Crown Closes Down Early

[UK Cruiser2]

On a recent Crown cruise all the entertainment finished around 11:00- 11:30 even the casino tables were closed shortly after as was the casino bar. Not much happens after that apart form Crooners until around midnight then only Skywalkers left open. Even the International Cafe stops selling alcohol at 2:00am so no 24 hour service there ?

[Working 2 Cruise]

Correct, no 24-hour alcohol service, but you can order 375 ml. bottles of liquor from room service!

Edited October 25, 2016 by Working 2 Cruise

[UK Cruiser2]

Correct, no 24-hour alcohol service.

 

Suppose 2:00am is late enough but the entertainment could have been staggered better so when one thing closed another overlapped and so on until 12:30 - 01:00ish

[Hlitner]

We see the OP is from Newcastle....and folks from those parts are legendary among travelers for 2 reasons :). !, Nobody (including many Brits) can understand a word they say and 2. Those folks have been known to enjoy a pint (or 2 or 3 etc) until the wee hours :). But the reality of many cruise lines is that they shut down early. On the other hand, many passengers on Holland America and Princess will insist that its "late" once the clock strikes 9!

 

As to the casinos, our observation is that they will keep operating as long as business is good. If a cruise has few late night gamblers, the casino manager will often shut down earlier then one might expect.

 

Hank

[UK Cruiser2]

We see the OP is from Newcastle....and folks from those parts are legendary among travelers for 2 reasons :). !, Nobody (including many Brits) can understand a word they say and 2. Those folks have been known to enjoy a pint (or 2 or 3 etc) until the wee hours :). But the reality of many cruise lines is that they shut down early. On the other hand, many passengers on Holland America and Princess will insist that its "late" once the clock strikes 9!

 

As to the casinos, our observation is that they will keep operating as long as business is good. If a cruise has few late night gamblers, the casino manager will often shut down earlier then one might expect.

 

Hank

:) You are correct after 11:00pm the ship was like a ghost ship apart from some other of us Brits in Crooners and Skywalkers. Crown sails out of UK next summer and I guess things may stay open later. We have cruised some 16 times now with the likes of RCL,Carnival,P&O, etc and on some of the cruises things have been going on late into the night.

[Kartgv]

A lot depends on the itinerary (number of ports) and length of the cruise. Longer cruises will attract more of us old folks, some of whom are often in bed by 10:00. Very port-intensive itineraries sometimes have less nightlife as people are tired from all day tours and need sleep to recuperate for the next day's tour! Our latest trip around the British Isles had lots of Brits, but we had a port almost every day, so there wasn't much happening after 11:00.

[UK Cruiser2]

A lot depends on the itinerary (number of ports) and length of the cruise. Longer cruises will attract more of us old folks, some of whom are often in bed by 10:00. Very port-intensive itineraries sometimes have less nightlife as people are tired from all day tours and need sleep to recuperate for the next day's tour! Our latest trip around the British Isles had lots of Brits, but we had a port almost every day, so there wasn't much happening after 11:00.

 

It was the opposite,5 sea days either way San Pedro/Hawaii so no reason to got to bed early :)

[LEESRE]

UK Cruiser 2,

 

If you have been on Crown recently can you tell us the state of the ship, I have been reading some very bad reviews of late.

Is the food really that bad as others have said and seen mention of a lot of rust on balconies etc.

 

 

Thanks

[greenie082756]

On a recent Crown cruise all the entertainment finished around 11:00- 11:30 even the casino tables were closed shortly after as was the casino bar. Not much happens after that apart form Crooners until around midnight then only Skywalkers left open. Even the International Cafe stops selling alcohol at 2:00am so no 24 hour service there ?

 

Agree. The main shows were between 8 - 10pm. Crowded too!

 

IC does not open until 6am for fresh doughnuts :mad:. So it no longer is 24 hour service. I do not know when they close it down @ night.

 

DH and I are considered one of the younger age groups @ 60 on this cruise.

 

Most likely will not be on this particular ship again. It was JUST okay and nothing to rave about. Service was poor in many areas and it was too crowded in all the public places.

 

This was our second cruise to Hawaii in 4 years and this one missed in many areas. Princess is changing. :(

[skynight]

On a recent Crown cruise all the entertainment finished around 11:00- 11:30 even the casino tables were closed shortly after as was the casino bar. Not much happens after that apart form Crooners until around midnight then only Skywalkers left open. Even the International Cafe stops selling alcohol at 2:00am so no 24 hour service there ?

Agree but:

From what I have seen on Princess cruises most venues close around 11pm or midnight as there is just not enough passengers to stay open. This is normal on most of their ships and cruise itineraries that I have experienced including, Pacific, Caribbean, Alaska, Europe.

Crooner's entertainment usually ends at midnight, the bar may stay open a little later if there is a large crowd.

Usually the casino is open later, but if very few customers they close down.

The bar in the Piazza area is not part of the International Cafe, so you are correct no 24/7 service. It opens around 6am.

The International Cafe is open 24/7 with some limited selections over night.

Skywalker's does stay open late if the have customers.

[easyboy]

UK Cruiser 2,

 

If you have been on Crown recently can you tell us the state of the ship, I have been reading some very bad reviews of late.

Is the food really that bad as others have said and seen mention of a lot of rust on balconies etc.

 

 

Thanks

Will be on Crown in March 2017 and is interested also on your comments.

[riclop]

On a recent Crown cruise all the entertainment finished around 11:00- 11:30 even the casino tables were closed shortly after as was the casino bar. Not much happens after that apart form Crooners until around midnight then only Skywalkers left open. Even the International Cafe stops selling alcohol at 2:00am so no 24 hour service there ?

 

So your interest is really alcohol.

[GUT2407]

You need to pick the cruise including ship that suits your requirements.

[Micahs Grandad]

On the Regal last month by 11 30 only entertainment was piano player

[Thrak]

I've never seen late night entertainment on Princess other than sometimes in Skywalker's if there is enough of a crowd for them to stay open. Of course I don't really like the "music" in Skywalker's and they tend to play it at an insane volume so it's not of value to me. We did have some really nice late night jazz in Adagio on night on Crown though.

 

I'm guessing that on our 28 day cruise next year we may be some of the "younger" passengers (we will be 64 and 65) and things may fold up pretty early. Hopefully at least one venue will stay open reasonably late though. I don't need to party until all hours of the night (morning?) but I don't necessarily want to go to bed early every night.

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

You also have to think of the crew. Those same people serving you the late night drinks have to get up early and serve the early risers their breakfast. They don't staff the ships with enough crew for two shifts. It's one very long shift every day.

[UK Cruiser2]

So your interest is really alcohol.

 

No,late night entertainment would be nice. With 10 sea days in total it's nice to stay up a little later. Even the male singer with the resident band Static one afternoon while playing on the pool deck said "Why is everyone going to bed early,you are on vacation"

[Cruiser411]

We were on the Crown last year to Mexico and since happy hour was at 11pm in Skywalkers, the place was jumping every night. We usually didn't get back to our cabin until around 1am... and the party was still going on. :)

[Micahs Grandad]

We were on the Crown last year to Mexico and since happy hour was at 11pm in Skywalkers, the place was jumping every night. We usually didn't get back to our cabin until around 1am... and the party was still going on. :)

 

Hoping it is like that next July on sea days to and from Baltics

[Hlitner]

Hoping it is like that next July on sea days to and from Baltics

 

Doubtful :). Mexican Riviera and some Caribbean cruises tend to attract a younger party crowd. But on the Baltic you are going to have a much older crowd with some families. And many of these folks get worn out in ports and are off to bed pretty early (except the night before a sea day). We have done two Baltic cruises and both were pretty dead by 10:30pm.

 

Hank

[shredie]

 

IC does not open until 6am for fresh doughnuts :mad:. So it no longer is 24 hour service. I do not know when they close it down @ night.

 

 

The IC will close for a very brief time between meal times. So when it's time to get it ready for breakfast, they will close things down while they put out the food. It's no more than a half an hour.

[chamima]

I've never seen late night entertainment on Princess other than sometimes in Skywalker's if there is enough of a crowd for them to stay open. Of course I don't really like the "music" in Skywalker's and they tend to play it at an insane volume so it's not of value to me. We did have some really nice late night jazz in Adagio on night on Crown though.

 

I'm guessing that on our 28 day cruise next year we may be some of the "younger" passengers (we will be 64 and 65) and things may fold up pretty early. Hopefully at least one venue will stay open reasonably late though. I don't need to party until all hours of the night (morning?) but I don't necessarily want to go to bed early every night.

 

 

 

We're on that 28 day cruise with you.

We have a couple of years on you as far as age but usually take advantage of whatever late night entertainment is offered.

One of the things I've always liked about Princess over Celebrity is that there was so much to do until midnight or 1 am.

 

`The piano bar in Crooners or jazz in Adagio is usually wonderful.

I sure hope that isn't changing!

Edited October 26, 2016 by chamima

[JimmyVWine]

I'm not sure what the issue is. First of all, the schedule laid out in the first post seems fairly typical across the fleet. I don't see where this is a "Crown issue." Second, the OP confirmed that Skywalker's was open late. So what's the problem? You want an after-midnight venue? You got one. How many does the ship need? A rhetorical question to be sure. The ship needs as many such venues as required to accommodate the volume of traffic a typical cruise will see. On Princess ships, that generally means one at most. And that is what the OP got. So what's the problem?

[WupperAV]

Ya! The food is as bad as they think because they'd bitch if you hung them with Gold Rope. Food is pretty good IMHO I don't care what time they close. I like to go topside and hear the wind at night and watch the sky.

[Working 2 Cruise]

I'm not sure what the issue is. First of all, the schedule laid out in the first post seems fairly typical across the fleet. I don't see where this is a "Crown issue." Second, the OP confirmed that Skywalker's was open late. So what's the problem? You want an after-midnight venue? You got one. How many does the ship need? A rhetorical question to be sure. The ship needs as many such venues as required to accommodate the volume of traffic a typical cruise will see. On Princess ships, that generally means one at most. And that is what the OP got. So what's the problem?

 

You don't get it... the OP wants to have an alcoholic drink at 3 or 4 a.m.....