Mini review of the Crown Princess B2B experience

[Cruise Raider]

Just got back from a wonderful B2B sailing on the Crown Princess with the first leg doing the southern route along the California Coast and the second leg going up north along the Pacific Coast, as far as Vancouver before returning to San Francisco.  
 

Let me start by saying the crew and staff were top notch.  

The food was also very good and the wine choices on our premier package were quite nice. we couldn’t find the same wines at very bar but the crew was so good at finding us something we could enjoy!  Bravo!  
 

Our cabins were well maintained and everything was in  tip top shape.  We did have to move one cabin over for the second leg but maintained the same fabulous room steward, Herman.  I had a whole zoo full of towel animals by the end of the cruise.  
Even though the rooms were right next door to one another, there were some slight differences.  The fan blew right onto us at night but that was solved with our magnetic clips and a towel. No need for that in the second cabin.  A newer hair dryer was installed in the second cabin.  
we found we do like those cabins right next to the fire doors .. we never heard one door slammer next door throughout our whole cruise.  Yay!  

Turn around day for in transit passengers was performed so very well but we received a note in our cabin apologizing for the delay.  Not even sure what that was about but we did hear some people complaining in line.  Whoa .. what?  They held an in transit informative meeting in the wheelhouse the day before turnaround day to explain the process to us and answer any questions we may have had for many different dept heads.  Nice job Princess!  There were over 200 of us on this particular B2B so, I’m sure that helped with answering the same questions over 200 times.  
We were told we could either disembark to visit the port in SF or could meet in the theater by 10:00 AM to disembark as a group, go through immigration and return to the ship after they had their zero count.  Perhaps this is why some complained as we were led out of the theater at 10:30 or so.  We had nice comfy seating where I was able to finish my post cruise survey.  We walked out and down the gangway and went through facial recognition immigration and back in line to reembark the ship once it was cleared.  That whole process seemed to take only 15 minutes.  So again, not sure who could complain about that .. seamlessly done, IMO!  
We went directly to our new cabin and it was already done up for us!  They could not have made that move any easier for us.  We just left everything on hangers and packed up everything else in our suitcases .. took our valuables and passports along with us.  
 

Both cruises seemed very crowded (both were sold out) but with a little patience, we always seemed to be able to get a seat somewhere to sit and eat, watch a show or activity, etc.  There were a lot of repeat cruisers on these cruises, there usually are out of San Francisco, so no ch ace of getting to the MTP event.  The cut off on the first one was nearly 500 days, not sure about the second leg but the CC party was well attended.  
 

The future cruise sales office had some 50% off cruise deals available if booked onboard but, they are not nearly the deals they were last year.  They are unable to sell the packages with the deal so, that can only be purchased once onboard.  But still, they may save you some money.  Keep in mind the deposits are non-refundable on these discounted sailings.  You cannot use a FCD on these either.  

 

A small change I would make if I were queen for the day is change the MDR lunch from the Botticelli to the Michelangelo or DaVinci MDR.  The food and service was great when we got in, though.  I would also open the GastroPub for lunch.  If you weren’t in line by 5:15 PM, you may not get a seat for a couple of hours.  I would love to see this venue convert to opening earlier in the day.  
 

We had the premier package on both legs of our B2B but, as before, the 3 included prints for each of us were not available via our app on the second leg of our cruise.  The fabulous folks at the Photo area took care of it for us, though and no additional charges occurred.  
 

We also had specialty coffees on disembarkation day and the morning of turnaround that weren’t charged to our folio.  This happened to us in the past and it’s nice to know they’ve resolved that issue.  
 

One issue we did notice was that the liquor store onboard seems to be charging double for what you used to be able to get for a deal.  If you found a cheaper advertised price, they used to price match it but not anymore.  No big deal, we will just buy it on land.  Just a warning to do your price comparisons.  
 

The seas were a bit rough on a few of the days but the Crown and the Captain handled it with grace.  
The line to disembark in Seattle was really clogged up for about an hour.  It’s not even a tender port so, not sure why the log jam happened.  The entire length of deck 7 was jam packed, 5 across. 
 

The espresso coffee was the best I’ve ever had anywhere .. so very good! 
plus, they have actual espresso cups at the coffee bar!  So perfect .. even nice wine glasses were available.  
 

The food as very good in all venues, even in the buffet and via ocean now delivery orders. All food seemed to be seasoned perfectly .. never did I feel it needed more or less seasoning.  Sabatini’s may have been my favorite.  The views and service there were spectacular there.  The Ocean Now delivery service was always timely, food was hot and order was accurate.  I still wish they had the option to order NO sides.  I usually receive fries with the orders and I’m not sure how they are making their fries lately, but they are just too good not eat them if they come on my plate.  Yowsa .. they are awesome!  

 

Another very wonderful sailing for the books!  The officers, crew and staff made this so very nice and accommodating!  

 

Edited May 5 by Cruise Raider

[PacnGoNow]

Great review! Thank you.  We agree, the Crown has a wonderful crew.  One of the best.

So happy you enjoyed your cruise.

[dreams_of_travel]

2 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

 

The future cruise sales office had some 50% off cruise deals available if booked onboard but, they are not nearly the deals they were last year.  They are unable to sell the packages with the deal so, that can only be purchased once onboard.  But still, they may save you some money.  Keep in mind the deposits are non-refundable on these discounted sailings.  You cannot use a FCD on these either.  

 

 

I asked about those 50% off cruises when I was on Discovery, but they waived me off, and told me those weren't available anymore.  I would be interested to know if it is a seasonal thing, or more like, when do these show up for purchase onboard?

 

Glad you had another great B2B cruise experience.  I do enjoy reading your write-ups. 

[Cruise Raider]

14 minutes ago, dreams_of_travel said:

 

I asked about those 50% off cruises when I was on Discovery, but they waived me off, and told me those weren't available anymore.  I would be interested to know if it is a seasonal thing, or more like, when do these show up for purchase onboard?

 

Glad you had another great B2B cruise experience.  I do enjoy reading your write-ups. 

Thank you! 
I felt the same when I was on the Discovery .. it’s like you had to guess what cruise might be on the list and they would tell you there were any additional OBC or discounts only if you picked the right one.  And they were nice Future Cruise people to boot.  I’m sure they were told the list shouldn’t be shared.  
This B2B were the last cruises from the 50% off list when it really was 50% off the lowest listed fare.  It is now 50% off the non-discounted fare and no discounts on the package fares.  There was a pretty good prices on those June cruises on the Island starting in NYC or Boston and going up to New England and down to Charleston, SC.  They were 50% and there were some 35% off fares on the repositioning sailings on the west coast for Sept.  But again, with the OBC that would be lost having a non-refundable deposit, no option to get the package until onboard, it really only saved $100 for the whole booking.  
They are filling their ships so not sure if we will ever see those onboard booking sales like in the past.  I took advantage of everything that left out of my home port and even a couple from LA.  
 

[lahlah57]

Now I'm looking forward to my cruise come next weekend!

Happy to see you had a wonderful time! 😊 

[TBfrPH]

Thank you, @Cruise Raider, for the trip report to preview all that we have to look forward to in a few weeks.

 

Do you recall the music bands who played in the piazza and the lounges?  Are these people still around-

Party Band The Echoes

Souvenir Duo (2 Ukrainian gentlemen)

Domino Duo (Husband/Wife-?- team)

 

Who was the pianist on your B2B?

 

[Cruise Raider]

11 hours ago, TBfrPH said:

Thank you, @Cruise Raider, for the trip report to preview all that we have to look forward to in a few weeks.

 

Do you recall the music bands who played in the piazza and the lounges?  Are these people still around-

Party Band The Echoes

Souvenir Duo (2 Ukrainian gentlemen)

Domino Duo (Husband/Wife-?- team)

 

Who was the pianist on your B2B?

 

I all of them were still in place.  We did have a great guitar player/singer, Cam Dunbar n the first leg of our cruise.  He was replaced by the incredibly talented Cola Sounds duet, Craig and Tara, for the second leg.  I think you will enjoy them a lot!  I know we sure did.  
 

[rocklinmom]

We will be on the Crown in 3 weeks so very happy to read this! 

[Cruise Raider]

3 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

We will be on the Crown in 3 weeks so very happy to read this! 

I wrote a more extensive one back in February that has a lot more info in it if you’re interested.  
 

[dockman]

5 hours ago, rocklinmom said:

We will be on the Crown in 3 weeks so very happy to read this! 

i did 21 days alaska last year on the crown and can also say that overall it is a delightful well run ship with a very friendly and efficient crew