Regal 11/24 Cruise

[californiagirl]

I tried to post this yesterday and it disappeared when I tapped submit reply.  Then just now I went to share my final thoughts and it magically reappeared!  So from yesterday:

 

-Internet has been very good for us. We are big college football fans.  Yesterday we live streamed the Michigan - Ohio St game on our iPads while sitting on the balcony.  Seamless reception.  Then last night while underway we live streamed the BYU - USC game.  Again no interruptions.  We can watch movies and YouTube videos just as we do at home.  This may be because of low passenger count and fewer people logged into the internet.

 

-Overall the food has exceeded our expectations.  We had a goat cheese soufflé last night that was one of the best dishes I’ve ever had on a Princess cruise.  The always available creme brûlée sadly has changed.  The strong vanilla bean flavor was gone.  There were no vanilla bean flecks either.  The texture seemed more of a gelatin base rather than the traditional creamy egg base.  Not sure if the change is related to a cost cut or a supply chain problem.  There are plenty of other desserts to satisfy a sweet tooth.  The always available fettuccine alfredo was as good as ever, sans parmesan basket.  But that was eliminated a while ago.

 

-I overheard an interesting conversation between a passenger and bartender.  The passenger stated that his wife commented on her pina colada tasting different.  The bartender said that is because they are still using the drink mixes provisioned in the UK.  He said european drink mixes look and taste different from american drink mixes.  Since this is Regal’s second short cruise since her transatlantic crossing I imagine they won’t last much longer.

 

This cruise is way too short.  I think we are ready to do longer cruises with more sea days.  Sea days are so relaxing.

 

 

[californiagirl]

Final thoughts:

 

-We ate in the Crown Grill last night.  I had the filet and my husband had the rib eye.  The meat was nothing special and certainly not like the quality of a high end steak house on land.  Our poor server was overwhelmed.  He tried his best and we let some things go.  Delays and missing items were not his fault.  He had no assistant waiter.  It appeared they were understaffed…the restraint manager took our drink order and served the bread.  I saw her jump in and assist other waiters as well.  The portions were larger than in the dining rooms but overall the food was not any better.  Except for the desserts.  The desserts made me realize that the formal dining room chefs have declined in their presentations. I had the trio of chocolate or something to that effect and it was beautiful to look at and delicious.  When we first began cruising in 1998 every dessert had a spectacular presentation.  Now it is not much different than what is presented in the Horizon Court.  Last comment, we were seated next to the wheelhouse bar and when the steel drum performer began playing it ended any thoughts of conversation.  The music was good but too loud for the proximity of the restaurant.  
 

-Our cabin was over the top as I mentioned earlier.  We were in L101.  I would book this again in a heartbeat.  Very little wind even when underway, heading both north and south.  This is the first time we have had the new(er) beds.  What a difference.  Our steward was excellent.  He provided evening turndown service even though we didn’t ask for it.  (No chocolates though). As we were leaving our cabin this morning our steward was in empty cabin L107.  We asked to look at it.  Great cabin!  There were two lounge chairs on the wrap around balcony in addition to the regular chairs and footstools.  I tried to find this info a while back and could not get a recent confirmation about the lounge chairs.  As noted by others the setup of the room feels more like a full suite than a mini-suite.

 

-I will add this to my medallion app failure thread but I want to note it here too.  Our medallion apps suddenly started working yesterday around noon.  I liked it more than I thought I would!  It was so nice to be able to check our balances, look at menus, find each other, order food to anywhere etc.  it would have been so nice to have when we cruised with teenage children.  We would have been able to track them down easier.  This was in the days before cell phones at sea.  My husband insisted on bringing walkie-talkies back then but the kids (and myself) always forgot and left them in the cabin.  
 

-Because of low passenger numbers disembarkation was a breeze.  Elevators were plentiful with no wait and no need to share.  Customs and immigration had no lines.  They used facial recognition for everyone, not just Global Entry customers.  We were not required to fill our any declaration forms either.  We easily got an Uber and arrived at Marriott’s Harbor Beach Resort by 9:15.  Our room was ready and we were upgraded to an ocean front room without requesting an upgrade!  That was a nice surprise…probably because it’s the week after Thanksgiving.  The hotel seems empty too.

This has been a very nice, relaxing, enjoyable trip.  I’m looking forward to my solo cruise in February.

 

[californiagirl]

Here is a picture of the Regal leaving Port Everglades on her next cruise.  She followed the Celebrity Millennium and the Emerald Princess.  I took these from our hotel room at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort.

[californiagirl]

I had trouble posting pictures while onboard.  Here is embarkation day in the empty buffet.

[waterbabyfish]

Enjoyed your report, I've got a forward deluxe balcony booked (m103)on her for a transatlantic cruise in March. I was very concerned about the wind, but you have eased  mind! Tks

[mthomp5]

On 11/27/2021 at 5:30 PM, patrickmoran said:

We are in E407. The whole port side of Emerald deck is blocked for the Civic ward. I've no idea if anyone is in any of the cabins. 

Sitting in the Pizza now. It's deserted. There is no vibe that the ships had pre-Covid.  The music in the lounges and the Piazza is weak compared to pre-Covid. 

One dining room is shut down (Deck 5).

 

I’ll be in E407 on another Royal class ship.  Wanted to ask how the balcony is….any obstruction when looking out at the balcony?

[californiagirl]

When sitting you must look over the railing as below the railing is solid metal.  I’m 5’6” and had no trouble seeing the ocean while sitting if my chair was pushed back.  The balcony is so wide that the view is more open if that makes sense.  We loved the perspective/orientation of the view.  Like being in the front seat of a car.

[patrickmoran]

On 11/30/2021 at 12:35 AM, mthomp5 said:

I’ll be in E407 on another Royal class ship.  Wanted to ask how the balcony is….any obstruction when looking out at the balcony?

No obstruction. I like the balcony with the forward look.