Sky or Regal for Christmas cruise?

[cherrytwist]

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on whether we should take our Caribbean cruise on the Sky Princess in December or Caribbean Princess in July. We decided to go with a cruise in December, mostly because of the heat in July and possibility of bad weather.

 

But now...I'm also considering going on the Regal that same week instead of the Sky. Does anyone have an opinion about that? The Regal is a few hundred dollars cheaper per person (there are 4 of us) and we can get connecting cabins, which is a big plus for us. Our cabins on the Sky are next door, but not connecting. But the Sky will be so new, which is appealing! Any advice or thoughts welcome...thank you! 

[mommydebbi]

Same dilemma except there are 3 of us.

Going on the Regal for the third time.

[fishywood]

For Christmas week Sky is sailing Western Caribbean vs Regal Eastern. That accounts for likely a good portion of the price difference: four ports on Sky vs. only two "ports" plus Princess Cays on Regal. Personally I am partial towards Princess Cays but on a holiday week the ship's venues and services will be stretched to the limit on sea days so Western may be the better itinerary.

 

There are subtle differences between the ship that no one will have a precise feel for until Sky is launched in October. The hugely upgraded Lido Buffet on Regal (and Royal that you sailed on before) will according to the Sky deck plans change to the much-criticized "World Fresh Marketplace" format. And there will apparently be no piano bar in the Piazza; the Crooner's Bar space on Royal/Regal will be the La Mer seafood/French bistro (which debuted on Majestic Princess) and the former Club 6 will be "Take Five" which is a great name for a piano bar should that be what it actually is. 

 

So I guess this time my advice would be to get the connecting cabins you wish and save some money at the same time. As long as you don't mind the fewer port calls.

[deliver42]

Personally, i would go with the Regal, unless you need all the "new" bells and whistles of the new ship.

[hobbyfarmer2]

16 hours ago, fishywood said:

For Christmas week Sky is sailing Western Caribbean vs Regal Eastern. That accounts for likely a good portion of the price difference: four ports on Sky vs. only two "ports" plus Princess Cays on Regal. Personally I am partial towards Princess Cays but on a holiday week the ship's venues and services will be stretched to the limit on sea days so Western may be the better itinerary.

 

There are subtle differences between the ship that no one will have a precise feel for until Sky is launched in October. The hugely upgraded Lido Buffet on Regal (and Royal that you sailed on before) will according to the Sky deck plans change to the much-criticized "World Fresh Marketplace" format. And there will apparently be no piano bar in the Piazza; the Crooner's Bar space on Royal/Regal will be the La Mer seafood/French bistro (which debuted on Majestic Princess) and the former Club 6 will be "Take Five" which is a great name for a piano bar should that be what it actually is. 

 

So I guess this time my advice would be to get the connecting cabins you wish and save some money at the same time. As long as you don't mind the fewer port calls.

Great analysis.  We are booked b2b on Sky from Nov 10 to Dec 1 because we like the Med and Spanish Passage itinerary but we think the Regal has a better layout with Crooner's which we use and the buffet which is great.  Been on the Regal for 5 cruises and it is a great ship.

[Lucky TGO]

5 hours ago, deliver42 said:

Personally, i would go with the Regal, unless you need all the "new" bells and whistles of the new ship.

I totally agree with you. 

Tony

[modes]

On 4/29/2019 at 7:15 PM, cherrytwist said:

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on whether we should take our Caribbean cruise on the Sky Princess in December or Caribbean Princess in July. We decided to go with a cruise in December, mostly because of the heat in July and possibility of bad weather.

 

But now...I'm also considering going on the Regal that same week instead of the Sky. Does anyone have an opinion about that? The Regal is a few hundred dollars cheaper per person (there are 4 of us) and we can get connecting cabins, which is a big plus for us. Our cabins on the Sky are next door, but not connecting. But the Sky will be so new, which is appealing! Any advice or thoughts welcome...thank you! 

Sky is newer = more $$$ but Sky is newer.????????????? Sky would be my choice.

Edited May 2, 2019 by modes

[sunsetbeachgal]

OP, you said connecting cabins are available on Regal and would be a big plus.  If your party of four includes children I would definitely pick the ship with available connecting cabins.  

Edited May 2, 2019 by sunsetbeachgal

[kywildcatfanone]

Pick by itinerary on this.

[Sam.Seattle]

Balcony cabins? Just open the dividers. Assuming they open.

[Tak8]

This round, I would say Regal.  I prefer Eastern over Western even with one less port.  

[polmcs]

I’m not going near the Sky until they put in a Crooners! 😉 That my go to place each evening.

[rdsqrl]

I would normally agree that the loss of Crooner's is a dealbreaker, however . . .    on my one cruise on the Regal, Crooners was just not up  to the level it is on the other ships.  Because of the all the events and activities in the Piazza, the pianist didn't begin until quite late, then it was hard to hear him because of so much general noise resonating around the large open space. 

 

Plus, and this is obviously more subjective, I did not find the atmosphere nearly as pleasant as Crooners on all other ships:  it felt dark and was often empty, (maybe because no one wanted to wait until after 10 for the music to begin), the service was slow and not particularly welcoming, and all in all, just wasn't a place I cared to spend time in. 

[polmcs]

We did a b2b on the Regal a few years back and as you stated, Crooners is a little darker than it is on say the Grand class ships. That said, we did end up there just about every night of our cruise as we don’t mind the later shows. Sometimes the area was absolutely jam packed if there was an earlier performance there, which was another reason to show up a little later. 

 

We never had an issue with the service there, but then again we typically sail with the S+S promo, or buy the AIBP/PBP, so we do get to know the service staff pretty well. 😉 (same for Vines too)

Edited May 6, 2019 by polmcs