SuzieQ521

Sorry if I missed this here on this older thread: Does anyone know if the ice cream sandwiches at Coffee and Cones on the Crown count as a premium dessert under the Plus package? Or is it just one of those giant ice cream things (which we just had on the Royal)? thanks!

I'm not sure if the Sun is Royal class but it should be similar. Coming off the Royal Princess a few weeks ago so some of this stuff is fresh on my mind. Regarding the Juices, they are generally fresh. They make them in front of you in the blender (they did use whole fruits although a few canned items). Our juice bar was located in the buffet and only open until 2 pm. Princess uses Lavazza coffee--imo, it depends on the Barista but I preferred the barista at the International café vs. the buffet (which tasted more watered down). I much preferred the taste of the Americanos with a bit of milk as I thought the lattes lacked much coffee flavor. But they do have a variety of flavors if you are into that like tiramisu, butter pecan, cookie dough syrups and more. Blended coffee drinks also. Regarding dining rooms, there are 2 standard rooms where reservations are required (we did reservations weeks before on App) but the Royal also had a walk in/no reservations needed room (Symphony). I believe check in times were available about 30 days out for our cruise? You pick your boarding time although no one at Port really checks. Then once you upload everything, you will be in the green lane and it will be much faster for you at the Port. You can check in on a PC (web version of Medallion app) although it's not very user friendly imo; App makes it easier. The biggest difference from when you last sailed is use of the Medallion for everything. You can get it shipped ahead of time (and they give you a lanyard or you can purchase a watch or bracelet to hold it) or pick it up at the Port although that will take more time. The medallion is your room key, way to scan in and out at Port, and also the way you order things like drinks. It also has a GPS tracker which was nifty because on the App, you can locate a shipmate anywhere on the ship (which I guess could be good or bad! ). Have a great cruise!

Correct; I was on the Royal Princess last month and they had 2 showers in the women's locker room. The sauna/steam room was only if you paid for the Enclave therapy area. There were lockers but strangely enough, they did not lock so I only kept clothes in there...no valuables (they had a sign about not keeping valuables there because of lack of locks). I didn't notice any showers in the fitness center but then again, I wasn't looking for them.

I don't recall a foot rest on our Royal balcony a few weeks ago...just two chairs and table.

Yes, the specialty desserts can be purchased a la carte but not sure about the price.

Reservations dining is just in Concerto or Allegro (Aft); Symphony is walk in/anytime. We had a group of 9 and usually went around lunch time to try to see if we could get a table together for dinner (although I had also made separate reservations on the app before we sailed). Staff was very amenable to helping us out. We were just on the Royal a couple weeks ago and thought the MDR was pretty good...we tried a variety of dishes (my husband would even order 2-3 entrees and the waitstaff was more than accommodating; you could also get a pasta entrée appetizer size if you just wanted a little; desserts were great too, especially the gelato Baked Alaska!). If you want another "free" dining option, Alfredo's restaurant has really great pizza, also salads and antipastas. For a quick bite, the 24hour international cafe is great with sandwiches and different desserts. On the pool deck you have the grill with burgers, tacos, loaded fries, hot dogs, etc. and more pizza near by. Also the buffet which we ate at a couple times. The ice cream place on the 6th or 7th deck has those giant specialty desserts if you have as part of the package...my son loved those. We never felt a need to spend the money on a specialty restaurant; a couple family members were comped for Crown Grill and they liked it. You can also order room service of most things from the App (although I would allot up to an hour since they are usually busy). We loved our time on the Royal...enjoy your trip!

Thanks for the reply. Too bad about the mattress but hopefully it won't be extremely horrible for us (traveling with lots of family and most of us are on the Emerald deck). Glad to hear about the good things overall. We had some issues with Dine my way on the Royal even after pre-booking dinner times on the app before we sailed but then would tell the staff at the dining room during lunch about sitting together for dinner and they tried to accommodate us... Will see how it goes on the Crown; I know it will be busy given that it is a Thanksgiving cruise.

Correct. It is one of the many photos they take (or try to) that will be for sale in the photo area; they did not let us take our own photos.

Hello: Just looking back at all the Crown posts since we sail her for the first time for a Thanksgiving cruise out of SF (just were on the Royal a few weeks ago). Some of the reviews scare me (i.e. fires and flooding) but many were before the recent drydock so it seems as if things have improved. But I'm still reading conflicting things on the mattresses--did they only update some mattresses? (We loved the mattresses on the Royal). We will be on the Emerald deck. Thanks!

On the Royal a few weeks ago, it was at 7 p.m. but people were lined up maybe an hour before that. It will say in your Patter. It wasn't as enjoyable for my son as it's very quick...you kneel down for a picture with the puppy and that's it... barely get to look at them. I understand that they need to move the line quickly but it seemed like just a quick photo opportunity sale.

I highly recommend Seattle Express...you book ahead of time and they will be there right when you get off the ship, with departures every 15 min between 7am to 11 am. We were a group of 9 with lots of luggage and just used them a couple weeks ago for a RT. Keep in mind with rideshares, in addition to a large wait time, there will also likely be surge pricing with many people getting off at the same time and requesting the rideshare. (Learned that the hard way after a San Pedro Port cruise in January).

We just used them for roundtrip a couple weeks ago...love them. They leave the Port every 15 minutes between 7 am to 11 am to the airport, although we did have to wait a bit for the shuttle to fill up but overall, they were great!

I was just on the Royal...they have the Enclave...isn't that similar to the thermal suite? It has the various steam and sauna rooms, water beds, and whirlpool, etc.

Were you in a suite? I thought the regular rooms didn’t.

I'm not sure exactly why but yes--you will have to wait until the cruise. The Enclave thermal spa will be a little more on the ship (for my sailing on the Royal a few weeks ago, it was $19 more) but there are Port specials for spa services that are better deals than what is listed on the website.

Thank you for the information; we will have a disabled family member and 3 elderly ones that would need a handheld shower head. The Royal also had a grab bar in the shower...do you know if the Crown does? (ocean view room). Thanks

We did NCL Bliss in January…although it was a beautiful ship with many features, with the exception of the cool water slide, you have to pay for the other fun things, such as the go carts, laser tag, and arcade. Might be fun for teens but at a big cost. From what I saw from the Princess Teen club, it looked like it was fun for the teens. There’s also a big basketball court and mini golf on Royal Princess. l

I don't think so; I asked about the differences between Royal (was on her last week) and Crown (upcoming cruise) and they said no gelato place like the Royal had. However, they should offer hard ice cream in the MDR in the dessert menu like other ships do I would think.

Yes, I'm not sure how they are determining who tenders. We were on the Royal on 5/23 (also a big ship) and we had to boat tender. There were 3 or 4 other ships in Port with us, including a Celebrity ship which was very large. The Hal ones were smaller. Maybe it's when there are 2 megaships in Port?

Thanks everyone. I sailed the Ruby 6 years ago and the Royal just last week so the Royal is more fresh in my mind. Regarding the "second" buffet, Caribe--is that only open for breakfast as a spillover area, or is it also open for lunch and dinner? If no gelato place, then I assume nowhere to get the specialty dessert milkshakes? (my son loved those!). I assume the discovery kids club is pretty much the same across all Princess ships? (maybe with different activities depending on itineary...my son loved the Royal's kids club!), so the Crown's should be similar? Thanks

We just got off the Royal last week; we had the Plus package and we thought it was worth it (and we barely drink typically). Bottled waters: You can basically ask for 4 at a time and they will give it to you--we typically got ours from the bars or international cafe. It's basically unlimited with the bottled waters. They will ask for room number usually or scan medallion. Be careful not to order bigger than the 500 ml waters...there will be a charge for those! It was nice not having to worry about paying for specialty coffees (which we drink a lot of), and sodas. I probably drank 2-3 cocktails a day (up to $15 for the Plus package) and it was nice to try different fruity drinks. Gratuities are already included with your package but some people might tip a dollar or two for the bartenders. It was also nice ordering drinks and coffee from the app--you can order from anywhere on the ship, including your room. We also often ordered drinks in the MDR (the drink waiter will scan your medallion while you're at the table). I would do the math to determine if it's right for you. I would say a cocktail is about $10-13; then specialty coffees can be $4-6 depending on what you get.

That is correct...we were on the Royal last week and it was mild by Alaskan standards! Congrats on the penthouse bid! We sail the Crown for the first time for a Thanksgiving cruise so happy to hear that it is clean. How is the MDR food? We thought the Royal's was very good so hoping the same for the Crown (weren't too impressed with buffet though...). Enjoy your trip!

Hello: We initially enrolled in the Seattle Port Valet program for our cruise that disembarked on 5/27. However, we no longer needed the service and informed Princess the night before that we would not be using the tags they provided and requested that they remove the $30 Delta bag fee charged to our account; after 3 times to Guest Services, they assured us that the charge would be removed. However, my husband just checked and of course, we were charged by Princess for this amount. When we arrived at SEATAC to fly out, Delta charged us a separate $30 for the one bag we checked...so essentially we were charged twice for one checked bag. Again, we never used the Port Valet program (where we would have left our bags out overnight and they would have automatically been sent to our home destination). What is the best way we can go about getting this refund? My husband will try calling Princess again but I'm not optimistic. Thanks!

Hello: We will be taking a Thanksgiving Princess cruise this year with a big group; one group will be coming from the East Bay (Tri Valley area) and another from the Peninsula. In our group (likely about 12-15 people so far) will be some mobility-challenged people and children; we are looking for the easiest and quickest way to get to the SF cruise port (not BART). I am thinking either shuttle service (either from both the East Bay and Peninsula, so 2 shuttles; or maybe a park and ride option near SFO?). Any suggestions? Thanks!

Hello: We just returned from an Alaskan sailing on the Royal and will be doing a Thanksgiving cruise on the Crown out of SF. Besides the Crown being a bit older, I was wondering as to the differences between the two ships. I don't think Crown has Alfredos (which is unfortunate) but I believe they still have the 24 hour International Cafe? I think the Crown has Skywalkers Lounge which is great since Royal did not (we previously loved Skywalkers on Ruby). Crown also does not have the deluxe balcony rooms like we had on the Royal. I also don't think the Crown has the Enclave at the Lotus spa? Any other stark differences? Thanks!