Travel Weekly cruise editor Fran Golden took her teenage
daughter on a four-night New York-Canada budget cruise offered by
Regal Cruises. Her report follows:
ABOARD THE REGAL EMPRESS -- Sometimes it's important to remember
you get what you pay for. A trip on Regal Cruises' Regal Empress is
a case in point. The budget line -- or value line, as officials of
the firm prefer to call it -- offers a low-end cruise experience.
However, that doesn't mean the experience is unenjoyable. A lot
depends on attitude and expectations.
My daughter, Erin, who accompanied me on the voyage, loved
nearly every minute of her time on board. And I admit, even though
there were several obvious flaws, the ship itself has an appealing
design, and I, too, enjoyed aspects of our voyage.
The 610-foot Regal Empress was built in Scotland in the early
1950s, and maintains a lot of character from that Golden Age of
shipbuilding in such surprises as its fabulous wood-paneled
library, and in small details like the etched glass mirrors in the
dining room and Mermaid Lounge, sunken seating areas in the
Commodore Lounge, varnished wood floors on the Promenade Deck and
the occasional Art Deco light fixture, potted tree or other classic
flourish. But even as we checked in for our cruise, a process that
was efficient but not necessarily friendly, I started to see minor
problems, some of which later became full-fledged annoyances.
Going up to the enclosed Promenade Deck to have lunch, and
standing in a buffet line for 10 minutes to do so, we discovered
the deck area itself was hotter than the food being served. And the
food itself was unappealing on a hot day, with such featured
entrees as beef stew and fried fish. There were small, cold
sandwiches offered, as well, but a sign pointing to a salad bar led
to nowhere. Lines continued to be a problem throughout our cruise,
with the ship packed near capacity with about 1,050 passengers
(capacity is about 1,100).
Our stateroom was in the minisuite category and provided plenty
of space for the two of us, with ample closet space, two windows, a
seating area, a minirefrigerator, a hairdryer and a television
showing CNN. All in all the cabin was a fine place to relax or curl
up with a book. The shower was a particular annoyance, flooding the
bathroom every time we used it, with the water taking a good 10
minutes to drain. At one point, we took consecutive showers and
found the room so flooded that the bathroom trash can had floated
up and over, dumping its contents on the floor.
The crowd on the Regal Empress during our cruise was made up
mostly of families and couples, with some singles, a demographic
that appeared to average somewhere in the 40s age range. There also
were children, twentysomethings and seniors, and on board there was
a party ambience. Many passengers were New Yorkers, including a
number of people from Chinatown, where apparently three agencies
are aggressively selling the product. Public address messages on
our cruise were delivered in English and Chinese.
Dress is casual; shorts and other comfortable attire were the
standard during the day. People dressed up slightly for dinner,
with casual attire suggested on most nights. Formal night featured
party attire, with very few wearing tuxedos or evening gowns.
Dinner is served in the Caribbean Dining Room, and the menu
always includes a pasta, a light and a vegetarian entree along with
more traditional offerings. The waiters and bus staff in the dining
room were efficient, promptly bringing Erin's milk whenever we sat
down, the wine steward joking with her nightly, to her delight,
about whether she wanted wine. The dining room staff also does
hokey dance performances at some meals, an offering passengers
seemed to take delight in.
The Promenade Deck proved to be a great place to play a game or
sit and chat, although smokers seemed to incongruously also like
the enclosed space. On the other side of the enclosed deck there
are a few video games, candy and soft drink machines and both a
shuffleboard and Ping Pong area, the latter of which became a
teenage hangout of sorts. The pool area and outside deck often was
a noisy gathering place, with people drinking and listening to the
ship's steel drum or one-man band, who played on alternate days.
The children's program seemed geared toward younger children, and
Erin showed little interest in it. She did love, however, playing
Family Feud with an ad hoc group that became our "family" for the
hour-long contest.
A wonderful surprise on the cruise was the stage show. Although
the configuration of the main lounge area is not ideal for viewing,
the Broadway review was entertaining, with well-done excerpts that
included such shows as "Miss Saigon," "Guys and Dolls," and "Joseph
and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat," in addition to more
standard fare. Also featured was a well-done Bob Fosse dance number
from "Sweet Charity."
Another plus was the route itself, which passed through the
scenic Cape Cod canal on its way to and from the North.
Unfortunately, fog delayed our entrance into the canal on the way
out, and our arrival at our first port of call, Provincetown, Mass.
Debarkation on tenders seemed to take an awfully long time, with
the crew appearing confused and put out by the delays. But once on
land Erin and I had more than enough time to walk and shop and
otherwise poke around the town. Shore excursions in Provincetown
were reasonably priced and included whale-watching trips and
historical tours.
Our route to St. Andrews also took the ship on a gloriously
scenic path. But, unfortunately, delayed by fog again and running
hours behind, the ship smashed into the pier at St. Andrews,
getting a seven-foot gash in its bow above the water line.
Officials later blamed the incident on rapidly changing currents.
The accident was so minor, most passengers were unaware it had
happened until they had departed the vessel for shore excursions.
No one was injured.
We went off on a fabulous sea kayaking excursion in a quiet
harbor, offered at $57 per person, including a boiled lobster
lunch, and then went on to see quaint St. Andrews.
Despite running hours behind schedule, the ship headed to
Newport, R.I., its third port of call. It arrived so late at night
that all shore excursions had to be canceled. The line did
orchestrate some free one-hour bus tours, a move that seemed
designed to occupy passengers so supplies could be loaded for the
ship's next cruise.
The ship subsequently arrived hours late in New York the next
day, with passengers from our cruise leaving while passengers for
the next sailing were waiting to get on. All passengers on our
sailing were offered a 25% discount on their next Regal cruise for
their inconvenience. Some 35% of Regal Cruises' guests are repeat,
and officials are quick to point out that the line's pricing is
realistic.
The fender-bender we encountered on our cruise is rare, and the
bottom line is as long as you're not expecting more, the Regal
Empress can provide some fun and R&R at sea.