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We are taking our first Viking Ocean cruise this July. We booked it last August with a $1000 deposit for two of us. I paid the balance in Feb. which was ok with me. We have sailed on 4 river cruises and usually have to pay in full up front. We have sailed 4 times on O and love their ships but we like to try different lines for something new.

We are taking our family on this ship the week of Thanksgiving. It’s been several years since we sailed on RCI and I was worried my sons and their wives would be disappointed in the ship, but after reading these comments, I’m relieved and excited we chose the Liberty for our family trip. I know our grandkids will love that water park which was a main reason for choosing this ship. Thank you everyone!

Thank you for this review. Great information. We are leaving in 5 weeks on the France’s Finest tour with the first week on the Seine and the second week on the Rhône. We are getting so excited to go.

We sailed on both the Insignia (15 nights) and the Marina (10 nights) this past summer and fall. Both cruises were excellent. We just got back from a 10 day cruise on the Regal Princess and I saw more scooters, wheelchairs and walkers than I ever saw on Oceania. I won’t be back on Princess. The food was awful!

We only have 3 cruises on Oceania, 2 on Marina and 1 on Insignia. We loved all 3. We like the Marina better because she’s bigger and newer, but we very much enjoyed our time on the Insignia. The food on both ships was excellent as was the service. Our cabins were clean and everything worked just fine. Entertainment can be a hit or miss, but everyone knows O is not known for great entertainment. Do you want good food, service, a good itinerary or do you want great entertainment? We did 2 O cruises this past year and 1 New Years cruise on the Regal Princess. The Regal is a gorgeous new and big ship. The entertainment was first class, but the food in both the MDR and the buffet was poor. They had the worst frozen dessert up on deck but never real ice cream! The wait to get a table in the dining room each night was crazy. We turned Platinum with Princess on this cruise but sadly my DH said he will not cruise with them again. We are trying our first Viking Ocean cruise to Norway this summer and really excited about it.

I’m sorry the Regal’s buffet disappointed me. I read these boards often and read so many times that this ship has the best buffet at sea that I guess I went with really high expectations. I’m used to smaller ships where you go to one location for fresh cooked eggs and omelets, but on the Regal the omelet station is in one area and fried or poached eggs is in another location. I also found the pastries to be very dry but the bacon was really good. I think it was the layout that really confused me. By the time I found everything I wanted, my hot food was cold. And yes Oceania and Viking do cost more but they also include a lot of things I had to pay for on Princess. Thankfully there are a lot of choices to find the right cruise line for all of us. I will say this, Princess Cruisers are the most loyal cruisers of any I have sailed with. I’m guessing the perks are fantastic!

Good review. We are in the same boat (no pun). We used to sail Princess regularly and always enjoyed each cruise. But we also got tired of the large ships and moved on to the smaller Celebrity ships, Oceania and we just booked our first Viking Ocean. We have done several river cruises with them.

After reading so many positive reviews and comments about the Regal Princess we decided to return to Princess to check it out. We thought the ship was absolutely beautiful and the service was great. I didn’t notice a shortage of crew anywhere except in the MDR especially the hostess area. We had anytime Dining which is the only type we do on any line we sail. This is the only ship where we always had to wait to be seated. I felt their dining room organization was the worst! The hostess was so over worked and over whelmed, she was sullen and almost rude every night. The regal’s buffet is the worst, food was bland and the layout was confusing. I was very disappointed. Like you, we also enjoyed the Crown Grill but only ate there once. Getting a reservation took an act of Congress! I used to love Princess, but sadly I feel this will be our last time to sail with them also.

I’ve been on Oceania 3 times now. What is that ice cream sundae and where did it come from? Looks Yummy! We were in a PH1 suite on our last cruise and it was very nice.

We prefer Celebrity but Princess has some nice features too. The Regal Princess is a beautiful ship, but anytime Dining on Princess is awful. We never wait for a table on Celebrity but we waited every night on Princess and we were willing to share a table. I love the ice cream in the buffet on Celebrity and all Princess has is that awful frozen dessert at Swirls.

The entertainment on both ships was very good. I think the age factor depends on length, time of year, and location. Caribbean cruises attract younger people and kids more so than European cruises.

We just got off the Regal on Jan 7. It was a 10 day cruise. The singers and dancers performed at least 4 times during the week. There was a comedian who did 2 nights, an illusionist, and a group of 3 singers called Uptown who were great! We missed a few shows. The Princess singers and dancers were excellent. I’ve seen a lot worse on other Princess ships.

We were on the Regal New Year’s Eve, it was a formal night and everyone was dressed nicely from tuxedos to suits to dress shirts and slacks with and without ties. However, on several other nights I saw lots of shorts in the MDR. Haven’t sailed Princess in about 5 years and haven’t been in the Caribbean in about as long, so seems to me the dress code has changed.

Nice post! We just got off the Regal a week ago. We did the 10 day New Years cruise to the southern Caribbean. The Regal is a beautiful ship, it was our first time on her. We had 600 kids on board with us so lots of chair hogs at the pools on sea days. Alfredo’s was our favorite place to eat. Can’t say too much about the food in the buffet or MDR but I am a picky eater and we sail Oceania often and their food is the best. Entertainment on the Regal was superb! We loved happy hour at Crooners. Enjoy your trip.

Totally agree with that Land lover!

We travel a lot in Europe and I always carry $1 euro coins with me for the bathrooms. Frankly if the bathroom is free, I’m hesitant to go in. I would rather pay the dollar, then I know it’s clean and maintained.

Oceania also includes free internet which I just had to pay $10 a day on the Regal Princess. We have sailed 3 times on Oceania and 5 times on Princess. I won’t be back on Princess. Yes it is cheaper but not sure it’s worth it. The chair hogs alone on the Regal totally turned me off. Plus the food just wasn’t that good. However the entertainment was first class. I would say service is about the same with maybe an edge to Oceania. We’ve always had either a veranda cabin or a penthouse suite on Oceania and the veranda cabin is bigger than the Princess veranda but only on the bigger O ships.

I’ve seen gumbo offered at some time on all 3 O cruises that we’ve been on, but never etouffee. I’m from N.O. and trust me it’s not a creole or Cajun gumbo like any I’ve ever seen.

Never mind, it just showed up on my booking. Thanks cc, that was an easy $200 obc

I called yesterday and she immediately gave me the $100 pp but it still has not shown up on my booking. Maybe I’m looking in the wrong place?

Thank you all. I’m going to book it!

Thank you. Do you happen to know what the reg price is

We are taking our family on the Liberty the week of Thanksgiving 2018. I see on RCCL website, the beverage pkg is $41 per day. Is that the normal price or is that a sale price? If it’s a sale, how long is it good for, and how much is the regular price. Thank you.

I would do the 2nd cruise too. I would also do a longer cruise if you can. 7 day cruises in Europe are way too short for the long flight over. We have done 3 Med cruises and I loved them all. We have also been to Rome several times and while it is one of my favorite cities, we just did a cruise on Oceania that started in Lisbon and ended in Barcelona where we stayed

after for 3 days. Barcelona is my new favorite city. We absolutely loved it and we were there in mid Oct. and the weather was beautiful and warm.

We also visited Kotor on another med cruise and it is a very lovely place to visit. Good luck with your decision.

Be careful on choosing Icelandic Air. Everyone says their seats are the most uncomfortable of any airline. We just did a cruise that began in Reykjavik and we flew United but several passengers we traveled with got a great price from Icelandic, and they were disappointed in the quality of their flight. If you are flying business class you will be ok.

Hmmm...we were looking at a Midnight Sun cruise on the Sapphire next August, but after reading these comments, I’m thinking we might go with Viking. We were on the Sapphire 4 yrs ago and we were not happy with any dining on the ship,but everything else was ok.

Gee, we left Princess for Celebrity because we thought the food on Celebrity was loads better than Princess. I will agree with others that the food in the MDR on X has slipped. But I’ve heard the same about Princess. We are booked on the 12/28 Regal Princess cruise because we like the itinerary and also have heard rave reviews about this ship. We also cruise Oceania. I will make sure to post my review of the Regal after we return in January. I hope she lives up to my expectations after reading these boards. And yes food is subjective and everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but wow sending back 7 meals makes me wonder where you’re from elfinmagic?