Regal Review: November 10, 2019 Sailing

[nbsjcruiser]

Thought I'd do a quick review of our most recent cruise on the Regal Princess. We did the November 10 Eastern Caribbean cruise. I'll try and do a picture review later but thought I should put my thoughts down while they're still fresh.

 

Boarding process: Very smooth with the Medallions. We had to pick our Medallions up since we're in Canada and even though they had my level wrong on the medallion we were on the ship at 10:54 AM. I got the level's fixed up on board by visiting the Passenger Loyalty desk when they opened later in the day so only a minor hiccup. Rooms were ready when we boarded. Overall, very impressed with the boarding process. It was really nice to walk into the terminal at 10:15, go straight through security, over to pick up our medallions and be sitting upstairs waiting to board in under 10 mins. No issues with the medallions all week.

 

Ship Condition: Excellent. The ship was constantly being cleaned or painted. The ship looked as good as it did 4 years ago when we first sailed on her - this was our third Regal cruise. In contrast, we docked beside two Carnival ships during our sailing - the Conquest and the old Triumph which were both rust buckets. I was shocked at their outside conditions which tells me all I need to know about the condition inside the ship.

 

Buffet: I always enjoy the buffet and how well its laid out. Lots to choose from, great desserts and well spaced out. We did the Mongolian stir fry up there on the first night. Its the only night they offer it and we always skip the MDR on the first night to get that. Its one of the more enjoyable meals of the week. We only did one breakfast in the buffet (we prefer the MDR) and it was fine but we did lunch there every day and it was always very good.

 

MDR: We hit the MDR on evening #2 and it did not start off well. We were doing my time dining and there was a long wait for a table so they sent us up to the Concerto Dining Room with the scheduled diners.  Unfortunately,  after waiting over an hour and only getting our starter's, one of which was wrong, we left for the buffet. I did take time later in the evening to drop down and speak quietly off to the side to the head waiter to explain our experience. We had a good conversation and he asked me to come down the next evening where he wanted the opportunity to make it better. We were assigned a table with a waiter (Archie) who was exceptional. The food and service that evening was 10 out of 10. The waiter even arranged for us to return to that dining room for the remainder of the cruise. They took a bad situation and turned it into a dining experience that was 10 out of 10 for the week. The food was exceptionally good as well. Kudos to Archie and Angelo (head waiter) for doing a superb job. The experience only reinforces what I think about My Time dining - never again. I'm going back to the 5:15 dining from now on. My Time dining on Princess (and Royal Caribbean too for that matter) are just too hectic and hit or miss for me and I wish both cruise lines would do one or the other. Anyway, big thumbs up for the MDR for me.

 

Room: We had an inside on Riviera deck. Room attendant was great, did a good job. No complaints about the room, bed or service. We did get a top sheet though. I find the beds with the comforter only too warm. My bar setup was good and they promptly changed out what I requested. No issues here.

 

Entertainment: Fantastic. There was a comedian who we saw on the Caribbean Princess in February. He was funny again with 90% new material. We did one production show. I'm not into that stuff too much but it was well received. The show of the week was the Beatlemaniacs. What a great show they did and they did an encore in the Piazza on the last evening. Are you going to find this professional entertainment on an all inclusive vacation? I dont think so. Well done.

 

Crew: The CD staff did a good job it seemed. Each night there seemed to be something to attend that could kill an hour here or there. The rest of the staff seemed friendly enough. Good crew this week I think.

 

Stops: Princess Cays, St Thomas, St Maarten. Love St Maarten and we always pre-book our chairs and Umbrellas with Miguel on the beach in town. Its a great spot. Swim a little, lay out, get a little sun and the main shopping area is right behind you. Food and restaurants are right on the beach too. St Thomas  - we did something a little different this time. We went to Lindbergh beach. Its not the best beach in town but it was a nice enjoyable day. Water was clean and warm and lots of shade under the trees. Princess Cays - I notice they are doing something a little different. They have "street-like" carts there now, things like hot dog carts and quesadilla carts. Nice touch. We always head to the right side of the island which is much quieter. This is the one area I'd like to see Princess mix it up a bit. I'd like to see some different Eastern Caribbean stops thrown in there. San Juan maybe?

 

Pool deck: Always a chair to be had on deck and it was peaceful up there on sea days. I dont need to see belly flop contests and hairy leg contests. Just leave me alone to enjoy a day on the pool deck please. I do like the adult Sanctuary for that experience. Didn't do MUTS but they had a few recent movies showing if that's your thing.

 

Debarkation: Smooth as silk. They get your butt off that ship so fast you're wondering what happened. You could have easily walked off by 7 if you wanted to.

 

Let me be frank about one thing: The latest scourge for me is the ignoramuses who insist of listening to their music with bluetooth speakers. You may like your music but I can almost certainly tell you I wont. Nobody else around you wants to hear it either. There were several people with these cursed things this week and I wasn't the only person to find them intrusive and annoying. I did complain to the front desk at one point and they did turn it down but that only lasted one night. There was an older lady who was just trying to enjoy a good book but found it impossible with the group of people beside her. Anyway, this did show up on my review with Princess and hopefully they'll do the right thing and ban them outright.  Use headphones or cruise Carnival people.

 

Overall: This cruise was one of the better cruise experiences for us. It was our third Regal cruise and was one of the best cruises we've been on. I'd give it a 9.5 out of 10 (nobody's perfect). Food, crew and entertainment was top notch. What more could you ask for?

 

I'm going through my pictures and will follow up with a picture review in a few days.

 

  

[Guest arowe6]

Great review. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Our experience in the dining room has been similar to yours. It’s gotten increasingly poor over the years. Oh well. 
 

Andrew 🙂

[minniem]

Thanks for the review.  We board one week from today, same ports, and have never been on the Regal.  Was there any dancing for older folks, swing, cha-cha, rumba?  

So glad I read your review.  Now I am really excited.😊

[nbsjcruiser]

7 minutes ago, minniem said:

Thanks for the review.  We board one week from today, same ports, and have never been on the Regal.  Was there any dancing for older folks, swing, cha-cha, rumba?  

So glad I read your review.  Now I am really excited.😊

Yes, I did see dancing being offered a couple of times - ball room dancing and so on. You'll enjoy the cruise.

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Minnie,  do you have the Medallion App on your phone at all?  You can find the actual schedule of most of the main things going on each day, so you can look at when and where this type of dancing music might be!  If you check there, you can plan in advance.  Or check thru the Princess Patter and look for all the details each day.  Can't wait!!!

[minniem]

Thanks Princess Sweet Pea,  I do have the medallion app but did not know about the schedule. Swiped left on my phone and there it was.  Thanks see you soon. Look for Lenny and Jan on the dance floor.  The old fashioned dancers😊 (actually really old dancers)

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Hahaha!!!!

We don't look like it, but I am, physically, 'really old'...

I would love to dance, but my Husband just is not a dancer, at all!!!

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

NBSJ, I am wondering which dining room did you go to for supper for the rest of the cruise?  I am so glad to hear that you had a good dining experience after that first time!

 

[Paula_MacFan]

Thanks so much for your review!  We board next month (our second time on Regal) so I really enjoyed your positive comments.  Especially glad to hear that disembarkation was smooth as we have an early flight.  Thanks again!

 

edit:  We also get annoyed when people play their music on speakers.  Rude!

Edited December 1, 2019 by Paula_MacFan

[philv]

Nice review. We will be doing this cruise in March. I haven't been on the Regal. Was the Promenade an issue for you?

[mickeygirl78]

Thanks for the review. I’m sailing on the Regal in February. It’ll be my first cruise on Princess. I appreciate hearing your thoughts.

[nbsjcruiser]

5 hours ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

NBSJ, I am wondering which dining room did you go to for supper for the rest of the cruise?  I am so glad to hear that you had a good dining experience after that first time!

 

We started out at the Symphony which was for My Time Dining and switched to the Concerto and dined at 5:30pm the remainder of the cruise.

[nbsjcruiser]

2 hours ago, philv said:

Nice review. We will be doing this cruise in March. I haven't been on the Regal. Was the Promenade an issue for you?

I'm not really sure what you mean by the Promenade. Could you elaborate?

[I Love Cruising 3]

Did you find the DR to be overly formal or did some people dress down on formal evenings? 

[nbsjcruiser]

4 minutes ago, I Love Cruising 3 said:

Did you find the DR to be overly formal or did some people dress down on formal evenings? 

Not overly formal. For formal nights men were dressed with anything from tuxes to sport coats to casual. I wore a shirt and tie to formal nights but wished I had brought my jacket. I always feel naked without a jacket if I'm wearing a tie. 

Edited December 1, 2019 by nbsjcruiser

[MissP22]

10 minutes ago, nbsjcruiser said:

Not overly formal. For formal nights men were dressed with anything from tuxes to sport coats to casual. I wore a shirt and tie to formal nights but wished I had brought my jacket. I always feel naked without a jacket if I'm wearing a tie. 

It sounds like all the other Princess ships.

 

Edited December 1, 2019 by MissP22

[philv]

1 hour ago, nbsjcruiser said:

I'm not really sure what you mean by the Promenade. Could you elaborate?

On the Grand class ships they have a continuous promenade around the ship for walking. On the Royal class they do not. Many people considered this a negative. I guess this is not on your radar scope. I'm interested in what other people might think.

[nbsjcruiser]

11 hours ago, philv said:

On the Grand class ships they have a continuous promenade around the ship for walking. On the Royal class they do not. Many people considered this a negative. I guess this is not on your radar scope. I'm interested in what other people might think.

Oh, gotcha. Yeah, I do miss that but didn't necessarily bother me much. They still have nice areas at either end of the ship where you can sit and watch the world go by.

[MissP22]

12 hours ago, philv said:

On the Grand class ships they have a continuous promenade around the ship for walking. On the Royal class they do not. Many people considered this a negative. I guess this is not on your radar scope. I'm interested in what other people might think.

It seems to be the way all Princess ships are now being built. 

Not that I care but many seem to miss the full promenade deck. 

I just utilize the aft seating area. 

[Brig273]

Do you remember which night was Italian night in the MDR?  We are going on this cruise next Sunday. We want to make reservations at Crown Grill when the MDR is having Italian night. Thank you!!!  Great review. 

[PRINCESS Sweet Pea]

Brig, me and my husband were thinking of booking Sabatini's on Italian night!   I am so looking forward to this cruise!

I don't t think we can book until onboard, right?  Or do they let you book dining now?

Edited December 2, 2019 by PRINCESS Sweet Pea

[Daniel A]

Did you bring your Patters home with you?  I'm very interested to know when they offered the Crab Shack.  Thanks in advance.

[nbsjcruiser]

1 minute ago, Daniel A said:

Did you bring your Patters home with you?  I'm very interested to know when they offered the Crab Shack.  Thanks in advance.

No, didn't bring them back but I think the Crab Shack was later in the week. The day after St Maarten maybe?

[nbsjcruiser]

1 hour ago, Brig273 said:

Do you remember which night was Italian night in the MDR?  We are going on this cruise next Sunday. We want to make reservations at Crown Grill when the MDR is having Italian night. Thank you!!!  Great review. 

No sorry, I don't recall which night it was but if you ask the dining room staff on the first night, they'll know.

[MissP22]

43 minutes ago, PRINCESS Sweet Pea said:

Brig, me and my husband were thinking of booking Sabatini's on Italian night!   I am so looking forward to this cruise!

I don't t think we can book until onboard, right?  Or do they let you book dining now?

No guarantee what they'll do in the future but on Jan 21st the Italian night was on the first night out when we were at Princess Cays as it was on the next week also on Jan 28th.