A very Regal Review with Pics

[nbsjcruiser]

Hello all,

 

I finally managed to get all my pictures uploaded so that I could snap this review out and have some pictures to go along with it. We were on the November 27 sailing to Amber Cove, St Thomas and Antigua and this was the first time on the Regal for us. This will be a short review followed by quite a number of pictures so bear with me as I detail how our trip was first before we get to the fun.

 

Let me first start by saying that this was our 23rd cruise (mostly on RCI) that includes 1 cruise on the Crown Princess about 10 years ago so we're Princess newbies really. I have to say that this cruise easily ranks as one of the best cruises we've ever been on. It was that good.

 

Embarkation/Disembarkation

As I mentioned, we're used to the RCI way of doing things especially when it comes to embarkation day. Show up at 9:45-10:00 and you'll be hustled through security quickly and you'll be waiting up stairs, sitting down by 10:20 or so waiting for the ship to open - probably around 11:00. Nope. Not here. We arrived at 10:00 am and found a very small line at the doors leading to the terminal. We hopped in line and then stood there for an hour. They didn't open the doors until 11AM and they told us that at 10AM so it was a bit of a waste of time arriving there that early. They opened the doors promptly at 11AM and we were shuffled through. I had a bottle of B&B that I purchased in the Bahamas on a previous cruise a week before and I was bringing it with me. I had no intention of drinking it (it was a gift) so I was up front an honest that I had it. I went to the liquor table, gave it to them and asked that they hold it until the end of my cruise. Nope. Sorry. They took it and disposed of it sadly. I was surprised at this but didn't dwell on it. The day I start a 7 day cruise all worked up and peeved off is the day I stop cruising. It was $30. Big deal. Move on and learn.

 

Anyway, they shuffled us through the various lines and up stairs where we were seated as group #1. It was a crowded area but we were on the ship by 11:40 or so.

 

Lesson learned on embarkation day - don't bother getting there much before 11AM. At 11AM the lineup may have had 100 people in it. So when we cruise on the Royal in February, I think we'll just show up at 11AM.

 

Disembarkation - Streamlined and smooth. No issues getting off super early if you wanted to. I'd have no issue booking a flight at 10AM in FLL.

 

Food:

I wanted to really note the food because for me this was the highlight of the trip. We're Diamond on RCI but on the last few cruises with them we've found the food to be wanting to be honest. Maybe we're getting used to the same menus, I don't know. But the food on this cruise was knock your socks off good. They could teach RCI a thing or two about running a buffet let me tell you. The Pastry Shop (why do I always start with the sweets :) ) was a really nice add-on to the buffet and we did something we've not done in many many years - we voluntarily ate at the buffet for one dinner because it looked so good. We did the Mongolian Stir Fry and it was really quite good.

 

The MDR food was very good all week and we did My Time Dining which was run very well I have to say. No waiting at all - just walk right in. We had great service there all week and the food every night was fantastic. There was only one meal that I didn't care for and that was the Beef Wellington but I knew that I was taking a chance with it when I ordered it. I had it once before on an RCI ship and didn't care for it but I thought I'd give it a try again. So lesson learned. No more Wellingtons. But that was it for meals I didn't care for. The rest in the MDR were great and it was enjoyable to get some new desserts each night and every one of them were delicious. I have a sweet tooth :) .

 

The buffet as I noted was very good. Delicious hot food all the time and we ate a few lunch meals up there which is unusual for us. We typically eat lunch in the MDR but the buffet was so good we didn't feel the need to go to the MDR.

 

Alfredo's - I gotta say for a free Italian specialty dining venue - EXCELLENT. We went there twice it was so good. So good in fact, we cancelled our Sabatini's reservation. I ordered a selection of Italian meats as an appetizer and then the Regal Pizza. DW had some sort of pasta dish that she quite enjoyed.

 

Crown Grill - we ate there on the last night. Easily, the meal of the week. I had the 12 oz NY Strip and DW and the 8oz filet mignon. Cooked to perfection and they did this neat little thing with salt. They give you 3 small samples of flavoured salts that you can use to add to your steak. I liked the smoky salt but a word of caution - they are strong so just try small samples of them on a small piece of your steak before you get carried away with it. The desserts (yep - them again) - man oh man! I had a peanut butter dessert thing that was simply the best dessert I've ever had on any ship. DW had a melting chocolate dessert that was also really good she said. Since I wasn't about to take her word for it, I ordered a dessert sampler :p. I mean, if you're going to do a review how can you review something like a dessert if you haven't tried it right?

 

Enough about the food. Did I mention it was really good? I did? OK, lets move on then.

 

Ports

Amber cover - a nice area for cruise ship passengers. Food and drink prices reasonable. The pool area is well laid out and there is a nice shopping area for you to pick up the usual knick knacks. There's a coffee shop with free wi-fi and we bought a pound of fresh ground Dominican coffee that I'm drinking as I type this. It got a little rainy there around noon and so our day ended an hour or so early but not before we got a couple swims in and I got a few pictures.

 

St Thomas - been here many times. We went downtown for a bit of shopping and then spent the afternoon at Secret Harbour. Nice warm, sunny day.

 

Antigua - we've been to this port once before and my impressions really haven't changed much. It is a poor port and a difficult one to walk around in. If you have mobility issues, think twice about wandering on your own outside the gates. There's not much to see at the local shops and to be honest, this stop is not on my list to revisit. We did eventually make our way to Dickenson Beach which I remembered to be a pristine beach free from hassle. Not that way any more. You're hassled the minute you step out of the cab. I don't know what I'd do in Antigua if I find myself there again.

 

Ship Crew

Really great job by the crew all week. Room attendant was always around doing his job and was very good. Dining staff was excellent in the MDR and in the buffet. One morning in the buffet I was mentioning to my wife I didn't see any eggs benedict. One of the cooks behind the counter over-heard me and asked if I was looking for eggs benedict. He grabbed my plate and disappeared behind the wall and came back with them in about 2 or 3 minutes. Its things like that that stand out. That's what I call going the extra mile.

 

CD Staff - they did a great job all week with entertainment and the CD was always around and she did a good job keeping people busy and informed. The CD staff was bang on.

 

Ship layout and condition

Beautiful ship. Not much else I can add. Its well laid out, a bit confusing at times finding one of the dining rooms (Allegro I think?) but minor issue in truth.

 

I like the layout of the pools. If you want to hang around the main pool area with the TV and hairy legs contests and so on - well go ahead. For me I prefer a nice quiet area and the Retreat area was great for that. Getting a deck chair in that smaller area can be a challenge later in the week but I was always able to get something. They also had a smaller pool in the aft of the ship which was nice. There is also a smoking section back there which I thought was well laid out. Out of the way from the general populous and in an area well served with coffee, tea and a person back there who could go get drinks if needed. This is how to organize a smoking section I would say.

 

Ship condition was pristine as you would expect and the Piazza is the hub of activity.

 

Summary

Just simply one of the best cruises we've ever been on. When I receive the after cruise survey's I always have something to suggest that they could do to improve things. I can honestly say I had nothing to add on this one. It was the first cruise survey I did where I felt they deserved 10 out of 10 and that's what I gave them. There was nothing they did that I could say disappointed me. Food, service, ship condition - it was all as I had hoped it would be and it makes me really look forward to our upcoming cruise on the Royal Princess in February. The Royal has big shoes to fill - lets just hope I'm back here in March with another glowing review.

 

On to the pictures!

[nbsjcruiser]

Lets start with a few pictures of the Regal followed by some sailaway shots

 

 

 

 

Edited December 10, 2016 by nbsjcruiser

[nbsjcruiser]

Sailaway

Port Everglades is easily the prettiest port to sail from.

 

 

 

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

More from sailaway

 

 

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

So lets get back to the Regal pictures now that sailaway is behind us. I'll post a few more Regal pictures then we'll stop in Amber Cove.

 

 

 

This is the excursion desk near the customer service area on deck 5

 

One of the bars on deck 7 in the Piazza I think.

 

Just outside Sabatini's

 

Customer Service area on deck 5

[nbsjcruiser]

My very brief tour of The Sanctuary. Very nice but too rich for my blood

 

 

The Piazza again - you'll see a few of these pictures in this review :)

 

 

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Thanks for the review! We are on the Regal in March doing this same itinerary. Sorry to hear about Antigua, though. I'm really looking forward to visiting there.

[san diego sue]

Thanks for the Review. We are sailing on her next month. Was going to arrive early but after reading your review, will wait till after 11:00.

On the West coast we arrive at 10:30 and go right in the terminal so reading that Ft. Lauderdale opens later is a help, no rush to arrive.

Can you tell me if the terminal was the usual Pier 2 or another one?

[nbsjcruiser]

More shots in and around the Piazza

 

 

 

 

Gelato shop - I never did try one of these. Maybe on the Royal

 

 

So - I'll be back in a few mins with some more pictures.

Edited December 10, 2016 by nbsjcruiser

[Hoosier-Cruiser]

Thanks for the Review. We are sailing on her next month. Was going to arrive early but after reading your review, will wait till after 11:00.

On the West coast we arrive at 10:30 and go right in the terminal so reading that Ft. Lauderdale opens later is a help, no rush to arrive.

Can you tell me if the terminal was the usual Pier 2 or another one?

 

From the sailaway pictures, they were at Terminal 2.

[FlorenceItaly]

Fabulous review. Thanks so much. We board the Regal next Sunday for the Christmas cruise. We don't have any concrete plans for Antigua yet, so I appreciate your feedback on the port. I now find myself wondering if I should explore a Princess tour. I have read the happy hours are in Crooners 3-4, and Club 6, 10pm-11pm. Is this still the case, or have they added more bars? I have read it can be very crowded. Do you have any first hand experience? We typically have a drink package on Celebrity in which I am already anticipating missing very much.

 

 

 

 

Marie

[nbsjcruiser]

Thanks for the Review. We are sailing on her next month. Was going to arrive early but after reading your review, will wait till after 11:00.

On the West coast we arrive at 10:30 and go right in the terminal so reading that Ft. Lauderdale opens later is a help, no rush to arrive.

Can you tell me if the terminal was the usual Pier 2 or another one?

 

Its the usual Pier 2

[plan09]

Thank you for the review and beautiful pics! Looking forward to my first Princess cruise this spring.

[easyboy]

Great review. Very nice pictures.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[nbsjcruiser]

Fabulous review. Thanks so much. We board the Regal next Sunday for the Christmas cruise. We don't have any concrete plans for Antigua yet, so I appreciate your feedback on the port. I now find myself wondering if I should explore a Princess tour. I have read the happy hours are in Crooners 3-4, and Club 6, 10pm-11pm. Is this still the case, or have they added more bars? I have read it can be very crowded. Do you have any first hand experience? We typically have a drink package on Celebrity in which I am already anticipating missing very much.

 

 

 

 

Marie

 

I didn't spend any time in Club 6 as it seemed opened only to Elite members most of the cruise. I'm not sure of the happy hours times as we really don't drink that much. I have a scotch or two a night and DW has a sailaway drink and then maybe one or two the rest of the week. I will say that based on my experience the drinks are noticeably cheaper on Princess then RCI and for you scotch drinkers, they have a nice selection of single malts. I appreciated that since most cruise lines have the usual selection of scotch on board - JW Black, Red, Cutty Sark, Dewars (yuk) and Glenlivet (yuk again). But the Regal had some nice single malts.

[Kenosha Cruiser]

Thank you for doing your review of the Regal Princess. Can't wait to board this beautiful ship in February. Your pictures are some of the best ones I've seen to date on cruise critic. The color and sharpness are super! Looking forward to seeing your pictures at Amber Cove. Thanks you again for taking the time to post your review with pictures.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

Edited December 10, 2016 by Kenosha Cruiser

[sunsetbeachgal]

We sailed on the Regal in October/November and the four of us who are frequent cruisers thought it was one of the best ship experiences we have had.

 

Sailed on Royal Caribbean's Oasis of the Seas two weeks after the Regal and with the exception of the entertainment and the coffee, I found the Regal experience superior, especially the buffet, food quality and cleanliness.

 

Thanks for your review!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited December 10, 2016 by sunsetbeachgal

[SeaThruU]

My sister and I are on the January 15 sailing. This review really gets me excited for the cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[shredie]

Thanks for this. We're doing a TA in the fall on Regal, my first time on that class ship. I'm really enjoying this preview.

[nbsjcruiser]

Thank you for doing your review of the Regal Princess. Can't wait to board this beautiful ship in February. Your pictures are some of the best ones I've seen to date on cruise critic. The color and sharpness are super! Looking forward to seeing your pictures at Amber Cove. Thanks you again for taking the time to post your review with pictures.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Hey thanks very much - here's a few more before I run out to do a few errands. I have I think close to 200 so keep checking back.

 

Theatre

 

 

Wheelhouse Bar - Crown Grill is to the left.

 

Some more of the Piazza

 

[nbsjcruiser]

Two pics of The Sanctuary (I'll have more of this area later)

 

 

Around the pool deck

 

 

 

The bridge/walkway

Edited December 10, 2016 by nbsjcruiser

[nbsjcruiser]

Four more pics then on to Amber Cove

 

Princess Live

 

Pool deck - just before bed time :-)

 

Churchill's Cigar Lounge

 

Folks having a nightcap

 

 

In my next post - Amber Cove. Back in a couple hours. Until then here the Regal as we walked ashore in Amber Cove.

[stevea20]

Thank you for doing your review of the Regal Princess. Can't wait to board this beautiful ship in February. Your pictures are some of the best ones I've seen to date on cruise critic. The color and sharpness are super! Looking forward to seeing your pictures at Amber Cove. Thanks you again for taking the time to post your review with pictures.

 

Cheers - Ken & Darlene

 

Hi Ken & Darlene:

 

Her pictures are very clear & sharp, but you also take very clear & sharp pictures. See you both in 319 days. Theresa

[Jasperdo]

Excellent photo review. I hope to sail on the Royal or Regal someday.

[nbsjcruiser]

Amber Cove

 

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Edited December 10, 2016 by nbsjcruiser