My 2 Weeks Aboard Regal Princess

[nukesubsailor]

These are some of the things we noticed while spending the last two weeks aboard the Regal Princess.

The ship had a luncheon rather than a cocktail party for the most traveled passengers.

The luncheons are much better than the cocktail parties.  Menu was awesome.  Wine was good.

The cruise director saved herself hours of work in taping the Wake Show by using recordings of previous Wake Show crew interviews rather than actually doing new interviews.

I thought the recent practice of having an entertainment director was to free up time for the cruise director to be more creative and interface with the passengers.

We saw people turned away from the anytime dining room for attire that was very casual such as shorts or t-shirts.

Coats without ties and ties without coats were accepted on formal nights.

Ship security would not allow us to go ashore with post office issued mailing boxes that we wished to mail home.  I don't understand that and Security would offer no explanation.

The special main course dish offered in Club Class dining was often just one of the main courses on the regular menu with a different sauce poured on it.

The menu was repeated each week.

 

[voljeep]

12 minutes ago, nukesubsailor said:

These are some of the things we noticed while spending the last two weeks aboard the Regal Princess.

The ship had a luncheon rather than a cocktail party for the most traveled passengers.

The luncheons are much better than the cocktail parties.  Menu was awesome.  Wine was good.

The cruise director saved herself hours of work in taping the Wake Show by using recordings of previous Wake Show crew interviews rather than actually doing new interviews.

I thought the recent practice of having an entertainment director was to free up time for the cruise director to be more creative and interface with the passengers.

We saw people turned away from the anytime dining room for attire that was very casual such as shorts or t-shirts.

Coats without ties and ties without coats were accepted on formal nights.

Ship security would not allow us to go ashore with post office issued mailing boxes that we wished to mail home.  I don't understand that and Security would offer no explanation.

The special main course dish offered in Club Class dining was often just one of the main courses on the regular menu with a different sauce poured on it.

The menu was repeated each week.

 

what about a nice , long-sleeve, collared shirt ? ... no coat, no tie on formal night ?

[nukesubsailor]

47 minutes ago, voljeep said:

what about a nice , long-sleeve, collared shirt ? ... no coat, no tie on formal night ?

I don't recall seeing anyone without a coat or tie but I just paid attention to those men sitting near me in the corner of the dining room.  I am sure their must have been some with nice shoes, slacks, and long sleeved collared shirt but no tie or coat.

That is what I had on plus a tie.  A tie is much easier to pack than a coat.

[nukesubsailor]

I forgot to mention in my original post that the in-transit passenger process for those doing back to back cruises is non-existent at the Brooklyn cruise terminal.  We got a letter telling us to meet in Club 6.  No one else showed up and we finally were told to leave the ship.  We went through immigration just like any disembarking passenger then had to walk to the entrance to the terminal and get processed like we were boarding for the first time.  This terminal is the worst one we have experienced and that includes Port Everglades, San Pedro, Seattle, Vancouver, Whittier, and Southampton.

[Colo Cruiser]

1 hour ago, nukesubsailor said:

 

Ship security would not allow us to go ashore with post office issued mailing boxes that we wished to mail home.  I don't understand that and Security would offer no explanation.

 

 

Thanks for your comments.

 

Anything "landed" in a port during the cruise needs to be declared and documented.

Princess can face hefty fines if they allow packages/luggage etc to be taken off without first being declared and paperwork completed ahead of time.

[Astro Flyer]

13 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Thanks for your comments.

 

Anything "landed" in a port during the cruise needs to be declared and documented.

Princess can face hefty fines if they allow packages/luggage etc to be taken off without first being declared and paperwork completed ahead of time.

 

We had that situation in Rotterdam when taking things off the ship required a NL form to be completed which we got from the PSD.

 

It was a gift of baby items in a small wheeled luggage bag for her niece’s baby.  No one was in the terminal to accept our form for the items but Princess followed the NL regulations.

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Thank you for the good info!  I wonder if you could tell us more about the Entertainment and Bands on the Regal.  I see another thread on here.  We will also be sailing in a few weeks. 

[caribill]

9 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

 

The ship had a luncheon rather than a cocktail party for the most traveled passengers.

 

 

Do you know what the cutoff number of days was for the luncheon each segment?

[flamomo]

Happy to hear that shorts and t-shirts were not permitted in the dining room and that the maître`d enforced the issue. There are always those who try to dress "their way" with no regard for the cruise line's recommended attire at dinner.

 

Having a MTP luncheon instead of a cocktail party is common. I've done both types and agree that the luncheon feels more special, though I have had some excellent canapes at the cocktail parties.

[geoherb]

I was fortunate enough to have both a luncheon and a cocktail party on my back-to-back cruises to Alaska this summer on the Island. The Captain's Circle hostess said she alternated them because some passengers prefer one over the other and there were so many of us doing back-to-back cruises. I loved both events and wouldn't mind making the cut again for either.

[FloaterBoat]

8 hours ago, flamomo said:

Happy to hear that shorts and t-shirts were not permitted in the dining room and that the maître`d enforced the issue. There are always those who try to dress "their way" with no regard for the cruise line's recommended attire at dinner.

 

 

 

Agreed.

[nukesubsailor]

17 hours ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Thank you for the good info!  I wonder if you could tell us more about the Entertainment and Bands on the Regal.  I see another thread on here.  We will also be sailing in a few weeks. 

We enjoyed all the entertainers that performed in the atrium and Crooners.  In particular, the brother & sister violin duo were great.  We did not attend any entertainment in the theater other than a performance by a large group of children from Halifax who did traditional Scottish dances.  That was fun to watch. 

[nukesubsailor]

12 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Do you know what the cutoff number of days was for the luncheon each segment?

Sorry but I didn't ask and the Captain's Circle host never mentioned.  There were 4 tables.  Each table had 6 passengers and one ship's officer.  The Captain sat at table #1.  I don't know for sure if the passengers at his table were the 3 couples with the most days but I would guess that was the case.  We sat at table #2 and we had 407 and 414 days.  The officers at our table, ( the Staff Engineer and the Chief Engineer ),  for the two luncheons were also 4 stripers like the captain.  I don't know if the other 2 couples at our table had more or fewer days aboard Princess ships.  The other tables had officers with less rank.

[minniem]

Did you notice if there was any dancing in the atrium or any of the lounges?

[nukesubsailor]

1 minute ago, minniem said:

Did you notice if there was any dancing in the atrium or any of the lounges?

Yes there was dancing in the atrium.  We never went to the Vista lounge on this ship except for the wife during Bingo.

For some reason, Princess felt it unnecessary to put a bar in the Vista lounge.

 

[jasbo49]

31 minutes ago, nukesubsailor said:

We enjoyed all the entertainers that performed in the atrium and Crooners.  In particular, the brother & sister violin duo were great.  We did not attend any entertainment in the theater other than a performance by a large group of children from Halifax who did traditional Scottish dances.  That was fun to watch. 

We're on board now and have found the live music scene pretty dreary. Dwight Blake in Crooners is good, but I hate that most of the music is on a backing track. I'd much rather have just a guy and his piano (or girl and her guitar) than all this pre-recorded music.

 

Most everything else sounds like elevator music. It wasn't that long ago that Princess had bands and performers with personality. The last three cruises, going back about a year, we haven't found much to like musically. 

 

Nothing wrong with the string duo nuke mentioned, but just not something we'd build an evening around.

 

I'm trying to talk my wife into another Mexico cruise. I love mariachi music. 

 

Jim

 

[CruisingPat019]

I just got off the Regal last week. The two comedians were very good - clean humor and everyone was laughing. The 3 production shows in the theater were outstanding - the Regal has awesome singers and performers. The cruise staff was fun and funny and had me and the studio audience laughing hilariously during the game shows in Princess Live. I cannot comment on the musical talents in the various venues.

[caribill]

9 hours ago, nukesubsailor said:

Sorry but I didn't ask and the Captain's Circle host never mentioned.  There were 4 tables.  Each table had 6 passengers and one ship's officer.  The Captain sat at table #1.  I don't know for sure if the passengers at his table were the 3 couples with the most days but I would guess that was the case.  We sat at table #2 and we had 407 and 414 days.  The officers at our table, ( the Staff Engineer and the Chief Engineer ),  for the two luncheons were also 4 stripers like the captain.  I don't know if the other 2 couples at our table had more or fewer days aboard Princess ships.  The other tables had officers with less rank.

4 tables x 6 passengers = 24 passengers.

 

That is 16 short of being the top 40.

 

Any idea why there were only 24 passengers and not 40?

[AF-1]

Nukesubsailor,  other than having to go thru the hassle of customs and then re-boarding;  was the Brooklyn terminal organized; like with the medallion staff? Were you processed back on-board in a timely manner?

[nukesubsailor]

15 hours ago, caribill said:

4 tables x 6 passengers = 24 passengers.

 

That is 16 short of being the top 40.

 

Any idea why there were only 24 passengers and not 40?

I don't know the reason for just having 24 passengers.  Maybe there were fewer Elites than usual on these cruises.  

The luncheon took place in the part of Sabatini's next to the windows.  To set it up they removed the bench seats next to the forward and aft walls as well as all the square tables.  They replaced all that with large round tables.

[MissP22]

My DH has never been turned away from wearing his T shirt on a casual evening. 

Shorts yes, but not a T shirt even on the Regal.