Crown It was a WOW,

[RhondaPerr]

Pre-cruise Bahia Mar! The room was in need of help! Bed was a nightmare, and I would not stay there again! Fortunately it was one night!

 

Embarkation: We got to the ship around 11am and we were on the ship a little after noon! (preferred boarding). People were lined up outside hundreds deep! We immediately went to the Sanctuary and booked for the week! This was my 2nd time on the Crown, 8th on PRincess and 30th cruise overall. Then we were off to our Penthouse Suite Aloha 750. The suite was very nice but the balcony was perfect! Totally secluded, huge, with lounge chairs that reclined and were padded, 4 chairs and a nice size table. We had a separate bathtub, which was huge and then a shower. The toilet area was in its own area with the sinks. There was a wet bar, dvd player and two flat screens. A large couch, chair, walk in closet. We got beautiful flower arrangements, canapes, champagne, we did not get an offer for unpacking and did not ask.. We had plenty of space to put things away, and a nice sized walk in closet.

 

I was not crazy about being in the back of the ship, and it was a little more bumpy, but worth it! Our room steward was okay, not the best not the worst.. There were little things like he did not give us ice, one night we did not get chocolates, the were no robes until we asked for them. Minor stuff but kind of surprising given it was a suite. This was also the first time we did not get any towel animals! Now that is a big deal :)

 

FOOD: The food in the international cafe was wonderful. We had lunch there a few times. Lunch we ate in the sanctuary most of the week. The sanctuary has a lunch menu but were able to get me grilled chicken which was not on the menu. The charge for lunch is $3.00. Dinner: We had a late seating, traditional dining. Our waiter was not wonderful! He forgot courses, and did not seem to be as competent as the busboy was. We had an incident one night where we did'nt get our food till almost 10pm and then when we got it, it was luke warm. This was not the waiters fault, there were apparently issues in the kitchen. The problem for our table was we wanted to get to the show, so we left without dessert, and the waiter was really not happy! The rest of the week it was okay.

 

Sabatinis: For suites ( breakfast). Outstanding food and service. It was a perfect way to start the day, soft Italian music in the background, beautiful view...Dinner: A special menu was made for me so that I could enjoy dinner up there with my allergies. It was the best dinner I think I have ever had in my entire life! The perfect place to spend my birthday!

 

Negatives: Very few but there are some..... The crew in the boutiques for the most part are not friendly. I was not at all inspired to buy anything, with the exception of the sundry shop.. Even though the casino had the one no smoking day, it was still smokey in there.

 

 

Room Service: We had breakfast in the room a few times, and the food was very good. The suites have a little more to choose from. It was wonderful being Being able to have breakfast in our room the debarkation day! Breakfast was always on time, and in the suite they set up a nice table with a tablecloth, inside or on the balcony.

 

Ports: We never received our priority tender tickets, so we picked them up the morning of Princess Cays. We were on the Island a little before 10am...our choice because we did Zumba before we went. Apparently right after that there was a huge back up and some people did not get on till close to noon or after. We did the Beach Party for 2.... The snorkeling was kind of a bust because the water was so cold, but we did the paddle boat and that was a lot of fun. We opted not to eat on Princess Cays and instead went to the Sanctuary and had lunch there and cool off in the adult pool. Cuaraco we just walked around 10 which was maybe a ten minute walk from the ship. Aruba we went on the lighthouse and Beach excursion... We were on the crazy bus with a big banana on it! The lighthouse was a lighthouse, it was not something you could go into, and you are there for 10 minutes. The beach, Moomba Beach was nice. The chairs were free, but be warned the bottom is full of sharp rocks, and coral...seaweed also... Make sure you have water shoes.

 

Love the three days at sea and there were enough activities to keep you busy or NOT! I love my Kindle time! Joined the Pop Choir which was really a lot of fun, but definitely cut into my time...There were rehearsals ever day except one and then the last day two and then the performance. Zumba was fun but they did it on the astro turf stuff by the pool, and it made it hard to participate. I dd not try the Bollywood, but we watched and it looked like fun!

 

The crew: Almost everyone we met was so incredibly nice.

 

 

 

Shows/activities We saw the production shows which were good, and the hypnotist who was okay, a comedian.. Who was hysterically funny! We could not make it to most of the theme nights because of late dining, and we did not go the dancing under the stars. We never got to see MUTS too many other things going on that we were interested in.

 

I would say this was one of our top 4 cruises, and I would not hesitate to recommend The Crown or Princess Cruiseline.

 

Tip: DON'T SWEAT THE SMALL STUFF!

[wineforhealth]

Thanks for sharing your cruise and review with us.

 

Glad you enjoyed the Crown and Suite A750

[highheel girl]

Sounds like a great cruise! :)

[caribill]

We immediately went to the Sanctuary and booked for the week!

 

Did they charge $20/day when you booked it for the week or was there a discount?

[VikingRob]

Did they charge $20/day when you booked it for the week or was there a discount?

 

I had asked this on another thread and was told it was still $20 a day, even if you buy the week.

 

Kim

[Coolmama_1]

Sounds like you had a fabulous time! The Crown has been one of our favorites too!

[RhondaPerr]

It was $140 per person for the week!

[RhondaPerr]

There was no discount on the Sanctuary

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting. We were on the Crown in December for the second time. I love that Princess is now doing this itinerary to Aruba and Curacao. I'd go again in a heartbeat.

 

As for towel animals, we've never had them on Princess ships. I've heard that some cabin stewards will do them if asked, but they're not done regularly like they are on some other cruise lines.

[bermudiana]

It was $140 per person for the week!

 

My daughter and I booked the Sanctuary as well. We cut short our time on Princess Cay and headed back to the Sanctuary. Loved being there...so relaxing. Couldn't wait to have tea there each day! We didn't have a balcony, so it worked out great for us and the staff there were excellent.

 

We also had late traditional seating. Due to the same problems you experienced with food being served so late, we went to the Crown Grill twice and Sabatini's once. The last night in the dining room, our main course didn't arrive until 9:45 :( Our maitre'd was not happy with our waiter and let him know it. The people sitting next to us had a different waiter. They arrived after we did, ordered after us, and had finished their dinner by the time our entree's were served :(

 

We both agreed however, that this was the most relaxing cruise we've taken.

 

We did get one towel animal (if you want to call it that)...a stingray on the floor in the bathroom made from the bath mat!

 

Elaine

[J & G]

As for towel animals, we've never had them on Princess ships. I've heard that some cabin stewards will do them if asked, but they're not done regularly like they are on some other cruise lines.

 

We'd be happy without them....I always feel bad if I mess them up. On our last cruise, I saw a cabin steward taking them from the cabins so I had to assume they were being "recycled"....

[srpilo]

"Don't sweat the small stuff".. Indeed !!!

 

 

 

Solid review (we love the Crown too ) Thanks :)

Srpilo

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your great review. Sounds like you had a great cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[PathfinderEss]

Thanks for posting your review of your cruise. Glad you had a good time.