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Regal Mistake


rogerdawhip
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I have sailed on Regal twice. I was disappointed in the size and configuration of the minisuite and very disappointed in the size of the balcony. I was pleased that the Royal class has a new stateroom category of "Deluxe Balcony." The deluxe balcony has all the features I look for and use when I book a minisuite but at a much lower cost. Maybe some other posts can confirm this, but I think on the whole, it is less costly to sail on the Royal class ships due to their size and larger passenger capacity than the same cruise would cost on one of Princess' smaller ships.

 

I tend to eat at the buffet as I really do not want to be on a schedule when I am at sea. I find the quality of the food to be consistent at all the buffets across all of the Princess ships I have sailed. My biggest criticism of the buffets is when the "washy washy lady" sprays your hands and hands you a plate that just came out of the dish washer and is so hot that it melts the butter and other cold items. I take two plates and put a small appetizer on the top plate and when I go back up again, I bring the cooled bottom plate with me.

 

All in all, I like the smaller ships better than the Royal class, but the Royal class is better than not cruising at all.

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It’s great that there are so many ships to choose from, eveyone has different tastes. We like the grand class, but the buffet on Royal class is head and shoulders above the grand class, and the atrium is so much more roomier. To each his own!

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We sailed on the Royal's trans-Atlantic last month. I miss a Promenade Deck for walking, but there were plenty of chairs on the patio areas where people could sit and read.

 

We avoid the buffet as much as possible. The one time we went for lunch, I was disappointed in the offering of vegetables--not much variety and nothing green other than salad: no broccoli (but did have cauliflower), no spinach, no green beans, no asparagus, no cabbage, no kale, etc.

 

I love the Piazza area and all the activities they do. It makes for a lively space. I hate Princess Live. And it's almost impossible at times to walk through that area when there's an overlap in activities--people waiting to get in for bingo or trivia just standing around and blocking others from getting by.

 

When the Caribbean Princess first came out, I didn't think we'd like a ship that large. Turns out we still like Princess even with the huge ships. I'm not sure about the even larger ships our captain said are in the works for after the Enchanted Princess.

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I so agree with the OP.  We decided to give the royal class ship a try and regretted it.  I had heard great things about the buffet on the Regal and I was very disappointed.   The food was always cold and took way to long to find anything.  Locations seemed to change with each meal.  Only the salad bar and bread area stayed in the same place.  I also missed having any quiet spaces to sit and read.

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On 10/8/2018 at 2:11 PM, rogerdawhip said:

The Horizon Court and Bistro were a disaster. Even after 14 days it was confusing as to what was where.

 

 

we never had any problems remembering what was where. Even on 7 day cruises.

Edited by Itchy&Scratchy
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I've sailed on the Regal and will be sailing on the Royal in January. I do enjoy the Atrium area with all the activity and the buffet (especially at 330pm when they put out the "tea" scones). The only thing I miss on this class of ship is the aft pool. There's still a bar and lounge area, but nowhere to go for a cooling dip with that aft view. The Crown is my favourite.

Still, always happy to be on a ship.

Cheers,

Deb

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1 hour ago, callmedeb said:

I've sailed on the Regal and will be sailing on the Royal in January. I do enjoy the Atrium area with all the activity and the buffet (especially at 330pm when they put out the "tea" scones). The only thing I miss on this class of ship is the aft pool. There's still a bar and lounge area, but nowhere to go for a cooling dip with that aft view. The Crown is my favourite.

Still, always happy to be on a ship.

Cheers,

Deb

 

The Regal does have a aft pool. it is on deck 17. On the deck plans it is listed as Terrace Pool
The Royal does not have this. 

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We were on the same cruise and enjoyed ourselves, a lot :).  It was our 4th cruise on the Regal and we are heading back for another 10 days next week.  The Horizon Court layout is somewhat difficult for some and wonderful for others (which would include us).  On the Grand Class ships you would get herded into a few small enclosed buffet areas where it was often crowded with a so-so selection.  On the Royal Class ships they have spread out the Horizon Court buffets which makes it easy to get what you want without crowding or long queues.   We do understand the frustration some folks have finding things, but we generally explore the entire facility on the first day and quickly adjust.  Most admit that on the Regal we often "hang out" in the atrium where we often get breakfast (and even lunch) at the IC.   We did visit Alfredos 3 times (for lunch) and were always satisfied with the service.  

As to the aft balconies, we have never understood why they are popular (on many ships) and have expressed out thoughts in other posts over the years.   The soot problem has happened on many ships (not just Princess) and is often the result of incineration gone bad.  We also do not like the vibration and shimmy feeling that can be a problem near the stern of many ships (you are over the props).  We are cabin "contrarians" because we love cabins near the bow where its very quiet, there are no major mechanical systems (other then the thrusters), and foot traffic is at a minimum (forward of the forward elevators).   If the ship hits rough weather and has some movement it just rocks us asleep :).

 

Hank

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2 hours ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Anyone from these recent cruises that have the embarkation day Patter with the current officers listed on the front page?

 

This is not from the Patter and last month may not be recent enough but this is who they were on the Westbound Transatlantic.

enhance

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OP, I’m sure you meant no disrespect, but in paragraph 3 you insulted 4.5 billion people in Asia (that’s 59% of the world’s population) by stating that their food is the opposite of ‘normal.’ Perhaps the phrase ‘what I’m used to’ as opposed to ‘normal food’ might have been a better choice of words. 

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22 minutes ago, h-sar said:

OP, I’m sure you meant no disrespect, but in paragraph 3 you insulted 4.5 billion people in Asia (that’s 59% of the world’s population) by stating that their food is the opposite of ‘normal.’ Perhaps the phrase ‘what I’m used to’ as opposed to ‘normal food’ might have been a better choice of words. 

At least  according to your statistics he wasn't insulting a minority group, that's always regarded as being worse.

 

Personally I liked all the food on Regal last month, variety is the spice of life.

 

I am probably biased  coming from a household with 1 x Irish, 1 x Polish and 2 x Chinese comprising  the family.

Edited by Griller
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I’ve been on two trans-Atlantic cruises on the Royal as well as a 10-day Caribbean cruise. I have two cruises booked on her next Spring.

Food is very subjective and one person’s “Yum” is another’s “Yuck.” I love the Horizon Court and Horizon Bistro and have often chosen to eat dinner there rather than the dining room. 

None of the complaints or negatives bother me. There hasn’t been a full Promenade deck nor a covered pool on any new Princess ship in decades. I like that there are some nice seating areas on Promenade, Lido and Sun deck. 

Years ago, I was on the Golden from Buenos Aires to Santiago and I  wound up sitting with some other ladies, who I didn’t know, in the buffet for lunch. We got to talking about the food and one of the ladies complained about the “weird” South American food in the dining room and buffet. Asking her to elaborate, she said, “You know, the weird food. Lamb.” Hated to tell her that lamb is very common in the US. 

The Royal is one of my favorite ships. 

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Interesting comments and everyone has their personal interests, tastes, preferences, what works for one, doesn't for another.  I love both ships, going on the Royal again for 14 days next week.

I went on the Regal 2016 for 25 days wasn't sure if I would like a big ship but it was fine, a transatlantic plus Baltic cruise.  Last year I was on the Royal from Barcelona to Ft. Lauderdale.

Sailing alone I wasn't sure if I would find people to talk to, maybe do a tour with but worked out fine.  I was at a large table for my Regal cruise and several times I did things off the ship with table mates.

I like to read, do crossword puzzles, needlework, and I can find a place that is quiet if I want, no problem.  I don't mind the activity in the piazza area, traveling alone I like signs of life, enjoy the music from classes they have.  I'm not young, 70s but the music is fun, lively and anytime I've been on board it isn't hour after hour.  There are times the piazza has no activities.

The buffet area isn't important to me, not on any ship.  I was on the Emerald for 30 days in March, went to the buffet a few times for fruit.  I eat my breakfast and lunch at the IC.  I do traditional dining so I'm certainly not going to the buffet for dinner.  I do love Alfredo's though, missed it on Emerald.

I've been cruising since 1982 and do love a promenade deck, but it isn't a deal breaker, I can live without it.  I found the couches and chairs on Deck 7 on the Regal and Royal, empty a great deal of the time.

I'm pretty much on a cruise to see places I haven't been.  I don't cruise to the Caribbean so the places on my list to see, I'm not choosing ship first.  I will admit I'm glad I was on the Emerald for So. America because I did make use of the promenade every day.  I would not do that itinerary on the Royal class ships.

Reading Pam's post, I'm adding another reason I love to cruise is the availability of veal and lamb dishes.  Growing up veal and lamb were common in our house but I know many people who have never had either.

 

 

 

Edited by susancruzs
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I’m kind of surprised to read so many dislike the buffet on Regal & Royal. We thought theirbuffet was much better than Grand class, which we found to be cramped with a poorer selection. While the balconies are small, they weren’t as bad as we feared. We loved the expanded piazza and Alfredos is an awesome place for lunch or a chsnge for dinner. We did miss the Terrace Pool on Royal, & it seems that Regal’s looks kind of skimpy. However the Retreat Pool area is very comfortable. 

It’s great to have each ship offer some differences to enjoy.

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On 10/8/2018 at 2:11 PM, rogerdawhip said:

I was on the Regal for it's recent Transatlantic crossing from Copenhagen to NYC.

I was upgraded to an aft balcony but this was mistake. There was always soot on everything and the steward only cleaned it once in 14 days. Both chairs were broke. I let housekeeping know immediately and they were not fixed until the 10th day.

 

 

It seems that many on CC who like Grand class ships do not like the Royal class ships and we are a big fan of Royal class ships.  We have sailed the Royal on several TA's and there is a soot problem.  We have also sailed on the Majestic in an aft cabin and no soot problem.  We have sailed the Regal on a TA this year in a full suite cabin aft with a wrap around balcony and never had any soot issues for the whole cruise.  I have a hard time believing your story because they modified the designs for the Regal and Majestic to take care of the soot issue that is present on the Royal.

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8 minutes ago, luckyinpa said:

after reading through the comments here, you people better never go on NCL breakaway 😲

you've been warned. 

 

i sailed on the Norwegian Breakaway twice. Not a bad ship, there is some flaws to that ship too. 

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I sailed on the Regal for the first time in January.  Enjoyed it so much, we will be on her again in January 2019.   I think the Horizon Court/Bistro is the nicest buffet I have experienced.  My friend and I never had any trouble finding a seat, which was fantastic.  We thought the food options were excellent.  We were on the NCL Gem in 2015 and finding a seat in the buffet at breakfast was a struggle every morning.  I hated that.  

I love the Regal and can’t wait for January!  

 

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