Regal Princess 14 day Eastern/Western Caribbean 31 Mar-14 Apr LIVE

[tourismtessy]

A little about me and Hubby.  We are in our mid-late 50's and have cruised about 10 times (mostly on Princess-our preferred cruise line).  I love to explore ports but Hubby likes to just enjoy the ship.  We are both retired from the Air Force and Hubby still works.  When we go on vacation, he likes to completely relax.  We enjoy the sea days as much as the port days.  We always do anytime dining as we like to eat dinner between 5 and 5:30.  We stay in either regular balcony or mini suites.  For this new ship we are staying in a premium deluxe balcony (includes a loveseat).

 

 Tomorrow we board the Regal Princess (our first time on this ship) and set sail for 14 wonderful days.  I will post daily while on board so if anyone has questions, feel free to ask away.  We have been to all the ports before and are planning to mostly stay onboard and enjoy all the ship amenities.  We flew into Fort Lauderdale this morning on a nonstop flight that was smooth and on time.  We got to our hotel (the Hyatt Place 17th St Convention Center) via their free shuttle about 11:45 am and were able to check in to our room right away.  We have cruised out of Fort Lauderdale several times and this is our hotel of choice.  The rate includes free airport shuttle, free wifi, and free breakfast (wifi and breakfast are free for Hyatt Rewards members).  After dropping our bags in our room, we walked across the parking lot to the little strip mall and ate lunch at Duffy's Sports Bar and Grill.   Very yummy and great service.  Hubby had the philly cheesesteak and I had the grilled chicken sandwich.  We then got into full cruise mode and split a brownie sundae.  SO GOOD!!   I should have taken a picture (sorry, will try to be better about attaching pics to this thread once we are onboard).  After lunch we walked right across the parking lot to the Publix grocery store to pick up some distilled water.   We are now back in our room and Hubby is napping while I type this.  We have done all the Fort Lauderdale tourist things so we just enjoy relaxing in our hotel in anticipation of the cruise.   We always fly in at least a day before the cruise so we can start decompressing and not be stressing.  Ooh, I made a little rhyme there!  

 

That's about all I have to report on today.  We will be taking the 10 am shuttle from our hotel to the cruise port tomorrow.  It is $7 per person.  We received our ocean medallions a couple weeks ago and have them in the fitbit wristbands all ready to go.  Looking forward to sharing our days with you!

[kb4683]

Hi --

 

I would like to ask a favor.  

 

We will be on the Transatlantic immediately following your cruise and would like to know if they are offering wine packages on your 14 day cruise.  Have been reading that some of the other ships are not offering packages on 10+ day cruises because of the transition to the new wine list ☹️.

 

Thank you both for your service 🇺🇸, and happy sailing! 🛳️

[WisCruiser2]

We did the eastern leg on Regal in February and had a great time! If you enjoy the production shows, Born to Dance was fabulous. 

We also like staying at Hyatt Place, close to lots of things that are easy to walk to.

Enjoy the Regal - be sure to try Alfredo's and Ocean Terrace (there is a charge for that one but the Crab Margarita is worth it).

[Slyfox16]

We are also on the TA right after your cruise. If you happen to wander into the casino would you please post if they have different versions of blackjack like Fun 21 or Spanish 21. Thanks.

[tourismtessy]

17 minutes ago, kb4683 said:

Hi --

 

I would like to ask a favor.  

 

We will be on the Transatlantic immediately following your cruise and would like to know if they are offering wine packages on your 14 day cruise.  Have been reading that some of the other ships are not offering packages on 10+ day cruises because of the transition to the new wine list ☹️.

 

Thank you both for your service 🇺🇸, and happy sailing! 🛳️

I haven't seen anything that we could order in advance but I will certainly ask once we are onboard and let you know.

[tourismtessy]

14 minutes ago, WisCruiser2 said:

We did the eastern leg on Regal in February and had a great time! If you enjoy the production shows, Born to Dance was fabulous. 

We also like staying at Hyatt Place, close to lots of things that are easy to walk to.

Enjoy the Regal - be sure to try Alfredo's and Ocean Terrace (there is a charge for that one but the Crab Margarita is worth it).

Thanks for your input!  WE sailed the Grand a couple years ago to Hawaii and LOVED Alfredo's.  Will definitely be partaking in it again.  Haven't heard of Ocean Terrace so I'll be on the lookout for it once onboard.

[tourismtessy]

3 minutes ago, Slyfox16 said:

We are also on the TA right after your cruise. If you happen to wander into the casino would you please post if they have different versions of blackjack like Fun 21 or Spanish 21. Thanks.

I'll be sure to check and let you know.

[Slyfox16]

Thanks. Greatly appreciated.

[kb4683]

1 hour ago, tourismtessy said:

I haven't seen anything that we could order in advance but I will certainly ask once we are onboard and let you know.

 

 

Thanks!

[tawlaw1526]

Regal is a wonderful ship and I hope you have a great cruise.    I am looking forward to following along!    Bon Voyage!!!!!!!

[Colo Cruiser]

Bon Voyage!  Check out the steel pan player Trevor Cole. 

He is in the Piazza and the Wheelhouse at varying times.

He is awesome if you like that kind of music.

[spyro1952]

We are on the 7 day cruise leaving tomorrow on the Regal and just received emergency notification from Princess that high probability ship will be delayed getting into Ft. Lauderdale as they are having problems with propulsion and speed has been decreased.  They said they will send another email about 10 pm tonight to less us know if embarkation will be delayed and what time they expect to start boarding.  

Just thought I'd let you know.

[tourismtessy]

24 minutes ago, spyro1952 said:

We are on the 7 day cruise leaving tomorrow on the Regal and just received emergency notification from Princess that high probability ship will be delayed getting into Ft. Lauderdale as they are having problems with propulsion and speed has been decreased.  They said they will send another email about 10 pm tonight to less us know if embarkation will be delayed and what time they expect to start boarding.  

Just thought I'd let you know.

I just got the email too-super bummed.  Glad it is not affecting the safety of crew and passengers but sad for a potential delay or even cancellation if it is something they need to repair.  Will be on my computer the next few hours waiting for update.

[tourismtessy]

Someone onboard the Regal now just posted on our roll call that the generator is fixed and they will be arriving on time tomorrow morning.  Stated a dive team will do further repair once docked.  Still unsure if they are going to have us embark later.  Waiting for the follow up email from Princess.

[kywildcatfanone]

That's good news. We aren't flying in till about noon, so that won't be a issue for us, but I hope it gets repaired tomorrow and doesn't affect our cruise adversely.

[tourismtessy]

Just got my updated email on embarkation:

 

EMBARKATION UPDATE

Please be advised that Regal Princess is now expected to arrive in Fort Lauderdale on time on Sunday, March 31, 2019, and check-in and embarkation for your cruise will begin at 12:30 PM as scheduled. Please refer to your Progressive Boarding schedule for your check-in time.

[kywildcatfanone]

Good news. 

[caribill]

12 hours ago, kb4683 said:

Hi --

 

I would like to ask a favor.  

 

We will be on the Transatlantic immediately following your cruise and would like to know if they are offering wine packages on your 14 day cruise.  Have been reading that some of the other ships are not offering packages on 10+ day cruises because of the transition to the new wine list ☹️.

 

Thank you both for your service 🇺🇸, and happy sailing! 🛳️

 

This is a B2B of two 7-day cruises, so the wine package will follow the 7-day rules, not the 10+ day rules.

[kb4683]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

This is a B2B of two 7-day cruises, so the wine package will follow the 7-day rules, not the 10+ day rules.

 

Aargh! 🤯   Didn't even think of that -- thanks.

[Woobstr112G]

17 hours ago, tourismtessy said:

A little about me and Hubby.  We are in our mid-late 50's and have cruised about 10 times (mostly on Princess-our preferred cruise line).  I love to explore ports but Hubby likes to just enjoy the ship.  We are both retired from the Air Force and Hubby still works.  When we go on vacation, he likes to completely relax.  We enjoy the sea days as much as the port days.  We always do anytime dining as we like to eat dinner between 5 and 5:30.  We stay in either regular balcony or mini suites.  For this new ship we are staying in a premium deluxe balcony (includes a loveseat).

 

 Tomorrow we board the Regal Princess (our first time on this ship) and set sail for 14 wonderful days.  I will post daily while on board so if anyone has questions, feel free to ask away.  We have been to all the ports before and are planning to mostly stay onboard and enjoy all the ship amenities.  We flew into Fort Lauderdale this morning on a nonstop flight that was smooth and on time.  We got to our hotel (the Hyatt Place 17th St Convention Center) via their free shuttle about 11:45 am and were able to check in to our room right away.  We have cruised out of Fort Lauderdale several times and this is our hotel of choice.  The rate includes free airport shuttle, free wifi, and free breakfast (wifi and breakfast are free for Hyatt Rewards members).  After dropping our bags in our room, we walked across the parking lot to the little strip mall and ate lunch at Duffy's Sports Bar and Grill.   Very yummy and great service.  Hubby had the philly cheesesteak and I had the grilled chicken sandwich.  We then got into full cruise mode and split a brownie sundae.  SO GOOD!!   I should have taken a picture (sorry, will try to be better about attaching pics to this thread once we are onboard).  After lunch we walked right across the parking lot to the Publix grocery store to pick up some distilled water.   We are now back in our room and Hubby is napping while I type this.  We have done all the Fort Lauderdale tourist things so we just enjoy relaxing in our hotel in anticipation of the cruise.   We always fly in at least a day before the cruise so we can start decompressing and not be stressing.  Ooh, I made a little rhyme there!  

 

That's about all I have to report on today.  We will be taking the 10 am shuttle from our hotel to the cruise port tomorrow.  It is $7 per person.  We received our ocean medallions a couple weeks ago and have them in the fitbit wristbands all ready to go.  Looking forward to sharing our days with you!

Bon Voyage and have a great cruise.  Thank you for your service.....😋😋😋

 

Bob

[Colo Cruiser]

[tourismtessy]

Well, we made it on board without any delays.  We got to the pier at 10:30 and were boarding at 10:55.  The ocean medallion worked great.  We dropped off our carry ons in our cabin and headed to the Horizon Court for a buffet lunch.  Food and selection was great.  After eating we went to the International Cafe to purchase our coffee cards.  We then headed back to the room to see if our luggage had arrived and it  had.  Our cabin steward introduced himself and we chatted for a bit.  He is from the Philippines and since I lived there for 4 years, we had a lot to talk about.  Then it was off to the Princess Theatre (our muster station) for the emergency drill.  Sailaway was a little late but no problems so far.  We are very happy with the new on demand TV.  You can apparently pause movies you are watching and return to finish watching them later.  Thats about all I have for today.  Tomorrow I will go and explore the casino for the question asked and enjoy the day onboard as we are at Princess Cays.  We've been here many times and decided to just enjoy the fairly quiet ship instead.  

[Colo Cruiser]

[tourismtessy]

We had a lovely day while docked offshore at Princess Cays today.  We did not go ashore as we have been here several times and hubby had some end of the month reports to do.  We got up early and headed to the fitness center.  Since this ship has it located above the horizon court, it is open 24 hours.  We were there at 5:30 am along with a few other folks.  After a good workout we headed to the International Cafe for a coffee and then back to the room.  We had a nice room service lunch on our balcony overlooking Princess Cays.  Here are a few pics of our cabin (premium deluxe balcony) and our view of Princess Cays from our balcony.

[johnmik1]

I assume that your premium deluxe balcony is on the stern.Can you take a picture of the balcony and say what deck you are on?We have D731 on 4/14.Thanks!