Regal! Feb 3-10 Trip Report & Review

[MaryBethV]

One week ago today we were enjoying a gorgeous day in St. Thomas. Now we are back in the land of snow and ice. So, this trip report is my post-cruise-therapy-session and you are invited to join me. 😉  

 

A few things about us…

 

This is our 3rd cruise overall and our 1st on Princess. Last year we took two cruises on NCL - one as a couple and one with all four of our kids (that was fun, but NUTS). Links to those trip reports are in my signature for those that are interested. This time it was just myself & my husband (DH) and our younger two. DH and I are in our early 40’s (I’m going with “early 40’s” as being anything 45 or under-ha!) Our son (DS) is 16 and our daughter (DD) is 14.  

 

We live close to Lake Michigan and our family vacations have usually been spent on it’s shores… looks like the ocean, no salt, no hostile sea creatures you need to avoid, and powdery sand beaches for miles and miles. However, sun & swim season here is pretty much limited to July and August unless you are part polar bear. While we LOVE MI... getting away mid-winter for a week in the sun is definitely recommended for maintaining a measure of sanity.

 

I love to cook, grill a fabulous steak, pretend I’m Italian and make fresh pasta, grow my own herbs & veggies in my little backyard garden, etc… SO - food on any vacation is pretty important to our family. Food photos will follow with my OPINIONS. Why play food critic? Well, I find it a bit useless when someone says they love or hate the food but give no actual reasons why! Remember, everyone is different and food is nothing if not subjective.

 

In the past, I was a professional photographer for 15 years. For this trip, I did the unthinkable -- I left my ‘real’ camera with all my beautiful lenses at home. I did bring the GoPro (but didn’t even use it). So, all photos and videos are from my trusty little iPhone. Did I miss my Canon with my 70-200 lens my DH calls the "paparazzi lens"? Yes - especially when pulling into ports and when trying to capture sunsets. It was nice not to lug it, but I probably won’t leave it at home again. I’m not sure who said it, but I do love the quote “The best camera is the one you have with you.” That is true. Whatever the camera - it is capturing memories that is important.

 

Planning, researching, and reading Princess reviews for the last year or so was half of the fun for me. DH and kids were happy to let me do my planning thing and just be ‘along for the ride’ when the time came. This trip report will likely be long and detailed with a lot of photos, menus, and info. - if that is not your thing, bail now!!! I always say there are two things I am definitely not: a light packer and concise bullet-point-style writer. My *goal* is to add to this trip report a little every day - and I will finish - promise. Bailing on your own therapy session is frowned upon.

 

Let the cruise countdown begin!

 

 

Our Cruise: Regal Princess - February 3-10, 2019 - Eastern Caribbean

 

 

Monday, January 28th | 7 days pre-cruise

 

 

First of all - so thankful nobody was hurt! However… what would happen now??? We even rented a little bungalow and couldn’t wait to visit Princess’ private island on the first day of the cruise. Would we get to go to Princess Cays? Would we be diverted to Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk? (cue mad last-minute research…) Would we have another Sea Day?

 

Thursday, January 31st | 4 days pre-cruise

 

 

Winter in West Michigan arrived late - but when it arrived it came determined to make up for lost time! Leading up to our departure our kids had SIX snow days in a row. Some because of snow, some because the windchill temps were in the -40’s. By the time we would return from this trip they would have a break longer than Christmas break! We were hoping the weather would at least calm down enough to get out of MI and to Atlanta...

 

 

 

[curlybelle2]

We are from Michigan too, and can't wait to get out of the snow!   Looking forward to your review. We will be following along!

We're leaving on Feb 24th on the Regal. 

 

Thanks in advance for sharing.

[MaryBethV]

Friday, February 1st | 3 days pre-cruise

Princess PR posted this on our Roll Call-

 

 

Yay! So happy. Beach, sun, bungalow - here we come!

 

Saturday, February 2nd | Travel from MI to Ft. Lauderdale

We made it to Atlanta and were happy to see no snow and blue skies. 

 

 

 

Since we had about 5 hours to kill between flights, we had lunch at Gordon Biersch (Concourse A). It was nice to have a sit-down lunch not in the food court.

 

 

 

 

DH and DS each had a burger with their signature garlic fries. They thought the burgers were good and the fries were yummy. I may have stolen a fry or two...

 

 

DD said she wasn’t hungry, but after tasting the fries ended up ordering her own plate of fries. 

 

One thing you need to know about me… I may be from MI, but at least some of my taste buds must come from Southern CA because I LOVE a good fish taco! So, California Beach Tacos for me please! Only - they were anything but. 😞 Each “taco” consisted of two tiny corn tortillas overlapped to make one taco, which was overstuffed with plain shredded cabbage and a tiny bit of pico de gallo, which was topped with a piece of fried fish, which was topped with a tiny bit of tasteless cream. It was soooo bland and, if it could talk, it would tell you how ashamed it was to be called a fish taco. I ordered extra pico de gallo, which I mixed with mayo and spooned on each bite. Don’t judge - I was desperate and hungry!

 

 

We had a beautiful sunset on our flight from Atlanta to Ft. Lauderdale and the sweet lady in my isle that had a window seat offered to snap a few photos for me.

 

 

 

After a very last minute ditch of our first landing (there was a plane on our runway!), the second time was a charm and we made it to Ft. Lauderdale mostly on time. We hopped on the free shuttle to our hotel and were checked in by 8pm-ish.

Edited February 13, 2019 by MaryBethV

[MaryBethV]

We stayed at the Best Western Airport/Cruise Port. It is a good basic hotel, a little older but maintained. Clean. I chose it mainly for its location - McDonalds in the same parking lot (easy food for kids after traveling all day!) and a Publix grocery store right across a little side street (for our 2 bottles of wine to take with us). You know, important reasons.

 

I love palm trees in the morning. 

 

 

 

After a to-be-expected hotel breakfast, we caught the hotel transfer ($10ea through All Star Tours) and were headed to the cruise port around 10:00am. ***Note*** We were very impressed with the transfer company. They were courteous and professional. We purchased return transfers ($15ea - cruise port to airport) and they gave us stickers & a receipt and clear instructions where to meet after debarkation.

 

 

Embarkation could not have been easier. No lines. The Medallion and registering via the app beforehand let us walk right on the ship. We were on the ship within 15 minutes of getting out of the transfer van.

 

 

What a gorgeous ship!!!

 

 

[Flowergirl56]

We are doing this trip 3/17-24. Can’t wait to read more about your trip.  This is our first warm weather cruise.

[hllwdcruiser]

Loving your review so far ~

I have to agree, she is a gorgeous ship! 

Looking forward to reading more 😊

[MaryBethV]

And BONUS - we were told we could drop our bags in our rooms even if they weren’t cleaned yet. (On NCL they lock down all the guest room hallways until all rooms are ready and you have to lug your bags around to lunch, etc.) We popped into our rooms a minute and they were ready! Nice!

 

We had two connecting regular balcony rooms on the Caribe Deck (deck 10), port side and slightly aft of the central elevator banks.

 

Room C502 - the kid's room. I loved all the drawer space and that there was more than 6 inches between the beds. Even though Mary Ann (their room steward) was part magician, this is the best it would ever look. 😂

 

 

Room C504 - our room. Beautiful room! Nice and clean - we loved our room steward, Denn Mark. He was the best. We are taking bets though on if that is his real name. 😎

 

 

Our pre-ordered case of water on the left, the cups that came with our soda-and-more drink packages, and the water you don't touch unless you want to pay for it on the right. 

 

The bathroom was quite tiny compared to NCL. It worked, but if you wanted to get dressed in there with the door shut, your best bet was standing in the shower! On the bright side, there is a ledge in the shower. ThankYouVeryMuch The soaps and body wash were fine. I was thankful that I brought shampoo and conditioner from home because the shampoo/conditioner blend they had was not going to be nice to my hair. This would be me, just not as young & cute...

 

 

 

 

 

 

And the best part - the balcony! I'm trying to talk myself into an inside stateroom next time so we can do this more often... but I love having a balcony. Those of you who have had both - thoughts?

 

 

Looking aft-

 

Looking forward-

 

Looking down, life boats are two decks below-

 

Looking forward/down to the promenade area on deck 8-

 

Looking aft/down-

[MaryBethV]

Lunch at Alfredos - It is really nice to have a fairly quiet sit-down restaurant (other than a main dining room) option that is included. We did have to wait a bit for our server to come at first, but she was really sweet. And the food was yummy!

 

 

 

Antipasto Assortito di Magro - it was delicious! The roasted peppers were amazing and the drizzle of pesto and balsamic reduction added a ton of flavor.

 

Insalata Mista all’ Alfredo - nice vinaigrette

 

Pizza Hawaiiana - DD ordered this and was in love! I’m pretty sure she had this 3-4 times during the week. Very good crust.

 

Agnolotti Gratinati alla Piemontese - for all the raves about it here on CC I was expecting more… and I’m all for baked pasta but this was almost too rich and you only tasted the sauce. (((ducking)))

 

I am sad to say that I never tried the Tiramisu at Alfredos. I will correct that error next time. 😉

[mthomp5]

Love reading your trip report!  So fun!  Thanks for sharing and “taking us along”. We love the Regal and Alfredo’s.  Looks like you’ll need to plan another cruise so you can try that tiramisu!

[modes]

Loving your review.

[MaryBethV]

Next we headed up to tour the teen lounge which is beautiful. The decor is sophisticated and bright. When many cruise lines are making their teen area look like an underground disco from the 80’s (and even putting it ‘in the basement’ of the ship)  - this one stands out in spectacular fashion. Antonella - the director for this age group was AMAZING. Even when it was just our kids there (which was often since there were only 13 teens on the ship during our week), she made it fun for them. They had video game tournaments, did different crafts, played games, and even went to dinner at Alfredo's together one evening. Some of the 13 teens weren’t coming at all - so she sent invitations to their rooms for a mid-week movie night and a hot tub party on the private teen deck. Our kids loved her and the week would not have been nearly as fun without her. 🙂 Well done Princess.

 

 

 

 

 

Totally jealous of their deck and padded loungers!

 

I’m going to post all the paperwork about the teen program that we were given. I’m not sure about you - but I never find the time to read all the info while on a cruise! If I had it in advance, I would though. So, here you go…

 

Brochure-

 

 

 

 

Welcome letter and info that was in our room-

 

 

 

 

 

 

Note to parents of teens: Encourage your kids to go the very first night. There was a girl that didn't come to the teen lounge until the very last night. Within 2.5 seconds our daughter and her became fast friends like only 14 year old girls can do. It would have been so nice if they could have met earlier in the week!

[MaryBethV]

Time to explore a little! I have to say - this ship was not easy to navigate. It took almost the whole week to get some sense of what was where (and that is after I studied deck plans for months!). Thankful that there was an app for helping you get around that you could use on your phone or on the interactive maps by the elevators. Maybe it is just me or maybe that is why there are so many repeat guests… you finally figure it out and need to stay longer to make the effort worth it. 😄

 

 

 

Strawberry Daiquiri Mocktail-

 

 

The Retreat (adult pool area)

 

 

We walked through the Sanctuary and made a note to reserve an afternoon or two there next time we take a cruise without the kids!

 

 

 

 

 

Since we didn’t see an excursion ticket or anything for our bungalow on Princess Cay in our room earlier, we stopped by the Shore Excursions desk to ask about it. Unfortunately due to the fire (even though the bungalows weren’t damaged) they cancelled ALL bungalow rentals. We were really disappointed, but oh well - not everything goes according to plan. You just have to roll with it. At least we were still going to the island. Instead we rented two clamshells ($40ea). We’ve rented clamshells before. Our 16 year old is not a beach fan. He doesn’t complain or anything - just usually parks himself in the clamshell or under the umbrella! Reasons for clamshells: happy kids and even SPF 70 needs help when it comes to mid-winter MI skin!

 

While I was renting clamshells DH was getting extra key cards for our rooms. Since you have to register an adult in each room, but we were putting the kids in one and us in the other - we needed key cards. The medallions only worked to open your door if that was the original room you were registered in. It would be helpful if Princess would allow a family to register connecting rooms the way they are going to use them.

 

Following that we made our way to the Muster Drill in Princess Live. Yaaaaay. Actually, our station had Christof (center), the assistant Cruise Director and he was quite funny. This is the first Muster Drill where I’m sure no one nodded off.

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by MaryBethV

[franktown]

Great review.  Sorry about the bungalow.  I was told they could not rent them because of lack of electricity for the fan and a/c.  Do not know if that is the real problem.  We have one rented next week so I sure hope the problem is solved.  If not we will  still enjoy our day.

[AVCruzers]

Really appreciate your review as we will be on the REGAL for 26 days embarking April 14--going on our first TA and then Baltics cruise.  Looking forward to the rest of your report.  Thanks!

[MaryBethV]

After Muster, we headed to the International Cafe for some coffee (make that a mocha frappuccino for DD) and the food offerings looked yummy. Looking forward to trying some of them during the week!

 

 

Our rooms were very close to the central elevator bank that is also in the Piazza, which was very convenient!

 

 

So, we headed up to our room to unpack and watch sail away from our balcony. The Celebrity Edge left first...

 

Then we followed the Royal Caribbean Harmony of the Seas (HUGE ship!).

 

Some people in the condos nearby were very excited to watch our ship leave. I wondered... do they know someone on our ship or is this just their Sunday afternoon entertainment? 😂

 

 

 

Sailing away from the setting sun... it is going to be a great cruise, I can tell. 

[hllwdcruiser]

We have family who own two condos in Point of America II, one of the buildings you saw on your way out to sea. For the most part, no, they don't know anyone on the cruises passing them by. They are just good people who get joy contributing to the "Bon Voyage" experience.

Edited February 14, 2019 by hllwdcruiser

[ABoatNerd]

The International Cafe offerings look like what Celebrity used to provide in Cafe Bacio before the Celebrity downgrading started post 2013.

 

Sandwiches look great, together with a salad and a glass of Chardonnay, excellent way to start a cruise.

 

 

[TupeloHoney]

This post is making me excited for our upcoming cruise!  Thanks for doing this!

[WisCruiser2]

We were also on this cruise, and were just down the hall from you in the 600 section 🙂 Sorry we didn't get to meet you at our Roll Call gatherings. We thought overall, it was a great week! It always takes us until the end of the week to figure out where we're going, no matter which ship we are on. 

We really like Alfredo's, too, as well as the International Cafe for a light lunch or "a little something," hope you made sure to try it. Thanks for doing the review so we can re-live the week after getting 10 inches of snow the other day!

[MaryBethV]

28 minutes ago, WisCruiser2 said:

We were also on this cruise, and were just down the hall from you in the 600 section 🙂 Sorry we didn't get to meet you at our Roll Call gatherings. We thought overall, it was a great week! It always takes us until the end of the week to figure out where we're going, no matter which ship we are on. 

We really like Alfredo's, too, as well as the International Cafe for a light lunch or "a little something," hope you made sure to try it. Thanks for doing the review so we can re-live the week after getting 10 inches of snow the other day!

 

We didn't make it to any of the Roll Call gatherings. 🙁 Next time we travel without our kids, we will make sure to attend the get-togethers!

[fishin' musician]

Regarding the inside vs balcony; just being aboard a vessel like this is a huge blessing.  So if it comes down to going more often and taking an inside or going less often with a balcony, I guess it just boils down to how important a balcony is to  you.  I've been on this ship a few times (and also the Royal) and the first time I did not realize how tiny the standard balconies are... I'm lanky and could not sit while facing out.  At that time I swore I'd go inside if taking one of these ships again.  Thankfully I discovered there are some balconies that are at least double the size (deeper)... you can see them some of your pictures. 

 

The partying on the apartment balconies is a longstanding tradition as you head out between the break-walls.  There is a live webcam that many on the ships watch as they sail out, if you have a sign and/or make enough commotion the camera operator may zoom in on you... (we start watching the Saturday/Sunday sail-aways a few weeks before we depart to get even more fired up).  Here is the link:

 

https://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/

 

 

[MaryBethV]

All unpacked, we dressed for an early dinner since the kids wanted to go to the teen lounge when it opened at 7pm. We had anytime dining and I was a little concerned about all the wait times I read about here. Would we be waiting for an hour?! What would the food be like? Turns out we didn’t have to wait at all and were promptly seated at a table for four with Rex and Tiho as our servers.

 

Night 1 Dinner Menu: Symphony Dining Room

 

 

 

Appetizer portion of Fettuccine Alfredo - This was pretty good. Creamy and pasta was al dente. It would benefit from a little grated or shaved Parmesan Reggiano on top instead of the "shake-style" parmesan.

 

Butterflied Shrimp app: Mmmm - perfectly cooked shrimp and a delicious dipping sauce with just enough citrus flavor to make it unique.

 

Prime Rib - DH said it was good. Having options of adding toppings to the baked potato made the dish even better and adds a little touch of personal service. I had a bite and thought it was pretty good even though I'm not really a prime rib fan.

 

Roasted Pork with Apricot Glaze - This was actually very tasty. The green beans were cooked well (not raw or overcooked) and the sauce was very flavorful. Honestly, this menu wasn't my favorite and I didn't have high expectations for the pork dish, but I was pleasantly surprised.

 

Night 1 Dessert Menu

 

 

Princess Love Boat Dream - I think this is the most photographed Princess dessert and am happy to report that it is as yummy as it looks! 

 

New York Cheesecake - this is pretty much all it takes to make my husband happy. ha! It was a point of contention on NCL that their idea of cheesecake more-so resembled gelatinous pudding. This was REAL cheesecake and was ordered multiple times during the week!

 

Flourless Chocolate Cake - Our son ordered this one. I wanted to try a bite because I've heard it was delicious... however, I blinked and it was gone. DS has a "talent" for inhaling food as only a 16 year old boy can do. 🤣 He said it was amazing though so I'm just going to have believe him.

 

Butter Almond Ice Cream - Servers don't seem to like it when one person doesn't order dessert (aka: DD) and Rex decided she needed some ice cream at least. Smart man. 😊 The ice cream did not go uneaten - thanks Rex. Seriously, we are going to roll off this ship at the end of the week - aren't we!!!

 

Dinner conversation from our not-easy-to-impress DD... summery: Princess broke the scale! This ship is so pretty! The food is so good! The servers/crew talk to kids like they are real people! <--- 😍 And off to the teen lounge they went... 

 

DH and I asked for regular coffee. In "real life" I don't ever dare have coffee past 3pm-ish or I'll be wide awake long after I should be sleeping. At this point though it was 7:30ish and we realized we still had to stay up for another 4-5 hours. Needless to say ordering coffee with dessert became a nightly tradition!

 

Edited February 14, 2019 by MaryBethV

[MaryBethV]

39 minutes ago, fishin' musician said:

Regarding the inside vs balcony; just being aboard a vessel like this is a huge blessing.  So if it comes down to going more often and taking an inside or going less often with a balcony, I guess it just boils down to how important a balcony is to  you.  I've been on this ship a few times (and also the Royal) and the first time I did not realize how tiny the standard balconies are... I'm lanky and could not sit while facing out.  At that time I swore I'd go inside if taking one of these ships again.  Thankfully I discovered there are some balconies that are at least double the size (deeper)... you can see them some of your pictures. 

 

The partying on the apartment balconies is a longstanding tradition as you head out between the break-walls.  There is a live webcam that many on the ships watch as they sail out, if you have a sign and/or make enough commotion the camera operator may zoom in on you... (we start watching the Saturday/Sunday sail-aways a few weeks before we depart to get even more fired up).  Here is the link:

 

https://www.portevergladeswebcam.com/

 

 

 

Great advice! We actually didn't think the balconies were that tight (and my husband is 6'4") but that is coming from our only other experience being the NCL Escape and the NCL Getaway where the balconies are even more narrow. We did find that we could fit two chairs side by side on one end of the balcony and sit next to one another - loved that. (photo of that at some point) I will have to look into the rooms with larger balconies in the future though!

How fun that people on the apartment balconies do that on a regular basis - that would be a great way to get excited for an upcoming cruise! 🙂 

[MaryBethV]

12 hours ago, franktown said:

Great review.  Sorry about the bungalow.  I was told they could not rent them because of lack of electricity for the fan and a/c.  Do not know if that is the real problem.  We have one rented next week so I sure hope the problem is solved.  If not we will  still enjoy our day.

 

I hope you can use your bungalow! Report back if you can. 🙂 

[texascat]

22 hours ago, MaryBethV said:

One week ago today we were enjoying a gorgeous day in St. Thomas. Now we are back in the land of snow and ice. So, this trip report is my post-cruise-therapy-session and you are invited to join me. 😉  

 

A few things about us…

 

This is our 3rd cruise overall and our 1st on Princess. Last year we took two cruises on NCL - one as a couple and one with all four of our kids (that was fun, but NUTS). Links to those trip reports are in my signature for those that are interested. This time it was just myself & my husband (DH) and our younger two. DH and I are in our early 40’s (I’m going with “early 40’s” as being anything 45 or under-ha!) Our son (DS) is 16 and our daughter (DD) is 14.  

 

We live close to Lake Michigan and our family vacations have usually been spent on it’s shores… looks like the ocean, no salt, no hostile sea creatures you need to avoid, and powdery sand beaches for miles and miles. However, sun & swim season here is pretty much limited to July and August unless you are part polar bear. While we LOVE MI... getting away mid-winter for a week in the sun is definitely recommended for maintaining a measure of sanity.

 

I love to cook, grill a fabulous steak, pretend I’m Italian and make fresh pasta, grow my own herbs & veggies in my little backyard garden, etc… SO - food on any vacation is pretty important to our family. Food photos will follow with my OPINIONS. Why play food critic? Well, I find it a bit useless when someone says they love or hate the food but give no actual reasons why! Remember, everyone is different and food is nothing if not subjective.

 

In the past, I was a professional photographer for 15 years. For this trip, I did the unthinkable -- I left my ‘real’ camera with all my beautiful lenses at home. I did bring the GoPro (but didn’t even use it). So, all photos and videos are from my trusty little iPhone. Did I miss my Canon with my 70-200 lens my DH calls the "paparazzi lens"? Yes - especially when pulling into ports and when trying to capture sunsets. It was nice not to lug it, but I probably won’t leave it at home again. I’m not sure who said it, but I do love the quote “The best camera is the one you have with you.” That is true. Whatever the camera - it is capturing memories that is important.

 

Planning, researching, and reading Princess reviews for the last year or so was half of the fun for me. DH and kids were happy to let me do my planning thing and just be ‘along for the ride’ when the time came. This trip report will likely be long and detailed with a lot of photos, menus, and info. - if that is not your thing, bail now!!! I always say there are two things I am definitely not: a light packer and concise bullet-point-style writer. My *goal* is to add to this trip report a little every day - and I will finish - promise. Bailing on your own therapy session is frowned upon.

 

Let the cruise countdown begin!

 

 

Our Cruise: Regal Princess - February 3-10, 2019 - Eastern Caribbean

 

 

Monday, January 28th | 7 days pre-cruise

 

 

First of all - so thankful nobody was hurt! However… what would happen now??? We even rented a little bungalow and couldn’t wait to visit Princess’ private island on the first day of the cruise. Would we get to go to Princess Cays? Would we be diverted to Half Moon Cay or Grand Turk? (cue mad last-minute research…) Would we have another Sea Day?

 

Thursday, January 31st | 4 days pre-cruise

 

 

Winter in West Michigan arrived late - but when it arrived it came determined to make up for lost time! Leading up to our departure our kids had SIX snow days in a row. Some because of snow, some because the windchill temps were in the -40’s. By the time we would return from this trip they would have a break longer than Christmas break! We were hoping the weather would at least calm down enough to get out of MI and to Atlanta...

 

 

 

Excited to read your review!  I will be on the Regal March 31st, 1st Princess cruise!