Crown Princess TA April 16-May1 Cruise Review

[patrickmoran]

This was our 5th TA, 2nd eastbound, and 17th cruise with P. We are Elite and had an oceanview cabin, E702 with 5 pm TD dinner in Botticelli DR

.

Overall we enjoyed the cruise.  Weather did affect the cruise.  We had to skip Bilbao because of gale force storm. This caused a 2nd day in Lisbon which was great for me. Lisbon was one the main reason I picked this cruise.  No shore excursion were offered by P on the 2nd day which was disappointing because we had OBC to use from cancelled Bilboa stop. (In an effort to turn this lemon into lemonade, I decided to try running the unused OBC through the casino. I was able to put casino credits on my account and cash out at the cage. I walked off the ship with $180 of nonrefundable P's OBC!) 

 

Besides missing Bilbao, the seas were rough for 5 or 6 days before and after Lisbon.  Lots of ship motion. Puke bags were put out for several days. I saw only 1 runner.  Based on my experience, the seas after leaving Lisbon did not justify the motion of the ship. I don't think the captain was using stabilizers. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

 

Food was good in the MDR and at the Lido. I ate most dinners in MDR. Service was OK but our servers had 7 2 tops + a 6 top.  They had no time to circle back to check on things or take follow up drink orders.  The table of 6 didn't help since they didn't show up until 5:30. We like to eat dinner early but 5 pm is too early. It cramps doing things before dinner. We'll probably switch to AnyTime.  The coffee at the Lido was awful; MDR was tolerable.  I have not really had a problem with the coffee before but really had to doctor it to make it drinkable.

 

Cabin was fine. Location was good. Near rear elevators and 1 deck up from Promenade.  Medallion is being installed. Hopefully, when done the TV will improve. The picture on most stations was fuzzy. Not much selection. 

 

In Azores, just walked around. Visited the fort. Worth 1 euro.

In Lisbon, we did ship's walking tour. I enjoyed it. On the 2nd day, I got a citywide day metro/bus pass and went to the Belem Tower. I had to transfer to the train and that was an additional 3 euros. I then went back to the central city and walked around.

In Zeeburg, we shared a taxi to Bruges. We walked around from 10 to 4. This was the 2nd time there and next time will look to go to Ghent.

Portland was a problem! Everyone had to get their passport stamped by British Immigration officials.  Fortunately we didn't have any plans. We were scheduled for 10:30 am, We waited until noon to go. It took until 1 pm to finish the ship.  People reported having to wait in line for 45 minutes to an hour! If you had a private tour scheduled, I don't know if you would make it. Not sure if this was caused by P or the British government.

I got off and took the free port shuttle to nearby D Day Museum (5 pounds) and then walked to the Portland Castle (5 pounds). I caught the shuttle back. I enjoyed the museums but thought the entrance fee was a bit high for the size.

 

We took the P transfer to Victoria Coach Station ($59 pp). We spent 5 night at the Holiday Inn Express Southwark. Good location. Went to lots of museums and sights, ate at pubs and tried British beers. We flew home on British Airways to FLL which was booked through P's Air. Planes was pretty empty so room to spread out.

 

Let me know if you have any questions.

[srpilo]

Nice solid report....

 

Thanks for sharing

Srpilo

[jasbo49]

Thanks for the review. We'll be doing a British Isles cruise on the Crown starting June 6. We're staying in London four nights before the cruise. What pubs did you enjoy? Is it like Ireland where they have live music? I know it's a big city, but hey, we can get around.

 

Jim

[patrickmoran]

We stayed on South Bank and eat and drank there mostly: Prince William Henry Pub, Doggett's Coat and Badge, and Southwark Tavern. No music at any while we there.  

[Cruise2End]

If early TD was at 5 pm on Crown, do you know what time late TD was?     We know it is different with each ship.    We’ll be on the Crown in September and just wondering.    Thanks!

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for sharing.

Tony

[jasbo49]

15 hours ago, patrickmoran said:

We stayed on South Bank and eat and drank there mostly: Prince William Henry Pub, Doggett's Coat and Badge, and Southwark Tavern. No music at any while we there.  

Thanks. Those sure sound like authentic British pubs.

 

Jim

[patrickmoran]

TD times were 5, 5;15, and 7:15 pm. Da Vinci DR opened for AnyTime dining at 7:15

Edited May 8, 2019 by patrickmoran

[Cruise2End]

5 hours ago, patrickmoran said:

TD times were 5, 5;15, and 7:15 pm. Da Vinci DR opened for AnyTime dining at 7:15

Thanks.   Appreciate your response.