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

[Liz54]

We have retired to the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Come by car. Peggy's Cove is fine but is one of dozens of small fishing villages along our coast. The others are empty of tourists and pristine! Its unbelievable. Summer is wonderful of course, but fall is the best! Central Canada gets its real snow in November, but ours is December or even January.

[Bimmer09]

Thankyou for your detailed review along with stunning photos, the ship looks spectacular and I am gaining a lot of information for our upcoming cruise on Majestic next November, coming up is Diamond January 11th our favourite ship so far, I have a feeling after seeing your Regal photos that we may have a new favourite......loved the gorgeous colours of Autumn in some of your port stops.

 

Izabelle, thanks for the compliment on the photos and welcome!

We'll be on the Crown while you are enjoying the Diamond which is my favorite Princess design.

Bon Voyage in advance!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

The tour bus brought us here, in the town of Hubbards, Nova Scotia. We were seated at long communal tables and had to wait until another tour bus arrived. Meanwhile the lobsters were in big pots they were seeing for the first and last time, having fallen for the old "would you guys like to see the kitchen?" ruse. There were bottles of water provided on the tables and a small private-home-sized bar where I snagged a beer with my Canadian money. Club Soda for Carol.

 

 

 

We had watched a couple of videos on Youtube showing how to dismember a lobster in preparation for this meal.This made us popular with those nearby at our table as we saved them time and frustration and borrowing a hammer from our hosts. Carol's notes tell me the lobsters were 2 pounds and were served with coleslaw, potato salad and yeast rolls. Dessert was wild blueberry shortcake.

 

The lobster was delicious of course but I found the shell too crunchy and it got stuck in my teeth.

Once I had scarfed it down and washed my hands I excused myself from the table and hit the great outdoors to see what I could of my surroundings. I had seen water as the bus pulled up.

[Bimmer09]

From Wikipedia....

Roy Harnish started building the Shore Club in May 1946, with the first supper and dance taking place only three months later on August 25. Roy and wife, Lois, were active operators of the club until 1985.

Today, Rhys Harnish, a third generation Harnish (with son Luke close behind), continues the legacy started by his father, Roy, in 1946, that of running the restaurant. To date well over one million lobsters have been served.

 

About 60 yards down a hill I found the water

 





Very nice. Tranquil.

I retraced my steps and stopped to photograph some stock shots to sell to Home and Garden magazine (since declined)

The Ornamental garden (loosely based on Versailles)

The Great House

Back inside the Shore Club the owner took to the podium on the small stage to tell us at length about lobster and his family business. You have to have a license to fish lobster here and you are restricted to fishing a certain zone. The restaurant has its own boats and traps and most surprisingly Hubbards fishermen export some of their catch to Maine by truck where they are sold as Maine Lobster. He was very passionate about his family business and I am sure you noticed the license plate on his red BMW in my first photo.

Darkness had fallen when we left Hubbards and drove back to Halifax and the ship. The guide kept up a narration-"on your left you'll see see those Canadian Navy ships.." (no I can't, it's pitch black!"). He also put the microphone touching his mouth so that the speakers distorted when he spoke (nap out of the question) He had plenty to say and was very proud of his city. We gave him and the driver a good tip in Canadian funds.

We got back to the terminal at 8 pm and the gift shops full of cutesy crazy tourist items coming to a yard sale near you in the future, were still open and crowded like a Turkish bazaar. We had to wade into the shops in search of a fridge magnet.

[Bimmer09]

With no MDR dinner to attend Carol went to the Scottish Dancing Show in the dreadfully inappropriate Vista Lounge where you may remember the sight-lines were thus...

 

 

Tonight the ship would sail at 11 pm to begin the 572 Nautical mile trek at 20 knots back to Brooklyn. At 10 we would once again be in our seats for the show.

 

 

That's next...

[Bimmer09]

We have retired to the South Shore of Nova Scotia. Come by car. Peggy's Cove is fine but is one of dozens of small fishing villages along our coast. The others are empty of tourists and pristine! Its unbelievable. Summer is wonderful of course, but fall is the best! Central Canada gets its real snow in November, but ours is December or even January.

 

Liz, yes I can imagine Peggy's cove isn't the only scenic spot along that coast and by car it shall be! I would love to see Peggy's in the early morning as the sun is coming up and the tour buses haven't yet set off. Someday.

Enjoy your retirement to the max!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

BRAVO

It's an aptly named show as Princess really pull out the stops to entertain you for 35 minutes or so. The Princess Theater was packed by the time the show began.

The Princess Orchestra as they call their stage bands was beefed up to 10 players with musicians from other bands who appear around the ship.

plus

 

 

plus 4 of the ships excellent show singers and a Guest artist plus 11 dancers/singers

You do the math-that's 26 people up on stage!



 

We didn't know what to expect at least I didn't as I didn't read the patters or the poster where the word Opera was mentioned. It's a long way from singing Broadway show tunes to singing opera with a trained, flexible voice. Carol has been going to the Opera for 40 years and I started in 1993 in New York,on a whim and out of curiosity. Since then it's what gets us out of the house in our fine duds and sometimes out of the house and onto a plane for a week of Opera.

Anyway, we didn't expect to hear opera being sung credibly and well on a ship. The Guest Artist could do it.

Chelsea Coyne

 

 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

She brought the house down which was gratifying to us as I am sure some of the audience were hearing opera songs for the first time and liking them and how they were sung.

The sets were a mixture of real scenery deftly blended with digital projections on the big screen that covers the rear of the stage. Sound and lighting what you expect from Princess-State of the Art. Kudos and Bravo!

A welcome surprise for me was the full band blasting into the James Bond Theme with horns a blazin' a couple of times. Thrilling sound!

 

 

I'll talk about the Princess Theater later as we visit it on our last day, which is a sea day.

[Bimmer09]

I was up early enough to see the sunrise as we sailed back to Brooklyn at 20 knots.

 

 



 

Carol would be sleeping later than usual. We had gone to bed at midnight but she had caught a cold and a cough and had to use a white noise app on her phone to help get to sleep. I was up and about and as it was early I went on a photo trek...

I'm down on deck 7 and walking past the Crown Grill/Wheelhouse bar

 

 

a quick stop at Princess Live



 

and I reach the Piazza



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

For some reason I was drawn to photograph the ovens at Alfredo's Pizzeria

 

 



 

 

The booze is stowed away at Bellini's. My hacksaw is in the cabin-but Carol is sleeping. Dilemma...



 

 

Art is everywhere



 

In the Casino I meet a lady setting up some breakfast nibbles. She tells me it's for the High Rollers. A little perk to start the day. The port-intensive cruise keeps the Casino closed for long stretches but today is a sea day and it will be busy (and it was when I passed later in the day)

 

 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

They had stripped the Art Gallery of most of its paintings as they were setting up a Champagne Art Auction in the Vista Lounge, starting at 1.30

 

 

 

 

 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

It's the only shop I go into on Princess as it has Duty Free smokes and booze at a great price and it's our source for the essentials-fridge magnets (but they have things you may have forgotten to pack like toothbrushes and sunglasses/suntan lotion)

 

You can see from the model how skimpy the Promenade Deck is





 

 

The store is over twice the size I see on the Grand Class vessels



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

I'm down on deck 5 now where the bandstand is. The bands were all great even though I only heard them as I walked through the Piazza and never sat down to listen. In warmer waters I would hope that they have steel bands up by the pool where they could play some Marley (Bob, not Jacob) and create that laid back island vibe as I sip a Guinness with an umbrella in it. I have on occasion ordered a cocktail only to be disappointed in the scarcity of rum in the glass. I need a rum and coke not vice-versa.

 

Oh- there's Vines, the wine bar

 

Not one of our regular haunts as I usually only drink wine with dinner but I did try it once and as it has some windows looking over the water, low down in the ship, it was a pleasant spot to relax. Free tapas or sushi when you buy a glass of wine.

The bar is closed and sealed at this early hour

 

 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

If you plan to serve tapas then you need one of these

It's a finger slicer but can also be used for thinly slicing Iberico ham or a lesser meat.





Cool artwork in Vines



 

 

Cosy furnishings abound on the Regal



 

 

 

 

I took these flowers back to Carol to cheer her up

[Bimmer09]

 

This is a great little 24/7 cafe that is a feather in Princess cap (odd expression)-but one I seldom use but keep meaning to. Anytime I have eaten there the vittles have been first rate, especially the shrimp or chicken salad. Their "fresh brewed" coffee isn't worth a Coffee Card punch to me as it's a trifle weak to my taste.

 

 

 

I've seen people buy bottled beer here at 5 a.m. Gotta love 24/7!



 

 



 

 



 

 

[Bimmer09]

These towers mystified me. I thought at first they might be tea blends within for someone who wanted to order a pot of real tea without dunking tea bags in cup. I'm British and take tea seriously and enjoy the ritual of pot and seeping and tea cosy and strainer. And yes, I do extend my pinkie finger when raising the cup to my lips. You have a problem with that?

 

On magnifying them in Lightroom though I see names on the drawers such as ; Lavender,Chrysantemum Flowers, Ginger Root and Masala Spice. Anyone ever use these? Do you sprinkle them on cereal or in yogurt ?

 

Ample seating down on deck 5 which is an improvement on the Grand Class with its much smaller Piazza and another bar is always welcome.

[Pmorton3360]

The opera singer was the reason I had gelato for dinner the last night. She had an encore performance in the piazza. Just amazing sitting so close to her and her great voice.

 

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[SuiteTraveler]

Did they tell you that the Fisherman's Memorial at Peggy's Cove was only 80% complete and the artist deGarthe's ashes are entombed in the memorial?

 

On this day, we took a photography tour to Peggy's Cove with Geordie, owner of Picture Perfect Tours. We stopped by the Swissair disaster memorial (within sight of Peggy's Cove). It is a well thought out memorial, then came up to Peggy's Cove about an hour before sunset. The photos my husband got were pretty spectacular. I spent time in the gift shop/restaurant up there. It was very interesting and I found a wooden bench to sit on in the foyer to stay out of the cold wind while the photographers in our group snapped away out on the rocks.

 

My husband does not eat lobster or any shellfish (due to an unfortunate incident in his childhood involving bad shrimp) so I didn't bother to schedule any group lobster bakes with him as much as I would have enjoyed them myself.

 

We returned to the ship fairly late and had a nice dinner in the MDR and passed out in bed. Another great day on this lovely trip.

[Bimmer09]

The opera singer was the reason I had gelato for dinner the last night. She had an encore performance in the piazza. Just amazing sitting so close to her and her great voice.

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Yes, at 9 pm (looking at Patter) but we would have missed it due to dinner. Did she draw a crowd? We didn't go to a show on the last night-it was Ryan Ahearn the pianist again in the Princess Theater.

Chelsea Coyne was definitely a pleasant surprise on a cruise ship.

Thanks for the comment!

Norris

[Pmorton3360]

She did draw a large crowd. I saw voice of the ocean first. Fun.

 

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[Bimmer09]

I haven't been on many cruise ships but of course have Beyondships and other boards on CC as a resource and its hard to imagine a more stunning first impression than that made by the Regal Piazza. It says luxury and elegance.

 

 

 

 

You can buy Norman Love chocolates in this little store. Treat yourself!

 

 



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

I am on my way to meet up with Carol at Allegro dining room for breakfast so while I am walking here is a video from last night in Halifax which gives you a good look at MUTS on the Regal.

X7CuYZR-bxo

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

Breakfast in Allegro, of course, on our last full day on the Regal. I started with the hot oatmeal with milk. Brown sugar and raisins crowned this wonderful dish. Carol had a melon plate. The clocks had been put back an hour when we left Halifax, in case you were wondering and we were now on EST, in sync with New York.

 

 

We both had pancakes but I loaded my plate with the usual meats

 

I tipped Bogdan on the way out, just in case we couldn't get one of his tables in the morning when I expected the dining room to be super busy.

A quick smoke break, deck 7 aft

 

 

We stopped at the photo gallery to get some pictures and the Reflections DVDs



 

 



 

 



 

 

Next up- The Culinary Show in the Princess Theater

[GrammySpo]

Just catching up with this. Looks like a fabulous cruise, one that I want to do someday.

 

 

 

Hi LoveZags—are you from Spokane?

 

 

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[Walt fan]

I love to browse a ship and find art on sea days; one of my must-do's. I love to see all of the art on your cruises. You always post pics which make my day. We actually have a very good art museum here in San Antonio; haven't been in a while and need to go back.

 

A credible opera singer on a cruise ship! What a treat.

 

I have to have strong coffee or no coffee; most coffee at hotels or on ships just don't cut it for me. I will pass and just head to the hot tea. Those drawers have me baffled. I thought it was loose tea. Hope someone can fill us in.

 

Enjoying Norris! Thank you!!