LIVE: Regal Princess, Eastern Caribbean, Feb. 18-25, 2018

We made it on board the beautiful Regal Princess this morning. The drive down from North Carolina was not bad, except that we did not have a hotel reservation. We stopped for the night in Vero Beach, 126 miles north of Port Everglades. That left us a two-hour drive to the port.

We dropped off our two large suitcases and parked our car in the deck beside the terminal at 10:55. Going through security and check-in was a breeze. We had preferred status. We were on the ship in 20 minutes. They had just started letting suite and Elite passengers on when we were heading up the escalator to the priority lounge area. It was perfect timing. We joined the end of the line.

Lunch for us was in the Concerto Dining Room. I did not look close enough at the Patter to find out it opened at 11:30. By the time I noticed, we had spent 20 minutes unpacking our carry-on bags and contacting folks back home.

The menu was the one I like: with the vegetarian ravioli, which I always get in an appetizer-size portion, the salmon, and the orange soufflé with Grand Marnier custard sauce.

We have not sailed on the Regal before. We were on the Royal in December. We had done a Bon Voyage Experience on the Regal a couple of years ago. It is what convinced me that I could enjoy a cruise without a functioning Promenade Deck to walk around.

After lunch, we went to passenger services to sign up for the Ultimate Ship's Tour. It was already full. We're the second and third people on the waitlist. It will be OK if we don't make the cut. But this was going to be a good time to do it since we drove to the port (and we have a lot of onboard credit that would pay for it).

Lor74 had a terrific live thread last month (See here.) She included a lot of photos of menus and Patters. Most of the officers for our cruise are the same. (Her b2b cruises included the changeover of CD from Dan Falconer on the first to Lexi Comley on the second.) The ones that are different from her first cruise include William Esterhuyse (senior doctor), Elke Pointecker (customer services director), and Ignacio D'Agostino (maître d').

Have a great cruise! Looking forward to your live from

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Our itinerary is Princess Cays on Monday, St. Thomas on Wednesday, and St. Maarten on Thursday. We get one fabulous day at sea before St. Thomas and two on the way back to Fort Lauderdale.

The production shows listed in today's Patter are Sweet Soul Music, Born to Dance, and Bravo. We've seen the last two on other ships. I don't remember seeing Sweet Soul Music before. The guest entertainer is comedian Troy Thirdgill.

MUTS features are Battle of the Sexes, Murder on the Orient Express, Only the Brave, Thor, Victoria and Abdul, and Wonder. I'd like to see Victoria and Abdul. We read about it on our British isles cruise last August. I checked the TV movie listings, though, and it's not available on demand. None of them are. (I think some of the MUTS movies in December on the Royal were also available on the TV.)

We booked a Cat. BD guarantee and received a Cat. BB cabin midship on the Caribe Deck. The balcony, of course, isn't great like the Caribe Deck ones on the Grand and Gem class ships. It will be fine for us. The room also feels narrow. But anything would feel small compared to the suite we had on the Royal. We're back to reality. Our cabin is a quad, but the bunks are recessed into the ceiling and won't get in our way.

Having free unlimited internet minutes is going to be great. The speed is a lot faster than it was on the Royal. My first test came back at 27.82 Mbps for downloads. I'll try to remember to check again at sea.

Have a great cruise! Looking forward to your live from

Looking forward to following along. We love the Regal Princess. Have a great cruise!

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Thanks. Hard to believe it's been nine years since we sailed with you on the Emerald.

Actually we met you guys on the Crown along with Fungirl who I stay in contact with. But yes time flies! I have had to take a break from cruising and travel due to health issues, but have the Royal booked for a British Isles cruise in June and am really looking forward to it. I enjoyed reading about your cruise last summer.

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We are on this cruise as well. The internet is super fast and complimentary unlimited for platinim and elites is certainly a great perk even if it is just for this cruise. Enjoy the Regal. We have sailed on her before and enjoyed the cruises immensely.

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MUTS features are Battle of the Sexes, Murder on the Orient Express, Only the Brave, Thor, Victoria and Abdul, and Wonder. I'd like to see Victoria and Abdul. We read about it on our British isles cruise last August. I checked the TV movie listings, though, and it's not available on demand. None of them are. (I think some of the MUTS movies in December on the Royal were also available on the TV.)

 

The MUTS movies get added to the Movies on Demand set-up the day after their shown on MUTS.. Fingers crossed for you Victoria and Abdul gets shown early on so you'll have time to watch it later during the week in the cabin...

Actually we met you guys on the Crown along with Fungirl who I stay in contact with. But yes time flies! I have had to take a break from cruising and travel due to health issues, but have the Royal booked for a British Isles cruise in June and am really looking forward to it. I enjoyed reading about your cruise last summer.

The MUTS movies get added to the Movies on Demand set-up the day after their shown on MUTS.. Fingers crossed for you Victoria and Abdul gets shown early on so you'll have time to watch it later during the week in the cabin...

The new muster drill procedure (without life jackets) went smoothly. Our muster station (E) is in Princess Live. Once they ran out of seats, they had the remaining folks stand outside the room. I wish I had known this. I would have gladly been out there so that folks who haven't been to a drill before could get a better view--and I would have an easier time getting to the stairs after the drill.

We are about to sail away. No one from our roll call organized a sail-away gathering, so we're going to watch from our balcony. There's apparently a show with the singers and dancers up on deck. We can skip that.

Room service delivered our mini bar setup. We'll wait until tomorrow or the following day to make some trades. Our luggage also arrived before the muster drill. We had time to unpack most of it. DH had a few things left, but he's finished now. There's still plenty of storage space for our things--but not like it was in our Royal suite.

Thanks for sharing have a great cruise!!

Tony

The Platinum, Elite, and suite event will be each night in Club 6 (except for the second formal night, when we'll have the Captain's Circle Party). The food action station menu is smoked salmon tonight, guacamole on Monday, shrimp fountain on Tuesday, stilton with port wine on Wednesday, herb marinated goat's cheese and tomato bruschetta on Thursday, and sushi on Saturday.

The $6.50 drink specials are the boulevardier, Mayan mule, port lemonade, Tito's fresh mint lemondrop, limon mojito, floradora, cherry blossom garden, and deep sea martini. I may try a few new ones this cruise. On past cruises, I've gone for the mojito. I miss the margarita they used to have.

I'll be following! Sailing on the Regal 3 weeks from today, and I can't wait. It will be our first time on the Regal. Have a great trip!

I will be following along as much as I can. I have a busy week as we sail on the Regal to the Western Caribbean on Sunday, just hours after you return. While I am in a hurry for Sunday to get here I am sure you are just as eager for it to be a nice slow week. Enjoy your cruise and thank you for doing this live m the Regal.

Thanks for sharing.

Bon voyage!

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Looking forward to seeing your updates -- we are on the Regal Princess on April 1st. Have a great Cruise!

I'll be following! Sailing on the Regal 3 weeks from today, and I can't wait. It will be our first time on the Regal. Have a great trip!

Woohoo, us as well!

Lunch for us was in the Concerto Dining Room. I did not look close enough at the Patter to find out it opened at 11:30.

Did it still close at 1:30 or with the earlier opening time did it close earlier?

The new muster drill procedure (without life jackets) went smoothly. Our muster station (E) is in Princess Live. Once they ran out of seats, they had the remaining folks stand outside the room. I wish I had known this. I would have gladly been out there so that folks who haven't been to a drill before could get a better view

If done correctly, there should have been a crew member demonstrating the use of the life jacket out there in the hallway with the overflow crowd.

The dining room was open for lunch from 11:30 until 1:30. We had lunch with a couple who are doing back-to-back cruises. They said it will open at noon on our sea days.

There were crew members outside Princess Live to demonstrate the life jackets for those passengers who did not get in. The passengers at our muster station seemed to be paying attention during the drill. I did not see anyone talking during the announcements and demonstrations. And since we did not have our life jackets with us, no one had them to play with. I did not see anyone with drinks like I've seen in the past or anyone playing on a cell phone.

We had a relaxing first evening on the ship. We stayed on our balcony for sailaway, enjoying a glass of red wine. We watched our departure on the Port Everglades webcam site. The camera missed showing our cabin. It panned to the upper decks as we passed by. Neither of our mothers was watching live as they have on some of our previous cruises.

We went to the gathering at Outriggers afterward. On the way, I stopped by Horizon Court to make a glass of decaf iced tea. I noticed a nice display of shrimp and mussels along the way and fixed a small plate of the shrimp for me. We met several nice people up at Outriggers. The sunset as we sailed away from Fort Lauderdale was beautiful.

Afterward we headed down to Club 6 for the Platinum, Elite, and suite event. The smoked salmon on toast points tasted great. I'm a big fan of smoked salmon but hardly ever buy it at home. I tried a Mayan mule. It was tasty. Club 6 is a much nicer venue for the event than the Vista Lounge like we had on the Royal in December. We talked with a couple from Pennsylvania, lingering after the event was over.

Our cabin steward is a woman from the Philippines. She is very nice and efficient so far. I requested an extra pillow and extra bars of soap. She turned down our cabin while we were away. We saw her as we were heading to Outriggers and let her know that we had fixed second seating for dinner and that she could do it at her convenience. She noticed that we had used the tumblers for wine, so she brought us some proper wine glasses.

Dinner in the dining room was the usual first night's chaos. Our table is toward the back of the dining room. We have a round table for eight. All eight of us showed up last night. I'm taking bets that one couple doesn't show up again. But perhaps I'm wrong. They did not talk as much as the others and left early, before dessert, while the rest of us lingered. We barely made it to the show at 10. Part of our lingering, though, was due to the pace of our waiters. DH ended up taking his cappuccino with him to finish on the way to the theater.

Last night's show was comedian Troy Thirdgill. This was a full show, not the usual "Welcome Aboard" show that we've seen on past cruises where they've introduced the different members of the cruise director's staff, had the singers and dancers do one number, and then let a comedian do a short set. Troy was very funny.

Tonight's show is a singer named Teacake, who apparently performs a tribute to the divas, from Aretha to Whitney.

I slept well. The bed is comfortable. We'll have breakfast in the dining room then get ready for a beautiful day at Princess Cays.

Good morning, Enjoy the Regal. We love her. And it you get a chance, say Hi to Luisa (Small blonde casino hostess) from Mike and Tina

Thanks

Bob Voyage. I know you will love the Regal. She’s my favorite Ship.

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Looking forward to following your cruise on the Regal. Will sail on her April 1st. First time on Princess.