The Regal
Princess—the newest in the Princess fleet—takes what we love about its ships
and betters it:
More
pizzazz in the piazza. The Regal’s
stunning atrium is way bigger, giving a spacious and open feel to the hub of
the ship. It’s all done up in marble and glass, with lounges that jut towards
the center and tables positioned to eye all the action.
And action there is. In turns, there was
a steel drum, varying bands and juggler, as well as the Captain’s Welcome
champagne waterfall, a balloon drop—and on our trip, even a groom whisking his
bride across the dance floor.
The International Café is as good as
always, with its 24-hour array of terrific quiches, sandwiches, salads and
desserts.
A
robust buffet with better navigation.
Princess has always had the best buffet at sea, with quality unmatched by the
other mass market lines. This new Horizon Court stretches out on both sides of
the ship, with a Pastry Shop in between—think “H” shaped.
Part of the buffet, “Horizon Court
Bistro,” has lighter fare (Note: you can tell the difference because the
furniture is white while in the regular buffet, it’s brown. This is important
because my first time there, I got seriously lost.)
There’s never congestion or seating
issues, and the options are seemingly endless—from American fare to Asian, some
even with a bit of spice.
To this foodie’s delight, there were was papaya
and smoked fish such as mackerel, Mahi-Mahi and trout at breakfast (there was
even an “everything chocolate” section the last morning). There were good
choices at lunch, but dinner is where the really special stuff made an
appearance: poached salmon; shrimp; cheeses such as Stilton, Port Salut,
Havarti and camembert; and dried figs, dates and apricots.
Desserts at lunch and dinner—such as
opera cake, peach cobbler, various mousse-y-cakes, pineapple
upside down—were nearly always of good quality. And you could always rely on fabulous rolls at every meal, which varied from sunflower seed-studded to focaccia.
upside down—were nearly always of good quality. And you could always rely on fabulous rolls at every meal, which varied from sunflower seed-studded to focaccia.
Love
that Norman. The Norman Love desserts
are knockouts—as yummy to eat as to look at. The main dining room had several—a
kind of tiered chocolate, merengue thing, and a chocolate and pistachio dome.
The Crown Grill featured a milk chocolate peanut butter bar.
MUTS
is now a must. The Movie Under the
Stars big screen is not just bigger than previous ships, but the picture is
much sharper. We were really taken aback by the difference. It’s now actually worth
watching a movie you’ve been wanting to see on that screen. And you get a
blanket and popcorn to boot.
What
could be improved
Like all the cruise lines and all their
ships, not everything is perfect:
MDR
a mixed bag. The main dining room
food was fair, with a few decent dishes amid a sea of mediocrity and sometimes,
dishes that just weren’t quite right. A mixed seafood skewer early on and
lobster tail on formal night were well prepared and flavorful. But the red snapper
and beef Wellington were neither.
Design
flaws. The Regal has some of the same weirdness in layout of other Princess
ships, with challenges getting to a few of the dining rooms.
And the jogging track on Deck 18 was
clearly an afterthought. While it has wide separate lanes for joggers and
runners, it’s a small track (seven laps=a mile) and when we tried to use it one
day, we were shooed away, as the crew was doing maintenance there—at 6 p.m.
A
small room with a view. The standard
balcony staterooms are smaller on the Regal
than the Caribbean Princess. If
you can afford it, it’s a good ship to spring for a mini-suite, a Princess
specialty. If you pick the right ship, itinerary and time of year, you’ll not
pay much more for a mini-suite, yet the difference is enormous. Think
full-sized couch vs. two chairs. More storage space than we could even fill.
The mini-suite feels like a hotel room. Pick your trip right and you won't pay much more than for just a balcony. |
The
bottom line
Princess still deserves the crown for
the best all-around cruise experience and the Regal delivers it best. Even the “Love Boat” “crew” thinks so.
Find this shrine to the TV show on the Regal Princess, Deck 5, outside Guest Services; the six original cast members are the ship's godparents. |
Musing’s Top Tip: Princess
now has an app you can use with the ship’s wi-fi at no cost to access your
account balance, daily activities and more. No downloading is needed; simply
put your phone on “Airplane mode” while you’re on board and bring up the cruise
line’s website.
You can also text your cruise companions
while you're on the ship, but this part of the app has to be downloaded with real wi-fi from Android or Apple online stores. You can do this for free if you download the app before the trip. See Princess' website for details.
No comments:
Post a Comment