New to Princess cruiser

[WeeFee]

I have just booked my first cruise with Princess on the Crown Princess. I have cruised previously with Carnival and Holland America. Looking for any tips, tricks, or good to know info for this ship.

Thanks!!

 

 

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[bobbismith]

I am also new to Princess. I sail on the Coral in June. Alaska!

 

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[geoherb]

Just be sure to read lots of threads here before sailing. Princess is closer to HAL than Carnival, but they're all three mass market cruise lines.

[satxdiver]

Pay attention to the threads on here about the Crown and Princess in general. If you have any questions be sure to post them as someone will provide the answer. You realize the difference between the CCL and HAL ships and the Princess ships are more like the HAL of course. The biggest difference from HAL to Princess will be the size of the ship where Princess is a good bit larger. The larger ship has more to offer and you will find the Princess ships are more alive at night with music, performances in the theater etc.

 

If you are looking for solitude to read etc the Skywalker lounge on the top deck aft is an excellent place. It is used at 10 PM as a disco bar which also is interesting with its many windows looking out at the wake and comfortable overstuffed chairs.

[GUT2407]

You’ll find it more like HAL than Carnival.

[skynight]

I have just booked my first cruise with Princess on the Crown Princess. I have cruised previously with Carnival and Holland America. Looking for any tips, tricks, or good to know info for this ship.

Thanks!!

When, where and for how long? Information can vary depending on itinerary. What do you enjoy doing?

On board free dining can be found in the DR's open for breakfast & Dinner each day and lunch on sea days, International Cafe, open 24/7, Horizon Ct/Cafe Caribe buffet open 6am until late evening every day never closes during that time, Trident Grill, Pizza, soft Ice Cream by the Lido pool open 11am until mid evening every day, Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar on some sea days, Room Service.

Enjoy wine? Check out Vines. Enjoy quiet places to sit and read check out Skywalker's and Adagio Lounge.

[WeeFee]

When, where and for how long? Information can vary depending on itinerary. What do you enjoy doing?

 

On board free dining can be found in the DR's open for breakfast & Dinner each day and lunch on sea days, International Cafe, open 24/7, Horizon Ct/Cafe Caribe buffet open 6am until late evening every day never closes during that time, Trident Grill, Pizza, soft Ice Cream by the Lido pool open 11am until mid evening every day, Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar on some sea days, Room Service.

 

Enjoy wine? Check out Vines. Enjoy quiet places to sit and read check out Skywalker's and Adagio Lounge.

 

 

 

We will be on a 10 day southern cruise in December. We don’t cruise with any specific agenda. We usually attend the evening show and or the comedy show.

 

 

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[A&Jfamily]

We will be on a 10 day southern cruise in December. We don’t cruise with any specific agenda. We usually attend the evening show and or the comedy show.

 

 

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No comedy on Princess like there is on Carnival. But really enjoy movies outside. No martini bar like Carnival but instead Vines wine bar.

 

People will be more dressed up for formal evening than on Carnival’s elegant night.

 

I have not cruise HAL but can say that the day time will be more sedate - no hairy chest contest for example but still plenty of things to do. Last time we were on Princess enjoyed a great wine tasting.

 

We love the Italian food on Princess. Whereas the chefs on Carnival are mostly Indian, and that food is fantastic, on Princess they are Italian and thus the great options.

 

Carnival certainly has that Funship feel - Princess has more of the classic cruise elegance.

 

 

 

 

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[skynight]

We will be on a 10 day southern cruise in December. We don’t cruise with any specific agenda. We usually attend the evening show and or the comedy show.

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Shows: 2 shows each evening, normally one in the 8pm time slot and one in the 10pm slot. Sometimes the schedule is 7pm and 9pm. The 8pm shows are the most crowded. Arrive 30 mins. early for production shows. Late shows are normally not so crowded. No comedy club, but there are always comics with family friendly acts. We enjoy most of them. There will also be other acts like singers, musicians, magic. Normally these are in the theater, but sometimes the comics and singers are in Explorer's Lounge. Explorer's Lounge is small, so if you want to see a comic or singer there arrive early. If you enjoy singing there may be pop choir. There will also be karaoke almost every evening. There will probably also be the Voice of the Ocean show. You try out and if selected you will sing on stage with a live band.

The Crown Princess has The Sanctuary, reserved extra comfort lounges in a separate area, deck 17 all the way forward. There is a charge, $20/half day, $40/full day, $30/full day if you book for the entire cruise. If interested go there immediately on boarding day to book. In the tropics reservations fill quickly.

There will be trivia twice a day, during the day every day, sea and port. Very popular. Watch the Princess Patter for times and locations. There will be ZUMBA, no charge, every sea day and some port days if there is time. It's usually held in Club Fusion. Again watch the Patter for times and location. There are two main pools on the Lido deck one has the movie screen (MUTS) going all day and shows recent movies in the evening. The other is MUTS free. There are also 3 other pools, Terrace Pool, adults only, deck 14 aft, and Lotus Spa Pool, adults only, deck 16 forward. There is a family pool on deck 17 aft, but it is not used very much.

In the evening there will be live music in the lounges around the ship. Crooner's on deck 7 mid ship has a piano/singer entertainer and it normally begins a 9pm. A previous poster mentioned no martini bar, but Crooner's has an entire martini menu.

Additional questions, just ask.

[WeeFee]

Shows: 2 shows each evening, normally one in the 8pm time slot and one in the 10pm slot. Sometimes the schedule is 7pm and 9pm. The 8pm shows are the most crowded. Arrive 30 mins. early for production shows. Late shows are normally not so crowded. No comedy club, but there are always comics with family friendly acts. We enjoy most of them. There will also be other acts like singers, musicians, magic. Normally these are in the theater, but sometimes the comics and singers are in Explorer's Lounge. Explorer's Lounge is small, so if you want to see a comic or singer there arrive early. If you enjoy singing there may be pop choir. There will also be karaoke almost every evening. There will probably also be the Voice of the Ocean show. You try out and if selected you will sing on stage with a live band.

 

The Crown Princess has The Sanctuary, reserved extra comfort lounges in a separate area, deck 17 all the way forward. There is a charge, $20/half day, $40/full day, $30/full day if you book for the entire cruise. If interested go there immediately on boarding day to book. In the tropics reservations fill quickly.

 

There will be trivia twice a day, during the day every day, sea and port. Very popular. Watch the Princess Patter for times and locations. There will be ZUMBA, no charge, every sea day and some port days if there is time. It's usually held in Club Fusion. Again watch the Patter for times and location. There are two main pools on the Lido deck one has the movie screen (MUTS) going all day and shows recent movies in the evening. The other is MUTS free. There are also 3 other pools, Terrace Pool, adults only, deck 14 aft, and Lotus Spa Pool, adults only, deck 16 forward. There is a family pool on deck 17 aft, but it is not used very much.

 

In the evening there will be live music in the lounges around the ship. Crooner's on deck 7 mid ship has a piano/singer entertainer and it normally begins a 9pm. A previous poster mentioned no martini bar, but Crooner's has an entire martini menu.

 

Additional questions, just ask.

 

 

 

Thanks so much for all this info!! It’s greatly appreciated.

 

 

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[Munkee]

Great info. We leave next week on our first Princess cruise next week. Thanks!

[Thrak]

I am also new to Princess. I sail on the Coral in June. Alaska!

 

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Lots of answers here that are generic for Princess and some that are specific for the OP who asked about Crown. Coral Princess is different in a number of ways. No Skywalker's or Adagio for example. We like Crown but prefer Coral. :) On Coral you will have two decks - Baja and Caribe - with viewing decks both fore and aft. Simply go all the way along the hallway to the very end and then go through the heavier doors to the outside. The aft viewing decks have loungers all the way across the aft deck. The forward viewing decks don't have furniture. When in Glacier Bay there may be a ranger or naturalist on the forward viewing deck on Caribe deck doing a live broadcast to the ship. I know they do this in the Panama Canal but have never sailed Coral to Alaska so that is why I say there "may be". On Coral Princess the Horizon Court buffet is all the way forward so there is decent viewing from the buffet itself. On "most" Princess ships the buffet is all the way aft.

 

Also on Coral there is the Universe Lounge. It's a two level lounge all the way aft. Be sure to see On The Bayou when it's done. It's only done on Coral Princess and Island Princess. It was originally developed to take advantage of the revolving stage in Universe Lounge that was only on those two ships. Princess hacked up Island Princess and killed the Universe Lounge. They still do the show on that ship - or did when we sailed on her - but moved it to the Princess Theater which doesn't have the revolving stage. It was "okay" but not the same. That leaves Coral Princess as the only ship doing the "real" version of On The Bayou. It's a good show. Go early and get a good seat. That advice stands for any show whether in Universe Lounge or in the Princess Theater. We get a drink, take our books, and go a good half hour early. If you wait and just show up at show time you may well not get a seat.

 

Coral is also different from Crown in that Explorer's Lounge and Wheelhouse Lounge are on different decks. Explorer's is on Fiesta (deck 6) and Wheelhouse is on Promenade (deck 7). Universe Lounge is on both of those. Having Explorer's and Wheelhouse on different decks seems to give a different feel to the ship where the crowd is kind of broken up. We like it that way. Crooner's is also on Promenade.

 

Coral Princess also is one of the ships with the wonderful wide outside Promenade deck. The deck is wide enough to accommodate loungers while still leaving plenty of room for walkers to pass easily. Most Princess ships have a narrower Promenade that allow people to use chairs but can't accommodate actual loungers. It's another great feature.

[WeeFee]

There was mention of formal nights being a bit more formal than on Carnival. Can I get some info on this to ensure I have appropriate clothing?

 

 

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[reedprincess]

There was mention of formal nights being a bit more formal than on Carnival. Can I get some info on this to ensure I have appropriate clothing?

 

No

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Be prepared - asking a dress code question is opening a big can of worms!!

 

The dress code is at the website, for specific info.

 

In practice, for men, sport coats, nice pants/trousers:o, dress shirt is goid, dress shirt/tie/slacks

[reedprincess]

There was mention of formal nights being a bit more formal than on Carnival. Can I get some info on this to ensure I have appropriate clothing?

 

No

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Be prepared - asking a dress code question is opening a big can of worms!! Be prepared for all sorts of answers, some likely unkind.. There's lots of posts about dress code if you want to read those too .

 

The dress code is at the website, for specific info.

 

In practice, for men, sport coats, nice pants/trousers:o, dress shirt is goid, dress shirt/tie/slacks, etc is good, suits, tuxes, kilts, national dress, etc. All work.

 

Ladies, anywhere from gowns to cocktail dresses to maxi dresses to slacks and nice top all works.

 

Good luck .Happy sails!

[WeeFee]

Be prepared - asking a dress code question is opening a big can of worms!! Be prepared for all sorts of answers, some likely unkind.. There's lots of posts about dress code if you want to read those too .

 

 

 

The dress code is at the website, for specific info.

 

 

 

In practice, for men, sport coats, nice pants/trousers:o, dress shirt is goid, dress shirt/tie/slacks, etc is good, suits, tuxes, kilts, national dress, etc. All work.

 

 

 

Ladies, anywhere from gowns to cocktail dresses to maxi dresses to slacks and nice top all works.

 

 

 

Good luck .Happy sails!

 

 

 

Thank you!

 

 

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