Princess Regal - Photo Review (11-16-14) + BVE

[matj2000]

What happened to this review?

 

I am almost booking this ship and it was really helping....

[matj2000]

I did not realize you finished the review.

I really liked you pictures, can you post more photos if you get a chance?

[WinksCruises]

Thanks for your patience... still writing the review. Darn holiday chores keep getting in the way!!

 

Our next port of call was St. Thomas in the US Virgin Islands. We arrived on a beautiful morning, and Regal effortlessly backed in and docked next to the Carnival Glory. Both ships were moored at the Crown Bay Marina - which is a situated a long hike outside of the main town, Charlotte Amalie, and worlds away from the shopping mecca, Havensight Mall, where other cruise ships dock. I usually feel short shifted when we end up at Crown Bay… until we take the walk to the terminal and are afforded the opportunity of seeing iguanas mating on the sun soaked rocks lining the way, which never fails to elicit screams from the children and chuckles from the adults!

 

Crown Bay features its own faux commercial area - safely nestled within the gated confines of the port proper. A fabricated oversized windmill, a homage to the island’s Dutch heritage, plays centerpiece to a string of cruise stop staples like Diamonds International, Del Sol and Royal Caribbean. I can foresee a time in the future when uninitiated cruisers will consider these “gateway” shopping areas as the port-of-call proper (it sure feels that way in Grand Turk and Falmouth, Jamaica).

 

My wife enjoys St. Thomas - so much so, last year she had us return by conventional travel means and spend an entire week at the Marriott Frenchman’s Reef Resort. Yikes! Never again. It’s an expensive island to spend a week on (the taxis alone) and once you’ve bar-hopped Red Bank and spent a beach day on St. Johns, you’ve basically done it all! For me, it was nice to be back knowing we had no “must see” directive and would be gone again in 8 hours.

 

Docked at Crown Bay

 

We actually had only one goal in mind on this visit to the island; a cable car ride up to glorious Paradise Point to enjoy the views of the harbor from a vantage of 700 feet and the influence of a couple of Bailey Bushwackers. We had been disappointed on our aforementioned weeklong visit because the Point’s Skyride had been closed for renovations, so we were looking forward to our return visit.

 

It was still a little too early to be getting our drink on, so after a leisurely breakfast on the Regal to let the shore excursion rush subside, we took our time getting off the ship and eventually grabbed a group taxi into the center of Charlotte Amalie (5$ each). With time to kill, I checked out the shops on Main Street for some postcards to send. It’s something I try to do on every cruise. In St. Thomas sending card is comparatively easy; there are several post offices within walking distance of either port, they’re clearly marked and the postage rates / stamps are the same as mainland USA. So while we were downtown, I procured a small stack of cards with the intent of filling them out to family and friends back from the comfort of Paradise Point and its muse inspiring libation.

 

But with still more time to kill before lunch, we embarked on a new mission to find the famous 99 Steps – an attraction we have never done. Turns out, we still haven’t done them. The steps we found ran an adjacent path up the hill alongside the government buildings... they were white and no less arduous to climb. But they ended up not being the actual 99 steps!

 

A USPS mailbox and our version of The 99 Steps

 

Nonetheless, we had fun hiking up this set of steps (which seemed to total more than 99!), despite the inquisitive stares we got from government people going about their official business. Since we were essentially the entire way to the Government Hill summit, we decided to finally breakdown and tour Blackbeard’s Castle. In the past, we had avoided visiting this “tourist trap” mainly because I’d taken great offense at their attempt to bastardize a national historic site in a cloak of unsubstantiated pirate lore - all for the sake of making a buck. Kids, after all, are much more inclined to tour a pirate castle than they would “the best preserved example of a masonry rubble watch tower”.

 

Pirate lore and photo opps

 

In the end, I’m glad we crossed it off our St Thomas attractions list. We both had a good time and the view from atop the rubble tower is amazing. Yes, I could have done without the overdone pirate oratory and outright fabrications, but the re-enactors were competent enough at what they did. It was a fun way to kill an hour before making our way back down the hill and then over to Havensight where we were finally ready to undertake our tram ride up to the home of the Bailey’s Bushwacker (also a total fabrication it turns out), Paradise Point.

 

Buccaneer Fun and A View from Atop the Tower

 

 

I often think it’s one of the most reckless and dangerous things we do on any of our cruises; board the cable car up to Paradise Point. Can we really trust the people who operate and maintain this Skyride? Don’t the hurricanes and constant exposure to salt water eat away at the steel cable threads? Who checks the bolts on the support towers? What if there’s a power failure?

 

Travelling up to Paradise is a lot more intimidating than coming down. During the decent, the Bushwacker drinks have worked their magic on the nervous system and you welcome the swinging motion and compartment shaking that, on the way up, induced terror every time the cable passed through the rotors of the 8 towers during the 5-minute ascent. At 21$ each for the roundtrip ticket, it’s not the cheapest thrill in the world. But the view of the St. Thomas harbor, with its array of leisure craft, yachts, seaplanes and cruise ships is spectacular. (Note: you can also reach the Point by taxi, since there’s a road up the back side of the hill).

 

Ascent and Cable Car Selfie

 

Once up on Paradise, it was a chance to unwind, have a Bushwacker and take in the view. I grabbed the stack of postcards I’d bought in town and began filling out sassy missives to the folks back home. My wife took advantage of the US based cell service and caught up on some Facebook and email messages.(There's also free wi-fi available)

 

We did a little shopping (there’s a restaurant, souvenir shops and a bird show here), had a few drinks, ate lunch and spoke with another couple who were also on the Regal. Postcards, filled out, we headed (read staggered) out for the tramway ride back down…. Which ended up being hilarious as we found ourselves sharing the cabin down with a group of Chinese tourists, none of whom spoke a lick of English. The language barrier was no problem. We all spoke drunken, thrill ride as we laughed our way down the hillside, taking pictures, shrieking and generally having a blast.

 

Making friends after a few Bushwackers!

 

After a quick stop at the post office at the Havensight Mall to dump the postcards into the mailbox, we had to overpay a taxi driver to take us back over to Crown Bay. We were closing in on all-aboard time and most of our fellow passengers had already headed back. 20$ and about 10 minutes later, we were dropped off at Crown Bay in plenty of time to re-board the ship.

 

Next up: St. Martin

Edited December 21, 2014 by WinksCruises

[Happy2Crews]

Love the posts Winks....any idea what the cost would be for a taxi for two to Paradise Point and back to the Regal would be? Not so sure I would be able to brave the sky ride after your excellent points about what is probably a lack of maintenance. Looking forward to your St. Maarten postings.....

 

Thanks so much....our excitement to take the same trip is just a matter of days away. :D

[WinksCruises]

any idea what the cost would be for a taxi for two to Paradise Point and back to the Regal would be?

 

I don't - but judging from the St. Thomas cab fares listed at several Virgin Island info sites, I'm guessing you could do it for under 15$ a person. (cheaper than the cable car ride and cheaper the more people you enlist to join you).

 

My brother-in-law did it by cab... but I gotta tell you, a big part of the overall experience is facing and "surviving" the tram ride! You should consider it!

 

Happy travels!

Edited December 21, 2014 by WinksCruises

[Cruiseme0613]

Just a minor note so others aren't confused: Those photos are actually of the Retreat Pool (adults only) and Retreat area with poolside cabanas. The Retreat area and pool are free, but there is a charge for the cabanas. The extra cost Sanctuary is just forward of the Retreat pool/area (under the canopies forward of the wind screen).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks for the clarification!! We are new to Princess

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cruiseme0613]

I loved your review!! We are new to Princess, and after reading your review, I think we are going to book!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Cakediva1]

What a very entertaining and informative review! Much appreciated!

[dizlove]

enjoyed it

[cruiseclues]

It's nice to find all your great photo reviews. :):):):)