Regal Princess: 12/10 - 12/20 L-O-N-G

[MaynrdG]

We’ve been back from our 12/10 – 12/20 Royal Princess Eastern Caribbean cruise for a little over a week now so I thought I’d just jot down some random thoughts of the experience. These are our own PERSONAL OPINIONS and your “mileage may vary” even if you were on the same cruise.

 

As you can tell from my signature line we are Princess fans. We have cruised them many times and have always enjoyed ourselves. With that said I’ll be honest right up front and say this was, beyond a doubt, the least enjoyable trip of them all, Princess or otherwise. Yes, there were a few outstanding experiences but, overall, we’d rank this cruise at a weak 4 out of 10.

So let’s get to the good stuff first.

 

The embarkation process was, by far, the best ever. We did not use Princess transfers and arrived at the terminal by taxi at 11:00AM, were through the priority boarding process by 11:10AM, seated in the terminal holding area by 11:15AM and boarding the ship by 11:25AM. We were told in the terminal cabins wouldn’t be ready until 1:00PM; onboard personnel advised us that the cabins were ready.

 

Our cabin steward, Marlon, was absolutely outstanding; one of the best we’ve ever had. In addition to keeping our cabin perfect he was very concerned with my wife’s wellbeing. We had flown to Ft. Lauderdale a week before embarkation for some much needed R&R. Two days before boarding my wife suffered an unfortunate accident that resulted in some very visible and rather painful looking injuries. Marlon went out of his way every day to make sure she was feeling OK and to ask if there was anything he could do for her. We had enjoyable conversations with him several times a day.

 

We did the Ultimate Balcony Dinner as a slightly belated anniversary present to ourselves. We had one of the angled balconies on Caribe deck (C415) and there was plenty of room. The Head Waiter, Miguel, and Assistant Waiter, Carolina, were awesome. By far one of the most enjoyable meals we’ve ever had afloat.

 

The Horizon Terrace became pretty much our permanent dining room. It was a great place to sit outside, with a great view of ocean. We ate every breakfast and most dinners (more about that later) there.

 

We did go to a couple of shows but missed a few because of scheduling conflicts with our Ultimate Balcony Dinner and Crown Grill reservations. The Beatlemaniacs show was pretty good. They did a good job with the Beatles music and certainly put on an enthusiastic performance. We arrived at “Sweet Soul Music” about fifteen minutes late and found people already walking out. We hung around for about ten minutes and found out why. We left, too. My wife was a little disappointed. She had grown up with that kind of music and was looking forward to the performance. We didn’t see the magic show but heard several positive comments about it.

 

We did two ship excursions. The Catamaran Sail and Lobster Lunch in Antigua was a little pricey (especially for two) but was worth every penny. We really enjoyed it. In St. Kitts we did a 4X4 tour with a beach break. The beach break was kind of ho-hum but the rest of the tour was really good.

 

In St. Lucia and Barbados we grabbed taxis at the port to our two favorite beach bars: The Warehouse in St. Lucia and The Boatyard in Barbados. Be aware that The Warehouse no longer accepts credit cards so be sure to have plenty of cash if you go there. (Lisa’s rum punch at The Warehouse receives my vote as the best in the Caribbean.)

 

Debarkation was probably the best ever. We left our cabin at 8:00AM as requested by Princess. We spent about ten minutes in the Platinum lounge before our color was called. Walked off the ship, grabbed a porter and our luggage, got an immigration line with nobody in it and were on our way to our hotel by 8:30AM.

 

OK, I’ve put this off as long as I can. Time for the not so good stuff.

With all the hype about the Piazza I was expecting a big WOW when we boarded but it was more a big MEH. It was pretty all right and looked nice but I didn’t think it was any more impressive than some of the other Princess ships we’ve sailed on. Later on in the cruise, when they started using it as an entertainment venue, I was even less impressed. The acoustics are awful and the volume of the entertainment there is incredibly loud. One night the party band was playing there on deck five and the music could still be plainly heard in the elevator lobby on deck 10 where our cabin was located. It was also very difficult to find an observation point to view the entertainment due to the crowds and layout of the space. The loudness from the Piazza entertainment made it next to impossible to enjoy a nice glass of wine and conversation at Vines. We had to shout our wine order to the server and couldn’t talk with each other at all.

 

I’ve never seen so many motorized scooters in one place since I went to the last big motorcycle rally. They were everywhere! And the drivers just picked a direction and went for it without looking around to see if anyone was anywhere near them. On several occasions I nearly became a hood ornament on a scooter headed to the buffet or the theater. It might not have been so bad if that were my intended direction but that wasn’t the case.

 

I know I’m going to take some heat for this but I’m a big kid and I can handle it. You New Yorkers (whether you still live there or have migrated to Florida) need to take a chill. (Your accent gives you away.) There is a limited amount of space for a large number of people aboard a ship; if we all take our time and watch out for each other we’ll all get to the same place in one piece. I was pushed from behind TWICE by the same man going down the stairs to the gangway. A threat of imminent bodily harm rectified that situation quickly.

 

Speaking of a large number of people brings up two points.

 

First, this was the first time ever I’ve felt crowded on a Princess ship. My wife’s accident made it difficult for her to navigate the stairs. As a result we were pretty much forced to use the elevators. (An unusual thing for us.) The lack of the midship stairs (wouldn’t have helped us but others may have used them freeing up some elevator space) plus the large number of “scooter folks” made getting a midship elevator next to impossible. As a result we were forced to walk almost all the way aft or all the way forward to get an elevator to reach our cabin even though our cabin was a couple of doors down the hall from the midships elevator lobby. I also believe strongly that the configuration of the promenade deck (that name ought to go away along with “mini-suite”) added to the congestion inside the ship. When I heard the promenade deck didn’t go all the way around the ship I imagined it was like other Princess ships where the promenade deck went all the way down each side of the ship but didn’t go around the bow or the stern. Error on my part. The promenade deck didn’t go all the way down either side of the ship at all. It was broken up in two places on each side by lifeboat machinery and locked gates with “Crew Only” signs. There really is no “promenade deck.” Bad design, I believe.

 

Second point dealing with “large number of people”… We were told by a long-time Princess employee, fairly high ranking in the food service department, that Princess food service employees “are afraid they’ll be assigned to Royal Princess.” Apparently, Princess has staffed the Royal with the same number of food service personnel as the gem class ships (Emerald, Diamond, Sapphire) even though the Royal carries roughly 500 more passengers. Service in both the Crown Grill and the Main Dining Room were both painfully slow. The night we ate in the Crown Grill our waiter was literally RUNNING from table to table and noticeably out of breath several times when he got to us. (Food in the Crown Grill was awesome and worth the wait.) The one night we ate in the Main Dining Room our waiter and assistant waiter had EIGHT tables.

 

You probably noticed “the one night we ate in the Main Dining Room” comment. To us, the new menus are awful. We’re not particularly picky eaters but we had one heck of time finding a dining room menu that had something that appealed to both of us. (The fettucine Alfredo and Love Boat Dream are as good as ever.) As a result we picked up dinner from the Horizon Court, a burger from the Trident Grill or pizza from the pool deck and went to our “dining room” on the Horizon Terrace most nights. We were really disappointed to see that what had previously been on the “always available” side of the menu didn’t appear to be always available any longer; at least not listed on the menu. They had been replaced by some new dishes by Princess’ new celebrity chef, Curtis Stone. None of those dishes particularly appealed to us, either, so we passed.

 

Who had the brilliant idea to hang lifeboats in the middle of most of the floor to ceiling windows that should have provided an open view of the ocean as you walked through the interior of the ship? All the other Princess ships we’ve sailed have had these same windows with nary a lifeboat in sight. Another poor design choice if you ask me.

 

As we discussed our impressions of this cruise we came to the conclusion that it is probably time we “retire” from cruising. Either the cruise product has changed to the point where it no longer suits us or we have changed to the point where the cruise product no longer suits us. We started cruising years ago to explore the Caribbean with the intent of finding islands to which we’d like to return for a stay. We think it’s time to return to that original intent. We’ll be canceling our 2016 cruise on Caribbean Princess and heading straight for an island or two.

 

We kept all the Patters from this cruise so if you have any questions feel free to ask away. Would also be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

[floridalover5623]

Interestingly enough I can agree with most of your comments except the food which we found can be confrontational all the time.

Who's idea was it to have such a large Piazza with no partitions for a sound barrier and is not acceptable. Trying to order ice cream, coffee or talk to the Capt circle host was next to impossible.

There are many good points about the new ships but the draw backs are irritating at times. :(

[riclop]

Thanks for your review.

[hllwdcruiser]

I always enjoy reading reviews especially ones that pinpoint both the good and the not so good. I like to be as prepared for a trip and to modify my expectations accordingly.

 

Thank-you for giving us your impressions of the Royal.

 

You did, however, lose me when you slammed the people of a state with an approximate population of 20 million just because you had a bad experience with a few. Have you ever been to the Adirondacks? The Catskills? The Finger Lakes?

 

Being both a New Yorker and a Floridian, I probably would have been the one urging you to calm down as you threatened the "barging" man with bodily harm. Such a pity to allow other people's attitudes and actions effect you in such a way that it puts a damper on your vacation.

 

Your comments about those passengers confined to scooters also shows a tad bit of intolerance. Both DH (also a retired LEO, by the way) and I are in our fifties and grateful to be fit and able bodied. Our New York parents taught us to respect those who may have difficulty with mobility. Without fail, we hold doors open or step out of the way to give them priority.

 

Look, I am not discounting what you say. I am sure you came across some New Yorkers who were extremely rude and some passengers on scooters who were inconsiderate. I just wish you could have expressed yourself without using such blanket statements.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

Keith

[caribbean2000]

Were you on the Royal or the Regal? Your heading says Regal and throughout the review you say Royal?

[floridalover5623]

I really believe that the scooter problems originate with people having just rented them on a cruise ship for the first time in their lives. They're inexperienced & don't know how to drive them yet, especially in the middle of a crowd like on a ship.

[floridalover5623]

Were you on the Royal or the Regal? Your heading says Regal and throughout the review you say Royal?

It had to be the Royal. The Regal is only doing 7 day trips right now.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thank you for your review. While we have had excellent experiences on both the Royal and the Regal, I find myself greatly looking forward to our next cruise in January on the Coral, primarily due to her smaller size.

[recyclelady]

I really believe that the scooter problems originate with people having just rented them on a cruise ship for the first time in their lives. They're inexperienced & don't know how to drive them yet, especially in the middle of a crowd like on a ship.

Probably a very correct observation!

[floridalover5623]

On the Royal in Nov there were loads of people on scooters - mostly beginners I assume and it took some of them 2 to 3 minutes to load them on an elevator. It became frustrating watching them load & unload. They either hit it full on or were afraid to hit at all, especially backing up. That was one of the major slowdowns in the central elevator banks.

I guess I'm too impatient.

If I could only have used the stairs more often. :rolleyes:

[Jimmy Geegitz]

Thought this was Regal thread. Royal?

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your review.

We are not big fans of Alfredo's period.

 

 

Always find the pizza on deck is better. :)

[Mud_Shark]

We loved the Royal 10 day Eastern trip we took in October.

 

But we try to only use stairs. If we were in a situation where we needed to take the elevator, I could see some frustration building at the busy times.

 

We only had a few scooters on board. I could understand if there were plenty of "new" drivers on board how things could get a little "edgy". We had a lady back home in our church that was a menace on a scooter. She would bump into people in the supermarket and not even acknowledge it. I think she was completely unaware. If you get a few of those types, tensions could rise.

 

We still had the old MDR menu and enjoyed it. There have been multiple poor reviews of the new Curtiss stone dishes, so that part does scare me a little. But we shall have to see for ourselves. We usually order off the main dishes for the night anyway.

 

But we just loved the itinerary. All the islands were great - beaches, snorkeling, catamaran trips, zip-lining, stingray city - we had just the most wonderful time. It motivated us to go again in Fall of 2016 (going to different islands this time, but would not hesitate to repeat the same itinerary in a few years)

 

And we loved the entertainment options.

 

Oh yeah - and we loved the weather! Just beautiful to be out on deck. Yes, we miss the promenade deck, but we got used to the walking track for our exercise, and there are places on it to move off to the side and just watch life go by. :)

 

Until we get bored of the Caribbean, that has become our primary zone of interest for cruising. We are not big on bus tours and the like, so the Caribbean is the ideal for us. And Princess does it well - at least so far.

 

Don

[mreasier]

We did our 1st (and last) cruise on the Royal last year. It was a 28 day Baltic followed by a transatlantic to New York. I agree 100% with your comments about the Piazza. It was an area that we tried to avoid. It's use as an entertainment venue in my opinion is a total failure. Sight lines and seating are awful and it is so loud, as you said, you cannot hold a conversation in any of the nearby venues. We could not talk to each other when we had lunch in Alfredo's due to a loud contest being held in the Piazza. Bring back the Explorer Lounge! The other major design issue we had was the lack of any place on the ship, interior or exterior, where we could get a forward view. The exception was if we wanted to pay for the Sanctuary - then we could get a forward view. How could they design a ship where the passengers cannot even see where they are going? I also agree with your comment about service in the main dining room. It was the slowest of any Princess ship we have been on. The waiters and assistant waiters tried hard but they were obviously over worked. There were some things we liked about the ship. The best was the Horizon Court - large with a nice variety of foods. Seating was always available. Our experience in the MDR was so bad that we ending up eating our dinner in the HC more than on any other cruise.

Edited December 30, 2015 by mreasier

[pandora518]

We were on the same cruise and we agree with most of your review, the exception being "rude New Yorkers." I don't think we met any rude passengers at all, no matter where they came from.

 

Regarding those on scooters: my mom was handicapped so I'm very aware of how difficult it can be to have to rely on a scooter to get around. I bend over backwards to be very sensitive to their needs. However, they need to be conscious of where they are and what's around them. My toes were run over twice while I was just standing still. There did seem to be many more of them than usual.

 

We really disliked the new MDR menus. We kept going back, thinking surely the next night would be better, but they just got worse. The new Curtis Stone options were unappealing at best, and they are the same every night. We did try the pork tenderloin. Meh. All the old "always available" entrees except the chicken are gone. No more tri tip (ever), no more beef medallions, no salmon... Even the fettucini alfredo was only offered some evenings! And, yes: the service was VERY slow. Our waiters were sweet and did their very best, but they are seriously overworked. Oh, and you can no longer get French onion soup in the MDRs. I asked when, on the 4th night I still hadn't seen any offered. The waiter looked worried and said he'd have to get a supervisor. She cam over a few minutes later and explained that FOS was no longer available except in Crown Grille, period. I can understand removing difficult or expensive menu items, but FOS??? Onions, a bit of cheese, and a few croutons cannot be that hard!

 

We find the lack of promenade deck and the lack of any forward views to be the most frustrating parts of the new design. Oh, and replacing the Explorer's Lounge with Princess Live is truly depressing. Half the time, Princess Live is empty, and no one uses that tiny bar around the corner. Give us back the EL! The tiny balconies and lack of center stairs are annoying but not deal-breakers. You are spot-on about the piazza. It has also ruined Crooners, which is now subjected to all the noise below. And whose dumb idea were the fountains on the Lido deck? We went to one of those evening fountain "shows." We thought it would be an hour long affair. Nope: it's a 10-minute show repeated 4 times during that hour, and all the while MUTS is playing something else. Argh!!! Would much rather have had a larger or additional pool.

 

We have always chosen our cruises based on itinerary, but we will now pay more attention to the ship to be sailed as well. We do love many of Princess' itineraries, but we also love spending quality time onboard. It's hard for us to enjoy the new ships.

[asctony]

Thanks for your review.

We are not big fans of Alfredo's period.

 

 

Always find the pizza on deck is better. :)

 

Like you, we are not a fan of Alfredo's. We tried the calzone (sp) and it was all dough. There was very little filling.

[floridalover5623]

Like you, we are not a fan of Alfredo's. We tried the calzone (sp) and it was all dough. There was very little filling.

My wife talked me into it so I just went to see what it was all about.

It was pretty good (as an appetizer).

After we finished, we both went to the buffet for some real food.

[mreasier]

Like you, we are not a fan of Alfredo's. We tried the calzone (sp) and it was all dough. There was very little filling.

The Agnolotti Gratinati alla Piemontese (veal ravioli) is to die for (in my opinion). One of the few things we really liked about the Royal. The pizza is just OK. Did not try the calzone.

Edited December 30, 2015 by mreasier

[KiwiFunCruiser]

Nice review Thank's.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thank for the review! Can you tell me more about the Warehouse Bar in St. Lucia? Is it on a beach, which one, how much for the taxi? Thanks!

[MaynrdG]

OOPS! My bad. It's the Wharf Restaurant not Warehouse. It is located at the end of Choc Beach closest to the cruise terminal. It's located in an old warehouse that has been converted to a restaurant/bar. It's not very fancy but has good food and a small beach with palm trees and beach chairs are available. It's about a 10 minute taxi ride and cost us $12.00 each way for two people.

[vino100]

I know this is an old review , but can you tell me how you liked your cabin , c 415 ?