Random thoughts about our Regal B2B 12-7-14 to 12-21-14

[ar1950]

Random thoughts (call it a review if you want to) about our Regal B2B, 12-7-14 to 12-21-14

 

I wasn’t going to do this because as the cruise gets further away the reviews tend to get a bit stale. But, here goes.

 

Ship: Very classy ship. Kind of a mix of old school class and modern technology. We thought it was a really nice vessel overall in spite of the common complaints, IE: no central stairs beyond the piazza, no promenade around the outside, small balconies. We noticed these, however, not something that took away from our enjoyment. BTW, for those who complain about rust and wear on other, older ships the Regal is only 6 months old and the salt sea air does take a toll. We saw a lot of small rusting areas here and there and the crew was daily repainting here and there.

 

Cabin: We had a deluxe balcony on the Caribe deck, port side. C618 to be exact. Nice location and close to the aft stairs and elevators and almost right across from the self-serve laundry (very handy on a two week B2B). If you are a late sleeper every day you might not like this cabin as it is right over the tenders that are used in tender ports. You will hear noise in the mornings on tender days when they lower the tenders. The extra room and couch were nice. The extra storage (desk draws and shelves by the refrigerator cabinet) that you lose was not any problem for us. Not quite a mini-suite, but better than a standard balcony cabin. The balcony measured 4 ft. by 9 ft. compared to the 4 ft. 6 in. by 9 ft. 6 in. balcony that we had on our Golden balcony cabin. Also, the shower was spacious compared to the one on the Golden (I always wondered how some people were able to fit in the showers on the Golden considering that I am not particularly big. No offense meant to anyone who is plus size, btw. Just that the showers on Grand class ships are so darn small unless you have a mini-suite or full suite.).

 

Food: Subjective, I know. However, just to dive into the shark tank, we thought the food was great. Funny thing, one night they served filet mignon. We always ask for medium rare. A guy at the table next to us asked for well done and he got medium rare. Without even tasting it he sent it back while telling his tablemates that it wasn’t so much how it is cooked as how it tastes. Big mistake on his part, however, because he complained that the well done meat was tough and not good. He should have kept the medium rare as it was nice and tender and tasty for us.

 

The Horizon Court buffet had an amazing array of really good and fresh food whenever we ate there. Take a walk around and see what is available before loading up your plate. If you want something cold like salad, get it and eat it first then go back for the hot stuff. If you get it all at once and eat the salad first the hot foods will be lukewarm or cold by the time you eat them. Be sure to check out the Bistro area for deserts for diner (and other food items for Breakfast and Lunch).

 

Try a lunch at Alfredo's. Great pizza, minestrone soup and green salad. Go hungry and/or split the pizza if you have the salad and soup. We ate there three times and loved it. And for anyone who wants to know there is an extensive wine list and a few beers on the menu. If you want a cocktail, they will get it for you at the Bellini’s bar next to them.

 

A few food random notes: The food was overall really good in the main dining room, the Horizon Court, Alfredo’s and the International Café. On formal night the lobster was not particularly good on the first leg, but, was quite good on the second leg of our cruise. The Beef Wellington is actually made with a pâté mix of ham and chicken liver. I know there was a thread about this a while back. I can also attest that there was so little of the mix in between the pastry and the beef it made no difference to me what it was. If you haven’t tried it, do! It is really good, and, be sure to order it medium RARE.

 

I talked to a cook in the Horizon Court and he suggested if you didn’t want your omelet made with the pasteurized egg that they usually use just ASK for a fresh egg omelet. Cool, I had no idea…

 

For the best desserts, as mentioned before, go to the Bistro when eating in the Horizon Court.

 

More to follow if anyone cares and I get motivated (or have enough to drink…:cool:).

 

BTW, I have the Patters all scanned in PDF format if someone can suggest a free, safe file sharing site.

Edited December 30, 2014 by ar1950

[pompeii]

Thanks for the review! We hope to be sailing the Regal next September and you've made it sound wonderful!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for the review! We sailed on the Royal last year in the Med., and can't wait to sail on the Regal in January. I know what to expect and will make a bee line to Alfredo's for embarkation lunch! On our last cruise we ate there three times and kept finding new favorites.

[CruisinFinsUp]

Great review thanks!

There is another thread here that is collecting links to patters - you might check there for ideas where to load them.

[bulldog on water]

Thanks for your thoughts, we will be on Regal in 46 days, can't wait. Hope you can share more of your thoughts (you will enjoy your cruise all over again, when you do)

[RocketMan275]

Thanks for the review, especially the heads up about the liver in the Beef Wellington. Now I know not to order that. (Yes, I read the part about a small part. No part is small enough.)

[Bimmer09]

Thanks ar, for the review and the update on the Beef Wellington question. I may order two on the Ruby!

 

Did you take any photos you can sure with us?

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Regal.

 

Norris

[ar1950]

Thanks ar, for the review and the update on the Beef Wellington question. I may order two on the Ruby!

 

Did you take any photos you can sure with us?

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise on the Regal.

 

Norris

 

Thanks Norris. Order 3 while you are at it.....one for me.:D

[cruisergal 1]

Thx for your review. We will be on the Regal in Feb, can hardly wait. Will definitely try Alfredo's. Any other hot tips? Which pool did you use?

[ar1950]

Thanks for the review, especially the heads up about the liver in the Beef Wellington. Now I know not to order that. (Yes, I read the part about a small part. No part is small enough.)

 

Funny thing about that, the current version of the Princess cook book (the wife just had to buy it after the culinary demonstration....lol) the recipe still shows a mushroom duxelles. The waitress, who, had been with princess for 12 years (and had even worked on the old Regal) assured me that it was a ham and liver pâté.

 

On week one, what little there was, it tasted like ham. On week two it did have a bit of liver flavor. You would never notice any of it if you skipped the two small areas where you could see the coating. On most of the dish there was basically none. Anyway, there were plenty of other choices. I'm sure you will find something that you like.

[ar1950]

Thx for your review. We will be on the Regal in Feb, can hardly wait. Will definitely try Alfredo's. Any other hot tips? Which pool did you use?

 

More to follow. There may be another tip or two.

 

We didn't use any of the pools on board. I mean, hey, we live in the deserts of AZ and have a pool in the backyard. Ocean beaches are a different story.:cool:

[RocketMan275]

Funny thing about that, the current version of the Princess cook book (the wife just had to buy it after the culinary demonstration....lol) the recipe still shows a mushroom duxelles. The waitress, who, had been with princess for 12 years (and had even worked on the old Regal) assured me that it was a ham and liver pâté.

 

On week one, what little there was, it tasted like ham. On week two it did have a bit of liver flavor. You would never notice any of it if you skipped the two small areas where you could see the coating. On most of the dish there was basically none. Anyway, there were plenty of other choices. I'm sure you will find something that you like.

 

Thanks for the additional information but I will continue to pass. I really, really, dislike even the faintest hint of liver. But that only leaves more for others, doesn't it?

[yoyosma]

More to follow. There may be another tip or two.

 

We didn't use any of the pools on board. I mean, hey, we live in the deserts of AZ and have a pool in the backyard. Ocean beaches are a different story.:cool:

 

thanks for the review. We will be on the Regal for 3 weeks in just a few short weeks.

 

I do have a question, where did you dock in St. Thomas both weeks? When we were on the Ruby December 2nd, we docked in Havensight even though the Regal was suppose to dock at Havensight and the Ruby was scheduled for Crown Bay. I guess you can't really trust the VInow website.

[ar1950]

thanks for the review. We will be on the Regal for 3 weeks in just a few short weeks.

 

I do have a question, where did you dock in St. Thomas both weeks? When we were on the Ruby December 2nd, we docked in Havensight even though the Regal was suppose to dock at Havensight and the Ruby was scheduled for Crown Bay. I guess you can't really trust the VInow website.

 

The first week we were at Havensight and the second week we were at Crown Bay. Kind of nice because it almost felt like we went to two different ports. :cool:

[yoyosma]

The first week we were at Havensight and the second week we were at Crown Bay. Kind of nice because it almost felt like we went to two different ports. :cool:

Thanks for the info. And yes, it does feel different at each dock. And typically what beach I go to is greatly influenced by which dock we are at.

[RyanMFitz1]

Thank you for posting such a POSITIVE review. It excites me even more to see what is GOOD about your vacation.

 

I am on regal in 53 more days !!

[ar1950]

Thank you for posting such a POSITIVE review. It excites me even more to see what is GOOD about your vacation.

 

I am on regal in 53 more days !!

 

Wonderful, 53 days. I wish I was now experiencing that anticipation! :cool:

 

 

 

Ok, speaking of positive and good, that brings up something. I was in the piazza watching a couple from Anchorage, AK who were, like, the best dancers ever. A young lady with a Princess uniform came and stood beside me and I said that Princess really needed to hire those two dancers. Not to take away anything from the band that was playing, but, that dancing just enhanced the whole experience. She agreed. And she also asked how we were enjoying the cruise. BTW, this was something that we experienced quite often on the first few days of the first leg of the cruise.

 

 

 

Apparently Princess is taking note of the complaints. I told her that everything was “top shelf”, food, service, crew, they couldn’t be better. She said that was great to hear and thanked me. I then asked what her job was. She said that she was in charge of training and motivating employees. Wow, cool, I said. Well, not so much because she said that it was a tough position to be in. How so (?) I asked. She said a lot of passengers really give the crew members a hard time about really minor issues. She said just this afternoon a crew member came to her in tears and after investigating whatever the problem was it wasn’t anything to do with the crew member. I told her to keep up the good work. We very much appreciate the work that she was doing. Thank you Princess for hiring great employees.

 

 

 

OK, folks, I get it. The cruise is big deal. But, just like life, it is a “process” and you want it to instead be an “experience”. You will more often than not be disappointed with life situations if you are looking for an “experience”. Don’t chew out crew members that are trying their best even if what they do doesn’t live up to your expectations. I told that young lady to keep up the good work and I did not understand that passenger’s attitude. We generally “go with the flow” and would not complain about anything unless it was really egregious. That has yet to happen on any cruise we have been on, Princess or otherwise. It especially didn't happen on this cruise.

Edited December 31, 2014 by ar1950

[HRPro]

We sailed on the Regal in November and echo your positive comments especially about the food, which was wonderful, and the ship, which is beautiful. Can't wait to sail on her again. Thanks for the great review, which brought back good memories of our cruise.

[BroncoLvrs]

Thank you for the great review. We leave on the Royal in 39 days and can't wait! :D

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[ar1950]

Thank you for the great review. We leave on the Royal in 39 days and can't wait! :D

 

That is exactly how you should feel!!

[Astro Flyer]

'ar1950'...thanks for your "thoughts" about the Regal which reflect our feelings after 27 days (2 cruises) on the Royal and looking forward to 17 days on the Regal in April. :D After 2 deluxe balconies we'll have a "sideways" inside cabin to afford a longer cruise.

[ar1950]

'ar1950'...thanks for your "thoughts" about the Regal which reflect our feelings after 27 days (2 cruises) on the Royal and looking forward to 17 days on the Regal in April. :D After 2 deluxe balconies we'll have a "sideways" inside cabin to afford a longer cruise.

 

Wow, sounds like a plan. Enjoy the cruise. As always, wish we were with you!!

[ar1950]

Then there was the entertainment. We don’t usually do the “shows”. The only two that we went to in the Princess theater were Fiera! on the first leg and the “Farewell” show with David Klinkenberg on the last night of the second leg. I would highly recommend that, no matter the venue, if you have a chance to see David Klinkenberg you need to see him!

 

My only criticism about the Princess theater is HEY! Guy in the production booth, TURN DOWN THE VOLUME just a bit, my ears are BLEEDING!

 

Other entertainment, wow, Princess just outdid themselves on these two cruises. I’ll just make a list. Evolution, an amazing and versatile group (their repertoire of songs was amazing), Tyrone Babb (exceptional steel drum player), The Rick Kilburn Quartet (or Trio when the front man George Evens wasn’t singing)(btw, guys who are married or with your girlfriend, ask George to sing “Somewhere Beyond the Sea” in French. You won’t regret it. Wink, wink, nod, nod!), Tom Franek (he played daily in Crooners and the place was packed, funny and a wonderful piano man), Solplay (if you like soul type music or even if you don’t, this group will not disappoint), and there were a few more that we didn’t see that others commented on and said that those people were really good acts.

 

For those who can’t fathom a B2B with the same itinerary and activities all I can say is even with two weeks you can’t see and do it all. And, yeah, we are ready to go back and see what we missed!!

Edited December 31, 2014 by ar1950

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

 

My only criticism about the Princess theater is HEY! Guy in the production booth, TURN DOWN THE VOLUME just a bit, my ears are BLEEDING!

 

Be sure to comment on that point when you fill out the questionnaire.

Has anyone ever been on any Princess ship where the volume wasn't extremely loud? :mad: