Chasing the Sun # 1: Off to the South Again

It won't come as any surprise to my regular readers that with the shorter days and fouler weather of winter upon us, my thoughts will turn to sun and warmer air.

Usually I take my big winter holiday after Christmas, but if someone makes me an offer I can't refuse then it may happen earlier.

That's the case here: Princess Cruises, my go-to ocean cruise line, made me a great offer for a cabin on a 7-night cruise to the eastern Caribbean -- so I cancelled my January holiday plans and I'm on my way.  The ship is one of the line's current largest class of ships, the Royal Class, and is called Regal Princess.

And here's a map showing the route of the cruise.

I'd planned to take this exact cruise on the same ship back in January, and then cancelled because of the extensive hurricane damage in St. Thomas and Sint Maarten in 2017.  I guess a lot of people are still leery of going that way, because this cruise was substantially cheaper than a comparable 7-night voyage in the western part of the Caribbean (that's where I ended up going last winter).  It's still bargain season in the eastern Caribbean by comparison -- although, according to my sources, both of these islands are well on their way back to "business as usual."

Since the cruise began in Fort Lauderdale, I went there ahead of sailing date for a few days of R&R in my favourite hotel, the Doubletree Bahia Mar Resort.  I passed that time the same way I did last winter, with plenty of walking, trips on the Water Taxi, meals in the great nearby restaurants, and lounging by -- and in -- the pool.

More on the resort:  Farther Into the Everglades

And for other things-to-do in Fort Lauderdale:  Life's a Boat in Fort Lauderdale

I also rented a car for one day, Saturday, when I wanted to do some shopping.  In sprawling, spread-out Florida you definitely need a car if you want to bounce off more than one shopping stop.  Not to mention that I wanted to go for a waterfront walk and lunch in another old favourite place, Deerfield Beach, just up the coast.

Then, on Sunday, I checked out from the hotel to join the ship.  Before leaving, I had to take a picture of the ship from my room (sorry, it's a bit on the grainy side).

I then had to return the favour when I got to my cabin by taking a picture of the hotel from the ship (it's the white tower just to the left of centre).

Time to set sail once again!  Regal Princess is undoubtedly the biggest ship I have ever set foot upon, at least by tonnage (142,229 tons and 3,560 passengers), although nowhere near the same size league as the current champions of the cruise trade.  That's fine with me.  Even this ship is bigger than I would ideally like.

There's also much less flash and dash than on some of the larger competing vessels. Princess Cruises has always maintained a more genteel, less party-like-crazy atmosphere than some cruise lines -- a "classic cruise" type of experience -- and Regal Princess definitely runs true to type.

But this vessel does have some intriguing touches, and here's one of them. It certainly intrigues me that there are people who would willingly hop on the slide rides and the like on other ships but simply cannot, will not, step out on the SeaWalk. I know that they won't -- I heard a couple of them saying so. Others can be seen shuffling nervously along the railing, averting their eyes from those see-through panels.



That glass deck doesn't deter me for a second -- because there's a railing.



That's on the ship's starboard side midships, right on the Lido Deck where the main pool is located. On the port side, the simple walkway is replaced by the SeaView Bar. Here you get to enjoy the show-bar style of the bartenders and then enjoy the view of the ocean just behind and below you -- if you sit on the side with the glass floor.



This night picture of the underside of the SeaWalk from the promenade deck shows you how far it projects from the side of the ship.

Those familiar with the cruisebiz will know that cabins right in the midships area are the most expensive on any ship. I had booked a regular balcony cabin in the cheap zone at the stern. About 6 weeks before sailing, I got an upgrade offer by email and called right away. Good thing I did. I got upgraded from that near-the-stern cabin to a larger mini-suite in the midships zone, and my original price plus the upgrade fee was well over $1000 less than the selling rate for that midships mini-suite at the time I accepted the upgrade. And who am I to complain?

Those upgrades, by the way, are offered to members of the Princess Captain's Circle. Sounds pretty damn important -- but actually, anybody who sails on one Princess cruise is automatically enrolled in the Captain's Circle, and as a Gold member, no less! It's the only loyalty programme I've ever encountered where you start at Gold and then work your way up from there. If you keep coming back for more, as I do, you eventually climb up the ladder to Ruby, Platinum, and finally to Elite.

But those upgrade offers only happen if the high-end cabins aren't sold out. As I've noted before, travellers are still showing reluctance to sail to the Eastern Caribbean. Their loss = my gain.

The central pool area has a large and a small pool, joined together by a sizable central raised flat area.



At set times in the evenings, the circular central area spouts numerous fountains, playing in sync with music and flashing coloured lights. Hence the name "Fountain Pool." I'll try to get a picture or video of one of those shows before the cruise ends.

Spectacular and splashy as it is, the Fountain Pool isn't my favourite. That distinction I award to the Retreat Pool, one deck up and farther forward. It's reserved for adults only.



Princess pioneered the large multi-storey atrium lobby way back in 1995 with the Sun Princess. The ships of the Royal Class (including the Regal Princess) have the largest atrium of any Princess ships to date. It's called the "Piazza" and is meant to recapture a bit of the atmosphere of a public square in a European town. The various bars on all three levels certainly contribute to that impression. So does the International Café on the lowest level with its specialty coffees and luscious pastries. The twin fountain pools under the staircases support the European theme too.

Undoubtedly the most intriguing feature of the ship isn't attached to the ship at all -- it's travelling around in the bottom of my pocket.

The OCEAN Medallion is a new hi-tech device being pioneered by Princess Cruises, and the company is using the Regal Princess as the test bed.  Some cabins still are not equipped with the new technology, and the bugs and kinks are still being ironed out.  So a cruise card still has to be carried and used in some settings.

The Medallion transmits an identity code wherever I go on the ship, or even ashore, and hundreds of sensors can pick up the signal.  Servers see my picture on a personal unit and can also see a list of my favourite drinks to order.  The door of my cabin matches my face to the picture in the system and unlocks automatically for me as I approach, but will refuse to open if I lose my Medallion and another person approaches with it.  It can create a custom calendar for me, take bets on virtual casino games (not that this particular function interests me), let me check my schedule or messages on touchscreens around the ship, and so much more.  The Medallion also confirms my identity whenever I leave the ship or return on board.

It came clipped to a lanyard, but I prefer to carry it in my pocket.  I could also buy a wristband which would hold the actual medallion (when taken out of its plastic case) like a wristwatch.

The whole process works hand-in-glove with an app which can be installed on a phone, tablet, or computer.  I'm using the app to track my schedule, my reservations, and my shipboard account.  Best of all, for a blogger like yours truly, the OCEAN Medallion system comes in harness with a whole new bigger, faster, internet system.  For the first time, Princess is offering Medallion users a single flat rate for internet use for the whole voyage -- and the system works just as fast as my high-speed at home.  Anyone who's struggled with glacial cruise ship internet speeds in the past can appreciate that improvement!