The Crown

[RhondaPerr]

First Happy 2012 to everyone! If you have a cruise planned you ars luckier than most! I will be going on the Crown for the 2nd time in April, and it will be my 30th cruise. If you are looking for perfection and need it to have a good time, then you will not like the Crown! Then again you will not like any of the other ships, in any other line. The days of a perfect cruise do not exist, unless they exist in your mind! If you allow the smallest things to bother you, or allow things that the cruiseline really has no control of, sway you from a particular line or ship, then you expect too much!

 

The Crown was not perfect, and while people complain about the Noro Virus and inconvienced because they had to wait to board... We experienced it listing when it turned too fast going into a port on our UK trip, where some people were thrown out of bed, and some people got hurt! I think this ranks as more of an "inconvience" than waiting while the cruiseline tries to ensure that you do not get a virus that can ruin your vacation! My luggage was damaged on embarkation, and that could have been a problem, being that we were in Europe, and on tours, not exactly a 5 and dime around the corner! The ships upholsterer was able to fix it good as new! The waits for The tenders were sometimes long, not every guide was as good as the one before, some of the shows were just okay, there were not as many activities when we were at sea because Europe is different than a Carribean Cruise. One of the tours did not arrange for the meal I needed for my food allergies so I was unable to eat all day!

 

Debarkation where we were doing a post trip in London there were no bathrooms on the bus, and then after getting stuck in traffic for quite a while, we discovered we needed change in Victoria Station to use a restroom! When we talk about our trip, or we plan for our next cruise, nothing that I have told you would stop us from being on Princess again! I understand the frustration when you plan for something and it does not go exactly as planned, but thats life!

 

I did not encounter one unpleasant person, and in my experience on 30 cruises, the people who truly go out of their way, outnumber the few who are not pleasant. I f you focus on the good stuff and there is so much of that.... Despite the lines cutting back, despite the lack of perfection, then do not afraid to follow your plans for the Crown or any other ship based on one or two negative reviews! Look at the complaints and see if they are that important to you, ask yourself " Will these things ruin my vacation?" If so, you can look at the boards of the most expensive cruises or comparable cruises and see if they have similar problems...and I am betting they do.....

[Shogun]

Hi Ronda

 

You are an experienced cruiser and as such you know what to expect,

 

there are no perfect cruises out there, a cruise is what you make of it,

 

have cruised with noro, missed ports , blocked loos, rough seas, a few

 

tilts, broken engines, etc I like you take what is given and make the best of it

 

Princess has standards and if these are not met I will complain, likewise

 

I will praise when staff go above and beyound what they have to do.

 

I often wonder what folk expect from a cruise, I expect value for my

 

money, I know I can pay more and get more, so for me the measure

 

of the Princess product is to look at what else is on offer for the same

 

about of money. So just now I am very happy with what Princess offers

 

that is not to say I miss a few things, or think some things can be better.

 

The other thing that many folk forget is that the crew a human they have

 

bad days, however treat them with the respect due and they will reward

 

you with not just great service but friendship, to have crew crying

 

because you are leaving or a captain come find you to say good bye

 

shows that Princess have some great folks working for them.

 

The Crown is a fine ship with a good crew and a Captain

 

that spends time with passengers and talks to them.

 

 

Have a great cruise on the Crown.

 

yours Shogun

[Modeen]

Thanks, Rhonda. We board the Crown on Saturday, and while I've been following some of the negative threads, I will only think of yours from now on.

 

Mo

[lindy sails]

I'm also boarding the Crown on Saturday and very excited about the cruise. We were on the Crown last April & loved the ship. I'm sure Princess works hard on ensuring the good health & safety of it's guests. Most definitely the positives far out way any negatives that could occur on any vacation. Happy New Year Everyone! I've really enjoyed reading GeoHerb & Hula Girl's great live posts.

Lindy

[RhondaPerr]

Exactly! We had an owners Suite on another cruiseline and guess what the bathrooms do not discriminate when they cease to work ! Lol. We have been on seas so rough that even the most seasoned cruiser was green ! We had a waiter that quit in the middle of the cruise! Our bus broke on the eay to the Mayan Ruins... We have had air conditioning that was so cold we expected it to snow in the cabin, and tvs that turned themselves on with full volume in the middle of the night! My husband had iced tea poured on him, and a slippery lobster tail land on his lap, while the waiter was trying to de-shell it! One really rough sea day where I landed on a waiter in the casino, getting drinks spilled all over me ! Oh my gosh I would need days to list all the mishaps! I can not think of ever giving up cruising !

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Ronda

 

You are an experienced cruiser and as such you know what to expect,

 

there are no perfect cruises out there, a cruise is what you make of it,

 

have cruised with noro, missed ports , blocked loos, rough seas, a few

 

tilts, broken engines, etc I like you take what is given and make the best of it

 

Princess has standards and if these are not met I will complain, likewise

 

I will praise when staff go above and beyound what they have to do.

 

 

I often wonder what folk expect from a cruise, I expect value for my

 

money, I know I can pay more and get more, so for me the measure

 

of the Princess product is to look at what else is on offer for the same

 

about of money. So just now I am very happy with what Princess offers

 

that is not to say I miss a few things, or think some things can be better.

 

The other thing that many folk forget is that the crew a human they have

 

bad days, however treat them with the respect due and they will reward

 

you with not just great service but friendship, to have crew crying

 

because you are leaving or a captain come find you to say good bye

 

shows that Princess have some great folks working for them.

 

The Crown is a fine ship with a good crew and a Captain

 

that spends time with passengers and talks to them.

 

 

Have a great cruise on the Crown.

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi Rhonda

You have not cruised until you have had a few drinks tipped over you,

 

then the tour bus breaking down, is just to get your heart rate up a bit,

 

then theres the ship leaving port early due to bad weather when you are away on tour,

 

the lost bags when your are away for a month

 

the list could go on and on

 

the joys of cruising

 

yours Shogun

[RhondaPerr]

lol my luggage was lost for 28 days after a cruise! Oh and the topping I was beaten up by a dolphin..... Bet you cant top that :). BTW I enjoy your posts!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Rhonda

You have not cruised until you have had a few drinks tipped over you,

 

then the tour bus breaking down, is just to get your heart rate up a bit,

 

then theres the ship leaving port early due to bad weather when you are away on tour,

 

the lost bags when your are away for a month

 

the list could go on and on

 

the joys of cruising

 

yours Shogun

[venicecruiser]

Despite the recent very negative posts, we've been on Crown 3 times and its our favorite Princess ship!

 

Claudia and Rod

[pakarinen]

I was beaten up by a dolphin.....

 

Were you wearing San Jose Sharks teamwear or was he just a random thug dolphin?

[ONT-CA]

Re: RhondaPerr's OP

 

Your points are valid but one must understand that human nature always needs alternative choices. If something is not right, then leave it and move on to something else. If the hotel is not to your liking, leave it and go to another. If the restaurant food is not acceptable, do not go back and go elsewhere.

But when you are on a ship you are a captive, there are no other ships you can jump to. So when I read (and post) negative information, in a sense I understand the frustration that these people are going through because we live a life of alternates and in cruising there are many situations that have none.

[RhondaPerr]

Yes, I agree with your point, but you have to admit in the scheme of things many of the complaints are those situations that are really not in anyones control! Bad weather, viruses, etc. Admittedly I have asked for a new room in a hotel when it reeked of mold, or was supposed to be non smoking and clearly someone had smoked, when air conditioners did not work and it was 100 degrees at night.... But I feel those things are within the hotels control! If someone has a bad day, and we all do, do we discount everyone and lump them into a category of unpleasant? I just hate to see people diswayed from a cruise they are excited about by people who are entitled to their complaints, but clearly harp on the negative.

 

 

 

Re: RhondaPerr's OP

 

Your points are valid but one must understand that human nature always needs alternative choices. If something is not right, then leave it and move on to something else. If the hotel is not to your liking, leave it and go to another. If the restaurant food is not acceptable, do not go back and go elsewhere.

But when you are on a ship you are a captive, there are no other ships you can jump to. So when I read (and post) negative information, in a sense I understand the frustration that these people are going through because we live a life of alternates and in cruising there are many situations that have none.

[RhondaPerr]

Lol I did not ask his gang affiliation! I was on an excursion that was moved from a place that was suitable, to one that was not prepared. The dolphin was called back to the trainer and there was not enough room for his turn...He hit my foot with his tail, and I have a lifelong nerve injury as a result!

 

 

 

 

 

Were you wearing San Jose Sharks teamwear or was he just a random thug dolphin?

[AZaTaz]

RhondaPerr's OP

I like your post and thank you for reminding us that life happens even on a cruise ship. I am nowhere near the season cruiser you are but like you we take the good with the bad and enjoy ourselves no matter what.

It is remarkable how often what seams terrible at the time becomes your funny story of the great trip. After all if you walk away from it, then it wasn't fatal.

I would love to hear the dolphin story.

[Shogun]

Hi Rhonda

 

DW was beaten up a turtle, she was told to hold it up for a photo as she did it gave her a great one two with its flippers,

 

Princess lost my bags at the start of a cruise 24 days never seen again.

 

ever cruise should be an adventure

 

yours Shogun

[srphnx]

They say "Attitude is everything". Congratulations on yours.

 

First Happy 2012 to everyone! If you have a cruise planned you ars luckier than most! I will be going on the Crown for the 2nd time in April, and it will be my 30th cruise. If you are looking for perfection and need it to have a good time, then you will not like the Crown! Then again you will not like any of the other ships, in any other line. The days of a perfect cruise do not exist, unless they exist in your mind! If you allow the smallest things to bother you, or allow things that the cruiseline really has no control of, sway you from a particular line or ship, then you expect too much!

 

The Crown was not perfect, and while people complain about the Noro Virus and inconvienced because they had to wait to board... We experienced it listing when it turned too fast going into a port on our UK trip, where some people were thrown out of bed, and some people got hurt! I think this ranks as more of an "inconvience" than waiting while the cruiseline tries to ensure that you do not get a virus that can ruin your vacation! My luggage was damaged on embarkation, and that could have been a problem, being that we were in Europe, and on tours, not exactly a 5 and dime around the corner! The ships upholsterer was able to fix it good as new! The waits for The tenders were sometimes long, not every guide was as good as the one before, some of the shows were just okay, there were not as many activities when we were at sea because Europe is different than a Carribean Cruise. One of the tours did not arrange for the meal I needed for my food allergies so I was unable to eat all day!

 

Debarkation where we were doing a post trip in London there were no bathrooms on the bus, and then after getting stuck in traffic for quite a while, we discovered we needed change in Victoria Station to use a restroom! When we talk about our trip, or we plan for our next cruise, nothing that I have told you would stop us from being on Princess again! I understand the frustration when you plan for something and it does not go exactly as planned, but thats life!

 

I did not encounter one unpleasant person, and in my experience on 30 cruises, the people who truly go out of their way, outnumber the few who are not pleasant. I f you focus on the good stuff and there is so much of that.... Despite the lines cutting back, despite the lack of perfection, then do not afraid to follow your plans for the Crown or any other ship based on one or two negative reviews! Look at the complaints and see if they are that important to you, ask yourself " Will these things ruin my vacation?" If so, you can look at the boards of the most expensive cruises or comparable cruises and see if they have similar problems...and I am betting they do.....

[RhondaPerr]

I had done the swim on another cruise and had the most incredible time! It was everything I had imagined and more! So when my friend (may she rest in peace) wanted to swim with the dolphins, I was really hesitant because I knew nothing could top my first experience...I decided to do it anyway... The place it was supposed to be had been damaged in a hurricane, so it was moved to a very inadequate substitute. We were given no training, there were two large groups in the same place. We did the photo opp where the dolphin gives you a kiss, and then were instructed to swim about half way across the pool and the dolphin would do swim bys so that you could pet it!

 

Keep in mind you have a life jacket on, so you kind of end up floating backwards and your feet high in the water. Anyway I was at the end of the swim by line, and the trainer called the dolphin back to do his next kiss, and because the pool was so overcrowded when he turned he did not clear the line, and his tale came down full force on my foot! The place was not prepared at all for an injury, and even getting a bag of ice was impossible!

 

When I got back to the ship, I called the excursion desk, and asked to see a doctor! They called me back a few hours later saying that It would be at my own expense... I decided to just ice it, and really could not walk at that point! I got a message from the excursion desk who let me know they had credited my account with $30.00 an interesting amount since the excursion was almost $200 and the doctor would have charged far more. Being the gracious person I am, I was at the Pursors desk and saw the Excursion manager at the excursion desk across the way! I hobbled over to his desk to thank him for the credit, and when he saw my foot I really thought he was going to pass out!

 

He apologized for not taking the injury more seriously, he started making more offers than I could keep up with. He explained to me that people ask for compensation for a paper cut, and he had no idea I was hurt that badly! By the time this occcurred my foot was completely purple, and it extended up my shin!

 

I told him the only thing that worried me was being able to get off the ship, and manage luggage! I opted to see my own doctor...and was told where to send the bills! People often ask me why I did not sue, and I have to be honest, if I had known that I would be waking up for the rest of my life in pain, I probably would have! I do not let it stop me...except my days of swimming with creatures......never again lol

 

 

 

QUOTE=AZaTaz;31728539]RhondaPerr's OP

 

I like your post and thank you for reminding us that life happens even on a cruise ship. I am nowhere near the season cruiser you are but like you we take the good with the bad and enjoy ourselves no matter what.

It is remarkable how often what seams terrible at the time becomes your funny story of the great trip. After all if you walk away from it, then it wasn't fatal.

I would love to hear the dolphin story.

[RhondaPerr]

My best friend had the skin sucked off her finger by a sting ray lol

 

 

Hi Rhonda

 

DW was beaten up a turtle, she was told to hold it up for a photo as she did it gave her a great one two with its flippers,

 

Princess lost my bags at the start of a cruise 24 days never seen again.

 

ever cruise should be an adventure

 

yours Shogun

[Sanibel*Gal]

Yipppeee - Great Thread RhondaPerr - love your attitude! We will be sailing on the Crown for our 2nd time in April & can't wait. Anyone at anytime can have something unpredictable happen on a cruise ship or anywhere for that matter, I know we have.:( Life happens - make the best of it!

Remember.....if you're on a cruise ship - you're not at work!!!:D

[seamanfs]

We are excited to board the Crown on Sat for 2 weeks!!! We have sailed on the Crown 2 yrs ago and had a wonderful time then so am expecting the same !! It's all about the attitude on a cruise. I have only had one unsuccessful cruise out of 19 and that was on the Ruby last March because I developed a small bowel obstruction and had to be med evaced (sp?) from Turks and Caicos to Miami for surgery. ( I can't say enough positive things about Princess and Berkley travel insurance-they were both great in that situation for me and my hubby!!) So thanks for the comment about the Crown and I know we will have a great cruise.

[Talisker92]

We sailed on the Crown in September and enjoyed it. In Bar Harbor the fog was so thick the tenders had to be led to shore and back by a local boat!

My wife developed an lung infection and ended up spending 4 horrible days in a NY hospital after our cruise. I cannot praise the medical staff on board enough for their care of my wife and making the arrangements to have her transferred.

Thank goodness for insurance!!

[cruzinchris]

Thanks to the OP for starting this thread :) When it was snowing very hard this morning with temps hovering in the mid-30s, all I could think about was the warm Caribbean sun, soft ocean breezes, relaxing on my Baja balcony, exercising in the Lotus Spa pool, dinner in the Crown Grill... January 28 can't come soon enough!

 

Bon Voyage!

Chris

[RhondaPerr]

I envy you! I am a teacher and must travel with the masses:). Have a wonderful cruise!

[Shogun]

Hi Rhonda

 

Just spotted comment , thank you.

 

Are you going to do a live from

 

 

yours Shogun

[NewPennCruiser]

Thanks for this post and a good laugh on my first day back at work after the Holiday weekend. I'm reminded of my very first cruise a few years back when we did an Australian cruise on the Sapphire Princess. Our flight from LAX to Auckland was horrible and by the time we got there everyone was running off the plane. We found out quickly they had misplaced our luggage and it was heading to India. We eventually got all three bags back at 3 different ports at different times along the cruise. And the crossing of the Tasman Sea was an adventure if there ever was one. The seas were so rough all shows were cancelled, the pools lost all their water, people were getting sick everywhere, outside decks were closed and it was difficult to even walk around. By the time we got to Hobart, everyone got off the ship to stand on solid ground for the day. But I still say this was my favorite cruise and we have gone on to cruise 6 more times.... most of them a lot less "adventuresome" then the first.

 

We sailed on the Crown last year and are looking forward to another trip again in February.... and I can't wait to be back at sea.

 

Dave

[RhondaPerr]

Have never done a live from! The internet on the ship makes my teeth grit! BTW my dh and I fell in love with Scotland We were there for the first time last summer, and want to go back again someday!

 

 

 

 

Hi Rhonda

 

Just spotted comment , thank you.

 

Are you going to do a live from

 

 

yours Shogun