Regal Princess Review

Our first (and last) Princess cruise

Review for the Baltic Sea Cruise on Regal Princess
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ervlynn
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

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Additional details

Sail Date: Jun 2015
Cabin: Mini-Suite with Balcony

We had never sailed on Princess before but had heard so many good things about it we decided to try it out on our recent Baltic cruise. There are specific things we have enjoyed on past cruises that just were not available on this cruise and we were disappointed. First the pluses: Embarkation was easy and we had immediate access to our room. Our luggage was delivered promptly. The staff was always courteous and helpful. The Regal Princess is a lovely ship--it's new, beautifully decorated and well maintained. We were fortunate enough to get an upgrade to a mini-suite and we enjoyed the extra space. We ate in the Allegro dining room and I thought the food was excellent, my husband thought it was a little bland, but the service was good and we enjoyed ourselves. (we did hear complaints about anytime dining). We got a free meal at Sabatini's. Don't waste your money. Free is OK. Paying $25 pp for this would be ridiculous--food was about the same as the main dining room. The entertainment was okay--the first couple of nights were forgettable (a ventriloquist on the first night was not a good way to start), so we mostly ignored the shows but found out later that there were some excellent acts. The itinerary was excellent--all stops were very interesting. Portage was changed for Stockholm so we were able to sail into the city, which was a big plus.

The minuses: This ship is just too big and impersonal. We have always enjoyed getting to know our fellow passengers, but with so many people, that is hard to do. Food in the buffet was good, but the layout is extremely confusing and everyone spent a lot of time wandering around trying to find what they wanted. We enjoy ballroom dancing and the only venue for that was in the middle of the ship where we were part of the entertainment. We did enjoy the band, Rhapsody, but the marble dance floor was frequently dirty/sticky from earlier activities, which made it difficult to dance. My biggest disappointment was the lack of information about the cities we were visiting. On Celebrity, RCL and HAL, we have always enjoyed lectures about the history, geography and culture of the areas we are visiting. There was almost none of this available. One lecture, advertised as being about the Hermitage, was really a short art history lesson and long sales pitch by the art auction guy. The Hermitage was mentioned only when he showed a picture of his wife there with absolutely no information about what we might expect to see. There was one live port talk (for Tallinn), which was OK. Other information was available on TV. Really?? Another thing we have enjoyed on past trips was a crows next type lounge at the top of the ship. That would have been especially nice going in and out of Stockholm and other ports that are so beautiful. There is nothing really wrong with this ship/cruise, but if this is a example of a Princess cruise, it does not suit us. We did not book any Princess excursions, relying on Alla tours and Friends of Dave and were very happy with that choice as others complained about overpriced and overcrowded excursions.

Cabin Review

Mini-Suite with Balcony

Cabin M6

This room was lovely--roomy and spotless. Location was fine for a Baltic cruise, as it was too cool for many people to use the pool on the deck above us. It was noisy at about 11:00 each night as the staff rearranged the deck chairs. On a Mediterranean or Caribbean cruise, it might be incredibly noisy. Balcony was nice and slightly larger than some of the others. Bathroom is roomy. We were upgraded to this and thought it very nice.

Port Reviews

Oslo

Used the HIHO. We particularly enjoyed Frogner Park.

Rostock (Warnemunde)

We did not go to Berlin, but booked a Friends of Dave Tour (Mega Mecklenburg) that was excellent and a good value. People who went to Berlin found it was a long way away and a long day riding on buses and trains.

Tallinn

Charming city; lots to do and see. We used the walking tour and restaurant recommendations in Rick Steves' book and found it to be very helpful and fun.

St. Petersburg

We took a 2 day Faberge museum tour with Alla and it was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our guide, the sights and the city. The Faberge museum is lovely and not nearly as crowded as other tourist sites.

Helsinki

We took a Rick Steves' walking tour and thoroughly enjoyed it.

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