Regal Princess...crowd issues?

[Armonk27]

Would appreciate information about how crowded you felt on Regal. We were on Sky and everything was mobbed, no pool seats unless you arrived at 6:30 am. Buffet mobbed, had to get to shows and music events over an hour early to get a seat. Elevators packed with long waits. I am concerned about the same issue on our upcoming Regal cruise. 

Thank you in advance!

[PacnGoNow]

34 minutes ago, Armonk27 said:

Would appreciate information about how crowded you felt on Regal. We were on Sky and everything was mobbed, no pool seats unless you arrived at 6:30 am. Buffet mobbed, had to get to shows and music events over an hour early to get a seat. Elevators packed with long waits. I am concerned about the same issue on our upcoming Regal cruise. 

Thank you in advance!

Was the Sky fully booked?  

[DCThunder]

34 minutes ago, Armonk27 said:

Would appreciate information about how crowded you felt on Regal. We were on Sky and everything was mobbed, no pool seats unless you arrived at 6:30 am. Buffet mobbed, had to get to shows and music events over an hour early to get a seat. Elevators packed with long waits. I am concerned about the same issue on our upcoming Regal cruise. 

Thank you in advance!

I watched Regal sail out of Port Everglades yesterday on the port webcam and based on the people lined up on the rail on the upper decks (and only on the port side of the ship), she's sailing at full or close to full capacity.  That's between 3500-4000 people, so a lot of folks.

 

If you're doing a Caribbean itinerary on Regal in the next 30 days, I'd plan for a full ship.  Have fun.

Edited February 20, 2023 by DCThunder

[stevenr597]

We sailed Discovery Princess to Alaska during July, 2022.  The ship did not feel crowded at all.  

[cruiseblues2013]

4 hours ago, Armonk27 said:

Would appreciate information about how crowded you felt on Regal. We were on Sky and everything was mobbed, no pool seats unless you arrived at 6:30 am. Buffet mobbed, had to get to shows and music events over an hour early to get a seat. Elevators packed with long waits. I am concerned about the same issue on our upcoming Regal cruise. 

Thank you in advance!

We have sailed several times on the Regal and Royal, all full ships and would sail again.  Always felt it had a great flow and no obvious feelings of being overcrowded.  We stay away from Mega ships; we can go to the mall anytime. 🙂

[mtnesterz]

You might enjoy looking at this comparison of passenger space ratio on ships.

https://cruisefever.net/most-crowded-cruise-ships-by-passenger-space-ratio/

[Wishing on a star]

I have sailed on Regal when almost fully booked, and just over half booked.

Halfway booked was incredible.

NO crowds anywhere, at all. Not at any time.

When fully booked, I think you can be good if you are aware of the times when crowds really are all out.

 

Do book the Sanctuary if you can, if a spacious and relaxing sun deck is what you might like.

We do not usually spend a lot of time on the main pool deck anyhow.

 

Once set up two loungers just around the corner from the Retreat Pool and Sanctuary, and had it all to ourselves.

 

Do use the Medallion App to have your dining arranged.

The lower Aft dining room will almost always be less crowded.  We have always had good experience down there.

 

Do plan to arrive early for any planned evening shows or events.  They can get packed, but most people do not get there early.

 

You will be fine on the Regal.

We love the Regal!

We have had sailings where the food was not as good, but the last time we were on Regal, most of the food was good!

Enjoy!

 

 

[SargassoPirate]

On any ship, it's easy to feel uncrowded if you adjust your schedule a bit.  I'm an early riser, so I hit the buffet when it first opens.  Then I'm ready for lunch just about the time they changeover for lunch.  I have a light snack at the International Cafe mid-afternoon and skip the loud and crowded MDR dinner in favor of the nibbles in the Elite lounge.  I avoid the loungers and chair hogs on the Melanoma Deck in favor of a deck chair on the shady side of the Promenade.  

 

 

[PacnGoNow]

27 minutes ago, SargassoPirate said:

On any ship, it's easy to feel uncrowded if you adjust your schedule a bit.  I'm an early riser, so I hit the buffet when it first opens.  Then I'm ready for lunch just about the time they changeover for lunch.  I have a light snack at the International Cafe mid-afternoon and skip the loud and crowded MDR dinner in favor of the nibbles in the Elite lounge.  I avoid the loungers and chair hogs on the Melanoma Deck in favor of a deck chair on the shady side of the Promenade.  

 

 

😂 Our balcony is pretty Uncrowded too, if things get crazy on the ship. 

  

[cr8tiv1]

@mtnesterzThank you for a wonderful link.  For others who don't want to go there...

 

[JoRoy218]

We were on the Regal for New Years’ sailing. It was 100% booked and crowds everywhere. Many afternoons we searched for relatively quiet spots, found none. The pool by the Sanctuary was shoulder to-shoulder people IN the water, and wall to wall people around the pool and bar, I feel like an “old fart”  when I complain about crowds on cruises.🙄 So…we’d grab a cocktail or two from the bar and have a peaceful time on our balcony.  In fact, we overheard passenger say “I feel like I’m on a Carnival cruise, not Princess.” 🤣

[nini]

I am thinking that the itinerary may also have a lot to do with feeling crowded. The warmer it is, the more likely the rocks and pools are crowded. We loved the Regal when we sailed the East Coast itinerary. Alaska cruises do not seem crowded either.

[SargassoPirate]

13 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@mtnesterzThank you for a wonderful link.  For others who don't want to go there...

 

 

To add just a bit more information to help interpret the chart:

 

"The larger the number in the right hand column the more spacious a ship may feel. At least that’s the idea. A number in the 20’s would feel crowded and cramped while a number in the high 40’s and above may feel spacious."

[cr8tiv1]

@SargassoPirate and everyone else....Do you notice which ships have the larger numbers?

 

Coral, Sapphire, Diamond...Island...Grand.

[labcoat99]

Just off the Regal’s January 29th Eastern Caribbean sailing. The sailing had about 3200 - 3300 passengers according to different sources. I definitely did not feel too crowded except waiting in line for dinner (that’s an entire new topic) and a couple of times as the shows were ending and a new group wanted to get into the theater. Other than that, I never really felt crowded at all. 

[SargassoPirate]

5 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

@SargassoPirate and everyone else....Do you notice which ships have the larger numbers?

 

Coral, Sapphire, Diamond...Island...Grand.

Oh yeah. 

 

I've never been aware of the ratios listed in the table, figuring a bigger ship with more passengers just spreads people out more, but I am acutely aware of features such as a "real promenade".

 

The biggest ship I've cruised on was the Allure of the Seas and I never felt crowded.  But then, as I opined above, I tend to break away from the herd and travel to my own agenda anyway and avoid crowded times and crowded locations.

[cruisingrob21]

9 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

To add just a bit more information to help interpret the chart:

 

"The larger the number in the right hand column the more spacious a ship may feel. At least that’s the idea. A number in the 20’s would feel crowded and cramped while a number in the high 40’s and above may feel spacious."

There is at least one computational error in this table - and more importantly, this table assumes no 3rd or 4th berths are full.  If you include those, the order shifts around a bit.

 

Another item worth considering, is that (if I recall correctly) tonnage is a misnomer and actually is a somewhat standard way the "internal volume" of a ship is calculated.  This is most easily understood with an example.  The Diamond and Sapphire are nearly the same dimensions as the Grand, Emerald, Crown, Ruby, except that they are a few feet wider on decks 7 and below.  This translates to a larger tonnage (remember, volume) even though it may not seem like much to be just a few feet wider.  Additionally, the Diamond and Sapphire have a pool with an retractable cover.  The way I understand it, that whole space under the cover is included in the tonnage, whereas the Emerald, Ruby, Crown, and Caribbean have the same pool area (since they are similar designs) but its not covered, so its not included.  This allows the diamond and sapphire to have a higher tonnage, even though they have at least 1 fewer deck of cabins.

 

I enjoy the passengers/elevators ratio, or passengers/hot tub 🙂

Edited February 21, 2023 by cruisingrob21

[waltd]

The one thing we didn't like about the Royal was the elevators.   Way too small. At peak times you could not get on one.   

[cr8tiv1]

The fact that Princess removed some public areas AND did not increase other venues like MDR, Princess Theater, Elevators, etc speaks volumes.  What were they thinking?  

 

At the very least....have 3 theater performances instead of two jam packed shows.  

 

It isn't rocket science.  But then again.....

[VersaliusPrimus]

12 hours ago, SargassoPirate said:

 

To add just a bit more information to help interpret the chart:

 

"The larger the number in the right hand column the more spacious a ship may feel. At least that’s the idea. A number in the 20’s would feel crowded and cramped while a number in the high 40’s and above may feel spacious."

 

3 hours ago, cruisingrob21 said:

There is at least one computational error in this table - and more importantly, this table assumes no 3rd or 4th berths are full.  If you include those, the order shifts around a bit.

 

Another item worth considering, is that (if I recall correctly) tonnage is a misnomer and actually is a somewhat standard way the "internal volume" of a ship is calculated.  This is most easily understood with an example.  The Diamond and Sapphire are nearly the same dimensions as the Grand, Emerald, Crown, Ruby, except that they are a few feet wider on decks 7 and below.  This translates to a larger tonnage (remember, volume) even though it may not seem like much to be just a few feet wider.  Additionally, the Diamond and Sapphire have a pool with an retractable cover.  The way I understand it, that whole space under the cover is included in the tonnage, whereas the Emerald, Ruby, Crown, and Caribbean have the same pool area (since they are similar designs) but its not covered, so its not included.  This allows the diamond and sapphire to have a higher tonnage, even though they have at least 1 fewer deck of cabins.

 

I enjoy the passengers/elevators ratio, or passengers/hot tub 🙂

 

Thanks for the link!  I've been using the same metric to compare the passenger density on different ships, but it does have some limitations.  One noted in that post is the tendency of some cruise lines, itineraries, or ships to exceed the double occupancy number used in the calculation, rendering that assumption false and affecting the results. 

 

Another limitation I didn't see any discussion about was the proportion of the stated gross tonnage that is actually available for passengers to explore.  Every cruise ship will have some portion of its volume dedicated to areas necessary for vessel operations (bridge, generators, engines, control systems, etc.), another portion dedicated to behind-the-scenes hotel operations (kitchens, theatrical backstage, hotel admin, etc.), another portion occupied by passenger and crew cabins, and the remaining volume is what passengers can spread out and enjoy.  This last portion would be the used to find a more accurate metric of passenger density.  Since I don't know of any official numbers for any ship segmented in this way, perhaps I could posit some numbers to see how it changes the comparison of two ships, namely the Grand and Royal Princess:

 

Grand Princess official numbers:  107,517 GT with 2600 passengers at dual occupancy

 

Royal Princess official numbers:  142,229 GT with 3560 passengers at dual occupancy

 

Now let's consider the Grand Princess and get a [very] loose estimate of its GT available to passengers.  If we assume vessel operations occupy 20,000 GT and hotel operations occupy another 20,000 GT, cabins occupy about 46,500 GT (estimate from passenger cabins occupying the majority of 5.5 decks plus crew cabins down below), then the GT available to passengers becomes 21,017.

 

Now let's consider the Royal Princess and generate estimates of each segment relative to those on the Grand.  This larger ship will require more space dedicated to each segment due to increased demand for propulsion and a higher passenger count.  If we then assume vessel operations occupy 30,000 GT (more generators, engines, etc.), hotel operations are another 30,000 GT (more kitchen space, more laundry capacity, etc.), cabins are about 58,500 GT (passenger cabins occupying about 6 decks plus another deck for crew cabins), then the GT available to passengers becomes 23,729.   

 

Using the adjusted numbers for GT, the revised metric is now 8.08 for the Grand and 6.67 for the Royal.  Of course, this metric still does not take into account any outdoor space available to passengers or how the ship's design accommodates passenger flow to reduce any perception of overcrowding.  This avenue of analysis also does not account for space available on a limited basis, such as the Sanctuary or Concierge lounge.  This last limitation will have a greater impact on the usefulness of this analysis on ships like the upcoming Sun Princess with more sections of the ship dedicated toward Reserve or Signature suite guests. 

 

This has been a fun little thought experiment.  Over the years I've read many comments on how a certain ship, class of ship, or cruise line "felt" more crowded, so I searched for a numerical way to compare ships regarding passenger density.  With all its limitations, this metric should never be the sole deciding factor when comparing ships, but it can have some usefulness as a starting point.  I'm an engineer; I like numbers to start with, so this metric serves that purpose.  😄                

[cruisingrob21]

33 minutes ago, VersaliusPrimus said:

I'm an engineer; I like numbers to start with, so this metric serves that purpose.  😄                

Here here!

 

Other metrics that could work is the number of cabins per public area, but that requires scaling and measuring the deck plans.  But we engineers do enjoy a challenge.

 

Appreciate your thoughts and considerations!