Just back from the Crown....

[darkangel_55]

I am warning everyone now...this is going to be long :D

 

Okay, just got back from the Crown today. Sailed out of Philly to Bermuda with stops at all 3 ports (St. George, Hamilton and King's Wharf or Dockyard whatever you want to call it) It was mine and my boyfriends first cruise and we had a GREAT experience. We knew going in to it that it was a small ship with only a few things to do and a few restaurants, but we also knew that if we wanted to dock in all three ports that this was our only options (that and it was perfect timing with our vacations!)

 

We are from Long Island so it took us about 2 hours and 15 minutes to drive down to Philly. Warning now...if you are coming from north like we are don't trust the Philly pier's website directions. When you are on the Jersey Turnpike and you think that you are on 95....you kinda really aren't. If you look on a map (or mapquest like I did) you will realize that for a bit there are two I-95's. I know that this sounds impossible but it is true. Anyway, when we got there (thank goodness I mapquested it) we were led to long term parking. We quickly unloaded our luggage as we passed the terminal and gave it to a porter to bring inside. We parked the car for $70 for the week up front, cash only. We took the trolly bus that they have back to the terminal, but could have walked it. Once inside we were on a line where they checked our boarding passes and passports (or birthcertificate and photo ID whichever you have) They then took our embarkcation photos that you can later buy on the ship. We were led to another line to get our onboard cards. We were in a mini-suite AG so we were able to get on the line for the suites and penthouses. Thank goodness for this because this line was a LOT shorter then the regular line. After that we were on the ship in about 20 minutes.

 

We were in room 8015. According to the website this is a fully obstructed view. That, IMO, is not true. It had a support pole for the lifeboat in the middle of it. You were still able to see, I would say it is about a 25% obstruction, because if you are looking out the right side of the window, you have to look over the top of the lifeboat to see. (no big deal IMO) The room itself was nice. Bigger then I expected. There were 2 decent size closets with 4 drawers in each (about 4 inches deep, 18 inches wide) and plenty of hangers. A shelf on the bottom and the top as well. There were shelves in the bathroom above the toilet to keep brushes, hairspray, mouth wash, etc. There were 2 nightstands with 3 drawers each, and the desk had 4 drawers on each side of the chair. The sitting area had 2 chairs next to each other on one side and a mini-couch on the other. There was a square coffee table as well. Our room steward Gwendalyn was nice. She didn't do anything special like I heard some of them do (like towel animals) but she was sweet. She actually tidyed up my papers that I had on the desk and put my boyfriends sneakers under one of the chairs (he had left them next to the bed) And we always had ice...which was good for me cause I would usually get up at night for a drink of water and liked it better cold rather then right out of the tap temperature.

 

Sunday night we ate dinner in the main restaurant. It was good, service was good, everyone was extremely polite. After dinner we went back to the room to unpack, only to find one of our suitcases was not at the room. They took it...thinking that there was liquor in it....there wasn't though, and although they were apologetic, I was still a little annoyed. After unpacking we went to the casino for a bit and back to the room for the night.

 

The trip down on Monday was rough! My boyfriend and I were both taking Bonine, and although we still got sick on the way down, I am sure that we would have been a LOT worse off if didn't take it. I met one lady that was on the patch for motion sickness and ended up going to the medical center for a shot of medicine because she was so sick! By Monday night it was better. We ate breakfast at the main restaurant, and neither of us enjoyed it very much. We had lunch at the buffet, and that was good. We also ate dinner at the buffet that night because we weren't very hungry and figured we could have more of a varity if we ate there.

 

Tuesday morning we we able to see Bermuda when we woke up. We went down to deck 7 starboard (right) side to watch the ship go through the cut. (got there about 10:15) This is definatly the place to be. The town crier was out and set off a cannon to welcome us. There was a class of kids there yelling "welcome to Bermuda" and a bunch of us yelled back "thank you". There were people out in their back yards and on their porches waving to us...I thought it was the greatest thing! The views are amazing...and although the views on the port side are nice you don't see houses and people! The ship then turned around so it was docked with the port side to the pier. It took them about 40 minutes to tell us that we were able to get off at floor 3 and then about 10 minutes later they told us to use floor 4 as well. We got off and bought a 3 day bus pass...$28 a piece. We spent the first part of the day walking around...there is a "loop" that you can take around, and it is WONDERFUL...you go up the hill, past the unfinished cathedral, toward tobacco bay. Pass Tobacco Bay, and keep on the road toward Fort Saint Catherine. (We didn't go in) Keep following the road around with the shore on the left of you. You will see some really nice houses, and even a farm with cows. When the road forks, stay to the left...always keeping the shore next to you. You will eventually reach Alexandra Bay. That is where I found a couple of nice sand stones, and SEA GLASS!!! I was so excited. There was a lot of it too....some really nice colors. Anyway, after we left there, we kept walking down that same road, and saw where the kids and the town crier welcomed us from. Keep following the road and eventually you will come back into the main part of St. George. (I would say it's about 3-4 miles total) You will pass Somers park on the right of you on the way back. There is a moongate in there, and some really nice flowers. After that we got on the #11 bus and went to BAMZ (Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo) While small, it was nice, and my boyfriend and I learned a lot about Bermuda.

 

Wednesday, we woke up in Hamilton. Starboard side to the pier, would have rathered the view the other way. Hamilton is a LOT busier then I thought it would have been. We kept forgeting that they drive on the left and looked the wrong way almost everytime we crossed the street. We walked around for a bit, looked in the churches that are there...and then took the bus to Crystal caves. We took the #1 there and the #3 back. After going to Crystal Caves, we ate lunch at the Swizzle Inn. Although I thought the rum swizzle was to strong my boyfriend liked it. After getting back, we changed and headed to Elbow Beach. Somewhere along the way the clouds rolled in...and we had overcast the entire time we were there. That night was the first night of "Harbour Nights" and it was interesting and fun. Not a lot of the actual stores were open, except the "tourist" ones, but there was a lot of nice things that the street vendors were selling.

 

Thursday, woke up in Kings Wharf (Dockyard) to the nice lovely Bermuda RAIN!!! and let me say....when it rains...it POURS!!!! Did some shopping in the craft market and the clocktower shops. The Glass Blowing was AMAZING and the Rum Cakes are DELICIOUS!!!!! It cleared up later in the day and we took the ferry back to Hamilton to do some more shopping. The ferry back to dockyard was the senic one....which was nice, but an hour long. Friday morning was nicer (of course) so we walked around and I was able to get some pictures. Snorkel Park was closed for renovations, so I wasn't able to see in there....

 

Friday sailing was nice and calm, Saturday was a lot better then on the way down. They had to slow down for a bit to do a "tune up" on the bow thruster, but it didn't effect our time coming back at all.

 

Disembarkation was okay. We were orange tags, and were the 3rd to last to get off the ship (9 colors in all) Was off and in the parking lot by 10:30.

 

Entertainment was great. The Jean Ann Ryan Company was amazing. The food in the buffet was good, as it was in the main dining room. We had dinner one night at the Pasta Cafe, and that was good as well.

 

 

If I missed anything, let me know. :D

[e.durban]

Great review! Did you use the gym? (I'm worried about the effects of the chocolate fondue in le Bistro...)

[Bepday93]

I am leaving 5/8 on the Crown out of Philly! Sounds like you had a pretty good time. Sorry to hear about the sea sickness. So, on a scale from 1 to 10...1 being horrible and 10 being great... how would you rate the Norwegian Crown... set aside the stormy seas and the rain in Kings wharf... Is there anything my wife and I should know!!!!! Thanks again for your review!:rolleyes:

[A.S.]

Hi, sounds like you had a great cruise. I was wondering if you were able to select the food from the buffet yourself.

 

On the last few cruises on the Crown, I believe the passengers were not allowed.

 

Also, did you sit at a table for 2 or large tables in the main dining room?

 

Thanks for any info.

[Guest THE EDS]

Thanks for a great review, we are sailing the Crown 9/25 from Philadelphia. Can you drop off your luggage before parking or is it just as easy to bring it with you after you park?

 

Thanks, a former long islander now a jerseyite

 

THE EDS

[Maraprince]

darkangel,

 

Did you have bar soap in your mini-suite? We are going to Bermuda from NYC on 5/29/05 sailing and will be in 8022 which is the "least obstructed" of the obstructed mini-suites. Glad to hear your cabin view was pretty good.

 

While the ship was in port, did you have regular shows each of the 3 nights? Or, was the entertainment scaled down because everyone stayed in the ports?

 

Good review -- you covered a lot of the major areas.

 

MARAPRINCE

[Maraprince]

darkangel 55,

 

Did you mini-suite have a refrigerator?

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[darkangel_55]

Great review! Did you use the gym? (I'm worried about the effects of the chocolate fondue in le Bistro...)

 

I didn't use the gym (probably should have though ;) ) but I did go up and look. It is on the 10th floor, at the front of the ship, with a GREAT BIG window in front of the treadmills, elipticals and bikes. I know that they had yoga classes in the mornings for $10 extra and some afternoon mini-cardio and abs workouts for free. I also heard that if you get 10 punches in a card for doing classes they give you a tee shirt or something...not to sure though.

 

*~Pamela~*

[darkangel_55]

I am leaving 5/8 on the Crown out of Philly! Sounds like you had a pretty good time. Sorry to hear about the sea sickness. So, on a scale from 1 to 10...1 being horrible and 10 being great... how would you rate the Norwegian Crown... set aside the stormy seas and the rain in Kings wharf... Is there anything my wife and I should know!!!!! Thanks again for your review!:rolleyes:

 

I would say, the Crown overall I would give a 8-9. I would say the food was about the same. The kindness of the workers a 10. I had gone into this with medial expectations and came out of it with them all met and exceeded.

 

*~Pamela~*

[darkangel_55]

Hi, sounds like you had a great cruise. I was wondering if you were able to select the food from the buffet yourself.

 

On the last few cruises on the Crown, I believe the passengers were not allowed.

 

Also, did you sit at a table for 2 or large tables in the main dining room?

 

Thanks for any info.

 

We were able to pick our own foods from the buffet although if the staff worker handing out the trays and silverware didn't see you sanitize your hands, they usually made you do it again, citing that they need to make sure everyone does it to decrease the spread of germs. I thought that was great that they did that though, made me feel a little "safer"/

 

When we went to the main restaurant we sat at the tables for 2 but a few times ended up talking to the people at the table for 4 because they are only about 4-5 inches away from each other!!

 

*~Pamela~*

[darkangel_55]

Thanks for a great review, we are sailing the Crown 9/25 from Philadelphia. Can you drop off your luggage before parking or is it just as easy to bring it with you after you park?

 

Thanks, a former long islander now a jerseyite

 

THE EDS

 

We had our tags on our luggage before we got there and were able to drop it off before and just gave it to a porter with a few dollars tip (I think my boyfriend gave him $4 for 3 bags - 2 light and 1 heavy) and then we drove the car to long term. When we got back we decided to walk with them rather then my boyfriend getting the car and trying to back track to the terminal like everyone else. It isn't a far walk....about 3-4 normal blocks worth. Guess it depends on what you are taking. All 3 of our bags are on wheels so we were able to do it pretty easy.

 

*~Pamela~*

[darkangel_55]

darkangel,

 

Did you have bar soap in your mini-suite? We are going to Bermuda from NYC on 5/29/05 sailing and will be in 8022 which is the "least obstructed" of the obstructed mini-suites. Glad to hear your cabin view was pretty good.

 

While the ship was in port, did you have regular shows each of the 3 nights? Or, was the entertainment scaled down because everyone stayed in the ports?

 

Good review -- you covered a lot of the major areas.

 

MARAPRINCE

 

There was liquid hand soap next to the sink, liquid body wash and shampoo in the shower. I opted to bring my own stuff, my skin is somewhat sensitive though.

 

There were regular shows each night, we didn't go to them in St. George and Hamilton though. When we were in St. George we were out by the pool relaxing and while in Hamilton we were at the Harbour nights street festival. I don't think the shows are going to be the same though. We had the "Jean Ann Ryan Company" do some shows, but I think I heard they were finished after our cruise. There was a lady there, I forget her last name but her first name was Geraldine, she is REALLY funny so if you can see her that is good.

 

The poolside parties are good too, we had Carribian night while in St. George and Julie, the cruise director, took 3 guys and paired each of them with 3 woman each and the woman had to turn the guy into Carman Miranda...It was so funny when the guys came back out in skirts and heels! :D

 

Have fun on your cruise!

 

*~Pamela~*

[darkangel_55]

Did you mini-suite have a refrigerator?

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

Unfortunatly no it didn't....

 

*~Pamela~*

[Maraprince]

darkangel 55,

 

Thanks so much for all your infor and responses to my questions.

 

Very helpful.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

[darkangel_55]

darkangel 55,

 

Thanks so much for all your infor and responses to my questions.

 

Very helpful.

 

 

MARAPRINCE

 

No problem :D :D :D

[bermudashorts]

Its nice to read someone new to Bermuda and cruising give reviews.

Makes me remeber my first time many years ago. (18 years..has it been that long)

Im glad you had a great time and saw so much of Bermuda.

Too bad about the rough seas and the rain. Although it seems you managed to make the most of it all.

Thanks for the review..

We are sailing on her again in September.. not soon enough

[tigre]

Darkangel_55,

 

I'm glad you loved your cruise. We were on the Crown for the repositioning cruise in April, and we thought very differently about the ship than you did. We would rate it much lower (3-4). I'm not sure of your frame of reference, but our two cruises prior to the Crown were a hundred times better (RCL Serenade of the Seas and the Diamond Princess). Though there were good things (entertainment, pretty good food, most of the staff), we felt the ship was not up to par with with other ships. We paid more for a suite on the Crown, and it was far less luxurious than standard balcony cabins on the Serenade or the Diamond Princess. AND, several things in the cabin were broken or in poor condition (chairs, drapes, ceiling panels).

 

We could not in good conscience withold our experience from others trying to find a good match for their cuise vacation, so I apologize if my comments seem rather negative.

 

tigre

[darkangel_55]

Tigre,

 

Don't apollgize for anything, you simply had a different experience and are intitled to your own opinion. You're correct, my "frame of reference" isn't one, seeing as this was my first cruise. I didn't go in there with any major expectations, except for the chocolate buffet ;) . There was nothing broken in my cabin, the automatic shade was slightly torn on one corner but it looked like someone tried to pull it down manually, possibly not knowing there was a switch.

 

The only thing that I didn't like was some of the decor. I felt that it needed some updating but I didn't let that effect my ratings. Also, I found the carpet both in the cabin and the public areas to be very "linty" I wore black pants to dinner one night and the bottom cuff of them had lint all over!

 

I over heard some people on my cruise asking staff why the Crown is still sailing, being "the smallest ship they have ever seen" (didn't they know it was small when they booked?) :confused:

 

Also, after your repo cruise the Crown just sat in Philly for a week prior to my embarkation. Hopefully they took that time to fix the things that you are speaking of that were broken. :rolleyes:

 

Hope your next cruise is better!:D

 

*~Pamela~*

[Dolphins]

The main reason the "small" Crown is still sailing is because larger ships do not have easy access to all the ports in Bermuda. Crown and similar sized ships can dock at St. George, Hamilton and Kings Wharf. Larger ships can dock only at Kings Wharf or tender into Hamilton. I understand Norwegian Crown, Norwegian Sea and Norwegian Majesty will soon be phased out which raises the question- which NCL ship will go to Bermuda?

[serendipity1499]

Glad you enjoyed your first cruise & thank you for your review..Sorry that you had some rough seas..Fortunately that does not happen too often & know that you will always look back fondly to your first cruise..It sounds like you also enjoyed Bermuda..Now for the test: Has the "Cruising Bug" bitten you? If it has, you are already planning your next cruise! :)

 

We're looking forward to our "Crown" cruise to Santiago via the Canal in November...Did you meet up with any CC Posters on board? If so, can you tell me where you met the first time?...If not, can you tell me where the best place woyuld be to have our meet & greet in November?..We would prefer not to have our first meeting in the Bar..Trying to avoid the smoking areas..

 

Thanks again for your review..

 

Betty

 

P.S. We're also from Long Island..Born, brought up, married, raised a son there, & worked there...Took early retiremnet & moved to Florida in 1988..;)

[e.durban]

I wonder if the lint-y carpets are the result of the Crown's recent drydock, where a lot of soft furnishings (carpets, bedspreads, mattresses, curtains, etc,) were replaced. If the carpets were just replaced a few weeks ago, it might take a few vacuumings to get the lint out. Thanks for your comments about the gym, we loved the one on the Dawn, and while we don't expect anyhting quite so extensive on the Crown, its good to hear it's a nice space with a good view :)

BTW, it wasn't so long ago that the Crown was considered a MEDIUM sized ship! She was no Norway even when built, but she's only tiny compared to the monsters being built now. If memory serves, the first cruise ship over 100,000 tons was the Grand Princess, and that was only about seven years ago (1998?) Since then, yowee! Let's hope it's a while before NCL starts building ships bigger than the Jewel and her sisters...

[Jett456]

I went on the Horizon a few years ago. It was my first cruise and Bermuda. I loved it and thought it was great. If I went on that ship now, I wouldn't be so impressed. I love having a balcony and especially in Bermuda where you are docked for three days. This is why I am hesitant to book the Crown. I might still do it because my only other option (for a balcony) is RCI and the 5 night cruise seems a waste. Only 1 night in Bermuda isn't worth the trip. I wish they could build a new ship that could fit in those small harbors and have all the amenities that we have come to expect from the big ships.

[darkangel_55]

serendipity1499,

 

Both the "cruising bug" and the "bermuda bug" have bitten me. I haven't started planning my next cruise, although I am thinking about it...so does that count ? I didn't meet any other CC posters on ship, my roll call thread was me, me and me ! ! If it is warm out when you go you can meet in the open space on deck 10 by the hot tubs. If you do it on embarkation day the out door bar that is up there might be open. To be honest with you, I didn't notice an overwhelming amount of smoke even while sitting at the bar in the casino. I found that the ventilation system is adquate in circulating the air. There were probably 6-8 people smoking scattered amongst the tables and I caught a whif but it wasn't overbearing.

 

*~Pamela~*

[serendipity1499]

Pamela..Thanks for your reply..Glad to hear that the bar wasn't too smoky.. They always say a reformed smoker that can't stand smoke anymore is a Royal Pain..Yep..that's me! LOL..;)

 

Sorry you were not able to meet up with any other CC posters, but maybe next time..There are only ten of us that have signed in for our cruise..Will find out where everyone would like to meet as we get closer to departure..

 

Yes, you've definately been bitten...Thinking about a cruise is part of the planning stage, so that counts..:)

 

Glad you enjoyed yourself..

 

Betty

[alpal1993]

Thanks for the review.Seriously considering booking the Crown for next year.Have been sailing Celebrity lately,but they are pricing themselves out of the market for me.I like the fact that Crown stops at all 3 ports Want to take our friends to Frog and Onion at Kings Wharf.I am sure we will have enough food choices and sorta like the free style idea especially for Bermuda.Can come back as late as we want and eat whenever it fits our schedule.