Regal Princess - Stuck on sandbar in the Amazon

[Packhorse]

At 10.10am local time the Regal Princess ran aground on a sandbar.

 

1 1/2 hours later and the captain is still trying to free us.

 

 

We have really enjoyed our time aboard so far and love the ship, food and public areas.

 

High and dry .. at the moment, but what a great ship to be stuck on.

 

 

Packhorse

 

75+ cruises

[Druke I]

Interesting.

 

I agree - great ship. We were on her, 3-9/22-06, 'round the Horn, Buenos Aires to Santiago.

 

Enjoy the Amazon - it is a great trip - we did it years ago on the original Pacific Princess.

[meemeec]

Wow! Another adventure in cruising. Are there tides in the Amazon and, if so, will that help or hinder progess?

[T&J]

Doesn't surprise me that they're stuck on a sandbar...the Management and staff are so inept on that ship...and Druke I, having been on the Regal on March 9/06 sailing and b2b on the March 22/06 sailing I couldn't disagree with you more....horrible ship, food, entertainment, etc...They are repeating the same mistakes they made with the Royal Princess last year. As soon as they knew it was leaving the fleet, the ship's services, standards, passenger areas and food and overall cruising experience has becoming sub-par. There's a reason she is nicknamed by Santa Clarita and onboard ..."The Random Regal"

[Packhorse]

The Regal Princess freed herself from the sandbar at 11.50 local time by using its bow thrusters, emptying the pools and probably grey water and some balast.

 

We're on our way again, certainly the captain sounded a lot happier when he announced we were freed.

 

Packhorse :)

 

75+ cruises

[CruiseAholic]

I disagree about the Royals last year, I was on her just a few months before she left the fleet and the food and service were great!

[coiran]

We went around the horn in February on the Regal - GREAT ship, very experienced captain and crew - food and entertainment was above excellent - Joe Sackenheim is one of Princess best male lead entertainers - The ship is on excellent shape for her age.

Ron

[Murphey]

Doesn't surprise me that they're stuck on a sandbar...the Management and staff are so inept on that ship...and Druke I, having been on the Regal on March 9/06 sailing and b2b on the March 22/06 sailing I couldn't disagree with you more....horrible ship, food, entertainment, etc...They are repeating the same mistakes they made with the Royal Princess last year. As soon as they knew it was leaving the fleet, the ship's services, standards, passenger areas and food and overall cruising experience has becoming sub-par. There's a reason she is nicknamed by Santa Clarita and onboard ..."The Random Regal"

 

Amazing comments.....we were on her for 20 days in November. I can't believe she has gone downhill is such a short time. Granted, she doesn't have all the whistles and bells of the newer ships, but she makes up for it in a hundred other ways.

 

Glad you are off the sandbar.......I'm sure the Captain was not a happy camper!!

[envy4u]

Trust me T&J knows what he is talking about ! Not that he needs defending !

[Fuzzzy]

I am looking forward to this year's Christmas cruise on the Regal through the Panama Canal. I sure hope she is still ship shape for that cruise. :(

[Pam in CA]

Doesn't surprise me that they're stuck on a sandbar...the Management and staff are so inept on that ship...and Druke I, having been on the Regal on March 9/06 sailing and b2b on the March 22/06 sailing I couldn't disagree with you more....horrible ship, food, entertainment, etc...They are repeating the same mistakes they made with the Royal Princess last year. As soon as they knew it was leaving the fleet, the ship's services, standards, passenger areas and food and overall cruising experience has becoming sub-par. There's a reason she is nicknamed by Santa Clarita and onboard ..."The Random Regal"

I have to say that I disagree with you based on my experience -- keeping in mind that two people on the same cruise can have exact opposite experiences and opinions. We were on the Regal two years ago and loved it. The food and service was excellent, as was the CD and the entertainment. We were also on the Royal Princess on her last voyage to Rome before heading to Southampton and P&O. We did not see any decline in food or service, both of which were excellent and very varied for a 21-day cruise. I'd sail on the Regal again in a heartbeat and was saddened when the Royal was sent over to P&O. IMHO, both are/were great ships.

[T&J]

CruiseAholic and others, I was on the Royal last year 2 months before she left the exact same itinerary as the Regal this year Buenos Aires to FLL. I was so tempted to write a review about the ship but the only good comment I would have made was the oversized showers and that's about it!...the other reason I didn't bother posting because I know and read on here so many "Die Hard" traditionalists that are such fans of the Regal I didn't spoil the fantasy!.... a little snipit below for you all to sink your teeth into...

 

1. Took 11 days to bake a choclate chip cookie correctly as on other ships...they were coined "hockey pucks" they were so hard you could loose a tooth!...spoke to F&B Manager, Sous Chef, Chef, Maitre'd....how difficult is it to bake a cookie whereby the is no interaction involved sicne the dough is packaged a premade????

2. Air Conditioning was not able to cool my stateroom below 24.3 C after passing Puerto Montt all the way to Aruba!

3. Comon areas are ratty and tattered and torned carperting, upholstery and common areas.

4. Food items in salad bar still frozen from "quick snap" process.

5. Salad bar outside on Dec 12 hidden but better selection that the buffet go figure.

6. only 4 entertainers inseat 9 on Grand Class ships 29 days of repetition is abit much to take!

7. Laundry service wasn't reliable ...e.g first 5 days no laundry after leaving Buenos Aires althought they kept taking my laundry everyday and not communicating they had a problem...this continued throughtout the 29 days...Presto service doesn't EXIST on this ship!

8. Cruise Director JJ Ulrich was absent throughout most of the cruise and Asst' Cruise Direcor had to fill in a lot...unnacpetable and never seen such a thing on the 22 other Princess cruises.

 

The left hand doesn't know what the right hand is doing on this ship and it's obvious...please do not attempt to convince me otherwise....this ship opens and closes itself on it's own everyday! There is very little attention to detail paid to on this ship and it shows.....Ahhh... vive la "Radom Regal"...she'll never get my business again!..you couldn't pay me to cruise on that Tin Can again!

 

An Elite pax's viewpoint...

[spongerob]

Thanks for your comments T&J. Any time I've heard dire warnings about a ship that I'm looking forward to visiting, I've always had the best time. I'll be looking forward to a great cruise on Regal Princess in just a few months. I'll just be careful and approach the cookies with caution, LOL.

[bdjam]

Doesn't surprise me that they're stuck on a sandbar...the Management and staff are so inept on that ship...and Druke I, having been on the Regal on March 9/06 sailing and b2b on the March 22/06 sailing I couldn't disagree with you more....horrible ship, food, entertainment, etc...They are repeating the same mistakes they made with the Royal Princess last year. As soon as they knew it was leaving the fleet, the ship's services, standards, passenger areas and food and overall cruising experience has becoming sub-par. There's a reason she is nicknamed by Santa Clarita and onboard ..."The Random Regal"

The first time I sailed on Regal Princess I received the same sort of warnings that T&J is posting – including that the ship was nothing more than a barge, that it was sub-standard, worn and tattered and that the food on board was low quality. That was back in 1996 – and as you can see by my signature, I found quite the contrary and have chosen to cruise her many times since. Because she was in such excellent shape the last time I was on board, I find it hard to believe that she’s gone down so far. What would Princess gain by letting the standard of the ship deteriorate just because she was leaving the fleet? Would the complaints they receive balance out the lack of upkeep or the effects on future business - I doubt it. Anyway, I’ll be judging for myself next month.

And don’t disrespect the staff on board – some of those people are my friends and I know how they excellent they are at their jobs.

[ERsecurity]

Say hello to Salvatore & Luigi for me. This is one of the finest ships Princess runs. The crew is great. I would sail on it anytime....

[LARGIN]

bdjam.. I would like to hear your impression next month on the Regal. She is one of our favorites.. Don't know why "Highrollers" keep putting her down.

[coiran]

Of all of T & J's 8 negative comments, I must say, things must have greatly improved - I had just the opposite experience on our Feb 2006 South America sailing. It's amazing how everything can change fromk week to week on the same ship. I think, Spongerob, thet you will really enjoy your cruise on the Regal - one of Princess' finest.

Ron

[Coral]

We went around the horn in February on the Regal - GREAT ship, very experienced captain and crew - food and entertainment was above excellent - Joe Sackenheim is one of Princess best male lead entertainers - The ship is on excellent shape for her age.

 

Joe Sackenheim is awesome! Best male entertainer Princess has. I think he is leaving for break next month. I wonder what his next ship will be? We saw him on the Sun Princess last summer.

[bdjam]

bdjam.. I would like to hear your impression next month on the Regal. She is one of our favorites.. Don't know why "Highrollers" keep putting her down.

I can imagine that an entire cruise could be ruined if a cookie wasn’t cooked just right. But as also has been pointed out, if you’re a Grand Class junkie, then Regal Princess isn’t for you. But now that you mention gamblers...it all makes sense.

Say hello to Salvatore & Luigi for me. This is one of the finest ships Princess runs. The crew is great. I would sail on it anytime....

Tell me where I’ll find them – dining room? Should I ask for their table?

[ERsecurity]

Salvatore is the Maitre D and Luigi the Asst Maitre D. Both are very personable people. I even had met Luigi's family in Italy several years ago. Both were still on this last year.

 

This is one of the few ships that I went to the dining room for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner. The dining room is so well run at all meals it was wonderful. We even had singing waiters. The one exception to the dining room is to be sure to try a meal at the evening Bistro. Once again great.

[bdjam]

This is one of the few ships that I went to the dining room for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner. The dining room is so well run at all meals it was wonderful. We even had singing waiters. The one exception to the dining room is to be sure to try a meal at the evening Bistro. Once again great.

I haven’t eaten at the Bistro, but last time I was on board I heard nothing but excellent comments about it – I should give it a try this time! I’ll be sure to look for Salvatore and Luigi!

[CruisenOne]

We were on the Royal two years ago going into the Amazon.

 

The Captain told us that we had about three feet of clearance when we went across that sand bar at the mouth of the Amazon.

He told us the width of it; however, I can not recall the width.

 

So, getting stuck on it could be very easy. Given tides and currents.

 

We sailed on the Regal, six years ago. We thought that it was a great ship.

 

We recently were going to book it; but, our T/A recommended against it.

So, her current status is unknown to us.

[Murphey]

I haven’t eaten at the Bistro, but last time I was on board I heard nothing but excellent comments about it – I should give it a try this time! I’ll be sure to look for Salvatore and Luigi!

 

I would also recommend to you a Head Waiter: Barna. He is wonderful and extremely personable. He was considering taking a post this spring at the home office in training, but was undecided as of January. If he is still on board, between he and Salvatore, your dining experiences won't be matched! Have a wonderful cruise.....

[T&J]

Bdjam when you do frequent the Bistro next month please order for me the BBQ Salmon on the one of two rotating menus every 5 days...It is Salmon that has been pan fried so dry and then they "squirt" Kraft BBQ sauce over it...what a culinary delight it was!...NOT....anyways it doesn't boil down to a cookie that can't be baked properly, however if the simpliest things can't be had while onboard with a problem of consistency as on other ships on fleet it says a lot about the quality of the ship and how it's being runned by Senior Management.

 

I hope you all enjoy your travels aboard her and maybe Mercury was in retrograde while I was onboard for a month....I'll just leave it at that.

 

Renzo the Maitre'd is excellent and was disembarking shortly to go to the Sea Princess from June to August and so was Dominico my head waiter was staying on until June 14th, Karen the Food and Beverage Manager and Peter Pratt the PSD (who is retiring in 2 months time) as others were good if they are still onboard since they had a big change over in Fort Lauderdale on April 7th before going down the Amazon....maybe looking back a changeover in a large amount of staff is what was needed.

 

P.S Barna disembarked in Valparaiso on March 22/07 and would recommend Dominico the Head Waiter as the best onboard...made me the best Crepes Suzette I've had in a longtime....you see there was one more positive thing I could extrapolate other than the oversized shower.

[JackWP]

We were on the Amazon a few years ago on the Clipper Adventure. Our Captain said that the entire trip on the river required river pilots, with the pilots changing very often so each area along the river could get a cut of the fees.

 

Also, our captain on the American Queen told us that any river boat captain that claims he has never run aground is just a plain liarer, because we all have done that.