A Fourteen Day Trans-Atlantic Princess Cruise

Leaving from Ft.Lauderdale Port

A Fourteen day trans-atlantic Princess cruise was on the menu, now that a land vacation seemed out of the question because of Covid concerns and different international procedures. Beyond a 5 days Bahama’s cruise on Carnival in 2016, we had not done much cruising except for some Caribbean Tallship Trips when Windjammer Barefoot Charters operated several Tall Ships like the Polynesia and the Mandalay in the Caribbean Islands. Actually that’s how we met, when TJ had booked a graduation present for her son Drew on the Polynesia, departing from St.Maarten.

Since May 2019 we manage a summer boutique hotel on Beaver Island in northern Lake Michigan which means we have the 6 winter months off to do whatever we like to do. Taking care of guests in the summer time meant to us that during our winter travels we should bathe in the luxury of at least one long cruise where others would take care of our needs. We quickly surmised that on our salary, cruises would be the only real “luxury” that fits our budget, especially because we would book in what is considered the Off Season for cruises, such as February/March. The previous year (2020/2021) we couldn’t travel internationally because the world was locked up in a global Covid-19 pandemic, but this year (2022) we had received our shots and were ready for some real discovery.

Considerations for a final cruise choice were:

Transatlantic, because we figured most guests would be adventure seekers and water lovers and
There would be few kids on board as the cruise was scheduled during school days
We would end up in Europe with the choice to go from Barcelona to our newfound favorite destination Portugal.
We both love being on the water, preferably out of sight of land. We deeply believe in the water’s power to absorb stress.

For our adventure we booked the Regal Princess from Ft. Lauderdale to Barcelona, Spain via scheduled port visits at Madeira, Cadiz, Malaga and Mallorca. Inclement weather forced us away from planned ports such as Gibraltar and Barranquilla, but changes come with the territory (ocean weather) as we have learned since.

A couple of days into the cruise, Russia started a full scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, which created an immediate tension aboard the ship that hosted a number of entitled Russian guests while a substantial serving staff on the ship originated from Ukraine. To stop potential unpleasantness, the captain demanded respect from all parties.

The first 7 days were on the water without any land insight. This was also the time to learn about the ship’s lay-out, the crew members that interact with you during the voyage, the “cool” people aboard and the best times for breakfast, lunch and dinner (and late night snacks, if so desired). With the technology of the Princess Medallion system, it is very easy to find where you need to go, where you are and what is offered in various parts of this huge ship.

At the time of this voyage we were still smokers, so we first had to find the areas where smoking was allowed. Turned out that the Regal Princess had the best smokers’ accommodations of all their ships, a beautiful 180 degrees nicely furnished seating area on the upper back deck 17. Here is also where we found the cool people. We spent a lot of those first seven days on that deck, that conveniently was also close to the buffet dining areas. Here is where we befriended architect John from Miami, his friend Doctor ? who spent his retirement in Mexico and X, who was a very outgoing gay friend from the Westcoast, traveling with his mother and an aunt. His escapades were absolutely hilarious. We also befriended cute New York China transplant Eva, who kept on traveling for years after the cruise, before returning to New York temporarily. Her parents have a nail salon in the City, so following her cultural disposition as she called it, she offered to do TJ’s nails for Captain’s Dinner. Another beautiful connection was made with the smoking deck’s attendant from India, Stella who claimed to be on her last cruise voyage, as her Indian wedding was planned for later that year. It turned out that because of Covid, the dining areas now offered service, rather than strictly buffet spreads with self service. We liked it, primarily we could ask the chefs, cooks and servers the specifics of the multi-ethnic dishes on display. Oh and yes, during mandatory testing on the 4th day Han once again tested a false positive. When they brought the news I quickly left the room as to not get infected and being sequestered to a sick bay. Turned out that it was once again a false positive.

Destination Tours

We are not big destination tour-trip buyers because we like to venture out ourselves at destinations, easily making friends and acquaintances with locals and visitors alike. Unless there is a major language barrier or exclusivity factor involved, we use taxis and other locally available transportation to get around. Google Maps is a great app to have on your phone. It is super important however to realize that if you go on your own into a destination, to make sure to be back onboard before the ship departs. If you’re not, you’ll have to find your own transportation to the next port of call!!! If you buy a cruise ship package you don’t have that problem.