LIVE: Regal Princess, February 5-12, 2022: Geoherb goes solo again

[geoherb]

The featured item tonight in the Vista Lounge was smoked salmon. I skipped it. I'll probably eat it tomorrow morning at breakfast. I went to dinner early so that I could make the 10 in 60 game show. I had no idea what it was going to be. It turned out to be naming 10 of something in 60 seconds. People playing had the option to stop the clock if they thought they had all 10 right. I did it for the first 10 gifts in the 12 Days of Christmas and got 30 points for that question. I ended up winning a bottle of "champagne." I gave it to the second place couple. They had stopped the clock at naming the 10 states with a "C" in their names and gotten them right. Another team had missed that one when they stopped the clock. They tried to count Washington, D.C., on their list. 

 

Dinner, by the way, was very good. The grandmother from last night was at my table again sans grandson. We had a mother-daughter pair from Tennessee and a couple from Michigan eating with us. I had a salad and the trout amandine. I skipped out on dessert to make it to the game show.

 

I went to the theater after the game show. Tonight's featured entertainer was Kate Gordon, the guest soprano, performing with some of the ship's musicians. She was very good. She did a mix of Cole Porter, popular songs, other songs from musicals, and Andrew Lloyd-Webber's "Pie Jesu." It's amazing how she can sing so well in different registers. 

 

I had drinks with friends at Club 6, Crooners, and the Crown Grill Bar after the show. A bartender told one man at Club 6 that he had reached his 15-drink limit for the day. He was not visibly drunk. 

[Carnevale]

A very big thank you Dance4Fun for the extremely helpful overview of the ballroom dancing opportunities onboard - exactly the information we hoped to get. Many other lines have cut back on dancing so we were pleased to hear there are so many options on Regal.

 

And Geoherb, it’s good to hear so many people dressed for the formal night - makes the evening much more special.  With COVID our good clothes are languishing in the closet so it will be a treat to get them out when our cruise rolls around! 

[wowzz]

6 hours ago, reedprincess said:

Bar soaps (well, the round soaps) are available aplenty aboard Regal. We have them, along with extras, etc right there at the sink

Hmm - our steward said that soap bars were not available even for suite passengers. I wonder if sailing out of the UK might have been the reason,  as sailings from the US seem unaffected. 

(Although things are bad in the UK at the moment, we've not got a soap shortage! )

Edited February 8, 2022 by wowzz

[dance4fun]

3 hours ago, Carnevale said:

A very big thank you Dance4Fun for the extremely helpful overview of the ballroom dancing opportunities onboard - exactly the information we hoped to get. Many other lines have cut back on dancing so we were pleased to hear there are so many options on Regal.

 

And Geoherb, it’s good to hear so many people dressed for the formal night - makes the evening much more special.  With COVID our good clothes are languishing in the closet so it will be a treat to get them out when our cruise rolls around! 

You are welcome, @Carnevale. Our sailing choice has been on Princess ( although we have as many cruises on another brand as we do with Princess ) primarily based on dancing availability.

 

As we discussed in our post, we are concerned that Crooners appears to be missing on the Sky Princess deck plan and that a "jazz" club may be taking the place of the disco.  With the change in the Wheelhouse bar from what we experienced on the Emerald and Caribbean princess, Princess appears to be lowering the priority of dance offering to passengers.  While the Vista Lounge is very nice, its stern location subjects dancers to more ship movement.   

 

Eliminating dancing options would drive us to other brands.  We have friends trying to get us to join them on a Viking ocean voyage.  When we questions them about music, they have said lots of classical and jazz.  We counter offer the Cunard's QM2 with its largest dance floor on the ocean.  Love the QM2 sequence dances!

 

We highly suspect Princess is monitoring this thread which is great.  The day after our post mentioning only one waltz by Project 5, the band announced Anne Murray's "Could I have this dance?" by saying, "we are going to play a waltz".  Several couples got up to dance.  Thank you, Project 5!  

 

Crooners / Kevin, we will be back earlier tonight.  Only caught the last song last night.

Edited February 8, 2022 by dance4fun

[coo359a2]

7 hours ago, geoherb said:

I have a little round bar of soap for my sink. I could use it in the shower as well, but I brought along a full-size bar to use there. My only problem with it is that it's too slippery to stay in the soap holder. 

 Not sure if you are talking about the soap place at the sink or the little cubby slot in the shower. For the shower we stand  the round bar of soap on its edge and put it behind the two  pump bottle heads and it stays perfectly until it is just a sliver of soap. Then we ask for a new soap. 

[geoherb]

Here are the breakfast and dinner menus for the Concerto Dining Room. I don't know why the first few pages are blank. Just skip past them.

 

Menu 2022-02-08.pdf

[geoherb]

On 2/6/2022 at 4:39 PM, 1emerald1 said:

If you have the chance, could you ask the CD if he knows who the CD will be on the Discovery?  Thanks so much.

 

Aaron said DuVaul Gamble is going to be the CD on the Discovery. He was the CD on my Panama Canal cruise in 2019. 

[PescadoAmarillo]

10 hours ago, geoherb said:

The featured item tonight in the Vista Lounge was smoked salmon. I skipped it. I'll probably eat it tomorrow morning at breakfast.

That is no excuse, my friend!  My cruise motto is “Let no smoked salmon go uneaten (‘cause once at home it’s exorbitantly expensive)”. 😉
 

Thanks again for the updates!  

Edited February 8, 2022 by PescadoAmarillo

[memoak]

15 hours ago, Loucat said:

We are scheduled to sail on Regal 2/19. Sorry to read of all of the issues. Mini bar shortages, changes in many perks and benefits as detailed in posts here, now SOAP problems?

Chip, chip, chip, chip away....

Hello Princess? Anyone home?

Hello has anyone heard of supply chain  issues ?

Edited February 8, 2022 by memoak

[Happy2cruise]

18 hours ago, californiagirl said:

We had bar soap at the sink on Regal in November.

We had them on the Regal in late December and early January

[CruzinNoony]

19 hours ago, azbirdmom said:

Thanks for the info you've been providing!  Another question... My DH hates the liquid soap and likes the little bars.  I know that on some ship they've stopped providing bars of soap but what's the situation on the Regal?  Also anxious to hear how "dress to impress" differs from "formal" on the Regal.

I always ask for a couple of bars of soap for the shower, in addition to ones for the sink.  We have gotten them on the Grand and the Majestic.  Don't know about the other ships.  

[CruzinNoony]

5 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

 Not sure if you are talking about the soap place at the sink or the little cubby slot in the shower. For the shower we stand  the round bar of soap on its edge and put it behind the two  pump bottle heads and it stays perfectly until it is just a sliver of soap. Then we ask for a new soap. 

That's where we put the soap in the shower, too!!!

[azbirdmom]

9 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

I always ask for a couple of bars of soap for the shower, in addition to ones for the sink.  We have gotten them on the Grand and the Majestic.  Don't know about the other ships.  

 

We also got them on the Majestic.  But there are some ships like the Sky that don't provide them, even to folks in suites which is why I asked about the Regal.

[CruzinNoony]

3 hours ago, geoherb said:

 

Aaron said DuVaul Gamble is going to be the CD on the Discovery. He was the CD on my Panama Canal cruise in 2019. 

Did you like him?  We've never had him and will be on the inaugural Discovery cruise.  Can't wait!!!

[Steelers36]

On 2/7/2022 at 7:15 AM, geoherb said:

My estimate of the men in the dining room is that 15% of the men wore tuxedos or other true formal wear, 30% wore suit and tie or sports jacket with a tie, 20% wore a suit or jacket without a tie, 20% wore a dress shirt with a tie but no jacket, 20% wore a dress shirt without a tie or jacket, and 10% wore a casual shirt with long pants.

That adds up to 115%!!  😲

[geoherb]

7 minutes ago, Steelers36 said:

That adds up to 115%!!  😲

 

Subtract 2.5% from each number. I knew I should not be typing after a couple of glasses of wine and a martini.

[geoherb]

12 minutes ago, CruzinNoony said:

Did you like him?  We've never had him and will be on the inaugural Discovery cruise.  Can't wait!!!

 

Yes, I like him. There's only one Princess CD whom I did not like, and of course he was promoted to being an ED.

[geoherb]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Hello has anyone heard of supply chain  issues ?

 

Yes, there are supply chain issues around the world right now. But some things could be sourced with other brands or from different suppliers. I haven't, for instance, had a problem finding ginger tea bags in my local grocery stores. The F&B director could send an employee to Publix in Fort Lauderdale to buy a few boxes of whatever teas they're out of.

 

Little travel-size versions of shampoo and conditioner are available in bulk on Amazon. Same with lip balm, emery boards, and organza bags. For the upgraded bathroom amenities, Princess could definitely order for a lot less than I'm seeing on Amazon. But even the bulk prices I'm seeing on Amazon would cost them less than $2 per bag to fill it with one of each thing I mentioned. 

[CPCruisers]

Hi Geoherb

Thanks for the live reports! We are getting excited for our time on the Regal Feb 19- March 3! I have a question on the internet- is there an either net outlet you can plug into in the cabin or is it only wireless? Also, how is the internet speed?

 

Thanks so much!

[geoherb]

12 minutes ago, CPCruisers said:

Hi Geoherb

Thanks for the live reports! We are getting excited for our time on the Regal Feb 19- March 3! I have a question on the internet- is there an either net outlet you can plug into in the cabin or is it only wireless? Also, how is the internet speed?

 

Thanks so much!

 

It's been acceptable. I was able to use Wi-Fi calling on my cell phone to call home yesterday. I streamed a TV show (The Great Pottery Throw Down) yesterday afternoon. I did have trouble getting my VPN to work, but I found a workaround. I sometimes have trouble getting files to upload here on Cruise Critic. But I think that's a Cruise Critic problem more than the speed. There isn't an outlet, just the wireless internet.

 

 

[RNRcruisers]

I am enjoying your review of Regal. We just spent 8 days on her last month, I am reliving it through you.

 

We also stayed at the Embassy Suites and were surprised by the shuttle fee. Next time we'll do Uber or Lyft. Otherwise it was a good place to stay before the cruise. It was full of cruisers from several lines.

[livelifelove]

13 hours ago, geoherb said:

I had drinks with friends at Club 6, Crooners, and the Crown Grill Bar after the show. A bartender told one man at Club 6 that he had reached his 15-drink limit for the day. He was not visibly drunk. 

 

So, do they cut you off at that point or can you purchase an additional drink?

[voljeep]

6 minutes ago, livelifelove said:

 

So, do they cut you off at that point or can you purchase an additional drink?

Bartender discretion ...

[Steelers36]

1 hour ago, geoherb said:

 

Subtract 2.5% from each number. I knew I should not be typing after a couple of glasses of wine and a martini.

Still, 40% with full suit & tie or more seems off for Caribbean sector.  But things do vary from voyage to voyage.

[geoherb]

45 minutes ago, livelifelove said:

 

So, do they cut you off at that point or can you purchase an additional drink?

 

I don't know. He was telling the passenger that it was his 15th drink that he was serving him. I don't know if the man wanted more after that one.