Thoughts on the Crown Princess?

[DougH]

Anyone have any thoughts about the Crown Princess they want to share? I'm looking at a B2B to Alaska on her and have several friends that have a very negative opinion about this ship, and a lot of the reviews are also negative.

 

I've also looked at dates on the Island and Coral (both of which I love) but the prices are significantly higher for the dates I'm looking at (June/July 2014) I'm a big Princess fan but so are my friends. Did they just hit a bad cruise or would I be unhappy with the Crown?

[cr8tiv1]

I try to stay away from the larger ships (tender lines, crowds, etc). "I have a friend" (sorry, not first hand account) who are in the top three cruiser category and they said that they would probably not do the Crown again. They were on the FLL to San Pedro run.

 

I am on the Coral to Alaska and she is my favorite class of ship.

 

How about a ship in between; like the Golden?

[west coast cruiser]

I also prefer the smaller ships. However we were on the Crown last month and really enjoyed her.

[paul929207]

We spent 36 days on the Crown in the Eastern Med in 2012. We had a wonderful time

[Scrapchick]

I've sailed on the Crown twice. We did the British Isles in 2009 and the CA Coastal two weeks ago. We enjoyed the first cruise much more than the second, but there was a Norvirus outbreak on the ship that colored everything. Mine was probably one of the reviews you read about that voyage and I stand by everything I wrote. We were far from alone in our views.

 

Having said that...

 

I'm not sure what the negatives are that are specific to the Crown. I do think cruising generally has changed and not for the better, with much less attention to service and food than there used to be. Cutbacks have affected all the cruise lines and all the ships. Leaving aside the whole Code Red/Norovirus situation which really affected our recent cruise, there's nothing wrong with the Crown… Well maintained, looks like every other ship in the fleet, food tastes the same to me… The same cutbacks that affect the Crown affect all the Princess ships. I was on the Caribbean Princess six months ago and honestly, you can barely tell the ships apart unless you go looking for differences. The menus are the same, the shows are similar, the carpets and bedding are all identical…

 

We've taken 25 cruises with Princess. This last one on the Crown was a real downer, but if that was the usual experience, we'd be sailing with other lines. We got unlucky.

 

Are there specific concerns you have? Otherwise, as long as they've got the Noro situation under control at last, I'm sure you'd have a great time. Despite our poor experience this month, I would go back on the Crown again.

[umbertsmum]

we sailed on her twice last year and had a great time- cannot fault the service or staff. Thjey were two of our favourite cruises.

[DougH]

I've sailed with Princess 40+ times so am aware of their product and the changes in general over the past few years. Both friends with negative opinions were on the same cruise (A NE to Florida repo back in about 2009) and had similar complaints, but overall I think they may have been more specific to that one cruise rather than the Crown itself. (both are also Elite with Princess)

 

I also in general prefer the smaller ships and really like the Island but price for the dates I'm looking at is roughly $2000 higher (granted part of that is comparing an inside to an obstructed)

[Colo Cruiser]

So is it your job to convince your friends that the Crown is an OK ship?

 

Have they researched it all?

Edited April 25, 2014 by Colo Cruiser

[Brill]

We sailed on the Crown this past January. Our waiter and cabin steward were wonderful. I would recommend this ship to anyone.

[Colo Cruiser]

I've sailed with Princess 40+ times so am aware of their product and the changes in general over the past few years. Both friends with negative opinions were on the same cruise (A NE to Florida repo back in about 2009) and had similar complaints, but overall I think they may have been more specific to that one cruise rather than the Crown itself. (both are also Elite with Princess)

 

I also in general prefer the smaller ships and really like the Island but price for the dates I'm looking at is roughly $2000 higher (granted part of that is comparing an inside to an obstructed)

 

 

If you were all on the same cruise in 2009 what were the issues?

[DougH]

I've never sailed on the new Crown and am trying to decide if I should book. One of the friends mentioned said she would never sail on the Crown again, the other said they sailed on her a second time and found nothing to prevent them from sailing on her.

 

Will decide this weekend but will probably give her a chance.

[Casey12]

We sailed on the Crown once and will not sail on her again. The ship has too bad of space ratio and was incredibly crowded. I would pick another ship.

[2pbears]

The Crown is probably our least favorite of all the Princess ships we have been on, however, I should probably preface that by saying we have not sailed on her since 2010 and perhaps they have made some changes in the past four years. Our experience was that they were not well prepared to handle the number of passengers on the ship. We experienced long waits in the Any Time Dining Room, long lines to disembark at ports and horrendous jam-ups in the elevators.

 

That being said, if it were a choice between not cruising or sailing on the Crown I would sail her again. She just would not be my first choice. If I were you and my friends all wanted to sail on the Crown I would join in and figure out ways to work around the problems I mentioned above. After all, if you are cruising with your friends you are bound to have a great time no matter what ship you are on. Enjoy.

[CaribbeanIsland]

Add me to the list of people who did not like the Crown Princess. It was a constant battle of facing crowds through out the ship. We sailed the ship once and have avoided the Crown and her sisters since then. If you can go on the Coral or Island Princess you will have a much better time.

[Tivoli]

We cruised on the Ruby Princess (sister of Crown) and disliked the ship compared to other Princess ships we had sailed on. We said we would not sail on her or her sister ships again. About two years later there was a family reunion on the Crown and we sailed on the Crown. We had the same feeling about the Crown as we did about the Ruby. If there is another family reunion on the Crown or Ruby Princess -- we will be skipping it in the future. We didn't like the long waits for dining. We missed shows in many of the venues due to crowds. We got really good at taking the stairs as the elevators were always full. When I think back to the Crown Princess ship and Ruby for that matter I only remember the crowds and not the fun things we did on that cruise. That negative part of the cruise out did the positives we had on the cruise. Maybe our expectations are too high but we also have 40 plus Princess cruises under our belt and have cruised on many other lines. Even our Carnival cruises seemed spacious compared to the Crown and Ruby Princess.

[LovesCruising]

UGH - we chose the Crown for Alaska - cannot change - air purchased - Hoping for the best with the crowds - having said that - we do have direct AFT Balcony cabins so planning on spending a lot of time their at Glacier and Hubbard.

[Steviewonder1]

We have sailed on both the Crown and Ruby. We loved both. Only had a couple of times the elevators were full, but the stairs also work. A big thing is knowing what is where on the ship and how to get them in the fastest path. Also being on time for your selected dinner time is foremost. You do need to get in line about 5 minutes before the doors open. We also hosted the Meet and Greet on both of these cruises and everyone really loved the ships. Yes there are some folks in this world that are never satisfied with anything.

[BrandiGreg]

We have sailed Princess 22 times on about 8 different ships. They are pretty much all the same. The cabins look the same. The feeling is the same. Schedule the same, public rooms are the same, etc (or close enough). The biggest determinant of a bad or good cruise are your fellow passengers, not the ship itself. And perhaps the cruise director and his staff. Or one bad isolated experience. But we don't generalize one bad experience to our opinion of the ship. We don't choose a cruise based on the ship name, as long as it is Princess and a good price.

[Ubu]

We have never had a problem on the Crown. Have done the Norway Fjords, British Isles and will be doing Alaska this May for 2 weeks. I do not see much difference in the different ships. Can hardly wait - 2 weeks to go.

Judy

[Kenosha Cruiser]

My wife and I have cruised on the Crown 3 different times the past few years. It's a wonderful ship with excellent employees. I now it's been in the news lately because of a norovirus problem, but Princess will do it's best to correct this. The norovirus can happen on any cruise line ship. Were looking forward to boarding the Crown again this Saturday in San Pedro. Happy cruising!

[Starfish55]

The Crown Princess will seem a lot more crowded compared to the ships you have been on. There are 500 more passengers on that ship compared to Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond and Sapphire. If you can swing the additional money ----you will probably enjoy the Coral or Island Princess better.

[MauiLvrs]

I also prefer the smaller ships. However we were on the Crown last month and really enjoyed her.

We were on her last week and had a great time.

Were on her or 2 weeks B2B in 2007 and had an awesome time.

[Snow cat]

We've been on the Crown 3 times and I was so surprised to hear the comments about crowds on earlier posts. I don't remember waiting any unreasonable length of time for anything. (Disclaimer - I don't choose the Crown over other ships specifically...it just seems to be following us around! lol). We are booked on her AGAIN this November.

 

Anyhow, I love the Crown and if you like Princess in general can't imagine any reason you wouldn't enjoy it.

[sassyredhat]

We are booked on the Crown for Sept.

I normally do not like the big ships, but Crown offered the itinerary we wanted.

We are sailing with some very dear friends, so I'm thinking we will enjoy it.

Just give me the IC and I'm happy. :D

 

Pat

[sammiedawg]

The Crown and her sisters are crowded due to the addition of an extra deck of cabins, poor space ratios per passenger. The Island and Crown are considered premium ships by the cruise line, but no one will publicly admit that. Typically they charge higher prices and we have willingly paid them. In Alaska I would be irritated by the extra bodies on the Crown, especially for scenic cruising and glacier viewing. Also the Crown does not have a covered pool. If you have a bad weather week your options are limited. We did one trip on the Crown, the ship is beautiful and food and service were good but our trips on the Coral and Island Princess were excellent.