LIVE LIVE LIVE from the Crown Princess 7/11/06

Greetings from the unbelievably beautiful Crown Princess.

 

I see that there are many new threads on the Crown on the front page, but I have neither the patience nor the $$$ to read them while posting from the internet cafe, so please excuse me if I am repeating anything currently being posted.

 

We took Dave's Best limo/shuttle from Philadephia to Red Hook Cruise Terminal. We were picked up at 7:30 A.M., made three more stops, and at the third, 4 of our Cruise Critic buddies got on! I had recommended Dave's on the boards, and they called, and there they were! We rolled into Brooklyn a little after 11.

 

The terminal area was crowded, but things moved quickly and efficiently. As our driver unpacked our bags and put them on trolleys/carts, a group of cruisers from the 7/2 cruise were standing there waiting to put their bags ON so that he could drive them home.

 

We went straight into the terminal, breezed through the security check (even though Nancy had apparently left her cruise docs sitting on my kitchen table in Merion!), and walked straight up to check-in. That was very quick and efficient. We were given the boarding number "3", and took our seats in the large, open, cavernous waiting area. It is well-appointed and comfortable.

 

A little after noon, they started calling numbers. There was less than a five minute wait in between 1 & 2, or 2 & 3, and we were immediately on the ship.

 

We went directly to our rooms and dropped off our carry-ons, doing a quick scope of the cabin. More on that later.

 

We went to the Horizon Court for a quick lunch (we were famished by that point), then returned to our cabin. It was barely 1:30, and our luggage was already there!!!!!!!!!!

 

Our cabin steward, Vicente, is from Mexico, and he's a cutie. We asked him for robes (which weren't there yet - apparently the laundry was still working on turning those around from the 7/2 cruise) and extra bath towels. We got those a short time later, and today, he remembered and brought double bath towels.

 

The cabin: a standard balcony cabin, corner aft, Caribe deck. Very pretty. As impressive as everything else has been about the Crown Princess so far, the amount of storage is NOT impressive. As a matter of fact, it is severely lacking, which is bizarre, since it's all a matter of design. There are so many places and so many ways (see: Royal Caribbean, cabin design) that storage can be built into a stateroom. Princess didn't do any of that. There is a two drawer nightstand for each bed, and two shelves in a desk, and six shelves in the LARGE, SPACIOUS, NICE walk-in closet. That's it for storage. Even the desk doesn't have a "desk drawer". The difference is striking, if you have ever been on a Royal Caribbean ship.

 

The lunch was delicious, by the way, although the space and layout are not conducive to making it quick and easy to get your lunch.

 

We went up to the Calyso Pool to wait for our first Cruise Critic get together. Quite a few showed up, and we had great fun getting acquainted, but then it was time for the Safety Drill, otherwise known as Muster.

 

I have never had a Muster like this one, folks! EVERYONE was inside in a lounge, listening in comfort to Captain Andy. We weren't ALLOWED to put on our life vests. At the very end, we *practiced* putting them on, once.

 

That was it. No mustering at lifeboat stations. No roll call. No check-offs. Extra warnings about not being an idiot and throwing things off your balcony, particularly lit cigarettes.

 

Dinner at the seafood buffet in the Cafe Caribe/Horizon Court. Good, but not fabulous. Iffy table service for beverages. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. She came and said, Here's your Chardonnay. I said, I ordered Sauvignon Blanc. She looked VERY confused, and at a loss, and said, "Please try it. We only have one white wine, and it's this Chardonnay." Well, I did try it, and I didn't like it, but I didn't have the heart to tell her so.

 

Fortunately, Nancy knocked it over a few minutes later, spilling it all over the table :), but it was no loss.

 

We went to the 8:30 Welcome Aboard Show in the Princess Theatre and I enjoyed it very much. I LIKE James Lay. The comedian, Ralph Harris (I think) was very funny. Said he was from Philadelphia.

 

Then, because of recommendations posted here, we went to Adagio and listened to Sammy Goldstein on the piano for a while. That was nice.

 

Next was bed time for some; I went to make a small donation to Gatsby's.

 

That's in for Tuesday.

 

Wednesday's report will come soon.

 

I'm staying out of trouble, so far. :D

 

Carol

It is so nice that you are taking time out to post live! THANK YOU!

 

By any chance, is your cabin C743? It sounds similar to the one we booked in August.

 

Thanks again!

Carol, how come I doubt that you two are staying out of trouble?

 

Hope you are having a fabulous time!

Carol, thank you so much for your first-day review. I had to laugh at the wine faux pas....very funny.:D

 

Yes, from everything I've read and all the pics I've seen, it really does seem to me that the interior design of the cabins and the public spaces (theater and buffet area) have major problems utilizing a space to its' full capacity. Funny, that there's no drawer in the desk/vanity area....that's where Carnival housed the hairdryer on the Miracle. Just makes me wonder...

 

So glad you're enjoying the Crown and can't wait to read more. Hi to Nancy and have a fabulous 9-day girls' cruise! ;)

 

Karen

Baltimore

Merion_Mom

Thanks for the live update.

 

In the Horizion Court did you see anyone ask to have their lobster and crab legs heated up?

I'll be in C752 on July 29.

 

Leave the light on for me. :)

 

 

Thanks for taking the time to post.

Please take pics of the room for us. I have C753 and can't wait to see pics of this cabin/balcony. Thank you!!!!

Thank you for taking the time to give us your live reports!!! I'll be getting on the Crown 7/20, so I'm anxious to hear your updates and have subscribed to this link. Have a great cruise!!

Thank you so much Carol! I am boarding the day you come home! Yay!

Thanks for posting. Have a blast. Looking forward to your next post.

Your post is well thoughtout, organized, clear and informative.

 

Thanks so much !!

 

Bon Voyage,

 

Rich

Hi Carol...Hope all you girls are having a wonderful time...& not behaving anymore:)

I think the reason we aren't hearing from Carol & Nancy is that they are having too much fun. ;)

Hi I am glad its went ok so far! Enjoy have a great time...

Sid the Kid from Brooklyn :)

Thanks for the review. We will be waiting to board when you depart. I appreciate the straight forward review.

HI CAROL AND NANCY,

We heard of so many problems on the last cruise. How is the cruise going this week? Any problems with AC, water pressure, pool hogging, food, etc... that you've run into. I'm hoping that the bugs are being worked out and you're having a great time. Please let us know how it's going for you.

I think the reason we aren't hearing from Carol & Nancy is that they are having too much fun. ;)

 

Tina,

That's a good sign! Hopefully Princess is ironing out some of the kinks and not that the internet access has failed! No matter what problems there may be, it is still a VACATION! :)

 

Sari

It is so nice that you are taking time out to post live! THANK YOU!

 

By any chance, is your cabin C743? It sounds similar to the one we booked in August.

 

Thanks again!

C752 - corner aft

Carol, how come I doubt that you two are staying out of trouble?

 

Hope you are having a fabulous time!

Because I lied. :D

Carol, thank you so much for your first-day review. I had to laugh at the wine faux pas....very funny.:D

 

Yes, from everything I've read and all the pics I've seen, it really does seem to me that the interior design of the cabins and the public spaces (theater and buffet area) have major problems utilizing a space to its' full capacity. Funny, that there's no drawer in the desk/vanity area....that's where Carnival housed the hairdryer on the Miracle. Just makes me wonder...

 

So glad you're enjoying the Crown and can't wait to read more. Hi to Nancy and have a fabulous 9-day girls' cruise! ;)

 

Karen

Baltimore

Karen, then you'll laugh at my "Mom has no brain/memory function left" story. I spent about five minutes LOOKING for the damned hair dryer. Finally spotted it ON THE WALL. DOH!

Merion_Mom

Thanks for the live update.

 

In the Horizion Court did you see anyone ask to have their lobster and crab legs heated up?

Nope. That wouldn't even have occurred to me.

Please take pics of the room for us. I have C753 and can't wait to see pics of this cabin/balcony. Thank you!!!!

As soon as I learn how to work my son's digital camera..........

 

There was a class this morning at 11 A.M., which I had highlighted with my handy-dandy highlighters, but I slept until 11. Oops. ;)

HI CAROL AND NANCY,

We heard of so many problems on the last cruise. How is the cruise going this week? Any problems with AC, water pressure, pool hogging, food, etc... that you've run into. I'm hoping that the bugs are being worked out and you're having a great time. Please let us know how it's going for you.

I'm not trying to demean anyone, and I've already said that I didn't take the time to read any of those other threads, but any glitches or "problems" are of the INFITESIMALLY MINUSCULE variety. Anyone who says anything else is nit-picking unforgivably. JMO YMMV.

 

I was overcharged fiercely in Adagio for my limoncello. I complained at the bar itself and at the Purser's Desk, and I was brushed off. It's not ruining my cruise.

 

There is a moron passenger on board with a friggin' blow up sex doll that he hogs his lounger with. It's not ruining my cruise.

 

Nancy said that she saw someone save HALF A DOZEN loungers with *cute* little teddy bears in bikinis this morning. Not ruining my cruise.

 

They charged me a (*@#_*(%^$&* $15 corkage fee in the dining room tonight. It's not ruining my cruise.

 

I have lost lots and not won at all in the casino. It's not ruining my cruise.

 

Next post: run-down of Day 2.

Hope you are having a fantastic time! :)

 

 

 

There is a moron passenger on board with a friggin' blow up sex doll that he hogs his lounger with. It's not ruining my cruise.

 

.

Hi Carol- I'm from the serial killer group on the CB -Remember my post :D ? Are you for real with this? ROTFLMAO!! Wish I were there to ROTFLMAO on the lounger next to his. What are other people's reactions?

Hope he's on our cruise,too -will liven things up. Will invite him to our CC get together.

Thanks for the reports and ENJOY!!!