Regal Princess October 14 to 21, 2017 New England/Canada

At Concerto dining room dressed in our suggested Smart Casual duds we were met by the charming hostess Lisette who had good news for us- our desired table at the back-#312 was free!

Room to stretch out back here, next to the wine-bottle room where they have the Winemaker's Dinner. One of those was in progress. Tonight, Tuesday, was Italian Night Menu. My bottle of Malbec was retrieved from Sabatini's.

Julius Caesar was an Italian boy who spent this spare time creating the Caesar salad so I ordered one

Carol enjoyed a mixed greens salad

 

 

 

Norris,

I'm almost caught up. The sunset pictures of Boston are amazing. Your pictures keep getting better and better.

Judy

PS Back to Sabatini's pix.

Before sailing I had considered and discussed the Chef's Table Lumiere experience with Carol but we decided not to try booking one. The WineMakers dinner sounded good too-less elaborate. We like dining alone is the bottom line really and we like choosing what we will eat.

I don't think the topic is entirely off the table for the future though.

As we are siting between courses in the Concerto I see a stack of menus or wine lists outside the Wine room and pull one over to take a peak.

I like the cover which is shaped like a wine barrel, a nice touch

(pardon the crap pocket camera photo)



 

 



 

 

Camera shake but if you are drunk it might look normal



 

 

Maybe next time. Then something unexpected and most welcome happened....

On this day we walked off the ship and walked around Bar Harbor a bit, then had lunch at Galyns (lobster roll and chowder for me and fish for DH.) Afterwards we did the tour of Acadia in a 10 passenger luxury van with driver and guide. Because we did not rush to get on the first bus, our bus only had 8 passengers so there was lots of room to spread out on the 4 bench seats. Our guide was a former park ranger and he explained how Acadia was started as an area for wealthy summer homes which were destroyed in a forest fire in 1947 that resulted in the land being turned into a National Park. He pointed out the many ruined stone walls, stone staircases and foundations in the area and explained how the fire affected the flora and fauna in the area so that we could spot new growth as opposed to old growth - very interesting. The tour include Thunder Hole, the lighthouse and the summit of Cadillac Mountain with a stop for popovers and blueberry lemonade in the park. On the way up Cadillac Mountain we spotted a porcupine walking along the road. The guide said he had never seen one so far up the mountain. All in all it was an awesome day! It had been many years since I had visited Bar Harbor and it was just as I remember. Truly magical.

I had wondered what that other cruise ship was - I thought maybe a Holland America ship, but now I know it was Crystal Serenity! Thanks for answering that question!

That night we ate at the Chef's Table. It was a lot of food. Frankly, I was mostly full after the 4 appetizers they served us in the kitchen so I barely ate the wild mushroom risotto and could hardly touch the massive entree much less the huge dessert. All and all it was a great meal, just way too much food!

Norris, the Thirsty Whale we enjoyed the clam chowder and yummy breaded shrimp:

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Norris

Another Fan signing in late with good reason. In October when you started this story we had just returned from a Trans Atlantic cruise from Southampton to Fort Lauderdale on the Caribbean Princess. And, that had followed our ride on the Ruby from Vancouver to Seattle to Alaska back to Seattle.

So, my list of Honey Do's was.....pages...long. Today I just finished upgrading the guest bathroom in prep for the Hungry Hoard that will fall on us for the Holidays with knife and fork in hand.

Mrs 4x4 was really bummed out when she found out that Hector had moved off the CB. She had decided that he was her main attraction to go to the MDR. Three different cruises he sang to us.

Your photo's bring back good memories of our 10 day classic Canada and New England Cruise on the CB in Sept 2015 from New York North to Quebec City. Yup, Hector was there also.

Will continue to follow along and will sign in Next year to catch your Trip Report when you get back.

Thanks

Bob

I am finally all caught up! Wow, those Bar Harbor photos were gorgeous!! I've never been there (and perhaps I missed my chance after years of taking long weekend trips to Maine), but it was great to see such a beautiful town through your eyes :) Thanks again for posting!

Norris, I just booked the Regal based on your great review. So looking forward to it!

A fantastic show and Miss Broadway sitting beside me was beside herself. A great way to end a great day!

We are sailing through the night the 128 miles to Saint John our first Canadian port at a leisurely 12 knots.

I promised to sprinkle in some interior shots for those who haven't been on the Regal before so that is what is coming up next....

Norris, I just booked the Regal based on your great review. So looking forward to it!

Bold move Babs!

You won't be disappointed I am sure.

I'm glad you are here, reading along.

Thank you!

Norris

That night we ate at the Chef's Table. It was a lot of food. Frankly, I was mostly full after the 4 appetizers they served us in the kitchen so I barely ate the wild mushroom risotto and could hardly touch the massive entree much less the huge dessert. All and all it was a great meal, just way too much food!

That was one thing we considered having seen a few photo reviews. We both hate to leave great food on the plate. Mainly though we order a la carte rather than tasting menus.

We can always starve ourselves beforehand. We have had 10 hour stretches between meals on vacation as we buzz around trying to see it all, running on adrenalin.

I am sure it is a great and different cruise experience and kudos to Princess for making food a focus to set them apart.

Thanks for your recap of your Bar Harbor day.

Norris

Oh I'd hoped you had a chance to try the Seafood bar - we didn't get there at all but it looked like it would be good!

Norris,

. . . Here's a link to some of the pictures I took in Acadia. Hopefully it will peak you interest in returning for a longer stay:

John

John, thanks for sharing your Acadia photos. Brought back memories of our summer auto trip out there (fr Mich.) in the 1990s. We stayed at a motel that overlooked Frenchman Bay, a few miles from town. We were also there via cruise ship a few years ago when we explored more of the town on foot--charming!

Norris, really enjoying your review, and the pictures are making me homesick for the Regal. We sailed her on one of her first Caribbean cruises but haven't sailed her again since 2014. We'll be back on board in June for a Baltic Cruise, so anticipation is building with all your beautiful photos. Sure hope Born to Dance will still be on the entertainment menu for next summer. Sounds like a fabulous show especially if you love Broadway, which I do. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I love this itinerary too, so it brings back good memories of last year's New England/Canadian cruise.

Susan

John, thanks for sharing your Acadia photos. Brought back memories of our summer auto trip out there (fr Mich.) in the 1990s. We stayed at a motel that overlooked Frenchman Bay, a few miles from town. We were also there via cruise ship a few years ago when we explored more of the town on foot--charming!

Just catching up with this. Looks like a fabulous cruise, one that I want to do someday.

Norris, really enjoying your review, and the pictures are making me homesick for the Regal. We sailed her on one of her first Caribbean cruises but haven't sailed her again since 2014. We'll be back on board in June for a Baltic Cruise, so anticipation is building with all your beautiful photos. Sure hope Born to Dance will still be on the entertainment menu for next summer. Sounds like a fabulous show especially if you love Broadway, which I do. Thanks for sharing your experiences. I love this itinerary too, so it brings back good memories of last year's New England/Canadian cruise.

 

Susan

Susan, glad to have you aboard.

Carol is the Broadway maven but for me it was interesting to see the different dance styles as the years have passed and from energetic recognizable dance moves (hoofing) to something more like body poetry/languid mime even. As I said I think Princess provide really great entertainment in song and dance. The last show we saw had 25 people on the stage but I'll save that for later...

The one thing missing (although I spent very little time in the Piazza) was the acrobats and daring jugglers and balancers that have thrilled me in the past in the Piazza on Grand Class ships. When I post the patters at the end maybe I'll see that I missed some or confirm they weren't there. I love circus acts up close.

Norris

Oh I'd hoped you had a chance to try the Seafood bar - we didn't get there at all but it looked like it would be good!

I am lousy at seeing everything there is to see and enjoying all a ship has to offer and always say "next time". A port intensive cruise on a ship with so much going on means I miss an awful lot of the treats provided-Seafood, Bellini's,Vines, Alfredos , IC,Crooners-you name it and I just walk past it with a camera at 6 a.m. Carol refers to me as "restless Norris" as I am all over the ship taking pictures and talking to people (smokers usually) . Our next cruise is 57 days away-8 weeks- and has 4 sea days (Hooray says SeaDay Carol) and maybe I will relax on the Crown.

I think I have already said somewhere in this that I would sail this flawed ship in the Caribbean with 3 islands in 7 days so that I could explore and savor her on the sea days as she has so much to offer inside in terms of bars/eateries/entertainment.

Norris

Just catching up with this. Looks like a fabulous cruise, one that I want to do someday.

I love to see "new" faces reading this. Welcome and thanks for the comment.

We have only 3 cruise days left and I have been writing this for 3 weeks. I have so many ship photos and excursion photos to beautiful places and food porn galore still to show you.

Caveats aside regarding my love/hate of the Regal design we are very happy that we sailed her to these ports which rightfully look mundane compared with our Italy cruises. We enjoyed the experience- is the bottom line. I will elaborate more of course as this progresses.

Good to have you reading!

Norris