Alaska on Crown Princess June 2, 2023

[dave_k58]

2 hours ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

To be honest I don't know if there was a Crab Shack on my cruise as I didn't look for it as we were so happy with our dining in the Michaelangelo Dining Room. Sorry!

I have read that its in a portion of the Buffet area - about 4-5 times a cruise.  They probably didn't have it then

[Coral]

4 minutes ago, dave_k58 said:

I have read that its in a portion of the Buffet area - about 4-5 times a cruise.  They probably didn't have it then

We did not have it on my Crown cruise in May.

 

I thought the buffet was pretty poor. Most nights were pork loin or meatloaf for the carving area.

 

The only highlight was a waffle/crepe buffet daily from 3:30 - 5:30 in the afternoons (multiple toppings and ice cream). 

Edited July 24, 2023 by Coral

[sunviking90]

7 hours ago, dave_k58 said:

THank you - PS - was the new Crab Shack on the Crown open on your latest cruise? If so - did you like it? 

Crab Shack was offered on our Crown Princess cruise June 23 on 2 consecutive evenings. It was in the back part of the buffet, and there were signs at the entrance with a crew member to sign people up. We did not attend.

[dave_k58]

5 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Crab Shack was offered on our Crown Princess cruise June 23 on 2 consecutive evenings. It was in the back part of the buffet, and there were signs at the entrance with a crew member to sign people up. We did not attend.

THanks very much.  

[Coral]

7 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Crab Shack was offered on our Crown Princess cruise June 23 on 2 consecutive evenings. It was in the back part of the buffet, and there were signs at the entrance with a crew member to sign people up. We did not attend.

Interesting. So it was in the Cafe Caribe area? I never saw it used at night. I don't know how I would have missed it but I wasn't looking for it. I only saw the back area used for lunch on sea days and it seemed to be a repeat of the other buffet area.

[sunviking90]

5 minutes ago, Coral said:

Interesting. So it was in the Cafe Caribe area? I never saw it used at night. I don't know how I would have missed it but I wasn't looking for it. I only saw the back area used for lunch on sea days and it seemed to be a repeat of the other buffet area.

Yes, Cafe Caribe. Thanks for reminding me of the name. We always end up calling it the Lido. Too much time on HAL ships in the past I guess.

[Coral]

1 minute ago, sunviking90 said:

Yes, Cafe Caribe. Thanks for reminding me of the name. We always end up calling it the Lido. Too much time on HAL ships in the past I guess.

A long time ago it was used a lot for theme nights (German night, dessert extravaganza, seafood night, etc....). I thought they ditched that concept.

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, dave_k58 said:

I have read that its in a portion of the Buffet area - about 4-5 times a cruise.  They probably didn't have it then

 

We never went to the Buffet/Cafe Caribe in the evening so wouldn't have seen it. I see that sunviking90 saw it on the June 23 cruise so you might have it on yours.

[PurpleTraveller]

44 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

Crab Shack was offered on our Crown Princess cruise June 23 on 2 consecutive evenings. It was in the back part of the buffet, and there were signs at the entrance with a crew member to sign people up. We did not attend.

 

Thanks for letting us know. We didn't go to the Buffet/Cafe Caribe in the evening during our cruise so didn't see it.

[dave_k58]

1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

We never went to the Buffet/Cafe Caribe in the evening so wouldn't have seen it. I see that sunviking90 saw it on the June 23 cruise so you might have it on yours.

Hope so - we're kind of looking forward to it.  I saw a youtube video today of some people eating there. Looked like a huge amount of seafood. But they didn't seem impressed

 

[Lanz]

Wonderful review, presentation, photos and narrative were like reading a good book that you hate to end☺️.  Very well done.  Thank You

 

We are booked on the Crown Princess in September 

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey Lanz, are you on the Sept 5 cruise? 

[PurpleTraveller]

2 hours ago, Lanz said:

Wonderful review, presentation, photos and narrative were like reading a good book that you hate to end☺️.  Very well done.  Thank You

 

We are booked on the Crown Princess in September 

 

Thank you! I'm so pleased that you enjoyed the review and thanks for reading. I hope you have a cruise as wonderful as ours was. Happy Sailing! 🛳️

[Lanz]

On 7/24/2023 at 9:11 PM, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey Lanz, are you on the Sept 5 cruise? 

Yes we are, so looking forward to our Alaska cruise.  It’s been a long time🥹

[gottagoacruzn]

Hey Lanz, my dad grew up in Brownwood, he an my uncle were Aggies.

[Lanz]

48 minutes ago, gottagoacruzn said:

Hey Lanz, my dad grew up in Brownwood, he an my uncle were Aggies.

DH is an Aggie 😍 Daughter, Aggie, Son in law, Aggie, oldest grandson…..Longhorn 😩🤣

[PurpleTraveller]

Just thought I would give an update on my email to Princess about the change of itinerary to sail on the western side of Vancouver Island rather than the eastern side as per the itinerary map.

 

I received a reply today apologising for my disappointment but that the inside passage is a shipping lane and not a scenic point of interest and as per the Passage Contract the captain can change the itinerary at any point.

 

 

There is no mention that all of the Crown Princess 11 day Inside Passage itineraries have been changed and I would be fairly certain that the captain has not made an unilateral decision to change the itinerary on all sailings.

 

Also no mention was made of my complaint about the terrible state of our mattresses and that they need to be replaced.

 

If I do an Alaskan cruise again I will do further research on the itinerary to make sure that I will cruise in the shipping lane of the eastern side of Vancouver Island so that I can enjoy the non existent scenic cruising point of interest. 😂

 

I wonder why if the inside passage is not a scenic cruising point of interest why do Princess call the cruise "Alaska - Inside Passage"?

 

Edited July 27, 2023 by PurpleTraveller

[caribill]

1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

 

 

There is no mention that all of the Crown Princess 11 day Inside Passage itineraries have been changed and I would be fairly certain that the captain has not made an unilateral decision to change the itinerary on all sailings.

 

Shipping lane or not, Princess has been sailing that route for years. We greatly enjoyed that route on our previous Alaska cruise.

 

Also not mentioned is that the Princess cruise map showed and is still showing for future voyages sailing that route.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

 

I wonder why if the inside passage is not a scenic cruising point of interest why do Princess call the cruise "Alaska - Inside Passage"?

 

 

I think the "Inside Passage" also includes part of the route north of that island.

 

Also, the book that Princess sells on board which describes the entire route along the Alaska coast, pointing out all the things to look at along the way, covers the part of the Inside Passage that Princess now is bypassing.

[PurpleTraveller]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

Shipping lane or not, Princess has been sailing that route for years. We greatly enjoyed that route on our previous Alaska cruise.

 

Also not mentioned is that the Princess cruise map showed and is still showing for future voyages sailing that route.

 

 

 

 

I think the "Inside Passage" also includes part of the route north of that island.

 

Also, the book that Princess sells on board which describes the entire route along the Alaska coast, pointing out all the things to look at along the way, covers the part of the Inside Passage that Princess now is bypassing.

 

I agree with everything you say. I feel like I've been given the brush-off by Princess, as I expected. I still think that Princess should notify their passengers when they permanently change an itinerary that they have sold and published an itinerary map for.

 

[nasa1974]

Just a thought. Not making an excuse for Princess. Maybe there was an issue or problem taking the inside passage and the captain changed course to avoid any problems or delays. It would be nice to communicate that information to the passengers though.

[caribill]

33 minutes ago, nasa1974 said:

Just a thought. Not making an excuse for Princess. Maybe there was an issue or problem taking the inside passage and the captain changed course to avoid any problems or delays. It would be nice to communicate that information to the passengers though.

 

That might be possible for a single voyage, but not for every voyage including future ones while the sales material still shows the Inside Passage route.

 

[nasa1974]

1 hour ago, caribill said:

 

That might be possible for a single voyage, but not for every voyage including future ones while the sales material still shows the Inside Passage route.

 

I was referring to PurpleTraveller's post. Should have been clearer.

[PurpleTraveller]

4 hours ago, nasa1974 said:

Just a thought. Not making an excuse for Princess. Maybe there was an issue or problem taking the inside passage and the captain changed course to avoid any problems or delays. It would be nice to communicate that information to the passengers though.

 

I was told by guest services that the itinerary had been changed a few cruises previously and would be changed for all cruises on this itinerary for the remainder of the season. I would completely understand if it was a one off change due to a problem or issue of some type but I was told otherwise. 

 

[nasa1974]

3 minutes ago, PurpleTraveller said:

 

I was told by guest services that the itinerary had been changed a few cruises previously and would be changed for all cruises on this itinerary for the remainder of the season. I would completely understand if it was a one off change due to a problem or issue of some type but I was told otherwise. 

 

Yeah. That stinks.

[quack2]

On 7/12/2023 at 6:38 PM, Thrak said:

Boarding in Vancouver is a joke. They are horribly "organized" if that word can even be applied. It's the worst I've ever encountered.

Not always.  I had a very easy boarding in Vancouver in June