Semi Live Crown Princess

[FraudBroad]

Here's my "semi" live review of the Crown Princess. We left yesterday from Fort Lauderdale for 8 glorious days. We will be visiting Antigua, St Kitts, St Thomas and Grand Turk.

 

Background: I'm a 50ish widow traveling with my 18 year old daughter. This is my 10th Princess cruise...30th cruise overall. In other words, this ain't my first time at this particular rodeo. Traveling with us are my daughter's boyfriend's family. His parents have only cruised one time, over 20 years ago. Boyfriend and sister are 15 & 18 (18 today...Happy Birthday Ryan!!!). Also, for kicks, my parents are with us...

 

If any of you read my review of our Baltic cruise on the Regal last year you'll know that once again I've chosen to subject myself to a multi generational cruise. Yes...I must have lost my mind. This in and of itself is nothing new.

 

We flew to Lauderdale Friday evening from Milwaukee on Southwest. Very uneventful flight...the best kind. We arrived at 8:50 PM and headed straight to baggage where we waited...waited...waited...for bags to arrive. I gently suggested to the teen angels while we are waiting, why don't they hit up Starbucks, my treat. To which I they replied with eye rolls...you know the one..."mom shut up...you're stupid"...I just shrugged my shoulder and we continued to wait.

 

Teen angels then came up with the idea, on their very own...to go get Starbucks. They headed off for some much needed caffeine and my credit card as my friends and I began pulling the luggage off of the belt. By 9:45 we had our luggage and all we needed were our kids...who were all at Starbucks waiting for their nonfat no whip decaf chai espresso frappachino whatever's....and so we waited...and waited....

 

The kids appeared and we headed for the hotel shuttle. We called and they said they'd be right there. And so we waited...waited...waited...and the shuttle finally arrived. We were staying at the Holiday Inn Express on State Road 84. Our driver, Keith, deftly loaded our bags into the van and we were off. Or so we thought. We were stuck in grid lock hell. We crawled around the airport, stopping at each and every single terminal, picking up more people and more luggage.

 

After finally having all of the people and all of the bags, we headed for the hotels. Yes, that's plural. The shuttle services FOUR hotels. And obviously our was the LAST stop. We finally checked it at 11:00. We were exhausted and headed to bed.

 

The hotel was clean, the air conditioning in the room worked well and the shower pressure sucked. They offered a free breakfast that was nothing to write home about.

 

In the morning my friend and I took our lives into our own hands and walked across the street to the Winn Dixie to pick up a couple of items we needed. Mainly cranberry juice for the vodka we'd pre ordered for our cabins. After all, we are traveling the teenager, can you blame us?

 

We'd called the hotel before we'd left home and asked if there was a grocery store nearby and they assured us that there was one right across the street we could walk to. They just didn't mention the road was six lanes with cars traveling at 45 miles an hour in both directions. But hey, I'm up for an adventure and my life insurance is up to date. Why not give it a go?

 

We survived the run across the road in both direction and got back in time to find the teens wolfing down breakfast. Or at least the almost (no until today...Happy Birthday Ryan!!!) 18 year old boy was wolfing...the girls were both picking at fruit and yogurt with their "it's morning don't even think about talking to me" faces.

 

My parents texted at 10 that they'd dropped their bags at the port and were headed to the hotel to pick us up so we wrangled the luggage back down to the lobby and met them out front shortly after. They took my daughter and a bunch of bag while the rest of us took an Uber XL for $20. A much better deal than the $8 per person cattle car that the hotel offered.

 

We were at the port and in line by 10:45. The doors opened around 11:10 and we weaved our way inside until we were at check in. We went in one direction (our three cabins are on Baja) and my parents in the other (Emerald). We met back up after check in was done and they escorted us upstairs to the Elite lounge. Nice coffee, juices and pastries were waiting.

 

We only waited 10 minutes and boarded the ship. Let me just say that the last 5 Princess cruises I've taken have been on the Regal and the Royal. We boarded the crown and while I expected to be wowed it was more like being underwhelmed. Don't get me wrong, she's pretty...she's just not gorgeous like Royal and Regal are.

 

After dropping our bags in the cabins we headed off to explore. Teens in one direction and adults in another.

 

Adults, appropriately enough, headed straight for the bar for our first cocktail. We met another group from Chicago who were all decked out in their Cub's WORLD CHAMPIONS finest and we helped them fly the W flag they'd brought along. Teens showed up just in time for the birthday boy, who was also wearing his WORLD CHAMPIONS finest to jump in their family photo.

 

At 12:30 we regrouped at the Botticelli dinning room for lunch. The majority of us ordered the beef tenderloin (amaze balls) other had salmon or ricotta and spinach ravioli. All of the meals were excellent. And yes, I had my traditional orange soufflé and it rocked.

 

We headed back to our cabins and found our luggage had arrived so we all got unpacked and organized. My teenager felt the need to take all of the hangers and any of the conveniently located storage drawers and shelves. I now need to either crawl on the floor or get a stool to reach anything. Thankfully our cabin steward was quick to bring my extra hangers so I won't be wrinkled all week!

 

Outriggers for another cocktail after unpacking...the lines for drinks were endless and then muster at 5:15. Our departure had been delayed until 7:00 and I still haven't found out why.

 

At lunch we'd been told that all dinning rooms were "open seating" that night. We were scheduled for early traditional so I wasn't thrilled to hear this news. Again, no explanation as to why.

 

We met in Skywalkers at 6:00 for the PES lounge. It was chips and guacamole night, a personal favorite. My daughter and I were the first to arrive and waited for someone to come take our order. I didn't see any servers so I headed to the bar to order my drink. I was told to have a seat, someone would be out shortly. No problem!

 

So we sat, my parents arrived, our friends arrived...and we waited...and waited...and waited...and waited...and finally out of nowhere ELVIS arrived and was able to bring us some much needed libations.

 

After happy hour we headed down to Botticelli for dinner. We were told there was a 40 minute wait for a table for 8, and he told us to head to the Michelangelo dinning room, they had tables available. I'm pretty smart and think on my feet (sometimes) so I asked him to call and MAKE SURE a table would be available. After all, teen wolf hadn't grazed in a couple of hours and might get a bit testy. He made a call and then told us to head to the Da Vinci dinning room and a table would be waiting.

 

The food at dinner was great, service lackluster. It wasn't the fault of the waitstaff...tables were being sat too quickly and they couldn't keep up. However, our meals were excellent and the company outstanding! We had the port tenderloins, sauted basa fish, prime rib and the Curtis Stone seafood stew. Most skipped dessert as they wanted to catch the show. I stayed with my mom while she enjoyed the flourless chocolate cake.

 

I headed to the casino for a bit after dinner and was back in my cabin to clean up before bed by 11. It had been a very long day and I was exhausted. The ship was really starting to rock and roll and I was a bit concerned about our friends, all whom are susceptible to motion sickness.

 

I took a shower and was promptly assaulted by the shower curtain. If you don't believe me just read ANY review by Tracie ABD and you'll understand. I should have had that damned thing arrested.

 

Ship was really rocky all night long which meant a restless night's sleep. My daughter, parents and I are fine but our friends, not so much.

 

Headed to trivia now....will continue more later. Please feel free to ask questions and I'll answer when I can!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Ron the Rev]

Been there, done that, but DW and I are now in our dotage so well blessed. Sounds like we will enjoy the future episode of your life before the mast.:D Carry on cruising:D

[Colo Cruiser]

Bon Voyage!!

[Rebels82]

I was on the Crown the 20th to 25th. There were lots of problems getting checked in. People spent hours in the line to get in the doors. Tempers flared so much that police were called. We weren't communicated to either. People went to Muster Drill and waited to find out it had been delayed without any communication. Those problems may be why your departure time was delayed.

 

I hope your weather and high seas improve. There are a lot of people on your sailing that were on last week. They had 50 plus mph winds and lots of them were sick.

[geoherb]

Bon voyage! We watched the Port Everglades webcam yesterday and wondered why the ship left so late.

[satxdiver]

We were on the Crown from 3/1 to 3/25. We boarded in Buenos Aires and spent 19 days sailing to PE. We arrived in PE on time on 3/20 but because the ship had been out of the USA for several months doing the Cape Horn cruises, the Coast Guard had to do an extensive review. We were held on the ship for several hours before the government would allow us to leave the ship. Since we were doing a B2B, we were the last to leave sometime after 11:00 AM. After clearing immigration, we had to walk outside and saw the huge lines waiting to get into the terminal. We were among the first to be allowed back into the terminal then to the elite lounge. We were among the first to board long after 12:00. We did manage to make it to the MDR for lunch.

 

Our trip back to PE on the 19th, we were in the Atlantic and the seas were very rough. I was sitting in Vines that morning and waves were crashing onto the ship blocking the window! We had a lot of seasick pax including my partner. It sounds like those on the ship today got the same treatment of high waves and a rocking ship. I went up onto the lido deck and the pools were all closed with nets over them. The water was crashing up and over the short walls around the pools.

 

Disembarkation went a lot smoother on Saturday. We were off the ship by 10:00 (our choice since our airplane did not leave until !:30). There were long lines at immigration but we had GOES and were able to walk right through immigration. Be sure to have your card as they don't have fingerprint readers. It took maybe 10 minutes to claim out luggage and be out of the terminal.

 

On our 5 day cruise, they replaced the carpet around the pool area on the lido deck and they replaced the plastic loungers with new metal loungers. We saw the carpet laying on the pier before we left PE for the 5 day cruise and wondered where it was going.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and are able to withstand the teenage onslaught. There is nothing like teenage hormones out of control to make life difficult for the adults.

[caribill]

 

 

 

Our departure had been delayed until 7:00 and I still haven't found out why.

 

At lunch we'd been told that all dinning rooms were "open seating" that night. We were scheduled for early traditional so I wasn't thrilled to hear this news. Again, no explanation as to why.

 

 

The open seating was probably a direct result of the delayed departure (reason unknown). If not everyone was on board by the time of the early traditional seating, then they would switch to open seating for that night.

[OhioDogLover]

We just booked the Crown for February 2018. I was wondering if about the condition of the ship. We sailed on her a few years ago and enjoyed the trip, but am curious. We were spoiled by sailing on Regal this past February.

Thanks

Ohiodoglover

[FraudBroad]

Day one - at sea

 

I was up by six thirty after little to no sleep. The seas are rough and it makes it difficult to get a good night's rest.

 

After getting ready I headed outside to enjoy some sunshine and warmth before meeting my parents and friends for breakfast. When I checked my messenger is when I learned the world was falling apart. Both teens and their dad were all deathly sea sick. Teen daughter and mom were both wearing the patch...it had worked for mom, daughter not so much.

 

I went ahead and met my friend and parents for breakfast at 8:45. That's when my daughter began feverishly messaging me nonstop. Afterall, the love of her life was sick and what was she to do? Like "Mom, can't YOU fix this???"

I instructed her to head to the store and get some seasickness pills. $60 dollars later she'd purchased Dramamine, wrist bands and sea sickness pills. The waitress at breakfast sent us back to the cabin with three cans of ginger ale and green apples.

 

I help my friend get the kids settled and I headed to meet my parents for morning trivia in Club Fusion. We scored 15 out of 20, a decent showing, but we didn't win any plastic crap.

 

By 11:00 Florence Nightingale was hungry and I was summoned to bring her food. I ran to the pool deck to pick her up some pizza and by the time I got to the cabin she three herself into my arms screaming "THIS IS SO STRESSFUL!"

 

Obviously, she won't be majoring in nursing next year in college.

 

I left her to scarf down her pizza and I headed back out.

 

I made my daily donation in the casino (while trying not to be thrown out of my chair, these waves are awful) and when I check my messages discovered that the $60 in meds, green apples and ginger ale had done their trick. They were all headed to find something to eat.

 

I headed to the pool deck where I found them in the pizza line and we all sat down and ate together. After a nice lunch they decided to stay out on the pool deck and I decided to take a nap.

 

At 5:00 we all met in Skywalkers for the PES happy hour. Everyone was decked out in their finest for formal night, but our friends all still looked a pale shade of green. Their teen daughter said when she sat down "I really loved this ship a lot more yesterday when we weren't moving."

 

Then their dad asked what time we were docking in Antigua tomorrow. I can't even describe the look of shock and horror on his face when we told him we had another day at sea tomorrow. I don't know how much more this family can take!

 

The teens lasted less than 10 minutes at Skywalkers. They couldn't take the movement up there!

 

We met the kids at 5:45 for dinner in the DaVinci dinning room at what will be our regular table. Yanish from Hungry and John Carlo from Peru will be our waiters this week. Service was, as always, excellent. We had the beef tenderloin, spinach soufflé, and lamb. The sick kids stuck with onion soup and Caesar salad. Of course, we finished the night with a birthday cake (Happy Birthday Ryan!!!) and the wonderful Norman Love hazelnut dessert.

 

At 8:00 my parents and I headed to the show, Bring on the Boogie. Yes, I totally geek out to 70's disco music and I'm not afraid to admit it. The show was good but I have to tell you, I was obsessed with the fact that the singers and dancers were all wear cheap, crappy looking wigs. I mean, like I couldn't focus on anything else! Why oh why did they do that to those lovely girls? I mean seriously, they looked awful!!! And then I got obsessed with realizing that the girls in the gold sequined jump suits had big patches of sequins missing...I mean, it all reminded me of the ship...just worn out and not well maintained.

 

At 9:00 I headed to see if I could find the teens at the Voice. I arrived just in time to see my friend running to the bathroom with her daughter. Once again both kids were sick. We all walked back to the cabin together and called it a night.

 

I was up again by 6:30....I had really hoped this rolling and pitching would end and...not so much. I swear I think my friends will probably want to try and fly home from Antigua tomorrow. In the last 6 years of cruising the Caribbean I've never felt it this rough.

 

I'll meet my parents soon for breakfast, don't know if anyone else will make it this morning.

 

More later....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

Bon Voyage!!

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

I was on the Crown the 20th to 25th. There were lots of problems getting checked in. People spent hours in the line to get in the doors. Tempers flared so much that police were called. We weren't communicated to either. People went to Muster Drill and waited to find out it had been delayed without any communication. Those problems may be why your departure time was delayed.

 

 

 

I hope your weather and high seas improve. There are a lot of people on your sailing that were on last week. They had 50 plus mph winds and lots of them were sick.

 

 

What a nightmare! We didn't have any issues checking in at all. I'd read on Cruise Critic that our departure would be delayed, but no communication from Princess or my TA. And still nobody I've asked seems to know why! So strange! Hope you had a great cruise!

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

Bon voyage! We watched the Port Everglades webcam yesterday and wondered why the ship left so late.

 

 

So do I....

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

We were on the Crown from 3/1 to 3/25. We boarded in Buenos Aires and spent 19 days sailing to PE. We arrived in PE on time on 3/20 but because the ship had been out of the USA for several months doing the Cape Horn cruises, the Coast Guard had to do an extensive review. We were held on the ship for several hours before the government would allow us to leave the ship. Since we were doing a B2B, we were the last to leave sometime after 11:00 AM. After clearing immigration, we had to walk outside and saw the huge lines waiting to get into the terminal. We were among the first to be allowed back into the terminal then to the elite lounge. We were among the first to board long after 12:00. We did manage to make it to the MDR for lunch.

 

 

 

Our trip back to PE on the 19th, we were in the Atlantic and the seas were very rough. I was sitting in Vines that morning and waves were crashing onto the ship blocking the window! We had a lot of seasick pax including my partner. It sounds like those on the ship today got the same treatment of high waves and a rocking ship. I went up onto the lido deck and the pools were all closed with nets over them. The water was crashing up and over the short walls around the pools.

 

 

 

Disembarkation went a lot smoother on Saturday. We were off the ship by 10:00 (our choice since our airplane did not leave until !:30). There were long lines at immigration but we had GOES and were able to walk right through immigration. Be sure to have your card as they don't have fingerprint readers. It took maybe 10 minutes to claim out luggage and be out of the terminal.

 

 

 

On our 5 day cruise, they replaced the carpet around the pool area on the lido deck and they replaced the plastic loungers with new metal loungers. We saw the carpet laying on the pier before we left PE for the 5 day cruise and wondered where it was going.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise and are able to withstand the teenage onslaught. There is nothing like teenage hormones out of control to make life difficult for the adults.

 

 

My understanding is that it's not unusual to have delays in disembarkation after the ship returns from overseas. I guess I'll find out for myself when I do the TA from Barcelona on the Royal in October...oh how I miss that ship!

 

They need to do a lot more carpet replacement!!! It doesn't look very good anywhere!!!

 

I think maybe today feels a little bit smoother, or that's just wishful thinking on my part...this is insane!!!

 

I'm envious of your South American adventure, that's for sure on my bucket list!

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

The open seating was probably a direct result of the delayed departure (reason unknown). If not everyone was on board by the time of the early traditional seating, then they would switch to open seating for that night.

 

 

I totally agree! They moved muster back to 5:15 as well.

Just unusual!

 

 

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[FraudBroad]

We just booked the Crown for February 2018. I was wondering if about the condition of the ship. We sailed on her a few years ago and enjoyed the trip, but am curious. We were spoiled by sailing on Regal this past February.

 

Thanks

 

Ohiodoglover

 

 

I completely agree with everything you said. The last 4 Princess cruises I've taken have been on the Royal and the Regal, all within the last year. It's just underwhelming at best and a little disappointing. The Crown just looks worn out and the decor seems out of date. I'm seriously re thinking the TA I have scheduled on her for next year.

 

 

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[madmacs]

Really interesting semi live. We are on the Crown T/A in early April. Your weather sounds really rough for the Caribbean. Fortunately my wife and I are good sailors, so if it is rough hopefully we will be ok.

 

We have not been on Royal or Regal but the Crown twice before, so maybe we won't be disappointed in her state. Hope the weather improves. Looking forward to hearing more.

[LEESRE]

At 5:00 we all met in Skywalkers for the PES happy hour.

 

 

Being rather dumb what is PES please.

[hpeabody]

At 5:00 we all met in Skywalkers for the PES happy hour.

 

 

Being rather dumb what is PES please.

 

Pre-dinner lounge set up only for Platinum, Elite and Suite guests. If you are one of those there will be a card in your cabin upon arrival or soon after.

[FraudBroad]

Day Two - At Sea

 

Spent the early part of the morning on deck and met my parents and friends in the Botticelli dinning room for breakfast. The seas had calmed significantly. I'm just praying it stays this way!

 

Food and service were both excellent at breakfast. We all decided to re-group for trivia at 10:15. My friends went to check and see if their kids were still alive. Messaging works great as long as the teens actually LOOK at it and when they do actually ANSWER it.

 

By 10:15 the gang was back together again and nobody looked green! We split into two groups to play. After all, we might be shot if we played with more than six people!

 

Our team didn't fare well today, only had 12 out of 20. The winning team had 20, although that may have been because they were using google.

 

After trivia we went to watch the teens participate in the "Great Egg Drop." Teams are given supplies to make devices to protect the eggs and they're dropped from deck 7 to deck 5 in the atrium. The egg that lands the closest to the target unbroken wins. By the time our kids got to the supplies they were very limited. People were hoarding toilet paper like it was the apocalypse. Instead of taking what they needed, people (adults) were taking the entire roles. The kid's (2 of the 3 are in Advanced Placement Physics) egg didn't survive. They knew when they built the contraption they didn't have what they needed to survive. Although, they faired better than the team's whose egg fell out of their contraption before it was even dropped and splattered all of the spectators in the atrium.

 

I headed to make my daily deposit in the casino and the strangest thing happened...I hit a jackpot on a machine! Probably because I was sitting next to a woman who won $10,000 last night...I wasn't quite that lucky but none the less I walked away with plenty of cash.

 

Now for my complaint of the day.

 

I called last night to make balcony dinning reservations for my daughter and her boyfriend. I told them when I wanted to have it and they wanted me to place the order for the meal right away.

 

Ummmmm..."Can I see a menu first?"

 

They told me they'd send the menu and I asked if I could call them back the next day with the order. They said it wouldn't be a problem.

 

So I just called to make the reservation and was asked "Do you have a voucher?"

 

Huh? What voucher???

 

I was then told they were totally booked and couldn't accommodate another reservation.

 

Seriously? Had they told me that last night I would have called back IMMEDIATELY once I received the menu. Totally frustrating to say the least.

 

Headed for cocktails now then dinner. It's country western night tonight, the comedian is in the theater and there's a game called "True or Moo."

 

And hopefully nobody turns green again!!!

 

 

 

 

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[lovevacadays]

Thank you for the review. I'm enjoying it. I completely understand about going from the Royal and Regal back to Grand Class. I know I'm going to miss how beautiful and sparkly the Regal is. Plus, I just love the different venues. We may change our Europe cruise to the Regal or Royal even though we love the Sapphire. We are in "discussions". :)

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for the review. I'm enjoying it. I completely understand about going from the Royal and Regal back to Grand Class. I know I'm going to miss how beautiful and sparkly the Regal is. Plus, I just love the different venues. We may change our Europe cruise to the Regal or Royal even though we love the Sapphire. We are in "discussions". :)

[satxdiver]

I just looked at the marine traffic webpage and the Crown is in the Atlantic and not the Caribbean. When we were on her last week, we were in the Atlantic as we returned from Grand Turk and it was very rough as I detailed earlier. I agree that the Caribbean is usually a lot smoother than the Atlantic. Last week leaving PE on the way to the DR, the ship sailed along the east coast of Cuba and the ride was much calmer.

[dickinson]

Thanks for the review. Question about the hotel...was it really that hard to cross the street? Was there a traffic light to make it easier? We are staying there in a few weeks and arriving mid afternoon. I figured we would cross the street to get something to eat.

 

 

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[caribill]

 

Now for my complaint of the day.

 

I called last night to make balcony dinning reservations for my daughter and her boyfriend. I told them when I wanted to have it and they wanted me to place the order for the meal right away.

 

Ummmmm..."Can I see a menu first?"

 

They told me they'd send the menu and I asked if I could call them back the next day with the order. They said it wouldn't be a problem.

 

So I just called to make the reservation and was asked "Do you have a voucher?"

 

Huh? What voucher???

 

I was then told they were totally booked and couldn't accommodate another reservation.

 

Seriously? Had they told me that last night I would have called back IMMEDIATELY once I received the menu. Totally frustrating to say the least.

 

 

Chances are if you had tried to complete the booking the night before the answer may have been the same.

 

Asking if you had a voucher was the clue. Passengers may have purchased vouchers pre-cruise and all the available times were needed to honor those vouchers.

 

They should have asked you about the voucher when you fiorst called them.

[WisCruiser2]

Thanks for the review. Question about the hotel...was it really that hard to cross the street? Was there a traffic light to make it easier? We are staying there in a few weeks and arriving mid afternoon. I figured we would cross the street to get something to eat.

 

 

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If it's where I'm thinking, there's a Chipotle (& maybe a couple other places) on the same side as the hotels. There is a light to cross 84 to get to the shopping plaza, but if you don't start running right when it changes, you barely get across!