LAFFNVEGAS'S First LIVE From a Princess Ship The Crown

[CruisingCamper]

Looking forward to more from you later. It has been a VERY GREAT report so far. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!

[dchip]

Thanks for the live thread. I have enjoyed reading your posts on the HAL board. I agree with the differences you have found so far....you will find more :D I will let you be surprised.

 

Absolutely hit the Vines for sushi. It was fabulous on the Star in April. It was $1/piece then but worth every penny. You can't get sushi on land for $1/piece!

 

Big thanks for the Embassy Suites tip for taking pics of the ships in port. We have stayed at the Hyatt Place 4 times and always walk to the bridge. In March, we are staying an extra day after the cruise because I want to see the "Behemoth of the Seas"!! You have made it easier :D

 

Cheers, Denise

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the update.

 

Phoenix Rising is great.

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Good Evening from the Crown Princess en route to Georgetown, Grand Caymans on Sunday January 17th, 2010.

You know that this cruising is hard work,:o I do not know what it is but I get so wiped out when I cruise. I feel like I am a Party Pooper. But at least we made it out later than Frank and Michelle. lol

If I do say so myself, Tom and I looked pretty good tonight.;) He had his Tux on and I had on this new Eggplant colored dress. Unfortunately I cannot say that about many of the fellow passengers. I do not want this to be a thread about dress code but......if the evenings dress attire is FORMAL, then you should at least make an attempt to be dressed up. Maybe it was just those that had early traditional dining but there were quite a few men wearing extremely casual shirts and golf shirts, women wearing clothes like I wear on my day off. And yes this was in the dining room. I hate to dress up like everyone else but I do it because that is what is requested by the ship/cruise line. I of course have seen this same trend on HAL but thought maybe it was not as bad on Princess but I was wrong. Tom was one of the very few actually wearing a Tux with the exception of the Dining Room Stewards. I am surprise someone did not come up to him and ask for a glass of water.:D

Dinner tonight was exceptional. While it was not on the menu our server said they had Escargot. I love Escargot but it is really greasy on HAL and gives me indigestion just looking at it. Tonight it was tasty and very good. The Asparagus soup was great and again nice and hot and the Shrimp dish I had as a main entree was great. Again the dessert items were also great. Frank, Tom and I were all very happy with our meals tonight but I don't think Michelle was too thrilled with her Vegetarian Fritters.

Another comment I will make is the exceptional service, while they are not as chatty as some Dining Room stewards can be on HAL they are very efficient. The service has been great with all the food very hot. On HAL it is more hit and miss in this area. Of course I am sure it can be with Princess but from what I can see it does not appear to be that way which tells me the kitchen is well managed.

 

We did get out of the dining room about 7:40 giving us enough time to see the Champagne Waterfall. Let's just say I rate it exactly the same as HAL's Champagne Toast but the edge does go to HAL because at least you can sit down in the Show Room and they do it twice so that everyone can see it.

After that we headed to the Princess Theater to see the show "What a Swell Party" I have read for years that Princess cruisers cram into the show room hoarding I mean saving seats long before the show starts. On HAL this never happens and from my short time on NCL it also did not happen there. We get into the theater a good 20 minutes before the show and there is not a seat to be had. We ended up sitting way in the back. With the exception of have a few more singer and dancers than HAL I could have sworn we were watching a Stiletto Production on HAL. In the comparison game neither HAL nor Princess get any points they all go to NCL.

On the way heading aft from the theater we walked thru the Wheelhouse Bar and the band was playing "Rock around the Clock" everyone was just walking thru hardly anyone was sitting in there but there were 4 couples dancing that appears to be close to my Mother's age in their early to mid 80's.

I have come to the conclusion that Princess ships are in many ways the same as HAL just the decor and names have been changed. The Wheelhouse bar is the Ocean Bar on HAL. The Explorer's Lounge is the Queen's Lounge on HAL. I will say that the International Cafe and Vines is truly unique and different of which I really like. The other thing they both have in common is plenty of extremely dedicated cruisers that feel that their cruise line is the best and they would not consider trying another. I was one of those cruisers but on HAL. I believe I can say that Tom and I are changing and that cruising now will be more about the itinerary and of course price.

Tomorrow is Grand Caymans and we are going out to Sting Ray City with Native Way. We did their tour back in March 2005 and thought for a private excursion they were great. We are doing this with Frank and Michelle so should be lots of fun. The bad part is that about 11:00 AM is High Tide tomorrow and 4 foot 11 me will have a bit of a hard time.:eek:

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess.

 

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[Cruisin' Chick]

Just in case anyone who is new to Princess is reading this thread, all passengers, no matter what category the cabin, can have use of a bathrobe for the duration of the cruise. There is a better quality one, but not sure which category or past passenger status is entitled to that. If not in your closet when you first get to your cabin, just ask your cabin steward.

[stanford's girl]

I'm here and only got as far as page one before CC started to freeze up. I'll come back tomorrow to catch up on all the fun-filled adventures of Lisa and Tom!! You know how much I love reading your LIVE threads!! :D

[Seal]

This is my second try--the first went poof !!

 

Didn't see you at the Meet and Greet--we left early for another meeting--is there another event planned ????

 

Sorry about the staff not always speaking to you in the hallway--don't know what hall you're in but in my hallway it's everyone speaks to you--it's always that way--and they call you by name if they know what it is.

 

As for last night--everyone at our table got the memo--and we dressed as suggested--we use Anytime Dining--maybe just the luck of the draw>

 

Nancy:D:D

[TorontoTL]

Nancy, how are you doing? It's been so long since we had that cruise together on the west coast on board the Sapphire. I hope you're having a great cruise on the Crown. :D

[Seal]

Nancy, how are you doing? It's been so long since we had that cruise together on the west coast on board the Sapphire. I hope you're having a great cruise on the Crown. :D

Hi Benny

 

Everything is going well for us and I hope the same for you!!

 

We're disembarking the Crown on Saturday and then staying the night in FLL then onto the Emerald for another 7 day cruise--We have nofuture cruising plans yet--my daughter is pregnant and we will stay close by since this is a High Risk pregnancy--Dr's at UCLA--they only do High Risk--

 

Great to hear from you Benny

 

Nancy:D:D

 

 

 

We're going to NYC next month for our theatre fix--then maybe

[Coral]

This is my second try--the first went poof !!

 

Didn't see you at the Meet and Greet--we left early for another meeting--is there another event planned ????

 

Nancy:D:D

 

Nancy, how are you doing? It's been so long since we had that cruise together on the west coast on board the Sapphire. I hope you're having a great cruise on the Crown. :D

 

It has been awhile! That was a great cruise - one of my favorites! Maybe we will all end up on a cruise again.

 

Nancy - have a great time. Hope the weather cooperates as I hear last week wasn't the best.

[Colo Cruiser]

Have a great day in GC!!

[TorontoTL]

Hi Benny

 

Everything is going well for us and I hope the same for you!!

 

We're disembarking the Crown on Saturday and then staying the night in FLL then onto the Emerald for another 7 day cruise--We have nofuture cruising plans yet--my daughter is pregnant and we will stay close by since this is a High Risk pregnancy--Dr's at UCLA--they only do High Risk--

 

Great to hear from you Benny

 

Nancy:D:D

 

 

 

We're going to NYC next month for our theatre fix--then maybe

 

OMG, Nancy, our friends Dan and Anthony are going to be on the Emerald on the same sailing as you are this coming Sunday! They were on the Sapphire with us when you were on the same cruise on the west coast along with Coral (Theresa). What a small world, hopefully you'll see them and recognize them and say hello, that would freak them out. :D

[Carolyn R]

Thank you for taking us all along with you. Princess does have the BEST escargot!

[themerle]

Glad you enjoyed your evening! Hope today is packed with fun.

[Atomica]

Thanks for the fantastic reports, Lisa - glad to hear you and Tom are enjoying yourselves aboard the beautiful Crown Princess! We're looking forward to going back on her for a third time to Europe this summer!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Greetings from Georgetown Grand Caymans on Monday January 18th 2010

I have one word for today.....PERFECTION!!!!!

Todays weather could not have been any better. We got up at about 7 dressed and went down tot he International Cafe for coffee and the breakfast of champions.....a Chocolate Donut :-) I must say that Princess seems far more organized with tender service than HAL does. Granted I had Prioerity tendering but everyone was moved off the ship quickly. We were meeting ashore with Native Way for an excursion that would take us to Sting Ray City and Snorkeling. I did this the last time we were in Grand Caymans with Sharon Ebanks and her crew of Native Way and was so very impressed that as soon as I knew we were for sure going on this cruise I contacted her again to sign us up. Tom is not a swimmer so he stays on the boat and takes pictures. As I had mentioned before I was concerned because it was to be high tide today and peak of high tide would be about 11:00 AM. The last time I was here it was not high tide but the winds were rough, the seas choppy and it made it extremely difficult for me to stand in the sand bar to do the Sting Ray Swim which is why I was extremely concerned. Well, I can say now that there was definitely no reason to be concerned. The seas were calm, not windy, warm, sunny not too hot and not too humid. Total perfection in Paradise!!!! We got out to Sting Ray City before the large boats arrived from Princess and the Carnival Inspiration. There was maybe two other boats there when we arrived with about the same amount of people we had. I forgot to count how many were on our boat but at the very most it was 20 people, Tom thinks closer to 16 of us. Maybe less now that I am thinking about it more like 14 Anyway.... It was so very personalized. We got to spend lots of time with the Sting Rays petting them and kissing them. It was great Oh and did I say the water was so crystal clear and warm. I could have stayed there all day.

After playing with the Sting Rays they took us to a Coral reef area that we snorkeled in. It was beautiful and so clear. I went swimming off and just kept swiming over the coral and watching the fish.

Then back into the boat and headed over to another area where we could snorkel, swim and the kids were all jumping off the top of the boat while the crew from Native Way went diving down to grab Star Fish to bring up to show us.

Unfortunately all good things must come to an end and it was time for the tour to end and bring us back to town. Georgetown was not the least bit crowded due to the fact that there was only two ships in port and the Carnival Inspriation is definitely not a large ship. We had decided we would go to lunch joing us were Frank and Michelle and CC member Tom and his wife Sherry from Ontario. Funny thing is Tom had a good idea who I was and that he knew me from many years ago when I use to be an avid Swarovski Collector and we frequented the same chat board. So the 6 of us took off to have lunch at Margaritaville in Grand Caymans. Some of us had to have a Hamburger in Paradise with a large Margaritaville Margarita :D After an expensive lunch but one of those things you do not get to do too often like having a Margarita in Grand Caymans we did some shopping. We bought our son a Grand Caymans hoodie and Tom got a T shirt that Michelle also go and pointed out to us that was really cute. It has a ship with a Donkey on it that says.... "Cruisin my A$$ OFF in Grand Caymans"

We are now sailing away from Georgetown and on our way to Roatan and the weather for tomorrow is to be yet another perfect day. Granted the perfect weather makes things look great but I have to give credit and points to Princess for the excellent tender service and getting people on and off the ship. Never once did it feel crowded. Even at the end of the day when it normally would be the worst Princesses crew moved everyone to the tenders far quickly than the last time we were here with HAL. You would never know we were on a ship that is one and a half times the size of a HAL Vista Class.

Also while I am thinking about it, I want to mention that the Crown is really a great ship and probably the quietest ship as for noise and vibration I have ever been on. With being on Deck 8 Emerald at the very aft I expected lots of vibration and noises. To be honest there is far less than any HAL ship I have been on. It is so smooth, and this ship rides so nice. Maybe because it is larger who knows but it is a good riding ship.

I think I am going to run down to the Thermal Suite for an hour. We decided to go have Sushi and Sake at Vines tonight for dinner and Tom will watch the three of us then he will head up to the Horizon Court to find something to eat. ;)

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess on our way to Roatan Honduras.:)

[themerle]

WOW! You did have a great day. I felt like I was right there with you. Hope your evening is just the same!

[CruisingCamper]

Great info on the Grand Cayman tour! We'll have to check in to that company.

[acetray]

IT is good to hear that the ship is running smooth. I was reading review in november and dec and people were complaining about it being rough. I am so excited to be on the ship in a few months

[PrincessNancy]

 

 

I think I am going to run down to the Thermal Suite for an hour. We decided to go have Sushi and Sake at Vines tonight for dinner and Tom will watch the three of us then he will head up to the Horizon Court to find something to eat. ;)

 

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess on our way to Roatan Honduras.:)

 

Ahhh...sounds like a perfect way to relax at the end of your day. Please let me know how the sushi is at Vines. Definitely want to try it in March. What other types of tapas do they have?

Thank you so much...have a fabulous day in Roatan!

Nancy

[jimandtoni]

Hi! My wife and I will be on the Crown Feb 13 with an aft cabin on Emerald deck...what cabin number are you? We have been on the Crown three times already but we are still very much looking forward to seeing her again!

[zamgwar]

Hi! My wife and I will be on the Crown Feb 13 with an aft cabin on Emerald deck...what cabin number are you? We have been on the Crown three times already but we are still very much looking forward to seeing her again!

 

Hi! well it's a small world!!! There's a BATCH of us on the same sailing as you and most of us are on Emerald Deck. I have I think we have 5 minisuites (including the coveted 730 & 731) one inside and one outside, all aft. We're all starting to get VERY excited.

 

Not hijiacking this thread..just saying hello. In fact I'm LOVING this thread!!

 

John

Office Impending Vacations

The Zamgwar Institute

[Momma Mojito]

Like everyone else I want to thank you for taking the time to give us all such a detailed live report. We were on the Crown in Novemberfor the second time and had a great cruise. Like some of the others we did not find the crew to be unfriendly. If you like pasta and they offer the bow-tie with veal and peas .......Farfalle alla Rustica ....order it you will be very pleased with it.

Also please give " PHOENIX RISING" the band in the Wheelhouse a second chance. With the variety of music they play they have given us very entertaining evenings in the Wheelhouse. If you do go please tell Joey, that Gene and JoAnn said hi!!!

We too stayed at the Hyatt Place for the third time ,and will continue to stay there. I think for all that they offer for the price you pay you can't go wrong. I will remember to go and take pictures from the Embassy the next time. Thanks for the hint....Great pictures

[ugminer]

We decided to go have Sushi and Sake at Vines tonight for dinner and Tom will watch the three of us then he will head up to the Horizon Court to find something to eat. ;)

 

 

If I was there I would be right behind you Tom ;) Michelle did you guys find any PePe size margaritas? LOL PS Johnny wants to go there this time and of course I won't say no:D Sounds like you guys are carrying on the Yummer tradition of having a great time. Maybe next year we can get to the East coast side of things

CARRY ON !!

[LAFFNVEGAS]

Monday January 18, 2010

 

Good Evening from the Crown Princess on our way to Roatan Honduras.:)

 

When I last left off I told you that we were going to have Sushi and Sake in Vines well,.... we had a change of plans. Frank and Michelle got down to Vines several minutes before we did and went to order and found out "No Sake" and very limited amount of Sushi. It was of course 7 PM and hour after our assigned dining and so first thought was Sabatini's but tonight was Italian night in the main dining room. Tom had gone up to Horizon Court/Cafe Caribe earlier because he figured he would not be eating Sushi. To his surprise it was Dutch Night up there. He thought he was back on HAL. Yes they had all those Dutch favorites. Anyway we figured maybe we could go to one of the Alternative diningrooms for the Any Time dining. We went to the Michelangelo Dining Room to find this long line of people waiting. So Michelle's say "Sabatini's it is" So we head aft and upstairs. To find the room practically empty but they told us they were full and could not get us in for an hour. We kep asking and then talking among ourselves as to what we should do for dinner, I then pulled my Black card out of my pants pocket and was holding it in a way I knew the Manager could probably see it. Suddenly he thought he could get us in. We were seated immediately. Now remember Tom had already eaten Cafe Caribe about an hour before. I had thought we most likely would not get the change to dine at Sabatini's but I am certainly glad we did. It was wonderful. I knew from having read on Cruise Critic how much food it was so I took it very light on the appetizers and the Pasta before the Lobster arrived. That Pumpkin Risoto was wonderful as was the Lobster. Oh Heck everything was very good.:D Frank ordered the bottle of wine that we all shared. I feel like I will not be able to eat for weeks and we are going to the Crown Grill tomorrow night.:eek: I think I am glad we are not going to the Chef's Table. I understand there were so many that signed up that they were having two sessions of the Chef's Table. One tonight and one tomorrow night. We did sign up for the Ultimate Ship's Tour and got our letter of confirmation this evening.

Something I want to mention about the possible noise from Club Fusion. It was said that we could hear music from there since we are just above the Band stand. We have not heard anything till this evening shortly after we came back to the cabin. It lasted about 10 minutes then stopped and I have not heard it since. It is now about 10:40PM but thankfully we get to set the clock back and hour tonight and gain an extra hour of sleep. I am really not use to getting up so early plus you figure our bodies are still on Pacific time.

 

We have not exactly been Party Animals this cruise like we were on that quicky NCL Star cruise we did in November. We have kind of fallen back into our HAL mode of eating and going back to our cabin with the exception of last night when we did go to the show. We have not even had the chance to think about going to MUTS. Part of the problem is when you are so full from eating it just feels good to go back to your cabin to relax. For a first time Princess cruiser there is just too many things you want to do and it almost takes 2 full weeks.

 

I am going to end tonight's report because I want to also do some reading. I usually read at least three full books on a cruise and I have not finished one I brought that I started a few weeks ago so I need to get reading.

 

Signing off from the Beautiful Crown Princess.