Crown Princess Feb 5 to 8 the 4 day San Diego review

[Valiamo]

This was our first time with Princess and quite frankly we were underwhelmed. I went expecting to be wowed, and it turned out to be just a short "booze cruise" and was nothing special. As my 27 YO son would say.. it was a “meh” cruise. Not that it was a bad cruise, it just didn’t live up to the “Love Boat” Hype.

 

 

Embarkation - easy and quick. We arrived around 11:30, had our luggage whisked away by the porter and we were walking onto the ship less than 45 minutes later. The lines flowed well, the staff was ready to check us in and we felt that we were welcome cruisers. Once we got onto the ship, we were directed to the elevators, and up to your cabin deck. We did see that the ship had loads of elevators, and at boarding each one had a crew member manning them getting you to your deck. We arrived on the 14th deck just before 1 PM, and our cabin was ready. The ship fold out map was a cute touch, we used this a lot.

 

 

Cabin: We had a balcony, mid-ship, on deck 14 (14620), it is a normal balcony cabin, and it felt small. The cabin door was the narrowest we have seen on a modern cruise ship. Bed was ready to go in the Queen configuration, and it was a comfortable. We had requested some water for a CPAP machine, and it was brought later by the room steward. The bathroom had a shower, toilet and sink, it was sufficient for 1 person at a time. There was lots of storage in the cabin for hanging things (tons of hangers). The balcony had 2 chairs and a small side table. Cabin was quiet, ‘tho we did hear some scraping of chairs from the dining room upstairs, but nothing that we would consider excessive or worrisome. All it all it was good enough for the two of us, tho it would be hard for more than 2 guests in this cabin type (felt sorry for the neighbors a couple of cabins down with 4 in their room (2 adults and 2 kids). The Patters never came the evening before, and were in our mail slot in the morning. Princess did put balloons and a Happy Anniversary notice on our door on the right date, this was a pleasant surprise.

 

 

Room Steward(s): We think we had 3 different stewards this cruise, we never really saw them ever. The first one was only there for 1 night, and we have no idea of who he was, saw him for about 10 seconds when he told us the time to go to Muster. The second one was there for the second day, and then # 3rd for the last 2. None of them were ever present, and it appeared that they each had a large number of cabins to service. The chocolates on the pillow were a nice touch.

 

 

 

Muster: Quick and easy, sat in the lounge, listened to the spiel, and headed back to the 15th deck for sail away. This necessary activity was well put together, and was without problems.

 

 

Sail-away: We headed up to Deck 15, and watch the ship sail away. Make sure you check the price of the “Sail-away” drinks before you accept them from the crew, we thought they were complementary. Two 4 oz. drinks in cheap plastic Princess cup, cost us nearly $30. YIKES..

 

 

Exploring the ship:

Found this ship quite confusing, when we get on a new ship we always wander around the entire ship and try to hit every deck and venue. On this ship we felt we were lost most days and times. There were few options to walk from the Stern to the Bow, one seemed to have to go up and down or more decks to get from one end to the other of the same deck. We tended to stay in the International Cafe area, on our Balcony or on Deck 15. On the last night, we did find a quiet area on the stern of deck 16, where we spent an evenings watching the stars.

 

Entertainment:

We think we passed the Princess Theater once, but we never found it again, as it was not in the normal path of travel, and we missed any activities that were at this venue. There was always some kind of entertainment in the Atrium the Main deck area, but I found it very loud for the size of area they were playing in. There was always an activity going on in this area.

 

 

The Movie’s under the Stars is a good touch, we didn’t get a chance to see a full movie as it was quite frigid in the evenings. They were showing first run movies, and we did watch parts of 2 different movies (The Martian and Specter). There was a Superbowl party, which we did not partake in, being from Canada we would only watch the commercials, and as this was an international feed they had no US commercials.

 

 

Food:

Evening - we had anytime dining, but seemed to be able to eat at the same time each evening in the Da Vinci Dining room. We had a different table each night, and the dining room crew was helpful and attentive. My wife is celiac and she was able to get a GF meal that was similar to mine. She didn't like getting a chocolate mousse for desert every evening and would have preferred more options. We arrived around 5:30 each evening and found few crowds waiting for dinner. Each night when we left the dining room around 7, and the lines-up for dining were huge (~100 guests waiting).

 

 

We celebrated our anniversary in the Dining room, and the crew sang us a song, and gave us a special desert (only I could eat). A shout out to a waiter named Harris, as he came over and sang us a second song (and were not in his section).

 

 

Food in the Main Dining room was very good, it was well cooked, hot food was hot and cold food was cold. The cold soups each night were a delight.

 

 

Specialty Dining – BOOK WHEN YOU GET ON BOARD! We tried to get into any of the specialty dining areas for anniversary and they were all booked up on the first afternoon. Any remaining reservations were after 9 PM. We did get into the Crab Shack for dinner ($20 surcharge) on the 2nd evening (9:30 reservation) and had a great Crab and shrimp dinner. It is funny to see that they just used the Cafe Caribe to host the Crab Shack venue, and put some brown butcher paper on the tables.

 

 

 

Buffet - we ate at the Horizon Court/Cafe Caribe for our lunches and 2 breakfasts.

 

 

 

This is where Princess completely lost me on their perceived famous service. There were very few staff in any of the buffets stations, maybe at most 5 waiters for the entire buffet area. Tables seemed to be always piled high with dirty dishes. We were never asked if we wanted something to drink (we just went and served ourselves). Lines to get food were always long, and when you did get in one line, a crew member would try to direct you to the other food line, where they said the lines were shorter.

 

 

 

Food at best was blah..

 

 

 

Breakfast - scrambled eggs looked like curdled yellow custard, and had little taste. Bread or toast was hard as a rock and cold. There was some fruit, but it was always seemed to be the same 3 items, pineapple, honeydew, and cantaloupe. Items were frequently out of stock (no butter no jam), and no-one behind the counter would get you more.

 

 

Lunch – there seemed to be limited choices. I am used to getting a large salad selection, fresh fruits, etc. It just seemed to be limited, or picked over. I always left this after hungry, and feel unsatisfied.

 

 

Room Service – smallish food selection for breakfast via room service. I will admit that it arrived exactly at the time requested (in fact it was 1 minute early) and the coffee was hot and the juice cold. This was the ONLY time that we had coffee on the ship that we didn't have to pay extra for. Every other time we had to pay extra for coffee, or tea, no matter where we were on the ship. We bought a coffee card, and use it up.

 

 

 

Clubs and entertainment - we visited several of the bars and found that most of them were dual purpose, and were not only a bar, but an eating establishment as well (extra charge). Entertainment was good in the places we went to.

 

 

Shopping: While there are not a large number of shops on the ship, they all seemed to carry the normal cruise ship fare (overpriced watches, camera’s, duty free booze, Jewellery, and of course the mass produced paintings). The Princess logo's material was priced reasonably, t-shirts at $15. The Jewellery and Photo shops used a lot of high pressure sales tactics, as they all wanted you to take the extras.

 

 

Spa: Go directly to the Spa, on day 1, to book your treatments. Phoning the Spa to make reservations was an exercise in frustration. The DW was happy with the treatment she received, and said it was reasonably priced.

Ship in General: This is a large ship, but it is not well laid out. Moving from one point to another was not as easy one would have assumed it should have been. Too many trips up and down the stairs or elevators to get from one end of the ship to the other. The men's bathrooms on the 4th, and 5th decks needed work and we poorly laid out. Tiles on all of them were falling off the walls, and the bathroom on deck 5 just stunk.

 

 

Tours and Ports –

San Diego - we took a small harbor tour (ships tour) and then visited the USS Midway (we just walked over). Both were interesting, the boat ride was nothing special, it took you around the harbor, you learned where all the fancy restaurants were and which Navy boats were in port. Really enjoyed seeing the Air Craft Carrier, that was well worth the $20 admission, they had a self directed tour with headphones.

 

 

 

Hint: to book tours, use the iPad on deck 6 it was quick and easy.

 

 

Ensenada – we took the $3.00 bus (return fare) into the town, and walked around for an hour or so. They let us off at the north end of the shopping district, one block off of Primera. Seemed we were one day after a huge party, beer bottles, broken glass were everywhere on the ground, and there was lots of confetti everywhere. It was a depressing area there were a number of beggars (from young kids selling candy to old timers asking for money). While we did not feel unsafe, we spent limited time in town.

There are some very interesting local shops on the main street Primera, the shopkeepers in the stores were a delight, and all spoke English, we had a blast at a store called Casa Ramirez, this store had TONS of Mexican art and not a single “made in China” piece in the store. I tried to buy some silver bullion coins at a local bank, alas no-one in the bank spoke English, and I speak no Spanish, so zilch on the silver coins.

 

Departures.. both days we were in port, we were delayed by late passengers. In Ensenada, there was a very drunk couple (the drunken lady in Red, and her belligerent cigar smoking man) who were obviously trying to smuggle something through customs, they arrived with back packs and a carry bag, tried to go through, were pulled back into the custom’s area. They repeatedly tried to leave and were called back into the area several times. We could see the guy was being an idiot, and they were not impressed with him. After about 20 minutes of back and forth the Military Police arrived, and the couple bolted to the ship without their bags.

 

 

Sea Day – as we only had to travel between San Diego and Ensenada, the ship took the long way around and headed south way down the Baja Peninsula for a day, and headed back in the evening.

 

 

Dis-embarkation - What can one say... everyone wants to be off the boat first. While it was a long line from the lounge to get off the ship, and customs was closing down the line frequently, we still were off the ship at 9:15 at the taxi stop by 9:30. We had a 9:05 departure time, so they were spot on here.

 

 

Other points - There was an emergency call on the last night of the cruise (around midnight) with the captain calling (on the hall speakers) for urgent security on deck 10. This was followed quickly by a second announcement calling for coded individuals, and seemed quite urgent. Later in the early morning (1 AM) the captain did do an all ships announcement stating that they had an emergency in one of the engine rooms (suspected fire) that had been successfully dealt with. Kind of unnerving, but at that same time comforting that they didn't hide anything.

 

 

I really wanted to be impressed by the Princess service, it just was not there. There was almost nothing to make this ship standout from other cruise lines. Other than the Princess badges, you would never know what ship/line you were on.

[a91741]

Long-time Princess cruiser here, my first cruise with them was back in 1971.

Cruising has changed, BIG-TIME.

The mass-market cruiselines, Princess included, have changed so much over the years, some changes for the better, but most changes..not so much for the better.

We've been on the Crown quite a few times. Princess has a real management problem on THIS PARTICULAR ship. It's a pity really, because she sure is a pretty ship.

[wowzz]

Seems a fair review. As a matter of interest, how did it compare to other cruise lines that you have sailed with?

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[Clarea]

Thanks for sharing.

[JF - retired RRT]

I don't understand some of the points in your review.

Never had to pay for coffee with the exception of in the International Cafe. Coffee is FREE in all the MDRs and the buffet (not sure about bars, never asked). It may not be the best tasting coffee (opinions vary), but it is always an included item.

 

Agree about the lines for AT dining. I'm surprised you didn't find a long line at 5:30. And you're right about the food in the buffet. I don't care for the buffet. The hot food is never hot. And, depending on when you go, it can be pretty picked over. The GF desserts offer more variety on a longer cruise. Maybe your DW wouldn't have been so disappointed if you had taken a 7 day or longer.

 

The only place that you need to take stairs to get from one end of the ship to the other is on the Promenade deck.

 

The steward confusion is from poor staffing. All the lines seem to be adding more cabins for them to take care of.

 

Yes, the lines are long in the buffet...if you go at prime times. Go a little late, no lines. The servers have the same problem as the stewards, not enough to go around. Did you notice the free coffee dispenser, when you went to get your drink?

 

Too bad you couldn't get a reservation on your special day. It is true that you often need to get a reservation ASAP, especially on the big ships on a short cruise. That being said, we have often just walked up and got a table, but that is on a long cruise. On the short cruises, EVERYONE is trying to do EVERYTHING at the same time.

 

If you decide to give Princess another try, book a longer cruise.

Edited February 14, 2016 by JF - retired RRT

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent review! Thanks for taking the time to post it.

 

IMO a 1,2,3,4,or 5 day cruise is not a true depiction of a Princess cruise although it sounds as though many of your points would have been seen on a longer cruises as well.

 

Too bad you had 3 Stewards. Have not experienced that.

 

As far as the HC and service we have been pretty impressed at the coverage that the servers perform when we have sat down there. Tables are cleared, drink orders are taken, and someone always seems to be close to get any additional requests.

 

Not sure where/why you thought that sail away drinks are free?

[san diego sue]

We were on the same cruise. Now we cruise Princess often but 4 day cruises don't have the same feel as longer ones.

We had fixed dining with same wait staff each night. In fact same wait staff we had back in October on our 28 day Hawaii-Tahiti.Service excellant.

We had no problem getting dinner reservations in Sabatini's(second night of cruise) and a party of 7. Sabatini's was almost empty that night (at 6:00Pm).

Sorry you missed out on the entertainment at Princess theatre. Two Production shows (one the new Magic Production). And you missed Carlos Oscar, the best comedian ever . He was Princess' voted best entertainer of the year a few years ago.I was very impressed that for a quicky cruise, they put forth excellant entertainment. Now this cruise may have been about drinking (long weekend) because of SuperBowl. It was so much fun being in a lounge with lots of folks. Princess had it broadcast on Muts, Club Fusion, and Explorers. And typical Superbowl party food was supplied.

I was very impressed with the way Princess handled it.

Now disembarking may have looked disorganized but not by Princess. We were given times to report . However, departing passengers that were suppose to leave much later, all were getting off with first group. Not Princess fault at all. Nicole (Princess staff member) was trying her best to control the crowd but no one listened. And just about everyone was carry off luggage, a real mess. When we got downstairs in terminal, there was people wanting their luggage and luggage area wasn't opened yet. Another group that didn't pay attention to when they needed to leave the ship.

If it was my first time with Princess, may have seen this differently but for us traveling with friends, knowing our way around the ship etc. , had a fabulous 4 days.

Edited February 14, 2016 by san diego sue

[Valiamo]

Seems a fair review. As a matter of interest, how did it compare to other cruise lines that you have sailed with?

 

Other than the buffet and lack of wait staff, it was the same. We normally cruise RCI, and I expected to see a difference.

[24639]

Thanks for posting. It's nice to read a review that is not filled with dramatic exaggerations.(Those reviews and the responses make for good entertainment, however)

I was on this sailing, as well. It really was not a true representation of the Princess brand even for a short cruise. I noticed differences in the demographic and quality. The younger party crowd did make for some excellent people watching! I nicknamed the two stoners in the balcony below me Dumb and Dumber because they were just so hilarious. Choking on their vape on the balcony in direct view of the bridge was priceless.

The buffet was just not what I am used to on Princess. The quality was definitely sub par. I stuck to the dining room and IC for breakfast.

I went purely for the Super Bowl and I think a lot of other people did, too; so many that they had to open up a third venue for viewing.

Interesting comments on your Steward. I felt we had the best Stewardess in the last few years. She was there, but not in our face. Give me ice, clean towels and my pillow chocolate and I am happy. We are very low maintenance and I let them know they can relax a little with us. Another observation I made note of was that the carts in the hallways disappeared in a timely manner and were not left lingering like I have seen on some sailings. I really thought they should have held them back a little longer on the last day for the first walk off people to get their luggage down the hall, but it was a minor inconvenience and I know they have a whirlwind ahead of them to prep for the next passengers.

With that said and my own observations aside, I hope you give Princess another try on a longer voyage. It really does make a difference.

[shredie]

Glad you had a great time. Did you know they give out little maps of the ship and that there are charts posted on the walls telling where things are? (The Princess theater is at the pointy end of the ship.)

Edited February 14, 2016 by shredie

[suzieb25]

If you try Princess again, avoid the weekend cruises, especially Super Bowl weekend! In the buffet you could have had a delicious made-to-order omelette and it would have been delivered to your table. As has been mentioned, you do not pay for coffee in the buffet or in the dining room unless you order a specialty coffee. It seems there were many things that you did enjoy. Hopefully you will come back and try a seven day cruise for a better experience.

[Valiamo]

If you try Princess again, avoid the weekend cruises, especially Super Bowl weekend! In the buffet you could have had a delicious made-to-order omelette and it would have been delivered to your table. As has been mentioned, you do not pay for coffee in the buffet or in the dining room unless you order a specialty coffee. It seems there were many things that you did enjoy. Hopefully you will come back and try a seven day cruise for a better experience.

 

We have a 15 day Panama cruise booked on the Island for next year, and we wanted to try out a short Princess cruise before the long one. We know that a short cruise on SuperBowl weekend was not a good idea.. but that is time the anniversary fell in.

 

Didn't see the coffee in the buffet area, we did find the ice and water machines. But the few waiters that were in the area seemed to be annoyed that we were serving our selves.

Edited February 15, 2016 by Valiamo

[Valiamo]

Glad you had a great time. Did you know they give out little maps of the ship and that there are charts posted on the walls telling where things are? (The Princess theater is at the pointy end of the ship.)

 

Darn... and we thought that the pointing thingy was at the stern :rolleyes: ... We did have the cute little map, and we used it to find ourselves around. It was that the ship did not have that flow we are used to.

[victory2020]

I've taken many 3 & 4 day cruises & I felt this one they just sort of gave up on. The regular Princess events were not there, ie afternoon tea, pub lunch, alternative comedy show in a smaller venue. I found the buffet to be quite underwhelming also.

Superbowl did not make it any better. I have never seen disembarkation as bad as it was. And so many kids under 10! Possibly could have been because the price of this went way down so a different element is sailing.

[wblynch]

We took a 3 night cruise to Ensenada on the Crown Princess just a few weeks ago and loved it.

 

The only other choice for a 3/4 night cruise out of Southern California are some very old Carnival ships so Princess it was to be.

 

The ship was clean, food was plentiful and there were lots of places to hang out. It was too cold that week for pools. Maybe that's the problem? People don't think it can be cold at sea in January/February?

 

All in all, I loved the Crown Princess and will go again.

[wblynch]

...the few waiters that were in the area seemed to be annoyed that we were serving our selves.

 

Well that could be because a few weeks ago there was a norovirus episode on the Crown Princess. They had to deep clean the ship a couple of times and all foods and drinks were served by staff. Even the buffet was staffed and passengers weren't allowed to touch serving utensils.

 

So, they might have still been thinking about that.

 

It was for your benefit, to keep from getting sick.

Edited February 15, 2016 by wblynch

[Working 2 Cruise]

We have a 15 day Panama cruise booked on the Island for next year, and we wanted to try out a short Princess cruise before the long one. We know that a short cruise on SuperBowl weekend was not a good idea.. but that is time the anniversary fell in.

 

Didn't see the coffee in the buffet area, we did find the ice and water machines. But the few waiters that were in the area seemed to be annoyed that we were serving our selves.

 

I think you'll find the Panama Canal cruise much better. As for dining, I now always do late traditional, so no problems there...

 

The Island deck plans should be studied...

 

If you have any questions about the ship, make sure to ask! Unfortunately, I can't help with that ship, however, there will be plenty of people who can help!

 

Sorry you had a bad experience... this is one reason I don't like short cruises. Make sure to try the Norman Love desserts on your next cruise!

[cruise47]

Thanks for sharing your cruise review.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review, sorry it wasn't what you had hoped for.

[24639]

I've taken many 3 & 4 day cruises & I felt this one they just sort of gave up on. The regular Princess events were not there, ie afternoon tea, pub lunch, alternative comedy show in a smaller venue. I found the buffet to be quite underwhelming also.

Superbowl did not make it any better. I have never seen disembarkation as bad as it was. And so many kids under 10! Possibly could have been because the price of this went way down so a different element is sailing.

 

Afternoon tea was served it just was not listed anywhere. I had to call the dine line to confirm it was being held. Annoyed me a bit that it wasn't in the Patter because I missed it one day.

[shredie]

Afternoon tea was served it just was not listed anywhere. I had to call the dine line to confirm it was being held. Annoyed me a bit that it wasn't in the Patter because I missed it one day.

 

Last time, I found it on the back of the Patter under the restaurant openings schedule. I had to look for it.

[24639]

Last time, I found it on the back of the Patter under the restaurant openings schedule. I had to look for it.

 

That's what I thought was so strange because it wasn't on there like usual.

There were a number of things that were just off about this sailing. Not really bad, just different.

[cvpends]

Some of the things our OP described make me wonder if they were on the same Crown Princess I have sailed several times. I can't think of a place you can pay for coffee or tea on the ship besides the IC, for example, so I can't figure out how OP managed to do so. Coffee and tea are readily available in Horizon Court and every dining room, and are always free. I can't for the life of me figure out how someone could spend thirty bucks on two sail away drinks. Our how they might think those plastic cups are only 4 oz. And if someone had a deck map, and could find the IC, why not walk down past the art gallery and enjoy the fabulous shows in Crown's Princess Theater? Carlos Oscar and Magic To Do are both wonderful.

 

But if OP really was on the ship, I think their disappointment could have been alleviated by expecting Princess to be of similar quality to RCI, by studying the deck plans, by asking staff and other passengers for directions and parking information, and by speaking up when needs weren't met.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

[land lover]

First of all I am glad u had a nice time...to bad u were not WOWED...but probably not going to happen if you r an RCI cruiser and I agree the layout of the ship with some elevators not going to all the decks can take some getting used too.

 

We were on the Feb 1 sailing that changed from 4 to 3 days. I agree there was something about the ship being off when it came to dining. I figured it was just our voyage. Honestly the food selection in the HC was not up to par and dialing room service you were on perpetual hold. We dined at the Crown Grill and ended up paying only one cover charge because of the poor service and steak cooked incorrectly. Then to add insult to injury the bar in the crown grill charged me for a drink when I had the drink package, which I discovered on my final bill and yes, I gave my card to the waiter. So off I had to go the the pursers desk on the last morn.

 

However our room attended was the best we have had in years, not visible, but we never had to ask for anything.

And I found the bar tenders to be excellent and accommodating and wait staff at MTD to be exceptional.

 

As others have said try Princess again....but go for itinerary and not for the ship.

Edited February 16, 2016 by land lover