CruzeQueen2

My cabin was located just aft of where the mid-ship elevators are. Never heard any sounds like "DING" of the elevators. Noisy big-little feet - running up and down the hall- yes. I heard that quite a lot on the last sailing in August I had! I usually don't travel during the summer months, nor during the school holidays. LOL All that aside, I had a fantastic time on Crown last week.

@FirstTeacher I just returned from my trip on the Crown, August 15th. I booked several cruises for 2024 with the Future Cruise desk while on board. Can and Sylvain were both most helpful. One of the agents suggested that I look at the printed list of deals that were applicable for sale prices, while on board. There were two different lists. One for solo travellers and a second list of 50% off fares. I purchased and applied Future Cruise deposits for each one and left an extra FCD in my account to play with later! Yes, new FCDs are now good for one year (only) from purchase date. Previously they were good for two years, but that has changed! Happy shopping. As noted above, it never hurts to ask. The Future Cruise sales guys - Can and Sylvain were excellent on Crown last week.

@moonjelly Ask to speak to Claudio Guiliani, the Director of Restaurant Operations. If he is on board at the time of your sailing, he will look after you very well. He is that good! IMHO Enjoy your trip. If he is there, you are in good hands. Bon voyage!

Delay due to issues with refueling barge. They left at 1:46 am or so.

My bed on the Crown, August 2023, was fine. I was worried after reading so many complaints on this board. I slept well, no issues.

Go to your assigned station, as soon as you board, then watch the safety video on your device or in stateroom. Once they scan your medallion, you are almost done. Must watch the video at some point, though.

FYI - The rollout of the new program starts on August 15, 2023 on the Crown. We are still operating without the new charges, and without the menus on the TV. The operator on the Room Service line has taken my orders via the phone very efficiently on this cruise. Apparently, the room stewards had the information to respond to guests who asked them! No printed message in cabin, though. No menus on TV. Using the phone on this sailing is still free...just NOT available on the TV. I was informed today that the menus on the TV were to be discontinued, fleet-wide as of July 31, 2023. Room Service food and delivery has all been good.

@chamima The response to that question, when I asked them, was - the operator on the phone at RS will list the options and answer questions for the caller. Yes, they are prepared to list item options verbally. For previous Princess cruisers, we know what options there used to be. Basically, I knew what I wanted from memory, and the operators on the phone at RS are very helpful. Wow, right? For new cruisers to Princess, I guess they will ask about something and they will get responses from the phone line. That's how it is...for now, on the Crown.

All good here on Crown. Staff is wonderful, ship looks fine. No propulsion issues that affect our speed nor missing ports. My bed is fine as well. 😆

FYI The numbers for the MTG are NOT low. I found out from the Loyalty desk - 1900, 1800 and 800 for top three. Oh well. Sorry not exact numbers, just the ball park. Very high. I post them here in pescadoamarillo's blog, since there was speculation about low number of days on Alaska cruises sometimes qualify for MTG invitations. NOT this time, on Crown. Happy sailing, nevertheless. All good.

I ordered room service as well, via the phone yesterday. It came quickly and was hot and fresh. Ordering on the phone will suffice for now. The TV menus may return as the new roll out proceeds.

I'm going to ask for the numbers that get you to the party - at the Loyalty desk on Crown now. It doesn't look like I made the cut...for the MTG this time and I have more than 159 days. More, by one hundred and thirty days or so. LOL Just under 300 days, haven't looked for my exact number. Oh well! Not nearly enough - but I'll keep adding to my count. I have been invited twice previously. Both on Alaska sailings, of course.

@HaveDogWillTravel So true! I was lucky to be offered 6 various condiments, but alas, I was enjoying the conversation so much with my table mates, that I forgot to ask for the chutney and the raita. Well, I guess next time I will bring my little list so I don't miss out! Further to the topic in this thread, the Crown does not feel that it has removed the TV room service menus in error. It was intentional albeit short-sighted and somewhat unfair to people that have come to rely on the TV method of ordering. Too bad, so sad. Gone. We will survive this change, but without warning...it sends a message to those of us who cruise with Princess. Anything can happen and be changed at their whim and will. Whatever and whenever they deem it in their best interest. Done I will more than likely continue to cruise with the brand that I have come to enjoy, but I will also look at other options in the future. Why not?

@Thrak Basically yes. This is the way... I have forwarded my findings to another "FNB" staff member on another ship so that they will know that this has happened here. He also finds this move not quite right. Wow, just wow, I agree. @HaveDogWillTravel

I am currently on the Crown Princess. My bed is fine, Sabatini dinner last night was perfection. Every bite, fabulous service. Today when I went to order something from room service, I couldn't find any menus on the TV. I called Room Service on the phone. They were polite and offered me the usual list of room service items that I know about. When I asked where to find the list on the TV, they told me I could use the app, but I explained, I don't have a smart phone (full disclosure). They told me I could chat with Guest Services, or dial 6000. When I went to the GS desk, I chatted with two staff members. They also suggested I use the app. But they also agreed that I should be able to see a print version of the offerings, somewhere. They also knew that this has been suspended. Not there, not on the TV! Imagine my surprise and dismay. Things change. In an instant. I am reporting this here as my first hand experience of what happened today. The official roll of the new plans for this ship starts on August 15th... So after all of the speculation here on using the TV, as before, to order room service, I can tell you today, there are no menus to be found there. I am only the messenger. I ended up going to have chicken korma for lunch in the dining room after all and enjoyed the korma and some lively conversation.

@zackarykeef I'm on the Crown now and so far, only two days, I have to agree with you about Sabatini. Wonderful in every way! I am also interested in food - period. I followed a reliable source for trying the fish/branzino for the first time. I was NOT disappointed. I will try the Osso Bucco next. Thank you for taking the time to share so much information and your overall impressions.

My bad! Sorry...I know the question was about Royal. Got it!

@augies On the Majestic, juices are at the Wakeview bar, deck 16 aft. I think I read this is the same for other Royal class ships. Hope this helps.

@[Big Z] Thank you for the details!

@zackarykeef Thought of another question - Which two restaurants did you visit for your specialty dining? Which one did you enjoy the most, and why? I believe the two options are Sabatini on Deck 16 and Crown Grill, deck 7. Are there any other venues for specialty dining? Did you find any differences in the Main Dining Rooms that are worth noting? E.g., staff at the door and longer, or shorter lines...I have made reservations, and am hoping for a good outcome. Thanks again!

@zackarykeef Thanks for taking the time to share so many details about your trip. Happy to hear that you slept well on your comfortable bed! Would love to know if you were happy with the wine choices with the Premium package. Did you get many photos and were the photographers around the ship during the day, outside for example? I am not new to Princess; but haven't sailed on the Crown for awhile. TIA

@ceilidh1Thanks for the new wine list for Vines. I'm sailing soon, so won't see those new wines till September. Appreciate you sharing the info, as usual! My next cruise ends before the new plans start on the Crown. Since there is no Alfredos on that ship, I'm ok with free room service with my Plus fare - for now. Last sailing, I upgraded some of my wine choices for the little bit extra cost. Works for me.

@ceilidh1 Thanks for the latest/new list for Vines! The variety of wines looks just fine for me. Less than a week and I will be trying some of these - nice to see the labels included with the Plus fares. From all the info posted, I think that I will be having free room service one last time- as my cruise ends on August 15. Of course, when anyone opts to pay for Plus or Premier fares, room service will still be included, as usual.

@milogurd very interesting reads! Thanks for all three links. Very helpful, too.

Or purchase Plus or Premier package.