Great itinerary!

Item: Regal Princess
Rating: 3.7
Author: GrammyCoach

Regal Princess Cruise Review to Europe - Northern Europe

GrammyCoach

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 5

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

11 Night Scandinavia & Russia (Copenhagen Roundtrip)

Sail date: May 10, 2018

Ship: Regal Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: D221

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

I really think Princess needs to work on having a way to communicate with someone on the day of embarkation in case something comes up at the last minute (like the Amsterdam airport being shut down). We missed a full day on the ship because of the poor information we received. We actually could have driven to Copenhagen from Amsterdam in time to make the ship if the person we initially spoke to didn't tell us we had to be there by 2 pm. We eventually spoke to someone that told us we could arrive as late as 5:30, but that was after talking to 4 different people (repeated calls!). If we had started driving when we first called, we would have made it! Instead, we had to buy another plane ticket to Oslo, plus pay for a night in a hotel in Oslo, and the train ride from Sandlford to the ship. It made for a very poor start of our vacation.

Embarkation

1 out of 5

We were part of a group of people that did not make it to Copenhagen due to the airport in Amsterdam having computer problems and all flights from Amsterdam to Copenhagen were cancelled. The problem was that we could not get any HELP whatsoever from Princess Cruise lines in terms of trying to communicate with them. We called several times and only spoke to a call center manned by people who could not speak or understand English very well. We finally made plans on our own to catch the ship in Oslo, but it was just as bad waiting for help to board the ship once we arrived. Even though over 100 people had to board in Oslo, they were not ready for us and made us wait in the freezing weather a long time before we could board. We finally boarded, but all of our pre-arrangements were "taken back" since we didn't board in Copenhagen. We had pre-paid for the beverage package and coffee package...but had to wait another full day to finally get it!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

While the availability of food options was very good (dining times, etc.), the food was only average.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

It was "hit and miss" with the staff. Some staff were terrific, others were slow to respond and almost resentful. For example, my husband had purchased the unlimited beverage card, but many of the wait staff resented having to get him cranberry juice (which he needed to drink every day).

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5