Britcruzer15

Its a 'standard' Grand class ship, we travelled to the Med 4wks ago, The ship and crew delivered a nice vacation experience, no drama, just as we expected.

We have been back two weeks from our med cruise on Crown Princess. Would we do it again.....YES! Our family of 4 had a great time ..( 2 teenage boys 17 &13) . Our cabin though small as they all seem unless mini or suites was of a good standard and well looked after . Yes a little rust on our balcony but hey we are at sea it happens. Food is always a matter of opinion. We never had a bad meal the whole time although the menu in the main dining room didn't always invite so we had the buffet , plenty of choice and enjoyed by all. We picked anytime dine and as a family of 4 chose to share a table which we enjoyed with our fellow travellers. ( Hi to Mediterraneanhoneymoon who we shared with one evening).

Sure we all compare previous trip against each other ...that's the mistake you make. Each line has a sell feature no one could have it all and if they did think of the price. People moan about the silliest things and we heard a few. However most of our fellow diners would do it all again tomorrow...... New brochure on coffee table now to drop a few hints to hubby...

For those due to travel kick back relax end enjoy.

We were on the same cruise, our first with Princess, no problem with the Crown at all. and we had a great time. Dont see what all the fuss is about with the negativity.

interesting, john wick 2 seems way more violent than i expected for a muts. i love john wick :)

 

super excited for some muts on my next cruise

I think the prepurchase was $99 + $3.50 activation for 200mins + 40mins bonus, on board on first login it was $40 for me for 200mins, so still cheaper than prepurchase in my case

On Crown last week they also showed Guardians of the Galaxy 2 and John Wick Chapter 2 (on one night only on MUTS)

We were on the last med cruise on Crown, a couple of weeks back, I was amazed they did not have the barriers in place at the top of the Ramblas. although the police presence was very high. on all our Italian stops, the army was on the streets, anti vehicle barriers in place, no vehicles other than buses allowed near the main tourist sites. Marseille had barriers too as did Gibraltar. Italy was a level above this though. Have to say it was very very busy in Barcelona, and my heart broke on the news pictures from the city.

On Crown last week, there was an offer, but it was ONLY available on your first login of 100 minutes for $20 or 200minutes for $40 this is on top of any loyalty minutes you may have for being platinum/or elite. you could not buy more minutes at this rate once you had used them up, only REALLY expensive packages or PAYG at $0.79 minute.

Edited to say that in the last couple of days there is an end of cruise offer for 15min for $8.99 - if that helps

RCI are way ahead of Princess in terms of internet service

We have just returned from a super14 night cruise around the Mediterranean on the Crown. Everything was great but we were a little perplexed when we tried to order our first night dinner.

 

We had chosen late fixed dining for our family of four and were allocated a very nice table in the Boticelli Restaurant.

 

On the first night we were all torn between a couple of entrée one of which was new to us and which we all fancied trying. Therefore I ordered my entrée plus the new dish ( a Curtis Stone seafood pasta ) for the "table". I have done this many times but on this occasion the waiter declined my request and informed me that I could only order one entrée.

 

I must admit I was a bit taken aback and felt rather embarrassed. I had obviously missed this rule on my previous Princess cruises and am wondering whether it is a recent development?

Also on the Crown, but in anytime, had no problem ordering mains as starters (although they usually turned up as full size) or multiple starters, never ordered multiple mains though

this thread currently running on the P&O board

http://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/showthread.php?t=2529808&page=3

Also on this one and had a great time, glad you enjoyed it and at least you got to Rome unlike those on the train excursion that broke down :o

The the Wait staff sing Happy Honeymoon to you ?

Still available on Crown as of last week, 3pm-4pm in wheelhouse most days and 11pm-12 in Skywalkers only on glasses of wine, but I saw Korbel being purchased and both mini bottles unopened - same for beers too.

You mean costs are included like soda, juice in the afternoon, shore excursions, fresh brewed coffee, laundry, etc.?

you forgot dinner with the captain, and free back rubs ;p

I get the American culture of tipping (and when in the US comply with this), I am neither a cheapskate (show me someone who does not like a deal!) nor morally bereft. But in my opinion the system when you are operating outside of the US with mostly European passengers, needs to change.

A few years ago the (mostly Indian) staff on P&O staged a walk off in protest at remuneration levels (due to low levels of tipping), the company were forced to make concessions to their contracts to boost their incomes. change is possible

how many of you on here who are calling me out, are Carnival shareholders? - you are the ones who can effect change, if you want it.

I love a decent debate, I value the opinions of others, even when they are not the same as mine.

That's great but currently IT IS NOT, so until it is changed why screw the crew?

Do you think it will ever change?, it will need to as in Europe and elsewhere whilst tipping is present in the UK it is not normal especially at the level on Princess and other lines.

So it needs to state that we will be charged an amount per day to top up the wages of the staff who are underpaid by their employer, regardless of the quality of service provided. that is not a gratuity/tip, never has been never will be

I certainly hope that those who believe the cruise line should do away with the Hotel Service Charge and pay an adequate wage so inform their waitstaff and room stewards, on the first night, that they are withholding their Hotel Service Charges as a sign of their solidarity with the crew and as a protest message to the cruise line. I would also hope that those who do so return to the thread after the crew and relate just how grateful the crew was for their support.

I spoke to both the front desk staff and the CSM about this during the cruise. and made my position clear.

I also spoke to my steward and various other front line staff who all told me about how working on the ship allowed them a much better standard of living than if they stayed at home.

The staff is paid properly IF all passengers pay the gratuities. It is the ones who keep that money for themselves that affect their income, not the cruise line. This is the way it works on most cruise lines. If you don't want to do your share, then be a decent person and just stay off those ships. If you willingly remove the gratuities for your own benefit, you are the problem, not the solution. Besides, if the gratuities were included in the fare the total you would be paying will remain the same as when you pay the gratuities separately. So why all the bitching, moaning and groaning? None of you complainers ever bitch about the port fees and taxes you have to pay, which are also not part of the base fare.

 

No smoke and mirrors here - unless it is from you to rationalize your own excuses for stiffing the crew.

all other costs are included in the the cruise fare, why not this one, just make it mandatory and not call it something it is not.

Well, If it walks like a duck, and quacks like a duck ...... Nope, no name calling. Just facts. People who take advantage of that policy for their own benefit at the expense of the people who work hard to take care of them know exactly what they are - selfish.

pay ALL staff properly, make the fare transparent (no smoke & mirrors), allow reward for excellence.

Martin Stenzel was on Crown Last week, although in one of his early announcements he still thought he was on Emerald!

But good, very good and excellent service deserves no reward?

Sure it does, if you think it does, then reward it.

remember that you are already paying for a service to be provided, so if you feel it goes beyond your expectation of that service then reward.

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why take the 15% off? - I understood this when I booked, so happy to pay. and did so (around $400)

 

 

 

 

Guess you didn't understand the daily service charge when you booked. So happy you saved some money.

 

 

 

 

 

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Sure - just include it in the base fare and I will pay it, dont dress it up as something it is not.

outstanding service should always be rewarded.

Glad you are "bragging" that you didn't pay the service charge. Hope that made your cruise more enjoyable!!!

 

I'm surprised you didn't try to get the 15% taken off also.

Not bragging, nor getting into the tipping/no tipping argument either, just stating my experience from the past couple of weeks on Crown - the first couple of days the PS desk was always busy with people, and they even had a guy handing out the forms to take away and complete/return later in order to keep the queues down.

why take the 15% off? - I understood this when I booked, so happy to pay. and did so (around $400)

For my party of 4 - additional 'service charge' would be around $800 for the cruise.

Just off Crown Today - we opted out of the 'service charge' along with hundreds of others on our cruise. we did however pay the mandatory 15% on all services.

I spoke to them after the first offer was received, just to clarify the offer, but did not progress it.

After the second offer was received, I rang them again to clarify, but the offer was not attractive to us, as all 21 days had to be taken in once cruise, and we were struggling to find an alternative at short notice for next week or week after, if we accepted the moveover

The food is just as lousy as the food in England. So if you enjoy that you will love the pub lunch

I agree Pub food in England can be hit & miss, especially in the tourist honeypots.

We are in a 2 berth premium balcony and have not had this offer, however we have family booked into in a 4 berth and they have had the offer. They have to travel in school holidays and are looking forward to the cruise so are not interested. I think they must be short of family cabins, although it is a bit late to be trying to sort out over booking issues with just a week to go.

we are in the same situation with our family in the 4 berth and my in laws in a premium balcony, they also did not have this offer but did get the previous one. I spoke to princess this morning to clarify the offer, and they said it could be extended to cover other cabins in our party.

We also need school hols dates and even looking around its had to find an alternative, so we are sticking with what we have.