Back from the Regal 15 Panama trip--any questions?

[Mary Jane 711]

Just back from the 15 day Panama canal transit. A lot to tell but I do have a couple of highlights. One was the extreme rough seas we encountered off of Southern MExico..20 foot seas, 70 mph wind ( A force 10 ) a passenger was in need of immediate medical attention and we had to go back thru the bad seas to take her back..then back thru the high seas again..so three times thru it ..whew. It was scary. Therefore, we lost our precious stop in COsta Rica and had to spend three long days at sea. Boring....other than that melee, we had a great time. Food was great service was even better. I will write a longer review after I get back in the swing of things. But am glad to answer any questions anyone may have..Toodles for now..:)

[Ready to Sail!]

We missed you at the CC gathering on the first day in Characters. None of us made it to the Bengal Bar that night so hope you weren't there waiting for us. Hi to Ken and Shannon, Crystal and Paul and Janice and Amy. Hope you all got home safely.

 

You summed up our "adventure" very well. I heard that there was about $150,000 worth of damages around the ship. I didn't see any of it as I was in bed fighting the seasickness but of course heard lots of stories from those out and about. It was the roughest seas I have EVER experienced and to have it prolonged for about 16 hours was more than I EVER want to experience again. Bottom line is the captain and crew did what was necessary in handling a very serious situation and it was good news that the passenger got back to shore and got the medical attention she needed.

[mrdawson]

Did any of the changes (like adding another restaurant) actually happen while Regal was in drydock or did they just do cosmetic upkeep? Looking forward to your review!

 

 

Mike

[jjones]

Does the Regal dock in San Pedro, Long Beach or elsewhere in SoCal?

[Mary Jane 711]

I believe the changes in drydock were cosmetic, carpets, upholstery and the like. They do not have a seperate restaurant except for the Bravo pizzeria, which was alright. They do have half of the buffet turned into a bistro from 7pm on, and I heard it was good. They have only one main dining room. No personal choice, just traditional seating here. The food was great. We ate in the dining room for all dinner meals, except the night our ship was in high seas, I just couldnt make it down there.

The ship currently goes from Ft. Lauderdale FL to San Diego Ca. If you are thining of taking it from CA, consider taking Amtrak to reach the port. It is only 5 minutes from the train station..

[twocats]

I would love to hear about your port visits, those you actually made it to. LOL

How nice of you all to take the changes and bad weather in stride. Love to see your review when you get to it. Our trip in April/May should bring different weather. :confused: I hope!!

[Nancy & Tom]

We're headed for a 15 night Panama Canal cruise beginning February 7th from Los Angeles to Fort Lauderdale. Great that you took the rough seas in stride. Is that typical for that area? or was this rough sea bit unusual? Someone who had taken a similar trip mentioned they experiences very rough waters in one particular area....but I can't remember where that was. I'll look forward to your more complete review. Thank you for taking time to "brief" those who will be taking the same cruise. Happy New Year! A cruiser from Pennsylvania!

[jnc411]

Thank you for the information on the Regal , we will be doing the 15 day canal transit in March. The rough water you mentioned is not a regular occurance off Mexico as far as I know, we have cruised in Mexican waters 4 times and never had a problem, we encountered some rough seas in the Caribbean after we exited the canal there. I can imagine it was a bit scary. But good to hear the captain and crew handled it all well. Looking forward to your trip report. Thanks again.

Cori

[Ready to Sail!]

Here is what was written in our Patter about the winds which caused the rough seas:

 

"In the early hours of this morning we entered the Gulf of Tehauntepec towards the approaches for Huatulco. In the Gulf of Tehauntepec there is a phenomenon known as Tehauntepecanos. This is when prevailing winds can increase in strenghth without warning to force 10-12 in occasions (48-65 knots equivalent to 100 MPH) They are most frequent between November and September when they occur about 5 times a month."

 

We were told that we experienced 70 MPH winds. Of course what really made it bad is that we had to cross this area 3 times!

 

I want to add to what Mary Jane said about the Bistro becuause we did try it twice. The menu is the same for the 1st half of the trip and then changed for the last half. It is very much like the dining room menu but with different choices. What made it nice is that it is much quieter due to a lot less people and they have a piano player. The lights are dimmed and unless you want to sit with someone else you can have a table for two. We were able to get a table right away both times we went. We found it a really nice change in atmosphere. We had early seating and is was nice to be able to eat a little later a couple of times and we also talked to people who had late seating and didn't want to wait until 8:15 so at least the Bistro gave some flexibility in times to dine.

 

The pizza parlor just has pizza for lunch but in the evening you can also get a couple of other dishes such as lasagna. Dinner also offers appitizers, soup, salad and dessert. We especially loved this because we are Teramisu lovers and that was one of the desserts offered each night. We ate there twice for lunch and once for dinner and enjoyed it each time.

[NancyM]

Best Pizza I've had in a long time!

(just adding my two-cents!)

-Nancy

 

(PS sorry I didn't make it to Characters and missed all of you. We had some delays and got on-board much later than we expected.)

[Ready to Sail!]

Nancy

We climbed the Dunn's River Falls with 2 couples from the St. Louis area. We were on the tour with Marie as our guide and bought the DVD that we were all waiting for right before sailing. Was that you?

[NancyM]

No, I met two other couples from the St. Louis area on board. I bet those were the poeple you climbed with. We went on an island tour with the Wills (presidential portraits actors) in Jamacia. Perhaps we did other things together? I played a lot of trivia, bingo (won 3 times! yeah!) and took the dance lessons - Pirate ship in Cabo - private tours elsewhere.. Ring any bells?

Did our paths cross?

 

BTW, I was up sunning on the platform in the pool area when the wind struck. I felt some unusual vibrations and then the wind hit.. very eerie howling as it came through the open areas on the ship. when the furniture started blowing around, I felt it was time to head inside. My cuz and I put everything on the floor (though most had fallen there anyway!) Dinner was interesting that night. There were quite a number of empty chairs. Only 1 missing from our table (10) though.. Our waiter was flustered, however. Even got the orders mixed up - which was highly unusual!

 

-Nancy

[Ready to Sail!]

Well, I don't think we did much of the same activities but we would probably recognize each other from wandering around the ship.

 

As mentioned before, I was in bed fighting the seasickness when the "Big Dip" occured. My husband went down to dinner and brought back all the news (and some bread to eat!) I started feeling better around 8pm (I had taken some Bonine tabs) and we got up at 11:00 to watch them tender the passanger off and into Huatulco. Even though the winds were calmer there, they had a tough time getting the tender on and off the ship.

[Mary Jane 711]

Hey Nancy,I too was on the Pirate ship excursion in Cabo. I was sitting near the back of the ship most of the way. I was with my husband.. Did you snorkel there too? I am trying to place you....

[LBL]

Thank you for all this information. I leave from Los Angeles 1/8 on the Regal and am looking forward to the trip.

 

Carole

[NancyM]

Carol- I'm sure we would recognize each other. Sorry to hear that you were ill. I didn't venture out to see them disembark the patient. I had a friend at my table that did. He said that the tender was pitching badly. I hurt for the lady to have to make that trip when she was probably in pain.

 

Mary Jane- We too sat at the back! We were about 5 people or so from the back on the port side. My cousin, Susan (blond, petite and in her early 50s) and I (light brown hair, taller and LARGER than Susan) sat next to some terrific people we met: John and Cathy. We also met and sat with Jim (older single southern gentleman from Mississippi), Dan (tall single gentleman from CA) and Dan's father, Joe (from MN). We did snorkel - but did not go all the way to where they fed the fish. The current was so strong we stayed closer to the ship/shore. We didn't see much by way of snorkeling, but then, that wasn't why we took this Pirate ship anyway. We both love the old ships, sailing and history. Both Susan and I thoroughly enjoyed that excursion - it was one of our favorites. How did you like that tall ship?

 

Carole- I wanna go with you! ! (I'm sitting here whining that I want to go back!) Perhaps that is why I'm on this site so much these past couple days.. It takes me back just a bit...

 

I really enjoyed this cruise.

-Nancy

[gailc]

I received an Email from my sister-in-law this morning about your cruise. She had received an Email from a friend that was on your cruise so she sent it to me. I have been on the Princess board looking for a thread about the rough seas & the medical emergency.

 

The woman that was evacuated is the Mom of my sister-in-law's friend. Hope that's not too confusing! Her Mom went to the medical facility. They got in contact with her family. They were told that she had a blood clot & had no circulation in her leg. The doctor contacted the Cleveland Clinic & a Houston hospital. The ship doctor told them that the Mom needed to have surgery within 12 hours. When she got off the ship, she was flown on a jet to Houston along with some family members. She had successful surgery which did save her life.

 

The daughter said it will be a long time before they cruise again. I think she was also talking about the rough seas!

 

Gail

[Ready to Sail!]

Gail

Thanks for the information. Actually we were told on board what her condition was and we all knew it was critical to get her to a hospital within the 12 hour window. The Captain had informed us that she had made it to Houston and was doing OK.

 

All the passengers I talked to on the ship were very happy the Captain did what was necessary to get her the help she needed as soon as possible. The rough seas were no fun but just about everyone I spoke with understood and would want the same to be done for them. There was a real sense of relief that the passenger got the attention she needed in time.

 

Please let her know that all her fellow passengers were very concerned and also happy and relieved to know all ended well. We wish her a speedy recovery.

 

Carol

 

 

 

 

 

Carol

[tabearone]

Hi was woundering when lady first had signs of problem with leg. I understand ship was in port untill 1pm. Hospital was local. Did she try to get attention in town? Also, was the doctor on board ship, board certified? Does anyone know or have information, not personal, but this is good to know for future travels.

[gopher's girl]

Interesting. I guess with the winds they could not land a helicopter on the helipad (this ship is one of the few Princess ships that have helipads right??)... glad they were able to save her. That is big stuff!

[Ready to Sail!]

Regal Princess does not have helicopter pad. It is possible to get people off via helicopter by lowering a basket but I think the winds were too strong for that. I know this from personal experience as my father-in-law became ill on a cruise we were all on a number of years ago and he and my husband were removed from the ship in the gulf of Alaska via basket.

 

Maybe someone else knows more about when she first developed the problem. I never heard anything other than what the captain announced about 4-5 hours from Huatulco. I'm sure that if she and/or the ship's staff had been aware of the problem in Huatulco then she would have stayed behind and gotten help.

[Aussie Gal]

I am so glad that the Regal can handle the big seas as we will be sailing on her around S.A. in January next year and my sister who is there now on the Amsterdam has been having quite big seas.

 

I love to hear about this ship so please tell us as much as you can.

 

Jennie

[Ready to Sail!]

Hi Jennie - well, your cruise is getting closer. My husbands sister and her husband are thinking of doing this cruise. It really sounds great but I have to admit I'm a little worried about trying it since I have so much trouble with motion sickness. I want to go back to Tahiti-how about you? I think we will in a few years and do the Marqueses (sp?).

 

We enjoyed the Regal very much. Yes, there were a few plumbing problems that were probably due to age. One staff member did indicate that to us. Otherwise, I thought she looked great. I much prefer the smaller, less glittzy ships. I really loved the atrium and all the other public rooms. Very classy looking. I have to admit after being on the TP the buffet did seem a bit crowded and noisy to me most of the time. We were on Baja near the aft stairs so it was easy to go get our food and eat in our cabin or on our balcony which we did a number of times.

 

When you were on the TP was Sammi Baker still the CD? She was ours last January and again this last month on the Regal. She told us she will be leaving the Regal around March of this year.

 

Hope the time passes quickly for you till it's time to go. Kind of crazy isn't it how we wish our lives away between cruises?

 

Carol

[Cruisin Rick]

The wife's parents will be taking this same cruise in April. I hope for their sake, the sea's are calmer. They love the Regal since we took them with us to Alaska on her a couple of years ago.

 

I'm glad you made the best of it and had a great time despite the ruff sea. You'll just have to plan another Canal cruise so you can visit Costa Rica!:D

[calikak]

DH's father-in-law is a cardiologist here in Seattle, and he says he always knows when cruise season has started because he starts getting patients who have been brought in by helicopter from cruise ships in Alaska. Very scary.