Live from the Regal - July 2-23 - Med Cruise - R/T Barcelona

[antsp]

49 minutes ago, Alcairns said:

In addition Princess are looking for people to take part in a new U.K. daytime TV programme to be filmed on the Regal between August and October. They are providing the accommodation and expenses. This is not the U.K. version of the Real Love Boat. 

Yes, we have just had a email from Princess inviting us to apply 

[konatyme]

Thanks to all who replied about bazaar in Istanbul.

[konatyme]

Ken the cruiser,

Can you tell me what days were Italian night(s) in the main dining room? I realize they might not be the same on our cruise, but we're thinking we might try to make specialty dining reservations for one of the Italian nights and trying to check like this is the only way I can think of (other than trying to find out on embarkation day).

Thanks!

[Ken the cruiser]

We had a great time on our PCL excursion called “Delos, Birthplace of Apollo”, which included a 30 minute ferry ride over and a 45 minute ride back in 30-45 knot winds! But even though the pirates attacked the area twice destroying much of it, it was still fun to see it all. There is just something about seeing buildings, or remnants, almost 3000 years old, that is just so cool!

On the 30 minute ride over, we were all inside as it would have been too wet from all the spray to sit up top. 
 

 

 

 

And the waves were definitely rolling!

 

 

Then we toured the Delos, birthplace of Apollo. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

They even had cisterns back then for the amphitheater. 
 

 

 

Of course I had to stop and admire the wildlife along the way. 
 

 

 

 

 

More wildlife!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Then came our wild 45 minute right back to Mykonos where we sat up top and the swells were sometimes a good 15-20 feet! 😂

 

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by Ken the cruiser

[Ken the cruiser]

3 hours ago, wowzz said:

That is not normally the case.

We docked there in June, although it took about 30 minutes to get the lines secure, due to the strong offshore winds at the time. 

All I know is that today there was a steady strong wind all day with gusts up to 40-50 knots according to the Captain.

[Ken the cruiser]

1 hour ago, konatyme said:

Ken the cruiser,

Can you tell me what days were Italian night(s) in the main dining room? I realize they might not be the same on our cruise, but we're thinking we might try to make specialty dining reservations for one of the Italian nights and trying to check like this is the only way I can think of (other than trying to find out on embarkation day).

Thanks!

I think it was the day after we left Rome, but I’m probably wrong. You can probably check the Patters around that time as I have posted them every day.

[wowzz]

10 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

All I know is that today there was a steady strong wind all day with gusts up to 40-50 knots according to the Captain.

With winds that strong,  I'm sure docking was out of the question.

Must have been an enjoyable trip on the tender !

[coo359a2]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

All I know is that today there was a steady strong wind all day with gusts up to 40-50 knots according to the Captain.

I might have to rethink this excursion.  I'm not a  good sailor but DH would love these waves.  Our itinerary shows that we are docked here.

[Ken the cruiser]

Tonight, the last night of our second leg, after dinner we went to the theater to first watch Rikki Jay, the comedian, followed by Nik Page, the guest singer. 
 

 

 

Afterwards we went and participated in Majority Rules in Princess Live, which is always a lot of fun!

 

 

 

 

BTW when we got back to the cabin and went out on the balcony, the wind was howling, the swales were rolling and a light mist was in the air! It feels like we’re on a cruise on the high seas rather than in the normally calm waters of Med. Yes!! 😁

[Ken the cruiser]

Day 15 - July 16 - Athens (Transition Day)

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

2 hours ago, wowzz said:

With winds that strong,  I'm sure docking was out of the question.

Must have been an enjoyable trip on the tender !

There actually was a Costa ship docked at the pier. Maybe their pier can only handle one ship at a time. However, they had Greek tenders to take us to and from the ship. I have to say, one had to definitively stay alert when making transferring between the ship and the tender. 😁

[JimmyVWine]

11 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

There actually was a Costa ship docked at the pier. Maybe their pier can only handle one ship at a time. However, they had Greek tenders to take us to and from the ship. I have to say, one had to definitively stay alert when making transferring between the ship and the tender. 😁

Back in 2017, we tendered at a very similar spot.  We took the ferry out to Delos as part of a private tour.  The ride out was much smoother than yours.  Here are a couple of photos that show the calm waters in the background.  And we saw some animals, both ancient and current too!  Loved Delos.

 

 

 

 

Edited July 15, 2022 by JimmyVWine

[Ken the cruiser]

45 minutes ago, coo359a2 said:

I might have to rethink this excursion.  I'm not a  good sailor but DH would love these waves.  Our itinerary shows that we are docked here.

My DW just looked at our pre-cruise paperwork and it also said we were supposed to dock. But I guess the Costa folks had more pull here because when we got the updated itinerary at the beginning of this leg, it had changed to tendering. 
 

As far as the weather goes, it’s been beautiful this entire cruise, except for the wind today. But then our tour guide said it’s usually windy in Mykonos. I guess you just need to keep an eye on the weather reports once your cruise starts. On the bright side, Mykonos is the last stop before Athens, so you should have plenty of time to swap excursions once onboard.

[Ken the cruiser]

11 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Back in 2017, we tendered at a very similar spot.  We took the ferry out to Delos as part of a private tour.  The ride out was much smoother than yours.  Here are a couple of photos that show the calm waters in the background.  And we saw some animals, both ancient and current too!  Loved Delos.

 

 

 

 

Looks like the same cat is still hanging around the ruins, just a little older! 😂😂

 

[caribill]

12 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Here’s some reading material to ponder. More later as we’re heading to the theater. 

https://www.princess.com/downloads/pdf/plan/impacted-and-cancelled-cruises/cancelled-cruises-mediterranean-on-regal-july-2022.pdf

 

How old is this notice? Certainly it can't be very recent giving a very short notice of the cancellations, no bonus FCC and requiring any FCC to be applied this year.

 

Very poor xfer option that does not protect EZAir fares.

 

At least it does point out that any FCCs will be applied automatically to the next new cruise booked.

[Steelers36]

2 hours ago, Ken the cruiser said:

Day 15 - July 16 - Athens (Transition Day)

 

 

 

 

I was perusing the Patter you posted for the start of this leg.  A couple of notes:

 

1. I recall another poster a while back was attempting to ask you if you knew which night was Italian Night on the last leg.  You weren't sure and referred them to the Patter images.  It occurred to me that the Patter never has the DR menu theme listed.  I do recall in the past sometimes seeing the Buffet having a theme listed, but not sure if they do that anymore.  Another point for the poster (or anyone) is that the MD may possibly mix-up the themes from time to time.  Especially since each leg on this ship is a different itinerary.  So, if Italian night is night 3 on one segment, it may be night 4 or 5 on the next one.

 

2.  I notice that the DTI night immediately follows the only Formal Night.  It is the only logical place for a second night, so might not wanted to schedule two formals B2B???

 

[Steelers36]

15 minutes ago, caribill said:

How old is this notice? Certainly it can't be very recent giving a very short notice of the cancellations, no bonus FCC and requiring any FCC to be applied this year.

 

Very poor xfer option that does not protect EZAir fares.

 

At least it does point out that any FCCs will be applied automatically to the next new cruise booked.

The announcement of a week-long charter in July was done quite a long time ago and there was a thread of grumbling at the time.  It really is one physical 7-night voyage, but affected logical voyages of 14 and 21 nights that included the week affected.

 

[wowzz]

3 hours ago, coo359a2 said:

I might have to rethink this excursion.  I'm not a  good sailor but DH would love these waves.  Our itinerary shows that we are docked here.

It is pot luck. Our cruise, we got in,  Ken's cruise didn't. 

[karabear15]

Good information as we are taking a best of Delos and Mykonos tour. I'll prepare myself for the possibility of wind and waves!  Delos looks beautiful. 

[Esprit]

7 hours ago, Steelers36 said:

 

2.  I notice that the DTI night immediately follows the only Formal Night.  It is the only logical place for a second night, so might not wanted to schedule two formals B2B???

 

This week our DTI night is on 19th July.

But our first sea day is the day before. I assume it will therefore be the.formal night.

[LibertyBella]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

How old is this notice? Certainly it can't be very recent giving a very short notice of the cancellations, no bonus FCC and requiring any FCC to be applied this year.

 

Very poor xfer option that does not protect EZAir fares.

 

At least it does point out that any FCCs will be applied automatically to the next new cruise booked.

 

 

As I stated in a previous post, I was booked on these cancelled cruises, which is why I am enjoying this thread so much! 

I received my cancellation notification in October 2021.  Due to scheduling, I just took the refund, and then rebooked the entire cruise for 2023.  The ship will be the Enchanted Princess instead (using the same itinerary).  Actually, I am just as happy to wait for next year to travel that far, because travel still seems a bit crazy this year. I just came off a Cunard cruise where we wore masks every day.

 

I took Celebrity to Greece in 2019 but sailed out of Venice--one of the last cruises to do so, I suppose.  I love Delos and could go back any time!  My first time in Delos was 1973.  I always fondly remember the Lions.

[Ken the cruiser]

We have arrived in Piraeus, Greece! Today, we are planning right now to stay on the ship as we have been here a few times before. 
 

[Esprit]

Latin and Ballroom dancing update.

 

Week one was disappointing. We only managed a rock jive and tight Cha Cha the first  night in the Piazza. A  band plays there every night but we must have missed the songs you could dance to.

We attended the Salsa and Bachata classes and the assistant CD Cesar from Colombo was excellent. Not many attendees though!

We also tried the Ballroom Dance Music hour in the Vista lounge but we were the only couple there. You get one track for each dance type so if you want to practice a particular dance you have to wait awhile. The Vista floor is narrow and curved so not great for a Samba or Tango.

Each evening the Vista lounge turns into a night club from 11 to 2 pm once the Xcite band have finished their set. This is because Club Six is closed, presumably because of the TV show being filmed. According to one of the film crew they finish next weekend.

We are hopeful our second week will see us dancing more🤞

[Esprit]

We currently have the largest balcony on the ship😂

[Ken the cruiser]

Went for breakfast up at the buffet and, of course, we ate out on the aft and saw all of the harbor here in Piraeus. In the last picture if you look closely, you can see the Acropolis.