Back from Regal - what was great and what needed work

[DeRon]

Just returned last week from our Eastern Caribbean voyage on the Regal.  We were in a Club Class mini-suite on the Baja deck. 

 

What we liked:

• Nice mini suite layout. Very functional. Plenty of storage. 
• Food was good, not great. Very good at times. But good enough. 
• Dining room service was better than the specialty restaurants. We ate at both, and the waiter was doing everything for every table.  Needed help. 
• Lots of fun! Entertainment was great, and something is always going on until late. 
• Embarkation was a snap with the medallions
• Disembarkation was a snap (Club Class). Off the ship and in a taxi by 7:30
• Bed was comfy with nice sheets, pillows, etc. 

Could have been better:

• Not luxury. If you are looking for luxury, up the money and go on another line.
• At times crowded. Horizon Court was way too busy, no seats, etc
• Pool chairs hard to come by for even 2
• We paid the $$ and got the Sanctuary for the week.  Best move ever. However, we were in the line to reserve 1st day at 11:15.  They sold out!!!  What the?!?!  I had to tip a girl VERY nicely to get the weekly rental.  So we paid around $650-700 for the Sanctuary. Blah!
• Theater not grandiose and not as pretty as older ships. In fact, not pretty at all in our opinion. Crowded and cramped. 
• Speciality dining was pretty good, not excellent. 
• This is little, but our bath towels and pool towels are thin and small.  And they were stingy on the towels for the bathroom. 
• Showers had no water pressure. Worst ever that we’ve had on any cruise. 
• Did not enjoy Princess Cays. Way too crowded, no chairs available etc. and they use those clam shell chairs. No umbrellas.  So if you’re on the 2nd or 14th row, you cannot see the water.
• They have a serious elevator issue.  Slow, small, and crowded.  Worst we’ve ever had on a cruise. They had a lot of elevators, but it always seemed like 3-4 weren’t moving for some reason.  When you have this many people, you need to be able to move them quickly!

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your thoughts. I always like reading reviews that mention a balance of the good and the bad.

[Pickels]

I agree with geoherb, it's great to read a review that has positives and negatives.  One question: RE:   So we paid around $650-700 for the Sanctuary. Blah!  Did I read that right, you had to pay $650 to $700 for two people for the entire week?  How long was your cruise? 

[Pickels]

14 hours ago, DeRon said:

Just returned last week from our Eastern Caribbean voyage on the Regal.  We were in a Club Class mini-suite on the Baja deck. 

 

What we liked:

• Nice mini suite layout. Very functional. Plenty of storage. 
• Food was good, not great. Very good at times. But good enough. 
• Dining room service was better than the specialty restaurants. We ate at both, and the waiter was doing everything for every table.  Needed help. 
• Lots of fun! Entertainment was great, and something is always going on until late. 
• Embarkation was a snap with the medallions
• Disembarkation was a snap (Club Class). Off the ship and in a taxi by 7:30
• Bed was comfy with nice sheets, pillows, etc. 

Could have been better:

• Not luxury. If you are looking for luxury, up the money and go on another line.
• At times crowded. Horizon Court was way too busy, no seats, etc
• Pool chairs hard to come by for even 2
• We paid the $$ and got the Sanctuary for the week.  Best move ever. However, we were in the line to reserve 1st day at 11:15.  They sold out!!!  What the?!?!  I had to tip a girl VERY nicely to get the weekly rental.  So we paid around $650-700 for the Sanctuary. Blah!
• Theater not grandiose and not as pretty as older ships. In fact, not pretty at all in our opinion. Crowded and cramped. 
• Speciality dining was pretty good, not excellent. 
• This is little, but our bath towels and pool towels are thin and small.  And they were stingy on the towels for the bathroom. 
• Showers had no water pressure. Worst ever that we’ve had on any cruise. 
• Did not enjoy Princess Cays. Way too crowded, no chairs available etc. and they use those clam shell chairs. No umbrellas.  So if you’re on the 2nd or 14th row, you cannot see the water.
• They have a serious elevator issue.  Slow, small, and crowded.  Worst we’ve ever had on a cruise. They had a lot of elevators, but it always seemed like 3-4 weren’t moving for some reason.  When you have this many people, you need to be able to move them quickly!

Forgot to ask---did you reserve a cabana?  Maybe that's why the cost was so high; please advise, thanks.

[CruisingIsBest]

Thanks for the review. Just off Regal this past Sunday too. For the most part, I agree with everything you said. You were lucky in the Club Class to have the new mattresses they've been touting for about 2 years now... the old tired ones in other cabins are hard and need to go. It looks like they will finally be rolled out to all cabins this year. The showers just suck... between the pressure, and the miserable curtains which make it feel even smaller, it's the worst of any modern ship. You again were lucky since you had the Mini Suite... much larger. Agree... Crown Grill was good, not great. You must have had a more lively group because it wasn't too active late on mine... or ever really. lol Even the big Latin Nights party was pretty dead. Princess Cays? I don't even get off. It's the Gilligan's Island of private stops and just needs to go. People seem to find it so enchanting. LOL. There's just nothing there, not even a nice pool area, just sand, beach, and bugs. I'll take Grand Turk or Amber Cove over that place any day.

Horizon Court however was not an issue for me. Asie from the one visit to CG, it's pretty much all I used. It has it's busy times, but not to the point of never finding seats... perhaps on sea days, at breakfast time, was the busiest, but I just go out to the aft deck bar area and it's a great view and always open out there. I still think it's one of the better buffets on the seas.

 

Elevators are hit or miss. First day... nightmare... they lock down most of them with staff running them and after muster it's like the Time Square Subway station at 5pm!

Edited March 6, 2019 by CruisingIsBest

[DeRon]

Hey guys.  No cabana (they were sold out immediately too).  I just tipped an attendant heavily to make something happen in the Sanctuary!  There were angry cruisers griping out the attendants when sold out, so I took another approach and got some help. 

 

I will say that the tipping was probably not 100% necessary, as they refused it many times when I offered it.  What they appreciated was someone talking and reasoning with them politely and using courtesy instead of demanding to speak with the manager, etc.  Honey is better than vinegar in negotiation.  The people and attendants were great!  It was my choice to tip.

 

So why was I making that a "Con"? Because I didn't think at 11:15 AM they would be sold out.  The Sanctuary was the main reason I sailed on this ship!  I have no idea why they will not let people reserve the Sanctuary online.  

 

Also, I did have to come back later that day (around 5:00) to see if they had any cancellations etc.  It's not like they just were lying or something.

 

Edited March 6, 2019 by DeRon

[KBS1607]

Ugh! I was hoping the Regal had the new mattresses. We had one on the Coral last summer and I’m considering ordering one I liked it so much.  

 

We’re on the Regal this summer for the Baltic.  

Edited March 6, 2019 by KBS1607

[DeRon]

Even though we had a fun cruise, we won't be sailing on the Regal/Royal class anymore.  This saddens me because I was hoping that everything was so much better on these ships that the other class.  To us, there were very little differences.  Even the main atrium area I thought was going to be huge and more grandiose.  But it wasn't.

 

[spyro1952]

On 3/5/2019 at 10:27 PM, DeRon said:

Just returned last week from our Eastern Caribbean voyage on the Regal.  We were in a Club Class mini-suite on the Baja deck. 

 

What we liked:

• Nice mini suite layout. Very functional. Plenty of storage. 
• Food was good, not great. Very good at times. But good enough. 
• Dining room service was better than the specialty restaurants. We ate at both, and the waiter was doing everything for every table.  Needed help. 
• Lots of fun! Entertainment was great, and something is always going on until late. 
• Embarkation was a snap with the medallions
• Disembarkation was a snap (Club Class). Off the ship and in a taxi by 7:30
• Bed was comfy with nice sheets, pillows, etc. 

Could have been better:

• Not luxury. If you are looking for luxury, up the money and go on another line.
• At times crowded. Horizon Court was way too busy, no seats, etc
• Pool chairs hard to come by for even 2
• We paid the $$ and got the Sanctuary for the week.  Best move ever. However, we were in the line to reserve 1st day at 11:15.  They sold out!!!  What the?!?!  I had to tip a girl VERY nicely to get the weekly rental.  So we paid around $650-700 for the Sanctuary. Blah!
• Theater not grandiose and not as pretty as older ships. In fact, not pretty at all in our opinion. Crowded and cramped. 
• Speciality dining was pretty good, not excellent. 
• This is little, but our bath towels and pool towels are thin and small.  And they were stingy on the towels for the bathroom. 
• Showers had no water pressure. Worst ever that we’ve had on any cruise. 
• Did not enjoy Princess Cays. Way too crowded, no chairs available etc. and they use those clam shell chairs. No umbrellas.  So if you’re on the 2nd or 14th row, you cannot see the water.
• They have a serious elevator issue.  Slow, small, and crowded.  Worst we’ve ever had on a cruise. They had a lot of elevators, but it always seemed like 3-4 weren’t moving for some reason.  When you have this many people, you need to be able to move them quickly!

Regarding Sanctuary, do you mean 11:15 am embarkation day or the first actual cruise day (Princess Cay)?  

Been on Regal many times and your review is spot on.  It is what it is.

[Elevatorman]

Thanks for taking time to comment. I think people on a b2b might get up there to Sanctuary super early 

[Pickels]

1 hour ago, Elevatorman said:

Thanks for taking time to comment. I think people on a b2b might get up there to Sanctuary super early 

B2B cruisers get first crack on he second leg of their cruise; some say "foul- not fair to others".

[DeRon]

12 hours ago, spyro1952 said:

Regarding Sanctuary, do you mean 11:15 am embarkation day or the first actual cruise day (Princess Cay)?  

Been on Regal many times and your review is spot on.  It is what it is.

 

 

11:15 on embarkation day.  And everyone is right on... I think the B2B people got it all. 

[caribill]

On 3/6/2019 at 1:53 PM, DeRon said:

So why was I making that a "Con"? Because I didn't think at 11:15 AM they would be sold out.  The Sanctuary was the main reason I sailed on this ship!  I have no idea why they will not let people reserve the Sanctuary online.  

 

 

 

If they did allow online booking, chances are it still would have been sold out unless you were among the very first to actually book the cruise.

 

[floridalover5623]

Although you do have some interesting points, I can't say I fully agree with all of you con's.

It sounds like you're fairly critical when it comes to a mass market cruise line but then again we're easy to please & have never sailed a luxury cruise ship either. 

[DeRon]

4 hours ago, caribill said:

 

If they did allow online booking, chances are it still would have been sold out unless you were among the very first to actually book the cruise.

 

 

I bet you’re right. 

[DeRon]

2 hours ago, floridalover5623 said:

Although you do have some interesting points, I can't say I fully agree with all of you con's.

It sounds like you're fairly critical when it comes to a mass market cruise line but then again we're easy to please & have never sailed a luxury cruise ship either. 

 

No worries... no two people agree 100%.  And that was just my opinion. But I was mainly comparing vs other mass cruise lines.  We love cruises!  That’s why we’ve been on 13. And we had a blast on this cruise. 

 

And really reviews by nature are critical. 😎 👍

[Salty Dawg]

Maybe they should do a drawing or lottery for the Sanctuary. Have a specified time frame to fill out a ticket (one ticket per cabin/2 chairs max), and then at a specified time have a drawing. You must be present to win. They keep drawing until the venue is filled.

[floridalover5623]

4 hours ago, DeRon said:

 

No worries... no two people agree 100%.  And that was just my opinion. But I was mainly comparing vs other mass cruise lines.  We love cruises!  That’s why we’ve been on 13. And we had a blast on this cruise. 

 

And really reviews by nature are critical. 😎 👍

No harm meant. It's good to see a post that has some criticisms.

I hate reading reviews that say everything is just GREAT.