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LIVE from Regal's Inaugaral Cruise

Av8tor

By Av8tor,
in Princess Cruises

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caribill

caribill

Posted
Posted
This is the reply I got from Princess via my FB page

 

Hi Gail, we apologize for the confusion this weekend regarding charges onboard Regal Princess. We've listened to our valued guests and Facebook fans, and based on the feedback, for the time being both room service and Alfredo’s pizzeria charges being trialed on Regal Princess will be halted. We acknowledge we need to provide our guests prior notification of any such changes to our onboard experience, and we promise to do this in the future.

 

Hats off to them x

 

I would feel better if the message also said "We do not want to be the only cruise line charging for room service delivery 24 hours a day."

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Mulege

Mulege

Posted
Posted
Remember that starting late spring in 2015, it will be based in Shanghai. Cost of flying there will be bigger than the cost of paying extra for room service on Princess.

 

Celebrity does not charge for room service. You can order a full hot breakfast and any item from the MDR menu during normal dinner hours. The 24 hr room service menu has a large variety of hot and cold entrees. Much more diverse than Princess.

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RNGALNG

RNGALNG

Posted
Posted
If I understand this thread correctly, there will no longer be a room service fee. That's good news. I always tip, but I don't like the idea of a fee.

 

Yes, Princess has decided to do away with the fees . . . for now.

 

Now, lets get on with the cruise at hand. . .

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Av8tor

Av8tor

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Posted

Day 7 - Mykonos

 

Got into port right on time at 9am. The surprise was that instead of tendering like they had said, we were tied up at the pier. The plans had changed the day before and now people had to bus, water taxi or walk from the new port to the old port and town center. Princess was selling RT transfers for $10 (cash only) but the local port had their own bus service every half-hour for 1.6 Euro each way.

 

I went on two scuba dives at Lia beach area on the southeast side of the island. And my DW went on the tour to Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemes. We met in town afterwards to have a late lunch and explore the town. It was all quaint and picturesque. We’ve decided that tonight will be a “rest” night to catch-up on sleep and rest up for Athens tomorrow. A quick lite dinner in Horizon Bistro (a first for us) and then the early show. Lights out as soon as this is posted.

 

Even More Observations:

 

We did gat a letter in our cabin regarding the Alfredo’s and room service charges. It said that the fees were part of a trial being conducted by Princess. They admitted that they’ve received negative feedback regarding the absence of pre-notification and due to that, the charges will be stopped!! It went on to say they would reverse the charges for people that already had the charges posted to their accounts. They said that in the future they will give guests sufficient prior notice as they continually review their on board product offerings and associated charges. I’m sure all the e-mails and FB posts helped to stop this (at least for now), so for all how helped: THANKS!

 

Last night’s Production Show, Fiera!, was GREAT. Had to be the best show I’ve seen on Princess. I hear that they’ve made some improvements to the theater over Royal involving lighting, sound and props. The one thing I thought could improve the show’s enjoyment would be to lower the volume of the back music a bit so the vocals could be heard a bit better. On the next portion of the cruise they’ll present Fiera! Again as well as another new called Bravo! Tonight, they had a group called the Tenors of Rock. The four singing acts they presented during this first portion of the cruise, while just OK in my book, didn’t provide anywhere near the “wow” factor that the production show did. Both comedy shows were very good also.

 

That’s all for now again…

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IECalCruiser

IECalCruiser

Posted
Posted
Day 7 - Mykonos

 

Got into port right on time at 9am. The surprise was that instead of tendering like they had said, we were tied up at the pier. The plans had changed the day before and now people had to bus, water taxi or walk from the new port to the old port and town center. Princess was selling RT transfers for $10 (cash only) but the local port had their own bus service every half-hour for 1.6 Euro each way.

 

I went on two scuba dives at Lia beach area on the southeast side of the island. And my DW went on the tour to Delos, the birthplace of Apollo and Artemes. We met in town afterwards to have a late lunch and explore the town. It was all quaint and picturesque. We’ve decided that tonight will be a “rest” night to catch-up on sleep and rest up for Athens tomorrow. A quick lite dinner in Horizon Bistro (a first for us) and then the early show. Lights out as soon as this is posted.

 

Even More Observations:

 

We did gat a letter in our cabin regarding the Alfredo’s and room service charges. It said that the fees were part of a trial being conducted by Princess. They admitted that they’ve received negative feedback regarding the absence of pre-notification and due to that, the charges will be stopped!! It went on to say they would reverse the charges for people that already had the charges posted to their accounts. They said that in the future they will give guests sufficient prior notice as they continually review their on board product offerings and associated charges. I’m sure all the e-mails and FB posts helped to stop this (at least for now), so for all how helped: THANKS!

 

Last night’s Production Show, Fiera!, was GREAT. Had to be the best show I’ve seen on Princess. I hear that they’ve made some improvements to the theater over Royal involving lighting, sound and props. The one thing I thought could improve the show’s enjoyment would be to lower the volume of the back music a bit so the vocals could be heard a bit better. On the next portion of the cruise they’ll present Fiera! Again as well as another new called Bravo! Tonight, they had a group called the Tenors of Rock. The four singing acts they presented during this first portion of the cruise, while just OK in my book, didn’t provide anywhere near the “wow” factor that the production show did. Both comedy shows were very good also.

 

That’s all for now again…

Thanks for the update.
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bronski

bronski

Posted
Posted

From the Live from Regal's Inaugural Cruise thread.

 

This is the reply I got from Princess via my FB page

 

Hi Gail, we apologize for the confusion this weekend regarding charges onboard Regal Princess. We've listened to our valued guests and Facebook fans, and based on the feedback, for the time being both room service and Alfredo’s pizzeria charges being trialed on Regal Princess will be halted. We acknowledge we need to provide our guests prior notification of any such changes to our onboard experience, and we promise to do this in the future.

 

Hats off to them x

 

And also from Av8tor, writing live from the Regal:

 

"We did get a letter in our cabin regarding the Alfredo’s and room service charges. It said that the fees were part of a trial being conducted by Princess. They admitted that they’ve received negative feedback regarding the absence of pre-notification and due to that, the charges will be stopped!! It went on to say they would reverse the charges for people that already had the charges posted to their accounts. They said that in the future they will give guests sufficient prior notice as they continually review their on board product offerings and associated charges. I’m sure all the e-mails and FB posts helped to stop this (at least for now), so for all who helped: THANKS!"

 

This is good news. :) Hope this is for the summer season!

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ibfern

ibfern

Posted
Posted

Thanks for sharing your experiences on the Regal, sounds like they have made some improvements from the Royal. Can't wait to hear about your time in Athens! Enjoy...

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Av8tor

Av8tor

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Posted

Day 8 - Athens

 

In to port on time and off right away with our in-transit cards for our all-day shared tour with PK Travel. Our professional guide, Michael, and driver, Dimitrius (the owners son), gave the ten of us a very thorough tour and in-depth understanding of all the important sites. A bit late leaving port while waiting for other outbound ships and then, after pulling ahead away from the pier, we had to use thrusters to point the bow into the harbor while swinging the stern to sea. Then we backed well outside of the harbor into the main shipping lane before swinging the bow to sea and finally getting underway.

 

Observation: Finally saw the water=fouintain/light show. While it looked nice and had good accompanying music, it wasn’t spectacular. I guess if you’ve seen one fountain show, you’ve pretty much seen them all. I’ve still never seen that area used as a Dance floor like I read somewhere, but to be fair, I haven’t been up on that deck for any of the sail-aways. In my opinion, it’s just a waste of space that could be better used as a larger pool or more space for lounge chairs.

 

Day 9 - Kusadasi

 

Beautiful day but a bit warm! Had a private tour of Ephesus booked with Ephesus Shuttle and it was GREAT. Iesha was our guide and provided good information about all the sights we toured. Then it was the third formal night and the wait staff seemed to be in-the-groove for the most part now. Starting to see menu repeats though…

 

Observation: Did hear some comments that the self-serve laundry rooms tend to have wet floors daily. Must be some problems with the plumbing…

 

Day 10 - Santorini

 

Took the tender to the old port on the island just in time to catch our 9:45 “speedboat” transfer to Oia that we booked online with Santorini Planet. Just be forewarned that there is no sign to S-P. We finally asked someone and they pointed us to the VIP Travel booth where we exchanged of voucher for tickets and got right on the boat. Toured Oia for a bit then took the included bus ride back to Fria for some lunch. Be advised that restaurants with a good view of the caldron often charge twice as much as those located a block or two more inland. Rather than wait in line for the cable cars, we decided to hike down the donkey walkway. That’s when the TROUBLE started (not just with a capital T)! The wind picked up and it looked like rain was on the way but the dust and blowing dried donkey dung were bad that I almost couldn’t believe my own poor vision when I saw the Regal lose her station-keeping and start to drift towards the rocks. Then, just as we were in the group next to board a tender, they stopped the tender operations as we watched Regal sail away without us (and about 1500+ other passengers)!!! She headed well out into the harbor/caldron and sat for a few minutes close to island just west of Fria before she continued to sail out to sea and out of sight on the other side of that island. Then the rain came and everyone scrambled to find some shelter. Soon the waves were crashing onto the pier and splashing all the way across the pier soaking folks huddled against the stores and tavernas along the old port. Finally, after about 2 - ½ hours, the conditions calmed enough for other ships to re-start tendering but Regal was no where in sight! You should have heard the cheers when she finally sailed back into view between the center and northern island s west of the port. Of course there was a mad rush of passengers trying to be first on the tenders, but we gladly held-back and waited for the madness to subside. We got on the last tender (or two) after a total delay of about 3 - ¼ hours.. The Captain eventually said that they were hit with winds gusting over 80 knots and fearing for the safety of the ship, left the harbor for open water until the winds and rough water died down. We finally set sail about 1 - ½ hours late. They hope to make up some time overnight, but still expect Katakolon 30-60 minutes late tomorrow.

 

More when I can…

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patperry

patperry

Posted
Posted
Day 8 - Athens

 

In to port on time and off right away with our in-transit cards for our all-day shared tour with PK Travel. Our professional guide, Michael, and driver, Dimitrius (the owners son), gave the ten of us a very thorough tour and in-depth understanding of all the important sites. A bit late leaving port while waiting for other outbound ships and then, after pulling ahead away from the pier, we had to use thrusters to point the bow into the harbor while swinging the stern to sea. Then we backed well outside of the harbor into the main shipping lane before swinging the bow to sea and finally getting underway.

 

Observation: Finally saw the water=fouintain/light show. While it looked nice and had good accompanying music, it wasn’t spectacular. I guess if you’ve seen one fountain show, you’ve pretty much seen them all. I’ve still never seen that area used as a Dance floor like I read somewhere, but to be fair, I haven’t been up on that deck for any of the sail-aways. In my opinion, it’s just a waste of space that could be better used as a larger pool or more space for lounge chairs.

 

Day 9 - Kusadasi

 

Beautiful day but a bit warm! Had a private tour of Ephesus booked with Ephesus Shuttle and it was GREAT. Iesha was our guide and provided good information about all the sights we toured. Then it was the third formal night and the wait staff seemed to be in-the-groove for the most part now. Starting to see menu repeats though…

 

Observation: Did hear some comments that the self-serve laundry rooms tend to have wet floors daily. Must be some problems with the plumbing…

 

Day 10 - Santorini

 

Took the tender to the old port on the island just in time to catch our 9:45 “speedboat” transfer to Oia that we booked online with Santorini Planet. Just be forewarned that there is no sign to S-P. We finally asked someone and they pointed us to the VIP Travel booth where we exchanged of voucher for tickets and got right on the boat. Toured Oia for a bit then took the included bus ride back to Fria for some lunch. Be advised that restaurants with a good view of the caldron often charge twice as much as those located a block or two more inland. Rather than wait in line for the cable cars, we decided to hike down the donkey walkway. That’s when the TROUBLE started (not just with a capital T)! The wind picked up and it looked like rain was on the way but the dust and blowing dried donkey dung were bad that I almost couldn’t believe my own poor vision when I saw the Regal lose her station-keeping and start to drift towards the rocks. Then, just as we were in the group next to board a tender, they stopped the tender operations as we watched Regal sail away without us (and about 1500+ other passengers)!!! She headed well out into the harbor/caldron and sat for a few minutes close to island just west of Fria before she continued to sail out to sea and out of sight on the other side of that island. Then the rain came and everyone scrambled to find some shelter. Soon the waves were crashing onto the pier and splashing all the way across the pier soaking folks huddled against the stores and tavernas along the old port. Finally, after about 2 - ½ hours, the conditions calmed enough for other ships to re-start tendering but Regal was no where in sight! You should have heard the cheers when she finally sailed back into view between the center and northern island s west of the port. Of course there was a mad rush of passengers trying to be first on the tenders, but we gladly held-back and waited for the madness to subside. We got on the last tender (or two) after a total delay of about 3 - ¼ hours.. The Captain eventually said that they were hit with winds gusting over 80 knots and fearing for the safety of the ship, left the harbor for open water until the winds and rough water died down. We finally set sail about 1 - ½ hours late. They hope to make up some time overnight, but still expect Katakolon 30-60 minutes late tomorrow.

 

More when I can…

 

Definitely one for the memory books!!!

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Fletch1

Fletch1

Posted
Posted
Day 8 - Athens

 

In to port on time and off right away with our in-transit cards for our all-day shared tour with PK Travel. Our professional guide, Michael, and driver, Dimitrius (the owners son), gave the ten of us a very thorough tour and in-depth understanding of all the important sites. A bit late leaving port while waiting for other outbound ships and then, after pulling ahead away from the pier, we had to use thrusters to point the bow into the harbor while swinging the stern to sea. Then we backed well outside of the harbor into the main shipping lane before swinging the bow to sea and finally getting underway.

 

Observation: Finally saw the water=fouintain/light show. While it looked nice and had good accompanying music, it wasn’t spectacular. I guess if you’ve seen one fountain show, you’ve pretty much seen them all. I’ve still never seen that area used as a Dance floor like I read somewhere, but to be fair, I haven’t been up on that deck for any of the sail-aways. In my opinion, it’s just a waste of space that could be better used as a larger pool or more space for lounge chairs.

 

Day 9 - Kusadasi

 

Beautiful day but a bit warm! Had a private tour of Ephesus booked with Ephesus Shuttle and it was GREAT. Iesha was our guide and provided good information about all the sights we toured. Then it was the third formal night and the wait staff seemed to be in-the-groove for the most part now. Starting to see menu repeats though…

 

Observation: Did hear some comments that the self-serve laundry rooms tend to have wet floors daily. Must be some problems with the plumbing…

 

Day 10 - Santorini

 

Took the tender to the old port on the island just in time to catch our 9:45 “speedboat” transfer to Oia that we booked online with Santorini Planet. Just be forewarned that there is no sign to S-P. We finally asked someone and they pointed us to the VIP Travel booth where we exchanged of voucher for tickets and got right on the boat. Toured Oia for a bit then took the included bus ride back to Fria for some lunch. Be advised that restaurants with a good view of the caldron often charge twice as much as those located a block or two more inland. Rather than wait in line for the cable cars, we decided to hike down the donkey walkway. That’s when the TROUBLE started (not just with a capital T)! The wind picked up and it looked like rain was on the way but the dust and blowing dried donkey dung were bad that I almost couldn’t believe my own poor vision when I saw the Regal lose her station-keeping and start to drift towards the rocks. Then, just as we were in the group next to board a tender, they stopped the tender operations as we watched Regal sail away without us (and about 1500+ other passengers)!!! She headed well out into the harbor/caldron and sat for a few minutes close to island just west of Fria before she continued to sail out to sea and out of sight on the other side of that island. Then the rain came and everyone scrambled to find some shelter. Soon the waves were crashing onto the pier and splashing all the way across the pier soaking folks huddled against the stores and tavernas along the old port. Finally, after about 2 - ½ hours, the conditions calmed enough for other ships to re-start tendering but Regal was no where in sight! You should have heard the cheers when she finally sailed back into view between the center and northern island s west of the port. Of course there was a mad rush of passengers trying to be first on the tenders, but we gladly held-back and waited for the madness to subside. We got on the last tender (or two) after a total delay of about 3 - ¼ hours.. The Captain eventually said that they were hit with winds gusting over 80 knots and fearing for the safety of the ship, left the harbor for open water until the winds and rough water died down. We finally set sail about 1 - ½ hours late. They hope to make up some time overnight, but still expect Katakolon 30-60 minutes late tomorrow.

 

More when I can…

 

 

That's quite an adventure. I could imagine the angst amongst some of the passengers as the ship sailed away out of sight!! Everyone's worst nightmare, not knowing when she would return!!

 

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