LAFFNVEGAS'S First LIVE From a Princess Ship The Crown

[lovevacadays]

Hi Lisa,

Enjoy your time on the Crown. We were just on her in November. Check out Phoenix Rising in the Wheelhouse Bar. They play a few different genre's of music so if you don't hear something you like in the first few songs, give them a few more and see if you like them. I loved their music. On my cruise, they were the best on board.

 

Hope you enjoy your foray over to Princess!:)

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greetings and Good Evening from humid Ft. Lauderdale or at least it feels very humid to us :)

 

WOW am I ever exhausted it has been a very very long day.

 

Well, when I last left off we were in McCarren Airport in Las Vegas and since I am now writing to all of you, you can guess that our Southwest flight did not have WiFi :( The 4 hour and 35 minute air time went relatively fast, thanks to reading and watching about 90 minutes worth of music videos I had downloaded into my IPod Touch. But it was a bumpy ride for about 1/3 of the flight. We were off the plane by 5:15 FLL time and after a quick stop in the rest rooms we headed over to the baggage area to retrieve our bags. While waiting for our bags I caught up on text messages made a phone call to Frank who was already at the hotel. While we were standing there the Carnival Rep comes up to us and asks if we are sailing on Carnival tomorrow :eek: All these people standing around and he comes over to us, I did not see him ask anyone else. OMG do we look like we would be sailing on Carnival? Well maybe :D that may be our next cruise after the NCL Pearl in April.

Anyway our luggage came quickly, I called the Hyatt Place from the free phones that connect to the hotels provided at the baggage area and they told me where to get catch the shuttle and said the shuttle would be there in about 15 minutes. We walked down to the area and there was the Hyatt Place shuttle, I thought WOW that was fast. It seems he was there to pick up a party of 4 coming from a SW flight. We told him we had called in and was only the party of two. We got in the shuttle and heard on his radio he had another party of two at the SW terminal. The party of 4 showed up and they had actually been on our flight from Vegas and were cruising on the Carnival Liberty tomorrow. Then on to terminal two where we picked up another family of 4 that were cruising on the Oasis tomorrow. We then were off to the hotel.

 

 

The Hyatt Place was formally an Amerisuites property, we stayed here last in March of 2005 when we sailed on the Westerdam. The Lobby was definitely remodeled from when we were last here but the rooms look basically the same right down to the couches except they have definitely been

reupholstered. I will say that the beds look very comfy and I am looking forward to a good nights sleep. I probably got 2 hours of sleep last night. Yes I was a bit excited but probably more laying in bed thinking did I pack everything.

 

Our room is practically across the hall from Frank and Michelle's. It ended up Michelle was not feeling that great because she too got no sleep last night so she stay to sleep and Frank, Tom and I decided to just walk over to the Outback for dinner, What can I say other than "it's close" The place was packed so I pulled the trick we do in Las Vegas and that is go into the bar area and watch for someone leaving, sure enough just as I walked in a bus person was cleaning off a table and we grabbed the booth. No wait no hassle!!

 

Sher aka localady I ordered a Margarita just for you ;) and it was happy hour Tom and Frank got double beers and I just got a half price Margarita, pretty large and tasty for 3 bucks. Tom was almost wearing his beer, when the waiter came to bring the bread he knocked over one of Frank's glasses of beers.... didn't know my husband could jump out of a booth so quickly :D

 

As many of you know Tom and I like to be at the pier early to be one of the first on the ships. While yes we know it is crowded at that time we still prefer to be early. Our feeling is the minute we have walked across the gangway the cruise has begun. We knew in advance that the shuttle service here at the Hyatt while free is not an early service and it is first come first to go. The place is packed with cruisers so I already know it will be a real zoo in the morning so we decided with Frank that we will just get a van service here about 10:30 in the morning. This way we can get over to the ship early and no crowds from the hotel. I will let you know tomorrow what the cost of getting a van will be.

 

Pam, you asked if we had a Suite. We do not have a Full Suite but rather a Mini Suite but one of the the special aft Mini Suites. We have Emerald Deck 730 the last one on the Port side that has the double balcony.

 

Well, I think I will call it a night. Tomorrow we plan to get up at about 7:30, have a light bite for breakfast, then I want to walk over to the Embassey Suites and go to the top floor and go to the outside area that has a great view of the ships and take some pictures. I want a picture of the ships in port with a comparison of the Oasis.

 

Signing off from the Hyatt Place near Port Everglades FL.

[Overtime4me2]

Thanks for posting your cruise. I will enjoy hearing the comparison with HAL.

 

ENJOY !! :)

[lovevacadays]

Would love to hear what you think of your E730 cabin. I have #731 booked on the Caribbean Princess in December.

[teachergal29]

quote from laffnvegas "Pam, you asked if we had a Suite. We do not have a Full Suite but rather a Mini Suite but one of the the special aft Mini Suites. We have Emerald Deck 730 the last one on the Port side that has the double balcony."

 

In a mini--You will have a bigger cabin than a balcony category(sofa instead of a chair), upgraded bathroom amenities, robes, and a glass of champagne at embarkation.

 

Glad you got that end mini-suite on the Emerald. We were next door to the one like it on the Dolphin deck on our Alaskan cruise on the Golden back in '08. The balcony is huge and yours in covered unlike the one on the Dolphin.

I think you will have a wonderful cruise.

 

Sleep well and we look forward to your next posting..:)

[justluv2cruisewithhubby]

Hello Lisa

I'm truly enjoying your post so far even though your not even on the ship yet. I've also sailed HAL twice and we are going on our 2nd Princess cruise. We are neighbors, I also live in Las Vegas and will be sailing the Crown in two weeks. I can't wait, DH and I are very excited. When you went to the airport did you arrive 2 hours early at McCarran? Were the security lines bad? Trying to plan ahead. Thanks Mimi

[teachergal29]

Hello Lisa

I'm truly enjoying your post so far even though your not even on the ship yet. I've also sailed HAL twice and we are going on our 2nd Princess cruise. We are neighbors, I also live in Las Vegas and will be sailing the Crown in two weeks. I can't wait, DH and I are very excited. When you went to the airport did you arrive 2 hours early at McCarran? Were the security lines bad? Trying to plan ahead. Thanks Mimi

 

Hi Mimi, Please come join our LV thread, link in my signature as well as Lisa's. We are part of a group of LV cruisers that meet about once a month for dinner to discuss all cruise lines and our future and past cruises.. We would love for you to join us...:)

[rdsqrl]

Bon voyage, Lisa (may I call you Lisa? After all, we haven't been formally introduced...). I hope you enjoy your first Princess cruise and the beautiful Crown. Looking forward to sailing along with you and reading your impressions.

[woody73]

Lisa, I enjoyed your posts on the HAL boards, and am glad to find you here.

 

Bon voyage!

 

Woody

[PathfinderEss]

Hey Lisa, good to see your are doing one of your famous live reports on your first Princess cruises. Can't wait to hear what you think about Princess versa Hal. Are you in a PH? I'm anxious to hear if you like Princess "PH" cabins better then Hal's "S", though I know you will miss the "Neptune". Wishing you and Tom a wonderful cruise. Thanks for posting the link over on Hal's site.

Guess I should read your post throughly, you can disregard what I said above about the cabin, as I read you are in a mini suite. Well, it still will be interesting what you think and maybe you can get into a "PH" to see what one looks like.

[Bucky3]

Thanks for doing the "Live" for us. It will be fun to see your comparisons. We are just the opposite of you - 22+ cruises on Princess and only 2 on HA - Volendam & Oosterdam. If you like a hot room service breakfast, you're out of luck on Princess unless in a Suite. We really enjoyed that on HA. We do love Princess, and hope you will too. Enjoy and thanks again for taking the time to post.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Morning from The Hyatt Place in Fort Lauderdale. I cannot believe I am writing this before my first cup of coffee:eek:

I feel like a 7 year old on Christmas Eve, I kept waking up last night. I do know what to expect but yet I know it will be very different:D So in many ways I feel like a first time cruiser. In November we did that Mini 2 Night Cruise to No Where on the NCL Star. We had low to No expectations going into that cruise and came out thrilled had had a great time. I am one that believes that attitude and what you make of it has a lot to do with how great the cruise will be. Well I have a feeling this will be a GREAT cruise :)

 

Actually Tom and I will be in lucky as for Room Service, would you believe we never order Room Service on HAL. We have a few times and was just not impressed. I would much prefer going up to the Lido/Horizon Court or to the Main dining room to be served.

Well so far this morning I can see some blue skies peeking thru the clouds when I looked outside so hopefully the weather will be great.

For those staying at the Hyatt Place for your upcoming cruises. For the money it really is pretty good deal. The beds are extremely comfortable far better than they were over at the Embassey Suites.

Thanks for all the Bon Voyages :)

I definitely plan to keep you all updated on our week on the Crown and hoping you can see thru my eyes our first impressions.

I am going to go hop in the shower now so we can go get a bite to eat and coffeeeeee.

 

Signing off from the Hyatt Place near Port Everglades.

[sunsetbeachgal]

HI Lisa,

 

Just booked the Crown for March 13th-I am traveling with a friend (we are leaving the husbands at home!) and she is a first time cruiser, and, like you are I find myself giddy with excitement for her (this is my 11th Princess cruise). We need a hotel for the night before and I was wondering what happended to Amerisuites---thanks for your posts!

[matondo]

I LOVE your posts!!!! Your comments about the Carnival cruise person made me laugh out loud. That was so funny. Bon Voyage!!! :D

[TorontoTL]

The night before a cruise is just like the night before Christmas isn't it? Have a wonderful time!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Our Ship has arrived :D

 

Yup, we have a ship to board today.

 

Had a lite bite here at the hotel then walked over the Embassey Suites and took the elevator to the 12th floor and took some pictures. It is extremely windy and a bit humid but it is warm so better than it was for the cruisers last weekend.

 

Also saw bemanmouth of the seas :D

I have to say she does not look as large from a distance in comparison to the Crown.

We are now heading off to the ship will report in later today.

[seadrifter]

Hope your boarding goes smoothly and you will have the afternoon to explore the Crown. We'll be thinking of you at sail-away time.:D

[CruisingCamper]

So thankful for your live thread. Helps us get excited for our cruise on the Crown in three weeks. We will be first time Princess cruisers too!!

[sunsetbeachgal]

Hi!

 

We saw the "Oasis" when we left FLL for a Panama Canal cruise in late November-at first glance she didn't look as large as we expected, but when you look at her from the "rear" when our ship pulled out, and we saw how wide she was all of those cabins, it blew our mind!!

[Kiwi Kruzer]

From the bridge cam in Fort Lauderdale..

 

This site follows the ships progress and gives google maps and bridge cams.

clik on...

http://*****/

and select current ships position.

[Travelrd]

Lisa....following your "live from" thread here on the Princess site. Bon Voyage!

I Know your posts will be fascinating, as always. Have fun and enjoy.

Thanks

[Himself]

Lisa:

I have wandered over to the Princess page to read your thread.

Come back to HAL, with all your heart, don't let this keep us apart. Long have we waited for you to come back to HAL.

 

In the meantime, Have a great cruise.

Himself

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greetings From the Crown Princess still in Port Everglades:)

WOW!!! OK I am impress :D

I am going to make this report some what short because the Muster Drill is in just a few minutes. We are unpacked and settled into E730. Signed up for the Thermal Suite for the week and have a 8:00AM appoint tomorrow morning for the 100 minute Asian Lotus Spa Ritual. Tomorrow is a total relax day.

We are sipping on our Welcome Aboard Glass of champagne. Actually not that bad, I expected they would serve one like I hate on HAL but this one is actaually pretty tasty.

 

I can already tell it is going to be a fantastic week and we will not want to get off the ship next Saturday.

 

Later tonight I will give a full report of check in and lunch in the Horizen Court but now it is time to grab the life jackets thankfully we only go down one floor to Club Fusion.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess.

[TorontoTL]

Great to hear you like the ship so far.:D

[powderhorn]

Hey Lisa....what are you doing over here!!!!!:D

 

I thought I was the only HAL afficionado on this message board....haha

 

Looks like you are off to a good start on such a grand cruise. I will be interested in your comparisons as we sailed back to back on the Eurodam and Ruby last February and found some of the subtleties between the two cruise lines "interesting"

 

Bon Voyage!!:)