Crown Princess - Great prices - Too good to be true?

[foto451]

I have been looking for an alternative to NCL Epic and Allure of the Seas for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. And as the title indicates I have found the Crown. At a starting price of $1,119 it seems almost too good to be true for a solo traveller. Am I missing something? Some hidden fees? I don't mind an inside cabin. The date I have looked at is the 23rd of November.

 

:confused:

 

Klaus

[Luckysll]

I have been looking for an alternative to NCL Epic and Allure of the Seas for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. And as the title indicates I have found the Crown. At a starting price of $1,119 it seems almost too good to be true for a solo traveller. Am I missing something? Some hidden fees? I don't mind an inside cabin. The date I have looked at is the 23rd of November.

 

:confused:

 

Klaus

 

I found a great solo rate for the Golden Princess for an obstructed oceanview cabin. I booked on a Friday and three days later, the price had gone up nearly $500. So, the great deals are out there and if you've found one, book it!

[Pia1913]

I have been looking for an alternative to NCL Epic and Allure of the Seas for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. And as the title indicates I have found the Crown. At a starting price of $1,119 it seems almost too good to be true for a solo traveller. Am I missing something? Some hidden fees? I don't mind an inside cabin. The date I have looked at is the 23rd of November.

 

:confused:

 

Klaus

 

Keep in mind that this is a Thanksgiving cruise, so you'll have a zillion kids on board.

[cbreit]

That price seems awful high to me. We're on this cruise and were also on it last Thanksgiving on the Grand and there wasn't a zillion children - not very many at all in fact!

[RD64]

Klaus

 

For a single cabin not a bad price - I would book it - and monitor for price drops. I am not sure how the booking system works in Norway, or if you are locked in at a certain price.

 

This past March I was on the Caribbean Princess - to the Caribbean - and paid just under $ 1 000 for seven days - single - port fees included. I booked just before the final payment date, and the price never decreased, but just increased after that date.

 

Also, Princess is good to the single traveller - they give you two cruise credits, while other lines only give you one.

 

Cheers.

[Coral]

I have been looking for an alternative to NCL Epic and Allure of the Seas for an Eastern Caribbean itinerary. And as the title indicates I have found the Crown. At a starting price of $1,119 it seems almost too good to be true for a solo traveller. Am I missing something? Some hidden fees? I don't mind an inside cabin. The date I have looked at is the 23rd of November.

 

:confused:

 

Klaus

 

Make sure you look at air prices before you book. This is the busiest air travel days (weekend before and after your cruise) in the US due to Thanksgiving.

 

That is a good single price.

 

I have had mixed results with Thanksgiving cruises. Expect kids and hope they are well behaved. :)

[riclop]

Keep in mind that this is a Thanksgiving cruise, so you'll have a zillion kids on board.

Pia youre always making remarks about kids, you have something against them???

[foto451]

Thanks all. Yeah the air prices may be higher. We don't have this Thanksgiving holiday so I had no idea.

Regarding children, well I prefer them to older teens and tweens (?).

I think.:)

 

Does Thanksgiving mean that special events are taking place? It could be fun to watch the natives' tribal rites :D

Or is it a purely private thing? Because if it is all to do with the family (as I suspect it is) it might not be a good idea to go alone on such a cruise.

 

Klaus (of Denmark, not Norway - but close!)

[swazzie1]

I agree with Sandy, especially if the deposit is refundable! I saw great interior and oceanview single rates (lower than the per person double rate) on May 2014 sailings on the Coral and Grand. I didn't think of putting down a deposit on the Coral (the one I wanted) because I thought that the price would stay the same until I could get a FCC on my first cruise later this year. Sure enough the prices on both sailings went up to twice the per person double rate after a few weeks and haven't come back down since. If the rate does come back, I'll book it immediately.

 

If you're really interested, book now; the price may go away at any time and it may not return.

[Coral]

Thanks all. Yeah the air prices may be higher. We don't have this Thanksgiving holiday so I had no idea.

Regarding children, well I prefer them to older teens and tweens (?).

I think.:)

 

Does Thanksgiving mean that special events are taking place? It could be fun to watch the natives' tribal rites :D

Or is it a purely private thing? Because if it is all to do with the family (as I suspect it is) it might not be a good idea to go alone on such a cruise.

 

Klaus (of Denmark, not Norway - but close!)

 

By kids - this usually mens anyone under 18. It is a family holiday and people bring their kids. Princess has never been a "college hang out". There may be college students but they don't generally cause a problem. A lot depends on how parents keep track of the kids. Sometimes they just let them run around with no accountability and other times parents "parent". I have seen both on Thanksgiving cruises. For me it is the "tweens and young teens" that have caused the most problems. They think the "teen program is lame" and roam in packs. Alone, not an issue but when in packs and have a pack mentality, there can be problems. On the opposite side, I have been on ships with 800 kids/teens and never a problem.

 

As far as anything special on the ship, there will be decorations in the atrium on Thanksgiving day and most likely a special dinner in the dining room. At the end of the week, you may see Christmas decor being put up.

 

Sorry, no tribal rituals :)

[Twinkstarr]

Hey Klaus, I think we were on the Epic together last November! Princess is my other preferred cruiseline.

 

Tribal rituals will be NFL football on MUTS on Thanksgiving day!

[Pia1913]

Pia youre always making remarks about kids, you have something against them???

 

Remarks are not meant to be disparaging. They are remarks. Thanksgiving weeks tend to have hundred of kids on board. I've travelled at that time with our family; 4 times. And we had 7 kids of our own; not counting the big ones.

[hubofhockey]

I don't think you can compare a cruise on the Crown Princess with a cruise on the Allure. The experiences are as different as night and day. If you want a regular generic cruise to relax and enjoy some beach time, go for the Crown Princess. If you love entertainment, going to different specialty restaurant, and active things to do on the ship, go on the Allure. It is a WOW experience (see link to my review in signature). I know very little about the Epic except that it was an ill fated effort by NCL to compete with Oasis/Allure.

 

As for Pia's comment about kids on the Crown, I think it's important to raise that point. While we love Princess, there are itineraries and times of year that draw kids and Princess cruises definitely seem much different when packed with kids. Because there aren't really too many kid friendly areas like on other lines, they do take over the pools - ALL pools. It changes the cruise experience a great deal. Of course, there's always the Sanctuary. :D

[foto451]

Hey Klaus, I think we were on the Epic together last November! Princess is my other preferred cruiseline.

 

We were?! At the dinner for the Studio passengers or the Meet 'n Greet? I talked to many nice people. Well hello again 😀

 

Yes I think that Princess is more my style as mentioned above, not so glitzy. Just relax and enjoy your own company and other people of course, not entertainers.

But going at Thanksgiving is not the best of times. I have considered all that everybody has been so very kind to write (including the kids-issue). I shall go next spring I think, but will go to USVI in November, staying in hotels. That way I can tour the islands with guides. As you may know they were Danish before the US bought them in 1917? There is a lot of colonial history which I'd love to see.

 

Yes Princess Cruises it is. If for nothing else then the fact that the first time I ever heard of cruises was through a certain tv series, under the categogy " Guilty Pleasures".

 

Klaus