Regal princess 11/30 - happy times

[RoePost]

We are elite princess members and just returned from a fabulous sailing on the Regal Princess...I cannot say enough about it. We ate at the Crown Grill one night and it was easily the best meal we have had at sea...Also loved the menu at Alfredos...all the breakfasts we had were at the Horizon buffet and we had many dinners in the dining room...Each venue was superb. Especially liked the layout of the Horizon buffet...

 

Our CD was Ron Goodman, my favorite Princess CD...always a great job...always so personable and friendly.

 

We didn't do any shore excursions because we have visited these islands so often...the weather was OK..but kind of windy...

 

Loved the pool deck and always found chairs available...

 

The entertainment was terrific..the three production shows were all very well done and the entertainers, especially Tony Pace, were terrific...the showroom is lovely ...but still seems a little small for everyone...therefore, they had 3 shows each night the productions shows were scheduled. The game shows were fun and held in the Princess Live Theatre..a great new venue...

 

We had a mid ship balcony and found plenty of room for storage and even though the balconies are a little smaller ...there was plenty of room to sit and enjoy the outdoors ...loved it...

 

Not sure why people complain about so many little things on this ship...we never found a problem getting an elevator and never missed the central staircase...We are just happy to be able to enjoy such a wonderful vacation with Princess, and feel blessed. Go on this ship and make your own decisions...be grateful and happy and enjoy yourself. We did!

[TWA4Ever]

Will be on the Regal Jan 11 - and looking forward to it!! :D

[AmberTeka]

Thank you for the review. We are booked for March of next year and look forward to it.

[pompeii]

Great to read such a good review! We are hoping to sail on a Baltics cruise on the Regal next September, so happy to see you were so happy with the Regal!

[Topo Gigio]

I was on the same cruise, and loved every minute of it. Everything was top notch. Well done Princess. The only thing I missed was the central staircase, and sometimes long wait for the elevators which stops at almost every deck. But other than that no complaints ! i'm looking at the Royal Princess for April next year already. Btw loved the pastry shop. The lady would tell me every day which two she recommended for both lunch & dinner.

Edited December 10, 2014 by Topo Gigio

[OceanPrince]

Thanks for the great review, RoePost. 4 more days till I embark on the Regal. I loved my previous cruise on the Regal's twin sister, the Royal. Such a beautiful ship. It absolutely boggles my mind that the Royal Princess is rated 18th out of the 18 Princess ships on Cruisecritic.

 

Also, Can you tell me whats movies were shown onboard?

[RoePost]

The movies I remember....A fault in our Stars, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of tomorrow, Guardians of the Galaxy, Maleficient, Million Dollar Arm. during the day they showed concerts...i.e., Barry Manilow, Il Divo, Pavarotti, Paul McCartney, etc. Hope this helps...

[crusinpeg]

What a great review! It is so refreshing to read something positive like this instead of reviews full of complaints. I share your feeling about being soooo blessed to be able to take the vacations we do and never sweat the small stuff.

So glad you had a good time as I'm sure we will this coming Feb.

Thanks so much for sharing!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Loved your mini-review and how upbeat you are! We sailed on the Royal in 2013 soon after she came out in the Med. and LOVED her, and are looking forward to sailing on the Regal in January. We didn't like all of the changes on the Royal such as no wraparound promenade deck and no Explorer's Lounge (I really wasn't wild about Princess Live) but the new additions such as the buffet, Alfredo's, Retreat Pool, piazza, on demand TV, etc. FAR outweighed any negatives in our opinion. They are lovely ships!

 

Ron Goodman was our CD then and I am so glad to hear he will still be on when we sail. He is so visible and a great CD.

 

Thanks again!

Edited December 10, 2014 by sunsetbeachgal

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Not sure why people complain about so many little things on this ship...we never found a problem getting an elevator and never missed the central staircase...We are just happy to be able to enjoy such a wonderful vacation with Princess, and feel blessed. Go on this ship and make your own decisions...be grateful and happy and enjoy yourself. We did!

 

I guess we are among the complainers. Having sailed on almost every Princess ship we feel that the items that did annoy us weren't on any of the previous designs and came about as part of increasing profits at the cost of decreasing space & dedicating parts of the ship to making money. Some of the newly introduced items are better but came at a price of losing many others. Maybe the new cruisers won't notice them as much as we do since they've never experienced them in the past.

[OceanPrince]

The movies I remember....A fault in our Stars, Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, Edge of tomorrow, Guardians of the Galaxy, Maleficient, Million Dollar Arm. during the day they showed concerts...i.e., Barry Manilow, Il Divo, Pavarotti, Paul McCartney, etc. Hope this helps...

 

Oh perfect. Thanks RoePost!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the comments.

[RyanMFitz1]

What a great review! It is so refreshing to read something positive like this instead of reviews full of complaints. I share your feeling about being soooo blessed to be able to take the vacations we do and never sweat the small stuff.

So glad you had a good time as I'm sure we will this coming Feb.

Thanks so much for sharing!

 

I agree with your statement 100%. It amazes me how people "look" for things to go wrong instead of just relaxing and ENJOYING themselves.

 

Can't wait to cruise Regal in February also. Sooo excited !

[susiefay]

Thanks for the great review, RoePost. 4 more days till I embark on the Regal. I loved my previous cruise on the Regal's twin sister, the Royal. Such a beautiful ship. It absolutely boggles my mind that the Royal Princess is rated 18th out of the 18 Princess ships on Cruisecritic.

 

Also, Can you tell me whats movies were shown onboard?

 

Hi there. We are on the same cruise! Have you checked out the roll call? So ready for Sunday :D

We have been on many other Princess ships and are looking forward to something different. I'm sure it will be amazing :)

[enymarsh]

Hi there. We are on the same cruise! Have you checked out the roll call? So ready for Sunday :D

We have been on many other Princess ships and are looking forward to something different. I'm sure it will be amazing :)

 

Have a wonderful time!!! Keep her safe and sound for us :p we are sailing at the end of January and can't wait!

[riclop]

Thanks for the positive review.

[mph045]

Thank You for the positive review-very refreshing indeed:p-they will always be things people do not care for or miss-I believe you get out of cruising what you put in-if you look for problems you will get them-I prefer to look at the positive sides-beautiful ship-great staff-away from work-with my loved ones full time[most of the time]-and I do not allow others to ruin my vacation[those that hold elevators-push in line-run into me in Horizon-talk too much-etc].:eek:

[KBAJ]

Thanks for your review.... can you tell me if there was a room service charge during your cruise? I have read various reports but nothing recent.

[Happy2cruise]

Just booked the Regal.....can't wait:D

[CRLess]

We were on this same cruise and agree with your thoughts. We were on the Royal last year and found the small changes (Promenade, aft pool) a move in the right direction. Like the captain said at the Captain's Circle party, I have taken this route more times than I care to admit and it was extremely unusual to have a head wind going in both directions...we were snake-bitten to that extent. Made for some windy days on deck. In fact, on the sea day heading South, both the Sanctuary and the Retreat were closed due to the high winds.

 

A few people stood out on this voyage, some of whom we cruised with on the Royal last year. The Maitre d' Silvio was a pleasure and made a point of stopping by our table most nights. Head Waiter Davide in the Concerto (we met him last year) was our ever-present host and made sure all our dining needs were taken care of to our satisfaction. Our waiter Marlon and our singing Jr Waiter Arfonso were awesome. The staff in Vines, especially the lovely server Carmen and bartender Ronnie (both of whom we cruised with last year) saw to it that our wine glasses were always full and cheese and tapas were plentiful. Ronnie actually pointed out to me that this was the fourth time we cruised with him!

 

Our only negative comment is that often times our dishes in the dining room were not hot. I attribute this not to the wait staff, but to the fact that our nightly dining reservations were what I call "Tweeners" We had anytime dining at 7:15 every night which is the tail end of first seating, and well before second seating. I suspect that the kitchen times the entrees accordingly, and thus we had "leftovers" from first seating. We also did both upcharge restaurants as well as the Wine Maker's Dinner (second time).

 

I would not hesitate to go on the Regal (or Royal) again...

[sledhead]

Was there live entertainment by the pool deck? Island bands etc? How about a deck party any of the nights? Will be on her in march.

[paradiselivin1]

Thanks for a great mini review. A week to go & can't wait for our Christmas cruise!:D

[Topo Gigio]

Was there live entertainment by the pool deck? Island bands etc? How about a deck party any of the nights? Will be on her in march.

 

Yes. There was quite some entertainment around the pool.

[islandatsea]

Was there live entertainment by the pool deck? Island bands etc? How about a deck party any of the nights? Will be on her in march.

 

During our November 6th 3 night cruise there was live entertainment by the pool deck. You would need to check the Patter for what times the live bands would start since it was during certain times of the day & those times could change during each sailing. Tyrone Babs, played the steel drum & another band was playing when Tyrone was not.

 

While short on duration, our cruise on the Regal was excellent. We had a mid-ship cabin & yes there was a wait for the elevator which did not bother us any. The HC was the best layout we have seen yet, IMO. We do not have anything to complain about the ship since we would cruise on it once again.

[sledhead]

Thanks