Regal Princess vs. Celebrity Eclipse

[Canadian Sunset]

We like 14 day cruises in winter and have taken Celebrity Eclipse. Looking for another itinerary and were wondering about Regal Princess. Has anyone been on both and how do they compare?

 

I enjoyed the pool for 16+ on Eclipse and wondered if Regal had something similar.

 

 

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[spearmint]

We loved our cruise on Eclipse. That being said, we have never been all that enamoured of the style of the Solstice class ships. And we have found that Celebrity's menus are pale imitations of their superb offerings when we first cruised whereas the Princess menus are not too bad... I'd say more like Royal Caribbean. We loved the Century and the Millennium classes, for their more refined looking decor i.e. "wood" and brass vs. aluminum and plastic.

 

With Regal Princess, we found that style again. Crooner's, Alfredo's, Wheelhouse Bar and Crown Grill, Bellini's and Vines are all in that "wood"-enhanced style. The larger Piazza is much more suited to dancing than the small area at the bottom of the staircase on Solstice and her sisters. There is a dedicated band dais, and not an alcove in the elevator shaft.

 

On one of the upper decks (16?) there is an area called the Retreat that is for adults only. Aft of that area is the Sanctuary, a pay-for place that is also adult. I think that it is about $129 per person per day, but I am not sure. Even at a per couple rate, that is expensive as a Canadian.

 

The pool area is different.. those stupid tent-like affairs don't exist, but then neither do masses of loungers around the sides areas. There are loungers, but under the above deck, there are tables and chairs, and or banquettes.

 

Our last Celebrity cruise was a back to back in November 2015 on Silhouette. When my wife, who eats almost everything had a hard time with the menu, and I had quality problems with the oft used "everyday menu", we had enough. After 22 Celebrity cruises, we took a back to back in April, and the same thing again in November 2016 on Regal. In a few weeks, we are on a 10 day cruise on Royal, sister ship to Regal.

 

The entertainment shows on Regal are really well-done. The theatre seats on Regal are more compact than Eclipse, due to the increased number of passengers, and they fill fairly quickly on the main level, so people on these boards have suggested to get there a half-hour early.

 

One odd thing on Regal is the traditional dining room aft, Allegro. It is on deck 6 but if you are in one of the lounges mid-dhip, the only way to access it is to go to deck 7, walk aft and then go down to 6. There are two other anytime restaurants... Symphony is anytime dining, and Concerto is a mixture i.e. for the early part of the night it is traditional, and then (about 7:30?) it reverts to anytime.

 

Hope this helps.

Bill

Edited February 9, 2017 by spearmint

[caribill]

W

 

 

 

On one of the upper decks (16?) there is an area called the Retreat that is for adults only. Aft of that area is the Sanctuary, a pay-for place that is also adult. I think that it is about $129 per person per day, but I am not sure. Even at a per couple rate, that is expensive as a Canadian. When purchased on a daily basis the cost is $40/person.day in US $.

 

 

One odd thing on Regal is the traditional dining room aft, Allegro. It is on deck 6 but if you are in one of the lounges mid-ship, the only way to access it is to go to deck 7, walk aft and then go down to 6. I am not sure why this confuses so many people. The aft restaurants on many Royal Caribbean and Carnival ships are also not accessible by just walking aft. I am not familiar with Celebrity ship layouts, so this might not exist on Celebrity. Here is a photo of a sign on a Carnival ship telling passengers how to get to the aft dining room:

 

 

see above in red

[Canadian Sunset]

Thanks for your input. We don't need an extra cost area...a pool for adults only is perfect. As for having to go up and down levels to the dining room...we could figure that out in a day or two.

[patrickmoran]

This Fall we did 2 weeks on the Silhouette followed by 2 weeks on Princess Royal. We had balcony cabins on both ships. We previously have sailed on the Regal and the Royal plus the Reflection.

Personally I prefer S class ships. The regular balcony cabins on P's ships are smaller than X's, no sofa. On the R or R, you have to book a deluxe balcony cabin to get a small sofa. Also, the balconies on the R or R are smaller than X's. There are a few cabins that have decent size balconies.

I enjoy the Retreat pool and find the sail cloth shading gives some protection from the Caribbean sun. There is no enclosed pool on the R or R.

I liked the food in X's MDR more than P's. I liked the buffet on R or R more than X's. Specialty restaurants on P are less expensive though fewer types.

Drink prices are lower on P but harder to get a drink package included in cruise fare. Prices for add on are comparable though P has only 1 alcoholic drink package and includes more than X's classic pkg. Nothing comparable to Martini Bar or World Bar on P ships

Entertainment seemed comparable.

Itinerary and price trump everything.

[riclop]

We like 14 day cruises in winter and have taken Celebrity Eclipse. Looking for another itinerary and were wondering about Regal Princess. Has anyone been on both and how do they compare?

 

I enjoyed the pool for 16+ on Eclipse and wondered if Regal had something similar.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Regal by a mile.

[keithm]

see above in red

It doesn't exist on Celebrity Solstice class ship. The Regal is a bit of a confusing ship: Small theater for ship this size/NO central stair way/No forward lounge/bar over looking bow of ship. Still a nice ship with gorgeous Piazza area.