Why yes...the weather was not the greatest. Yes, we did have to skip the Dominican Republic due to gale force winds and the sun hid behind the clouds many days. However, the Commodore chose a longer, but calmer path for us to head to St. Thomas (USVI) and there were activities to keep everyone busy. While we did feel many of the scheduled activities were approaching "trivia overload"-there were a few that were exceptional. We absolutely enjoyed "Voice of the Ocean" (great performances by all!), the Sherlock Holmes Trivia Mystery (the cruise director's staff should be commended-absolutely hilarious), and the culinary demonstration by Naveen Quadros (Executive Chef) and Ferderico Arcos (Maitre D'Hotel). We have been to many of these culinary demonstrations during our cruises and I have to say that these two gentlemen should have their own show. We laughed until tears ran down our faces and even learned some new techniques for cooking.
Even while the ship was rocking from ocean swells, the Horizon Court Buffet staff was there to help with carrying plates and guiding people to seats as they smiled calmly. This cruise was sold out, but we never felt too crowded in any certain area. We did learn that when the Regal Princess goes into dry dock this spring, that a center stair case will be constructed. Proof that Princess does have executives who read the Cruise Critic Reviews.
Visited ports included St. Thomas, which seems to be unchanging, and St. Kitts which appeared to be struggling on several counts. The stores at the small mall by the port are at least 80% t-shirts and trinkets. Some of the nicer shops we found several years ago have vanished. The port area was not clean and we were approached by residents with pet monkeys asking for money. While this is not new, there were more than usual and many appeared to have disabilities. The end result was that we felt very sad for the people of St. Kitt's and the poverty we witnessed. We did enjoy the dancers in the mall area-spectacular dancing and costumes! With five ships in the St. Kitt's port that day, we wished that more of the money brought in could help both the port and people. We did use tender boats that day and we were impressed by the smooth operation conducted by Princess staff.