Regal Empress - February 27, 2004

[DaCruzNut]

THE FOOD

(If you cannot see the photos, click "REFRESH")

The food quality was inconsistent. Certain dishes were excellent. On par with some of the better cruise lines. Yet, there were some items that were not very good at all. I will say that I was able to have very good meals.

The dining room had an inviting, comfy feeling. The décor was very toned-down, and warm, and the low ceilings added to the warmth coziness.

At dinner, on the first evening, I ordered the New York Strip. It was served exactly as ordered, medium-rare, and was dished up hot and fresh. The flavor was excellent, but it was a bit chewy. The side dishes consisted of nice helpings of fresh vegetables and potato, not the little, fancy, ostentatious servings on many of today’s ships. A hot baked potato, with all of the fixings, was available at every dinner, on request.

The soups were ordinary, and very commercial, while the salads were varied and interesting. The dinner rolls, for the entire cruise, consisted of the Pepperidge Farms packaged dinner rolls, with no variation. They happened to be very good, but it did get boring. A few breadsticks, and a dark roll, would have been well appreciated.

The dessert selection was small, and the choices limited, but they were excellent.

The coffee was fresh-brewed, from coffee grinds, and was consistently good. And, after dessert, we did get the “Hot, Hot, Hot†show…

I certainly found sufficient quantity of very good quality food to keep me stuffed for the entire week-end. But, this is not a cruise for a more demanding cruiser.

The service was excellent. In fact, the dining room service was among the best I have ever had! The waiter and busboy were attentive, conscientious and polite. Food was served precisely as requested, with a smile. Water and ice tea glasses were refilled before they had been emptied and soiled dishes did not remain on the table any longer than it was necessary for the busboy to ask if you were done.

On the buffet lines, waters served ALL of the dishes. A slice of ham, or cheese, was placed on your plate, as were the various salads, hot dishes, and even the rolls. As you walked down the procession, a line of waiters placed the items you chose onto your plate, with no passengers reaching for, grabbing at, and breathing on the food.

ENTERTAINMENT

The entertainment was totally disappointing. They had only one band, a three-piece affair, which doubled as the “pool band†and the “house band.†Therefore, they spent very little time at the pool. This may have been a fortuitous happening, since the band was from Eastern Europe, and were not very adept at playing the familiar island music we enjoy so poolside. As the house band, playing for the production shows, they were very good. The ship could certainly use a Caribbean band to play live music on the Lido Deck, instead of the recorded music they blasted at you.

The two production shows were of the cabaret variety which was prevalent on all cruise ships up until the late 80’s.

The dancers were very good, for what they did, and I thoroughly enjoyed their performances. The singers had exceptional voices, in both tone and range. Their ability was entirely negated by the fact that they, also, were from Eastern Europe, and had fairly heavy accents. No matter that your voice is of the highest quality, it is annoying to hear them singing “New Yoruk, New Yoruk,†or “Alexendra’s Regtime Bend….â€Â

I’d be kind to say that the entertainment, in general, was unsatisfactory.

ACTIVITIES

The Cruise Director, and his staff, provided plenty of goings-on for a short cruise. They were very pleasant and ‘mingle’ with the passengers throughout the cruise.

At the Sail-Away Party, as we left Port Everglades, they provided some classic, cruise-style, entertainment, starting with poolside horse racing and ending with hula hoops and madness. With the exception of the horse racing, this was repeated as we left Nassau.

The one thing noticeably missing was the lack of any trivia games. Maybe, because its one of the few activities that I regularly participate in, I felt that this was a negative.

The casino crew was sociable and the dealers gracious. The casino itself is rather small, and has three blackjack tables, one Caribbean Stud table, a Roulette Wheel and a more than adequate number of wide-ranging slot machines. A minor problem is that the some of the slot machines required maintenance.

The slots, however, seemed to pay off better than those in casinos, both on other ships and land-based. They appeared to be pretty “loose.â€Â

DISCUSSION

The bottom line is that I had a great cruise. I took pleasure in just walking around the ship, knowing that she was the last of a dying breed. I found gratification in sitting in a lounge, on the enclosed Promenade Deck, having a frozen thingee and meeting fellow passengers. I reveled in the aura of an old time, small, ship.

I enjoyed the food, very much, even with its minor flaws.

I was disappointed in the production shows, and find this to be a major failing on this cruise!

Would I sail on her again? Yes, I most probably will. After all, for fares starting at $179.00, per person, and with them, occasionally waiving the ‘single supplement,’ you get far more than your money’s worth.

[DaCruzNut]

THE FOOD

(If you cannot see the photos, click "REFRESH")

The food quality was inconsistent. Certain dishes were excellent. On par with some of the better cruise lines. Yet, there were some items that were not very good at all. I will say that I was able to have very good meals.

The dining room had an inviting, comfy feeling. The décor was very toned-down, and warm, and the low ceilings added to the warmth coziness.

At dinner, on the first evening, I ordered the New York Strip. It was served exactly as ordered, medium-rare, and was dished up hot and fresh. The flavor was excellent, but it was a bit chewy. The side dishes consisted of nice helpings of fresh vegetables and potato, not the little, fancy, ostentatious servings on many of today’s ships. A hot baked potato, with all of the fixings, was available at every dinner, on request.

The soups were ordinary, and very commercial, while the salads were varied and interesting. The dinner rolls, for the entire cruise, consisted of the Pepperidge Farms packaged dinner rolls, with no variation. They happened to be very good, but it did get boring. A few breadsticks, and a dark roll, would have been well appreciated.

The dessert selection was small, and the choices limited, but they were excellent.

The coffee was fresh-brewed, from coffee grinds, and was consistently good. And, after dessert, we did get the “Hot, Hot, Hot†show…

I certainly found sufficient quantity of very good quality food to keep me stuffed for the entire week-end. But, this is not a cruise for a more demanding cruiser.

The service was excellent. In fact, the dining room service was among the best I have ever had! The waiter and busboy were attentive, conscientious and polite. Food was served precisely as requested, with a smile. Water and ice tea glasses were refilled before they had been emptied and soiled dishes did not remain on the table any longer than it was necessary for the busboy to ask if you were done.

On the buffet lines, waters served ALL of the dishes. A slice of ham, or cheese, was placed on your plate, as were the various salads, hot dishes, and even the rolls. As you walked down the procession, a line of waiters placed the items you chose onto your plate, with no passengers reaching for, grabbing at, and breathing on the food.

ENTERTAINMENT

The entertainment was totally disappointing. They had only one band, a three-piece affair, which doubled as the “pool band†and the “house band.†Therefore, they spent very little time at the pool. This may have been a fortuitous happening, since the band was from Eastern Europe, and were not very adept at playing the familiar island music we enjoy so poolside. As the house band, playing for the production shows, they were very good. The ship could certainly use a Caribbean band to play live music on the Lido Deck, instead of the recorded music they blasted at you.

The two production shows were of the cabaret variety which was prevalent on all cruise ships up until the late 80’s.

The dancers were very good, for what they did, and I thoroughly enjoyed their performances. The singers had exceptional voices, in both tone and range. Their ability was entirely negated by the fact that they, also, were from Eastern Europe, and had fairly heavy accents. No matter that your voice is of the highest quality, it is annoying to hear them singing “New Yoruk, New Yoruk,†or “Alexendra’s Regtime Bend….â€Â

I’d be kind to say that the entertainment, in general, was unsatisfactory.

ACTIVITIES

The Cruise Director, and his staff, provided plenty of goings-on for a short cruise. They were very pleasant and ‘mingle’ with the passengers throughout the cruise.

At the Sail-Away Party, as we left Port Everglades, they provided some classic, cruise-style, entertainment, starting with poolside horse racing and ending with hula hoops and madness. With the exception of the horse racing, this was repeated as we left Nassau.

The one thing noticeably missing was the lack of any trivia games. Maybe, because its one of the few activities that I regularly participate in, I felt that this was a negative.

The casino crew was sociable and the dealers gracious. The casino itself is rather small, and has three blackjack tables, one Caribbean Stud table, a Roulette Wheel and a more than adequate number of wide-ranging slot machines. A minor problem is that the some of the slot machines required maintenance.

The slots, however, seemed to pay off better than those in casinos, both on other ships and land-based. They appeared to be pretty “loose.â€Â

DISCUSSION

The bottom line is that I had a great cruise. I took pleasure in just walking around the ship, knowing that she was the last of a dying breed. I found gratification in sitting in a lounge, on the enclosed Promenade Deck, having a frozen thingee and meeting fellow passengers. I reveled in the aura of an old time, small, ship.

I enjoyed the food, very much, even with its minor flaws.

I was disappointed in the production shows, and find this to be a major failing on this cruise!

Would I sail on her again? Yes, I most probably will. After all, for fares starting at $179.00, per person, and with them, occasionally waiving the ‘single supplement,’ you get far more than your money’s worth.