INSIDE VIEW:
WHAT SETS REGAL APART
A conversation with Hotel General Manager
Michael Prasse
Of
REGAL PRINCESS
by Richard H. Wagner
WHAT SETS REGAL APART
A conversation with Hotel General Manager
Michael Prasse
Of
REGAL PRINCESS
by Richard H. Wagner
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Hotel General Manager Prasse alternates between directing the hotel operation on Royal Princess and on Regal Princess. They are not only the largest ships in the Princess fleet but the second largest (behind Queen Mary 2) in the overall Carnival family. However, Mr. Prasse points out that it is not just the size of these ships that sets them apart.
“Its a nice size ship. We do carry more people but you don't get that feeling. That is the most beautiful thing about the Royal and the Regal, they are big ships, we get large amounts of guests but you don't get that feeling on here.” There are two interrelated reasons for this. First, the ship's public space is divided into numerous relatively small venues. “The lounges are all pretty intimate. You go to Vines, it is nice and small over there. You go to the Wheelhouse, Sabbatini's, wherever you go, there are like little pockets. So you don't get like a mass in any one particular place.” “Even the dining rooms - - those big pillars, the tulip lights, break up the room so you don't see a huge room. I've worked for other cruise lines where you may have three dining rooms stacked on top of one another and all you see is people and the noise travels. This is intimate and classic.” Second, much thought has been given to how people move around the ship. “There is really good flow - - even the way the Horizon Court is done with the different food lines and the dessert line somewhere else. There is always a flow of people everywhere but not a lot in one spot. That was the theory behind it and it works quite well.” “For the guest other than staterooms, the majority [of venues] are located on {Decks] 5, 6, or 7. If you walk along 7 you will find something to do. You don't have to go here, you don't have to go there. Some of other ships, you will have a lounge here, a lounge there, a restaurant here, a restaurant there. But everything is really thought out. Again, it goes back to that flow.” With regard to people movement, one criticism that was voiced about Royal Princess when the ship entered service was that there are long waits for the mid-ship elevators. On Regal Princess, the elevators were programmed differently and the elevators are not an issue. “It is the best configuration that we can. We tried and we tried and this is the best configuration. I think we will have elevator issues after a boat drill when we are trying to get everybody to take their life jackets back, that kind of thing. Other than that I don't really hear about the elevators anymore. The Royal I still do but not the Regal. The Royal it is [due to] social media. People have a perceived issue before they get aboard. If it is perceived [as an issue] before you get here, it will be [an issue] when you are [aboard].” 
Above: Mr. Prasse participating as one of the "coaches' in Voice of the Ocean.
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Entertainment
“We have a lot going on on the Regal. It is the flagship. Still, the newest [Princess] ship. The entertainment, particularly on the Regal, is second to none. The shows are probably the best in the fleet. 'Fierr' is definitely a superior, well-thought out show for the singers and dancers. Sit in the middle, it is the best because you are right [in front of] the LED screen and [thus will get the most from] those special effects . For instance, in the Ferris wheel [scene], it will feel like you are actually on the Ferris wheel.” “The best technology. It is just cutting edge. We are the only two ships that have the Princess Live theater, which is a high definition TV studio. It is about a $7 million investment. That is where the [cruise director's daily] Wake Show is filmed. That is where we do Love and Marriage.” In addition to having a studio audience, guests can watch these shows in their staterooms. Speaking of the stateroom televisions, “we have video on demand TV which is phenomenal.” In addition to several live television channels, there are a host of movies, television shows and documentaries available with a click of the remote. “They are all complimentary, we don't charge for any movies. You can pause it, you can rewind. You don't keep going to your cabin at the same time each night and find the same piece of a movie that you have seen 15 times already [on the television].” There is also entertainment happening during the day and evening in the Piazza at the base of the ship's atrium. “It is like you go to the square in a little Italian town where everybody brings their tables and chairs out and plays cards or plays bocce. That is what that is and that is why we run entertainment out there 12 to 15 hours a day of some sort. That's the heart of the ship.” Outdoors, “our Movies Under The Stars, phenomenal screen and sound. We have a fountain [in the main pool area] so we can do fountain shows, weather permitting, of course. ” “We do a lot of testing stuff as well.” For example, Regal recently debuted Voice of the Ocean, a seagoing version of the popular television show, The Voice. “We have the rights from them. Its a big, big investment.” Dining Princess has long had a reputation for good food. On Regal, guests can experience the work of celebrity chocolatier Norman Love and will soon have the benefits of celebrity chef Curtis Stone's input into the dining. “We do 25,000 meals a day to the level that we do. You go to the Horizon Court, you have a fabulous meal. You go to Sabatini's you have a fabulous meal. You go to the dining rooms, you have a fabulous meal. 25,000 meals. There is no hotel, no resort would be producing those kind of numbers.” Attitude “I think we have the friendliest crew out there and it is a genuine friendly. Everybody has got pools, everybody has lovely dining rooms, everybody has beautiful boutiques, what makes the cruise ship alive is the crew. I'm very proud of them. We treat you like royalty. We definitely love the guests." |
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Cruise ship interview - - Princess Cruises - - Regal Princess - - Hotel General Manager Michael Prasse