In November/December 2023, Debra and I went on a 14-day cruise of the Western Caribbean on board the Regal Princess. We sailed round trip from Galveston, Texas, with port stops in Costa Maya, Belize City, Cozumel, and Roatan. Click HERE to read a short introduction.
This story, the seventh (and final) in a series, is about our experiences on board the Regal Princess.
This story, the seventh (and final) in a series, is about our experiences on board the Regal Princess.
The Regal Princess at anchor in the bay of Belize
On Board the Regal Princess (November 26 - December 10, 2023) “Which ship?” Debra asked when I pitched a seven-day cruise with Princess—one that our children and their significant others would join us on.
“The Regal,” I replied.
“I’m not familiar with that one,” she said. “What can you tell me about it?”
“Well, I was on the Majestic—it’s a sister ship—in June with Jill, and I had a great experience,” I answered. “But give me a minute and I’ll pull up info on the Regal.”
I typed ‘Regal Princess’ into the search bar on my laptop and pressed the Enter key.
In the blink of an eye, my screen populated with over one million hits. At the top of the page was this AI-generated blurb from Bing (“Hi, I’m Bing, your AI-powered copilot for the web.”), which I read to Debra.
“The Regal,” I replied.
“I’m not familiar with that one,” she said. “What can you tell me about it?”
“Well, I was on the Majestic—it’s a sister ship—in June with Jill, and I had a great experience,” I answered. “But give me a minute and I’ll pull up info on the Regal.”
I typed ‘Regal Princess’ into the search bar on my laptop and pressed the Enter key.
In the blink of an eye, my screen populated with over one million hits. At the top of the page was this AI-generated blurb from Bing (“Hi, I’m Bing, your AI-powered copilot for the web.”), which I read to Debra.
The Regal Princess, one of the largest ships in the Princess fleet, is a Royal-Class cruise ship built in 2014 and refurbished in 2017. The ship is 142,229 tons and 1,083 feet long. It has 19 decks and 1,780 guest cabins, with a guest capacity of 3,560 and a crew of 1,346. The Regal Princess has a glass-floor walkway, called the SeaWalk, extending 28 feet beyond the edge of the ship.
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“And get this,” I added. “The Regal was christened by the original cast of The Love Boat.”
“Cute! But since the Regal was refurbished six years ago, I’m concerned it could be a tired-looking ship. Give me an hour to look through reviews.” I did, she did, and an hour later Debra reported back. “I scanned recent reviews on Cruise Critic. Passengers had the usual complaints about food, the Wi-Fi, and a few other things, but overall, they loved the Regal. So, sure—let’s go!” With Debra’s blessing, I booked back-to-back one-week cruises—one week on our own and one week with Jill (daughter), Ryan (her fiancé), David (son), and Sarah (his girlfriend). |
I’ve written stories about our port stops—Costa Maya, Belize City, Roatan, and Cozumel—that you can access HERE. This story is about our experiences on board the Regal.
(Don’t worry—it’s just a few snippets from our two weeks that you’ll breeze through in no time!)
(Don’t worry—it’s just a few snippets from our two weeks that you’ll breeze through in no time!)
Debra and I have cruised with Princess more than two dozen times over the years, and with all the cruise days under our belt, we’ve earned ‘Elite’ status. It has its perks, including free laundry service and discounted Wi-Fi.
We are also members of the Friends and Family Program—a program that offers discounted fares that vary with the itinerary.
When booking a cruise, it’s an either/or choice—Elite status perks or discounted fare.
Our decision was a no-brainer, as the discount was significantly more than the value of the perks AND we were able to book a mini suite for about the same cost as the regular fare for a balcony cabin.
Cha-ching! Cha-ching!!
We did not leave our savings behind, though, as we used those dollars to make purchases from two boutiques on the Regal: earrings with a matching bracelet and necklace for Debra and a dress watch for me!
The weather was picture-perfect when we boarded the Regal Princess—mid-60s, mostly sunny sky, and a slight breeze from the north.
We are also members of the Friends and Family Program—a program that offers discounted fares that vary with the itinerary.
When booking a cruise, it’s an either/or choice—Elite status perks or discounted fare.
Our decision was a no-brainer, as the discount was significantly more than the value of the perks AND we were able to book a mini suite for about the same cost as the regular fare for a balcony cabin.
Cha-ching! Cha-ching!!
We did not leave our savings behind, though, as we used those dollars to make purchases from two boutiques on the Regal: earrings with a matching bracelet and necklace for Debra and a dress watch for me!
The weather was picture-perfect when we boarded the Regal Princess—mid-60s, mostly sunny sky, and a slight breeze from the north.
Debra and I watched the late afternoon sail away from the balcony of our cabin. And as the ship left the dock, we heard something we had not heard before. Instead of three short blasts from its horns, the Regal Princess played a tune—the first two lines from the Love Boat theme song—using (as I later read) seven differently tuned horns. That was an amazing sendoff!
(Click HERE link if you would like to hear it? |
As the Regal made its way through Galveston Ship Channel—a natural watercourse that was widened and deepened to accommodate ever-larger ships—we passed the Harmony of the Seas, a Royal Caribbean ship with room for nearly 5,500 guests, well above the average capacity for the active ships in the Royal Caribbean fleet.
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“That’s a big ship,” I remarked.
“It is…but not as big as the one you’ll be on in January with Jill,” Debra shot back, a sly grin on her face.
She was right, of course, as Jill and I will sail on the Icon of the Seas, the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. How big is it? Its maximum capacity is 7,600 guests and nearly 2,400 crew—10,000 thousand people in total, about the same number of folks who live in the town that Debra and I call home!
That first night, after dinner in the Concerto dining room, we watched comedian Gary Delana in the Princess Theater. Billed as a ‘triple-threat showman’—he’s a musician, impressionist singer, and comic—Delana played to a full house. Most everyone seemed to enjoy his performance. I know that Debra and I did, as we laughed at his jokes and sang along with him as he played and performed well-known songs—mostly from our generation.
“It is…but not as big as the one you’ll be on in January with Jill,” Debra shot back, a sly grin on her face.
She was right, of course, as Jill and I will sail on the Icon of the Seas, the newest ship in the Royal Caribbean fleet. How big is it? Its maximum capacity is 7,600 guests and nearly 2,400 crew—10,000 thousand people in total, about the same number of folks who live in the town that Debra and I call home!
That first night, after dinner in the Concerto dining room, we watched comedian Gary Delana in the Princess Theater. Billed as a ‘triple-threat showman’—he’s a musician, impressionist singer, and comic—Delana played to a full house. Most everyone seemed to enjoy his performance. I know that Debra and I did, as we laughed at his jokes and sang along with him as he played and performed well-known songs—mostly from our generation.
Here was our typical routine on sea days: We slept in, had a light midmorning breakfast, read, ate an early afternoon lunch, read some more, listened to music, sat on deck, window-shopped, ate dinner, watched a show, had a snack, and sipped a drink as we listened to music.
In Princess-speak, we enjoyed refreshing mornings, relaxing afternoons, and enchanting evenings!
Tough life, right?!
In Princess-speak, we enjoyed refreshing mornings, relaxing afternoons, and enchanting evenings!
Tough life, right?!
Me, Debra, David, Sarah, Jill, and Ryan
It was nearly 10 years since our last family vacation—a roundtrip cruise from Los Angeles on the Sapphire Princess (where this photo was taken) with port stops in Puerto Vallarta, Cabo San Lucas, and Ensenada. We had a great time then…and knew we would again. And, we had never traveled with Sarah and Ryan.
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So, spending a week together—the six of us—was a dream come true!
When in port, the three couples went their separate ways, but on days at sea and in the evenings, we maxed out our time together.
When in port, the three couples went their separate ways, but on days at sea and in the evenings, we maxed out our time together.
We talked. We ate. We laughed. We drank.
We shopped. We watched. We listened.
Over and over and over again.
We shopped. We watched. We listened.
Over and over and over again.
I could write ten thousand words about the wonderful memories we created—memories we will always have—but I won’t. Instead, I’ll share just a few.
Together, we broke bread every night, but one dinner stood out from the others—the night we dined at the Crown Grill, a chophouse with seafood options that USA today named ‘among the Best Steakhouse’s at Sea.’
Before dinner, we toasted to ‘good times past, present, and future.’ Cheers!
And then we chowed down, from appetizers through desserts.
Someone might describe our dinner as a feeding orgy, but I would call it a veritable feast for our eyes and our appetites that included:
And then we chowed down, from appetizers through desserts.
Someone might describe our dinner as a feeding orgy, but I would call it a veritable feast for our eyes and our appetites that included:
Black Tiger Prawns, Seared Jumbo Sea Scallops, Mediterranean-Style Spiny Lobster Cake, Black and Blue Onion Soup, Marinated Goat Cheese and Tomato Salad, Madeira-Glazed Wisconsin Veal Chop, New York Strip, Rib-Eye, Surf & Turf, Apple & Rhubarb Cobbler, Salted Caramel Crème Brulee, and Triple Chocolate Treasure.
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I anticipated your question, and the answer is “No.” Not one of us ordered ALL these delectable appetizers, entrees, and desserts (that WOULD have been a feeding orgy!), but each of us relished doubles of each course--two appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts.
Our dinner lasted two hours as we…
Our dinner lasted two hours as we…
Ate. Talked. Laughed. Drank.
Rinsed and repeated!
Rinsed and repeated!
Mastercard got it right with this tagline from its advertising campaign in the late 1990s…
There are some things money can’t buy.
Our time together over dinner at Crown Grill—the memories we shared, the ones we created, and the plans we made—was priceless!
Family portraits made for great memories, too, as they captured our time together. And so, in a handful of venues around the ship, we posed for the Princess photographers. These portraits, taken on a ‘formal night’—an opportunity for all of us to wear our ‘Sunday best’—were two of my favorites:
We are a handsome family if I do say so myself!
Jill is a freelance journalist who covers a range of topics and industries, but her specialty is travel, food, and beverage. Always in reporter mode, she was doing research about Princess Cruises’ food and beverage program for future articles in travel magazines. One morning, I joined her and Ryan on a tour with Konrad, the Director of Bar and Beverage Services on the Regal.
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Our tour started midship on Deck 5 in the Good Spirits Lounge, where Ishmail demonstrated his bartending skills as he mixed three specialty drinks, while Konrad shared insights to the ship’s food and beverage services and answered myriad questions from Jill.
(For the record, I sipped each drink. Refreshing! |
I’m a numbers guy—professionally, I was a ‘bean counter,’ AKA accountant—so I was fascinated by the numbers Konrad shared, including this one: The Regal onboards about 1,400 tons (280,000 pounds) of food and beverage for a seven-day cruise—an average of 28 pounds for each of the 10,000 people on the ship.
(Digest that for a moment.)
Could I have consumed that much? I wondered. Perhaps I did, as I gained eight pounds over two weeks.
(Digest that for a moment.)
Could I have consumed that much? I wondered. Perhaps I did, as I gained eight pounds over two weeks.
Princess hosted a week-long ‘Love and Romance Celebration.’
Love is a powerful force that brings us together, and as Princess is The Love Boat, this voyage is a celebration of all things love. I encourage you to immerse yourself fully in the experiences that await. This is your time to celebrate the love in your life and within yourself.
~ Randy Fenoli
“Who is Randy Fenoli?” I asked Jill as we walked past this banner.
“Really? You never heard of him?” “Uh…no.” I sheepishly replied. “Should I?” “He’s a TV star who hosts Say Yes to the Dress,” Jill answered, “and a fashion designer best known for his wedding dresses.” What could I say but, “Oh.” Fenoli was on the Regal as the Ambassador of Love and Romance. |
I, for one, did not “immerse myself in the experiences that await,” but I did have a look-see at the Fenoli-designed dresses displayed on Deck 5 in the Piazza. I must admit—they WERE beautiful!