Travels with Terri

In September, Rick, myself, and five friends from the US took a cruise to the British Isles onboard The Love Boat. The TV series was filmed on a real Princess Cruise ship (Pacific Princess) which was decommissioned in 2002 and sold for scrap in 2013. Our ship, the Regal Princess, features a display case with photos of the cast and other memorabilia. In 2014, cast members Gavin MacLeod, Bernie Kopell, Ted Lange, Lauren Tewes, Fred Grandy, and Jill Whelan took part in the naming ceremony of the ship.

An elegant and traditional cruise ship, the Regal Princess holds up to 3,560 guests with a crew of 1,346 and weighs 284,458,000 pounds (142,229 tons). At 1,083 feet (330 meters) in length it is slightly longer than the Eiffel Tower is from the ground to the top. Its height of 217 feet (66 meters) is similar to the Coit Tower in San Francisco. Our well-appointed deluxe balcony cabin featured a queen-size bed with ample storage underneath, a sofa, mini fridge, a desk and chair, a flat screen TV, and a balcony with two chairs and a small table.

We booked the Princess Premier Package which included onboard Wi-Fi, crew appreciation, and unlimited premium beverages, specialty dining, fitness classes, and premium desserts. The free room service delivery was a nice perk for both breakfast in our cabin and snacks throughout the day and evening. I loved the OceanNow delivery where you could have food and beverages delivered to any location on the ship by using your Princess medallion and phone app! During the cruise we ate at the Crown Grill Steakhouse three times. Both their filet mignon and grilled lobster tail were amazing and a special treat since both are difficult to find in Portugal. As an appetizer for every meal, I had the shrimp cocktail. Each restaurant had a slightly different version, but they all came with traditional cocktail sauce (ketchup and horseradish.) The Italian food at Sabatini’s was excellent, especially the lasagna and ossobuco. The desserts varied by dining venue and while all were quite good, the best cakes on the ship were in The Pastry Shop inside Horizon Bistro. We also ate several times at the Ocean Terrace Seafood Bar which serves both traditional and fusion-style sushi.

While we didn’t see any production shows while on the ship, we enjoyed a variety of solo performers, duets, and trios who played folk, jazz, and classical music. My favorite was a traditional Irish band with dancers who performed on the Piazza. The music, dancing, and costumes were terrific, and the Piazza was standing room only. A solo singer and guitar player who performed nightly at the Wheelhouse Bar had a lovely voice and she played a great variety of both newer and older songs. We also saw a comedian at the Vista Lounge who was very entertaining and had us laughing non-stop. The only act we found a bit disappointing was the Illusionist at the Princess Theater. While he and his wife performed some amazing illusions, when he sawed her in half, it was obvious that her feet and arms were fake. I have seen much better illusion acts on America’s Got Talent (AGT). But otherwise, we found the entertainers to be quite good.

Cover: Piazza on the Regal Princess (aka The Love Boat)

In my next blog, we take a private group tour of Belfast. Stay tuned!