Regal (Princess)
Trip Summary
My in-laws have long been fans of the Princess cruise line, so when my husband and I took our first family cruise together, we decided to finally try it. We were experienced cruisers, having been on several Carnival and Royal Caribbean cruises, but we had never felt the urge to try Princess because we had heard the routes were expensive (and they are–much more than the other cruise lines we had traveled on previously).
But they had the route my mother-in-law wanted. Her dream was to go to Russia one day, so we saved up and booked the the 11-day Scandinavia and Russia cruise on the Regal Princess.
One of the nice things about Princess is that they are generous about their military benefit program. Depending on the length of your cruise, you can get $50-$250 on onboard credit per service member (including veterans), and with my husband being prior military, this was a nice bonus. After watching the calendar countdown for what seemed like forever, we were finally on our way! It would be our first time seeing many of these countries, and we were excited!
The cruise left out of Warnemunde, Germany, so after spending a few days in Berlin (to see our trip summary of Berlin, click here), we took the Princess transport to our departure port. It’s about a two hour and forty minute drive from Berlin, but the transport van was comfortable, and the barley fields were all blooming, so it was a fun sight to see all the yellow fields pass by as we made our way through the countryside. (Ship transports cost extra and usually we just Uber or take a taxi, but this transport distance was much longer than usual, and Warnemunde is a very small city, so it didn’t have the same public transportation options as a bigger city).
When we arrived to the loading dock, the Regal Princess waited in its full glory. The Princess ships are big and hefty vessels and are well looked after–we could see that the closer we got!
Check-in was quick, and we were one of the first transport groups to arrive, so we beat most of the crowds. My husband and I had booked an interior cabin (our usual choice for cruise ships–and with Princess being a more expensive cruise line, this was really the only option we could do). But imagine our surprise (and delight!) when they told us at check-in that we had been upgraded! To a balcony! We had never been on a cruise balcony before, and when we settled in our room on the back end of the ship, we saw that our balcony was actually bigger than the majority of the ones on the ship (the ones on the back of the ship have about twice as much depth as the ones on the sides of the ship).
After celebrating our fantastic stroke of luck at having a free upgrade, we started exploring the ship. Being one of the first groups on the ship definitely has it benefits because then you can see how pretty all the rooms are when they are empty.
We found the auditorium where the stage shows would be held, the entertainment room where the bingo games and art auctions would be, the piazza, and the top deck where we could watch the approaching ports when we weren’t on our balcony.
However, this would be the only time we would ever see these places even remotely empty which brings me to the reason this beautiful ship loses major points for me. The ship was packed far beyond capacity–more than any other ship I had ever been on–and it made the onboard experience extremely unpleasant. At one point, we had even asked some of the crew members how full the ship was, and we got several different answers. 110% beyond capacity. 115% beyond capacity. I don’t know the real number, but it was way too much.
You noticed this the most when going to communal areas. Even though we sailed in June, the countries we visited were cold and rainy, so no one used the top decks during the cruise. That meant everyone was inside, so the gym was overflowing with people, the auditoriums for the shows were much too small to accommodate everyone, and the buffet during meal times was an absolute madhouse. It’s one thing for a ship to be crowded and full of polite people, but the crowding on the boat just seemed to give everyone the “every man for himself” mentality. This caused people to push in line, snap at each other, and just ruin the experience for everyone around them.
At one of the stops, the passengers had to tender into the port, and this was as equally comical as the throngs of passengers pushed their way into the boats and then wouldn’t let you sit in any of the seats next to them because they were saving them for their friends and family. People were so rude about it, too, yelling and laying their feet over the seats they wanted, and the staff just didn’t seem to care. It made for an exceptionally trying time not to be rude back, but gracious, the people on this cruise! Even writing about it years later makes me irritated at how rude everybody was…
Near the end of the cruise, my husband and I (and his family) started just going really, really early to shows and meals and gave up on working out during the cruise. One night, we visited the Crown Grill, one of the specialty dining areas, just to get away from the chaotic communal dining areas, and while it was a nice dinner, it did cost extra for the experience. Eating in relative peace and quiet and actually having seats available without a swarm of other people rushing and grabbing at everything around us really opened our eyes to just how ridiculous the whole over-capacity situation was on the boat. It couldn’t be safe for emergency procedures and absolutely ruined the experience for everyone else trying to enjoy their cruise.
At one point, we considered spending a lot of our time in The Sanctuary, which is an adults-only spot on the ship that we imagined would be quieter, but then we saw that there is an additional charge for each person who decides to go there. They have half and full-day passes, but both were expensive (even more expensive on sea days), and we didn’t want to spend more money on an already expensive trip.
The situation became very frustrating, because we really liked other parts of the cruise (the shows we did see were fun, especially the Tenors of Rock–they are actually playing in Vegas now, so that gives you an idea of the caliber of the shows on this cruise!). The ship was also clean and pretty, and we really enjoyed the free balcony upgrade. The overcrowding, though, negated a lot of the positive features of this cruise. It is not pleasant (or safe) to cram so many people on a ship like this one, so the grade for this cruise slips quite a bit.
Regal Princess Ship (Scandinavia and Russia itinerary): B-
However, we would end up trying Princess again a few years later on one of their Alaska itineraries…but sadly, a lot of the same problems (and new ones!) surfaced, so I can’t say that I am the biggest fan of the cruise line. They have beautiful ships and good entertainment, but the excessive overcrowding issue sealed the grade for me.
Favorite Experiences
As you can imagine, my favorite experiences on the ship were when I could get some space away from the crowds! One of these times was in the Crown Grill. The dinner there was nice, the service excellent, and the food was delicious.
The other time was toward the end of the cruise when the sun finally started to come out, and we could enjoy our balcony more. The sun stayed out until late at night, so it was peaceful watching the water pass by and seeing sights like the Oresund Bridge as we passed under it.
Those times were serene and differed so much from the other times on the ship, so they definitely stand out as being the best parts of the cruise!
What I Wish I Knew
Having cruised before, some of the things I wish I knew are just going to be new tips to add in the repertoire. If you cruise (Princess or otherwise), selecting My Time Dining is always the best bet, because you are free to eat meals at your own schedule. If we wanted to see shows, we would have to get there super early which meant early dining times, too, so this was the easiest option for that.
Cruises also offer a lot of extra add-ons like drink plans, but we never buy those as they tend to be cost-prohibitive. There are some free drinks on board like water, juices, coffee, and tea. You can also bring up to 12 cans of non-alcoholic beverages onboard as well as two bottles of wine (though, if you enjoy it anywhere other than your room, you have to pay a corkage fee). If you bring water bottles, there are stations in the buffet area where you can refill them (which I recommend especially before excursions as the bottles of water that they sell right before you get off the ship are outrageously expensive).
Occasionally, the ship will have tastings (some free, some not) and sometimes, there is something like a Captain’s Party or a welcome aboard event where they serve champaign. You can also order drinks individually, and that is what we typically do as even though they are expensive, the drink plans are far more so, and you have to each buy one (many cruise lines are enforcing this rule now as too many people were sharing drinks with their friends and family off of one drink card). Some cruise lines offer varying drink plans among members of the same cabin, but you have to call, and in some cases provide a doctor’s note that you do not drink alcohol and they will allow you to have a soda plan while your partner has the premium drink plan. However, we have never bothered with this as it just sounds like a hassle and would still cost more money than we wanted to spend. Remember, I am a teacher after all, ha!
Also, we rarely buy the internet plans. Unless you are working on board or have an emergency, free wifi is readily available in a lot of ports. Restaurants and shops will usually have their wifi password printed on the front register, so if you need to check your email or whatever, that is an easy (and free) way to do so.
There are also paid things you can enjoy on the ship like spa services, exercise and dance lessons, casino games, and various activities, but there are a lot of free things, too. All the shows including the game shows (which are a lot of fun–especially the Love and Marriage show) are free, activities like the climbing wall are (usually) free, and the various activities like towel-making demonstrations, product demonstrations (like make-up and such), and drawings are free. You can make a cruise cheaper or more expensive depending on a lot of factors, so just something to keep in mind.
To cut down on expenses, we’ll carry our own water bottles and snacks to excursions and pack a lot of the essentials we think we’ll need on the ship (see Travel Tips). Things like suntan lotion, eye drops, and aspirin are marked up in price on the ship, so it is good to have stuff like this already handy.
You can also lessen a lot of your worry by arriving to your debarkation port the day before the ship leaves. We do this for all of our international cruises, and it has definitely helped, because you never know what is going to happen–being delayed, losing a bag, forgetting an important item, getting over jet lag. An extra day is always good, and this way, you aren’t rushing to the ship before it leaves.
All tips aside, I’ve been on some truly great cruises, so if you want to read about some of my favorites, check out the Cruise Ship page!
