Live from ... Cruise Critic's Caribbean Kick-Off on Crown Princess (11/7 - 14)

[Dan Askin]

It is gorgeous there and we enjoyed this excursion to the same resort and Tulum through RC last December, it was $89 for Tulum and the beach break. It sounds like that is how much the same excursion was for your sailing this past week. I wonder if you would know the answer to this, but why would the same excursion be $129 for the December 5th sailing? Tulum only is $79 and an 8 hour trip. Tulum and the beach break is $50 more at $129! That is a lot of $ for fajitas. I'd love to do that again but that is a huge difference!

Any idea why it changed so much in a month?

Thanks!

 

$129 for the ruins and beach break is correct. $89 for just the ruins. Not sure why it changed so much, but if I had to assume, I'd say, adding the beach to the end of the day has proven very popular (provides a nice balance) ... so they've raised prices "accordingly." Again, that's just an opinion.

[Dan Askin]

Hi Dan-

If you get a chance to post the MDR's theme nights and/or menus that would be great. We are on the Jan. 2nd Crown sailing with our 12 & 14 year old kids. Could you check out their 2 groups to see which night they can eat with their kid's clubs, so we can book the Crown Grill for me and my husband?

If you can post some of the 8-12 & 13-17 activity sheets later as well... I/d love it.

Thanks for all your postings!

 

Hi Ocean,

 

I have quite a few things to post (patters, menus, etc.), but on the question of finding time for an adults-only dinner at Crown Grill ... I don't think you'll have any issues.

 

There were very few kids signed up for the youth program on our sailing (only 18 8 - 12's; 27 3 - 7's; not sure number of teens, but I saw very few), but I know there were a number of chaperoned dinner for the kids (Teens farewell dinner, Friday, 8 - 10 p.m.; dinner on second sea day for 8 -12's, 7 - 8 p.m.) ... regardless, youth program activity hours on both port and sea days include 7 - 10 p.m. (closed from 5 - 7 p.m.). Drop the kids off, and enjoy the 22-ounce ribeye...

[Dan Askin]

So here are the passenger breakdown numbers for our November 7 - 14 Western Caribbean cruise:

2,384 Americans

192 Brits

429 Canadians

98 split between 29 countries

Total pax: 3,123, or 101.4 percent occupancy (3,080 double occupancy).

[Dan Askin]

This may be a randomly weird question which you cannot answer, but here goes. My best friend and I are going on a Princess cruise on the 5th of December for my birthday. I really want to do the Chef's Table. She is "sensitive" to garlic. She actually loves it but it doesn't love her. A little isn't an issue but a LOT will make her nauseated a few hours after she eats it. Because of this we're going to pass on Sabatini's. And of course we'll ask when we try to sign up for the Chef's Table, but did you find it heavy on garlic?

I mean if it was garlic laden (as Italian or Chinese food can be for instance), there's no sense even trying to get on the Chef's table list.

TIA

 

Our particular menu -- they rotate between a few, so you'll have to check each out individually -- was not particularly heavy on the garlic. There were some dishes (asparagus & lobster risotto; the veal entree) that were certainly garlicky ... but chef and company will ask about food allergies before hand in order to do their best to accommodate you. One member in our group disliked veal ... so they made him a fat filet mignon instead.

[tmitchell82]

Hi Ocean,

 

I have quite a few things to post (patters, menus, etc.), but on the question of finding time for an adults-only dinner at Crown Grill ... I don't think you'll have any issues.

 

There were very few kids signed up for the youth program on our sailing (only 18 8 - 12's; 27 3 - 7's; not sure number of teens, but I saw very few), but I know there were a number of chaperoned dinner for the kids (Teens farewell dinner, Friday, 8 - 10 p.m.; dinner on second sea day for 8 -12's, 7 - 8 p.m.) ... regardless, youth program activity hours on both port and sea days include 7 - 10 p.m. (closed from 5 - 7 p.m.). Drop the kids off, and enjoy the 22-ounce ribeye...

 

Dan - That is exactly what we did on the last night. Drop out DD of at the kids club and enjoyed the 220z Porterhouse at the Crown Grill!! Was nice to meet you on the ship.

 

Tim

[Gr8daners]

Thanks Dan for all the information. Was the ship able to visit Roatan?

[Dan Askin]

Dan

This has been a great thread all week...I can't wait till you come back and have more time to write about your weeks experience. You probably didn't get much rest/relaxation answering all of our questions. We do appreciate all the time and effort you took in responding to us. If its at all possible if you have copies of the Princess Patter that you could scan I'm sure everyone on this post would just love to see them. Again thank you for your updates it is truly appreciated.

Mimi

 

Thanks justluv, really enjoyed it. I'll do my best to add some more reports ... but we're about to be subsumed by the biggest cruise news since the sinking of the Titanic ... you know what I'm talking about, yes?

 

Dan, I too want to Thank You so much for your reports this week. Having done many Live from postings myself I know how much time it took and most likely double for you since you were doing this for CC and actually getting all the questions answered and pictures taken. I am sure you had little time for yourself.

 

Since I have been an avid HAL cruiser and will be doing our first Princess cruise on the Crown 9 short weeks from tomorrow I have appreciated your insight and advise. This truly has peaked my excitement for our cruise. :D

 

Big thanks, really appreciate your kind words.

 

Hi All at CC,

 

Having had a chance to talk to Dan a few times would just like to say how nice a bloke he is and has a real interest in finding out about what he is writing about, may be you should give him a drinks account so he can get the inside scope from the crew as they have so much to tell, but only after a few glasses.

 

yours Shogun

 

I like the way you think Shogun, even CEO's aren't immune ... great meeting you, too.

[Dan Askin]

Thanks so much for all this information.

 

Has there been any sort of a nightlife scene on your cruise? Meaning people staying out until all hours, dancing, etc?

 

Princess is not a particularly boisterous line in terms of all-hours rabble-rousing (Spring Break may be another story), but there are certainly times when people were having especially good fun. On the evenings before a sea day, the nightlife (top-ship Skywalker's is the place for late night spazzing) was a touch more active ... likely because the prospect of sleeping in looms large (no 7:50 a.m. meeting in the Princess theater for your Cozumel shore excursion). The Tropical Island Night Deck Party (9:45 - midnight) was also very well attended, and included the (nightmare scenario for me) "world's longest conga line."

 

One note: The following advice was met with some frowning, but I think it holds true. If you set your internal clock back a touch, 11 p.m. will feel like 1 a.m.

[Dan Askin]

Thanks Dan for all the information. Was the ship able to visit Roatan?

 

Hi Gr8daners,

 

The ship was indeed able to visit Roatan, which for me had a bit of undiscovered quality (in the context of Caribbean cruise ports, of course). The rain came in sheets ... the bugs destroyed my legs ... the eco park I visited was a little too "touristy," the beach part of the excursion was hindered by cloud cover and drizzel ... but still, I'm very eager to return. I'll try to go into more detail and post some photos this week.

[Dan Askin]

Dan - That is exactly what we did on the last night. Drop out DD of at the kids club and enjoyed the 220z Porterhouse at the Crown Grill!! Was nice to meet you on the ship.

 

Tim

 

How did you find Princess kids' program? Obviously there weren't too many children signed up (and your daughter is a mature little lady -- nine pairs of shoes -- capable of entertaining herself), but what were her thoughts? Great to meet you guys, too.

[Minoushka]

WElcome Home Dan

 

 

Hope to see your pictures before I board the Crown next week

 

Thanks

 

Michele

[TwinCruiserMom]

Can't wait to see all the menus and patters you brought back from the Crown :) I am hoping to see if the menus have changed since March. Also, looking forward to the patters with the movie listings and activities onboard.

 

Is the Ultimate drink card available on the Crown for all ages? And do you know what beverages it covers?

 

I have been following your thread daily since you left and it is such a great opportunity for all of us cruising soon on the Crown to get the up to date information. I truly appreciate the time you have taken to talk to all the managers onboard to give us the latest scoop :)

 

Many thanks!

[tmitchell82]

How did you find Princess kids' program? Obviously there weren't too many children signed up (and your daughter is a mature little lady -- nine pairs of shoes -- capable of entertaining herself), but what were her thoughts? Great to meet you guys, too.

 

We thought the Kids Club was very good. When we ask DD what her favorite things were on the ship she said "swimming and going to kids club" The staff always had activities for the kids to do even if she was the only one there. We took her up one morning and she was the only one there at the time and the play dough was ready to go. The day after the pirate night, she did not want us to wash off her face paint. There were not a lot of kids in the kids club which was somewhat nice with a smaller group. We watch the staff with the kids several times and they all did a great job. DW is a director of a day care and she was impressed with how well it was run, the procedures they follow, and activities. We would not hesitate to take her on Princess again (DD wanted to back on Thursday)

 

Tim

[caber]

Hi Dan,

 

When we got to Roatan we went to the tour booths and negotiated a tour. The prices fell by the second. If you are willing to negotiate you can save a good bit.

 

We had a good tour, despite the rain. We found the Lighthouse restaurant in the west beach village (not sure of the name, it was something like that) before Shogun`s party. I highly recommend the three rum cocktails :D and the food was good too.

 

Even in the rain the island had charm.

 

Those pakamacs came in handy.:p

[DalGal2]

Hi, Dan,

 

You did a great job reporting on our week at sea (Nov.7-14). It was great meeting you at the CC M&M, although we got there too late for the goodies. But, oh, well. Overall, we really enjoyed this cruise... mainly because we met so many interesting people through anytime dining, instead of being stuck with the same tablemates all week. Everyone had fascinating stories to share. I have cruised on Princess several times before and have always been impressed with the food, but this time it seemed to lack the 'exquisite' quality it previously had, although it was certainly very good and I heartily consumed more than my share. Presentation was elegant as always ~ it just seemed a bit more bland. We found the service in both Michelangelo and DaVinci dining rooms to be very slow in the evenings, but thank goodness for the fascinating and congenial people we were fortunate to dine with. We enjoyed them all immensely.

 

One thing I wanted to mention was that in Cozumel, my daughter Sherrilyn and I did the Dolphin Discovery swim at Chankanaab Park. Sherrilyn made our reservation online at http://www.dolphindiscovery.com and it cost less for the two of us, including taxi to/from, than Princess Shorex charged for one person. We were able to actually swim with and ride the dolphins, and enjoyed the experience of a lifetime. I would definitely recommend Dolphin Discovery to those of you on upcoming cruises. It was wonderful, and you can also enjoy their beautiful beaches and park grounds.

 

Bonnie

[gluexfee]

Hi Dan,

 

in every thread there the question about: Ultimate drink card

 

Please let us know where and if to get this thing ;-)

 

Thank you

 

Dagmar and Ivy

[lakegirl16]

Hi, Dan:

 

We will be on the Crown the week of 1/23. Really enjoying your posts. Thank you. When/where will you be posting the Patters and Menus? Anxious to read these to add to the anticipation and excitement.

 

Thanks again.

[fcorey]

Dan, did you post a link to the patters from this ttrip?

[Dan Askin]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry for the delay. My laptop's hard drive crashed ... and I've temporarily lost a few years of files. Menus for MDR, Sabatini's and Crown Grill are attached. I'll do my best with Princess Patters.

 

Dan

Crown Grill Dinner Menu.pdf

KP 7D Caribbean.pdf

Sabatini's Menu (Antipasti & Secondi Piatti).pdf

[Dan Askin]

Hi Dan,

 

in every thread there the question about: Ultimate drink card

 

Please let us know where and if to get this thing ;-)

 

Thank you

 

Dagmar and Ivy

 

Hi Dagmar and Ivy,

 

I've been asking around and no one seems to know anything about the "Ultimate Drink Card." What they do mention is the "Ultimate Kid's Package," which is technically just available for under 21's. I can't say whether or not adults will be denied though ... didn't try to purchase one myself. For me, the whirly straw seals the deal.

 

 

The Ultimate Kid's Package

 

• Retails at $7.50 per day plus 15% gratuity

 

• Unlimited soda package and tumbler

 

• Free hot chocolate everywhere

 

• Free juices

 

• Complimentary Mocktails

 

• One kid's whirly straw

[Minoushka]

WOW those menus look awesome

I DEFINITELY want to go back to Sabatini's and try Crown Grill

Did you ???Opinions???

 

I cannot wait till next week ...It's 4 oclock I forgot to have lunch ...now I'm really hungry after reading those menus

 

Thanks Dan

 

Michele

[pabruno]

Going on Crown on 12/26 Let me know how you liked it. Thanks.

[wdblake]

When I printed out the menu's the landfall menu was in the middle. Could you please tell in what order the menus need to be? We are trying to pick a speciality restaurant night. Thank you and the menus look great. Excellent quality posting!

[Rockymountainsparky]

My mouth is watering. Only one week to go.:D:D:D

Dan, thank you so much for the tremendous effort you put forth in your posts. ;)

[fcorey]

Hi everyone,

 

Sorry for the delay. My laptop's hard drive crashed ... and I've temporarily lost a few years of files. Menus for MDR, Sabatini's and Crown Grill are attached. I'll do my best with Princess Patters.

 

Dan

 

Dan, are the menus from main dining room posted in order by day?