Aboard Regal Princess 12/27-01/07: A semi-live compilation of thoughts and takes

[starvenger]

So got onto Regal Princess in Galveston, and my initial takes:
- Boarding process in Galveston is organized yet chaotic and unnecessarily long. We walked back and forth outside and inside the terminal. Just a terrible layout.
- Staff is super friendly though and helped expedite my parents through while the rest of us waited in line.
- The Princess App is hot garbage. And perhaps even worse since they're rolling out a new app (which is warm garbage). You can chat in the old app but not the new one. But you're not notified about invites to connect in the old app, only the new ones.
- Lunch in the dining room was very nice. And they managed to accommodate our request for the 14 of us to sit together every night.
- Muster is easy peasy. Watch the video, check in at the muster station, done.
- I'm sure things will get better once we actually cruise.

 

[starvenger]

So second day, and it's a sea day so enjoying that cruise life.

Last night's dinner was... ok. Servings are quite small so I would say that on Princess, ordering a second dish is not going to be going overboard with your order.

- theme was Caribbean flavours
- had a fish ceviche that was full of flavour.
- Greek salad was the cucumber and tomato kind tossed in basalmic. I was expecting a lettuce salad but this was still good.
- waiter recommended the pork tenderloin but it was somehow dry despite looking like it was mostly done sous vide.

Did a 30min elliptical ride this morning. Fitness centre was on the 17th deck with nice views. Weight machines were busy even at 7am so I didn't bother.

Coffee is actually decent on board. Much better than Royal and worlds better than the swill I had on DCL a few years back. Downside is that free coffee seems to available only at the restaurants.

Poolside pizza is good.

 

[starvenger]

Second night was formal night. With formal night comes the pictures. Nothing unusual about that - stations were set up around the centrum, you take your photos, and that's it. You'll see the pics in your app, and for some reason they still print out all the photos - kind of a waste.

Nickel, dime and Benjamins alert: they will try to sell you on a private photo session.

Did a music trivia game. Got 38/41, and still didn't win.

I should note that Regal Princess had three main entertainment venues - Princess theatre (big) for production shows, Vista lounge medium) for smaller acts like comedians, and Princess Live (small) for game shows, trivia and tutorials. They are all accessible from the same deck but spread out so that it doesn't feel like there are massive crowds.

Anyway, in the Princess Theatre they had a "Production" show called Bravo. Just people singing - there was some opera, some musicals, some Bond title songs, Queen, and Unchained Melody. No real rhyme or reason, just singing. They had a guest soprano who was quite good. But compared to what you get on Royal or Disney, it seemed like something was missing.

At night they have a guitarist or a band in the centrum. Lots of seating, bars and tables around so you can sit, chill and even play some games in the area. There's also a steel drummer who plays various bars on board.

3rd day it was raining the entire day. We watched some events in the centrum and did a steel drum lesson. Dinner had a striploin steak that was no good. Thus far I have to give the MDR a thumbs down.

We docked in Montego Bay around 2 hours ago and the weather report is not promising. We wanted to go to Doctor's Cove beach but we didn't want to get soaked. I guess that wil be in my next update.

 

[tidefan]

We loved Regal Princess last May for our British Isles cruise. We actually found ourselves eating in the Horizon Court quite a bit at night.

Don’t discount what they have at the International Cafe either. Oh, and their salted caramel latte is usually very good.

 

[starvenger]

So Montego Bay was a bit of a letdown. We wanted to go to Doctor's Cave Beach for some swimming and sun but due to the rain we scrapped that and did a quick tour of the Hip Strip that the beach is a part of.

We also stopped for some patties because being from Toronto (where the patty is the unofficial snack of the city) we have to.

Aside here - with the proliferation and affordability of eSIMs I would recommend that at least one person in your party purchase a plan (or get a roaming plan with your carrier) for when you're not on wifi. For my party I got Airalo's island plan for Jamaica/Grand Cayman and a Latin America plan for Belize/Honduras/ Mexico.

Dinner was Italian night and it was pretty good. However, at this point I have to conclude that the chefs cannot cook a striploin. Cuts are inconsistent and the cook doesn't always produce a tasty steak. A pity.

Entertainment on this night was a magician, Nathan Phan. He was a lot of fun and kept the audience entertained for 45 minutes.

Day 5 was supposed to be Grand Cayman, but high winds and swells meant that the government shut the port. So for the second consecutive cruise we did not get to see Stingrays. Instead the kids had a pool day, and I made it a leg day at the gym.

With that said, it was New Year's Eve, so of course it was a "formal" night. There were two lobster mains - a classic filet and lobster tail, and a tail, seared scallops and shrimp risotto. And if you were thinking that they'd work hard to make this a great dinner, you'd be right. In contrast to the striploin, they seem to nail the filet/tenderloin.

They did have a show called Sweet Soul Music. Again, just singing and some dancing, but I felt like there was more connective tissue to the production versus Bravo.

Finally, we went to the New Year's celebration on the Lido deck. And, well, it's hard to top a countdown on a cruise ship.

(Side note: upload speeds are bad on board, so will add pics later)

It is Day 6 (New Year's Day) as I type this. Just got back from the gym. Another sea day - I'll check back in later.

 

[starvenger]

We loved Regal Princess last May for our British Isles cruise. We actually found ourselves eating in the Horizon Court quite a bit at night.

Don’t discount what they have at the International Cafe either. Oh, and their salted caramel latte is usually very good.

The buffet has quite a bit of variety and I like that not every row has the same items.

With that said my dad wants to eat in the MDR for dinner and that's non-negotiable with him.

International Cafe has some nice sandwiches and smoothies. I didn't notice the toasting oven until day 2. From that point any sandwich I was getting there was going to have some nice melty cheese. But I am annoyed that they don't have free drip coffee there. I'm not a huge specialty coffee person and I refuse to pay Starbucks prices for a drip coffee.

 

[tidefan]

The buffet has quite a bit of variety and I like that not every row has the same items.

With that said my dad wants to eat in the MDR for dinner and that's non-negotiable with him.

International Cafe has some nice sandwiches and smoothies. I didn't notice the toasting oven until day 2. From that point any sandwich I was getting there was going to have some nice melty cheese. But I am annoyed that they don't have free drip coffee there. I'm not a huge specialty coffee person and I refuse to pay Starbucks prices for a drip coffee.

We have always done the Princess Plus package, so all coffee at the IC has always been included.

BTW, they also always have a soup in the back (and cookies) at the IC. Sorry about your weather, we missed Grand Cayman last year at this time due to bad weather. One of the downsides of being a tender only port.

Did you go to the Yes/No game show?

Happy cruising!

 

[starvenger]

Did you go to the Yes/No game show?

No, but I've seen some of the other game shows. Nothing as insane as The Quest on Royal thankfully (IYKYK). But a lot of fun.

 

[starvenger]

New Year's Day was pretty chill. We finally got some proper cruising weather and as a result the poil deck was crowded. Not really much to add about the day itself so I'll add some random thoughts:
- Prego pizzeria is easily the best free pizza I've had on a cruise ship. I liked Sorrentos on the Allure, but this is much better. And like DCL, it has a convenient location on the pool deck.
- Princess Live game shows and trivia are the best entertainment on the ship. While the ship definitely skews older, the game shows skew towards the 25-55 demo.

Day 7 was our first proper port day in Belize City. For this we did a private Alton Ha tour with King David tours. It cost us $250 for 3 over 12 and 1 "under". Originally we were to visit Roatan first then Belize but they flipped the destinations around. But getting King David tours to change the dates was no problem at all.

Tendering was a bit of a pain, because they seemed committed to going exactly on their set schedule. Which meant that if you had a set time you wanted to meet your excursion operator, you were going to be late.

Once we got to the port, finding King David tours was pretty easy. The independent operators work out of Terminal/Dock 1. We didn't see our guy right away, so one of the other operators called him.

Anyway, Vel was a great guide. He gave us a good history of Belize and the Mayan culture, and gave us a lot of info about Alton Ha. And because we weren't on a group tour, we got time to explore other ruins apart from the two major ones on site.

On the way back we stopped at a local diner for stewed chicken, rice and beans. Doesn't sound like much, but it was quite tasty.

Overall, not the craziest excursion. But for us, it was nice and informative and I would absolutely recommend using King David tours in Belize.

Dinner was lamb chops and Beef Wellington. Both were excellent.

We watched a production show called "Born to Dance". The wife and I fell asleep at various points of the show. 'Nuff said.

Also, for late night, Princess Live had a non-kid friendly version of Liars Club. It was hilarious but not for kids or people that get easily offended by jokes.

It is currently Day 8 and we are in Roatan. We were originally scheduled to dock at the Carnival port in Harmony Bay but we got moved to Coxen Hole when the Roatan/Belize days were switched around. So ended up booking beach day transport to West Bay with Roatan Webster tours.

West Bay is really lovely with clear water and lots of beach bars along the shore. Driver took us to Foster's Resort and I would recommend asking to take you to another place, as the food here is more expensive than the other bars along the strip. Cocktails are actually more expensive than on board the ship! At the end of the day it simply means that we're not eating as much.

 

[starvenger]

So in the evening there was a musical bingo and an 80's trivia. And it must have been my night because I got a bingo and won the trivia with a perfect score. Prizes were small knickknacks but really I was just happy getting 40/40.

Day 9 we were in Costa Maya, so of course that means it was a beach day. We even convinced my dad (who has a bad back and knees, and uses walking sticks to move around) to go with us.

Toughest part about Costa Maya is of course the pier and the maze of shops you go through to get to the taxi area. Even with the shortcut through the gelato shop (which incidentally we went to in Lyon, France - delicious!) it's long. And since we were going to Krazy Lobster, we had to walk outside the gates to get a cab.

Side note: the people at the taxi stand say that you allegedly need a reservation to go to Krazy Lobster. You probably don't, but one quick WhatsApp to the restaurant got me that "reservation".

Side note 2: WhatsApp appears to be the communication medium of choice for many people in Latin America.

Cost to get to anywhere on Mahuahal beach was $4pp, non negotiable. And with a party of 14, I certainly tried.

Regardless, we were met at Krazy Lobster by Mauricio, the owner, and he had someone show us to some tables and loungers. We got some welcome mini-margaritas - very refreshing.

It was my first time at Krazy Lobster (previous visit we went to Tropicante which seems to be closed down now), and I do like how things are set up. You can use the tables or loungers, and they'll set up umbrellas if the palapas aren't shading you properly.

Massages were $20/h, and seemed to be quite popular. We convinced my mom to get one, and she was pretty happy. Large drinks cost $7 and they were huge - definite value for money there, even if they aren't as strong as other places.

Overall, we had quite a bit to eat and drink (there were 14 of us, after all). Total bill: $175 including tax and tip. If you include the taxi it cost about $300, or around $21.50pp for this diy beach day. Can't complain.

There was another production show in the theatre but we skipped it. I recognize the efforts of the singers, dancers and crew but it's clear that these shows are not meant for anyone under 55.

Day 10 is Cozumel. Instead of a beach club we instead booked a tour with Tours Plaza. I'm still putting together my thoughts about this but it was a positive experience and something different to do on the island.

 

[starvenger]

As I mentioned, the tour was great for us. We looked at some of the landmarks downtown, the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio, drove around the back side of the island (lots of waves if you're a surfer... of which I am not) and explored Punta Sur. Definitely something people should look into if they are looking for a different activity on Cozumel.

Dinner was interesting as my dining room apparently just switched to digital ticketing. So my order got lost, and that was probably why my beef tenderloin was a bit over (still really good though).

And I have to say that overall, the food in the MDRs have been good but not great. A couple of misses on the mains, and the beef tenderloin/filet are always good, but there's just a weird amount of inconsistency with dishes.

For example, most of the food is of a modest portion size. Not huge, but small enough that you could order multiple mains and not feel guilty about eating all of it. But then you get a dish like a seared duck breast, and they give you the ENTIRE breast, which was huge and doesn't jive with the standard portion size. (The duck was also overcooked, skin soggy and fat not rendered out, so recommend to avoid). It's not a huge deal, but these are little things you sometimes notice.

Buffet, I would recommend skipping dinner there. Plenty of food, but most of it is "meh" at night. Quite a good spread for breakfast and lunch though, although like Jamie Oliver, they should perhaps stop trying to make East Asian dishes.

Every noodle dish is effectively Chinese-American lo mein, and all the east Asian dishes lack flavour.

South Asian dishes, however, aren't bad.

Anyway, we played Disney trivia (ironic!) and my younger one carried to load to a 19/23. Which tied for the top spot but she lost the tiebreaker.

We watched the comedy show with Marc Price aka Skippy from Family Ties. He was ok. I get the impression that the comedians aren't trying to get very edgy with their comedy, and it blunts them a bit.

We'll be getting off the ship tomorrow, and I'll document the debarkation and post on Monday most likely. We are going to walk off, while my brother is doing the usual leave the luggage outside thing, so I hope to get both POVs there.

Overall, this has been a pleasant cruise. I certainly did not hate it. But it's apparent that the cruise line is not the one for my family. Everything tends to skew older, and that's fine, but that doesn't work for us. I wouldn't say no to going on another Princess cruise, but it simply won't be my first choice.

 

[tidefan]

As I mentioned, the tour was great for us. We looked at some of the landmarks downtown, the Mayan ruins at San Gervasio, drove around the back side of the island (lots of waves if you're a surfer... of which I am not) and explored Punta Sur. Definitely something people should look into if they are looking for a different activity on Cozumel.

Dinner was interesting as my dining room apparently just switched to digital ticketing. So my order got lost, and that was probably why my beef tenderloin was a bit over (still really good though).

And I have to say that overall, the food in the MDRs have been good but not great. A couple of misses on the mains, and the beef tenderloin/filet are always good, but there's just a weird amount of inconsistency with dishes.

For example, most of the food is of a modest portion size. Not huge, but small enough that you could order multiple mains and not feel guilty about eating all of it. But then you get a dish like a seared duck breast, and they give you the ENTIRE breast, which was huge and doesn't jive with the standard portion size. (The duck was also overcooked, skin soggy and fat not rendered out, so recommend to avoid). It's not a huge deal, but these are little things you sometimes notice.

Buffet, I would recommend skipping dinner there. Plenty of food, but most of it is "meh" at night. Quite a good spread for breakfast and lunch though, although like Jamie Oliver, they should perhaps stop trying to make East Asian dishes.

Every noodle dish is effectively Chinese-American lo mein, and all the east Asian dishes lack flavour.

South Asian dishes, however, aren't bad.

Anyway, we played Disney trivia (ironic!) and my younger one carried to load to a 19/23. Which tied for the top spot but she lost the tiebreaker.

We watched the comedy show with Marc Price aka Skippy from Family Ties. He was ok. I get the impression that the comedians aren't trying to get very edgy with their comedy, and it blunts them a bit.

We'll be getting off the ship tomorrow, and I'll document the debarkation and post on Monday most likely. We are going to walk off, while my brother is doing the usual leave the luggage outside thing, so I hope to get both POVs there.

Overall, this has been a pleasant cruise. I certainly did not hate it. But it's apparent that the cruise line is not the one for my family. Everything tends to skew older, and that's fine, but that doesn't work for us. I wouldn't say no to going on another Princess cruise, but it simply won't be my first choice.

I have very much enjoyed your trip reports and find them well thought out and informative. I very much agree with your last sentiment that you have to figure out what is right "for you".

I see too many people all the time say to do this cruise line or that cruise line or this ship or that ship as though there is one definitive answer, but there isn't. There is only a definitive answer for each individual. I mean, we are all different and like different things, so it's great that all of the lines are a bit different from each other. I would say a similar thing about our Oasis cruise. We enjoyed the trip. Was it our favorite cruise? No, but I wouldn't turn down another Oasis class cruise, either. We still cruise DCL often, and like it, but we like lots of lines.

Personally, Princess fits our vibe more than RCCL, so we are a bit the opposite of you, but our demographics (early 50's/late 40's with college aged kid) sounds like it runs a bit different than yours. Princess is definitely a more chill vibe, however, than RCCL or Carnival. For us, it's great, but for others, it may not be what they are looking for. In fact, we have the highest status with Princess (so free laundry, etc.) whereas we have no status with RCCL so that affects things a bit as well.

Actually, our favorite line at the moment is probably Virgin (due to their great food), but we like a bit of everything. We'll be on Carnival Mardi Gras in a few months and are really looking forward to that (if you haven't done one of the 3 new Carnival ships, give it a try, they are amazing).

Thanks again for your review of one of our favorite ships. Glad you had a good time!

 

[starvenger]

Thanks. I always try to go into a cruise with a positive mindset, although Galveston boarding and the apps really tried my patience. But at the end of the day, it's a cruise, and it's really hard to hate being on a cruise.

 

[John VN]

for your Trip Report. Reading it has me so exhausted from all of the actives I think I'll book a cruise to relax.

 

[starvenger]

So getting off the ship was a breeze. Walk-offs were scheduled to get off at 8 and it was no problem. Lyft to the car rental in La Marque cost $25.

Was a little longer for my brother who was collecting his bags. The major difference was he got surge priced for his trip to Space Center Houston.

 

[starvenger]

So the Space Center was a nice excursion. Seeing the rockets up close is pretty cool.

We had a late lunch at a nearby pho place and headed up to the airport... where we hit some of that infamous Houston traffic. No biggie - Waze found us a detour via the Loop.

We had TSA precheck and got through terminal security C in about 5 min. Regular security wasn't that much slower. Just hanging around waiting for boarding now.