I need Regal Panama Canal info

While on board the Sun Princess last week. my relatives booked the April 23 Panama Canal itinerary in a BA on the Regal. Does anyone have info on the ship or the ports?

CCL Holiday 2000

CCL Elation 2001

CCL Pride 2002

CCL Ecstacy 2003

RCL AOS 2003

Sun Princess May 14 2004!!

Golden Princess 10-2004!!!

I can't help you with the ports but the Regal is a wonderful ship. She is small compared to todays mega-liners but she has been well maintained. There is no PC dining on Regal because she has only 1 dining room. There is also no wraparound promanade deck but there deck at the back of the ship on Caribe deck with 2 hot tubs. There is also a secret deck forward on either Caribe or Baja deck that a lot of people don't know about. She is easy to get around on because she is small and the crew is wonderful. They should have a great time on the Regal. She is one of our favorite ships.

Sheila

Til the Regal to Alaska

Grandeur of the Seas 5/04

Regal Princess 11/03

Summit 10/02

Enchantment of the Seas 09/01

mringenoldus,

Here is our personal page on the Regal Princess, which has many Regal Princess links to photo albums, personal cruise websites, the bridge cam and more. It also has a number of Regal Princess review posts where you could ask more questions. The Photo Albums include the Panama Canal itinerary. We continue to update the page:

http://cruiseclues.com/shipstips/regalprincess.htm

Happy Cruising, Buil, http://cruiseclues.com

Sitmar, RCCL, Costa, HAL, Princess, Royal Cruise Line, Celebrity, Renaissance, Disney, MSC Lirica

"We cannot change the direction of the wind... but we can adjust our sails"

I can vouch for the Regal. Although she has no PC dining and only 1 dining room, she does offer a number of alternatives to dining in the DR each evening.

Pizzaria, which is a sit down restaurant where you order from the menu and it is cooked to order. They offer several type pizza and a calzone, beer, wine, soda.

Cafe del Sol Bistro, open every evening til late for formal type dining in a section of the buffet area. We saw Capt Romano eating there the evening we were there.

Of course, there is the usual room service, hamburger/hot dog/bratwurst grill, and the buffet. I am not certain if the buffet remains open for informal dining during the Bistro hours.

Gloria

Grand Princess, Eastern, April 2001

Grand Princess, Western,April 2002

Regal to Hawaii, April 5-20, 2004

I have a review/pictures/etc. from 2 cruises on the Regal Princess:

Alaska Cruise 2002

Hawaii Cruise 2003

As to GloriaF's post, if I recall the buffet is open during the late night hours that the Bistro is operating, but has an extremely limited selection (some breads, cheese, fruit, etc.)

Oh and Cruiseclues, feel free to link to my pages if you wish.

Thanks for the replies!! They have chosen the late seating and like the smaller ships so this sounds very well suited to them.

They are early to mid seventies and quite active and fun. I'm guessing at that time of year the age group on the Regal may be similar.

Did I hear that the ship isn't stopping in Cartegena any more?? They would be disappointed as my aunt was looking forward to that port.

CCL Holiday 2000

CCL Elation 2001

CCL Pride 2002

CCL Ecstacy 2003

RCL AOS 2003

Sun Princess May 14 2004!!

Golden Princess 10-2004!!!

Hi--

I was on the Regal Panama cruise in February this year. The average age was about 70-75. There were a few of us younger....I am 48. I was traveling with my 84-year old mother, a friend and her mother. There are plenty of good shows and entertainment. As someone said earlier, you can eat dinner not only in the dining room, but also at the Pizzeria, Bistro, and the alternative dining room at the back of the ship where the cafeteria normally operates....it was very nice and quiet with nice piano music during dinner.

When going through the canal, if you want to be in the fromt of the ship, get up early to get your spot on deck 10 forward. Its the best place but get there early!! No, for safety reasons, the ship doesn't stop in Cartegena. I don't think any of them do now. We stopped instead longer in Aruba and then we also stopped in Huatulco. Huatulco was a great little stop. We went into downtown and also rented a boat and went to a private beach to go snorkeling. Having more time in Aruba allowed us to take a cab and see all the sights as well as spend a couple of hours snorkeling and sunning at Baby Beach....it's the best beach for snorkeling and great for sunning...they also have a concession stand and restrooms there. In Puntarenas, Costa Rica, my mom and I rented a cab on our own. He took us to see some sights, but we also went on the Skywalk tour....not with a group.....the taxi driver took us there and arranged for a private guide. It was great and mom really enjoyed it. You walk through the jungle on a path about 1 3/4 miles.

Great information, Thanks!!

CCL Holiday 2000

CCL Elation 2001

CCL Pride 2002

CCL Ecstacy 2003

RCL AOS 2003

Sun Princess May 14 2004!!

Golden Princess 10-2004!!!

On the Regal Hawaii 4/5/04 cruise, 70 would have been considered YOUNG!! We are mid 50s and were "the kids" except for a very few. Lots of canes, walkers, wheelchairs, but sweet older people. Like someone said earlier on another post, it's nice to know that we will still be able to cruise and be taken care of (the staff was great for helping with chairs, trays, etc) when we get older and less mobile.

We had our little group and had a great cruise!

Gloria

Grand Princess, Eastern, April 2001

Grand Princess, Western,April 2002

Regal to Hawaii, April 5-20, 2004

The "secret deck", though not much of a secret any more , is on the Baja deck and is only accessible on the starboard side. Go as far forward as possible and there is a door that will get you out there.

The Regal is one of my favourite ships. I have sailed on her 3 times and would jump at the opportunity to sail on her again!

Cruising! It's like being in the Garden of Eatin'!