Regal 17 day TA FL-Copenhagen 4/15-5/2/15

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[dmwnc1959]

Hi Frank,

 

Welcome Back!!! My, how time flies so quickly too. :(

 

I'm glad you had a good time on Regal Princess despite the weather on the crossing. Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us. I can't wait until I can get aboard one of these beautiful ships again!

 

:D

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks for your comprehensive review.:D

 

Thanks for the review.

You're welcome.

[Astro Flyer]

Hi Frank,

 

Welcome Back!!! My, how time flies so quickly too. :(

 

I'm glad you had a good time on Regal Princess despite the weather on the crossing. Thanks for sharing your experiences with all of us. I can't wait until I can get aboard one of these beautiful ships again!

 

:D

Thanks...it's hard to believe that we have no cruises booked while watching for last-minute deals. :eek:

 

I look forward to someday sailing on a Royal-class ship again although unfortunately Princess doesn't care enough about their West Coast passengers to deploy one of them here. The East Coast, Europe & Caribbean have the Royal & the Regal but Princess prefers to homeport the next one year round in Shanghai & modifying it for Chinese travelers. It would be great to sail them to Hawaii, Mexico & Alaska but that's not a priority for Princess.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6343

 

I understand that it's all about the money but I don't have to like their decision to ignore West Coast travelers. :(

[Astro Flyer]

Welcome home! Thanks for the review.

 

No matter which ship, when weather is cooler/cold/rainy/windy, people congregate inside and hog tables. I've experienced that many times. On the Royal T/A last September, it was quite chilly most of the cruise and not really pool weather. The Piazza was crowded and the CD planned events and dance classes literally from morning until night with very loud, thumping music. Without a Skywalker's or the equivalent of the Adagio Lounge, there was no escape from the noise. Even in Club 6. :(

 

Without a covered pool area, many Princess ships feel overcrowded unless it's pool weather. It's not just the Royal or Regal.

 

Mahalo Pam! :)

 

I had the same experience on the Regal's cold weather TA and we adjusted to avoid crowds whenever possible & had a great cruise. :D

Edited May 11, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[dmwnc1959]

Thanks...it's hard to believe that we have no cruises booked while watching for last-minute deals. :eek:

 

I look forward to someday sailing on a Royal-class ship again although unfortunately Princess doesn't care enough about their West Coast passengers to deploy one of them here. The East Coast, Europe & Caribbean have the Royal & the Regal but Princess prefers to homeport the next one year round in Shanghai & modifying it for Chinese travelers. It would be great to sail them to Hawaii, Mexico & Alaska but that's not a priority for Princess.

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/news/news.cfm?ID=6343

 

I understand that it's all about the money but I don't have to like their decision to ignore West Coast travelers. :(

 

 

Without debating the whole 'follow the money' aspect of deploying ships, which I too understand but don't always agree with, it is a shame that so many cruise lines abandoned the west coast for so long and are, just recently, slowly coming back to it. I just wish that if they were sending the newest ship in the Princess Cruises fleet overseas on a permanent basis, at least send back Sapphire Princess to the west coast.

 

:D

[Pam in CA]

Frank, there are some interesting West Coast itineraries planned for 2016-17, including a 19-day R/T to the Panama Canal out of LA on the Island Princess. Far fewer short cruises (no surprise there). It'll be nice to have the Island sailing out of LA.

[caribill]

Also the elite formal night canapés options to be delivered to our cabins has eliminated our favorite option...chocolate covered strawberries.

 

They were still on the list in April on the Emerald Princess.

[Astro Flyer]

They were still on the list in April on the Emerald Princess.

 

Maybe the form dated Feb 2015 on the Regal will be gradually phased in on other ships...hopefully not.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Miss Pat]

They were still on the list in April on the Emerald Princess.

Just being the list doesn't mean they'll send them...as we found out. They'll just substitute anything they want sometimes and when you call to complain nothing will come of it.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks again! Just went on Amazon and ordered the Rick Steves Northern Europe Port book. So many are easy to DIY with a good guide book!

Edited May 11, 2015 by sunsetbeachgal

[Astro Flyer]

Thanks again! Just went on Amazon and ordered the Rick Steves Northern Europe Port book. So many are easy to DIY with a good guide book!

I think his are the best DIY guide books although I'll never be able to tour with just a rucksack like he is able to do. :p

 

For our cruise we removed the pages for our ports to only carry those we used during our cruise. For a couple of dollars he sells covers on his website to insert removed pages to not have to take the complete book on a trip. That was convenient for us although you could basically do the same thing with a stapler.

Edited May 11, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[caribill]

Just being the list doesn't mean they'll send them...as we found out. They'll just substitute anything they want sometimes and when you call to complain nothing will come of it.

 

Sometimes they run out of strawberries and thus have to substitute.

 

Sometimes they call to ask what alternative you would prefer and sometimes they just pick for you.

 

Once they substituted other fruit that they put chocolate on. I remember chocolate covered grapes from that time.

[Miss Pat]

Sometimes they run out of strawberries and thus have to substitute.

 

Sometimes they call to ask what alternative you would prefer and sometimes they just pick for you.

 

Once they substituted other fruit that they put chocolate on. I remember chocolate covered grapes from that time.

I wish they did call & ask. I would have chosen bananas. :)

Or better yet send a dish of those chocolate truffles they hand out on the party night. :D I could make them last a few days.

[caribill]

Or better yet send a dish of those chocolate truffles they hand out on the party night. :D I could make them last a few days.

 

No matter how many they sent, they would not make it to mid-night in our cabin.

[Miss Pat]

No matter how many they sent, they would not make it to mid-night in our cabin.

I ate so many on the last cruise & had two in my hand so I brought them back to the room to save for the next day.:p Next cruise I'll know better than to eat dessert after dinner.

[Astro Flyer]

Frank, there are some interesting West Coast itineraries planned for 2016-17, including a 19-day R/T to the Panama Canal out of LA on the Island Princess. Far fewer short cruises (no surprise there). It'll be nice to have the Island sailing out of LA.

Thanks for the update & it's not surprising to me that there are far fewer getaway short cruises.

[Astro Flyer]

Another change was when exchanging the elite minibar's mini booze bottles for beer, Heineken had replaced Becks with Dos Equis still the other option.

[jlf1]

 

They joked about the high price of food in Copenhagen & it was the 1st time they went to the airport to save money by eating at Burger King instead of at the Hilton! :p

 

I laughed when I read this because we did the same thing last August.

 

Judy

[hazelmaye]

I forgot to mention the 50th anniversary coupon booklet both of us received & we used a couple of them...a free 375 ml bottle of Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay at a specialty restaurant and a BOGO glass of wine offer at the Princess Theater.

 

Also the elite formal night canapés options to be delivered to our cabins has eliminated our favorite option...chocolate covered strawberries.

 

hi, We were on this sailing and loved it. So much better than the celebrity TA's we have taken. the Regal is beautiful. I was also on a sitar cruise that midway became a Princess ship. It was an alaskan cruise. Were you on that one way back when?

[cruiselover05]

We were on the Royal for 30 days in March and the chocolate covered strawberries were only available the first formal night. The second night the form had been changed and the berries eliminated. I wrote in chocolate and did get some truffles sent but the next night room service sent a plate of apps to everyone who had ordered the strawberries and an apology that they were no longer available. I guess I should have continued writing in candy to see what would happen but I also didn't wish to be charged so didn't.

[Astro Flyer]

I was also on a sitmar cruise that midway became a Princess ship. It was an alaskan cruise. Were you on that one way back when?

We sailed Sitmar's Fairwind in July 1988 on a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise and in January 1988 on the same ship as the Dawn Princess (original) on a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise. Sadly they already removed the great pizzeria but kept the pasta course & many of the great Italian & Portuguese crewmembers. :D

Edited May 13, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[Astro Flyer]

We sailed Sitmar's Fairwind in July 1988 on a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise and in January 1988 on the same ship as the Dawn Princess (original) on a 7 day Mexican Riviera cruise. Sadly they already removed the great pizzeria but kept the pasta course & many of the great Italian & Portuguese crewmembers. :D

 

Oops...January 1989! :o

[Astro Flyer]

I laughed when I read this because we did the same thing last August.

 

Judy

After 17 days of eating on the ship a few days at BK in Copenhagen was more like at home even though we rarely eat fast food...and it's In-n-Out if we want a burger. ;)

Edited May 13, 2015 by Astro Flyer

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your revie Frank. Looks like you had a great cruise.