Dinner Aboard Regal Princess

While Julie and I may have lunch or snacks in ports rather than doubling back to the ship, we inevitably have dinner on our floating resort.

I cannot think of an exception to us returning to our cruise ship for dinner each evening on any cruise.  With the chef's staff doing a particularly outstanding job aboard Regal Princess during our Mediterranean cruise, we secured our usual table for delicious multi-course meals for every night but one.

The only exception came on our evening at the Crown Grille, where we indulged in a gourmet meal centered by perfectly-grilled, juicy filet mignon.  We like to do that once during a Princess cruise, because a similar experience on land would be many times the price.

As always, each course was delicious, but we'll keep investigating Crowne Grille on other ships to make certain the quality remains high.  It's a hard job, but somebody's got to do it.

The dining room dinners were so excellent, it felt silly to miss a formal night feast with lobster and steak served by our usual dining friendly waitstaff to pay a bit more for that alternative dining experience, but it was worth it.

It is nice to go out on the town, as it were.  We stopped that evening at the past guest lounge, where appetizers are served that go nicely with pre-dinner cocktails. Rather than my usual wine or Guinness, I like to have a Martini on formal nights, channeling my inner James Bond.  Julie had a refreshing Vodka Cranberry.

Our standard pattern is to enjoy live music pre-dinner, whether in the atrium or other lounges, selecting the venue mostly based on what type of music we want to hear.  On this cruise, however, it seemed to be more about the whole dining experience itself, and how aperitifs and after dinner drinks fit with that.  It felt quite sophisticated, or should I say French?

In the main dining room, we would linger over each course, often having two starters, and on some occasions I ordered a second entrée, requesting a smaller portion, in lieu of a starter.  It seemed like multiple items on the menu looked enticing, and the reality proved even better.

Each morning, after checking out how the Phillies were doing in the playoffs and then the World Series--- we were in the wrong time zone to watch live games --- and perhaps the Gutfeld! monologue, I actually sent daily emails to some old friends detailing our dinners from the prior evening.

Unfortunately, my Gmail storage is so packed to the brim that my sent mails often go to trash, as was the case for all of those.  Actually, perhaps that's fortunate, because rattling off every meal here sounds like drudgery.  I remember my pal Tony replying that I was eating like royalty, or something to that effect, and frequent Princess cruiser Mike chimed in about how he enjoyed specific dishes on other cruises.

Julie and I were often too stuffed for desserts, but we'd still split one.  And then about halfway through the cruise I realized a very nice Port wine, which we had enjoyed so much in Portugal four years earlier, was also included in our beverage packages, so I ordered that with dessert a couple of times.  Julie also ordered Port a few times as an après-dinner drink in the Wheelhouse Bar.

We spent most of our daylight hours on sea days enjoying the Mediterranean sun on lounge chairs on the ship's fantail or by one of the larger pools mid-ship.  The weather throughout this cruise was close to perfect.

It's always good to remind yourself that you are at sea, a remarkable experience in its own right.

For exercise on sea days, we enjoy walking laps around the ship, which on Regal Princess can be a bit more challenging, because this newer class of ship does not have a dedicated walking/jogging loop around the Promenade Deck as on older Princess ships.  I'd call that a slight design misstep, but not a fatal flaw.

It is a fantastic ship!

With so many events happening around the ship in lovely venues, you may become so distracted that you find that you only venture outside in the ports, which would be a mistake.

Once you have made a point to enjoy being at sea, keep track of what is happening around the ship in the Princess Patter or on your Medallion app, so that you can also avail yourself to activities that are of particular interest to you personally.  For example, we like to attend a wine tasting presentation, where we learn about wines that we're unlikely to order.

After all, you are the star of your own Love Boat episode.

Do something a little bit corny every now and then, and you may find the experience of pouring champagne into a waterfall of glasses, for example, can be quite delightful.

To Julie and me, there is no better way to travel between the best destinations in the world than by cruise ship, which is why we are our own best customers.

How blessed beyond belief we have been to travel the world in style. 

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