Regal Princess October 14 to 21, 2017 New England/Canada

[Bimmer09]

Thanks for the recommendations! I was looking for a way to improve my photography skills in my own time. I went to a day-course last year which was helpful but I haven't really had the time to get back into it.

 

I mentioned those names deliberately as they are the ones I settled on after a year of youtube, clicking names as I came upon them and these are the best EXPLAINERS for me. The first two especially. There are lots of guys who rattle on at a brisk pace as if you already know everything. Some drone and put you asleep so you lose interest.

A day course would be helpful I am sure but once you have a youtube video bookmarked or a course downloaded you can learn at your own speed and refer back time and again. The cruise was my intensive practice with a new camera and I made a ton of mistakes but as it was shot in RAW they were fixable in Lightroom.

Flickr converts them back into Jpegs but that's understandable as the RAW files are 4 times larger and eat up storage space.

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Today is Monday October 16th and we arrive in Boston at 11 a.m and sail again at 8 pm.

I am up early in the dark and on deck by 5.30 at the smoking section deck 17 aft where there is thankfully coffee and tea already waiting.

One deck below me is the buffet which is called Horizon Court on most Princess ships and its design is an improvement on the earlier Grand Class designs where there was basically one line to self-serve in a tight space. Now there are stations and room to roam. Decor-wise it is light and airy which seems to add to the spaciousness.

 

Grand Class

 

 

Regal (Royal Class)



 

At each entrance on deck 16 there are 3 washbasins in an attempt to enforce cleanliness on the tong-touchers that pass through.

 

 

They are ready to serve the 6 a.m breakfast crowd who pick from a long wide aisle rather than being funneled through a narrow path between fixtures as before. They can offer more choices now.



 

 



 

 



 

 

More....

[Bimmer09]

The buffet runs from the pool deck all the way to the stern and there are dining tables outside at both ends which you'll see later in the report. It covers the entire width of the ship and between the long counters I've shown are islands to break it up even more and thin out the crowd who dine here. You need to walk around and see what you might like before grabbing a plate-that's Buffet rule #1 throughout the world.

I know I followed this rule on the one time I had breakfast in the buffet- saw what I wanted and then grabbed a melamine plate which wasn't warm to the touch. I got my cold cuts of meat, bread roll and butter (to make a bacon sandwich) before hitting the "hot" food-hash browns, bacon, ham, sausages, Kielbasa, baked beans etc). I was fast and focused, no pondering, no wandering lonely as a cloud, and in a seat pronto. The food wasn't hot. It was tasty though and I ate it quickly but in a desultory mood. It was luke warm even though it looked appetizing in the metal warming pan. No Michelin Star. In comparison on my Celebrity sailings I found hot plates which I used my cloth napkin to hold and when I started eating I had hot (but not "blow on it hot") food that was satisfying. A microwave island would be a good addition, at least for the plates.

Before anyone writes a snarky "Go back to Celebrity you un-believer!" I will say (1) chill (2) I will but I love Princess too and am happy with most of my experiences on the line (3) this is MY experience with the Regal buffet. No complaints from me on the taste of the vittles, just the keeping them hot aspect.

Great onboard bakery and I love those crispy rolls (at left) with my soup. Soft rolls (at right) are the one for my bacon sandwich with a dollop of ketchup.

 

 

 

 

Overspill room



 

 

A separate zone for sweet pastries



 

 



 

As on the Celebrity S Class buffet there are some communal tables and I love the shape of this breakfast bar

 

Kudos on the design here! Not for a minute did I think of taking photos of every dish-there are just too many and we can all imagine trays filled with bacon and scrambled eggs and cauldrons of hot oatmeal with dishes of brown sugar and raisins nearby. No- "I just need to adjust my aperture" to the lady waiting to order her omelette or setting up a tripod while a line of people just want to get to their muffins and get on with their life.

I can't linger anyway as it is dark outside and that can only mean that a sunrise will eventually come along and I need to be there when it does.



Norris

[JF - retired RRT]

It was lukewarm even though it looked appetizing in the metal warming pan. No Michelin Star. In comparison on my Celebrity sailings I found hot plates which I used my cloth napkin to hold and when I started eating I had hot (but not "blow on it hot") food that was satisfying. A microwave island would be a good addition, at least for the plates.

 

My biggest complaint. I dislike eating in the buffet for this reason. I've even put a plate of food down and walked away, when it took so long to find a table that the food was no longer lukewarm but COLD.

[Bimmer09]

Sunrise, sunset, quickly fly the years....

There's a glimmer far behind us



 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

[silkismom]

"Fiddler on the Roof"

[FishinChris]

Great photos! Enjoying your review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[helen haywood]

Yes, Fiddler on the Roof, but it is "swiftly fly the years."

[Bimmer09]

My route each morning...

 

 

The aft elevators are only about 60 feet away



 

You don't have long to get into the elevator: you hear a chime and look for the overhead lights to see which one of the 4 is opening. On some decks the lights weren't working so I missed a few rides.

Here's the aft buffet outdoor dining area

 

 

and Outrigger Bar



 

You'll see some sofas and chairs for Wakewatchers there-a very nice touch!

[SuiteTraveler]

My good Sir, you are most welcome!

Norris

 

Dear Norris, I am, in fact a lady (no, you could not tell that if I gave you my first name.) But thank you again for the lovely photos, just the same. BTW, I am, in fact, in your photo of the champagne fountain!

[SuiteTraveler]

Suite Traveler what a coincidence! I attended New College in the late sixties/early seventies and Cad'Zan was in our back yard! I agree it is more interesting and way farther over the top than The Breakers. Circus folks but with a great art collection!

 

Carol

 

Yes, Carol, Ca d'Zan is quite amazing! Great art and the location is unbeatable!

[SuiteTraveler]

Norris, I agree that the buffet design on Regal is REALLY great! I guess I was lucky in that I always succeeded in getting hot food. Not sure why my experience with food temperature was so different than yours, though. But, yes, my hot food was piping hot and my cold food was very cold. We only had trouble getting a table on one morning. Other than that, we found the buffet design to be all we could wish for and the food was overall reasonably good for a buffet.

[Working 2 Cruise]

Nina-the only forward smoking is inside in Churchills deck 6 outside the theater's lower level but it does have some windows looking on the sea. Waiters stop by to empty ashtrays and take drinks orders.

Norris

 

Dang! I'm now fervently hoping for an upgrade to any cabin AFT! Thanks, Norris!

[Jasperdo]

Great photos of the Horizon Court Buffet. It's definitely an improvement over the Grand Class ships.

[Shadow9612]

Great photos of the Horizon Court Buffet. It's definitely an improvement over the Grand Class ships.

Yes, thank you Norris for the photos of Horizon Court Buffet. I am so looking forward to trying out the Regal next year as I'm used to the Celebrity S Class buffet (Oceanview), whose design I love. I was not impressed with the Princess Ruby buffet design, so I'm very excited about this improvement.

[Bimmer09]

Great photos! Enjoying your review

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Thanks Chris!

Folks, this is the Chris who has the great British Isles photo review on this board that I mentioned earlier. Worth your time and certainly mine as he visited Scotland and even more importantly to me, Northern Ireland.

Chris, I hope you stick around as I have a lot more photos and video to come.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

As I had shot the sunrise on two cameras when we were sailing towards Boston, here are some shots from the other one, this time featuring the wake...

 

 



 

These are from my new camera, a Canon 6D Mk II, my first Full Frame camera

 

 



 

 

 

 



 

 

 

(the earlier shots were on my Canon T3i)

[Bimmer09]

The Seawalk is cool. Sure the novelty can wear off quickly but especially when lit at night it is a Royal Class signature, and when you include the Love Boat horns and the Seawitch art on the bow and the big Princess Cruises lettering along the hull, the Princess ships now stand out among the white hulls gracing the cruise harbors. Brand recognition...

 

 

 

I see two ladies enjoying an early morning hot tub

 

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

CHURCHILL'S

Its the official home of cigar smokers on the Regal (but they were welcome on deck 17 aft) and it is on deck 6 between the theater and Club 6

 

 



 

 



 

 



 

 

The Entertainment Officer, Martin Moss was a frequent visitor here (visible reflection in pic 2) and always said hello to all he met. There are a couple of TVs usually tuned to Sports Tallking Heads with wide shoulders and shiny suits, talking about "match-ups" and "its a game of inches" and lots of CNN-like annoying graphics scrolling across the screen in an overload of useless information.





Still, there are clean ashtrays and its not windy in here and a waiter comes by every so often to get one a drink. Some Princess ships Cigar bars have a bar and a bartender. Such as the Star and the Diamond (come back from Japan please!) The Diamond remains my favorite Princess ship. My favorite cruise ship is still the Silhouette until I find something more stunning stem to stern. Maybe The Edge?





Norris

[deliver42]

Norris, great review and pics. Love Churchill's. You always do a great job and this is no exception. I had 2 surprises. One was that cigar smoking is allowed on deck 17 Aft. I was told there is no outdoor cigar smoking outside. Pleasant surprise. The 2nd was that the Reflection was still your favorite ship.

[Liz54]

In my experience there are signs saying no cigar smoking, but

 

Princess only responds to complaints, so you would only be asked not to if there was a complaint.

 

 

 

Unlikely to have a complaint from a cigarette smoker.. Best way to avoid complaints would be not to leave big stinky cigar buts in the ashtrays in smoking areas! These are irritating to cigarette smokers. The smell of fresh cigars being smoked is fine by lots of us!

[Bimmer09]

Norris, great review and pics. Love Churchill's. You always do a great job and this is no exception. I had 2 surprises. One was that cigar smoking is allowed on deck 17 Aft. I was told there is no outdoor cigar smoking outside. Pleasant surprise. The 2nd was that the Reflection was still your favorite ship.

 

Welcome and it's great to have you along again! I'm glad you are enjoying the read.

The Silhouette is my favorite so far-they butchered the lovely forward looking lounge to add more suites on the Reflection, raised the pool deck to get more cabins in below and added 25% (i.e 2 Alcove cozy nooks).So, more passengers on board. Silhouette also has more stunning artwork. Reflection wins on the Sunset Bar layout-lots of aft facing couches where I would take my morning coffee and greet the sea.

Norris

[Bimmer09]

APPROACHING BOSTON

Boston is up ahead in less than 3 hours so we head on down to the Allegro dining room which serves breakfast. "Bogdan table please" and with warm smiles our request is granted

 

 

 



 

Carol had her usual fruit plate while I enjoyed a cappuccino with an extra shot of espresso. I pulled out my Coffee Card to pay for the coffee but Bogdan waved it away. I ended up with one punch for a week of specialty coffee.

 

 

We both were convinced that the Minute Steak with 2 eggs, mushrooms and hash browns would stand us in good stead for our 3 hour excursion which included Boston Highlights on a coach and a harbor tour.







(Canon pocket camera)

 

 

A great start to the morning!





 

[Bimmer09]

Yes, Fiddler on the Roof, but it is "swiftly fly the years."

 

Hi Helen and thanks for the correction. Carol said to me "you're not really a Broadway kind of guy" and she hit the nail on the head. I like the song though.

Cheers!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

After my post-breakfast smoke I headed up one deck (Sports Deck 18) to see what was up ahead . The walking/running track apparently and it is way too windy up here.

 

I am on deck 7 as we approach our next port. It's Monday morning so it must be Boston.

 

 

We have a pilot onboard

 

Land Ahoy! I shout and climb up on the deck railing pointing feverishly....

 

There's no one to hear me except for this seagull who squawked and it sounded like he said "thanks Einstein" which I thought a bit rude. I felt embarrassed and climbed down.

 

We were passing under the flight path of planes landing at Logan Airport. I waved-no response. Typical.