Princess Cruises

MV Regal Princess

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Operator: Princess Cruise Lines
Year Built / Last Refurbished: 1991
Length / Tonnage: 811 / 71,800
Number of Cabins / Passengers: 795 / 1,590
Officers / Crew: Italian / International
Operating Area: Panama Canal, Alaska, Hawaii, Tahiti and Mexico
Telephone / Fax: Tel 124 5712 / Fax 124 5712

Think west coast...think Los Angeles, and the sunny southern California lifestyle...put it on a ship, add a dash of British and Italian panache, and presto...there you had Princess Cruises and Sitmar Cruises. Thrilling countless passengers with its warm winning ways and great ships, Sitmar took a leap of faith in the late 1980's and put in a contract option for construction of two 70,000 ton vessels that they expected to be the world's biggest cruise ships, and to remain so for some time to come. Although their possible "Fair" names are anyone's guess....because Sitmar loved to create a publicity gimmick asking travel agents to name their ships...that's how the STAR PRINCESS was first introduced with the horrific name FAIR MAJESTY (if you don't believe us, check out Sitmar's 1989 cruise atlas)....for these new builds, we would have suggested the names FAIR OCEAN and FAIR LAND, which would have gone along great with FAIRSEA, FAIRWIND, FAIRSTAR, and FAIRSKY. But before the ships ever came out, Sitmar was absorbed by their rival, Princess Cruises....and although the hulls were built pretty much as had been planned by Sitmar, they were christened CROWN PRINCESS and Regal Princess.

With Sitmar gone as an independent entity, the hunt for gimmicks continued, and introducing these gigantic new cruise liners, Princess made a great deal of the fact that they were designed by Italian architect Renzo Piano...without bothering to mention that big as these ships were, they are beauties in their own rights. Some observers have objected to the enclosed coffee can funnel each of them sports well aft, but we feel such is the only funnel either ship could logically sport.

Previously rivals, now married Sitmar and Princess Cruises, also of Los Angeles, shared so much as a result of their western origins and outlook. Sitmar's ships gained Princess names...Princess' ships gained just that much more continental savoir faire...and the result has been magic. Sitting atop the mass market... until the last few years, anyway, when cruise line executives entered into a cut throat competition to maximize revenue intake and resorted to all manner of cons and come-ons to get people to buy tickets and squeeze each passenger for money once on board....this combined Sitmar and Princess outfit offered a product so far above the mass market that it was really hard to think of any of the Miami cruise ships in the same league as a Princess ship...Princess was the cruise line the others had tried to imitate.

No matter what beefs I may have with Princess.....and there are only a couple....I'll be the first to admit that their Regal Princess is a superb vessel.....a visual delight both inside and out. But I must sing my same old lament here...... Princess Cruises has begun a policy of relentlessly and shamelessly harassing the passengers to fork over money on board until they bleed....it's a peculiar juxtaposition of the tackiest consumerism thrust amidst sophisticated surroundings. It perplexes me how a company can spend millions of dollars creating some of the most magnificent public rooms seen on a ship....only to clutter them with art auction rejects and "inches of gold" display tables. I, more than anyone, would love to overlook this irritation....but I can't....Princess won't let me! The other flaw.....a problem shared by both the Regal Princess and the CROWN PRINCESS....is the quality of the food. The menus are identical to other Princess ships....the service is just as good....but I can surmise only that there is a design snafu with the kitchen....because these twin's comestibles have never been up to the other's standards. The good news is the Regal Princess has great cabins.....great lounges.....great decks......great entertainment and great service.

In a daring, but logical move, Princess decided to use what would have been the observation lounge as a casino....on ship after ship we've sailed, we see how few people venture up to these spaces...so this room would have been a real loss producer had it remained a quiet underused area. This means that when frequenting the Promenade Deck, location of most of the public rooms, you'll never hear coins being spit forth from the slot machines. Though the Regal Princess has all the rooms modern cruisers have come to expect, the Bengal Bar is the most delightful....because it so successfully evokes the romance and mystery of the days of the British Raj. For passengers who love to ooh and aah, the four deck high atrium should serve them well...off the lowest level is the Purser's office and La Patisierie....the place for specialty coffees and sweets.....and the highest level houses the Stage Door, a good place to hang out while waiting for a seat in the balcony level of the main show lounge.

The outdoor decks are so simple in their layout....besides the promenade area....guess that's why it's called Promenade Deck.....there are quiet spots on most after decks, and plenty of chairs and lounges on Lido and Sun Decks. One of the two pools has a swim up bar, and there are the popular bubbling hot tubs nearby.

As we said, the quality of the food on the Regal Princess could stand some improvement....but at least you'll be comfortable in the two sitting Palm Court restaurant. With tables in all shapes and sizes, Princess will ask for your preference for dining at the time you make your cruise reservations. The Palm Court is all the way aft on Promenade Deck, and has windows facing out from both port and starboard....as well as aft. The problem with hot food arriving cold at your table may have something to do with the fact that the kitchen is located on another deck.....although we've been on many liners similarly configured whose waiters and chefs have been able to overcome this obstacle.

Deck buffets on Princess have always been a weak point in their dining service......the selection is lackluster and the quality is rarely as good as what you'll find downstairs. But the setting for breakfasts and lunches is delightful....so if you're angling for nothing more than a sandwich or burger, this is a good place to go.

The cabins on the Regal Princess....each and every one.....is outstanding. They are so well designed, in fact, that Princess has used their basic layout for every ship they have built since. But on the REGAL and CROWN PRINCESS, the cabins are a bit larger than on their newer fleetmates....in fact, the Regal Princess was the last of what I'd term the real low density ships in the Princess family. Whether you choose an inside or an outside standard stateroom....from among nineteen categories.....you'll get plenty of storage space, two lower beds that can be pushed together, a television, minibar, and a large closet. All cabin bathrooms, except for mini suites and suites, have showers.

The only differences among all nineteen types of rooms are....location, window, porthole or no view. Why Princess feels the need to make so many categories for the same kinds of cabins baffles me....but don't let it baffle you....if you want an outside cabin, the "FF" category is a great buy. Compounding the confusion, there are five categories of balconied standard cabins.... identical in every way....and there's less than a $60 per day per person difference between the least and most expensive. Here again, try to reserve the least expensive category "BF"......there are only two of them on board, but over the course of a week's cruise, you'll save a pile of money. Thankfully, there's only one kind of mini suite.....it comes with a private balcony, a good sized living room area, two beds that can be shoved together, and a large bathroom with tub. The top of the line "AA" suites are larger yet, but have a fixed queen bed, a separate tub and shower and a dressing room....and they are among the nicest at sea.

You'll meet all kinds here....multi repeaters, partiers, families, the young and old, the wealthy and the not so. All have one thing in common.....they are traveling in an exceedingly comfortable ship.

When the Regal Princess finishes up in Alaska in September, she'll head south, back to the Panama Canal.....and she'll partially transit that man made wonder on each of her series of ten day cruises from Ft. Lauderdale, scheduled from November through March. In April, it's back to Alaska for a summer series of seven day cruises....all round trip from Vancouver. In the late fall, Regal Princess will take up cruising where she was most probably headed during what would have been her days with Sitmar.....she'll begin Mexican Riviera service by Princess with cruises of ten nights in duration from San Diego including calls at Cabo San Lucas, Acapulco , Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo, Puerto Vallarta and Mazatlan.

If I had a direct line to the heads of Princess Cruises, I'd shout "Come on guys.....you have a great pair of ships in the Regal and Crown Princess....come to think of it, I like almost all your ships....but please, oh please, tone down the Turkish bazaar feeling. We're not all shopaholics, and I can't believe the resultant ill will you are creating among your passengers is worth the few extra dollars you're making by hounding us to buy 'til we're numb." That's my ONLY major complaint with Princess....and it's the ONLY reason I cannot assign their ships higher ratings. The food on the REGAL, though not always the best in the fleet, is edible, but the service is excellent and the atmosphere is lovely. So if you are a stronger person than I, and can pay no mind to the endless barrage of on board merchandising, I think you'll have a wonderful cruise on the Regal Princess.