Crown Princess Reviews - should we be concerned?

[TM]

We sailed on the Crown in late August/early September to Alaska.  The crew were great.  I thought the food in the MDR was the worst we have ever had on 25+ Princess cruises.  Breakfast in the buffet was the exact same thing every morning with no variation at all.  We had a mini-suite.  The mattress was very broken down.  And I would bet that the couch was probably original to when the ship was first launched many years ago.  While food and entertainment are subjective, the entertainment on that cruise we felt was lacking.  In fact, so much so that for the first time in over 30 cruises we went back to our stateroom after dinner on several nights to watch a movie on the TV,

[rheathslc]

On 2/5/2024 at 1:14 AM, SCX22 said:

Remember the Crown lost propulsion in Alaska in 2022. 

I was on one of the Crown Alaska cruises in May 2022 with the engine issues. They had to cancel several ports and as a consequence we had several more sea days, which I was honestly fine with and actually gave me a lot more time to really explore and enjoy the ship. 

 

In my experience the Crown is very dated looking and a bit worn but clean and well maintained in general. The crew were also amazing and made the trip for me. I was solo on that cruise and had a fabulous time. Although that was still in the early days after the restart plus early season for Alaska. I think we sailed at about 50% capacity on that trip.

 

We don't have children and prefer Princess for that reason but I also am able to find joy in seeing kiddos have fun and enjoy themselves even if they are loud so I generally don't mind the handful of kids that are around on most Princess cruises. In certain seasons there will be more families - think Spring Break, Christmas, summer. I typically spend most of my time in the adults only areas and seldom visit the buffet except for early in the morning when it's less crowded so even on full cruises I am usually able to avoid crowds and children when I want to.

 

I think it all comes down to where and how you think you'll spend your time onboard. The Crown and other older ships still have lots of cozy and enjoyable spaces that make them worth sailing on imo. They also sail to some great destinations.

[Muffinz]

5 hours ago, Cruise Raider said:

We just disembarked from the Crown yesterday, after not having sailed on her since her inaugural year.  
I was hesitant to book a cruise on her but the price was right and she sails out of our home port, so I booked a few cruises on her when they had a big sale.  
We were on a short 5 night sailing and this was going to be the cruise to determine if we would go back to the Majestic (my favorite ship) or on the Crown back up to Alaska this year.  
 

Cons:  

1) Yes, there was a slight sewer smell on both embarkation and disembarkation day, not at all in the middle of the cruise.  We had no problems with any of the toilets. 

2) The ship did this weird little vibration thing every so often more so than we’ve had on other ships but, that really could have been the seas.  It really wasn’t bothersome.  We did have a few seconds of severe vibration on the last night that I’m sure awakened most passengers.  

3) There are just two casual dining venues, Vines that has a charcuterie board with crudities and the GastroPub, which opens only for dinner.  They also have just two specialty dining venues plus a pop up Crab Shack dining menu up in the buffet area.  
4) The buffet just doesn’t have the room for all the options offered on the Royal class ships.  
 

Pros:  

1) The crew!  As the Hotel General Manager stated while on the Wake Show, “We may not be the newest ship or the glitziest ship, we want to be known as the happy ship”.  They’ve pretty much succeeded there!  
2) She is kept clean and well maintained.  We even had what looked to be pristine blue matting on our balcony.  Along with that, they’ve put some heavy duty slip covers on their balcony chairs and footstools.  Our cabin was clean and very comfortable.  Everything was in working order.  
3) The food was very good to excellent.  I never had anything that was what I’d say wasn't fresh or served at the wrong temperature.  As above, the choices were limited but what they did have was great.  The coffee at the IC was absolutely fantastic!  And they serve it in proper cups.  
4) The entertainment and activities were great.  If you’re bored on this ship, that would be your own fault.  There were always choices of something to do.  

oh .. and did I mention the great crew?  I’m sure I did .. they were impressive.  


So, I always fill out my post cruise survey they day of disembarkation while it is still fresh in my mind.  These were my recommendations to make our cruise experience better .. 

 

1) that they allow those with the packages on these older ships to order a whole pizza or sushi via the app for no extra charge.  The packages just have better value on the Royal class ships.  
2) please do not allow smoking in any indoor venues including the casino (those in Australia are so lucky) 

3) please use better wine glasses with the purchase of premium wines in all venues.  While we did have nice wine glasses available in Vines and in the Crown Grill, it would be nice to see them in every venue that have premium wines available 

 

We had a fantastic cruise .. most of it is all in what you make it!  

 

Thanks for that review - that's very helpful

 

We've looked at a few clips of Crown Princess clips on YouTube and this is our general observation from the clips we've seen

The balcony staterooms look slightly older and smaller than on Celebrity Solstice, but they do have a larger wardrobe - which was nice.

The bathroom / shower looked smaller too and had a shower curtain instead of an actual shower door - that's not a deal breaker though

There didn't seem to be any electrical outlets near the bed - it looked like they are by the desk or in the bathroom, but this is not a major problem.

 

There seemed to be a lot more bars on the ship, but one clip showed a long line of people queueing at one bar that looked like it only had 1 server near the pools?

But one person said on their clip / review if there is a queue at the bar, just go to another bar...

One person did a clip of going to the buffet and it looked very crowded / packed.... but all the food they showed in the buffet and other restaurants looked very nice

 

There were 4? pools on board and someone said the pool by the lotus spa is a 'hidden gem' - this is good to know

 

Someone also posted a clip of Embarkation day on Crown from San Francisco, and the queue was miles long with people standing out in the open for ages... I don't know if it was just the port at San Fran that was the problem or if it is a wider Princess problem? 

The cruise we are considering leaves from Sydney (Australia)

 

Our first (and to date only) cruise also left from Sydney and we had to wait about 40-45 minutes in the queue at the overseas passenger terminal there, but the queue was moving fairly steadily.

We got an e-mail from Celebrity a few days before the cruise stating what our boarding time would be, as they did it by what deck you were on.

The clip we saw showed the couple (who were filming it) got allocated a number and I assume when their number was called they were allowed to board? is this standard procedure for Princess?

I'm not really a fan of having to wait in long queues.

 

We're just a little worried that we might be 'disappointed' cruising on Crown Princess - because our Celebrity Solstice was so fantastic... but then again we had nothing to compare it to as it was our first cruise

 

but thanks again for the review and for everyone's help!

[Cruise Raider]

6 minutes ago, Muffinz said:

Thanks for that review - that's very helpful

 

We've looked at a few clips of Crown Princess clips on YouTube and this is our general observation from the clips we've seen

The balcony staterooms look slightly older and smaller than on Celebrity Solstice, but they do have a larger wardrobe - which was nice.

The bathroom / shower looked smaller too and had a shower curtain instead of an actual shower door - that's not a deal breaker though

There didn't seem to be any electrical outlets near the bed - it looked like they are by the desk or in the bathroom, but this is not a major problem.

 

There seemed to be a lot more bars on the ship, but one clip showed a long line of people queueing at one bar that looked like it only had 1 server near the pools?

But one person said on their clip / review if there is a queue at the bar, just go to another bar...

One person did a clip of going to the buffet and it looked very crowded / packed.... but all the food they showed in the buffet and other restaurants looked very nice

 

There were 4? pools on board and someone said the pool by the lotus spa is a 'hidden gem' - this is good to know

 

Someone also posted a clip of Embarkation day on Crown from San Francisco, and the queue was miles long with people standing out in the open for ages... I don't know if it was just the port at San Fran that was the problem or if it is a wider Princess problem? 

The cruise we are considering leaves from Sydney (Australia)

 

Our first (and to date only) cruise also left from Sydney and we had to wait about 40-45 minutes in the queue at the overseas passenger terminal there, but the queue was moving fairly steadily.

We got an e-mail from Celebrity a few days before the cruise stating what our boarding time would be, as they did it by what deck you were on.

The clip we saw showed the couple (who were filming it) got allocated a number and I assume when their number was called they were allowed to board? is this standard procedure for Princess?

I'm not really a fan of having to wait in long queues.

 

We're just a little worried that we might be 'disappointed' cruising on Crown Princess - because our Celebrity Solstice was so fantastic... but then again we had nothing to compare it to as it was our first cruise

 

but thanks again for the review and for everyone's help!

Never a problem helping out. Fellow cruiser.  It’s funny because a cruise on the Crown years ago prompted me to join cruise critic.  Many things have changed since then .. so no need to go into that.  We’ve also cruised on the Solstice a few times in the past and as recently as back in April 2023, so can make some comparisons for you.  
 

Princess keeps you quite entertained throughout your cruise whether you are at sea or in port.  And Princess allows you to order food through your app for delivery whereas Celebrity really doesn’t have anything like this.  You can order food to your cabin on celebrity but I believe it will cost you $15 (possible with an 18% gratuity added) for not orders to your cabin.  On Princess, if you have a plus or premier fare package, any delivery fees are waived.  If you are on standard fare, you pay a one time fee to activate your Ocean Now feature on the app or if you chose to use your phone in your room, there is a delivery service fee of $5 for each order.  

The specialty restaurants are less expensive on Princess and the food is really good.  However, the Crown Princess doesn’t have a great variety of casual or specialty restaurants to as you will find on the Royal class ships, thus making it a lesser value IMO.  
 

If you book a balcony cabin on the Caribe deck on the Crown, your balcony is half covered and is quite large, larger than those on the Solstice unless you get a cabin on the hump or the aft on deck 6.  The aft facing cabins can also have larger balconies on the Crown.  We particularly like the ones on deck 9, as they are large but completely covered.  The dolphin deck balconies on the sides are for the mini suites and are completely uncovered.  There are also covered balconies for the mini suites on deck 8.  Some don’t like those as they are right above Club Fusion and you can sometimes hear the noise from below during shows.  But, they are well sought after cabins, especially the two very aft ones, as they have an extended balcony.  
 

As for Celebrity, their bathrooms are much nicer than on those on Princess in standard non suite cabins.  Celebrity has the nightlights around the mirror and glass shower doors.  Princess has a motion sensor bright light as you approach the bathroom at night.  Not many people, including us, like those.  They also have motion sensor lights under the nightstands, which are also pretty annoying.  There are a multitude of tricks you can use to not have those wake you up at night.  
The nightstands have actual drawers on the Crown vs those little night tables on the Solstice.  
Now, I like the open closet feature on Princess and their beds are a lot more comfy than those on Celebrity.  Celebrity ships do have a couch, albeit sometimes a small one, in their cabins.  On Princess, you need to be in a deluxe balcony, not available on the Crown, or a mini suite to get a sofa.  

We were in that big huge line up in San Francisco last week. The good news was it had stopped raining just as we got to the port.  We’ve had much better embarkations in San Francisco but we’ve also had much worse, too.  I’d say we stood in line about one hour outside and it took us another 20 minutes once inside to go through security.  After that, because we had our medallions, we went right through the green line with no wait and then right onto the ship.  For those in the blue line, it looked like that may have taken another half an hour or so.  
They’ve given up on giving out particular boarding times because everyone ignored them anyway.  It just got to be a mess.  So, not sure about boarding times down under but I’d show up between 10:30 AM and 2:30 PM for a 4:00 PM departure.  I’ve seen the numbers given out but that is only for those that show up and have gone through security and get checked in prior to the ship being open for boarding.  
 

The outlets on a regular balcony cabin on the Crown are on the balcony side of the desk.  There is also one behind the TV on the shelf above the refrigerator cabinet.  This is only true for the Crown class ships.  However, there is a 220 volt outlet along with a USB-A and a USB-C port built into the desk near the nightstand.  Brilliant!  I’ve included a photo below.  
 

There is an adults only pool on the Crown up near the spa.  While I didn’t visit that one on this last cruise, I’ve been on the Ruby several times and it was our hang out.  There is no admittance fee for using this pool other than being an adult.  There are no accessibility features for this pool, though.  A small set of stairs surrounds the pool area.  And yea, there are 4 pools but none of the, are covered.  It was cold last week except our day in San Diego so we never went to the pool.  
 

[PurpleTraveller]

21 hours ago, Muffinz said:

Thanks for the replies

 

The only thing that really bothers us is having loads of screaming kids on board... running and jumping into the pools splashing the adults that are there trying to relax and enjoy themselves (unless there are 'adult only 'pools on Crown?)

We did see kids on Solstice, but there weren't many of them and the ones we saw were obviously well behaved

 

has anyone experienced any problems with tendering on Crown?

2-3 of the port stops are tender ones and with 3000 guests all clambering to get on a tender it might be a bit chaotic? 

 

Any cruise leaving Australia at Christmas will have a lot of children as it is the school holidays. I was on a Royal Princess cruise that finished in Sydney on December 15, 2023. The next cruise was going to have the same number of adults plus an extra 500 children. 

 

There is a tender system on all Princess ships where independent passengers (those not on a Princess shore excursion) have to get a tender ticket and wait until their ticket is called to get on to a tender. If you want to be off the ship early you need to line up at the place where the tickets are handed out before the time they start handing out the tickets so that you get an early ticket. Instructions for the where and when will be in the Princess Patter the night before the tender port.

 

Edited February 8 by PurpleTraveller

[rolem]

I am on the Crown right now and for the most part it is in good shape. The major negative is the main dining room. There is no manager overseeing dinner operations so the wait staff mostly stand around talking while moving dishes and wiping counters in circles. Most of our dinners are taking 1 hour and 15 minutes for 3 courses (skipping dessert). The MDR food is not good enough (tiny portions and no flavor) for 20 minute lags between courses. The buffet service is better but the food is pretty much the same day to day. Breakfast choices almost never change day to day. The two specialty restaurants have the best food and service. 

 

The bonus is the laundry is free right now because their token machine is broken...

[TravOak]

I just came back from the Crown Princess after a 10-day trip to Mexico from SF. I've never been on a cruise before so I have nothing to compare it with. The ship is a bit old, and one of the ceilings above the coffee station in the buffet leaked every day. The staff just put a bucket under it and did not bother fixing it. The pool was never heated. Overall, it was an average experience. 

[Muffinz]

1 hour ago, TravOak said:

I just came back from the Crown Princess after a 10-day trip to Mexico from SF. I've never been on a cruise before so I have nothing to compare it with. The ship is a bit old, and one of the ceilings above the coffee station in the buffet leaked every day. The staff just put a bucket under it and did not bother fixing it. The pool was never heated. Overall, it was an average experience. 

thanks for that - not good about a leaking ceiling though.... you think they'd be getting that fixed a.s.a.p.

 

interesting coment regarding the pools - I wonder if all the pools are not heated or is it just some?

 

we've seen enough clips on YouTube and got some first hand reviews on Cruise Critic and we're pretty satisfied overall with the look / layout of the ship / cabins / dining options and bars...etc...

[Jose Zalfadilla]

Sounds like the propulsion or propeller problems of old, which led to port cancellations due to slower speeds and inability to keep to itinerary, have not happened in some time. Correct?