dave_k58

2 hours ago, CruiserN1 said:

This was our third cruise with Princess. We have also sailed several times with Celebrity and most recently with HAL in March 2023. We're an early 50's/early 60's couple with no kids. We take two 10-14 day vacations a year (not retired yet and not wealthy). This was my third Alaska cruise and my husband's second. We cruised to Alaska on the Coral Princess in July 2011. We chose this cruise primarily for the itinerary. Below are my thoughts, which no doubt differ from some of yours.

 

CABIN: We chose a Reserve mini-suite, which is on Deck 9 (Dolphin), mid-ship. The cabin size was roomy compared to a regular balcony on Princess and other lines we've sailed. The exposed balcony wasn't great because we had a good bit of rain. The cabin and its furnishings were quite worn. The sofa looked like something out of a thrift store, saggy and threadbare in places. The coffee table was missing the cap on two legs and the wood was badly scuffed and scratched. The walls were peeling where people had shuffled against them at the end of the bed. The bed itself was comfortable enough but not exceptional. The bathroom was nice and big with the tub, which was larger than expected. Overall I would rate the cabin 3/5.

 

RESERVE CLASS EXPERIENCE: The best aspect of the experience was the Reserve Class dining room. More about that under food. The rest of the Reserve experience either wasn't much or we didn't receive it. We were not allowed in the Priority Embarkation lounge because the person monitoring the entrance said it was for suite, elite, and platinum only. He didn't seem to know what Reserve Class was and I wasn't going to argue about it. If there was a concierge onboard to help book specialty dining, we weren't introduced to them or told where to find them. We ordered the canapes the first day and they were not at all tasty. A fruit and cheese plate would have been much better. I would rate Reserve Class 2/5 and the 2 is for the dining experience.

 

DINING ROOM: The restaurant manager and waiters in the Reserve Class dining room (really a section of the Da Vinci dining room) were outstanding. We felt welcomed and cared for from the first meal, which was embarkation lunch. The restaurant manager prepared a special salad for sea day lunches and a pasta dish or risotto for dinner, usually with shrimp. They were all exceptional and I skipped the main entree several nights to enjoy his entree instead. All of the food we ordered arrived hot. We never went without our favorite cocktails. We were never asked to share a table (though the tables for 2 are quite close together). It was the best dining room experience we have ever had on a cruise. Reserve Class dining gets a 5/5.

 

NON-DINING ROOM FOOD: The buffet on the Crown is poorly laid out for the number of people on the ship. The stations are crowded and there are fewer stations with fewer choices than on other ships of similar size that we have sailed pre and post-COVID. We had one lunch there after returning from an excurision and it was not good. We avoided the buffet except to grab a mid-afternoon snack. The International Cafe was disappointing. The pastries were very dry and lacked flavor. I love a chocolate or almond croissant with my coffee in the morning and after a couple tries I stopped ordering them. Very little filling and very dry pastry. I had soup and a sandwich there for lunch one time and they were OK except for the sandwich roll being soggy from the tomato. Specialty coffees were hit or miss, sometimes tasted burned. The "best pizza at sea" had a good crust but very little flavor in the sauce or cheese. The Salty Dog Grill was typically a long wait (30-40 min) and the food was just OK. Forget about the line for the premium ice cream desserts. We never got one because one person was making them and the line was 10-15 people every time we were in the area. I give the ship's non-MDR food a 2/5.

 

CREW: We found the crew to be friendly and helpful and eager to please. We don't require much of our steward or anyone else on board. My one experience going to guest services to redeem a gift card was great. Everyone who served us did so with a smile. I give the crew 5/5.

 

ACTIVITIES: I attended several of the arts and crafts activities and they were rushed and not that fun. The person leading was either super stressed out or apathetic (two different leaders). The crafts themselves were cheap projects and not that fun. I would have paid $25 for a two-hour class where we made something worth bringing home. We aren't trivia, music, production show, or game show people, so we didn't attend any of those and can't comment. We did go to all but one of the enrichment lectures. Our "naturalist" mostly told stories about life in Alaska or gave very basic facts about wildlife, flora, etc. We went for something to do but didn't find the lectures interesting or even really focused on nature. She also seemed to be promoting shore excursions a lot of the time. Activities gets a 2/5.

 

FELLOW PASSENGERS: I really don't mind children around, despite not having my own, but the standards of behavior of some parents and kids were outrageous. We had a family on our deck and side that allowed their 3 kids to run down the hall at full speed and making as much noise as they wanted to at any time of day or night. These weren't tiny kids, they looked to be 8-14 years old, and our room shook when they ran by. Other poorly behaved and unsupervised kids were often around the ship. Other than that, most people seemed friendly and it was a diverse group age-wise. I won't assign a rating here as it doesn't seem polite, but the no-kid ships are becoming more appealing to us.

 

These are the main categories of our experience that seemed worth sharing. I'm happy to answer questions about other aspects of our cruise experience. We would consider sailing Princess again if the itinerary appealed to us, but would not sail on the Crown or any of the older ships as the experience just isn't great.

THank you for what seems like a very honest and objective review. We are also from Texas and are doing the cruise out of Vancouver on August 25. Did you go early to explore Vancouver?  Any excursions that were really good or any that were not good/waste of money.  Did you have a favorite port?  PS - We're taking out grandson - he's 24 and insisted on a private cabin. We are also in a mini on Dophin Deck - didn't know when I booked it there was no cover on the balcony. We have had the club class on several other ships ( royal Class) and would also give that a 2, despite the great service in the dining room. They forgot didn't know about priority boarding either and didn't care about the canapes. THe complimentary half bottles of wine we dumped after taking one sip

1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

We never went to the Buffet/Cafe Caribe in the evening so wouldn't have seen it. I see that sunviking90 saw it on the June 23 cruise so you might have it on yours.

Hope so - we're kind of looking forward to it.  I saw a youtube video today of some people eating there. Looked like a huge amount of seafood. But they didn't seem impressed

5 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Crab Shack was offered on our Crown Princess cruise June 23 on 2 consecutive evenings. It was in the back part of the buffet, and there were signs at the entrance with a crew member to sign people up. We did not attend.

THanks very much.  

2 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

To be honest I don't know if there was a Crab Shack on my cruise as I didn't look for it as we were so happy with our dining in the Michaelangelo Dining Room. Sorry!

I have read that its in a portion of the Buffet area - about 4-5 times a cruise.  They probably didn't have it then

12 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

Wow, thank you so much for your lovely words! I'll be doing another review in December after my New Zealand cruise so you can look out for that one.

 

Not long at all until your cruise and I'm sure you will enjoy it as it is on a great ship on a great itinerary. We really enjoyed our time in Vancouver so I hope that you also enjoy it. I'm sure it will have changed a lot in 50 years!

 

Happy Sailing! 🛳️

THank you - PS - was the new Crab Shack on the Crown open on your latest cruise? If so - did you like it? 

On 7/20/2023 at 3:03 PM, Prost Seattle said:

I put in weak bids for our Sep. 30 cruise, we’re fine with the mini-suite, but if we get one of the upgrades it’ll be nice.  

I was thinking about upgrading from a mini to a full suite. But according to princess.com - our cruise is completely sold out except for obstructed ocean view and interiors. Still got an email from princess reminding me about the bid program

2 hours ago, jenjens1023 said:

We have not sailed on Princess since the invention of the basic, plus and premium levels. I have a couple questions about the beverage portion. Can you get a decent glass of bourbon with the $15 drink limit? Are specialty coffees, juices, pop and all the other tasty types of liquid included in the drink package?

Yes

On 7/21/2023 at 2:41 PM, OttawaJohn said:

Hi all

 

Anyone been on the Enchanted on the Riviera deck and can comment on rockiness?  I know the higher you go, the more rocky it can be.  It's subjective, I know, but just curious to everyone's experience.

 

Thanks in advance!

We have had mini's on the Riviera Deck on Regal and Sky  - LOVED it

I honestly think this is the best travelogue for a cruise I have ever seen.  Like a good book - I almost hated to see it end. Looking forward to our 11nt cruise on what looks like the same itinerary on the Crown, but we're not going till August 25 - that's only a month away now, because we are spending several days in Vancouver.  Looking forward to that. PS - forgot to mention - I'm old and the last time I went to Vancouver was about 50 years ago. 

On 7/15/2023 at 2:27 PM, Aquahound said:

 

Yeah, Princess' new ships are too big to cruise the IP.  If I remember the story correctly, Princess planned those itineraries but were denied by the Canadian pilots.  

Is the Crown too big for the Inside Passage?

On 6/26/2023 at 6:59 PM, Erma56 said:

We are booked for an Alaska cruise toward the end of August on Princess…. We’re traveling with 18 family members from four generations.  My nephew sent me the article attached about a railroad strike coming up soon in Skagway! We have been to Skagway four times and rode the train every time. We don’t want to miss it! Now I have heard the ship might cancel Skagway altogether if the trains won’t be running. Should we rebook for 2024? Will the ship still go to Skagway?

https://www.whitehorsestar.com/News/white-pass-employees-to-begin-strike-vote

Are you on the Crown on Aug 25? We are on that and were really looking forward to the train excursion

On 7/9/2023 at 11:41 AM, cr8tiv1 said:

Bottom line….Reserve Class mini-suite is misnamed.  It has absolutely no suite perks except for being able to dine in the Reserved Class dining room.  

There is also priority boarding in the CC ( reserve)

16 minutes ago, DiRonT said:

It is for new bookings only and only for specific cruises.  

Thanks - I probably saved 2 hours on the telephone with Princess by knowing this lol

On 6/30/2023 at 1:02 PM, DiRonT said:

So do we think this is for new bookings only?  We have 3 cruises on the books. So, curious.

I would also like to know this

On 7/12/2023 at 10:52 PM, Over from NZ said:

Always wondered why those are seldom available. Is it because they would have to bake too many if we knew they were?! haha 🙂 

The food in the IC is mainly brought down from the Buffet 

On 7/8/2023 at 1:54 PM, DebJ14 said:

M6 is also Reserve Class.  On the Regal those are the forward cabins with the huge balconys.  The M1 Reserve Class are more mid ship. M6 is cheaper than M1, but still Reserve Class.

I believe the M6 is in the very front of the ship

On 7/7/2023 at 1:13 PM, dallascruiser said:

I am booked in a MC category on Regal Princess, which is a mini suite.  Does that mean I have the Reserve?  With separate dining etc?  I haven’t cruised with Princess for ages, so I’m really not up to date on everything Princess.  Thanks

 

LINDA

the Mini Suites will be M1 and are in a supposedly  better location

WE had CC on our recent TA - and I don't remember getting special menu items more than about 3 mauybe 4 times

On 6/26/2023 at 7:16 PM, PacnGoNow said:

I agree with @Lady Arwen…get a CVP or TA.  They will take care of these issues for you.  You should not have to waste time on the phone.  The agents that are offshore, seem to be there to take orders for beverage packages and to upsell products.  

My TA hates to call the PHilippines.  I suspect he doesn't do it all 

the only thing that concerns me is all the food and the other supplies that have to be delivered to the ships. THat's considered cargo and delivered by truck.  Is the Teamsters Union active in Canada?  Thety will NOT cross a picket line. 

https://bc.ctvnews.ca/cruise-ships-will-be-spared-in-event-of-b-c-port-strike-employers-say-1.6463819

WE would probably get it again, but our 25 year old grandson is coming solo has a separate cabin. I don't think he could come with us to the special dining area, so we will just eat with him in the MDR. OUr last two times on CC - we didn't get any special menu items that I noticed, and the free 1/2 bottles of wine were terrible lol. I don't know about the canapes, because we always forgot to order any.the cabin is the same as a regular mini - but in a better location

18 hours ago, Barbara B said:

We won an upgrade from a midships/fore-ish balcony on Riviera to a mini suite (about the same spot, midships (fore-ish) on Marina deck. It was 230 pp (it's a 12-day cruise)

Depends on which ship. on some ships the Riviera is right below the Lido

Just now, HiCCCs said:

Enjoy the cruise.....a wonderful memory for you all to have. 

Thanks. We love cruising and this will be our first to Alaska ( 2 canceled because of the Covid)

2 minutes ago, HiCCCs said:

Look into the contract to see if he would lose the money for cancelling his room. Depending on IF you win the bid....and WHEN you win the bid there could be significant financial penalties for him canceling his room.

Yes - we are 60 days from sailing and he would lose at least half - anyway - we're fine with our mini - and he's fine with his balcony so we will just leave it the way it is.  Thanks for the input