Review: Crown Princess to Alaska, 6/23-7/4/23

[zackarykeef]

Hey everyone!

 

I just returned about a month ago from this sailing, so I wanted to give a quick review. Hopefully, this will help those trying to decide whether or not to sail this ship, with Princess, or to Alaska, as reviews are always helpful for me!

 

I took this cruise with my husband. 2023 began with wedding preparations, career changes, our wedding, buying a house, a lot of remodeling and contractor issues, a big move, and plenty of family visits. Needless to say, we both needed a break and and escape from the crazy Florida heat we’ve been experiencing this summer. I sailed to Alaska with NCL once about 7 years ago and loved it, and I thought it would be the perfect relaxing trip compared to our usual go go go international trips or high-energy Caribbean cruises we like to take.

 

My husband had never been to Alaska before and was apprehensive, but he LOVED it! Neither of us had sailed on Princess, but the timing, price, and itinerary worked out. I love NCL’s bigger ships, but wanted to sail the inside passage, hence why we picked the Crown. We knew it was an older, smaller ship, but this trip was all about the destination, views, and itinerary.

 

We departed from Canada Place in Vancouver for an 11-day cruise to Icy Strait Point, Juneau, Haines, Sitka, Ketchikan, and Victoria. We also spent a day cruising Yakutat Bay/Hubbard Glacier, as well as 3 other sea days.

 

There is only ONE direct flight weekly from Miami to Vancouver and vice versa on Air Canada. It is on Thursdays, so we were lucky, as our cruise departed on a Friday and returned on a Tuesday. I don’t prefer Air Canada, but I loved not having to connect. Flights were quicker than expected and painless. We stayed one night pre-cruise downtown at the EXchange and two nights post-cruise downtown at the JW Marriott Parq. They were both great, and I would definitely recommend. The first room was very small, but it was only one night, the location was great, and it allowed us to walk to the port in the morning, as it was only 2 blocks away. The second room was amazing and in such a great location near Yaletown. The train was simple, cheap, and quick getting to/from the airport. Vancouver is an amazing city, and I highly recommend spending time there! It’s a haven for Asian food lovers…everything we ate and drank was incredible, and we can’t wait to return.

 

Of note, hotels in downtown Vancouver are very expensive, especially during the summer cruise months. Some people stay in Richmond closer to the airport, but there isn’t much to do there, and they weren’t THAT much cheaper than downtown. I booked both of these at hot rate hotel deals using Hotwire, which I highly recommend. We do this for all of our trips, have never been let down (you can choose the location and star level), and always end up in amazing hotels, saving tons! The JW was $700/night on their website, and we booked on Hotwire for $650 total for 2 nights. With a little ingenuity, the hot rate deals are the way to go!

 

Last point...I have been reading about some of the package/charges changing on Princess soon. We had Princess Premier on this sailing, but sailed before all of these changes, so I can't weigh in on that. I'm not in a rush to sail Princess again, so not sure if we'll experience if these changes have any major impact.

 

I've done several reviews before, which are linked in my signature, so I will do this one in a similar manner. Feel free to ask any questions...I'm happy to help!

 

Happy cruising!

[zackarykeef]

Booking: I had started watching this cruise after we settled on this one around April/May, which I know may seem late but is typically when we book due to our schedules. I also find better deals closer to sailing and don’t have to worry about constantly checking to reprice. It seemed pretty full, but there were a FEW aft balconies left. We had never sailed in an aft balcony before and had been wanting to try it, but of course when I went to book, they were sold out. I kept checking, and about a week later, it let me book a guarantee aft! I jumped on it quickly and got a great price for an 11-day in an aft balcony with Princess Plus. We got our room assignment about 1-2 weeks prior (not exactly sure when), and were very happy with it, true to the category we booked. Pre-communication was good, and we had no issues. We quickly upgraded to Premier as soon as we boarded for champagne/higher-end liquors and two specialty meals that we had already booked anyway, and we thought it was worth it. The bartender told us they don’t get commission for upgrading you, but she does get a bonus/perk like an extra day off if you upgrade on board with them.

 

We didn’t pay the $10 to have our medallions mailed to us, mainly because we were worried about them not making it in time, and we hadn’t upgraded to Premier at that time.

 

Embarkation: Our boarding time was 11:30am-12:00pm, and we arrived just before that. Embarkation was mostly simple and brainless for us, but it is A LOT of walking back and forth in queues, and Canada Place is overall unorganized. I just kept thinking about how my mother, who uses a cane, would definitely need a wheelchair just for embarking. There was a queue for luggage drop, then a queue for security, followed by a queue for immigration. You go through US immigration in the port, as you will be leaving Canada for the US. They had Global Entry available, so that was nice and convenient. There was a lot of stopping lines for passengers in other lines to pass through in a different direction, undoing and redoing stanchions and walls, which was odd. There was also confusion with a lot of Celebrity ship guests in the wrong line, only to find out they were waiting in the Princess luggage drop. We just listened to the employees, followed their directions, and made it to the right place. After that, it was up an escalator to wait in line for our medallions, then down an escalator and around a corner, only to go back up an escalator to board the ship. Overall, it took about 45 minutes to 1 hour from walking down to baggage drop to stepping on the ship.

 

Medallions: This was our first experience with this, as other lines don't use this. I don't really have an opinion either way, as I don't find them any more or less convenient than key cards. I don't think it made a difference picking ours up at the port, as it was overall quick and painless and didn't seem to take any longer than those that already had theirs (this may be Vancouver-specific). We did pay for a special design, and they gave us the incorrect ones. These can't be changed, and the crew on-board cannot do anything about it, as this is a shoreside team issue. However, we went to the OceanFront desk on board, and they apologized and immediately credited our account. He mentioned there were several others with our specific design that were messed up as well, so they may have been out of that design for some reason. Overall, not a big deal, as we ended up using our small Apple Air Tag clips holders for them instead of the lanyard, which worked out great!

 

I have a love/hate relationship with the fact that the medallion is basically a tracking device. I liked not having to say my cabin number/scan anything at bars and the bartender already knowing my name, as you automatically pop up on their screen when you approach. It's also nice that you can easily find anyone in your party on the map in the app. It just felt odd to know they track your movements.

 

On that note, and as a minor segue into the next topic, I also dislike that all the room hallway screens show everyone's name. Just something I don't think needs to be displayed. 🤷‍♂️

 

Room: Aft balcony B757, category B4, Baja deck (11). This is by far the smallest room I have ever been in, which I believe is just due to the age of the ship. The weird arch in the entry hall makes it feel cramped. I appreciate the “walk-in” closet and closet space, but this overall took space away from the room to the point they can't even fit a couch. It was the bed with the end tables, a desk and a chair next to that, then the balcony door. A small corner cabinet with the tv above and mini-bar below opposite. There was a standing wardrobe in the closet, along with the bathroom. The bathroom was standard/small, with the old plastic curtain semi-circle shower. The room was very clean, if a bit outdated. However, it was perfectly comfortable for 2 people, and plenty of storage for all of our clothes/things. The floor-level motion lights didn't bother us, and I actually found them helpful. Goes to show everyone has different preferences, since I know that can be a big complaint!

 

From what I've read, most of the beds (but not all) have been replaced with the refurb and in recent years. Maybe we were lucky, but the bed was EXTREMELY comfortable, and we slept well every night.

 

The standout (minus a few points) was the balcony. It's the biggest (semi)standard balcony I’ve had, and the aft view was incredible and 100% worth it. The balcony is covered, which protects from the elements, and the aft location protects from wind. This is especially nice for Alaska, where you can expect (and we had) all types of weather. The aft of this ship is curved, so we couldn’t see above/below us, and could barely see to the sides of us. That was a nice perk. We were also in one of the middle cabins, and as there is a ventilation system down the middle of the ship, we were immediately to the side of that and did not have a balcony right next to us on one side. The downside to that was that the balcony always smelled like food/fried food from the buffet upstairs and was on the louder side. It didn’t ruin anything, and we used the balcony plenty (likely got used to it after a few minutes), but we definitely turned our nose up when we stepped outside each time. Not too loud that it interfered with video calls or reading. People in the past complained of vibrations in the aft cabins, but that seems to be more prevalent the lower you are. Being on deck 11, this didn’t bother us at all.

 

Cruisers: We sailed around 100% capacity based on room availability and what other guests/crew said. It didn’t feel crowded for the most part, as there are so many spaces to lounge or hang out. It was hard to get a seat in the Piazza at any time, and the buffet was definitely always crowded, although this is mainly due to the fact that it is so small. Definitely an older crowd than I’m used to, and definitely plenty of Princess regulars. There were a few families with kids here and there, but more older couples/groups. Didn’t have any issues with other guests that I noticed.

[MWcruiser]

Thanks for doing this review.  Like your writing style and thoroughness and look forward to more posts.

[cruisingtheresa]

Thanks for this review! We leave on August 15 for the 10-day (minus Victoria) on the Crown. We had our medallions shipped to us (we purchased the Premiere package). I'm so glad to hear that they have Global Entry and we're staying at the Fairmont so they will take our luggage to the terminal for us. I'm hoping that will speed up our embarkation process.

 

Since we're going in August, there will be no more embarkation times (even though I had already signed up for 11:00-11:30). But when I looked at our booking info on the website last week, it now states that boarding begins at 1:00 pm, which I found odd. I think we'll still show up around 11:00 or so and see what happens. We booked a suite, so worst case scenario, we'll go to their lounge and hang out there for a while.

 

How was the weather? What excursions did you go on?

 

[CruzeQueen2]

@zackarykeef Thanks for taking the time to share so many details about your trip. Happy to hear that you slept well on your comfortable bed!

Would love to know if you were happy with the wine choices with the Premium package. Did you get many photos and were the photographers around the ship during the day, outside for example?

I am not new to Princess; but haven't sailed on the Crown for awhile. 

TIA

[CruzeQueen2]

@zackarykeef Thought of another question - Which two restaurants did you visit for your specialty dining? Which one did you enjoy the most, and why?

 

I believe the two options are Sabatini on Deck 16 and Crown Grill, deck 7. Are there any other venues for specialty dining?

 

Did you find any differences in the Main Dining Rooms that are worth noting? E.g., staff at the door and longer, or shorter lines...I have made reservations, and am hoping for a good outcome.

Thanks again!

 

[Astro Flyer]

4 hours ago, zackarykeef said:

From what I've read, most of the beds (but not all) have been replaced with the refurb and in recent years. Maybe we were lucky, but the bed was EXTREMELY comfortable, and we slept well every night.

Happy to read about your good experience after reading several posts about beds on Crown being soft cratered mattresses.

 

In Spring 2025 we sail Crown for 28 days & wouldn’t want a worn out mattress. Before their luxury mattresses were created had several sagging mattresses…once they put food trays between the mattress & support frame.

 

[zackarykeef]

More to come everyone! Trying to finish later or tomorrow, and will answer your questions as well! If they’re not already incorporated (food, excursions), I’ll answer them in separate posts!

[[Big Z]]

8 hours ago, CruzeQueen2 said:

 

Did you find any differences in the Main Dining Rooms that are worth noting? E.g., staff at the door and longer, or shorter lines...I have made reservations, and am hoping for a good outcome.

Thanks again!

 

I know I'm not the OP, but I too was on this cruise and had reservations for every dining room and of course, perspectives may vary. 

 

I had reservations for either 7 PM or 7:40 PM, private table for 2. 

 

Botticelli can get really crowded if having to wait because of it's location (aft) so one night, we were halfway up the stairs waiting to get in. 

 

Da Vinci's wait wasn't too bad, from what I can recall. I'll admit, the way it worked out reservations wise, we dined there the least. 

 

Michelangelo (Deck 5) was typically the quickest, except one night where we were waiting for quite awhile (I think it was they didn't have place settings ready).  Also, for us, it was the one dining room we had issues with particularly having our wait staff having to handle a party of 17 (not a typo), which left us basically abandoned (and they didn't get any backup) and also in this dining room, there is one waiter in particular that would literally spend 15 mins talking to a table of regulars while everyone else around them is working and trying to serve patrons.

[CruzeQueen2]

8 hours ago, [Big Z] said:

I know I'm not the OP, but I too was on this cruise and had reservations for every dining room and of course, perspectives may vary. 

 

I had reservations for either 7 PM or 7:40 PM, private table for 2. 

 

Botticelli can get really crowded if having to wait because of it's location (aft) so one night, we were halfway up the stairs waiting to get in. 

 

Da Vinci's wait wasn't too bad, from what I can recall. I'll admit, the way it worked out reservations wise, we dined there the least. 

 

Michelangelo (Deck 5) was typically the quickest, except one night where we were waiting for quite awhile (I think it was they didn't have place settings ready).  Also, for us, it was the one dining room we had issues with particularly having our wait staff having to handle a party of 17 (not a typo), which left us basically abandoned (and they didn't get any backup) and also in this dining room, there is one waiter in particular that would literally spend 15 mins talking to a table of regulars while everyone else around them is working and trying to serve patrons.

@[Big Z] Thank you for the details! 

[Barry H]

We cruised the Crown in May.

We had a Lyft take us to the port. Car went down to level P2 where we dropped our luggage off with the porters. From there we took an elevator to the upper level where we checked in with Princess and got our medallions.

 

If the taxi goes to the lower level parking it might be worth the fare to avoid the long lines in the terminal to drop off luggage.

[zackarykeef]

Carrying on! Sorry for the delay...

 

Entertainment: We are never big “show” people on cruises, so I can’t speak to the production shows, as we didn’t attend. We saw several of the comedy shows, both in the theater and in the lounges, and they were alright. A few laughs here and there, but nothing that was side-splitting hilarious. The majority of the live music around the ship was great, mainly Colin the pianist/singer at Crooner’s. We were there nightly at the beginning. However, on an 11-day cruise with one pianist, it began getting very repetitive. The talent was great, but it just got old really quickly with the same songs nightly. Regardless, this was Alaska, and the real entertainment was the scenery anyway!

 

I will say Movies Under the Stars was awesome! We only went once on our last sea day. The sun and temperature were delightful, and it was a very relaxing way to spend the afternoon. I wish we would’ve attended more, although the weather didn’t always cooperate!

 

Activities: Again, we didn’t spend much time doing the scheduled activities, as it’s not typically our thing. However, there definitely was plenty to do on the schedule, and the crew kept everyone engaged and upbeat whenever we passed. I do like a bit of trivia, and although it was plentiful, it was just ok. The assistant cruise director was new and seemed like she was trying to find her footing, so not everything landed or went as smoothly as it could have. However, that’s to be expected, and I expect it to improve with time, as the cruise director Olivia was amazing!

 

Gym/Spa: We didn’t get any massages this time, but a nice touch was the free sauna/steam room in the locker rooms. Unless you absolutely needed it, buying a pass to the (small) thermal suite wasn’t necessary, which is something we typically buy. The gym was large and spacious with everything you could need. The Premier package includes unlimited fitness classes, which were good and never crowded. I also enjoyed that there is free access to two outdoor hot tubs from the gym, protected from the elements.

 

My husband did get shave, as we were selected from a raffle for a $50 spa credit. It was easy to schedule, and he was happy with the result. They did overcharge him and tried to convince him on the phone several times that the price was correct, and it wasn't until he walked back to the spa and showed it to them on the menu that they said "oh, you're right" and corrected the amount on our account.

 

Bars/Alcohol/Drink Package: Overall, we enjoyed the drinks and selection on Princess. We upgraded to the Premier package once on board, mainly for the champagne, but also for some of the higher-end liquors. The most disappointing thing was that due to stock issues, they didn’t have a lot of these liquors. When we asked for many of the cocktails in the Premier package, we were met with “Oh, sorry, we can’t make that because we don’t have x.” This was a little frustrating. The wine selection was decent, but we really stuck to the Cattier champagne, and we definitely got our money’s worth. I would advise to make sure you check on board re: stock if there is something specific you are considering upgrading for.

 

The cocktails overall were good, especially at Crooner’s and Good Spirits at Sea. This bar was the standout. I’m very into mixology and have a full bar set-up at home, so it was nice to see this concept on a ship. The drinks were great, the videos and information behind each cocktail along with the live recipes were informative, and the staff was even better. GSAS quickly became our go-to hang out.

 

I do think overall Princess could do with some updating. I know this is a minor detail, but why do they still have those horrible, cloyingly sweet bright red maraschino cherries everywhere? I wanted a nice, dark amarena cherry in my manhattans, but was told they didn’t carry those. A lot of things on Princess overall seemed outdated, and this is just an example where I think other lines like Celebrity or NCL stand out and are keeping things more modern and current.

 

Staff: I have no complaints, and really have never on any of my cruises. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Our steward was great, our servers were great, the officers/director staff were great, etc. I was told by someone once that “If you haven’t had a bad cruise, you haven’t cruised enough.” Well, maybe I’m lucky, but I’ve sailed close to 20 by now and have yet to have a bad cruise. I truly don’t get complaints about staff, as they are honestly some of the nicest and hardest-working people I’ve met, and Princess was no exception.

[zackarykeef]

Food: Ah, the food. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing overall, and the main reason why we likely won’t sail Princess again in the future. I shouldn’t say won’t…I will likely try the new Sun/Star to see what a larger, newer Princess ship is like, as I only have this sailing on the Crown to go off of. However, I don’t think I’ll get my husband back on Princess due to the food alone. I've found every other line I've sailed (save for Carnival) to be much better.

 

I was looking forward to the food after reading plenty, especially as Princess is supposed to be a step-up from Carnival/RCCL/NCL. We also loved our recent cruise on Celebrity with the food being a stand-out, and many seem to think that Princess is on-par with or better than Celebrity. Living in Miami and moving from NYC, I would consider us foodies, and we both love to cook and cook well. Eating is important to us 🤣

 

We reserved our dining on the app ahead of time, all for the same time at a two-person private table in the Da Vinci dining room, along with two specialty meals in Crown Grill and Sabatini’s. We were seated the first night with our servers Kim and Arman, who were fantastic. We requested them for the rest of the trip, and were given our same table nightly. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the front of house staff at Da Vinci. Dinner timing and pacing was always great.

 

However, the food overall was…meh. Again, I think this comes down to just being outdated. Plating and garnishes were outdated, choices were outdated, etc. I understand some people are stuck in their ways, but things like cherries jubilee, chicken cordon bleu, etc. are not elevated or modern anymore. The plating really was lackluster, and it just wasn’t exciting. I know it is all Carnival Corp, but it didn’t seem much different than what I remember on Carnival cruises years ago. Lower quality, mass-produced, and very commercial. I understand it's a lot of people, but I don't feel this way on other lines, even though it's mass-produced there as well. For a cruise that had so many “Alaska” features nightly, the fish/seafood really wasn’t that good. Meats were better (the short rib was great), but again, boring overall. We started ordering the vegetarian dishes around day 7, and they were much better! Highly recommend the Indian/Asian veg dishes.

 

The buffet was…small. Very small, as many have mentioned. So small it’s cramped. Choices didn’t really change, and everything was lackluster. Breakfast was extremely redundant, and I’m not sure we could find real eggs anywhere…even the omelet station seemed to use fake eggs. The worst part about the buffet were the hours. It was like a game of hide and seek trying to figure out which of the 3 stations were open and when. One side would be closed, so they would tell you to go to the other…only to get there and have them say “Oh, now this side is closed, and we just opened the other, so you have to go back.” It was really frustrating, and more time was spent trying to get your food than eating it.

 

They also had one afternoon of a dessert buffet, and I was yelled at for trying to take something because it was “only open for pictures.” What? Again, outdated. I thought this was a thing of the past. I don’t think we need time dedicated to taking tons of photos of averagely decorated cakes.

 

After tiring of the buffet breakfast, we decided to try breakfast in the main dining room one morning. I feel Princess definitely caters to the older crowd here, as you need to be up at the crack of dawn if you are to make it before breakfast ends. The food wasn’t any better, and it was the slowest meal we had on board by far…almost 2 hours for omelets and toast. We were sat at a table with others, and all anyone could talk about was how long it was taking.

 

Crown Grill was fine. I expected better from the raving reviews, but…meh. I'll admit our steaks were perfect, but I could’ve done without everything else. The scallops in the main dining room were better, and my bone-marrow roasted potato didn’t seem any different than a regular baked potato. Unless it was included, I would skip it next time.

 

The highlight was Sabatini’s. This meal was actually incredible, and had our meal not been toward the end of the sailing, we would’ve went back. You get a lot of food, and everything was delicious. The osso bucco was on point, and I would highly recommend a meal here.

 

We didn’t eat at the Salty Dog Gastropub, but the menu looked good. We just didn’t want to pay for something else to be let down. The Salty Dog Grill upstairs was fine, but the wait times were ridiculous. Always 30-45 minutes for a hot dog or burger and fries, and you had to be given a pager for when your food was ready. I don’t understand this, as you would think that a place that only does these few foods would be producing them constantly. They weren't any better than the burgers or hot dogs on the buffet, which could be obtained much more quickly (so long as you found a side that was open).

 

Princess does shine with their pizza and desserts. Slice upstairs had amazing pizza…loved the thin crust. I am not much of a dessert person and tend to think most cruise line desserts are underwhelming and overly gelatinous, but Princess does a great job. I think we enjoyed almost every dessert we had, save for their one signature dessert, the love boat dream, which was a let down (but the lychee/rose signature dessert was great!). We didn’t get any of the included “premium desserts,” as they seemed too large and sweet, so I can’t comment on that.

[zackarykeef]

Ports: We chose the Crown Princess specifically for these ports, as I had only been to Alaska once before out of Seattle to the 3 "regular" Alaska stops.

 

Icy Strait Point: We docked at the further Wilderness Landing Port in ISP, which means you have to take a short (and free) 5-minute aerial tram ride over to the main port, which gives you access to everything. You can also hike, which is about 20 minutes on a paved path. NCL basically built this port from scratch, and it really is beautiful. This was our first time here, and it gives you a true Alaska feel.

 

Here, we did a private excursion with Glacier Wind Charters on one of their boats for whale watching. We cannot recommend this enough. It was just 6 of us total on a small boat with the captain, and he was amazing. We saw so many whales, otters, porpoises, seals, bears, etc, and the small group made it much more private and enjoyable. This is a far cry from the overly crowded, overly expensive ship excursions. I know people get nervous about this, but unless you have onboard credits to use, I highly recommend doing some research and booking private tours with local companies. I do this every cruise and have never been let down. These companies thrive off reviews and word-of-mouth, so they aren't going to cause trouble getting you back to the ship, timing, etc, as that would ruin their reputation. Alaska is a good place to start exploring these options, as it is the US, before you move on to private tours elsewhere like the Caribbean, Europe, etc.

 

Juneau: We had booked a private helicopter/glacier landing tour/walk, but due to weather, it was cancelled. You could barely see the morning we arrived in Juneau due to fog, so we expected this. It's just something to be prepared for on a cruise to Alaska.

 

With 4 ships in port and the Crown being the smallest, we had to tender. The weather was terrible, and tendering was held for about 2 hours in the morning. When we finally did get on the lifeboat, the driver could barely see, and it definitely was not the ideal tendering conditions. I think everyone was uneasy, but we made it safely. Tendering in Alaska is never ideal, so make sure to pay attention to this on your schedule.

 

We made the most of the day and wandered around to some breweries and distilleries. This turned out to be an amazing day! Juneau is an awesome, hipster town, and the gin distillery we went to was great! It's called Amalga Distillery, and we recommend. We also went to Devil's Club Brewing, which was awesome, and we had some of the best popcorn ever! We ran to IGA to get some ship snacks and grabbed fish and chips from a local food truck. Way better than the ship...it was delicious. We wandered some shops on the way back before tendering (and a very long line) back to the ship.

 

Haines: We were lucky enough to call in Haines, as Skagway that day already had 5 ships in port. This was the biggest blessing, as I think the Crown was only scheduled there once or twice this summer, and not many other ships call in Haines. The town is quaint, and everyone was nice. We booked a private glacier flightseeing tour with Mountain Flying Service. Paul (the owner) and his wife are based in Haines, and they were just the best. He picked us up in his own vehicle at the port and took us to his hangar where the plane is. He took us on a short 10-minute flight to Skagway to pick up some other passengers there, and then we were off for our flying tour of Glacier Bay. It was spectacular, and again, we highly recommend. We loved the bonus flight to Skagway (got lucky with that one), and the views, including some bears, were incredible!

 

Afterwards, his wife dropped us off at a local restaurant she recommended for fish and chips, which was, again, delicious. We went to Haines Brewing Company for a beer, where many of the crew were hanging out. After wandering some shops, we found Three Northmen, a mead and cider house, which was awesome. We then went to Port Chilkoot Distillery and had some awesome spruce tip cocktails. If you're into beers and spirits, Alaska is a dream, and I highly recommend any itinerary that gets you a stop in Haines!

 

Sitka: As much as it pains me to say it, we did not get off in Sitka. We did not have an excursion booked, as we planned to wander around town looking for another brewery and walk the national park and totem poles. However, it was extremely rainy and cloudy that day, and after a rainy day of walking around in Juneau, we decided this type of weather isn't the best to just "wing it." Plus, you have to take a 10-minute shuttle from the port into town and back, and we could see the lines were long. We enjoyed a relaxing day on board.

 

Ketchikan: We wanted to do some hiking, and Ketchikan is the perfect spot for this. We wandered town to grab breakfast (after being sick of breakfast on board) at a local diner recommended to us by the crew called Pioneer Cafe. It was great! Huge portions and delicious. We then wandered Creek Street for a bit, then headed up the mountain to the Rainbird Trail. The forest and views were stunning, and we were blessed to have a warm, sunny day in one of the rainiest cities in the US! It's an overall easy hike that you can walk to from the port, or you can easily hail a cab to take you to the trailhead. After some shop browsing, we headed back to the ship.

 

Victoria: Another perk of this itinerary was that we were blessed to have a 12-10pm call in Victoria, as opposed to the typical 8pm-midnight call many lines due to suffice the Jones Act. I had been to Victoria before, and although it was beautiful, there was not enough time to do much of anything.

 

We pre-booked tickets/transport with Grayline Tours to go to the Butchart Gardens, as it's something everyone should do once. It was much cheaper than the Princess excursion, and I felt gave us more freedom. It's a nice walk to the Empress Hotel, where the tour departs from, and an easy drive to the Gardens. They are beautiful, and although slightly crowded, we had a very nice day. We had drinks at the hotel afterwards, and although we had more time, we were anxious to get back on the ship for a nap.

 

 

[zackarykeef]

Ship: The Crown is an older, smaller ship, but it was very well maintained. I have only sailed on bigger, modern ships recently, so it was interesting to be back on an older ship and seeing how so much has changed over the years. Although outdated, the ship flowed well, and the lounge spaces were plentiful and large with ample seating. The Explorer's Lounge is a great venue with a nice location. It was extremely nice to have an entire outside promenade, which was especially great for Alaska and whale watching. The standout was Skywalker's Lounge, which provided stunning views and a quiet atmosphere during the day for scenery and reading. It was never crowded, and I enjoyed how it turned into a "club" at night, even if there were only a handful of us dancing. Some parts of the ship were definitely underutilized, but overall it was well-thought out.

 

I still prefer larger, newer ships, but for this itinerary, the ship worked well.

 

Debarkation: We were unfortunate to be arriving in Vancouver during a worker's strike, which delayed our debarkation for a few hours. This was conveyed to us the night before with a note on our bed, so we were prepared. Being that were were staying in Vancouver for a few days, we did not mind. I liked how we were allowed to eat/drink still on debarkation day, as every other cruise line I've been on does not allow alcohol purchases that day. I'm not sure if Princess always does this or it was solely because we were stuck on the ship longer, but it was a nice touch. When we were called, debarking was easy, our luggage was waiting, and we were out and in an Uber to our hotel in no time.

Final Thoughts: We wanted a relaxing getaway for the two of us, and that is exactly what we got. We enjoyed our balcony views, the Alaskan scenery and wildlife, reading our books, playing games, and sipping cocktails. We had a great time, but we could have a great time in a cardboard box. This was the longest cruise I've been on, and I'm not sure if it was Princess or the food or the length in general, but it felt a little too long for us personally. I think 8-9 days is our sweet spot, although again, I might not say no to longer on a bigger ship.

 

I highly recommend a cruise that includes Yakutat Bay/Hubbard Glacier, as it really was stunning. We were able to get very close and stayed for a while. I'm not sure if it was better than Glacier Bay from what I remember, but I think they are both equally gorgeous.

 

Is Princess for us? I don't think so. I know there are die-hard Princess cruisers, but I'm not sure if they are blinded to what they know and don't want to admit that their beloved Princess could possibly do anything wrong. I think I will try the new ship when it launches to make a full decision, but otherwise, we won't be seeking out Princess or converting in the future.

 

 

There are a few other things I didn't touch on, so if there are any questions/comments, I'm happy to answer to the best of my ability! 

 

Happy cruising! 😎

 

~Zack

[zackarykeef]

Oops! One last thing...the weather. Someone asked, and I forgot to mention it. I typically don't include that in my reviews, but I feel it's necessary for Alaska. The last time I went to Alaska, we sailed the first week of June. We had sunny skies and 60/70s the entire trip.

 

This trip was much more variable. Vancouver was warm and sunny, and the next day at sea was a complete white-out of fog. So foggy that the captain had to blow the horn every 2 minutes as a warning for surrounding vessels. It was eerie yet peaceful to look out and see nothing but white. The rest of the time was a mix of foggy mornings, rain, and sunny skies, with weather ranging between high 40s to 70s, maybe reaching 80s in Victoria.

 

It is Alaska, so it just is unpredictable. Layers, layers, layers, as everyone says! I don't think you need a huge winter coat (unless it's October), but don't forget shorts and t-shirts, either!

[zackarykeef]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:37 PM, CruzeQueen2 said:

Would love to know if you were happy with the wine choices with the Premium package. Did you get many photos and were the photographers around the ship during the day, outside for example?

 

I think the wine choices could've been better, but they were fine. Again, we ended up leaning more towards champagne and cocktails.

 

Plenty of photo ops and photographers around with many backdrops, characters, and props, both on and off the ship. It's not our thing, so we didn't participate nor purchase photos, but you won't be disappointed in that department!

[zackarykeef]

On 8/2/2023 at 5:46 PM, CruzeQueen2 said:

@zackarykeef Thought of another question - Which two restaurants did you visit for your specialty dining? Which one did you enjoy the most, and why?

 

I believe the two options are Sabatini on Deck 16 and Crown Grill, deck 7. Are there any other venues for specialty dining?

 

Did you find any differences in the Main Dining Rooms that are worth noting? E.g., staff at the door and longer, or shorter lines...I have made reservations, and am hoping for a good outcome.

Thanks again!

 

 

Answered in the food section for you.

 

Specialty on Crown consists of Crown Grill, Sabatini's, and Salty Dog Gastropub, with the latter now being included with a package (which was not the case on our sailing). They also have a Crab Shack meal in the buffet that you can sign up for on board (maybe $30pp, don't quote me), but we're not big on seafood boils and didn't partake.

 

We only ate in Da Vinci...never had a line and never had to wait. We did have reservations, however, as I mentioned, so maybe that helped. Regardless, I never saw a line for those without reservations either 🤷‍♂️

[CynCyn]

On 8/3/2023 at 3:40 PM, Barry H said:

We cruised the Crown in May.

We had a Lyft take us to the port. Car went down to level P2 where we dropped our luggage off with the porters. From there we took an elevator to the upper level where we checked in with Princess and got our medallions.

 

If the taxi goes to the lower level parking it might be worth the fare to avoid the long lines in the terminal to drop off luggage.

Putting this in my must-do’s.  Thanks for the great tip!

[CruzeQueen2]

3 hours ago, zackarykeef said:

Food: Ah, the food. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing overall, and the main reason why we likely won’t sail Princess again in the future. I shouldn’t say won’t…I will likely try the new Sun/Star to see what a larger, newer Princess ship is like, as I only have this sailing on the Crown to go off of. However, I don’t think I’ll get my husband back on Princess due to the food alone. I've found every other line I've sailed (save for Carnival) to be much better.

 

I was looking forward to the food after reading plenty, especially as Princess is supposed to be a step-up from Carnival/RCCL/NCL. We also loved our recent cruise on Celebrity with the food being a stand-out, and many seem to think that Princess is on-par with or better than Celebrity. Living in Miami and moving from NYC, I would consider us foodies, and we both love to cook and cook well. Eating is important to us 🤣

 

We reserved our dining on the app ahead of time, all for the same time at a two-person private table in the Da Vinci dining room, along with two specialty meals in Crown Grill and Sabatini’s. We were seated the first night with our servers Kim and Arman, who were fantastic. We requested them for the rest of the trip, and were given our same table nightly. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the front of house staff at Da Vinci. Dinner timing and pacing was always great.

 

However, the food overall was…meh. Again, I think this comes down to just being outdated. Plating and garnishes were outdated, choices were outdated, etc. I understand some people are stuck in their ways, but things like cherries jubilee, chicken cordon bleu, etc. are not elevated or modern anymore. The plating really was lackluster, and it just wasn’t exciting. I know it is all Carnival Corp, but it didn’t seem much different than what I remember on Carnival cruises years ago. Lower quality, mass-produced, and very commercial. I understand it's a lot of people, but I don't feel this way on other lines, even though it's mass-produced there as well. For a cruise that had so many “Alaska” features nightly, the fish/seafood really wasn’t that good. Meats were better (the short rib was great), but again, boring overall. We started ordering the vegetarian dishes around day 7, and they were much better! Highly recommend the Indian/Asian veg dishes.

 

The buffet was…small. Very small, as many have mentioned. So small it’s cramped. Choices didn’t really change, and everything was lackluster. Breakfast was extremely redundant, and I’m not sure we could find real eggs anywhere…even the omelet station seemed to use fake eggs. The worst part about the buffet were the hours. It was like a game of hide and seek trying to figure out which of the 3 stations were open and when. One side would be closed, so they would tell you to go to the other…only to get there and have them say “Oh, now this side is closed, and we just opened the other, so you have to go back.” It was really frustrating, and more time was spent trying to get your food than eating it.

 

They also had one afternoon of a dessert buffet, and I was yelled at for trying to take something because it was “only open for pictures.” What? Again, outdated. I thought this was a thing of the past. I don’t think we need time dedicated to taking tons of photos of averagely decorated cakes.

 

After tiring of the buffet breakfast, we decided to try breakfast in the main dining room one morning. I feel Princess definitely caters to the older crowd here, as you need to be up at the crack of dawn if you are to make it before breakfast ends. The food wasn’t any better, and it was the slowest meal we had on board by far…almost 2 hours for omelets and toast. We were sat at a table with others, and all anyone could talk about was how long it was taking.

 

Crown Grill was fine. I expected better from the raving reviews, but…meh. I'll admit our steaks were perfect, but I could’ve done without everything else. The scallops in the main dining room were better, and my bone-marrow roasted potato didn’t seem any different than a regular baked potato. Unless it was included, I would skip it next time.

 

The highlight was Sabatini’s. This meal was actually incredible, and had our meal not been toward the end of the sailing, we would’ve went back. You get a lot of food, and everything was delicious. The osso bucco was on point, and I would highly recommend a meal here.

 

We didn’t eat at the Salty Dog Gastropub, but the menu looked good. We just didn’t want to pay for something else to be let down. The Salty Dog Grill upstairs was fine, but the wait times were ridiculous. Always 30-45 minutes for a hot dog or burger and fries, and you had to be given a pager for when your food was ready. I don’t understand this, as you would think that a place that only does these few foods would be producing them constantly. They weren't any better than the burgers or hot dogs on the buffet, which could be obtained much more quickly (so long as you found a side that was open).

 

Princess does shine with their pizza and desserts. Slice upstairs had amazing pizza…loved the thin crust. I am not much of a dessert person and tend to think most cruise line desserts are underwhelming and overly gelatinous, but Princess does a great job. I think we enjoyed almost every dessert we had, save for their one signature dessert, the love boat dream, which was a let down (but the lychee/rose signature dessert was great!). We didn’t get any of the included “premium desserts,” as they seemed too large and sweet, so I can’t comment on that.

@zackarykeef I'm on the Crown now and so far, only two days, I have to agree with you about Sabatini. Wonderful in every way! I am also interested in food - period. I followed a reliable source for trying the fish/branzino for the first time. I was NOT disappointed. I will try the Osso Bucco next.  Thank you for taking the time to share so much information and your overall impressions. 

[Glaciers]

On 8/5/2023 at 10:10 AM, zackarykeef said:

 I highly recommend a cruise that includes Yakutat Bay/Hubbard Glacier, as it really was stunning. We were able to get very close and stayed for a while. I'm not sure if it was better than Glacier Bay from what I remember, but I think they are both equally gorgeous.

 

Do you know about how far you were from the face of the glacier. Did you make it past Haenke Island?

[zackarykeef]

27 minutes ago, Glaciers said:

 

Do you know about how far you were from the face of the glacier. Did you make it past Haenke Island?

Probably about 4-5 miles, as we were just before the island. In the photo below, I think you can see the island on the right, then the glacier.

[theloo]

On 8/5/2023 at 9:19 AM, zackarykeef said:

Food: Ah, the food. Honestly, it was pretty disappointing overall, and the main reason why we likely won’t sail Princess again in the future. I shouldn’t say won’t…I will likely try the new Sun/Star to see what a larger, newer Princess ship is like, as I only have this sailing on the Crown to go off of. However, I don’t think I’ll get my husband back on Princess due to the food alone. I've found every other line I've sailed (save for Carnival) to be much better.

 

I was looking forward to the food after reading plenty, especially as Princess is supposed to be a step-up from Carnival/RCCL/NCL. We also loved our recent cruise on Celebrity with the food being a stand-out, and many seem to think that Princess is on-par with or better than Celebrity. Living in Miami and moving from NYC, I would consider us foodies, and we both love to cook and cook well. Eating is important to us 🤣

 

We reserved our dining on the app ahead of time, all for the same time at a two-person private table in the Da Vinci dining room, along with two specialty meals in Crown Grill and Sabatini’s. We were seated the first night with our servers Kim and Arman, who were fantastic. We requested them for the rest of the trip, and were given our same table nightly. I have nothing but wonderful things to say about the front of house staff at Da Vinci. Dinner timing and pacing was always great.

 

However, the food overall was…meh. Again, I think this comes down to just being outdated. Plating and garnishes were outdated, choices were outdated, etc. I understand some people are stuck in their ways, but things like cherries jubilee, chicken cordon bleu, etc. are not elevated or modern anymore. The plating really was lackluster, and it just wasn’t exciting. I know it is all Carnival Corp, but it didn’t seem much different than what I remember on Carnival cruises years ago. Lower quality, mass-produced, and very commercial. I understand it's a lot of people, but I don't feel this way on other lines, even though it's mass-produced there as well. For a cruise that had so many “Alaska” features nightly, the fish/seafood really wasn’t that good. Meats were better (the short rib was great), but again, boring overall. We started ordering the vegetarian dishes around day 7, and they were much better! Highly recommend the Indian/Asian veg dishes.

First, thank you for your review.  I already have a cruise booked on the Crown, so I may need to adjust some expectations.  

I'm sorry the food was disappointing, but since you mentioned that you're foodies and that the plating and menu choices were outdated, would you say the food is basic or maybe homestyle and not fancy?  Was there anything wrong with the preparation or flavors?  

Also, since you went to the gym, did you see any foam rollers?  If I don't have to pack one, that'll save me a lot of space 😁

[zackarykeef]

2 hours ago, theloo said:

First, thank you for your review.  I already have a cruise booked on the Crown, so I may need to adjust some expectations.  

I'm sorry the food was disappointing, but since you mentioned that you're foodies and that the plating and menu choices were outdated, would you say the food is basic or maybe homestyle and not fancy?  Was there anything wrong with the preparation or flavors?  

Also, since you went to the gym, did you see any foam rollers?  If I don't have to pack one, that'll save me a lot of space 😁

You’re very welcome!

 

I wouldn’t call it homestyle…I’m originally from the Midwest, and I love homestyle cooking. I think my main issue was that it felt like more mass-produced cafeteria food (I know that’s harsh, but I mean like a protein with regular mashed potatoes and a few steamed veggies). I guess basic is a good word like you mentioned. It really was outdated…if you search some of the recent menus, you can see the choices…things that would’ve been considered “fancy” and served in nice restaurants a long time ago, possibly on the Titanic 🤣 just not modern enough for me I guess.

 

My biggest issue was the seafood, which I felt was all overcooked. I like seafood on a cruise and especially Alaska, so that was a let down. Overall flavor seemed to be standard salt and pepper 😴 Just my opinion, but the Princess fans still rave about it so idk 🤷🏼‍♂️ 

 

I honestly don’t remember the rollers or not, and I don’t want to give you incorrect information…I’m so sorry!

(I’m not sure who replied to you above, but it seems like he hijacked my post and only joined CC right before posting 🤣🤷🏼‍♂️)

[Host Kat]

55 minutes ago, zackarykeef said:

... (I’m not sure who replied to you above, but it seems like he hijacked my post and only joined CC right before posting 🤣🤷🏼‍♂️)

 

The post has been removed.