We're big fans of RCCL - would we like Crown Princess?

[ds521]

Hi All - we're seriously thinking about taking a southern caribbean cruise on the Crown Princess. We're platinum members with RCCL and are big fans of the line, but unfortunately the itinerary we're looking for at the best price is on the Crown Princess. We took the Diamond Princess a few years ago and didn't have a great experience but we hear the Crown Princess is much better. Anyone have any opinions or experiences you can share with us before we make a final decision? Thanks for any help you can offer!

[Coral]

What did you not like about the Diamond Princess?

[M&M CRUZERS]

Hi All - we're seriously thinking about taking a southern caribbean cruise on the Crown Princess. We're platinum members with RCCL and are big fans of the line, but unfortunately the itinerary we're looking for at the best price is on the Crown Princess. We took the Diamond Princess a few years ago and didn't have a great experience but we hear the Crown Princess is much better. Anyone have any opinions or experiences you can share with us before we make a final decision? Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

Sounds like you've already decided you would not enjoy the Crown.:eek: We just spent 14 days b2b on the Crown and loved every minute of it. We are also Platinum with RCCL (9 cruises with them), 14 with Princess, plus other cruiselines and we thoroughly loved the itinerary of the Crown and in fact have the Emerald booked for next year with the same itinerary. Go with an open mind and have a great trip.

[Keith1010]

Sounds like RCCL would be best for you even if the itinerary costs a little more. What didn't you care about regarding your first Princess sailing?

 

Keith

[Kerry&LuAnn]

We have enjoyed equally our experiences on Royal Caribbean and on both the Caribbean Princess and Crown Princess. Unless you are looking for a rock climbing wall....:D

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

What did you not like about the Diamond Princess?

 

I think this is the question that really needs to be answered. You will find MANY similarities between the Diamond and the Crown.

[critterchick]

I'm a big RCI fan, but I also love the Diamond Princess - we're looking at booking our 4th cruise on her for the Auckland-Sydney run next year. As others have said, you need to tell us why you didn't like the DP before we can help you...

[LizC]

We are big fans of RCI we just got off Crown- had a great time but there are differences. I plan to write a LONG review later today and really get into the differences that I noted.

[1bigsexy]

All we missed was the promenade! We thought we were huge RC fans, since we've been on their ships 3 time now. However we found that Crown princess was a bit better in many areas. Food, entertainment (not just the production shows), service and great fellow cruisers.

 

If you travel with children as we do (teens) you'll find that they'll say that they missed RC. There seems to be a bit more for them to do on RC (ice skating, rock wall). But our girls just loved MUTS and the fact that the pools were fresh water!

 

For the brief time we've been cruising we've noticed a decline in the quality of food on RC. But these are all just our opinion :cool:

[ds521]

There were 6 in our group on the Diamond Princess when we sailed 2 years ago out of LA to several ports in Mexico. My husband and I are the platinum members with RCCL, but we've also sailed on Carnival. The other 2 couples had only sailed RCCL prior to the Diamond Princess cruise.

 

On embarkation - we waited over 2 hours to board. It seemed very disorganized compared to all of the cruises with RCCL.

 

Service - all 6 of us noticed a big difference in the service in the dining room and the buffet areas. Our waiter had a terrible attitude, and the food was not good. On two occasions we were able to go to the other restaurants and the food there was much better than in the dining room, but they wouldn't allow us to change to open dining except for those 2 occasions.

 

Buffets - compared to RCCL's windjammer, we felt the food was very limited, the lines were really long because the buffet just wasn't as big. For instance - we're so used to the amazing assortment of fruit on RCCL. We couldn't find a strawberry to save us on the Diamond - and they were in season! We couldn't get coffee or drinks - it just seemed that the servers/waiters had very little incentive to serve the customers.

 

Gala Buffets - in lieu of these, Princess does that Champaigne thing.

 

We talked to several people (who were past cruisers with Princess) while we waited to disembark, and we were exchanging opinions about the cruise. They also felt that Princess was lacking in many areas on that cruise, and they too were disappointed.

 

We're not extremely fussy or hard to please, but it was impossible not to make comparisons. When we cruised on Carnival, we were pleasantly surprised and actually found the Carnival Spirit to be better than the Diamond Princess. The Diamond is a beautiful ship, and that was a couple of years ago. Maybe some improvements have been made, but I do notice that the Crown has better reviews from past cruisers and from the professionals so that's a good sign.

[Coral]

There were 6 in our group on the Diamond Princess when we sailed 2 years ago out of LA to several ports in Mexico. My husband and I are the platinum members with RCCL, but we've also sailed on Carnival. The other 2 couples had only sailed RCCL prior to the Diamond Princess cruise.

 

On embarkation - we waited over 2 hours to board. It seemed very disorganized compared to all of the cruises with RCCL.

 

Service - all 6 of us noticed a big difference in the service in the dining room and the buffet areas. Our waiter had a terrible attitude, and the food was not good. On two occasions we were able to go to the other restaurants and the food there was much better than in the dining room, but they wouldn't allow us to change to open dining except for those 2 occasions.

 

Buffets - compared to RCCL's windjammer, we felt the food was very limited, the lines were really long because the buffet just wasn't as big. For instance - we're so used to the amazing assortment of fruit on RCCL. We couldn't find a strawberry to save us on the Diamond - and they were in season! We couldn't get coffee or drinks - it just seemed that the servers/waiters had very little incentive to serve the customers.

 

Gala Buffets - in lieu of these, Princess does that Champaigne thing.

 

We talked to several people (who were past cruisers with Princess) while we waited to disembark, and we were exchanging opinions about the cruise. They also felt that Princess was lacking in many areas on that cruise, and they too were disappointed.

 

 

Princess embarkments are usually 10 minutes. Any line can have delays and I can honestly say my longest disembarkment was on RCCL. It just goes to show each line can have bad days - it may also be due to surprise or planned immigration inspections, trouble clearing customs, etc...

 

IMO - you should probably avoid Princess.

 

Buffets are the same on most of Princess's ships. Princess doesn't do a gala buffet because they have a buffet open 24 hours a day.

 

There are very good and very bad waiters on each line. I have had good and bad on both Princess and RCCL.

 

IMO - food is better on Princess than RCCL but this is a personal thing. If you didn't like the food last time on Princess, I doubt you will like it the next time you sail because when I sail Princess - food has been very consistent.

 

I really don't think you will find the Crown that much different than the Diamond.

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

There were 6 in our group on the Diamond Princess when we sailed 2 years ago out of LA to several ports in Mexico. My husband and I are the platinum members with RCCL, but we've also sailed on Carnival. The other 2 couples had only sailed RCCL prior to the Diamond Princess cruise.

 

On embarkation - we waited over 2 hours to board. It seemed very disorganized compared to all of the cruises with RCCL.

 

Service - all 6 of us noticed a big difference in the service in the dining room and the buffet areas. Our waiter had a terrible attitude, and the food was not good. On two occasions we were able to go to the other restaurants and the food there was much better than in the dining room, but they wouldn't allow us to change to open dining except for those 2 occasions.

 

Buffets - compared to RCCL's windjammer, we felt the food was very limited, the lines were really long because the buffet just wasn't as big. For instance - we're so used to the amazing assortment of fruit on RCCL. We couldn't find a strawberry to save us on the Diamond - and they were in season! We couldn't get coffee or drinks - it just seemed that the servers/waiters had very little incentive to serve the customers.

 

Gala Buffets - in lieu of these, Princess does that Champaigne thing.

 

We talked to several people (who were past cruisers with Princess) while we waited to disembark, and we were exchanging opinions about the cruise. They also felt that Princess was lacking in many areas on that cruise, and they too were disappointed.

 

We're not extremely fussy or hard to please, but it was impossible not to make comparisons. When we cruised on Carnival, we were pleasantly surprised and actually found the Carnival Spirit to be better than the Diamond Princess. The Diamond is a beautiful ship, and that was a couple of years ago. Maybe some improvements have been made, but I do notice that the Crown has better reviews from past cruisers and from the professionals so that's a good sign.

 

This is one of those questions that probably should never have been posted unless it was only meant to be rhetorical. It is obvious that you really enjoy RCCL and your experience with Princess was not up to your standards. Any future cruise on Princess will be pre tainted with this experience. Stick with RCCL. There are many people who can switch between lines and find things they like about each. Others are better staying with one line. Princess has my DW and I hooked because of their FCC policy and their itineraries. Other than that, the only cruise I didn't enjoy was on Carnival. This may have been a one time bad experience, but I know it would influence my opinion on a future Carnival cruise.

[ds521]

My post was not meant to be rhetorical - we are seriously considering the Crown Princess because of the itinerary and the price. We thought it might be possible that our less-than-wonderful experience on the Diamond Princess 2 years ago could've been that ship's issues, and not an issue across the board with all Princess ships. This is why I posted my question, and if you re-read my original post you'll see that we have cruised on Carnival as well as many cruises with RCCL, and we had a great time and actually found our Alaskan cruise on the Carnival Spirit to be a pretty close experience to our cruises on RCCL. Unfortunately, what we found on the Diamond Princess wasn't close to either RCCL or Carnival. There again, if we had sailed on one of Carnival's older ships with a different itinerary and reputation, our experience, I'm sure, would've been different. THIS is what I thought might be the case with a different Princess ship. Sorry if I bothered anyone with what might've been considered a senseless post.

[karen_g]

I also am a big fan of RCCL, but have also sailed Princess quite a few times and am actually getting ready to sail in the Emerald next April. Although I enjoy both lines, I think there is a different "feel" to each: a different "energy level" and a different ship's aesthetic. I don't notice a big difference in feel between different ships of the same line.

 

I think you can have slow or fast embarkation/debarkation on any ship, regardless of cruiseline. Perhaps the Embarkation Port is more of a variable here than the cruise line. Some ports just seem to be more of a problem than others, and the number of ships in port at the same time can be a contributing factor too. Embarkation/debarkation on the *same* ship can vary vastly from week to week.

 

I have the same feeling about "good" service vs "bad" service... can happen on any ship, on any line. It depends on the particular waiter/cabin steward you happen to get. On a recent RCCL cruise I took, friends a few cabins away raved about what a wonnnnderful cabin steward they had; ours was the worst we have ever had in 20+ cruises.

 

I think you should choose the itinerary that interests you most, with a line/ship that has the energy level and overall aesthetic that makes you happy. Food and service will always vary, but will not be terrible on either Princess or RCCL... and may even be excellent, who knows?

[Cruise Raider]

There were 6 in our group on the Diamond Princess when we sailed 2 years ago out of LA to several ports in Mexico. My husband and I are the platinum members with RCCL, but we've also sailed on Carnival. The other 2 couples had only sailed RCCL prior to the Diamond Princess cruise.

 

On embarkation - we waited over 2 hours to board. It seemed very disorganized compared to all of the cruises with RCCL.

 

Service - all 6 of us noticed a big difference in the service in the dining room and the buffet areas. Our waiter had a terrible attitude, and the food was not good. On two occasions we were able to go to the other restaurants and the food there was much better than in the dining room, but they wouldn't allow us to change to open dining except for those 2 occasions.

 

Buffets - compared to RCCL's windjammer, we felt the food was very limited, the lines were really long because the buffet just wasn't as big. For instance - we're so used to the amazing assortment of fruit on RCCL. We couldn't find a strawberry to save us on the Diamond - and they were in season! We couldn't get coffee or drinks - it just seemed that the servers/waiters had very little incentive to serve the customers.

 

Gala Buffets - in lieu of these, Princess does that Champaigne thing.

 

We talked to several people (who were past cruisers with Princess) while we waited to disembark, and we were exchanging opinions about the cruise. They also felt that Princess was lacking in many areas on that cruise, and they too were disappointed.

 

We're not extremely fussy or hard to please, but it was impossible not to make comparisons. When we cruised on Carnival, we were pleasantly surprised and actually found the Carnival Spirit to be better than the Diamond Princess. The Diamond is a beautiful ship, and that was a couple of years ago. Maybe some improvements have been made, but I do notice that the Crown has better reviews from past cruisers and from the professionals so that's a good sign.

 

 

Just remember, the Crown is a huge ship (holds over 3000 pax). We have sailed on her twice, the first time was the absolute worst cruise experience of over 20 cruises together. The second time around, a much improved experience. We hand picked our room and requested no upgrades the 2nd time on her....much better than the guarantee we opted for the 1st time.

The things you mention tends to make me think you may not like the Crown all that much. Embarkation in New York was a breeze for us but we arrived at the terminal later than usual. The shows, as good as they might be, are packed to the point where you may not get a seat unless you go and reserve up to an hour early. Their large showrooms do not even seat 1/2 of the pax onboard....so you can forget about seeing entertainment in one of the lounges, even if you try to show up 30 minutes early. We knew what to expect on the 2nd go around, so just weren't all that disappointed. There is only one show in which we were able to get seats and it was well worth it....just crazy to have so many pax without being able to accomodate them all. We did get great seats at movies under the stars but were skunked out of those the first time around as well. Tender service can be very trying on a ship with that many pax as well. In terms of the food, yes, just so so and service was equal to that.

What I do like about the Crown...the lobby is main amazing as is the strolling entertainment. The International Cafe was wonderful food. I love the MUTS feature and the mini golf at the back of the ship. The area by the sanctuary is wide open and a wonderful little respite. We enjoyed many afternoons all by ourselves up there with the only sound being the swishing of the ocean. The layout of the ship is nice --- only hard part is trying to find that mini golf --- probably why we had it to ourselves so often. The bedding is to die for, as is the closet space (there are no doors --- yes!! somebody was thinking --- you will know what I mean if you go on the Crown).

Now, if you don't care all that much about the food and white glove service, seeing the shows and long waits in lines --- this might be a very good option for you. If these things are important to you ---then I might try a smaller, more personalized ship. I am not trying to make it sound all bad, we had a great time the second time out on this huge ship, but we just tend to like the smaller ships that tend more to personal service. I see you liked the Spirit which is the ship we chose for our next adventure.

[Sandytoes]

- we are seriously considering the Crown Princess because of the itinerary and the price.

 

Then what's stopping you? ? ? ? :rolleyes:

 

The Crown, so far, is one of my favorite ships.

Would sail on her again in a heartbeat....:)

[Coral]

My post was not meant to be rhetorical - we are seriously considering the Crown Princess because of the itinerary and the price. We thought it might be possible that our less-than-wonderful experience on the Diamond Princess 2 years ago could've been that ship's issues, and not an issue across the board with all Princess ships.

 

I really don't think you will like Princess if you sail Princess again. Some of the things you mentioned for not liking on the Diamond are the same or extremely similiar on the Crown (buffet setup, Champaigne waterfall, no gala buffet, etc...).

[willysgrandma]

I've sailed the Crown as well as three RCCL ships. My two favorite ships are the Crown and Freedom of the Seas. In fact, I liked the Crow so much we have two Princess cruises scheduled for this year.

 

I tend to like the bigger ships. I loved the Sanctuary on the Crown as well as the coffee bar with the wonderful food. The bedding on the Crown was the most comforable of any ship I've been on.

 

I like the surfing on FOS, but enjoyed MUTS on the Crown. I also thought the shows on Princess were far superior to anything RCL has.

 

I found that we will try a cruise line at least twice to make sure any poor experience we may have had on a ship is related to that particular ship and not the cruise line in general. And so far, I have found differences between ships on Celebrity AND RCL where I loved on of their ships and didn't like another.

 

If I didn't do that, I never would have gone back to RCL because my experience on the Sovereign, my first RCL cruise, was not the best. I didn't like the ship at all, but boy was I glad I tried them again because I loved the FOS.

 

I would suggest you try the Crown - you'll probably like it better than your first Princess cruise.

[cynbar]

For the OP, some of your objections to the Diamond can and do happen on any ship, such as the poor waiter and long embarkation. I have sailed both the Diamond and the Crown and liked the Crown much better. MUTS is a really nice addition. The International Cafe in the atrium has really good pastries and salads and sandwiches (all free) for a quick bite to eat when you want to avoid the buffet. And the addition of Cafe Caribe offers themed meals and a simpler addition to the Horizon court (it's more of a straight line concept) which we found more enjoyable and less crowded. Princess ships haven't had Gala Buffets as long as I've been sailing, but there is always food available 24 hrs/day. But, overall, the atmosphere is similar on both ships. Some people just don't like Princess , some don't care for RCCL, and so on. Others can appreciate the differences.I think you're wise to consider all of this in advance ---- we see too many posters who write after their cruise that it was ruined by factors they could have researched in advance.

[friend of Eeyore]

I have only sailed on Princess, and thoroughly enjoyed all my cruises. I can't compare RCCL to Princess, and don't actually have any Diamond Princess experiences.

 

However, to address your concerns:

 

When boarding the Crown in NY, I had a line, but it actually went VERY quickly. As for San Juan, I've heard it can be very busy at peak times, but if you choose to get on board very early (say 11) or later (maybe after 4), than the lines aren't as bad. I'm going there in March, and can report more later - check more current reviews for embarkation stories.

 

Service: The Crown was our first cruise. We had wonderful service, including in the dining room. We accidentally ended up with the same servers the first two nights, and liked the location, so we reserved the same table / same time in the anytime dining room the rest of the cruise. (Ask the Maitre D' if Kay and Nolan are still working on the Crown - if so, they were wonderful!!!) If you want to permanently change from traditional to anytime, it's usually quite possible, especially on the larger ships. On the Grand, we didn't get "great" service until the last night (too bad - I would have chosen that table the rest of the cruise). However, our service wasn't bad any other time, just not as "great" as on our first cruise. Our third cruise was the Royal, and we were "stuck" with traditional dining - the only choice on the Royal. We got lucky with wonderful service there. I've heard that if you are in traditional, and you don't like your table or time, you MIGHT be lucky in asking for a change. We like to eat just the two of us, and don't like to be stuck to a time, so we like the anytime dining concept - we can eat earlier or later if we want to. (And, even on the Grand, when we didn't have set reservations, we never got a pager, and never had to wait long.) On the Crown, we sometimes saw long lines, but you can always go up or down to the other dining room - the wait is usually not as bad there. If you like to eat at "peak times", you might get a pager (especially on formal night). In that case, I'd probably go get that pager early, and then go get your picture taken, enjoy a drink, shop a little, etc. Hey - you're on a cruise!

 

Buffets: The Crown has different buffet set-ups, and there are 3 areas - one each side, and one in the back. The one in the back has different food, I believe. (Usually only one side or the other is open, the back stays open mostly, until it sets up for dinner, I think.) (OH - IMPORTANT NOTE: everyone gripes about no free ice cream. At 3:00, the buffet side that is NOT open has FREE ICE CREAM!!!!) Anyway, each buffet is set up into "stations". Once you get into the buffet area, you don't have to wait in one long line - you can go to whichever station you want to. There can be lines to get INTO the buffet area, if you're at peak times.

 

Anyway, that's my view of your "issues". However, if you're into comparisons, here's two of my bookmarks:

 

Merion_Mom is an avid RCCL cruiser. She was on the Crown cruise with me, and did a comparison (click here). Warning: we were on the "tilt" cruise, so there were some obvious issues with our cruise. However, I still had a wonderful cruise.

 

SuperJerry did a cruise on the Grand, which is like the Crown, only a little older and one less deck, I believe. Here is his comparison (click here).

[RBD]

We are fans of RCCL and will be sailing the Crown Princess southern itinerary in three weeks. Do you have any specific questions you would like answered?

[A Sixth?]

Hi All - we're seriously thinking about taking a southern caribbean cruise on the Crown Princess. We're platinum members with RCCL and are big fans of the line, but unfortunately the itinerary we're looking for at the best price is on the Crown Princess. We took the Diamond Princess a few years ago and didn't have a great experience but we hear the Crown Princess is much better. Anyone have any opinions or experiences you can share with us before we make a final decision? Thanks for any help you can offer!

 

I haven't read the thread so far and am posting directly off your question.

 

It' too late. Three weeks to go; you're booked. You will have a great time.

 

Having said that, RCI and Princess are as different as the Mall and Down town IMHO. Same fun, just different approaches.

 

We'll be just getting off the Crown in three weeks, we'll try not to eat all the lobster.;)

[A Sixth?]

BTW My last cruise was on the Mariner of the Seas.... Had a great time.

 

I am a Cruise ship Male-slut Any cruise, anywhere, any time, any line. :cool: Some treat me nicer but I love-em all.:D

[S.S.Oceanlover]

There were 6 in our group on the Diamond Princess when we sailed 2 years ago out of LA to several ports in Mexico. My husband and I are the platinum members with RCCL, but we've also sailed on Carnival. The other 2 couples had only sailed RCCL prior to the Diamond Princess cruise.

 

On embarkation - we waited over 2 hours to board. It seemed very disorganized compared to all of the cruises with RCCL.

 

Service - all 6 of us noticed a big difference in the service in the dining room and the buffet areas. Our waiter had a terrible attitude, and the food was not good. On two occasions we were able to go to the other restaurants and the food there was much better than in the dining room, but they wouldn't allow us to change to open dining except for those 2 occasions.

 

Buffets - compared to RCCL's windjammer, we felt the food was very limited, the lines were really long because the buffet just wasn't as big. For instance - we're so used to the amazing assortment of fruit on RCCL. We couldn't find a strawberry to save us on the Diamond - and they were in season! We couldn't get coffee or drinks - it just seemed that the servers/waiters had very little incentive to serve the customers.

 

Gala Buffets - in lieu of these, Princess does that Champaigne thing.

 

We talked to several people (who were past cruisers with Princess) while we waited to disembark, and we were exchanging opinions about the cruise. They also felt that Princess was lacking in many areas on that cruise, and they too were disappointed.

 

We're not extremely fussy or hard to please, but it was impossible not to make comparisons. When we cruised on Carnival, we were pleasantly surprised and actually found the Carnival Spirit to be better than the Diamond Princess. The Diamond is a beautiful ship, and that was a couple of years ago. Maybe some improvements have been made, but I do notice that the Crown has better reviews from past cruisers and from the professionals so that's a good sign.

 

did you go to the 2 pay restaurants or just the anytime dining rooms?

 

Never heard of anyone being refused when wanting to change from traditional to anytime unless you wanted to keep your traditional reservation and go to anytime when it fit your schedule better.

 

Bill

[ds521]

We tried to switch from traditional to anytime dining, but they told us that since the cruise was booked there was no chance of doing that except on the 2 nights when they had cancellations in the restaurants.