Surprised that Regal Princess only gets a 73% rating

[Loreni]

Since the OP seems mostly concerned with the size of a balcony, it should be noted that there are many cabins with larger balconies and without an additional premium rate on both the Royal and Regal. One simply should research the ship's layout or allow their TA to help them find one.

 

We haven't sailed this class yet and probably won't unless there is a very special itinerary or price. On reason is the balconies: I have read here that all the large ones have problems.

 

Aft, they have soot.

 

Forward, they are windy, often locked, and sometimes people are bumped from the very special ones of VIPs.

 

Midship, they lack privacy due to Skywalk, or whatever it's called.

 

On the other hand, since Princess downgraded the balcony furniture to the point that I can't use it, we don't book balconies often. We enjoy the promenad instead. But. This isn't an option on Royal. Lack of a true, shaded promenad for walking and sitting is just about a deal breaker.

 

The buffet is reportedly much better, but unless it has clearly marked gluten free options, DH probably won'tuse it much.

[JimmyVWine]

Since the OP seems mostly concerned with the size of a balcony, it should be noted that there are many cabins with larger balconies and without an additional premium rate on both the Royal and Regal. One simply should research the ship's layout or allow their TA to help them find one.

It depends on how one defines the word "many". On the port and starboard sides, it is around 84 out of 1,350 cabins, with most of those being Mini-Suites.

[Mom33]

We enjoyed our cruises on the Royal and the Regal and look forward to future cruises on this class of ship.

I stopped writing reviews in the review section of CC and post my thoughts and opinions here in the Princess forums where people can ask questions about my experiences. I find the posts in this forum to be more genuine for that very reason. You can't ask the person that gave the poor review in the CC review section to elaborate on their awful cruise.

The Royal class ships are sailing full with lots of repeaters. That should give one encouragement to give them a try.

 

 

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[Host Jazzbeau]

(1) Lack of a full promenade deck isn't an issue in comparing Regal to Celebrity, because [sadly] none of Celebrity's current ships have one. In fact, Regal's nearly-complete promenade deck is better than Celebrity's complete lack.

(2) Small balcony size is an issue, and upgrading to a mini suite to get a decent balcony raises the issue that for that money you could upgrade to Aquaclass on Celebrity and get a much nicer restaurant. [Only the few top-price minis on Princess will get their new restaurant, and the reviews aren't in yet on whether it matches the quality of Blu on Celebrity.]

(3) Entertainment in the Atrium is not a plus for us -- the main thing we dislike about Celebrity S-class is the noise from the atrium entertainment.

[yamanid]

Thanks, COMBOY. I do agree with what you are saying, for the most part. I did delve into the ones with the lower marks to see what their issues were. Not categorically...but many were about the smaller balconies. I looked at the ones with higher marks as well. Their raves were pretty much about everything, so they were harder to pinpoint as to exactly what made the difference for them. And that is good news, for sure. I would go with Regal if it was taking a unique itinerary I could not get with another cruise line. However, in this instance, that is not the case, so this time out...we will go with Celebrity Silhouette.

 

Been on lots of Princess ships including Regal and Royal (were last on her in June) we love the Royal, you could always go sunbathe in the quiet Zone and there are plenty of quiet areas to laze about, if your balcony is too small - what specifically would you like to know?:)

[GUT2407]

I just don't understand why people place so much weight on other people's opinions.

[yamanid]

I just don't understand why people place so much weight on other people's opinions.

 

You are correct in what you are saying - and we all have different likes and dislikes so cannot really go on what people say

My motto is if you want to go just book it you will still have a great time regardless of whether something is not to your liking :)

[GUT2407]

You are correct in what you are saying - and we all have different likes and dislikes so cannot really go on what people say

My motto is if you want to go just book it you will still have a great time regardless of whether something is not to your liking :)

 

I've been on cruises, got home, read reviews, thought, heck were they on the same cruise as us.

 

The closest I've had to a bad cruise was when a security bloke, not watching what he was doing hit me in the back with the metal wand and I spent half the cruise in bed (I had been out of a wheelchair a couple of months) still prefer that to being at work.

[PrincessLuver]

I am not new to Princess. I have cruised many times, on the Grand, the Coral, the Crown, the Caribbean, and the Golden. However, when the Royal came out with their tiny balconies, we went back to Celebrity S-Class...which is where we've been ever since.

 

We thought we'd try Princess again for a change, even with the small balcony issue, but I am alarmed that the Regal and the Royal do not fare well on this site under "Ship Reviews." The Royal's 66% is very sad!

 

I knew that Regal had made a few changes, but 73% is still not that great. We are re-thinking our decision, and quite possibly will go with Celebrity S-Class once again...unless someone out there has some really great things to say about the Regal that we will not find on Celebrity S-Class.

 

We have sailed on many princess ships and the Royal and Regal are our two favorites. We are booked on the Majestic too and can hardly wait. It seems that sometimes some Princess cruisers may have a hard time being accepting when Princess makes changes on some of their products IMHO!!!

[Colo Cruiser]

I am not new to Princess. I have cruised many times, on the Grand, the Coral, the Crown, the Caribbean, and the Golden. However, when the Royal came out with their tiny balconies, we went back to Celebrity S-Class...which is where we've been ever since.

 

We thought we'd try Princess again for a change, even with the small balcony issue, but I am alarmed that the Regal and the Royal do not fare well on this site under "Ship Reviews." The Royal's 66% is very sad!

 

I knew that Regal had made a few changes, but 73% is still not that great. We are re-thinking our decision, and quite possibly will go with Celebrity S-Class once again...unless someone out there has some really great things to say about the Regal that we will not find on Celebrity S-Class.

 

 

Surveys are worthless and can be skewed any way one wants.

[Kenosha Cruiser]

The Regal Princess and Royal Princess are our favorite ships in the Princess fleet. Forget about what a few people say in surveys. Go and experience the ships your self, you won't be disappointed!

[riclop]

Take those ratings and throw them away.

[jovisoul]

We were on the Regal in December in a mini-suite. The balcony was tiny, which we really didn't like since we do spend time on our balcony.

 

Regal is a wonderful ship. The Emerald is my favorite, but I would definitely go back on the Regal.

 

We will be on the Coral next month and we're really looking forward to that ship.

[yamanid]

We have sailed on many princess ships and the Royal and Regal are our two favorites. We are booked on the Majestic too and can hardly wait. It seems that sometimes some Princess cruisers may have a hard time being accepting when Princess makes changes on some of their products IMHO!!!

 

Yes, we are exactly like you and love Royal & Regal, we are also on Majestic next year, I am sure you will now know they have made several changes to the Majestic compared to Regal/Royal - it will still be FAB:):)

[kruisey]

A full wrap around Promenade Deck would have made all the difference to the Royal and Regal Princess.

The almighty dollar took precedence.....

Just my own personal honest opinion.

[umuva]

There is the track with various exercise machines up top.

 

 

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[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I have cruised aboard many of the ships that currently are in the Princess fleet (Caribbean, Coral, Crown, Diamond, Grand, Golden, Emerald, Royal, Regal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Sun) and greatly enjoyed my cruises on the Royal and Regal. Although the new ships may lack some of the popular features of the earlier ships (for example, the wrap around promenade deck), they also add some new features (much larger lobby, more dining options, etc.). I would not hesitate to cruise aboard the Royal or Regal again in the future.

 

Chuck

[kruisey]

Hi,

 

I have cruised aboard many of the ships that currently are in the Princess fleet (Caribbean, Coral, Crown, Diamond, Grand, Golden, Emerald, Royal, Regal, Ruby, Sapphire, and Sun) and greatly enjoyed my cruises on the Royal and Regal. Although the new ships may lack some of the popular features of the earlier ships (for example, the wrap around promenade deck), they also add some new features (much larger lobby, more dining options, etc.). I would not hesitate to cruise aboard the Royal or Regal again in the future.

 

Chuck

 

If weather good than outdoor sea air is much better for our health.All this covered area is not as healthy.:cool:

[MISTER 67]

I am not new to Princess. I have cruised many times, on the Grand, the Coral, the Crown, the Caribbean, and the Golden. However, when the Royal came out with their tiny balconies, we went back to Celebrity S-Class...which is where we've been ever since.

 

We thought we'd try Princess again for a change, even with the small balcony issue, but I am alarmed that the Regal and the Royal do not fare well on this site under "Ship Reviews." The Royal's 66% is very sad!

 

I knew that Regal had made a few changes, but 73% is still not that great. We are re-thinking our decision, and quite possibly will go with Celebrity S-Class once again...unless someone out there has some really great things to say about the Regal that we will not find on Celebrity S-Class.

 

We have sailed on both the Royal and the Regal and those ratings just don't make sense. Those 2 ships are just beautiful and about as good as you get in shipbuilding. My only beef is there is not a fully covered wrap-around promenade.

For me one of the pleasures of cruising is sitting in the old style deck chair on the promenade watching the sea go by in the company of a good book.

Edited September 13, 2016 by MISTER 67

[JimmyVWine]

Those 2 ships are just beautiful and about as good as you get in shipbuilding. My only beef is there is not a fully covered wrap-around promenade.

I think that a wrap-around Promenade and balconies that are the size of the Grand Class ships would easily bump these ships up by 10 percentage points. It is hard to look at this picture and make the claim that this is "as good as you get in shipbuilding." Especially when so many people who are sailing on these ships (and writing reviews on CC) have experienced the prior builds. Another 18 inches in width would have made a world of difference in many peoples' perception of the ships.

 

[easyboy]

I have sailed on the Royal and have my own opinions of it. The only way to truly find out what it is like is to sail on the Regal and find out how it fits YOUR opinion. I am currently scheduled to sale on the Regal late next year and I am looking forward to it. I like to form my own opinions after experiencing the ship.

 

Take a chance, have an adventure and sail on her to get the true feel of the ship. How do you know if you do not try it, you might like it.

Totally agree.

[MISTER 67]

I think that a wrap-around Promenade and balconies that are the size of the Grand Class ships would easily bump these ships up by 10 percentage points. It is hard to look at this picture and make the claim that this is "as good as you get in shipbuilding." Especially when so many people who are sailing on these ships (and writing reviews on CC) have experienced the prior builds. Another 18 inches in width would have made a world of difference in many peoples' perception of the ships.

 

 

Wasn't aware of the small balconies mainly because we have never booked one, we find them a waste of money. Give me the deck chair on the promenade deck. That being said I still say the Regal and Royal are great ships and would not hesitate sailing on one of them again.

[JimmyVWine]

Wasn't aware of the small balconies mainly because we have never booked one, we find them a waste of money. Give me the deck chair on the promenade deck. That being said I still say the Regal and Royal are great ships and would not hesitate sailing on one of them again.

But it cannot be overlooked that the "Loved It!" percentage is just that...a percentage. 80+% of the people who sail on these ships do so in a cabin that has a balcony that looks just like this. Even if 100% of the Interior passengers and 100% of the Extended Balcony passengers give these ships a **** rating, those numbers will be easily offset by the percentage of people who have this type of balcony and are disappointed. That said, as I noted earlier, 73% is actually a pretty good score for a new build. But I am fairly confident that even that good score is being pecked at by the decision to build balconies that are the smallest in the fleet. For the want of 18 more inches, Princess created this problem.

[floridalover5623]

I think that a wrap-around Promenade and balconies that are the size of the Grand Class ships would easily bump these ships up by 10 percentage points. It is hard to look at this picture and make the claim that this is "as good as you get in shipbuilding." Especially when so many people who are sailing on these ships (and writing reviews on CC) have experienced the prior builds. Another 18 inches in width would have made a world of difference in many peoples' perception of the ships.

 

 

If someone booked a balcony & found it to be as small as they are on the Regal & Royal it could turn them off from booking another cruise on Princess. Fortunately there are somewhat larger balconies but they do come at an extra cost.

Can you imagine trying to have a full dinner on anything that small. There's hardly room for the waiter :rolleyes::D

[Bently57]

I just don't understand why people place so much weight on other people's opinions.

 

Hello. I do place value on other people's opinions. I wouldn't buy a tv or an appliance without reading reviews. I have not said anything derogatory about the Regal Princess so I don't understand the vehemence of your statement. I have cruised Princess many times, so I know what the cruise line is about, and I am a fan. I also said I would try the Regal Princess if it had a unique itinerary. However...This ship DOES have small balconies. I have stated that balconies are what I look for and what is important to me, and so we plan on going with Celebrity S-Class because of it (and Blu). I wouldn't have known that the balconies were smaller if I had not read a review. Reviews do have a purpose.

 

I don't understand why people critique other people's opinions. It is an opinion, and that is what a forum is for; to express it.

Edited September 13, 2016 by Bently57