Crown Princess for Dummies-Just got back!

[smvthecpa]

Just got back from 6/26-7/5 Crown P- You can call this Crown P for dummies, but this is my personal advice:

 

1- I had Late Dining fixed at 8:15PM. I heard horror stories about long waits up to 1/2 hour to 45 min for anytime dining. Especially on the nite of the Captains Formal greeting nites. Not worth it.

It is not enough to request late seating. Get it confirmed! Thank the lord we got on the ship around 12:15PM when I discovered requesting late seating is not good enough. I shoulda confirmed it. By 1:30PM we were at the dining room arranging confirmed seating which I got. Long lines around 2:30PM developed and people were wait listed for late seating. Think about it. Why is there such a demand for late seating?

 

2- Princess is money hungry. Very little shaded areas unless you want to pay $20 for the "serenity spa", a dedicated part of the shape totally shaded. What a ripoff! So I got to the Neptune pool around 7:15AM

on the days at sea and put our blankets down on the few shaded lounges that were available. The shaded lounges fills up first very rapidly.

 

3- Only use the Neptune Pool. the MUTS pool has blaring loud movies playing starting at noon. I can't hear myself think its soo loud.

 

4- Music - Princess is so cheap there is simply not enough bands playing. long enough. On days at sea, why does Volz start playing the Neptune pool around 2:30PM when the Neptune pool is packed at 11:00AM? Lets get the music started earlier and more frequently.

 

5- Food treat- You must go to Cafe Caribe at 5:30PM when they start serving dinner early. Yeh, I know I have late seating at 8:15PM, but its a special treat to sample the ship's buffet dinner early. Its a great opportunity for 2 different kinds of dinners as the menus are not exactly the same.

 

6- Disembarkatation- No, you don't need express checkout. I was off the ship at 9:00AM after picking up my luggage that the ship delivered down to the terminal. Originally I was scheduled to get off the ship at 9:40PM but I went to the Pursur's office and pleaded to be let off the ship earlier, so I was moved up.

I live in New Jersey and was home around 11:00AM.

 

7- There is no "coffee" in the horizon food court. Its this brown colored hot water. The dining rooms serve something resembling coffee. The Intl Cafe serves coffee but they want $1.50 for real coffee. Yeh, the first thing I did when I headed home was to stop at Dunkin Donuts for some of their coffee.

 

8- Entertainment varied from mediocre (some of the piano players/ bar musicians, do miss the "musical duo") to outstanding. (You must hear the incredible classical violin musicians quartet.) Very upset at the Princess theater shows for having canned music and lip singing. Again, wanting to save money, you cut back on the use of your musicians.

 

9- Casinos - stay away. Blackjack has continuously shuffled decks, and the "fun 21" blackjack has the odds more against you in this revised blackjack game ripoff. Atlantic City gives you getter odds.

 

There is more stuff to write about, so I'll continue this later.

 

Yes, this is Crown Princess for Dummies!

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I guess you are saying that you didn't like your cruise. I hope you are not trying to imply that cruising on the Crown is only for dummies.

 

However, that brings up a good point. Why wouldn't you know that traditional dining requests are not confirmed unless it stated so in your cruise personalizer? Did you ever look at the personalizer? Did your TA say you had confirmed seating when you did not? Also, why would you think that wait times for anytime dining were 30 to 45 minutes. I have never read any threads in Cruise Critic that stated this to be the case. In fact, most of the posters state that they had to wait at the most 5 minutes. When we were on the Grand last year, we never had to wait.

 

I also don't understand your complaints about blackjack. Many people prefer a single deck over a shoe. You evidently don't. So what? And why would you play "fun blackjack", which is a different game if you don't like the different odds. I actually played this last year on the Grand for the first time and did very well.

 

Is there anything you liked about the cruise?

[barbarah33]

I'm sorry you didn't have a nice cruise. I sailed on the Crown last year and had a wonderful vacation!

[Cruzin2paradise09]

2- Princess is money hungry. Very little shaded areas unless you want to pay $20 for the "serenity spa", a dedicated part of the shape totally shaded. What a ripoff! So I got to the Neptune pool around 7:15AM on the days at sea and put our blankets down on the few shaded lounges that were available. The shaded lounges fills up first very rapidly.

 

I sailed on the sailing before you, there is actually a lot of shaded areas, but I'm guessing you wanted to be down right by the pool. We sat in the shade and in the sun and never had a problem.

 

3- Only use the Neptune Pool. the MUTS pool has blaring loud movies playing starting at noon. I can't hear myself think its soo loud.

 

Actually, DH and I figured out that if you sat one to two levels up, the sound wasn't so bad. Again, I assume that you wanted to sit right at the pool.

 

6- Disembarkatation- No, you don't need express checkout. I was off the ship at 9:00AM after picking up my luggage that the ship delivered down to the terminal. Originally I was scheduled to get off the ship at 9:40PM but I went to the Pursur's office and pleaded to be let off the ship earlier, so I was moved up. I live in New Jersey and was home around 11:00AM.

 

Our sailing wasn't even cleared by Immigration until a bit after 8:30, so if someone has a very early flight and they choose to do express, then it's certainly ok. Not everyone is going to have the luxury of being able to hop in their car and drive home.

 

7- There is no "coffee" in the horizon food court. Its this brown colored hot water. The dining rooms serve something resembling coffee. The Intl Cafe serves coffee but they want $1.50 for real coffee. Yeh, the first thing I did when I headed home was to stop at Dunkin Donuts for some of their coffee.

 

This is why there are choices. Some people (even people I know from my sailing) like the stuff in the Horizon Court. This is purely an opinion thing.

 

There is more stuff to write about, so I'll continue this later.

 

I hope you have something positive to say-it appears that you did not enjoy your cruise at all. I'm sorry for that. You should have sailed with my group - you would have had an amazing cruise.

 

Yes, this is Crown Princess for Dummies!

 

And I hope aren't calling all people who enjoyed their Crown Cruises dummies!

 

Sorry your cruise wasn't what you expected.

[we2cruze]

We loved the Crown. We enjoyed Mutts and at times I actually had trouble hearing the movie's dialogue during the day when things were really buzzing at the pool. When we wanted a quieter pool, we went to the aft pool on the other side of Cafe Caribe. If you do a lot of reading on CC, you'll see that many people want to have seats in the sun around the pool, so I think that those of us who seek out the shade are actually in the minority. We moved chairs from the sun or from the stacks of extras to shady spots to accomodate our desire for shade. The wait times were minimal for Anytime Dining during our sailing. We actually had early seating, but our friends had Anytime and walked right in each night at approx. 7 - 7:30pm. I purchased a coffee card and enjoyed the coffees from the INtl. Cafe. I couldn't agree more that the buffet coffee is YUCK, though I have read more than one poster on CC say they liked it.

I don't care for the casino but my DH spends a lot of time there. He won and he lost, then he won and he lost, then he lost and he won and so on and so on. He used money that was strictly for that purpose, so we were able to substain the losses without having to miss paying any bills the next month. :)

The speed of embarkation often varies from sailing to sailing, so it's usually a good idea to schedule your flight with a little leeway just in case there is a problem. Glad you got off quickly.

All in all we had a fabulous time on the Crown. Was it perfect? Of course not. But it was a great cruise and we had FUN.

So what was your favorite thing on your cruise? Did you visit any good ports or do any good excursions? Did you find the secret door? (I forgot to look, myself.) Hope you had fun and aren't suffering too much from the dreaded "Post Cruise Depression". :)

[play21cw]

Hmm.. these pop up few and far, sounds to me like this person wasnt fully informed of the options, cruise personalizer... simple things like knowing that you MUST be confrimed for your seating arrangements.

 

I'm a firm believe in this; "your cruise is what you make of it"

 

I guess you didnt make too much of it..

 

 

However, maybe that review came off wrong.. What did you like about the cruise?

[sonomaphil]

Was the ship painted a pretty blue and white to your liking? :rolleyes:

[Northender]

I will be going on the Crown next April, 2008. I was excited to see your posting and thought it would be more like - here are some tips, not such negativity to what transpired for you. As others stated, it is pretty obvious that you did not check your personalizer.

 

I am sorry that you did not find the Crown to your liking. As far as Princess Coffee, that is nothing new. Same on all the ships, I am one of those that brings a one cup coffee maker.:D

 

I also noted that you started a number of posts asking questions, but never came back after receiving replies that were very helpful.

 

I will be interested to see more of your report, perhaps you can tell us some of the services that you actually enjoyed:) One thing is for sure, you can't be all bad if you like Dunkin Donuts coffee.:D

 

I certainly hope that you enjoy your upcoming cruises.:) I know I will enjoy mine.

[jckvpa0]

Sorry you did not enjoy your cruise.

 

So your calling yourself what :rolleyes: !!!

[josassoc]

I don't understand why posters who claim to wait expectantly for reviews, then respond condescendingly to the reviewer.

 

I cruise yearly...and have never had a bad cruise. But, I have had some points of departure from my happiness when things are handled badly by the cruise line. Or when I/we do something stupid.

 

It happens! If someone elses warning helps me to later avoid the same problem, then I appreciate the heads up. Some warnings I've taken to heart. Never had the worst hit me, but I'm prepared...

 

1. My husband and I mix up our clothes while packing, so neither of us individually is left with no clothes if a bag is lost or delayed (knock on wood).

2. We arrive early to the ship, and immediately confirm our reservations and arrangements.

3. We never fly in the day of the cruise, and leave plenty of time after the cruise before arranging for a departing flight.

4. We bring lots of various types of money (traveler's checks, varying credit cards, cash). I also notify my bank that I will be traveling out of the country, so that my credit cards work on my trip. This is especially true in Tahiti, where I saw a couple unable to use their only credit card (Visa) to pay for a meal after eating.

 

Other peoples negative posts have helped others. If this site just turns into a "cheerleading" page for Princess, it loses its value as a traveling aid.

[mrdood]

Awesome info!

 

Thanks!

[we2cruze]

Awesome info!

 

Thanks!

 

Hey, Mr. Dood, Didn't I see you over at Carnival this morning? Hey, your gonna love the Crown. It is a gorgeous ship.

Glad to see I'm not the only forum jumper! lol :p

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

I never have a problem with honest reviews of a cruise and welcome constructive negative comments just as well as positive comments. However, when a poster starts out by calling it the cruise for dummies, or something to that effect, and then continues by ragging on areas that were often within her control to understand or fix up front, it makes me wonder about the honesty of the review.

[play21cw]

I never have a problem with honest reviews of a cruise and welcome constructive negative comments just as well as positive comments. However, when a poster starts out by calling it the cruise for dummies, or something to that effect, and then continues by ragging on areas that were often within her control to understand or fix up front, it makes me wonder about the honesty of the review.

 

 

Hit the nail on the head!

[Colo Cruiser]

I don't understand why posters who claim to wait expectantly for reviews, then respond condescendingly to the reviewer.

 

 

If it is not a positive response then it is condecending???

 

I cruise yearly...and have never had a bad cruise. But, I have had some points of departure from my happiness when things are handled badly by the cruise line. Or when I/we do something stupid.

 

It happens! If someone elses warning helps me to later avoid the same problem, then I appreciate the heads up. Some warnings I've taken to heart. Never had the worst hit me, but I'm prepared...

 

 

Then according to the OP this cruise should have been missed??? Because all the points were negative??

 

 

Other peoples negative posts have helped others. If this site just turns into a "cheerleading" page for Princess, it loses its value as a traveling aid.

 

 

Call it what you will, if you make comments you will get responses. :rolleyes:

 

 

Sorry the OP had a terrible cruise. ;)

[WannaCruise365]

QUOTE..Very upset at the Princess theater shows for having canned music and lip singing. Again, wanting to save money, you cut back on the use of your musicians.

 

DO the shows really have canned music and lip singing?

[KAWS]

That's too bad that you didn't like your cruise, except for the fact that you found a way to eat two dinners at night.

 

Thankfully nothing that was noted put me off of my cruise that I'm looking forward to on the Crown next week.

[Northender]

Kim, promise you will do a review on your return.

 

Have fun:)

[poppop1507]

Just got back from 6/26-7/5 Crown P- You can call this Crown P for dummies, but this is my personal advice:

 

1- I had Late Dining fixed at 8:15PM. I heard horror stories about long waits up to 1/2 hour to 45 min for anytime dining. Especially on the nite of the Captains Formal greeting nites. Not worth it.

It is not enough to request late seating. Get it confirmed! Thank the lord we got on the ship around 12:15PM when I discovered requesting late seating is not good enough. I shoulda confirmed it. By 1:30PM we were at the dining room arranging confirmed seating which I got. Long lines around 2:30PM developed and people were wait listed for late seating. Think about it. Why is there such a demand for late seating?

 

I have been on several Princess cruises and almost always found a problem with my seating. Even though we request traditional seating and have it confirmed we always get assigned anytime seating.

 

The Maitre'd told us that this is a continuing problem. He said the majority of passengers want traditional seating but only 1 out of 3 dining rooms accomondates traditional. He said that the office in California automatically assign passengers into anytime hoping they won't complain.

 

According to Princess 66% of the passengers want anytime but according to ship personnel it is the obosite with 66% plus wanting traditional.

[lysolqn]

Balanced cruise reviews are always interesting since much can be learned from both positive and negative feedback - but this was hardly a balanced review. While I wasn't offended by the OP's use of "Crown for Dummies" (I think he/she was alluding to the many books written on a wide variety of subjects, each meant to serve as a basic primer), I did find the OP's complaints much ado about nothing. If points 1 - 9 were all there was to complain about, I'd say he/she must have enjoyed a darn good cruise. Unfortunately, I suspect the OP's promise that "There is more stuff to write about, so I'll continue this later," is not a harbinger of good things to come. Some people just aren't happy unless they have something about which to complain.

[marylandcruisers]

see your the person that we cuss all the time you live in NJ but you want off the ship first, and you go and demand to get off early. let us people that have to drive 6 hours home get off first. i may get flamed here but that is how we always feel. you live so close you need to be first off the ship.

[KAWS]

Kim, promise you will do a review on your return.

 

Have fun:)

 

I will - promise! I did one for our trip last March and it was like reliving it. Helps the memories keep on going!

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

The OP reminds me of a woman who was screaming, I mean SCREAMING, at one of the horizon court workers because they didn't get the poached eggs exactly the way she wanted it. We are talking the horizon court here... Nothing will please these people.

 

And I don't mind negative reviews that are balance but complaining that the MUTS pool should be avoided because they are playing a movie??? Um, isn't MUTS called MOVIES under the stairs???

 

It amazing me, the people that are grumpy on a cruise. I saw a person yelling at a bartender and we hadn't even left port yet!!

[rebeccalouise]

One thing that is reoccuring on these boards is that people sign up for assigned seating and get "anytime". I think that the ship is designed poorly. I think there simply isn't enough space to accommodate 3000 passengers in two seatings. So they have to do the anytime. It is the only logical conclusion.

 

I chose anytime on my last Princess cruise. we didn't mind having to make reservations for 7PM and we did get them each night. So we liked eating at 7PM rather than the usual 6PM and 8:30 deal. But what we didn't like was being rushed thru dinner. We were always among the last to leave- (around 9PM) and it was obvious that they wanted rid of us. It just wasn't a leisurely dinner and the waiters seemed sweaty and overworked.

 

I did enjoy our overall cruise experience but I just like Celebrity better and will stick with them.

[Pam in CA]

I'm sorry your cruise didn't live up to your expectations. A few points to note: you mention that Princess is money-hungry for charging to use the Sanctuary without understanding what the Sanctuary is. This is an adults-only area that offers special loungers and services. It's not just another deck area with plastic loungers but a specialized area free of kids so there is an extra charge for it.

 

The only ship I've had an issue with regarding coffee was the Golden Princess. On every other Princess ship, it's been fine (although on the Golden it was black sludge.)

 

What is "lip singing"? Is this the same thing as lip-synching?