About Those Toilets on the Crown Princess ...

[jewopaho]

We just returned from that April 6th cruise aboard the Crown, our eighth Princess ship ... we've sailed the Caribbean, Grand, Dawn, Emerald, Golden, Sapphire and Star. One of the hallmarks has always been the condition of the vessels, irrespective of age. The Crown was a huge disappointment ... and frankly, I'm not surprised that a major issue developed (thankfully we weren't directly affected).

 

I made no conscious effort to nit-pick, but off the top of my head, here's what I noticed:

 

Toilets in areas other than the aft end of the ship (where the major malfunction occurred) were out of order. My wife noted that only one of the three in the ladies' room outside the Da Vinci Dining Room worked ... the other two were down for the entire cruise. I also ran into several inoperative public toilets throughout the ship. Soap dispensers were hit-and-miss ... in this day and age of Norovirus (also recently experienced by Crown passengers) it becomes more significant.

 

The elevators were continually breaking down, and at the most inopportune times ... dinner rush, shows letting out, etc. Waits bordered on the intolerable. We're in good physical shape, and climb stairs regularly ... but to get from the dining room on Deck 5 to our stateroom on Deck 14 was a bit much for two septuagenarians.

 

The coffee dispensers in the Horizon Court were disgusting ... most of them leaked, there was rust on many of them, and the bases were caulked with globs of silicone, most of which had discolored. One was out of operation for two days.

 

In the middle of a warm sea day, the ice cream machine stopped working.

 

I expect normal bumps and bruises for a ship this age, but the Crown had more than I've ever seen ... torn up elevator doors, "dips" in the floors (presumably from worn carpet padding), banged-up hallway walls ... just overall neglect.

 

As for our stateroom ...

 

The shower squirted water all over the place. It took three calls and almost two days for it to be repaired (I guess the plumbers had other problems to deal with).

 

The flush button cover on the toilet came off in my hand.

 

There was mildew in the area above the sink (cheap caulk will do it every time).

 

Another general observation ... while there were hand sanitizer dispensers in the Horizon Court, we were definitely in the minority using them. The individuals stationed there simply handed out plates and silverware, something which I'm quite capable of handling on my own. Their time would have been much better spent reminding passengers to use the sanitizer. There were no dispensers outside any dining rooms ... all of this is asking for another virus outbreak.

 

Overall, it appears as if Princess has adopted its parent company's model of "patch it up, send it back out, and hope that it all holds together." I understand that the toilet problems are recurring on the Crown's repositioning cruise to Europe ... all those sea days without adequate sanitation is a recipe for disaster. Where do they get parts in the middle of the Atlantic?

 

This experience has caused us to stop and think about ever booking another Princess cruise. We were absolutely thrilled when we learned that our cruise line of choice would be returning to Galveston after a five-year absence. Now we're wondering whether we should have booked with Royal Caribbean. Oh, wait ... we already have.

 

Al

[crews4fun]

Having been on the crown in February, it must have deteriorated quite rapidly. It was fine when we sailed. Sounds like princess is well shed of you. Good luck elsewhere, stuff happens everywhere, is no respecter of time or place. With the number of people serviced on the ships it is amazing and miraculous more doesn't go wrong. Imho

[mafig]

I was thinking about how Crown was set to go off to Europe soon and wondered if they would fix those toilet problems before. It seemed that they had discovered the problem was an orange and a gardening glove. Obviously, the problem is more than that.

 

We have the Crown booked for later this year.

 

Hopefully, 7 months is enough time for them to fix this.:o

[Loonbeam]

How long has it been since the Crown's last drydock. It's fairly common that if one is planned in the not too distant future, some maintenance may be deferred, especially things like carpet padding, caulking and minor equipment replacements.

 

The toilet issue was probably out of Princess' control, there were no prior reports of outages and problems at one end of the ship can cascade to the other.

 

One note about hand sanitizer. As noted many times - the Hand Sanitizer princess uses (Purell at last cruise) does absolutely BUPKIS for noro. Will help deal with flu, etc, but not having it outside the DR will have no impact on noro. Wipes are a little more effective because they physically remove some of the virus onto the wipe, as oppose to just swirl it around and spread it over a larger surface area.

[Mack2]

Who knew jewopaho's experience would foreshadow this event just breaking in the news.

 

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Clogged-toilets-send-Carnival-vacationers-back-to-4433590.php

The Crown Princess returned to Galveston Saturday after toilets broke down during the seven-day Caribbean cruise to Honduras, Belize and Cozumel - the latest in a recent rash of problems for parent company Carnival.

 

 

A blockage within the vacuum toilet system caused commodes in 410 staterooms in the aft part of the ship to temporarily stop flushing, said Julie Benson, a cruise line spokeswoman. Public restrooms were available to passengers in the affected cabins, and passengers were kept "continuously updated about the progress of repairs," she said.

[RickEk]

Who knew jewopaho's experience would foreshadow this event just breaking in the news.

 

http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Clogged-toilets-send-Carnival-vacationers-back-to-4433590.php

 

And that is old news... several of the reviews of this last voyage mentioned the toilet problems that affected staterooms in the aft of the ship. And this article is wrong... the ship returned to Galveston on its normal turnaround day. They make it seem that she had to make an emergency return to port. :rolleyes:

[Colo Cruiser]

And that is old news... several of the reviews of this last voyage mentioned the toilet problems that affected staterooms in the aft of the ship. And this article is wrong... the ship returned to Galveston on its normal turnaround day. They make it seem that she had to make an emergency return to port. :rolleyes:

 

 

I agree, the media at their best once again....

 

Should be thanking the passengers that threw the lemon/gardening glove and whatever else down the system.....:rolleyes:

 

and here is the original thread started a couple of days ago......

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1827069

[happy cruzer]

We just returned from that April 6th cruise aboard the Crown, our eighth Princess ship ... we've sailed the Caribbean, Grand, Dawn, Emerald, Golden, Sapphire and Star. One of the hallmarks has always been the condition of the vessels, irrespective of age. The Crown was a huge disappointment ... and frankly, I'm not surprised that a major issue developed (thankfully we weren't directly affected).

 

I made no conscious effort to nit-pick, but off the top of my head, here's what I noticed:

 

Toilets in areas other than the aft end of the ship (where the major malfunction occurred) were out of order. My wife noted that only one of the three in the ladies' room outside the Da Vinci Dining Room worked ... the other two were down for the entire cruise. I also ran into several inoperative public toilets throughout the ship. Soap dispensers were hit-and-miss ... in this day and age of Norovirus (also recently experienced by Crown passengers) it becomes more significant.

 

All public toilets working and well maintained. Also according to the CDC soap is not the key to control Noro just washing with warm water will be as effective.

 

 

The elevators were continually breaking down, and at the most inopportune times ... dinner rush, shows letting out, etc. Waits bordered on the intolerable. We're in good physical shape, and climb stairs regularly ... but to get from the dining room on Deck 5 to our stateroom on Deck 14 was a bit much for two septuagenarians.

 

All elevators were functioning. There were waits at busy times.

 

The coffee dispensers in the Horizon Court were disgusting ... most of them leaked, there was rust on many of them, and the bases were caulked with globs of silicone, most of which had discolored. One was out of operation for two days.

 

Coffee urns looked fine.

 

In the middle of a warm sea day, the ice cream machine stopped working.

 

I expect normal bumps and bruises for a ship this age, but the Crown had more than I've ever seen ... torn up elevator doors, "dips" in the floors (presumably from worn carpet padding), banged-up hallway walls ... just overall neglect.

 

Actually saw a beautiful carpet installed in the atrium entry, it took about 6 hours one day. Seems a good sign of maintenace happeing; vs neglect.

 

As for our stateroom ...

 

The shower squirted water all over the place. It took three calls and almost two days for it to be repaired (I guess the plumbers had other problems to deal with).

 

The flush button cover on the toilet came off in my hand.

 

I think the cover can come off any time there is up pressure, it's the way it's made.

 

There was mildew in the area above the sink (cheap caulk will do it every time).

 

Another general observation ... while there were hand sanitizer dispensers in the Horizon Court, we were definitely in the minority using them. The individuals stationed there simply handed out plates and silverware, something which I'm quite capable of handling on my own. Their time would have been much better spent reminding passengers to use the sanitizer. There were no dispensers outside any dining rooms ... all of this is asking for another virus outbreak.

 

Many of us hate those sanitizers and recent being made to put the chemicals on our hands. Hand washing is better. So it is hard to just observe if this is a problem.

Overall, it appears as if Princess has adopted its parent company's model of "patch it up, send it back out, and hope that it all holds together." I understand that the toilet problems are recurring on the Crown's repositioning cruise to Europe ... all those sea days without adequate sanitation is a recipe for disaster. Where do they get parts in the middle of the Atlantic?

 

I would do a TA on the Crown with no worries.

 

This experience has caused us to stop and think about ever booking another Princess cruise. We were absolutely thrilled when we learned that our cruise line of choice would be returning to Galveston after a five-year absence. Now we're wondering whether we should have booked with Royal Caribbean. Oh, wait ... we already have.

 

Al

 

I briefly outlined some differences that we experienced in March just to note that each persons views may differ. I am so sorry that Al saw so many negatives that we did not, all I can think is that it is a big ship.... Posted a review to the review board; may take a day or so to appear.

[Dezertbear]

We just got off the Crown's April 6 cruise, and found the public areas and cabins (our and two others) to be in terrific shape. I did notice some wear issues in the thermal suite and noted those on our survey. I got coffee in the buffet every morning (always starboard side) and everything was in order (other than coffee spills from people before me).

 

I spoke to several people in the affected cabins and it was pretty much a 'no big deal' for them. They did appreciate the $50pp credit. But you can't speak for everyone. I'd probably be upset if my overflowed, but then again did it just overflow or did you continue to use a non-flushing toilet? We'd heard it was a child's toy that was flushed, seems everyone got a different story or just rumors, who knows. They fixed the problem during the night and all was well after that.

[zacc]

We have had the pleasure of sailing on the Crown 5 times-most recently end of Oct first week of Nov 2012. Great cruise each and everytime. When I see a review like this my automatic thought is someone who is hoping that the squeaky wheel gets the grease:rolleyes:

[bluedevil72]

It's amazing how people on the same cruise see things so differently. We were also in one of the affected rooms and it was a minor inconvience, if that. We also received $100. I realize there were some major problems in some cabins but it was very isolated. I never once went to a bathroom that didn't have soap in the dispenser and never saw more that one urinal in any bathroom that was out of order. We ate two meals a day on the ship, when not in port, and were reminded EVERY time to use the sanitizer. If you haven't read the article in the Houston Chronicle, you need to. It is journalism at it's best. (I am lying). Google Houston Chronicle and type in Crown Princess. In the headline they call it a Carnival ship....wonder why? And then it's written like we had to turn around and go back to Galveston. I will agree about the elevators, but I just saw one out of order. I just chalked it up to being a little older crowd and the elevators were just being used more. I've been on nine cruises now, first on Princess, and this ship was none the worse for wear than any of the others.

[billco]

Sounds like the OP has valid concerns to me. Certainly not a troll or first poster (CC member since 2004, almost 2000 posts) I don't think he made any of those issues up, so why be so hard on him.

 

You would think people would say thanks for sharing even if they didn't have the same experience. One can look at just about any review of anything and see different perspectives.

 

Actually, I think he might have done better by sharing his concerns with Princess instead of on this forum.

[MsSoCalCruiser]

This experience has caused us to stop and think about ever booking another Princess cruise. We were absolutely thrilled when we learned that our cruise line of choice would be returning to Galveston after a five-year absence. Now we're wondering whether we should have booked with Royal Caribbean. Oh, wait ... we already have.

 

Al

 

I was on Royal Caribbean's Radiance of the Seas a few years ago. The toilet in our stateroom quit working a few times on a 5 day cruise (I think it was 3 times but I can't remember). It was irritating to have to run to a public restroom but this was still one of my favorite cruises. Good times.

 

If all of the toilets were broken.... :eek:

[DrivesLikeMario]

We were on the Crown in Jan. in the aft area of the Caribe Deck and didn't have any toilet problems. I hope they get the inoperable ones you experienced fixed quickly.

 

We thought the Crown was very clean. I agree with you about the hand sanitizer not being pushed though - it needs to be. Very few used it.

[satxdiver]

We were on the Crown the first week of March and did not have any problems like the OP was saying. When I went through the HC line, the dining steward would insist I use the hand sanitizer (oxymoron actually as it does nothing for noro). I don't remember any elevator problems other than the usual full elevators at particular times like dining hours.

 

The Crown is not coming back in November. The Caribbean is coming to Houston in November. Princess is moving from Galveston to the new Houston cruise ship port (not a sparsely converted Galveston warehouse).

 

I was on the Mariner in December 2011 when over 100 pax out of 3600 came down with noro. The cruise after us noro was running rampant and they returned with many sick. So to the OP, have fun on the Navigator. Noro can happen anywhere including on land.

[cubfan63]

Toilet problems are not new for "Carnival" ships: the Holland America board here on CC is repeatedly full of reports of issues on many of their ships. Doesn't make the newspaper, but they don't sail out of Texas.

[Underwatr]

"dips" in the floors (presumably from worn carpet padding),

The builders apply a leveling compound over the steel deck before applying carpet. Over time the compound crumbles in spots and breaks down, causing the dips. It's a typical sign that a ship is due for a couple of weeks in the yards. QM2 was notorious for some significant ones in the elevator lobby nearest the dining room entrance before her last refurb.

[mafig]

I, for one, appreciate the OP's post. I have a cruise booked on Crown for November and this certainly won't make me cancel.

 

However, if I were just in the first stages of "looking" I might look elsewhere after doing a search and finding other problems.

 

I agree with a previous poster that the OP should be thanked for telling us what it was like for him on his cruise.

 

:)

[san diego sue]

Toilet issues are not a fun thing to experience. We had that on the Grand

right after the refit. Running around looking for a toilet because yours doesn't work, not a good thing.

We just got off a cruise with HAL. Lovely cruise that we would repeat. One late evening returned to cabin to find toilet bowl overflowing with Poop. Not ours, probably everyones. I didn't even want to return to the cabin even after it was cleaned and sanitized. However, the blame is people who flush things in the line that shouldn't be there.

[hentzkim]

I was in the middle of the ship on Deck 5. We did not have toliets Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and 3/4 of day on Thursday. I continuously smelled foul odors in different places on the ship. It was very inconvenient for me being disabled to not have a convenient toilet, but I survived. However with that being said, the condition of this ship is not good. Princess has let their service level, food level slip. I will go with another line the next time I cruise. This was not a pleasant and relaxing cruise!

:(

[ERAMP76]

We were on the cruise and had a toilet that quit working as well. It was on and off out of order for about a day and a half. We were off the ship in port for most of one day so it was not a big deal, just a little hassle. However, I do agree with the original poster, the ship was a little worn in spots. We didn't have a bad cruise, just not really up to par. Food, entertainment, etc. When we missed the port in Roatan, it seemed to really catch the entertainment staff off guard. They didn't respond by adding a lot of activities on the ship. Again, not really bad things, just a lot of little stuff that disappointed.

[nobog]

Google Houston Chronicle and type in Crown Princess. In the headline they call it a Carnival ship....wonder why?

 

Probably because Princess is owned by Carnival Corporation.

 

JK

[richrhon1]

We were on the 3/23 sailing and thought the ship was beautiful. There were a few spots that needed some tending to but nothing that took away from this great ship. While on our cruise they had replaced the carpet by the elevator banks on deck 6. They were replacing flooring on 15 or 16. I dont understand how some cosmetic blemishes on a ship that has in excess of 3000 pax every week can make someone not enjoy their cruise. I understand the toilet issues can take away from the experience. It seemed that our toilet took a while to build up vacuum pressure to flush but not enough of a problem to cause us to not enjoy our vacation.

We thought the food was some of the best we have had on any cruiseline and we have been on many different ones. This was probably in our top 3 favorite cruises. We also thought the crew was fantastic.

Interesting how people can have such differening opinions. Why is that?

[joseph41]

We were on the Crown the last week of Feb. on the Western Caribbean cruise and everything was in working order. The food was very good and the only problem was occasionally it took quite a long time for dinner in the Di Vinci dining room.

[ltcal94]

We were on the 06 April cruise on the Crown out of Galveston as well. I think this is one cruise that proves that different people can have a completely different experience and opinion.

 

Our cabin was a balcony located on the Lido deck forward. We were made aware though announcements that there were issues with the vacuum toilet system on board affecting passengers in the aft area is specific zones. If ours was ever out of service we certainly were never aware of it.

 

As for the rest of the cruise experience on the Crown, my wife and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think the ship was actually in very good shape overall. We did notice a couple of elevators went off line for short periods of time , but it always seemed like the next time we were using that bank of elevators the previously off line elevator was back in service.

 

I tend to empathize with what the cruise companies have to go through to maintain the ships . When you get 3000+ people every week , many of which don't care if they damage the ship through carelessness (toilets , beverage dispensers etc.) . It is very difficult to fix something out on the open sea. I think the fact we missed Roatan did not help since it would have been our first land port. We did not dock until Thursday (day 5) when we arrived in Cozumel.

 

Overall we felt that the food was very good and there was good variety unlike our previous experience on Royal Caribbean. On occasion, it did seem that the food needed additional seasoning, but that is really up to an individuals personal taste although admittedly I normally do not season my food. One very small gripe I have is the availability of drinks near the pool area. It seemed you always had to go back to the Horizon Court for beverages since they do not have any dispensers located near the grill on Lido.

 

I also appreciated that the Crown seemed more smoke free than the typical Carnival ship . I do enjoy an occasional cigar and in fact I did spend an afternoon at the cigar bar while watching the 2nd round of the Masters. I think that because of smoking rules on Princess as well as the location of the casino, I did not have to walk through smoke filled public areas to go from venue to venue.

 

I will be posting a comparison between Carnival and Princess and review of our experience of the cruise. The short of it is that we will be back on Princess, but we will also cruise on Carnival as we feel both cruise companies offer something for us.