Belated 12-6 Regal thoughts

[klenklen]

DW and I mid sixties flew into a rainy Ft Lauderdale on Saturday.

Stayed for the first time at the 17th Street Embassy Suites and were quite pleased. Was able to check in at noon and had a nice lunch in the atrium. The rooms were clean and big. Also a great breakfast buffet. Had a perfect view of the port where the Regal docked on Sunday morning. Did last minute soda shopping at the Wynn Dixie and the liquor store in the mall a short block from the hotels back door.

On Sunday went downstairs at ten am and caught a cab that just dropped off a passenger. Preferred leaving early missing the rushand was dropping off the luggage at the pier within ten minutes.

Had to queue up outside the terminal with a reasonably sized crown waiting for the go sign. At eleven am our preferred boarding line moved into the building. A minute and we were through the x ray screening, a quick stop at the wine table for their ok and proceeded to the get your cruise card line. From there we were about the third row of chairs waiting upstairs by the first get your picture taken area. After they boarded those in wheelchairs we were on board around noon.

For the first time in about a dozen Princess cruises you were directed to the Lido deck and the elevators didn't go to the cabin decks as the cabins were not ready. We were more than happy to sit on the aft area behind the buffet area, have a bite and a drink and than proceeded to our Forward Rivera balcony. Our bags come fairly quickly, unpacked and went into vacation mode.

We were looking for a quiet week and we accomplished it with a flourish. For entertainment we were happy to sit in the atrium, have a snack and watch the passenger dancers or listen to the music. Never made the shows save watched most of the lady impressionist from Canada who was pretty good.

Spent most of our days at the adult retreat outside the sanctuary. My DW had two full days in the sanctuary and I spent one there. Surely was delightful in the Sanctuary. Moving from the retreat to the Sanctuary was like moving from your first inside cabin to your first balcony cabin. The loungers were incredibly comfortable and you were nicely pampered but one day was plenty for me as I'm not the $port my DW is.

I had my fitbit and made a good 12,000-15,000 steps daily and a couple of dozen staircases that helped keep my weight increase to about three pounds. Twice up on the sport deck they had a batting machine and I made sure to lay down my bunts and get my cuts in. Pleased to stay I could still make solid contact especially since the pitches were quite slow.

We had room service several mornings on the balcony and otherwise ate in the buffet. Can say we never stepped in a dining room the entire trip. Fabulous buffet and I could add to my steps by first reconnoitering what was being served throughout the entire buffet and dessert area befogging filling my plate. Especially nice eating out back on the aft.

Had two fancy dinners one in Sabatini's and one in Crown Grill. I was looking forward to the veal milanese in Sabatini's the Princess website advertised as being one of the reason to sail the Regal. Asked the waiter for it and he said sorry they weren't serving any and that he wasn't familiar with the website info. Ordered something else that was pretty good and at the end of the meal the waiter apologized that he forgot and veal milanese was a special that night. Promised us if we came in again we'd get it. I told him if this was the worst thing that happened on the cruise I could roll with it. At the CG the onion soup was a delight and enjoyed the veal chop while the DW thought her scallops and filet were fabulous.

We had cancelled a beach excursion for the Sanctuary and had no regrets. In Cozumel we took the Deluxe Catamaran, Snorkel and beach trip. Was well worth it and enjoyable.

The service throughout the ship was excellent as was Grace our cabin lady.

The Regal is beautiful and well maintained and never appeared to be crowded.

The movies at MUTS were not what I was looking for save Jimmy Stewart and Donna Reed in It's a Wonderful Life. I say it yearly but I also miss that Princess has removed Cary Grant and Debra Kerr in An Affair to Remember from their movie roster.

Was able to read 3 1/2 books and as usual a marvelous cruise with my DW and look forward to our next.

[Colo Cruiser]

Sounds great, thanks for the comments. :)

[trystran72]

Sounds like you had a great time! :)

 

I would love to see An Affair To Remember under the stars! Maybe they'll bring that back someday soon.

[riclop]

Thanks for your thoughts.

[DMCruiser]

Loved your comments. We also like a very relaxing cruise! Sometimes we barely get off the ship!:D

[dchip]

My kind of cruising!! Relaxation and lots of walking!! Love the aft terrace on the Royal class ships.

 

Thanks for your thoughts.

 

Cheers, Denise

[anthonyy7]

Thanks for your review! A classic movie on MUTS sounds great

[krowek]

Thank You for your review...We were just disembarking the Regal as you were getting on Her. We wonderful cruise and look forward to our next trip. I also enjoyed the batting cage I have not has a chance to swing a baseball bat in a long time.

[SenorBruce]

Thx for the well written review and comments. We have always stayed at the HI Express on Rte 84 but staying at the 17th Street Embassy Suites sure is appealing. Relaxing and people watching makes for a wonderful cruise.

[Steelers36]

Glad you enjoyed Regal as much as we did - but you missed a few things. Oh well, maybe next time.

[FritzG]

Sounds like you had a great time! :)

 

I would love to see An Affair To Remember under the stars! Maybe they'll bring that back someday soon.

 

I agree! One of my fondest cruise memories was seeing An Affair to Remember while at sea on our first ta six years ago.

[arctickitty]

Thank you for posting your review here.

[Grego]

Thanks for taking the time to write this objective review. We really like both the Royal and Regal, totally enjoy the ambiance and the nice changes made to the HC/Bistro area. The ship is lovely and we have 3 voyages lined up on these ships this year.

[WISH84]

Thank for your comments. We were on the ship with you and by the sound of it, we may have been sitting right next to you waiting to board. We truly enjoyed our trip on the Regal and will be on her again this December.