Our first Princess cruise
Regal Princess Cruise Review to Canada, New England, New York
Contributor Level:
Purser
Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 49
7 Night Canada & New England (New York Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 05, 2019
Ship: Regal Princess
Cabin type: Suite
Cabin number: R230
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Our first cruise was very successful. My husband had never been on a cruise, never wanted to in our 44 years of marriage (he had a million excuses why we should go to all-inclusive resorts instead of cruising). Now he wants to plan the next one! All went smoothly despite our lack of knowledge about this type of travel, and even with a storm on the way back (40 knot winds and 7 meter swells), we had a great time. I loved being able to see several different places without packing/unpacking, and it was such a great variety of experiences, compared to our usual tropical beach vacations in a resort.Embarkation
Received our Medallions (Princess's newer electronic "cruise cards") in the mail before the trip, and it made embarkation a breeze. We chose to use the transportation provided by Princess from the airport to the cruise terminal and it was problem free. A representative was at the airport baggage claim area, checked us in, and after a very short wait boarded the bus, while our luggage loaded up and transferred to ship. Once at the cruise terminal, the security lines moved quickly, and since we had Medallions in hand, it was literally minutes to walk onto the ship!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
We chose Anytime dining, so visited both the Symphony and Concerto main dining rooms on more than one occasion. Every time, the food and service was excellent. We chose the Crown Grille Specialty restaurant and were equally pleased. I chose a ribeye steak, and my husband had lamb chops, both perfectly prepared and delicious! Our server was very professional, efficient, yet warm and friendly. The Horizon Bistro/Grille Buffet had a large variety for all meals/snacks, but we found both the quality and service was spotty. I'm sure it may have been due to the times we visited, but there were times when the hot food was not hot and times when they were out of some items (one morning, there was no bacon left!--how can you run out of bacon!!??) Busy times made finding a seat difficult, and servers came by with juice, milk, coffee, tea, and water. Sometimes the servers were friendly and attentive, others acted like it was a chore to pour you a cup of coffee. The International Cafe was open early in the morning til late at night, and though it is a small counter service, they served sandwiches, soups, wonderful pastries and a few breakfast items (like yogurt parfait and hot cereal). Though the specialty coffees are an additional cost, the food items are free and were tasty! We visited the International Cafe multiple times due to the quick, efficient, friendly service and delicious food! And Alfredo's Pizzeria was fantastic! Delicious hot pizza with excellent wait staff!
Onboard Activities
We did not use the pools as it was a New England/Canada cruise in the fall, and a bit chilly. However, we did use the hot tubs (the ones that were working). The pools are beautiful, there is one just for adults, and several hot tubs to choose from. Fitness center was very large and had many choices of workout machines.
Entertainment
We saw on of the song/dance shows one night, and saw a comedian another night. All professional, very entertaining! However, finding a seat in the theater was a problem. The first night we arrived about 20 minutes before the program began and had to search to find seating. The second night, we arrived 45 minutes before and had better choice. At least they had servers walking the aisles and taking drink orders before the show!
Children's Programs
We did not take any children on this trip.
Service and Staff
I would love to give this a five, because we had some truly great service from some staff. Our cabin steward, Ron, was excellent! He seemed to know what we needed, when we needed it! And if we did need something, he was quick to provide it! The waiters in the Symphony, Concerto, and Crown Grille restaurants were equally excellent and attentive. All of the photographers, and photo center people were great, as were the bartenders and bar staff throughout the ship. And we made several visits to the Lotus Spa, where everyone that took care of us was superb. (My only complaint about the Lotus Spa is that those who do the services--massage/salon--really push the products. I wish they wouldn't ruin the relaxing experience by following up with a sales pitch) Otherwise, they were great! Now, in the buffet area, service was definitely hit or miss as I stated before. Some servers smiled, greeted you, and were attentive; quick to bring your coffee/tea/juice and offer refills. Others were almost grumpy and I felt you almost had to trip them to get them to pay attention and bring you a glass of water.
Ship Quality
Common areas very clean and well maintained, as was our cabin. But there were little areas starting to show some wear: fraying on the sofa bed in our cabin, neglected grout in the bathroom tile. But always clean!
Cabin / Stateroom
Our "mini-suite" with balcony was the perfect size for the two of us, though it actually can accommodate four. The sofa pulls out into a bed and there is a pull down bunk above the sofa. We had plenty of drawer space in the night stands and desk, and a large open closet. Balcony was not huge, but had space for two chairs, an ottoman, and small table. Even though we traveled early fall, and temps at night would go to 40F, we enjoyed our balcony most every morning and evening while on the ship.
Ports of call
Though we did not do an excursion in New York, we loved being able to see the Statue of Liberty and lower Manhattan from the ship. We flew into NYC the day of embarkation, and next time I would arrive in the port we sail from a day or two early to enjoy that city, too.
Thumbs Up
5
We didn't do an excursion in Newport. It was a small, very charming little New England town, and the only sight I really wanted to visit was the Cliff Walk. We chose to walk to the Cliff Walk from the tender wharf. It was maybe 1.5 to 2 miles along a mostly residential (beautiful) street (lots of uphill walking). We passed by the church where JFK and Jackie married, too. After walking the Cliff Walk, we chose to take the public trolley back to town and visited a commercial area with shops and restaurants. I totally enjoyed this port and am quite happy that we chose to do this without a commercial excursion here.
Boston has so much to see and do that I felt there was not enough time in port to do all that was available! We took a taxi from the cruise terminal to Quincy Market. Not sure what I thought it would be exactly, but it was not what I expected. Almost like a mall back home, with franchise stores all over, and many restaurants like at home. We did walk some through "downtown" Boston, to the Boston Commons, and stopped for a drink at the "Bull & Finch" bar, which was the inspiration for "Cheers". We did take the Boston Duck Tour, an amphibious vehicle through Boston. Our guide was awesome, with a great sense of humor, and very, very knowledgable. I was disappointed in the water portion (on the Charles River), but it could be that we couldn't go the entire distance due to weather. We also made it a point to go to the New England Aquarium on our own, and were pleased with the exhibits there, especially the huge three story tank in the center. There were so many other things we wanted to see and do (like the Freedom Trail, and the North End (wanted a Mike's Pastry cannoli), but there just wasn't enough time.
By far my favorite port of this trip! We took a small group excursion (14 people on a small bus) to see the highlights of Acadia National Park. They stopped on the summit of Cadillac Mountain, which had phenomenal 360 views, and at Thunder Hole. Our guide was extremely knowledgable, and was willing to make a few brief, unscheduled stops, which made it more comfortable and personal. I only wish the stops would have included Jordan Pond and the Jordan Pond House. The comfortable size of the bus and number of passengers would have made a slightly longer excursion to see these additional areas even better. The commercial area was pleasant, walkable, and had a nice variety of shops and restaurants. We had lunch at Galyn's on the recommendation of our excursion guide, and it was a charming old building, with a delicious lobster puff pastry with lobster cream. We also had time to see the tide recede and walk along the ocean floor to Bar Island. Such an interesting phenomenon, and happy to have been there at the right time! Unfortunately, our most wished for excursion here, Whale Watching, was canceled due to high winds/weather. But the beauty of the National Park and the charm of the town made this port a favorite!
We did not book an excursion here, and I wish we would have. We did get off the ship and walk around the downtown/commercial area, but it seems the best sights in Saint John are a bit of a drive down the coast: to St. Martin's (a little fishing village), and Hopewell Rocks. The famous Reversing Rapids are a bit closer to town, but we chose not to find a taxi to take us there (it wasn't walking distance from the ship). This was not as walkable as Newport, Boston, or BarHarbor for sightseeing, and given the opportunity again, would take the excursions along the coastline here.
Again, no excursions here, but from the ship we walked along the HarborWalk, a boardwalk filled with shops and restaurants. It wasn't too long (maybe 25 minutes) before we came to the Maritime Museum, where there was a very interesting, and sobering, exhibit about the Titanic. From there, we walked several city blocks--not very long, but up a very steep hill--to see the Citadel. My husband is a military history buff, so he was thrilled with the Citadel--I was happy that they had a little coffee shop with sandwiches and pastry, and a gift shop to browse. I must admit, the view from the Citadel overlooking the harbor and the city was quite beautiful! We had ample time to see those sights we wished to see, and get a bit of souvenir shopping in also. Good time here!
Disembarkation
Very smooth, very well organized! We received a letter two nights before arriving back in NYC, along with color and number coded luggage tags. It gave us instructions where to leave our luggage, and when and where to meet for our particular groups disembarkation. There was no question or confusion about when or where to be, and we had enough time to plan the morning before leaving the ship. We had a comfortable place to relax and when it was time to disembark, it went quickly without any problems. We found our luggage easily, got through customs and immigration quickly, and boarded a bus that took us back to the airport (right to our terminal). Easy!