Never sailed Princess, considering Crown for Jan. 2019, thoughts?

[jkmmah]

I've sailed Royal Caribbean, Carnival, Norwegian and Disney. I'm now considering the Crown for a Jan. 2019 cruise. We are a 40-something couple and will travel without kids this trip. We like the itinerary and are *this close* to putting down our deposit, but I'd like some thoughts on comparing Princess specifically to RCI or Disney. We enjoy good food, but our expectations aren't sky high. We don't need top quality entertainment, but a good piano bar is my kind of thing. I mostly want to feel secure that we're not going to go down to Carnival or NCL quality if we try Princess. We've gotten used to RCI and Disney. ;)

[Itchy&Scratchy]

if you never sailed Princess before, may I suggest Regal or Royal Princess instead of Crown...

[catwoman6226]

If you like Royal Caribbean, you'll most likely enjoy Princess as well. I find them to be far more similar than different, aside from the obvious things like Princess not having rock climbing walls and the like. Food and entertainment have been comparable in my experience.

[easyboy]

Crown Princess has Crooners Bar. Always had audience participation and a nice place for us to end the night. If you are particular with the food, you might enjoy better the choices on the Royal or Regal ships, depending on your itinerary.

 

 

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[jkmmah]

if you never sailed Princess before, may I suggest Regal or Royal Princess instead of Crown...

Might I ask why you suggest these two ships in particular over the Crown? Is it the size of the ship? We don't mind a smaller ship, but if there are other reasons for suggesting Regal and Royal, I'd love to hear them.

 

We prefer a 9-12 night sailing so that limits our options and takes the Regal and Royal out of contention. I'd narrowed it down to either the Grand or Crown based on the dates we have available to travel. Based on some reviews I've seen online, it seems the Crown gets more love than the Grand does. I might possibly consider the Island, if that tends to be preferred over the Crown or Grand.

[antsp]

In my opinion the Crown Class ships are better than the Royal or Regal

[OCruisers]

Crown Princess is one of our favorite ships!

We've found the bar entertainment, especially Crooner's, to be very good!

Go and Enjoy! :D

[USCcruisecrazy]

We will be on the Crown this December for an 8 day trip. The Crown will be going into dry dock in 2018 to get a make-over, so a 2019 cruise should time out perfect. Crown Class are great ships. If the itinerary is what you want with the Crown, then by all means book it. There are thousands of people on these sites with thousands of opinions, so I say look at where you are going and if that meets your needs you are good. We have sailed RCCL and would put Princess above them for our liking...the atmosphere and laid back attitude of most cruisers. Both lines are very nice, so if you liked RCCL you'll like Princess. Never have done Disney, but imagine that's a great line! Big WDW fan! :)

[skynight]

Give it a try. Lots of live entertainment. Lots of free food choices. Though older, I like the design of the Grand Class ships (Crown) better than the Royal class ships. More lounges, more dance venues, more pools, full promenade, larger balconies to mention a few of what I call advantages.

[Lollipop's Mom]

We did not like this ship at all. The buffet is super small. I felt like my living room was bigger! Dining room food was awful. Just not impressed all round with this ship.

 

 

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[Itchy&Scratchy]

Might I ask why you suggest these two ships in particular over the Crown? Is it the size of the ship? We don't mind a smaller ship, but if there are other reasons for suggesting Regal and Royal, I'd love to hear them.

cleaner, better, newer, a much-much better buffet and coffee, gelato, more venues to have fun at.

[voljeep]

We are going on the Crown in 5 days for a 5 day cruise. Our last cruise with Princess was the Royal 5 day cruise last year. while we will miss the 'newness' and alfredo's, we really like the aft pool area and outriggers bar to relax during the day. Get some, give some

[KevintheIrishDJ]

Buy 100 shares of Carnival stock for a tax free OBC every time you sail.

[pudzzy44]

If you are booking for Jan 20 we will be on that one

[rdsqrl]

I think you'll enjoy the Crown. Reasons:

1. Way more pool space than the newer ships. Those who recommend the Royal/Regal twins clearly don't spend much, if any, time around the pool(s). The Crown has four. Mic drop.

2. Crooner's is a fabulous piano bar. On the new ships, its position in the busy and loud Piazza means that the evening pianist doesn't start to play until late and can barely be heard over the ambient noise. On the Crown, it's an active vibrant entertainment venue all evening.

3. Just got off on Saturday; the food was excellent this trip. Definitely try the specialty restaurants; both were fantastic. Sabatini's and its companion bar, Adagio, are beautiful rooms with lovely views over the aft. In Adagio, order a Citrus Bellini -- you can't get this drink in any other bar in the fleet. No, I don't know why.

4. If you're a balcony person, get a cabin on Caribe deck for the biggest balconies: 9x9, with chairs with footstools and a nice table. No sofa in your cabin, but I'd trade exterior balcony space for interior furniture in a heartbeat!