Just returned from the Crown, Southern Caribbean Nov 9-16

[pegbert]

We have been home for literally 2 hours after a wonderful week on the Crown! I don't really have a "review" at this point, but will post a few observations shortly. If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer while everything is still fresh in my mind!

 

We did not visit the Crown Grill, Sabatini's, the Sanctuary, or the production shows. We also did not take any organized shore excursions. We were in a mini-suite, bought a coffee card, had the "soda sticker", and enjoyed traditional dining late seating.

 

Bottom line, we had a MUCH better experience this year than last year (inside room, anytime dining), and are slowing learning which options work best for us. Already looking forward to our next adventure!!

 

And for any who are interested, I brought home all the Patters.

 

Can't believe we are back home.... booo hoooo :(

Edited November 17, 2013 by pegbert

[Jules59]

Did you go to the wheelhouse bar for their pub lunch anytime? Do you know if they had Shepard's Pie at all? Thanks. We'll be on her the last 2 weeks in January.

[pegbert]

Did you go to the wheelhouse bar for their pub lunch anytime? Do you know if they had Shepard's Pie at all? Thanks. We'll be on her the last 2 weeks in January.

 

Hi Jules!

 

I had really wanted to go to the pub lunch, but I think that was the day that the breakfast buffet got the best of us, and we were no where ready for more food at noon!!

 

I am pretty sure that three of the items listed on the menu outside the bar were fish and chips, ploughman's lunch, and shepard's pie. There were a few other things, but I don't remember them. I can tell you (according to my Patters!) that the pub lunches were offered on the first sea day (Monday) and the second sea day (Thursday). Hopefully someone else who was on the cruise will be able to confirm the menu.

 

Maybe next time I will lock myself in the cabin until lunchtime so that I don't ruin my appetite.... ggrrr!

[jean s]

We love this cruise to the southern caribbean. Sounds like you had a great time.

[TracieABD]

Welcome home!:)

[Woobstr112G]

We have been home for literally 2 hours after a wonderful week on the Crown! I don't really have a "review" at this point, but will post a few observations shortly. If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer while everything is still fresh in my mind!

 

We did not visit the Crown Grill, Sabatini's, the Sanctuary, or the production shows. We also did not take any organized shore excursions. We were in a mini-suite, bought a coffee card, had the "soda sticker", and enjoyed traditional dining late seating.

 

Bottom line, we had a MUCH better experience this year than last year (inside room, anytime dining), and are slowing learning which options work best for us. Already looking forward to our next adventure!!

 

And for any who are interested, I brought home all the Patters.

 

Can't believe we are back home.... booo hoooo :(

 

Welcome home. Looking forward to your reports.....:):):)

 

Bob

[pegbert]

We love this cruise to the southern caribbean. Sounds like you had a great time.

 

We really did! We learned from our experience last year, made some "adjustments" for things we didn't like so much, and had a much better time for it. A couple of things that come to mind:

 

1. Mini-suite vs inside quad.... oh my oh my oh my!! Don't think we can ever go back now. There is something very indulgent about being able to have a Eucalyptus bubble bath in the middle of the open sea :D. Seriously though, the extra space was well worth the extra cost.

 

2. Coffee Card: if you don't like the coffee syrup, this is the way to go. Even if the cost savings may be small (depends on how much coffee you drink), the ease of just showing the card VS having to sign for a charge makes it a no-brainer. FYI, we bought the card onboard at the IC on the first morning, and I asked the lady "Can we both use it?" (meaning me and DH), and her reply was "It's up to you." That is an exact quote. So DH had a Vanilla Bean Latte each morning (punch), and I had one or two brewed coffees ( I bought a box of International Delight Vanilla Non-Dairy creamers in FLL, which worked perfectly for my lactose-intolerant self).

 

3. MUTS: Princess has listened! In between the movies, concerts, and football, they showed tropical / nature scenes with soft music as a background. As for us, we embraced MUTS rather than bemoaning the racket. We watched a movie we had never seen, and 5 football games, and enjoyed them all.

 

4. Traditional Dining vs Anytime Dining: this time we reserved a table for 2, late seating (8pm). We didn't go to the formal nights, and ate out when in Curacao, but thoroughly enjoyed the 4 dinners we had in the dining room. We got to know the waiters, and had a lot of fun joking with them.

 

Those are just a few thoughts.... it's only 8:30 pm, but feels like midnight! I find myself thinking things like "at this time yesterday, I was enjoying my "Trio of Seafood" appetizer in the dining room...." Sigh.....

 

Peg

[Jules59]

Hi Jules!

 

I had really wanted to go to the pub lunch, but I think that was the day that the breakfast buffet got the best of us, and we were no where ready for more food at noon!!

 

I am pretty sure that three of the items listed on the menu outside the bar were fish and chips, ploughman's lunch, and shepard's pie. There were a few other things, but I don't remember them. I can tell you (according to my Patters!) that the pub lunches were offered on the first sea day (Monday) and the second sea day (Thursday). Hopefully someone else who was on the cruise will be able to confirm the menu.

 

Maybe next time I will lock myself in the cabin until lunchtime so that I don't ruin my appetite.... ggrrr!

 

Thanks so much for your answer. Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

[jkskrap]

Would love to see the Patters if you can post them.

 

Thanks!

[pegbert]

Would love to see the Patters if you can post them.

 

Thanks!

 

I'll be happy to scan them when I return to work on Monday. Does anyone know the best way to post them? Each day as a separate file? All as one big file? Sorry - it took help for me to post pictures last year, as my efforts kept getting rejected!

 

Peg

[mrell345]

last time i posted patters i scanned them to pdf (one file for each days patter)

and posted them no more than three at a time, i did three posts to get them all in.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[riclop]

We have been home for literally 2 hours after a wonderful week on the Crown! I don't really have a "review" at this point, but will post a few observations shortly. If anyone has any questions, I'll do my best to answer while everything is still fresh in my mind!

 

We did not visit the Crown Grill, Sabatini's, the Sanctuary, or the production shows. We also did not take any organized shore excursions. We were in a mini-suite, bought a coffee card, had the "soda sticker", and enjoyed traditional dining late seating.

 

Bottom line, we had a MUCH better experience this year than last year (inside room, anytime dining), and are slowing learning which options work best for us. Already looking forward to our next adventure!!

 

And for any who are interested, I brought home all the Patters.

 

Can't believe we are back home.... booo hoooo :(

So what did you enjoy and do.

[Love.II.Cruise]

Very happy to hear you enjoyed your cruise! :D

[Twinsfan5]

Thanks for the updates! I can't wait to take that same cruise this winter. We have a mini suite too. Thanks in advance for posting the Patters!

[homeinboca]

Glad you had a great trip, we'll be on the Crown in January for this itinerary. If you didn't do any organized shore excursions, did you go ashore in Aruba and Curacao? If so, how did you spend your day on the islands. Were they easy to DIY?

 

Ron

[miss honey]

Welcome home. We are on the Crown as we speak. it is wonderful.

[JohnBoy in NC]

I'll be happy to scan them when I return to work on Monday. Does anyone know the best way to post them? Each day as a separate file? All as one big file? Sorry - it took help for me to post pictures last year, as my efforts kept getting rejected!

 

Peg

 

Many thanks if you can do this!

[pegbert]

last time i posted patters i scanned them to pdf (one file for each days patter)

and posted them no more than three at a time, i did three posts to get them all in.

 

That sounds like a plan. The BizHub thingy will scan double-sided, so I'll just open up the Patters and scan them one at a time, and save each file as the date. There are 7 Patters plus the cruise log from the final day.

 

Hopefully I will have time to do it tomorrow, but one never knows what chaos will be waiting on one's desk after a week away!

 

Peg

[mafig]

Glad you had a great trip, we'll be on the Crown in January for this itinerary. If you didn't do any organized shore excursions, did you go ashore in Aruba and Curacao? If so, how did you spend your day on the islands. Were they easy to DIY?

 

Ron

 

 

I can answer for us (we were on the same cruise). I can highly recommend taking a tour of the island in Aruba. The rest of the island is so completely different than the town. We went independently (Sonny Binns) and had a great time. Reserve in advance, but you don't have to pay until the tour is over.

 

Curacao you can do on your own, if you wish. The town has many different areas to see (plus you're not there the whole day). Old lady bridge, colorful buildings, etc. We've been there twice, the first time we booked the tram through the city, and that's pretty good. This time we had an independent tour booked, but we bailed and walked the the town after the bus broke down five minutes into the tour and they wanted us to push the bus off the main road.:eek:

 

We did the Pub Lunch. Shepard's Pie is on the menu, at least it was when we went. They did the lunch twice, so I can't tell you if the menu is exactly the same both days.:)

 

Crown Grille well worth it. Especially since we ordered steaks and asked for a lobster tail on the side and received six.:)

[pegbert]

Glad you had a great trip, we'll be on the Crown in January for this itinerary. If you didn't do any organized shore excursions, did you go ashore in Aruba and Curacao? If so, how did you spend your day on the islands. Were they easy to DIY?

 

Ron

 

We did not go ashore at Princess Cay this time, as it was on Sunday and conflicted with DH's football watching (they had three games on the MUTS). We did go last year, and I had pre-booked 1/2 hour kayak rental, which I enjoyed thoroughly.... but I don't think you necessarily have to pre-book, as the same stand where you turn in your reservation seemed to have a lot of options available right there on the sand.

 

In Curacao, we just enjoyed walking around the town. The bridge was open when we arrived, so we had to wait a little bit for it to close before we could cross over into the main town. There are many dock-side restaurants on the far side of the bridge, but the smell of diesel from all the boats was a little off-putting, so we found a little palm-shaded courtyard tucked away between the shops that made for a very welcomed first stop (it was hot that day!) We continued wandering the town, eventually making our way back across the bridge (the alarm was sounding so everyone was running to get on the bridge before it opened again!). There is a really nice tourist area not far from the port... it is built in an old fort, and has some very nice shops, bars, and restaurants. We had a great dinner at the steak restaurant (don't recall the name) which is on the 3rd floor of the complex, right on the edge of the water, with a great view of the Crown. It was an easy walk back to the ship - and we didn't have to worry about the bridge being open because we were on the port side!

 

Aruba was to be a beach day. The taxi stand is right at the pier, so we shared a ride with another couple to the "Hi-rise Hotel Beach". There is a sign right at the taxi stand which lists the various beach locations ("hi-rise beach, low-rise beach, and one other that I don't recall the name), and the cost for each trip. It was $14 to the hi-rise beach. NOTE: since we shared the taxi with another couple, the attendant at the port advised us to let one person pay, and then settle with each other after the taxi has left, so that the driver doesn't try to say that it is $14 per couple. Good tip!

 

The hi-rise beach has a nice boardwalk that takes you in front of all the hotels (Hyatt, Marriott, Rui, etc) All of the beaches are considered public, but there are signs in front of the hotels telling you that the chairs are for hotel guests only. However, the "chair vendors" are plentiful and not shy about trying to sell you their services. Some appear to have an "in" with the hotels, and will tell you where the restrooms are, where to get free water, etc. We rented two chairs under a palapa from a lady named Sandra for $20/day, and were able to use the hotel restrooms and outdoor shower, and get free ice water from the bar. Although we did not use it, Sandra also has a menu from the hotel, and will use her cell phone to call in an order for you, which will be delivered to your chair on the beach. I think she also had floats and pool noodles, but we didn't rent those.

 

Once we left our rented chairs, we walked back down the boardwalk and had lunch at "Gilligan's", right on the beach. Food was plentiful, atmosphere exactly what you would want on a Caribbean beach. From there, we walked back to where the taxi dropped us, only to find that it's not really a taxi stand, and there were no taxi's in sight. The vendors along the beach kept advising us to go in through the hotels, but we figured that there would be taxis all up and down the main road.... wrong! We ended up having to walk back to a hotel and waiting for a taxi to come by... just as advised, go figure! Another NOTE: taxis will not transport passengers in wet swimsuits.... the driver asked us if our clothing was wet.

 

We got the taxi to drop us off at the entry to the port road so that we could spend a few minutes checking out the very colorful and busy nearby town. But after a day in the hot sun and a few of Gilligan's mango margaritas, we were ready to head back onto the ship and wash off the salt and sand!

 

I always like to be on the dock side during sail away, and it was interesting this time because there were quite a few late people. "All aboard" was supposed to be 4:30pm, and a large group (30+ people) arrived around 4:40. Two more came about 10 minutes later (one member of the party quite drunk and being held upright by the other), and then another two just before 5pm. The Passenger Service desk made about half a dozen requests for a specific passenger to contact them; all of the gangways were pulled up except for one, so I gather they were still waiting for someone. About 5:10pm, one of the staff on the dock below said to the uniformed officer "It's up to you", and he waved his hand and said "Let's go!". So I hope that no one got left behind!!

 

In summary, if your plan is to just enjoy the towns / beaches on your own, then yes, it is very easy to do. If you want to go on a specific tour, there are lots of people selling tours left, right and center in both Curacao and Aruba... but I don't want to comment on them since we don't have any first-hand knowledge.

 

Peg

[dandonna]

Thank you for the excellent information. A question I would love for you to answer is did they offer Zumba on the Princess Patter? Zumba is a dance/exercise class not offered on every Princess ship because the Zumba instructor must be certified. Can you tell me if Zumba classes were offered?

Thank you

Donna

[pegbert]

Thank you for the excellent information. A question I would love for you to answer is did they offer Zumba on the Princess Patter? Zumba is a dance/exercise class not offered on every Princess ship because the Zumba instructor must be certified. Can you tell me if Zumba classes were offered?

Thank you

Donna

 

Yes, they did have Zumba! It took place in Club Fusion, and after a quick scan of the Patters, looks like they had it at 8:45am one day, 9:45am another, 2:30pm another, and even 4:45pm "...with Assistant Cruise Director Ryan." I'd have to look more closely at the Patters, but if it was not held every day, then it looks to have been offered most days.

 

:)

[BEACHBARB]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned problems at embarkation. My sister and BIL were on this cruise and I had many texts about it. Got there at 11 AM and the line was out the door but moving. Stopped moving around noon and they just stood there till around 1:30. They heard lots of rumors about ship getting in late from England and a problem with a disembarking passengar but never were given any formal information. Anyone know anything?

[mafig]

Yes, that was pretty bad.

 

The Captain explained it was because Crown Princess had just come from Europe and all the crew had to checked by immigration, including matching fingerprints. Then there was a Coast Guard inspection. Then there was a CDC inspection. The room stewards didn't get around to cleaning the cabins until 12:30.

 

We were in line 3 hours. At one point the line just stopped. We could see the check in agents leave their posts and no one told us anything! After a bit there was an announcement. This wasn't Princess' fault, however, in line with us there were several elderly people who finally just lay on the floor because they couldn't stand that long. Some water from Princess would have been nice.

 

I understand those who were at the airport were kept there because there was no further room at the port.

 

We missed our lunch in the dining room - lol.:o

[maun]

Hi,

Happy to hear you had such a good time. We will be on the Crown in two weeks and cannot wait. A few questions:

1) How much is the coffee card? Along with the specialty coffees, do you get unlimited fresh brewed coffee without any punches for the fresh brewed even if you are both using the card at the same time?

2) What movies are they playing on MUTS?

3) Any not to miss entertainment at night? Other than the Princess

singers/dancers, what other shows do they have? Any good comedians?

4? What time did you get to Curacao and how long before you were able to get off the ship?

Thanks for the info.

~~Maun