Crown Princess Hawaii - 15 Feb to 2 Mar - Trip Prep & Live

[arctickitty]

1 hour ago, travelin.sisters said:

a favorite thing I discovered on the Ocean Now menu was chocolate cake (I was in isolation for 1 day on our way back from Hawai'i last Jan, while waiting for a 2nd negative test so tried room service), it was the only good cake on that cruise, but someone on a thread here on a different ship said they got a mousse/pudding thing...wondering if that is true on the Crown.

 

also have you used crew chat for questions/issues & is it working well on the Crown

 

hope our wild weather here in So Cal doesn't make you trip home too bumpy...it is forecast to clear for the 2nd when you bring her back for us to sail on.

 

 

We’ll have to try the room service cake and see what we get…

 

Yes, crew chat is another useful feature of the app.  We used OceanNow to have Special Someone’s suit picked up the first morning.  Dry cleaning at home costs more $ than it does on board, plus we used OBC.  We figured we’d have enough sea days to get it back in time for the first formal night and we did.  We used Ocean Now to have it picked up and messaged Crew Chat a few days later when it hadn’t come back yet.  It magically appeared after that chat.

 

Also wanted to tell you all that the morning after we sent out the clothes, our steward/stateroom attendant called to ask if the one jacket was missing a button.  It was, and we hadn’t thought of that or thought they’d notice it, but we thought it was a good attention to detail on their part that they noticed and checked on it.  They then annotated it on the laundry slip.

[Happiest when cruising]

45 minutes ago, Level six said:

It was on the Island Princess, not the crown.  

Oh, I didn’t think you were on the Crown, I just wondered what deck it was. 

[sunviking90]

20 minutes ago, arctickitty said:

For me the mystery isn’t so much the appearance of the tables outside the doors (the one also had a biohazard bag) but the changes in the names on several doors, eg we didn’t have a neighbor and then we did and now we don’t.  The next cabin from there was blank and now has a name.

I think that may be when on person in the cabin has Covid, they will offer the other person another cabin to be away from the sick person. They are then still allowed to roam the ship freely. 
I also think that people travelling together or as part of a group often have cabins in the same area, spread it among themselves and that may be why so many tables appear in the same area.

 

[Happiest when cruising]

2 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

I think that may be when on person in the cabin has Covid, they will offer the other person another cabin to be away from the sick person. They are then still allowed to roam the ship freely. 
I also think that people travelling together or as part of a group often have cabins in the same area, spread it among themselves and that may be why so many tables appear in the same area.

 

I’m thinking the same, that cabin is reserved for those who get sick and need to be isolated in a balcony. We are living on the edge and cruising in an inside next time, so I’m hoping that’s what happens…we will need to breathe and get fresh air. I don’t want to turn this great live into a Covid conversation, so I’ll leave it at that. 

[memoak]

You don’t get covid from AC. There are always cabins put aside for covid victims although they are no longer creating entire deck or at least one side of a deck for covid. You cannot get it from walking past their cabin

[Bettyboop66]

4 hours ago, arctickitty said:

@Bettybopp66 

 

Thanks for the reminder!  I have advised Special Someone that when he doesn’t like the dessert menu but does have room in his belly, he is to ask for a Volcano and see what happens.  Sounds like he is game.

You’ll have to let us know how he likes it, so glad I remembered.

[Bettyboop66]

4 hours ago, arctickitty said:

For me the mystery isn’t so much the appearance of the tables outside the doors (the one also had a biohazard bag) but the changes in the names on several doors, eg we didn’t have a neighbor and then we did and now we don’t.  The next cabin from there was blank and now has a name.

I think that Princess has been known to move people due to Covid…..not 100% sure though. My memory isn’t great, and I can’t find the post.

[NIkkiGR]

5 hours ago, arctickitty said:

Next I want to talk a bit about our experiences using OceanNow, the service on the Medallion app to order conceivably anything anywhere.

 

1. As mentioned by EmmaCruises, you cannot use OceanNow in a laundry room.  It is still true that if you try, it will say “service unavailable in this location.”

 

1. It works for room service almost all of the time

 

1. It doesn’t work as well out on the open decks.  

 

1. We have Princess Plus and haven’t been charged for ordering multiple drinks at the same time 

 

1. You can see if you’ll be charged for something before you place the order (it will show the total and then subtract your package).

 

1. You can order San Pelligrino but not Perrier

 

1. You can order the small bottled waters

 

1. If they don’t have something in stock you ordered they will either substitute and bring it to you or come and talk to you in person.  When we ordered Maker’s Mark we saw in the app that they changed it to Knob Creek.  Yesterday Special Someone was continuing his quest to drink beer around the world and they didn’t have one of the beers he ordered and they came to the door and asked if he’d like a Guinness instead.

 

1. You can customize if you want a drink neat, on the rocks, blended, etc and for many drinks you can customize what garnish you want.

 

1. When you’re done with a room service tray, there is an option in OceanNow to have it picked up.  We use this every time and it’s fast service.  I think I’ve seen far fewer trays in the halls on this cruise than any other and I wonder if it’s because people are using this feature.

 

1. You can also order extra towels, pillows, hangers, etc…. We used it to order bathrobes and got them, but when we ordered hangers we didn’t get them.  We folded up our extra clothes instead of asking for hangers again.

 

1. We have yet to reach the limit on how many specialty coffees you can order at one time.  

 

1. Our specialty coffee orders have been about 50-80% accurate.  

 

1. Their lattes are coffee-weak and they don’t consistently add the extra shots that you can request so we started ordering double espressos and adding them in ourselves.

 

1. You can add flavored syrup to a latte but not an americano.  

 

1. We have worked our way through the syrup menu (I think) and our favorites are caramel, coconut, tiramisu, and vanilla.  They also have lavender, butter pecan, cinnamon, chai…. they told us the ship doesn’t have the mint chocolate on board so you can’t get any of the mint coffee drinks.  I’ve ordered the chocolate chip cookie via OceanNow and in person several times and gotten a plain latte every single time, no explanation.

 

1. You can get your latte hot, iced, blended etc but not an americano

 

1. But if you want it blended it has to be after 6am because the blended drinks are made by a bartender and they don’t start work till 6am (yes, they came to my door and told me this when I ordered a blended latte at 5am)

 

1. They have blended drinks on the menu in the IC that they don’t have on the OceanNow menu but you can get any flavor latte blended.  So you can order a latte with coconut syrup or caramel for example and order it blended and get the same thing as the blended menu options in the IC.  But they don’t have the cherry syrup on OceanNow so you can’t get the Black Forest.  

 

1. This is a tangent about the coffee but the espresso at Coffee & Cones doesn’t open until 11am so the IC gets very busy 9-11am.

 

1. Additionally, they don’t have a blender at Coffee & Cones so you can’t get the blended drinks there, only IC or room service.

 

1. The bar menus on OceanNow are very extensive.  Different bars have different menus but the OceanNow list seems to be the longest.  I’ve ordered some drinks on OceanNow in order to try them and not have to figure out which bar has them or not.

 

1. We’ve had some really fantastic burgers for breakfast thanks to OceanNow.  Yes, so read that right.  Burgers for breakfast.  I had the idea our first port day to order a burger and a fruit plate.  You can order up to 3 additional toppings on your burger so I selected extra lettuce, extra tomato, and some mayo.  It also came with extra onion.  They left the bun open with the burger with cheese on one side (you have a choice of cheese or no cheese but not the type of cheese) and the veg on the other.  The mayo came in a little dish.  So did the ketchup another day we ordered it.  It was a perfect breakfast combo of produce, carbs, fat and protein to fuel us for a busy day.

 

1. Another good favorite has been the Greek Salad.  It’s not as good as what they serve in the MDRs but it has real feta and big chunks of bell pepper and good olives.

 

1. I didn’t see it at first but on the burger if you scroll down you can choose a side: coleslaw, fries, or chips.  I got the coleslaw once and it came in a tiny condiment dish but it was delicious.  Mayonnaise is one of my favorite food groups.

 

1. The fruit plates have been fresh and beautiful.  One even came with a strawberry!

 

Well, that’s the random OceanNow observations I have in my head at the moment.  I’ve been using my stabilizer muscles on the treadmill as I walk and type as the ship heaves and hos.  Reading and posting on Cruise Critic is one of my favorite things to do to pass the time during lower intensity gym work.

 

Having the free balcony upgrade has made room service make more sense.  There’s no way we would have used it as much with an interior room.  I would have gone to the IC for our coffee.  For me it’s helpful because they can deliver it while I’m putting on my compression gear or doing yoga.  We also wouldn’t have used it for drinks like we have without the Princess Plus package.  We do not live extravagantly at home and generally dont even travel as extravagantly as this cruise, but we like to try new things and try everything so the package has made that possible.  We are not forcing ourselves to order things “to get our money’s worth” but just having a good time while the good times last.
 

Happy to answer any questions on OceanNow.  I haven’t screenshotted everything but I’ve taken a good number of them and will post them eventually.  If there’s something specific you want to see from the app (or any other features of the app) let me know.  It’s an easy thing for me to do when I’m lying down “stuck” on my leg pump or when I’m doing an easy workout (which I need a lot of…we were lazy yesterday and I only got 13,000 steps).

 

We can also take “requests” of things to try if you have a favorite I haven’t mentioned!  Or something you are curious what it is like!  Mention it and if it fits into our sea days, I’ll give it a whirl.

When you ordered room service for a drink does the app tell you the cost of the room service itself as the gratuity and the drink are covered by your drink package. I was wondering if the room service cost was also covered in the drink package 

[Happiest when cruising]

36 minutes ago, NIkkiGR said:

When you ordered room service for a drink does the app tell you the cost of the room service itself as the gratuity and the drink are covered by your drink package. I was wondering if the room service cost was also covered in the drink package 

There is no room service cost… for most things. There is a delivery fee for a couple of things, so just go and enjoy. I’ll leave whether or not to tip the room service staff up to you. 

[Level six]

2 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Oh, I didn’t think you were on the Crown, I just wondered what deck it was. 

Oh okay, I thought you thought I was on this cruise.  We were on deck 10. 

[arctickitty]

2 hours ago, Bettyboop66 said:

You’ll have to let us know how he likes it, so glad I remembered.

The waiter definitely gave him a funny look but he loved it and all the people around us said they want to order a volcano, too.

 

 

It was delicious with their real ice cream, a whole banana, strawberries, crunchy jimmies, and lots of fresh whipped cream.

[arctickitty]

1 hour ago, NIkkiGR said:

When you ordered room service for a drink does the app tell you the cost of the room service itself as the gratuity and the drink are covered by your drink package. I was wondering if the room service cost was also covered in the drink package 

My experience on this cruise is that the costs are clearly labeled in the app.  There are some food items with a charge such as pizza and cheese plate.  The drinks of all types have their prices listed and when you put it in your basket, it totals it and then subtracts the package you have.  In this way I could see that the drinks were getting deducted from being charged even when we ordered more than one at a time.  You can also check your account right in the app.

[arctickitty]

7 hours ago, Eleanor Rigby 14 said:

Arctic kitty, I am enjoying your reports so much! And let me tell you what I (and probably many others) are thinking…despite your medical challenges, your courage, determination, resiliency and sense of adventure are to be admired. You’re a warrior, girl! So proud of you. I have never tried as many things as you have done, both on and off the ship! But I do keep pretty busy on a cruise doing the things I really enjoy. (Trivia is a big favorite!) My motto has always been “Don’t wait for your ship to come in, swim out to it”. You seem to adhere to that motto too. Good for you.
 

I am a big coffee fan so I really enjoyed your coffee-related reports! I don’t spend much time in my cabin…you’ll find me down by the IC having cappuccino in an actual cup and saucer with a special design in the foam. What a fabulous self-indulgence!
 

Have you tried the regular hot chocolate drinks…or better yet, the mint hot chocolate drinks? To me they are as good as drinks from a Parisian cafe. Give them a try if you haven’t already!

 

Continue your fun escapades! Enjoy!

 

Eleanor Rigby

First hot chocolate of the cruise!

 

 

It was delicious and not as sweet as I feared it would be.  I believe this had Grand Marnier and Kahlua in it.

 

Special Someone asked me what else is on the list of things to experience!  We’ve mostly run through my to-do list so happy to work on y’alls’.

 

(He wants the room service chocolate cake for breakfast). 
 

(That’s a legitimate pre-workout snack).

[cr8tiv1]

When I can't find anything on the lunch menu (I always see the menu the night before), I request guacamole, pico de gallo, and chips.  Always satisfies.  

 

Why would anyone want Tyra Banks special dessert when they can order a Volcano at anytime?  Now only if they had hot fudge....yum

 

They can also do avocado toast in the morning.  

[Anastas617]

This has been a great read! I've picked up lots of tidbits of information. Thanks for sharing. 🙂 

[NIkkiGR]

11 hours ago, Happiest when cruising said:

There is no room service cost… for most things. There is a delivery fee for a couple of things, so just go and enjoy. I’ll leave whether or not to tip the room service staff up to you. 

We always tip but we  were also charged room service for drinks on the last Princess Cruise without a beverage package

[Bettyboop66]

So very glad that he liked it! I’ve gotten some crazy looks ordering over the years…..but it’s worth it😉. I think that you can also get an ice cream sandwich made with any of the fresh baked cookies that they have. Haven’t ordered this one in a while, so not completely sure they still have it. 

[tutumomickey]

11 minutes ago, Bettyboop66 said:

So very glad that he liked it! I’ve gotten some crazy looks ordering over the years…..but it’s worth it😉.c I think that you can also get an ice cream sandwich made with any of the fresh baked ookies that they have. Haven’t ordered this one in a while, so not completely sure they still have it. 

 Head waiter brought one to twin granddaughters on Discovery to Alaska last June. They loved it especially since it was made just for them.

[marden1970]

15 minutes ago, Bettyboop66 said:

So very glad that he liked it! I’ve gotten some crazy looks ordering over the years…..but it’s worth it😉. I think that you can also get an ice cream sandwich made with any of the fresh baked cookies that they have. Haven’t ordered this one in a while, so not completely sure they still have it. 

I tried one of the ice cream sandwiches from Scoops on the Emerald last month.  It was good but melted a little too fast.  There was a charge of $3.54, not covered under the Princess Plus Package.

[c-boy]

11 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

When I can't find anything on the lunch menu (I always see the menu the night before), I request guacamole, pico de gallo, and chips.  Always satisfies.  

 

Why would anyone want Tyra Banks special dessert when they can order a Volcano at anytime?  Now only if they had hot fudge....yum

 

They can also do avocado toast in the morning.  

 

avocado toast. That's Llama food. 😆

[Happiest when cruising]

2 hours ago, NIkkiGR said:

We always tip but we  were also charged room service for drinks on the last Princess Cruise without a beverage package

There is always an automatic tip added to the drink cost when you don’t have a drink package, so I do not think it had anything to do with it being delivered by room service. 
 

What do you mean you were charged room service? 
 

Edited February 26, 2023 by Happiest when cruising

[arctickitty]

1 hour ago, marden1970 said:

I tried one of the ice cream sandwiches from Scoops on the Emerald last month.  It was good but melted a little too fast.  There was a charge of $3.54, not covered under the Princess Plus Package.

Crown appears to not have the ice cream sandwiches in Coffee & Cones as they only have soft serve and the regular coffee drink menu but not the solid ice cream.

[Bettyboop66]

3 hours ago, arctickitty said:

Crown appears to not have the ice cream sandwiches in Coffee & Cones as they only have soft serve and the regular coffee drink menu but not the solid ice cream.

When I had it it was on the kid’s menu in the MDR. It was a regular dessert choice.

[arctickitty]

1 hour ago, Bettyboop66 said:

When I had it it was on the kid’s menu in the MDR. It was a regular dessert choice.

There’s actually one on the dessert menu tonight!!

[arctickitty]

Kristoff was back in action in full force making announcements, opening and closing the show, and hosting the Yes/No game show.

 

I’ve not attended a game show anywhere before but we were walking past Explorers and Kristoff just lights up a room so we popped in and watched.  It’s very healthy to laugh so much.  I think he is funnier than the professional comedians.  The assistant cruise director Matt is not as polished but he was really good at tricking the contestants in the game.

 

I haven’t heard who is replacing Kristoff but Special Someone has dared me to go up and ask him and tell him my “followers on cruise critic” would like to know.  I do know he is from South Africa, single, has two beagles, and has been with Princess for 6 years.  Matt is also from South Africa and has been with Princess for 4 months and has 2 cruises left.  

 

Besides Kristoff, I have noticed that while all of the production dancers and singers are very talented, a few of them just light up the stage more than the others.  I wish Princess would a do a program like at a traditional theater so you could learn their names and read a bit about their backgrounds.  They could do this in the app even if they didn’t want to waste paper by printing it.  At times in the shows they announce the names of the singers and I’ve tried to remember them but haven’t retained much.

 

My favorite singer I call dread-hawk because he wears his dreadlocks in a Mohawk and when he ambles onto the stage he lights up the whole theater.  I think they said his name is Des.

 

My favorite dancer is Hannah and I don’t know if I’m just prejudiced in favor of her because she teaches the dance fitness classes or not but I think she has an edge on skill above the other very skilled dancers and a brighter and fuller stage presence.  

 

We have seen 3 production shows so far and they have wowed us beyond what we expected.  Every aspect of the shows has impressed us: singing, dancing, choreography, live music, sets…. There are more performers on stage at a time than I’ve seen on Princess before and they work together so well.  Encore had the production singers and dancers, the orchestra, the string duo, and a guest soprano.  The disco show and Sweet Soul Music have had the singers and dancers and orchestra.

 

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with an additional onboard mystery, spotted in the afternoon on the promenade deck.  I have my own theory on this but we are curious what others think.