Been 28 years...

[olemissreb]

Since I sailed on Princess. Back then, I was in my late 20s and felt like I was the youngest on board. I'm considering bringing my 2 boys (ages 19 & 23 at time of sailing) on the Regal Princess for a NYE cruise.

 

My youngest wants good food (he's an athlete and eats all the time!) and my oldest wants it to be fun. I just want relaxation and quality time with my boys.

 

Will the boys feel like they are the youngest on board?

Is the drinking age 18 while on board? (I suspect it is but doesn't hurt to ask).

 

What else can you all tell me about Princess in general and the Regal in specific?

 

Thank you all for your help!

[paul929207]

There will be families on this holiday cruise.

 

On Princess, the drinking age is 21. To get a drink, you have to show your cruise card and the younger son's will show that he is under 21. So no drinks for him.

[Tak8]

The drinking age is 21 unless you are sailing from a country where it is lower like Europe.

 

Food is subjective, but I prefer Princess so the food is good for me. Lots of choices healthy or unhealthy depending on your boys preference.

 

They won' be the youngest. There will a fair percentage of late teens to young 20s. I've been taking my son, now 24, for most of his life and he prefers Princess.

[skynight]

Regal has a great very large buffet, open 6am until late evening, never closes. There is also the International Cafe open 24/7, Alfredo's waiter served pizza and other items open 11am until late evening, and by the pool the grill, pizza by the slice and soft ice cream. These are all no charge.

Made to order omelets are at the most aft line of the buffet.

[olemissreb]

There will be families on this holiday cruise.

 

On Princess, the drinking age is 21. To get a drink, you have to show your cruise card and the younger son's will show that he is under 21. So no drinks for him.

 

The drinking age is 21 unless you are sailing from a country where it is lower like Europe.

 

Food is subjective, but I prefer Princess so the food is good for me. Lots of choices healthy or unhealthy depending on your boys preference.

 

They won' be the youngest. There will a fair percentage of late teens to young 20s. I've been taking my son, now 24, for most of his life and he prefers Princess.

 

Thank you both! Can you tell me anything about the adult only area on Regal? Is it truly adult only? Does it get crowded?

 

As for my younger son drinking, I guess he'll just have to deal while we are on the ship or Princess Cay. Pretty sure the other countries we visit have a younger drinking age so he can have something on an excursion or 2.

 

I remember the food being really good way back when. I'm sure like all cruiselines these days, some of the quality has maybe fallen off. The boys have been on Royal and Celebrity so far and haven't been disappointed with food yet. Can you tell me if the Gelato is included or will I be using up any OBC on the gelato (yep, both boys love it)?

 

 

Any specialty restaurants that I should absolutely not miss? I'm thinking the steakhouse, since the youngest loves steak, is one we will definitely check out. What are is the price range for the specialty restaurants?

 

On embarkation day, are there other options for lunch other than the buffet? For our Alaska cruise, we were on Celebrity and opted for one of their specialty restaurants and it was great - no lines, immediately seated, no crowd, great way to relax to start a cruise.

 

Oh yeah - drink packages? How do they work and do all the legal adults in the cabin have to purchase the same one? How about a soda package? What all is included in that?

[capriccio]

 

On embarkation day, are there other options for lunch other than the buffet? Lunch will be served in one of the main dining rooms from noon to 1:30; Alfredos (sit down pizza, a couple of pasta dishes and salads) and the International Cafe (paninis, salads, and desserts) will be open plus the pizza, grill and ice cream places outdoors in addition to the buffet.

 

Oh yeah - drink packages? How do they work and do all the legal adults in the cabin have to purchase the same one? No. How about a soda package? What all is included in that? See https://www.princess.com/ships-and-experience/food-and-dining/beverages/

 

See my notes in red.

[moki'smommy]

Have you spent time on the Princess web site? If you go to the ship you are considering, you'll be able to see what specialty restaurants are on that ship, prices, and menus. You'll also find exactly what is included in each of the available beverage packages, the prices, and the policies.

 

I've never seen gelato included on Princess outside of a restaurant. If it is on the menu for a given night, it is included.

There is one sit down restaurant open for embarkation lunch with seating available from 12-1:30. Other choices are the buffet and the fast food outlets.

[olemissreb]

Have you spent time on the Princess web site? If you go to the ship you are considering' date=' you'll be able to see what specialty restaurants are on that ship, prices, and menus. You'll also find exactly what is included in each of the available beverage packages, the prices, and the policies.

 

I've never seen gelato included on Princess outside of a restaurant. If it is on the menu for a given night, it is included.

There is one sit down restaurant open for embarkation lunch with seating available from 12-1:30. Other choices are the buffet and the fast food outlets.[/quote']

 

Thanks! Just looked again at the website for Regal. Gelato is offered separately on Royal & Regal and there is a charge. Unfortunately, I can't find a price yet. I could be in trouble! :D

[olemissreb]

See my notes in red.

 

Thank you! Alfredo's is sounding like the place we'll want to go.

 

I see where there is a $12 limit on the drink in the premium beverage package. Do you know if there are good wines within that price range? What about mixed drinks made with a premium liquor? I also noticed that it's not like RCI or X in that you are charged the full price for drinks above $12 instead of just the difference. That kind of sux. :D Just want to make sure that I can get some pretty good stuff for $12, if not, maybe by the drink is the way to go. Hmmmm decisions decisions.

[moki'smommy]

Thank you! Alfredo's is sounding like the place we'll want to go.

 

I see where there is a $12 limit on the drink in the premium beverage package. Do you know if there are good wines within that price range? What about mixed drinks made with a premium liquor? I also noticed that it's not like RCI or X in that you are charged the full price for drinks above $12 instead of just the difference. That kind of sux. :D Just want to make sure that I can get some pretty good stuff for $12, if not, maybe by the drink is the way to go. Hmmmm decisions decisions.

Almost all mixed drinks on Princess are within the $12 limit. It isn't like Celebrity where half of the drinks exceed the package price. Many wines are also within the $12 limit. There is no way I'd drink enough to make the package worthwhile, but there is also a lot of non-alcoholic stuff included with the package.

 

Gelato was either $1.50 or $3.00. I think it was $1.50. The problem is that I'm not sure if the $3.00 was for one or both of us......

[olemissreb]

Almost all mixed drinks on Princess are within the $12 limit. It isn't like Celebrity where half of the drinks exceed the package price. Many wines are also within the $12 limit. There is no way I'd drink enough to make the package worthwhile' date=' but there is also a lot of non-alcoholic stuff included with the package.

 

Gelato was either $1.50 or $3.00. I think it was $1.50. The problem is that I'm not sure if the $3.00 was for one or both of us......[/quote']

 

Thank you! For me, I could easily do 5 drinks a day to make the drink package worthwhile.

[moki'smommy]

Thank you! For me, I could easily do 5 drinks a day to make the drink package worthwhile.

But you are basing that on drinks costing $12. There are also drinks that cost $7-$10.

[JF - retired RRT]

Gelato was either $1.50 or $3.00. I think it was $1.50. The problem is that I'm not sure if the $3.00 was for one or both of us......

I bought gelato once...pretty sure it was $3.00 for 3 scoops. I was good' date=' but not worth the expense, since there's ice cream in the MDR every night.[/size']

[wheezedr]

If your boys really like Gelato then they may be disappointed. The ice cream shop is called Gelato but what serves is ice cream. Nothing wrong with the ice cream but not what you might be expecting if Italian Gelato is what you had in mind.

[Lucky TGO]

If your boys like good Gelato? This is just my opinion they will be disappointed.

Tony

[Thrak]

But you are basing that on drinks costing $12. There are also drinks that cost $7-$10.

 

Most drinks are less than $12. Very few will actually be that much.

[Coffeeluvr05]

If you are considering a premium beverage package. Keep in mind that it covers specially coffees, bottled water too. There is an analysis tool someone created on here to determine if the package is worth buying for you. We had it as a perk and I loved it. Pre-dinner martini, wine with the meal or sometimes a 2nd martini, or three! Cognac with dessert or a cappuccino. Sometimes both. The cappuccino typically went back to the room with me.

 

 

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[Thrak]

If you are considering a premium beverage package. Keep in mind that it covers specially coffees, bottled water too. There is an analysis tool someone created on here to determine if the package is worth buying for you. We had it as a perk and I loved it. Pre-dinner martini, wine with the meal or sometimes a 2nd martini, or three! Cognac with dessert or a cappuccino. Sometimes both. The cappuccino typically went back to the room with me.

 

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I won't pay for it but had it as a perk on a 28 day cruise and a 14 day cruise. I usually ended the night with a San Pellegrino. It's good to have a nice little bottle of water after drinking alcohol and before bed. I agree that the freedom of having a cognac or perhaps a B&B in the dining room after dinner is nice. Snagging a couple of bottles of water to take ashore at each port without having to kick down $2 a bottle is handy. Getting a Vanilla Latte with a shot of Jameson and sitting reading or listening to music in the Piazza is relaxing. Having a nice glass of wine at Vines with my wife in the evening is relaxing. I sometimes enjoy an extra spicy Bloody Mary or a Pernod and OJ in the morning. We even had a couple of splits of champagne to have with OJ while we sat in Club Fusion waiting for our disembarkation time. It's really nice not to think about what it is costing. Ah, well. The perk was nice but I'll have to mostly be content without it as, like I said, I won't pay for the package.

[GRAYTech]

Last cruise I kept track and between the captains party, Sabatinis breakfast, suite/elite mini bar, bucket of beer special, carry on wine and BOGO hours the AIBP (at the time) would have been a break even at best. No bargin so like Thrak, would love to have it included as a perk but will likely never pay for it especially on a longer cruise.

[olemissreb]

But you are basing that on drinks costing $12. There are also drinks that cost $7-$10.

 

Yeah I am, but since it also covers sodas, and other things, I still believe I would benefit from the package.

[olemissreb]

If your boys really like Gelato then they may be disappointed. The ice cream shop is called Gelato but what serves is ice cream. Nothing wrong with the ice cream but not what you might be expecting if Italian Gelato is what you had in mind.

 

Thank you! Good to know. I will let them know that...not that they've ever had real gelato like you get in Italy. Although there is a pizza place here in Atlanta that also serves gelato that is pretty close to what I remember getting in Venice, and my youngest has had that.

[Coffeeluvr05]

I won't pay for it but had it as a perk on a 28 day cruise and a 14 day cruise. I usually ended the night with a San Pellegrino. It's good to have a nice little bottle of water after drinking alcohol and before bed. I agree that the freedom of having a cognac or perhaps a B&B in the dining room after dinner is nice. Snagging a couple of bottles of water to take ashore at each port without having to kick down $2 a bottle is handy. Getting a Vanilla Latte with a shot of Jameson and sitting reading or listening to music in the Piazza is relaxing. Having a nice glass of wine at Vines with my wife in the evening is relaxing. I sometimes enjoy an extra spicy Bloody Mary or a Pernod and OJ in the morning. We even had a couple of splits of champagne to have with OJ while we sat in Club Fusion waiting for our disembarkation time. It's really nice not to think about what it is costing. Ah, well. The perk was nice but I'll have to mostly be content without it as, like I said, I won't pay for the package.

 

 

 

Same! Love it as a perk but would not buy it. I already pay enough for the cruise, excursions, etc.

 

 

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[Haboob]

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How about a soda package? What all is included in that?

 

Coca Cola products only

( a Pepsi person here :') )

[olemissreb]

Coca Cola products only

( a Pepsi person here :') )

 

Been living outside Atlanta for 20 years now - Coke all the way! :D