Fleet changes when Regal begins sailing

[Cruise Junky]

Not dropped completely, just less of them.

The Ocean Princess is cruising the Greek Isles next year, as will be the Regal.

 

 

What's the date of the Regal's Greek Island sailing?

[IECalCruiser]

What's the date of the Regal's Greek Island sailing?

The Regal is only doing the Grand Med itinerary in 2014 except for one 10 day cruise that stops at Santorini instead of Pireaus (Athens). There are also cruises that exchange Dubrovnik for Istanbul. There are no big ship itineraries like the 12/14 day Greek Isles cruises with 5 Greek ports that the Ruby is doing this year

[Cruise Junky]

The Regal is only doing the Grand Med itinerary in 2014 except for one 10 day cruise that stops at Santorini instead of Pireaus (Athens). There are also cruises that exchange Dubrovnik for Istanbul. There are no big ship itineraries like the 12/14 day Greek Isles cruises with 5 Greek ports that the Ruby is doing this year

 

Good to know I'm not going blind. I certainly couldn't see Regal doing any Greek Islands cruises as the poster claimed. Thanks

[IECalCruiser]

The Star was doing Europe in the Summer until she came to the West Coast in the Summer of 2011 when Princess added a seventh ship back for the Alaska season to join the Diamond, Sapphire, Coral, Island, Sea and Golden. The Grand came to the West Coast in the Summer of 2012 to replace the Sea and the Crown this year to replace the Diamond. Next year the Pacific will be the seventh ship in Alaska to replace the Sapphire. Next year Princess double occupancy capacity will be down 900-1,000 from the 2011 season but will still have a double occupancy capacity of over 15,000.

Don't know what I was thinking with the above post as I was basically off by a year :eek: The Star was in Europe for the 2010 and 2011 seasons and had a major drydock Nov/Dec of 2011 by Fincantieri. She didn't get back to Alaska until the 2012 season. The Grand came to the West Coast this year and the Crown is coming in 2014. Don't rely on your memory, or at least MY memory :o

[Seafoam Green]

Same here. Debated between Ruby in the Med and Alaska. No regrets about choosing Alaska, but we may have missed out on our opportunity to sail on Princess in the Med. Nothing whatsoever of interest next year. Were I to choose a cruise right now, it would be Celebrity Silhouette on July 15: 12 nights-Rome, Naples, Malta, Athens, Mykonos, Ephesus, Rhodes, Santorini, Crete, Venice (with an overnight).

 

The "comparable" itinerary on Regal skips Malta, Rhodes, Santorini, and Crete. While I might consider Dubrovnik to be a pretty even swap for Malta, the Regal itinerary suffers from tucking Rome into a hit-and-run one day stop, whereas Celebrity starts (or ends) there, leaving you extra time to visit, which is paramount. The remainder of the comparison is Barcelona/Toulon/Florence vs. Crete, Santorini and Rhodes. When planning a Greek Islands cruise, this is an easy choice. The Regal itinerary tries to cover too much ground (or sea). Princess would be wise to bring back a more focused Greek Islands cruise in the summer. Ocean Princess has some impressive itineraries, but they are two week cruises that depart after school is back in session. Can't they throw some love to the families that want to cruise during summer vacation?

 

The 7/15 itinerary on the Silhouette is a good one - great ports in Greece, with classic Italian stops AND Malta. Nice!! That cruise is also offered in September, which I find appealing. My first trip to Greece (1984, land trip) was for the last week in August, first week in September - perfect time for great weather and limited crowds.

 

I would love the Ocean Princess trip, too. We aren't bound by the school schedule for travel anymore, which is great.

[Seafoam Green]

Probably Celebrity. I would always look to Princess and celebrity first. Princess used to have some of the best itineraries out there, now they're just lazy with let's stick a ship on a route and do it all season long :eek: Celebrity at least seems to mix it up a bit for some variety, plus they have more ships in the med.

 

Have you sailed Celebrity in Europe? Do you sail Princess and Celebrity equally, or do you prefer one over the other?

[Cruise Junky]

Have you sailed Celebrity in Europe? Do you sail Princess and Celebrity equally, or do you prefer one over the other?

 

I have, my first Europe cruise was on Millennium. Since then I've done two on Princess. All things being equal I would go with Princess but sometimes the itinerary will win out and Celebrity has some great itineraries in the med. Right now I'm struggling to pick between Emerald's TA and Equinox.