Sassafrass

Just booked Princess Regal for a 7 day Caribbean in Feb. and so excited. I have been looking at the beautiful Regal for ages, but the itinerary is blah, so I considered Carnival Liberty with a better itinerary from San Juan or Carnival Breeze with lots of kid's stuff. Finally decided to bite the bullet and do it when Princess offered a great Captain's circle price, and when I called, they said we could book 2 other cabins at that price for family members. Really great deal! Save the other ships for another time.

We are taking DD and GD again and DH's Sister has decided to go, so a family trip. GD is over the moon about another cruise. DH's Sister has never cruised and is nervous. What fun!

It will be our first time with a balcony!

Jacket, I know you have done some of the big ships and like them. Hope we do too.

Anyone here been on Princess Royal or Regal?

Eschew

For a great view, take them to the glass bottom walkway.

jacketwatch

Congrats on the booking!

In the summer of 2014 our travel agency had a one day only sale thru Princess and it was a good deal so that is how we came to purchase our upcoming cruise in Feb. on the Sapphire and they also had Princess reps there showing video of the Royal and the Regal and I must say they looked spectacular so I think you will really enjoy this ship and probably will be spoiled now with your 1st balcony! .

What is the itinerary?

Sassafrass

The itinerary was the problem.
It is not that much, only to St Martin, St Thomas and Princess cays and three days at sea.
We have been to St Thomas (no big deal) and St Martin just to a beach, but DD and GD haven't so they will like it and I read that Princess Cays is one of the best private ship islands. I think we may take the ferry over to St John from St Thomas. Mike and I both love sea days, and I really wanted to experience this ship. The price was such that we can just make it a time to relax, swim, be with the GD, etc.

A Princess rep called and asked what they needed to do to entice us back to Princess. We did three Princess cruises our first year cruising and it is my favorite line, just not always the best for the rest of the family. I said a good price on Regal or a good itinerary. Well, we got one at least.

Now, I am off to look at the Sapphire.

jacketwatch

You could also take a ferry from St. Martin to Anguilla. It's like 20-30 mins.

The Sapphire was our 1st Princess ship in 2005 for Alaska. It was big for its time but not by today's standards and it and its sister ship the Diamond are the only Princess ships built in Japan.

jacketwatch

The link below is to a tour guide we used in St. Maarten. The price was very reasonable and the service very good. Also we had a whole bus to ourselves for the 5 of us. .
http://joyceprince.com

Sassafrass

Sapphire looks a lot like Crown, which we did as a TA on our second cruise. It is also about the same size. Beautiful, elegant ships! Love the layout and decor.

Have you done the ferry to Anguilla? Was it worth the effort? I have read that it is often a rough ferry ride between. Wouldn't want to get into a situation where we couldn't return to the ship in time.

Will read up to see what others are doing, but any opinions on what are the best things to do on St. Martin?

Sassafrass

Oh, just saw your link for joyceprince. I will look it up. Thanks

jacketwatch

The ferry to Anguilla is a short ride. We have been to St.,Martin once and we toured thru Joyce and we did not use the ferry. However you can see Anguilla from the ferry dock so I think the ride will be an easy one.

Rhea58

When in St. Martin, I usually walk back one block to
Back Street and wait until a van comes along with sign
on dash that says MARIGOT and go over to there which is
the French side...when I get out I hand the driver $2
and do the same on the return.

Sassafrass

Thanks for the tips.
Just got an email that we got an upgrade! Only the second time, ever. Both on Princess. Yea, Princess!

jacketwatch

Nice, was it to a JS?

Sassafrass

No, too bad, but it is to a better location on a better deck. Never had a balcony before, so will be happy no matter what. The cabin looks beautiful in the pictures.

jacketwatch

Hey its a free upgrade. Take it!!

hpeabody

I was on the Regal Princess about a year ago and very much enjoyed the ship. I agree, the ports are not great. If you want to get away from St Thomas (If it is overcrowded with cruise ships) head over to St John. I agree with post above on St Maarten go to Marigot and perhaps Orient Beach, but you may want to stay away from the nudist end. We missed Princess Cays due to rough seas. I have been there, It's just a kickback beach day. Princess provides BBQ lunch and there are rentals you can look into. I recommend the DIY photo tour of the cabin decks. Photos are all submissions from Princess passengers and are fantastic! Enjoy your cruise