond, Crown, Island and most recently on the Caribbean Princess last month in an aft-facing Vista Suite on an 18 day Panama Canal cruise, which was awesome!! For those interested, here's a link to the Regal's deck plan: Deck Plans : Princess Cruises And its statistics by way of Wikipedia: Regal Princess (2013) - Wikipedia