Crown Princess Review - 3/05/11 Sailing (LONG)

[CRLess]

We just returned from another great cruise with Princess aboard the Crown. I don’t typically write a review after each cruise, but I wanted to pass along to others deciding between Princess and another line our exceptional experience on this voyage. This will go down as one of our favorite cruises on Princess, not because of the itinerary, but because of the wonderful staff we encountered throughout the cruise.

Embarkation – we arrived at the port earlier than we normally arrive, with a goal of getting on the ship as soon as possible to book four chairs in the Sanctuary for the week. After dropping our luggage off with the longshoreman and parking the car, we were in the terminal building by 10:40 AM. We filled out our health questionnaires and were pointed in the direction of the Platinum/Elite lounge. The representative filled the rows of chairs in the waiting area based on when you arrived. We later found out that each row was escorted to the check in desks based on your arrival time. Beverages and pastries were available while we waited for boarding to begin, which started at approximately 11:30 AM. The check in process was efficient as ever and we were aboard the ship by 11:45 AM. The girls went straight up to the Sanctuary, while we went to the rooms to drop off our luggage and call the dine line to put our names in for Chef’s Table. The girls succeeded in their quest whereas we were unable to get the person on the dine line to understand that we wanted to make reservations for the Chef’s Table NOT one of the specialty restaurants. He kept telling me to go to the Crown Grill at 1PM to make my reservations for the week. I hung up and called back, but got the same person who repeated his demand that we go to the Crown Grill at 1 PM. We went upstairs to meet the girls and pick out our 4 chairs and then decided to head back to the rooms to try again. When we called the 3rd time, we were greeted with a woman’s voice, that took our names and cabin numbers and told us we would be contacted within 24 hours to be interviewed by the Maitre d’. The confusion on getting reservations for the Chef’s Table was one of the few negatives of our entire cruise. It worked out for us in the long run, but Princess needs to do a better job ensuring that the staff members who answer the phones all understand the various matters that passengers may be calling about.

Cabin – We had Cabin E-731, the last mini suite on the starboard side and the other couple traveling with us had E-729 next door to us. This was the 2nd consecutive cruise (last year on the Ruby) that we each had these cabins. Enough has been said about E-731 on these boards so I will keep commentary short. This cabin (and its twin on the other side of the ship) is the best value on the entire ship with its oversized, covered balcony. We had our steward open the divider between the two balconies so that we effectively had one giant balcony. During the course of the voyage, we had two issues with the cabin. The first was that we had no cold water in the bathroom faucet. We brushed our teeth the first two days with hot water. I told our steward Freddie about it, and it was fixed that day. The other issue was the water pressure in the shower. This issue could not be resolved by maintenance so we had to live with it for the week.

Ship – This was our second time on the Crown so we were very familiar with the layout. There were some areas of the ship that were starting to show signs of wear and tear, but overall we felt the ship was in great condition. Our balcony railing was in bad need of new varnish and the steel walls were beginning to rust pretty badly in spots. The public areas of the ship were spotless and I witnessed constant cleaning during my morning run for coffee. I also wanted to add a quick note about navigating the ship as I have read so many “complaints” that the Princess ships are too hard to find your way around. Use this simple rule of thumb and you should never have a problem navigating the ship. You can walk deck 15 from end to end essentially, so if you are trying to find one of the outdoor venues at any time, use deck 15 as your walkway. For all the internal venues, deck 7 (Promenade) starboard side serves the exact same purpose. If you use these two tips, you can find anything.

Dining – Dining is a very subjective matter so these comments are from the point of view of our group of 4. None of us are buffet eaters, so our exposure to it was limited to a few breakfasts and making cheese plates for our afternoon cocktail hours on our balconies. From what I saw, the buffet choices were typical fare. I did run through Café Caribe one afternoon to see what the themed buffet was in case I wanted to get lunch there. By the time I decided I wanted the Mexican themed buffet, they had already shut it down (around 1:15 PM or so). So if you want one of the themed buffets, eat early. We all ate at the Trident Grill (burgers, chicken, and sausages) and the Pizza bar at some point during the trip and enjoyed our meals there. The International Café was our breakfast hangout, especially for the egg and bacon sandwiches most mornings. The chicken salad at lunch time is always excellent. We ate lunch in the dining room once (on embarkation day) and had breakfast in the dining room on disembarkation day. The majority of our lunches were from the menu in the Sanctuary. The tuna pate’ was excellent as were the chicken Caesar wraps.

Our dinners each night were excellent. We ate in Sabatini’s once, the Crown Grill twice, Room service pizzas one night and the rest of the nights in the main dining room. Sabatini’s was excellent as always and the service was great. The Crown Grill was so good that we ate there twice, getting different appetizers and main courses each time. We had one “standard” meal in the main dining room (the first formal night), meaning that we ordered off the menu. We also had one “non-standard” meal there, but more on that later. Finally, we were also fortunate enough to be selected for the Chef’s Table. Menu rotation was as follows (at least from what I remember, I may have this slightly wrong):

Saturday – Sailaway Dinner

Sunday – Welcome Aboard Dinner

Monday – Caribbean Night

Tuesday – Italian Dinner

Wednesday – Chef’s Dinner

Thursday – Captain’s Dinner

Friday – Landfall Dinner

Our “non-standard” meal happened on the last evening. While we were dining in the Crown Grill one evening, we were talking with the sommelier Mihal (I hope I spelled it correctly) about whether or not he had any wines in the cellar that were not on the Princess wine list. He indicated that there were a few and he would get back to us the next night. In the meantime, the Maitre d’ (Neville, more on him later) stopped by and got involved in the conversation. He indicated that one of the guests in the second seating was having one of these “secret” bottles of wine that evening and loved it. We decided to have a bottle the last night of the cruise. The next afternoon, Mihal came up to the Sanctuary and gave us the details on the wine, a 2006 Masseto Ornellaia (Super Tuscan). He also made us a reservation in the dining room and told us there would be some special appetizers when we arrived. We were welcomed with a wide selection of cheeses as well as a huge plate if anitpasta. In the middle of the table was our wine in a decanter that he had poured almost 3 hours prior. The wine was outstanding as was the presentation of the appetizers and dinner (from the menu). My only regret of the whole evening was that we did not purchase the remaining five bottles to take home, especially after we looked the wine up on line when we got home (google it and you will see what I mean!)

The Chef’s Table was the highlight of our cruise (at least for me…my wife’s was getting the Sanctuary for the week!). This was our third time at the Chef’s Table and each time new items have been added. I will keep it short and just give the menu:

In the Galley:

· Lobster Margarita with Avacado and Mango

· Foie Gras Terrine on Toast, Pineapple Chutney

· Pizzette with Goat’s Cheese and Ricotta

· Buckwheat Blinis with Caviar and Crème Fraiche

All of the above served with Champagne

In the Dining Room:

· Beef Carpaccio Stack with Arugula and Shaved Parmesan (bonus plate not on the menu!)

· Risotto with Lobster Tail and Claws

The above served with Santa Margarita Pinot Grigio

· Lip Smackin’ Bloody Mary Sorbet (with Grey Goose floater)

· Trio of Beef, Veal & Pork Tenderloin on Medieval Spike Flambe’ Roaster (with choice of Jus Salsa Verde, Bearnaise Sauce, and Café de Paris Butter)

· Lobster Tails (bonus item not on menu!)

· Fresh Mashed Potatoes with Corn and Pine Nuts

· Grilled Asparagus & Charred Cherry Tomatoes

All of the above served with Ferrari Carano Merlot (Sonoma Coast)

· Potted Stilton Mousse with Port Wine and Walnuts, with Rosemary Biscotti

Above served with Errazuriz Late Harvest Sauvignon Blanc (Chile’)

Dessert

· Iced Cointreau Parfait, with French Vanilla Baby Orange Compote and a Brandy Snap Tuile

· Giuseppe’s Homemade Gourmandizes

Needless to say, we did not leave hungry! Neville added two unique touches to the event that we had not seen before. First, every guest had a name card in front of them so that we could talk to others at the table by name. Secondly, nobody was given a menu until after the evening was over. The wait staff added to the anticipation of what was coming by setting each course with utensils that we had to guess what they were for. When each dish was served, one of the staff took the time to explain what we were about to eat. What a great way to experience the Chef’s Table!

Ports – We have been to most of the ports multiple times, except for Roatan. In Grand Cayman we booked a private tour to the Stingray Sandbar with Dexter’s Fantasea Tours, which I would highly recommend. Dexter picked us up at the appointed time, and he and his mate Simon made everyone feel comfortable with the stingrays. In Roatan, we booked an excursion with Victor Bodden, but never made it. The winds were high enough that the ship could not safely dock at Mahogany Bay (Carnival Corp’s dock in Roatan). So the captain moved over to Coxen Hole to tender passengers ashore. By the time we got anchored and tender service commenced for the passengers with Princess excursions, we found the line to be terribly long to go ashore on our own. When we checked at 11 AM, it was about an hour wait for a tender. We figured that would put us ashore at 12:30PM, giving us little time to eat lunch and tour the island, before we had to get in what was assuredly a long line to catch a tender back to the ship. Accordingly, we decided to head back upstairs to the Sanctuary and spend a great day there. We were all disappointed that we did not visit Roatan as we heard it was beautiful. I don’t blame Princess for this, but rather Carnival Corp for building a port into an area that is not safely accessible if the wind is above 25 kts, which is often the case in Roatan from what I am told. In Cozumel we went to Passion Island where they film all of the Corona commercials you have seen on TV. We stayed on the ship in Princess Cays.

Staff – to me, this is the area that made our cruise. I want to recognize the people that made a difference to us, in no particular order.

Neville Saldanha, Maitre d’Hotel – rare is it that a Maitre D’ makes a difference on a cruise for us. On our last cruise on the Ruby, we had Generoso, who is widely recognized as the consummate host on Princess, and our experience with him would certainly support that. Unquestionably on these boards, Generoso gets all the recognition. However, Neville is going to give Generoso some competition for that honor. It is my understanding that he is one of the few (if not only) non-Italian Maitre d’ in the fleet, which with Princess’ tradition is an honor unto itself. Neville was everywhere! He visited us nightly, no matter where we ate, and even visited us in the Sanctuary during the daytime. He had just joined the ship the day we embarked, so the whole dining staff was adjusting to having a new “boss” on board. He told us one of his top priorities was to “fix” the mess associated with anytime dining. We witnessed some lines the few times we ate in the dining room, and even had to get a pager the first formal night, despite the fact that we saw dozens of available tables. In Neville’s eyes, there is no excuse for this and we all tend to agree with his thinking. And from what we saw of him, we are confident he will succeed in fixing it. In our future cruise planning, we will have to consider what ship Neville will be on…he made our vacation that much more enjoyable.

Freddie, our cabin steward – in all of our cruises, Freddie was by far our best steward. My bride is a clean freak and in the past has had to do a little extra cleaning of the room after the steward left to bring it up to her standards (don’t ask, she sees dust no other human would see…:D). When she tells me our steward is doing an outstanding job, I have to believe her. Freddie also made sure that the cooler we brought aboard always was filled with ice…I never had to ask. We were always greeted by name when we passed him in the hallway and he seemed genuinely happy to be our steward.

The Serenity Stewards – When you are a guest of the Sanctuary, the staff up there are called Serenity Stewards. Each of the five SS’s we encountered were accommodating as one could ever imagine. No request was too much. Each day we were greeted by name and our chairs were completely set up with multiple towels and pillows. Ice cold citrus water was brought upon arrival, as were the menus with our lunch choices. Each day prior to lunch, ice cold wash cloths were brought to cool us down. Whenever we needed something, they were right there to help us. I want to especially recognize Arnaz, not only for his efforts, but for how friendly he was. What a wonderful person to talk to, and what great stories he shared with us from back home. He exemplifies what all Princess wait staff should aspire for.

I know there are more members of the staff that deserve our kudos, but those mentioned above truly exemplified the Princess experience and warranted special mention.

The Negatives – As much as I love Princess there are always things that can be improved. Some are relatively minor, some not. In my opinion, there is no such thing as a perfect cruise, but there is also no such thing as a bad cruise. There were three things that occurred on this voyage that irked me in some way, but not enough to ruin my vacation nor keep me from coming back to Princess (in fact, we pulled another future cruise credit). However, as these problems were occurring, it was obvious that it will keep others from coming back based on what they were saying aloud. First was the wait for anytime dining. I already addressed this above, and am confident that this will ultimately be fixed.

Second relates to an incident in Cozumel as we were getting off the ship. As we were heading down to the gangway, an announcement came over the PA that they were going to suspend disembarkation for approximately 20 minutes for passenger safety, as there was a ship docking next to us. I completely understood why, since the ship must toss lines on the pier and then they have to be fastened to secure the ship. These lines would decapitate someone when they are pulling them tight. Where Princess failed was by not keeping everyone in the crowded hallway informed of what was happening. After 30 minutes of waiting, we could see people moving on the dock, but security would not let us off the ship. No announcement was made, and tempers were starting to flare. In my analytical mind, the reason was simple. The pier was overwhelmed with people that were held up waiting for the other ship’s lines to be secured. Once they were, it took several minutes to clear the pier in front of our gangway before we could proceed. All it took was a simple announcement explaining that, and several passengers would have calmed down. Believe me, there was several livid passengers in the area I was standing, many of them saying they would NEVER cruise Princess again. Kind of picayune, but regardless it upset several people.

Thirdly, on our last sea day heading to Princess Cays, something occurred that I find inexcusable from a safety standpoint. I am a boater/fisherman and regularly run by boat from our home in Florida to the Bahamas to fish. The radar on the boat, as well as the chatter on the radio from other boats in the area always keeps us informed about sea conditions and approaching weather, especially dangerous squalls. And with commercial and passenger vessels at sea, this happens regularly. Mid-day on Thursday, I glanced off to the horizon and saw the largest squall line coming that I have ever seen. The sky was as black as I ever recall. I pointed it out to our friends who participate in long distance sailing regattas and we all knew it was time to immediately pack everything up and seek cover. No announcement came from the bridge warning anyone. Within minutes, we were in gale force winds and the ship was listing hard to starboard. I am told by other passengers on the Lido deck that the pools lost a good bit of their water, and plates, chairs and people were flying everywhere as the ship listed. I am not sure to what degree it did list and I am sure it was nowhere near the degree that the Crown listed during the “incident” a few years back, but to the non-seafarers, they certainly must have felt we were on the Poseidon Adventure. It was approximately 5 minutes before the captain came on the PA to let people know what was going on. We were passing through the leading edge of a cold front that brought us 75 knot winds broadside to the ship. I commend that captain and his staff for slowing the ship and turning her into the wind, but this measure was a little late for those below that never saw it coming. I also commend Capt Nash for making regular announcements after the incident. All it takes to prevent the panic is to make an announcement BEFORE we encounter the weather to keep passengers on their toes. The whole incident lasted an hour or two and then we were back to calm seas. This incident was actually interesting in a way for us, as we were in awe of the rapid fury of Mother Nature and it added to our cruise experience (we love the sea and all she has to offer). However, I am guessing there are some passengers that will never sail Princess again as a result of this incident. For the record, we are not among that group!

I know this is awfully long, but I wanted to be thorough in my review. I feel I owe that to the staff on board that made our cruise a truly memorable vacation. I hope I didn’t forget anything or anyone, but if I did, I will add to this post.

Feel free to ask any questions, and I will do my best to answer.

[rdsqrl]

Thank you; wonderful review. Was the Masseto in the four-figure range? I'm curious what you ordered for dinner to complement it -- I've always found the Landfall Dinner to be the weakest menu.

Thanks again for the detail; no review is too long in my eyes!

[Pam in CA]

Thank you for the review. It's unfortunate but people will complain whether the Captain makes an announcement or not (with regard to weather.) Last September, we were on the Crown and held up in Dublin an extra 24 hours due to two hurricanes from the US converging on the Irish Sea so we missed Belfast. The harbormaster in Dublin closed the port and at least one cruise ship north of us experienced 100+ mph winds and seas of well over 70' for most of the night, breaking windows, etc. Yet people were furious at Captain Nash for keeping us in Dublin, calling him a "wimp" and saying he'd ruined their cruise. I agree that advance warning to hold on and sit down, if possible, would have been good.

[macbest]

Great review. We are sailing her in April for the first time. You gave us a lot to consider/explore. How much was the wine? Did you find that you used the santuary each day to make it worthwhile?

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for the great review. We were on the Crown last April and did the Chef's Table. It was the highpoint of our week as well.

[Karkies25]

Thanks for the great review! :)

[Princessmich]

Thanks for your detailed review...we are soon to board the Crown again and am very anxious to get to that dine line and take part in the Chef's table! It would be our first!

Were the seas pretty calm or will we be needing the ginger capsules??

thanks again:)

[Woobstr112G]

Great and informative review. Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Putterdude]

Thanks for taking the time to prepare and post you review, it brought back very pleasant memories.

[CRLess]

Thank you; wonderful review. Was the Masseto in the four-figure range? I'm curious what you ordered for dinner to complement it -- I've always found the Landfall Dinner to be the weakest menu.

 

Thanks again for the detail; no review is too long in my eyes!

 

No, it was about a quarter of that, which is why we regret not buying more. I think we all ordered steaks to compliment it.

 

Princessmich - we had smooth seas most of the voyage accept for during the storm and our run from Roatan to Cozumel. But on that run, Captain Nash told us it would be bumpy as we were leaving Roatan.

[kywildcatfanone]

Very nice, thorough, balanced review. A pleasure to read. We have been on the Crown 3 times in the last couple of years, and will be on her again in a couple of weeks. Love the ship and the staff.

 

Mike

[desiro]

Hi Chris! Thanks for the great review. Adam and I will be on this cruise leaving April 16th! Hope you are Brenda are well (sounds like you are!) and give her our regards!

 

Debbie and Adam

[BoardwalkBabe]

Thanks for a great review. My turn is coming up soon!

[just having fun]

Very nice review Chris..enjoyed reading about all your good times...Of course we are more (much) laid back than you all;), but enjoying yourself is always a winner..:D

Our next one is the Caribbean Princess in May, could you give us a review on this???:rolleyes:

Oh by the way...love the work on the house...

Butch & Muriel

[Shogun]

Hi There

 

Thank you for an excellant review .

 

 

yours Shogun

[mph045]

thank You very much for the review and comments-really appreciate it-will be on the ship in December!

[srpilo]

Wow, good work !!

One of the most thorough and concise reviews I've read here in a long time .

 

 

 

 

Thanks, I really enjoyed reading it

Srpilo

[CRLess]

Thanks everyone for the kind words. I wanted to make sure I captured our experience, to help others when they are deciding on what ships and cruise line to choose.

 

I totally neglected to mention entertainment in the review, partially as an oversight, but moreso that we were enjoying our dining experiences so much, that we only attended one show (a comedian in Explorers Lounge). I forget his name, but his show was only so-so. We were a little turned off by his "bit" in the show where he was picking on the language barriers of some of the staff on the ship. We found nothing but hard working people on the ship, that were doing all they could to make out trip memorable. The fact that English is there second (or perhaps 3rd or 4th language) is not something that we should be laughing about at their expense. I may face some criticism for this getting on the soap box about this, but I truly believe that each and every staff member we encountered went out of their way to communicate their pleasure in having us aboard...however broken their English may have been.

 

desiro (Deb) - have a great time on your trip. I hope you and Adam are able to get the Chef's Table. Make sure you say hi to Neville for us.

 

Butch - I can whip you up a review of the Caribbean if you need one...Brenda and I have only been on her 3 times :D. Thanks for the kudos on the house project....it was a lot of work. (note to others: Butch is a Facebook friend from a previous cruise and saw some pictures on my page).

[rdsqrl]

No, it was about a quarter of that, which is why we regret not buying more. I think we all ordered steaks to compliment it. . .

Thanks for responding; I realise my question definitely fell into the "nunya" category! Wow -- truly awesome deal; yes, regretful indeed. Hmmm, I must inquire about off-list treasures on my next cruise...

Totally agree with you about the comedian and language. It ill behooves an American (presumably?) comedian to cast aspersions on those with limited English skills, given how few of us can speak as much of a second language as even the least proficient of Princess's employees (some of us aren't even fluent in our native tongue, as evidenced by the stack of papers I've just graded). It also ill behooves him to make fun of his shipboard colleagues. That's low.

[NJRonbo]

CRLess,

 

Also going to board early on our upcoming Crown trip to book Sanctuary.

 

Was Sanctuary fully booked for that week? Were there available chairs? We are looking for chairs in the sun. Were you in the sun or shade?

 

Thanks

[CRLess]

CRLess,

 

Also going to board early on our upcoming Crown trip to book Sanctuary.

 

Was Sanctuary fully booked for that week? Were there available chairs? We are looking for chairs in the sun. Were you in the sun or shade?

 

Thanks

 

I am not sure if it was fully booked for the week or not. In our area, six of the eight chairs were used by the same people every day, and two of them appeared to be daily use rentals. We were 100% in the sun on the port side opposite the entrance to the Sanctuary. As early as the girls got up there, they were still only second in line. At no point in time do I remember the chairs being 100% occupied, although I never went and walked around the forward area to check.

[hobbitt1265]

thank you for this review of the ship. It will be our first aboard the Crown. We will remember your tips. We have booked anytime dining and so hope that this issue will be fixed when we board in april.

Will also be looking into the Sanctuary and the Chef's Table.

 

Again thank you for the great review and now we know a little more of what to expect.

[friend of Eeyore]

Chris-

 

I'm considering the Sanctuary for our upcoming trip (sailing with Desiro). What was the cost for the week?

 

-Cathy

[rdsqrl]

Friend of Eeyore: the Sanctuary costs $15 per day if you book in advance for the entire cruise; $10 per half-day or $20 for the full day.

-- Friend of the Heffalump

[lescas]

We were on this sailing, we had four friends who had never sailed before, when the storm hit I was concerned for them, I ran :) up to the 15th floor to find them watching the ice sculpture demostration and they thought it was normal :) I had been on seven cruise's before and had never experienced the list from the storm. Great cruise, staff and all around vacation, third time on Crown and will go again I hope. Great review, even though we didnt take the food too serious, we were misserable eating so much and coming home with the time change it took days to recover, but I would do it again in a heartbeat.