West Coast Getaway with San Diego on the Crown Princess

[slabadini]

Hi all!

 

For Christmas this year, my boyfriend, his best friend and I have all purchased the Feb 5th West Coast Getaway on the Crown Princess for ourselves and our mothers as their presents. We're really excited to surprise them--all of our mothers are cruising fans but none of them have ever been on a Princess cruise before (my mom has been on several Carnival cruises and the other two are regular Royal Caribbean sailors). 4 out of 6 of us are local to LA, so this cruise was a perfect date, length and price for all of us to thank and celebrate our moms!

 

I was disappointed that there is no information on the Cruise Critic Message Boards for the Crown Princess. I sailed on the Celebrity Summit in Oct/Nov of this year and the message boards were super helpful in my planning! Has anyone sailed on the Crown Princess, if not on this exact itinerary? We're not interested in doing any excursions on this one, really just hanging out on the ship and enjoying each other's company, so I would love any tips about restaurants, activities, etc. A few direct questions:

 

- Are there specialty restaurants on the Crown Princess? When I go into my Cruise Planner there is no place to make dining reservations (at least that I can see). If there are, which ones are can't be missed?

 

- How early can you board? On our Celebrity cruise we were on board by 10:30am.

 

- Is the drink package worth the money? I was disappointed to see that Princess's drink package only covers drinks up to $10. Can you get cocktails for under that on the ship? We had the premium drink package on Celebrity and really made the most out of it--drinking our fair share of Cosmos at the Martini Bar!

 

- I've been told Princess is the best cruise line, and geared more towards adults than families. This is definitely the type of trip we're looking for. I've never been on these shorter cruises (nothing shorter than 7 days), so does that hold true as well?

 

- Any dailies? Anyone?

 

- The boys are really excited about getting authentic Mexican food in Ensenada. Any recommendations?

 

Thanks!! :) :) :)

[shredie]

Lots of threads here about the Crown. Nice ship.

[slabadini]

So I don't know WHAT is going on with my computer, but I've clicked on the Crown Princess link 30 times and nothing came up, until you replied that there were lots of threads. I clicked again (same link) to get a screen shot of what I was seeing and now it's full of threads instead of a "nothing found" page! Sorry about that.

[Colo Cruiser]

No information? There is a ton of info on the Crown.

 

No pre reserving dining.

Crown Grill is a must.

 

Boarding starts around Noon.

 

Why would you be disappointed about the drink package?

99% are under the $10 allowable limit.

They are not sky high like Celebrity. :rolleyes:

Edited December 17, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[slabadini]

 

Why would you be disappointed about the drink package?

99% are under the $10 allowable limit.

They are not sky high like Celebrity. :rolleyes:

 

See, that's what I didn't know! Every cocktail on the Summit was $12 or so, which was covered by our drink package. As Princess is a step above Celebrity, I figured the drinks would be even more expensive.

[Thrak]

Almost every drink onboard is covered by the drink package. Only a couple of top shelf items aren't covered. Be sure to check out Adagio. It's a nice bar and often underutilized.

 

You can board by maybe 11:30 or so but your cabin will already be ready for you so there is no waiting around with your luggage. Just go to your cabin, drop your stuff, and start enjoying yourself.

 

Crown is a great ship. You will almost certainly love it. Princess isn't geared to the "let's get drunk and rowdy and cuss up a storm and be loud and obnoxious" group some of you may have encountered on Carnival. It's also a more "restrained" decor - no neon, loud colors, etc.

 

If you want to do something a little different in Ensenada make a visit to Hussong's Cantina. Don't expect a fancy venue though. :)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussong's

Edited December 17, 2015 by Thrak

[CoffeHound]

Hi all!

 

I was disappointed that there is no information on the Cruise Critic Message Boards for the Crown Princess.

 

Thanks!! :) :) :)

 

Hi and welcome!

 

To quickly locate threads about the CROWN, look up above your original post. There is a box that says "princess Cruises" in the upper left and then lists all the ships. Click on Crown Princess and Voila

 

I have perused cruise critic for many years, and it was only a couple of months ago that someone pointed out that you could do this in another thread.

 

It works really well. Happy reading, and happy sailing to you.

[CoffeHound]

So I don't know WHAT is going on with my computer, but I've clicked on the Crown Princess link 30 times and nothing came up, until you replied that there were lots of threads. I clicked again (same link) to get a screen shot of what I was seeing and now it's full of threads instead of a "nothing found" page! Sorry about that.

 

I guess my hint was too late:) At least it is working now...

[Thrak]

See, that's what I didn't know! Every cocktail on the Summit was $12 or so, which was covered by our drink package. As Princess is a step above Celebrity, I figured the drinks would be even more expensive.

 

While I'm a loyal Princess cruiser and have never sailed on Celebrity I don't think I've ever seen a post where people said Princess is a step above Celebrity. I have, however, seen a number of posts stating that they have more similarities than differences.

[Jasperdo]

The dailies are called Princess Patter. They're just like what you'll find on all the cruise lines. You'll find links to them below in my signature.

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi and welcome!

 

To quickly locate threads about the CROWN, look up above your original post. There is a box that says "princess Cruises" in the upper left and then lists all the ships. Click on Crown Princess and Voila

 

I have perused cruise critic for many years, and it was only a couple of months ago that someone pointed out that you could do this in another thread.

 

It works really well. Happy reading, and happy sailing to you.

 

 

Upper right at the top of the threads/main Princess page.......... "Search this forum"

Edited December 17, 2015 by Colo Cruiser

[slabadini]

Crown is a great ship. You will almost certainly love it. Princess isn't geared to the "let's get drunk and rowdy and cuss up a storm and be loud and obnoxious" group some of you may have encountered on Carnival. It's also a more "restrained" decor - no neon, loud colors, etc.

 

If you want to do something a little different in Ensenada make a visit to Hussong's Cantina. Don't expect a fancy venue though. :)

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hussong's

 

Thanks for the info! We are definitely excited about that vibe--the last Carnival Cruise I took with my mom (Christmas 2012) people got pretty loud and obnoxious, and there were WAY too many kids to relax at the pool area (Nothing against kids!). The goal is to bond with our moms, let our moms bond (in particular my mom and my boyfriend's mom, who live in MA and MT and have never met after 2 years of us being together!), relax and do some gambling.

 

Thanks for the advice on Hussong's! The boys are not looking for ANYTHING fancy, actually the opposite. They want the places that locals go to for good, authentic Mexican food. I'll pass it along!! :)

[Kamloops50]

We did three of those short cruises on the Crown in spring 2015.

The Crown is a beautiful ship.

We found that on short cruises people try and do as much as possible the short time. Anytime Dining starts early before opening . People seem to always be in a rush to do everything.

[bartelbee]

As an "added" attraction, Sunday will be the Super Bowl and Princess does a pretty good job with it. We had so much fun last year, we decided to do "football-at-sea" on the Crown again this year.

Though we mainly sail Royal Caribbean, we really enjoyed our 3 Princess cruises, 2 of them on the Crown. Loved being able to grab a quick bite at the Trident Grill or the pizza counter right there on the pool deck, rather than fight our way through the Horizon Court. The drink package is a great convenience also, especially when traveling with others, since there's no worry or arguing over who's going to pick up the tab. If you get the chance, try the tiramisu martini at Adagios--so different and delicious. I also liked having wine and tapas at the wine bar before dinner. We had anytime dining so we'd take our pager and wait there, leisurely sipping our wine until they called us.

[skynight]

Hi all!

 

A few direct questions:

 

- Are there specialty restaurants on the Crown Princess? When I go into my Cruise Planner there is no place to make dining reservations (at least that I can see). If there are, which ones are can't be missed?

The Crown Princess has Sabatini's (Italian) and the Crown Grill. Both are currently $25/pp. They probably will also have The Crab Shack one or two evenings which is held in a closed off seating area of Cafe Caribe. The Crab Shack is currently $20/pp. All reservations for specialty dining are made once you board by calling the DINE line or visiting the restaurant.

Free dining on the Crown includes:

DR's serving breakfast and dinner each day and lunch on sea days.

International Cafe, open 24/7

Pub Lunch (not certain if they have this on 4 night cruises) on sea days in either the Wheelhouse Bar or the Crown Grill

Horizon Ct./Cafe Caribe Buffet open 5am to midnight never closes during that time.

Trident Grill and Pizza & Ice Cream bar by the Lido Pool open 11am to 11pm.

24 hour Room Service (except $3 charge for full pizzas)

 

- How early can you board? On our Celebrity cruise we were on board by 10:30am.

No, not 10:30. Check in normally starts around 10:30/11am. After check in you will be shown upstairs to a waiting area where you will be grouped in order of arrival. Boarding normally starts around noon with priority boarders, then general boarding in order of arrival. If you arrive as above you should be on board by 12:30 or sooner.

 

- Is the drink package worth the money? I was disappointed to see that Princess's drink package only covers drinks up to $10. Can you get cocktails for under that on the ship? We had the premium drink package on Celebrity and really made the most out of it--drinking our fair share of Cosmos at the Martini Bar!

Take a look at this drink calculator. Add about $1 to $1.50 to the prices shown as drink prices have gone up since the chart was made. Almost all drinks on Princess are under $10 including martini's, almost all mixed drinks, most liqueurs, straight shots, just about everything except drinks like high end single malt scotch, special cognacs, and similar high end special liquers. One drink at a time, but there is no limit/day nor /hour. The package includes all alcoholic and non alcoholic beverages under $10 + 40% off of bottled wine under $100. Wine by the glass is included and there is a nice selection at Vines. The cost is per person and all passengers in the cabin DO NOT have to purchase the package. Of course, you are not supposed to share drinks.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2038576&highlight=aibp+calculator

 

- I've been told Princess is the best cruise line,

Like any of the cruise lines, some will like it and some will not. Princess has lots of live music and dancing in the evenings.

 

Thanks!! :) :) :)

 

See above. I believe you are calling at Santa Barbara, not San Diego.

[dickinson]

sknight - check princess.com again. It definitely says San Diego for that date.

 

We did this cruise this past February and enjoyed it. In San Diego we took a cab to the Zoo. Not far away. It is a beautiful zoo. If you mostly want to stay on the ship you can get off and just walk around the area. It is very pretty.

 

Enjoy the cruise!

[slabadini]

sknight - check princess.com again. It definitely says San Diego for that date.

 

We did this cruise this past February and enjoyed it. In San Diego we took a cab to the Zoo. Not far away. It is a beautiful zoo. If you mostly want to stay on the ship you can get off and just walk around the area. It is very pretty.

 

Enjoy the cruise!

 

Thanks!! How was the weather when you were on the cruise? I'm nervous because we're in an El Nino year but it last Feb I was out at the pool sunbathing!

[dickinson]

We were there beginning of Feb. It was a beautiful day. I can't remember the temps but probably mid to high 70's. We spent most of the day at the zoo. Got there early and walked around til probably 2 or 3 and then shared a cab with someone else we saw walking to the cab stand to get back to the ship. Then we walked around the area near the ship. if we had time we would have gone on the Midway (ship) for a tour.

[moki'smommy]

While I'm a loyal Princess cruiser and have never sailed on Celebrity I don't think I've ever seen a post where people said Princess is a step above Celebrity. I have, however, seen a number of posts stating that they have more similarities than differences.

 

I've cruised on both Celebrity and Princess. I concur with the above--they are very similar. The ships I chose were about the same size and the cruises of the same length. I would not consider one line to be a step up from the other.

 

Differences I noted--upcharge items were a higher price on Celebrity--alcohol, soda package, specialty restaurants, etc.

 

Princess had a more diverse age range. While there were a few under 18s and a few 20 somethings on Celebrity, it was definitely skewed to the 60+ crowd. On Princess we saw a wide range of ages and several multi-generational families.

 

The tea service was fancier on Celebrity, but it cost $25 per person. It was a little more basic on Princess, but was free.

 

Soda package on Celebrity is canned sodas. On Princess it is fountain service.

[slabadini]

I've cruised on both Celebrity and Princess. I concur with the above--they are very similar. The ships I chose were about the same size and the cruises of the same length. I would not consider one line to be a step up from the other.

 

Differences I noted--upcharge items were a higher price on Celebrity--alcohol' date=' soda package, specialty restaurants, etc.

 

Princess had a more diverse age range. While there were a few under 18s and a few 20 somethings on Celebrity, it was definitely skewed to the 60+ crowd. On Princess we saw a wide range of ages and several multi-generational families.

 

The tea service was fancier on Celebrity, but it cost $25 per person. It was a little more basic on Princess, but was free.

 

Soda package on Celebrity is canned sodas. On Princess it is fountain service.[/quote']

 

Thank you for the comparison! It's very helpful. To clarify, no one on Cruise Critics told me Princess was a step above; I had considered them the same class prior to sailing. But then, when we were onboard, multiple people told us that Princess was a step above Celebrity in quality, service and experience. I really loved my Celebrity experience, so I was excited to sail Princess so I could see for myself!

[SadieN]

Our short list of Ensenada restaurants, in no particular order---

-Guadalajara for birria, a type of Mexican stew

-El Meson de Don Fernando for Molcajetes, cooked in a lava bowl

-Hacienda Del Charro for rotisserie chicken and handmade tortillas.

-Taquiera Lindo for tacos located between the woo woo girls at Papas and Beer and Hussongs.

-Michoacana (ice cream store) for paletas, agua frescas, helados. Up the block from Taquiera Lindo.

-Potrero Viejo for gorditas.

 

All take American. Michoacana and Potrero Viejo speak little English.

 

Look on TripAdvisor for locations. All are within walking distance of the ship.

[hpeabody]

Here is a link to your Roll Call http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2263199

 

PS, The Crown is a nice ship and I think it is a good choice for what you are doing for your Moms, Enjoy your cruise

[slabadini]

I just received this email from Princess:

 

PROGRESSIVE CRUISE CHECK-IN INFORMATION

To help facilitate a smooth start to your voyage we have implemented a progressive cruise check-in schedule. Please arrive at the check-in time listed below. If you have purchased a Princess Cruise Plus Package/Transfer, your check-in time will be provided at your hotel or the airport. Guests travelling on shared transport or arriving as a group will be checked in together. Priority check-in will be available to guests with a Preferred Boarding Pass within the allocated check-in times. Boarding will commence shortly after check-in. Please do not arrive prior to the start of cruise check-in as your cabin will not be ready. Once on board, enjoy a meal at Horizon Court which remains open throughout the day to serve you.

 

12:30 PM - Dolphin & Emerald Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with D & E

1:30 PM - Caribe & Riviera Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with C & R

2:15 PM - Aloha & Lido Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with A & L

2:45 PM - Baja & Plaza Decks - Cabins on these decks begin with B & P

 

Since I'm traveling with 5 other people, I don't want to put them in a bad situation, but every time I've cruised I've been able to board well before they told me I could. Is that the case here? We were planning on arriving at the port around 11:30/noon so we could have lunch onboard. If there is seriously no way we'll get onboard until 2:45, we'll have lunch up here before driving to the pier.

[san diego sue]

Those times are only a suggestion.

We are always in the terminal by 11:30am and board shortly after.

And we always have lunch in the dining room which is opened until 1:30PM instead of buffet.

[slabadini]

Those times are only a suggestion.

We are always in the terminal by 11:30am and board shortly after.

And we always have lunch in the dining room which is opened until 1:30PM instead of buffet.

 

Thanks!! I really did not want to get stuck at the pier for 3 hours, good to know those are just suggested times =)