Words of advice if taking Crown Princess to Canada/New England

[tuccritic]

Recently returned from 10 day Quebec City to NY cruise on Crown Princess. This was our 7th Princess cruise and most disappointing.

 

FOOD: The food was fair; bland and unimaginative. I enjoy fish and a lot of white fish was offered, which would have been acceptable if it had more flavor. The vegetables, rice or potatoes were continually repeated and lacked any flavor. The deserts weren't even appealing. The lobster dinner consisted of one small lobster tail and a few prawn. The lobster was on the dry side.

 

ENTERTAINMENT: The Princess Theater holds 800 passengers, but the ship (which was sold out) holds 3000 passengers. Do the math :) If you didn't get to the theater an hour in advance of the show, you didn't get a seat. Two of the production shows with the Princess singers and dancers have been done on previous cruises. The individual entertainers, however, were very good.

 

TENDER SERVICE: This was a logistical nightmare. If you were on a Princess tour, you received priority to tender. If you were doing an independent tour - good luck. You were given a ticket upon entering the dining room and could wait up to an hour for your number to be called. If you had an independent tour scheduled in port, you could easily be late and miss it. Sydney (a tender port) was aborted because of extremely high winds and the Captain thought unsafe. I can appreciate that, however after reading previous cruisers on this same itinerary who had the same experience, you think Princess would choose a different port this time of year.

 

IMMIGRATION CHECK: The manner in which this was handled was totally unacceptable. You were given a time to be in line. The line started at Club Fusion and ended at the Princess theater at the other end of the ship. The immigration officers arrived 45 minutes late and there were only 2 officers to check out 2,000 US citizens. The whole process took over an hour - so the time you received to be in line became irrelevant. Many Princess tours were late in getting started and therefore cut short. If you had an independent morning tour, you missed it. Originally, I wanted to reserve an independent tour in the morning, but it was sold out; so I settled for the afternoon tour. That turned out to be in our favor, since the morning was a total waste of time waiting in line.

 

TOURS/PORTS: I strongly recommend Oli's Trolley in Bar Harbor - Very reasonable and a lot of fun. We had a great driver who gave us heaps of local info. But, since that is immigration check day DO NOT reserve a morning tour! The ports of call overall were very nice. Charlottetown, Halifax and Newport can be done on your own. We did the Princess walking tour and carriage ride in Quebec City and enjoyed it. In St. John's NB we took the Princess Hop On Hop Off (HOHO) bus. It was 3 loops for the price of one. Princess cost is less than doing the ride on your own. The HOHO works with the cruise lines for a better price. Try to get to reversing falls, very interesting; a worthwhile tour. We did the Freedom Trail in Boston and really liked it. In Newport we had hoped to go on the Cliff Walk and view the Breakers, but the rain was so heavy, we stayed on the ship. If possible spend a day or two in Manhattan. Ride the Staten Island Ferry (it is free!) to get an overview. Ride on one side going and the other side returning. Ellis Island is also worth a stop.

 

If I take another Princess cruise, it will be on a smaller ship.

[Coral]

I agree with you! The Crown is my least favorite ship and my Canada/NE trip last year is my least favorite due to many of the problems you mentioned. Though I love the ports in Canada NE.

 

We did Canada NE on the Golden a few years ago and did not run into any problems we ran into on the Crown last year.

[caribill]

One advantage of booking the cruise from NYC to Quebec City is that you do not have that USA immigration check when going in that direction.

[stoneharborlady]

I agree with you! The Crown is my least favorite ship and my Canada/NE trip last year is my least favorite due to many of the problems you mentioned. Though I love the ports in Canada NE.

 

We did Canada NE on the Golden a few years ago and did not run into any problems we ran into on the Crown last year.

 

Coral, Would respectfully like to ask WHY the Crown is your least favorite ship. I know you are a seasoned cruiser, and am just interested in your reasoning. Many thanks in advance.

 

Karen

[Pam in CA]

Food is very subjective and having been on the Crown for 16 days in September, I thought the food was much better than on our two previous Crown cruises. My sister had fish every night and raved about how good it was. As for potatoes, I often ask for either baked or something else. That's very fixable.

 

Weather is very variable, particularly on the Fall in New England, so ports are often missed. It could be hot and sunny one day, the tail end of a hurricane the next, or a frost. You never know. Schedules and itineraries are based on distance, docking availability, etc. so sometimes, an alternative port isn't possible, even when the cruiseline schedules the itinerary.

 

On my Crown cruise, after having missed Belfast and Reykjavik, I overheard a woman saying, "You'd think they would go to another nearby port. After all, they do that in the Caribbean." I'm not sure if that woman knew where the heck we were.

[CruiseAholic]

Agree that food is subjective, what is gourmet to one person, is slop to another. No one goes hungry for sure.

 

Immigration, not sure how that can be blamed on Princess as they are at the mercy of Immigration officials.

 

Tendering...I just plain hate it for sure, but as an Elite get priority.

 

Subjective seems also to be the same on opinions of ships...I've heard people complain about the most ridiculous things...such as they don't have flat screens, etc. And these were reasons for the not liking a ship!

 

Go figure, be happy in the fact that you are enjoying a vacation that many people in the world can never dream of.

[pegpowell]

We did this cruise in Sept. in the opposite direction.

 

Didn't have any Princess tours and the day we tendered, we didn't have a problem getting off. Didn't try to get off right away, but did have a morning tour.

 

I enjoyed the food.

 

We had late dining and always found seating for the shows.

[skyline]

:confused:We're planning a NYC to Quebec Crown cruise in September, 2011. We know we want a mini-suite, but are wondering if port or starboard would be the better choice? On which side can we see the Statue of Liberty from the balcony? Which side has the best views of the ports when docked? Any other info we should know about this cruise? Thanks.

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

We did Quebec to FT L last fall, overall we had a great cruise and would do it again, it was not a perfect cruise but not sure it is possible to have one these days with 3200 folk on board.

 

My issues were old folk, the granny bunch that stopped in hallways for a chat and did not move, sat in IC all day and fell asleep etc.

 

I did find the ship crowded, noe have done other cruises on the Crown and did not have this issue, so we put this down to passenger mix, weather, day light hours etc.

 

However the service and overall helpfulness of the crew make her a great ship.

 

yours shogun

[Colo Cruiser]

Princess has no control over immigration. :(

[RickEk]

:confused:We're planning a NYC to Quebec Crown cruise in September, 2011. We know we want a mini-suite, but are wondering if port or starboard would be the better choice? On which side can we see the Statue of Liberty from the balcony? Which side has the best views of the ports when docked? Any other info we should know about this cruise? Thanks.

 

Starboard side of the ship to see the Statue of Liberty if you're sailing out of New York harbor...

[DrivesLikeMario]

When you departed from Brooklyn, was there a small liquor-convenience type store in the port building by any chance?

[caber]

 

My issues were old folk, the granny bunch that stopped in hallways for a chat and did not move, sat in IC all day and fell asleep etc.

 

yours shogun

 

Thanks Shogun! :p

 

To the OP, I did the Quebec to Ft. Lauderdale last year also.

I had more lobster on this cruise than any other I have taken. I had no complaints about the food. The Chef`s Table was excellent.

Immigration does not stand out as a memory for me so I don`t think we found it too bad.

Neither did I find it overcrowded.

Just my opinion.

[Bowie MeMe]

I was on this same cruise. I thought the food was pretty much "cruise food" which is usually better than what goes for good in my dining room. Did have a few issues with crowding and certainly the Immigration situation was pretty much a disaster. Princess can not do much about Immigration and just like you have gotten used to ridiculous lines and inconvenience with TSA in airports -- I guess we will know that on ships you will also be at the mercy of the folks trying to keep us safe. I do think that the Crown is at a disadvantage in cold rainy climates in that the public spaces inside are pretty small and the outside pools are just that OUTSIDE! No one much chose to watch MUTS because of the cold and rain and wind thus all those folks ended up in the lounges and theaters. Perhaps big ships should be built with the world in mind -- not just going from warm island to warm island.

 

I enjoyed this cruise very much. I think I just might prefer a smaller ship but that is my preference -- not a reflection on this cruise. The demographic on this cruise tended to be to older (but still pretty active) crowds. I find this hopeful that I might have at least 20 more years to enjoy cruises (IF I can get to the cruise through huge airports in oh so crowded planes). Be nice to the elders because if you are EXTREMELY lucky you will get to be their age someday and people will be waiting on you:rolleyes:

[TrnrMom]

We were on this cruise as well, and experienced the dining room & theater issues the first couple of days. We adjusted by going to dinner later or making reservations, and going to the theater from Deck 6 rather than the back of the theater, about 15-20 minutes early.

 

Food was better than on the Star two years ago, and very good to excellent overall. The Crown Grill was superb, but whether you wish to absorb the extra charge is a personal decision.

 

As for immigration, we were told that they were an hour late but someone we knew asked an immigration officer, and they were told that they were waiting at the dock for the Princess tender on time.....so.....who do you believe?

 

Tendering was our biggest issue - we missed the early Ollie's Trolley in Bar Harbor due to the immigration snafu, and gave up in Newport due to the rain, and the long wait after 50 minutes. Doing the math, we figured it could be another 45-60 minutes. More on that in my trip review. Sydney we missed due to weather, but would you really want to be out in a little boat being tossed against a dock?

 

So did we not enjoy ourselves?? Well, despite being very PO'd at the time, we did! We will choose our itineraries and/or ships more carefully next time....there are few certainties in life, and we were glad to be on vacation with congenial folks, and pampered in general. Yes, there was an occasional grumpy employee (this was the last trip for many) but there were some shining lights as well. More detail in my review which I have now promised three times!

[nctraveler54]

Did the 09/17-27 NY to Quebec, with no problems. Only had one tender, Bar Harbour. Scheduled tender ports, we planned no or late shore excursions so as to not to have to deal with the crowds trying to get off. Food, service, staff, etc were great. The theater was crowded - if you wanted to see the first show and most did. Passengers were older, which we knew about but we are in our fifties. Most were very polite and moved at a slower pace - something we should all try / this is vacation. We did immigrations in Canada, twice, just be friendly and do not be in a hurry. Did not miss any ports, enjoyed them all; some better than others. Saint John was crowded due to three cruise ships in town. Charlottetown was great, hope to return one day. We loved the cruise and would do it again.

[skyline]

Still wondering: Port vs Starboard? Which side has the best view in Quebec? What about the other ports on a northbound New England/Canada cruise? Hoping to get some advice from past cruisers.:confused:

[Coral]

Coral, Would respectfully like to ask WHY the Crown is your least favorite ship. I know you are a seasoned cruiser, and am just interested in your reasoning. Many thanks in advance.

 

Karen

 

I found the ship pretty crowded compared to other ships I have been on (even on similar itineraries). It just seemed very obvious to me that there were 500 extra people on the ship (an extra deck) compared to the Grand, Golden, Star, Sapphire and Diamond.

 

After awhile, we just got really tired waiting for elevators, struggling to find tables in the Horizon Court before our food got cold (even with assistance from a head waiter who we knew), tendering (yes, it is more crowded when 500 more people are trying to tender in addition to the original 2600, we also could never find seats at the International Cafe in the morning or at night. We never got to a show (8 pm show). I wasn't going to wait until 10 pm to see the show as we struggled to find a place to wait (Explorer's Lounge was very full and over crowded), Club Fusion is just a strange lounge and the other places were crowded.

 

We had an itinerary that people loved and it seemed all the tours left at the same time (thus everyone was eating at the same time, trying to get off the ship at the same time, etc..). It wasn't like the Caribbean when people sleep in, leave the ship leisurely, etc...

 

On a positive note, our food was good, our room steward and wait staff was wonderful and service overall was pretty good at the shore excursion desk and customer service desk.

 

It was just the constant crowds I couldn't escape from and I don't want to go on vacation and deal with crowds all the time. It is not my kind of vacation (and I haven't had this issue with any other Princess ship). We also missed having the covered pool as it was cool outside and no one could really swim until we got closer to Florida.

[nctraveler54]

Still wondering: Port vs Starboard? Which side has the best view in Quebec? What about the other ports on a northbound New England/Canada cruise? Hoping to get some advice from past cruisers.:confused:

 

Starboard - leaving NY, you had a great view of the Mother Liberty - facing the dock in all ports. If you are heading from NY to Quebec.