My first Cruise - Getting my Sea Legs
Written: Nov 27 '02 (Updated Nov 05 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very friendly staff and great service
Cons: boat smaller than I thought it would be; Rooms not very good; lousy entertainment
The Bottom Line: A good cruise for those on a budget... I wasn't impressed.
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| Candice923's Full Review: Regal Empress |
November 11 - November 15, I went on a 5 day, 4 night cruise on the Regal Empress. It left from Port Manatee, FL and went to Cozumel, Mexico. I had never been to Mexico nor on a cruise before, so I was pretty excited about going. My mom and sister happened to go on a cruise a couple of years ago on one of the bigger lines, and had an absolutely AMAZING time. I was looking forward to the same thing.
The purpose of this trip, however, was not primarily leisure. I was filming a movie with my father's company, B.C. Entertainment. Part of the movie was filmed on the Regal Empress. Since I'm one of the supporting leads, I wasn't able to enjoy a whole lot of the cruise. When I had the chance, however, I took advantage of as much as I possibly could.
Let me talk about the food, first. The food was fantastic, although it was not up to the standard my mom and sister gushed about. There was a lunch buffet every day, which left much to be desired: A choice of pizza, sandwiches and some salads. There was also a sit down lunch for the second through fourth days, which offered several different choices of hot entrees and desserts. Dinner was always a sit down affair with a choice of at least three appetizers, two soups and five entrees. There was a vegetarian choice every night, for those that wanted it. The food was very good, and the servers were incredibly accommodating.
The first room I went into was U53. I requested one full-sized bed. Unfortunately, this room had two twin beds across the room from each other. I went to the Passenger Service Desk, and they moved me to room U68. The room had one bed, which was fine. Unfortunately, they neglected to inform us that I was next to the "disco" (which I will get into later). After going to bed at 11pm, I was awakened by this loud thumping and music from next door at half past midnight. Again, I called Passenger Services, and they moved us to cabin U8. I slept through the night, only to not receive my wake up call the next morning. Fortunately, I woke up in time to throw on my clothes and sprint to the breakfast meeting.
Later in the day, I returned to cabin U8 and was greeted by this awful, awful smell. It stank like something had died in the room. I was with my friend, Brian, and he noticed it right away. We tried to wash out the smell in the bathroom, but to no avail. The steward came in, and when he opened the bathroom door he started gagging.
Needless to say, I was moved again. This time, I was fortunate enough to be moved to a suite, cabin U105. It was quite large with a great view of the sea. That was the last time I moved while on the ship.
There were some shore excursions, which I wasn't able to take advantage of. I was, however, able to take the tender to the port of Cozumel, Mexico, where I shopped a little. Truthfully, I was disappointed with Cozumel, but that's isn't Regal's fault.
The "entertainment" was pathetic, and not many people took advantage of it. I would receive an itinerary of the next day so we could choose what we wanted to do. Every night, they offered a disco, which consisted of loud music and expensive drinks. Not impressive at all. During the day, there were games, crafts, and gambling (I'll get to the casino next). Some of the girls from the film and I played Family Feud one day and won... a pin for each of us and a discount coupon. They had Bingo as well for cash.
The casino was TINY. It had half of a dice table, 2 blackjack tables, one Caribbean Stud Poker table and a roulette table. There were 8 nickle machines, and maybe 25 other machines. They also sold pull-tabs, which I had absolutely NO luck on. The ATM charged a $6 service fee.
The last night was the best. There was a Karaoke Night in the Mermaid Lounge... Which lasted all of an hour and a half. It was PACKED, and we all begged for them to extend it, but they wouldn't listen. As soon as the "MC" started to sing, the place cleared out. Very disappointing.
The Regal Empress served its purpose. I'm sure that this is on the lower end of cruises... My mom and sister went on Carnival and told so many incredible stories. I was hoping for the same experience, but it just didn't happen. I look forward to having another cruise to compare it to.
Recommended:
No
Best Suited For: Seniors
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Epinions.com ID:
Candice923
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Location: Brookhaven, NY
Reviews written: 707
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