Crown Princess Family Suite anyone ?

[Doherty1]

I know there are only 2 of these on the Crown.....Does anyone have any info or pics on these ? The website does not even have a diagram.

worth the money ?

 

Also, how does the Crown compare to RCCL Voyageur class ships for kids and teens ?

Thanks.

[Umbarger]

I stayed in a family suite on the Golden. Basically it is an inside cabin and a balcony cabin connected by a very small living room. Two separate entrance doors..........one for each cabin. 3 TVs........one in each cabin and one in the very small living room. There is a small sofa bed in the living room but once set out there is no room....walking is impossible. Large balcony but couldn't see anything forward as it was blocked by something....the Bridge.... I think. These cabins shouldn't be called suites as they are not anything special IMHO. They are not worth the extra money I am sorry to say. However, the free Internet and laundry was nice. I would recommend booking two balcony cabins side by side or a balcony cabin and an inside across the hall for the kids.

 

Any other questions? I would be happy to help.

 

Linda

[ladysheri]

We stayed in the Family Suite on the Diamond in May..it is an inside cabin and a Minisuite together with a small living area, like Umbarger describes. With our 2 daughters, we found it to be very nice for the family. I believe Princess's brochures list it as able to sleep 6 or 8; I would never get it for more than 4. I will confess that we were booked in a Minisuite and an Interior and got upgraded (at the VERY last minute) into the Family Suite and were absolutely thrilled with the upgrade. I am not sure what the difference was pricewise, but have heard that it is a little pricey.

 

The balcony is MUCH bigger than a mini and we had 4 other family members on the ship so it was very handy for sailaway parties. I also felt much safer with our children through a connecting door...our cruise was shortly after the fire on the Star. I will say that I thought we had a great view from the balcony on the Diamond (is it configured differently than the Golden perhaps?) because we could see what was beside us and what was ahead of us. The bridge on the Diamond is above the Family Suite and was not blocking.

 

Doherty1....I have failed in the past to post pictures here but am happy to share them if you are interested. You can email me at ladysheriann@hotmail.com.

 

Happy Sailing.

S

[NYCityCruiser]

We just disembarked from the crown today & since we are a family of 6 I decided to check out the family suite while the stewards were cleaning the rooms. I would say that for a family with small children it is ideal. There is a spacious main room with a double bed for the parents, then a living area that wraps around and connects the main bedroom with the other room. The big thing is that second room has its own door so the kids are not across the hall or in their own room yet you (& they) have privacy. They also have their own bathroom, closet/storage area & door to the hall. So if you have older kids they can come & go w/o waking you up but if you have little kids they are right next to you, the best for everybody. The smaller room has beds for up to 4 kids - two fixed bottom bunks & two fold down. The living area also has two small sofas that open up into single beds so theoretically you could have 8 people sleeping there. That would be a lot of people on top of each other. 4 kids & 2 parents would be great though. On the cruise we just got off we had to split into two cabins - one adult w/kids in each cabin which effectively meant neither of us could go to much after dinner (we have 3 thru 7 yr olds). At least if we were all in one cabin we could take turns going out!

 

We would take a family suite in a heartbeat except I have no idea how expensive it would be or how available. Why there are only 2 of these suites on a boat for 3,000 people is beyond me.

[mortysmama]

A family suite was suggested for us. We are 5 adults. DH and I, one daughter and her DH and another DD. I think I remember the agent quoting around $10,000. For much less (between 7 and 8K) I could book a VS with a BB next door where balconies can be opened up. I thought it was a bit high...so we passed on it. I'm not sure if that's the price on all the ships. I think the only way to find out is to ask a rep or Princess itself. They don't show prices for them on any on-line sites that I've seen.

[letsgomets]

Is it really true that the newest Princess ships (like the Crown and Caribbean) have absolutely no connecting cabins? So if we can't get one of only two family cabins, we really can't take Princess with little kids (completely separate rooms is not an option we would consider -- my wife and I have no interest in spending our vacation apart like that)? If this is true (as Princess reps told us on the phone when we wanted to book), then I don't understand why Princess would do that given how much Princess is trying to appeal to families with children. It had ve been our first choice for an upcoming cruise based upon my research about the ship, itinerary, etc.

[Amattinrussell]

We had the good fortune to be given a free upgrade from a balcony + interior to D106 and D102, the family suite. The room is as described above: D106 is an L shape with a full bath, queen size bed and a living room with 2 love seat/sofas. A locking door connects the living room to D102. The privacy was excellent: we could hear loud horsing around but otherwise conversation and TV noise did not travel. The balcony was huge, and was especially fun on port days for breakfast (it accommodates six people, there is a table for 4 and two recliners). You get full suite privileges, which was sooo nice: a free night at Crown Grill, breakfast at Sabatinis every morning, free room service, fresh fruit, free minibar, elite club for happy hour, free laundry and pressing, free use of the Thermal Suite in Lotus Spa, express line on embarkation day, priority tender, elite lounge for disembarkation. It was awesome.

 

I am prone to seasickness and it was more difficult to be forward, vertically it is midship (deck 8) so it wasn't too bad. It is such a luxurious way to travel with children, I definitely recommend it if it is within your budget.

[caribill]

Is it really true that the newest Princess ships (like the Crown and Caribbean) have absolutely no connecting cabins?

 

If this is true (as Princess reps told us on the phone when we wanted to book), then I don't understand why Princess would do that given how much Princess is trying to appeal to families with children.

 

When there is an inside connecting door, then a part of both cabins must have space for the door to open and used. Thus, less furniture or storage is possible in those rooms.

 

For example, on the Ocean and Pacific, the couch that is normally in most cabins is replaced by a smaller chair.

 

Although this is great when used by families, if the cabins are used by people who are not using the connecting door, they may feel cheated with less furniture/storage.

[RickEk]

Is it really true that the newest Princess ships (like the Crown and Caribbean) have absolutely no connecting cabins? So if we can't get one of only two family cabins, we really can't take Princess with little kids (completely separate rooms is not an option we would consider -- my wife and I have no interest in spending our vacation apart like that)? If this is true (as Princess reps told us on the phone when we wanted to book), then I don't understand why Princess would do that given how much Princess is trying to appeal to families with children. It had ve been our first choice for an upcoming cruise based upon my research about the ship, itinerary, etc.

 

The ships in the Princess fleet that have true connecting cabins are:

 

Coral Princess

Island Princess

Sapphire Princess

Diamond Princess

Ocean Princess

Pacific Princess

Royal Princess

Regal Princess

 

so basically half the fleet...

Edited November 24, 2014 by RickEk

[dforeigner]

I know there are only 2 of these on the Crown.....Does anyone have any info or pics on these ? The website does not even have a diagram.

worth the money ?

 

Also, how does the Crown compare to RCCL Voyageur class ships for kids and teens ?

Thanks.

 

Actually, the diagram is very accurate with the exception that it shows an extra table that is not there in the actual room. We have stayed in that room. We loved it. Rather quiet and all the goodies that come with a suite. A draw back is that when the ship is sailing, the balcony gets very windy. But if you just go out and lay on the loungers, the balcony blocks the wind and it is pretty comfortable.

[dforeigner]

Check out this link. It is for a different ship but the lay out is the same.

 

http://www.princess.com/html/global/book/ships/cb/submeta/SX/

[Spendogirl]

On my very first cruise on the Star Princess, we were upgraded from a balcony and inside to the Family Suite. It was great having the teenagers at the time within arms reach, yet they had their own space.

 

I would not pay the super high price for this suite, but if you get "upgraded" to it, it's definately worth having it.

 

With that being said, the one thing I clearly remember was not being able to use the balcony in high winds or seas. The balcony was excellent when the seas co-operated.

 

It's exactly like others describe, an inside cabin within a mini-suite with a small living area. HTH! :)