Regal Princess Questions

[ghgeckos]

A group of friends are planning a Alaska cruise for July 2005. If you have been on the Regal this year I would love to hear your impressions. Also we have children and general go on larger ships. Has anyone taken their kids on this ship? All info will be helpful.

[GloriaF]

We were on the Regal to Hawaii in April. It was a 15 night trip, and there were lots of retired people and were very few kids. They did have a kids zone on the upper deck, and one family we met has 2 7-8yr old boys in it. They went everyday almost but I have no idea what they did.

Alaska is a shorter cruise with a different pax mix, so I wold think the kids program would be in full swing.

The ship is smaller and older and it gave us a slight pause when considering it also. But in reality, it is a beautiful ship in excellent condition. The decor is understated and possibly a little dated, but elegant. Lots of wood. The one dining room is traditional with 2 seatings, but there are also other options:
**Cafe del Sol (the buffet) has an area from 5 PM to the early hours with table linens, menus, and waiters. Nice -- we saw the captain and officers eating there more than once. No reservations required, so it is the unofficial Personal Choice option.
**Pizzeria is a sit-down restaurant where you order from a limited menu. It is open all day & night, with table linens, waiters, beer & wine, and candles on the tables at night.

The cabins and bathrooms are some of the largest in the Princess fleet.

We truly enjoyed this ship. With only 1600 pax, it has a more intimate and friendly feel.

Please post any specfic questions you may have -- there are several Regal cruisers on the board.

[ghgeckos]

Thanks for the help. Yes I have lots of questions. Is there an alternative restraunt on board? Is the entertainment comparible to the Star? Is there a privacy curtain in the minisuites that seperate the bedroom area? If any one had children on board an Alaska trip do you know the hours? Does anyone have the link to the website that has the platters? My computers harddrive crashed in August so I lost all my old information. I usually surf for months before booking and my friends just decided on the Regal yesterday. Thanks in advance.

[GloriaF]

Is there an alternative restraunt on board? Only the 2 I mentioned. They are not really alternative restaurants as in Sabitinis, Sterlings, Desert Rose -- but in the true sense of the "alternative", they are.

Is the entertainment comparible to the Star? We thought the entertainment was the same quality we had seen on the Grand. They are dealing with a smaller theatre, but did a good job. Sorry, I've never sailed the Star.

Is there a privacy curtain in the minisuites that seperate the bedroom area?
If any one had children on board an Alaska trip do you know the hours?
Sorry, someone else will have to provide this info.

Does anyone have the link to the website that has the platters?
[url]www.geocites.com[/url]

[ghgeckos]

GloriaF, thanks for the info and quick response.

[Toto2Kansas]

We sailed on the Regal to Alaska, but it was some years ago.
From the sites I can find with virtual tours, the only staterooms with a privacy curtain are the AA suites. Try looking at [url="http://www.virtualtours.com"]www.virtualtours.com[/url] the Regal is listed there.
Since this is a much smaller ship then you are used to, you might consider bring something for the kids to be entertained with as they don't have the same childrens programs or areas as the larger ships do. The Regal seems to attract more middle aged to older cruisers that are Regal Princess followers then the larger mega ships do.
But I am sure you will enjoy it.

[Druke I]

I've been on the Regal twice, and have booked 'round the Horn Mar 06. Nice sized ship, with easy deck plan.

Big advantage for Alaska is the RT out of San Francisco - one of the prettiest sailaways available. For many of us, that means no flying hassle.

My CC friend BDJam wrote a very good review on his Regal trip to Alaska, last month. You might want to search back for it.

[avalana]

My family took the Regal to Hawaii, a 15 day cruise. I agree with Gloria that it's an older ship but still very nice. My daughter didn't do too much in the kids center, she likes to hang out with the adults, but the times she did go there she had fun. Try this site for a lot of info on the Regal:[url]www.fortunecity.com/oasis/tropicana/431/RegalPrincess/index.htm[/url]

[ghgeckos]

Well between loads of laundry I was able to read the platters done by myerhaus and the great review by BDJam. Lots of great info in both places. We will be sure to take extra toys for the boys. Since we can drive to the port it won't be hard to pack one more suitcase. BDJam's review stated that they are going to put in a sterings on the regal. DH likes the idea of a steakhouse. I appreciate all the advice.

[ghgeckos]

In the minisuites and the AA suites what ype of bed is available for the third passenger?

[Toto2Kansas]

In the mini suites and full suites there is a sofa bed that the room steward will pull out when he makes up the cabin in the evening.

[bdjam]

[quote name='ghgeckos']Well between loads of laundry I was able to read the platters done by myerhaus and the great review by BDJam. Lots of great info in both places. We will be sure to take extra toys for the boys. Since we can drive to the port it won't be hard to pack one more suitcase. BDJam's review stated that they are going to put in a sterings on the regal. DH likes the idea of a steakhouse. I appreciate all the advice.[/QUOTE] [font=Bookman Old Style][size=2]Just to fill in on the excellent answers you’ve already received…[/size][/font]

[font=Bookman Old Style][size=2]All of the entertainment on board was superb, but a lot of that depends on who is on your particular sailing. The production shows seem to retain their quality from ship to ship, so you should find them excellent. The International Show Lounge is of course smaller than the comparable space on the Grand Class ships and it has a stage that comes out into the audience so the performance is a bit more intimate. The Lounge also has balcony seating. Check the Princess website – there were pictures there of the show lounge. You’ll have no trouble being entertained.[/size][/font]

[font=Bookman Old Style][size=2]The kids programs were substantial – there seemed to be a lot of organized activities going on during the day and evenings, although there were also a good number of unsupervised minors late at night…and I mean late – might even call it very early in the morning. [/size][/font]

[font=Bookman Old Style][size=2]I was in a mini-suite – Aloha 126 – and there is no privacy curtain between the sleeping and sitting areas…in fact it’s not divided at all – one big space. If you’re thinking about sleeping areas for the kids, it didn’t seem that the sofa was a sleeper - they are on other ships…but there were rollaway beds available. [/size][/font]

[font=Bookman Old Style][size=2]The plan is to add the steakhouse – and while Regal Princess only offers Traditional Seating in the dining room, there are plenty of other alternatives if you decide to skip the main seating, including the Bistro service at Cafe Del Sol. Choose carefully, however – the food and service in the dining room was some of the best in the fleet…don’t miss out! [/size][/font]

[font=Bookman Old Style][size=2]I have a few pictures of the mini-suite...let me know if you'd like me to forward them to you. Glad the review helped!
[/size][/font]

[GloriaF]

bdjam. I agree -- we thought the dining room was superb and only went to the Bistro when we just couldn't make it to the dining room for some reason.

[kitsy]

We have been on the Regal twice to Alaska from SF. We liked it so well the first time in 2002 that we did it again this summer. This time we had a balcony. We love the Regal. Her size is very easy to navigate. The shows were wonderful and most of the food was great. This year the passengers seemed much older than 2 years ago, but I don't know if that just happened to be on the particular sailing we were on. For pictures of the ship, you can visit my website of the cruise at [url]http://oldwestaussies.com/cruise/[/url]

Hope you have a great trip! I want to go again!

[ghgeckos]

Thanks for the info on the shows. We like to see all the production shows and the comedians. We enjoy the early traditional seating and I'm hoping thats when the rest of the group wants to eat. If we end up in late night I want to feed the kids and take them to the youth center because they wouldn't be able to show their good manners at dinner late in the evening. Thus it is essential we have an alternate way of feeding them. The pictures were insightful thank you.
One more question? Does anyone know if the youth center does after hour care like on the star? On the Star it was five dollars an hour between 10PM and 1 AM.

[GloriaF]

There is always the buffet for the kids, and the pizzaria (although they allow no take out, it is sit-down only). I can't recall the hours of the grill, but hamburgers, hotdogs, chicken burgers, bratwurst, and fries were offered and were pretty good. Also, keep in mind: Sandwiches late afternoon in the buffet, and ice cream & cookies from 3:30ish for an hour at the buffet. You probably will not see the icecream sundaes in the Patters -- you just had to know. There were always 2 flavors and sometimes they were a little wild.

[ghgeckos]

Sounds like they will have alot of options. My kids are not the normal eaters, they eat everything from hotdogs to sushi. It's nice they will have so many choices.

[ghgeckos]

Well we booked the cruise for next july. I can't believe I'll be taking two cruises next year. YEA!! Thanks all who helped us make this decision. Now I can't wait to here from someone who cruises after drydock to hear about all the imporvements.

[ghgeckos]

Regal cruisers, has anyone seen an oceanview quad cabin, it seems that this is the cabin we will need. We were suprised the mini-suites only take 3 people. We want to know how the beds are configured.

[3SDcruisers]

[SIZE=4][COLOR=Indigo][FONT=Garamond]Which July sailing are you on?[/FONT][/COLOR][/SIZE]

[ghgeckos]

We are sailing July 27th. Can't wait, now the quest for excursion info.

[Pam in CA]

Good for you! We were on the Regal on the cruise to Hawaii after Gloria and loved the ship. Our tablemates ate at the Bistro several times and loved it. It wound up being a real "alternative" dining experience for them and there's no extra charge.

I believe (but could be wrong), that the quad is configured with two bunks that are lowered from the ceiling at night and put away during the day. As Gloria said, the bathrooms are larger than any of the Grand-class ships and there's a full-sized shower, not the small space. There's also LOTS of storage, with a huge closet and lots of drawers.

[SaylorGirl]

I have been home less than a week from being on the Regal. She is a wonderful ship I think now she is my favorite. She is very elegant and classy and a wonderful ship to find your way around. It seemed to be an older crowd my DH and I were the "kids" on the ship but there was plenty to do.

BDJAM wrote a great review about the ship about a month ago if you go back you will find it.

It looked like they had great kids facilities but there were very few small children on board this sailing.

We ate in the traditional dining room the first evening and then switched to the Bistro for the remainder. We loved the service and the piano player in the evenings. We had afternoon tea every day and skipped lunch. We normally had breakfast in the dining room. The pizza is also very good. You will not go hungry on this ship.

The cabins were very large and the showers are huge. The swimming pools and hot tubs were great. All in all I felt she was a great ship. I'll be on the Grand in six weeks and wish I was going on the Regal instead.

Have a great trip.

[Mary Jane 711]

[font=Arial Black][size=4]Hello fellow Regal shipmates. Well Im not one yet but i am booked for the Dec 9th Panama Canal transit. I have had good luck searching the internet for info on cruises and specifically the Regal. This will be our second cruise on Princess (Sea Princess-Oct 2001). We love Princess the best, and were truly looking forward to this upcoming cruise. Thanks for all the positive input on her.....:D [/size][/font]

[ghgeckos]

I've been searching excursions for Alaska already. Lots of great information on the boards. I love the excitement of planning a cruise. One great thing is San Francisco is only a couple hour drive from home.