Last fall I was invited by Princess Cruises to attend the christening of their newest ship, the Regal Princess. To sweeten the deal, they invited the entire cast of The Love Boat to participate in the event, along with more than 20 former guest starts of the iconic show of the 70s and 80s. Captain Stubing, Florence Henderson and Charo? There was absolutely no way I could say no. I was also honestly eager to experience Princess Cruises for the first time. I’ve been on several cruises, but never with Princess and looked forward to seeing what sailing with them is like. Sadly, the experience wasn’t everything I hoped it would be and so I feel compelled to offer an honest review of the Regal Princess and Princess Cruises in general.
The Ship
If I hadn’t been at the christening, I would be shocked to find out that the Regal Princess was brand new. I don’t mean it doesn’t look nice and shiny – it certainly does. But the layout of the ship is so antiquated and confusing, it’s hard to believe it was designed and built in the 21st century. The ship is split between decks so that when I wanted to eat dinner at the restaurant on the 5th deck, I would have to go up to 7 and then walk down to 5. When it comes to recreation areas, they are pitiful. None of the lounge chairs have any kind of shade or umbrellas, so if you are fair skinned you will bake. Wait, I stand corrected. They do have a beautiful and relaxing area with plenty of shade and umbrellas, but you have to pay extra to access it. That nickel and diming was rampant and I was shocked to see that little was free and instead Princess associates a fee with everything. Even when we anchored in the Bahamas, the beach umbrellas were $29 for the day. It’s outrageous and I’ve never experienced that insane level of nickel and diming on a cruise before.
There was also little to do onboard the ship. There were a few pools, a rec center and a casino, but nothing fun, innovative or exciting. No sky diving or bumper cars on this ship no, instead your choices are trivia night with the crew or bingo. I imagine retirement homes have better options.
Service
This is where Princess really lost me and I’m still reeling from the spectacularly bad service I experienced onboard the Regal Princess. At first when I noticed small moments of poor service, I chalked it up to new staff just getting used to things. Then I learned that the Regal Princess had been servicing guests for six months and I…
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