Just off the Crown

[GOLDENBONNY]

If everyone would show up at the time listed on their doc's there wouldn't be a disembarkation problem.

 

I have sat and waited past 11:30 to disembarkation on other lines. Why is that always a major complaint. If your not flying or have a late flight you are always the last off. Need to remember 3000 people are getting off.

 

dont forget security situation now:eek:

[madelinerose]

Just my 2 cents here, but one thing I will never ever ever understand as long as I live are complaints about too many children and teenagers when cruises/vacations are reserved for August or any Summer month, for that matter.

 

Isn't August the peak Summer month for family vacations, since school will be starting soon?

 

Am I missing something here? If I am, wlll someone kindly educate me? :confused:

[makeup face]

Just my 2 cents here, but one thing I will never ever ever understand as long as I live are complaints about too many children and teenagers when cruises/vacations are reserved for August or any Summer month, for that matter.

 

Isn't August the peak Summer month for family vacations, since school will be starting soon?

 

Am I missing something here? If I am, wlll someone kindly educate me? :confused:

 

 

THANK YOU!!

I mean how much sense do you need to have to know summertime is family vacation time. My sons are grown...so I never cruise during peak "family time vacation". Although....I will be taking a 3 day Baja next July for my Mama's 75th birthday.....with my sons. But I already know there will be many children aboard...and I'll deal with it.

 

I can't help myself....I just have a address these "concerns"

Things we were not pleased with:

 

1) Cabin stewart.

We had no soap for 1 1/2 Days. Asked four different times.

(We had 2 balcony rooms side by side both no soap)

We are a clean family- shower 2-3 times a day.

 

If you are such a clean family....why didn't you bring soap with you? I shower twice a day a use a different bath gel...morning and evening. I always pack my bath gels when traveling :D

 

 

Rooms were vacuumed only once in our 9 day cruise.

 

Did you open your mouth and tell the man to vacuumed your cabin everyday? Maybe you thought you shouldn't have to...but obviously you should have since it wasn't being done.

 

 

12) My stateroom was so noisy it was hard to sleep at night. Alot of squeaking from wall between bed and closet. Our Patio door sounded like it was going to fall overboard. Again no help from Princess.

 

Always....Always......Always pack ear plugs!!!!

 

Toilet would sometimes flush and sometimes not - maintainence man could not figure it out and could not understand English well. A lot of vibration (was on the 11th floor in rear of ship).

 

Perhaps there was a little attitude going on with you. You know....... some folks just don't know that a "good" attitude can go a long way in resolving problems.

 

Okay....that's my $0.02:D

[bbqbrad]

I was just wondering if there happens to be a change in service when there are more children onboard.

 

I've been following these "service" threads and noticed that this particular sailing was said to have 800 kids on board.

 

Of course it's obvious that there will be more families during the summer months.

 

The one and only time that I cruised and will cruise on NCL, I heard from the Cruise Director himself that he couldn't wait until Sept 1st because of all the kids on board.

 

I wonder if the Crown crew is starting to feel the same way. :confused:

[Aruba]

I was on the 8/7-16 Crown sailing. It seemed to me that the long delays in disembarkation yesterday were not Princess's fault -- as of 10am, there were only 2 customs agents working in the Brooklyn terminal to handle US citizens! (There were 2 other agents who handled non-US citizens.) The line moved at a snail's pace. Sometime between 10 and 10:30, other customs agents were added and the line started moving faster. It didn't look to me like the blame was on Princess.

[Wheelhouse]

I guess service is very personal. My family and I just completed our twelfth Princess cruise on the 8/7 Crown and we agreed that the head waiter in the the DaVinci dining room was the friendliest dining staff person that we have encountered. Getting a table for four was no problem with Anytime Dining for us early diners. I will say though that the service was uneven as twice my wife received the wrong soup and once at lunch I waited twenty minutes without a coffee refill. I would assume that there is less incentive for the dining staff to perform well because most of the tipping has become non-directed with the advent of the Anytime Dining concept.

 

My biggest complaint was with the squeaky balcony doors. Both of our adjoining rooms had the same problem and I was up numerous times to try to get it to stop mostly with no luck.

 

From what I understand the missing young man had found a young woman - the usual stuff.

 

Lots of kids in August - summer vacation. My oldest daughter is still crying about missing her new great friends.

 

Disembarkation also started late and customs did not let everyone blow through as quickly as they seem to allow in other ports.

[friend of Eeyore]

I am going to put a sign on that beam that says THIS BEAM SAVED "friend of Eeyore" DURING THE TILT!!!! I am still not very happy about the "minor obstruction" and figure decorating it might help.lol

 

sue - in B751 - 8/25 sailing

 

Sue-

 

Better make that sign say "THIS BEAM SAVED "Piper28" DURING THE TILT!!!!!"

 

It was my DH, not me. I was in the pool! Not a fun place. And that beam gave DH bruises that stayed for a month!

 

Have fun during 8/25 cruise. Say hi to Glennard. He was so sweet. The picture on my "avatar" is from him, posing my Eeyore. Eeyore was sitting on my bed in a different position every evening.

[laforgue]

I also just finished a cruise on the Crown Princess. This is my first time with Princess and I was surprised to find the regular coffee available in the buffet absolutely undrinkable. I had to switch to tea. If you want decent coffee you have to buy a coffee card and go all the way down to the International Cafe on deck 5. Otherwise get used to drinking the slurry they serve in the buffet. Is this the norm for Princess?

 

However, most of the staff are exceptionally polite and friendly, as I have found to be true of the other lines I've traveled on as well--Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Carnival. The ship is beautiful, though I prefer the Royal Caribbean voyager class because of the Main Street Mall that runs down the center of the ship. But the Crown Princess looks like a beautiful hotel and I enoyed the chamber music that filled the lobby area. The embarkation process was the smoothest I've ever experienced, but getting off took quite a while. I'm not sure what the holdup was.

 

I thought the entertainment was very good--particularly Sarge. Cruise director James was delightful as was his assistant Michelle. I felt bad for the impressionist and I was happy to see that the audience was polite enough not to make remarks, though many left. The production shows were fun, I enjoyed the pianist in Crooners and the duet playing in the Wheelhouse bar. Movies under the stars was great, though I fell asleep because I was so busy much of the day, but I would definitely recommend it. I just wished they showed a few more movies aimed at the adult audience. The ship is kept up beautifully and you would never know they had had a tipping incident just a few weeks ago.

 

I do think they shouldn't charge you for so many items however (good coffee, ice cream, special pastries. the Sanctuary, alternative dining options etc.) because you're left having to ask each time whether the item costs extra or not and if so how much. Not having to worry about cost all the time is one of the things I love about cruising. If they continue down that route they'll destroy half the charm of cruising. Anytime dining is very inconvenient, and while it may be ok for groups of 2-4, it is absolutely miserable for large groups. If you eat late you have to rush to get to the shows afterward or hope to squeeze them in beforehand. It makes you feel like a second class citizen.

[wizard-of-roz]

Kids! What's the matter with kids today? I'll tell you what........Ignorant parents!!!!.....

STOP blaming the ship and the crew for these "no neck monsters!" And their bad behavior!

It's poor parenting....sure vacations, on cruise ships, are supposed to be fun for everyone. However, parents who do not have control over their children should be flogged! Kids will get away with whatever they can, and do, with "numb brained" parents!

If my children (three) ever acted the way some of these kids do, they would have been on the "naughty chair" until they came to their senses! ;)

We NEVER cruise or go on vacation in the summer or during spring break! Not because of the kids but because of their stupified parents! :eek:

Now, go book your next cruise like I did on September 30th and November 14th!

Happy Sails,

Roz

[friend of Eeyore]

We NEVER cruise or go on vacation in the summer or during spring break! Not because of the kids but because of their stupified parents! :eek:

 

Now, go book your next cruise like I did on September 30th and November 14th!

 

Happy Sails,

Roz

 

Wish I could.... If it weren't for the durn school schedule... It looks bad when the teacher skips school!:D (Can't you just hear... "I'm sorry Mr./Ms. Principal, I couldn't teach school last week because I was on a cruise...")

 

:D :( :confused: So, for now, have to do cruising during the summer months...

[wizard-of-roz]

Cathy: I totally understand. I used to work for a private school and could only take vacations in the month of July. I worked there for 8 years and now am in an environment where I can go pretty much when I want. (Yeah!!!!!) Vacations are so much more fun now!

 

When I was stuck with vacationing in "kid prime time" this was me: I'm the queen of "dirty looks" and I'm not shy to ask the misbehaving child his/her name and what cabin they're in. I then proceed to the cabin; I knock on the door and I inform the parents that if they don't keep their child under control I'll be knocking again! If they wake me up, I confront and go a-knocking again! I'm relentless! They pretty much get real tired of me and I get results! It may take a few minutes away from my vacation but they avoid me in the halls/dining room/elevator/pool, etc., etc. And, who cares!!!!! :mad:

 

I don't want them near me or mine! :cool:

[ILov2cruise]

Just my 2 cents here, but one thing I will never ever ever understand as long as I live are complaints about too many children and teenagers when cruises/vacations are reserved for August or any Summer month, for that matter.

 

Isn't August the peak Summer month for family vacations, since school will be starting soon?

 

Am I missing something here? If I am, wlll someone kindly educate me? :confused:

 

I don't mind children and I think it's wonderful that parents take their children on such a great vacation, buuuuuuuuuut I do mind parents who forget their children are also on board. Or the not my child group. If we allow our children to roam the ship without us than yes my child. Children do things when not with their parent that they would never do in front of us. Don't you remember being a teen.

 

I thought Princess puts a cap on how many children are on board. Guess the cap is a large amount when the ship holds 3000 people.

[sea glass]

Come on! There was iced tea, coffee,tea,apple juice,cranberry juice,orange juice, club soda with lemon or lime available at all times. All of these were FREE. I agree with a lot of the complaints re: The Crown but this quote is untrue.

 

They only offer juice at breakfast. I have read other threads which agree with me on this. The coffee stations offer mediocre coffee and hot water for tea. The "iced" tea is undrinkable. Where did you see club soda?????????

 

On Celebrity, they offer a selection of juices all day. Additionally Celebrity offers a variety of herbal tea. The variety is out at the stations all day. On Princess I had to beg for one herbal tea bag. Why can't they put out a few herbal tea bags?

[Suskies]

The problem with disembarkation was that they asked us to be out of our rooms and on the Promenade deck right after breakfast. If we could have stayed in our rooms or elsewhere on the ship, things would have been much more comfortable. Holland America allows this and lets the embarking passengers know that their rooms won't be available until around 1 p.m. Their procedure was much more comfortable and humane.

 

Regarding service, we never had any problems, although the staff weren't as warm and friendly as on other cruises. We were a group of just 4 and had no special needs or requests--maybe this was a factor.

 

This was our first experience with Anytime Dining and we wouldn't do it again. We ended up eating at 6:15-6:30 each night in order to make both shows (Princess Theater and Explorer's Lounge), so an early assigned seating would have been fine. My children especially (teen egocentrists that they are!) missed the waiters knowing their names and preferences.

 

One thing we liked in the dining rooms is the abundance of tables for 2 and 4. On other cruises we weren't usually able to get a small table to ourselves or breakfast, lunch, or tea. We prefer to eat by ourselves and this was very nice. We also liked that the tables for 4 are round rather than rectangular--it made dinners more intimate and fun. The tables for 2 are in a row, all very close together, so they're not great for private conversation.