Crown Princess Review With Pictures 1/14-1/21 Long and Posted in Installments

[Whimsy]

We were a group of 17 that came from the Midwest and Florida area to celebrate my 50th birthday. Our ages ranged from 26 to young 70’s. We had mini suites, obstructed OV and inside cabins, all on the Emerald deck with one inside on Dolphin. We had a mix of experienced and first time cruisers. This was our 6th Princess cruise, my daughter’s 1st Princess Cruise.

Pre Cruise and Embarkation

Our weather had been mild all winter but the day before we flew out Mother Nature kicked up her heels and gave us a blast of cold and light snow. Getting pedicures and wearing sandals was a challenge for us ladies when it was 16 degrees outside but we managed. We live in a small town and we kept the nail guy busy all afternoon. He helped get the party started early with some little bottles of margaritas! A few drove to Florida and had a rough time with the roads till they got to Tennessee. We flew out of St Louis on Southwest with no delays or problems on Friday. It was the first time we flew that there was a bump offered and if it would have just been DH and I we would of grabbed the opportunity but since we had others traveling with us and meeting others in Florida we didn’t. Hopefully someday we get the opportunity again because airfare plays a big part in our cruise budget. A few free tickets and we could easily take another cruise.

We arrived in FLL and easily got our luggage and cabs and made our way to The Hyatt Place off 17th. We did not call the shuttle because in the past it takes forever to come and usually there are others waiting and since we were a group of 6 it was easier to just cab it over. I think the fare was less than $10 plus tip and we had 2 cabs. Check in was easy with a new kiosk and we got our keys and dropped our bags. The Hyatt Place is fine for a one night stay pre cruise but I do think it’s looking a bit tired and is due for a remodel again. I believe it was remodeled in 2008 but there is a musty smell and the A/C units are really loud. Time for them to update the mechanics as well as carpet, etc. As I said, fine for one night with large suite type rooms with lots of space for 3 people and a lot of luggage. Others in our group were already checked in and we walked over to Total Wine and Publix and picked up a few bottles of wine and some Diet Coke for in the cabin. We then made our way over to Kelly’s Landing. I had called previously and made a reservation for 11 people. We were early and had a little wait. As we were approaching Kelly’s Landing I recognized a man we cruised with back in the fall of 2010. He and I were both surprised and soon his wife came out of the restaurant and the 4 of us had a little chat. They were sailing on a different Princess ship the next day. What a coincidence that we would run into each other outside the restaurant. If we would have been a few minutes later we would of missed each other altogether. It was nice to see them.

Dinner at Kelly’s Landing has become a tradition for DH and I. Every time we cruise we have had dinner there and our group was not disappointed in our choice. There was a large variety of dishes on the table but the lobsters that were served were awesome. One in our group ordered the 2 lb lobster and it was a beauty!

We had the continental breakfast in the morning at that Hyatt Place and it was fine. We ordered a few cabs for 10 AM and easily made our way to the port and were given 1’s for embarkation. This was our first time Plantinum but we were not going to leave our group to wait in another area. I wanted an embarkation photo with as many of the group as I could that was there to board. We were missing a few but we got a great group shot. It was fun passing the time and everyone was excited. Sadly the Costa Concordia tragedy was on the screens all over the terminal but I didn’t see anyone with any apprehension about boarding. Around 11:30 or so they started embarkation and we were all quickly processed and ready for our photo. 2 of our group was missing, they met us later on the ship.

We had the extended balcony mini suite E731. I booked this cruise the very first day they opened bookings and grabbed that wonderful cabins. Friends had E729 and we were able to have our balcony door opened giving us access back and forth. We shared our balcony for many occasions with those that had a cabins with no balconies and there was plenty of room for everyone. The room was in excellent shape and the tile looked new. There were only 2 chairs and a table on our balcony which I found odd. Usually the balconies have 4 chairs. There was a box though that held a balcony table that went the whole week on our balcony and never was assembled. We joked that maybe DH should ask for a screwdriver and put it together for them. There was another one just like ours on the balcony of E729. We even asked the steward to remove it one day when we had a large gathering. He did remove it but it was brought back to again the next day. Just strange that it would go so long without being assembled. Nothing like traveling with a cardboard box on your balcony for a week.

I found a LOT of goodies in my room from our wonderful travel agent and family back home. What a welcoming and I felt very special. We had cabin credits, dinner at Sabatini’s, Asti, Balcony dinner, special occasions package that had photo and frame, more champagne, Godiva chocolates and much more. I was treated like a QUEEN!

Everyone met in my room after dropping bags and we then went to the buffet for lunch. Typical embarkation lunch at the buffet, love those fried scallops. The line was not long but passengers were confused as they usually are the first few days at the buffet. By the time we were finishing the line was very long and everyone was glad I herded them to lunch quickly. We bought a soda card for DH and an ultimate drink card for me. DD is not big on soda so she didn’t want one. I will say the ultimate drink card was nice and I would get another in the future. There were some very good virgin drinks and I like pineapple juice a lot. I thought it was well worth the additional few dollars. They would not honor the drink card on Princess Cays for virgin drinks and I think that is shame. I can see they don’t have fountain soda but they do have juice and blenders for mocktails.

Muster drill was on time and we were quickly on our way. I had arranged for a wave photo but some of our group got lost, including my DH so we did not assemble quickly enough for the wave photo. I was sad to miss that opportunity. DH was put in time out for leading those the wrong way. We did let him have drink though.

One of my friends and I decided to work our way they the drink menu. Here we are at sail away. That is not a piece sign but drink number 2.

 

It was rather cool in Fort Lauderdale and after watching the coast line slip further away we decided we were chilled enough and went inside and explored some more. Waters started out rough and surprisingly my DD was a bit sick. She has sailed twice before with no problems. Green apples and crackers became her mainstay for the first few days.

We had late seating in the Botticelli dining room and met up at 8:15. We had the best wait team. The head waiter was Vincenzo, Waiter was Rafel and Assistant Waiter was Carolina. They were AWESOME! I cannot say enough positive things about them. They took wonderful care of us all week long. Great personalities, suggestions and stories every night. I hope someday to have them again.

Our food was wonderful thru out the cruise. I have to say I think the Crown had some of the best food we have had on any of Princess cruises. The fettuccini was excellent and soon some newbies were ordering it every night as well as I. I was with a wonderful group of people and we had a wonderful travel agent so almost every night we shared Asti and Champagne. I had mostly seafood but tried a slice of beef here and there. The seafood dishes were excellent and the beef was very tender. I didn’t see one dish returned from our tables.

I can’t remember if we caught a show the first night, seemed we might of seen the comedian, magician or something like that. Then it was off to bed to get ready for Princess Cays in the morning.

Speaking of beds….Instead of the egg crate that I requested there was a wonderful pillow top type topper on the mattress. FINALLY! A good night’s sleep on a Princess mattress. It’s was a long time coming but Princess must finally be listening to the complaints about the mattresses. I slept great every night between the comfy bed and the motion of the ocean.

[6pack]

Thanks for the post! I can't believe you waited 1 week without ringing the steward! :)

[Kirsten T]

Fun reading - I'm always happy to see someone with a "just roll with it" attitude! Sounds like your birthday was a blast. Looking forward to your follow-up posts and photos. :)

Cheers,

Kirsten

[Whimsy]

Princess Cays Day

 

 

I forgot to mention a bit about the passenger make up. We normally cruise in the fall; this was the first cruise we have taken in the winter. I thought the passenger make up was a lot older than what we normally see in the fall. During the week I talked to a lot of cruise staff and they did agree that the passengers were a bit more mature on this voyage. I LOVE older people but I do have to say there were some moments when our patience was tested. For example, no matter how full the elevator was many would try to get on before letting any passengers off. One gentleman stood up in the middle of the comedy show and lamented his problems with another passenger and seating in the show. It was hard to get from one area to the next without congestion from someone blocking an area ahead, either confused or just stopped dead in front of you to have a conversation. Even the older ones in my group thought they were in the younger minority. My DD was a trooper though and didn’t complain…..much.

1st stop Princess Cays. We rented a bungalow so our group could come and go. The weather was not very warm and the water was COLD! We are beach people so this was a huge disappointment but one cannot control the weather. I and another lady did go in for a brief minute and the lifeguard cheered us. Slow day for him as there were not many in the water to guard. The bungalow package came with 4 priority tender tickets but we are always in the first group into the tenders. Sadly there was no organization or anyone to ask when we got off at Princess Cays for the motorized transport to the bungalow so we had to walk. One person in our group has extreme back issues and the ride would have been nice for her. We also never had anyone come by and introduce themselves as our attendant till after lunch. Drink service was hard to come by too but we managed. The bungalow was nice for our group but I would not rent one again for just DH and I. Due to the lack of service I doubt I would rent one for a larger group again. I truly am not a complainer, just stating the facts. It was not the experience I have seen so many rave about. When the attendant did finally come by he offered us ice water and we told him no thank you. By then we were starting to think of returning to the ship. Due to the cool temps there were not a lot of people on Princess Cays so there was no long line for lunch. We did enjoy the BBQ lunch as always.

Another disappointment is that Princess does not honor the Ultimate drink card on the island. I know they could do a mocktail or juice on the island. I understand they don’t have fountain soda. Just saying…

While in the bungalow I gave our group a low down on the Princess Future Cruise credit program. They were eager for me to start planning another cruise so we are looking at doing Panama Canal at a later date. I have a lot of research to do but I love planning new cruises.

There was hardly any line to for the tenders so it was an easy journey back to the ship. While waiting to leave passenger services kept paging a couple over and over again. Finally they must have found him but could still not find her. Captain Nash came on and sternly requested she report to passenger services. I was told later they found her eating in the buffet, without a clue that she was being paged. See above about the passenger make up. They also had people sweeping the island as they could not leave until all passengers were accounted since it is a Princess stop. The engines were started but we were not moving until they found her.

We were lucky to have a Catholic Priest on our voyage and he offered a Mass Sunday afternoon. When some of my Catholic friends was wondering where it was going to be held I laughed and told them probably after bingo in Club Fusion. Sure enough, I was right! LOL! This is the second time I have been able to attend Mass at sea and it’s always a pleasure. Mass was very well attended.

Sadly I received some very bad news for one couple on our cruise before dinner this evening. Before dinner I received an email from their daughter that a dear friend of theirs (and mutual friend of ours) was killed in a car accident the night before. The only reason I mention this is because I want to commend Princess for letting them make a call home the next night to their daughter. They were understandably upset and just wanted to be able to call back home. Princess allowed them a few minutes the next evening when they knew their daughter would be able to receive their call. I know they really appreciated being able to make that call as we would not be on land again for quite a while.

After dinner we made our way to the Princess Theater (where there was never a lack of good seats) for the mentalist show. It was the same guy, Wayne Hoffman, we seen on the Ruby back in October of 2010 but we enjoyed the show and my mind was with my friends who were distraught and with those back home. I actually dozed off for part of the show and was nudged awake when one of our group was a part of the show. How embarrassing but I think the sad news took a lot out of me that evening. I went to dinner with the rest of the group but it shocked and upset me to get the news and to have to break the news to my friends.

After the show we turned in as tomorrow was my BIG DAY at sea!

[rdsqrl]

Um, I think you left out a crucial detail: what was drink #2? If I had to guess, I'd say it looks like the Ultimate Mai Tai?

 

Love your review so far; I just love the ones that go into so much detail, and you guys sound like a lot of fun. Please continue, and please do keep us updated on how that working your way through the drink menu went!

[Woobstr112G]

Great review. Looking forward to reading more......:):):)

 

Bob

[Whimsy]

A drink program......:D

 

 

 

[srpilo]

Um, I think you left out a crucial detail: what was drink #2? If I had to guess, I'd say it looks like the Ultimate Mai Tai?

 

Love your review so far; I just love the ones that go into so much detail, and you guys sound like a lot of fun. Please continue, and please do keep us updated on how that working your way through the drink menu went!

 

 

That be my guess too :D

 

 

 

 

 

Whimsy, good stuff keep it coming :)

Srpilo

[Whimsy]

As you can see #2 was paradise punch.

[oceanblue11]

Oh my gosh!! Loved reading about the Crown!! I can't wait til we do our B2B in April on the Crown. I was interested to read about your head waiter being called Vincenzo. We had a Vincenzo as our head waiter on the Star in April 2011. He hailed from the Amalfi Coast. I realize there could certainly be more than one person called Vincenzo but it would be so fun if it were the same gentleman. He was very entertaining and we looked forward to

seeing him every evening. Thanks for posting about your trip.

[4cats4me]

Nice review, Whimsy! Can't wait to hear more:)

[Bimmer09]

Whimsy- a belated Happy Birthday wish from me and my TC. Am enjoying your review and the great photos.

 

We had a great cruise on the Crown and I will post my review once it comes back from the dry cleaners.

 

Keep the installments coming!

 

Norris

in Chicago,

tan fading,

memories strong

[Working 2 Cruise]

Thank you Whimsy! What a treat to have a review with pictures!

[Hulagirl]

So glad to hear you are having/had a great cruise on the Crown. I know you followed my live thread and it is so good to read your review. When you were asking me questions it seemed like weeks before your cruise, and now here you are writing about it! Boy, times goes so quickly.

 

Sounds like you were able to resolve the dining with all your family. I know you were curious if they would be able to put you all at one table. It is sounding like it all worked out.

 

Susan

[Vexorg]

Thanks for the review. Reading this as I am at the airport waiting for my flight to board the Crown on Saturday.

[preschool teacher]

Reading this with much excitement....think I will get some good tips for my cruise in march......thanks a bunch!

[LeeGal]

Princess Cays Day

 

 

 

I forgot to mention a bit about the passenger make up. We normally cruise in the fall; this was the first cruise we have taken in the winter. I thought the passenger make up was a lot older than what we normally see in the fall. During the week I talked to a lot of cruise staff and they did agree that the passengers were a bit more mature on this voyage. I LOVE older people but I do have to say there were some moments when our patience was tested. For example, no matter how full the elevator was many would try to get on before letting any passengers off. One gentleman stood up in the middle of the comedy show and lamented his problems with another passenger and seating in the show. It was hard to get from one area to the next without congestion from someone blocking an area ahead, either confused or just stopped dead in front of you to have a conversation. Even the older ones in my group thought they were in the younger minority. My DD was a trooper though and didn’t complain…..much.

 

Hey there! My mother and I were on the same cruise, and it's funny you should mention the age demographic, because we had also noticed the same thing! I'm 54 and my mother is 78, and she felt positively young! Not only were there far more old and/or infirm people on this cruise than we've ever experienced before, but there was also a huge percentage of rude people! While sitting in the Piazza at one of the tables and cushioned chairs, waiting for a show to start, a woman walked up and tried to pick up our table to take it away! Excuse me! Also experienced the wonderful "stop at the top or bottom of the stairs to have a conversation" many times. And the elevators... sheesh! While sitting outside the Explorer's lounge one evening waiting to go to dinner, my mother and I noticed the large number of canes and scooters, and started to keep count.... in 40 minutes, 36 people with either a cane or a scooter walked by! Now, I think it's fantastic to see these people out and about, but it just mystified us why there was such a huge percentage on this cruise, and we also wondered if it was because this was our first January cruise. We usually go early December, or April. Anyway, we loved the ship, the food, the crew, and would definitely go back on again, but just not in January!! :D

[Whimsy]

So glad to hear you are having/had a great cruise on the Crown. I know you followed my live thread and it is so good to read your review. When you were asking me questions it seemed like weeks before your cruise, and now here you are writing about it! Boy, times goes so quickly.

 

Sounds like you were able to resolve the dining with all your family. I know you were curious if they would be able to put you all at one table. It is sounding like it all worked out.

 

Susan

 

While our group was all seated in the same section they were not able accomodate the large table that would of been a big help to us. The Maitre d' Neville was not very accomodating. We asked about the table and was told no. I had an old coffee card and they went to him for an answer and was told I could not get cappuccino with the card. I was however able to get it at the coffee bar using the old card. Neville was no help what so ever but does have a wonderful wait staff that took excellent care of us. Strange thing was one of our tables had a different wait staff while an empty table in our wait staffs section sat empty the whole time. It would of seemed to me they would of had the other table of our group at that table.

[Whimsy]

Hey there! My mother and I were on the same cruise, and it's funny you should mention the age demographic, because we had also noticed the same thing! I'm 54 and my mother is 78, and she felt positively young! Not only were there far more old and/or infirm people on this cruise than we've ever experienced before, but there was also a huge percentage of rude people! While sitting in the Piazza at one of the tables and cushioned chairs, waiting for a show to start, a woman walked up and tried to pick up our table to take it away! Excuse me! Also experienced the wonderful "stop at the top or bottom of the stairs to have a conversation" many times. And the elevators... sheesh! While sitting outside the Explorer's lounge one evening waiting to go to dinner, my mother and I noticed the large number of canes and scooters, and started to keep count.... in 40 minutes, 36 people with either a cane or a scooter walked by! Now, I think it's fantastic to see these people out and about, but it just mystified us why there was such a huge percentage on this cruise, and we also wondered if it was because this was our first January cruise. We usually go early December, or April. Anyway, we loved the ship, the food, the crew, and would definitely go back on again, but just not in January!! :D

 

We encountered a lot of rude people too.

 

The crew assured me it is not a common theme in January but it does make one hesitate to book in January again.

[VikingRob]

Love reading review! This will be our first time on Crown, second on a Solstice class ship. We are so excited and reading this just makes me more excited!! Thank you! I need to go find my old coffee card! Kim

[kellyshantz]

I will be on this cruise in April. Do you know if Capt Nash will still be on it? I've cruised twice with him.

[texasdillo]

Thank you for posting this review. We are sailing on the Crown in 6 weeks, so I love reading your post. Keep it going!

[quelah]

My wife and I were on this cruise and I agree it was an older age demographic. We were on the Jan 7 and Jan 14 b2b, and for some reason it was a much younger group the first week. On the turnaround day we got off the ship for a few hours and when we returned, it seemed like a whole different generation had come on board. Really, the average age must have gone up by about 20 years. We mentioned it to some of the staff and they said it was nothing about this particular curise or the time of year, just the luck of the draw.

[4mrnyer]

We were on this cruise too. First one on Princess. We talked to several people and were told that there were at least 2 senior citizen groups on board. Not sure how many were with each group. Some of them were very rude. One lady got mad when we couldn't let her and a couple of friends on the elevator that already had more than it should have.:eek:

[Whimsy]

1st Sea Day

Today was my 50th birthday. My friends joked how I managed to arrange the ship to have a formal night on my birthday. LOL! I decided a few years before I turned 50 I was not going to do it back home, in the cold with a black party I didn’t want. I decided to make turning 50 something to look forward to so I planned a cruise and invited friends and family. It is a lot to ask someone to spend a week of their vacation time plus a lot of money but I have a good bunch of friends and many joined the journey. I understand why many could not but I know they were with us in spirit. I cannot tell you how wonderful it feels to have so many good people in your life. I highly recommend anyone dreading something to turn those lemons into lemonade and plan something such as I did.

I ordered coffee, juice and pastries then after getting ready DH and I headed up to the buffet where we ran into one of our group and we had breakfast together. DD joined us and the plan was to lie around MUTTS pool and just relax. My first smile of the day was when DD told me our assistant waitress Carolina seen her and asked her about her sister (me!). Who wouldn’t love that on a day when you turn 50! We ended up having a long conversation, telling DD about some old history in the town we all came from. Now she can be the keeper of those secrets and stories. Soon we were joined by another friend and I realized it was time for a gathering with members of CC board. I told DD to get us some loungers and I would find her a bit later.

I went up to Skywalkers and there was a nice gathering of members but it sure was a quiet group compared to other meetings I have attended. The first person I talked to was Kicker and he sure is charming, telling me I must be lying about my 50th birthday. He also gave me a book he wrote called Ship Happens, Limericks and Jokes. I started reading the book and I’ll put a plug here for him, what I read so far was very amusing. Sadly though I cannot find the book he gave me and have turned in a lost and found request to Princess. I hope somehow it comes back to me as it meant a lot to me that he thought enough of me to give the book and I do want to read the whole thing. If I don’t get it back I will be buying another copy. I met Paul and thanked him for keeping the roll call. I have done this on past roll calls and it can be time consuming. I tried to get a drink at the bar but the bartender said the bar was closed. Huh? You’re a bartender, there are bottles here and I have a cruise card…. Can we have a meeting of the minds? Sadly I couldn’t get a drink. For future roll call planners might I suggest having your meet and greets at Adagio’s. This is the second time I have attended a meet and greet in Skywalkers and there was no bar service. I have attended a few in Adagio’s and there has always been bar service. Maybe the smaller venue has people up and mingling a bit more as well.

 

Captain Nash

Captain Nash spoke and was asked about the Costa accident. His answers were as best he could give, considering he was seeing as much as anyone else from the news. The hotel manager attended as well and I had a nice little chat with him off to the side. The cruise director stopped by as well. Soon DD came to tell me I had missed a few nice loungers so she dragged me away. I know she was not feeling well and was hoping I could magically make her feel better.

 

 

DD and Cruise Director Lisa Ball

 

DD and I found a few loungers up high and tried to watch a movie but the glass rail glare made it impossible for me. I was content to start reading the book Kicker gave to me and settled in with a drink and my book. Pretty soon friends found us and crowned me as well as giving me a lovely champagne glass for my special day. Since I was afraid of breaking the glass on the deck I put it away for later that day. I did however wear my crown. I made up my mind a long time back that whatever fun my friends drummed up for my birthday I would go along. That afternoon at bingo another one pinned me with a birthday girl ribbon and I transferred it to my purse for formal night.

 

First formal night looked and the ship was really rocking. Some of our group was not feeling well despite the seasick meds. DD was downing green apples as instructed but was stilling looking a bit green. I dressed, put on my crown and staggered down the hall to meet up with some at Crooners for a pre dinner drink.

We enjoyed a bit of people watching and birthday fun. Soon it was time for dinner and I staggered back to the room to get a bottle of champagne to take to the dining room as well as my special flute. Sure looks back when you see an old broad wearing a crown, bouncing off the hall walls with a huge bottle of champagne with a fancy glass.

It was wonderful to be treated like a queen on my birthday by my family and friends. Sadly many of them were feeling the effects of the sea and a few had to bow out and return to their rooms as dinner progressed. While I felt bad for them it did bring laughter because we could see who was not feeling well and would watch how long they were trying to stick it out. When another would leave we would sing Another One Bites The Dust. We are not mean to each other, we just love teasing each other and no one took offense. DD enjoyed another dinner of green apples and other suggestions. The head waiter suggested smelling lemons but that caused her to have to leave the table for a while. Stick with the green apples babe.

 

Formal night apples.

 

My travel agent outdid herself when they brought my birthday cake out. I have never had a more beautiful birthday cake in my life. It was 4 layers, filled with strawberries and cream and light as air. The cake was huge, the photos do not do it justice.

 

 

Everyone gathered and sang to me and after the song suddenly everyone had noise makers and started blowing! LOL! We all had some cake and there was so much cake several took pieces to their rooms and I shared with our wait team. DD decided she had enough fun and went back to the room, taking our to go cake with her and those of us that were seaworthy headed to the show. I noticed we lost a few more between the dining room and the show though. The show was good and I give a thumbs up to those performers who could dance on those seas. After the show we lost a few more and those left headed to the casino for a bit of gambling. I hit for $100 and turned in for the night.

 

 

It was a wonderful birthday and I am so glad I came up with this plan a few years ago. My family, friends and travel agent did a wonderful job of making me feel special.

Next up…..balcony breakfast for 9 and land ahoy!