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

Yes, I do lurk from time to time. I've been around on the boards for years (even before my official sign up date, back when it was on AOL). I pretty much stick to reading reviews and checking up on things when new policies are rolled out (or if I haven't sailed a particular line for awhile and want to see if something unexpected has changed). Oh and I guess roll calls too. Well, I guess i'm on more than I thought! lol.

 

I can't believe I missed Dylan. I guess it didn't stick out as a song to me, but I should have recognized the title! That was fun!

 

I read your Star Princess cruise to Alaska. I believe it was the NB route. Wonderful review there too! And took an entire day. But I loved it! I'll be on the Star next August on a return trip to Alaska. It definitely whetted my appetite for a return.

 

I can't wait for your next installment with the Crown cruise. I didn't see, what is the itinerary for that one? Mexican Riveria?

Hello again! We really enjoyed the Star Princess to Alaska cruise so thanks for reading that one.

The Crown is 8 days to ABC islands with no stop in Princess Cays. 4 sea days for Carol.

Norris

This is exceedingly sad to me (and looks exceedingly dangerous as well)! I spend many hours at sea walking the promenade decks, often with binoculars in hand. I think the only way I would try a royal class would be on a very port intensive or short repositioning itinerary. I liked the photo of the Ruby promenade, I will be trying it out for myself in January.

Thank you for another vicarious journey!

Glad to have you along once again! Thanks for reading.

Norris

We call that building on Park Ave "the cube"! Very tall and not much in architectural details!

Enjoying your review as always, first time on the Regal next month, our first Princess cruise since 2015!

Thanks Norris...a little light reading!

Susan

Susan, I liked writing that Princess/Celebrity comparison as it got me evaluating what each line excels at in my opinion and re affirmed the many things that I like about Princess which have drawn me (and Carol) back time and again. The bottom line for me is that I have enjoyed both lines although I have to say I have only sailed X twice and both of those were on the best of the S Class (Lawn Club Grill and the Alcoves sets them apart from the 3 earlier ships)

The Silhouette trumps every ship I have been on to date for initial love at first sight impact and we are booked on her again to Norway next September 1.

My Shipmate app tells me we sail in 37 days...on the Crown Princess.

Thanks for the response!

Norris

We call that building on Park Ave "the cube"! Very tall and not much in architectural details!

 

Enjoying your review as always, first time on the Regal next month, our first Princess cruise since 2015!

Glad to have you along on this Regal report.

Yes that building is pretty hideous-function over form but I imagine it sold out and there are a couple of similar ones on Central Park South in my CP photos that are even higher.

Stick around if you can for our Architectural Boat tour around Manhattan.

Norris

We set off for the opera 2 hours before the 8pm curtain as we wanted to eat. A warm Saturday night in New York so the streets were busy. Our cab let us off at 63rd and Broadway with the opera house in sight. There is a row of restaurants along Broadway there, all with outdoor seating. One was Italian and Carol had eaten there many years ago. We walked up and got the last available table at that time.

 

The restaurant tables outside were packed, as was what we could see of the inside, yet the waiters were hustling full speed. There was a roof high over our heads as we were in a colonnade of a large building and there was scaffolding out at the sidewalk as it seems New York is taking advantage of the summer weather to freshen up the buildings and of course build some more.

 

Their complimentary flatbread was a real winner

 

 

My spaghetti ala carbonara



 

 

Carol's chopped Roman salad with egg



 

Ah...Turandot! One of my favorites! How lucky that was the show running at the Met!

Loving everything about this and all reviews by you. Carry on!

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My husband and I ate lunch at Fiorello's last month as we were in NYC to see a tv show taped. They have a good priced fixed at lunch and not as crowed as dinner. Your food looked great!

We're also Pike people!

Ah...Turandot! One of my favorites! How lucky that was the show running at the Met!

Lucky indeed! It's not often we get to go to the opera in a cruise port-Venice (La Fenice theater) was the only other time. The Liceu opera season hadn't begun when we were in Barcelona via Emerald Princess. It's so much icing on an already rich cake for us when we can hit an opera after a cruise. Oh wait!- when we got off the Caribbean Princess in Houston in January 2014 we went to the Houston Grand Opera that night to see a new (and good) opera called The Passenger, which dealt with Na__ (Can't spell the 4 letters on CC as it has a filter!) Concentration Camp-a sombre topic but hey! that's opera for you!

We are actually seeing Turandot in Chicago at Lyric Opera this Friday but of course it won't be the lavish production you see at the Met in New York. Nessun Dorma isn't even my favorite song from that opera but its justifiably world famous thanks to the Three Tenors and Luciano Pavarotti (RIP). It's also playing in san Francisco this season.

Great to see we are not the only Opera lovers on CC!

Thank you!

Norris

Loving everything about this and all reviews by you. Carry on!

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Judie! where have you come from? It's so nice to see new names popping up and to know you have read all my CC ramblings.

I will carry on, even as I know I am losing readers who are only interested in the Regal (fair enough). The cruise, like "The Dream- is over" (John Lennon-someone who helped shape my life without knowing it) but I am still on vacation in the story and I am dying to show what I saw of New York to those still checking in.

So thank you and welcome!

Norris

My husband and I ate lunch at Fiorello's last month as we were in NYC to see a tv show taped. They have a good priced fixed at lunch and not as crowed as dinner. Your food looked great!

We're also Pike people!

I enjoyed the whole vibe at Fiorello-a warm October night as the sun went down and a lively hopping restaurant with no pretensions. The food was solid if not up to Roman standards where they cook with such simplicity but the ingredients are (a) few and (b) slap yo mama fresh.

Look at this plate of food...one of the best dishes I have ever eaten (in Italy)

Some grated cheese, arugula and tomatoes washed down with a Pinot Grigio-Heaven!!

(Positano)

Or this from Monterosso, Cinque terra

Sea bass with fried potatoes. So simple! So tasty!

Pikes blend in Starbucks (name is an homage to their first store in Pikes Place, Seattle) is just simple coffee bean flavor which floats my boat and doesn't need a Barista to pour.

Anything that masks the flavor of a roasted bean, I scorn. Hazelnut? Oh no thanks, save that for Nutella. Flavored vanilla creamer? Yikes, I'll pass. Italians would raise an eyebrow (and the French would shrug) at what passes for coffee in the USA.

Norris, Coffee is Life.

Well come to Melbourne then Norris. The coffee capital of Australia! Coffee is almost a religion in Melbourne. Funny thing, Starbucks opened up, oh a few dozen cafes spread around the city and suburbs down here a few years ago ... think there might be 1, maybe 2 left in the city itself? Big fail. You see we have been spoiled by the wonderful Italian and Greek immigrants who came in the late 40's, 50's and 60's who brought us their delicious cuisines ... AND THEIR COFFEE!!!!! Thank the Goddess (the Goddess Caffeinia that is) for them.

And yes, I've been following this edition of your Gentleman's Seafaring Journal from the start and will continue till THE END! Wonderful review yet again ... thank you my friend.

Sue.

We were at Rockerfeller Center last Sunday. A few thousand more people. Pam

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Norris, I'm enjoying your stay in NYC! I first visited it in 1957 with my folks and sister and have been back many times for a day and sometimes longer. Last visit was pre-cruise in Sep 2015. We stayed at Lexington and 39th with a perfect view of the Chrysler Bldg (one of my very favorites) out our window. Played the tourist and re-visited Rockefeller Center one day and another went down to see the 911 memorial area (we were last down there a year or two after that tragic day and before they started rebuilding--just a very big hole in the ground). The Cube was not yet finished, but getting there. Looking forward to "going along on" your architectural boat tour!

BTW, did you visit Seafair, a Newport mansion? Just read that Jay Leno has purchased it. Has a 6-car garage so he'll have a place to store a few of his cars.

Well come to Melbourne then Norris. The coffee capital of Australia! Coffee is almost a religion in Melbourne. Funny thing, Starbucks opened up, oh a few dozen cafes spread around the city and suburbs down here a few years ago ... think there might be 1, maybe 2 left in the city itself? Big fail. You see we have been spoiled by the wonderful Italian and Greek immigrants who came in the late 40's, 50's and 60's who brought us their delicious cuisines ... AND THEIR COFFEE!!!!! Thank the Goddess (the Goddess Caffeinia that is) for them.

 

And yes, I've been following this edition of your Gentleman's Seafaring Journal from the start and will continue till THE END! Wonderful review yet again ... thank you my friend.

Sue.

Sue good to hear you have reliable sources of great coffee in Melbourne! I can't blame Starbucks for trying to carpet the globe with their stores and they do provide options for those who like to disguise or dilute the flavor of the roasted bean. They are like McDonalds in their pervasiveness. They are handy though as you don't have to go far in any city here to find one. Italy, Germany and Austria have raised my expectations regarding coffee.

Thanks for still following and for the compliments on the GSJ!

Norris

We were at Rockerfeller Center last Sunday. A few thousand more people. Pam

 

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Pam, we are both very familiar with that mob scene at Christmas time as we used to stay in the city then even though I was working in New Jersey-I would reverse commute to work and return to NY for opera evenings with Carol and we always went to the Met Opera on New Years Eve and watched the ball drop at Times Square from a safe distance, teeth chattering.

Thanks for the pic!

Norris

I'm still with you, Norris!! We love NYC (Manhattan) as well, but it's been a while! Thanks for continuing your vacation journal beyond the Regal!!

Cheers,

Tracy

Norris, thank you for another interesting review with more great photos.

I was also interested in your positive reports of the Regal as last time we cruised with Princess (Emerald May 2015) we were unimpressed and have only booked with Celebrity since then. It had been our 4th Princess cruise, maybe we should just think of it as a one off not so good experience .

The good news is that your review isn't finished yet and I can enjoy another visit to New York while following it.We visited New York for the first time earlier this year before visiting son and family in Toronto. We really enjoyed it.

The pictures will be so much better than ours!

Still following and still enjoying.

Sandra.