Just Back from Bermuda Cruise on the NCL Crown

[Tom99]

Don't have much time (still unpacking) but I did want to take a few minutes and give some feedback on our 5/16-5/23 cruise from Philadelphia to Bermuda.

 

Most importantly -- no sickness that we know of. Many passengers and most of the crew members were not using the alcohol gel when reboarding the ship, but we didn't hear of any cases of intestinal illness.

 

Also, I know there is a lot of concern about the Crown and its overall condition. Based on what I had read in this forum, I had some second thoughts about sailing on her. Within minutes of boarding, however, I felt like I was on the wrong ship. The ship I sailed on was in very good condition -- carpeting looked 2 or 3 years old at most, and the carpet in our cabin was spotless. Brass was polished and gleaming everywhere in the ship. Bathrooms were very clean. In fact, every place on the ship was very clean. This didn't look like an "old" ship at all. Plus, the crew was very polite and pleasant. Lots of smiles.

 

Bottom line -- we had a ball on our cruise. Don't change your plans if you have a future cruise on the Crown.

 

I'll post more details when time allows.

[Linda the Book Lover]

It is always nice to hear something nice. We leave on the Majesty next week and we are hoping for a great cruise as well. If you have time in the next week write about some of things you took part in Bermuda.

 

<LI>Tropicale ~ 5/93 <LI> Norwegian Wind ~ Hawaii ~ 4/4/03 <LI>Norwegian Majesty ~ Bermuda~ 5/30/04 <LI>

Until we sail on the Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda!

 

[Newcruiser00]

Hi Tom99....

Glad to hear you had a great time on the Bermuda cruise!

 

We're going on the Majesty to Bermuda in July. Was interested in an excursion that is on the list, but only available to sign up for onboard. Sounds like it could be fun! It's the Hawkins Island Carnival ! Can't seem to find any information on what NCL is offering. I wonder why you can only sign up when you get on the ship?

 

Anyone know what day, time and price this event is? Not much information is provided on the web site list.

 

Better yet, has anyone gone on this trip? What was it like?

 

Any other excursions worth mentioning? Would love to hear all about it!

 

Thanks !

 

UNTIL the MAJESTY to BERMUDA !

[Newcruiser00]

Hi Linda the Book Lover,

You're leaving this weekend! Wish we were going already. Maybe you can post some information on this when you get back. I'm wondering what day it's on cause we'd like to book some other excursions too and don't want them to conflict.

 

Hope you have a great cruise!

 

Thanks....

 

UNTIL the MAJESTY to BERMUDA !

[runner15km]

Thanks for the update on the Crown. Glad to here that you had a great time and that the ship was in fine condition.

 

Michael

 

Mercury 4/01

Zenith 4/02

NCL Majesty 5/02

S/S Norway 12/02

NCL Sky 4/03

 

[This message was edited by runner15km on 05-24-04 at 07:53 AM.]

[cmitch9999]

Tom

welcome home and thanks for sharing the news of your cruise on the Crown. We are making our final payment today for our trip in Aug. so it is good to hear that things are good aboard. The reviews from April really had us spooked -- Glad it has been resolved for all future Crown cruisers.

Please fill in more when you get a chance!

Chris Mitchell

 

16 Voyages completed 1999-2004, 81 wonderful days at sea

dreaming of ....

Norwegian Crown 8/04

Carnival Fascination 11/04

[Linda the Book Lover]

I will definately let you know when we return about this excursion.

 

<LI>Tropicale ~ 5/93 <LI> Norwegian Wind ~ Hawaii ~ 4/4/03 <LI>Norwegian Majesty ~ Bermuda~ 5/30/04 <LI>

Until we sail on the Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda!

 

[Roboticus_Rex]

My wife and I also just got back from the Crown. Like Tom, neither of us were aware of any sickness on this ship. The ship had hand sanitation devices (filled with isopropyl alcohol) placed at the entrance to the ship and all of the restaurants. It seems that the key to not getting ill is to keep your hands clean.

 

The condition of the ship itself is fine. If you have been on any of the newer ships, the Crown certainly will not blow you away. But, the trip is more about where you are going than how you get there. And, for the most part the Crown does not show its age.

 

The food was relatively good. We had both been on the Dawn before and noticed that many items on the Crown's menu were exactly the same as on the Dawn. Hence, I don't believe that the cuisine differs much from ship to ship. So, if you cruised NCL before and enjoyed the food, you will also enjoy the food on the Crown.

 

Of course, Bermuda itself was beautiful, and we were forunate to have excelent weather.

 

One of the only drawbacks was that the age of most of the passengers on this ship seemed to hover around 60-65. For many people this wouldn't be an issue. However, for a younger couple, it cut down on the amount of socializing we did. Still, everyone on the ship was very friendly. Poeple definitely said hello and how are you doing much more than on a larger ship. This is partly due to the fact that freestyle dining does not really work on the Crown (at least not for groups of 2 or 4).

 

Tables of two and four were placed around the perimeter of the main dining hall and were separated by only six inches. As such, it was virtually impossible to ignore the people dining besides you, and you often felt compelled to socialize. Obviously, many people would not find this to be a drawback, unless they planned on having an intimate dinner for two.

 

The entertainment was good. The cruise has a song and dance troupe that was pretty good. It also had three comedians who were really funny. However, none of the comedians will be back, as this was their last cruise on the Crown. Hopefully they will be replaced by equally funny entertainers.

 

The bottom line is that I would recommend this cruise to anyone thinking about taking it.

 

Robots do everything better.

[Hobbsey]

I am so glad (and relieved) to hear that my favorite mid-sized ship is still in good shape.

 

Welcome home, it's wonderful to hear your good report.

 

1968 Lurline (Matson)

1969 Mariposa (Matson)

1998 Seabreeze (Premier)

1998 Century (Celebrity)

1999 Seabreeze (Premier)

1999 Norwegian Crown (NCL)

1999 Voyager of the Seas (RCL)

2000 Westerdam (HAL)

2000 Carnival Victory (CCL)

2000 Sensation (CCL)

2001 Mercury (Celebrity)

2001 Norwegian Majesty (NCL)

2001 Vision of the Seas (RCL)

2002 Norwegian Wind (NCL)

2004 Maasdam (HAL)

[DeeMarch]

Thanks, Tom, for writing such a quick review! I'd love to hear more when you get a chance. We are on the Crown on June 27th and we can't wait!!

 

So glad that I did not listen to the "doomsayer".

 

Denise

 

11/10/00 Married my best friend aboard

Grandeur of the Seas

 

Bermuda on the Crown

[sfbear]

I was on the infamous April 4th cruise where there was a major engine malfunction and we had to miss Savannah in order to limp back to Philly. All in all, I really enjoyed the Crown and felt that the crew did their best to keep everybody happy. I am glad that your trip was a success. As another poster often says (somewhat like this) there are no bad cruises, just some are better than others. Looking forward to possibly doing So. America on the Crown in the near future.

[tlemke1]

.

[Tom99]

Here's some additional info --

 

We arrived at the Philadelphia cruise terminal a little after 1:00pm on Sunday, May 16. We had hoped to beat the initial rush of people trying to get on the ship. Didn’t work. We had experienced NCL’s slow check-in procedures several years ago in Montreal and relived them again in Philadelphia. We were in a taxi and wound up sitting for about 15 minutes waiting to be waived into the unloading area. From the time we walked into the cruise terminal after dropping our luggage until we walked into our cabin, it took us a little over one hour. First we stood in a long line to go through the security screening, and then an equally long line to be actually checked in for the cruise. We’re Latitudes members, which got us directed to a line that was longer and slower than the line for the first time NCL cruisers. The terminal wasn’t in bad shape, and the very high ceilings helped to keep it fairly cool. There were bathrooms in the main part of the terminal, and more bathrooms in the secured area after you clear security.

 

As I mentioned above, I was very surprised at the condition of the ship. After reading other reviews, I expected a run-down rust bucket. Not true. This is a very nice looking ship that is well maintained. We had booked an Owners Suite and were favorably impressed with the overall size of the cabin, the amenities, and the cleanliness.

 

As an aside, I would have preferred taking one of the larger, newer ships to Bermuda, but it seemed that everything going there was both mid-sized and older. When we docked in St. Georges and again in Hamilton, I found out why. The docking areas just won’t accommodate larger ships. In fact, we were docked end-to-end with a Celebrity ship in Hamilton, and there couldn’t have been more than 10 feet between the two ships.

 

Back to the ship. The staff and crew were very pleasant, very cheerful, and smiled a lot. Food was plentiful and there was a good selection of specialty restaurants considering the size of the ship. We ate at the Seven Seas Restaurant (main dining room), the Yacht Club (buffet), Chopsticks (the Asian restaurant actually located in the back of the buffet area at night), and room service. Service was good – actually better than we experienced on the NCL Sea several years ago. In spite of Freestyle Dining and automatic gratuities, the staff really tried hard to give good service. I attribute this to the management onboard the ship. Think about it – if tipping were outlawed in all restaurants tomorrow, would you expect poor service everywhere? Of course not – good management always rises to the top, and this ship is well run.

 

Several years ago, as we were booking a Montreal to New York cruise on the NCL Sea, our cruise agent told me, “This is an older ship, smaller and more intimate than the newer, larger ships. If you will adjust your expectations accordingly, you’ll have a great time.†She was right, and we did have a great time. She gave me the same speech for this cruise, and she was right again. The Crown doesn’t have an ice skating rink, or a rock wall, or a movie theatre, etc. etc. Why would it? It’s a mid-size ship. What it does have is a smaller group of passengers, which facilitates getting on and off the ship. It’s easier to get around from one area to another, and it can dock at ports where larger ships would have to use tenders. It does have a show lounge, several restaurants, boutiques, an Internet room, card and game areas, a children’s play area, and so forth.

 

Ports were fun. St Georges was very quaint and touristy, Hamilton more commercial and busy, and Kings Wharf somewhat isolated but tranquil. Each one was different, and enjoyable. I’m really glad we were on a ship that stopped at each port.

 

Things we did and things we missed – we took the general sightseeing tours in each port, and they were excellent. Great tour guides. We also took the Candlelight Walk in St Georges, which is conducted by the mayor, in costume. Really fun. In Hamilton, we finished our Aquarium/Caves/Perfumery/Highlights tour and at the suggestion of the tour guide we went to the Anglican Church on Church Street. We climbed up to the top of the steeple (155 steps!) and the view is fantastic – from one side of the island to the other. In King’s Wharf we had possibly the highlight of the entire trip for us, as we did the bell diving. Hard to explain all about that, but it is really neat, and you can buy a video of your dive for $35 – we did, and it was well worth it.

 

What did we miss? Couple of things. We got soaked in a rain shower during an evening boat tour of famous homes and hideaways and missed the Hamilton street fair. Also, NCL didn’t tell us about the dolphin area in Kings Wharf, and it was apparently one of the really big attractions for those who found it. We did find the really nice public beach in King’s Wharf where you can rent snorkeling gear, and where there are some neat children’s play areas in the water.

 

Money is U.S. dollars. Yes, there is Bermuda currency, but we never saw it. We paid in U.S. dollars and received change in U.S. currency. (But be aware that apparently some of, or all of, the ATM machines only dispense Bermuda currency.)

 

Everyone we met was very polite, and friendly. You get an impression of a very laid back, easy going society. The Bermudians are respectful of each other and of tourists. But be aware there is also a growing drug problem in Bermuda, and keep your “street smarts,†especially at night.

 

Returning to Philadelphia, we opted to stay on the ship until 10:00am, and were in the last group off. We were in and out of the cruise terminal in no time at all, and picked up a taxi outside for our trip to the airport. There were two long lines of taxis waiting for fares. If you’re flying out of Philadelphia and need to get to the airport, consider a cab. The fare was $17 plus tip. The bus transfers being sold by NCL were $20 for each person, and you have to line up with the rest of the herd. One of the NCL representatives suggested a taxi, and it was good advice.

 

Overall, great trip, good ship, very memorable.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the great review. Who did you book your helmet dive with? We did the shore excursion with the ship but just in case that doesn't work I would like to be prepared with another alternative. I wondered about the video of the dive and you just answered a question I forgot to ask. Thanks a bunch for that!

 

<LI>Tropicale ~ 5/93 <LI> Norwegian Wind ~ Hawaii ~ 4/4/03 <LI>Norwegian Majesty ~ Bermuda~ 5/30/04 <LI>

Until we sail on the Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda!

 

[Tom99]

The helmet dive was through the ship, and was at King's Wharf. Apparently there are two different helmet dives available -- one at St. George's and one at King's Wharf. I don't know any details of the St. George's helmet dive, but the King's Wharf experience was first class and the people on the boat were super.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks Tom! One last helmet dive question: did you take photos as well?

 

<LI>Tropicale ~ 5/93 <LI> Norwegian Wind ~ Hawaii ~ 4/4/03 <LI>Norwegian Majesty ~ Bermuda~ 5/30/04 <LI>

Until we sail on the Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda!

 

[richtersl]

Tom, that was a balanced and well-written review. Thank you! I'm going to print that out and, hopefully, will be able to use it to convince my husband to take a cruise this summer/fall to Bermuda.

 

Linda

NCL Sky - 1/03

NCL Sun - 1/02

 

[cmitch9999]

Tom

thanks again for sharing your Bermuda experiences with us. Can you give me directions to the beach at King's Wharf?? We were there in 1999..but I don't recall any beach type area.

 

Also..did they cancel the street fair in Hamilton due to rain??

 

Any chocolate buffet (when?) on your cruise??

 

Thanks

Chris Mitchell

 

16 Voyages completed 1999-2004, 81 wonderful days at sea

dreaming of ....

Norwegian Crown 8/04

Carnival Fascination 11/04

[lbeachbum2]

thanks for the Great review .....leaving next sunday cant wait .... would love more info on the tour with the mayor .... Mike

 

06/06/2004 NCL Crown

05/09/2004 Dawn

12/07 Dawn Cruise

07/2001 Renisance GreekCruise

10/1999 Grand Princess

[welove2cruise*]

I am curious too if there was a chocolate buffet on the Crown. Anyone with info. on that?

[Tom99]

Answering a couple of questions above --

 

There was a chocolate buffet one afternoon. I believe it was at 2:30. We didn't attend, but spoke with several people who did, and they really enjoyed it. I believe this was on Friday afternoon as we were sailing.

 

We did take photos during the helmet dive. I bought a disposable underwater camera that worked fine. If you do this, be sure to hand it across to security at the airport x-ray screening, or the film will fog (it's an 800 speed film). Also, I had the film developed on the Crown -- I believe I paid around $12, and got double prints.

 

The beach at King's Wharf is sort of hidden. You go to the back of the building that has the craft mall (not the one with the regular stores), and there is a doorway cut through the stone wall. Go through the doorway, and you'll step right into the beach. That doesn't sound very nice, but it really is. Just tucked away.

 

The street fair in Hamilton had been cancelled due to rain for the two weeks prior to our cruise, but not while we were there. We got caught in a heavy rainstorm in the bay, but the town didn't get any rain. But by the time we got back to the ship, we were wet and cold and just skipped the street fair.

[Tom99]

In reply to lbeachbum2 --

 

The tour with the mayor was a walking tour around St. Georges. Took about an hour, and we visited interesting streets and buildings and learned about their history. It was at sunset and got dark as we walked. We finished up at the town square, where there was a fair/celebration. The mayor is quite a character, and very enjoyable.

[Linda the Book Lover]

Thanks for the helmet dive picture update. This time next week maybe I would have already gone!

 

<LI>Tropicale ~ 5/93 <LI> Norwegian Wind ~ Hawaii ~ 4/4/03 <LI>Norwegian Majesty ~ Bermuda~ 5/30/04 <LI>

Until we sail on the Norwegian Majesty to Bermuda!

 

[comco]

Tom,

Who told you the street fair in Hamilton was cancelled the week before you? It wasn't. There was not a drop of rain that entire week. We had the most perfect weather possible. But they kept telling us about the rain the week before!

 

5/9/04 Crown to Bermuda!

[Joedog]

Tom,

 

Thanks for the great review. We are thinking about sailing on the Crown on 8/22 and taking our 11-year old son. Do you think there is much to do for a boy his age while at the ports? Do you know if there were a lot of kids on the ship? Anthing special to do with kids in Bermuda?

 

Thanks again!

 

Ruth and Joe

 

 

__ /7__X__/7________

\::::::::::::::::::::::::/ Holland America - Zuiderdam 7/24/04

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

NCL Dawn - 7/27/03 (Honeymoon)