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

[Bimmer09]

THE CULINARY SHOW

It's one of those events I sometimes avoid, I'll be honest and yet I went to this one.

It's harmless fun, a chance to enjoy the smells of cooking (but you don't get to taste) and maybe pick up a technique or recipe idea. The fun part overshadows the learning part as the Maitre d' (Hotel) banters with the Executive Chef in thick foreign accents. It's lighthearted and appropriate therefore for an audience who came to be entertained more than schooled.



It takes place in the Princess Theater and happens on the last day of the cruise. Afterwards if you wish, you can have a whirlwind tour of one of the MDRs which is always interesting but moreso on the Ultimate Ship Tour which is 3 hours of behind the scenes tours I highly recommend if you are willing to part with $150 and are curious to see how the ship operates behind the scenes. I have taken 3 such tours and can answer any questions you may have.

The expectant audience

 

The gentlemen holding these High Offices are introduced by the Cruise Director, Dan Falconer, a beardsman who is witty and fun and just what you want in a C.D.

Executive Chef Florian Dragan from Romania (L) and Maitre 'd Ig****o D'Agostino from Italy (Center) chat to Dan

 

A video will follow which will show you the simple things they make and the techniques used. It is unlikely to be riveting but will let you know if this kind of show is for you.

Another video will follow that which will feature Hector the singing Head Waiter in close up and good sound (He said to us later "I was on fire!!" meaning vocally, rather than burns-unit-wrapped-in-bandages.)





I recall there was pasta with pesto made and also a Caesar salad and there's a right way and a wrong way to make everything in the kitchen.



 

 

[Bimmer09]

The pair banter merrily despite technical difficulties and are joined towards the mid point by the head Pastry Chef who is going to compete with them in a Black Forest Cake decorating contest. The cake part is already done of course otherwise we'd be watching the cake mix rise in an oven for 20 minutes or however long those things take ( I don't bake cakes but I love them on the end of a fork).

 

 

Overhead cameras are used to show what is happening on the stovetop, which is electric as are all the stoves on the ships, for safety reasons. Everything is shown on monitors as you can see.

 

 

[Bimmer09]

Here is the Culinary Show video

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(on some ships I have sailed on there are also two giant screens at the side of the stage, but not on the Regal- the Maitre 'd is looking for them early in the video)

Norris

[Bimmer09]

HECTOR SINGS "MY WAY"

The head chefs from the galley take a bow. No introduction or acknowledgement for Hector, alas.

rXe3eP-ifYE

 

Norris

[Bimmer09]

 

 

It sits at the end of this pool, through doors manned by "Serenity Stewards" and admittance is $40 per person, per day or $20 for a half day. Open from 8 a.m to 5.30 pm. We booked for just one day-the only sea day, Friday, as we sailed back to Brooklyn. We booked it the day we boarded hoping the weather would cooperate, which it did (winning!)

You choose your padded loungers and they are reserved for you for that day. In warmer climates we book for the week and the price drops to $30 pp per day or $420 total for two on a 7 day cruise.

We had the two loungers up front port side. You can see my camera bag sitting between them.

 

There are other places to sit and socialize but there were very few people using the Sanctuary so there was no noise or distractions from taking a nap, which is inevitable.

 

 

 

 

 

To be continued....

[Bimmer09]

 

There's no solid roof on the Sanctuary so the wind can get in but on the Regal, where our seats are, there is a solid clean wall of glass looking over the stubby bow so we are cosy. The Grand Class Sanctuary has openings chest high which let the wind breeze through and cause you to reach for one of their toasty woolen blankets. The Regal Sanctuary was by far the best we have enjoyed. Bigger and better.

There are bathrooms here now so no need to run down to the Lotus Spa as we would on a Grand Class.

They are next to these more private cabana lodgings. I have no idea how much these cost as they seem to be for a family although the Sanctuary is Adults Only. You are paying for peace and quiet as the name suggests. Leave your cell phone behind. Don't talk on it, at least.

 

 

 

The staff are usually somewhat bored and are dying to get you a drink or something to eat from the healthy light menu (fruit plates and wraps but we never order them even though they are free). They will go fetch you a beer or cocktail but for food where they have to go and stand in line there is a $3 charge I believe. I always go get my own anyway.

Sanctuary guests get afternoon tea served at their loungers which is a wonderful treat and its all you can eat and they keep coming around tempting you with more goodies. More scones? Sure, why not?

No one is using the pool as it is very windy once you step outside of the Sanctuary

[Bimmer09]

There's some cool art as you leave the Sanctuary and walk through the pool area, known as the Enclave. The pool itself is called the Retreat Pool.

 

 

Automatic doors, I like

 

We have an appointment with the Pub Lunch today-a nice simple reminder of British Pub dishes held on Sea Days. This will be filled a couple of hours later by the Afternoon Tea I just showed you. But first I need a Guinness and a cigarette and that means a trip all the way aft to the Deck 17 smoking section.

 

A nod and a raising the glass gesture to Nelson the waiter on duty meant a Guinness would soon be coming up the stairs from the aft bar on deck 16. A couple came walking towards me.

"Are you Norris?" said the man."Are you Ron?" said the Norris and found himself face to face with need2cruisesoon of Cruise Critic fame. We had bantered on the Celebrity Board and in cruiserking's excellent Regal Live review before we sailed. We chatted for just a couple of minutes and agreed to meet up later after the Pub Lunch. He was a witty, lively guy and I looked forward to having a chat.

There was never anyone in the pool before me when I sat to enjoy my drink. This sign may explain why...

[Bimmer09]

 

 

I liked the art above my seat by the Terrace pool



 

 



 

 



 

 

When will I see you again?

[Bimmer09]

 

It's a popular Princess event which draws a crowd and so we never go when it begins at 11.30 but wait an hour or so, avoiding a line. It's a reminder of what British pub food was when I lived there 30 years ago. There's currently a thread on CC discussing it but all the talk in the world doesn't change the flavor or the appeal of simple hearty food. It's served fast as the menu is short and it fills you up. I tend to order the same thing time after time.

Steak and kidney pie

 

Tender chunks of beef and kidney in a rich dark onion gravy in a flaky pastry shell. A spoon is provided so that none of the gravy shall be uneaten. Served with big thick cut French fries (chips). Malt vinegar is provided.

 

Now, what to drink?

 

 

Carol usually has the Ploughman's Lunch (but don't tell him she ate it!)



 

 

but on occasion has enjoyed the tasty Bangers and Mash in onion gravy



(Star Princess)

 





 

We seldom order dessert if we know we are going to have Afternoon tea later (which we were)

Ron, need2cruisesoon (great name) stopped by our table as he was also having Pub Lunch. I would meet him up on deck 17 a while later and he bought me a Guinness which was a nice gesture. I enjoyed a bright and breezy chat with him for an hour.

We are having a very enjoyable relaxing day in nice weather but the Disembarkation news sheet delivered with our luggage tags reminds us that this is our last full day on the ship and tonight we will be packing. Our luggage tags have us getting off at 9.30 a..m but I go to Guest Services (previously mentioned) to get the last possible slot which is 10.30. We muster in Vista Lounge. We are not flying home tomorrow but booking back into the Omni hotel so no rush to get there.



We have already decided against going to tonight's Ryan Ahern piano show in favor of packing and having a relaxed dinner in Concerto, then an early night as I wanted to be up early to see us arrive in New York harbor.

[SuiteTraveler]

On this day, we slept in and went to brunch in a MDR where I finally had my favorite vacation breakfast: Eggs Benedict (it was invented at the Waldorf hotel in New York City but it is served nearly everywhere in NOLA which is where my family vacationed often, so I alway associate it with vacation.). After that my husband was working on some work (he ALWAYS works on vacation) so I headed out to the casino to give him some quiet. That evening we had dinner at Sabatini's with mixed results on the food. It is hard to cook Italian cuisine for someone who grew up eating authentic Neopolitan food, however, the dishes I selected were more successful than those chosen by my husband. My husband had the burrata followed by the branzino. He did not like the burrata at al (he said it was bitter) and said the tomatoes were flavorless, but enjoyed the branzino. I had the artichoke souffle followed by the manicotti. Both were quite good although the serving size on the artichoke shuffle was too big We also liked their bread basket and the excellent Italian Pinot Grigio we selected from the wine menu. I don't recall having dessert myself (I was probably too full and declined) but my husband had the white chocolate mousse which was quite good. On the way back to our cabin, we passed by the opera singer doing her show in the atrium. My inclination was to stop for a few minutes, but my husband was not interested (he is used to hearing me sing opera at home), so we went back to our cabin and I finished my book while he did more work. I had bought 3 Christmas ornaments, received a Princess recipe book from the Chef's Table dinner - it is large and gathered 1 small wishing stone on the trip and made sure these were on our customs declaration form.

 

I start packing halfway through a cruise and so, finishing packing on the last day of the cruise is a breeze. We do early morning self-disembarkation. It was blissfully uncrowded. One tip is to use the midship glass elevators - people don't seem to think to press the individual buttons for those coming down from the buffet in the morning (our cabin was on 15), and we were through customs and immigration in no time and got a taxi immediately to LaGuardia. Another lovely cruise was over and we had thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. I bought food for lunch at LaGuardia. The flight home was easy and on time, in fact we arrived early and DFW actually had a gate for us - you usually get sent to the "penalty box" for early arrival to wait for the gate to open up! And we actually were at a gate near where we parked for our departure and didn't have to walk to another gate a long way away or take a bus to another terminal. 40 minutes later we were home being greeted by our very excited dogs. As expected our house sitter had eaten a bunch of our Halloween candy - we have cameras in our house and I laughingly noticed her doing this on the first day of our trip. I always overbuy as our neighborhood has hundreds of darling children who trick or treat and I like to give them all lots of candy, so this was not a problem. In minutes, we were unpacked with our dirty clothes in the washer and I had the usual post cruise letdown of having to actually cook dinner. LOL!

Edited December 1, 2017 by SuiteTraveler

[Bimmer09]

Sabatini's

I always make notes in my phone for things I still have to photograph on the last day and the next morning. We had eaten dinner in Sabatini's but I don't take photos of the room as there are people there eating. I tend to take pics when the room is empty and I thought it would be so after the Pub Lunch. There were 5 people in there but they were staff, clearing the tables after a Lobster Lunch ($40). I asked if it was ok to come in and they welcomed me. I shot around them as they worked.

 

Lots of windows in this one. The Grand Class with Sabs on deck 16 also have windows a plenty but those with Sabs on deck 5 are reduced to two which make for a long narrow room. Ruby,Emerald and Crown moved it to deck 16 and put a fountain outside the windows and some outdoor seating. Nice!



 

There's a new emphasis on wine on the Royal Class and rightly so as it has a great markup and Italian food deserves something other than Bud Light or even Guinness (gasp!). You saw the wine wall in the Crown Grill and the WineMakers Dinner room.

 

Of course there is art to remind you that you are not really in Italy but should go there some day.(note to self)

 

 

[Bimmer09]

I know there are Luxury Lines as they bombard me with e mails each week but I don't get giddy at the thought of them (for the price) as I am pretty happy with the food and amenities on Princess and X and would prefer to sail those two in a Suite rather than a balcony on a pricier "6 Star Line" (LOL how high can these stars go?) We are sailing on Azamara in 2019 but that is "towards luxury" in the rankings I would say and it has an itinerary that can't be beat. The price is almost double what we pay on our current two lines in a Suite-but neither of them go to Cuba.

Princess and the Regal in particular are enough luxury for me. Great value for money.

 

 

Is there better food to be had at sea? I have no doubt there is but I don't go hungry on Princess. We can cook food like that at home but it is such a laborious effort of recipes and measurements and focus. My favorite pastime on Earth is eating in restaurants. Quiet elegant restaurants where there is attention given to every dish. Sabs at $29 or $25 is a steal of a meal. I think Murano (X) is worth every penny of the $50 charge. I am on holiday and that's when I spend money without wincing.

I hope that with future builds Princess adds more Specialty Restaurants. The MDR food is good enough but when on vacation we like to enjoy variety. Celebrity score in this regard.

 

[Bimmer09]

There was a dance class happening in the Piazza as I made my way to the cabin to nap and then pack.

 

Princess is restless in providing entertainment and engagement for its passengers. The Patters are rich in hour by hour events going on all over the ship. Wine tastings, $10 watch sales, Effy events, Peter Max auctions, Game shows and quizzes, learning new skills like napkin folding, Health Seminars, Fruit carving and so on. Or you can watch movies in your room On Demand or a movie on a giant outdoor screen while eating popcorn, exercise in a gym or on deck, play crazy golf, cards, board games, read a book in the noisy library or on your balcony, listen to a band, dance, play Blackjack, eat, drink at a bar, swim, walk, run, snooze, look at the stars the wake, breathe the sea air, make a new friend....you can do all of this or as little as you like. And they feed you 24/7.

I'm a fan.

[Bimmer09]

Speaking of things to do, the Princess at Sea app is a handy thing to have when you have the Internet Plan

This saves carrying a Patter around

Tonight would be the night when this happens...

I remove our names from the door.

 

 

Carol's luggage goes in the hallway



 

 

Then mine as she always packs first



 

 

Our luggage meets that of the people we have never met even though they live next door



 

 

 

[Bimmer09]

CAMERAS USED

I carried this camera bag day and night on the ship and on shore

 



 

It weighed 13 pounds, without the tripod which added another 3 but I never took it off the ship.

 

 

Left to right

Canon 6D Mk II (newly released end of July) Full Frame 35 mm DSLR with F4 24-70mm L lens

Manfrotto Tripod

Canon F4 16-35mm wide angle L lens

Go Pro Hero 3 on a Joby Gorilla flexible tripod

Canon T3i DSLR with EFS 55-250mm zoom lens

Canon SD 880 pocket camera

Sony HD camcorder model 810 (?)



The Canon 6D Mk II was a new camera to me (and the market) and was used the most. It took all of the night shots and most of the days, including indoors. I am still getting used to it as it has a 600 page instruction manual (eek!). It has Bluetooth and can be operated via an iPhone app. An iPhone 5 took the photo.



The tripod was a splurge and used only when leaving and entering New York Harbor in the dark.



The 16-35 mm L lens (L is Canon's top of the line lens) was sued for most indoor and full-length ship shots and some dinner table ones.



The Go Pro Hero 3 was only used on sail away from New York as insurance. I didn't need to use the shots it took. There were no active excursions I needed it for so it stayed on the ship.



Canon T3i was my first DSLR and was used for long range zoom shots. It saved me changing lenses. It will be replaced by a long zoom L lens at some point. The 55 to 250mm lens on this camera can't fit the 6D Mk II. I saved $1100 by taking it along versus buying the 70 -200mm L lens I crave (or bigger!)



The SD 880 pocket Canon ws used for some food photos where the table was too close to me for the 6DMk II and for most of the bus window shots. It was the only camera I owned for my first three cruises.



The Sony HD camcorder is self-explanatory and was (alas) used sparingly. I will use it more on the next cruise (note to self)



I took some online lessons from British photographer Mike Browne as I had not enough of a clue as to how to take a decent picture with the T3i and I bought the 6D MK II so that I could have no excuse for not taking a good picture- I can't blame anything on the camera. What I see in Lightroom when I edit the RAW files is better than what you see when the Flickr photos appear on CC when they are dumbed down into jpegs. I am learning as I go and looking forward to getting better at taking pictures. I make a lot of mistakes but can fix most in Adobe Lightroom CC.



I can only get better and maybe that will show in my Crown Princess photos in January.

Norris

























 

[CRLess]

 

 

I long for the days before Masseto was "discovered"....Many years ago on the Crown Princess we purchased a bottle of Masseto for around $200. The Maitre d' at the time was Neville Saldanha, and he set us up with a secluded table in an enclave in one of the dining rooms. What a magnificent bottle of wine. Now, you are hard pressed to find a bottle on Princess for anywhere near that price....last cruise I took, it was "offered" at $600/btl....No thanks!

[Corgidawgga]

Bless you for the pic of the pistachio dome desert. It was the best!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bimmer09]

Bless you for the pic of the pistachio dome desert. It was the best!

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

This?



 

 



(Emerald Princess)

 

What a fine dessert by Norman Love!

Norris

[Bimmer09]

I long for the days before Masseto was "discovered"....Many years ago on the Crown Princess we purchased a bottle of Masseto for around $200. The Maitre d' at the time was Neville Saldanha, and he set us up with a secluded table in an enclave in one of the dining rooms. What a magnificent bottle of wine. Now, you are hard pressed to find a bottle on Princess for anywhere near that price....last cruise I took, it was "offered" at $600/btl....No thanks!

 

Chris, I would love to taste it but at $600 a bottle, I'll have to pass! I had no idea they had wines that pricey on board.I usually buy a Pinot Grigio but now they don't have Santa Margherita and instead an inferior Danzante so I opt for my red standby the Malbec- Oberon by Mondavi-BUT they don't have that any longer so the Decero fits the bill.

It doesn't surprise me that it was Neviille Saldanha who set you up with a special table-as Maitre 'd he lives up to the title and goes out of his way to make your cruise more memorable. Class act!

Norris

[Corgidawgga]

 



 

This?

 



 

 

 

 

 



 

(Emerald Princess)

 

 

 

What a fine dessert by Norman Love!

 



 

 

Norris

 

 

 

Yes! I so hope it is on the menu next June......in my dreams I am lounging in the sun at the Sanctuary with afternoon tea and that scrumptious dessert.

 

Perfect afternoon!

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Bimmer09]

Before I forget again, here's the Princess Theater

 

There were two shows a night here but with a seating capacity of 700 only 1400 of the 3600 pax have an opportunity to see the shows and so people tend to get there early to be sure of a seat. Contrast that with the 1100 seats on the Celebrity S class for 2900 pax

 



 

The seats are narrow on the Regal with minimal leg room and unlike on the Grand Class have no airline style pop-out tray to place a cold drink, so if you order a frozen Margarita you are holding it for the duration of the show and clapping with one hand or you can put it down at your feet and grope for it but you know what's likely to happen down there. As a result we didn't buy any drinks at the shows. Design fail.

When I went down to the front after the Culinary Show I went down the side wall to avoid meeting the people leaving the theater and that was a narrow passage that at times forced me to turn sideways to get through, an issue I don't recall on the Grand Class.

[Bimmer09]

With our packing done and the bags in the hallway for collection we went for our last dinner.

 

We were as always greeted warmly by Lisette at the hostess stand.

 

We ate at 8.30 and table 312 at the back by the WineMakers dinner room was available.

The last of my 2nd bottle of Decero was brought forth.

I had shrimp cocktail

 

 

Carol, the chilled pumpkin soup



 

 

I had the always available Fettucine Alfredo and we both enjoyed Curtis Stone's Chicken Pot Pie



 

Carol's dessert was Dark Cherry Sorbet while I went with my traditional double espresso and Sambuca

 

 

Bed by 11 with the intention of being up and about by 5 a.m as we were due to dock at 6

[Bimmer09]

I saw this behind me when I got up on deck 17 with my coffee at Zero Dark 30

 

My spidey sense had woken me up at 5 and I leapt out of bed and got dressed quickly but first things first and I had to take a couple minutes to fix a cup of coffee.

I prefer not to post too many pictures which are crap but I have to post this next one where the dazzling lights blow out the color (green) of the statue. It's this or nothing as I couldn't use the tripod because the ship's still moving fast.

 

 

THIS is why I get up early when coming into a port



 

 



 

 

The Seawalk lit at night is waaaaay cool!



 

 

[Bimmer09]

 

 

 

 

Bringing it all back home



 

 

Good Morning Brooklyn!



 

 

The Regal Has Landed

[Bimmer09]

We are all tied up in Brooklyn

 

 



 

It's been seven days of cruising pleasure that passed very quickly but so far they have all been like that. We saw some beautiful and interesting places without having to pack up the car and drive or pack and unpack each day in a new hotel in a new town. No foraging for food or looking for restaurant recommendations. We ate well and slept well and were entertained each day. We saw waves and waves of people everyday and all with a contented look on their faces.

I think we both thought seldom of work and Escaped Completely and Came Back New.

We both thought the ship very impressive decor-wise. We are comfortable with the Grand Class in this regard but the Regal dazzles and nowhere moreso than the Piazza where I just passed through on my way somewhere. There were design fails-Vista Lounge and the Promenade deck are poorly considered, the pool deck doesn't hold (enough) water for the number of passengers on board, thanks to the Fountain Light Show, the 4 ft deep balconies on the sides are a step backwards, the theater is too small in capacity to name a few peeves for me.



The Crown Grill placement put us off eating there but we will give it a shot if and when we sail her again. We are certainly not put off sailing her. Itinerary would decide.



I liked the Skywalk and the copious outdoor seating on either end of the buffet and the layout of the buffet itself. It is a vast improvement in ease of getting your food if not in the food itself. I have had my expectations raised by eating in the Oceanview Cafe on Celebrity.



The ship entertainment was first rate and there was a lot of it.



As with the Grand Class there were some dead ends and I don't just refer to decks where the kitchen stops your progress. Port side when you walk aft past the funnel you come to a dead end and have to retrace your steps and go to starboard as the Kids Clubs are there and you are shooed away by signage.



The elevators don't stop for long and I feel for anyone in a wheelchair trying to make one before it zooms away, laughing. As some decks had the arrival lights not working you had to scurry.



First World issues I know.

Did we enjoy our cruise? Oh yes!







 

 



 

Looks like we will have a nice first day back in New York