Regal! Feb 3-10 Trip Report & Review

[CRLess]

1 hour ago, MaryBethV said:

I think the island in the distance is called The Bottom. Look it up on Google images - WOW. We would love to visit it someday!

 

The island is actually Saba and the town there is called The Bottom

[MaryBethV]

DS and DD went to the buffet for dinner and then to the teen lounge - so DH and I were on our own. We headed to the Wheelhouse bar for a drink and to listen to Olena play the piano.

 

 

 

 

Beverly Hills Iced Tea (DH really liked it) and a glass of their Sauvignon Blanc 

 

A room in the adjoining Crown Grill - 

 

Time for dinner - table for 2 please! 🙂 

 

Night 5 Dinner Menu: Symphony Dining room

 

 

 

 

Potato Gnocchi (appetizer portion) - good. They know how to make a flavorful red sauce and could put it on just about anything and I'd be happy.

 

Goat Cheese Soufflé' - this is as good as everyone says it is. Mmm.

 

Strawberry Sorbet - a very nice palate cleanser after those rich appetizers!

 

Seared Diver Scallops, Apple Ginger Chutney (crispy pork belly, green bean & potato hash, pea puree) - I am always intrigued by dishes that feature flavor profiles I wouldn't think of putting together myself. When you order an "interesting" dish sometimes you get a dish that is your new favorite and sometimes you get a dud. Tonight's was a dud - not in execution necessarily, but more-so in concept (in my OPINION). Pork & applesauce (which is exactly what their "apple ginger chutney" was) are a classic combination. However, they plated the naturally sweet scallops on the very sweet applesauce. Not yummy. The pork belly was cooked more than I'm used to, but the description did say crispy. The hash was eh. The pea puree had me double checking the menu description because it tasted minty. Just all around a really odd, disjointed dish. 

 

Lemon-Rosemary Cornish Game Hen - DH seemed to enjoy it. 🙂 

 

 

Chocolate Lovers Delight - the benefit of not liking the main entree is that you are actually hungry enough to properly enjoy dessert! 😉 This was delicious.

 

NY Cheesecake - tried and true & perfect 🙂 

 

After dinner, we headed back to our room and sat on the balcony for a while until the kids got back from the teen lounge. The smoke from the smokestack was coming over the side of the ship and spiraling down. It was kind-of mesmerizing - though I wouldn't want to be in an aft/port-side cabin right then. 

 

Day 5 Princess Patter -

 

 

 

 

Edited February 21, 2019 by MaryBethV

[MaryBethV]

Friday, February 8th | Sea Day

 

Didn't really sleep in as planned, but didn't catch the sunrise either. We are really liking this itinerary - ending the cruise with two relaxing sea days is about as perfect as it gets.

 

Just another lovely Caribbean day...

 

Since the kids probably wouldn't be up for a few hours yet... DH and I headed to Concerto for breakfast. This was our first breakfast visit to a main dining room. Edwin and Eugeniu were our servers.

 

 

2nd Sea Day Breakfast Menu -

 

 

The pastry server came around and we each selected a croissant. Then we looked at our table 'neighbors' and saw these yummy  coffee cake type pastries and had pastry envy. So, we flagged down the next pastry server and - score! - he had a few left on his tray.

 

Y.U.M.

 

Fresh Pineapple Boat - This is a case of someone making the menu sound MUCH more impressive than what is actually served. Paper thin slices of pineapple do not a pineapple boat make. 😂 It was pretty though and something healthy made us feel a little less guilty between pastries and our main entree. 

 

Frittata (today's special entree) - We both ordered this and it was fine - it just It looked and tasted a bit heavy. If I was serving it, I probably would plate it differently and sprinkle a little fresh chopped parsley on top or something to add some color. But hey - remember - we had fruit! 😉 

 

Time to walk of some of those pastries and that frittata!

 

The balloons were up - ready for the balloon drop later.

 

And a little fresh air -

 

 

Sports Court

 

Walking/Running Track

 

Aft view from the putting green -

 

Putting Green

 

Golf Cage (or whatever you call it)

 

On our way back down I snapped a photo of the Trident Grill (by the main pool) menu - we never did eat here.

 

Now - what do you do on a sea day after a big breakfast and a walk? Why, crawl back into bed and take a nap of course! It's vacation! 🙂 

 

Edited February 22, 2019 by MaryBethV

[#1Nanna]

Thanks for taking the time to do this review! 

Enjoyable to read!!!

[4cats4me]

Beautiful pictures.  What kind of camera did you use? 

I particularly like the aft-view with sun scintillating on the water. Could be on the cover of a brochure.  

[Grandma DeeDee]

Thank you for your review.  You do such a nice job!  I'm really enjoying it and have picked up a few pointers for our March 3rd cruise on the Regal to the Eastern Caribbean!  I'm getting so excited!  Can't wait to escape this dreadful weather here in Iowa!

[fishin' musician]

Great review and pictures!  That sunset pic at St. Maarten is about as good as I've seen in the Caribbean, they usually seem to be a matter of the sun slipping into the darkening abyss, with little or no color.  I spend time on your Michigan gold coast each summer and spectacular sky-on-fire sunsets are a nightly occurence. 

[MaryBethV]

1 hour ago, 4cats4me said:

Beautiful pictures.  What kind of camera did you use? 

I particularly like the aft-view with sun scintillating on the water. Could be on the cover of a brochure.  

 

I just used my iPhone this trip. For the wake view photo I had to carefully peek my phone lens between the panes of glass. It was so pretty though and I'm glad one turned out.

[MaryBethV]

54 minutes ago, fishin' musician said:

Great review and pictures!  That sunset pic at St. Maarten is about as good as I've seen in the Caribbean, they usually seem to be a matter of the sun slipping into the darkening abyss, with little or no color.  I spend time on your Michigan gold coast each summer and spectacular sky-on-fire sunsets are a nightly occurence. 

 

Yes, we are incredibly spoiled with spectacular and dramatic sunsets on Lake MI - they never get old! And sunsets with sailboats - like in your photo... even better. 🙂 

Edited February 23, 2019 by MaryBethV

[MaryBethV]

After our late morning nap 😂 we went to get some lunch with the kids (their breakfast - ha!) at the International Cafe. DH and I had the ham & cheese croissants and I ordered a sampling of the salads to share. Salads L to R --> Shrimp & Shaved Fennel Salad (lots of vinegar today), Feta Risotto Salad (very good), Chicken Waldorf Salad (delicious), Mushroom & Spinach Salad (my favorite!).

 

Cappuccino -

 

DH grabbed some desserts. Chocolate Mousse and Mini Cheesecake (his favorite!) -

 

 

Christof was teaching a dance class in the Piazza. 🙂 

 

Since our balcony had sun - we took over both balconies and laid out for a while while the kids went to the teen lounge. This is a photo I took earlier in the day that shows how we had our chairs side by side most of the time.

 

We got ready for the second formal night and were ready before the kids were - so we headed to Vines for a pre-dinner glass of wine. Found a cozy little table in the corner by a window. Lovely spot to enjoy a glass of wine while listening to the steel drum player in the background.

 

 

 

A red blend (not sure of the name) for me and a Beverly Hills Iced Tea for DH.

 

 

 

Our server, Marko, brought us some tapas to enjoy with our drinks. Nice!

 

DH got a great shot of sunset and the moon!

 

Night 6 Dinner Menu (Formal Night): Symphony Dining Room

 

 

 

Both kids joined us for this dinner and we only had to wait about 15 minutes to be seated. 

 

Lemon-scented Ravioli (appetizer portion) - This could have been good dish, but the ravioli was very undercooked. Tasted like flour. 😞 I would order it again though because it was probably a good dish normally.

 

Lobster with risotto. Lobster was fine and the risotto was really good. Don't flame me - but if I ordered this again I'd ask for the risotto without the lobster! 😄

 

Braised Beef Short Ribs - DH said it was tender and very good.

 

Country Chicken - DS ate everything that wasn't green. 😉

 

 

Chocolate Pistachio Dome - This one wins my favorite dessert of the week! SO YUMMY.

 

I didn't have a knife, but tried to cut some away to show you the inside.

 

After dinner drinks at Bellinis - fun little bar, but I don't think Bellinis are our thing.

 

Back in the rooms - we looked into the kids's room. They had cute little stuffed whales on their pillows (a gift from the teen lounge). How adorable is that!?!

 

 

We were planning on going to the balloon drop at 11, but decided to just crash instead.

 

Day 6 Princess Patter-

 

 

 

Edited February 23, 2019 by MaryBethV

[gerriv]

Hi Mary Beth!

Thank you so much for your posts!

I will be sailing on the Regal next week and reading your posts each day has really increased my excitement for this cruise.  You have taken such great care with the beautiful photos and Patters shots that I wanted to let you know how much your effort is appreciated. Continue to enjoy your cruise!

[Flowergirl56]

We sail in 21 days. I have already picked out most of my meals thanks to Mary Beth.  I am really enjoying your posts.

[cabin4three]

Hi MaryBeth,  thank you for your posts, enjoying reading them.  My DS is following closely especially the kids club & food.  Really good to see the kids club newsletter.

Its been a couple of years since our last Princess cruise so looking forward to this summer.

[MaryBethV]

Saturday, February 9th | Sea Day

 

Rise and shine - it is time to lacquer the railings on the decks! 🙂 

 

There was one thing I really wanted to see this week - the cooking demonstration at 10. So, we stopped at the International Cafe for breakfast first. 😋

 

Raspberry Donut -

 

Apple Pastry & Almond Croissant -

 

Egg & Ham Breakfast Sandwich -

 

The cooking demo was in the main theater.

 

 

Maitre d'Hotel Ignazio D'Agostino (in the tie), Executive Chef  Florin Dragan (orange sash), and the head Pastry Chef demo how to make Black Forest Cake. Before dessert they made a pasta course, a Caesar salad, and a shrimp entree. These two were 😂😂😂! It was obvious they have so much fun doing these demonstrations. Loved every minute.

 

 

Afterwards, we filed out of theater and were lead all the way aft to the Allegro Dining Room... through the massive kitchen, and back out into the Concerto Dining Room. It was really fun to see behind the scenes.

 

 

 

Stainless steel for days...

 

 

 

There were a few lines of prepared dishes like this... it was the gallery of potatoes. I never even imagined you could prepare potatoes in so many different ways.

 

 

 

Hi! 🙂 

 

And these two! 😊 Thanks to them and their not-so-small armies - we enjoyed such a lovely week with delicious food. 

 

Concerto Dining Room - 

 

 

Well, that was FUN. Don't miss the cooking demo on your next cruise!

[big_schots]

What a wonderful trip review.  You really captured the essence of cruising with Princess.  The "food" photos are spectacular, along with the ship.  I'm sending a link to a few of my friends who have always wondered what traveling on Princess is like.  They have only been a few short Carnival cruises, and were not impressed.  I think this review may change their mind.

[MaryBethV]

A little later, DH and I headed to lunch in the main dining room.

 

Day 7 Lunch Menu - Concerto Dining Room

 

 

Dusan from Serbia was our server and he was great! Our table 'neighbors' at the 2-top next to us were observing a traditional Jewish meal/ceremony. Princess, the kitchen staff, and the servers made every little detail possible for them - we were impressed. And their freshly baked challah bread looked SO good! 😊

 

Naturally Aged Italian Coppa (Waldorf salad with apples and walnuts) - Didn't know what to expect - but it was good and a nice, light appetizer.

 

Crunchy Fried Mozzarella Sticks - The description should read Crunchy Fried Mozzarella LOGS, because they were huge! I'd say 4" long by almost 1" wide. Very good (I stole a *few* bites). Our kids would have been in heaven! See what you miss out on when you sleep through breakfast AND lunch? 🙄 😄

 

If you have been reading this trip report from the beginning - I will give you one guess as to what I ordered for my main dish...

 

Baja Fish Taco! - I was hopeful! However, I am SO sad to report that a good fish taco was just not to be on this trip. First off - that is not a taco. I appreciate the effort that goes into making a tortilla from scratch - but a falling apart tortilla (before you even touch it) is not going to cut it. And the fish just didn't taste good. After only one bite I did something I've never done...

 

... I asked Dusan if I could please order something else instead. He said "of course!" with a smile. I ordered the Madras-Style Lamb Curry. Friends, this dish was SO SO GOOD! You had about 10 options of toppings - of which I only selected a couple because the flavor was already amazing. This dish is easily in my top 5 favorites of the week. 

 

Lasagna Bolognese - Very good. The bolognese sauce was rich, just like it should be.

 

Even with the 'taco' mis-order - this was a very tasty lunch. 🙂

 

After lunch, we stopped back at the gift shop to get a Stanley Bear for DD as a surprise. She picked out a t-shirt for a souvenir earlier in the week but had a hard time choosing between the t-shirt and the bear. Their Stanley merchandise is too darn cute. I can see a few Stanleys stowing away in our luggage at the end of each cruise...

 

 

The kids eventually dragged themselves out of bed and headed to the buffet and teen lounge. DH and I headed up to the top decks to enjoy our last day of warm sun before heading back to our snow globe. 

 

On our way up, we walked through the buffet because I wanted to see the artistic cakes we were told about during the cooking demo that morning. But, we were too late. ☹️ There were maybe 2 slices of one of them left and they were clearing it all away. *Note* - if you want to see them, make sure you go to the buffet right when it opens for lunch.

 

 As we went up to the sun deck, another couple was leaving and we were able to get to loungers together with minimal searching. Yay! We had a nice spot with a view of the Lady Gaga/Tony Bennett concert.

 

After the concert ended 'Ant Man & the Wasp' started. Not exactly relaxing - so since it was quite cloudy anyways - we headed back to the retreat pool area and found loungers with slightly more peace & quiet. It is a nice area there. If it was warmer or full sun, I would have tried out the pool. Three cruises and we've never used a pool on the ship!

 

After a while we headed back to the room to pack. 😭😭😭 Watching The Greatest Showman on the tv while packing made it slightly better.

 

Then we were blessed with the most beautiful sunset yet from our balcony. What a great last sunset of the trip!

 

 

 

Edited February 24, 2019 by MaryBethV

[MaryBethV]

3 hours ago, big_schots said:

What a wonderful trip review.  You really captured the essence of cruising with Princess.  The "food" photos are spectacular, along with the ship.  I'm sending a link to a few of my friends who have always wondered what traveling on Princess is like.  They have only been a few short Carnival cruises, and were not impressed.  I think this review may change their mind.

 

Thank you - we have family that only have that experience when it comes to cruising as well. They are mystified that we love it so much! I don't think there are any bad cruise lines - but they seem to each have a distinctive "personality" and finding one that matches yours is key.

[MaryBethV]

20 hours ago, cabin4three said:

Hi MaryBeth,  thank you for your posts, enjoying reading them.  My DS is following closely especially the kids club & food.  Really good to see the kids club newsletter.

Its been a couple of years since our last Princess cruise so looking forward to this summer.

 

So happy this review has been helpful. Have an amazing cruise this summer!

[Jilliebean28]

MaryBethV......thank you for the best trip report I have read in a very long time!  Great info, great pictures and great writing style!  I look forward to reading your next trip report!

Edited February 24, 2019 by Jilliebean28

[candide333]

Your review has captivated me.  Than you so much for your photos and descriptive details. You are a gifted story teller. 

[Colo Cruiser]

Incredible review. Thanks for all the details and photos!  

 

 

[MaryBethV]

The teen lounge was hosting dinner in Alfredos, so DH and I were on our own for dinner. We headed down around 7:15 and enjoyed listening to the cello/violin duo in the Piazza for a bit.

 

 

The line for dinner at the Symphony was a bit long and the hostess recommended that we go up one floor to Concerto. We did, and were seated almost immediately.

 

Night 7 Dinner Menu: Concerto Dining Room

 

 

 

Jose from the Philippines was our server, and he was nice and personable - chatting with us about our family and his family. His time on the Regal would be up in 2 weeks - but he was already looking forward to his next contract on a Princess ship sailing around Japan.

 

Honey & Garlic Sparerib - Tasted great, but it could have benefited from a little longer in the oven. It was a bit of a challenge to get the meat off the bone without sending it all flying across the dining room. I'm not gonna lie - the scene from Pretty Women with the escargot ran through my head... 🤣

 

Linguini with Clams - Pretty good.

 

We both ordered NY Strip Steaks, knowing they wouldn't be a steakhouse quality (or at-home quality, for that matter) - they were still good though. Ordered medium - and they came medium to medium well. Not bad. 🙂 I asked for a baked potato with mine and they were happy to add that. 

 

 

The dessert menu came around and we decided to pass...

 

We headed back to the room and did some pre-packing for the kids. They were still in the teen lounge and it was better than calling them back to do it - or worse, waiting until morning to cram everything into suitcases like over-stuffed clams. 

We put Captain Stanley on DD's pillow. 🙂 

 

And noted that we needed to change our clocks tonight.

 

The night was still young (and it was the last night!) - so we headed to the Wheelhouse Bar to listen to a quartet for a while and then moved to Crooners. Service was slow as it was almost closing time, but we enjoyed a late night martini. Or two.

 

 

Back in our room, still waiting for DD and DS - we decided to order room service. We skipped dessert after all. 😉 

 

We might have gone a little overboard...

 

Cheese Quesadilla - 

 

Chicken Taco - STILL not a taco you could pick up, but this one was spicy and absolutely delicious - even if you had to eat it with a fork!

 

 

Chicken Tenders and Fries - it looks lame, but they were pretty good. And hot. 🙂 

 

I think in there somewhere there was also loaded cheesy fries and cheesecake.

 

I blame the martinis. 

 

Debarkation Notice -

 

Day 7 Princess Patter -

 

 

 

 

Next up... getting off the ship. 😞

Edited February 25, 2019 by MaryBethV

[space cowboy]

Thanks for the great review,  I can’t wait for our next cruise.

[Meanmum]

Thank you for the great reviews, awesome pictures and our menu for the week..... this time next week we will be on the Regal and out of this terrible winter weather - your reviews have only added to our excitement of what’s to come. 

[seagypsea]

Just caught up on your review and LOVE it.  I may "steal" your idea and try this instead of writing my normal review next time.  It's almost like a "Live From" and we all love those!   Thank you so much for taking the time to do this for the rest of us!!!

 

A couple of things to share:

 

The cookbook is available in your cruise personalizer under the Culinary options for $28.  So maybe you can pre-order for yourself next cruise.  Also, usually it's available after the galley tour in the dining room that you exit through and the chef is signing copies.

 

The Shrimp Danielle picture you took on the ship didn't look like it had red wine in the sauce.  It looked totally like a white creamy sauce.  Maybe the recipe used White Burgundy... not that it would have tasted any different.  🙂  Definitely one of the things I will try next cruise.

 

Thanks to your dinner pictures and comments I'm going to try some things I never have and also continue to skip some things that I have skipped in the past. 

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.  The Regal is our favorite ship.