Krystall's 8/16 Crown Princess Review (Long)

[krystall]

We're back from the EXQUISITE Crown Princess.

 

Beautiful ship.

Cabin was gorgeous and roomy. Plenty of closet and shelf space. This is the first time I could totally unpack and hang up me and dh hubby's clothes. AWESOME bedding. We did ask the cabin stewart for the eggcrate padding and he quickly added to the bedding. Thanks Regie. The only downfall to the cabins (everyone was complaining) was the shower's size. You'll see what I mean. 20" TV. DH loved that, not the channel selection though. Good and plenty movies just a limited amount of channels.

 

As I said the ship is awesome and what a smooth ride. The crew were great (only a few could use some happy juice or something). But the majority were wonderful and aimed to please.

 

Entertainment was alright.

Robert Smith. was awesome at poolside and at Explorer's. Sarge was wonderful! We attended only two of the shows in the Princess Lounge they were good. Really enjoyed the Crew's International Show. Just wish the Cruise Director's Staff would allow more of the crew to perform. Only four crew members performed. But in all it was good. The bands were also good.

 

Went into the casino a couple of times just for fun played a few slots. Like I said, just for fun.

 

Dining:

We mostly ate in Café Caribe. We did go to the dining rooms Michelangelo's and Davinci and they were good. But the food in Café Caribe was wonderful, no waiting, we watched the sunset, lots of variety, eat at your own pace because you served yourself. If you found something you really enjoyed, just serve yourself a little more. Wine and other drinks were offered by a dress wait staff. It was great! We just enjoyed Cafe Caribe more. Horizons and Café Caribe was also the choice for breakfast though it did get a little boring for my dh with the same choices day after day. (He's a picky eater.) But to me the choices were many and plentiful so don't be put off by that. Pizza was great, especially at MUTS. Trident Grills burger and fries were good. Especially the fries. Haven't had fries that good in a while. Make sure you have the cheesecake in the dining rooms. We would go down from Café Caribe (deck 15) to one of the dining rooms just to have the cheesecake for desert. It wasn't a problem at all. And we did have the chocolate chip cookies everyone raved about. They we're good! It was hard keeping dh away from them.

 

Ports:

Grand Turk

What a beautiful day we had there. Hot and sunny. We didn't do an excursion. We just ventured out on our own. This island seems to be up and coming. Margaritaville was very nice. The swim up pool was a blast. The beach was nice, but rocky. I think it has potential in the future.

Ocho Rios

We've been to Jamaica many times so since it was a cloudy and very humid day we did some shopping and visited Margaritaville there and headed back to the ship where we could really enjoy this jewel.

Grand Cayman

We did an independent city tour. We stopped also by the turtle farm and also visited the place called Hell. We were told that the snorkeling was great there but we don't snorkel.

Port Canaveral

Been here many times also so we didn't venture off the ship. Again a great day just taking our time enjoying all the ship has to offer, leisurely lunches, plenty of open lounges, hot tubs and pools. Crew was falling over themselves waiting on the passengers who stayed on the ship and there were quite a few.

 

MUTS (Movies Under The Stars)

We both loved it! We watched quite a few movies under the stars (even though Wednesday's movie "Inside Man" was cut short, tell you about it below). During the day the movies played without sound but they made available for $2.50 an small receiver with headphones that worked great.

 

The decor of the ship is just awesome. There are still a few little minor quirks that need to be worked out.

Tip: Bring air freshener for your bathrooms. ;-)

 

Embarkation:

Brooklyn Red Hook Cruise Terminal

We live in NJ so we took the train over then took a cab to the cruise terminal. Princess may have a small problem and I reported this to one of the Princess employee's because in trying to catch a cab outside of Penn Station on 7th Ave, I remembered CC members posting to make sure the cab driver knows how to get to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Well we asked ten (10) cab drivers along with the man who assists you in getting a cab if they knew how to get there and they all said "No". Finally one cab driver stepped up and said he knew exactly where it was and gladly took us. He told us that all of the cab drivers know how to get there, they just don't want to go there. Dh and I were guessing that they didn't want to go at that hour (it was about 9:30 am) because it was so busy in midtown. But still this doesn't hold good for Princess. Princess employee said she would definitely report it.

 

Embarkation:

So we finally get to the cruise terminal. We saw passengers who had just gotten off. Everything runs pretty smoothly there. Areas are cordoned off for everything whether you are dropping off, picking up, getting a car service or taxi. Very organized. We were dropped off by our taxi, fare was $25.00 including the bridge toll and because he was nice enough to step forward and bring us we tipped him $10.00. Got inside to the terminal, we were early so they weren't signing anyone in yet. While we were waiting this is when I had the opportunity to speak to an Princess employee about our taxi situation. I loved their restrooms, they were unisex. :D So the men had to wait too. LOL We started lining up, we went through security screening, they xrayed your carryon's and they we got in line to be issued our sail and cruise cards, and whatever else they needed to get you signed in. (ex. your passport, etc.) We were given a number and shown an area to wait to board the ship. Nice big spacious area with 52" flat screen TV's to watch. The only thing is I would suggest everyone bring a sweater or jacket. As warm as it was the day we left it was freezing in that area. The air conditioner was blowing so hard the ladies hair was being blown in all directions. After awhile we searched for a corner to get out of the draft. Other than that the cruise terminal was great. We all then boarded the Crown Princess when they called our number (we had number one, early birds).

 

Disembarkation:

We got all of our forms and instructions a day ahead of time so we filled out what we needed to and labeled our luggage accordingly. We were doing Express Disembarkation so we had navy tags with the number 3. At first we headed down to the Explorer's Lounge to await our number to be called. But in dh's travels he found out that many of the Express passenger's waiting to get off were down on Deck 6 so we headed down there. Quite a few anxious passenger's waiting to get off but we all waited patiently. They let the Platinum passengers off first and then they started calling the Express passengers by number. We went right through customs with no problem. We were directed to the taxi stand across the street to awaiting taxis. Plenty of security around and by 8:50 we were at Penn Station waiting for our train. Walk in the door at our house at 10:00 am.

 

For us this was a wonderful cruise for our first time with Princess Cruises and we look forward to sailing with her again. Oh....yeah, while we were waiting for the ship to dock at the port. I spoke to a brand new ship's crew member. Said it was his first ship and all. He is from England and every time the ship comes into the NY Harbor he loves to be on deck watching the Statue Of Liberty go by. Gives him a thrill every time. He also said that he sailed on the Crown Princess out of Italy! Wow, what an experience he said. He got to be involved in all of the celebrations. He is also going to sail out of Italy again when Crown Princesses sister ship "Emerald" sails out next March 2007.

 

Man Overboard Incident

 

This happened while we were at MUTS (Movies Under The Stars) watching Inside Man. About a third of the way through the movie we hear three LOUD blasts from the ship. We all know something is wrong. A few minutes later someone from the bridge announces a man overboard call and for crew members to assume emergency posts. Now we are all really getting nervous. Passengers go to the rails to see if they can see what is going on. A few minutes later someone from the bridge informs us that they received a call saying two males had jumped overboard and they wanted us all go inside the ship. So all restaurants, entertainment, everything was shut down and we had to move inside the ship. Dh and I decided to go to the Promenade to see if we could find out what was going on. By the time we got from deck 15 to deck 7 all passengers were asked to return to their cabins so they could take attendance of each and every cabin. We all complied. After about an hour I would say the captain come on the PA and announced that there were NO missing passengers and that every passenger had been accounted for. And then he repeated that there were NO missing passengers. Our cabin was located on the port side (left) of the ship. We had an ocean view room on deck 8 (Emerald). We were located right by the life boats, etc. So we saw the crew members out there searching in pitch black darkness and very rough seas. Our heart went out to them. And then to find out no one was missing. I don't know about everyone else but then I became angry. Angry because they put the crew in danger, angry because they scared everyone half to death. I heard some passengers say that some children became very upset.

 

The next day of course this was being very much discussed. It was said that some teenagers had made the call on a hallway phone and the ship had a recording of the call. My dh and I also witnessed in Ocho Rios two sets of luggage being put onto the dock with about I'd say 7-9 passenger's who's luggage it was. We were later told that the captain and crew found out who these young people were and they were immediately removed them and their families from the ship and told to find their way home on their own. They were also told they had violated their Passenger's Contract in which we all received and were instructed to read very carefully.

 

After this happened the ship returned to normal and we were all grateful nothing terrible had happened and started enjoying the Crown again.

 

(Sorry if this was really long. I will try answer questions if I know the answer.)

 

Now starts the "After Cruise Blahs". :(

 

Thanks for reading this. :)

 

------------------------------------------------------------

Just posted today.

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by krystall

From the EXQUISITE Crown Princess.

 

"MUTS (Movies Under The Stars)

We both loved it! We watched quite a few movies under the stars (even though Wednesday's movie "Inside Man" was cut short, tell you about below). During the day the movies played without sound but they made available for $2.50 an small receiver with headphones that worked great. "

 

This is the first i've read about a charge for headphones for MUTS during the day?! Talk about nickel and diming! From what i've read, the movies during the day are more for children......doesn't seem right to charge them to be able to hear the movie!

 

Krystall, I agree with the other poster, your review here is great and very informative, please post it on the main board also :)

 

 

I will post my review on the main board. Thanks everyone.

 

About the receiver for MUTS, it wasn't just headphones. Actually it was a great bargain. You didn't disturb the people by the pool who didn't want to hear the movie, the sound on it was great. Also, you could pick up several radio stations and newscasts. It's like a small square walkman let's say 3x3 and you plug the headphones into it, they also give you and will replace batteries anytime you need them. I think it was a great bargain. I don't think they were trying to make money off of them, just appease other passengers who didn't want to hear the movies. Another thing, we saw many adult movies during the day such as: Pirates Of The Caribbean, Mr & Mrs Smith, Herbie & Love Bug, and many, many more that I can't remember.

 

Princess is really trying to keep their passengers happy. ;)

[TinaLee]

I'm sorry, but I'm also very upset to hear about a charge to watch the movies shown during the daytime! That's just not fair to those who do enjoy the MUTS during the day. VERY disappointed to hear about this development. :mad:

[Love Boat Dream]

Krystall

I'm glad you moved your review to this board so everyone else can enjoy it too!

[cruzin2paradise]

Thank you for the great review.

 

I have a quick question -- is the $2.50 charge for the receiver a daily charge or do you "rent" it for the duration of the cruise?

 

I'm sorry, but I'm also very upset to hear about a charge to watch the movies shown during the daytime! That's just not fair to those who do enjoy the MUTS during the day. VERY disappointed to hear about this development.

 

I sort of understand why you are upset, but if you think about it, it makes sense. First of all, most of the people who came back on the first few sailings made statements about MUTS being way too loud. I believe (and I do not know this all for fact - it's just my observation), that Princess decided to go this route so as not to disturb passengers. As for the cost, $2.50 doesn't seem to be a big deal and this way, those who don't want to listen don't have to. And, finally, they're "loaning out" a piece of electronic equipment, I would charge for it too. JMHO.

[TinaLee]

Sorry, but I think if they are going to charge you to hear the movie, they should just not show it at all at MUTS and show it in the cabins or in an inside theatre instead.

[krystall]

Thank you for the great review.

 

I have a quick question -- is the $2.50 charge for the receiver a daily charge or do you "rent" it for the duration of the cruise?

 

 

 

I sort of understand why you are upset, but if you think about it, it makes sense. First of all, most of the people who came back on the first few sailings made statements about MUTS being way too loud. I believe (and I do not know this all for fact - it's just my observation), that Princess decided to go this route so as not to disturb passengers. As for the cost, $2.50 doesn't seem to be a big deal and this way, those who don't want to listen don't have to. And, finally, they're "loaning out" a piece of electronic equipment, I would charge for it too. JMHO.

 

You purchase the digital receiver, headphone, and battery which they will replace anytime you need a new battery. The receiver also picks up several radio and news stations. We have ours here at home with us, they belong to us. We will use them on our next cruise.

 

For the person who said they were very upset about not having sound during the day on MUTS, be upset with the passengers who complained that it was too loud. This was not Princesses doing. They are just trying to make everyone happy.

[krystall]

Sorry, but I think if they are going to charge you to hear the movie, they should just not show it at all at MUTS and show it in the cabins or in an inside theatre instead.

 

In addition to MUTS they do show movies in the lounges and theaters. After what happened with the phony man overboard call, we saw Inside Man when it was rescheduled in the Princess Theater. They also showed it again in the Explorer's Lounge. There were also other movies shown at midnight in the Princess Theater.

 

I mean really what more could you want. :o

[krystall]

Krystall

I'm glad you moved your review to this board so everyone else can enjoy it too!

 

Thanks ;)

[cruzin2paradise]

Sorry, but I think if they are going to charge you to hear the movie, they should just not show it at all at MUTS and show it in the cabins or in an inside theatre instead.

 

Guess "they're" not going to please everyone all the time, huh? If the majority complained it was too loud, then, as we said on the playground growing up, majority wins.

 

I don't see how $2.50 for this little transmitter, that you get to keep for the next cruise, is that big of a deal. If you're on my next cruise, I'll buy yours for you. :)

[TinaLee]

Guess "they're" not going to please everyone all the time, huh? If the majority complained it was too loud, then, as we said on the playground growing up, majority wins.

 

I don't see how $2.50 for this little transmitter, that you get to keep for the next cruise, is that big of a deal. If you're on my next cruise, I'll buy yours for you. :)

 

Thanks for the offer :) but I was just confused by the info. I thought you had to pay $2.50 for this little receiver-thingy every time you wanted to watch a movie! Now that I understand that you are buying it and just keep it with you to use whenever you wish, I'm a much happier camper!

 

And I also want to thank Krystall for the great review! I enjoyed it completely, and got confused thru no fault of yours whatsoever!!!

 

Still wish I could bob in the pool while I watch the movie, but I guess that ship has sailed (as they say) - LOL!

 

Thanks again for straightening me out! :D

[cruzin2paradise]

Thanks for the offer :) but I was just confused by the info.

 

No problem - the offer stands! :D

[NYCityCruiser]

You can still enjoy the movie while in the pool when they have subtitles. I sat in the hot tub & watched Hitch - no sound, just subtitles but still very funny.

A crew member said it was because so many people from earlier cruises complained that they turned off the sound. So be careful what you gripe about...

 

I must say some movies had subtitles some didn't so it was kind of hit or miss. But I think it is probably safer for the kids if their parents are not distracted by watching a movie anyway :rolleyes:

[swom]

Guess "they're" not going to please everyone all the time, huh? If the majority complained it was too loud, then, as we said on the playground growing up, majority wins.

 

I don't see how $2.50 for this little transmitter, that you get to keep for the next cruise, is that big of a deal. If you're on my next cruise, I'll buy yours for you. :)

OK, now I'm confused.... I thought I read that the 2.50 was for the length of your cruise and that's it........what's this about your next cruise? You get to keep it? That wouldn't make sense.

I actually agree with TinaLee. I think (and I know no one cares.......) but I think that this is getting a little excessive in the charges.....

Too many "extra" charges for too little.

This is my first Princess cruise, but I'm really going to have to watch what I eat, drink and watch........geez, next it will be the toliet. "If you flush more than 5 times a day, we will have to add a charge.

Sorry, maybe I'm just in a mood. I'm still very much looking forward to my upcoming cruise, but after reading about the coffee and now the headsets during the day..........after all the other "extras" I'm beginning to not feel so good about this cruiseline.

[panddcruiser]

OK, now I'm confused.... I thought I read that the 2.50 was for the length of your cruise and that's it........what's this about your next cruise? You get to keep it? That wouldn't make sense.

I actually agree with TinaLee. I think (and I know no one cares.......) but I think that this is getting a little excessive in the charges.....

Too many "extra" charges for too little.

This is my first Princess cruise, but I'm really going to have to watch what I eat, drink and watch........geez, next it will be the toliet. "If you flush more than 5 times a day, we will have to add a charge.

Sorry, maybe I'm just in a mood. I'm still very much looking forward to my upcoming cruise, but after reading about the coffee and now the headsets during the day..........after all the other "extras" I'm beginning to not feel so good about this cruiseline.

I don't think it is just this cruise line. They are cracking down one way or another.

[Leosmom]

Tinalee and others, i also agree with you that this is excessive....who knows what they will charge for next?

If this was such a problem, why not just ask for a deposit for use of the headphones? THat would solve the problem....Charging $2.50 is so little that it is just ridiculous! Before you know it, it will be a lot more, just as the use fee for the Santuary went to $15. We were just on the HAL Noordam and they had headphones in their Explorations Cafe area which had covers that could be replaced for each successive passenger using the headphones - this could be implemented with the MUTS headphones as well. I feel it is just another way for Princess to get more revenue and not for the passenger's comfort as they claim :(

[krystall]

[willysgrandma]

Embarkation:

Brooklyn Red Hook Cruise Terminal

We live in NJ so we took the train over then took a cab to the cruise terminal. Princess may have a small problem and I reported this to one of the Princess employee's because in trying to catch a cab outside of Penn Station on 7th Ave, I remembered CC members posting to make sure the cab driver knows how to get to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Well we asked ten (10) cab drivers along with the man who assists you in getting a cab if they knew how to get there and they all said "No". Finally one cab driver stepped up and said he knew exactly where it was and gladly took us. He told us that all of the cab drivers know how to get there, they just don't want to go there. Dh and I were guessing that they didn't want to go at that hour (it was about 9:30 am) because it was so busy in midtown. But still this doesn't hold good for Princess. Princess employee said she would definitely report it.

 

 

 

Krystal: I was a travel agent who was touring the ship with the Princess rep on the 16th - were you the couple that she told to let Princess know about the cab issue? We were disturbed as travel agents about that issue and we reported it to Princess as well as sending a note to Mayor Bloomberg the the Brooklyn Borough President about the issue.

Inside the terminal we also spoke to one of the women who worked for the company that has the concierge service at the terminals and told her what you said and she also confirmed what you said as correct.

[krystall]

Embarkation:

Brooklyn Red Hook Cruise Terminal

We live in NJ so we took the train over then took a cab to the cruise terminal. Princess may have a small problem and I reported this to one of the Princess employee's because in trying to catch a cab outside of Penn Station on 7th Ave, I remembered CC members posting to make sure the cab driver knows how to get to the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal. Well we asked ten (10) cab drivers along with the man who assists you in getting a cab if they knew how to get there and they all said "No". Finally one cab driver stepped up and said he knew exactly where it was and gladly took us. He told us that all of the cab drivers know how to get there, they just don't want to go there. Dh and I were guessing that they didn't want to go at that hour (it was about 9:30 am) because it was so busy in midtown. But still this doesn't hold good for Princess. Princess employee said she would definitely report it.

 

Krystal: I was a travel agent who was touring the ship with the Princess rep on the 16th - were you the couple that she told to let Princess know about the cab issue? We were disturbed as travel agents about that issue and we reported it to Princess as well as sending a note to Mayor Bloomberg the the Brooklyn Borough President about the issue.

Inside the terminal we also spoke to one of the women who worked for the company that has the concierge service at the terminals and told her what you said and she also confirmed what you said as correct. [/quote]

 

OMG!!!

Yes, that was me. Thank you so much for forwarding that information. I really didn't know where to begin to report this problem other than Princess, that's why I was trying to get the word out so that someone would pass it on to the proper authorities. I'm glad that this information is being passed on and rectified I hope.

 

Thanks again

[willysgrandma]

 

 

OMG!!!

Yes, that was me. Thank you so much for forwarding that information. I really didn't know where to begin to report this problem other than Princess, that's why I was trying to get the word out so that someone would pass it on to the proper authorities. I'm glad that this information is being passed on and rectified I hope.

 

Thanks again

Small world, huh?

 

Did you by any chance take any of the Ceramics at Sea clasees? Severla in our Nov. 4 group are interested.

[willysgrandma]

Krystal:

 

I thought you might be interested in this - I just received this e-mail from the Brooklyn Borough Presidents office about the letter I sent them about the issues you had with cabs. You can tell the cab driver they have to take you and if they refuse, simply take down their hack number and report it to the TLC:

 

 

"Thank you for taking the time to write to the Borough President in regard to your concerns about the new Brooklyn Cruise Lines Terminal.I am forwarding a copy of your letter directly to the terminal operations management at EDC to address the terminal issues and to the taxi and limo commission.

 

While it is illegal for them to refuse trips to Brooklyn, and I simply make them do it, tourists usually are neither informed about that nor do they want or deserve the hassle."

[krystall]

Once again,

 

Thanks so much for following up on this issue. Next time I will definitely be vigilant about getting the taxi drivers number or license plate and record the time of day it happened.

 

This is not the first time this has happened. One day my husband were down at the South Street Seaport and as we were coming out we hailed a cab we saw (he clearly was working), by the time we got across the street to where he was he turned on his "Off Duty" light and said he wasn't working. It took another 45 minutes to get another cab to go back uptown.

 

Thanks and take care.

[krystall]

Small world, huh?

Did you by any chance take any of the Ceramics at Sea clasees? Severla in our Nov. 4 group are interested.

 

:rolleyes: Sorry, no I didn't. Not quite the ceramics type. I love to watch though.

 

Have a great time. :)

[Sandytoes]

Am I getting this right

They are now charging for the receiver to listen to the MUTS? If so, this just changed. We were on the 8/7 sailing. The sound from the MUTS, during the day, wasn't that bad. And I'm very sensitive to sound. Using this receiver is it more annoying?

 

Sorry to hear about another situation while sailing on the Crown. I think the 8/7 cruise was probably the only cruise so far without any occurrences. As for the people who were taken off board, well I think they learned a good lesson. Sad for the family members who didn't particate in that unruly act but had to leave.

 

As for the cab - that's NY for ya....

[krystall]

Am I getting this right

They are now charging for the receiver to listen to the MUTS? If so, this just changed. We were on the 8/7 sailing. The sound from the MUTS, during the day, wasn't that bad. And I'm very sensitive to sound. Using this receiver is it more annoying?

 

As for the cab - that's NY for ya....

 

Oh God, not the receiver again. No offense to you but you don't realize how upset some people became about this. If you scroll back a little you will find a lot of threads about it. I did have a picture of it up but after the threads died down a bit I took it down. I mentioned as you can see, in my review about the sound receiver for MUTS and what a commotion it caused. I don't think the threads are that far back. You can find a lot more info about them pro's and cons.

 

About the NY cabbies, you're right. But it's becoming quite tiring. To many tourist in NY for that nonsense. :mad:

[twinky53]

Hi Krystall! Thanks so much for the informative review, particularly about the Caribe Buffet. Was it very crowded or hard to get a table there for dinner? It will just be DH and I on this cruise. He wants to skip at least one formal night, so we figured we would do the Buffet that night.

 

As for your taxi situation, I am sorry you had to go through that. I am sorrier still to read that 35+ years after being in that situation myself, it still goes on. As a teen we often traveled to Pennsylvania to see our family and took the subway to Penn Station and a train from there on to PA. (my parents did not drive) We always took a taxi home, though, from Penn Station, and we always had taxi drivers refuse to take us - outright refuse to go to Brooklyn. Eventually we would get someone to agree to take us, but it was always a problem. It happened to me so many times, I lost count, including one time from my job in Manhattan when I was sick and my boss ordered me a car service to get me home, when no taxi would take me. It is 20 years now since I lived in Brooklyn, but some bad memories linger.

 

 

Thanks again for your review.