Another Crown 4/2-4/9 review...

[michigan tim]

4/1 - Flew to Orlando (originally booked a cruise out of Port Canaveral); rented car from Avis and drove to West Palm Beach, stayed at Courtyard.

 

4/2 - Drove about an hour to Port Everglades. Dropped car at Avis/Hyatt Pier 66 (just over the causeway (17th Ave) at the cruise terminal), shuttled to the cruise terminal; it is now about 1:00. Was onboard in about 10min (Elite/preferred boarding). Wandered up to the buffet, ate and set out to explore the ship. After the muster drill we enjoyed the sail away from the deck above the Neptune pool. Eventually we mosey back to the buffet to enjoy the lobster claws we'd heard about... and the mussels... and the shrimps.... and the... We checked out a few of the various night spots and watched the NCAA semi on the big screen (funny thing, this was the Butler /Uconn game and the crowd was overwhelmingly for Butler... we found a couple of lounges, sat down and I asked the older couple next to me, "Is anyone here actually rooting for Uconn?". The woman says, "We're from Connecticut" and the husband says, "I graduated from Uconn". Oops! Shoe leather does not go well with seafood.

 

4/3 - Day at sea. DW likes to lay out, I don't. She finds good spot, I tell her I'll check back in a couple hours and we'll do the pub lunch at the Wheelhouse. We split a fish & chips and a bangers and mash, which we both enjoyed. Relaxing afternoon, donned the jacket and went to formal night dinner. Noticed a high percentage of tuxes.

 

4/4 - Grand Cayman. Did Stingray City and 2 snorkel stops with Capt. Brian's catamaran. Did this about 6 years ago and while the stingrays remain a great experience, the coral at the snorkel sites seems to have really deteriorated. Still very good, but I think the snorkeling I did at Roatan's Tabyanna Beach 2 years ago is better... and the reef is only 50yds from shore. Had a fun ride back to shore as we got smacked by a storm and as they scrambled to get the sail down, something screwed up and the sail and lines were flopping violently in the wind... lucky no one went in the drink; a youtube moment wasted! Back to town, DW goes to ship, I try to find place to fish from shore... told only on other side of island. I grab a cold one at Tortuga's and get in line for the tender. We graze the buffet, pizzeria, and grill and call it good for dinner. Watch first half of NCAA final at MUTS, second half we retire to room to watch second half... about 1 min left the TV dies... I run upstairs to MUTS... it's dead too... I run back downstairs to watch a flailing Butler shot go amiss. Oh well, to make it that far 2 years in a row is very impressive.

 

4/5 - Roatan. Got off ship and took chair lift... I was for sure going to fish here; or was I? DW picked out a lounge and I went off to fish. Found a secluded spot behind the last bar in what appeared to be a trash dump... I assembled my gear, crawled out on the mangroves and cast my offering. Soon I was wrestling about a 30" barracuda... I lifted it out of the water and it came off as I was trying to get camera out for a pic or two... managed several grunts and another smaller barracuda over the next couple hours... There was a two man band in the bar behind me playing all the Caribbean standards, so it was pleasant, but very fatiguing as I was standing on a mangrove branch w/ one arm around another branch, so after a couple hours I headed to meet my wife for lunch, on the way I talked to the singer and he told me there was no place else to fish and the only reason I could fish there was because no one could see me. We got some lunch and I strategized about how I could get out to the point past the beach where the waves were breaking. So I packed my rod and gear and as inconspicuously as I could I trekked passed the sun bathers and a secured guard positioned at the far end of the beach. I made it out to the point, out of sight of all humans and walked across about 50yd of shallows to reach the breaking waves. After a few casts I see the security guy walking on the beach in my direction. Soon I was fighting a crazy fish about 3’ long that was cartwheeling through the surf. I got it in, lifted up, and it bit through the line. The security guy throws his hands up like, oh well, you can't always get them. I motioned to him to see if he wanted me to come in and walked in to discuss my options. He basically said that they wanted everyone to be in sight. He was a nice enough young man who was also a fisherman. He said the fish I'd caught was a blue bone. He also mentioned a big alligator he'd trapped on the other side of the island a week ago. I finally found a boat dock on the same inside channel I'd fished earlier and caught a few more grunts and had a vicious barracuda miss my offering. Several of the crew were engaged in a very competitive/loud game of cricket in the field behind the dock, it was fun seeing/hearing them whoop it up! Soon it was time to head to the ship, so I grab a local brew and board the chair lift. Tonight we dined light on sushi and tapas at Vines.

 

4/6 - Cozumel. No hurry, no worries. We take a cab downtown, hit some shops, grab some food, and buy a couple wrestling masks for my 20 something son and his buddy. I could not believe how developed the Puerto Maya Pier area has become in two years. Back on ship I was a bit disappointed by the lack of late drunks running for the gangways... especially having the Carnival Legend parked next to us. We grazed the buffet, pizzeria and grill during sail away.

 

4/7 - Sea Day. Lazy day. Did wine tasting in afternoon. Met a gentleman at the Capt's Cocktail Party who financed his cruise by renting his house for the week (he lives in Augusta, GA which I'm told has 4000 hotel rooms and during Master's week has 40,000 visitors). Had the lobster, was served two tails and a prawn. One tail was probably the best I've had, the other was as is the norm, overcooked, tough/rubbery.

 

4/8 - Princess Cays. I see a lot of people referring to this stop as a waste, but I was quite impressed with it. They are spread out over the better part of a mile and when I ate at 12:30 I was through the buffet in 10min. There is a main buffet on the north side w/ I believe 4 (6?) lines flowing and another buffet south w/ 1 line. Anyway, I was on the island about 9:30 and fished my way north well past the cemetery. I caught a nice variety, most notably a beautifully appointed damselfish which I'll try to post a pic of. After lunch I fished my way south. I spotted a pair of barracuda cruising the shallows, they turned on my bait, but would not take. I did manage a large black damselfish and found some very cool tide pools that were loaded with urchins (both alive and nice shells) and sand dollars (again both alive and nice shells). Last tender at 3:30, so head back to Princess Cay compound. Back with 10min to spare to find everyone on island wants to take the 3:30 tender. Line extends further than I can see. Oh well, I grab a Grolsch, seek some shade and enjoy my remaining time here as the line filters past. Back on board I meet DW and we graze at the usual haunts and also head down to Vines for some sushi and tapas (the skewered mozzarella balls and cherry tomatos w/ balsamic vinaigrette are mighty fine, but is this really Spanish?).

 

Summary: All in all another great cruise vacation. A couple of minor annoyances: No chilled salad plates on the buffet, there were times when they were hot from a recent spin in the dishwasher. We experienced a quick pulsing vibration in our stateroom when the ship was at cruising speed. When it was minor the mirror behind the bed rattled... when it was stronger the shelf above the cloths rack also rattled. We were in R727 (Riviera deck, starboard balcony about 6 rooms from the Terrace Pool). The two nights we dined in the MDR we had one excellent w/ excellent service and one not so much. We did not partake of any production shows as we've found this area to be comparatively weak for this line. Cruise Director Ron was one of the best we've had; very personable, approachable and visible. Our room steward was excellent. The staff overall was very upbeat (to me this can be a make or break) and very team oriented. When I asked the gal who got my coffee each morning at the coffee shop for her last name to put on the "You Made a Difference" card, she insisted I also fill out one for her 2 coworkers.

 

We've sailed several lines and while not having allegiance to any we've found the Princess product to be a very good fit for this 50ish couple.

[boaterette]

Nice review. Thank you for posting. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

[Coolmama_1]

Nice Review. Thanks for sharing your cruise. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

[NJRonbo]

Tim,

 

Happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise. Will be on the Crown in about two weeks.

 

You just mentioned something that I have been asking about, and which nobody has been able to answer....

 

The Lobster Claws and Shrimp Buffet on embarkation day.

 

When and where is it?

 

Thanks in advance and for sharing your experiences with us.

[Rockymountainsparky]

Tim, thanks for the great review. It's always a great vacation when there is fishing involved.

[nattie]

Throughly enjoyed your review and your sense of humor ;) Thank you for posting.

[michigan tim]

Lobster claws were in the Horizon Court Buffet.

 

Here are a few pics; all are from Princess Cay except the NCAA MUTS pic:

 

CLICK THUMBNAILS TO ENLARGE

 

NCAA on MUTS

 

Yellowhead Wrasse

 

Scoolmaster Snapper

 

Queen Triggerfish (orignally thought to be a Damselfish), without question the prettiest thing I've ever pulled out of the water

 

View of the ship from north:

 

View of the ship from south:

[michigan tim]

This one is a bit out of focus, but shows colors better.

 

[Jules59]

Loved your review. We are going on the Crown next January.

[NJRonbo]

Lobster claws were in the Horizon Court Buffet.

 

Regular dinner time on embarkation day or late in

the evening?

 

Thanks for the pictures.

[michigan tim]

Regular dining time. They kept coming out with these large plastic vats (20 gallon?) full of claws and dumping them. They take a bit of work, but if you like cold seafood it is worth the labor.

[6pack]

Always enjoy reading reviews! Thanks for posting :)

[cacy6893076]

One of the BEST reviews i have read in a long time as i could "live" the experience within your wording.........makes me want to take another western carrbean cruise tomorrow......will have to wait till fall now!

thanks for nothing petty, you reinforce that cruiseing is what you make it...........the destinations and local flavour is the goal, no overly high expectations of the process itself, just your own memories ,,,,,,thank you for sharing.