Crown Princess Here We Come

[bmweezer]

This long-time Royal Caribbean traveler just booked the Crown Princess for next December. In June, we're taking our 14 year-old on the new Freedom of the Seas; then before Christmas, just my wife and I are celebrating our anniversary on the Crown.

 

I've never been on a Princess cruise, but am very excited to see what the differences are between the two lines. Since both Crown and Freedom will be brand new, that will only add to our excitment.

 

Thoughts from Princess fans to this Royal Caribbean traveler?

Thanks

Bryan

[Tak8]

Sounds like a great year of cruising. Freedom will have some interesting toys to try. I have been on both Princess and Royal. I like Princess more. The selection of food is better and I found the service a little friendlier on Princess. Both very subjective items. I want to try out the Crown during the summer of '07. Enjoy your cruises. I hope you provide a comparison of the two after you try them out.

[RvrCrzr]

I love both lines!

 

If you like RCI, you will most likely like Princess too. Those VOYAGER CLASS ships are VERY FUN AND LIVELY!

[Texcruise]

Bryan,

We are also booked on the Crown for December. A roll call has been started for both the 12-02 and 12-09 sailings. If you are on either of these stop by the roll call.

Gail

[Coral]

Welcome to Princess!

[JPEvans]

I'm also booked on the Crown. Got a great deal for the 9 day from NYC leaving on 9/21/06 Couldn't pass it up. This year I took three cruises. I don't think I'll ever do that again. I spent too much $$. Went on the QM2 in March. Sailed on the Voyager of the Seas in June to Bermuda, and a month after that. I went with my family on the Sapphire Princess to Alaska. I got a good opportunity to compare Princess and RCCL, in A short time. I liked the Sapphire much better than Voyager. Voyager seemed very crowded. Sapphire didn't seem to be crowded. I thought that the food was better on Sapphire, especially the buffet. Entertainment seemed equal. Dining room service was better on Sapphire, this might have to do with the fact that dining was alot more flexable (dining room was not full most nights) on Sapphire than Voyager. The Voyager had a more wow factor, but the colors were not very colorful. Some of the decor seemed very 1980's. Where Sapphire's decor seemed more elegant and up to date. After cruising on the Sapphire Princess, it was not a question which line I would sail on my next cruise. The Crown Princess here I come!

[bmweezer]

Thanks, I will do that. We're going on the December 9th trip!

[phaelon56]

Prepare yourself for a devastating blow - no towel animals in your room to greet you when you come in for the evening - just a chocolate on the pillow :-)

 

I think you'll really like the freshwater pools - two of which are set aside for adults only. MUTS (Movies Under The Stars) is a real treat for us movie buffs. I never watched it during the day as I don't spend time around the family oriented pool areas. But I went a number of times at night and really enjoyed it.

 

Get a mini-suite if you can swing the $$. Full sized bathtub... nice sitting area with a full size sofa and a second TV... lots of upgrades like better beds and linens. Some say it's not worth it because you don't spend much time in your room - but with a room that nice you're more inclined to spend some time hanging out in the room.

 

If you're an aficionado of fine specialty coffees you'd best bring your own coffee and a mini-brewer to use in the room. Folks who are fans of Folger's, Maxwell House etc. usually seem to like the coffee well enough but serious coffee connoisseurs will find it to be swill (at best).

 

The food is different than RCL. Rather than the menu usually being a choice of chicken, beef, pork or fish dishes and you choose a vegetable and starch.... the Princess dining room menus are typically more of a composed entree in which the vegetable or starch (be it potatoes, risotto, pasta etc.). THis is hearsay based on comments form fellow passengers who had sailed on RCL previously (I have not).

 

I dined with a few people, usually younger than me (I'm a 49 year old omnivore - they were in their 20's and not adventurous eaters), who had sailed RCL and they insisted that the food is better there. But when I dined and discussed food with folks my age who were more food savvy and had broader tastes they generally favored the food on Princess. Don't miss Italian night in the dining rooms. And find a way to get to the seafood buffet in Cafe Caribe if they have one on the Crown.

 

These are really, really big ships and I plan to try a smaller ship experience in the future but I almost never felt crowded and always found quiet spaces on board whenever I wanted one.

[ugogirl]

Just back from NCL Jewel's first caribbean tour...what a great ship and a fantastic itinerary. I am considering the Crown for next November 11 to help celebrate the big 50. I've been on Carnival, RCCL, and NCL twice. How does the Personal Choice dining compare to NCL's freestyle? I'm also looking at a mini-suite vs. a balcony. This would also be my first southern caribbean. I love traveling in November!

[lynwar]

We would like to sail on the Crown very much, but live in Florida! Is there any chance of it staying south for awhile???? We were on the Caribbean Princess last year and really enjoyed MUTS and missed it on our ship last month. Before MUTS, we enjoyed both the Golden (my favorite) and the Grand. The most recent ship-Star Princess was nice-very familiar- but I'm anxious to get on the Crown. In our 6 years of cruising we haven't been on the same ship twice. I like Princess very much-5 of 6 cruises, so far. The only other line we tried was HAL's Zuiderdam. OK cruise, but went back to Princess for the last two. Enjoy!!! Lynne

[artvlay]

We are interested in an October cruise on the Crown Princess, but the info out there on the ship is hard to get a feel. Are there any other Princess ships in the existing fleet that have the same design? Much like the voyager class of ships are layed out the same.

[inai]

JPEvans,

We are thinking about going on the 9 day sailing out of NYC on the Crown in Sept. or Oct. '06. We have heard many positive reviews about the Princess line. You said you got a great deal on the 9/06 Crown out of NYC. Would you mind telling me what is a great deal? $$? We usually book an outside cabin.

[magnumcoog]

I have sailed on RCCL several times, and have sailed on Princess (Grand) once. But, for some reason, I am now a Princess fan. Not any one thing, but Princess seems more relaxed. There seems to be more "glizt" on RCCL as far as the ships go, but I like the layout on Grand class ships too. The aft pool is really a nice touch on the Grand class ships. I think food is better on Princess, I am going by one thing escargot is better.

 

All said, as many say, any day on a cruise is better than being on land.

 

Oh, and one more thing, Princess still allows TA's to rebate, while RCCL does not.

[Crazsea]

We would like to sail on the Crown very much, but live in Florida! Is there any chance of it staying south for awhile???? We were on the Caribbean Princess last year and really enjoyed MUTS and missed it on our ship last month. Before MUTS, we enjoyed both the Golden (my favorite) and the Grand. The most recent ship-Star Princess was nice-very familiar- but I'm anxious to get on the Crown. In our 6 years of cruising we haven't been on the same ship twice. I like Princess very much-5 of 6 cruises, so far. The only other line we tried was HAL's Zuiderdam. OK cruise, but went back to Princess for the last two. Enjoy!!! Lynne

 

Well well Lynne, this is perfect!

When you cruise with us on the Crown (hint hint) in October or November of 2006 you'll be platinum!!! Quick, make that reservation....NOW!!!LOL:D

[wogg88]

The Caribbean Princess is about as close to the Crown as your going to find. We have 344 day til we sail out of San Juan on the Crown.

[alprzy]

I just booked the Crown for the 9 day out of NY on July 2nd. Family of 4 (2 children 21 and 18). 1st time on Princess and am really looking forward to it. It should be one of the first 4-5 sailings, so I hope it's "all together" for ours. Our first time on Princess, done RCCL, Norwegian and Carnival already so we have high expectations. Not a ton of details about the ship from my searches on the web, but we got a decent price considering the length and the stops are attractive (Grand Turks, St. Thomas, San Juan and Bermuda).

 

Anyone else sailing July 2nd?

 

Alan

[JPEvans]

JPEvans,

We are thinking about going on the 9 day sailing out of NYC on the Crown in Sept. or Oct. '06. We have heard many positive reviews about the Princess line. You said you got a great deal on the 9/06 Crown out of NYC. Would you mind telling me what is a great deal? $$? We usually book an outside cabin.

 

I'm sailing on The Crown on Sept 21st. I'm traveling with two other friends. I got a inside cat K. Spliting up the fare between the three of us is costing $835 a person. I thought that was a deal we couldn't pass up. I didn't even ask about an outside or balcony. So, I'm not sure what the price would be for those. I also didn't ask the specifics of our pricing. I was looking around the internet at different sailings on the Crown. And came up with the fact that Sept would be a good time to get a deal. I called my Travel Agent and said to check out that date. And he called back saying he can get me $835 pp. I said "book it".

[inai]

JPEvans

THanks for your input. Still deciding when to go, but definitely would like to try the Crown Princess. And trying to pursuade husband to cruise again for vacation. He's said he's had enough for a while. Just came back from E. Caribbean on Sunday on NLC Dawn.

[Netnurse31]

We (family of 4) are booked on the Crown on the August 25th sailing out of NY. From what I understand, it's very close to the design of the Caribbean Princess. We were originally booked in a Vista Suite but couldn't justify the fare since the suite perks just aren't up to par with other lines. I just switched us to two balcony cabins next door to each other for $1450 per person including port charges and insurance. I think that's pretty reasonable considering it's a 10 day out of NY and the ports are great!

 

We are really looking foward to the fresh water pools and traditional dining. Those are the 2 main things we missed when sailing with NCL last year.

 

Anyone have some updated info on the progress of the ship so far? I'm so excited about being on a new ship. I just hope they work out the kinks before our sailing.