Lots of questions about the Crown Princess compared to Celebrity Summit/Millennium

Just a little back round on me. I've sailed to Alaska on the Millennium 2 times and 4 times on the Summit and have 2 more cruises scheduled on her in the coming months. They were all excellent sailings. Did a Princess Cruise on the Royal a few years ago and LOVED IT. Food was amazing and the buffet the best I have ever seen on a ship. (I hope the Crown is like this!) I've been on Carnival 3 times and never again, loved the vibe but the food, not so much. There were lots of choices for lunch so that was good, but the burger and taco areas were shut down early in the afternoon and then only a handful of choices in the buffet and desserts for dinner and they weren't good at all. Tried their MDR several times and was disappointed in the quality.

I was originally thinking about going to the Panama Canal but then I found another port intensive Caribbean cruise on the Crown for December 2019 that looks really good so we put it on hold until tomorrow. We usually tend to end up at the buffet several nights during the cruise so I want to see if the Crown has what we are used to on Celebrity.. I have had some amazing cabins (sweet 16 on Celebrity) and some of the best independent excursions all because of the advice I have gotten from all of you seasoned cruisers here on Cruise Critic. Sorry for all of the questions but I just like to know what to expect.

1. Thanks to several posters on this board I booked cabin in the BD category C618 on the Caribe deck because of the larger balcony. Is that a good area to be in or is there a better cabin in the BD category that you would recommend.

2. In the morning we enjoy omelets made to order in the buffet. I'm not trying to be a food snob but are the peppers and onions cut fresh or frozen? Celebrity always had fresh and Carnival had frozen. Big difference in the taste of the omelets. Also is there salsa available?

3. On the Summit in the aft there is an area of the buffet where they will grill you some fish, chicken or steak to order. Is there something like that on the Crown?

4. Also, the Summit buffet has a Chinese area where they will cook your food to order and a pasta area where they will grill fresh vegetables of your choosing and then you pick the pasta sauce. Does the Crown have this as well?

5. The Summit has Café Al Baccio that offers wonderful free desserts any time of day or night. Is there something like this on the Crown?

6. Any other advice or tips that you can give about this ship would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

Most of your questions I can't answer,. but comparing the Crown to the Royal is like comparing night to day.

We have done the Royal 5x now and love it and yes the buffet area is fabulous. We did the Tahiti 28 day trip on the crown as well as this year we did a 20 days on the crown - not as lovely a ship nor the buffet as lovely as the Royal. Unfortunately for us we are back on the Crown in the fall again for a long trip. Wishing it were the Royal.

The Royal and the Regal (as well as Majestic) are Princess' newest ships. They are very different from the older ones.

The crown has the International Cafe which is open almost 24 hours a day. At breakfast they have pastries, donuts, a hot egg sandwich. At lunch and dinner they have salads, paninis, a soup each day and desserts. This is all complimentary. Late evening they continue to have dessert but also have a cheese and fruit platter.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

These are a few of the morning pastries offered still the International Cafe.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

If you loved the buffet on the Royal, you will be underwhelmed on the Crown.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The Crown buffet is not nearly as large or varied as the Royal or Regal Princess. They do have made to order omlettes in the morning. On occasion they have a pasta station where they have a few items you can add to your pasta. They also had a station one evening with made to order stir fry. It was quite tasty.

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

You will get a much better breakfast in the MDR on the Crown.

Sent from my iPhone while I probably should be working.

My suggestion would be that you stop looking for what is or is not exactly the same on Celebrity vs. Princess and look at each ship/cruise line for what it is. We found things that we like better and things that we like less on each line.

In general, we preferred the buffet on Celebrity. It was more varied and more international. I loved the almond croissants at Cafe Al Bacchio--better than International Cafe on Princess, although IC is still good. We liked the ice cream bar on Celebrity but were frustrated when it often closed 15 minutes before the stated closing time. This meant that we could not attend the evening show and get to the ice cream before it was closed, even though we were there before the listed closing time.

We preferred the dinner seating and service on Princess. We greatly preferred the beverage packages on Princess. On Celebrity, they claim to not ration sodas, but in reality they do so with very slow service in the dining room, refusing to leave what is left in the can after they pour it into a small glass, etc. Daughter was not happy....and that makes mom not happy. If you are into alcohol packages....on Celebrity MANY items exceed the package max price. On Princess, virtually everything is included in the package. Yes, there are a very few exceptions, but we are talking about a handful of items.

We liked our cabins better on Princess, but we have been on different ships than you. Finally, silly as it might sound, we find booking on Princess much easier. I like to do my homework and then contact my TA. The Celebrity website is a nightmare for researching cruises!

 

1. Thanks to several posters on this board I booked cabin in the BD category C618 on the Caribe deck because of the larger balcony. Is that a good area to be in or is there a better cabin in the BD category that you would recommend.

Nice cabin, nice location, lots of storage, large 9' x 9' balcony five feet of which is covered, small shower, no tub, no sofa. We stayed in C618 on the Crown. Nothing really better in balcony cat. cabins. Balcony Cat. cabins more mid ship cost more, but have identical interiors. Balcony cat. cabins on other decks also have identical interiors with 9' x 5' covered balconies.

 

2. In the morning we enjoy omelets made to order in the buffet. I'm not trying to be a food snob but are the peppers and onions cut fresh or frozen? Celebrity always had fresh and Carnival had frozen. Big difference in the taste of the omelets. Also is there salsa available?

Yes, there is an omelet station in the buffet, never paid attention to the peppers and onions. You can also order made to order omelets in the DR which is open every morning, open seating.

 

3. On the Summit in the aft there is an area of the buffet where they will grill you some fish, chicken or steak to order. Is there something like that on the Crown?

No grilled steak or fish station. At the Trident Grill by the pool, think burgers, dogs, brats, & fries, they do have chicken which is grilled when ordered. It is mainly for chicken instead of a burger on a roll, but you can ask for no roll.

 

4. Also, the Summit buffet has a Chinese area where they will cook your food to order and a pasta area where they will grill fresh vegetables of your choosing and then you pick the pasta sauce. Does the Crown have this as well?

No Chinese wok to order on the Crown. Also there is generally not pasta to order area, but I have seen it occasionally.

 

5. The Summit has Café Al Baccio that offers wonderful free desserts any time of day or night. Is there something like this on the Crown?

International Cafe open 24/7. Horizon Ct. buffet open around 6am until late evening around 11pm or midnight with desserts from lunch onwards.

 

6. Any other advice or tips that you can give about this ship would be greatly appreciated and thanks in advance.

See above.

The Crown does not have a buffet like you experienced on the Royal Princess. It is smaller with less selections. One or more sections are open continuously from 6am until late even. After you order an omelet at the buffet, take the order slip, select your other foods and find a table. Provide the slip to the waiter and it will be delivered to your table.

Consider a coffee package with 15 espresso drinks plus unlimited brewed coffee and special tea for the cruise. Google Princess Cellars to read about it. Coffee is free in DR's and at the buffet. Try it. On the Crown it is prepared from a liquid concentrate and many people enjoy the brewed coffee better. On the Royal the free coffee was brewed from grounds.

Take a look at Ultimate Balcony Dining for one evening. C618 has the space for it.

See above.

The Crown does not have a buffet like you experienced on the Royal Princess. It is smaller with less selections. One or more sections are open continuously from 6am until late even. After you order an omelet at the buffet, take the order slip, select your other foods and find a table. Provide the slip to the waiter and it will be delivered to your table.

Consider a coffee package with 15 espresso drinks plus unlimited brewed coffee and special tea for the cruise. Google Princess Cellars to read about it. Coffee is free in DR's and at the buffet. Try it. On the Crown it is prepared from a liquid concentrate and many people enjoy the brewed coffee better. On the Royal the free coffee was brewed from grounds.

 

Take a look at Ultimate Balcony Dining for one evening. C618 has the space for it.

Thanks that answers a lot of my questions

The Crown buffet is not nearly as large or varied as the Royal or Regal Princess. They do have made to order omlettes in the morning. On occasion they have a pasta station where they have a few items you can add to your pasta. They also had a station one evening with made to order stir fry. It was quite tasty.

 

Sent from my SM-G930P using Forums mobile app

Thanks for all the info

Summit is better than Crown when it comes to the buffet. I really liked that they had made to order eggs benedict with different toppings. I was disappointed with the buffet on Crown. I think you will be disappointed if you go in thinking the buffet might be similar to Regal/Royal.

We've done 4 cruises on the Crown (and 26 others on Princess) and 2 on the Summit (2003, 2015). I would pick the Crown now. The Summit was wonderful when it was new (2001), but some aspects are not so great now. In particular, the buffet was disappointing, except for the grill mentioned above. We eat nearly all our cruise meals in the buffet, but dinner on the Summit was downright awful on our 2015 cruise except for the grill. Hardly anyone else ate dinner there on that cruise. Our one dinner in the dining room was good (I love lamb and they have it frequently). Aspects we still liked on the Summit were the Revelations Lounge, forward on Deck 11 (2 stories high, floor to ceiling windows), our cabin steward, and theater with 2 balconies. There is nothing we don't like on the Crown.

Summit is better than Crown when it comes to the buffet. I really liked that they had made to order eggs benedict with different toppings. I was disappointed with the buffet on Crown. I think you will be disappointed if you go in thinking the buffet might be similar to Regal/Royal.

Thanks.. Glad I ask in advance, I just assumed that it would be like Royal/Regal..As long as its better than the one that we had on Carnival Magic and Breeze I will be happy..

We've done 4 cruises on the Crown (and 26 others on Princess) and 2 on the Summit (2003, 2015). I would pick the Crown now. The Summit was wonderful when it was new (2001), but some aspects are not so great now. In particular, the buffet was disappointing, except for the grill mentioned above. We eat nearly all our cruise meals in the buffet, but dinner on the Summit was downright awful on our 2015 cruise except for the grill. Hardly anyone else ate dinner there on that cruise. Our one dinner in the dining room was good (I love lamb and they have it frequently). Aspects we still liked on the Summit were the Revelations Lounge, forward on Deck 11 (2 stories high, floor to ceiling windows), our cabin steward, and theater with 2 balconies. There is nothing we don't like on the Crown.

Sorry you didn't like the Summit, but good to hear that you liked the Crown. We were just off the Millennium the sister ship to the Summit and I have to say the food on the Millennium was not nearly as good as on the Summit. Guessing it is due to the chef on board at the time. Appreciate your feedback..

I love the Summit. One of my favorite Celebrity ships.

That being said, the Crown is my least favorite Princess ship. Wouldn't book her if I had other choices.