Regal Princess Feb 15-22 review

[cruisergal 1]

We're just off the Regal Princess a few days ago, and after doing 4 loads of laundry and putting everything away, I can now sit down and write about our experience on board the majestic Regal Princess.

 

I will start by saying we left Calgary on Friday 6:00 am and arrived in Miami at 8:30 pm, after a 2 1/2 hour layover in Phoenix. We rented a car at the airport in Miami, but beware, be prepared to hike a few miles to get to the car rental location. It's a long a winding way. We finally got our car at Alamo, they did not charge a drop off fee to Fort Lauderdale. We spent one evening with friends in Deerfield Beach, and the second night at the Extended Stays in Plantation. We had a complementary room as there had been some problems the last time we stayed there. The actual room rates for that time were about $275/night, definitely not worth it, so book early. We spent the Saturday shopping at the Festival Flea Mkt, great stuff, and also hit Macy's since we do not have it in Canada. We ate dinner at a wonderful authentic New York deli in Plantation called Too Jay! They have great pastrami sandwiches and desserts.

 

DAY 1 - Embarkation

 

We dropped the car off at Alamo, and caught their shuttle to the Everglades Port. It was a 10 minute ride. Got to the port at 11:00 am, checked our luggage with the porters went right into check in, no wait we are Platinum, and had to only wait about 15 - 20 and they allowed us to go on board. There were the regular showing of id along the way, and they did not have the typical booth to take pictures with for your id card. It was a hand held camera, really neat.

 

Once on board, we of course were famished, so I told my DH that we should try the Alfredo's rest. He said it would probably be closed, and I responded, not according to my CC pals, they said it would be open, so we turned immediately left as we entered the ship, an lo and behold it was right there. The person at the front, tried to steer us to go to the main Horizon Buffet, but I insisted that we wanted to eat there. There were only a handful of people there. The service is impeccable, the food was delicious. Everything we had was done to perfection. We had an eggplant dish, I forgot the name of it, but it was to die for. The pizza were thin crust and designer toppings, and were excellent. We also had Caesar salad, and antipasto, and tiramisu which was one of the best I have ever had. I could've eaten a whole cake, but I limited myself to 1 slice. For months previous to this cruise, I have been on Weight Watchers and have lost 50 lbs, and will not feel guilty if I gain a few pounds here and there, as I will go right back on Weight Watchers when I get home!

 

After lunch we went to our cabin at around 1:00 and I couldn't believe it, our luggage was already there ready for us to unpack and get organized. That's a first. There was a beautiful arrangement of flowers for me from DH, the sweetheart knows how to get on my good side! We met our steward Pie like in Apple, he told us no one ever can say his real name, so Pie it is! We never saw much of him throughout the week, but he kept things immaculate, and was on call whenever we requested anything special. I wish I could take Pie home with me!!!

 

We went on a tour of the ship to check things out. There is gold decorations and glass richly displayed throughout the piazza. Done in class, not gaudy at all, like some of the Carnival ships. It was all elegantly displayed in excellent taste. The glass walk was an added feature where you can see the water below you as you walk. I held onto the railing for dear life as I am afraid of high places, looking down. Dh took pictures of me with my terrified face!

 

The fountain pool on deck 17 is rather small for the size ship as a main pool where MUTS is also going throughout the day. It is quite an active noisy place, so if you want quiet, go somewhere else. It is the only pool that I stayed at during sea days, and of course the chair hogs were out in full force, with a towel saving their chair. It is really quite obnoxious, because some of the chairs rarely had anyone sitting in them as people changed their minds.

 

Muster drill was quick and painless, they do take attendance by scanning your id card, so don't even think of missing it. After the drill our CC roll call group had a M & G at the Horizon Terrace. There were about 20 or so people, it was hard to tell because there were a lot of people standing around. Nice to be able to put a face with a CC name!

 

We went back to the cabin for a little R & R, and then got ready for dinner. We had the formal late dining at 8:15 pm in the Allegro dining room. The room itself was gorgeous, huge, yet intimate and a beautiful setting. In the middle of the room there was a large table seating about 15 enclosed by crystal curtain with a huge crystal chandelier above the table, that was used for the Chefs Table, which was held twice during our cruise. We had already attended one on the Caribbean Princess, so at $115/person, we decided not to do it again. We had a great table for 8 very talkative and outgoing people. We all got along really well, and it made our trip even better.

 

For dinner I had short ribs, which were tasty, tender and melted in your mouth, with whipped potatoes that were phenomenal. Everyone enjoyed there meals, so far so good. Dessert was just some cheese and fruit for me, I wanted to budget my food intake. After dinner we went to the Vista Lounge to hear Caribbean Steele Band, they were very entertaining, but there were very few people in the lounge, I guess they were all sleeping after a long travelling day. We also went to hear the Karaoke, there were some great singers there, they almost sounded professional, some probably were!

 

Finally it was time to go to sleep, so back at the cabin, there was a loud howling in the room when we left the balcony door open, so we called service and they sent someone immediately to take a look at it. He told us they would get it fixed the next day, because there was nothing he could do, and they did.

 

Sorry for being so long, I will continue with the trip daily, following... Thx for reading!

[cardqb]

Great review so far! Thank you for sharing. Perfect on the level of detail.. not too much, not too little!!

 

Looking forward to following along as you continue your review.

[kaytamar]

your review is getting me so excited for our cruise. Can't wait to keep reading!! Thanks.

[cruisergal 1]

Day 2 - Princess Cays

 

Woke up at 8:00, dressed & got our stuff together for Princess Cays, and went to Horizon Court for breakfast. The setup is very impressive and there was never any line ups for anything the way it is arranged. There was also a lot of seating and there was never any problem finding a seat even during peak times. For your first time, take a walk around to see everything they are offering. There are omelet stations in various places, also lox, cream cheese, etc in other places. There is a separate room in the middle for Danish, croissants, yogurt, cheeses,... Remember look around first. There is a Horizon Bistro, just further down, with phenomenal pastries, cookies, jello, mostly desserts. Everything we ate was delicious, the service was superb, they were constantly coming around with water, juice, & coffee. And the coffee was very drinkable, not like the syrupy stuff they had on the other ships!

 

After bkfst, we went to the tender, and only had to wait 10 minutes to get on to go to Princess Cays. We had our chairs right near the water, and the water was cold until you got used to it. I laid out basking in the sun while DH had a date with some fish in the water! It started getting overcast, cloudy around12:30, so we decide to go back to the ship for lunch at the Horizon Court. I had the chicken fajitas, which you make yourself, and Darryl had some ready made ham and cheese toasted sandwiches, which we both enjoyed immensely. Then we headed to the Bistro for some fancy mini desserts which were Yummy. We sat up on deck for a few hours to listen to a live band. There were lots of live bands throughout the ship for entertainment, and all were great. We grabbed a couple of slices of pepperoni pizza on deck and I must admit that Princess makes the best pizzas on the high seas!

 

We headed to the casino to set up our cards for the slot pull that I arranged for our CC roll call. I dropped a few $$, and Darryl made a few, so we're equal. The slot machines seem pretty tight, so tomorrow should be interesting.

 

Dinner tonight was delicious again, I had a great salad with balsamic dressing, wish I could get the recipe for the dressing, it was so good. I also had the surf & turf. The meat was seasoned just right and so tender you could cut it with a fork. The prawns were fabulous, I even asked for more. Darryl had some cold cantaloupe soup, and it taste like a smoothie. His beef medallions were gone within a couple of minutes, I guess he enjoyed them! For dessert we had the NY Cherry Cheesecake, to die for and Darryl the big kid had a banana split.

 

After dinner we went to the main show The Unexpected Boys, music of the Four Seasons. They were fabulous, one of the best shows I have seen on the Princess stage. The group were all in the original Les Miserables on Broadway, and they formed this group. Their last song was from Les Mis, and what a powerhouse, they did a phenomenal job on the song. Don't miss this show if it is offered on your cruise.

[cruisergal 1]

Day 3 - Sea Day

 

Up at 9:00, headed off to the Horizon Court for my bagels, lox and cream cheese, what a treat, I sure was a happy camper. Darryl went to get his assortment, and we sat with an interesting couple from Utah. Half the fun of the trip is meeting and talking with people from all over the country. Everyone is so friendly and talkative, and of course Darryl (I call him Chatty Kathy), encourages everyone to talk, and he loves telling stories and has people in awe all the time!

 

After bkfst, it was time to park my pale skinned body in the sun to get bronzed. The only seats available was on the 17th deck, one deck over the pool. It was very windy, and things were flying every which way, but nevertheless very sunny and relaxing. D went galavanting around the ship with his camera, he usually takes over 3,000 pictures on our trips, whatever, at least he's happy doing it, and it costs nothing with the digital camera's.

 

He picked me up for lunch and we ate at the Horizon Court again, chicken fingers, that were crispy and delicious with a tangy sauce, a grilled vegie burrito, and a shrimp salad. I thoroughly enjoyed it all. Best cruise food I have eaten so far.

 

We went to the casino to meet up with the CC roll call group for our slot pull that I organized. 27 people showed up and we played for over an hour on the $3.00 slot machine, we didn't win anything, and it only ended up costing us $5/each to play 8 pulls each. It was a lot of fun, try to get someone to organize one for your cruise. We made so much noise, people from around us were joining us to see what was happening. After it was over we went to Club 6 where we held our formal M & G. Only around 20 people attended out of over 50 to were signed up to come, that was disappointing. Martyn Moss the cruise director came to talk with us and had a Q & A. He was very personable and upfront about anything we asked him.

 

On the way back to our cabin, we dropped off at the INternational Café for a grilled meat sandwich, after all it had been at least 3 hours since we last ate. Darryl went to pick up some scones and cookies at the Bistro to have back at our cabin, in case we got hungry again. I must say, we never eat like this at home, thank goodness.

 

Tonight was formal night, after our drink out on the balcony we got dressed in our finery and headed out to the Allegro Dining Room to eat again! Had a lighter meal, fish, which was cooked to perfection and just the right touch!

Couldn't refuse the desserts again, they were decadent and absolutely fantastic, it was a chocolate mocha, thingy. Don't remember what it was called.

 

Went to see Michael Minor, a comedian ventrilloquest. He was absolutely amazing and put on a great, entertaining show. After the show we were zonked, all that eating got us tired out, and tomorrow is St. Thomas, a big tour day to St. John, and hopefully time for jewellery shopping.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for posting a review.

[New York Nana]

Great review! I am enjoying reliving our recent trip and getting excited about our next one on the Regal this October.

Keep it coming!

[HRPro]

Enjoying your review. Like you, we thought the food on the Regal was some of the best we've had on a cruise ship!

[sunsetbeachgal]

We did embarkation lunch at Alfredos on the Regal, just as we had done on the Royal. Love it there, it is so much more than pizza! That eggplant is wonderful, hope you tried the little ravioli!

 

Thanks for your review!

[TorontoTL]

Enjoying your review. Thank you for taking the time to post it.

[jovisoul]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review! I am enjoying it! Can't wait till December for my cruise on the Regal!

[bikevegas]

Thanks for the review! Very informative! Going on the Regal in March , cant wait!

[michelle028]

Hi!

 

Thx for the reviews so far, could you let me know if they have a special Caribbean menu item in the Mdr every night.

 

Thx for your reply!

[wrongwaywatson]

Thanks for posting! I am enjoying your vacation :)

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your great review.

 

It sounds like you had an amazing trip!

[pusywillow]

Enjoying your report.

[slc22]

I'm really enjoying your review! Thanks for posting.

[2+2]

Thanks for the review. Going on Regal soon. I noticed you had 8:15 dinning on day 1. I was recently just wondering if they even had formal dinning on day 1.

 

I have the 6:00 dinning, will they have it on day 1.

[riclop]

Enjoying your review.

[cruisergal 1]

Thanks for the review. Going on Regal soon. I noticed you had 8:15 dinning on day 1. I was recently just wondering if they even had formal dinning on day 1.

 

I have the 6:00 dinning, will they have it on day 1.

 

Yes they had the formal dining on day 1.

[cruisergal 1]

We did embarkation lunch at Alfredos on the Regal, just as we had done on the Royal. Love it there, it is so much more than pizza! That eggplant is wonderful, hope you tried the little ravioli!

 

Thanks for your review!

 

Unfortunately, we did not get to try the ravioli. Next time though!

[cruisergal 1]

Hi!

 

Thx for the reviews so far, could you let me know if they have a special Caribbean menu item in the Mdr every night.

 

Thx for your reply!

 

There was no special Caribbean menu item nightly. They did have some Caribbean food a few times, but I never chose it.

[cruisergal 1]

Day 4 - St. Thomas

 

After bkfst again at the Horizon court for my bagels, lox and cream cheese, we took our time eating, as we were taking a ship tour to St. John that was only leaving at 10:30 am. We never take ship tours but do private island tours, but since there was a ferry involved and 6 ships in port, I did not want to chance it with the timing. So we got onto the ferry, which came right to where the ship was docked and the ride was about 45 minutes to get to St. John. We were met by a Safari type bus which held 27 people. Our row of course had the largest man on the tour so we were squished together throughout our tour.

 

The roads were very narrow and they drive on the opposite side of the street. Needless to say, the drive was like a scary ride in an amusement park. We definitely held our breadths a few times, on the winding roads. The tour itself lasted 3 hours and then they dropped us off at the ferry. St. john is a beautiful island and has beautiful beaches. The scenery is magnificent.

 

The ferry ride back dropped us off right across from the ship, and since it was already almost 4:00 we decided not to go into town, so no shopping! Darryl had a big smile on his face because he knew he had just saved a lot of money, not having to buy me some jewellery. We went up to the Bistro for a quick bite and brought back some scones to our cabin, to have with a drink on the balcony. We watched a stupid movie on t.v., I dozed off through most of it, and before too long it was time to get dressed and go for dinner.

 

It was Italian night tonight, and I had the shrimp cocktail, veal Marsala with whipped potatoes, and green beans. It was delicious. I could've eaten another order of veal, but I paced myself.

 

After dinner we went to the main show Fiera which was quite spectacular. Best show we have seen on board to date. The costumes, set, and singing were professionally done, and we thoroughly enjoyed the 10:30 show. Finding seats to the late shows was never a problem, and were quite full. Another wonderful funfilled day completed.

 

 

Day 5 - St. Maarten

 

We were up by 7:00 and at the Horizon Court for our brekkie. We tried a cronut at the International Café, and I was not impressed. It was not all that I thought it would be from the way others described it. Infact I only took 1 bite and gave the rest to Darryl, who didn't finish it either.

 

We met up with Bernard's Tour #2 at 8:30, there were about 20 of us in an air conditioned new bus, with Mailman as our tour guide. He was wonderful, a great ambassador for St. Maarten. He had his potent home made rum punch, wine, beer, soft drinks, water, available on ice throughout the trip, which last for 5 1/2 hours for only $45/person. We toured both sides of the island, and he told stories throughout the tour. We went to Orient Beach for 2 hours, the waves were very strong knocking me down and I couldn't get up...Darryl had to pull me up. That did it for me, totally not enjoyable. As we sat on the beach, we were approached numerous times by locals selling their goods, giving massages, selling jewellery, clothing, aloe vera. We had a great time and would definitely recommend Bernards tours. He also took us to see the jets landing at Maho Beach. That was quite the sight, a must see when your there. The planes come right over your head, its amazing. We saw a 747 fly in and we were in awe. Darryl of course took his dozens of pictures of the sight!

Mailman took us back to the port totally exhausted, and just ended up going into a few stores at the port, and did not bother to go into town. Again Darryl got away easy, no jewellery purchases!

 

We got back to the ship and were hand ice cold face cloth to cool off, since it was such a hot day. We grabbed some lunch at the bistro, and then went back to the cabin for some R & R. We left St. Maarten around 5:30, heading out to sea for 2 days. A couple of hours later, I mentioned to Darryl that I see a lot of lights outside. He said it was impossible, looked out and noticed we were heading to an island. 10 minutes later an announcement came from the captain saying we were heading back to St. Maarten for a medical emergency. He didn't say why, but rumours later said that someone got liquor poisoning. We never were told exactly what the circumstances were.

 

We went to dinner and it was a fiasco tonight. Everything went wrong. The service was bad, the food was awful. I had the goat cheese soufflé, which is usually one of my favourite dishes, and it came out very lumpy and mushy, unedible. The salad was wilted and the dressing had no flavour. My main course was a trio - the veal was a piece of fat, the lamb could not be cut with a knife and the chicken skewers were dried out. 5 people at our table including Darryl had the fried chicken and it came raw, blood still running out of it. Darryl had to re-order it 3 times, and then the final time it came dried out. The sous chef came out to talk with us and apologize and said he would make us a special meal on Saturday night the last night. He told us to write up the incidence in the survey that Princess sends out after the cruise. The Maitre De also came to talk with us, and said he would make it up to us. One of the guys at our table said, just bring us some wine, or a drink, and he said he couldn't do that. We never did receive that special meal or anything, and they tried to avoid us the next 2 nights. We were not impressed. Don't offer something if you're not going to follow through with it. I know we will all be contacting Princess corporate office to let them know how poorly this whole situation was handled. 6 out of the 8 people at our table are Platinum!

 

On a positive note, Darryl and I went to the casino and I won $250, and Darryl won $80. A good way to end a challenging night! Now we have 2 sea days ahead of us.

[caribill]

Yes they had the formal dining on day 1.

 

Embarkation day is usually called day 1.

 

There is never a formal evening on embarkation day.

[kelly94942]

We went to dinner and it was a fiasco tonight. Everything went wrong. The service was bad, the food was awful. I had the goat cheese soufflé, which is usually one of my favourite dishes, and it came out very lumpy and mushy, unedible. The salad was wilted and the dressing had no flavour. My main course was a trio - the veal was a piece of fat, the lamb could not be cut with a knife and the chicken skewers were dried out. 5 people at our table including Darryl had the fried chicken and it came raw, blood still running out of it. Darryl had to re-order it 3 times, and then the final time it came dried out. The sous chef came out to talk with us and apologize and said he would make us a special meal on Saturday night the last night. He told us to write up the incidence in the survey that Princess sends out after the cruise. The Maitre De also came to talk with us, and said he would make it up to us. One of the guys at our table said, just bring us some wine, or a drink, and he said he couldn't do that. We never did receive that special meal or anything, and they tried to avoid us the next 2 nights. We were not impressed. Don't offer something if you're not going to follow through with it. I know we will all be contacting Princess corporate office to let them know how poorly this whole situation was handled. 6 out of the 8 people at our table are Platinum!

 

Thank you for your detailed review, I'm really enjoying it!

 

Your dinner fiasco sounds awful - I'm going to hope that they were just having a bad night. I'm on the Regal on 3/8 and I'm very much looking forward to both the goat cheese souffle and the fried chicken!