Pictures / Info From Crown Luncheon 6/23/06

Hi Everybody,

Othellocruiser and I were invited to today's fabulous lunch and tour of the gorgeous Crown Princess at Brooklyn's Red Hook Pier.

Here are some photos we took of our great day.

http://community.webshots.com/album/551631818aCQnaK

I have lots of news; a Princess Patter with tons of information and even a Crown Grill menu.

The very impressive Sanctuary is now charging $15.00 for a half-a-day's pass, first come first serve. The reason that Princess gave for the new fee is that on the very first cruise (which disembarked as we boarded today) there were too many requests and too many disappointed people each day. They believe the fee and reservations will cut down on the uproar that ensued at the Sanctuary entrance every morning.

Ha! I guess there is no sanctuary when there is chaos at the gates.

We Were At The Luncheon Also. To Say That It Was Wonderful Is An Understatement.

First Let Me Say That The Ship Is Magnificent. Dh And I Sailed On The Caribbean Princess This Winter, And The Physical Design Of The Ships Are Very Similar. Most Of The Public Rooms Are In The Same Place On The Same Deck. However, The Crown Is So Much More Elegant Than The Cb. There Is More Wood In All Of The Public Rooms And The Decor Blends Beautifully With The Wood. The Colors Are Rich, Earth Colors, And Many Of The Pictures (particularly In The Horizon Court) Are Framed With Off White Square Tiles That Makes It Lovely. It Is A Very Warm, Inviting Ship That Kind Of Embraces You, And Makes You Not Want To Get Off.

The Luncheon Was Truly A "class Act." The Menu Consisted Of A Shrimp And Melon Appetizer With Sauce, A Lovely Pasta Dish, An Entree Choice Of Salmon, Chateaubriand Or Pasta, And A Chocolate Souflee Dessert (to Die For). Red And White Wine Were Flowing. The Service Was Excellent, And The Da Vinci Dining Room Just Gorgeous.

For All Of Us There, Let Me Thank Princess For A Wonderful Afternoon. They Really Did A Great Job.

Great Photos ! !

Thanks for posting so quickly.

Tons of boards/threads on the Sanctuary charging a fee - $3.oo.

$15.00 for 1/2 day pass.

Some wil say it's a bargain - some will think it's outrageous.

Wondering if you use the Lotus Spa is there still a cover charge?

Did you see and take pics of the patters? Please fill us in.

Again, Thank you>

LunaMoon, you made my day! Thank you soooo much for the fabulous pics and all the info we've been waiting to hear.

I'll gladly spend $15 for the Sanctuary. No problem, here.

Well, I have to admit, you are such a tease. When I saw the E730 door, I just knew you'd be entering. Oh well...something has to be a surprise, right?

Another surprise was that the BB balcony is smaller than the CB. I wonder if the minis are also. Hmmm...

Thank you again for your great work. This is what so many of us have been anxiously waiting to hear. ;)

p.s. Homeboy Tours doesn't have a website???

LunaMoon, you and the CEO are absolutely adorable. I loved your photos, and laughed my head off at the Sanctuary "Oh No" shot :D

Thanks for sharing that great day in Brooklyn

LunaMoon,

Thanks a bunch for posting some great pictures! It seems like the Crown is a really nice ship. Every morning I wake up and think to myself "one day closer!"

$15 cover for the Sanctuary? Interesting... :p

Luna thank you for posting the pictures soooooo fast. Can I guess your husband owns Homeboy Tours?

I know what you look like so I can say hi before the meet n greet.

Can't wait to see the Crown Grill menu. The one I seen had part of it chopped off. Only 26 days and a wake up till our cruise. I can guess that you are in E730.

The Princess Patters for June 23, 2006 states:

The Sanctuary:

This "Pocket of Tranquility" will be open for a nominal charge of $15 per person for a hal day pass on a first come, first serve basis.

AM Pass: 9:00am to 12:30pm

PM Pass: 1pm to 5:30pm

Lotus Spa:

The Thermal Suite - Combining heated ceramic chairs with Aromatherapy Steam: $75 for a cruise pass; $120 for couples cruise passes

Movies Under the Stars:

Toy Story

Corpse Bride

The Incredibles

Shrek

Elton John Live at Radio City Music Hall

Tina Turner One Last Time in Concert (I kid you not...)

Tom Jones Live from Cardiff Castle

The Piazza: (NO there aren't any mimes :) )

Magic with Le Monte

Physical Comedian Uber Rossi

Magic with the Cool Magic Dude (really, that's what it says...)

Captain: Andy Proctor

Cruise Director: James Lay

Princess Theater:

Ralph Harris, Comedian

Crooners:

Maurizio

Adagio:

Charlie Sleeth and Sammy Goldstein

Explorers Lounge:

Robert Smith and Derringer

Wheelhouse Bar:

Elua

Perry Phillips Trio

WoW!!!! R\Thanks so much for the pic's and info lunamoon. We cruise Set 30 and it can't come soon enough. Thanks again..DAwn

Oh, some interesting parking news:

Only 3 one lane streets lead into the parking and terminal area at the Red Hook Pier where the Crown is docked. It takes patience to be able to be so close to this gorgeous ship and be crawling so slowly in a line of cars to reach the terminal.

However, once at the terminal it is very easy to park! Go figure! Who would have thunk it, especially in Brooklyn :D

In fact, we asked the parking attendent and he said it would cost @ $165 to park for a full 9 day cruise. Not bad at all, really.

Terminal news: Since they clearly built this new terminal quickly, and it appears to be a shell with removeable walls, the air conditioning ducts are exposed on the ceiling, and it is freezing inside the waiting area of the terminal. It is not only feezing (and today was a very hot and humid day in Brooklyn), BUT the air from the ducts is so strong that it was like being in a wind tunnel; hair was flying every which way, and folks were pulling sweaters and scarves around their heads and shoulders...I kid you not.

So, unless they fix it soon, you will be happy waiting to board the Crown if you bring a sweater into the terminal.

There appeared to be no confusion or crowding whatsoever in the terminal boarding process even though the ship was booked to capacity for today's sailing.

Regarding the sanctuary, can anyone that was at the luncheon or first cruise confirm if the "Sanctuary" consists only of the covered area forward of the Lotus pool or if it consists of the entire open deck area surrounding and including the Lotus pool? Just wondering if the pool and deck area around it is only accessible with the 1/2 day pass or spa treatments vs. accessible to all. There has been much debate and discussion relative to this.

Hi Joseph,

The Spa pool is the very same setup as on the Caribbean Princess, with a few lounge chairs around the pool, and many more lounge chairs above (you have to climb some stairs to get to these lounges for the spa pool).

However, if you go up some stairs at the other end of the spa pool, you come to the Sanctuary entrance. It is not a very large area; it probably should have been double the size considering many adults are looking for peace and quiet and some much need "sanctuary." :)

There are 2 tents that look like they came from the set of the Arabian Nights, and an array of single and double lounge chairs with nice soft cushions and very fluffy towels on each. Serving tables are festooned with bowls filled with fresh fruit, and tall pitchers of icy water with lemon, lime, and orange slices floating in them. It looked soooooo good.

Thanks Lunamoon! It sounds from your description that it is only the covered forward area is considered the sactuary and requires the fee.

Is there no other covered pool area on the ship beside The Sanctuary?

Thanks.

Thanks Lunamoon on your parking news.

Can you please tell me if there will be a problem wheeling baggages from the parking area to the terminal? Heard it's a long walk.

Or is there a place where we can drop off luggage then park the car?

Thanks for the heads up -- I'll bring a sweater just in case.

"Can I guess your husband owns Homeboy Tours?"

"Homeboy Tours doesn't have a website???"

______________________________________________________

There is NO "Homeboy Tours." :D

It is a joke made up among friends who love to cruise together.

It is a made-up name of a tour company that we created when we began to plan this Crown Cruise and it seemed my husband was the only "homeboy" born in Puerto Rico who knew how to plan our day in San Juan.

Although, now that he has planned some fantastic NYC precruise activities AND our whole day in San Juan, maybe he SHOULD quit his real job and actually become the CEO of HOMEBOY TOURS, INC. :)

I have never been on the Caribbean Princess. We have been on the Island and Coral and Golden, etc, who all have a covered pool area (Lotus Pool or covered Calypso). We have booked the Emerald 17 day transatlantic for Oct of 07, sister of Crown. Can somebody please tell me if there is an area where we can be by a pool, inside? I cannot imagine crossing the Atlantic for 5 days without an indoor pool.....they tell me that it has been replaced by "hideously loud" uncovered MUTS. However, your comments about lounge chairs available by the spa pool have encouraged me. There is NO WAY that we are going to spend $30 just to sit there for 3 and a half hours. I don't care about the chilled towels and fruit....I just want a cover and peace and quiet. How about the aft pool? Is there any cover back there? I have had a melanoma and I am very fair...I do not do the sun, but love to sit by the pool and jacuzzis and read and enjoy my day. Thank you so much for answering...

Too funny about "homeboy tours". I also enjoyed your Santuary picture :)

I am disappointed that cruising has come to a point where you need to pay $15 on a cruise to relax in a quiet area.

I have never been on the Caribbean Princess. We have been on the Island and Coral and Golden, etc, who all have a covered pool area (Lotus Pool or covered Calypso). We have booked the Emerald 17 day transatlantic for Oct of 07, sister of Crown. Can somebody please tell me if there is an area where we can be by a pool, inside?

There is not a pool with a retractable roof like the Golden/Coral class ship.

I definitely think this is a design error but it was done to accomodate MUTS and I believe the original intention was to keep this ship in warm climate areas. They probably were not thinking about Europe/Transatlantic pools when they designed that portion. Watch Princess surprise me and put this ship in Alaska the following year...

Coral I looked at your pics very briefly...I recognize that dog!!

I really need to email Princess and ask them about the Emerald....why in the world would they put her in Europe with no covered pool and do transatlantics? We were stupid, we just "assumed" that there would be a covered pool area when we booked this cruise, and now we have friends and my mom coming along...we were on the Dawn for B2B Pacific coast once, I broke my leg, and then the weather out of LA going north was horrible, they had golf tournaments in the lobby, hubby tried to wheel me outside and couldn't cause of the cold and wind.....and no inside pool to just sit and relax...sure, we had a cabin....but they are a bit small and nobody to talk to or things to see....kind of like being in your bedroom all day long when you have the flu!!!

Hi Dobie and dswyer,

On the Caribbean Princess the spa pool does indeed have shaded areas with lounge chairs. That is where we spent most of our pool time when we were on the CB.

The Caribbean Princess does not have a "Sanctuary" area; it is a new feature of the Crown. If I remember correctly, there wasn't much shade anywhere near the Aft pool on the CB.

If someone does not want to use the covered Sanctuary area on the Crown, they can still find a covered area on the lower level of the spa pool, which is where I am going to be as well. :)

Hi Sandy,

There is a bit of confusion about how near the parking is to the Crown at Red Hook. Today we saw some exhausted looking folks dragging their suitcases in the steamy heat from a very great distance. We couldn't understand it because there is a large parking area right next to the Crown and adjacent to the Terminal.

I think that the confusion stems from the fact that immediately after you enter the Red Hook Pier area there are large parking lots on either side of the road. Maybe folks who are sitting in their cars crawling slowly in a line towards the terminal do not realize that once they get there they can easily park, so they become anxious and park too soon, and too far away.

Honestly, after we finally reached the terminal today, we got into the left lane and were directed into a parking lot that literally was only a few feet away from the docked Crown itself and the terminal.

There is NO "Homeboy Tours." :D

There is in my world! I also believe in Mickey :)

YOU GOTTA BELIEVE!!!

Marlin

BTW: It was great talking to you today on the phone - gave me a good excuse to quit working for the day and just kinda screwoff for the rest of the day.

Just off the inaugural; the only pool I saw on the last day at sea w/a "top" was way on top/aft & it was for the kids. all other pools are open; you can find some shade it you get there early enough. As far as the Sanctuary- the chair hogs were at it big time; once they got a nice spot w/the cushy lounges; they were parked for the day.

Slim chance to get a lounge before 5pm. Heard a rumor that there was an "altercation" regarding same. That's got to be why they are now charging. More later.

LunaMoon,

I enjoyed looking at your pictures. I can see we made it into two of your photos. I should have posted my link here, but, did not see it started already & started a new thread. Oh well.

Here's the link to my photos (also on webshots):

http://community.webshots.com/myphotos?action=viewAllPhotos&albumID=551635989&security=Sxgqfs

We really enjoyed the luncheon today too.

Happy Cruising ;)

The covered area on the lower level of the spa pool...it is free and how many chairs are available? You may have just saved my cruise!!!