Live from the Crown Princess / Jan 18th-Feb1st

I am officially on vacation now, so why not start my thread right away !!! :) !!!

This will be Princess cruise #9, and #16 over all for the DW and I. We are both in our late 30s…..actually, it is my DW’s birthday tomorrow and lucky her gets to celebrate every year on a ship. We are flying first class to Miami tomorrow (thank you AA miles), and will be staying at the Springhill Suites in Lauderdale for the night (thank you to the person in the roll call who told me about the LMTclub website).

I will be reporting on my observations from the ship & will gladly answer an questions as best I can. Unlike previous trips, I have nothing planned for our two weeks…no excursions booked, haven’t done any research on any of the ports, have nothing on the shopping list, etc. We have one goal for this B2B cruise, to get some R&R. With that being said, this will not be one of those amazing live posts which has stories, adventures, and a lot of pictures. I gladly invite anyone else from this sold out cruise to feel free to post as well in this thread if they have not started their own….everyone is welcome. One thing I will be doing, is posting EVERYTHING that I eat during these 2 weeks…..let the games begin!!!

I assumed after last January’s cruise, that the 2014 version would be on the new Royal Princess, but after reading through all the comments about that ship, I decided it was not the right fit for me while in the Caribbean (perhaps, a Can/NE cruise in Oct). I chose the Crown after very carefully exploring all my options. We normally book a mini-suite, but this time around we will have an inside cabin…..which I must admit has me feeling a little anxious as of this moment. I chose this ship with an inside because of the number of nights compared to the price. It was sooooo cheap at only $1000pp for 14 nights. I am sure I will feel better once we are unpacked and everything has found its proper space….I hope everything fits, including me!

I just did our on-line check in, and printed the boarding passes. The last load of laundry is almost done. Only thing left is to bring the dog to my brother’s house, then finish packing.

FEELING GOOD RIGHT NOW!

We are boarding In Feb/14 right after you. Are cabin is R717. Be interested to know if any A/C or Plumbing issues in that area.

Enjoy your trip.

I have been following the a/c problem very closely. seems to have gotten better except for specific cabins/areas. I don't do well when it is hot indoors. I will be sure to post my observations around the ship

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Bon Voyage! Thanks for checking in. :)

I have been following the a/c problem very closely. seems to have gotten better except for specific cabins/areas. I don't do well when it is hot indoors. I will be sure to post my observations around the ship

 

 

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We never had a problem. A/C was only an issue if you left the balcony door open. Never heard anyone else complain onboard either....imho this issue just has to do with people expecting their room to be arctic cold when they have their doors wide open! Even if your room is hot the rest of the ship was always a good temperature.

What perfect timing. We just booked this ship for a Sept cruise down the Pacific coast. I've only been on Princess once before, and it was a quick 3 day Up the pacific coast. I'm very much looking forward to your observations regarding the food, and any info about the ship.

Have a wonderful time, and Happy Birthday to your DW. :)

Tutu

We will be boarding February 8th, so I'll be following this closely to get my "fix" until we get there!

Thanks for sharing!

We will be boarding February 8th, so I'll be following this closely to get my "fix" until we get there!

Thanks for sharing!

Emily, we've got to stop meeting like this! I too will be enjoying your two weeks onboard as we will join Emily on her cruise! Have a ball, but leave some sun and fun for us as well!

Hi lor74!

We will be on Crown with you 18th thru Feb 1st.

I'll tell some friends to follow your "live" so they'll know what we're doing!

Hopefully, we'll meet on the ship! :)

LuLu

~~~~

Thanks for doing a Live Thread. Looking forward to it. :):):):)

all bags are checked and we board the plane in a little over an hr.

There was a previous thread about the coffee card and pre ordering packages directly from Princess. a fellow Canadian had posted that his purchase went through in Canadian funds, which is great considering the current exchange rate. I called yesterday, and was told I would be billed in US since that is what my folio for this cruise is set as. I'll just buy em on board.....After we sail so there will be no tax.

Happy/safe travels everyone :)

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Emily, we've got to stop meeting like this! I too will be enjoying your two weeks onboard as we will join Emily on her cruise! Have a ball, but leave some sun and fun for us as well!

STALKER!!!! :eek::eek::D:D

I am officially on vacation now, so why not start my thread right away !!! :) !!!

 

This will be Princess cruise #9, and #16 over all for the DW and I. We are both in our late 30s…..actually, it is my DW’s birthday tomorrow and lucky her gets to celebrate every year on a ship. We are flying first class to Miami tomorrow (thank you AA miles), and will be staying at the Springhill Suites in Lauderdale for the night (thank you to the person in the roll call who told me about the LMTclub website).

 

I will be reporting on my observations from the ship & will gladly answer an questions as best I can. Unlike previous trips, I have nothing planned for our two weeks…no excursions booked, haven’t done any research on any of the ports, have nothing on the shopping list, etc. We have one goal for this B2B cruise, to get some R&R. With that being said, this will not be one of those amazing live posts which has stories, adventures, and a lot of pictures. I gladly invite anyone else from this sold out cruise to feel free to post as well in this thread if they have not started their own….everyone is welcome. One thing I will be doing, is posting EVERYTHING that I eat during these 2 weeks…..let the games begin!!!

 

I assumed after last January’s cruise, that the 2014 version would be on the new Royal Princess, but after reading through all the comments about that ship, I decided it was not the right fit for me while in the Caribbean (perhaps, a Can/NE cruise in Oct). I chose the Crown after very carefully exploring all my options. We normally book a mini-suite, but this time around we will have an inside cabin…..which I must admit has me feeling a little anxious as of this moment. I chose this ship with an inside because of the number of nights compared to the price. It was sooooo cheap at only $1000pp for 14 nights. I am sure I will feel better once we are unpacked and everything has found its proper space….I hope everything fits, including me!

 

I just did our on-line check in, and printed the boarding passes. The last load of laundry is almost done. Only thing left is to bring the dog to my brother’s house, then finish packing.

 

FEELING GOOD RIGHT NOW!

Cant wait to board tomorrow! See you then :)

I am officially on vacation now, so why not start my thread right away !!! :) !!!

 

This will be Princess cruise #9, and #16 over all for the DW and I. We are both in our late 30s…..actually, it is my DW’s birthday tomorrow and lucky her gets to celebrate every year on a ship. We are flying first class to Miami tomorrow (thank you AA miles), and will be staying at the Springhill Suites in Lauderdale for the night (thank you to the person in the roll call who told me about the LMTclub website).

 

I will be reporting on my observations from the ship & will gladly answer an questions as best I can. Unlike previous trips, I have nothing planned for our two weeks…no excursions booked, haven’t done any research on any of the ports, have nothing on the shopping list, etc. We have one goal for this B2B cruise, to get some R&R. With that being said, this will not be one of those amazing live posts which has stories, adventures, and a lot of pictures. I gladly invite anyone else from this sold out cruise to feel free to post as well in this thread if they have not started their own….everyone is welcome. One thing I will be doing, is posting EVERYTHING that I eat during these 2 weeks…..let the games begin!!!

 

I assumed after last January’s cruise, that the 2014 version would be on the new Royal Princess, but after reading through all the comments about that ship, I decided it was not the right fit for me while in the Caribbean (perhaps, a Can/NE cruise in Oct). I chose the Crown after very carefully exploring all my options. We normally book a mini-suite, but this time around we will have an inside cabin…..which I must admit has me feeling a little anxious as of this moment. I chose this ship with an inside because of the number of nights compared to the price. It was sooooo cheap at only $1000pp for 14 nights. I am sure I will feel better once we are unpacked and everything has found its proper space….I hope everything fits, including me!

 

I just did our on-line check in, and printed the boarding passes. The last load of laundry is almost done. Only thing left is to bring the dog to my brother’s house, then finish packing.

 

FEELING GOOD RIGHT NOW!

All of you doing the two week thing making the rest of us sad and jealous! Will be there in one week from today for boarding on the 25th. Guess that will cut the crowd getting on next week.

Agree with you on the Royal-- we may not get on her as balcony time is very important part of out R&R. Plus a few other things we heard. Enjoy your time and don't eat all our food!

The flight was on an AA 737. The seats were more comfortable than the previous time I had flown first class. They did not have the video screens on the back of the chairs, just a ceiling screen for every 2 rows.....I didn't watch, but a Percy Jackson movie was playing. I loaded my e-reader with the following books: James Patterson-Run, Roger Hobbs - Ghostman, Michael Connoly- Gods of guilt, Dan Brown - Inferno, John Grisham- The Racketeer, and the Mike Tyson Auto biography....which is what I started reading on the plane.

We were offered water or oj as soon as everyone was seated. The plane left the gate 20 minutes early, but had to de-ice before taking off. Once in the air, we were given hot towels and warm mixed nuts, plus anything we wanted to drink. I had a coffee, and the birthday girl had champagne. For lunch we were offered a salad with Thai beef, or a Dijon turkey sandwich. I had the turkey which came with a side salad, humous, and a bag of pita chips. the salad came with a package of balsamic dressing....it was good until a cucumber covered in dressing rolled of the plate....what a mess. I managed to jump out of the way, but somehow it sprayed the under arm sleeve of my white shirt. Could have been worse!!! The sandwich was good. My wife does not eat meat, and no special meals are offered for shorter flights. Mark, our flight attendant was great, and got her a nice salad, and a cheese-cracker n grapes plate. After lunch we had warm chocolate cookies. The rest of the trip was smooth flying.

After retrieving our luggage, I went to the Super Shuttle desk to inquire about getting to our hotel. I was surprised that the price would be $79. We took a taxi, and it was only $68 including a generous tip....during rush hour. The Springhill Suites is very nice. Our check in was fast and friendly. We were able to reserve our shuttle to the pier right away.....we will be early, leaving at 10am. The room is huge! There are 2 queen beds, and a full living room, including 2 LCD TVs. I need to go back in the roll call to remember who introduced me to the website where I got this amazing deal....$130 a night for this....including wifi, shuttle and breakfast!

There is a huge outdoor shopping complex across the street. We went for a walk and ended up having dinner at the Moonlite diner. I had a Caesar salad, and a brisket w onion rings plate....it was just ok for me. Ro ( the DW), had fish tacos and fries, which she liked. After eating we walked back and stopped at BJ's where we picked up two 1.5L bottles of wine for $18.....we are now ready for the cruise! That's it for tonight, tomorrow is the big day :)

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We never had a problem. A/C was only an issue if you left the balcony door open. Never heard anyone else complain onboard either....imho this issue just has to do with people expecting their room to be arctic cold when they have their doors wide open! Even if your room is hot the rest of the ship was always a good temperature.

We were in room C753 2 weeks ago and having been on 20 or more cruises I have never complained about anything. We read the complaints about the A/C problems and from the start kept our curtains closed and balcony door closed. It wasn't unbearable but very uncomfortable. We were sweating as we dressed for dinner. They came to check on the 3rd day but even at the lowest setting it was hot. It did not ruin our cruise by far but please don't disregard people saying there is something wrong with the A/C on the ship. Some parts of the ship were ice cold..others were extremely warm.

The flight was on an AA 737. The seats were more comfortable than the previous time I had flown first class. They did not have the video screens on the back of the chairs, just a ceiling screen for every 2 rows.....I didn't watch, but a Percy Jackson movie was playing. I loaded my e-reader with the following books: James Patterson-Run, Roger Hobbs - Ghostman, Michael Connoly- Gods of guilt, Dan Brown - Inferno, John Grisham- The Racketeer, and the Mike Tyson Auto biography....which is what I started reading on the plane.

 

We were offered water or oj as soon as everyone was seated. The plane left the gate 20 minutes early, but had to de-ice before taking off. Once in the air, we were given hot towels and warm mixed nuts, plus anything we wanted to drink. I had a coffee, and the birthday girl had champagne. For lunch we were offered a salad with Thai beef, or a Dijon turkey sandwich. I had the turkey which came with a side salad, humous, and a bag of pita chips. the salad came with a package of balsamic dressing....it was good until a cucumber covered in dressing rolled of the plate....what a mess. I managed to jump out of the way, but somehow it sprayed the under arm sleeve of my white shirt. Could have been worse!!! The sandwich was good. My wife does not eat meat, and no special meals are offered for shorter flights. Mark, our flight attendant was great, and got her a nice salad, and a cheese-cracker n grapes plate. After lunch we had warm chocolate cookies. The rest of the trip was smooth flying.

 

After retrieving our luggage, I went to the Super Shuttle desk to inquire about getting to our hotel. I was surprised that the price would be $79. We took a taxi, and it was only $68 including a generous tip....during rush hour. The Springhill Suites is very nice. Our check in was fast and friendly. We were able to reserve our shuttle to the pier right away.....we will be early, leaving at 10am. The room is huge! There are 2 queen beds, and a full living room, including 2 LCD TVs. I need to go back in the roll call to remember who introduced me to the website where I got this amazing deal....$130 a night for this....including wifi, shuttle and breakfast!

 

There is a huge outdoor shopping complex across the street. We went for a walk and ended up having dinner at the Moonlite diner. I had a Caesar salad, and a brisket w onion rings plate....it was just ok for me. Ro ( the DW), had fish tacos and fries, which she liked. After eating we walked back and stopped at BJ's where we picked up two 1.5L bottles of wine for $18.....we are now ready for the cruise! That's it for tonight, tomorrow is the big day :)

 

 

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If you can forward that post with the website, or the website that would be great. I can't find it now that I need it.

this is the site:

https://m.lmtclub.com/secure/PageRegistration.aspx

you need to google the name and search for a promo code to get your sign up free for the first year

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Thanks for the virtual cruise we're on!

Wondering who Maitre D'Hotel is at present & how long he'll be on board please.

Info appreciated. Thanks in advance. :D

The hotel breakfast consisted of eggs, sausage, ham, cereal, yogurt, breads, juice, coffee, & do it yourself waffles. I had a cinnamon bagel and apple juice. Ro had cereal and coffee. There are complimentary WSJ newspapers, and water bottles. I would definitely stay here again at the rate that I paid!

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Will be on the Crown in a week and used the Lotus Spa. Often there have been problems with temperature of the so-called dry room or the steam in the sauna is so so. Have you heard iif it is working.? It's a good value if it working because you can use it often without payin an extra fee.

After retrieving our luggage, I went to the Super Shuttle desk to inquire about getting to our hotel. I was surprised that the price would be $79. We took a taxi, and it was only $68 including a generous tip....during rush hour. The Springhill Suites is very nice. Our check in was fast and friendly. We were able to reserve our shuttle to the pier right away.....we will be early, leaving at 10am. The room is huge! There are 2 queen beds, and a full living room, including 2 LCD TVs. I need to go back in the roll call to remember who introduced me to the website where I got this amazing deal....$130 a night for this....including wifi, shuttle and breakfast!

 

There is a huge outdoor shopping complex across the street. We went for a walk and ended up having dinner at the Moonlite diner. I had a Caesar salad, and a brisket w onion rings plate....it was just ok for me. Ro ( the DW), had fish tacos and fries, which she liked. After eating we walked back and stopped at BJ's where we picked up two 1.5L bottles of wine for $18.....we are now ready for the cruise! That's it for tonight, tomorrow is the big day :)

Great to read about the Springhill Suites - DH and I will be staying there for 2 nights prior to our 2/7 Emerald cruise.

Regarding shuttle signup, did you have a choice of time, or did they schedule you on the first available?

Does the shopping complex across the street have a grocery store? DH will be going fishing the day before the cruise and he needs to bring his food for the day.

Your wine deal sounds economical and convenient - will plan to do the same!

Have a relaxing and rejuvenating 14 days. Happy Birthday to your Mrs.!

:D

The shuttle service was very efficient. We signed up as soon as we checked in, and we offered 10am or 12:30pm for the Crown Princess. They had multiple buses going, and they dedicated each run to a specific ship. We left on time and were quickly at the port. There was a line already formed, but as platinum we walked right into an empty terminal. In minutes we had our cruise cards and were directed to the platinum lounge where 4 people had checked in before us. We boarded the ship at 11:40am.

Our first stop was the pursers desk, where I put my name on the upgrade list. The ship is sold out, but if there might have been any last minute cancelations.....

From there we went to our inside cabin on Baja. There were crew working in the ceiling nearby, and the hallway smelled. The room temp was ok, but it is not too hot in Lauderdale today. The toilet did not work. I called the dinning line, and reserved the CG for the first formal night on Monday.

Next stop was the buffet. I made myself a Caesar salad with some broccoli, and I had a sampling of pasta, and a slice of pep pizza. Ro had the pizza of the day which had anchovies. Next stop was the IC. I already knew that the items had changed.....no Waldorf or Greek salad. Here is what was offered:

-Goat cheese salad with peppers, orzo pasta and cranberry vinaigrette...Ro had this and liked it

-Green bean salad with shrimp and spicy curry

-Asian sesame Cobb salad

-Assorted sandwiches....I had a toasted Cuban which I liked.

From there we went back to the room.....no luggage yet, but the crew were gone and the toilet is now working.

As I write this, I am relaxing at the pool. There is a Pavarotti concert on MUTS. Muster is at 3:30pm, which is also all aboard time.

Tonight's welcome aboard show has Matilda.....ugh! Walked out on this show on one of the last cruises....we will not be going.

Yes, there were stores near the hotel where he can pick up food

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Our Muster station is in the Fusion. I got there a little early, got comfortable and read more. While the drill was going on, I was completely overwhelmed with tiredness, and was struggling to keep my eyes open. When the drill was over, I went back to the room and had a nap. While I was sleeping, Ro went to the gym. After a couple of hours, I got up and we went to the buffet for dinner. My meal consisted of a salad, tortellini & spinach soup, a couple of spring rolls w hoisin sauce, a piece of grilled chicken, mash potatoes, & a little bit of freshly made penne in tomato sauce. I bought a coffee card & a soda card.....I waited till after we left Florida so I would not be charged tax. After dinner we went down to the IC. I had the chocolate mouse, a choco chip cookie, and a taste of a choco macadamia brownie which I did not care for. I also got a coffee. Ro had a blueberry dessert which she enjoyed. We then watched a performer in the atrium before heading back to the room. Tonight is an early one for us. The clocks are moved up an hr, and we are at Princess Cays tomorrow.

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STALKER!!!! :eek::eek::D:D

Bwaahahahahhahahaa :D