Crown Princess Norwegian Fjords - 22 July No 3719

[laktex]

Despite the many worrying reviews about the Crown Princess we thought we would give her a try as the itinerary and dates were just what we wanted. We travelled to Southampton the preceding Friday and stayed at the Holiday Inn as usual which was fine except that only one lift was working creating a bit of chaos on the Saturday morning.

 

Checked in at QEII terminal with CPS and their usual efficiency and sued a few minutes before check-in began, a short sit down before boarding began and we were straight to our cabin. Within 5/10 minutes the luggage arrived and we were unpacked and off for a bite to eat in the Horizon Court which was very busy but perfectly satisfactory. Every crew member we had encountered was most friendly and polite and to us the ship seemed in pretty good condition. Life Boat drill was also a busy affair and there were quite a few more children on board than we expected for a Fjord cruise but schools had of course broken up for the holidays.

 

We dined first night in the Crown Grill with two friends and between us we had a New York Strip, a Filet Steak and two Rib-Eyes - we were all very pleased with the steaks, the portions were ample and the service pretty good but perhaps a little too casual at times. The show was pretty good and I think we just managed to get the last four adjacent seats. With absolutely no complaints so far we retired early and had an excellent nights sleep in a very comfortable bed as we continued our journey northwards to Stavanger.

 

First morning we had breakfast in Sabatini's and the staff were absolutely brilliant - warmly welcoming you and explaining everything that was available - a very nice relaxing start to a sea day where we would explore the ship and try to get to know the layout and facilities. Once again we were pleased with the appearance of the ship and I think our only negative observation was the insufficient space / tables around the International Cafe - this was a very popular area of the ship serving good coffee (we purchased a coffee card) and snacks but every time we used it there was a bit of a search for a table - there was always an overspill into the Vines Bar area which helped. For a sea day we were a little disappointed with what was on offer around the ship and in fairness I am probably comparing with the sort of programme that is available on the Cunard ships with lectures/talks etc but we still had an enjoyable day.

 

We decided to order afternoon tea for four on our balcony which arrived promptly at 3:30 p.m. and was excellent with sandwiches, scones, cakes and a selection of teas. I would have preferred a tea-pot rather than a tea bag in the cup and of course there would have been no clotted cream if I had not thought to bring a pot on board with us.

 

A spruce up for the first formal night where we did the show first at which we arrived only a few minute before the start so we had to stand. The show was not quite so good this evening and afterward there was a potential long wait for dinner so we all went to Sabatini's for a delightful dinner - I took a bottle of Laurent-Perrier and were just charged the usual $15 corkage which was fine. A nice after dinner drink in the adjacent Adagio's bar but a bit surprised to see that they stopped serving at 11:00 p.m.

 

... ... ... more to follow

[Amtico]

Thanks Trevor.

 

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review - we got a 'moveover' from this cruise a few days before sailing. So want to see what we missed!

[laktex]

Monday morning saw our arrival into Stavanger and as wereversed (is that the correct nautical term?) to dock at Skagenkaien it wasquite amusing to see the promotional BMW Mini ostensibly floating at the end ofthe dock. We had booked online for the RodneLyseford cruise at NOK 490 per person and their location for boarding wasliterally a few yards aft of the Crown Princess – fabulously convenient. Thecruise is roughly half the cost of the Princess price – we were fortunate totake the third of 3 boats leaving at 10:00 am and had lots of spare seating,and a good open space on the bow – very good trip. Afterwards we had time for a visit to thePetroleum Museum and a walk around the town before getting back to the ship fora bite to eat.

 

 

A good sailaway viewed from our balcony before dinner in theBotticelli dining room where we were perfectly happy with the MDR food and thestaff. What is really enjoyable is the long daylight and the opportunity to view the surroundings during the evening hours - the Adaggio bar was once again our location for after dinner drinks at seating near the window.

 

 

We were feeling very pleased that we had chosen this cruise on the Crown Princess.

[Woobstr112G]

Great start to your review. Looking forward to reading your additional posts.....:):):)

 

Bob

[easyboy]

Following your review.

[phabric]

Following along, I am on the Sapphire next July 2018 for the Norwegian Fjords.

[KimCHouston]

Thanks for the details. Keep them coming. We board Crown Princess Aug. 12.

[Lucky TGO]

Following your review.

Ditto!

Tony

[laktex]

As we awoke on Tuesday morning we were cruising along the Innviksfjorden towards OLDEN and it was enchanting to watch the little villages / communities along the shoreline and up high on the hills and wonder how life would be when winter comes along with all that snow - how do they get around, do their shopping etc - but at this time of year what appears to be an idyllic location away from the rush of everyday life (and I live in a small village in Northamptonshire).

 

Just after 6:30 am there is the knock on the door and the orange juice and tea arrives from room service, bang on time, a couple of dollars tip and its out on the balcony watching the scenery again enjoying the early morning cuppa. The ship starts its berthing procedure against a small dock area and a small boat comes out with two men on board to collect three of the aft ship's ropes and loop them over a yellow floating mooring buoy - incredible to think of this 113,000 ton vessels being secured in this way. I presume the same is happening up at the bow so switch on the TV to see what the webcam will tell me. You can see clearly the glaciers in the distance.

 

I had checked previously online what to do here in Olden and we fancied the Loen Skylift which was online at NOK 480 but not advertised on the Princess tour list. I hadn't booked so went to purchase the tickets shoreside and they were over NOK 600 so if you are interested to do this - get your tickets online!. A shuttle's took us to Loen and the base of the Skylift and everything, including the carpark, looked very new and indeed the SkyLift only opened in May THIS year. I quote from the leaflet:-

 

 

On the 20th of May 2017 one of the greatest and most spectacular tourism projects in Norway opened. Her Majesty The Queen undertook the official opening. The cable car will convey tourists from the fjord to the top of Mt Hoven (1 011 m) in just five minutes. From the Fjord Station you start the ascent with the Cable Car to Mt. Hoven (1011 m). After 5-7 airy minutes you arrive at the Mountain Station, and Hoven Restaurant where you will have a 210 degree panoramic view overlooking Mt. Skåla and Lake Lovatnet in the east, Jostedalsbreen Glacier and Olden in the south, and the Nordfjord that winds its way towards Stryn in the west. From Hoven you can explore the mountain on your own in a comprehensive network of trails, or with a guide. On foot in the summer, or skiing or snowshoeing in winter. The possibilities are many – the choice is yours.

This was a superb trip, magnificent views, possibilities for walks higher up, the sound of sheep with bells around their necks, a lovely restaurant - I guess Princess will feature it within their tours in future years. I recommend getting there early as it did start to get very busy as the day progressed. Amazing to watch the climbers ascending the rock faces as we descended the Skylift

 

After the Skylift we wandered in Loen to the lovely Hotel Alexandria - it is worth reading about the history of this hotel - and stopping off for a drink in their outside area - would be a fabulous place to stay for a couple of nights.

Back to the ship after a weary day with plenty of steep walking.

 

Mention has been made on this board about Princess Club Dining. Personally I think it is a great feature - giving a more relaxed personalised dining experience - albeit with the same MDR menu. It is easy to say it is an expensive system but there is a definite market for it and it is (as far as I know) only available to some mini suites and full suites. If you compare it with Cunard's Britannia Club, which is often fully booked, one can see that there is positively a market for this initiative - in fact Cunard have expanded their Club facility on the QM2 and just introduced it on the Victoria.

 

As we sail away its more of those great Fjordland views as you have those long long daylight hours to enjoy the facilities of the Crown Princess as we wine and dine once more.

[laktex]

General view from SkyLift

 

Crown Princess taken from SkyLift

[laktex]

Table swappingincident.

 

As we depart our cabin for breakfast each morning we alwaysslip the “make up room” card into the key card slot and every morning withoutfail by the time we return the room is made up – excellent service by the cabin steward we think.

 

 

However, one morning we returned and to our total amazement aswe entered our cabin we saw two stewards moving our nicely varnished balconytable through the adjoining balcony partition to the adjacent balcony havingleft us with a well-worn table that certainly did need a major sanding down andvarnish. I have to say after initialamazement at what was going on I was then quite livid. Excuses were given –first we were told that they would be coming around to re-varnish this table –why change them round I asked? – then an excuse that there was to be a filmshoot next door and they wanted our better looking table for the filming !! – Iwas not at all pleased so popped down to the front desk to ask for the HotelManager but the guy at the desk phoned around and just said a supervisor would meetme back in my cabin. There wereapologies but no one could explain why we just happened to see this process of table swapping andthere was no prior communication to us. Our original table was replaced immediatelybut no one higher up the chain responded to my disapproval of this action. I suppose I was somewhat upset that thiscould happen but hey ho we are on vacation let’s get on with the holiday.

[laktex]

Wednesday and its Geiranger - Medical Emergency

 

Another great early morning as we pass along the GeirangerFjord, first arriving at Hellesylt to tender off some taking day trips fromthis port before we move off to Geiranger itself. Breakfast this morning wasthe usual fruit plate but followed by some excellent French toast and bacon –absolutely gorgeous.

 

The ship tenders here in Geiranger but we are only a veryshort distance away from the dock – maybe it’s a question of depth! We had nothing booked for a tour so simply tookthe hop on hop off bus to see some of the local area before getting off earlyand walking back to the village.

 

 

Just as we were about to depart the Captain, Martin Stenzel,came on the tanoy system to say there was a medical emergency and that we wouldbe delayed whilst an ambulance arrived to take the casualty off the ship. Anambulance arrived at the dock and the doctors were brought to the ship by whatwas probably the pilot’s boat. After a short while the ships tender took thecasualty and his family over to the dock and we were told that the ambulancewould go to a place where a helicopter would transport him to hospital – we trustall went well. The Captain kept us wellinformed of proceedings finally indicating that it would be likely that we maybe delayed arriving into Bergen.

[mamaw58]

Following

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. I look forward to the rest. We considered going on this cruise but we're going on the Caribbean Princess instead in a couple of weeks. The Norwegian fjords are still on my list of things to see.

[Woobstr112G]

Loved those picture links.....:):):)

Bob

[laktex]

Thanks for posting your review. I look forward to the rest. We considered going on this cruise but we're going on the Caribbean Princess instead in a couple of weeks. The Norwegian fjords are still on my list of things to see.

 

We put off the Norwegian Fjords for years but now glad that we have done them. As I mentioned, those long daylight hours just makes it feel as if you are getting the most out of the visual enjoyment of the whole trip. We will probably look to do them again with a different itinerary.

[Bleugh]

Thanks for the details. Keep them coming. We board Crown Princess Aug. 12.

 

Thanks Also for the details, I'll be boarding with my wife and young kids on the 12th also for our second ever cruise

 

how many here are going!

[TRUEBLUE66]

Thanks Trevor,

Another couple going on the 12th to the Fjords and enjoying your experiences and photos.

 

David & Kaye

[Teresa Price]

this is funny, I was on board but am enjoying reading your review! The Fjords rock - can't remember how many times we have done them but keep going back.

[laktex]

Wednesday evening we tried some of the other bars. Crooners was a bit too loud for us and certainly doesn't portray the image of an actual "Crooner"; the Karaoke in Explorers was fun for a while but not all evening, Club Fusion was quiet so it was back to our favourite Adagio's - one night they had a great Jazz evening - definitely my favourite after dinner place on the ship. The only time we frequented Skywalkers was for the 5:00 till 7:00 canapés etc - its a lovely room when quiet and the part that overhangs like the bridge has great views.

 

As the Captain had implied we were a little late into Bergen as he was unable to make up time - its certainly not like the QM2 where the Captain can "put his foot down" if the need arises. In Bergen it was a short shuttle bus to the entrance to the terminal and then the hop on hop off bus into town where we thought we would do a bit of shopping but for the first time we got quite heavy rain so after a coffee break it was off to the Funicular ride up the mountain for some more views. Departure was 2:00 pm so we were soon sailing away and the weather brightened for some nice interesting sailing as we headed southward toward Southampton.

 

Thursday was another formal night and many dressed very respectfully. The Beef Wellington at dinner was very good and washed down with a nice bottle of Chateau Moulin De Pillardot 2011. Another great evening.

 

Friday was sea day so we were up a little later - tea on the balcony - followed by our last great breakfast at Sabatini's - as many have said before on cruise critic, Sabatini's breakfasts are very very good - in fact I would go as far as to say that they are a better experience than Cunard's Queens Grill - and that's saying something. A lazy morning, an excellent lunch in Club Class dining room and then we had Paul Burrell (Princess Diana's butler) in an interview style talk with the Cruise Director. An opinion on this is a personal view - I'm pleased I went but not entirely comfortable with some of his comments and views - but as I say that's my personal view.

 

... ... overall view to follow

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for taking the time to post your comments.

[laktex]

The sea got quite rough as we neared Southampton and as wedrove home I heard that the Dover to Calais ferries were upto 3 hours delayeddue to bad weather so I guess we travelled through those rough parts of theEnglish Channel.

 

We woke fairly early as we passed the Isle of Wight and hada very pleasant full breakfast on the balcony as Sabatini’s was not availableon the last morning. We berthed at Mayflower Terminal and disembarkationprocedure was excellent – no queues, CPS parking was brilliant as usual and wewere home by 11:30.

 

Overall View

 

For us the Crown was very good and we had virtually nocomplaints – just that incident with the balcony table and a queue for diningon one evening.

 

Our Suite A751 was extremely good and the balcony isbrilliant – a really good depth – deeper that a Q1 on the Queen Elizabeth orthe modified Victoria! The Cabin steward, Ernesto, was brilliant – virtually asgood as a butler. Food was pretty good all round – nothing to complain about.Crown Grill & Sabatini’s wereexcellent and there is something about the ambiance of Sabatini’s that suits uswell. Apart from Adagio’s the bars are not to our taste but it (Adagio's) should positively be openlater than 11:00 p.m. – 11:00 pm is ridiculous!!

 

We have not travelled Princess for sometime as we are verymuch Cunarders but I have to say we were pretty impressed with this cruise – infact there are just a few things that we preferred on Princess. I think the lack of dedicated Sommeliers in the dining rooms is abit of a mistake but I totally understand the cost savings to the cruise linesbut one can sense the extra pressure on the dining room staff – but nonethelessthey performed a grand job.

 

The acid test is always “will I cruise with them again” andI am inclined to say that is a great possibility. Our daughter lives in Vancouverand so Princess may well be our choice for another Alaskan cruise although Isee Cunard will be doing a trip in Alaska in 2019 but with very limited dates. Competition is fierce in the Cruise Line Industry.

 

Thank you Princess.

 

 

 

 

Afternoon Tea