Opinions on Crown?

[JoRoy218]

I should be focused on the positive, but can't help being swayed by various negatives on those who have sailed on the Crown. We have reserved a Med Cruise for April 2018 on the Crown and I've been debating about cancelling. We've taken several Princess cruises in the past and have not had a negative enough experience to switch lines. Just a bit concerned -- appreciate any input.

[JF - retired RRT]

I wouldn't cancel for negative reviews.

We did 43 days last year on the Crown.

Was it our favorite ship? No.

Would I sail on her again? Sure.

Every cruise is different. The crew is different. The passengers are different. Even the ship is different, due to all the ongoing maintenance.

Take the cruise and make your own decisions.

[HleeCruiser]

We did 14 days in Feb 2017 on the Crown Princess "Around the Horn" and found it just fine. After 21 cruises on Princess our experience is that they are fairly consistent with food, entertainment and service across the fleet. If I had a cruise booked on the Crown, I would not cancel based on reviews on any internet site. The good and bad reviews represent such a small percentage of the passengers.

 

Whatever you choose to do, have a great cruise vacation.

[huskerdan25]

OP, please keep in mind that the percentage of people who cruise and post reviews here are very small in comparison to the number of passengers per cruise ship voyage. Also remember that most people will take time to post a negative review rather than a positive one. Seems it is more fun for people to complain than to point out the many positives of their cruise experience.

 

Never base your decision on whether to take a particular cruise based on negative reviews. We are all different and look for different things and have different expectations. Go on the cruise you want for whatever your reasons are and experience it yourself, not decide your experience will be the same as those that wrote a negative review. While I enjoy reading reviews, both positive and negative, it is usually the positive reviews that hold my attention and help me to focus on the things I might enjoy if I cruise on a particular ship or itinerary.

 

While more negative reviews seem to be getting posted about the Crown than positive, I would not hesitate to book a cruise on her if it is for an itinerary I really want to do.

 

My view is that you make your cruise what it is. If you want to nitpick and complain about every little issue, then you won't enjoy it, regardless of the cruise line or the ship. But if you focus on the positives and understand no cruise is ever perfect, most likely you will have an enjoyable cruise experience.

 

I hope you enjoy your cruise on the Crown!

[Malleykatt]

We will be on the Crown on 29th July ..... 11 days to go ... can't wait. This will be our second med cruise , last year only for a week and this time two weeks. We are however seasoned travellers across the years and have had holidays were things haven't gone completely right, it happens. I've had run ins with customer service in hotels where we've had push to get things done.

We picked this cruise for the itinerary the trip offered and have a premium balcony on caribe deck. We are foodies so are hoping the food offered lives up to what they advertise. Looking forward to this cruise and I'll fill you in on how it went on our return.

[skynight]

We sailed 33 days on the Crown this past Feb/Mar from Valparaiso to Ft. Lauderdale. We have no complaints. Cruise was great.

[crows nest club]

We will be on the Crown on 29th July ..... 11 days to go ... can't wait. This will be our second med cruise , last year only for a week and this time two weeks. We are however seasoned travellers across the years and have had holidays were things haven't gone completely right, it happens. I've had run ins with customer service in hotels where we've had push to get things done.

We picked this cruise for the itinerary the trip offered and have a premium balcony on caribe deck. We are foodies so are hoping the food offered lives up to what they advertise. Looking forward to this cruise and I'll fill you in on how it went on our return.

 

We did this cruise on Crown in May and are doing it again on the 29h July. We haven't considered cancelling this cruise so that should allay any fears you may have. We found the staff very pleasant, the food the normal Princess standard, which we have never felt the need to complain about.

 

We did however have Club Class dining but this was only in the same MDR as the Anytime, albeit in a separate area with the same menu but with a speciality dish cooked tables use by the Head Waiter. The ports of call were great and we thoroughly enjoyed the ship.

[OCruisers]

We've always enjoyed our cruises on Crown Princess! :)

[cruiser113]

We were on the Crown last October for a 15 day cruise to Hawaii and had a wonderful cruise and enjoyed the staff , especially our wait staff and cabin steward.

 

We have the Crown booked this November for B2B of 5 days each and looking forward to this cruise.

[easyboy]

We were on the Crown for 14 days last March/April. No complaints and will sail on her again.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

Although it's been a few years, we've sailed on the Crown twice in the Mediterranean. Wouldn't hesitate to book this ship again.

[Dollyhaycart]

We had a fantastic Baltic cruise on the crown in June. All good - food, cabin, staff etc. We were a little concerned after reading some of the negative comments but chose to ignore them and see for ourselves.

[capriccio]

We were on the Crown Princess for 31 days last winter and the wait staff in the traditional dining room, Adagio's and Vines were the best we've had on about 20 Princess cruises (this was my sister and brother-in-law's second Princess cruise). We also thought the food in the MDR was very good to excellent. Not once in 31 days did we eat any meals in the Horizon Court so I can't speak to that. I will say that our steward was not firing on all cylinders. He was about to retire after 37! years on Princess and its predecessors so we cut him some slack . All of us wouldn't hesitate to sail on the Crown again.

[Astro Flyer]

It's been 15 months since last sailing the Crown but have greatly enjoyed many great days sailing on the ship despite reading negative reviews. And reading posts from passengers I've learned are objective & credible who've more recently sailed the Crown, we'd happily sail on the Crown again.

 

Negative threads on this forum generates many more views; positive threads have many fewer views. Thus negativity is read by more people & it becomes the more widely accepted fact that any ship is terrible.

 

So now the Crown has the reputation as a bad ship to cruise on particularly from first time CC posters. This is Cruise Critic & many of those unhappy passengers come here to criticize their cruise experience. A few passengers who are upset about their cruise experience does not represent the opinion of the majority of the passengers. It's more common to complain than to praise a cruise & with so many views of negative threads people are more likely to believe that there are major problems.

 

There's another rant that began today about the Crown that demeans Captain Lawes. Having sailed with him & his crew several times on the Crown, he's a great captain with a friendly & efficient crew. Thus their other complaints lack much credibility to me.

 

The OPs apprehension based on reading negative reviews is understandable however I would not hesitate to enjoy another cruise on the Crown. Like others I've had great cruises on poorly reviewed ships & if I were to allow bad CC reviews to influence my decision we would have missed many great cruises.

 

Things can go wrong...some people let it ruin their cruise while others like me won't allow a bad experience to affect the enjoyment of our cruise.

[rgmacm]

It seems from what I've read that the problems stemmed from the leadership there. If I've understood my reading here, Princess has already taken steps to 'change' that leadership. With that change will almost certainly come improvement. Since your cruise is still quite a while from now, I (personally) would not make any 'rash' or quick movements.... as most problems will probably be resolved within a month...therefore, not affecting your cruise.

Of course, you have to do what makes you feel the most comfortable.... :)

[Astro Flyer]

It seems from what I've read that the problems stemmed from the leadership there. If I've understood my reading here, Princess has already taken steps to 'change' that leadership. With that change will almost certainly come improvement. Since your cruise is still quite a while from now, I (personally) would not make any 'rash' or quick movements.... as most problems will probably be resolved within a month...therefore, not affecting your cruise.

 

Of course, you have to do what makes you feel the most comfortable.... :)

 

Today's negative thread about Captain Lawes is completely different than my numerous experiences with him & his crew including on the Crown.

 

It's been my experience that the perceived problems on the Crown are not due to a leadership problem. Based on my experiences, those are unfounded assumptions by a few unhappy passengers who don't represent the majority of passengers opinions.

[Colo Cruiser]

It seems from what I've read that the problems stemmed from the leadership there. If I've understood my reading here, Princess has already taken steps to 'change' that leadership. With that change will almost certainly come improvement. Since your cruise is still quite a while from now, I (personally) would not make any 'rash' or quick movements.... as most problems will probably be resolved within a month...therefore, not affecting your cruise.

Of course, you have to do what makes you feel the most comfortable.... :)

 

 

Curious...........

Do you have facts to back this accusation up? Or is this an assumption?

[daddyfixit]

we are also on board on 29th, having been on emerald 2 years ago (identical ship) we are expecting it to be great !!!!

I have only been on 1 princess ship before and found the ship/standards/staff/food & the cruise to be excellent.

we travel with 2 other families who have done many cruises with other cruise lines, but they still recommend princess over the other major lines for service and food quality.

 

11 days and counting :D

[JoRoy218]

Thanks all for your input! My gut told me to ignore these complaints as we have come to love cruising with Princess. We're looking forward to cruising on the Crown.

[Shelly97060]

Thanks all for your input! My gut told me to ignore these complaints as we have come to love cruising with Princess. We're looking forward to cruising on the Crown.

 

I think you are right to listen to your gut. I have cruised on Crown a number of times and would happily do so again.

[ORB]

As you can tell from my signature, I haven’t cruised on the Crown since 2010 so I’m somewhat hesitant to post--things can change a lot in seven years. Nonetheless, it was our first Princess Cruise and we enjoyed the staff and the ship immensely. We certainly wouldn’t hesitate to book it again if it were doing an itinerary we wanted.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I cruised aboard the Crown Princess in September 2015 and I am booked on this ship again for a cruise in February 2018. I was pleased with the ship and I am looking forward to my future cruise. In the past, I have sailed on ships that have received negative reviews on Cruise Critic. However, I have always been pleasantly surprised. I would not cancel a cruise based on negative reviews posted here.

 

Chuck

[TNTLAMB]

It fascinates me, the obsession some folks have with "who" the ship personnel is, as if they can make a big difference. Sure we all have favorites, but for the most part zero evidence to base it on. Most of the time its "name dropping" trying to shw some kind of inside connection. (almost as bad as sports fan boards) Policy, procedure, methods, menus, food, supplies etc all come from a MUCH higher level. Everyone is charged with carrying it out the way its supposed to be. That doesn't mean there aren't circumstances that change that. BUT it does mean that when things do go bad its invariably an isolated incident.

 

Like the recent Crown incidents. How often does a cruise start with a computer system failure, a medical emergency, weather problems, multiple terrorist attacks in area, a take over of immigration management by government bureaucrats, and a few other issues.

 

People saying its isolated are not "cheerleaders" by any means (well at least most of them) they are folks who understand "stuff happens" and you can either make the best of it or get your underpants in a wad and be miserable throughout.

 

By all means if you think a computer system failure, a medical emergency, weather problems, multiple terrorist attacks in area, a take over of immigration management by government bureaucrats. is a regular occurrence on the crown, stay away. OR realize that tens of thousands of folks have a great experience every week. Which is more likely?.

[jakey2004]

It fascinates me, the obsession some folks have with "who" the ship personnel is, as if they can make a big difference. Sure we all have favorites, but for the most part zero evidence to base it on. Most of the time its "name dropping" trying to shw some kind of inside connection. (almost as bad as sports fan boards) Policy, procedure, methods, menus, food, supplies etc all come from a MUCH higher level. Everyone is charged with carrying it out the way its supposed to be. That doesn't mean there aren't circumstances that change that. BUT it does mean that when things do go bad its invariably an isolated incident.

 

Like the recent Crown incidents. How often does a cruise start with a computer system failure, a medical emergency, weather problems, multiple terrorist attacks in area, a take over of immigration management by government bureaucrats, and a few other issues.

 

People saying its isolated are not "cheerleaders" by any means (well at least most of them) they are folks who understand "stuff happens" and you can either make the best of it or get your underpants in a wad and be miserable throughout.

 

By all means if you think a computer system failure, a medical emergency, weather problems, multiple terrorist attacks in area, a take over of immigration management by government bureaucrats. is a regular occurrence on the crown, stay away. OR realize that tens of thousands of folks have a great experience every week. Which is more likely?.

 

Thank you.... well said!

[Astro Flyer]

TNTLAMB...well stated & we need a LIKE button on CC.

 

For the most part people perceived as a cheerleader is not an accurate description of them. Instead they are people who in any circumstance, including on any cruise line, can deal with disappointments without something being horrible. And many of those threads about chaos on a cruise are more likely to be accepted as fact when too often it's fiction.

Edited July 19, 2017 by Astro Flyer