Today is Monday, 2 November 2026, and Regal Princess leaves Fort Lauderdale on Sunday, 8 November. If you’ve been dithering over whether this ship, this corner of the Caribbean and this slightly-awkward-shoulder-season window is for you, congratulations: you are officially in the “decide now” zone. The full sailing list lives on the Regal Princess itineraries page. This piece answers the harder question: should you actually go?
Regal Princess This Autumn: Quick Reference
| Detail | What to know |
|---|---|
| Ship | Regal Princess (built 2014, Princess Royal class) |
| Season | Autumn 2026, sailings from 8 November to 20 December |
| Region | Caribbean / Bahamas |
| Typical lengths | 6, 8 and 14 nights |
| Home port | Fort Lauderdale (Port Everglades) |
| CDC inspection score | 98 out of 100 (inspected 19 June 2026) |
The Ship: Character and Who It Suits
Regal Princess is a 142,714-gross-ton, 18-deck resort carrying 3,560 passengers and 1,350 crew. That works out to roughly 2.6 guests per crew member, for the spreadsheet people. She is a near twin of Royal Princess, and she is the classic “big, polished, mainstream” Princess experience rather than a flashy theme-park ship.
The signature features are the three-deck Piazza (the atrium, with the 24-hour International Café at its heart), the adults-only Sanctuary, Movies Under the Stars at the pool, and a Broadway-style Princess Theatre. Specialty dining includes Crown Grill for steaks and Sabatini’s for Italian, both at an extra charge.
A word on that “refurbished 2025” line in our records. The 2025 yard stay on record was a late-April dry dock in Rotterdam for engine work, including a 92-ton engine block replacement. Princess framed that as essential maintenance, not a glam makeover. So expect a well-kept 12-year-old, not a ship that’s just been given a new personality.
It suits: first-time and second-time cruisers, multigenerational groups, couples who want a bit of polish, and anyone who likes a ship with enough nooks to escape the crowd. It suits less: people who want a boutique, small-ship hush, or those allergic to a ship of this size at embarkation. For more detail on the ship itself, see the Regal Princess ship page.
The Itineraries and Which One to Pick
Our database has full port lists only for the 14-night sailings, and none for the 6- and 8-night ones. The port lists below for those sailings come from third-party timetables for the exact dates. Those aren’t Princess’s own schedule, so confirm before booking. They also show one wrinkle: for the Bahamas stop, our records list Princess Cays, while the timetables show Celebration Key on these dates. Check which one your sailing has.
- 6-night Eastern Caribbean (8 Nov, 22 Nov, 6 Dec, 20 Dec): The 8 and 22 November sailings show Celebration Key, Grand Turk and Nassau. By the same timetables, the 6 December sailing swaps in Celebration Key, Amber Cove and Grand Turk, and the 20 December sailing goes back to Celebration Key, Grand Turk and Nassau.
- 8-night Southern Caribbean with Aruba (14 Nov): Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Aruba.
- 8-night Eastern Caribbean (28 Nov): St. Maarten, San Juan, Amber Cove and Grand Turk.
- 8-night Southern Caribbean (12 Dec): Amber Cove, Aruba and Curaçao.
- 14-night “Adventurer” sailings: These are two shorter cruises stitched together. The 8 November 14-night, for example, is the 6-night route followed by the 14 November 8-night route. The ship stops in Fort Lauderdale midway (about 06:00 to 15:00), so you stay on board.
By my count, counting any day without a listed port as a sea day, the 6-night has two sea days and three ports. The 8-night on 28 November has three sea days and four ports, the densest of the lot. The 14 November and 12 December 8-nighters each have four sea days and three ports.
Pick the 6-night for a first cruise or a long weekend that stretches to a week. Pick 28 November if you want the most ports for your money. Pick 14 November or 12 December if Aruba is the point. The 12 December call there runs until 22:00, so you can have dinner ashore. The 14-night suits people who’d rather unpack once.
Itineraries do shift. Princess changed Regal Princess’s 1 August 2026 sailing to Puerto Rico and St. Maarten, so treat any port list as provisional.
The Ports and What Is Genuinely Worth Doing
Celebration Key (Grand Bahama). This is Carnival’s private destination on the island’s south coast, about 20 miles east of Freeport. It opened in July 2025. Reports put Princess’s first call at Star Princess on 1 November, with Regal Princess following on 9 November. The timetable has you there from 08:00 to 17:00. One guide lists a docked arrival, so no tender queue. Treat the amenity details as “check before you go”, because many published guides were written before it opened.
Princess Cays (Eleuthera). If your sailing has this one, it’s a tender port: expect a roughly five-minute boat ride and possible tender tickets. Rough seas can cancel tendering. Don’t count on finding a taxi at the landing, so book any touring before you leave the ship.
Grand Turk. Timetables give you ten hours (08:00 to 18:00) on 11 November and 25 November. Governor’s Beach sits between the cruise center and Cockburn Town, with calm shallow water. Cockburn Town has the national museum and St. Thomas church (1823). For snorkelling, the reef wall drops off just offshore. A Gibbs Cay stingray trip is the headline excursion. Excursions often start around $100 per person, while taxis to town run roughly $5 per person each way, so the free option is a good one.
Amber Cove (Dominican Republic). The big-ticket outing is the 27 Waterfalls of Damajagua, where you hike, slide and swim. Mount Isabel de Torres is about a 20-minute drive away. Guides disagree on whether its cable car is closed for renovation, with one saying it reopens in late 2026 or early 2027. Verify before you plan a day around it.
Aruba. Downtown Oranjestad is walkable from the ship. Eagle Beach is a short taxi ride, and Arikok National Park is the excursion for people who want something other than sand.
For Nassau, Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios, St. Maarten, San Juan and Curaçao, Princess’s port pages are the place to start.
Conditions and Packing for This Season
The Atlantic hurricane season officially ends 30 November, and peak activity falls from mid-August to mid-October. So the 8, 14, 22 and 28 November departures sail inside the season’s tail, while 6 December onward falls outside it. Rare off-season storms can still happen, so consider travel insurance rather than assuming.
Princess says temperatures often settle in the high 70s and low 80s °F in November and December, with early and mid-November still capable of passing showers. Sea temperatures run upper 70s to low 80s. Aruba sits south of the main hurricane track and is comparatively dry.
Pack: swimwear (two sets, because damp trunks are nobody’s friend), reef-safe sunscreen, a light rain jacket for November, water shoes for the Damajagua waterfalls, comfortable walking shoes, and a cardigan for the arctic air-conditioning in the dining rooms. Bring a passport. For closed-loop Fort Lauderdale cruises, a birth certificate plus photo ID is reportedly accepted, but Princess strongly recommends a passport. Sources conflict on rules for children, so check Princess’s documents page.
Money: Where the Value Is
Fares move daily, so check Princess for which sailing is cheapest on the day you book. The package prices, though, are published: Princess raised its bundled package prices for voyages departing on or after 13 October 2026. Princess Plus is $70 per person per day, and Princess Premier is $105 per person per day, when bought before sailing. Onboard prices are $75 and $110. Buying ahead therefore saves $5 per person per day, or $10 per day for two. Those prices are per person, not per cabin, so a couple pays double. Anyone who bought before 13 October keeps their price.
Wi-Fi changed too. The one-device plan is $27.99 per day pre-cruise ($33.99 onboard), and a new two-device plan is $39.99 pre-cruise ($47.99 onboard). The four-device standalone plan is gone, though Premier still includes four devices.
The real money-saver is on land. At Grand Turk, a free beach and a $5 taxi beat a $100 excursion. Private-destination days (Celebration Key, Princess Cays) need little spending. Save your budget for Aruba and Amber Cove. For gratuities and what goes where, see our cruise tipping guide.
Timing: When to Book and What Sells Out
Here’s the blunt part: the 8 November sailing leaves in six days, and 14 November in twelve. If you’re after one of those, book now and take what’s left. For December, you have a little breathing room.
My guess is that holiday-adjacent departures go first. The 22 November sailings include Thanksgiving, 26 November, and by the timetable it’s a sea day. The 20 December 6-night runs to 26 December, so it spans Christmas Day, which the timetable has you spending in Nassau (08:00 to 16:00). Those are the ones I’d lock in early.
FAQ: Regal Princess Autumn 2026
Is Regal Princess a good cruise ship?
For most mainstream cruisers, yes. She has a lively Piazza atrium, Movies Under the Stars, an adults-only Sanctuary and steak and Italian specialty dining. She’s a 2014 ship of about 143,000 tons, so she’s big but not the newest. Her April 2025 dry dock was engine work, not a makeover, so expect polish rather than novelty.
What ports does Regal Princess visit from Fort Lauderdale in November 2026?
Third-party timetables show Celebration Key, Grand Turk and Nassau on the 8 and 22 November 6-nights. The 14 November 8-night visits Grand Cayman, Ocho Rios and Aruba. The 28 November 8-night calls at St. Maarten, San Juan, Amber Cove and Grand Turk. Princess can change ports, so confirm on your booking.
Is it safe to cruise the Caribbean in November?
Hurricane season officially runs to 30 November, but peak activity is mid-August to mid-October, so November is the tail end. Storms can still disrupt itineraries, and rare off-season systems exist. Sailings from 6 December onward fall after the official season. Travel insurance that covers itinerary changes is worth pricing.
Do I need a passport to cruise from Fort Lauderdale on Princess?
On a round-trip (closed-loop) cruise, U.S. citizens are generally allowed to board with a government photo ID and a certified birth certificate. Princess still strongly recommends a passport, and it’s the safer choice if the itinerary changes or you must fly home. Rules for children vary by source, so check Princess’s official documents page.
What is Regal Princess’s CDC inspection score?
Her latest score is 98 out of 100, from an inspection on 19 June 2026. A score of 86 or above counts as satisfactory under the CDC’s Vessel Sanitation Program. A score is a snapshot of one day, not a promise. You can check any ship with our CDC inspection lookup.
How much is the Princess Plus package in 2026?
For voyages departing on or after 13 October 2026, Princess Plus costs $70 per person per day if bought before sailing and $75 onboard. Premier is $105 pre-cruise and $110 onboard. Earlier purchases keep their original price. Prices are per person, so a couple should double them.
Is the 14-night Adventurer worth it?
It’s two shorter cruises back-to-back, with a midway Fort Lauderdale stop. You get two different itineraries and only one embarkation, so it suits people who’d rather unpack once. If you like seeing one new region at a time, two separate bookings give you more control.
The Bottom Line
Regal Princess is a solid, well-equipped, mainstream ship doing sensible Caribbean routes at a time when the weather is mostly kind and the hurricane threat is fading. Go if you want a comfortable, easygoing week (or two) with a mix of beach days and one or two proper destinations. Skip it if you crave something smaller or more exotic. Pick the 6-night to dip a toe, the 28 November 8-night for the most ports, or 14 November or 12 December for Aruba. Confirm ports with Princess, and don’t sit on the 8 and 14 November departures.
Ships in This Story
- Regal Princess Princess · Latest CDC score 98
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