Live from Crown: Carolyn’s Crown Princess Blog

[Colo Cruiser]

Carolyn,

did anyone notice whether the dining room was open for lunch on embarkation day? I much prefer that to the buffet. :)

[newbie2468]

Thank you for the information on the mini suite. It is our first cruise and I have read everything I can.. Some of the negative things make me nervous, but the I know that some people are just "wired" to complain.. We don't go until March 2007.. I am not sure how these threads work or how I reply to a "reply," so I hope this posts. Thanks again

 

Tory

[LunaMoon]

Dear Carolyn,

 

Thank you for checking on the Princess policy concerning an automatically added 15% gratuity to all spa services.

 

I am certain that your inquiry was very thorough, and I appreciate it.

 

However, now I am more confused than ever because on the Princess Cruise Personalizer, where I always prebook spa treatments (in the past for the Grand and the Caribbean Princess, and now for the Crown) it clearly states (the below are some current bookings in the Crown Spa for a few weeks from now):

Service

Lotus Full Body Swedish Massage ( 50 Minutes )

Price 109.00

 

Service

Aromaspa Ocean Wrap ( 55 minutes )

Price 127.00

 

Service

Tradtional Manicure (25 minute)

Prince 28.00

 

* All prices are shown in U.S. Dollars. For your convenience, a 15% gratuity will be added to the purchase price of each service.

__________________________________________________________________

 

I would really appeciate knowing if this policy, which I believe was applied in the past on the Grand and the Caribbean Princess is no longer in effect, or siimply mistated in the Crown Personalizer.

 

Thank you.

[Colo Cruiser]

I thought that policy was still in effect fleetwide? :confused:

[LunaMoon]

I thought that policy was still in effect fleetwide? :confused: (Colo Cruiser)

Yes, me too, ColoCruiser.

 

However, Carolyn wrote today:

"Okay, apparently there was some confusion about tipping so I went to check it out (your intrepid reporter). There is no automatic gratuity (and I both asked and paid for spa treatments so can report that that was consistent). Not in any spa on any ship in Princess' fleet."

So, what do you make of it?

Friends and I normally give between 15% - 20% tip for spa treatments directly to the person , and would do the same happily on the Crown IF the policy stated in their personalizer and my past experiences on the Grand and CP did not lead me to believe that indeed the tip is built-in. It seems awkward to wait until you have your receipt to check to see if you've somehow, inadvertantly, given a 30%-35% tip or not.

[Colo Cruiser]

Yes it is awkward. :eek:

[dobie]

Carolyn, I agree with you about the spa...thank you.

 

There was not an automatic gratuity on the Coral in April...there was a spot to fill in the tip amount. I got worried after reading on the boards and checked my account...they just added what I put for the tip, not an add'l 15%.

[Larry502]

James was a joke. i gave him a poor review when I had him as the asst CD. I guess you can see how much Princess pays attention to the review. They promoted him? Just as bad was Lisa Ball I think her name was. She made a nice couple with James.

[Colo Cruiser]

James was a joke. i gave him a poor review when I had him as the asst CD. I guess you can see how much Princess pays attention to the review. They promoted him? Just as bad was Lisa Ball I think her name was. She made a nice couple with James.

 

Be careful of your opinions of James Lay, other posters think he is being trashed too much. I don't think he is very good either. :eek:

 

The truth hurts sometimes

[RobNC2001]

Carolyn: Thanks. What an awesome service this has been Wish CC would send an editor out on every new ship!

[ginny0034]

James was a joke. i gave him a poor review when I had him as the asst CD. I guess you can see how much Princess pays attention to the review. They promoted him? Just as bad was Lisa Ball I think her name was. She made a nice couple with James.

 

I completely agree with you on James. He was so boring. My husband and I woke up and watched his and Lisa Ball's update show in the morning and laughed so hard at Lisa. She kind of just sat there next to him with this completely vacant look in her eyes. Like she had no idea what she was doing there. Maybe she wasn't a morning person!

[Kid Jedi]

James was a joke. i gave him a poor review when I had him as the asst CD. I guess you can see how much Princess pays attention to the review. They promoted him? Just as bad was Lisa Ball I think her name was. She made a nice couple with James.

 

Yeah, James was just so-so. But if you saw him with a ballerina's outfit on, you had to laugh. This was when we did the 6/14 cruise. Not sure if he repeated that bit on your voyage or not.

[Merion_Mom]

Reactions to and opinions of Cruise Directors is much like everything else in life: subjective. Some people like high-energy people and find them invigorating, while others find that they are nerve-wracking. Some people like low-key individuals, while others find them soporific.

 

Don't be surprised if not everyone agrees with your opinion; that's all that it is.

 

By the way, I have no opinion. I won't meet these people for another seven days.

 

SEVEN DAYS! WOOHOO!

 

Then I'll give you my opinion - and WHY.

[sealegs9]

I have organized a get together for the 7/29/06 Crown sailing. Since the term "Meet and Mingle" has already been taken, I chose "Cruise and Schmooze" in honor of the Brooklyn port from which the ship is sailing.

 

Jan James was extremely helpful. I would suggest that you get her a tentative count as early as possible. Getting a rough number sounds easier than it actually is. It requires a lot of cooperation from the participants in replying and giving you fairly accurate numbers.

 

Hopefully at some point Princess will realize that it may actually be to their benefit to "court the favor" of the board members.

 

Bon Voyage to all,

Rich- I LOVE it!. I'm the organizer for our meetings for the 8/25 voyage. I figure I'll contact Jan after I see the Eastern Patters to see where there won't be conflicts. I'm going to suggest the C&S title for our meetings to the group and see what they say. Thanks for the post. Now I'll have to read your roll call thread.

When I planned the get together on last year's CB, our group did not have a title. Princess titled it "Friends of the Berkowitz's" - kind of like Friends of Bill or Dorothy. I told people it was a society of serial killers :eek: (gallows humor). We had a great time w/o Princess staff, anyway- we met and mingled (schmoozed). Someone made nametags with our screen names and real names. It was fun. We were in Skywalkers -no-host bar and were standing and mingling. On RCCL, we were always seated and the staff kind of ran the show. We mingled after the event. So- I really don't care if the staff is there or not. RCCL served lemonade and cookies - no one ate them or had the lemonade, either. We're doing a no-host bar; should loosen things up for some....Don't want to start too early though. We will probably do a kids/family get together an hour before muster, unofficially- unless the group wants a no-host bar for that one. We have a few weeks to decide. One of our group is the keeper of the list. As soon as I'm ready to contact Jan, I'll have the numbers!

[Bassethound]

Too many questions that need answering,

 

The crew show was one of the best shows I have seen on princess, and James was both instrumental and awesome in that. But, the Cruise Staff ran very efficiently and that is more what I ask from them than personally entertaining. Leave that tot he entertainment. :p

 

We were going to double up on the Crown, but decided to go for the Emerald maiden instead. :D

 

Ahroooooo!!!!!!

 

Oh, yeah. The M&G we had with the Cruise Staff was GREAT!!!!!!!!!

 

AND, if you are diving, say high to Ernie from Mike on the maiden voyage. He is top notch!! And the retail dive equipment he has is priced to move!!

[Merion_Mom]

Princess titled it "Friends of the Berkowitz's" - kind of like Friends of Bill or Dorothy. I told people it was a society of serial killers :eek: (gallows humor).

I *get* it! That's brilliant. :D :D :D

[Cruising Photographer]

Thank you Carolyn for the great information. It took two nights to read through it all, but I definitely know a lot more about the ship, ports, & going through customs in San Juan now. I'm just sorry it took me so long to find this message board. The information is FANTASITC!!!!

[ginny0034]

Hi Carolyn,

 

You will probably put this information in your cruise review, but I was wondering what you thought about the food. I picked up little snippets, here and there, like you enjoyed the Crown restaurant (the new specialty one), Vines, the International Cafe, but perhaps you could comment on the other locations. How about the Caribe, the main dining rooms, room service, Sabatinis, etc. Sorry if you've already mentioned these and I've just missed it.

 

Also, did you have anytime dining or traditional? I'm a little nervous about anytime dining (we're on the waiting list for traditional and not likely to get it). We like to meet new people, but we kind of look forward to getting to know the people at our table over the duration of the cruise. Also, my husband and I love each other, but sometimes it's nice to talk to other people, a whole 10 days alone with each other and we might go a bit crazy! Anyone have any experiences to share re anytime dining?

 

Thank you!

 

I'll jump in on this one. We had Anytime Dining. Originally had Traditional but additional family members decided to come and didn't get it so we switched to be with them. I liked the convenience of Anytime Dining and if you really like a server in the beginning you can try and reserve him for the rest of the week. Getting reservations between the times 7:00 and 8:00 was a bit tougher but if you just walk in we never had a problem being seated. They will ask you if you wouldn't mind being seated with other people so that might solve your problem. Both Anytime Dining rooms are very pretty but we usually ended up in the Da Vinci just had better luck with service.

I did miss having Traditional. I like having the same server everynight and meeting new people that you will see again on the cruise. Keep trying for Traditional, I can tell you a lot of people changed from traditional on board to Anytime.

[editor@cruisecritic]

LunaMoon, I'm going to forward your post over to the folks at Princess...there's definitely a disconnect between onboard and Steiner, and offboard and Princess. Thanks for sending this!!!

 

But it's definitely not included.

 

Carolyn

 

Dear Carolyn,

 

Thank you for checking on the Princess policy concerning an automatically added 15% gratuity to all spa services.

 

I am certain that your inquiry was very thorough, and I appreciate it.

 

However, now I am more confused than ever because on the Princess Cruise Personalizer, where I always prebook spa treatments (in the past for the Grand and the Caribbean Princess, and now for the Crown) it clearly states (the below are some current bookings in the Crown Spa for a few weeks from now):

Service

Lotus Full Body Swedish Massage ( 50 Minutes )

Price 109.00

 

Service

Aromaspa Ocean Wrap ( 55 minutes )

Price 127.00

 

Service

Tradtional Manicure (25 minute)

Prince 28.00

 

* All prices are shown in U.S. Dollars. For your convenience, a 15% gratuity will be added to the purchase price of each service.

__________________________________________________________________

 

I would really appeciate knowing if this policy, which I believe was applied in the past on the Grand and the Caribbean Princess is no longer in effect, or siimply mistated in the Crown Personalizer.

 

Thank you.

[Trainman52]

Rich- I LOVE it!. I'm the organizer for our meetings for the 8/25 voyage. I figure I'll contact Jan after I see the Eastern Patters to see where there won't be conflicts. I'm going to suggest the C&S title for our meetings to the group and see what they say. Thanks for the post. Now I'll have to read your roll call thread.

When I planned the get together on last year's CB, our group did not have a title. Princess titled it "Friends of the Berkowitz's" - kind of like Friends of Bill or Dorothy. I told people it was a society of serial killers :eek: (gallows humor). We had a great time w/o Princess staff, anyway- we met and mingled (schmoozed). Someone made nametags with our screen names and real names. It was fun. We were in Skywalkers -no-host bar and were standing and mingling. On RCCL, we were always seated and the staff kind of ran the show. We mingled after the event. So- I really don't care if the staff is there or not. RCCL served lemonade and cookies - no one ate them or had the lemonade, either. We're doing a no-host bar; should loosen things up for some....Don't want to start too early though. We will probably do a kids/family get together an hour before muster, unofficially- unless the group wants a no-host bar for that one. We have a few weeks to decide. One of our group is the keeper of the list. As soon as I'm ready to contact Jan, I'll have the numbers!

 

I'm in Bellmore. Feel free to drop me an e-mail with any questions you may have either pre or post sailing.

[PreciousPetal]

Thank you so much for all this marvelous information! I am going out on 7/29--Eastern run. Without missing any formal nights or theme nights, do you have any advise as to which night would be best to make a Sabitini's reservation? :)

[SeaMatesNYC]

We sailed on 6/23 on the Crown and want to tell all that it was the best cruise we ever had. The ship is magnificent. Despite others comments about the food, we had the best we have ever had onboard, and are very picky being Manhattanites who dine out often at "quality" restaurants. The food was made even more special by the special treats compliments of the Maitre D' who I suppose can't have something special made for everyone, but certainly surprised us some extra apps. Anyways, the spa pool was never very crowed until towards the end. The large pools are not our thing anyways. We loved the Cruise Port at Grand Turk. Thought the beach and water were very clean. Don't go to Margarittaville, if you don't find that sort of thing entertaining. Bermuda - spectacular. Will go back for a land vacation. Back to onboard - Adagio - a must for anyone who enjoys cabaret, and award winning artist - Sammy - plays nightly - and I mean awards for Cabaret in NYC the best of them all for that sort. Catalin and Christian at Tradewinds (I think that was the one, the bar upstairs at the pool without MUTS) come in for special praise for their poise and conversation. All around, found the CD staff to be less than welcoming, but they never have much to do with our vacation anyways...last but not least, they need to have a pre-planned FOD meeting and not wait for people to beg. Hope Mr. James Lay, CD, takes note of that. Truly the best time we have had on a cruise. Now just two months til Greece - can't wait!

Cheers and happy sailing!

[LDTC]

Carolyn,

The Aug. 7th sailing CC group is trying to arrange out meet and greet. I can't remember the timing of the muster drill and sailaway. Do we have time to meet up for a bit at the Wheelhouse without missing the sailaway? Any other suggestions? We are planning to contact James to arrange an organized meeting in addition to this first encounter. Thanks for all your helpful hints and to everyone elses insights!

 

So far we only have 28 people on our roll call for 8/7. Please sign on if you haven't already!

Sari

[CaroleLee]

We sailed on 6/23 on the Crown and want to tell all that it was the best cruise we ever had. The ship is magnificent. Despite others comments about the food, we had the best we have ever had onboard, and are very picky being Manhattanites who dine out often at "quality" restaurants. The food was made even more special by the special treats compliments of the Maitre D' who I suppose can't have something special made for everyone, but certainly surprised us some extra apps. Anyways, the spa pool was never very crowed until towards the end. The large pools are not our thing anyways. We loved the Cruise Port at Grand Turk. Thought the beach and water were very clean. Don't go to Margarittaville, if you don't find that sort of thing entertaining. Bermuda - spectacular. Will go back for a land vacation. Back to onboard - Adagio - a must for anyone who enjoys cabaret, and award winning artist - Sammy - plays nightly - and I mean awards for Cabaret in NYC the best of them all for that sort. Catalin and Christian at Tradewinds (I think that was the one, the bar upstairs at the pool without MUTS) come in for special praise for their poise and conversation. All around, found the CD staff to be less than welcoming, but they never have much to do with our vacation anyways...last but not least, they need to have a pre-planned FOD meeting and not wait for people to beg. Hope Mr. James Lay, CD, takes note of that. Truly the best time we have had on a cruise. Now just two months til Greece - can't wait!

Cheers and happy sailing!

Thanks for your comments, Agree about CD their job is engage you in activities- if that is your choice-not wait until you ask. Adagio sounds great.Would be interested in your Greek trip- as this is DH+my next planning stage cruise.

Carole

[Suncat]

Carolyn,

The Aug. 7th sailing CC group is trying to arrange out meet and greet. I can't remember the timing of the muster drill and sailaway. Do we have time to meet up for a bit at the Wheelhouse without missing the sailaway? Any other suggestions? We are planning to contact James to arrange an organized meeting in addition to this first encounter. Thanks for all your helpful hints and to everyone elses insights!

 

So far we only have 28 people on our roll call for 8/7. Please sign on if you haven't already!

Sari

 

I hope you mean you will be contacting Jan James and not James Lay, the CD as he is not in charge of setting up MnG's. Jan James (jjames@princess.com) should be e-mailed with your questions. She'll help you. I'd e-mail her as soon as possible so you can reserve a space. You might want to wait to have the MnG on another day too since there is so much going on the first day. We are meeting at Skywalkers on the first Sea day of our July 20th Cruise.

We have almost 200 people!

 

Good Luck and Happy planning!

 

FYI - this is my e-mail response from Ms. James.

 

 

"I have scheduled the "Meet & Greet" for the Cruisecritic group. Please see the below attachment for your confirmation. It is very important to have one contact (group escort). Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. I will be contacting the ship and ask them if they can make mention of the group. Just to let you know, there is a room capacity in Skywalkers Nightclub. Princess does not send out invitations for events that are scheduled onboard. It will be up to the group escort (you) to make all aware of the time, date and location. You will also receive a confirmation in your cabin of your scheduled event. Thank you and have a good week-end."

 

Also, there is another post on how to do this on the board right now!