Convince me to keep my Crown Princess cruise

[Napagirl]

2 minutes ago, Napagirl said:

When I went on Carnival I don't remember thinking - wow, these showers are so much bigger! I thought - yep, it's a cruise ship shower. lol Now, ARE they bigger? Maybe? But not that I could notice. I've been on Princess Ruby and Grand, and from what I can tell these are about the same as the Crown which we will be on in October.

 

Sailing under the GGB - just nothing like it! Enjoy!

BTW - Consider taking the ferry from Vallejo to the SF dock. We get a ride to the ferry, then walk to the ship. So nice if one has the physical ability to do so. 

[jaycruising]

we are on this cruise as well, I was hoping to do one of the newer ships, but this was the better deal for the amount of trip. And I just wanted to do a newer ship as lately we have been on Ruby, Crown and Emerald and now back to Crown, if we have half as good a time on crown that we had on Emerald it will be awesome. 
 

The comedians were really good, and they would do one show in the theatre, then next night 2 shows in one of the lounges (each different). The game shows from our cruise staff we’re so good. Like I said it was the best ever cruise we have gone on. 

[amcankid]

11 hours ago, donswife said:

If you decide you don't like your shower once you are on board,  there are nice showers in the gym/spa area by the Lotus pool that are free to use, along with sauna and steam rooms. 

I was actually gonna ask if there were showers free to use there. I’m on the Lido deck and the fitness room is one flight up the stairs and just a little forward from our cabin. Thanks

[amcankid]

6 hours ago, Napagirl said:

BTW - Consider taking the ferry from Vallejo to the SF dock. We get a ride to the ferry, then walk to the ship. So nice if one has the physical ability to do so. 

That is our backup plan. We’re in American Canyon. The ferry is 10 minutes away. But my oldest lives in Walnut Creek so at least right now the plan is to park at her house and she’ll drive us to the terminal. 
Either way it’s awesome that it’s so convenient as opposed to the usual flying a day or two in advance and paying for hotels and transportation and deciding if we should take a chance and fly back same day when the ship returns or pay for another night in a hotel. 
I envy the Florida people who have any number of itineraries to pick from with ports so close to where they live.

 

[Napagirl]

11 hours ago, amcankid said:

That is our backup plan. We’re in American Canyon. The ferry is 10 minutes away. But my oldest lives in Walnut Creek so at least right now the plan is to park at her house and she’ll drive us to the terminal. 
Either way it’s awesome that it’s so convenient as opposed to the usual flying a day or two in advance and paying for hotels and transportation and deciding if we should take a chance and fly back same day when the ship returns or pay for another night in a hotel. 
I envy the Florida people who have any number of itineraries to pick from with ports so close to where they live.

 

It's pretty addicting actually! We keep choosing cruises from SF because it's so much better to not have to fly. Our daughter drives us to the ferry in Vallejo and off we go. I also wish we had more going out of SF. We have our eye on a 15 day to Hawaii.

[theloo]

1 hour ago, Napagirl said:

It's pretty addicting actually! We keep choosing cruises from SF because it's so much better to not have to fly. Our daughter drives us to the ferry in Vallejo and off we go. I also wish we had more going out of SF. We have our eye on a 15 day to Hawaii.

You should do it.  We're booked on the holiday cruise out of SF.  Now we just need to figure out how to easily get there from Sacramento 🙂

[edspec]

44 minutes ago, theloo said:

You should do it.  We're booked on the holiday cruise out of SF.  Now we just need to figure out how to easily get there from Sacramento 🙂

We're in Sacramento and drive to the Dublin-Pleasanton light rail station and take bart to Embarcadero station.  From there either a short Uber or walk, depending on the amount of luggage.  Leaving Thursday for Sky Princess out of Southhampton and taking bart to SFO.  DH wasn't for it until I showed him the difference in parking-$433 at SFO vs. $66 at bart station.

[theloo]

15 minutes ago, edspec said:

We're in Sacramento and drive to the Dublin-Pleasanton light rail station and take bart to Embarcadero station.  From there either a short Uber or walk, depending on the amount of luggage.  Leaving Thursday for Sky Princess out of Southhampton and taking bart to SFO.  DH wasn't for it until I showed him the difference in parking-$433 at SFO vs. $66 at bart station.

I didn't know you could leave a vehicle at a BART station.  I will have to look into that.  I assume it's outdoor parking.  Is it secure?  Thank you.

 

P.S.  Could you report back after your return on how easy it was to park at Dublin & get to and from with luggage?  

Edited June 13, 2023 by theloo

[mtnesterz]

13 hours ago, amcankid said:

I was actually gonna ask if there were showers free to use there. I’m on the Lido deck and the fitness room is one flight up the stairs and just a little forward from our cabin. Thanks

I can't say for certain how the Crown will be when you board. But the spa and sauna area has full sized showers with lockers. Great after a sauna. (Bring flip-flops)  Word is that on sister ship Emerald, they converted that area to pay for use. Don't know the details. You could ask in a Live Crown thread if this area has been converted yet.

IMHO,  @snoozecrooze was on the money in post #9. This will not be a Carnival cruise. The energy level is much lower. No one is out to get you engaged and keep you entertained constantly, unless you count Fortuna Luck running Bingo. You might have a comedian entertainer, but no comedy club. They might show the Super Bowl somewhere on the ship, but in talking to other passengers, most weren't interested in watching. It's a different crowd on Princess.

Edited June 13, 2023 by mtnesterz

[edspec]

10 minutes ago, theloo said:

I didn't know you could leave a vehicle at a BART station.  I will have to look into that.  I assume it's outdoor parking.  Is it secure?  Thank you.

I've always used the outdoor parking and never had an issue.  I will not drive in San Francisco or pay the crazy parking so bart is my goto.

[theloo]

1 minute ago, edspec said:

I've always used the outdoor parking and never had an issue.  I will not drive in San Francisco or pay the crazy parking so bart is my goto.

Thanks for your suggestion.  Members on this board have really been so helpful!  😍

[damiross]

1 hour ago, theloo said:

I didn't know you could leave a vehicle at a BART station.  I will have to look into that.  I assume it's outdoor parking.  Is it secure?  Thank you.

 

P.S.  Could you report back after your return on how easy it was to park at Dublin & get to and from with luggage?  

I wouldn't leave a vehicle at any BART station - security sucks.

[Napagirl]

On 6/13/2023 at 11:50 AM, mtnesterz said:

  @snoozecrooze was on the money in post #9. This will not be a Carnival cruise. The energy level is much lower. No one is out to get you engaged and keep you entertained constantly, unless you count Fortuna Luck running Bingo. You might have a comedian entertainer, but no comedy club. They might show the Super Bowl somewhere on the ship, but in talking to other passengers, most weren't interested in watching. It's a different crowd on Princess.

I've only been on Carnival once - Panorama in Feb 2020 (whew, just made it lol) and I was so very bored! I had anticipated this being a "party" ship and I was traveling with my sisters - we were all ready to have some fun. They had so little to do and for some reason they were always trying to get us to do silly dances with the "boys and girls" on opposite sides of the space. I just didn't get it. I've had way more fun on Princess. But I do agree that it's a different vibe. It seems a bit more elevated on Princess to me. Maybe it was just that one cruise? 

[PescadoAmarillo]

I would choose to cruise on the Crown over any Royal Class ship.

 

I would avoid cruising out of San Francisco at all costs. Worst embarkation out of a LOT of cruises. 

[Napagirl]

19 minutes ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I would choose to cruise on the Crown over any Royal Class ship.

 

I would avoid cruising out of San Francisco at all costs. Worst embarkation out of a LOT of cruises. 

The smaller pier is the worst! But I still choose SF because it's such a breeze living near the port. And the sail under the GGB is spectacular. There are tricks to having a better embarkation experience - but I learned it the hard way haha! Mainly it's about getting there early and if the line is long you go to a restaurant that overlooks the line. Wait for it to go down. That's our plan for October. I guess this isn't really FOR you since it's not worth it to you, but this is for anyone sailing from SF. 

[SuzieQ521]

3 hours ago, Napagirl said:

The smaller pier is the worst! But I still choose SF because it's such a breeze living near the port. And the sail under the GGB is spectacular. There are tricks to having a better embarkation experience - but I learned it the hard way haha! Mainly it's about getting there early and if the line is long you go to a restaurant that overlooks the line. Wait for it to go down. That's our plan for October. I guess this isn't really FOR you since it's not worth it to you, but this is for anyone sailing from SF. 

Ugh, I need to learn the tricks; first time sailing out of SF for a Thanksgiving cruise--we will have a group of 15, including a young child and elderly family members. We just did a cruise out of Seattle a few weeks ago that had very efficient embarkation so was hoping for the same...

[theloo]

Isn't pier 27 better?  Or is that still bad?

[damiross]

7 hours ago, PescadoAmarillo said:

I would choose to cruise on the Crown over any Royal Class ship.

 

I would avoid cruising out of San Francisco at all costs. Worst embarkation out of a LOT of cruises. 

My wife and I were on the Royal earlier this year.  It was a little bigger than I liked.  Our other cruises were on the Ruby, Crown, and Grand.

 

We haven't had any problem boarding at San Francisco. Disembarkation is a different story.  For some reason, rideshare is limited to a relatively small area with no place to sit.  It was a zoo and a half when we went to get our Lyft after leaving the Royal.

[tawlaw1526]

I was on Crown for 28 days in Mar/Apr.    Yes, she is an older ship but I loved everything about the ship and let me tell you, it was by far the best crew I have ever had out of all 29 Princess Cruises I have been on.  I wouldn’t hesitate to sail on Crown again in a heartbeat.    
As for the shower, yes, it is small.   You should request your hand held wand on the App and if you don’t have it upon boarding, ask your cabin steward immediately.     A hand held wand is very important to me so I bought a $25 wand and it is now a part of my must pack items when I am cruising on an older Princess ship.   I don’t want to worry whether I’ll get one or not.   It’s important enough that I didn’t mind spending $25 on a cheap one to travel with.    My husband was able to screw off the shower head, screw on my wand and it worked perfectly.    When cruise was over, he took it off and put their shower head back on. Took all of 5 minutes and was so worth it to me.  

[amcankid]

6 hours ago, damiross said:

My wife and I were on the Royal earlier this year.  It was a little bigger than I liked.  Our other cruises were on the Ruby, Crown, and Grand.

 

We haven't had any problem boarding at San Francisco. Disembarkation is a different story.  For some reason, rideshare is limited to a relatively small area with no place to sit.  It was a zoo and a half when we went to get our Lyft after leaving the Royal.

Simple solution for that. Walk across the street and up a block or so and have Uber or Lyft pick you up there

[marden1970]

13 hours ago, SuzieQ521 said:

Ugh, I need to learn the tricks; first time sailing out of SF for a Thanksgiving cruise--we will have a group of 15, including a young child and elderly family members. We just did a cruise out of Seattle a few weeks ago that had very efficient embarkation so was hoping for the same...

We love to cruise out of SF even thou the choices are rather limited.  If any of your elderly family members have mobility problems ask for wheel chair assist when dropping off your luggage. They will take you all the way thru check in and then hand you off to a Princess employee to take you up the gangway onto the ship.  This has really made a difference for for my husband, he has problems standing for even a short period of time and would not be able to make it up the gangway ramp.

[NukeTim]

If the shower size is a problem, don your Princess robe and go up to the Lotus Spa change rooms on Deck 15 (Sun deck).  Change rooms have a steam room, sauna, and full size showers.  No charge.

[suzyed]

On 6/11/2023 at 9:27 PM, amcankid said:

Serious inquiry here. We’re platinum on Carnival and have also cruises Royal Caribbean a few times. 
I just booked a Crown Princess cruise for Super Bowl week 2024 out of San Francisco (my home so no flying or hotels necessary).

But now as I look at videos of the ship it seems a little dated, the showers look extra small and there doesn’t seem to be any entertainment areas other than the theater. 
I was able to put a request on my booking for a hand held nozzle for the shower but videos I’ve looked at seem to show the shower as half the size of a phone booth (I’m dating myself with that description lol)

I love the idea of sailing out of San Francisco but I’m not impressed with what I’ve seen on YouTube. Please, anyone who’s sailed on it and loved it I’d like to hear from you.  
As an aside I’m also curious how much they charge to use the sanctuary area and if the pool is only accessible to those who paid the daily charge.

Thanks

The shower is pretty much the same as all the other Princess ships and not that different than the other cruise lines as I remember.
 There is entertainment in Explorers Lounge, Crooners, the Piazza, up on Deck by the pool, Club Fusion.

[suzyed]

On 6/11/2023 at 11:05 PM, snoozecrooze said:

The thing about choosing Princess for the first time is to set your expectations accordingly (something I'd tell anyone doing it). You go into Princess looking to chill, and I mean, really chill. Especially on a ship like Crown Princess, the best part of it is the wide, open, endless promenade on deck 7 to just stare at the open sea. Adagio Bar is such an underrated space because absolutely no one knows about it and it is pure bliss.

 

There's actually a lot you can choose to be occupied by on Princess, but from my viewpoint, that's because I don't mind visiting many of the planned activities. Some will also just find Princess the perfect sweet spot for both relaxing while also having that one thing at night you really want to do (like a production show or an evening game show). 

 

My one recommendation is I would make an effort to visit the activities led by the cruise staff, which I'm sure you've also learned from your experiences on Carnival. It's the fastest way to build friends and rapport with other cruisers but also cruise staff and that can help you set a goal for your day (finding certain events you now schedule yourself to attend, for example). Or maybe you've found a great group of people at Crooner's (the piano bar) and you guys will see each other every night. But again, the beauty of it is you can do none of that and just enjoy the presence of your own company. Not that any of that would be unique to Princess at all, but in my opinion, there's just less frenetic energy around you at the end of the day.

Adagio is my most favorite place on the the ship and the Sabatini's right next to it is one of most beautiful restaurants on any of the ships.  We have been on the Crown 5-6 times!

[WisCruiser2]

On 6/13/2023 at 1:50 PM, mtnesterz said:

They might show the Super Bowl somewhere on the ship, but in talking to other passengers, most weren't interested in watching. It's a different crowd on Princess.

I think it depends on who's playing as to the interest. In 2017 we did a B2B on the Caribbean (sister ship to Crown) and got to watch the Packers two playoff games. Saw the first one on MUTS (Movies Under the Stars) with a good crowd. I think it was rainy for the second one, so watched it in one of the lounges. The Super Bowl will be on somewhere, for sure!