Crown Princess Review, 10nt S. Carib

imapost2003 · January 18, 2019

10 nt Southern Caribbean

We chose this cruise based on itinerary mostly, also wanted to try a different line.

We are in are early 30's with 15 cruises under our belts. 5 NCL, 5 Royal Caribbean, 5 Celebrity. We love the sun and choose to cater our cruises towards that activity. We attend very few, if any, evening shows. Always eat in the MDR, and usually a specialty restaurant or 2. We are not big drinkers, but do have a glass a wine or 2 at dinner and a few beers here and there sitting by the pool. We appreciate good food and service, well maintained ships and friendly staff. We also have learned to appreciate the positives on cruise vacations and rarely focus on the small negatives that may occur, like they do on any trip.

First impressions:

Princess cruisers arrive early! On an extremely busy day at Port Everglades (i think 7-8 ships in port) it took over an hour to get from the airport to the ship, which typically takes us about 10-15 minutes. We arrived at the terminal around 12-1230 and the line to enter was a couple hundred people long outside of the building. We swiftly dropped our luggage with the porters and got in line, which moved relatively quickly. I was carrying on a case of wine we had purchased at totalwine before the trip. I understand that i could have left it with the porters, or put it in my luggage, but i didnt want to deal with the hassle of being called downstairs to pay corkage. After passing through security with my case of wine, we were directed to a side table to pay corkage and sticker our bottles. After paying the $15 per bottle corkage and the $150 or so for the 12 bottles, we were off to check in. We were greeted at the desk by a nice woman who quickly got us checked in and retrieved our ship cards. When boarding the ship (still carrying the case of wine) we got our cards scanned and pictures taken by a handheld device. This was new for us as on other cruises they have snapped our photos for the ship cards at the checkin desk. It did slow the pace of boarding, also kind of put a damper on the wow factor of stepping onboard a magnificent floating vessel. I much prefer having my photo taken at the checkin desk and a simple scan when stepping onboard. After stepping onboard and into the piazza, i came to the realization that my case of wine had instantly tripled in value! But i also needed to rid myself of this 30 pound cargo. We need to find our cabin!

Cabin:

Mini Suite E730. We figured that with a 10 nighter, and us being nappers, we would upgrade to a larger cabin then we normally sail in. I found this gem on the portside aft with an abnormally large balcony. I did understand the risk of having this cabin directly above Club Fusion. The noise coming from the club can not only be heard, but it can be felt! There were a few events during the day, like Zumba and trivia, and quite a few at night like karaoke, voice of the ocean, and a few gameshows. The events were almost always over by 11pm. The bow thrusters can also be felt (heavily) when entering/exiting docking situations. I slept through everything but my wife did take notice of the noise.

When I entered the cabin I could clearly sense the size difference. We had a large bathroom with a tub(with a quite low shower head I might add), a huge princess luxury bed(which we absolutely loved) a fully stocked mini fridge, 2 very large tv’s, a decent condition large couch and enormous balcony. I dropped my case of wine near the fridge, took a deep breath and began my vacation! I noticed that our 36 bottles of water I had pre-ordered were also in the cabin, along with confirmation of coffee cards being loaded onto our ship cards. After a brief minute of taking it all in, a knock at the door came from our room steward. Brief introductions and 2 glasses of welcome champagne followed. I explained the wine situation and asked for ice service which he provided twice daily, even rotating bottles into the fridge/ice as they were consumed. Throughout the week he kept our room clean and organized in a timely fashion. He quickly learned our schedules and became very accommodating. Our remote did die and our tub drain did clog. Both of these issues were handled swiftly, by a simple note we left on our desk. There were no soot or wind issues whatsoever on our balcony. There is however 2 cameras facing forward and aft (i would assume for the bridge or security) that may or may not be able to see me in all my glory on my private balcony! I did not let the cameras influence my clothing decisions on my balcony during the cruise. I did get the complimentary mini bar set up of 8 nips which I had swapped out for 8 beers by calling room service. We also took advantage of the elite free laundry service and returned home with very little dirty clothes. Turnaround time was 24hours at most. We did not take advantage of the evening canapes so I cannot comment on them.

After calling E730 home for 10 days, we are very happy with the location. Elevators are close by, promenade just 1 deck below, dining room was 2 decks below, balcony and terrace pool just a short ride up the aft elevators. There was some slight wear on the cabin furniture but overall in good shape for a ship of that age. I also noticed that other passengers had silenced most of the creeks and groans of the cabin with small folded paper triangles placed strategically behind the crown molding in various parts of the room. I suppose that’s one benefit of a slightly older ship. The dual TV’s were large, maybe 49 inch, LG branded newer models. One remote was given to control both TV’s. The Crown lacks the princess on demand system found on the new builds, but princess did a great job with the movies shown and we watched several - The Incredibles, Christopher robin, Peter rabbit, skyscraper, AXL, Hotel Transylvania, Venom, Crazy Rich Asians and many, many more. In house channels were definitely better quality then satellite feeds but nothing seemed to be quite HD quality like you would get at home.

next up, 2 sea days followed by Aruba!

Edited January 18, 2019 by imapost2003
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memoak · January 18, 2019

Excuse me for asking but how did you get a free mini bar and "elite" laundry service if this was you 1st Princess cruise ?

imapost2003 · January 18, 2019

3 minutes ago, memoak said:

Excuse me for asking but how did you get a free mini bar and "elite" laundry service if this was you 1st Princess cruise ?

Perks from work

voljeep · January 18, 2019

what kind of work gets you 'elite' perks on your first cruise? -

imapost2003 · January 18, 2019

7 minutes ago, voljeep said:

what kind of work gets you 'elite' perks on your first cruise? -

Travel industry.

hllwdcruiser · January 18, 2019

14 minutes ago, imapost2003 said:

Travel industry.

I figured. My good friend is in the travel industry too; she took her first Princess cruise last summer and was immediately "upgraded" to elite.

Thanks for your review, I haven't been on the Crown for years and am enjoying reading your impressions. I agree with you about the wait as the security photos are taken but Princess is slowly converting all their ships to medallion class and you will then be able to upload your security photo from home to their online app.

Colo Cruiser · January 18, 2019

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Excuse me for asking but how did you get a free mini bar and "elite" laundry service if this was you 1st Princess cruise ?

I would imagine that it has to do with Princess travel agent classes where you get the Commodore level which gives you Elite status with no Princess cruises.

imapost2003 · January 19, 2019

Touring the ship

After our first night of sleep on the amazing luxury bed, I was up at 5am! We originally had thought the bed was too plush for our liking as we typically sleep on a firmish memory foam mattress at home, but we found it very comfortable. The pillows and bedding also look and feel very nice. One of my habits when cruising is to wake up incredible early and walk around the ship, then catch the sunrise. It makes it feel like you have the ship nearly to yourself. It also usually ends up with informal meetings daily with other passengers who have the same routine as me. First order of business was to find the international café and see what the coffee situation looks like. I zipped down the midship elevators and noticed the 2 things….there was a lot of elevators in the midship bank, and the elevators were relatively speedy. On my first morning tour I started with the lower decks which is where the piazza is located. This was surrounded by shops, bars, the casino, guest services, etc…on 3 levels. The piazza seemed a little small for a ship carrying 3k passengers but I only really saw it crowded during the champagne waterfall. Continuing on my tour I noticed the ship seems designed to break up passenger groups with a bevy of medium sized options. Same is true for the dining rooms and the pool decks. Designers were trying the something for everyone approach. I’ll be the first to admit I wasn’t too fond of that design at first but it did work. The entire cruise there was little to no waiting for any food, or drinks, or seats, anywhere! Every area was busy at its time, but rarely overcrowded. I grew an appreciation for the design over the 10 night stay. Even with the other 3k guests onboard I never felt crowded or frustrated with lines. Same went for disembarking and returning to the ship at ports of call.

Moving aft I found Club Fusion, our nemesis. It was actually a very nice and large room. There was a very large bar and dance floor, plenty of seating, and lots of screens. I enjoyed the décor and feeling of the room however did not enjoy the noise penetrating my cabin floor most evenings until 11pm. Again, I knew the risk when selecting the cabin; which I would choose again.

On with the tour I went to the lido deck and worked my way up. The buffet layout is not ideal. The main food areas on either side have a weird flow about them; people kind of just meandered around picking at all the food. Café Carib in the back was set up a little better with more of a cafeteria style flow and similar food choices as the mains. Café Carib was almost always open during our entire trip so we were frequent visitors. We also liked the option of eating outside near the terrace pool.

imapost2003 · January 19, 2019

Moving forward I came across the calypso pool, which is also the movies under the stars location. I liked the stadium seating set up, but from the top few levels the glass was obstructing the view of the screen.

Then came the coffee & cones and the pizza place; recently renovated and modern looking. We had the pizza several times and it was fantastic. A rotating daily special slice was our typical choice. Tried the soft serve once, it was as good as expected. Grabbed coffee most mornings up there as the barista was a football fan that I often chatted with. Mix bar and burger place came next; with a similar look as the pizza place. Burger place was good to great, with prompt service and a solid menu. We tried all the burgers(great) the street tacos(great) the chicken sandwich(very skimpy on the chicken, ask for 2) and the bacon cheddar fries(amazing!). Moving upstairs forward I found where the smokers hang out, the spa, the gym, lotus spa pool, and the sanctuary. Headed aft on deck 16 I found adagio(nice bar) and Sabatini’s. Moving aft, there’s a nice little sitting area with a couple of fountains just above the outdoor buffet seating and the terrace pool. The pool is flanked with a couple levels of seating, one of which became our favorite sunning spot. I worked my way up to deck 17 and found the plunge pool and very large Jacuzzi. Up to 18 and 19, skywalkers night club, putting green, basketball court, walking track. I reluctantly took several shots throughout the week from the edges of the jogging track. The wind is borderline scary when you lean over the side to get that suspected perfect shot.

Edited January 19, 2019 by imapost2003
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Campbell soup · January 19, 2019

Very nice review! We like this ship. We enjoy the smaller piazza because we get to know the servers who can take a moment to say hi.

Cruiserkenn · January 19, 2019

Thanks for the review and the pictures! I am looking forward to E731 on the Emerald, so seeing your pix was a treat! Thanks again:)

cheeseclan · January 20, 2019

Thanks for the review and pics. Can’t wait to be back on her next Saturday. Things have changed since the last time we sailed!

Diver2014 · January 20, 2019

Good review - I have some of the exact same photos from our cruise in November. We absolutely loved the Terrace pool and the areas around the aft of the ship - convenient to everything. We were able to get one of the angled balcony cabins on deck 14 for our next cruise in May. I'm glad you also liked the food at the Salty Dog Grill - the tacos were too small but since they are free, I just asked for 2 orders. They give you tons of fries. We really liked the food in the Horizon Court although the food areas could be a bit larger. I've never had such a wonderful dessert as the sticky pudding with warm caramel sauce! We were planning a third cruise on the Crown in 2020 but Celebrity Apex won out with the infinite verandas. I'd recommend the Crown to anyone except those who are super picky about everything (I didn't find any dust under our bed and there was no rust on the hinges of our balcony light).....

catwoman6226 · January 20, 2019

We are doing this itinerary on the Crown next year, so I'm following along with great interest! Thank you for the review.

imapost2003 · January 20, 2019

1 hour ago, Diver2014 said:

Good review - I have some of the exact same photos from our cruise in November. We absolutely loved the Terrace pool and the areas around the aft of the ship - convenient to everything. We were able to get one of the angled balcony cabins on deck 14 for our next cruise in May. I'm glad you also liked the food at the Salty Dog Grill - the tacos were too small but since they are free, I just asked for 2 orders. They give you tons of fries. We really liked the food in the Horizon Court although the food areas could be a bit larger. I've never had such a wonderful dessert as the sticky pudding with warm caramel sauce! We were planning a third cruise on the Crown in 2020 but Celebrity Apex won out with the infinite verandas. I'd recommend the Crown to anyone except those who are super picky about everything (I didn't find any dust under our bed and there was no rust on the hinges of our balcony light).....

Yes to everything you said...loved the terrace pool and aft

yes on the double tacos

yes on the pudding

yes on the Apex and infinite veranda

yes on Crown recommendation, well said

imapost2003 · January 20, 2019

After 2 relaxing sea days of sunning and swimming we were getting close to Aruba. We noticed that the 2 middle pools on the crown are a little too deep for my wife. They are both over 5ft and she likes to touch the bottom. The terrace pool was a little shallower during our voyage. It appeared to be a couple inches lower than normal. Stairs were also available in the terrace pool, as ladders are the only option in the 2 mid pools.

Waking up early as usual to watch the sunrise and catch us pulling into port. A couple other ships were already docked waiting for us. After docking, we quickly headed downstairs to disembark. To our surprise, no line! We walked right off, through the terminal and grabbed a cab to the hotels. We were renting a UTV for the day! We took our UTV all around the island, including off road. We went to the California lighthouse, goldmine ruins, alto vista chapel natural bridge, baby beach, anchor monument, and mangel halto beach. We also stopped at a brightly colored roadside restaurant for lunch. It was on the way to baby beach. The name slips my mind. Also did not take any pictures.

After a long and dusty day of zipping around Aruba, we returned the buggy and they gave us a ride back to the ship. Again, no line when re-boarding the ship at roughly 5pm, 2 hours before scheduled sailing time. I took a few shots of our balcony from the ground. Its the lowest, furthest aft rounded balcony.

Perky1 · January 20, 2019

Do you remember the name of the company you rented the UTV from? Or was it thru the ship. Did the rental company provide maps?

imapost2003 · January 20, 2019

19 minutes ago, Perky1 said:

Do you remember the name of the company you rented the UTV from? Or was it thru the ship. Did the rental company provide maps?

arubiana, not thru the ship. They provided maps and an app for your phone with gps that works without cell signal.

We had to take a cab from the ship to the office, which they deducted from the total rental price. Also, they seemed a little strict on the tires. They even had me take pictures before i left the parking garage. Either way, i would rent from them again. Our buggy had no problems other than when you get up to 50+mph its a little scary.

Perky1 · January 20, 2019

36 minutes ago, imapost2003 said:

arubiana, not thru the ship. They provided maps and an app for your phone with gps that works without cell signal.

We had to take a cab from the ship to the office, which they deducted from the total rental price. Also, they seemed a little strict on the tires. They even had me take pictures before i left the parking garage. Either way, i would rent from them again. Our buggy had no problems other than when you get up to 50+mph its a little scary.

Thank you, looking forward to reading the rest of your ports!

imapost2003 · January 22, 2019

Next was Curacao. Only in port from 7am-2pm I knew my options were limited. After researching taxi rates and deciding I would need to take out a second mortgage my house to pay for a roundtrip to the beach, I rented a car. I found a small rental car company that deals with all cash. We paid $75 for the day with gps and insurance. I figured that to be ½ the cost of a taxi. Up early once again and off the ship at 7:01. It was dawn when we were walking through the port area. The vendors and shops were not open yet with very, very little activity around. Our rental car guy provided detailed instructions on where to meet him. After about a 5 minute walk we easily found him, or he found us actually. On the road within minutes in our modest Nissan Versa, we were off to the grocery store for refreshments! We stopped at a large grocer (centrum I think it was) and picked up some beers, a foam cooler, and a couple snacks. Still moving hastily, we finished our drive to Cas Abao. We were the first ones there and had the run of the place. Curacao easily has some of my favorite beaches and Cas Abao is def near the top! We left a little after noon for our 40min drive back to the ship. We got back to town, returned the car, back onboard by 1:15pm for a 2pm sailaway.

imapost2003 · January 24, 2019

Grenada

We originally had a ship sponsored excursion that I had pre-booked using the princess cruise planner. We received notice the prior morning that it had been cancelled due to mechanical issues. It was a catamaran snorkel and beach thing. I went ahead and booked a different one for St Thomas. We ended up browsing the mall then took the tunnel over to the carenage area. Snapped some pics, purchased some wares, observed some locals, returned to the ship.

imapost2003 · January 24, 2019

Dominca

We stayed on the ship and relaxed at our favorite spot near the terrace pool! We have been to Dominca a few times before, did the gardens, waterfall, beach, bus tour thing. This is typically a port we now stay on the ship. Also, in previous visits we were docked in downtown Roseau. This time it was an industrial area thats not very eye appealing. We spent the afternoon on our balcony and sailing away. One of the more impressive sunsets of the cruise followed.

Stonewolf Cruiser · January 25, 2019

Thanks for the review. Also really enjoyed the photos. I'll be on the Crown in June.

imapost2003 · January 29, 2019

St Thomas

We love St Thomas. Yes, it’s a staple on many eastern itineraries, but it never seems to disappoint. After multiple visits, we always find something new. We received notice last night that the replacement excursion that I had reserved through the ship was also cancelled, minimum passenger requirement not met. Bummer, but also reminds me why I book independent excursions, or do my own thing. I decided that any day in St Thomas is a good day and we should try something new. Maybe one of those mega beaches that is usually too crowded. With us being the only ship around, Magens Bay seemed like a good option. We were not disappointed. It was beautiful! We rented chairs and and set up shop a stone’s throw away from the bar. Water was warm, sand was soft, and sun was hot. We stayed till about 2, hopped on the open air taxi back to the boat.

imapost2003 · January 29, 2019

Grand Turk – late arrival 1-7pm

We sunned in our normal spot near the terrace pool from 8-1130. Grabbed some pizza and burgers for lunch and took it back to our cabin. We approached the dock and I was excited to see Carnival Horizon waiting for us. She is massive and from our balcony we got a great view of the Havana area on the aft. When we were walking down the pier it was very interesting to see the difference in clientele and crowds in general. The line to re-board the horizon was very long, it was moving pretty quickly though. We heard of a place on the end of the beach called Jacks Shack. After braving through the gauntlet of vendors selling chairs and wifi and such, we arrived! PS, as you walk further down the beach, the price of everything goes down. We spent more than a few hours there, mostly with princess veteran cruisers, and crown crew. Near sunset we casually made our way back to the ship reflecting on what an amazing vacation it has been. After enjoying our balcony for a bit we went to dinner, make our casino donation, then to bed. 1 more sea day.