Crown Princess Thanksgiving Cruise Take: 11/21-11/26

[SuzieQ521]

I wanted to give a quick synopsis on my first ever holiday cruise and first time on the Crown. Overall, our group of 15 had a wonderful time and the crew went above and beyond to give my grandfather an (early) 99th birthday celebration. Given that it was a holiday cruise, I expected it to be crowded and we did have over 3,000 passengers but I never really felt the crowds much (except sometimes in the specialty ice cream dessert line!).

 

This was a 5 day cruise with stops in Ensenada and San Diego.

 

SF Port: This was my first time leaving out of SF and I was pleasantly surprised with the organization and flow. Our minibus for our big group dropped us off around 10:15 am; there was a line starting to form outside but it moved quickly. Once inside, my immediate family had the green lane since we already had medallions and it probably was about an hour or so of sitting inside before our boarding group was called.

We lucked out with some amazing clear and sunny SF weather and the sail away just before sunset under the Golden Gate bridge was magical. 

 

Ship itself: Before going on the cruise, I had read different things about the Crown and while she was showing her age at times (with rusty room finishes, rundown hallways, etc.), overall she seemed to be in good shape although there were consistent plumbing issues (at the last night, my parents toliet had issues and some of the public stalls also had problems). But the crew was always quick to assist. 

 

Speaking of the crew, the Crown's staff was some of the best, especially our room steward Geronimo and Kimberly in dining who helped our group of 15 have the same 2 tables every night which was wonderful (among others).

In addition, on the last night, Elliot, who is the dining room GM, had a big cake made for my grandfather and some of the crew came to our table to wish him a happy birthday (they had met him during sailaway on the first day; shoutout to David, Nikola and Jody--cruise director). They really made his 99th birthday so special and everyone was great.

 

Mattresses: This was a concern going in after reading about some of the saggy mattresses on the Crown--we were on the Emerald deck (on the Royal in May, we had wonderful mattresses). We had three in our room so while the bunk bed seemed to have a newer mattress, unfortunately, the twins had very very saggy ones. Fortunately, I had read a post here that said to flip the mattress; I asked the steward to do so for me and it helped quite a bit. Hopefully they change all the Crown mattresses soon but I recommend flipping the mattress if you have a saggy one.

 

Dining: The food in the MDR was pretty good and we had some terrific meals, including on Thanksgiving. We all thought the turkey was quite juicy and the presentation was excellent. 

Buffet: That was a different story; lunch was better than dinner (only had dinner once) but the buffet overall left much to be desired. I thought the Royal's buffet was much better plus the seating area is also a lot bigger. *** There is a hidden gem in the back of the buffet in the Caribe area--outside seating area right at the back of the ship, with its own bar and pool and very quiet.

 

Entertainment: Didn't get to see the production shows but we attended karaoke and trivia which was good. My 5 year old had fun at the kids club although there were a ton of kids (as expected). I had a terrific massage at the spa that I received with a good port special. 

They did play the 3 NFL games on the big screen on Thanksgiving, although there were occasional satellite issues.

 

Ports: Didn't go down to Ensenada as we took advantage of the one warm-ish day to use the pool; for San Diego, we did the ferry to Coronado Island and walked around Seaport Village. It was the day after Thanksgiving and also the Celebrity ship was in port so it was somewhat crowded. 

 

All in all, I liked the layout of the Crown better than the Royal Princess (except for the buffet); I enjoyed the Promenade deck and Skywalkers. The Crew was wonderful.

 

Let me know if anyone has any specific questions. 

 

 

Edited November 28, 2023 by SuzieQ521

[Cruisintimer]

11 minutes ago, SuzieQ521 said:

I wanted to give a quick synopsis on my first ever holiday cruise and first time on the Crown. Overall, our group of 15 had a wonderful time and the crew went above and beyond to give my grandfather an (early) 99th birthday celebration. Given that it was a holiday cruise, I expected it to be crowded and we did have over 3,000 passengers but I never really felt the crowds much (except sometimes in the specialty ice cream dessert line!).

 

This was a 5 day cruise with stops in Ensenada and San Diego.

 

SF Port: This was my first time leaving out of SF and I was pleasantly surprised with the organization and flow. Our minibus for our big group dropped us off around 10:15 am; there was a line starting to form outside but it moved quickly. Once inside, my immediate family had the green lane since we already had medallions and it probably was about an hour or so of sitting inside before our boarding group was called.

We lucked out with some amazing clear and sunny SF weather and the sail away just before sunset under the Golden Gate bridge was magical. 

 

Ship itself: Before going on the cruise, I had read different things about the Crown and while she was showing her age at times (with rusty room finishes, rundown hallways, etc.), overall she seemed to be in good shape although there were consistent plumbing issues (at the last night, my parents toliet had issues and some of the public stalls also had problems). But the crew was always quick to assist. 

 

Speaking of the crew, the Crown's staff was some of the best, especially our room steward Geronimo and Kimberly in dining who helped our group of 15 have the same 2 tables every night which was wonderful (among others).

In addition, on the last night, Elliot, who is the dining room GM, had a big cake made for my grandfather and some of the crew came to our table to wish him a happy birthday (they had met him during sailaway on the first day; shoutout to David, Nikola and Jody--cruise director). They really made his 99th birthday so special and everyone was great.

 

Mattresses: This was a concern going in after reading about some of the saggy mattresses on the Crown--we were on the Emerald deck (on the Royal in May, we had wonderful mattresses). We had three in our room so while the bunk bed seemed to have a newer mattress, unfortunately, the twins had very very saggy ones. Fortunately, I had read a post here that said to flip the mattress; I asked the steward to do so for me and it helped quite a bit. Hopefully they change all the Crown mattresses soon but I recommend flipping the mattress if you have a saggy one.

 

Dining: The food in the MDR was pretty good and we had some terrific meals, including on Thanksgiving. We all thought the turkey was quite juicy and the presentation was excellent. 

Buffet: That was a different story; lunch was better than dinner (only had dinner once) but the buffet overall left much to be desired. I thought the Royal's buffet was much better plus the seating area is also a lot bigger. *** There is a hidden gem in the back of the buffet in the Caribe area--outside seating area right at the back of the ship, with its own bar and pool and very quiet.

 

Entertainment: Didn't get to see the production shows but we attended karaoke and trivia which was good. My 5 year old had fun at the kids club although there were a ton of kids (as expected). I had a terrific massage at the spa that I received with a good port special. 

They did play the 3 NFL games on the big screen on Thanksgiving, although there were occasional satellite issues.

 

Ports: Didn't go down to Ensenada as we took advantage of the one warm-ish day to use the pool; for San Diego, we did the ferry to Coronado Island and walked around Seaport Village. It was the day after Thanksgiving and also the Celebrity ship was in port so it was somewhat crowded. 

 

All in all, I liked the layout of the Crown better than the Royal Princess (except for the buffet); I enjoyed the Promenade deck and Skywalkers. The Crew was wonderful.

 

Let me know if anyone has any specific questions. 

 

 

Ty for your review!  You covered so many topics and I appreciate that.  We are boarding the Crown soon so many questions I had were answered.  We recently cruised on Discovery and the buffet was so good and surpassed all the older ships we have sailed on.  Thankfully we aren't picky and I am certain we will not go hungry.  The way the crew treated your Grandfather was very special, kuddos to them all!

[LACruiser88]

Well written review!  Thank you! 🙂

[theloo]

Will be on Crown for Christmas & New Year's, so I appreciate this!  Sad news about the mattress, but I'll be ready to ask for it to be flipped.

[MissP22]

Most of the cons you mentioned are typical of the older ships. 

[DUCHESSRN]

4 hours ago, theloo said:

Will be on Crown for Christmas & New Year's, so I appreciate this!  Sad news about the mattress, but I'll be ready to ask for it to be flipped.

We will be on Crown for Christmas also.

[marden1970]

6 hours ago, theloo said:

Will be on Crown for Christmas & New Year's, so I appreciate this!  Sad news about the mattress, but I'll be ready to ask for it to be flipped.

We'll be on that cruise as well.  We were on the Crown in March/April and thought she was fine.  Looking forward to some warm weather.  See you on board!

[mommycruiser]

On 11/28/2023 at 1:18 AM, SuzieQ521 said:

I wanted to give a quick synopsis on my first ever holiday cruise and first time on the Crown. Overall, our group of 15 had a wonderful time and the crew went above and beyond to give my grandfather an (early) 99th birthday celebration. Given that it was a holiday cruise, I expected it to be crowded and we did have over 3,000 passengers but I never really felt the crowds much (except sometimes in the specialty ice cream dessert line!).

 

This was a 5 day cruise with stops in Ensenada and San Diego.

 

SF Port: This was my first time leaving out of SF and I was pleasantly surprised with the organization and flow. Our minibus for our big group dropped us off around 10:15 am; there was a line starting to form outside but it moved quickly. Once inside, my immediate family had the green lane since we already had medallions and it probably was about an hour or so of sitting inside before our boarding group was called.

We lucked out with some amazing clear and sunny SF weather and the sail away just before sunset under the Golden Gate bridge was magical. 

 

Ship itself: Before going on the cruise, I had read different things about the Crown and while she was showing her age at times (with rusty room finishes, rundown hallways, etc.), overall she seemed to be in good shape although there were consistent plumbing issues (at the last night, my parents toliet had issues and some of the public stalls also had problems). But the crew was always quick to assist. 

 

Speaking of the crew, the Crown's staff was some of the best, especially our room steward Geronimo and Kimberly in dining who helped our group of 15 have the same 2 tables every night which was wonderful (among others).

In addition, on the last night, Elliot, who is the dining room GM, had a big cake made for my grandfather and some of the crew came to our table to wish him a happy birthday (they had met him during sailaway on the first day; shoutout to David, Nikola and Jody--cruise director). They really made his 99th birthday so special and everyone was great.

 

Mattresses: This was a concern going in after reading about some of the saggy mattresses on the Crown--we were on the Emerald deck (on the Royal in May, we had wonderful mattresses). We had three in our room so while the bunk bed seemed to have a newer mattress, unfortunately, the twins had very very saggy ones. Fortunately, I had read a post here that said to flip the mattress; I asked the steward to do so for me and it helped quite a bit. Hopefully they change all the Crown mattresses soon but I recommend flipping the mattress if you have a saggy one.

 

Dining: The food in the MDR was pretty good and we had some terrific meals, including on Thanksgiving. We all thought the turkey was quite juicy and the presentation was excellent. 

Buffet: That was a different story; lunch was better than dinner (only had dinner once) but the buffet overall left much to be desired. I thought the Royal's buffet was much better plus the seating area is also a lot bigger. *** There is a hidden gem in the back of the buffet in the Caribe area--outside seating area right at the back of the ship, with its own bar and pool and very quiet.

 

Entertainment: Didn't get to see the production shows but we attended karaoke and trivia which was good. My 5 year old had fun at the kids club although there were a ton of kids (as expected). I had a terrific massage at the spa that I received with a good port special. 

They did play the 3 NFL games on the big screen on Thanksgiving, although there were occasional satellite issues.

 

Ports: Didn't go down to Ensenada as we took advantage of the one warm-ish day to use the pool; for San Diego, we did the ferry to Coronado Island and walked around Seaport Village. It was the day after Thanksgiving and also the Celebrity ship was in port so it was somewhat crowded. 

 

All in all, I liked the layout of the Crown better than the Royal Princess (except for the buffet); I enjoyed the Promenade deck and Skywalkers. The Crew was wonderful.

 

Let me know if anyone has any specific questions. 

 

 

Thanks for the review! We will be on her for Xmas and New Year's.