Regal Princess Sails Off With ‘Love’

ABOARD THE REGAL PRINCESS —  The 1,590-passenger Regal Princess, ninth member of “The Love Boat” fleet, is Princess Cruises’ most polished new ship since the 1984 debut of its Royal Princess.

The ship sold out its inaugural sailing in late August, and was filled with loyal Princess passengers and a large group of travel media. Special appearances were made by singer Jack Jones, actor Gavin MacLeod of “The Love Boat” and fashion designer Bob Mackie.

Like its sister ship Crown Princess, the Regal Princess carries a dramatic, dolphinlike profile created by Italian architect Renzo Piano, designer of Paris’ controversial Pompidou Centre.

But the starkness and angularity of some of Piano’s interior spaces have been softened and warmed on the newer ship, and there is a feeling of camaraderie and cooperation between the Italian and British crew that was absent from the Crown Princess on its debut last summer.

While the use of space is lavish, with wide corridors and extra large cabins, the public areas manage to seem intimate and, at the same time, uncrowded.

Only the top-deck Dome remains a disappointment, just as it was on the Crown Princess. While it succeeds at night, when it bustles with casino action and dance music, it fails as an observation lounge. Even though it offers the only accessible forward view on the entire ship, passengers shun it in the daytime because it is cold and cavernous.

But like its sister ships, Crown and Star princess, the Regal Princess will attract a young, lively crowd. Princess is becoming expert at giving it what it wants--free-flowing captain’s cocktail parties staged in the three-deck atrium, music for listening and dancing all over the ship, and lots of sundeck and water areas, with swim-up bars, waterfalls, swimming pools and Jacuzzis.

People who worry about having nothing to do on a cruise should stroll through the Regal Princess.

About 4 p.m. on a Monday, for instance, one swimming pool was filled with passengers taking snorkeling instruction, joggers ran the quarter-mile oval track and paddle tennis and shuffleboard games were underway.

In one corner of the Cafe del Sol, a dozen children were finishing their ice cream before starting into team games led by two youth counselors.

An elegant tea was being served by white-gloved waiters in the Palm Court restaurant to the music of a string quartet, while one deck below in the Patisserie cafe, conversations continued over cappuccino and pastries.

The Bravo pizzeria was filled with passengers around the red-and-white-checked tablecloths ordering afternoon snacks.

The matinee showing of the film “Dances With Wolves” was winding up in the Princess Theatre. A game of duplicate bridge was being played in the card room, and in the library, rows of brand-new hardback books awaited browsers.

Far below in the fitness center, an aerobics class was in full swing and sauna, steam and massage rooms were all in use.

Throughout the afternoon and evening, eight different musical groups hold sway, from the calypso band on deck to the Double Vision duo in the Dome and casino high atop the ship in the “dolphin brow.”

After-dinner shows included a dazzling new musical production, “A Night On the Town.”

The magnificent contemporary art collection aboard the ship includes works by artists Robert Motherwell, Richard Diebenkorn, David Hockney, Frank Stella, Helen Frankenthaler, James Rosenquist and Laddie John Dill.

The Palm Court dining room is filled with pastel wall murals of English gardens. Pasta specialties are served daily. Both food and service have improved considerably since a recent catering reorganization.

All the cabins aboard are unusually large, each measuring 190 square feet or more, with mini-refrigerator, color TV, dressing room, spacious closet and specially commissioned artwork. Many have private balconies as well.

The grandest staterooms are suites with private balconies, dressing rooms and marble bathrooms with separate tubs and showers. A wide wooden archway divides the bedroom and its king-size bed from the living room, which has a sofa, coffee table, chairs and desks. There are two TV sets, along with a mini-refrigerator and a stocked bar.

The smaller mini-suites have a sitting area with loveseat and chairs, twin or queen-size beds, mini-refrigerator and marble bathroom with tub/shower combination.

Four cabins designated for the disabled have accessible, extra-spacious bathrooms.

The Regal Princess sails on alternate Saturdays from Ft. Lauderdale to the eastern and western Caribbean.

Ports of call on the eastern itineraries include Nassau, San Juan and St. Thomas, with a beach day at Princess Cays, a private island in the Bahamas. Western Caribbean ports of call include Princess Cays, Montego Bay, Grand Cayman, Playa del Carmen and Cozumel. The Crown Princess follows the same itineraries on alternate weeks.

With so many sports-minded passengers aboard, the fastest-selling shore excursions were the New Waves watersports programs for snorkeling and scuba ($23 to $60), a seven-hour beach horseback ride in Puerto Rico with swimming and a beach barbecue ($80), deep-sea fishing ($120), a charter-your-own sailboat ($192 for a 36-foot sloop carrying six), golf at Mahogany Run on St. Thomas ($78 for 18 holes) and an all-day hike in the Puerto Rican rain forest of El Yunque ($65).

Fares for the seven-day sailings are $1,295 to $3,095 per person, double occupancy, including round-trip air fare. Passengers who book early enough to get one of a limited number of “Love Boat Saver” cabins, available on a first-come, first-served basis, without air fare included, can travel for fares starting at $895 per person.

For details and reservations, contact a travel agent or Princess Cruises, 10100 Santa Monica Blvd., Los Angeles 90067, (213) 553-1770.