Regal Review (March 5 - 12)

[bunnyhouse]

Was on the Regal Princess last week (March 5 – 12) and it was Fantastic!!!   Left out of Ft Lauderdale, stops in Princess Cays, Grand Turks, Jamaica and Grand Caymen.   

This was my first cruise since March of 2020, we were the last cruise on the Regal before everything shut down due to covid.   It was great to be back!!!   All in all, the cruise was wonderful, absolutely great week – good service, great food and drinks.  Love Princess and can’t wait for my next cruise!!!

Embarkation – parked at Park N Go. Could not have been easier.  Was on ship by 11:15 – no wait at all.   We went thru the Platinum/Elite line, our friends went thru the regular line, both had no wait.   Walked right on.   We had our medallions shipped to us, but it looked like even those picking them up had no wait at all.

Room – we bid on an upgrade to a premium deluxe balcony and was accepted, assigned M726 – aft.   I was a little hesitant prior to cruise since heard – 1) possible soot issues since aft balcony 2) lack of privacy due to Outriggers above 3) smoke from smoking section on Deck 17.    We experienced none of these issues, best room we ever had.   The balcony was huge, and the view was fantastic.  Would book this cabin again!!

Dining – we were in a group of 6 and prior to cruise booked 7:40 pm every night for dinner.  1^st day went to Sabatini’s to see about an earlier time – got 7:20.   There was a slight wait the first night, but after that, really no wait at all.  We had the same wait staff each night which I really enjoy.   I am celiac, so follow a strict gluten free diet, Princess is very accommodating.  For breakfast and lunch just went to Horizon Court, they had omelet stations and there was never a big wait. They also made me gluten free pancakes and French toast!!  Good variety of food.   Had lunch one day at Alfredo’s, also very good and they have a nice gluten free pizza!  Did not try any of the ‘premium desserts’ – they looked just a bit much. 

We bought the plus package so drinks were included.   Super easy to order drinks, never really waited long.   We went to most of the bars,and found the service good everywhere.  It was nice to try different drinks.   

 

Activities/Shows – went to most of the evening shows – very good.  The comedian and the illusionist were great.   Played Bingo several times - which is always super fun and played Let it Ride in the casino.   Was busy most nights, same as I remembered.

Ports – had been to all ports, so did not do any excursions.

App – Wifi was pretty decent, did not have any issues.  The app is nice to track the # of drinks, and you can view you bill daily to ensure no additional charges.  

Gym – was busy first few days, then thinned out.   Since package came with 2 fitness classes took Pilates and yoga, both were great. 

Disembarkation – was the easiest ever.  We did walk-off.  Had breakfast at Horizon Court, went back to room to get stuff, left room about 8am, walked right off. They have face recognition, so did not even have to pull passport out – was in my car heading home before 8:30 am.

 

[Jeter02]

I'll be back on the regal next week. Can't wait, its been a long while since I have been on her, as I've been on the Sky and Enchanted since their arrivals from Ft. Lauderdale. The Regal has always held a special spot in my heart.  

[cruisegal40]

Thank you for this. There has not been much on Regal so very appreciated.

[DUCHESSRN]

Thank you ,we go on Regal in October for the Repo to Galveston.

[kywildcatfanone]

Thanks for sharing.  We board in a couple of weeks.  Were on her in December and had a great time, and expecting the same if the weather is good.

[RNRcruisers]

20 hours ago, bunnyhouse said:

 

Dining – we were in a group of 6 and prior to cruise booked 7:40 pm every night for dinner.  1^st day went to Sabatini’s to see about an earlier time – got 7:20.   There was a slight wait the first night, but after that, really no wait at all.  We had the same wait staff each night which I really enjoy.  

 

 

 

Did you eat at Sabatini's every night? Or is that just where the Maitre d was hanging out to make changes? I am confused as to why you went there to make the change. Glad the dining worked out for you!

 

[stevenr597]

Thank you for the review. Regal has been one of our favorite ships and we will be on it this coming October for a Trans-Atlantic. 

[bunnyhouse]

Sorry for any confusion - we did not eat at Sabatini's, that is where you went to change your dining time from like 1 - 3 the first day.

We at in the MDR each day and it was terrific.  Our friends ate at Sabatini's once and Crown Grill once and enjoyed both.  

One other note, there really was no dress code in the MDR at all - saw shorts, jeans, pretty much everything.   

[BBT]

Thanks for this review. I am on Regal March 19/23.

 

First time on this ship and first time with Princess. Are there formal nights or any nights or situations calling for a jacket & tie? I am used to NCL where things are pretty loose for the most part, although I do dress a little for some occasions.

 

Thanks for any replies.

[bunnyhouse]

There were 2 'formal' nights.  I would say the majority of men did NOT wear jackets.  Most had nice slacks and a golf or 'tommy bahama' type shirt.   There were certainly some men who wore jackets, ties and I saw a couple of tuxedos'.   So, pretty much what you are comfortable with. 

Also, the MDR did not enforce any kind of dress policy - there were a few shorts and jeans, even on formal night. 

[MissP22]

23 hours ago, bunnyhouse said:

There were 2 'formal' nights.  I would say the majority of men did NOT wear jackets.  Most had nice slacks and a golf or 'tommy bahama' type shirt.   There were certainly some men who wore jackets, ties and I saw a couple of tuxedos'.   So, pretty much what you are comfortable with. 

Also, the MDR did not enforce any kind of dress policy - there were a few shorts and jeans, even on formal night. 

It's so nice that Princess is accommodating people to allow them to dress down recently. It makes for easier packing and a more relaxed vacation if you so choose.

 

also- you stated- The app is nice to track the # of drinks, and you can view you bill daily to ensure no additional charges.  

I looked high & low for this on our Enchanted cruise but couldn't find it. Neither could the medallion help center or any of the bartenders.

I'm now wondering if this feature is dependent on the ship your sailing. 

[bunnyhouse]

In the app - to view my shipboard account it was under Shipboard Journey.   To view my Princess Plus package - it was under my profile, then it was under something like Packages.   It showed Drinks like 6/15; exercise classes 2/2; premium desserts 0/2......did not think to take a picture to show...but it was very handy. I assumed since part of the app would be available on all ships, but that is a guess.   Another nice feature was 'locate' your shipmates - you could link up with your travel companions in the app (they had to agree) and you could 'locate' them.   It was not 100% accurate, if they were moving since had to refresh, but you could tell if they were in their cabins, and if not approximately where they were -nice feature!

[nattie]

On 3/13/2023 at 2:47 PM, stevenr597 said:

Thank you for the review. Regal has been one of our favorite ships and we will be on it this coming October for a Trans-Atlantic. 

Regal has always been my favorite, even compared to very similar Royal Class ships. Just an atmosphere on her, as soon as you step on board... We have sailed her to Caribbean 4 times, NE and Baltic, such fond memories!

However, I am very concerned for my upcoming April 2nd sailing because NONE of the senior staff is the same. A lot of them were transferred to Discovery last summer and while it was great to see them in Alaska, I am bummed that they did not come back to Regal. I guess I'll see if I still like Regal after the regime change 🙂

 

[cruisecrazyct]

On 3/16/2023 at 9:30 AM, bunnyhouse said:

In the app - to view my shipboard account it was under Shipboard Journey.   To view my Princess Plus package - it was under my profile, then it was under something like Packages.   It showed Drinks like 6/15; exercise classes 2/2; premium desserts 0/2......did not think to take a picture to show...but it was very handy. I assumed since part of the app would be available on all ships, but that is a guess.   Another nice feature was 'locate' your shipmates - you could link up with your travel companions in the app (they had to agree) and you could 'locate' them.   It was not 100% accurate, if they were moving since had to refresh, but you could tell if they were in their cabins, and if not approximately where they were -nice feature!

? curious was it hard to sign up for the fitness classes?  did people with the plus package get priority?

[bunnyhouse]

Very easy to sign up for fitness classes. Now, I went later in the week, when the gym tends to be less busy (everyone goes 1st day).  I went 15 minutes before class started and signed up.  None of the classes were full - I took yoga and a pilates like class.   So not sure if plus would get priority.   

[cruisecrazyct]

thanks

[Samkitty1]

On 3/12/2023 at 4:17 PM, bunnyhouse said:

 

Room – we bid on an upgrade to a premium deluxe balcony and was accepted, assigned M726 – aft.   I was a little hesitant prior to cruise since heard – 1) possible soot issues since aft balcony 2) 

 

 

Hi there...thank you for taking the time to post your review..it was a pleasure to read..Agree that the Regal is very nice ship...  Im particularly interested in how the bidding process worked for you.  When was your bid accepted? Would you bid again?  

[bunnyhouse]

We booked the cruise within 60 days, so final payment was due when we booked.   I booked a BW guarantee.   Probably a month before the cruise I received my cabin assignment, which was a BW.    We did not bid for an upgrade until about a month before the cruise.   We bid the minimum amount for a premium deluxe balcony and the deluxe balcony.   A week later the bid for the premium deluxe was accepted.  We were very happy and would likely bid on an upgrade again.  

[gamja]

On 3/13/2023 at 11:47 AM, stevenr597 said:

Thank you for the review. Regal has been one of our favorite ships and we will be on it this coming October for a Trans-Atlantic. 

I will cruising on this as well!