Regal Jan 10-17 Review (long)

[Morgsmom]

Just got off the Regal Princess this morning after a week with DH.

Embarkation: the “preferred” line at 11:00 to board the ship was at least 2x longer than the “regular” check in… Once the line started it proceeded quickly. Yes, the wine detail was out in full force and DH dutifully checked in his 2 bottles.

 

Demographics: there could not have been more than 2 dozen folks under 18 on this cruise due to the timing of it. At the past pax events it was indicated that a majority of passengers were platinum or elite on the cruise with only a small percentage being first time Princess cruisers. Plenty of folks on B2Bs.

 

Ship: she looks great with everything still having that “new ship smell.” In the “beaten to death category” of ship opportunities: 1. Lack of Mid Ship Stairs – oh my heavens, yes this really is a big design flaw as is the non-existent Promenade deck. 2. The sky walk protrusion – also a challenge if you are in a stateroom below. We were in a port side balcony on Baja deck and while sunbathing (in bikini) one afternoon a gent above on the sky walk decided to make a somewhat obscene gesture to me below. DH wasn’t amused. 3. Lack of seating for shows. It was standing room only for every show (except the “Art history seminar”) all week. Be prepared to arrive 30 minutes early or forgo the show. We chose the latter.

 

Chair hogs – were alive and well. Quite possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. I even noted that there were NOT any signs about not saving chairs, or signs about personal items being removed, etc. There were literally chairs ‘hogged’ at 08:00am that were not visited until noon (or later). It’s hard to try to enforce a “rule” if there is no emphasis on the rule or signage around it. It’s as if Princess has given up on this sad fact.

 

Food: the buffet is, as noted, EXTENSIVE. Definitely spend the extra few minutes walking around and taking in your options as there are many little nooks and crannies holding dishes that are not repeated elsewhere. (For example, there was spectacular Indian vegetarian dahls offered, but only in one section. At night there is a whole section devoted to just cheeses. Heaven.) Lots of healthy, as well as non healthy choices. Certainly you could take care of almost any dietary request or requirement easily at the buffet.

The Curtis Stone always available dishes in the MDR were a huge disappointment. We tried all three of them, which were repeated every single night. One might think since they are so polarizing (mahi with curried cauliflower and plantains, for example) that they would be switched up. Nope. The funniest thing was this menu copy about the black beans on the flank steak simmering for “hours” to bring flavor. Trust me, I know beans. These were straight out of a #10 can. (Ditto with the baked beans at breakfast.)

On the ‘give me a break’ side – getting a glass of juice in the morning is like pulling teeth. Yes, on a 4 ounce glass of OJ, but other than that juice is treated like gold. Do yourself a favor and order it from room service in the morning and keep in your stateroom cooler if you like a glass of juice at any other time in the day. (Speaking of juice, it appeared that if you had prepaid the Soda package you were given the “USM” ultimate soda and more sticker for this sailing as the soda only package is now defunct.)

 

DH enjoyed watching football on MUTS – and this one is a beautiful screen with good sound. Too bad they are still running some of the old concerts during the day. And given the fact that there were barely any kids onboard it was odd to have G rated movies (Peanuts/Minions/etc) for the 10am movie. But I understand why they do it – but someone could have reviewed the pax list and possibly been a little more nimble in changing it up.

We did have 2 medical emergencies – one pax left the ship via Ambulance in St Maarten (with luggage and family) and another was airlifted out by the US Coast Guard yesterday while at sea via a rather elaborate air mission. Let’s just say that the captain was not having a good day with that.

 

To note: I did adjust my House Charges/Gratuities back to the $11.50/night that they were when I booked the trip (from the $12.95 they raised them to since.) The passenger service agent actually had a pre-printed “why you want to adjust your tips” kind of form that had this option ALREADY listed so clearly this was not unexpected. While the difference was minimal it was more a matter of principal to me (and they made up for it with a couple of extra cocktails on my part.)

 

All in all, a refreshingly relaxing week. Happy to answer any questions.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[tkbk]

what did you think of your cabin, in regards to cleanliness and service from your Stewart

Edited January 17, 2016 by tkbk

[geocruiser]

what did you think of your cabin, in regards to cleanliness and service from your Stewart

 

I was also on this cruise. We had cabin E405. Madeline our stewardess was great. Cabin all ways clean.

[Mom33]

Just got off the Regal Princess this morning after a week with DH.

Embarkation: the “preferred” line at 11:00 to board the ship was at least 2x longer than the “regular” check in… Once the line started it proceeded quickly. Yes, the wine detail was out in full force and DH dutifully checked in his 2 bottles.

 

Demographics: there could not have been more than 2 dozen folks under 18 on this cruise due to the timing of it. At the past pax events it was indicated that a majority of passengers were platinum or elite on the cruise with only a small percentage being first time Princess cruisers. Plenty of folks on B2Bs.

 

Ship: she looks great with everything still having that “new ship smell.” In the “beaten to death category” of ship opportunities: 1. Lack of Mid Ship Stairs – oh my heavens, yes this really is a big design flaw as is the non-existent Promenade deck. 2. The sky walk protrusion – also a challenge if you are in a stateroom below. We were in a port side balcony on Baja deck and while sunbathing (in bikini) one afternoon a gent above on the sky walk decided to make a somewhat obscene gesture to me below. DH wasn’t amused. 3. Lack of seating for shows. It was standing room only for every show (except the “Art history seminar”) all week. Be prepared to arrive 30 minutes early or forgo the show. We chose the latter.

 

Chair hogs – were alive and well. Quite possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. I even noted that there were NOT any signs about not saving chairs, or signs about personal items being removed, etc. There were literally chairs ‘hogged’ at 08:00am that were not visited until noon (or later). It’s hard to try to enforce a “rule” if there is no emphasis on the rule or signage around it. It’s as if Princess has given up on this sad fact.

 

Food: the buffet is, as noted, EXTENSIVE. Definitely spend the extra few minutes walking around and taking in your options as there are many little nooks and crannies holding dishes that are not repeated elsewhere. (For example, there was spectacular Indian vegetarian dahls offered, but only in one section. At night there is a whole section devoted to just cheeses. Heaven.) Lots of healthy, as well as non healthy choices. Certainly you could take care of almost any dietary request or requirement easily at the buffet.

The Curtis Stone always available dishes in the MDR were a huge disappointment. We tried all three of them, which were repeated every single night. One might think since they are so polarizing (mahi with curried cauliflower and plantains, for example) that they would be switched up. Nope. The funniest thing was this menu copy about the black beans on the flank steak simmering for “hours” to bring flavor. Trust me, I know beans. These were straight out of a #10 can. (Ditto with the baked beans at breakfast.)

On the ‘give me a break’ side – getting a glass of juice in the morning is like pulling teeth. Yes, on a 4 ounce glass of OJ, but other than that juice is treated like gold. Do yourself a favor and order it from room service in the morning and keep in your stateroom cooler if you like a glass of juice at any other time in the day. (Speaking of juice, it appeared that if you had prepaid the Soda package you were given the “USM” ultimate soda and more sticker for this sailing as the soda only package is now defunct.)

 

DH enjoyed watching football on MUTS – and this one is a beautiful screen with good sound. Too bad they are still running some of the old concerts during the day. And given the fact that there were barely any kids onboard it was odd to have G rated movies (Peanuts/Minions/etc) for the 10am movie. But I understand why they do it – but someone could have reviewed the pax list and possibly been a little more nimble in changing it up.

We did have 2 medical emergencies – one pax left the ship via Ambulance in St Maarten (with luggage and family) and another was airlifted out by the US Coast Guard yesterday while at sea via a rather elaborate air mission. Let’s just say that the captain was not having a good day with that.

 

To note: I did adjust my House Charges/Gratuities back to the $11.50/night that they were when I booked the trip (from the $12.95 they raised them to since.) The passenger service agent actually had a pre-printed “why you want to adjust your tips” kind of form that had this option ALREADY listed so clearly this was not unexpected. While the difference was minimal it was more a matter of principal to me (and they made up for it with a couple of extra cocktails on my part.)

 

All in all, a refreshingly relaxing week. Happy to answer any questions.

 

Thanks for your thoughts about the ship and your cruise. We never were bothered by the missing central stairs as they were actually there for emergencies. We just used the elevators. We also used the Promenade deck to sit and relax while watching the sea on the teak padded loungers that were provided. :)

[floridalover5623]

It's unfortunate that you had problems with people leering down on your balcony. Some people report back that they've never hear of such a thing which I really doubt since they're always walking by at all times of day and night.

Did you get that cabin with a guarantee or just book it on your own?

I imagine that you kept your curtains closed at night.

[Morgsmom]

It's unfortunate that you had problems with people leering down on your balcony. Some people report back that they've never hear of such a thing which I really doubt since they're always walking by at all times of day and night.

Did you get that cabin with a guarantee or just book it on your own?

I imagine that you kept your curtains closed at night.

 

hahahahaah... It was only one gent, who may have spent too much time at the bar over there (where the bartender flair show was -- and it was fun!) And to be fair my bikini was very string'ish... (though I was celebrating my 50th on the cruise so I thought it was funny, DH not so) It really wasn't a big deal and the curtains were drawn at night... since it was also our anniversary :rolleyes:

[Morgsmom]

what did you think of your cabin, in regards to cleanliness and service from your Stewart

 

Our Cabin was FANTASTIC. Really. Love the new TV's especially with the "on demand" movies. Our "stewart" Victor was everything you'd want -- unobtrusive, but thorough. thoughtful. timely. Just fantastic. Now, granted, we are VERY good guests; I 'tidy up' before the steward comes in, but he still had to deal with a laden room service tray every morning and a small mountain of towels at night.

 

Enjoyed the comfy bed. DH was convinced it was ONE queen/king sized bed and not two twins pushed together! There was none of that canal" between the beds.

 

I also found the ship to be fantastically QUIET. I'm sure it was more due to the demographic of the ship this week than the architecture, but we were snug as bugs in bed early and never heard a peep in the hallways. On other lines we've had that "kids running down the halls" thing in the middle of the night.

Edited January 17, 2016 by Morgsmom
.

[cazzi]

we were on the cruise before you and yes the chair hogs were in full force, we were lucky to find a pair of chairs together around 9am but usually in the back of the boat in the smoking area ugh. Not surprised chair hogs didn't leave a towel on their chair at the show theatre or the Vista lounge, so frustrating

 

Rooms stewards work alone and have on average 17 rooms and still do a great job

 

Week sure went by fast

[itravelalot]

Thanks for your review..

We did the B2B on Regal 2 weeks before you got on.

 

I agree fully with the chair (lounger) situation. There were so many conflicts with people watching chairs with only towels then confronting those people who showed up 3 hours later.

 

We saw 3 incidents of officers (men in uniform) being called to situations.. Then later they would stand on deck 17 watching the pool action. I even met a couple who had chairs saved in the retreat, by the main pool and on deck 17 and thought that was fair... The officers even told someone no matter how long someone is away, you are never in the right if you remove belongings from a lounger. It's a problem everywhere..

 

We had a wonderful cruise.. I also was disappointed with the promenade and not being able to walk it fully, however I did enjoy sitting on the chairs on the promenade deck so close to the water..

[floridalover5623]

 

I also found the ship to be fantastically QUIET. I'm sure it was more due to the demographic of the ship this week than the architecture, but we were snug as bugs in bed early and never heard a peep in the hallways. On other lines we've had that "kids running down the halls" thing in the middle of the night.

 

While it may have been a quiet cruise the Piazza is anything but quiet. There's hardly a time of day that something isn't happening from dancing to a band playing. It's not a quite place to have a cup of coffee unless it's a 5 AM.

[Older Sister]

The Curtis Stone always available dishes in the MDR were a huge disappointment. We tried all three of them, which were repeated every single night. One might think since they are so polarizing (mahi with curried cauliflower and plantains, for example) that they would be switched up. Nope. The funniest thing was this menu copy about the black beans on the flank steak simmering for “hours” to bring flavor. Trust me, I know beans. These were straight out of a #10 can.

 

TOTALLY agree on the Curtis Stone dishes! I had the flank steak with beans and rice, and was seriously underwhelmed! The dish was cooked well enough, but I didn't detect any special seasonings or flavorings . . . tasted like flank steak with rice and black beans. Period.

 

I was on this same cruise and found the menu offerings a bit disappointing overall. This is the first time I've cruised since they changed the dinner menus in the dining rooms, and actually found myself challenged a couple of evenings trying to find something that really appealed to me. To be sure, I didn't go hungry on the cruise! I was also a little disappointed in the dining room service . . . I'm thinking that there have been some staff cutbacks, since we found service to be very slow (even during the times when there were very few people in the dining room).

 

Nonetheless, my sweetheart and I had a wonderful time on the Regal!

 

Allyn

[Morgsmom]

Yes! I believe that waiters at dinner had more tables in their station then I ever remembered. We actually did not go to the MDR for 3 nights in a row because of the poor service. Our less-than-stellar server had the following tables at the 5:45 fixed seating: a 2 top, 4, top, 6 top, 2 (at a 6 top; the other 4 never showed), then us at a 2 top. That's a LOT of tables. I discussed with Headwaiter who asked us after night 2 why we were leaving so early w/out dessert and we said that our server was over-whelmed and oversat. He truly didn't seem to bat an eye.

I went from being miffed to feeling sorry for the server.

[ednmargo]

Not sure what the big deal is on the chair hog thing. If there is no one around 2 chairs with towels on them and it's been way longer than 1/2 hour, I'm politely moving their towels and placing them lovingly on a table and occupying "their" chairs. If they want their own chairs, they need to go to the sanctuary.

[keithm]

Not sure what the big deal is on the chair hog thing. If there is no one around 2 chairs with towels on them and it's been way longer than 1/2 hour, I'm politely moving their towels and placing them lovingly on a table and occupying "their" chairs. If they want their own chairs, they need to go to the sanctuary.

Works fine with me as well. I have NO problem whatsoever moving hogged equipment. Never had any issue. I just say "Tell it to the hand!"

[keithm]

Just got off the Regal Princess this morning after a week with DH.

Embarkation: the “preferred” line at 11:00 to board the ship was at least 2x longer than the “regular” check in… Once the line started it proceeded quickly. Yes, the wine detail was out in full force and DH dutifully checked in his 2 bottles.

 

Demographics: there could not have been more than 2 dozen folks under 18 on this cruise due to the timing of it. At the past pax events it was indicated that a majority of passengers were platinum or elite on the cruise with only a small percentage being first time Princess cruisers. Plenty of folks on B2Bs.

 

Ship: she looks great with everything still having that “new ship smell.” In the “beaten to death category” of ship opportunities: 1. Lack of Mid Ship Stairs – oh my heavens, yes this really is a big design flaw as is the non-existent Promenade deck. 2. The sky walk protrusion – also a challenge if you are in a stateroom below. We were in a port side balcony on Baja deck and while sunbathing (in bikini) one afternoon a gent above on the sky walk decided to make a somewhat obscene gesture to me below. DH wasn’t amused. 3. Lack of seating for shows. It was standing room only for every show (except the “Art history seminar”) all week. Be prepared to arrive 30 minutes early or forgo the show. We chose the latter.

 

Chair hogs – were alive and well. Quite possibly the worst I’ve ever seen. I even noted that there were NOT any signs about not saving chairs, or signs about personal items being removed, etc. There were literally chairs ‘hogged’ at 08:00am that were not visited until noon (or later). It’s hard to try to enforce a “rule” if there is no emphasis on the rule or signage around it. It’s as if Princess has given up on this sad fact.

 

Food: the buffet is, as noted, EXTENSIVE. Definitely spend the extra few minutes walking around and taking in your options as there are many little nooks and crannies holding dishes that are not repeated elsewhere. (For example, there was spectacular Indian vegetarian dahls offered, but only in one section. At night there is a whole section devoted to just cheeses. Heaven.) Lots of healthy, as well as non healthy choices. Certainly you could take care of almost any dietary request or requirement easily at the buffet.

The Curtis Stone always available dishes in the MDR were a huge disappointment. We tried all three of them, which were repeated every single night. One might think since they are so polarizing (mahi with curried cauliflower and plantains, for example) that they would be switched up. Nope. The funniest thing was this menu copy about the black beans on the flank steak simmering for “hours” to bring flavor. Trust me, I know beans. These were straight out of a #10 can. (Ditto with the baked beans at breakfast.)

On the ‘give me a break’ side – getting a glass of juice in the morning is like pulling teeth. Yes, on a 4 ounce glass of OJ, but other than that juice is treated like gold. Do yourself a favor and order it from room service in the morning and keep in your stateroom cooler if you like a glass of juice at any other time in the day. (Speaking of juice, it appeared that if you had prepaid the Soda package you were given the “USM” ultimate soda and more sticker for this sailing as the soda only package is now defunct.)

 

DH enjoyed watching football on MUTS – and this one is a beautiful screen with good sound. Too bad they are still running some of the old concerts during the day. And given the fact that there were barely any kids onboard it was odd to have G rated movies (Peanuts/Minions/etc) for the 10am movie. But I understand why they do it – but someone could have reviewed the pax list and possibly been a little more nimble in changing it up.

We did have 2 medical emergencies – one pax left the ship via Ambulance in St Maarten (with luggage and family) and another was airlifted out by the US Coast Guard yesterday while at sea via a rather elaborate air mission. Let’s just say that the captain was not having a good day with that.

 

To note: I did adjust my House Charges/Gratuities back to the $11.50/night that they were when I booked the trip (from the $12.95 they raised them to since.) The passenger service agent actually had a pre-printed “why you want to adjust your tips” kind of form that had this option ALREADY listed so clearly this was not unexpected. While the difference was minimal it was more a matter of principal to me (and they made up for it with a couple of extra cocktails on my part.)

 

All in all, a refreshingly relaxing week. Happy to answer any questions.

We've done Cunard/Celebrity. This is our first trip on the Regal. A 14 day B2B. Your YouTube Vlog was very good. I liked the room tour. Gives a good example of what we'll have. The food videos...Hmmm. We're foodies(Catering/Rest.owner)The food on your video didn't look near as nice as on Cunard/Celebrity. Food "placement" on the plates looked haphazard & rushed. Hopefully it will be better than what I saw. The food can be a real deal breaker for us. Seeing as you said the staff seemed overwhelmed, that could be a reason as to why it didn't look as presentable as it should. I guess we'll wait & see what transpires on the Feb.7 trip.

[keithm]

Our Cabin was FANTASTIC. Really. Love the new TV's especially with the "on demand" movies. Our "stewart" Victor was everything you'd want -- unobtrusive, but thorough. thoughtful. timely. Just fantastic. Now, granted, we are VERY good guests; I 'tidy up' before the steward comes in, but he still had to deal with a laden room service tray every morning and a small mountain of towels at night.

 

Enjoyed the comfy bed. DH was convinced it was ONE queen/king sized bed and not two twins pushed together! There was none of that canal" between the beds.

 

I also found the ship to be fantastically QUIET. I'm sure it was more due to the demographic of the ship this week than the architecture, but we were snug as bugs in bed early and never heard a peep in the hallways. On other lines we've had that "kids running down the halls" thing in the middle of the night.

Usually it IS 2 twins pushed together, but with a pad that "hides" the canal.

[pusywillow]

 

To note: I did adjust my House Charges/Gratuities back to the $11.50/night that they were when I booked the trip (from the $12.95 they raised them to since.) The passenger service agent actually had a pre-printed “why you want to adjust your tips” kind of form that had this option ALREADY listed so clearly this was not unexpected. While the difference was minimal it was more a matter of principal to me (and they made up for it with a couple of extra cocktails on my part.)

 

All in all, a refreshingly relaxing week. Happy to answer any questions.

 

I don't understand this part," they made up for it with a couple of extra cocktails." That money for cocktails did not go to the hardworking staff. You took it away from the staff not Princess.

[jennybenny]

I don't understand this part," they made up for it with a couple of extra cocktails." That money for cocktails did not go to the hardworking staff. You took it away from the staff not Princess.

 

Yeah, I can understand when you booked gratuities were "x" and now they have gone up, but there was warning they were going up. I don't think I would have the heart to remove them if I received good service. I have always received good service and if there has ever been an issue, we've commented on it to have it addressed. Plus, I think they are made aware of who "removed" the charges. so, it's like they know you spit in their face.

 

Princess employees work really hard. They deserve their pay. It sucks that Princess allows gratuities to be removed. If there is a problem it should be address with the problem personnel (at the Purser's desk), but that's just my opinion. The service industry is hard work.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.....:):):)

 

Bob

[riclop]

Service in the MDR on the Regal is really slow, after 1 1/2 hours all we had was the appetizer we complained to the matre D and he said they were understaffed, so we left and never returned to the MDR for the remainder of the cruise. On the Royal we had the best service in the MDR we have ever had.