Crown Princess 1st Time Cruisers

[OttawaTom]

Hi all.

 

It's our first cruise this coming February. We asked for a balcony, and our travel agent has offered us a cabin on the Baja Deck, class BD. If anyone is familiar with this ship and this area, I'd love to get some quick feedback. we have a couple of days to confirm.

 

Is this a good spot for 1st timers?

 

Thanks.

 

Tom

[vince_g]

Tom,

 

Baja deck should be just fine, as there are only passenger cabins above and below. First timers might want to be midship, so you might want to look at the location. A forward cabin where you will feel the most motion probably wouldn't be your best choice.

[mrdood]

Being almost as long as it is, the pitch of the ship, from front to back will be extermely minimal, so I would say if you are in front or in back, it is possible that you may feel extra movement, but not likely. If the seas are that rough, you will not be able to hide from movement. The side to side roll, you will feel least at sea level, the higher you are on the ship the more you will feel it. The Crown is a very stable design and can deploy stabilizers when needed.

 

Relax and enjoy your cruise, don't get all worried about your location, you are on a good deck!

[spongerob]

Being almost as long as it is, the pitch of the ship, from front to back will be extermely minimal,

That's not the case with the Grand class ships. You will feel a lot of pitch if you are far forward. It can be challenging to use the forward stairs and elevators. In fact, the elevators can have difficulty "finding" the proper deck level under such conditions.

 

It's nowhere near as bad aft, because the pitch has been taken up by the flexing of the ship's structure. My advice for anyone who wants to avoid motion and cannot get a midship location is to book aft rather than forward on Grand-class ships.

[OttawaTom]

Thanks to all your responses so far. the cabin we're being offered is aft of the midddle, not far from the coin laundry, according to the deck plan I saw.

 

Tom

[painfree]

I've had a forward cabin on the Carnival Legend and an aft cabin on the Crown Princess..Yes....there is some movement but rather than being annoying or difficult to maneuver..I found it quite relaxing..especially at night..it was like being rocked to sleep in a cradle..If you have a balcony..I know they don't like you to leave the door open...but...having the sounds of the sea along with a gentle rocking you'll sleep like a baby and want to know how to duplicatie it at home..

 

Enjoy your cruise..

 

Carol

[TJM001]

Tom;

I looked at the deck plan for the Crown. You should be just fine. Relax and enjoy the whole experience.

May I suggest you fly down south at least one day if not more before you set sail. You don't want to risk nasty weather up here in February and it makes the vacation that much longer and more enjoyable.

 

Bt the way, my name is Tom and I live in Ottawa so I guess that makes me OttawaTomToo.

[cruisinbuddy]

Hi all.

 

It's our first cruise this coming February. We asked for a balcony, and our travel agent has offered us a cabin on the Baja Deck, class BD. If anyone is familiar with this ship and this area, I'd love to get some quick feedback. we have a couple of days to confirm.

 

Is this a good spot for 1st timers?

 

Thanks.

 

Tom

What's your sail date, I just booked the KP myself for Feb 9, along with DW of course, and DS & BIL. DW & I will be on the Baja deck also, we're BE forward. We were on a similar size ship, the CCL Liberty back in Jan. and had a similar cabin location and I didn't really notice that much movement. If you're on the same sailing, there's a rool call started. And if you didn't notice I'm from Ottawa too.

[OttawaTom]

We're going to book the Feb 16th trip. We also plan to stay an extra week in Puerto Rico, so any suggestions for a nice beach resort would be appreciated.

 

From what I've seen so far, they certainly are pricier than the Dominican Republic and Cuba's all-inclusives!

 

Tom

[Jdleong]

How did you compare the CP to the Legend? Which cruise did you enjoy the most? I have to decide between the Miracle and the Crown this week....

 

Please if you can let me know your views on CCL vs Princess I would value them...

 

TIA

Jan

 

 

PS Otttawa Tom... yours is the cruise I am looking at...

[painfree]

Jan..

 

I prefer Princess over Carnival..My first three cruises were on Carnival..nice but nothing spectacular..the line has a tendancy to take a theme and reproduce it to the point of nausea..If you like bingo..you'll be thrilled..they have bingo games all day long..I remember the main theater filled up quickly and you had to get there 1 hour early to get a seat..in the mean time you are forced to sit through the bingo games..These are all personal opinions..On the other hand..I have found Princess to be elegent and refined..My late husband and I found that Princess ships/entertainment/services met our needs better than Carnival..One example..the evening entertainment schedule seem to flow from activity to another with ease..We didn't have to wait for the bingo to finish to get a seat..I have found that Princess is able to meet my vacation needs..She isn't perfect but any negetive issues I might have had with Princess were never enough to send me to another cruise line..

 

I really enjoyed the Crown Princess which surprized me..I am a fan of the Sun Class Ships..(Coral, Island, Sun,)..The Crown carries 3000+ passengers but it never felt crowded..Princess has managed to blend areas to accomadate all age groups..I will be taking the Emerald Princess..sister to the CP this fall..

 

I hope this helpful to you..I also realize it's quite biased towards Princess..I do't think I am unique in that way as most people who cruise regularly have on line they prefer over others..

 

Wishing you happy sailing..

 

Carol

[emileg]

Suggest you check out the Cruise Critic Roll Call for your particular cruise. You may meet some very nice people both on line beforehand and once you are onboard. Bon Voyage!

[Jdleong]

Jan..

 

I prefer Princess over Carnival..My first three cruises were on Carnival..nice but nothing spectacular..the line has a tendancy to take a theme and reproduce it to the point of nausea..If you like bingo..you'll be thrilled..they have bingo games all day long..I remember the main theater filled up quickly and you had to get there 1 hour early to get a seat..in the mean time you are forced to sit through the bingo games..These are all personal opinions..On the other hand..I have found Princess to be elegent and refined..My late husband and I found that Princess ships/entertainment/services met our needs better than Carnival..One example..the evening entertainment schedule seem to flow from activity to another with ease..We didn't have to wait for the bingo to finish to get a seat..I have found that Princess is able to meet my vacation needs..She isn't perfect but any negetive issues I might have had with Princess were never enough to send me to another cruise line..

 

I really enjoyed the Crown Princess which surprized me..I am a fan of the Sun Class Ships..(Coral, Island, Sun,)..The Crown carries 3000+ passengers but it never felt crowded..Princess has managed to blend areas to accomadate all age groups..I will be taking the Emerald Princess..sister to the CP this fall..

 

I hope this helpful to you..I also realize it's quite biased towards Princess..I do't think I am unique in that way as most people who cruise regularly have on line they prefer over others..

 

Wishing you happy sailing..

 

Carol

 

I have been on Carnival 9 times. This past year I ventured out and tried Costa and I was very pleased with Costa. So I am willing to give Princess a try, it is more expensive than my Carnival trip(25%), but I just hope that the Crown Princess isn't too big. I have chosen a balcony on the Baja deck. Also I am not sure about the alternative dining, did you use it? Any hints or suggestions to make our cruise better, I would love to hear. Is there anything I shouldn't miss? any secrets?

 

Jan