10/18 Crown Princess Review !

[ErinsMommy]

Just back from the 10/18 sailing of the Crown Princess. Here’s my own personal review

 

Embarkation: We arrived at 1:30. By 1:50 we were already on our way to our cabin. There were lines, but very fast moving and coordinated well. It was a breeze!

 

Cabin: We had a mini on the dolphin deck. Our room was very spacious and had tons of storage! The bathroom was very big for a cruise ship, with little shelves, and a large counter. The tub/shower was very nice and had shelves as well. Very nice bathroom. There was a large closet for storage, and another with about 8 shelves. There was plenty of room for 3 people with 4 suitcases. There was nothing under the bed, so all of the luggage could be stored under it, and out of the way. There were two flat panel tv’s, and a little fridge. Our room steward was Lawrence and he was fantastic. We had a fruit menu as well as breakfast room service menu delivered at night which was great for my 3 year old to be able to pick on bananas and apples rather than eat junk. The bed was very, very comfortable and clean! My husband is asthmatic, and had no trouble in the room. The balcony is nice size and uncovered. It did not bother us at all. We had no problems with cigarette butts or garbage on our deck. It was definitely smoky at times, but just shut the door when it was. Major complaint- I was very nervous that there were no locks on the balcony door. There is a lock, but easily to operate for a small child. There were 2 large chairs on the deck, and a table with 2 small chairs. She could have easily climbed out to the balcony in the middle of the night and stood on a chair and climbed over. I put the fear of God in her and trust her, but it still scared me!

 

Ports: We loved all ports but especially Grand Cayman. The water was clear, warm and aqua blue. Shopping was great too! We went to Senior Frogs, went shopping and then went to seven mile beach. It was $5 per person from the ship by taxi. The island is clean, and the people are very nice. Margaritaville in Grand Turk was a lot of fun. The pool there is huge, and the beach is gorgeous. The boat is a little close to the beach, so it kind of ruins the view, but it was still a fun time. In Ocho Rios we did the Bamboo Beach Club. It is walking distance to the ship, and the beach there is nice, but there is lots of seaweed. They had reggae music and unlimited lemonade, rum punch, and food. We went shopping at the shops right near the peer, and they had great bargains. Port Canaveral was nice too. We went to the holiday inn excursion, with beach access and a kiddie pool, as well as heated huge pool and hot tub. The kids all had fun at our last stop.

 

Food: One word, outrageous! The buffet was delicious, especially breakfast. The only problem was the disorganization of it. People were going in all different directions and it got a little chaotic. The pizza by the pool was delicious too. We had anytime dining. We loved Michelangelo’s dining room, and never had to wait. The Crown Grill was great, we went there twice for the porterhouse. It was one of the best I have had (nothing is as good as Peter Luger). We went to Sabatini’s one night and wasn’t crazy about it. They brought you out so many different things to try, so you end up eating a few bites of dozens of things. Not my cup of tea. Speaking of tea and coffee… the International Coffee Bar was wonderful. I had my morning cup of Hazelnut Coffee and it was yummy! The Choc Chip cookies are rich and moist and yummy. Room service was prompt and efficient. Lots of people have been asking about the coffee. Room service and dining room coffee are free and very very good. On our last cruise it tasted like motor oil, but on the Crown it is always fresh and delicious!

 

Pools: The kids pool was closed for the entire cruise, and we weren’t too happy about that. The main pools were clean and warm and lots of fun. MUTS pool played movies and play station, and the Neptune pool had live music most of the day. The pools were crowded but we got lucky and got lounges easily. There were many chair hogs, but that’s pretty typical.

 

Kids Club: My daughter was in the Pelicans club, and she had a fantastic time, she never wanted to leave. The staff there is wonderful, and she had a blast. We felt very comfortable leaving her there.

 

Overall: I would absolutely love to go on the Crown Princess again. We had a wonderful time overall!!!!

 

Please don’t flame me, these are just MY opinions.

[susan-robert]

Thanks for the review. It was very informative. We are going in May and I can't wait. Did they tell you what the reason was for the kids pool being closed? I have 2 small kids who look forward to the pool. Thanks again.

[ErinsMommy]

Thanks for the review. It was very informative. We are going in May and I can't wait. Did they tell you what the reason was for the kids pool being closed? I have 2 small kids who look forward to the pool. Thanks again.

 

They said it was closed for maintenance. I think it's been closed for a while though.

[gram23]

:) Was on the Oct 18th sailing as well and agree with all the review. Princess does need to address the buffet line, it is very chaotic!! The shows were great, Sarge is hilarious, Scott Wyler was also very entertaining, Omar, the cruise director, acted very friendly on stage but when we encountered him on the beach in Jamaica he was less than friendly. His production manager George on the other hand couldn't have been nicer. Sat and talked with him for some time.Cameron is one of the assistant cruise directors and is so funny!!! His impression of Simon during the Princess Idol contest was so funny. He is great! Princess could schedule the shows differently, they were hard to get into if you had the early dining. The Princess theatre is small compared to the ship.The activities in Club Fusion are great. For the most part the staff is very friendly. Our room steward Jorge was okay, seemed to be a little tiffed when we did not leave our room early on the last day so he could get the room ready for the next sailing. The rest of our party just raved about their stewards and the special little things they did for them. Jorge did his job and nothing else. Can't fault that though. We had traditional dining, first seating in the Botticelli dining room. Little hard to get to this dining room but we were told it is because of the galley. Elisa and Wut were our servers and made every night special for us. They were wonderful!!! The port visits could have been longer, Grand Turk is great, Jamaica too, but Grand Cayman is awesome, beach was so enjoyable and shopping was nice. Port Canaveral was boring though. Just my opinion of course. I do agree that the coffee card is a waste, I bought it because of other postings here but only used it three times. I found the coffee to be quite delicious. Can't say enough about the International Cafe, the Oatmeal cookies were the best and they had a cheese and onion quiche that was out of this world. Muts is great, didn't have any problem with the sound being too loud. In fact we could sit in the chaise lounge between the Muts and the pool next to it and listen to the music without any problem.

The pizza was good and hamburgers and hot dogs good as well.

This was my first cruise and all in all found it very enjoyable.

[ErinsMommy]

I definately agree with your comment about the ports. They could have been a little longer. We always felt rushed and compelled to leave the ship the second we arrived to the port and cleared immigration.

 

Cameron was funnier than most comedians! I was hysterical with his comments about the the man singing "pretty woman" He was a riot!

 

I'm suffering from post cruise depression. The only cure is... another cruise :)

[gram23]

I agree, I am ready to go again. I hear this sailing has had some rough seas.

 

I thought Cameron was absolutely hilarious, it really shows that he loves his job. I can't believe "Pretty Woman" thought he could sing? Do you think he was serious? The Pop Idol contest was a hoot!!

[willysgrandma]

Thanks for the review.

 

What time did you arrive at Anytime Dining and no waits?

 

Also, do you recall what movies played on MUTS?

[ErinsMommy]

We went to Michaelangelo's almost every night, usually around 5:30-6, but sometimes we would drop my daughter off at kids camp 1st and then go at 7pm. Sometimes we made reservations, sometimes we didn't. We only had to wait once, on the first formal night for about 5-10 minutes.

 

MUTS had pretty good movies ( I can't remember ....), we only saw one with Keanu Reaves and Sandra Bullock. We were there the week of the world series, so that was usually on prime time every night.

[ErinsMommy]

I agree, I am ready to go again. I hear this sailing has had some rough seas.

 

I thought Cameron was absolutely hilarious, it really shows that he loves his job. I can't believe "Pretty Woman" thought he could sing? Do you think he was serious? The Pop Idol contest was a hoot!!

 

Cameron was definately a hoot. My DH and I always snuck down to watch Karoake every night and had a hilarious time watching everyone. Speaking of Princess Pop Star, who was your favorite?

[gram23]

The movies at Muts that I can remember were Cars, Madagascar, The Lake House and Pride & Predjudice. There were lots more, I will have to look at the Patters.

 

As for my favorite Pop Star I think his name was MIke, he sang the Garth Brooks song the night he won and a song called "One" on the final night. I also liked the girl that went second, she was dating the first guy. I thought she had a good voice also. Shirley was very good and was so nice. Quite a lady, I loved her accent.

[Ohio-C-Luver]

DH and I and some friends want to sail the Crown next fall when she's in the Southern Caribbean, but none of us have ever sailed with Princess yet. Your reviews taken away some of our reservations. :D We sailed RCI on Adventure this last Sept, and definately like the new and exciting ports the Crown is stopping at next fall! ;) We loved Adventure, but would have to repeat some of the ports, Crown is visiting all new islands for us!

Thanks again for the reviews on the Crown!

 

Adventure of the Seas 9/3/06

[ErinsMommy]

DH and I and some friends want to sail the Crown next fall when she's in the Southern Caribbean, but none of us have ever sailed with Princess yet. Your reviews taken away some of our reservations. :D We sailed RCI on Adventure this last Sept, and definately like the new and exciting ports the Crown is stopping at next fall! ;) We loved Adventure, but would have to repeat some of the ports, Crown is visiting all new islands for us!

Thanks again for the reviews on the Crown!

 

Adventure of the Seas 9/3/06

 

I had a few reservations about the crown too. Don't worry, you'll have a wonderful time on it.

[cruisingisawesome]

Also was on this sailing and loved every minute of it!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Unfortunately this week back to reality.................

 

Went one night with MUTS and saw The Break Up...........very very funny.............loved it...........

 

Also was able to see some of the football game on Monday night and for a Giants fan it was an awesome game to watch!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Have to say Cameron was awesome loved him along with the other aussie I dont remember his name but he was funny and cool as hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ErinsMommy]

Also was on this sailing and loved every minute of it!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Unfortunately this week back to reality.................

 

Went one night with MUTS and saw The Break Up...........very very funny.............loved it...........

 

Also was able to see some of the football game on Monday night and for a Giants fan it was an awesome game to watch!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Have to say Cameron was awesome loved him along with the other aussie I dont remember his name but he was funny and cool as hell!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

 

The Crown is lucky to have Cameron onboard. He is definately a funny guy!

 

The only bad part about vacations/cruises is coming home :(

 

We saw the break up also, great movie!

[caribbeanchickie]

Thank you for your review.

 

I have read several posts throughout the Princess thread about balconies being covered and uncovered. Can you explain to me?

DH and I are going on the Crown next fall. :-)

 

Thanks

Michelle

[nikita]

Thanks so much for your review. Sounds like you had a great time!!!

[ErinsMommy]

Thank you for your review.

 

I have read several posts throughout the Princess thread about balconies being covered and uncovered. Can you explain to me?

DH and I are going on the Crown next fall. :-)

 

Thanks

Michelle

 

The mini-suites on the dolphin deck are uncovered. You can look up and see all of the balconies on higher decks. For us, it didn't bother us at all.

We liked the extra room inside the cabin.

[Jaime's Mom]

I love these Crown reviews. Our family has sailed on lots of cruises with various lines but it's always been a dream of my sister and I to sail on "The Love Boat" (attributed to great childhood memories watching the show with my parents). We're booked on the February 3 sailing and are anxious to see what everyone things of the intinerary since the boat has been repostioned. We're assigned to Riveria 215, which is a balcony cabin. Can anyone tell me about it?

[pokecheckuk]

The mini-suites on the dolphin deck are uncovered. You can look up and see all of the balconies on higher decks. For us, it didn't bother us at all.

We liked the extra room inside the cabin.

 

Just got back from the 27Oct-4Nov repositioning cruise ...

 

Most of the balconies on caribe dark are quite large and are half/half. i.e. the area by the doors is covered by the balcony above and is private and sheltered whereas the area by the balcony rail is uncovered and viewable from above - this doesn't bother us because it means we have the best of all worlds - a large balcony with shelter and seclusion when we need it and open to the elements when we don't.

 

The Star Princess was the same, so I guess, the Grand, Golden and Carribean would be similar.

 

I wouldn't say that the Caribe rooms were particularly spacious but we knew that when we booked and decided that we would only be using the stateroom for sleeping, changing and washing - all other times we'd be out on the balcony, ashore or roaming the ship.