Crown Review March 8-15th

[ortho_rn63]

My DH and I have reluctantly returned from our cruise on the Crown. This was my 2nd cruise and his 1st.

We flew into San Juan a day early and stayed at the Condado Plaza. We found a room with a great view, speedy and polite check in, helpful staff, and effecient checkout. We did not dine there as we chose to visit a local place in walking distance.... yummy!

We arrived at the pier before noon and checked in at noon without delay, except for buying some rum to carry on the ship! No problems doing so as it was in our carry on and we were on our way.

Stopped by the Horizon court for a quick lunch and then we left to walk around Old San Juan and do a little shopping. Getting back on the ship was painless and we joined other CC members by the pool for our 1st M&G. By the time we made it back to our room, our luggage was there.

Food: We chose anytime and ate in the Michelangelo all but one night. Food was great, choices were good and service was wonderful! We did try the pizza by the pool... not so great but ok. Hamburgers and fries were good. International Cafe had the best chicken salad and greek salad; wish I had some now!

Tortola: We went with Patouche for a tour of the Baths. Julie and her crew were great and I would recommend them to anyone!

Antigua: We rented a car with some friends and hit LongBay Beach as well as Millers BBeach and the Runaway beach area.

St Lucia: We did the Pirate adventure through Princess and as noted in another post, I would not do this again! It was not as expected and the cost waas too much for the trip!!!!

Barbados: We booked through Coool Runnings for snorkeling and sea turtles! Small amount of people on the cat; great food; friendly, attentive staff, and plenty of fun!

Sea day we found a lack of loungers as there are plenty of chair hogs to be found( or should I say lost?)

St Thomas: Rumbaba was great for an all day sail and snorkel. They do a great job and there were only 4 of us! plenty of food and drink as well as great snorkeling. Capt Bob and Karen get an A+++!

Departure was ok once we found our luggage in the sea of suitcases! We luckily had marked our bags so it made it easier!

We then took a tour of the rainforest so our luggage was loadded onto a truck and we loaded onto the bus. Our luggage was waiting on us in a secure area when we arrived to the airport! No extra cost for doing this except for excursion cost and no need to do the luggage check in unless you want your boarding passes early.

2 formal nights.... Trtola and sea day! Fun to see everyone dresssed up!

Room steward was Ricky. Very good service from him twice daily!

We had an inside room Baja deck. Quiet and peaceful. I used my cell phone as an alarm clock and left he bathroom light with the door shut for a night light!

All in all, I would use Princess again! We totally enjoyed our cruise! It's what you make it and making friends with fellow CC memebers made it all the more enjoyable!!

An questions please ask and sorry for long reiview!

Kim

[bhopal21]

Thanks for the review. I have always enjoyed the restaurants in the condado district immensely myself.:D

 

Mike:)

[caribcruiser787]

Thanks for the review. We're eagerly awaiting our first Princess cruise on the Crown!

[LARGIN]

Thanks for the review..

[minnesota pam]

Thank you for the review. Leaving on the Crown March 29th and cannot wait. Reading reviews such as yours makes the wait so much harder.

Thank you again!

[B40 Tha Cruisa]

Thanks for the review, I have to wait 9 1/2 months...

[Familycruzer11]

Kim,

Thanks so much for the review - we leave in about a month for our second Crown Princess cruise.

 

Could you please tell me what was so horrible about the Pirate excursion in St. Lucia. We do not have it booked there, but do have it booked in Antigua (mostly for the kids - rope swing, walk the plank), and for us, beach, snorkel. Wondering if all Pirate trips are bad, or if this was particular to the St. Lucia one...

 

Also - did you watch any MUTS and if so, recall what movies were playing? And/Or entertainment (is there still a Beatles show and how was it?)

 

Sorry for all the questions and thanks again!

[eskov]

Did you like the Princess excursion of the Rain Forest? We are thinking of doing this one because our flight home doesn't leave until 4:30pm.

[ortho_rn63]

Kim,

Thanks so much for the review - we leave in about a month for our second Crown Princess cruise.

 

Could you please tell me what was so horrible about the Pirate excursion in St. Lucia. We do not have it booked there, but do have it booked in Antigua (mostly for the kids - rope swing, walk the plank), and for us, beach, snorkel. Wondering if all Pirate trips are bad, or if this was particular to the St. Lucia one...

 

Also - did you watch any MUTS and if so, recall what movies were playing? And/Or entertainment (is there still a Beatles show and how was it?)

 

Sorry for all the questions and thanks again!

 

 

I did not like the Pirate excursion in St Lcia due to cost and lack of rope swing/plank walking. The treasure hunt was a 5 minute adventure in a very small area. It just wasn't what we expected. I think the one in Antigua would have been better but that is to be found out at some other time...

Yes we did watch MUTS... Bourne Identity, Over the Hedge,National Treasure, the Incredibles, Eight Below to name a few from the patters. It is a very neat experience to sit under the star with a blanket and popcorn and watch a movie!

Don't know about a Beatles show but we did see Motown revue and watched Kimika which was entertaining....We didn't do any other shows... sorry!

Enjoy your cruise. I'm ready to go again!

Kim

[ortho_rn63]

Did you like the Princess excursion of the Rain Forest? We are thinking of doing this one because our flight home doesn't leave until 4:30pm.

 

 

We enjoyed the Rainforest. Very knowledgeable guide so I learned some things! It was a great way to unwind after such a busy trip!

Enjoy!

Kim

[Darcy8]

We are leaving on April 5th! We also have an inside on Baja. What room did you all have?

 

We are planning to rent a vehicle in Antigua as well. Did you have any trouble finding your way around the island? Are the roads marked well?

Who did you rent from?

 

Our trips have a lot of similarities. We also have a trip on Rumbaba scheduled. We are really looking forward to this day- have heard so many good reports.

 

Thanks for the review.

darcy 8

[ortho_rn63]

We are leaving on April 5th! We also have an inside on Baja. What room did you all have?

 

We are planning to rent a vehicle in Antigua as well. Did you have any trouble finding your way around the island? Are the roads marked well?

Who did you rent from?

 

Our trips have a lot of similarities. We also have a trip on Rumbaba scheduled. We are really looking forward to this day- have heard so many good reports.

 

Thanks for the review.

darcy 8

 

Darcy,

WE were in 411.... nice, quiet and dark. Just around the corner from the elevators but not in noise distance!

The car rental was from Hertz and NO the roads are not marked clearly. Some of the signs are hidden in foliage. Most locals will help as does having someone who can follow a map! LOL!!!

Enjoy your day with Rumbaba... I drank all of the margaritas so you';ll need to find another drink. I recommend the rum runner punch and Karen's bloddy recipes are to die for! As is all of her food!!! Capt bobby is a character in himself!

Have FUN!

Kim

[CruiseDuck]

Re: Tortola: We went with Patouche for a tour of the Baths. Julie and her crew were great and I would recommend them to anyone!

 

We also have Patouche booked for our cruise in April. We received a notice that they had moved to a different marina that is about a 15 minute taxi ride from the ship. Did you have any difficulty getting a taxi? What was the one way fare to the marina? Was it a difficult swim from the boat to the Baths?

Any information you have would be much appreciated.

 

Glad you had a good time. Thanks for posting the review.

[dforeigner]

Thank you for taking time to write a review.

[ortho_rn63]

Re: Tortola: We went with Patouche for a tour of the Baths. Julie and her crew were great and I would recommend them to anyone!

 

We also have Patouche booked for our cruise in April. We received a notice that they had moved to a different marina that is about a 15 minute taxi ride from the ship. Did you have any difficulty getting a taxi? What was the one way fare to the marina? Was it a difficult swim from the boat to the Baths?

Any information you have would be much appreciated.

 

Glad you had a good time. Thanks for posting the review.

 

CruiseDuck,

We did not use a taxi. There was about 30 of us from roll call going on Patouche so they arranged a safari bus. I think we paid $11.00 each though. There are taxis outside the gates to take people where they need to go.

Kim

[Familycruzer11]

I did not like the Pirate excursion in St Lcia due to cost and lack of rope swing/plank walking. The treasure hunt was a 5 minute adventure in a very small area. It just wasn't what we expected. I think the one in Antigua would have been better but that is to be found out at some other time...

Yes we did watch MUTS... Bourne Identity, Over the Hedge,National Treasure, the Incredibles, Eight Below to name a few from the patters. It is a very neat experience to sit under the star with a blanket and popcorn and watch a movie!

Don't know about a Beatles show but we did see Motown revue and watched Kimika which was entertaining....We didn't do any other shows... sorry!

Enjoy your cruise. I'm ready to go again!

Kim

 

Kim,

Thank you for the info - we love MUTS and can't wait. There's hope at least for our Pirate ship.. arrghh :cool: