Live from Regal 2/4/24

[luvseaside]

Revised Events listing for today.  Impressed how the staff and crew adjust to these changes so quickly.  

[satxdiver]

I just looked at the Ship Tracking map and it shows the Radiance OTS, Mariner OTS and the Disney Magic in Cozumel port.   Looking at the Cozumel webcam both of the RCL ships are in fact there.  

[wallyj]

12 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

I just looked at the Ship Tracking map and it shows the Radiance OTS, Mariner OTS and the Disney Magic in Cozumel port.   Looking at the Cozumel webcam both of the RCL ships are in fact there.  

I believe there are 2 places ships can dock at Cozumel, downtown and the piers at the far end outside downtown. Sounds like one area has more wind exposure?

[luvseaside]

48 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

I just looked at the Ship Tracking map and it shows the Radiance OTS, Mariner OTS and the Disney Magic in Cozumel port.   Looking at the Cozumel webcam both of the RCL ships are in fact there.  

Captain explained that those ships could withstand higher winds.  Wind/current higher than Regal’s thrusters could handle. Pilot boat came out & we tried to dock but it was too dangerous

Carnival and Norwegian ships had to abort docking too. 

Edited February 6 by luvseaside

[luvseaside]

Enjoyed retreat pool until 3.  Took a while to get lunch at Trident Grill but I do like the new order system with pagers & they still have chicken street tacos, which we love.
 

At PES lounge in Vista Lounge.  Have a steel drummer playing.  Tyrone Babb has been a constant on our cruises (probably bc we mainly do Caribbean itineraries). Sushi, assorted cheeses and nibbles.  
 

No dining reservations tonight and, to be honest, not sure we’ll go back to main dining room this cruise.  Have Premier pkg so can do the casual dining unlimited and buffet is always decent. 

[eclue]

1 hour ago, luvseaside said:

Captain explained that those ships could withstand higher winds.  Wind/current higher than Regal’s thrusters could handle. Pilot boat came out & we tried to dock but it was too dangerous

Carnival and Norwegian ships had to abort docking too. 

People should not question the captain's decision to keep safety the number one issue....cruising is fun but we all need to go with the flow that ports can and will be cancelled to keep us all safe.

[luvseaside]

Got wine at Vines and went up to Italian night at buffet. Hanging at aft Outrigger Bar. Very quiet & pleasant.  

[satxdiver]

2 hours ago, luvseaside said:

Captain explained that those ships could withstand higher winds.  Wind/current higher than Regal’s thrusters could handle. Pilot boat came out & we tried to dock but it was too dangerous

Carnival and Norwegian ships had to abort docking too. 

Interesting that the RCL ships have better thrusters and therefore more control of their ships than PCL and CCL have.  I have found that PCL tends to be more conservative than the other cruise lines.  Hopefully you will make the last two ports.  Our cruise on the Ruby last spring missed Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya.  The captain managed to get us in early at our last stop, Cozumel, the night before so we stayed in the port over night before returning to Galveston plus they gave us some OBC for missing the ports due to wind.   

[luvseaside]

13 minutes ago, satxdiver said:

Interesting that the RCL ships have better thrusters and therefore more control of their ships than PCL and CCL have.  I have found that PCL tends to be more conservative than the other cruise lines.  Hopefully you will make the last two ports.  Our cruise on the Ruby last spring missed Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya.  The captain managed to get us in early at our last stop, Cozumel, the night before so we stayed in the port over night before returning to Galveston plus they gave us some OBC for missing the ports due to wind.   

Interestingly we’ve not gotten any sort of reimbursement (port fees, etc).  I’m “whatever” about it- it was a great sea today so I’ve got no complaints.  We didn’t have anything pre-booked so it wasn’t a big deal for us. We just wanted to cruise and be warm. But I understand there are others who looked forward to the ports.

[Paula_MacFan]

9 minutes ago, luvseaside said:

Interestingly we’ve not gotten any sort of reimbursement (port fees, etc).  

We missed Costa Maya due to wind 2 weeks ago, but our refunded port fees didn't show up on our accounts until a few days later.  (Costa Maya was supposed to be our first port so our itinerary was slightly different than yours).  

[luvseaside]

At Wheelhouse Bar now.  Husband having an Aviation.  Guy playing violin music.  Saw the last seconds of special guest performer in theater & realized he was behind me at cafe this morning 😊

[KKB]

13 hours ago, Paula_MacFan said:

Agree 100%  We were just on Regal the week before last and even though we did attend a couple things in Princess Live we really do not like that venue and miss Explorers!  That is one of our favorite venues on the older ships.  We were on the Island in Sept/Oct and found ourselves comparing her to the Regal a lot on our recent cruise.  We had been on Regal 2X before so we did know what to expect, but after having recently been on the Island we realize how much we enjoy Explorers, a full-sized Wheelhouse and not the one cobbled onto the front of the Crown Grill like on Regal, and Crooners which had actual live music on the Island but not on Regal.  The Vista seems criminally underused on Regal and has been relegated to live sports broadcasts, movies, bingo, and the occasional comedian.  Back when we started cruising you could find live music in Vista but not anymore apparently, as everything is more focused on the Piazza. 

Interesting… we were no loving the Island design after being on the Caribbean, Ruby, Sapphire & Disvovery the last 18 mos

Regardless we still had a good time & im sure we will on Regal

[luvseaside]

Exciting and early start today as an announcement of “Man overboard” came over the ships speakers at 5:15 am. 😲

 20 minutes later, Captain Pears informed passengers that 2 men in a small vessel came near the ship and had jumped in the water but managed to get back to their craft so thankfully crisis averted.  
 

We managed to get back to sleep finally.
In Belize today but don’t plan on doing anything as we booked Sanctuary loungers for the day. As of 8:30, still haven’t heard announcement water shuttles are running yet. There’s 4 ships here today so tenders may take a while. 

[jinjrl]

Very much enjoying your post! We leave this Sunday on the regal, large family group. Being some of our group has young children, I wonder if the laundry machines take cards or coins….would you be able to check that out?! We have sailed over the years on NCL, MSC, and RC, but this will be our first on Princess. Slightly nervous with the new not so great reviews from people coming off of these Galveston partings. Other than the MDR, your daily updates seem optimistic!!! Thank you for taking the time to share all this!

[luvseaside]

15 minutes ago, jinjrl said:

Very much enjoying your post! We leave this Sunday on the regal, large family group. Being some of our group has young children, I wonder if the laundry machines take cards or coins….would you be able to check that out?! We have sailed over the years on NCL, MSC, and RC, but this will be our first on Princess. Slightly nervous with the new not so great reviews from people coming off of these Galveston partings. Other than the MDR, your daily updates seem optimistic!!! Thank you for taking the time to share all this!

Funny you should ask-doing laundry right now.  You pay for tokens with medallion ($3 for token and each machine takes one token.). Soap is also available for a token. Each deck has a laundromat and 4 washers/4 dryers.  

[Paula_MacFan]

11 hours ago, KKB said:

Interesting… we were no loving the Island design after being on the Caribbean, Ruby, Sapphire & Disvovery the last 18 mos

Regardless we still had a good time & im sure we will on Regal

 

We've also sailed on the Caribbean, Grand, Crown, and Golden.  While we enjoy some of the features on the Royal class ships, we see the value in the older designs as well (Explorers etc as noted).  We have upcoming cruises on Sapphire and Caribbean so we are looking forward to those 🙂  Three times on the Regal was probably enough for the time being.  

[talkorpi]

13 hours ago, satxdiver said:

Interesting that the RCL ships have better thrusters and therefore more control of their ships than PCL and CCL have.  I have found that PCL tends to be more conservative than the other cruise lines.  Hopefully you will make the last two ports.  Our cruise on the Ruby last spring missed Mahogany Bay and Costa Maya.  The captain managed to get us in early at our last stop, Cozumel, the night before so we stayed in the port over night before returning to Galveston plus they gave us some OBC for missing the ports due to wind.   

 

Ahh! What a cruise that was. Hope you've had better luck since we were onboard that cursed sailing!

[luvseaside]

Laundry done. Had buffet breakfast while clothes were drying.  Got eggs benedict and added smoked salmon to it. Delicious!  
Finally checked in to Sanctuary. Great loungers facing aft. So pleasant weather-wise today-not too hot at all. Pic of menu attached. 

[luvseaside]

45 minutes ago, luvseaside said:

Laundry done. Had buffet breakfast while clothes were drying.  Got eggs benedict and added smoked salmon to it. Delicious!  
Finally checked in to Sanctuary. Great loungers facing aft. So pleasant weather-wise today-not too hot at all. Pic of menu attached. 

Ordered drinks (champagne of course!) attendant said food isn’t available for order until 11 am.  But he went ahead & took down what we wanted and said he’d get it for us when ready.  

[RNRcruisers]

We are on board next week. Thank you for the wonderful info.

 

I know sail away will likely be cool (and that the weather varies week by week) but how was the temperature the first sea day? Still chilly? Or more like average Caribbean temps?

 

[luvseaside]

6 minutes ago, RNRcruisers said:

We are on board next week. Thank you for the wonderful info.

 

I know sail away will likely be cool (and that the weather varies week by week) but how was the temperature the first sea day? Still chilly? Or more like average Caribbean temps?

 

We had a cold front come through so winds were gale force and very high seas. So it wasn’t “lie by the pool” weather unfortunately.  Really will just depend on forecast. Yesterday (the accidental sea day) was gorgeous and not too hot.  Today is also lovely and sunny. High upper 70s

[RNRcruisers]

1 minute ago, luvseaside said:

We had a cold front come through so winds were gale force and very high seas. So it wasn’t “lie by the pool” weather unfortunately.  Really will just depend on forecast. Yesterday (the accidental sea day) was gorgeous and not too hot.  Today is also lovely and sunny. High upper 70s

 

Thanks! About what I am expecting but you never know!

 

[luvseaside]

Was in Sanctuary from 9:30-3:30.  They never did around to giving us afternoon tea but I did see the cart being pushed around.  We were just ready to leave and shower for the evening.

 

 Personally, Sanctuary just isn’t for us. We’re in our mid-50/ and it’s too quiet and boring. We’re not party animals by any stretch but we like people watching & chatting by the pool. Area is beautiful & worth the money. If you want a sheltered quiet spot, it’s worth it.  Food was ok. Service was attentive.  I think we are better suited for Retreat Pool cabanas.

 

At PES nightly event in Vista Lounge right now - menu is usual dried fruit, cheese/crackers, guacamole/chips, spring roll and a dessert.  Comedian tonight in Vista so we will try to catch early show.  
 

Been snacking all day so doubt we will do main dining room. Probably buffet again.  

 

[crowdraven87]

Love the updates. I won't be on Regal until Halloween but already counting down days

[jinjrl]

12 hours ago, luvseaside said:

Funny you should ask-doing laundry right now.  You pay for tokens with medallion ($3 for token and each machine takes one token.). Soap is also available for a token. Each deck has a laundromat and 4 washers/4 dryers.  

Thank you!!