Daisyloo

Our experiences: It will be warm to very warm in the Caribbean. The water will be warm. Fort Lauderdale will be warm.

Happy Thanksgiving!! Happy Columbus Day to the US cruisers!!

My turkey is in the oven, and I'm just taking a small break to catch my breath before all the family arrives. Next month we will be celebrating the US Thanksgiving aboard the Nieuw Amsterdam!! Can't wait. :D

I hope it's still on the Crown in April 2017! We really enjoyed Fiera on the Regal and look forward to seeing this new show.

Thanks for all your replies. We will be in Rome in October so DH might be in long pants anyway. Or the convertible pants is a good idea.

The shows were at 8 and 10 pm.

We have only ever done anytime dining and have never made a reservation. We just show up whenever we feel like it. Sometimes we have to wait, sometimes we get seated right away. In our experience, if we are willing to share a table we get seated quickly. If we want to have a table by ourselves then there is more chance we will have to wait a bit.

Hi Langley Cruisers. Could you expand on your info re knees and shoulders have to be covered in Europe for churches? A pair of capris would be okay for me? (female) What about DH? Would he have to wear long pants? Not a nicer walking short?

Re the OP's original question. HAL definitely has an older demographic than some other lines, but it is not the "old folks home at sea" that some make it out to be. We can only compare it to Princess, the only other line we sail. we love both lines. As a matter of fact, our 3 kids and our SIL (all in their mid to late 20's) all prefer HAL over Princess by a slight margin.

So don't let the age thing scare you away from trying HAL.

[quote name='need2cruisesoon']Wouldn't it be nice if Princess actually put either the Royal or the Regal on the west coast. I mean just think cruising a fairly new ship to one of the old tubs we have to settle with on the left coast.[/QUOTE]

Aw, I feel bad for you! You should cruise out of FLL - lots of new ships!!

yeah...sometimes I think even the worms carry a can opener...

 

Funny!:D

Buffet question: The last time we sailed on a Princess ship we said it would be our last due to the fact the buffet had a one-way buffet line. You were only allowed to enter through one end and come out the other. The line was huge. We much prefer the stations plan where you can come and go. What is the plan on the Crown? Thank you in advance!

 

If you hate the buffet on the rest of the Princess ships, give the Regal or Royal Princess a go. Their buffets are very well laid out - the best of any ship we have ever sailed on.

The name fits in with the Royal and Regal. Good choice.

 

Does the fact that it is purpose built for the Asian market, and home ported there, mean we won't see her over here at all?

Thank you for sharing your wonderful review with us. Your photographs are beautiful.

Wow, Ricktan! What an amazing story! Scarey. it's good to know the crew is there to look after us.

Enjoying your review.

I had a smoker next to me on princess. Unfortunately there are rude smokers that don't follow rules.

 

That is so true. Our last cruise was in April 2015 on the Royal Princess. We had a balcony cabin, and while we were still in port on the first day, I looked down and noticed that a guy in a cabin below us was smoking on the balcony and flicking his ashes over the side, onto the lifeboats below. I called the front desk and told them - they said they would immediately look into it.

A day or so later I notice the same guy is doing the same thing again- smoking and flicking his ashes down onto the life boats. All I could picture was him starting a fire and us having to abandon ship in the middle of the Caribbean. I called the front desk again. I never saw him do it again.

We took a taxi from one pier to another within Port Everglades. I don't think the taxi drivers love doing this as they probably would like a longer fare, so we made sure we tipped him well.

$10

No reservation needed

almost every day - check On Location

casual

 

Thanks. We will be sure to try this out on our upcoming cruises. I can't believe we haven't done it before!

You will be fine. Have fun.:)

Question about lunch in the Pinnacle Grill. What is the cost, do you need to make a reservation, is it offered every day, and what is the dress code?

Thanks.

I'm not going to like this at all. We are not soda drinkers, but I do take a small number of bottled water on board and refill them as needed for use around the ship and going ashore.

 

I don't see why they should kill off taking on sealed bottles, but what can you do (other than take on some empty bottles)?

 

I think I won't get too overly excited until this is more firm that it will be enforced with no exceptions.

 

We used to carry on a case of water, but a few cruises ago we just started taking a few empty water bottles and refilling them with ships water. So much easier. We still carry on a case or two of canned pop.

Our experience on Princess is that you will see very few doors decorated. But most cruises we see a few.

Like described above, when you get to the summit, the train stops. They switch the engines from the front to the "new" front. The seat backs flip over the seat, so that the seat now face the opposite direction. They ask everyone to switch seats with the persons across the aisle. It works well.

As far as noise is concerned, we had no issue at all, and the motion was what we expected from a train. We really enjoyed the excursion. The scenery is awesome.

We have sailed on both the Royal and the Regal Princess. They are beautiful ships. I would recommend either ship for a wonderful cruise experience.

I wouldn't pick the Grand. We sailed on her several years ago and she wasn't in the best shape. There was a lot of issues with the plumbing, leaks etc. She just seemed kind of run down.

I like that you included the Koningsdam!

:D

Lovely photos. Thank you.