Familycruzer11

Looks like you are off to a great start so far. We were on Crown on a 15 day and disembarked a week and half ago. Many have commented on her age, and signs of wear. This wasn't a huge deal for me as my expectations were in line with the Crown class ships. Food was exceptional in some cases, tasty in most, with a few misses. We did not go hungry at any time. What stood out for me, especially with all the sea days we had, was the exceptional staff and onboard activities. Staff were welcoming, accommodating and cheerful. I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Crown as much as we did ours.

Got a loyalty call from the Promo dept and it was exactly that - FCC/hotel voucher combo. Much of the dollars will go right to FCC, but not all. Some will go to OBC. To break even or get ahead, you have to use hotel stays and/or have to take advantage of a 7-day resort stay. Since we mostly cruise, didn't really appeal to us. It's funny you said "timeshare' because I thought to myself "this sounds a lot like a timeshare pitch". We happen to have a land trip already booked for a special occasion, but no guarantee we could apply the certificate or hotel credits to the existing (would have to cancel and book new) and there are always 'upcharges'. No blackout dates, but they get around that with inventory quotas (see: Airline companion ticket). She really tried and even lowered the buy in price slightly at the end, and then pulled a different offer altogether out of her hat. I could see it having value for someone that knows they will be doing some land stays in 24 months, but we prefer our vacation time on the ships. If they matched OBC to guarantee a break even (we always find ways to spend that), that would have changed things for us.

Just off the Crown 15 day to Hawaii. One of our best vacations ever. It’s what you make of it. Didn’t experience any issues at all. Love the promenade deck, Skywalkers, Crooners, Explorers, Club Fusion. Food was mostly hit with some misses. To be expected. Most importantly the staff was outstanding. It made all the difference. We would go back on Crown in a heartbeat. Look forward to your trip - it will be fabulous

Good call. Hawaii we will be there for next time. Hope you love it as much as we did. If you take things in stride and focus on the many positives you will really enjoy it! The staff were incredible and made all the difference

absolutely - just let them know in advance wherever you go. We LOVED our 15 day cruise to Hawaii on the Crown. When is your trip? If you go to the Fitness Center - tell Hein and Jamie that Adrienne & Michael say hello. I could actually give you a list of names, but will spare you. 🙂

We just got off the Crown on 4/29 and went to the Crown Grill for our 20th Anniversary dinner. My husband is vegan and I am pescatarian. I had the Sea Bass that was excellent. We told them a couple of days in advance about my husband's dietary preferences. They prepared a "beyond steak" for him, accompanied by his favorite vegetables. It was terrific. I can tell you that without fail, at every dining room, as long as we told them at least a day in advance, the chef accommodated us - and in a very creative and delicious way.

We arrive early and we divide and conquer. My DH takes the carryons to drop in the room and I head straight to Sanctuary with my spreadsheet of what days we hope to book. DH will meet me there and then we go to the Spa. Learn about any specials, and book our services. Next stop is the club class dining room where we meet the Maitre D and review DH dietary requests (vegan). Depending on timing, we may have lunch. Next is back to the room to hopefully unpack and do muster. Then it is off to the pool deck for sail away party. Of course, between these stops is a visit to the bars, as this activity works up a thirst. Happy to say we will be doing all of the above in about 36 hours….

I am pescatarian and my husband is vegan. We will go to Crown Grill and Sabatinis on our upcoming cruise. In our experience, we can review the menu in advance and they will accommodate. We do this at home when dining out too and never have a problem.

This may sound silly but double check the date and time you made the reservation. I have looked more than once thinking they disappeared to realize I was looking at the wrong date. Otherwise, they should show up right away.

Don't think I've seen this one before - Acupuncture for Weight Loss. Wondering if anyone has tried that, or any of the Acupuncture on the ship. Would be lovely to indulge in all the food and drink on my April 14 cruise and be able to counter it with a spa service, but I am a bit skeptical.

We have two free specialty dinners with Premier. I booked on the app and was charged. I contacted my PCP and she said that I will be “automatically” refunded (she even said to my cc, not OBC) once I am on board. I am skeptical and expect to deal with it on the ship. Not ideal but I like having the days and times I want reserved in the meantime. this is both a customer service problem and a technology problem.

What happens if the cabin type you want isn’t available to choose your own? Do you have to pick a different one or risk losing deposit?

Highly unlikely they can help you at the airport because of the 'group' booking price. If you are concerned, you can look at other flights to book before canceling this one, otherwise, if you are okay to keep the class you are in, don't get your hopes to high at the airport.

he consumes only olive oil. No coconut oil or others (a lot of vegan products, like vegan cheese, use coconut oil, so that's out). Last cruise the chef made him vegan Samosas. They were so good he had them almost every day and then they gave us the recipe to take home. He is big on fancy salads, likes all kinds of bean dishes. stir-fry or steamed veggies, Saw that Gastro Pub has Impossible Burger, so he will 'splurge' on that (no bread). We are also big on the Instapot at home - great soups and stews. We find if we ask for things like that the night before, they have been very accommodating. Even at home, when making a reservation, we let them know in advance and it's amazing how chef's come up with creative and delicious meals. He also love Oatmeal and can eat that all day long (sometimes add savory items, not big on sweet ones). I recommend stopping by the dining room on embarkation day and speak to the Head.. (not sure of new titles..) . You can also list dietary restrictions in the Medallion app. Enjoy!

My husband is strict vegan (also no sugar, refined white flour..). We get club class dining so that we can work with the same dining crew most if not all nights. They would show my husband next nights menu and then figure which can be made vegan. There were also many options in the buffet and staff who verified which was vegan vs vegetarian. He does not go hungry in the least.

Which do you prefer and why? Does class of ship influence your choice?

My Princess Cruise Planner was able to apply my gift cards as OBC (I know some here has problems with that, but mine was easily able to do it and I received a travel summary with it applied). She told me you could not use them on board since Princess is cashless. Kind of didn’t make sense to me. I am also curious if anyone has done this, especially after 2/20 when some things have changed and yes, I learned about them and the 10% savings from this post. Game changer. Thanks Op!

Wonderful! Congrats! 💍 We are booked for Crown Grill on the night. Enjoy your cruise!🛳️

Medallion Accessories ARE part of the premium package, though I have no idea what accessory it is. We always like the lanyards, so will be interesting to see what it is. We did get the upgrade for a few reasons (I do drink, my husband does not, but Heineken Zero and ODouls will make him happy). He like games of chance, so he would have played Princess Prizes, now it's included. I love fitness classes, so would definitely do many of them. Juice bar also a draw for us (have to balance those martini's with some veggies, no?). I like that I can order a nice wine and not worry about upcharge (if it was just this, wouldn't be worth it, but it's all the things in our case...). We are platinum but 4 devices each is nice (yes, we could sign out, sign in, now we don't have to.. all the things). We will be celebrating our 20th, and absolutely would have done two specialty dinners, so throw that in. Notice how I skipped those deserts (especially the ones with the little liquor bottle - cue evil laugh....) The upgrade made sense for us. We are six weeks away from our 4/14 departure and can't wait to experience... all the things..

are the uke classes and hula held at the same time as each other? I think I saw in one of the Patters you posted the Ukelele was 1pm, but missed the hula time and place.

This is very helpful thank you!

We are on the 4/14 sailing and am enjoying your thread immensely Thanks for the Patter! Is the Zumba/dance in Club Fusion? If you have info about the new exercise classes, would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy your cruise!

Was having the same debate when my DH said "we are cruising to spend money, not save it, let's do both". He's a keeper. We've been to Crown Grill before (I still dream about the black and blue soup), but have never tried Sabbatini's. Looking forward to them both in April.

I wondered the same thing since, even if we did get in, it didn't last. At this point, we just bring the iPad and stream from there.

we seemed to sign in, but then it disconnected- we never got it to work unfortunately. We are sailing again in April, we may try again, we have a four device wifi package again. This time we will be on the Crown, may be better or worse, not sure..