Crown Princess June 18th Sailing

[PescadoAmarillo]

On 6/17/2022 at 7:11 AM, Riley_Mon said:

I try to understand, its all part of the world we live in now, but no one who plans a once in a lifetime trip for 3 years wants to approach it with a be thankful for whatever you get attitude, and I especially don't want to hear it from anyone else who isn't going thru it.

This paragraph is pure poetry. 
 

I wish you much better luck going forward and thank you for posting. 

[Sailor75]

3 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

Weather affects all airlines flying in and out of ATL.  Staffing shortages (especially pilots) are affecting all airlines.  Delta has been one of the better airlines from a cancellation perspective, due to some advanced planning they did, but they’re still awful - as is most of the industry:

I flew Alaska which also had problems; but, at least they knew it and cancelled flights in advance so you had time to book a new flight. It doesn't sound like Delta did any advanced planning or Riley wouldn't have been in that situation. Maybe airlines should be regulated again. It's ridiculous they overbook and cancel flights and think nothing of it. It's bad enough worrying about the cruise changes, but then it's the airline and no more hotels, what they hit the budgeted amount? None of it is Riley's fault.

Edited June 19, 2022 by Sailor75

[WAvoyager]

4 hours ago, Sailor75 said:

None of it is Riley's fault.

Hope my message didn’t come across blaming Riley in any way!  I was (as I quoted) replying to the comment not to use Delta.  Most domestic carriers are having equal (if not worse) problem, so “avoid Delta” is not a good solution.  Staying as flexible as possible, and giving yourself buffers in travel time is a good solution.  Glad Riley’s party had some buffers and was able to make the ship.  
 

Many of Delta’s recent problem are related to weather around their hub.  Alaska’s been running remarkably well.  This week Delta and American are the worst of the bunch, last week Delta was a distant 4th (United, AA, Southwest “led” the pack).  This day and age, thinking you can avoid problems by avoiding on particular carrier or cruise line will probably get you into trouble.

[IslandHppy]

The old rule was that day of cruise flights were scary and day before flights were 100% safe.  If you mix weather and pilot shortages we might want to add a day here.  Flying and exact plans are not a thing.  If it is a big trip add a spare day.  The idea of a connection adds risk also.  Even in the good old days a bad storm in Dallas, Atlanta or NY was a promise of a flight mess.  

[Riley_Mon]

Ate at Botacelli (sp)? dining room last night. The noise and vibration are definitely noticeable but I don’t consider it distracting. The medallion experience is a huge value add. Very convenient and a time saver. Service has been very good. to start. About 1000 crew and 1900 guests. It appears each sailing is increasing in headcount based on reading here. Had the deep tissue massage last night. First time and was amazing. Still on east coast time so I was walking laps at 4am.  I won’t say the food is outstanding but it’s meeting my expectations especially with supply chain issues and inflation. Opting not to do thermal suite or the adults only section as we had planned.  Still learning my way around and trying to get into a routine. I have to admit, a lot of the surliness I have built up over the last 2 months is melting away.

[Riley_Mon]

Thanks to those replying. I agree with the sentiment on flying. In todays world you should book 2 days before if you are an east coast guy like me. If you get there on time, take the ferry to Bainbridge and spend the day wine tasting 

[PacnGoNow]

25 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

Ate at Botacelli (sp)? dining room last night. The noise and vibration are definitely noticeable but I don’t consider it distracting. The medallion experience is a huge value add. Very convenient and a time saver. Service has been very good. to start. About 1000 crew and 1900 guests. It appears each sailing is increasing in headcount based on reading here. Had the deep tissue massage last night. First time and was amazing. Still on east coast time so I was walking laps at 4am.  I won’t say the food is outstanding but it’s meeting my expectations especially with supply chain issues and inflation. Opting not to do thermal suite or the adults only section as we had planned.  Still learning my way around and trying to get into a routine. I have to admit, a lot of the surliness I have built up over the last 2 months is melting away.

Was the noise just as you were leaving the dock, or the whole time? 

[JeffT237]

28 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

I have to admit, a lot of the surliness I have built up over the last 2 months is melting away.

Hope you have a great sailing, it does seem that the Crown is now consistently making the new itinerary and you should be able to make your excursions if you have some planned. Enjoy Glacier Bay especially if you've never been!

 

Cheers

[Buckeye10640]

9 hours ago, IslandHppy said:

The old rule was that day of cruise flights were scary and day before flights were 100% safe.  If you mix weather and pilot shortages we might want to add a day here.  Flying and exact plans are not a thing.  If it is a big trip add a spare day.  The idea of a connection adds risk also.  Even in the good old days a bad storm in Dallas, Atlanta or NY was a promise of a flight mess.  

My new rule is to fly 2 days early! I have had problems with several flights in the past year (not all cruise related) including yesterday. Remember when we could book a flight and one could reasonably expect  it would leave and arrive as scheduled. Now I assume it wont!

[wolvey]

4 hours ago, PacnGoNow said:

Was the noise just as you were leaving the dock, or the whole time? 

When I was at that dining room, the vibration and noise was too much for us so we only ate at the da Vinci room afterwards.  The noise was also noticeable in the club fusion room.

[Riley_Mon]

5 hours ago, wolvey said:

When I was at that dining room, the vibration and noise was too much for us so we only ate at the da Vinci room afterwards.  The noise was also noticeable in the club fusion room.

Just left club fusion ( cha cha lessons!) and it hasn’t changed. But I just don’t find it intrusive. 
 

So far  other than the buffet on arrival I haven’t had to stand in line for anything, especially drinks. Bars are everywhere. International Cafe gets crowded if the weather isn’t very inviting outside. 50 degrees and cloudy doesnt get many people outside. We walked to the sanctuary and it had 4 people.if I was willing to pay we could have had a hot tub to ourselves and 2 waitstaff for 6 people. 

 

crown tip - look for seating in cafe caribe behind horizon court. You will probably be able to social distance and get a window table. from my perspective, there isn’t a staffing problem on here. Even in areas not frequented by people there are waitstaff standing idle eager to help.
 

Btw looks like quarantine are on this ship is deck 12. We have been social distancing as much as we can including exclusively using the stairs ( also to get exercise). I also avoid touching handrails if possible. The Purell they have is industrial strength. I would recommend some hand lotion because it just take all the moisture out of your hands. 

 

also put me in the camp of tipping your room steward on day 1 even if you have prepaid tips. For the kind of money we are spending, another $20 is cheap insurance to make sure he /she will check on you multiple times a day. I am sure they would do it anyways but I have zero guilt about asking for something should it come up that I need it.

Edited June 20, 2022 by Riley_Mon

[nini]

I am so sorry for all of your travel issues. American Airlines is not any better. For me and many others, we make plans for pre-cruise tours, not realizing and not knowing the area- Mt. Ranier would have been a 5 hour round trip just to get there and back, and that is if traffic is flowing nicely.

[FTLCruiseGal]

Just curious as to what they are offering for the revised itinerary.  I read they offered $200 non-refundable OBC on June 11 cruise.  Looks like they did away with the 20% FCC.

[Riley_Mon]

2 hours ago, FTLCruiseGal said:

Just curious as to what they are offering for the revised itinerary.  I read they offered $200 non-refundable OBC on June 11 cruise.  Looks like they did away with the 20% FCC.

No mention of anything beyond the $200 as far as I know. 

[miagirl]

I was wondering if you could tell us the name of the dinner menu for tonight and the rest of the week  I know Saturday's and I'm assuming last night the the Captain's welcome.  I'm boarding on Saturday and want to plan around my favorites, like Italian Night.  I'm also curious if they have the mini Tracy's crab cakes on Juneau day at the Grill (hot dog/hamburger place).

 

It's almost lunch time and I'm hungry!!

 

thanks

[Riley_Mon]

31 minutes ago, miagirl said:

I was wondering if you could tell us the name of the dinner menu for tonight and the rest of the week  I know Saturday's and I'm assuming last night the the Captain's welcome.  I'm boarding on Saturday and want to plan around my favorites, like Italian Night.  I'm also curious if they have the mini Tracy's crab cakes on Juneau day at the Grill (hot dog/hamburger place).

 

It's almost lunch time and I'm hungry!!

 

thanks

I will try to check. I wasn’t planning on eating on the ship the evening but I will look. I was just at the grill. It’s not opened yet but no signs out for anything special.
 

for anyone interested we will not make Juneau on our updated time. Announcement just made that all shore excursions before 6pm are canceled

ship has been on a constant roller coaster of going fast then slowing to a crawl. At times  I think we are about to coast to a stop, then I will get distracted and notice we are going fast again. This is ongoing.

 

 

 

 

 

Edited June 20, 2022 by Riley_Mon

[ktcishot]

24 minutes ago, Riley_Mon said:

I will try to check. I wasn’t planning on eating on the ship the evening but I will look. I was just at the grill. It’s not opened yet but no signs out for anything special.
 

for anyone interested we will not make Juneau on our updated time. Announcement just made that all shore excursions before 6pm are canceled

ship has been on a constant roller coaster of going fast then slowing to a crawl. At times  I think we are about to coast to a stop, then I will get distracted and notice we are going fast again. This is ongoing.

 

 

 

 

 

That is so depressing, just last week they made it on record time.

[miagirl]

1 hour ago, Riley_Mon said:

I will try to check. I wasn’t planning on eating on the ship the evening but I will look. I was just at the grill. It’s not opened yet but no signs out for anything special.
 

for anyone interested we will not make Juneau on our updated time. Announcement just made that all shore excursions before 6pm are canceled

ship has been on a constant roller coaster of going fast then slowing to a crawl. At times  I think we are about to coast to a stop, then I will get distracted and notice we are going fast again. This is ongoing.

 

Thanks and I'm so sorry about Juneau.  Bummer!

[Riley_Mon]

My shore excursion was originally canceled, then replaced with a cheaper alternative that was scheduled to leave at 6;30, then moved up to 5:30 unknown to us until we arrived on the boat, now it’s canceled, so no chance for whale watching on this cruise.had they just left it alone we would be going 

I am beyond frustrated at the moment

 

[WAvoyager]

Man, that sucks!  Sorry for your ordeals.  Princess has really screwed up with the Crown sailings.  
 

Hope things onboard are okay.  

[MarcsSharon]

4 hours ago, ktcishot said:

That is so depressing, just last week they made it on record time.

And June 4th, didn’t get to Juneau till after 5, no Icy Point and after 7 in Victoria..no excursions.

[ktcishot]

Did this sailing end up going to ISP?

[kitkat343]

Could someone please let me know what is going on with the crown?  How long has it been unable to make its itinerary due to mechanical issues?  Have they announced an actual plan as to when they are planning on fixing it?  Did they notify the passengers about the issues and are they letting people transfer to other ships?  We'd had two lovely cruises on Princess in the past, but what I am reading sounded quite concerning but I can't seem to find an overall summary of the issues (just status updates as to how close to the original itinerary they are currently sailing)

Edited June 23, 2022 by kitkat343

[WAvoyager]

56 minutes ago, kitkat343 said:

Could someone please let me know what is going on with the crown?  How long has it been unable to make its itinerary due to mechanical issues?  Have they announced an actual plan as to when they are planning on fixing it?  Did they notify the passengers about the issues and are they letting people transfer to other ships?  We'd had two lovely cruises on Princess in the past, but what I am reading sounded quite concerning but I can't seem to find an overall summary of the issues (just status updates as to how close to the original itinerary they are currently sailing)

There’s lots of info out there, and it changes a lot.  Here’s a quick summary:

 

Sailings on the Crown are FUBAR.
 

They’ve modified the itineraries due to issues with the propulsion systems.  Princess does not think the ship could make the original itinerary (Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Inside Passage, Ketchikan, Victoria) so they’ve changed the sailing for very reduced port times and alternate port.  Even with the modified itinerary, they failed to arrive in Juneau on time on most sailings, and haven’t been able to stop at the modified port (Icy Strait Point) on all but one of the sailings.

 

Additionally, they’ve had noise and vibration issues which are ongoing (mainly in aft of ship), impacting cabins, public areas, and dining rooms.  They also had issues with plumbing (toilets not flushing, or overflowing) which were pretty limited to certain decks in the aft sections, and which seem to be resolved, and issues with availability of hot or cold water which I believe are ongoing, and currently primarily in forward sections of the ship.

 

Crew seems to be really good, and ships are sailing with fewer people as people switch to other ships.  Mixed reviews (generally good) on food.

 

Princess has indicated the plumbing issues are passenger error related (flushing things which shouldn’t be flushed), but the problems seemed more widespread than that explanation supports.  Princess also says the propulsion issues are being worked on and some improvements made - while they did make ISP on the 11th, they missed it again this week I believe.  And they were late into Juneau again this week.

 

hope that’s all accurate.  Read through the recent sailing reports (June 11, June 18) for direct info from people onboard.

 

Bottom line - if you are counting on a specific itinerary or excursions, switch to a different ship.  If Glacier Bay is the primary consideration, and you’re flexible on the other items, you may be okay.  Many people have switched ships, it depends on timing, and availability on the alternates.

Edited June 23, 2022 by WAvoyager

[Riley_Mon]

Closing out day 6 at sea

 

glacier bay weather was about as good as it could get. Very cold in the morning. We got out on deck 16 around 6 am, grabbed 4 blankets and found a spot underneath an exhaust port that was pumping out warm air. It worked great until we were ready to get breakfast around 9. After breakfast we came up on the first major glacier and the weather cleared . dozens of otters swam around the ship and saw a whale on the way in along with what I think was a seal. 
 

today the good weather continues, many people on deck watching a movie or in the hot tubs but it is a poor substitute for Ketchikan.

 

saw the husband of a couple we had dinner with 2 nights ago. His wife has Covid and is in isolation. I am on high alert for any symptoms now.

 

I sent an email to the executives a few weeks back. Today customer support reached out to me with a number to call.

my wife overheard a man complaining to the front desk about them not being able to do some dog sled activity which s the sole reason they took this cruise. Seems a stretch but who am I to say. Anyways front desk told him to lodge a complaint with customer solutions, the people working the boat are just as frustrated as the customers ( their words)

 

at the end of the day if you are the type of person who just likes being on the boat, getting pizza, ice cream and strawberry dacquiries sp? Then you would probably love this cruise, I don’t have a single complaint about the service, it’s exemplary compared to the other stories I am hearing.

 

but I can be in a boat anywhere, I paid to see and experience Alaska