how bad is princess crown princess 5 day?

We are considering 5 day Los Angeles cruise to Cabo in November.

Never been on Princess, but it should be a step above Carnival at least.

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

We are used to Seabourn Regent, windstar, oceanina, and celebrity

 

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

Wow...this could be one ugly self-fulfilling prophesy :eek:

But let me assure you that the food and especially the service on Princess is far better than Celebrity. So climb down from you ivory tower and join us for a spell, y'hear? :D

Food is very subjective, but why aren't you asking how good is the food?

Pretty bad, you get great meals, served generally with a smile, you get to go from one port to another in comfort, someone makes my bed and cleans my room, no washing up, provides me with activities on sea days and organises my time ashore. Have cruised P&O Australia, Princess, RCI, MSC, Celebrity. They all have minor annoyances but hey better than at home so I choose to overlook them. LOL. It's a holiday, make the most of it, lots of other people would love to be able to do this.

No need to lower your expectations. :cool:

We are considering 5 day Los Angeles cruise to Cabo in November.

Never been on Princess, but it should be a step above Carnival at least.

 

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

 

We are used to Seabourn Regent, windstar, oceanina, and celebrity

Since you already feel that Princess is not an upgrade from Celebrity despite having never sailed on Princess then your preconceived opinion of Princess may result in you not enjoying a Princess cruise.

Agree, Princess is not an upgrade.

I have friends who prefer Celebrity & others who prefer Princess. I have read enough posts to know those cruise lines are overall more similar than not. I'd like to sail on Celebrity someday however before sailing them I would not say that Princess is an upgrade from Celebrity. Other friends who usually sail Oceania & Azamara have enjoyed sailing with us several times on Princess.

Everyone has cruise lines that suit them best however not one cruise line is best for everyone. ;)

I also feel that Princess is definitely a step up from Carnival for what I want from a cruise; I also prefer Princess to RCL for the same reasons. Princess provides me with a great cruise experience for the price paid but that's merely my opinion & not everyone will feel the same way.

We are considering 5 day Los Angeles cruise to Cabo in November.

Never been on Princess, but it should be a step above Carnival at least.

 

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

 

We are used to Seabourn Regent, windstar, oceanina, and celebrity

Just pray for the Crown to not be infected by the dreaded Norovirus, which seems to happen all too often on THIS PARTICULAR ship!

She's a pretty ship though and actually (the old Regal Princess aside), she is our favorite!

It would be great if X had a ship on the west coast for these types of cruises. Hopefully one of these days.

We are considering 5 day Los Angeles cruise to Cabo in November.

Never been on Princess, but it should be a step above Carnival at least.

 

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

 

We are used to Seabourn Regent, windstar, oceanina, and celebrity

With the exception of Celebrity you will be disappointed. The other lines you mention are more luxury lines. Princess is on par with celebrity. I sailed Celebrity last year and the food and service were both good, not like Regent or Oceania.

I did the 5 day Cabo in recently and the second day in Cabo is too short to allow to tender into port and get any sights to see.

It would be great if X had a ship on the west coast for these types of cruises. Hopefully one of these days.

Hear, hear! I concurr.

Celebrity needs to come back to the West Coast.

We are considering 5 day Los Angeles cruise to Cabo in November.

Never been on Princess, but it should be a step above Carnival at least.

 

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

 

We are used to Seabourn Regent, windstar, oceanina, and celebrity

It will be awful. The worst you can imagine! Barely a step above Carnival. Food will poison you. Staff will throw you overboard. The overall experience will just as bad as you seem to think it could be. Stay home. (Is this a serious question?)

Here's a current review that might help you:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2315197

The first paragraph is quite relevant, based on your original post:

"I just disembarked the Crown Princess today and wanted to write a quick review. Super short version- The Crown Princess and the crew was great as was the food. I met some fun people!! Some people I’ll be happy to not see again. My hypothesis is that your enjoyment of your trip is directly proportional to your attitude. If your attitude sucks, so will your trip."

We are considering 5 day Los Angeles cruise to Cabo in November.

Never been on Princess, but it should be a step above Carnival at least.

 

If we lower our expectations and just want to get away for a few days, will it be ok? How bad is the food, the service and the overall experience?

 

We are used to Seabourn Regent, windstar, oceanina, and celebrity

Personally I find Celebrity and Princess very similar. Princess may have a tad older ave age PAX.

IF OP does decide to take a chance and go on this cruise, after it's over I would really like to see him/her post and tell us if he/she was pleasantly surprised by the Crown Princess experience, or why it was as "bad" as anticipated.

OP - Why would you ever even take a chance and spend your time and money on something you think may be terrible? Sounds like your cruise will be self fulfilling prophecy.

I think the poster is asking a legit question for a legit reason. 5 day cruises (or shorter for that matter) are quite different than 7, 9,10, 12, + day cruises. They are intended as an introduction to attract first time cruisers. The demographic is often very different. Part of what drives that is the lower price point (fewer days, lower price). The experience will be different because the crowd will be different. Also, certain other "normal" activities/etc. aren't offered because of the condensed time.

If you're looking for a quick getaway and are willing to put up with more novice cruisers and/or a slightly more rowdy atmosphere - great. I would not use this as a way to judge the line versus longer cruises. better to do an apples to apples there. Princess is really at it's best on the longer overseas cruises.

I think the poster is asking a legit question for a legit reason. 5 day cruises (or shorter for that matter) are quite different than 7' date=' 9,10, 12, + day cruises. They are intended as an introduction to attract first time cruisers. The demographic is often very different. [/quote']

 

I agree with you completely.

 

I went on a few short cruises when Carribbean was doing them

from Ft. Lauderdale. If those were my only experience with

Princess, I would never return.

 

The 'issues' -- lots and lots of people buy the all-inclusive drink

package. For a short cruise, it doesn't cost very much. This

really overwhelms the bars. On a 4-day cruise was the only

time I have ever seen people coming in from the open decks

(in swimwear) to the explorer's lounge bar to get drinks

(because of the lines on deck)

 

Very few people sign up (or perhaps attend) fixed seating.

This makes the anytime dining more crazy than usual.

 

On the cruise I was on, all 'good' speciality dining times filled

on on embarcation afternoon. Maybe as a response to the

above. We had so much OBC, that we used it that way.

 

No one has very much luggage. You, and 1500 of your friends

will want to be the first off the ship, and use the walk-off times.

 

Given the cruise lines the original poster mentioned, I think they

will feel like they went to denny's for breakfast after spending the

night at the four seasons.

I think the poster is asking a legit question for a legit reason. 5 day cruises (or shorter for that matter) are quite different than 7' date=' 9,10, 12, + day cruises. They are intended as an introduction to attract first time cruisers. The demographic is often very different. Part of what drives that is the lower price point (fewer days, lower price). The experience will be different because the crowd will be different. Also, certain other "normal" activities/etc. aren't offered because of the condensed time.

 

If you're looking for a quick getaway and are willing to put up with more novice cruisers and/or a slightly more rowdy atmosphere - great. I would not use this as a way to judge the line versus longer cruises. better to do an apples to apples there. Princess is really at it's best on the longer overseas cruises.[/quote']

+1, though it may not necessarily be more rowdy cruisers, just "cheapskates". We did a four-day to put the Ruby onto her 2015 Alaska season (Vancouver->Ketchikan->Seattle), and at least 40% of the ship was one common ethnicity, always standing around in the worst high-traffic places, cutting in line, clueless. We had traditional dining at a table for 6; although we were all at the table the first night and said "see you tomorrow", one couple was a no-show the second night, and both couples were a no-show the third night. Also, no centralized luggage service like the 7+ night cruises. This was a challenge for "addicted photographers" like us, particularly on Caribe deck as the downward elevators were often full.

 

On a later 1-nighter (Seattle-Vancouver), a variety of services just didn't seem to happen, and MDR service seemed rather loose. Again, no luggage service, but it didn't seem to matter as much for a one-nighter.

I wouldn't say Princess is better than Carnival, my favorite cruise was on Carnival actually. I like Princess, I like Carnival, I like Royal Caribbean - but I always go on a cruise with the attitude that I am going to have a great time and I have never been disappointed. Perhaps some of the other cruise lines are fancier, but I'm easy - put me on a ship in the water or the way to someplace I want to go, add in friendly room stewards, and friendly attentive wait staff and I am going to have a good time.

If you go in with an attitude to relax and enjoy - you will... :)

Enjoy!

You can't go wrong with a cruise on Princess - friendly staff, clean rooms, inviting public areas, and good food. Regardless - you've got that whole ocean-view thing going for you as well. We love the Crown and have been on her three times (twice onboard during a Noro episode) Just wash your hands like you would on any cruise and enjoy her spaciousness. I'd do another 3-day, 4-day, 5-day, 7-day, 10-day, whatever aboard this ship. Enjoy!!

There are a multitude of reasons people might take a shorter cruise other that being a cheapskate. I am doing an Emerald 5 night with a friend who because of family obligations uh....she's a mom with kids at home, can't be away for longer. Sheesh lets try not to overgeneralize about people.

It would be great if X had a ship on the west coast for these types of cruises. Hopefully one of these days.

Yes...I concur!! I sailed on the Infinity back in Sept and asked why they have abandoned out, especially in San Francisco. One of the officers says they have something in the works but looks like they homed the Infinity in LA instead of SF for a few cruises. Alas, it is still not one of the S Class ships but I do love the Infinity.

The Crown is a good ship. I wouldn't, however, go for a 5 night cruise in November if at the end of the month as it could possibly be full of kids!

I think Celebrity is a step up from Princess -- just my opinion, though. I have been on a few shorter Princess cruises and only longer cruises on Celebrity...so different demographics on those shorter cruises. That alone may have contributed the most to this opinion. I think Princess is more in line with RCCL vs Celebrity. To me, Celebrity has just always had a little more 'white glove service' than what we've experienced on Princess.

However, our last Princess cruise had outstanding service, good food and good entertainment. The ship itself wasn't my cup of tea but others had no issues with it. The only issues I have had with the Crown were when it first started sailing .... some mechanical problems but that's all been fixed. Last year we sailed on her and she is very nicely maintained.

I am just going to knock on wood here but never have gotten norovirus on any cruise. I think I have been lucky!

So I have been on a the following:

7 days to the Mexican Rivera aboard the Royal Mariner of the seas

5 days to Baja Mexico on the Carnival Inspiration

7 days to Alaska on the Crown Princess

We wanted to go on a cruise over Thanksgiving and since we already did the Baja Mexico one on Carnival. I was happy to see that the Crown was going there. Even if it only has one stop in Cabo. It is a quick getaway and I think it is worthwhile. I enjoyed the crown, however, it is all in your attitude.

I think the poster is asking a legit question for a legit reason. 5 day cruises (or shorter for that matter) are quite different than 7' date=' 9,10, 12, + day cruises. They are intended as an introduction to attract first time cruisers. The demographic is often very different. Part of what drives that is the lower price point (fewer days, lower price). The experience will be different because the crowd will be different. Also, certain other "normal" activities/etc. aren't offered because of the condensed time.

 

 

 

If you're looking for a quick getaway and are willing to put up with more novice cruisers and/or a slightly more rowdy atmosphere - great. I would not use this as a way to judge the line versus longer cruises. better to do an apples to apples there. Princess is really at it's best on the longer overseas cruises.[/quote']

 

 

Totally agree - stop beating up the OP - it was a legit question. We live in San Pedro and take these short cruises now and then - they are fun but not the same as the longer ones - just go and make your own fun :-)