Ho Ho Ho live Regal Princess

[jpj39]

Pia it was the star princess Buneos Aires around Cape Horn to La

I don't think I was on your cruise

I did the cruise from Buones Aires to Santiago can't remember the exact dates

[geocruiser]

Very sorry to hear that you are not feeling well. I hope that you get better quick.

[easyboy]

Hope you feel better.

[Vacation Nut]

So sorry you are I'll. We too were on the cruise but got off on Thursday. I came down with a rotten cold on day 9 and now my husband has it. Still, it was a lovely cruise. I agree completely about the food in the dining room.. Probably the worst of any cruise and believe me I am not a fussy eater. The snapper was so inedible, they removed it from the menu, and short ribs were so tough that four tables near us sent them back. The Crown Grill however was wonderful as was Horizon Court.

We had a good ship excursion on Antigua (kayak) but boy did it pour with rain, we were drenched. Good job we were swimming later because the lovely sea warmed us up. Our Dominica tour was OK, roads are so steep! In Grenada we walked up to the fort, then to Caranage Harbor, and took a water taxi to Grand Anse, no need for a ship excursion and Grenada was our favorite port. The entertainment was good, BRAVO is an excellent show, the magician Jean Boucher was great, and the finalists for Voice of the Ocean were amazing.

We spent a lot of time at the Retreat Pool, we had no problem getting loungers... I actually thought the pool decks seemed less crowded than normal. I love Regal Princess..but three new ships on the horizon.

Edited December 31, 2016 by Vacation Nut

[Go-Bucks!]

Can anybody recommend excursions/things to do on the following islands:

 

St. Maarten

St. Lucia

Barbados

St. Kitts, at. Kitts, and Nevis

Grand Turks, Turks, and Caicos

 

 

St. Maarten: I wanted to go to Maho Beach (where I watch the webcam on weekends occasionally), but something came up and I just walked around the town. There was a beach right in front of the town.

 

St. Lucia: My favorite! I used Herod's Tours (did the Land & Sea tour - fantastic!). Lunch on his mother's balcony with homemade Creole food and sunbathing underneath the Pitons were highlights.

 

Barbados: Took another fantastic tour with Glory Tours. Ate lunch at a little place on the beach and had Flying Fish - yummmmy!

 

St. Kitts: Didn't feel very safe so just shopped at the port.

 

Grand Turk: I loved the beach right at the dock where the ship pulls up. There is a Margaritaville restaurant, shops, a surf pool and lots of shady palm trees to lie under.

 

Sorry to hear about your cold; I have one too. :( Guess it's that time of year.

[kjets]

Oh Amelia I so hope you are on the mend! The medical centre is really not the place to be girl friend!

 

Been praying for you.

 

Hope 2017 gets way better for you and Ken than the end of 2016!

MWA

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Amelia,

 

I hope you are feeling better by now. Please let us know how you are doing. :rolleyes:

[kywildcatfanone]

Thanks for the detailed review.

 

We were on this cruise as well, and the weather was wonderful for all 11 days, for my wife, that is the most important part of any cruise we have been on.

 

We did eat in the DR the first 4 nights of the cruise, but were unimpressed with the food and decided to spend out time between the buffet and the Crown Grill for the rest of the cruise. Many, many options on the buffet, and that made the rest of our trip more enjoyable. We didn't have what I would call any bad dining experiences, but the food just wasn't good enough to want to go down to the DR to eat again.

I'm not a big fish fan to begin with, but had Red Snapper at the waiter's recommendation, and it was really rubbery. Ended up in the buffet later that night for a late dinner.

 

I think they try to get too fancy with foods and end up making many food less appealing, but that might just be me.

 

It was a minor inconvenience for us. The embarkation mess was the worst part of the cruise, but overall the cruise was fabulous.

[ibfern]

1/4/2017

St. Kitts

 

I woke up still feeling sick, but for sure not as sick as the day before. Little by little I heal, wish this process was faster, so it goes with aging. We started our routine-order coffee and fruit, and slowly get going for our first trivia at 9:45, then eat a little at the IC, then play noontime trivia, and finally off the ship to peruse the local shops and scenery before an excursion. We all (me Ken, Pat, and Chris) felled by this flu/cold to some degree- have kept a few excursions and mostly will do the ports on our own.

 

Today in St Kitts we have a half day tour "scenic railway ride and circle Island drive" which is a 3 hour tour, we booked the latest one, giving us time to shop a little before the tour. The island is beautiful; lush greenery with volcanic mountains, lots of flowers, goats and chickens everywhere, and I found this lovely leaf-like looking insect that was so interesting. I'll post it on my Facebook when I can.

 

The shopping area is right off the ship, there are many stores, markets, and tourist type places to spends your money at. I discovered Cariloha, shirts and sheets made out of bamboo and I just love this stuff. I'm planning on buying one set of the best sheets as a "pity gift" to make up for all the islands and excursions I missed, Works for me! ;)

 

We arrive at the assigned place for our afternoon tour, we pile into a small buss and begin our auto journey to the train station, along the way we learn a lot of interesting facts about slaves and slave traders here in the Caribbean. We pass some beautiful homes, and lots of poverty which is abundant here in the Caribbean. There are several Anglican Churches around, and all buildings are colorful in light pastels. It takes about 45 minutes to get to the train station, which looks more like a field than a station. Our driver reminds us over and over about tipping him, this seems like overkill here and I wonder if he does not get paid unless he gets tips. This 3 hour tour costs $99.95 pp. Anyway he drops us off and tell us we will see him after the train ride.

 

We go to the top of the double decker train, which is covered on top and open at the sides. And off we go to circle the island. This train was built a century ago to haul sugar cane from the fields to the sugar mills in the capital city of Brasseterre. Our guide illuminates various sites and fills us with interesting facts about life as a slave here, such as how the woman would use herbs to abort their babies and make themselves less attractive to slave traders.

 

Along with our guide, we have some gospel singers who treat us to many lovely songs which really enhance the experience. These girls are quite good, and just add to the ambiance of this place.

 

Our tour circles the northeast coastline, hugging the sides of a mountain and offering us spectacular views of black and white sand beaches, reefs, sea life, and lots of birds. The views are magnificent and there is plenty of room to roam from side to side, insuring you can get photos from both sides. However, beware of your footing, as it is tough to navigate from the upper deck and the train moves a lot. Wear good deck shoes/tennis shoes/flip-flops or any shoe that provides you with stability and control. This is not a good place to wear your high heel shoes! They do have bathrooms on the trains, all on the first floor. Finally, they do provide unlimited water, sodas, piñata coladas, daiquiris, and more with or without booze.

We get back to the ship with 45 minutes to spare, but I am pooped and we go abort right away. This has been my fullest day of activities since coming down with the dreaded flu, I am so happy to have experienced St. Kitts and can't wait to come back and swim in the lovely blue water.

 

We clean up and set out for the Buffet, which is where we have ended up eating moat nights. The food is good, we can pick out what we like and how we like it and the staff is adequate enough for our needs. Many of the folks I talk to are not thrilled with the staff, who seem like newbies and kids in training. The CD's staff are nice for the most part but there is one young lady who is downright mean and none of us like her.

 

I did make it to the most traveled cocktail party and that was lovely, it happened yesterday after our day in Barbados and I'll write about it sometime in the next few days.

 

All the best,

Amelia

 

Sent from my iPad

[san diego sue]

Enjoying your Live.

We are going to be on the Regal for two weeks starting Jan29th, with Meredith and Bob and our friend Kim. Reading this has given us some insight on the ports and dining experience. We have fixed late dining,

and now am prepared to think Buffet .

The poor service in Dining room makes it worse than bad food.

Thank you for your observations.

Say hi to Ken, Pat, and Chris.

 

Gloria:D

[san diego sue]

Amelia,

I forgot to ask. What approx. was cutoff for Most Traveled?

I know you are on several weeks so don't need the actual statistics. Just trying to figure out if we will make it with 547 days.

Last year on a Caribbean cruise we didn't make it when we had over 400 days.

Gloria

[dshimizu]

Hi Amelia and Gloria! Happy New Year!

 

Amelia, so very to hear that you are finally on the mend and enjoying what sound like some fabulous Caribbean ports that we have yet to explore. Enjoying reading your LIVE and look forward to hearing more of your adventures! Sounds like the shopping has been a success!

 

Gloria, we made 2/3 MTP lunches on 1-10 day cruises then 2-7 days cruises on the Regal. First cutoff was in the mid 300's, second was in the low 500's, third was 427 and we had 429 days at the time. We had heard that there was going to be a huge crew change just as we disembarked on Nov 20. That might account for some of the dining issues you have encountered. We had no complaints about the food in the DR--not overly fabulous but OK. Service was exceptional, perhaps because we had a quiet table for 2 next to a wall for the duration with dedicated staff. Never had to ask twice for anything ever. Together with the Royal, their buffets are the best of any ship in the fleet. While Bill preferred the DR, I could easily have eaten more dinners in the buffet than the 2 or 3 we did do.

 

Gloria, please give our best regards to Meredith, Bob and Kim!

[kimlovesfl]

This is my first time on the Regal, we got a deluxe obstructed balcony and it's fantastic, with a direct routs to the lifeboats if need be. The only obstruction is the lifeboat on the bottom, otherwise i can see the sea clearly. Good deal too, we paid much less than for a non obstructed balcony and got a small couch too.

 

Amelia

 

You have no idea how relieved this makes me! I booked an obstructed view balcony (although I asked for cheapest unobstructed view, a guarantee cabin, my cruise consultant assured me this would be fine). I'm ok if the life boat is below me, as long as I can see straight out.

 

We leave Sunday, good to see you're having a great cruise.

[ibfern]

1/5/2017

Grand Turk

 

Woke up this morning to clear skies, the ocean was as smooth as glass. I'm still recovering from the dreaded flu (get your shots) and have a constant headache all night long. I'm a headache person, but everybody in my group are having them including Kenny who never ever gets them. I keep Excedrin migraine in my bed stand and this gets rid of them quickly.

 

We are slated to arrive by 1pm, and will stay until 6. I am well versed in the chaos of mid day arrivals and know to wait a half hour after they open the doors and let the bodies push their way out! This strategy works well.

 

The approach to Grand Turk is a trip; we are practically on the shore and I can't believe the ship can get so close. I can see the eyes of the massive amounts of people already on the beach! The water looks beautiful, and very crowded. The beach right off the ship pier is packed wall to wall with lounges of all types and they are free for the taking. If you are aiming to grab one, get your towels and possessions on one as quick as possible because you are In the land of the chair hogs! If you really want to spend a day at the beach, grab a cab to the other side of the island where I assume it's much less crowded.

 

We are docked next to a Carnival ship which is blasting loud music, also of note here is the beautiful ship which is tendering close to us. I can't remember the current name but it is the original Royal Princess and very good looking. If anybody knows the name, please let me know.

 

This port was built by the Carnival Corp to house it's mega ships, including the Regal, and dredged to allow these mega ships to gain close access to the stores and beaches. It's just a short walk to shopping galore, and the very popular Margaritaville (however it's spelled) which sports a large pool teaming with tan bodies layered upon each other in what is described as quite a spectacle. We pass on visiting this place, having gotten our fill of it in Key West.

 

By the time we get to the beach, there is not a free lounge in site and while all of them are "taken", there is nobody on any of them. I get the impression that most people head directly for the lounges and grab them, there are no rules here and even if there were, nobody is here to enforce them! If you are visiting this place and happen to get here early in the morning, I bet you would have no trouble getting a lounge chair, but beware of mid-day arrivals. There are a lot of toys available to rent here, including a hilarious couch like tow called "big Bertha" in which a small group of people are towed in circles and very close to the ship.

 

There is a real town here which is a $5 pp taxi ride away, and there you will find more stores and a museum. We pass on that, linger a bit on a few shaded benches we find among the shops, and do some people watching. Also of note is a delicious and expensive smoothie place called Froots. For just under $10 we get a large smoothie to share. Aside from the standard Stores that are at every port, and even on the ship, there is only one unique and lovely shop which sells sweet feminine lacy beach cover ups which are beautiful and very pricy. There is also a crafts market where they sell stuff that is probably made in China with the tags taken off--I know this because I saw the same stuff at the duty free store where they keep the made in China tags on!

 

After a few hours we are ready to get back on the ship. It is not very crowded and we enjoy having it mostly to ourselves. FYI throughout this cruise one of the most interesting things I hear are parents talking about taking their kids on excursions where the booze flows freely, and watching their 16 -20 year olds getting hammered! I have no idea if these are ship tours or private tours, and frankly I think it's a parents prerogative to decide what is OK and what is not. For me it's always best to be armed with knowledge and know what you are exposing your kids to.

 

And regarding the most traveled events (cocktail parties and luncheons) I have no idea what the cut off numbers are and frankly I could careless about any of that. The Captain's Circle Hostess is Patrizia Pometcu and I am sure you can contact here via email and ask. I don't think there are as many elites on this cruise if that is of any help.

 

Today is our last day at sea, the giant outlet sale begins at 10, and trivia at 9:45. I did visit the last sale and there was nothing of interest to me, but I am sure I'll have a look anyway! So it goes as this cruise comes to an end.

 

All the best,

Amelia

[CruzinNoony]

Hi Bill and Deb!! Wishing you both a very Happy New Year! Hope we sail together in the upcoming year! :) Meredith