Has anyone been on Crown Princess?

[cruiselovers]

We love the Voyager Class ships, and although we have enjoyed Princess, we find there is just not enough to do at night on these ships...I was looking at the 9-night next summer out of NY, but wondering if they have more entertainment than we have seen in the past...Has anyone been on the larger Princess ships lately and is the entertainment at night comparable to RCCL Voyager class?

 

Thanks

[wrp96]

For the ultimate in comparisons of the Crown Princess and RCCL's Voyager class ships, check out these threads by Merion Mom:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=384377

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=384375

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=380212

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=378464

[DonnaK]

I was also looking to compare the two. I have no problems or complaints about any of my RCCL Voyager-class cruises, and we looked into Liberty of the Seas, but we're tired of the same menus and ports, and would like to try something different next summer. Since we live in NY and don't have to consider airfare for the Crown Princess, we'd be getting 9 days for the price of 7 days on RCCL.

 

Can the Crown Princess satisfy someone who loves the Voyager ships?

[andnickali]

I say book the Crown- what do you have to lose????? We were also considering a 9 day from NY since we don't have to fly, we jsut haven't made up our minds on which week to take.

[Merion_Mom]

I was also looking to compare the two. I have no problems or complaints about any of my RCCL Voyager-class cruises, and we looked into Liberty of the Seas, but we're tired of the same menus and ports, and would like to try something different next summer. Since we live in NY and don't have to consider airfare for the Crown Princess, we'd be getting 9 days for the price of 7 days on RCCL.

 

Can the Crown Princess satisfy someone who loves the Voyager ships?

Thanks for posting those links, Wrona. :)

 

Donna, I didn't get the pleasure of "9 days and sailing to and from New York", since I was on the infamous Crown Princess LIST cruise, so I am still looking forward SOME DAY to a cruise longer than 7 days!

 

I will say that I always found plenty to do at night on the Crown Princess, but I WOULD say that it isn't *as* lively as a Voyager class, *as* late.

 

I am a night owl, and always made my own fun and activities, but there were fewer and fewer people out and about after the last show and with every passing half hour.

 

By 12:30 or 1 a.m., I mostly only saw unattended teenagers hanging around the main gathering areas, like the pool deck and the International Piazza. They weren't necessarily doing anything wrong, but they were truly HANGING. You know, DRAPED over the furniture, with that bored, affected teenage attitude. "Go ahead, try to make me enjoy this cruise. My parents are so clueless and I am so friggin' cool."

 

My cruise was great because I hooked up with A LOT of friends who *met* on our Roll Call. So many of just "clicked", I would have had fun on the Titanic! If I had to be in the middle of a traumatic disaster, these are the people I was glad to be with!

 

In other words, go ahead, try it. If you don't like it, we won't punish you for trying another line. We'll welcome you back with open arms, here at Royal Caribbean. :)

[cindybythebeach]

I haven't been on the Crown, but I was on the Caribbean Princess for 7 nights in May/June. I thought that Princess actually had more to do at night than the three Voyager class cruises I've been on. I enjoyed my trips on Voyager, Adventure and Navigator, but I also enjoyed Princess. I would sail either if I had the opportunity. I would choose based on itinerary and cost. I'm on the Serenade next month and looking forward to comparing that ship to all the others.

[Leafpeeper]

We just got off Crown Princess last week and loved this ship. It reminds us of RCCL Jewel of the Seas in many ways. What everybody seemed to enjoy was MUTS (Movies under the Stars), which is a huge outdoor movie screen above one of the large pools with stadium style seating. Chaise lounges have pads with headrests for evenings with popcorn served too.

 

Best pizza of any cruiseline. DD even said they couldn't get enough of the pizza. We enjoyed the anytime dining in two of the dining rooms. Traditional dining in another one. Two alternative restaurants: Crown Grille SteakHouse and Sabatinis.

 

Best thing I liked about this ship was the pool deck. There are two large pools midship (one with movies and the other with poolside entertainment like other ships). There was another pool towards the front of the ship near their solarium. There were two adult pools in the aft of the ship. Lots of quiet areas for reading outdoors and never a shortage of chaise lounges. Hot tubs were alittle too hot for us to enjoy, but we loved the adult pools in the aft of the ship.

 

Cocktails were much less expensive than other cruiselines: many cocktails for $4.25 and bucket of 5 Becks for $14. I did notice some areas of the ship charged different prices for drinks with different sizes.

 

Food on Princess was outstanding. Everyone in our group said that. We liked the anytime dining rooms--same menu as traditional dining room. We only had to wait for a table on formal night--had a glass of wine and table was ready.

 

International Cafe in the Atrium was wonderful too. Food, desserts, cookies and flavored coffees 24 hr a day. Wine bar adjacent was great too.

 

We sail on lots of cruiselines and enjoy trying different ships as much as possible. I recommend trying Crown Princess if you like RCCL ships. I found lots of similarities--just wish RCCL would add an anytime dining room for people like me who want to eat when I want, at a table size I want, and with people I choose. Sometimes I just like a table for 2 and sometimes I feel like meeting new people. I like the choices NCL and Princess give me.

 

Loved the outdoor movies and enjoy NCL movie theaters. Princess even had football on the outdoor screen on Sundays and Monday night. It was packed on those days.

 

Did I answer all your questions?

[Leafpeeper]

We love the Voyager Class ships, and although we have enjoyed Princess, we find there is just not enough to do at night on these ships...I was looking at the 9-night next summer out of NY, but wondering if they have more entertainment than we have seen in the past...Has anyone been on the larger Princess ships lately and is the entertainment at night comparable to RCCL Voyager class?

 

Thanks

 

I realized I got sidetracked and never answered your question about late night entertainment. We really enjoyed the Explorers Lounge (huge) at midnight. They had fantastic comedians. I've never seen so many different comics on one ship. This lounge was centrally located and filled each night. There were sofas and comfy chairs in the back rows that we loved slipping into late night.

 

There was dancing in Skywalkers until the wee hours too.

 

We would finish our night watching the comics until 1am and then head to the atrium cafe for hot chocolate chip cookies and tea for our cabin. Fantastic movies 24 hours on tv too. We had alot of late nights on this cruise.

 

DD and her DH have sailed Explorer of the Seas and said they liked Crown Princess better. Everybody has to find out for themselves. We all have different tastes.

[RM]

We did the Crown last month and pretty much agree with Merion Mom on all points. We had a very restful cruise and will go with Princess again but we also love the pace on RCI's ships. Give it a try because the only way you'll really know is to try it!