Lots of bad reviews on CC for Regal

[abisha]

I am booked on Regal in April. Under the reviews page there is one bad review after another and another. Each one all commenting same thing...bad customer service, bad dining room service, crew seems unhappy and just going through the motions and so on.

 

I usually pay no attention to the ridiculousness of the outlandish complaints but when everyone is commenting on the same things you cannot help but wonder. I know it's a new ship and they need to work out the kinks.

 

I had such a positive experience on the Ruby in November and also saw the Regal at Port getting ready to be christened that I decided to give her a try.

 

Would love to hear some positives about her.

[cruisequeen4ever]

DH and I LOVED our cruise on the Regal last summer and can't wait to sail her again! The only negative for my DH was the smaller balcony. The crew change over all the time, so you can't judge the ship by that. The new amenities are fabulous, like the gigantic Horizon Court/Bistro/Pastry Shop. The daily food stations was delicious and fun. Go and enjoy!

[New York Nana]

I can't speak to anyone elses' opinions. And I am still traveling post-cruise, so my 'review' is no where complete, I can say unequivocally that our 7 day Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Regal was the BEST experience we have had on our 8 cruises with Princess!

We never encountered one employee who was not friendly or helpful; we never encountered a meal that did not satisfy (with the exception of my DH "Kingklip" fish dinner that was a bit overcooked). Both our waiter and head waiter were VERY apologetic and eager to satisfy with a replacement meal. We had traditional early seating in the Allegro DR.

The entertainment was outstanding. We were so happy we got to see The Beatlmaniacs and Fiera. The stand up comedian, Steve White, had the entire audience crying with laughter!

The in stateroom TV took a minute to figure out, but then it was great. On Demand movies and TV shows, replays of game shows filmed live in the Princess Live theater.

CD Ron Goodman and his assistant CD, Ryan Adams, were EVERYWHERE on the ship and a delight to encounter. Ryan could have been a standup comedian on his own. You MUST go to the various game shows that he hosts!

Ron is onboard until Jan 25 and then after his vacation, will be headed to the Sapphire Princess as it deploys to Asia. Ryan is on until June and will be making the TA to Copenhagen.

I understand that a large number of staff who have been on board will be leaving in the next couple of weeks, so I can't definitely say that staff coming on board will be the same. But, I've never had any issues with any Princess staff on any Princess cruise we've been on.

The ship is large. Wear walking shoes! We had a mid-ship "obstructed view" deluxe balcony (no, there is no real obstruction). Being one deck up from the Promenade deck, we would have appreciated the mid-ship stair case, but the forward stairs were really not that far forward (as opposed to the CB or Ruby).

With the exception of the first day, I never found the elevators to be overly crowded, and when they were, I never found it long to wait for the next one.

There never seemed to be a crowded fitness center and we never had an issue getting a table in the buffet for breakfast. Speaking of the buffet - it is GORGEOUS! I had a freshly made omelet each morning and there was a waffle station in the Pastry shop.

Well, I said my review isn't finished - but you can see from the above what to expect from it!

Happy to answer any specific questions if I can.

Look for the positives on the ship and you will see them everywhere - look for the negatives and the same theory applies!

[Posaune]

Our Thanksgiving cruise on Regal was the second best of our 13 Princess cruises. The staff was GREAT and the food wonderful.

[unc84]

We sailed the Regal the week after Thanksgiving & absolutely loved it. The Piazza area is fabulous - so open & pretty & large. We really enjoyed Alfredo's as a sit down dining experience with no charge. We don't go to the dining room often & like having another alternative. We also had the best meal ever at the Crown Grill. We always do this on all our cruises & the food this time was wonderful - best steak ever. We loved the new Horizon court with all the choices and loved that the pastry shop was by itself.

 

The MUTS screen is so clear. We watched football & movies & enjoyed that. We also loved the on demand movies & shows on the in room tv.

 

The new shows were fabulous. I was able to drag my husband to all of them since they were new!

 

The only thing we didn't like was the Princess Live venue. There was not enough room for popular things - like the marriage game show (go early if you want a seat) and no place to put your drink down. We prefer Explorers Lounge, but it's a small thing.

 

These are just a few of our observations. We cruised over Christmas on the Ruby and have to say we missed the Piazza area on the Regal, but the Ruby was more like going home to an old friend!

[boone2]

Absolutely loved our transatlantic on the regal. We always chooseriviera aft area. We never had a problem with crowded or slow elevators and we loved the new buffet and pastry shop. Spent a lot of time in vines. Usually love crooners but didn't care for the piano player there. GreAt shows and we don't normally do shows and a welsh female comedian who I split my sides laughing at. MDR food was OK. Not as good as usual but still enjoyable and well presented and saved. Loved the retreat area. So quiet and not hard to get a sun lounger. All in all one of my favourite ships

Terry

[bigredcrusier]

I also have been looking at the recent reviews. I don't give them much credit if I can tell they haven't researched the Princess line or the Regal before sailing on her. If no central stairs, no real promenade deck, and smaller balconies are deal breakers, then is on you for making a bad choice.

 

When your unhappy and looking for faults I am sure you will find them.

[abisha]

Thanks so much for the positive reviews so far. I am really looking forward to the Regal. Service food and entertainment are what's important to me.

 

Would love to hear any other positives from those who would like to share.

[DebJ14]

Thanks so much for the positive reviews so far. I am really looking forward to the Regal. Service food and entertainment are what's important to me.

 

Would love to hear any other positives from those who would like to share.

 

My son and his wife took the Regal on Nov. 16 for their 15th anniversary. They came back raving about the staff, food, excursions and the ship. They are well traveled and very picky. They have sailed RCCL, NCL, Princess and Carnival and said that this was their favorite ship by far. They were in an MA mini suite.

[birdiebill]

We did the inaugural 3 day Caribbean cruise on the Regal in November. We loved the ship. Our only complaint was 3 days is way to short to be on a cruise. We did not miss center stairs, nor did we think elevators to be an issue.

[RoePost]

Don't concern yourself about the Regal...we are Elite Princess passengers and sailed Regal in November...it was one of my favorite cruises even though we visited ports I have been to many times...It was all due to the splendid ship and wonderful and warm crew on the Regal...Go and enjoy yourself..

[FLUFFLULA]

I too was concerned about the negative reviews of the Regal. My DH and I are going with his sister and BIL in March on their second cruise so we were hoping it would be as great as their first cruise on the CB last summer. It is great to know that we can expect as great of a cruise on the Regal as we hoped!:)

[HRPro]

I can echo the positive experiences mentioned above. We sailed Regal in mid November, and it was one of our top cruises ever. Beautiful ship, exceptional service and activities, and the best food we've had on any of our cruises. Loved Alfredo's, food in the MDR, plenty of lounges in shade or sun,and our spacious mid-ship mini suite. Very friendly crew and passengers. We can't wait to sail the Regal again!

[Loonbeam]

I really do think people's perception of the ships design (this goes for Royal and Regal) are really negatively impacting their perceptions of other areas..

 

I've seen more than a few extended reviews that if you read carefully end up being more about Princess not keeping their favorite design elements.

[Mom33]

My review of the Regal is the second url below. We had an excellent cruise. :D

[JimmyVWine]

I haven't sailed on Regal, but I offer the following analysis:

Cruisers tend to be a loyal lot. When looking at reviews, pay attention to whether the author is a long time Princess passenger or usually cruises on one or more other lines but tried out Regal to see what the "latest and greatest" from PCL is all about. For the most part, Princess loyalists will fall into the following categories:

a) Believe that Royal and Regal are the logical evolution of the brand that they love and hence love the direction the ships have taken;

b) Believe that Princess has a certain look and feel and find that Royal/Regal fit that model. Not "wowed" by the new builds, but enjoy them just the same as the meet expectations; and

c) Love the old builds and are disappointed by the new builds.

 

Without any hard data, I would guess that a+b far outnumber c. So the negative reviews should not be coming from Princess loyalists in large numbers. If they are, then there is a problem. That leaves folks who have migrated over from other cruise lines. At base, Royal and Regal follow the Princess model. People who are loyal to Carnival, Royal Caribbean, Norwegian, Holland America and Celebrity are going to be greeted by a ship that is not at all similar to what they are used to. If one is an ice skating, rock climbing, free style cruiser, Regal could possibly disappoint. Not because it is a worse ship, but because it is unfamiliar.

 

So look at the negative reviews and consider the source. That is not to say that reviews from any source should be disregarded. But it could help explain the relative disappointment. I get nervous when I see a scathing review tron a Princess Elite passenger. But when a review starts out: "We usually sail on Royal Caribbean..." I get some perspective. Just my $0.02.

[LarryF]

If you check out the people that post reviews on the member reviews section, most of them (especially the negative posters) have never or rarely written a review and most have little to no posts on any of the boards.

 

I pay more attention to the reviews people do with live posts on the message boards or reviews written by someone who has at least 1,000 posts on these boards. These are usually avid cruisers that have lots of cruising experience and usually give honest balanced reviews.:)

[travellovers2]

This was my review... Please do take the ship and enjoy it. I always prefer to have my own experience and not just listen to what others say. It's a beautiful ship with a few kinks that need to be fixed. :rolleyes:

 

-----------------------------

We took this cruise mainly to celebrate New Year's Eve on a cruise as we normally have done. We also wanted to experience a "new" ship on Princess since most of the ships they have are old and are showing their wear and tear. The Regal is a beautiful ship. The public areas were very clean. We enjoyed The Crooners bar, great staff!!

 

The layout is not as bad as others make it sound, you just need to get used to it. They do have stairs in the middle, but they're closed off for cabin decks. You can use them in the decks that are for public areas. We used them many times when the elevators were running slow.

 

The room is just like any other ship, who cares what size it is, we're not going to live in it!!! The balcony is small, but all you need to do is stand or sit there for a little while. We hardly use our balcony unless it's to see a new port. We have been to these ports 6 times, so this was a relaxing cruise for us.

 

The fountain show is beautiful!! of course it's not a play area, kids can slip and fall. People need to follow rules. The Skyway walk was okay but not as spectacular as we expected. That happens when you have high expectations. LOL.

 

One negative part of this cruise, in our opinion, was the food and service in the MDR. It happened every night, not just a hit and miss. It seems as if the staff is new to this and not fully trained. It always felt as if they were running around trying to figure out what to do. Even one server told us that he felt like a chicken without a head. One night they found our wine bottle in a restaurant we had never gone to. The poor guy had no assistant and was running behind. The food? well, we returned several dishes. Couples next to us told us that they had done the same, so it didn't seem to be us. The chef needs more training on how to cook caribbean dishes, when they were offered we tried them and ended up sending them back. He has no idea what a Puerto Rican mofongo or a Cuban lechon asado is. Please stop ruiningit for the people that think they're eating the real dish.

 

The anytime dining is a hassle. One night we waited 1.5 hrs to be called back. We sat down to eat at 9:30pm. We found out that people can make reservations so what's the point of calling it anytime dining? it created more hassles and longer wait time. One restaurant opens at 5:30 and the other at 7:30, they were both slow and they kept sending us to the other one. Not a good set up at all and the wait time is too much.

 

The Horizon court has actually improved. It looks like Princess finally listened to all the complaints about the hole in the wall place they have in older ships. This new layout is open and accommodates more people. We enjoyed the breakfast, but not the lunches. We ended up eating pizza on the last two days just to avoid the Horizon.

 

We didn't care much for the activities, we prefer to play trivia and they hardly offered it and when they did the staff seemed very defensive with guests. I guess it's because some people take it too serious and become obnoxious. I have to agree in one instance because they have a staff member that is from S. Korea that cannot speak English clearly and has a hard time reading it, so that made it very difficult because she pronounced the words incorrectly and sometimes you had no idea what the question was. But we enjoyed it and actually won one of the trivia challenges.

 

The theater is beautiful. Princess outdid themselves. The shows were spectacular!!! The singers and dancers were wonderful.. Applause to the company that produced these shows and costumes. We looked forward to going to the show every night. The comedian was hilarious!! A little too strong for some people, but you can't please everyone.

 

We don't know that happened when they built this ship, but if you have a cabin in the mid to aft, you will wake up every day in port very early because the ship starts shaking pretty bad.

 

Overall we enjoyed our cruise on the Regal Princess with the minor problems we look forward to the Royal very soon and then we will probably go back to other cruise lines. Princess does not have much more to offer. They put new ships out without proper personnel so that is ruining it for many, Even with new ships they don't change much except in size.

[azdmelani]

I am booked on Regal in April. Under the reviews page there is one bad review after another and another. Each one all commenting same thing...bad customer service, bad dining room service, crew seems unhappy and just going through the motions and so on.

 

I usually pay no attention to the ridiculousness of the outlandish complaints but when everyone is commenting on the same things you cannot help but wonder. I know it's a new ship and they need to work out the kinks.

 

I had such a positive experience on the Ruby in November and also saw the Regal at Port getting ready to be christened that I decided to give her a try.

 

Would love to hear some positives about her.

 

My new favorite ship! Was on her for 14 days in September and will be back on Sunday :) Loved the layout, the buffet, expanded piazza, Bellinis, Alfredos.

[Amster12345]

My cruise ended yesterday morning. Everyone has their opinions. I've been on a number of Princess ships, and this is one of my favorites.

 

It is a little different than the older ones, so of course some things are better and some worse. But I thought the pluses way outweighed the minuses.

 

The piazza area is great. It is much larger and so much more open. The shops, bars, photo gallery, etc. all seem to blend in instead of being separate little areas. The Horizon buffet area was much bigger, so seating was never a problem, and the food selection was bigger.

The MUTS was great. The SeaWalk was cool. The sports deck was improved. We play ping pong on cruises, and usually the tables are stuck on the side somewhere. On the Regal, there is a roofed game area with netting around it so the balls don't fly everywhere. And seating for people to watch. The walking/jogging track has exercise machines around it like you see in parks sometimes. I was in a balcony room. I thought the showers were a tad bigger than other ships' balcony rooms. The staff was great. Everyone was helpful and friendly.

 

I have only three negatives. One is the MDR arrangement. There are three, but only one is open for AnytimeDining at 5:30, so the line was longer than the other Princess ships we've been on. Second, the lack of center stairs that others have commented on. Our room was on deck 15 near the center, and we did seriously miss those. Third, the lounges and theaters seem to have smaller seating. My son, who is 6'2", thought the Princess Live chairs were too small and too close to each other. And that room as well as the Princess Theater have no room to put drinks. Which is weird. You'd think they want to sell more drinks.

 

So overall, I loved the Regal and definitely would go on this ship again.

[Amtrack Springfield]

We did a 3 day and a 7 day on the Regal in November. The CD was outstanding and the crew was friendly. We ate in the dining room most nights and the food was excellent. We really like the new layout of the Horizon Court and the Sweet Shop. We knew going in our Caribe balcony would be smaller than we like. The new TV's offer a lot of options. The main complaint no center stair case. It is not a problem for use because we take the stairs and not the elevator. Forgot their was plenty of entertainment. The new shows in the theater, Beatles, and Evolution band.

[Amster12345]

Definitely liked the new tv system. You can watch movies or shows anytime you want.

Also liked the new free ship wifi set up. You can look at events on your phone or iPad, see where they are happening, message your cabin mattress, check your bill.

 

--Amy

[Woobstr112G]

I have not sailed the Regal, but I did say the Royal. There are many people out there that will sing the praises of the two ships. I however am definitely not one of them. There were a few good things (The Piazza, Alfredos & The Enclave) that I did like. The many negatives however far outweighed the positives.

 

1. No walkaround promenade deck

 

2. No central staircase

 

3. Cramped theater with no cup holders

 

4. Terrible seating in the Vista lounge

 

5. Inability to enjoy a quiet meal in the Crown Grill due to the fact what Princess now calls the Wheelhouse bar is side by side with it's loud Piano.

 

6. Inability to enjoy a quiet meal in Sabatinis due to the fact it is right next to the Piazza where live bands play nightly.

 

7. Ridiculously small balconies.

 

8. Hideously overpriced Owners suites that aren't much bigger than a Vista suite.

 

9. Many aft cabin balconies that are plagued (at least on the Royal) by a daily build up of soot.

 

With all of the above mentioned negatives, I cannot say with 100% certainty that I would never again sail on the Royal class. It would however have to be one heck of a deal to an itinerary I couldn't live without.....

 

Bob

Edited January 13, 2015 by Woobstr112G

[Sam.Seattle]

Oh Bob.....

 

I was starting to get over my newly found concerns about sailing on the Regal this coming Christmas and New Years... but you have again raised concerns.

 

#8 and # 9 hit home with me....

[dmwnc1959]

Spent TWO WEEKS on the same ship....

 

 

I have not sailed the Regal, but I did say the Royal. There are many people out there that will sing the praises of the two ships. I however am definitely not one of them. There were a few good things (The Piazza, Alfredos & The Enclave) that I did like. The many negatives however far outweighed the positives.

 

1. No walkaround promenade deck Did not bother me, enjoyed relaxing on the Promenade Deck several times, watching the ocean, falling asleep

 

 

2. No central staircase Did not bother me, I guess I'm more patient or used the fwd/aft stairs

 

 

3. Cramped theater with no cup holders Did not bother me, seats were fine, and I can enjoy a show without a drink

 

 

4. Terrible seating in the Vista lounge Did not bother me, but then I didn't sit in the barrel chairs either

 

 

5. Inability to enjoy a quiet meal in the Crown Grill due to the fact what Princess now calls the Wheelhouse bar is side by side with it's loud Piano. Had TWO quiet meals there, one as a solo, the other with folks from our Roll Call

 

 

6. Inability to enjoy a quiet meal in Sabatinis due to the fact it is right next to the Piazza where live bands play nightly. Had TWO quiet meals there, one as a solo, the other with folks from our Roll Call

 

 

7. Ridiculously small balconies. My inside cabin was just fine, but I did sit out there on a balcony during a cabin crawl...it was fine enough for me

 

 

8. Hideously overpriced Owners suites that aren't much bigger than a Vista suite. Loved my inside cabin

 

 

9. Many aft cabin balconies that are plagued (at least on the Royal) by a daily build up of soot. No soot in my inside cabin, but yes, the AFT facing cabins, those on the stern that face directly aft, had soot issues, NOT the cabins on the side of the ship that were near the aft

 

 

With all of the above mentioned negatives, I cannot say with 100% certainty that I would never again sail on the Royal class. It would however have to be one heck of a deal to an itinerary I couldn't live without.....

 

Bob

 

Would most definitely cruise Royal Princess again, and I am already looking at booking Regal Princess. Was Royal Princess perfect? No, but to me the MANY positives FAR OUTWEIGHED any negatives.

 

:D

Edited January 13, 2015 by dmwnc1959