My Take On The 5/21 Crown Princess Sailing

[Maraprince]

Hi all,

 

Just a brief summary of the 5/21 sailing from my point of view. This was my 9th sailing on Princess and my second on Crown Princess. Must say this sailing was a lot better than my sailing of 7/3/06 which had many problems least of which was the delay due to the wrong grade of fuel being pumped in that caused us to miss Grand Turk totally.

Well it is back to reality! Glad we made all the ports unlike the sailing before us.

 

:mad: Only 2 negatives -- a little too much salt in some of the food and Amanda (shopping/port expert). Amanda gets a little too full of herself considering she does not have a GIA certification. She gives passengers advice on the quality of the stones and jewelry they have purchased and only pushes the shops that have paid a huge amount of money to have themselves promoted. If a shop doesn't pay the fee, they are not "recommended". In addition to the monthly fee, she gets something like 30-40% commission on each sale that is made with the VIP card. Sweet deal! Little Switzlerland was one of the non recommended shops and they have been a fixture in the Caribbean for years and now have a new shop at Grand Turk. They feel it is not necessary to pay a fee to be a "recommended" shop since they have loyal customers.

If you haven't purchased something at one of the recommended shops, she has no time to speak with you. Then there is this little routine she has to enter you into the contest to win a crystal ship. You must present all receipts from the recommended shops and she fills out a form for them that becomes your entry form. Meanwhile she has a record of all your purchases from the sailing in order to verify the commission she will be receiving from the shops.

 

One of the other shops who refused to pay the monthly fee, told us that they have a class action law suit underway because they are being bad mouthed and if they are not on the recommended list, passengers think they are selling inferior merchandise and will not go to them. They feel they are getting a bad rep from Princess and Amanda and are not willing to pay what amounts to extortion to get recommended.

Also, the coupons they put in your mailbox require you to spend $400 to get $50 off the purchase price! Not exactly in everyone's price range. I asked for ss recommendations and received VIP cards for everything but.

 

She gives one general lecture on jewelry that is filmed for rebroadcast. The second one is not filmed and she asks if anyone is GIA certified before going into her talk on what you should buy -- long and short of it, if you like it buy it and buy either slightly over a carat or slightly under it.

 

Go to the second lecture and you receive a coupon to be redeemed for a ss flower charm with a pink sapphire.

 

She also pushes the Passport coupon books for $29 each. Needless to say, they didn't sell out! If you visit the Tourist Information booth in St. Thomas, the book you get for free has a lot of free coupons that can be redeemed! Plus, most of the other cruise lines have coupons for free items available during the port lectures. On the Noordam the port experts covered 6 ports in an hour and spent no more than 3 or 4 minutes on each port with slides and time for questions. Amanda spends the whole time on shopping. However, the CD had her on a tight leash unlike last year when she spent 2 hours on one port (only 5 minutes on what to see in the port) and wanted to go on for the rest of them. People said "no" and started to leave for lunch!

 

If you bought the Passport book, you also received a map of our journey that was to be delivered to the cabin by the stewards after our last port. However, she gave some of the passengers one while they presented their receipts to her. Some of the passengers on line were getting ansy since she spent a lot of time just chatting away and admiring the various pieces that they purchased.

 

Best part, coupons for a free tote bag at Cardow are given out randomly at the 2 gangways. Doesn't matter if passengers have gone to her lectures or not. I was the very next person just as they ran out of coupons! I went to both of her lectures. Chatted with the Cardown salesperson who told me that the other ships only charge $20 for the same Passport book but would not give me a tote bag. Ran into Amanada in one of the shops and told her that they ran out of coupons just before me. She told me in a shop full of people that she planned to ask Cardow for several more totes and to see her the next day. I asked her if she wanted my cabin number and she said it wasn't necessary. Well, I went back 2 nights in a row only to find a sign saying come back tomorrow. I tried to leave a phone message, but she didn't have a direct line. When I finally found her at her desk, she barely gave me any time once she found out I didn't have any receipts and insisted she had been there the night before. She brushed me off saying, the promotion was purely ramdom and she didn't have any bags since Cardow didn't give them to her. I told very politely that I didn't think it was fair to give coupons to people who didn't even know what they were, didn't attend her lectures, and who spent no money with Cardow which was the point of the whole promotion. She said there was nothing she could do. When I mentioned about the cost of the Passport book, she said that the information was wrong. When I told her that the Cardow salesperson told me that, she insisted that she was mistaken. Considering all the free things she gets, she could have given me a tote bag from any store to keep my good will. Wouldn't buy from any of the recommended stores now on principle just to give her a commission -- not with my money! Funny part, most of the passengers coming back from St. Thomas had tote bags from all different jewerly stores! Go figure!

 

Grand Turk's beach should come with a warning! The sand will not support your weight! It was very hard getting down to the water which has a tremendous undertow. We kept having to empty sand out of our beach shoes because it was uncomfortable. Did manage to get over to the conch shell grave yard. Would have taken back one of the larger shells if I was sure I could bring it back. Took several smaller ones back with no trouble.

Don't understand why people say that there is nothing there. There is a little shopping mall with nice shops and kiosks with local handicrafts. Have to say, like Half Moon Cay better for beach, sand and water. However, I would not want to have to tender 3,000+ to get to a beach like you have to at Half Moon Cay.

 

Made it to Snorkle Park in the Dockyard and thoroughly enjoyed the easy access to the beach and the soft white power sand. No suction in the water which was crystal clear. Came home with some nice shells -- nothing big -- and some lovely pieces of coral that had washed up along the shore.

 

Cooked in St. Thomas -- it was hot and very humid! Our time there was much too limited. No way can you walk from Crown Bay into town! Takes about the same amount of time from Crown Bay as from Havensight to get downtown. No problem getting a cab to or from Crown Bay -- $4 per person each way same as Havensight to downtown. One of the Royal Caribbean ships was in but was staying later. There were about 7,000 passengers in St. Thomas between the 2 ships -- truly an invasion!

 

San Juan was comfortable until the monsoon came! We were in the upper streets and saw little rivers running in the streets. As soon as we decided to take a cab back to the ship (we were at Pier 4 the furthest from the center of town) one magically appeared. The driver was holding a plastic cup to catch the water leaking from his roof. You had to laugh at the situation -- he was very jolly and making a joke of it. When were starting to make our way down to the dock area he became very concerned at all the red cones blown all over. As we approached the bottom of the hill near the dock area we were in a lake! All the water came rushing down the hills and collected at the bottom. Water reached up to the top of car tires and came bubbling up from manholes! It was like something out of a sci fi movie. One car was being pushed by some of our ship's crew and some of the stores there had to have water coming into them. Our driver let us off right near the entrance so we didn't need to get wet at all.

 

Our midship cabin was great!

 

The 3 production shows were excellent. Make sure you get to the Princess theatre at least 20 minutes before the show to get a seat. Many of the first sitting passengers were going to the second show at 10:30 PM so every seat was filled with standees. One the first formal night, ater standing and then sitting on some steps in my high heels I was in a race with a very large man for some seats that opened up and just barely entered a row seconds before him! He hung over the seats in the row in front of us -- don't know if he knew the people or not.We had 2nd sitting (traditional dinner) and we told our waiters we wanted to see the show so they had us out by 10:10 PM. We went from the very back of the ship to the very front. You time to "commute" since it is a very long walk from one end to the other, plus you may want to visit a restroom enroute. Also, they bring the lights way down as soon as the show starts and you cannot see where you are going.

Cafe Caribe has a nightly buffet until 4:30 AM so you will never go hungry! International Cafe closes at 11PM.

 

We ate breakfast and lunch in the buffets; never went to tea in the dinning room. Instead, we went up to the buffet for a light snack since our dinner was at 8:15 PM. Don't miss the pizza or any pasta dish!

 

Cruise director and staff are very friendly and very good. Went to most of the trivia games and managed to win a clock and a water bottle. Some were very hard and others were fun even if you didn't win. Went to line dancing classes and had a hard time staying steady when the ship started to rock.

 

Never made it to MUTS or to any movie shown in Princess Theatre or Explorers lounges. Didn't catch any of the late shows -- at the buffet instead.

 

Voyage went by too quickly. Didn't get a lot of sleep.

 

Very easy process boarding or disembarking (especially if you are near the end of the colors -- done by decks in sections). Had a wait for the car service due to construction around the pier.

 

Out of a 10 -- 9-1/2 -- due to too much salt in most of the food.

 

Any questions, just ask.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[AAAAmerican]

Thank you for your informative review.

 

Knowledge is the best to have and your sharing is really caring.

 

One question I do have is:

 

Which dining room was open for Lunch when you boarded in Red Hook before going out the Buttermilk Channel? (Not the Buffet Bumper Lines)

 

One of Princess's hidden secrets.;)

[Maraprince]

Thank you for your informative review.

 

Knowledge is the best to have and your sharing is really caring.

 

One question I do have is:

 

Which dining room was open for Lunch when you boarded in Red Hook before going out the Buttermilk Channel? (Not the Buffet Bumper Lines)

 

One of Princess's hidden secrets.;)

We headed to the buffet areas -- don't believe the dining rooms were open for lunch.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[AAAAmerican]

Oh? Thanks.

 

Princess always had them open before..

 

B2B we had done that and going into Vancouver a few times too..:eek:

 

*YIKES* Another (so Called) Cost Savings...

 

What deck were you in the amidships cabin?

 

 

We headed to the buffet areas -- don't believe the dining rooms were open for lunch.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[Krazy Kruizers]

Wonderful informative review.

 

Thanks for posting.

[NYJean]

Maraprince

 

 

The water in OSJ was from a busted water main.. my brother was at the casino when a truck hit a water pipe and water went everywhere right down the street from the ship.. isn't wasn't all from the rain... jean

[spongerob]

Thanks very much for writing your review. :)

 

The "shopping expert" is, as you've described, nothing more than a shill for certain stores who provide kickbacks to the cruise lines. I put the whole thing into the "fool me once..." category. I'm sorry people waste their time on these presentations.

 

Grand Turk sounds like it's growing. I hope they can resist the temptation to become (yet another) carbon copy of most Caribbean ports.

[nycglitter]

Nice review!

[rebeccalouise]

Good review.

 

Just don't like

the center margin thing!

[eskiemom]

You couldn't have summed up Amanda any better. What a princess!

 

People avoid her as best as you can!

[jerseygirl2609]

You couldn't have summed up Amanda any better. What a princess!

 

People avoid her as best as you can!

 

I agree

 

Eskiemom - how did you dog do while you were away?

[sunsetme]

great review--thanks for the info!

[Colo Cruiser]

Great review....

I don't give those shopping lectures or the coupon books a second look, waste of time and money, what a racket!!:eek:

 

Sounds like Amanda has a lot of people snowed.

[MercedMike]

 

One of the other shops who refused to pay the monthly fee, told us that they have a class action law suit underway because they are being bad mouthed and if they are not on the recommended list, passengers think they are selling inferior merchandise and will not go to them. They feel they are getting a bad rep from Princess and Amanda and are not willing to pay what amounts to extortion to get recommended...She gives one general lecture on jewelry that is filmed for rebroadcast. The second one is not filmed and she asks if anyone is GIA certified before going into her talk ....

 

LOL -- no, it's not extortion, it is called advertising. Everybody in the world (except, I guess, Consumer Reports) does it. Why do some people on the ship not understand that? Caveat emptor.

 

It happens I AM a GIA Gemologist and a jewelry appraiser with many years experience. I think it would be fun to go to her talk and hear what she has to say! I certainly would not raise my hand and give her any warning in advance, though.

 

My firm advice to travelers is to restrict their purchases to ashtrays and t-shirts and buy jewelry from a reputable jeweler in their home town.;)

[Maraprince]

Oh? Thanks.

 

Princess always had them open before..

 

B2B we had done that and going into Vancouver a few times too..:eek:

 

*YIKES* Another (so Called) Cost Savings...

 

What deck were you in the amidships cabin?

Dolphin deck -- mini suite with 3 adults -- completely open balcony. 2 AC units in each section of the cabin that worked well.

 

Our cabin # was D330. I would recommend it since most of the time in port the gangway was either up front or on the other side so we always had privacy. If you want the NYC view book and "odd" numbered cabin on the other side of the ship (right side).

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[Maraprince]

MercedMike,

 

She would have loved you!

 

The second session was not filmed for rebrocast to the entire ship. She promised to tell everyone things that the "trade" didn't want you to know. She comes from a small town in the midwest and through familly connections got her job originally and worked her way up. She has some training but is not GIA certified.

 

I almost shocked her with a question on colored diamonds and when I knew that red diamonds were the most valued and rare she hesitated and gave me a very strange look.

 

I had encountered her last July 2006 on my first sailing on Crown Princess and knew what to expect. With her its all about commission, commission , commission. If you do not buy in her recommended stores, she has no time to speak with you.

 

Other passengers had questions about digital cameras, etc. and she sent them VIP cards for jewelry! Her answer to everything is "Diamonds International" -- they do not have the best prices or quality, just pay more to "advertise" with her.

 

Coming from NYC where most of the shops have their production/repair facilities and things are highly competitive, as you said you have to have a level of quality and price in mind before shopping in the Caribbean.

 

If I was spending what some of these passengers did, I would want more than her looking through a loop and telling me that a made a good purchase. What is she going to say -- you shopped at one of her recommended stores and she is getting a big commission because of your shopping there! Wake up! Do your homework and shop at a store that has been in business a long time and can back up the quality of the piece with an appraisal. I know, appraisals are subjective but to put your trust in her is just ridiculous.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[Maraprince]

NYJEAN,

 

That's good to know! Our cab driver was in shock at the amount of water bubbling up like a fountain from the street! Loreen and I will have a great story to tell about our adventure in San Juan for years to come! Lu missed it all since she went on to EL Morro on her own and got back to the ship earlier than we did.

 

Must say that Loreen and I had a most enjoyable and relaxing time in San Juan before the "flood". We had lunch in a local Chinese restaurant where we were one of the few non Asian customers -- always a good sign -- and the food wasn't salty at all compared to the ship! Most of the soups on board were way too salted for our taste. The ship's version of Chinese food resulted in us only eating and enjoying the dim sum and the spring rolls -- everthing else was too salty. We had to go to the other buffet section and get more food to eat -- salad, vegetables and dessert.

 

Prices in San Juan were the best of the whole trip and they were still willing to bargain with you. Since no one knows how bad the hurricane season will be, they would rather take a little less money and make a sale than lose it all together. Which really makes sense when you think about it. Everyone wins and feels good in the bargain. Too bad the rain spoiled our outting since we were not ready to return the ship at that point. But we did all the right things by getting a cab when we did.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[KAWS]

Speaking of jewellry and shopping.......:p

 

Has anyone ever gone to "Chalet D'or" in St. Thomas? I saw an advertisement for this jewellry store and there's a ring there that has my name allllllllll over it!!

 

Hubby's promised me a ring for our cruise (it's our 25th anniversary while we're away) and this little gem just might be the one, but I'm wondering about pricing and quality.

 

Anyone ever been there?

[Maraprince]

KAWS,

 

Best to shop around and get pricing before you go so you are in a better position to know whether or not you are getting a good buy and what the level of quality you are looking at is. The more information you can bring with you, the better position you will be in to bargain. Remember, some of the bigger chain stores will not budge from their price point but you can always ask.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[play21cw]

So.. i will stay far away from Amanda and her ways.. But tell me this, what deos she have going for her??

[MortgageChick]

I was on the May 12 Sailing of the Crown Princess. I also found the food too salty. I thought the beach at Grand Turk was fine. There was no undertow and the water was clear so maybe it depends on time of day.

 

I never go to the port shopping talks because it is a waste of time and they always direct you to the expensive jewellry stores, and tell you very little about the port itself

[stevewiz]

Which beach did you go to at Turks? I read there is a Governer's beach and a beach right off the ship. thanks

[DougandEric]

When on the Oosterdam in 2005, the CD said the shopping adviser was paid by PortHole magazine and actually drew business away from the ships shops. Most of the staff didn't have much to do with her. I thought she was bossy and full of herself. I pay no attention to the 'recommended' shops and go for the small local shops if possible. I'm not much of a shopper and if I was looking for something specific, I'd know the price/specs before going and would only buy it if I could get a better deal than locally or on the internet. Being told you'll get the best price just for shopping at a 'recommended' store generally means that the shopping adviser is getting the best deal!

 

We were part of a Cruise Critic group and a couple of the people had suites down the hall from each other so held parties at the same time with people going from suite to suite. The shopping adviser was a guest. She was seated on a sofa and when I came near (I was a guest as well!), she held out her glass to me and said "I'll have another". No please, no thank you - just do it.

I guess I have the subservient look! Anyway, I avoided her from then on!

 

 

Doug

[Maraprince]

So.. i will stay far away from Amanda and her ways.. But tell me this, what deos she have going for her??

play21cw,

 

She is young and good looking and very confident -- a very good sales person -- and fools anyone on their first cruise or anyone who isn't a shopper by nature and is looking for a "bargain".

 

She will make the uninitiated think only the recommended stores have the best prices and best merchandise.

 

You are better off shopping the smaller stores who have been in the islands for years and have a personal raport with their customers. They will take the time to explain what you are looking at, ask what your budget is and will try to find something in your price range. If you do not buy anthing, they will smile and give you their card and tell you to look them up the next time you are in town. You will be given a beverage and a seat and treated like royalty since they are personally invested in their shops and reputation. They want a satisfied customer who will return and recommend them back home.

 

I am a professional buyer by occupation (not jewlery) and can spot a slick sale person a mile away -- Amanda. When you ask specific questions, she will try to evade them and just give you retoric. She knows just enough to be convincing. When I told her that I was a professional buyer, she never asked what I bought but just looked at me funny.

 

Amanda is only interested in the commissions she gets from the stores. Most of them have a set price and make you think that if you have a VIP card from Amanda you are getting a better deal. They will say something like, for Amanda I am giving you my best price.

 

If you have the opportunity, hang around the recommended shops and watch what transpires. If you show an interest in a piece of jewelry but balk at the price, the sales person will right away bring over their manager who will hear you out and tell you that there is just so much he can take off. This same scene is repeated with every customer. Go away for an hour or so and then return and ask about the same piece of jewelry and remind the manager that he quoted a lower price only an hour ago! Lots of fun to watch his reaction.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[Maraprince]

So.. i will stay far away from Amanda and her ways.. But tell me this, what deos she have going for her??

play21cw,

 

She is young and good looking and very confident -- a very good sales person -- and fools anyone on their first cruise or anyone who isn't a shopper by nature and is looking for a "bargain".

 

She will make the uninitiated think only the recommended stores have the best prices and best merchandise.

 

You are better off shopping the smaller stores who have been in the islands for years and have a personal raport with their customers. They will take the time to explain what you are looking at, ask what your budget is and will try to find something in your price range. If you do not buy anthing, they will smile and give you their card and tell you to look them up the next time you are in town. You will be given a beverage and a seat and treated like royalty since they are personally invested in their shops and reputation. They want a satisfied customer who will return and recommend them back home.

 

I am a professional buyer by occupation (not jewlery) and can spot a slick sale person a mile away -- Amanda. When you ask specific questions, she will try to evade them and just give you retoric. She knows just enough to be convincing. When I told her that I was a professional buyer, she never asked what I bought but just looked at me funny.

 

Amanda is only interested in the commissions she gets from the stores. Most of them have a set price and make you think that if you have a VIP card from Amanda you are getting a better deal. They will say something like, for Amanda I am giving you my best price.

 

If you have the opportunity, hang around the recommended shops and watch what transpires. If you show an interest in a piece of jewelry but balk at the price, the sales person will right away bring over their manager who will hear you out and tell you that there is just so much he can take off. This same scene is repeated with every customer. Go away for an hour or so and then return and ask about the same piece of jewelry and remind the manager that he quoted a lower price only an hour ago! Lots of fun to watch his reaction.

 

 

MARAPRINCE