Crown Princess Balcony Room and Lotus Spa Tour

Hello Fellow Cruisers!

I just got off the Crown Princess and made some detailed YouTube tour videos of our Balcony stateroom as well as the Lotus Spa's Thermal Suite.

Our balcony room was C255 (Caribe Deck - Deck 10). You can view the tour here:

We also purchased the thermal spa pass for our cruise (it was $299 USD for a couple, but could also be purchased for $199 per person). We lived at the spa and LOVED it so we decided to film a tour of it, since I was unable to find something like this before we left. The video for the spa tour can be viewed here:

These videos are tours, not reviews. If you have any specific questions with regards to either the room or spa, please feel free to comment on the videos or here and I'll do my best to answer (I'm sure our fellow Cruise Critic members can help answer your questions as well!).

Thanks and I hope you enjoy the videos and they help with your cruise planning!

Hi Getaway Goddess- we are sailing on the Crown next month. What was your overall impression of her? Thanks Kathryn

p.s. - tried to watch your videos but it kept crashing.

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Hi Getaway Goddess- we are sailing on the Crown next month. What was your overall impression of her? Thanks Kathryn

p.s. - tried to watch your videos but it kept crashing.

 

 

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To be honest, we weren't huge fans. However, I think a bit of that was because we're in our 20s and went on a transatlantic cruise. It was also our first time sailing Princess, and we learned that we're better suited to NCL because we really missed all of the activities (water slides, ropes course, etc.). Beyond that, our only major issue was our room wasn't cleaned when we arrived (we fixed that) and we had some issues with waiting for meals - so it would probably be better not to do anytime dining (so I've been told).

We have fixed seating this time so that shouldn't be an issue. The cruise is port intensive so that will keep us busy! Thanks again!

Don't give up on Princess, it really is a good cruise line. Enjoy your next cruise [emoji568]

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We have fixed seating this time so that shouldn't be an issue. The cruise is port intensive so that will keep us busy! Thanks again!

Don't give up on Princess, it really is a good cruise line. Enjoy your next cruise [emoji568]

 

 

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Thanks! I'm sure you'll have an excellent cruise - the Crown is doing a great itinerary!!! We definitely won't give up on Princess - we're all about cruising and are very interested in exploring different cruise lines and (especially) different ports. Our transatlantic allowed us to see places we wouldn't otherwise have visited. That's part of the beauty of cruising!

Thanks for sharing the video!

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Thanks for sharing the video!

 

 

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You're welcome! We have quite a few other videos from our Princess TA coming as well. We just haven't finished editing them.

The thermal suite looks great! Any idea how much a day pass costs?

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The thermal suite looks great! Any idea how much a day pass costs?

 

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When we were on board they did not allow people to purchase day passes - they only sold passes for the entire cruise. We were on for 14 days (Transatlantic) and it was $299 USD for both of us. I'm not sure if they sell day passes on shorter cruises.

To be honest, we weren't huge fans. However, I think a bit of that was because we're in our 20s and went on a transatlantic cruise. It was also our first time sailing Princess, and we learned that we're better suited to NCL because we really missed all of the activities (water slides, ropes course, etc.). Beyond that, our only major issue was our room wasn't cleaned when we arrived (we fixed that) and we had some issues with waiting for meals - so it would probably be better not to do anytime dining (so I've been told).

We loved the crown but then we are more mature and I would never do the rock wall for fear of breaking a sweat. We loved anytime dining. Never waited more then 5 minutes for a table and taken directly in about 96% of the time. Have a great time.

When we were on board they did not allow people to purchase day passes - they only sold passes for the entire cruise. We were on for 14 days (Transatlantic) and it was $299 USD for both of us. I'm not sure if they sell day passes on shorter cruises.

According to the website they do but it doesn't say how much. Wonder if it'll be on the cruise planner?

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I was under the impression that the Lotus pool was for any adult's use. Do you have to have the pass to use it?

I was under the impression that the Lotus pool was for any adult's use. Do you have to have the pass to use it?

I do believe it is adult only - and I think it is free. Very few people used it when we were on the Crown last month - however, it was a very rocky TA and most pools were closed. It is very easy to access the pool from the Lotus Spa, and there are change rooms located in the spa/gym area that are free to use. They also have free combination lockers.

Thank you for the video cabin tour! Yeah...I'm not a fan of the shower curtain too!

I do believe it is adult only - and I think it is free. Very few people used it when we were on the Crown last month - however, it was a very rocky TA and most pools were closed. It is very easy to access the pool from the Lotus Spa, and there are change rooms located in the spa/gym area that are free to use. They also have free combination lockers.

Thank you!

To the OP. For whatever your new thread has been locked. But I wanted to let you know ... I watched your assessment of the Crown video and just want to say it was very well done and I THINK YOU NAILED IT! I am actually a long time Princess customer and have been witness to the steady decline of this cruise line. I was on the Crown in March and again mid June. I am least looking forward to the "bad" bed as Crown will not get the new ones for another year or so. I have 1 more cruise booked, but this will likely be the last time I will book on that class of ship. It seems they just let them go after a while. I am sorry you had the poor experience. I think you would have liked the Regal much better. To other readers, YMMV, so no flaming please.

To the OP. For whatever your new thread has been locked. But I wanted to let you know ... I watched your assessment of the Crown video and just want to say it was very well done and I THINK YOU NAILED IT! I am actually a long time Princess customer and have been witness to the steady decline of this cruise line. I was on the Crown in March and again mid June. I am least looking forward to the "bad" bed as Crown will not get the new ones for another year or so. I have 1 more cruise booked, but this will likely be the last time I will book on that class of ship. It seems they just let them go after a while. I am sorry you had the poor experience. I think you would have liked the Regal much better. To other readers, YMMV, so no flaming please.

WOW- thank you very much!!! It has been very unusual to hear positive comments, I really do appreciate it. I assume the thread was locked because of all of the negative (mostly personally aimed at me) comments (hopefully the same won't happen here now!). We have heard that the Regal is much nicer and may give some of the new ships a try in the future. For now, most people are probably right, we should stick to the RCL/NCL/Carnival "fun" ships!

getaway_goddess, I too read your review but haven't had a chance to see your video. I will admit reading just the review it does come off quite harsh, but seeing your posts on here you have a different tone. I agree with the others, princess is a more mellow line which we love. We started cruising in our 30s and we just were not the rock climbing, dance party til dawn type of folks which is why we chose princess.. I for 1 hope that princess keeps this type of plan. While I have never had experience with the dirty issues you had I can see how a longer trip which typically has an older crowd and then being on a more tame ship can be a let down. But one of the things I didn't get was the comment about at dinner having people to close. We have been on 3 lines, Princess, HAL and Celebrity...all lines have a similar dinning room closer tables. I even went and looked at some pics of NCL and their table seem to be set in a similar fashion so I am curious as to the reason for that complaint. As far as waiting yes anytime dining can cause a line if you go at a prime time just as land based restaurants and find it hard to believe that there is never any lines on NCL? We have been docked by them and have seen the lines to get back on so I would imagine that there would be lines in other places as well. We have never had any rude employees on any of the ships we have been on across the 3 lines but at the same time they are human too and spend on average 6 months away from loved ones working b2b shifts with very little time off. As for the poor pizza incident...I agree the employee should not have been reprimanded in that way in front of customers but as a customer I would never ask someone to stand in line for me either. That type of restaurant is a casual restaurant without waiter service.

We all cruise for different reasons and we all spend our cruises in different ways which is why we all have the option of the different lines that offer different things. I hope Princess keeps to the environment that they have as we prefer the more calm than the rock walls, rope climbing and wave pools. But it was a learning curve. :D

getaway_goddess, I too read your review but haven't had a chance to see your video. I will admit reading just the review it does come off quite harsh, but seeing your posts on here you have a different tone. I agree with the others, princess is a more mellow line which we love. We started cruising in our 30s and we just were not the rock climbing, dance party til dawn type of folks which is why we chose princess.. I for 1 hope that princess keeps this type of plan. While I have never had experience with the dirty issues you had I can see how a longer trip which typically has an older crowd and then being on a more tame ship can be a let down. But one of the things I didn't get was the comment about at dinner having people to close. We have been on 3 lines, Princess, HAL and Celebrity...all lines have a similar dinning room closer tables. I even went and looked at some pics of NCL and their table seem to be set in a similar fashion so I am curious as to the reason for that complaint. As far as waiting yes anytime dining can cause a line if you go at a prime time just as land based restaurants and find it hard to believe that there is never any lines on NCL? We have been docked by them and have seen the lines to get back on so I would imagine that there would be lines in other places as well. We have never had any rude employees on any of the ships we have been on across the 3 lines but at the same time they are human too and spend on average 6 months away from loved ones working b2b shifts with very little time off. As for the poor pizza incident...I agree the employee should not have been reprimanded in that way in front of customers but as a customer I would never ask someone to stand in line for me either. That type of restaurant is a casual restaurant without waiter service.

 

We all cruise for different reasons and we all spend our cruises in different ways which is why we all have the option of the different lines that offer different things. I hope Princess keeps to the environment that they have as we prefer the more calm than the rock walls, rope climbing and wave pools. But it was a learning curve. :D

Thanks very much for your comments! Yes, my tone is probably different. I'm actually a nice person (I like to think...), but the way that Princess treated me was quite harsh, hence my response. But I am generally open to considering all options in the future. Personally, I don't enjoy the ropes courses, rock walls, etc. the way my boyfriend does because I am terrified of heights, but it makes a huge difference for him. I am not a drinker at all, so the "party" atmosphere isn't what appeals to me either, but I did tend to find that NCL had a lot more "fun" options beyond that that I did miss. All in all, it's a new experience we have to learn from.

I am amazed at the way everyone criticizes us for things like the hair and the coffee as if it was made up - it sadly wasn't! The only reason I don't have pictures is that on my first day, I didn't anticipate that I would have needed them! Believe me, I'd love to have them. Lesson learned, again. Also, we did lots of tests with the coffee and hot water and paper cups, water cups, etc. because we were bored, and we even had servers come up to us and ask what we were doing! There was real oil that wasn't from the coffee. Again, no photo evidence. On the second last day the oil stopped, which is what leads us to believe it was the cleaning liquid. We did discuss all of these issues with Princess staff on board, by email, and by phone. The experience on the customer service side was lacking, because we didn't have photographic evidence, but again, live and learn!

Thanks again for approaching me and for commenting! I am open to having conversations, but in most cases people have chosen to attack me and yell at me, and it's impossible to constructively argue back. I understand brand loyalty, but we're all human here! Kindness goes a long way on both sides.

but I did tend to find that NCL had a lot more "fun" options beyond that that I did miss.

 

I am amazed at the way everyone criticizes us for things like the hair and the coffee as if it was made up - it sadly wasn't!

Thanks again for approaching me and for commenting! I am open to having conversations, but in most cases people have chosen to attack me and yell at me, and it's impossible to constructively argue back. I understand brand loyalty, but we're all human here! Kindness goes a long way on both sides.

May I ask what the "fun" options were...I am asking out of curiosity? I have seen and been part of trivia games..some on all topics and some more focused like name the tune, name the artist. Those have been again on different nights for 70s 80 etc. have done the deck party before on princess where staff teach some dances and we all are dancing. Don't do the main club as the music is way loud in there for my tastes. We have watched the marriage game that princess does on board, some of the shows in the main theatre, MUTS if showing a good movie, or just sat and people watched. I know it is hard when your partner wants more of the other and you can take it or leave it. The scared of heights is me too which is why I think why pay for a ship with a roller coaster, rock wall or that big ball that goes up and over the edge.....uh yeah no thanks..eeek. My DH said it is like paying for a car to let it sit and not use it...lol. But I am curious what NCL has for daily activities. OH and one cant forget bingo...we do love that and princess makes it more fun...we play at the local casinos here and princess is much more upbeat.

I too have been flamed on here so I know how that feels. We all are different which is why there are different lines. Yes brand loyalty can lead to some awful behavior and must admit when I think of carnival I think drunk partiers and that I am sure is not 100% accurate all the time. When I think of NCL or RCI I think tons of kids and families which we don't have so we again choose not to sail in that environment. Plus knowing we wouldn't partake in the extra items on board so we leave that space for those that would enjoy it.

As far as the hair goes ...while again I haven't had that ...it is possible. They are human and it could have been an off day/week etc. I ALWAYS take wet wipes and clean the drawers and anything I will be touching. I do this at low end motels and high end hotels that the ship has put us up at....it just takes one maid to have an off day, or be there last day and they halfa$$ their way through the day..lol. You know come to think of it we did have a shorty cruise we took that the shelves on the outside edge of the desk were dusty......not that it is an excuse but those stewards do have very limited time to turn those rooms around as they want people out no later than 8 and the new people start boarding as early as 10 or 11 depending on the port. Which is why I bring my wipes....lol I try not to let it bother, but I guess if a multitude of things went wrong it would be hard to let it all slide. I am loyal to princess as they have always treated me great but I don't think that they are perfect as no one can be. ;p

I am amazed at the way everyone criticizes us for things like the hair and the coffee as if it was made up - it sadly wasn't!

I can't speak for "everyone", but will simply state that I don't think people were necessarily disbelieving you. Rather, most serial cruisers (which is what you will find here on CC) understand that on a ship with 3,000 passengers and almost 2,000 crew members, things such as an unwanted hair are going to happen. A ship is not a sterile environment. Finding a hair would not cause most people to post a lengthy video urging all who watch to avoid an entire enterprise the size of Princess. I think it was the anti-Princess crusade that got most people going. Yes, I believe you when you say (and record) that there was rust. A ship that spends its entire time in a salt water environment is going to have rust. Can't be avoided. But to state that Princess does not do maintenance is going to ruffle feathers. Everyone here has seen (and smelled) the painting that goes on day after day on Princess ships. But a first-timer posts (with an air of authority) that Princess should be avoided because they do no maintenance? That is what gets a reaction. It isn't the disbelief. It is the crusade that followed. If something goes wrong on a cruise--tell someone with authority and see how they go about fixing the problem. Social media is a powerful tool and can be abused. Trying to steer people away from a cruise line with a red circle with a slash through it on a video which will be viewed by thousands because Princess crew members do not do a jig or "high five" returning passengers is a bit over the top, no?

We are on Crown in a couple of months, not sailed princess before, but kinda get some of your points as we have sailed same class of ship many times on a different line. looks like you picked the wrong line, ship (for you) and cruise (T/A in April). try RCL they will be much more suited to your demographic (I am not (that much) older than you guys and we travel as part of a multigenerational group so have to consider all needs when selecting the right cruise. ignore the Fanboys, your opinion is valid (as are all opinions), but would agree that give the team onboard chance to put things right (as far as they can).

We are on Crown in a couple of months, not sailed princess before, but kinda get some of your points as we have sailed same class of ship many times on a different line. looks like you picked the wrong line, ship (for you) and cruise (T/A in April). try RCL they will be much more suited to your demographic (I am not (that much) older than you guys and we travel as part of a multigenerational group so have to consider all needs when selecting the right cruise. ignore the Fanboys, your opinion is valid (as are all opinions), but would agree that give the team onboard chance to put things right (as far as they can).

Thanks so much :) We really wanted to cross the Atlantic, hence the choice. But we do now agree that the cruise/line wasn't the best choice for us. However, we did approach the cruise line staff multiple times on board and off with our issues and most things were not resolved or were ignored. That is the main reason we've decided against Princess in the long run. We are looking at NCL, RCCL, and Disney for the future as they do have a lot more activities and are not "party" focused, like we hear that Carnival is. Thanks again!

We really liked RCCL IoTS a great ship with lots to do and see and we were a group from 10-75!. we are travelling with Princess this time as they were 1/3 the cost of the same med cruise on RCCL and P&O.

We can tolerate a lot of drawer hair for that price;)

getaway goddess...out of curiosity I googled the coffee oil issue...I found out that it is because all coffee beans have natural oils but if the coffee is a lower grade coffee than you will see the oil settle on top than you will a higher quality coffee. It is well known on the boards that the coffee in the buffet area is not top quality so that is what you saw when you got the coffee and not that the cups were not clean. If they weren't clean than ALOT more people would be sick and I have witnessed how far they go as tablemates of ours were kosher and they brought their own skillet for making their food separate and each night it was returned to them after their food was cooked. Also princess ranks pretty high on the CDC inspections so I am sure they are cleaning the dishes. DH works as a chef and those industrial dish washers are no joke they really clean it. They come out steaming and hot! I am only telling you this so perhaps you will have a different outlook on your time on princess.