Regal Princess March 19-26th

[phonejock]

Hi Just got back from the March 19-26 sailing of the Regal Princess.   Just so you know our point of view,  DH and I are in our 60s and have several cruises under our belts.

 

Going to be thinking long and hard about booking with Southwest Air in the future. I will not bore you with the details, but there were problems both going there and coming home. We fly out of Hartford, CT to Baltimore, MD and then on to Fort Lauderdale. On the trip down,  two baggage handling issues caused us to be delayed 2-3 hours. We did not reach our hotel till 10pm. Not how I like to start a cruise.   On the way back our 1:35pm flight  did not take off till almost 4. We thought we would miss our connection and had seats on a 10:30pm flight to Hartford. When we reached Baltimore, we were able to switch back to our original flight.  Our bags did not make it and had to be picked up the following day. ( To be fair, this one was our decision). We were able to get home at 9pm rather than 1 in the morning.

 

Before I leave the “transportation” section, a BIG shout out to the Princess rep at the Fort Lauderdale airport, Peggy. She is a gem. She helped us out as much as she could with our bag mess. Then once we got everything together, she got us out of the airport and on our way as quickly as possible. Apparently, there was gridlock right outside the baggage claim area, so she took us out another way so we could avoid another delay.

 

A few words about the Westin Fort Lauderdale Beach Resort.  (FYI there is another Westin location in town)  This one is located right across from the beach. It is one of the hotels that Princess uses, but I have not seen any comments on this board or Facebook. I was only there 13 hours, so I may not be the best person and  would love to hear other opinions.   I thought it was an OK place to spend the night before a cruise. The room was clean and the beds were comfortable. For some reason, they put DH and I in a handicap room. Showering was a little awkward as there was only a hand held device, but it was only one time.  The plus was that the room was ocean view and it was fun watching everyone out and about. The best thing was the breakfast place TINTA. The food and service were fantastic.  After getting our bags ready for 8am,( pick up inside the room)  we went down   and were able to have breakfast on patio. Now that is how I like to start a cruise.  The Princess rep who manned the desk was very helpful.  She explained exactly how the medallion check in would happen.  A heads up about this hotel, we did not hear any noise at night, but you are right in the middle of the Spring break celebration. There are lots of party people around. I joked to DH that at least we made it to Spring break in Fort Lauderdale, 50 years too late, but we made it.

 

Embarkation could not have been smoother. We got on the transfer bus around 11:15am. We had an absolutely adorable driver, who had us laughing from the start. We entered the terminal at 11:35 and were on the ship at 11:55.  Our luggage was delivered a little later than we expected, but it happens.  The safely video was painless. My medallion was a little wonky at first. When I checked in at the lifeboat station, it said I was off the ship. They made a note of it and all was well.        

 

This was our first cruise in four years and so our first Medallion cruise. It seemed to work well.  We did not have anything delivered. It was nice to have the door unlocked for you.  

 

We had booked a Club Class  Mini suite. It was B410. I loved the location. If I went to the right and down the elevators, I was in the middle of the Piazza. If I went left and down, the Princess theater.    It did have a smaller angled balcony, really only room for two. I did notice when I stood by the railing and looked to the right, I could see into the next balcony because of the angle.

( B408). A pair of cabins like that  might be fun to book together if you were traveling with family or friends. Charlene, our steward, took great care of us. Our room was always clean and made up.

 

And now what everyone really wants to know… how was the food?  The answer was very good to great. DH and I adore Club Class. We feel it is worth every penny. While we do not want to be rushed, we don’t want to spend two hours over dinner. We always were done in time to do whatever.   The service was excellent.    Gerald and his partner Jithin  were the best part of the cruise. They had great recommendations and were so funny.  I think we took advantage of the “special dishes “ about three times.  We ate in the Crown Grill one night and Sabatinis another. The Crown Grill was very busy on formal night. My husband enjoyed his Porterhouse and I liked the Sea Bass, although I thought the portion was a little small.    Now one of the special dishes in CC was Ossobuco. When we went to Sabatinis, the waiter recommended the Ossobuco, so I got it. Folks the one served in Club Class was better.

 

Entertainment was pretty good to very good. There was a Billy Joel tribute trio, a couple of comedians as well as two production shows.( Sweet soul and Encore) The best show was an illusionist, Octtavio Belli. He did some amazing things.  Now, I may have missed it , but I did not see any seats reserved the Premier package. 

 

Speaking of entertainment, we had a bit of magic on this cruise.  The Edina Concert Band, from Edina, MN were on board.  This was a big group trip. Arrangements were  made and the band gave two concerts at 4pm on the formal nights. They were fantastic.

 

Ports: We missed Princess Cays due to the swells in the harbor area. So we had two sea days, two port days and then another two sea days.  We stopped in St Thomas where we did a trip to Mountaintop and the skyride in the morning. In the evening around 5pm we took a sunset catamaran cruise around the island. It was a lot of fun. As always the Castaway Cats crews were both very professional and very fun.   The next day we did the Best of St Kitts. First they took us to a Batik store. We thought they were going to give us a demonstration, but it was just a store to shop in. So I shopped.  Then they took us to Brimstone Hill Fortress. The tour tickets said 50 steps. Well it was 50 steps, but the steps were at least 5 feet across each.  And it was straight uphill.  The trek was worth it beautiful views.  

 

Debarkation was sad, but fairly painless.  Only the buffet and one of the dining rooms was open for breakfast. We were pleasantly surprised to find they had a Club class section even though it was in a different dining room then we had used all week.  We used the service to have our bags shipped to the airport and put on the plane. Worth the small charge.

 

 I will close with some random Observations…not in any particular order…. The Casino was hopping. Very busy every night.  I found the drink delivery on the slow side so I would get a drink before walking in.   For Gin lovers, there was NO Hendricks on board. I enjoyed all the entertainment in the Piazza. The only problem is that they have areas like photography right off of there.

If the acts are really loud it is hard to hear what is being said.   People were generally very nice to the crew.  I only saw one time where a women practically yelled that she was waiting at a bar.

The poor bar tender was going flat out nonstop.     I did not do any Movies under the stars or Trivia, or any of the game shows, but people were enjoying them.

 

I think that is it.  Safe Travels everyone  

 

 

[Thrak]

28 minutes ago, phonejock said:

 For Gin lovers, there was NO Hendricks on board.

 

First of all many thanks for the review. It's nice to hear someone was happy with the food and the entertainment. Too many complain. I generally just wish I was on the cruise myself...

 

Secondly, on our last cruise there was "no Bulleit Bourbon on board". However, I searched around and found it at the topside forward bar that closes early. I had it moved down to Good Spirits. Then I spoke with the Wine Steward in Vines and he went and found a bottle and kept it behind the bar for me. It seems that Room Service had it. I verified that by ordering (several times) from Room Service and what I got was definitely Bulleit Bourbon. So... Try Room Service next time this happens and also check all bars. You never know what you will find.

[phonejock]

@Thrak Thank you for the tip. Although it does sound like a lot of work. Trust me I more than made due with Bombay Sapphire Lol 😆 

 

i forgot to mention ( and it should have been the first thing) THE CREW WAS FANTASTIC.  I am sure the fallout from the pandemic made their lives much harder. They all were doing their best with grace and dignity. 

[RNRcruisers]

Sounds like a fantastic cruise! We loved the Regal and agree, they have a great crew.

 

[Lady Arwen]

4 hours ago, phonejock said:

@Thrak Thank you for the tip. Although it does sound like a lot of work. Trust me I more than made due with Bombay Sapphire Lol 😆 

 

i forgot to mention ( and it should have been the first thing) THE CREW WAS FANTASTIC.  I am sure the fallout from the pandemic made their lives much harder. They all were doing their best with grace and dignity. 

 No Hendricks!  Darn, I hope that changes for our British Isles sailing!  Did you notice if the bars offered premium tonics or just the fountain type?

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, Lady Arwen said:

No Hendricks!  Darn, I hope that changes for our British Isles sailing!

My wife echoes that sentiment.  Not my first choice, but definitely hers.   

[Lady Arwen]

7 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

My wife echoes that sentiment.  Not my first choice, but definitely hers.   

I also need the lovely premium tonics to mix with my beloved Hendricks.  My favourite is Cucumber.  

[JimmyVWine]

4 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

I also need the lovely premium tonics to mix with my beloved Hendricks.  My favourite is Cucumber.  

We are partial to Fever Tree. 

[phonejock]

Sorry Guys   I did not ask for any special tonics. All my drinks had tonic from a fountain gun.

Perhaps someone else can chime in with more info.

[Lady Arwen]

27 minutes ago, phonejock said:

Sorry Guys   I did not ask for any special tonics. All my drinks had tonic from a fountain gun.

Perhaps someone else can chime in with more info.

Thank you, anyway.  I may just buy some in Southampton and take it onboard in case they don’t have it.

[Lady Arwen]

42 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

We are partial to Fever Tree. 

Love their Lemon tonic and Mediterranean tonic.  Delicious!

[cruisegal40]

Thank you for this.  Very little reviews for Regal. We sail her on the 9th.  She is one of my all time favorite ships. Glad you have a good time.

[ptneely]

I was also on the March 19-26 Regal Princess cruise. It was wonderful. Great food. Great staff. I didn’t hear a single complainer all cruise. 
 

One question: I started feeling mildly sick (felt like a slight cold) on the last full day of the cruise (Saturday). On Sunday night after getting back home, I felt much worse and tested positive for COVID. Does Princess want to know about this? I looked online and saw nothing about wanting to know.

[nini]

Thank you for the review. We loved the Regal in the Fall of 2018! My sister and BIL were with us and we had so much fun!