Crown Princess and Low Ratings

[backheidi]

Okay, I have never sailed on any Princess Cruise ship before but have been on RC and Carnival and though I enjoyed all of my cruises, RC is a great fit for me. However,my nieces were taking a cruise on the Crown Princess, said it was a brand new ship, etc. and asked us to come along so we figured, why not try a new line. Anyway, I have checked the "Best of (dining, entertainment, etc.) on this Cruise Critics board and the Crown Princess seems to be rated low on many of the areas. I already know the rooms are not as big as Carnival or RC, nor do they have the storage (which I am nervous about) but have I made a mistake? Please, tell me some good stuff about Crown Princess.

[JXR]

I am having the same preoccupations, please anyone that can reassure us.

 

Joanne

[jad7984]

I went on the Crown in July and, having been on over 10 cruises, it was by far the best. The ship is beautiful, our room (C-214) BB category was large enough for two of us, and the storage was plentiful. There is a spot near the bathroom with shelves, a safe, plenty of room to hang clothes, and storage up on top (we kept our lifejackets there). There's also room to store our luggage under the clothes we hang up.

 

The ship itself is beautiful. The atrium is classy, tall and nicely designed. Food is the best I've ever had at sea. Beats RCCL, Carnival and of course, NCL.

 

The pools aren't too crowded, but the chair hogs are out in full force. There is also a pool at the front top (near the Sanctuary) that has swim against the current, and a pool aft for adults only that's never crowded.

 

THE CREW WAS SPECTACULAR!!!

 

Don't worry, and have fun. Report back to us.:cool:

[LuckyThirteen]

I have to agree with jad7984. I also was on the Crown last July (7/29 sailing to be exact) And had a wonderful trip. So much so that I am taking the family on it again this year.

 

I also have sailed on RC and last year was my first cruise on Princess. I had a balcony room on the Caribe deck and found the room to be great. Especially the large balcony. I tend to be quite the overpacker, as is my wife and we had no problem at all with places to put our clothes and other items. I found there to be plenty of storage.

 

As for the rest I found it to be a beutiful ship. the food was exellent and to me compared at least as good as RC if not better. Our service in the dining room was 1st class all the way.

 

As jad7984 mentioned of course ther are chair hogs (which line doesn't have them) but I never had too much trouble getting one when I needed it. The main pools seemed to be used the most, but were certainly not overcrowded. In addition to the spa pool that was already mentioned, there is the Terrace pool at the aft of the ship that I found to also be not as crowded as the main pools and it has a beautiful view off the back of the ship.

 

Being a gambling man, I spent my fair share of time in the casino and was impressed. it was a lot larger than I expected and had any game I could have wanted to play. Very personable dealers as well.

 

Overall I had a great experience on the Crown and would definitely reccomend it to anyone. Just remember the cruise is what YOU make it. With the Crown, Princes has given you all of the tools you need to have a great vacation, so explore the ship, and have fun.

 

Any other specific questions? I would be happy to answer as best I can, as I am sure others will as well.

[Cruise'nKris]

I was aboard the beautiful Crown Princess last July, and loved it so much, I booked it for this July!

The ship is amazing! I was in a balcony room on the Caribe deck and it was plenty big for two people. The storage not a problem at all! Very large closet with a door with shelves and the safe and then the very large bar to hang your clothes. There are plenty of areas with lots of pools. Of course the chair hogs got annoying,. but you get that with any cruise.

The food was excelent in the main dining room for dinner, at lunch time there is a ton to choose from, whether it is at the buffet or grabing a light sandwhich or quiche at the International Cafe, or a burger or slice of pizza ( yes all free).

The service from the staff was always professional and helpful.

 

Hope you enjoy your cruise as much as my family did.

[Logie]

I was just on for New years eve cruise it is my new favorite ship. It is a beautiful ship, new additions to the Grand class style of ships, crew nice, food just fine, entertainment everywhere, fresh water pools and plenty of them, movies under the stars for games and movies. The bed and the bedding were subperb!!!

 

If you do not like this cruise you are looking to be negative in my opinion. Also Nico the captain very friendly.

 

I went on RCL twice this year and I cannot even compare Princess to RCL, Princess wins in all categories.

 

Have a great time on a beautiful ship.....

[willysgrandma]

Where are you seeing low rating for the ship? If you look at the member ratings, the overall rating from membefrs is a 4.1 out of 5. I don't consider that a low rating.

 

We were on the ship on the 11/4 cruise. We loved the ship - loved our room, our balcony, the islands and excursions. We thought there was plenty to do on the ship - in fact, it was the first ship I've ever been on that I wished we had an extra day at sea to partake in more activites.

 

I wasn't overly thrilled with the food, but always found something to eat. And the shows were okay, nothing great. We wished that Sarge was on our cruise. If he is on yours, make sure you see him.

 

Go and enjoy the ship and report back here when you do.

[backheidi]

WillysGrandma,

There is a section on this site that shows the "Best of" (example: Best Balconys, Best Dining, Entertainment, etc.) and though it shows the top 10 there is a spot you can click that shows all ratings for all ships and Crown Princess seems to be rated much lower then the RC ships that I have been on. That is what had me worried. But thanks to everyone for their great comments. I feel a lot better. I do have a few other questions though. My balcony room is on the Aloha Deck mid ship (I have to have mid ship), did I make a decent choice (I don't need the biggest deck, just a decent room where I will not get sick). Originally I was looking at a BD room on the Baja deck but my TA offered for the same price a BC on Aloha because she said it was a better room. Also, how are the crews on Princess? On my last RC cruise (Enchantment) our crew was one of the best ever, always visible, always taking part in the activities, funny, entertaining, etc. That for me really adds to a cruise. Again, thanks to all for your great comments.

[muzzy 10]

heidi,we were on Aloha mid ship in December..a fine cabin with no motion problems. Balcony is smaller than Caribe deck but certainly adequate for our needs.

[sailorsbewe]

Sailing with 3 other couples in two weeks and am pleased to see that there is some great reviews. The most thorough review is on another thread "Just returned from a back to back"....

 

Am a firm believer that we make our own fun, and that the majority of people with treat us with the same respect that we treat them.

[Janan]

I'm not sure but I believe the "best of" is/are the opinions of the professional critics....and you have to remember they have been on all the lines and they (the cruiselines) put there best foot forward alot of times. Where as I think that Princess treats everyone equally TA's Critics and the like....That just my opinion from my past experience with them.

If you read just the reviews of ordinary passengers,(instead of just from people that may have been "catered to" (for obvious reasons) The Crown comes out just fine.

So please don't worry treat it as a new experience and change that apprehension for excitement and anticipation (too corny?:rolleyes: ) As I was just scanning the Boards...I don't know what ship you are on but there is a comparison review of the Sea Princess....the reviewer has sailed on RCL 5x's and Celebrity 1......you might want to check that out

 

Andy

[acowbyzcowgrl]

I was also on the New Years Eve cruise and had a fabulous time! Food in the dining room wasn't quite my cup of tea, but I always found something to eat lol. The seafood buffet was good. Ate my ticket worth of lobster claws lol. MUTS is great. We watched The Break Up. It was fun. Always something to do. It was a very active trip for us. We were in Cabin E224, an obstructed view cabin but it was big enough and had a big closet with enough hangers. The crew was incredibly friendly, the casino fun, shows were good...minus one comedian (can't remember his name at the moment) Our room steward George from teh Phillipines was awesome. I have pics at http://www.dropshots.com/acowbyzcowgrl but they aren't all organized and labeled yet.

 

You will have a blast.

 

Kristie

[sweetair]

i can definitely understand some lower ratings for this ship! i sailed dec 2006...

i found the staff to be standoffish,unfriendly, sometimes rude,unhelpful and uncaring.

anytime dining takes a bit of getting used to... if are used to traditional dining i suggest you stick with that. I felt very rushed and the waiters just couldnt care less. Very hard to ask for anything special to be delivered. The food was onpar with anyplace that has to serve 3000 passengers.

 

although the bathroom shower is ridiculously small..there was plenty of storage space.

 

you may have read a few reviews from before the ship arrived in san juan there seems to be a major difference in opinions of staff,food etc Try and read the ones that are most recent with the NEW crew aboard!

have a great cruise..

*sweet*

[cruzin2paradise]

Okay, I have never sailed on any Princess Cruise ship before but have been on RC and Carnival and though I enjoyed all of my cruises, RC is a great fit for me. However,my nieces were taking a cruise on the Crown Princess, said it was a brand new ship, etc. and asked us to come along so we figured, why not try a new line. Anyway, I have checked the "Best of (dining, entertainment, etc.) on this Cruise Critics board and the Crown Princess seems to be rated low on many of the areas. I already know the rooms are not as big as Carnival or RC, nor do they have the storage (which I am nervous about) but have I made a mistake? Please, tell me some good stuff about Crown Princess.

 

 

Bottom line is you have to take everything you read with a grain of salt. There are 3100 people on the ship and 10 people per sailing give a review here and 5 are "negative" and 5 are "positive" -- I think you should read the reviews, but understand that you are getting a very small percentage of opinions. Grain of Salt - that's all I can say. I'm not trying to be mean, because some of the things people come back with are legitamite complaints/concerns, but when people are "complaining" about food, that's purely opinion.

 

Smile, be happy, and enjoy your cruise. Don't over-expect anything and smile a lot!!!!

[cynbar]

We sailed the Crown last August and loved it, I admit I look at the negative reviews and wonder if they were on the same ship. We love Princess, but I have to say that I have never found a perfect ship or a perfect cruise line. I think that too many cruisers waste too much of their time with comparisons, and miss enjoying the positive aspects of the ship they are on. If you try to avoid a lot of comments like " Why don't they have ______ like they do on Carnival/RCCL/ or whatever? ", I am sure you'll have a great cruise. For instance, I have to say we miss the lemonade in the buffet, but it's never been a deal breaker for us like it seems to be for some posters here!

[plantlady104]

Recently back from the NewYears Cruise. We had great time with excellent food in the traditional dining. Recommend you don't try to start cruise with attitude of comparing RCCL with Princess. Each ship/cruise line is dfferent, so enjoy the differences. You will have likes and dislikes, but too many people want the same experience as their last cruise. We have enjoyed all our different cruise lines. Also recommend checking out 360 views on cruises.com and cruiseinc.com, as well as other sites to know what to expect. Crown does not have 10 floor atrium and big parade promenades, or balcony dining rooms, which RCCL has. As for cruise director staff, they were involved and friendly, but that is not a big factor for our enjoyment of a cruise. We had no problems with wait staff, everyone was courteous, friendly, and helpful.

[willysgrandma]

As far as your room location, go to the Princess website and look and see what is directly above and directly below your oom - you don't want a public area, like a pool or nightclub directly above or below you.

 

Midship is a great location - it is near the elevators and you will feel less motion.

 

One thing we loved about this ship was the self service laundry - we didn't take as many clothes as we normally do and did one load of wash while we were on the ship - it was great.

 

I am one who hates sea days - I like being on a different island every day, but on this ship, I wished we had another sea day because there was so much to do.

 

Enjoy your cruise - and please post a review when you get back.

[willysgrandma]

WillysGrandma,

There is a section on this site that shows the "Best of" (example: Best Balconys, Best Dining, Entertainment, etc.) and though it shows the top 10 there is a spot you can click that shows all ratings for all ships and Crown Princess seems to be rated much lower then the RC ships that I have been on. That is what had me worried. But thanks to everyone for their great comments. I feel a lot better. I do have a few other questions though. My balcony room is on the Aloha Deck mid ship (I have to have mid ship), did I make a decent choice (I don't need the biggest deck, just a decent room where I will not get sick). Originally I was looking at a BD room on the Baja deck but my TA offered for the same price a BC on Aloha because she said it was a better room. Also, how are the crews on Princess? On my last RC cruise (Enchantment) our crew was one of the best ever, always visible, always taking part in the activities, funny, entertaining, etc. That for me really adds to a cruise. Again, thanks to all for your great comments.

 

Don't go by that - there are hundreds of ships out there sailing, all can't be in the top ten. Go to the Member reviews and read the reviews thoroughly. You will see more good than bad.

[marinearchit]

I haven't been on the Crown, only the Caribbean Princess, but I'm pushing to have the Crown for our next cruise. It looks like a great ship.

 

Maybe the ratings are lower because it's a newer ship and less people have rated it. Just a thought.

[JOANN226]

Going on the Princess in July 07, since you used the self laundry its good to know if I need to bring laundry soap, and do I need to bring quarters for the machines or does it take $1 bills. Would appreciate finding out. Thanks Joann

Can't wait, any other tips you can give us, would appreciate it.

[JOANN226]

Going on the Princess in July 07, since you used the self laundry its good to know if I need to bring laundry soap, and do I need to bring quarters for the machines or does it take $1 bills. Would appreciate finding out. Thanks Joann

Can't wait, any other tips you can give us, would appreciate it.

[from the desert]

The laundry room has a bill changer. It has vending machines for laundry products. It also has an iron and ironing board.

 

Can't recall the exact prices since on my last cruise (7 days) I brought enough clothes for 2 months.

 

Next cruise (12 days-Europe ) I'll take full advantage of the laundry room since my husband will kill me if a cart that much stuff from the states to Rome.

 

By the way, I think the Laundry rooms are one of the best perks Princess has.