Thinking about 28 Days on Crown Princess

[PC Skier]

We are thinking about taking a 28 day cruise on the Crown Princess next Oct (2014) the longest we have been on one ship is 16 days. Just wondering if anyone out there has any recent long term time on the Crown. We are active 60+ and are interested in the shows, entertainment and change of menus during the sea days. This cruise will go to Hawaii, Samoa,Tahiti, etc. Thanks for any info.

[Pam in CA]

I've been on the Crown a number of times but not that long. However, I've taken several cruises 28-32 days long on the Sapphire and other ships. The dining room menus don't repeat, entertainers join the ship for a few days at a time so there's variety, and the CD plans a lot of activities for every day, far more than on a shorter cruise.

[Colo Cruiser]

Welocome to CC! Post often.

[Ferndale Girl]

We are on that cruise - been on a 28 day one before - Ft Lauderdale to Venice - but never with so many sea days. We're hoping for the best. If you do book the cruise be sure to go sign up on our Roll Call.

[granny49]

We did that same of cruise last spring on the Star. It was fabulous. We were concerned about the long number of sea days. We were never bored. The days went by very fast. You will love the So Pacific.

[Talisker92]

Sorry, but I have one word-don't. A veteran CC'er took the cruise a year or so ago. The big problem is the 8 sea days after Tahiti. Basically your cruise is over, because you will debark in Los Angeles.

We just came back from a 31 day cruise on the Golden Princess, and the maximum number of sea days in a row was 3. We felt that 20 or so days on a cruise is really our limit.

However, below is a list of things we found made our long cruise more enjoyable:

Pack

3 clocks-2 for bedside tables-1 for sofa area

Unbreakable wine glasses

Nook/Kindle loaded with books + chargers

Lysol #3 spray to disinfect cabin

Bonine (meclazine)

Imodium

Cold medications

Broad spectrum antibiotics

Belkin surge suppressor-3 outlets+2 USB ports

Binoculars

Scotch magic tape to tape things to mirror

Itinerary one page calendar

Flashlights

Plan view of decks from cruise brochure

Swiss army knife, Leatherman, corkscrew

Night light for bathroom

Spare prescription glasses

 

Request from steward or others

Kleenex for sofa area

Large Ice bucket

2 daily programs (Princess Patter)

Extra waste basket for sofa area

Small tray for carrying snacks back to cabin

Top sheet for under duvet

Egg crate mattress pad

Pitcher for ice tea(from dining room)

Shot glass (from bar)

Mugs for morning coffee (from buffet)

Silver wine package 12 bottles (dining room)

 

Patience and a sense of humor

Edited April 15, 2014 by Talisker92

[Pam in CA]

Sorry, but I have one word-don't. A veteran CC'er took the cruise a year or so ago. The big problem is the 8 sea days after Tahiti. Basically your cruise is over, because you will debark in Los Angeles.

If you're referring to "Toto," that was over two years ago and she had a number of issues on the ship, most of which the vast majority of passengers would barely notice or wouldn't affect them.

 

The sea days aren't for everyone but I love them -- lots of them -- and this cruise is on my bucket list. I've taken several cruises with 6-7 sea days in a row. If I could take a 30-day cruise to nowhere, I'd be among the first to book. :)

[rdsqrl]

Sorry, but I have one word-don't. A veteran CC'er took the cruise a year or so ago. The big problem is the 8 sea days after Tahiti. Basically your cruise is over, because you will debark in Los Angeles.

We just came back from a 31 day cruise on the Golden Princess, and the maximum number of sea days in a row was 3. We felt that 20 or so days on a cruise is really our limit.

However, below is a list of things we found made our long cruise more enjoyable:

Pack

3 clocks-2 for bedside tables-1 for sofa area

Unbreakable wine glasses

Nook/Kindle loaded with books + chargers

Lysol #3 spray to disinfect cabin

Bonine (meclazine)

Imodium

Cold medications

Broad spectrum antibiotics

Belkin surge suppressor-3 outlets+2 USB ports

Binoculars

Scotch magic tape to tape things to mirror

Itinerary one page calendar

Flashlights

Plan view of decks from cruise brochure

Swiss army knife, Leatherman, corkscrew

Night light for bathroom

Spare prescription glasses

 

Request from steward or others

Kleenex for sofa area

Large Ice bucket

2 daily programs (Princess Patter)

Extra waste basket for sofa area

Small tray for carrying snacks back to cabin

Top sheet for under duvet

Egg crate mattress pad

Pitcher for ice tea(from dining room)

Shot glass (from bar)

Mugs for morning coffee (from buffet)

Silver wine package 12 bottles (dining room)

 

Patience and a sense of humor

Cheez, no wonder you're saying "no." I've packed less stuff when I've moved from one state to another, never mind a 28-day vacation. Did you have to hire a U-Haul?

 

OP, I think it's a terrific itinerary and I also think she's a good ship for a sea-day-intensive cruise, even though she isn't my favourite ship in the fleet. The Adagio Lounge is a winner for quiet drinks/conversation in the evenings when you need some solitude; the lovely outdoor area outside it is a great place to relax in the late afternoon with a drink and a book . . . plus, lots of pool space and tons of loungers on this class of ship. Wishing I could join you . . . !

[PC Skier]

Thanks for all the input. We aren't cruise newbies and have had 8 days at sea in a row before. We haven't cruised Princess in a couple of years, so we were just wondering if they change things up on their longer cruises.

[sewgood]

Thanks for all the input. We aren't cruise newbies and have had 8 days at sea in a row before. We haven't cruised Princess in a couple of years, so we were just wondering if they change things up on their longer cruises.

 

Recently back (feb/March) from a nineteen day on the Diamond and I remember the waiters saying to us that frog legs/ french menu was now only offered on cruises of 15 day or longer.

 

The main dinning room menu did not seem to repeat however the Pub Lunch which is not on all ships and not on everyday anyway did only have two menus but their are plenty of other places to eat.

 

We had 7 sea days in a row and loved them. Plenty of activities going on around the ship. We did a 24 day cruise on the Diamond last year and never became bored.:)

[dorisis]

We did that itinerary several years ago on the Sapphire and loved it. BUT>>> we also enjoy sea days. If you need to be constantly on the go, this cruise would not be a good choice.

[skynight]

We did this voyage in April 2013. We would do it again. We don't worry too much about repeating menus, there are plenty of options. Had entertainers joining the ship during the voyage. The 8 days return seemed to go so quickly. We did Patrick's tour in Bora Bora, highly recommended. If there was any weakness, it was the Cruise Director's staff. They front loaded many of the activities, leaving the back end kind of sparse. They overused Tom, a very good Crooner's piano man, in the second half of the cruise. They should have planned better. Take a look at the roll call for this voyage. Ours was very active. it will give you additional information.

[flamomo]

I have done 26 days on the Crown just last Fall, and spent an additional 16 days on her a couple of weeks ago. She's one of my favorites.

 

I have also done the 28 day LA-HI-Samoa-Tahiti-LA itinerary, about 3 years ago on the Sapphire.

 

It happened that our 28 day cruise was the first time Princess had offered that itinerary (as far as I know), and the CD that we had did not seem to have planned very well for those 8 sea days in a row coming back to LA. Quite a few people were complaining of boredom, although I never find sea days boring. I feel quite sure that boredom problem has been rectified by now, as that is a very popular itinerary!

 

I disagree with the poster who said "don't"! It's a great itinerary to a gorgeous part of the world, and I'd love to do it again. I say go for it!!

[nunuc2000]

We were on the Crown for 24 days in Oct/Nov 2012, and it wasn't nearly long enough!! :) Mind you, it was a spectacular itinerary that included Greece, Italy, Turkey, Croatia, Egypt... and not a lot of sea days. However, we really love sea days too, so we'd be fine with that. They did switch up some of the entertainment with differing comedians/magicians/alternative entertainers and a few different movies on MUTS over the few weeks we were on board, but even if they hadn't we still would have enjoyed every moment. But we're pretty easy to please that way. :)

 

Celine

[hillslife]

Love all the sea days..relaxing, lots of activities, movies, reading, guest entertainers, etc. much more than 7-14 day cruises.

 

We are booked on the October 28 day cruise the OP mentioned and are local, so no flights involved...so really looking forward to that. If you are a new cruiser, I'm not sure this is for you...maybe not enough action or ports...not sure I would bring all the stuff mentioned in the above post..the cabin counter space is only so big....

 

We cruise very often, so consider ourselves veterans....did a 107 day world cruise in 2009 ....would repeat it in a minute, but don't want to leave the grandkids that long :o

Edited April 15, 2014 by hillslife

[Talisker92]

Cheez, no wonder you're saying "no." I've packed less stuff when I've moved from one state to another, never mind a 28-day vacation. Did you have to hire a U-Haul?

QUOTE]

I realize your comment was tongue in cheek, but that stuff really takes up very little room. For our cruise, we packed 3 suitcases and 2 carry on. Of course the 2 big suitcases were for my wife

[west coast cruiser]

We did the same itinerary on the Sapphire a few years ago. It was a great cruise and I would do it again. The 8 sea days got to be bit much for me after the 5th day but as Flamomo said the CD was not the best.

I totally disagree with the person who said not to do it because of one person's issues.

WCC

[partybarbie]

DH and I spent 32-days on the Crown, taking a Trans-Atlantic cruise from Rome to Galveston, in Nov./Dec. of 2012. We both loved the Crown. Even with six sea days in a row, we never ran out of things to do. For the entire cruise, we felt like we were living in high-end New York penthouse. We could have stayed on her for another month.

 

We also did a 30-day Trans-Atlantic on the Pacific Princess. There didn't seem to be as many activities offered on the smaller ship, so we spent a lot of time reading on our balcony.

 

I think the Crown is a great choice for a longer cruise. I also like that the ship's movement is far less noticeable on the larger ships.

[Loreni]

If you're referring to "Toto," that was over two years ago and she had a number of issues on the ship, most of which the vast majority of passengers would barely notice or wouldn't affect them.

 

The sea days aren't for everyone but I love them -- lots of them -- and this cruise is on my bucket list. I've taken several cruises with 6-7 sea days in a row. If I could take a 30-day cruise to nowhere, I'd be among the first to book. :)

 

I agree with Pam. We were on this cruise in October on the Sapphire. We had no problem with the sea days. Our cruise certainly wasn't over when we left Tahiti for LA. How could it be, there were eight days left. We love sea days. We also loved the ports on this cruise. However, if you know that you get bored on sea days, then this may not be for you.

 

I too read Toto's review. If I recall, she had organized several shore excursions and some people treated her as an unofficial tour guide, calling her cabin or knocking on the door day and night. So no, this problem will not affect most people. We actually met several couples who had done this trip more than once.

[Redwood10D]

We are thinking about taking a 28 day cruise on the Crown Princess next Oct (2014) the longest we have been on one ship is 16 days. Just wondering if anyone out there has any recent long term time on the Crown. We are active 60+ and are interested in the shows, entertainment and change of menus during the sea days. This cruise will go to Hawaii, Samoa,Tahiti, etc. Thanks for any info.

 

We did this cruise last Fall and wondered where the time had gone! We were worried about the 28 days a little bit at the start but not at the end. Sea days are like living on an island. Some folks just want to get off even if they are in paradise. It's all in the head. At home we are pretty much self-contained. We don't rely on others for our entertainment. The ship had more than we could do!

 

It is a not to be missed area of the world to visit. The time aboard gives you a sense of the vastness of the Pacific. What beauty! What vistas! What colors. I think I need to go again!

 

Redwood

[FlaBubba]

We are signed up on this cruise and we are really looking forward to it. Before this we have been on a 12 day from Barcelona to Venice and back to Barcelona. Our longest was a 15 day cruise from Vancouver to Hawaii and back to LA. After it was over we wished we were going somewhere else. Love the sea days too.

[Cruisa Loosa]

Thanks for all the input. We aren't cruise newbies and have had 8 days at sea in a row before. We haven't cruised Princess in a couple of years, so we were just wondering if they change things up on their longer cruises.

 

We did that 28 day South Pacific cruise on the Sapphire last fall. It was amazing! We were never bored and loved the sea days. They kept the meals and entertainment varied throughout the trip. Lots of things to do or not do. The islands are gorgeous, the water clear and warm. I'd say go for it! We would go again in a heartbeat. It was our second cruise and since then we've done a back to back in the Caribbean and will be doing Alaska in August. If you love cruising then how can it be bad?

[dfields1814]

We did a transAtlantic b2b with western Europe for 29 days. It had lots of sea days. We thought it was great.

 

We also did the 29 day South Pacific on the Sapphire. The ports were excellent. We enjoy sea days but 9 in a row at the end of the cruise got to be a problem. On the last leg the first 5 sea days or so were fine. But after that cabin fever set in. It felt like the CD, understandably, ran out of new things to do. This was the only cruise I wanted to get off on the last day. This was the first time Princess offered this cruise so maybe by now they got some of the kinks worked out.

 

The demographics on our cruise was definitely on the older side, also understandably, because of the 28 days. I bet the average age was well past mid 70's.

 

I am glad I did it once. Not so sure I would do it again.

[Bucky3]

We have never cruised on Crown Princess, but we did this itinerary on Star Princess a year ago and are booked on the October cruise this year. Those beautiful islands keep calling us back!! We love the sea days, were never bored, and were not ready to get off even after the 8 sea days returning! Come join us this fall, and be sure to join our roll call in full swing right now!

 

We really wanted to do this itinerary in Spring of 2015 but don't see it listed, so we jumped on this fall's cruise.

[RetiredNTraveling]

If you're referring to "Toto," that was over two years ago and she had a number of issues on the ship, most of which the vast majority of passengers would barely notice or wouldn't affect them.

 

The sea days aren't for everyone but I love them -- lots of them -- and this cruise is on my bucket list. I've taken several cruises with 6-7 sea days in a row. If I could take a 30-day cruise to nowhere, I'd be among the first to book. :)

 

This is our goal! :eek: Just as soon as PCL comes out with the future listing for 2015 / 2016 or what have you, we plan on booking! :D :eek: