Regal Princess

I will be going on the Regal Princess in January. This is my first cruise on Princess. I have been on 20 other cruises. 1. What is the entertainment like on board. 2. What is the dress code for formal night.3. Is there a charge for the spa? 4. Any of the specialty restaurants worth it? 5. What types of special games such as trivia? 6. RCCL has a fun event called The Quest; is there anything like that on Princess?

Can I carry on my own large suitcase?

You can carry on your large suitcase as long as it fits the scanner.

There are productions shows, comedians, magicians at times, trivias and musicians.

Formal wear is suit or jacket for men. Cocktail dress for ladies.

There is a charge for spa.

We like the Crown Grill specialty restaurant.

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Hi Ken,

Easyboy likes the Crowd Grill and a lot of people do. I just don’t think it’s as good as it once was. The quality of the steak is just ok.

Tony

Agree with Tony - the steak in the Crown Grill is really tough. It might change depending where you sail. Sabatini's gets my vote as the best specialty restaurant on the Regal. Avoid ordering steak in the MDR too.

The Pub lunch is also especially good on the Regal. The steak and kidney pie is a real winner and you can get it in the International cafe too :cool: and the serve of fish and chips is better too than a lot of the other ships.

Trivia is always good. The musicians in the Atrium are always lovely and you can follow them to the different bars.

Depending where you're sailing they may have Voice of the Sea. It's a bit of fun where anyone can get up and sing.

I will be going on the Regal Princess in January. This is my first cruise on Princess. I have been on 20 other cruises. 1. What is the entertainment like on board. 2. What is the dress code for formal night.3. Is there a charge for the spa? 4. Any of the specialty restaurants worth it? 5. What types of special games such as trivia? 6. RCCL has a fun event called The Quest; is there anything like that on Princess?

1. Production shows, and guest entertainers in the theater. Believe I read that Born to Dance will now be on the Regal. For the 8pm production shows arrive around 30 mins early for a selection of seats. The 10pm shows are not as crowded. For guest entertainers arrive around 20 mins early.The Vista Lounge also has comedy, singers, musicians. The lounge is smaller so you have to arrive early to get a seat. Lots of live music all around the ship. Crooner's has late night piano entertainer. The area is very popular.

4. We enjoy the Crown Grill, $29/pp. Sabatini's is also nice, $25/pp. By the way these two specialty restaurants are smart casual every evening. Check out Alfredo's open 11am to late evening every day. No charge. Alfredo's is a nice place for boarding day lunch. The Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar has menu priced items you may enjoy. Not really full meals. The Horizon Ct. buffet area is very large and offers lots of selections. Breakfast omelettes made to order are at the most aft serving area. There is also a Crab Shack served in a seating area of the buffet on some evenings. Check it out once on board. There are also Specialty dining experiences like the Chef's Table, Wine Maker's Dinner, Balcony Dining. Afternoon teas is served most afternoons in one of the DR's, no charge. A few days a more formal tea is served in a section of the Piazza for a charge.

5. Yes, lots of trivia at least twice a day almost every day. The staff also has evening games which can be trivia style, yes/no game, marriage game, liers game, things like that. Not every game is offered on every cruise.

I agree with wishful one. I too thought the steaks were tough. However, on our next visit we had the lamb chops. They were delicious!!!!! If you are a lamb lover, you will be in heaven!

Regarding the Crown Grill; On the Royal it was hard to enjoy a quiet meal as the Piano playing in the attached Wheelhouse Bar was at times loud and distracting. Not sure though if it is the same on the Regal.....:):):)

Bob

We sailed on Princess for the first time last year, and as regular RCI cruisers, we didn't see anything comparable to the Quest.

Regarding the Crown Grill; On the Royal it was hard to enjoy a quiet meal as the Piano playing in the attached Wheelhouse Bar was at times loud and distracting. Not sure though if it is the same on the Regal.....:):):)

 

Bob

Bob, it was enough to put us off eating at the Crown Grill and we have always looked forward to our dinners there a few weeks ago and there wasn't just a piano playing.

Norris

Bob, it was enough to put us off eating at the Crown Grill and we have always looked forward to our dinners there a few weeks ago and there wasn't just a piano playing.

Norris

In addition to the piano, there was a great deal of audience participation that was also not conducive to enjoying the quiet meal.....:):):)

Bob

4. the ultimate balcony dinner is fantastic. you can search for reviews here but its 100 for a 200 value. the waiter told me it's the same filet as in the steakhouse. if so then it would be well worth it. you get one free pic, salad, crab app, filet and lobster or salmon or possibly something else, yummy dessert, other kind of dessert i forget what its called. roses, half bottle champagne, 2 alcoholic drinks.

i had a mini suite and think the balcony would be small for it but in the room it was good.

Hi Ken,

Easyboy likes the Crown Grill and a lot of people do. I just don’t think it’s as good as it once was. The quality of the steak is just ok.

Tony

I am still going to have my steak (Filet Mignon) and see what happens. If it is now descended to the MDR level of quality, I hate to think what the MDR steaks are like. Up until, Nov 2015 at least, the CG steak was terrific and good as most steak places on mainland.

In addition to the piano, there was a great deal of audience participation that was also not conducive to enjoying the quiet meal.....:):):)

Bob

I was aware of this when we sailed Regal in Nov 2015, and I requested table towards the back each time and it wasn't an issue. But not everyone can be seated away from the Wheelhouse obviously. It was a poor location choice for CG compared to Ruby/Emerald/Crown/Caribbean.

Regarding carrying your own luggage aboard, yes, you can do it as long as it will fit through the security X-ray machines. As to the alternative restaurants, we are very underwhelmed by the Crown Grill (a tired steak house concept) and Sabatinis is a take it or leave it place for us. On our recent (2 weeks ago ) Regal we were so happy with the MDR we decided not to spend the money on the alternatives (we have dined in them on previous cruises). I should mention that the expansive Lido buffet is one of the best we have ever encountered on any ship (and we have been on more than 70 ships).

As to formal nights it is truly a mixed bag. I would be safe in saying that most folks just do not dress-up the way they did in years past. But I wore a Tux (and was not alone) and DW wore pretty formal outfits. However, I would say the majority of men simply had a jacket (be it suit or sport coat) but there were also many who wore slacks and a collared shirt. Women wore just about everything...from very formal to stuff that DW would not have worn to work (and she was an elementary school teacher).

Hank

I was aware of this when we sailed Regal in Nov 2015, and I requested table towards the back each time and it wasn't an issue. But not everyone can be seated away from the Wheelhouse obviously. It was a poor location choice for CG compared to Ruby/Emerald/Crown/Caribbean.

I am in total agreement. For the life of me, I cannot fathom what made them stick what they now call the Wheelhouse bar onto the CG. I very much prefer when the Wheelhouse was a stand alone venue.....

Bob

Regarding carrying your own luggage aboard, yes, you can do it as long as it will fit through the security X-ray machines. As to the alternative restaurants, we are very underwhelmed by the Crown Grill (a tired steak house concept) and Sabatinis is a take it or leave it place for us. On our recent (2 weeks ago ) Regal we were so happy with the MDR we decided not to spend the money on the alternatives (we have dined in them on previous cruises). I should mention that the expansive Lido buffet is one of the best we have ever encountered on any ship (and we have been on more than 70 ships).

 

As to formal nights it is truly a mixed bag. I would be safe in saying that most folks just do not dress-up the way they did in years past. But I wore a Tux (and was not alone) and DW wore pretty formal outfits. However, I would say the majority of men simply had a jacket (be it suit or sport coat) but there were also many who wore slacks and a collared shirt. Women wore just about everything...from very formal to stuff that DW would not have worn to work (and she was an elementary school teacher).

 

Hank

I've wished for a number of years now that Princess would change the CG concept to something more modern or just something different. It is definitely getting a little "long in the tooth.".....:):):)

Bob

Our two favorite alternative restaurants are both on Celebrity Solstice Class ships. #1 (by far) is called Murano which is a haute cuisine restaurant with a diverse menu. You can get wonderful high quality Chateaubriand (for 2) of perhaps Grilled Dover Sole (filleted at tableside). They have decent lobster tail (much larger then what you get on most cruise line lobster nights) which is prepared in a much nicer way then you would get in most restaurants. Celebrity says its French style with a contemporary flair...and I guess that is pretty accurate. The downside is that it costs $50...although its possible to sometimes get that price cut substantially by bargaining or buying a dining package. The other restaurant we like is the totally different Qsine....which I refer to as Tapas on Steroids. On some of their ships they have an outdoor (with shelter) venue called the Lawn Grill which is a steakhouse with a real twist. You can actually help grill your own steak (this is an option...not required) and they also have interesting handmade pizzas for appetizers. All this on an upper deck (partially outdoors) where there is a real grill!

We think Princess has tried to improve Sabatinis,,,,,but we are still unimpressed by the menu. DW (a pretty accomplished cook/chef in her own right) tells me that decent Italian cooking might seem simple, but is actually difficult to pull off. We think many ships feature steak house food in their alternative restaurants because its really a simple concept. Buy some decent steak, train a cook to cook steak (not difficult) and voila. But the problem is that most mass market cruise lines cut corners on the quality of their steak. Eat steak in a top land-side steakhouse and then try a similar cut in the Crown Grill and you will see my point. A few years ago HAL started serving amazing hamburgers (made from Wagyu Beef) in its alternative Pinnacle Restaurant (this was a lunch menu item). The burger was near perfection for those of us who love a decent burger (cooked rare to med rare). But within a short time the "Wagyu" disappeared from the menu description and they replaced it with a lower cost beef. The result is still a decent burger....but not even close to that ole Wagyu offering.

Getting back to Sabatinis....if you want a decent Italian restaurant you better have some high quality milk-fed veal. And meat balls hand made from a combination of meats. Serve cheeses in an alternative restaurants and it doesn't work when you cut corners with quality. Replace real Reggiano with a lower cost cheese and it does matter. Replace decent wild fish with domestic farmed fish and it matters. Just the little things, like a top grade Italian sausage vs a much lower cost commercial copy, makes a big difference in the final product. If you use San Marzano tomatos rather than lower cost basic canned tomatoes....the final result will be noticeable. We think Sabatinis tries hard to be an Italian restaurant...but generally makes do with lesser quality raw materials. And it does matter.

One can play games like offering different kinds of salt (even the great chefs argue whether this even matters) but if the steak is not of the highest quality...then a decent sea salt is not going to rescue the offering. And that is why we are just no impressed with the Princess alternative restaurants. It would be easy for them to improve the product....but perhaps that would not contribute to the bottom line.

Hank

In addition to the piano, there was a great deal of audience participation that was also not conducive to enjoying the quiet meal.....:):):)

Bob

We must have been lucky as the night we went to Crown Grill on Regal, it was just classical piano music in the background - otherwise we found it a quiet and romantic venue.

I am still going to have my steak (Filet Mignon) and see what happens. If it is now descended to the MDR level of quality, I hate to think what the MDR steaks are like. Up until, Nov 2015 at least, the CG steak was terrific and good as most steak places on mainland.

What I found was that the Crown Grill on Regal is a nice venue with good service and a nice wine list, but their steak is far under seasoned which led to a rather bland filet mignon.

Sabatini's was pretty good - not comparable to what I can do with Italian food but good service and a nice setting and pretty good food.

I thought the food in the MDR was overall good with several interesting items each night. We did the chef's table and based on that I recommend you do the Wine Dinner instead. The Chef's Table is not a tasting menu as on other ships we've been on. Instead it is 5 appetizers, followed by a wild mushroom risotto course, some sherbet, then a huge entree which for us consisted of lobster, steak, pork and shrimp - too much food, huge portions and I was so full by the time the entree came, I couldn't eat it nor the huge dessert they brought out at the end.

Yes, there is a charge to use the spa thermal suite. You can buy a weekly or daily pass if you want. For a week, I believe it is around $120 per person. If you are on a port intensive cruise, you might not have time to use the spa anyway - we didn't.

Lots depends on the type of steak you order in the Crown Grill.

We've found the fillet to be tender and good. :)

We are on the ship over Christmas leaving Ft Lauderdale Dec17. I booked the steakhouse for dinner on Christmas Day.

I’m trying to figure out this whole medallion thing. I’ve downloaded compass and ready but can’t get booking accepted.

We found the Crown Grill on the Regal much too noisy, and that was before the piano player started. I do not like the Wheelhouse Bar/Crown Grill arrangement on the Royal class ships.

I have never been that impressed with Princess steaks. It's been a number of years now but on one cruise we had filet in the MDR, Crown Grill, and at the Chef's Table. IMHO, the quality of the filet I had in those three venues was best in the MDR, second best at the Chef's Table and least at the Crown Grill. Go figure.

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I am still going to have my steak (Filet Mignon) and see what happens. If it is now descended to the MDR level of quality, I hate to think what the MDR steaks are like. Up until, Nov 2015 at least, the CG steak was terrific and good as most steak places on mainland.

Hi Mr. Steelers,

When you go to CG make sure you ask for a window seat you will be away from all the noise. ( Royal & Regal ).

I think the only steak that’s OK to order is the Filet Mignon. Now for the important sports talk. Nice win on Thursday. If the Patriots didn’t drink the water in Mexico we have a good chance to win. :).

Go Patriots!!!!!!!!!!

Tony