#1winelover

While i don't have a cruise booked on Regal, I'm still following along her progress with interest. I see the siren call of a new thread was too much to resist for you!

Well Kristin, you can always book the Regal Maiden Caribbean and the following b2b and join the 2nd bag of mixed nuts on another Regal adventure!! :D We have a few things planned so far. Think about it!

For some folks doing this same itineray, the 'been there, done that' itinerary, the ship is the draw. The opportunity to just relax for an entire week without the distraction of the ports of call. That's pretty much why Royal Princess repeats are booking Regal Princess. And why I certainly don't mind doing this exact same itinerary again even though I did it twice on a B2B this past December.

 

Holland-America maybe has better itineraries because their ships, although they are nice, may not be quite as new, interesting, or have as much to offer. ;)

 

The three port eastern on Regal Princess is just fine by me.

 

:D

David! I totally agree with the NO-pressure sailing on a "been there, done that" itinerary. I did that on the Royal and intend to do it on the Regal, but on the Regal I'll have my normal sailing partner with me, so it will be somewhat of a "show and tell" trip as well! :D

Larry & Keith, Don't want to hijack Dave's thread. Probably won't be able to sail this year. I'll Email you at a later date.

Deal! WLARRYC at MINDSPRING dot com Caps not required.

Hi Dave,

It is good to "see" you back.

I was wondering how long it was going to take before you got this thread going.... LOL.

I know it will never compare to the "Royal" thread, but I am sure that it will give plenty of very useful information to everyone on CC.

 

Again, Welcome back, my friend.

 

Joe

Well, if it isn't "Hulk Hogan!" How the heck are ya, Joe? So good to see you on the board again! I've missed my Royal friends a lot. I'm on the Regal for the Maiden and b2b this coming November 6 & 9, so I'm here picking up what ever info I can! Sure would like you and Amelia to join our roll calls for the Regal. Think that might happen?? We can regain our seats at Crooners, and maybe get our signs back! :D

Be well, my friend. So good to see you again!!

This won't be like the last thread I did, but will instead be 90-day Countdown thread to her Maiden Voyage to try and consolidate all the media releases, news, and images that we find of REGAL PRINCESS between now and May 20th, 2014.

 

So, let the Countdown begin!!! :D

 

Here are the most recent images of Regal Princess taken earlier this month:

 

 

(Credit pictures to Alberto Marchesi)

 

 

Regal Princess is currently in dry dock at the Fincantieri shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy being outfitted with a replacement rudder and getting her hull cleaned prior to her Sea Trails...

 

 

 

More to come as any new information is released!

 

:D

So good to be back with you on your "following the construction" type thread, David! I'm excited!!

Interesting, David. More fix 'em ups in the works!! Thanks for the updates!

Hi Larry,

 

The updates may not be on this thread exactly, although I'll earmark this one just so that we can try to keep everyone in one place.

 

:D

Thank you, David! I shall try to keep up! :)

I'll definitely keep posting any new updates as they come along...

 

:D

David! I am here following! I'll be on the Maiden Caribbean (3-day) and the b2b 7-day in November, so I'm interested in whatever info you can pass along! Our roll call has 41 folks signed up already and we still have over 260 days to go! :eek:

I feel as though you are all my 'compadres' and that I can share thoughts with you, so I hope you won't mind if a grumble a bit here about reviews. I just spent some time reading CC reviews of RP. I, obviously, do not expect everyone to agree with my assessment of the ship, bit at times I think the reviewer was a) never on the Royal b) was on another ship but thought they were reviewing the Royal Princess or c) likes to look for the negative in life. Here are a few examples: one reviewer was on the Dec. 14 sailing (there was no 12/14, it was either 12/8 or 12/15 or a different month altogether; one reviewer was told that Sabatini's had great steaks (presumably they meant Crown Grill and although they remembered incorrectly, they included it in review; my personal favorite remark embarkation was "only somewhat irksome when having to run the ubiquitous gauntlet of photographers (was that the two photographers at the top of the escalator who if you smiled and said "no thank you" simply turned to the next passengers?) Everything is subjective. In fact, I wrote in my review that even my husband and I didn't agree about food venues. However, do you like myself ever feel like you want to write a response to some reviews? Anyway, thank you for letting me gripe just a bit! I feel so much better.

I totally agree with you! I spent 12 days on the Royal on the Maiden Caribbean and b2b and loved every minute of it. I have a b2b booked for August YVR to Alaska (Whittier) and am getting very tempted to try to book something on the Regal. I miss the Royal a lot! And with the small improvements made to the Regal, that could well become another favorite ship! ;) Only a little more time and some phone calls to my Princess TA will tell!

Hi Mary Jane,

 

That happened in the southern end of the state near Charleston, and I live in the north-central part not too far from Pennsylvania. I'm sure, since it basically shutdown our state capital, that our lawmakers will be busy... ;)

 

On a side note, I received an email from Cruise Critic saying my review had been selected as one of their Reviews of the Week:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1968568

 

:D

Heartiest congrats to you, David. Everyone here thought it was top notch, so I'm glad that CC saw it the same way!! Ya done gud! :D

Hi Larry,

 

We arrived at 12:15pm and walked right on. Thanks for all your great advice. The Royal was so lovely. Our handicapped mini was enormous and our steward kept it sparkling. I'm sure he appreciated the nice tip.

 

No problems with seasickness except when I tendered to Princess Cays. I found gingerale at the bar and had it along with a Bonine tablet, I was fine in about half an hour. It was especially bad waiting our turn to get back on the ship and I was fine. Only took one other tablet the whole cruise;it was a bit rocky the last two sea days. Guess I'm a better sailor than expected.:p

 

Blondie, our sweet marmalade feral cat is doing well, even in all this cold and snow.

She likes the glass house filled with small animal bedding. She can see out and bury down to keep warm. I'm not sure if it's fat or fur that makes her so fluffy.

She gets plenty to eat.

 

Thanks again for everything. Wishing you a healthy, happy new year.:)

Hi Linda!

Happy New Year!! Sorry you got caught by the SSB (sea sick bug), but those Tenders are not the best sea-going vessels for "comfort!" :eek:

I had a curve ball thrown at me by my feral "gray kitty II" the other day. I walked out my driveway (on trash pickup day as usual) and there was my gray feral cat at the edge of the driveway next door. Just sitting there watching me...then gave me a "meow" and kept sitting there. Then I noticed two gray/white kittens about 10 yards away. Silly me, speaking to the gray feral says, "Are those yours?" Yeah, like I'm gonna get an answer. I went back into the house, got some Sheba canned cat food and brought it out to the "usual place" near the end of my driveway. Here comes gray feral cat, followed shortly by the two kittens hopping in from the next driveway! Well, Momma Kitty (gray feral) was not a very nice and sharing Mommy. She hogged the bowl even though the kittens tried their best to get a bite or two. Final outcome....I brought out the Iams dry food and spread it over about a foot (12") line so that all three of them could get a shot at something to eat. All of them are impossible to approach. I guess the original gray feral is easier because I can get within a couple of feet of her, and unless I try to get closer or make a "friendly move toward her," she will just sit there and keep the distance. The kittens? Well, they start scooting the moment you head in their direction!

So my new year is well underway! I go back to work on Monday (1/6/14), after about 2 weeks off over both holidays. Glad I have GPS in the car so I can find my way back! :rolleyes: Happy and prosperous New Year to all and may you enjoy ALL the times you are given in 2014, both the nice and the not so nice. Each of them have an important purpose in your life. God Bless!

Taking Royal Princess March 2nd. Anyone know how early we can get on board?

Ship leaves at 16:00 (4:PM). Thanks.

Probably, ALL instructions from Princess will say board at 12:30pm. That will avoid a good part of the "rush" and get you onboard quickly and well before sailing. However, there will be many, many people arriving by 11:00am who will wait in line to get into the terminal building and into their respective lines (Priority = Platinum, Elite; or non-priority = 1st timers, Gold and Ruby - or whatever it's called). My personal experience since my Princess cruise #1 has been that they will do all they possibly can to get you onboard as quickly/effortlessly as they can. My first piece of advice would be to NOT rush yourself silly trying to get on the ship as soon as she pulls into the port! Not gonna happen! And why put yourself thru all that stress?? Take your time, enjoy your vacation! Meet and make new friends even in the line getting onboard!

Have a Happy New Year and a WONDERFUL voyage!!! :D

That is a very thiughtful gift, jangor!

 

And thanks to Dave, my IPHONE photos are getting a lot better. Now I just need to go on another cruise to test my skills!!

And the winner is ...... SunsetBeachGal gets the prize for posting Message #1000 on this thread. WTG!!! Christmas present just a day late! :D Have a very Happy New Year!!

Dave,

 

What a wonderful journey you have taken us on. I am more excited than ever to sail away for the New Years Cruise on Dec. 29th.

 

Where would you suggest is the best option for a quick bite once we board The Royal Princess?[/quote]

 

Sorry, but I just have to mention your TWO posts asking the same question that IS ANSWERED in the post your are replying to! :confused: I would answer your question but feel it would be a better experience for you to READ and absorb what you look at and eliminate the need for a question.

 

Please do not feel picked on as there are a plethora of similar posts appearing daily on the CC forums. I guess folks just need to assimilate better! :D

 

Sorry David, I know this is not the way you would reply to this post.

I thought it all got a bit out of hand too. I was going to suggest that the germophobes go on a missions trip to some place like Guatemala to gain perspective on the situation, but I was afraid people would get angry with me.

 

Americans mock Europeans because of laissez faire attitude towards personal hygiene and Europeans mock Americans for over the top germophobia, and perhaps an excessive sense of entitlement.

 

It's only a small percentage of people actually doing the "mocking" and they see themselves as simply expressing their opinion, albeit strongly. People with strong opinions usually also express them often, giving others the feeling that they're being "taken to school" by the the opinionated person or persons. Hopefully we can all see that this is an illusion of egos.

 

People raised in the land of the free and home of the brave often do express themselves strongly, because we are free to do so.

 

We are also free to choose to take offense (or simply be annoyed ) by others strongly worded opinions. Or we can choose not to take the offense.

 

One of the things we like best about this thread is the positive and upbeat heart of this thread, which is Dave Walker. So I ask, WWDD ? (and I pray this post is a balm, not a thorn)

AMEN! This was very well put! Let us ALL remember that FREEDOM OF SPEECH does NOT give anyone the right to belittle, berate, or otherwise override or negate EVERYONE ELSES Freedom of Speech! And Dave has exemplified that in spades!! Remember the saying from perhaps hundreds of years ago and carried through the 50's, at least? "If you can't say anything nice, don't say anything at all!" Perhaps we could translate that into our current state of affairs, what with God taken out of Government, Schools, and just about anywhere else ...... "suck it up, Dude! It is what it is!" :eek: But I like David's approach much better!!!:)

I've written some final thoughts, and although these just barely touch on the two weeks I spent aboard Royal Princess, they simply cannot cover all of the experiences I had.

 

;)

David! Most excellent coverage of your 2 weeks onboard. I've copied it, put it into a MS Word document and will save it in my archives (plus share it with my cruise buddies and partner).

Glad you enjoyed the video of the M&G. I'm so glad I could make it happen!

Talk to you soon.

It's probably a matter of personal preference but the containers, to me, are really, really tacky. Plus, if you don't use shower gel (many don't, including me), it's nice that they also have soap. From now on, I'm going to always bring shampoo and ask for soap... and use the tacky container holder as a shelf.

Pam, I couldn't agree more. NEVER use shower gel! Never have and never will. SOAP! born with it, raised with it, and will die with it. (But not on a rope around my neck!) :eek:

What better way to end a vacation than to have your connecting flight cancelled. Will be spending the night in Dulles. :(

Yeah, that's the bad, nasty weather coming across the Midwest, to the northeast. Clogging everything up!! Hang in there! You will make it sooner or later. Prayers your way!!

Which terminal did they let everybody off at?

2, as usual! Royal is still sitting there and visible on the FLL Port cams!

http://www.ftlauderdalewebcam.com/

David! Strange thing happened with Grey Kitty II the other day. Feral cats stay outside! I came out to my garage on Tuesday and there was Feral Grey Kitty II on the roof of my car. As I entered the garage, of course she scrambled off the roof, TOWARD ME, but onto the floor and immediately under the car and headed toward the open door. Then she stopped, still under the car, and meow'd for about 30 seconds. I went into the house, got a bowl of Iams cat food and came back out, but she had run across the street and stood there watching. I rattled the bowl, calmly called her, then put the bowl down and got into my car and went to work. Naturally, when I got home from work that afternoon, the bowl was empty. Just seems strange that while you are away from home, MY Grey Kitty II gets just a wee bit more friendly. I'm sure YOUR Grey Kitty will be all over you once you walk through the door at home!! :-) Thanks for your sharing and excellent coverage. I'll stay tuned for follow-ups. Safe travels home!

I had not originally planned on doing a Live thread, and want to say THANK YOU to sunsetbeachgal (Carol) for starting this thread, and for everyone's Bon Voyage Wishes that truly encouraged me to want to share my experiences aboard Royal Princess with you.

 

There are sooooo many people that have come before me, that have commented on the many other Live threads and reviews, and without you I could have never properly adjusted my expectations prior to embarking in Fort Lauderdale.

 

Tomorrow is going to be a very busy day, trying to do everything again 'for the first time' that I've already done in these past 13 days. Lots of final experiences to make sure are checked off that 'List', a final Bellini, parting goodbye's to my fellow Cruise Critic shipmates who have each added something very special to my time here, and yes, the dreaded packing of everything back into the suitcase.

 

I'm really glad that all of you have enjoyed the pictures and updates, and there will be a couple more coming in my final remaining hours aboard Royal Princess.

 

Stay tuned.... ;)

David! I can only say one thing that I think sums it up! YOU, my friend, are an AMAZING person! I know no one else that has your dedication, proficiency at what you do, or the exact way to say/do things 100% of the time as do you! I am so glad that we met (albeit, via internet/cruise critic). I would surely wish we could meet again, face 2 face next time! :)

I agree. Dave's thread is one of the best ever on this site. I'm LOVING cruising with him and am kicking myself that I didn't try all the things he has.

 

We had a GREAT group on the Royal T/A. That had a lot to do with making it a terrific cruise. Quite a few of us are also booked on the Royal's T/A in September. Come along! :) Everyone's welcome! I can't wait to board the Royal again.

Pam! A very inviting offer, for sure. I'd love to do that, but have to watch the length of vacations I take due to our government reporting, and me being the QA guy that is on the delivery team. <sigh> But perhaps by then we won't even have a semblance of a government left to deliver reports to, and that would either make it easier, or totally impossible! :confused: But I'll sure keep it in mind. I'm leaning toward the new Regal just for comparison sake!

Not Pam, but no, intranet is free. When you can get it to work. ;)

Pia! I shall certainly 2nd that one!!! And to add to the dismay, I have an ANDROID, which seems to be a nasty word in tech-world anymore! Everything is for the IPhone! However, I did hear that some folks with a different model HTC than I had seemed to have better luck than did I, and the Samsung users were doing even better. Leave it to me to pick a loser phone and miss out on all the fun! However, My chair, glass and lifting arm worked really, really great at Crooners EVERY night! :D

Dave,

 

Really enjoying your pictures and commentary about the Royal. Looks like you are having a great time.

 

Unless Princess has changed what is on the in-room TV's I'm guessing you are not getting current weather conditions. Pass along to some of your friends that getting home on Sunday might be challenging. Big winter storm coming out of Texas today and moving up the East Coast through the weekend. From the Great Lakes to upper New England predictions of 2-8 inches possible with more once lake effect kicks in. Wintery Mix south of Indianapolis stretching toward New York City. Some areas from Upper New York state to Maine could see 12 inches by Sunday evening. Ft. Lauderdale Sunday morning is predicting mid 70"s and 30% chance of thunderstorms.

 

I hate to be a party pooper but you guys are going to get a hard smack of reality when you get home. I wish everyone safe travel home on Sunday.

 

Marty

Good job, Marty! I was hoping you would kick in with some updates for our friend David, and his shipmates! You, of course, are the ultimate Weather Guru and I just knew in my heart that you would come through with some timely tips for their arrival back at Port Reality! :eek:

I've got one more week of actual work, then off until Jan. 6th. I'll enjoy the downtime for sure! I wish you and yours the most blessed Christmas and a very happy New Year. Keep in touch.

Thanks again for taking us along. After our cruise was over, I still had yours to look forward too!!

 

Your photos have been marvelous. You have the eye for sure. You showed me things I never saw in 19 days! Must be why we are going to book the 20 day Caribbean Explorer in April 2015. We need to get back on the Royal. :D

 

By the way, you had the one wine dinner menu we didn't have. There are three in all and they are all fabulous.

 

Cheers, Denise

I could not agree more, Denise! I have been following this thread since it started, marveling at David's expertise with framing and taking just the "right shot" EVERY time! The more I look the more I miss the Royal. So I am sure that there is a Regal in my future, and probably another royal as well! But first I need to get my Alaska b2b on the Crown out of the way (August 2014). I doubt however, if there will ever assemble another group such as we had on the Maiden and follow-up b2b. What a terrific bunch of people we were graced to share those events with. Miss them all!