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Crown Princess Review, January 16-23

xznwfd

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xznwfd

xznwfd

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We were on the same cruise as LaffinVegas, and really enjoyed her postings from the ship as we traveled. I've loved her HAL reviews for years, so this is my attempt to chronical our trip. I hope you like it as much as we liked her comments!

 

Crown Princess – January 16 – 23, 2010

 

 

Pre Cruise Info

 

For many years now (thankfully age and blonde highlights have dimmed the actual number), my best friend Joan and I have planned a winter trip from the arctic wilderness of Michigan to a warmer climate. In our college days we would drive all night to stay with my Nana in Florida, graduating to long spa weekends in Ft. Myers and then to all inclusive resorts. In 2001 we took our first cruise and were hooked. In spite of marriages, divorces, and the like we still take our annual trip (and it helps that my long term boyfriend, the Melancholy Italian, doesn’t like to cruise). This year, we found a fabulous deal on a week on the Crown Princess in January. We had taken our first Princess cruise 2 years ago on the Caribbean Princess and loved it, so decided to give the Crown a try.

 

Being experienced Michigan Winter Travelers, we know not to try to fly into Florida on the day of our cruise. That is like waving a red cape at the Weather Bull – just asking for trouble. Due to a Northwest airlines fiasco on last year’s trip we had been granted an extra 10,000 frequent flyer miles, so had enough for a free ticket. Free is apparently an acronym for “worst possible flight times”, so the only flights we could get left Detroit at 7:10 am on the 15th and came back on the 23rd at 7:30 pm. Being the troopers that we are, (and to avoid having the MI drop us off at the airport at 5:00 am) we booked the beautiful Westin Hotel right at the Northwest terminal at Detroit Metro for Thursday night. You walk downstairs and right to the security check in area – you don’t even have to step outside. We still had to get up too early on a vacation day, but at least we were already at the airport and semi-organized.

 

Arriving about 8:30 pm on Thursday night at the Westin, we checked in and surveyed our surroundings. You would never guess this is an airport hotel – the inside could be a yoga studio or spa. There is a bamboo forest, ponds and flowing water. We dropped off our bags and headed back down to the restaurant, DEMA, in the lobby. We thought DEMA was some mysterious yoga name, but after checking with our waitress we were told it simply stood for Detroit Metropolitan Airport. So much for the yoga mystique. We had a tasty if expensive dinner and retired soon after, as our alarm was set for 4:30 am.

 

When it went off, we quickly showered and repacked (amazing how many things were needed from the suitcases for a 1 night stay). We were able to get our boarding passes in a kiosk right in the hotel, so we soon were wheeling our carry-ons through security and straight to the McDonalds for breakfast. We gulped that down, and then headed to the gate where they were already boarding. So far, so good.

 

And that is where our good flight luck ended. We spent over an hour before takeoff due to a non functioning restroom – it apparently takes that long to put a yellow Danger! Do not Use! tape on the door – before we were allowed to leave. We did have an uneventful flight to Florida and arrived at FLL about 10:30, collected our bags (heaving the traditional sigh of relief) and called the shuttle for the Hyatt Place.

 

We booked the Hyatt Place in Ft. Lauderdale on Hotwire for $90/night and were pretty pleased about it too. We were drawn in by the mini suite design, free internet, free airport shuttle, free shuttle to the port, free breakfast, and the fact that it is within walking distance of Total Wine (v. important). The shuttle dispatcher told us where to meet the shuttle at the airport and it was waiting for us when we rounded the corner. After a quick stop at the cruise port to drop off some departing passengers, we were taken to the hotel. As it was only about 11:00 we couldn’t check in, but the wonderful front desk staff let us store our luggage and change into sandals. We were given a map and told to return about 2:00, so we set off for Total Wine and lunch.

 

The Hyatt Place is almost on top of the shopping plaza that contains Total Wine, Publix, and just about anything else you might need for your trip. We started with lunch at Grumpy Gators (v.g.) and then walked to Total Wine. We purchased 4 bottles of wine, a nifty carrying bag and a small bottle of Grey Goose vodka. We then stopped at Publix and bought suntan lotion, sundresses (!), and a week’s supply of tabloids for educational purposes. By now it was 2:00 so we headed back to the hotel.

 

We quickly checked in, and surveyed our room with pleasure. They are set up as small suites, with a large living area with a big sectional sofa, wet bar, and small dining area. We had a huge flat screen TV, free wireless, and 2 double beds. The bathroom was small, but everything was clean and comfortable. We’ve spent over twice as much to stay at the Hilton so were VERY pleased with our choice this year. We spent a little time checking e-mails on our iTouch/iPhones, and also used the free computers and printer in the lobby to print out some paperwork we needed. Two well manicured thumbs up for the Hyatt Place!

 

About 5:30 we walked across the parking lot to the Outback, and were seated immediately. It soon filled up, and was packed by the time we left. Happy hour was from 5-7 so we took advantage of that and had the normal decent Outback dinner. We walked back to the hotel and watched a bit of TV before retiring early in anticipation of boarding the next morning.

 

As usual, I woke up first, and slipped down to the lobby for the free breakfast. They had coffee and juice, cereals, muffins, bagels, toast and fruit. I brought a plate back to the room and my sleepy friend arose and we had a quick breakfast. After repacking the damn suitcases again (and carefully concealing the Grey Goose in bubble wrap and a big Ziploc in one bag) we went to the lobby to catch the shuttle to the port!

 

After about a 5 minute wait, we headed out and were at the port in minutes. It was about noon, so we almost walked on the ship – barely any line at all. I think it was about 15 minutes total from arriving at the pier to walking aboard the beautiful Crown Princess.

 

I love that Princess allows you access to your room immediately upon boarding. Our other favorite cruise line is Holland America (3 cruises so far with them) and they make you wait until about 1:30-2 before you can go to your room. We headed directly to our mini suite on the Dolphin deck (almost the same setup as our mini on the Caribbean 2 years earlier) and dropped off our carry-on’s and our wine. We had no questions asked about our 4 bottles of wine at check in – in spite of comments that they only allowed 1 bottle per person. Then, based on the good advice of the boards, we raced up to the Sanctuary to book our seats for the week. As we both prefer child free vacations, we were happy to have guaranteed space in a child free area for the week. We were allowed to choose our loungers and we noted the peacefulness of the area and the fabulous thick cushions and towels on each lounge chair. It is really a beautiful place to chill out on a ship filled with people.

 

Next, also following the advice of the boards, we headed to the International Café for some of the famous chicken salad. It is every bit as good as its reputation, and we ate it almost every day for lunch on the ship! I also had a small quiche (delicious) and Joan had some of the shrimp salad. It was so nice to avoid the long lines and crowds at the buffet to relax in the beautiful atrium people watching.

 

Then we headed to the Crown to book our specialty reservations for the week. We inquired about the Chef’s Table, and the host at the Crown dialed the DINE number for us. We were heartbroken to find it was completely sold out for the cruise, and we couldn’t even be waitlisted! Our lust for the chicken salad had caused us to miss our window of opportunity, but we quickly rebounded and booked 2 nights at the Crown and 1 at Sabatini’s as a fall back plan.

 

We took a quick walk about the ship and checked out the Adagio bar and Sabatini’s (both absolutely beautiful) before returning to our room. Much to our surprise, all our luggage had arrived so we quickly unpacked (we had TONS of hangers – even had some left over!). We really like the mini suite design. There is a small walk in closed across from the bathroom door, which gives you some extra space and keeps the hallway clear. The mini suite is a little smaller that the Superior Suite on HAL (the equivalent cabin) but the price was quite a bit lower than we paid last year for our SS suite on the Oosterdam. The beds aren’t quite as comfortable, but we had our awesome steward Warlito add the egg crates and we slept just fine. He also brought us bathrobes and extra pillows. He was about the perfect steward – we rarely saw him, but our room was always clean and ready when we returned and every request was promptly handled.

 

By now it was time to muster, so we headed down about 4:15. We love Princess’s muster, since you carry your life jacket to an inside area (ours was the casino) and are not standing around in the hot sun while they take roll and give instructions. Soon we were back in our room and were trying to decide what to do for dinner. We decided to get a slice of pizza to tide us over (delicious!) and then wandered through the Horizon Court to see what they offered. We had heard that the sail away seafood buffet was no longer but that wasn’t true on the Crown! They had HUGE lobster claws, beautiful cracked for us, along with shrimp, mussels, and a host of other things. We each got a plate of claws and shrimp and had a delicious and easy dinner. Then we headed up to the Adagio bar for the very best martini I’ve ever had, along with delicious stuffed olives and bread sticks. After our drink the waiter brought us a little lemoncello shot as a treat, so we were quite happy when we headed back to our rooms for the night. Warlito had everything ready for us, and even had left Princess “green” bags for our use! We had a great night’s sleep and woke bright eyed the next morning ready to enjoy the day.

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Sunday was a sea day. As usual I woke first, and headed up to the gym for a little work out. It was packed, but as I heard one of the staff say this was only the first day. Subsequent days were much less crowded! I found everyone on the ship to be very friendly – I never walked down a hallway without being cheerfully greeted by everyone I saw. We always enjoyed the friendly staff on HAL, and can say that the Princess staff is every bit as friendly and personable. I found a treadmill and did my walk, and then headed to the Horizon Court for my favorite ship breakfast – oatmeal, bacon, juice and coffee.

On HAL, you can order a full breakfast in delivered to your room. On Princess, only suite passengers get that luxury, but you can still order a continental breakfast with a hang tag or via room service. We went the hang tag route and shortly after returning to our room there was the knock at the door. I had more coffee and juice, plus a grapefruit and a pastry. Joan had cereal, coffee, juice and pastries. Everything was delicious, and I had no problem having the hot portion of my breakfast in the HC. As long as there is hot oatmeal and bacon somewhere for me on the ship I have no complaints.

Then we headed up to the beautiful Sanctuary. What a lovely place it is! We had attendants immediately cover our loungers with nice thick towels (it had rained a bit during the night and they were damp) and we spent the morning happily lounging around while they brought us ice water (infused with either cucumbers or fruit) and checking to see if we needed anything else. They have a menu of treats you can order for free – there is just a $3 delivery charge per order.

After enough lounging, we headed back to the International Café for lunch. This was absolutely one of our favorite areas on the ship. The atrium is just beautiful, the food was fabulous, and it was SO nice not to have to be in a crowded buffet or have a slow lunch in the dining room. Every day they have the chicken salad and a different quiche, along with a couple of other salad choices, soup, and several delicious pastries for dessert. Drink service was excellent – and we found the drinks on Princess to be very reasonably priced and very good. We went back to our room for the afternoon, and then dressed for Formal Night and the Champagne Waterfall.

This was the first cruise when we decided to forgo our beloved long dresses and wear short cocktail dresses on formal nights. We found most of the crowd to be with us on this – we saw very few long dresses or tuxes on the men, but everyone seemed to be nicely dressed and looked great. We saw no shorts/jeans/t-shirts in the dining room! Dinner was very good, I had the halibut and Joan had the filet. Deserts were awesome – I had a chocolate hazelnut soufflé and Joan had cheesecake. We haven’t been impressed with the deserts on HAL although we always enjoyed the dinners, but the deserts on Princess were delicious and special.

We had our drink at the Adagio bar (perfect again) and then retired to be ready for Grand Cayman in the morning.

Monday dawned hot and beautiful. I made my quick visit to the gym (already less crowded), had my oatmeal, and then joined Joan in the room for our pastries, coffee and juice. We tendered over to GC about 10:30 with no wait at all, and took a cab to the Royal Palm beach ($4/person each way). What a beautiful beach! We rented chairs ($10) and an umbrella for me ($10) and settled in. I took a long walk along the beach and enjoyed every glorious, sunny, warm minute. We headed back to the ship about 1 pm, cabs were right outside the beach and we were back on the ship in no time. We changed and headed up to the Sanctuary to enjoy the rest of our beautiful and snow free (!) afternoon. Priceless!

We had high tea at 3:30, and it was wonderful. The tea was very good (brewed) and they served scones with the proper accompaniments, pastries, cookies, and delicious little sandwiches. We went back to our room for a lay down, and then readied ourselves for our dinner at Sabatini’s.

We had our drink at Adagio first, and it was wonderful. Adagio’s was never busy and we had exceptional and very friendly service. We enjoyed Sabatini’s on the Caribbean Princess 2 years ago, and liked it very much but were happy to see the portions were a bit smaller this year on the Crown. We still tried many different appetizers and 2 different pastas before our main course of lobster tails in brown butter. The deserts were delicious as well, so we rolled out full and happy.

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Tuesday was the highlight of our cruise. We were in Roatan, and we had booked a day at Santé Wellness Center, Day Spa and Retreat. We are spa girls from way back, and the reviews on the boards had us convinced that it would be perfect for us. They were right – rarely have we had a better spa or shore experience. Angela, the owner, sent us detailed instructions on how to get to the spa from the new Mahogany Bay dock. It was so easy, just walk through the dock area to the taxis, and take a cab ($30) to the Parrot Tree Plantation. We had the nicest taxi driver ever – his name was Oscar and he spoke perfect English. He gave us a little history of the island as we drove, and pointed out some of the beautiful views and homes along the way. We arrived at Parrot Tree in about 20 minutes, and he called the spa for us so they would send the boat. By the time we reached the marina, we could see the Santé' boat chugging across the water, and in a few minutes time Leon, Angela’s husband, had us at the island and we were greeted by Rufus, the Spa Dog and Official Greeter. Leon brought us into their spa/home, and we were dazzled. It was all open to the tropical breezes, with gorgeous hardwood floors, tinkling waterfalls in every room, and wrap around porches with comfortable chairs and hammocks for our use. There is a plunge pool and hot tub also available, and Leon will take you snorkeling on the reef if you like. We plopped happily into the comfortable chairs and watched the dozen or so hummingbirds feeding at the various feeders on the deck.

 

In a few minutes, we were taken away for our spa treatments. We had each booked the Tranquility package, which is a facial with hand treatment and a massage. Both were absolutely fabulous and an amazing value at $135 for both. We were shown to showers with all the necessities afterward, and then Leon served us an amazing lunch of salad, delicious grilled shrimp, rice, and cake and ice cream for dessert. I can’t imagine a more perfect day, and can’t recommend Santé Wellness Center highly enough. I guarantee you will have a wonderful visit!

 

We had prearranged for Oscar to pick us up at 1:30, and so we sadly said our goodbyes and Leon took us back to Parrot Tree Plantation. Dear Oscar was waiting, and he brought us back to the dock. We shopped a bit in the lovely new shops and admired the glorious beach area before boarding the ship. Roatan is a beautiful island, and Oscar assured us the West End was even prettier! I would go back there in a heartbeat, and would never visit without stopping at Santé Wellness Center. It’s truly a haven of tranquility and peace and not to be missed.

 

That night was the first of our Crown Grille dinners. We had exceptional service and the dinner was delicious – I had lobster and Joan had a filet. All the sides you wanted were included, as well as fabulous desserts; I had the Chef’s sampler and Joan had the fruit crumble. It was totally worth the $25 pp charge.

 

Wednesday was Cozumel, and we had booked Nachi Cocom at $50 each for the day. We walked off the ship (we were at the International pier) and took a cab to Nachi Cocom for $15. They only accept 100 people per day, but since there were only 2 other ships in port there were only 20 people booked that day at the whole resort. Our waiter Joseph quickly got us set up with chairs and a tiki umbrella, and took our drink orders. All the drinks you wanted were included, and we enjoyed many different tasty ones through the day. You also received an appetizer, lunch and dessert each, so we tried the nachos (delicious, with wonderful fresh salsa), enchiladas and quesadillas. We were too full for dessert, but if that is your biggest problem no one wants to hear you complain.

 

Again the weather was beautiful, so we walked and lounged until about 1:00 pm. Then we took a cab ($22) to the shopping area, where we bought all our required gifts and tequila. Prices were excellent and they did not take our tequila from us when we reboarded the ship about 3:30. The cab back to the International Terminal was $7.

 

We tried the buffet for dinner, and sadly were not impressed. I like that on HAL the buffet serves most of what is on the menu in the dining room – not so on Princess. We didn’t go hungry (heaven forbid) but the choices were limited and nothing really stood out as exceptional.

 

Thursday was our next Sea Day, so we slept in a bit (losing an hour the night before) and had our room service breakfast. We visited the Sanctuary, and had lunch at the Wheelhouse bar. They serve an English Pub style lunch on sea days and it was awesome! We both had the shrimp and fries basket and skipped dessert (I’m not a trifle girl). It was Formal Night, so we dressed up again and had lobster and shrimp for dinner. Everything was delicious, and we only waited about 10 minutes for our table for 2. We have become quite spoiled in this day of Anytime or As You Wish dining, and prefer to eat alone, having had our share of unpleasant or dull tablemates in the past.

 

The show that night was the only one we attended – Motor City Review. Since we are from Detroit, we love all the Motown music and really enjoyed the show, even though it was packed and we had to stand. It’s not really Vegas level entertainment but it was entertaining and a fun way to pass an hour. We then stopped at the casino, where for the first time in ages I actually won, so I cashed out and we headed back to our room. We noted that dear Warlito, our steward, was still working hard at 9:30 at night – he was the hardest working man in show business. I can’t believe the hours the staff keeps, they always seemed to be in the hall whenever you needed anything. We tipped him an extra $20 halfway thought the cruise and another $20 at the end, and of course left the tips in place on our account. My thought is that if I can afford to cruise, I can certainly afford to reward the people around the ship who make the entire experience so wonderful.

 

Friday was to be Princess Cay, but due to high winds (according to Captain Andy) we were unable to dock. So, we headed back up to the Sanctuary to enjoy the breezes and had another lazy sea day. Dinner was back at the Crown Grille, where our lobster tail orders were not the 2 described, but an entire plate of tails! It is the first time in my life I couldn’t finish my lobster! I hung my head in shame, but still managed a few bites of dessert.

 

We finished our packing and put the suitcases outside the door for pickup. Saturday morning dawned bright and early, and we had a quick breakfast in the Horizon Court (open until 9, and serving a full breakfast, which was a welcome change from other cruise lines we’ve sailed). We were off the ship by 10:00 and took a bus to the airport ($15, and well worth it given the taxi lines) where we picked up a rental car and thundered off to the best mall ever – Sawgrass Mills. It’s only about 15 minutes from the airport, and we shopped like mad women, stopping only for an awesome lunch at the Cheesecake Factory. We then took a quick drive to view the beach and then returned the car at the airport, where of course our flight (Northwest/Delta) was delayed. We finally arrived home about 11:30 pm and Joan’s excellent brother picked us up and we returned to the cold and gloom of a Michigan Winter. All in all, an amazingly wonderful trip, and a splendid time was had by both of us.

 

The highlights:

The beautiful Crown Princess itself

The International Café, especially the chicken salad

The Sanctuary (although we would probably not book for the whole week again, unless it was a holiday cruise full of children)

The gym (clean and very well equipped)

Adagio bar, especially the 007 martinis!

The specialty restaurants

Full breakfast until 9:00 on departure day

 

Not so highlights

The Horizon Court Buffet

Only Continental breakfast available in the rooms

 

May your next cruise be your best!

 

Cathy and Joan

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hammybee

hammybee

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Maybe there should have been an expat HAL Pal meeting on this cruise. I am another who tried Princess for the first time, this cruise.

 

My only regret is not booking this as a B2B because there was so much to do onboard that there is not nearly enough time to discover it all, in just 7 days.

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Thanks so much for all the kind comments! We really did have a wonderful time.

 

The "green bag" was one of those bags you buy for $1 to put your groceries in so you don't have to use a plastic bag. We saw them all over the islands, and even on the plane home! Really a good PR move for Princess.

 

Hamybee, we said several times we wished we were on a back to back, especially on that sad last day. The Crown was one of my very favorite ships of 9 cruises - so beautiful, clean and bright. Not that there is ever a bad cruise, but this one was exceptional!

 

Thanks again,

 

Cathy

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BillyBoat

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What an amazing description of what must have been a near perfect cruise ! Having been on the Crown for 2 cruises in '09, I thought I had a pretty good remembrance of the experience. That proved not to be the case, because when I read your descriptions, the beautiful cruise memories I had made last year became fresh again and made the '09 cruises seem like yesterday ! I could almost see the sights, hear the sounds and almost smell the ocean. (and the lobster tails) Thank you again for the remarkable review ! Princess should really sign you to a long term

contract for writing their publications

Sincerely,

Billy

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lovevacadays

lovevacadays

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Thanks for the review. So glad you enjoyed your cruise. I was on the Crown in November and thought she was a beautiful ship. I agree with your plusses and minus' I also thought Roatan was such a beautiful island. Perhaps next time I'll try the spa you mentioned. Sounds fabulous

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Thanks again everyone!

 

berylde user_offline.gif

Cool Cruiser

Berylde, the beach at Royal Palm was perfection. Soft white sand, lots of space, and there is a restaurant and nice clean rest rooms right there for your use. When you want to go back, just walk to the street (only a few steps from the beach) and there are plenty of cabs waiting to take you back to the port. It's easy to rent chairs and umbrellas if you want.

 

Nachi Cocom was also beautiful. The sand isn't as fine - it's mostly ground up shells so it's harder to walk on and not as soft on your feet. However, there are fewer hotels/condos, etc. so it's still a beautiful walk (and probably better exercise!). ;-) And I always love looking for shells as I walk.

 

I would love to be back at either one!

 

Cathy

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