From Royal to Regal....review Dec.7-14

For the first time in our cruising history, we booked a cruise during the busy Christmas season. We saw a great price for the Regal and decided to enjoy a week at sea as a gift to each other. We had been on the Royal a few months earlier and had a wonderful time.

We have been hesitant to travel too far and on longer trips because of a family illness. So, the Regal was a perfect opportunity to get away.

When we arrived in Ft. Lauderdale, our reserved parking lot was barren and padlocked! Since we were unprepared for this surprise, and the ship was docked at pier 2, we parked in the port garage at twice the cost. We actually parked on the third level and opposite our cabin. It was very convenient since we knew the ship would be in the same position upon its return and we planned to walk off on our own.

Embarkation seemed problematic this trip with Princess trying staggered boarding by deck. Even though we had preferred boarding and our deck was first to board, the reps at the port were not seating people in any order after check in. We still were on board by 12:15, but there were many annoyed cruisers.

The Regal was just as beautiful as her sister ship with a bonus of being dressed for the holidays. Here are some of the decorations that were present when we boarded. A staff member said that they had only just begun.

Here are some pictures of the decorations.

We booked a cabin on the Emerald deck, E433, which is mid-ship and under the Sea Walk. It was listed as partially obstructed, but wasn't obstructed at all. It had an extended balcony and we found the location to be very convenient.We did not experience any intrusion on our privacy from the Sea Walk above. The only thing we found not working in the cabin was the card light switch. We had to use it like a normal light switch.:)

Here is a view straight out from the cabin

Here is a view to the right and down

Here is a view to the left and down

Here is a view above when seated on balcony

Great balcony. I think I'll see if it's available on my cruise.

The ship looks beautiful. I'm hoping the lot we're planning to use isn't padlocked. What a shocker!

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We used the mid-ship elevators with no problems during non-peak times, and used the forward elevators to go up to the Retreat Pool. We used the forward stairs to go to the Princess theater. We used the aft elevators to go to Horizon or directly to the aft pool on the 17th floor. There was no need to go through the gym.

Here are the pools.

Aft pool

Retreat Pool

Fountain pool

Fountain deck

Plunge pool

We enjoyed using the new messenger icon found on the main Princess @Sea page and found both the intranet and internet to be improved.

For the first time at sea, I did not have to go to the techs for help! We also never visited passenger services.

The Princess theater now has side aisles along the walls of the theater making access from both ends of the rows possible. The Royal did not have access from both ends. Perhaps they will change this during a dry dock.

We went to a lecture, "Birth of a Cruise Ship" given by Chris Joly, an engineer with Carnival Corp that was very informative. He promised that the toilet roll debacle would be rectified on the third Royal class ship. :)

He also said that it is unlikely that they will go any larger on the next class of ship.

Beside the lecture held in Princess Live, we attended a Wake Show taping. It was an enjoyable experience but they need to enlarge the studio. So many people want to attend the events, but can't because of the size of the studio. The chairs will not last very long as they are of poor quality.

We enjoyed the entertainment on this ship as we did on the Royal. There was plenty to do and see and not enough time in 7 days to do it all. The bands were excellent, performing music for every age onboard

and performing it well. The production shows were well done with Fiera being a must see. It was the best I have seen yet on a Princess ship.

Alas, the Beatlemaniacs weren't on board for our cruise, but the Unexpected Boys were there instead to do the Jersey Boy show with Frankie Valli music. It was enjoyable but not as dynamic as the Beatle music. However, the boys did an encore singing "One Day More" from Les Miserables that was wonderful and this is where their voices belong.

Our first dinner in the dining room was good but the service was very slow. We sat at a table for eight and all agreed the servers were not on their game. We decided to go back to tables for two as they are plentiful on the Regal and the service was much better. The spacing of the tables for two is much better on the Royal and Regal than on the Grand Class ships. We ate in the Crown Grill and the Crab Shack and the food and service was excellent. The Horizon Court did not disappoint for any meal. One morning, we ate breakfast in the dining room and I ordered Eggs Benedict. I don't know where they got the eggs they poached, but they were huge! I buy jumbos all the time and they are no where near the size they used. I could't finish the meal.

The ports were sunny and warm with Princess Cays having the most beautiful weather we have experienced when visiting there on a cruise.

There was no wait for a tender at 9:45 The air and sea temps were perfect and we had a relaxing beach day.

We had one very windy sea day, making the Lido and Sun decks uncomfortable.The rest of the cruise we used the pools in comfort.

Our Captain was Ed Perrin and our Cruise Director was Ron Goodman. We have cruised with them before and have great respect for them and their crew. The service and entertainment was phenomenal once again.

We really enjoy this class of ship as we have enjoyed other Princess ships and look forward to sailing the Regal and Royal again.:D

Thanks for the review.

Great balcony. I think I'll see if it's available on my cruise.

The ship looks beautiful. I'm hoping the lot we're planning to use isn't padlocked. What a shocker!

 

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I hope you aren't using Air and Sea!;)

Thanks for comparing your Royal & Regal experience. :) We'll get to experience the changes on the Regal during our 17 day TA in April after 2 cruises & 27 days on the Royal.

Chris Joly spoke on the Royal's inaugural TA & said not finishing the amidship stairs for passenger use above deck 7 was a cost cutting measure. With the changes on the Regal (I wasn't aware of adding side aisles in the theater) did he mention anything about finishing them on the 3rd ship and doing it in a drydock on the Royal & Regal? Like you we adjusted to the lack of the center stairways from our D508 cabin but just wondering if Princess plans to correct this inconvenience.

I like your cabin's location & will consider it in the future. :)

Thanks for comparing your Royal & Regal experience. :) We'll get to experience the changes on the Regal during our 17 day TA in April after 2 cruises & 27 days on the Royal.

 

Chris Joly spoke on the Royal's inaugural TA & said not finishing the amidship stairs for passenger use above deck 7 was a cost cutting measure. With the changes on the Regal (I wasn't aware of adding side aisles in the theater) did he mention anything about finishing them on the 3rd ship and doing it in a drydock on the Royal & Regal? Like you we adjusted to the lack of the center stairways from our D508 cabin but just wondering if Princess plans to correct this inconvenience.

 

I like your cabin's location & will consider it in the future. :)

He didn't speak of the stairs or promenade during his lecture and no one asked him during the question and answer session after the lecture while we were there.

Perhaps I should have kept this cabin a secret;) :p

He didn't speak of the stairs or promenade during his lecture and no one asked him during the question and answer session after the lecture while we were there.

 

Perhaps I should have kept this cabin a secret;) :p

Thanks and your cabin is a "secret" known "only" by CC participants! :p

Thanks for your review! I have been wondering about the lights on the Promenade deck from your balcony. Were they turned off at any time during the night? When we were in the Royal, I thought they were way too bright when we were sitting in the very comfy chairs out there.

Were the Crab Margaritas still as yummy?

We made our final payment today for our cruise on the Royal the end of March. Can't wait.

Cheers and Happy New Year,

Denise

Thanks so much for your review and comparison. I'm enjoying it. I just spent Christmas on the Royal and loved the ship, so much so we're looking at repeating the Royal or trying the Regal next year.

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Thanks for your review! I have been wondering about the lights on the Promenade deck from your balcony. Were they turned off at any time during the night? When we were in the Royal, I thought they were way too bright when we were sitting in the very comfy chairs out there.

 

Were the Crab Margaritas still as yummy?

 

We made our final payment today for our cruise on the Royal the end of March. Can't wait.

 

Cheers and Happy New Year,

Denise

Happy new Year to you Denise.:) We weren't bothered by lighting from the promenade deck. There was a faint blue hue from the Sea Walk, but not intrusive.

The Crab Margaritas were delicious. We each had 2 during the week.:D ;)

We used the mid-ship elevators with no problems during non-peak times, and used the forward elevators to go up to the Retreat Pool. We used the forward stairs to go to the Princess theater. We used the aft elevators to go to Horizon or directly to the aft pool on the 17th floor. There was no need to go through the gym.

 

Here are the pools.

 

Aft pool

 

 

 

Retreat Pool

 

 

Fountain pool

 

 

Fountain deck

 

 

Plunge pool

 

The Aft pool is a joke !!!!

We're on the Regal sailing 1/18/2015. Just wondering what lot you had reserved and was closed. We're driving and haven't reserved our parking yet but leaning toward the Embassy lot on 17th. Don't like those kind of surprises. Thanks

Yes, same question here about the parking lot. Please do tell!

The lot we found closed was Air and Sea Parking. It was located just outside the port off of US 1 We made a left at US 1 and State RD 84 and it was a block away.

The Aft pool is a joke !!!!

The aft pool is a plunge pool, not a swimming pool. It is another place to relax on the aft and watch the wake while cooling off from sunbathing. :)

Thanks Mom33 for your excellent review and photos, and for getting back so quickly about the parking lot! We usually use Park n Go, and that is where we will be parking next Sunday when we board the Regal.

I plan to use the aft pool area. I prefer the shallow splash area and this looks nice and regardless of whether the pool is small or not, it is an improvement they made after the Royal. Have heard that this area is close to the designated smoking area...hope it isn't smoky!

Thanks again! I never tried the crab margarita on our Med. Cruise on the Royal in 2013 but I plan to on this trip!! :D

Happy new Year to you Denise.:) We weren't bothered by lighting from the promenade deck. There was a faint blue hue from the Sea Walk, but not intrusive.

The Crab Margaritas were delicious. We each had 2 during the week.:D ;)

Thanks for the info on the lighting. I had wondered about the lighting when we were on the Royal in 2013. Happy to hear the Crab Margaritas are still delicious.

Cheers, Denise

Thanks Mom33 for your excellent review and photos, and for getting back so quickly about the parking lot! We usually use Park n Go, and that is where we will be parking next Sunday when we board the Regal.

 

I plan to use the aft pool area. I prefer the shallow splash area and this looks nice and regardless of whether the pool is small or not, it is an improvement they made after the Royal. Have heard that this area is close to the designated smoking area...hope it isn't smoky!

Thanks again! I never tried the crab margarita on our Med. Cruise on the Royal in 2013 but I plan to on this trip!! :D

Don't worry about smoke. We never noticed it unless we walked over to the smoking area. I would post a pic of the pool when in use, but faces are too clear and I don't know how to cover them. I don't imagine anyone would want to see themselves on the internet in their bathing suits.

Enjoy your cruise!:D

Thanks for the info on the lighting. I had wondered about the lighting when we were on the Royal in 2013. Happy to hear the Crab Margaritas are still delicious.

 

Cheers, Denise

Another look at the Promenade deck from our balcony shows that the lights on the Promenade seating are facing down. It may be bright at night for those on the promenade but not for the balconies above.:D

Beautiful pics can't wait til we board in March

We're on the Regal sailing 1/18/2015. Just wondering what lot you had reserved and was closed. We're driving and haven't reserved our parking yet but leaning toward the Embassy lot on 17th. Don't like those kind of surprises. Thanks

We did this cruise on Dec 7th also and I can enthusiastically recommend "Gold Coast" parking. They were very professional, took us right to the ship quickly, and had the car ready when we got back. We waited maybe 10 minutes for pick up after the cruise. $8/day.

Thanks Mom33 for your excellent review and photos, and for getting back so quickly about the parking lot! We usually use Park n Go, and that is where we will be parking next Sunday when we board the Regal.

 

I plan to use the aft pool area. I prefer the shallow splash area and this looks nice and regardless of whether the pool is small or not, it is an improvement they made after the Royal. Have heard that this area is close to the designated smoking area...hope it isn't smoky!

 

Thanks again! I never tried the crab margarita on our Med. Cruise on the Royal in 2013 but I plan to on this trip!! :D

I wondered about the smoking, also.

We are just off the Royal and one of our only disappointments was that the entire Deck 17 aft lounger area was smoking.

I knew that this area was the new pool on the Regal and that they couldn't have kept the entire area for smoking any longer so wondered what happened to all of those smokers and how they impacted that area.

Thanks for the reassurance.

(I still wonder where they all go on the Regal?)