Review of Regal Princess 14 Day Eastern/Western Cruise

[Murray's Pop]

We have been cruising for a number of years and have always enjoyed the experience.  That is until our most recent cruise on the Regal Princess. We have cruised on Celebrity, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America and Princess. As most cruisers do, we have our preferred lines and those that did not meet our expectations. Holland America and Princess became our preferred lines. 

 

Our most recent cruise was a 14-day cruise on the Regal to the western and eastern Caribbean. It was our 1st post-pandemic cruise as well as our 1st on the Regal.  This was also the first cruise that I did not enjoy. 

 

Some general observations:

 

• Many here have commented about the Medallion and difficulties with the app. The Medallion did provide easy access for opening the cabin door and getting on and off the ship, but the app itself was not the easiest way to get service or information.  For example, I ordered several drinks from around the ship and never once was the drink delivered.  The app says “Order Received”, then “Preparing Order”.  After some it says “Delivered”, however I never received the order.  I contacted to “staff” via the app and informed them.  Got the standard answer “high volume of orders” reply.
• Our cabin steward for the 1^st week of the cruise was exceptional.  However, he went home at the end of the 1^st week and we had a new steward for the 2^nd week.  It took 3 days to finally see him.  While our cabin was cleaned and serviced appropriately, it was quite a different experience from our 1^st steward.
• The ship itself always seemed crowded and generally very disorganized.   For example, we had 2 stops at Princess Cays. Unless you were able to get tender tickets at 6AM, it took almost 3 hours to move from the ship to a tender.  As a result, we decided to cancel our booked cabana for our 2^nd visit and just stayed on the ship.
• Food is a very subjective topic but I can say that almost all of the offerings, including the Chef's Table, were a disappointment.  This was advertised as a 14-day cruise; however, the menu repeated each 7 days.  The food quality and menu offerings were more like a meal from Denny's rather than a cruise line.
• On the other hand, our meal at the Crown Grill was very good. In fact, we told our waiter to please compliment the chef and let him know that we thought the meal there was better than at the Chef’s Table.  He thanked me but also said that he had heard the same before.
• While the food itself was disappointing the Club Class dining room staff were wonderful.
• Activity and Entertainment offerings were generally underwhelming.  There were the standard production shows, (which we did not attend). There was also a magician who was very good and several comedians. One comedian and a comic duo were excellent, while the other single comic was ho hum at best. The remainder of entertainers consisted primarily of a single singer or group offering “street musician” quality and atmosphere.  This is also a fairly subjective area, so I’m sure that others found the options to their liking.

 

So, bottom line….will we return to Princess?  While we truly enjoyed previous cruises on the Grand and Star, I can safely say we will not be returning to the Regal.  And if this is an indication of the ships in this class, we would not be inclined to look for future cruises on any of them as well. At this point in time, being fresh off a very disappointing cruise, we will probably not be booking anything again in the foreseeable future.  But who knows for sure.

 

Oh, by the way, on our return home we both tested positive for Covid.  We were both negative prior to the cruise.

[memoak]

2 hours ago, Murray's Pop said:

We have been cruising for a number of years and have always enjoyed the experience.  That is until our most recent cruise on the Regal Princess. We have cruised on Celebrity, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean, Holland America and Princess. As most cruisers do, we have our preferred lines and those that did not meet our expectations. Holland America and Princess became our preferred lines. 

 

Our most recent cruise was a 14-day cruise on the Regal to the western and eastern Caribbean. It was our 1st post-pandemic cruise as well as our 1st on the Regal.  This was also the first cruise that I did not enjoy. 

 

Some general observations:

 

• Many here have commented about the Medallion and difficulties with the app. The Medallion did provide easy access for opening the cabin door and getting on and off the ship, but the app itself was not the easiest way to get service or information.  For example, I ordered several drinks from around the ship and never once was the drink delivered.  The app says “Order Received”, then “Preparing Order”.  After some it says “Delivered”, however I never received the order.  I contacted to “staff” via the app and informed them.  Got the standard answer “high volume of orders” reply.
• Our cabin steward for the 1^st week of the cruise was exceptional.  However, he went home at the end of the 1^st week and we had a new steward for the 2^nd week.  It took 3 days to finally see him.  While our cabin was cleaned and serviced appropriately, it was quite a different experience from our 1^st steward.
• The ship itself always seemed crowded and generally very disorganized.   For example, we had 2 stops at Princess Cays. Unless you were able to get tender tickets at 6AM, it took almost 3 hours to move from the ship to a tender.  As a result, we decided to cancel our booked cabana for our 2^nd visit and just stayed on the ship.
• Food is a very subjective topic but I can say that almost all of the offerings, including the Chef's Table, were a disappointment.  This was advertised as a 14-day cruise; however, the menu repeated each 7 days.  The food quality and menu offerings were more like a meal from Denny's rather than a cruise line.
• On the other hand, our meal at the Crown Grill was very good. In fact, we told our waiter to please compliment the chef and let him know that we thought the meal there was better than at the Chef’s Table.  He thanked me but also said that he had heard the same before.
• While the food itself was disappointing the Club Class dining room staff were wonderful.
• Activity and Entertainment offerings were generally underwhelming.  There were the standard production shows, (which we did not attend). There was also a magician who was very good and several comedians. One comedian and a comic duo were excellent, while the other single comic was ho hum at best. The remainder of entertainers consisted primarily of a single singer or group offering “street musician” quality and atmosphere.  This is also a fairly subjective area, so I’m sure that others found the options to their liking.

 

So, bottom line….will we return to Princess?  While we truly enjoyed previous cruises on the Grand and Star, I can safely say we will not be returning to the Regal.  And if this is an indication of the ships in this class, we would not be inclined to look for future cruises on any of them as well. At this point in time, being fresh off a very disappointing cruise, we will probably not be booking anything again in the foreseeable future.  But who knows for sure.

 

Oh, by the way, on our return home we both tested positive for Covid.  We were both negative prior to the cruise.

You were around 3,000 + people in close proximity. That is how covid is spread. We usually avoid buffets and wear masks in crowded elevators and public restrooms  In 4 cruises in 2022 only got covid on 1. Goes to show you never can tell

[Murray's Pop]

On 3/6/2023 at 3:00 PM, memoak said:

You were around 3,000 + people in close proximity. That is how covid is spread. We usually avoid buffets and wear masks in crowded elevators and public restrooms  In 4 cruises in 2022 only got covid on 1. Goes to show you never can tell

Unfortunately there is apparently no mechanism in place to be able to track this kind of information (those who test positive after cruise).  That type of prevalence information would seem to be something that CCL had an interest to know.  Apparently not. 

[antsp]

On 3/6/2023 at 11:00 PM, memoak said:

You were around 3,000 + people in close proximity. That is how covid is spread. We usually avoid buffets and wear masks in crowded elevators and public restrooms  In 4 cruises in 2022 only got covid on 1. Goes to show you never can tell

We have sailed 7 times since the restart, never wore a mask and never had covid. So what does that prove. 

[antsp]

1 hour ago, Murray's Pop said:

Unfortunately there is apparently no mechanism in place to be able to track this kind of information (those who test positive after cruise).  That type of prevalence information would seem to be something that CCL had an interest to know.  Apparently not. 

The second you ping out on disembarkation morning, Princess no longer cares about you or your Covid status

[LACruiser88]

So sorry you were not happy with your time on the Regal.  We were onboard this past Oct/Nov/Dec for 37 days in the Med and TA and had a fantastic cruise.

 

[Murray's Pop]

22 hours ago, LACruiser88 said:

So sorry you were not happy with your time on the Regal.  We were onboard this past Oct/Nov/Dec for 37 days in the Med and TA and had a fantastic cruise.

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[stevenr597]

Regal Princess was one of our favorites, and we will be doing a trans-Atlantic this coming  October.

Sadly, service has declined on most if not all cruise lines, and this trend has been accelerated by the Pandic.  Simply put, cruise lines are trying to hold the lines on prices despite high inflation and overall increase in cost of operations. 

 

In respect to the use of the Medallion, we feel it is at best a "gimmick'  The only advantage is that you can wear it on your neck or wrist and not having to worry about leaving your card on some table.  

[JimmyVWine]

On 3/6/2023 at 3:10 PM, Murray's Pop said:

The food quality and menu offerings were more like a meal from Denny's rather than a cruise line.

Thanks for your thoughts. As for the comment above, I guess I see it inverted. I have never thought that a meal on a cruise ship would be exceptional and I have never expected it. When dishes come out of the galley stacked 5 high covered with plastic domes, that is a sign of mass-produced food that cannot rise to the level of culinary greatness and can barely achieve mediocrity. I go on cruises in spite of the food, not because of it. Denny’s is pretty much what I anticipate. If it exceeds that, I come out ahead. And the desserts always exceed that level as does the service. 
 

I look at it this way, price wise. If two people in a cabin each pay $1,500 for a 7 day cruise, that comes to $3,000, or $428 per day. While the cabin is not on par with a Ritz Carlton, it is a nice room attended by a steward and that room moves from place to place taking you on an adventure. I put the land-equivalent value of that at $200 plus tax. So let’s call it $228. That means the balance of the cost is $200 per day, split two ways, or $100 per person. Take out an amount that accounts for entertainment, resort fee (pool, gym, Zumba classes, sports court, movies, concerts). This is very subjective but I will call it $30 per day per person.
 

Now I take out an amount for food that is not within the scope of B, L and D. That would be food by the pool, ice cream, snacks at the IC, etc. I put a value of $10 per day per person on that. So subtracting out the “resort fee” and “extra food” from the $100 and I am left with $60 per day per person for B, L and D. Assign a cost of $10 for breakfast (food, tax and tip if paying on land); and $18 for lunch, and my MDR dinner has a remaining value of $32. Assume an $8 appetizer and a $7 dessert and I am left with $17 for my entree and that includes tax and tip. So the daily value of my entree is just under $14. For that amount I certainly wouldn’t expect anything beyond Denny’s and if it exceeds that level, I win. So far on my cruises, I have won every time. 

[Murray's Pop]

On 3/11/2023 at 12:08 PM, JimmyVWine said:

Thanks for your thoughts. As for the comment above, I guess I see it inverted. I have never thought that a meal on a cruise ship would be exceptional and I have never expected it. When dishes come out of the galley stacked 5 high covered with plastic domes, that is a sign of mass-produced food that cannot rise to the level of culinary greatness and can barely achieve mediocrity. I go on cruises in spite of the food, not because of it. Denny’s is pretty much what I anticipate. If it exceeds that, I come out ahead. And the desserts always exceed that level as does the service. 
 

I look at it this way, price wise. If two people in a cabin each pay $1,500 for a 7 day cruise, that comes to $3,000, or $428 per day. While the cabin is not on par with a Ritz Carlton, it is a nice room attended by a steward and that room moves from place to place taking you on an adventure. I put the land-equivalent value of that at $200 plus tax. So let’s call it $228. That means the balance of the cost is $200 per day, split two ways, or $100 per person. Take out an amount that accounts for entertainment, resort fee (pool, gym, Zumba classes, sports court, movies, concerts). This is very subjective but I will call it $30 per day per person.
 

Now I take out an amount for food that is not within the scope of B, L and D. That would be food by the pool, ice cream, snacks at the IC, etc. I put a value of $10 per day per person on that. So subtracting out the “resort fee” and “extra food” from the $100 and I am left with $60 per day per person for B, L and D. Assign a cost of $10 for breakfast (food, tax and tip if paying on land); and $18 for lunch, and my MDR dinner has a remaining value of $32. Assume an $8 appetizer and a $7 dessert and I am left with $17 for my entree and that includes tax and tip. So the daily value of my entree is just under $14. For that amount I certainly wouldn’t expect anything beyond Denny’s and if it exceeds that level, I win. So far on my cruises, I have won every time. 

I guess if you are satisfied with "fish and chips" or "fried chicken and mashed potatoes" as a dinner entre (which was offered on our cruise twice as a main course) then there is no problem.  For me, that is not what I expect for a dinner offering on a cruise.

[JimmyVWine]

1 hour ago, Murray's Pop said:

I guess if you are satisfied with "fish and chips" or "fried chicken and mashed potatoes" as a dinner entre (which was offered on our cruise twice as a main course) then there is no problem.  For me, that is not what I expect for a dinner offering on a cruise.

If those were the only entrees offered that night, you would have a valid point, but they aren't.  A current "Live From" thread has posted operative menus.  On the night when Beer Battered Cod Fish and Chips is being served, other entrée choices include Seared Sea Scallops and Chorizo as well as Allspice Rubbed Beef Short Ribs.  The evening with Fried Chicken likewise has 5 other options including Mahi-Mahi, Pot Roast and Pork Tenderloin among them.  I think that this is what most people would expect for dinner offerings on a mass-market cruise line.     

[Murray's Pop]

2 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

If those were the only entrees offered that night, you would have a valid point, but they aren't.  A current "Live From" thread has posted operative menus.  On the night when Beer Battered Cod Fish and Chips is being served, other entrée choices include Seared Sea Scallops and Chorizo as well as Allspice Rubbed Beef Short Ribs.  The evening with Fried Chicken likewise has 5 other options including Mahi-Mahi, Pot Roast and Pork Tenderloin among them.  I think that this is what most people would expect for dinner offerings on a mass-market cruise line.     

Nothing I wanted.....  We just have differing opinions on what we expect.