DW and I were on the Crown, Vancouver to LA, this past Nov. 2-9. We're retirement age, infrequent cruisers. This was our first Princess cruise and our first cruise since pre-Covid times.
First off, I got Covid. I'm hoping it's OK to mention this; apparently a similar thread got deleted while I was in the middle of reading it. I'm hoping no one jumps on this to debate the merits of cruising, various approaches to Covid, etc. I'm just stating the facts.
We heard, at about the time we booked, that Princess had dispensed with all vaccine and testing requirements; we were not overjoyed to hear this. We planned to mask up while indoors except in our cabin, and to take our meals in the buffet, masking while serving ourselves then finding an isolated table. The latter was easy, but the food wasn't great: Hot food came off the steam table at room temperature. After a couple of tries we gave up and took dinner in an MDR at shared tables (the only way to get seated immediately). We disembarked Wednesday; I tested positive Saturday morning. I was able to go on Paxlovid immediately, and my symptoms have equaled those of a common cold that progresses quickly. DW has cold symptoms but has repeatedly tested negative.
Other matters: We sailed with 2090 passengers, and the crowding/lack of same felt about right (we're used to 2000-pax ships). Our cabin (standard balcony, Aloha deck 12, port side, aft) was in excellent repair and very clean. We missed Astoria, OR due to weather. In the other ports (Victoria, San Francisco, Santa Barbara) we mostly walked by the water and ate in local cheap places.
Feel free to ask questions about the ship and the cruise. We didn't take in much entertainment -- one production show, Encore, which was good if over-miked.