Shogun Live from The Crown

[cruznon]

SHogun, Thank you for sharing your cruise with us!

 

KIWI CRUISER---loved the maps and especiallythe ones with ships--would you please share websites? Thanks!

[caber]

Thanks for the info on the cabin, Shogun,

 

That has put my mind at rest.

 

Thanks for your posts. They were very interesting.:)

 

Caber.

[Momma Mojito]

Like everyone else I really have enjoyed all your posts, thanks for taking the time to give us an excellant review of you cruise.. Please tell the chief, that if he is stillgoing to be on the ship in November that maybe he had better shape-up or we will all have him shipping out.

 

 

 

See you in November.......J

JoAnn

[Kiwi Kruzer]

SHogun, Thank you for sharing your cruise with us!

KIWI CRUISER---loved the maps and especiallythe ones with ships--would you please share websites? Thanks!

 

Hi cruznon,

The sites I use are

http://*****/

 

select...Princess Current Ship Positions

If you play around with the site

it will lead you to other ships as well.

 

 

This is the one for live tracking.

http://www.marinetraffic.com/ais/

[Cruisin' Crazy]

Shogun,

 

Just caught up to your thread and wish I had seen it sooner. We sailed with Andy Proctor on four cruises in 1997 (2), 1998 and 2001 on the old Royal Princess. More recently also with Nick Nash on the new Royal Princess to the Amazon and back in 2008.

 

I would have asked you to ask Andy about the run up the Saguenay fjord in Canada in August of 1997 and the CF-18 fighter jet fly-bys around the Royal in the fjord at that time.

I know that he remembers that occasion with pleasure, as do we all who were involved.

 

Unfortunately, you have now disembarked and can't, but when you see him on your Oct/Nov cruises (what ship and where, by the way??) do ask him about the event and a hello from Ken & Marion. It is a long story, with personal involvement, and is completely off thread, so do not want to get into trouble telling it here.

 

If you would like to know the complete story (anyone) just email me at <kenmarvv@rogers.com> and I'll respond

 

Don't know, of course, if you have sailed with Nick Nash, but he is a really nice guy; we sat at his table on both Amazon cruises at the most traveled passenger lunches in 2008 and found he has a wicked wit and a quick quip during conversations.

 

Anyway, enough said about this and will look forward to your reporting from your next cruise in the Fall.

 

Ken.

___________________________

37 Princess Cruises

2 others (won't go back)

 

Next Up:

3 B to B to B Caribbean on Ruby 2010

3 B to B to B Caribbean on Emerald 2011

[Shogun]

Hi All,

 

More on food,

 

The Chefs table while OK ,was not great, which was a great pity,

 

food was nice enough but not special, biggest failing was in not talking to

 

us, to find out what we liked or did not like, as such there were items that

 

people did not like, the other wrong was thr M'D hotel is he needs to be a

 

show man , this one was not.

 

The captain circle lunch however was excellant nice menu, good service

 

well with captain and his top officers you would expect the best.

 

yours Shogun

[caber]

Morning Shogun,

 

The best we have been to was the most travelled passengers cocktail party which was nice with much better canapies (loved the dipped strawberries).

 

Maybe one day we will be invited to the lunch.:p

 

Caber

[margord]

Again, thanks so much for sharing.

 

Marilee

[Ethel5]

OK Shogun, Fess up....what machines were you playing that were so good to you? :)

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

Some more thoughts for you,

 

Things that Princess got wrong,

 

Leaving passengers at Rome airport. opps

 

Not having more things to do on sea days.

 

Not having more movies inside

 

Not using MUTS more

 

Not having sailaway parties.

 

Not giving information out to newbies about what where why etc

 

Why not a direct Princess problem they need to take action, tours many un happy folk, everything from guides walking to fast, to bus driving past sites and not stopping to being last in for lunch and no food left.

 

Tour buses all getting back at the same time causing massive boarding ques.

 

yours Shogun

[Solara]

Shogun, Who was your cruise director?

[Shogun]

Hi There Solara

 

CD was Ron Goodman, he is one of the better ones he could be found out and about the ship, almost ever day, he made time to talk to passengers he has been on TV in NCIS, Days of our lives, The Nanny and Mad about you.

 

yours Shogun

[Shogun]

Hi All

 

More info for you all

 

MUTS,

 

Yes Man, Hes Just Not That into you, Last Change Harvey, Austraila, Mamma Mia, Bed Time Storries, Bride Wars, Marley and Me, Dark Night, Confessions of a shopaholic, Hotel for dogs, Benjamen button.

 

Meals,

Cafe Carbie,

 

Italian

Mexican

Oriental

English

Bavarian

Down Island

Madras Curry

Baltic

 

yours Shogun

[Solara]

Hi There Solara

 

CD was Ron Goodman, he is one of the better ones he could be found out and about the ship, almost ever day, he made time to talk to passengers he has been on TV in NCIS, Days of our lives, The Nanny and Mad about you.

 

yours Shogun

I was just wondering since the Crown was the only ship we have been on that I didn't think there was enough to do on sea day, but we had a different cruise director thought maybe you had the same one.

 

Thanks again for sharing your cruise with us.

[caribill]

I was just wondering since the Crown was the only ship we have been on that I didn't think there was enough to do on sea day, but we had a different cruise director thought maybe you had the same one.

 

 

 

Recently spent 27 days on the Emerald Princess with Neil Chandler as the CD. There was never a shortage of activities on sea days. He did a great job of scheduling so one could do as much or as little as one wanted.

 

Most unusual activity: Elevator roulette.

The players gather by the aft elevators on deck 7 and using (free) chips bet on which of the four elevators will be the next one to stop at that floor.

[Solara]

Recently spent 27 days on the Emerald Princess with Neil Chandler as the CD. There was never a shortage of activities on sea days. He did a great job of scheduling so one could do as much or as little as one wanted.

 

Most unusual activity: Elevator roulette.

The players gather by the aft elevators on deck 7 and using (free) chips bet on which of the four elevators will be the next one to stop at that floor.

We sailed with Neil Chandler in October on the Emerald. I agree he had so much to do you could never be bored. I thought he did an outstanding job.

 

Loved the elevator roulette, have never seen that before & it was so much fun. He was also very approachable & always walking around the ship.

[Shogun]

Hi There,

 

Neil is very good have sailed on two cruises with him.

 

yours Shogun

[margord]

We sailed with Neil Chandler in October on the Emerald. I agree he had so much to do you could never be bored. I thought he did an outstanding job.

 

Loved the elevator roulette, have never seen that before & it was so much fun. He was also very approachable & always walking around the ship.

 

I had forgotten about the elevator roulette. That was fun.

 

Marilee

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

Hi Shogun,

 

I am disappointed about the food. I hope this is not going to be the normal. Tell them they have to get their act together before October. :p

 

Are you doing Traditional or Anytime Dining?

 

I am glad you are enjoying the ports.

 

Hope you had a great Captain`s Table.

 

Caber

 

My DW and I were on this cruise (I think)! Why do I only think I was on this cruise. Because our experience was not the same as Shogun's. Our food was excellent the entire cruise. In fact, we commented that the buffet food was some of the best we have ever had on a cruise. This just goes to show that food is so subjective.

 

I know there have been other posts about Princess offering a "homestyle" option every evening. I must say that twice my DW had this option and both times they were excellent. One night she had jumbalaya and another night meatloaf. Way to go Princess for offering these options.

[Shogun]

Hi Poulsbo,

 

My comments on the food relate only to the temp, and then mainly to the veg etc,

 

Selection etc was fine, however I have since found out that the number one complaint from our cruise was the same.

 

As to the meat loaf, I recall this as a person at our table ordered it and did not eat it, it is because we each have our own likes and dislikes that

you will not get me posting about taste etc.

 

Service, selection, temp, quanity and how it is presented, is all that I hope to chat about, if I did not like a meal like the chefs table then I will post this and tell you why I did not like it.

 

Last I heard changes were being made in the kitchens for the cruise after ours. So may be Princess thought there was an issue as well.

 

yours Shogun

[RUBYRUBY]

Hi

 

My parents were on the same cruise and they are very very fussy, I suppose it is because being Italian (/Aussies) we eat better than restaurant food at home. They were very happy with the food on the cruise and really liked Sabatini's, which mum said was just like we eat at home (they didn't try Crown), they only went 1 night because they were happy with the main dining and thought it was 5 star. They were even offered seconds on the lobster. They service was a bit hit and miss though.

 

Overall they did enjoy the cruise, they liked having the balcony (mainly because of the extra light and view), they enjoyed all the excursions which they did through the ship (except Genoa with they thought was really average compared to everywhere else they went).

 

They were very happy but did prefer the Royal Caribbean Rhapsody of the Sea which was suprising as Princess is usually better rated than RCCL.

 

Food especially is incredibly subjectional to personal likes and dislikes. We were out at a restaurant and my friends curry was too spicy to eat yet for me it felt like there was no chilli in it at all. What is good for one isn't neccessary good to another.

 

Once again thanks Shogun, you really were our only link to my parents when they were on the boat (my mum forgot to turn her mobile phone on at ports) aside from those webcams! So thanks again!

[Shogun]

hi Rubyruby,

 

I do feel sorry for cruise lines trying to produce food to the standard expected, with so many meals to produce, in so mamy places with people coming from all over the world with different likes and dislikes.

 

I was lucky enough to see the kitchens in full production, the staff were great while never stopping for a second they chatted away, the ones that could not waved and smiled,

 

yours

 

Shogun

[hubofhockey]

Hi Poulsbo,

 

My comments on the food relate only to the temp, and then mainly to the veg etc,

 

Selection etc was fine, however I have since found out that the number one complaint from our cruise was the same.

 

As to the meat loaf, I recall this as a person at our table ordered it and did not eat it, it is because we each have our own likes and dislikes that

you will not get me posting about taste etc.

 

Service, selection, temp, quanity and how it is presented, is all that I hope to chat about, if I did not like a meal like the chefs table then I will post this and tell you why I did not like it.

 

Last I heard changes were being made in the kitchens for the cruise after ours. So may be Princess thought there was an issue as well.

 

yours Shogun

 

I am glad that changes were being made in the Crown kitchens. While food may be subjective (and I'm sure some people out there like McDonalds better than Ruth's Chris for that reason), the main dining room on the Crown leaves something to be desired. While I will give the MDR on the Ruby every chance in the world, I plan to spend at least one out of every three dinners in Sabatinis or Crown Grill. For the two of us on a 12-day cruise, that's $200 total and very well worth it. Others on my Crown cruise also complained about the food and it wasn't just that vegetables were not warm enough. I am glad Princess is addressing its failures on the Crown and is not accepting as "subjective" that they had problems in the MDRs. While food may well be "subjective", restaurants that serve great food are the one that stay in business.

[Shogun]

Hi all,

 

One of the best meals I had was the Captains Circle Lucheon, OK only very few every get an invite around 2% on the Crown.

 

But we had

 

Potporri of Shellfish,

A Lobster,Scallopes, King Crab,Tiger Pawns, Casanova Sauce

 

Fettuccine with Lobster Sauce

Home made pasta with a creamy Lobster Tomato sauce

 

Orange Roughly Fillet Florida Style

Served with Italian Wine Risotto

 

or Chateaubriand Bouquettier

Slowly Cooked Beef Tenderloin, with scented Truffle Demi glace.

 

Princess Cruises Extraordinary Specialty

A Celebration of Mousse Chocolate, Vanilla and Hazelnut with a symphony of Berries

 

Petites Four Elizabeth

Coffee or Tea

 

And wine , wine and some more wine.

 

This was an excellant meal, with the best of everything being used to dress the table, seating was by name at tables hosted by an officer, menus printed with your own name .

 

Not all ships still do this, but it is way better than a glass of bubbly in Skywalkers and some nibbles.

 

For those lucky folk in the future who get an invite you have some thing to look forward to.

 

 

yours

 

Shogun

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

My DW and I loved our 15 days on the Crown. The staff was one of the friendliest we had ever encountered. I was on the Grand three years ago in the Med and the Tahitian a couple of years ago from Hawaii to Tahiti. The staff friendliness on this cruise beat both of those by a long shot. Everyone I met said hello or good morning, etc.

 

We had the ultimate balcony dining on the first formal night (we don't do formal) and it was wonderful.

 

In the mornings, no matter how crowded it got, I was able to order and receive an omelet in the Horizon Court in just a couple of minutes. It was never this quick on other cruises.

 

The ship was in great shape. We had cabin E731, which is the rear most covered mini with the larger balcony. It was very quiet and we never heard a sound from Club Fusion. We did comment to ourselves on the first day on board that the balcony rail needed a new coat of varnish. To our surprise, the rails were varnished on the fourth day of the cruise.

 

We hated to leave the ship. The only thing that makes leaving somewhat tolerable is the excellent debarkation procedures used by Princess. Is there anyone who does embarkation, debarkation or muster drills better than Princess?

 

Now we need to decided where we will go next. We did purchase FCC's and are looking forward to the many choices offered by Princess.