We chose this particular cruise because of free gratuities, new ship (to us), new ports (4), and considerable cabin credit we received. This was a "back-to-back" cruise that first transited north to Canadian ports and then southbound to several southern Caribbean ports for a total of 15 nights aboard. Ship was repositioning for the winter from NYC to Fort Lauderdale. We flew into New York the night prior to embarkation, staying at the Hampton Inn at LGA. UBered to the Brooklyn cruise port. The embarkation system there seemed to be in need of better direction. We had set up our "medallion" disc prior to leaving home, so we popped right up on their system on the first effort. Being Elite passengers, we were able to by-pass the standard line, but here is where it becomes confusing. We had wine we were bringing on board to declare, but there was no table/staff to declare it to.....at least not very visible with hundreds of people milling around. There was a table we found by chance that had a form required by Canadian authorities we needed to fill out, with no signage about it. We were directed by one staff member to proceed in one direction, only to be told by staff at that direction to turn around and retrace our steps. Eventually we found the right staff person whom could process our account and sent us onto the ship....whew!!

The ship itself is nicely laid out. The Piazza seems wider than that space on other Princess ships. All the inside activities occur on the 5-6-7 decks, as is standard on Princess. Regal is a big girl, almost 1100' long, and has a capacity of about 3,600 passengers, but we sailed with about 3,000, as we were told. Our Balcony cabin felt spacious, and the bathroom space is improved. Sound blockage is quite good between adjoining staterooms....never heard our neighbors through the walls. The medallion "stateroom door unlock" was convenient when you approached with items in your hands. We choose late "traditional" dining so that we can develop a relationship with our wait staff over the course of the cruise. We chose a table for two, surrounded by like tables of two around us. Our waitstaff, Victor and Jay, were professional, with excellent English skills.

The MDR (Allegro) is nicely laid out at the stern of deck 6, and it never seemed overly loud in there. Food and beverage orders were quickly dispatched to our table and presented well. The majority of foods presented were delicious, with a few "unknowns" we experimented with, we scratched off the "must-try" list. Read more