Live From The Crown !!

[funduo]

Hi Caviargrl - I happen to "crusin" these threads and saw you were from Lakewood. I also grew up there. Without releasing too much information, I was in the first graduating class of the "new" high school back in the 70's. Were you anywhere around those years? Even smaller world. Are you considering the Crown? We sail on her in only 3 week.

 

Happy sailing!

[caviargal]

Hi Caviargrl - I happen to "crusin" these threads and saw you were from Lakewood. I also grew up there. Without releasing too much information, I was in the first graduating class of the "new" high school back in the 70's. Were you anywhere around those years? Even smaller world. Are you considering the Crown? We sail on her in only 3 week.

 

Happy sailing!

 

I lived there from 1961 til 1974 and attended St. Mary Academy and then Lakewood High School. Honestly cannot remember if it was new school or not but it was pretty rough when I went there, race riots and stuff. My parents had a luncheonette on one of the main streets in town , right down from the YMCA.

 

We moved to FL in 1974 and I have been here ever since. :) I still have family in Redbank, Leonardo and Lyndhurst.

 

Crown is a possibility but still not sure. Look forward to reading your review.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Leafpeeper]

Woah, where in Toms River Chrissy, I live in TR as well. Small world.

 

Nice area. I spent a night in Toms River on my honeymoon back in 1968. My DH was stationed at Fort Monmouth back in the mid 60's so I thought it would be fun for him to show me the place on our honeymoon. Then we turned around and headed to Newport and Cape Cod for the rest of honeymoon.

[funduo]

I lived there from 1961 til 1974 and attended St. Mary Academy and then Lakewood High School. Honestly cannot remember if it was new school or not but it was pretty rough when I went there, race riots and stuff. My parents had a luncheonette on one of the main streets in town , right down from the YMCA.

 

QUOTE]

Sounds like you were right around my time. Did your parents own the SPOT? What year did you graduate? If you like you can email me directly at harvey@skyweb.net

 

Leafpeeper, back in the days, the area was really nice. We used to have horse drawn sleighs around the lake between lakewood and TR. Back then, winter was winter!. Perhaps thats why we like cruising so much, trying to get to the warmer weather.

[mattsmom]

Okay I am a princess cruiser so will join in here. I am a 1970 graduate of Georgian Court in Lakewood. Anyone else?

[CruiserPJ]

Yeah Eckerd has watersocks for $12.99 (I work there). They're black "unisex" with colored piping.

 

And if you come get them at my store you can have my 20% off discount...LOL!

 

This is Mindy's Mom - I bought water socks for all 6 of us going on the 7/11 cruise at Target for $4.99 each - had men's, women's and children's - - black/blue for the guys and black/pink for the gals.

 

Finished your packing yet, Mindy? I got a great pair of Judith black dress sandals at Boskov's for $14.00 - just what I was looking for for those formal dinners we soon will be enjoying on the Crown!

[cruzjunkie22]

To anybody in the mini-suites:

Are there full size toiletries or just the small packets? I was on the RCL last year in a mini-suite and we had full size, but someone else mentioned only the full suites (Penthouse & Vista) had this size.

Thanks for the help!

[allyfl]

We had just the small packets in our mini-suite...

[caviargal]

Okay I am a princess cruiser so will join in here. I am a 1970 graduate of Georgian Court in Lakewood. Anyone else?

 

I always wanted to go there or FDU when I was young! The campus was lovely.

[PACruisnfamily]

- The room was located on Dolphin (deck 9)and was D737 or the "St. John Suite", starboard side facing aft;

- our 11yr old son (5'10" 125lbs) slept on the sofa bed. While it wasn't a Beautyrest mattress, it wasn't a normal pull-out either. The width was two cushions wide and the mattress was much thicker than he was used to. He said it was the most comfortable one he has slept on. There is also a bed that folds down from the ceiling accessed by a ladder that our 8yr old daughter slept on. Usually they alternate each night to be fair for the upper bunk, but the sofa be was so comfortable, our son slept on it the entire cruise;

- note also that when the two additional beds were prepared in the evening by our steward, they both were outfitted with the same high quality sheets as the main bed and each had the fluffy duvets, too!;

- electrical outlets - there are (3) 3prong outlets side by side at the desk area. If any of your adapters are the large, block type plugs you'll need a power strip to plug them in at the same time. The outlets are close together and one of those big plugs will block the others. Normal 2 or 3 prong outlets fit side by side with no problem;

-after check in we went to the Platinum lounge at the Brooklyn terminal. By 11:15am, it was standing room only. The area had its' own restrooms (single men's and single ladies). The only advantage to this room is that they allowed the Platinum lounge inhabitants to board first. Other than that, there were no other advantages (like no refreshments, entertainment or anything like that). For the 45 minutes we sat there, the kids played the hand held video games they brought with them and it was a little boring waiting. There were LCD monitors in the room but they were not turned on;

-We had traditional dining and stuck to that. Our luggage was delivered and picked up the same as everyone else, nothing special there.

-disembarkation was tragic. We were allowed to go to Club Fusion with the other Platinum and suite guests, but nothing special there either. They had one tray with serve yourself orange juice and coffee, but we still had to wait for our "color" to be called to get off the ship. We sat in that room from 8am til 10:45am waiting for our color. If you want more detail on disembarkation, let me know because I could go on for awhile. This situation was the biggest downer on the entire trip and unfortunately the last memory we carried home with us.

-the TVs were 20" LCDs. Fair picture, but nothing spectacular and there were 2 - one facing the bed and another facing the sitting area with a DVD player attached to the 2nd one.

 

Hope that helps...

-

[dmerc]

That disembarkment sounds like a nightmare.

I am cnsidering carrying off my own lugguge. do you know anything more on how that works. For instance do you have time to eat before you leave in the morning or are you called off and gone.

thanks donna

[ErinsMommy]

Hi, Chrissy, just saw your email address. I grew up in Lakewood, went to St. Mary Academy and then Lakewood High. We used to play TRHS in football:).

 

Small world...

 

 

I'm actually from Staten Island, NY. When I was 18, we moved to Toms River. I lived about a half mile from the Ocean County Mall. Last year we moved about 2 miles from Toms River, to Jackson. We are still in Toms River every day.

 

I'm 2 miles from Toms RIver, and 2 miles from Lakewood.

 

I know all of the places you have mentioned.

 

Small world, absolutely !! :)

 

-Chrissy

[PACruisnfamily]

Donna,

You can eat at the buffet after 6am or go to the dining room from 6:30a - 8:30a. If you want to use the express process, you have to inform the purser's desk 2 days before disembarkation, then on disembark day, you go to breakfast and the people who registered for express are the first called to leave. As the process continues through the morning, once your color has been called, you can leave anytime. Express is definately the way to go if you can carry ALL of your stuff at the end of the cruise.

[pes949]

I will be in a VS on Dolphin leaving Sunday. Your information is incredible and I must express my thanks for answering questions that Princess has not been able to provide...

Did you use priority tender service?

Was the balcony sunny or shaded? Was it windy or just breezy?

Do you think the smoke was just from the adjacent cabin or was it following the along the ship and wraping back into the stern?

Did you do the private photo shoot?

Were the perks offered up front and/or did you have to ask for them?

Was the wake loud enough to cause you to speak louder?

Did you use the unpacking/packing service?

 

Please post the details about debarking.... especially the timing as I do not want to keep my driver waiting nor do I want to be on the dock for several hours. I heard it was a real mess at the terminal and traffic was a horror. Any tips on this would be great.

 

Waiting for 2 hours and 45 minutes with only OJ and Coffee does not sound like a benifit to me but I have no choice since I do have heavy luggage.

 

Seeing your wonderful posts made my day.... Thanks so much!!!

 

I promise to post as well upon my return for the next group.

 

 

- The room was located on Dolphin (deck 9)and was D737 or the "St. John Suite", starboard side facing aft;

- our 11yr old son (5'10" 125lbs) slept on the sofa bed. While it wasn't a Beautyrest mattress, it wasn't a normal pull-out either. The width was two cushions wide and the mattress was much thicker than he was used to. He said it was the most comfortable one he has slept on. There is also a bed that folds down from the ceiling accessed by a ladder that our 8yr old daughter slept on. Usually they alternate each night to be fair for the upper bunk, but the sofa be was so comfortable, our son slept on it the entire cruise;

- note also that when the two additional beds were prepared in the evening by our steward, they both were outfitted with the same high quality sheets as the main bed and each had the fluffy duvets, too!;

- electrical outlets - there are (3) 3prong outlets side by side at the desk area. If any of your adapters are the large, block type plugs you'll need a power strip to plug them in at the same time. The outlets are close together and one of those big plugs will block the others. Normal 2 or 3 prong outlets fit side by side with no problem;

-after check in we went to the Platinum lounge at the Brooklyn terminal. By 11:15am, it was standing room only. The area had its' own restrooms (single men's and single ladies). The only advantage to this room is that they allowed the Platinum lounge inhabitants to board first. Other than that, there were no other advantages (like no refreshments, entertainment or anything like that). For the 45 minutes we sat there, the kids played the hand held video games they brought with them and it was a little boring waiting. There were LCD monitors in the room but they were not turned on;

-We had traditional dining and stuck to that. Our luggage was delivered and picked up the same as everyone else, nothing special there.

-disembarkation was tragic. We were allowed to go to Club Fusion with the other Platinum and suite guests, but nothing special there either. They had one tray with serve yourself orange juice and coffee, but we still had to wait for our "color" to be called to get off the ship. We sat in that room from 8am til 10:45am waiting for our color. If you want more detail on disembarkation, let me know because I could go on for awhile. This situation was the biggest downer on the entire trip and unfortunately the last memory we carried home with us.

-the TVs were 20" LCDs. Fair picture, but nothing spectacular and there were 2 - one facing the bed and another facing the sitting area with a DVD player attached to the 2nd one.

 

Hope that helps...

-

[Colo Cruiser]

Enjoy your cruise and leave some for me. :D

[hc_cruiser]

Interested to know how you travelled from Manhatten to the Red Hook terminal in Brooklyn. We are a party of four from England staying in Manhatten for four days before the boarding the Crown on 29 July.

 

Can anyone tell me the best and cheapest way to get to the terminal? Or how much roughly by taxi? I would really appreciate a response.

[caviargal]

QUOTE]

Sounds like you were right around my time. Did your parents own the SPOT? What year did you graduate? If you like you can email me directly at harvey@skyweb.net

 

The name was "LuMars" and it was across from Grebows Hardware Store.

 

I moved to FL before graduation.

[hc_cruiser]

cien750hp

 

"having stayed in new york. and had the pizza and entertainment there, the first production show "Destination Anywhere" seemed pretty bad. as did the pizza. but as the cruise went on. the pizza got better. and the second production show "Motor City" was pretty good"?

 

 

I wonder if anyone can respond? We are from England and staying in Manhatten for a few days before joining the Crown on 29 July. Can anyone tell me what is the best way of travelling to Red Hook Cruise Terminal from Mahatten? There are four of us with baggage.

 

Any idea how much a taxi would cost??

 

Look forward to any postings.

 

:confused:

[mattsmom]

Thanks Caviargirl for remembering GCC. DH and I are booked on the Crown out of San Juan Dec. 2 so it will be awhile until we experience this new ship. I am trying to remember some things about Lakewood. I know there was a place downtown that we went for eggcreams and of course there was Sibillios restaurant and what was the name of the other one-logcabin or something. maybe I am getting confused. I also lived in Asbury Park during the summer of the rioting - very sad. (summer of 1970)

[airgirl]

HC Cruiser if you go to the port section on Cruise critics there is a gentleman from Brooklyn that seems to know all about cab fares and how to get to red hook from NY. He helped me with a question of which route to take. Try to ask your question there, he is very helpful and good luck. Also if you are staying in a manhattan hotel, the concierge can give you a good estimate too.

[pink1]

thanks for those pics

 

pink

[pink1]

I guess the picture I found was the same one as yours. The childrens pool is cute, but seems VERY small! We went on the NCL Dawn last year and the childrens area included several small pools with several slides and dinosaurs and such.

 

Don't fret though, I heard the childrens play areas are very nice and heard nice things about the kids "camp". It's available 9-12, 2-5, and 7-10, with $5/hour from 10-1am. I have a 3 1/2 year old girl, so I guess our children will be playing with each other at some point !

 

Keep in touch, we can exchange information as it comes.... :)

 

tomsrivergirl@yahoo.com

 

 

-Chrissy

 

 

Chrissy,

 

Thanks for your info, can't wait for this cruise!! It's nice to know that other people are going with small children, seems like everyone that's chatting have children that are older or children that are staying at home.

 

I've been on a cruise b/f but that was in the "pre children" era so I'm a bit anxious cuz I'm looking forward to some alone time with hubby and adult time with some others. I hope the kids with adjust ok, I hear the people who work in the kid areas are good at getting the kids involved.

 

Did you see the pics of the pelicans area?? If not , let me know and I'll get them to you. I'm trying to figure out the best way to write back to people cuz I just joined this not long ago.

 

My emal, skibny1969@yahoo.com

 

 

Funny though, I'm a Kristin!

 

Take care,

Kris:o

[PACruisnfamily]

Sorry for the delay,

First - have a great time and enjoy (we sure did).

 

-Priority Tender. In addition to the small tender boats Princess lowers from the side to use (if you are walking around the outside on deck 7, its the orange and white boats whose bottoms are shaped like a pontoon or catamaran with 2 propellers on the end), there were 2 bigger, ferry like boats from the locals that were used. The process was quick and efficient. We went to breakfast in the DaVinci dining room and went down the stairs for the tender. The exit from the ship is on deck 4 and I think the DaVinci was on the 5th or 6th. The line for the tender winded up the stair case but went fast. The only reason, I think, to use priority tender tickets is if you need to get out early for an excursion. Otherwise make your way off leisurely and let the "I gotta be first to shore" folks duke it out.

-The balcony was shaded. The balcony above ours (yours!) went out a few inches past ours so you get the warmth without the UV rays. At times depending on the angle of the ship, our feet would be in the sun when laying on the chaise lounge chairs and when moving there was a steady light breeze from the swirling air coming off the back of the ship (uh oh, I'm having wonderful flashbacks...). On sea days, the slider next to the bed had a tendancy to slide open when the ship would take a right turn, there's really no way to secure it closed when your outside. Didn't happen often, just usually right when we dozed off for an afternoon nap - then ssllliiiidddeeedd ooopppeeenn and BOOM! I ended up putting a chair behind the slider on those occasions.

-The smoke was definately from our neighbors - not only did we see the smoke trail on days in port when the ship wasn't moving, we also saw several empty cartons (yes, cartons) outside their door one day when Gabriel (the outstanding steward for your room) was cleaning.

-Actually, we didn't purchase any photos. We look in the gallery each evening but did not buy any. The photo shoot is by request only, you're not going to see any solicitation for it. I'm sure it's available as advertised, we just didn't ask.

-Everything except the photo shoot was provided or the request cards were placed either on our bed or in our mailbox at the door of the cabin. There was a menu binder that was changed out by Gabriel every evening with the next day's full dining room selections, the canapes were by door hanger that had to be out by 10am for that evening's delivery. Tender tickets and other perk info were communicated in letters left in the mailbox. Anything you don't see - just ask Gabriel (He was in the hall working on rooms all day except from about 2:30pm - 6pm).

-Not really, If your leaning on the railing and someone opens the slider without stepping out on the balcony, it was difficult to hear when the ship was moving. Otherwise it gave a feeling of solitude and privacy.

-We did not use the unpacking/packing. 1 - we wanted to know where to find everything and put things in a way we could get the kids outfits together quickly; and, 2 - we were a little self conscious about asking

-Disembark...this is important - if you have a driver waiting as we did. Although people started getting off by 7:30am and based on your room location, you are near the end of the list because of the color system. We had the driver scheduled for 9am and did not get called to get off until 10:45am. Then getting our bags was another 15-20 minutes. The porter situation did not help. When you get into the terminal, your bags are straight ahead in the far left corner; the line to wait for the next available porter is in the far right corner and was about 20 people deep. Once you get your bags, you wait in a Disneyworld like line to get to a custom agent's counter...then finally out to the mass confusion at the curb. We got out to the curb at 11:15am. We stayed in contact with the driver by cel phone the entire time and he had to wait out by the street until we called (while in line for the customs counter). He drove in and I first gave him a $50 tip and apologized for the 2hr wait, I think it worked because we were not charged for wait time!

Good luck with this, you'll have to decide if you want to try to time it or wait for the car once you get through. One note, there was not food or drinks other than water available after 9:30 am on the ship! Just be prepared.

 

Bon Voyage! Have the time of your life

[pink1]

Pink1 - come on over to our 10/18 roll call!!

 

Tomp47,

 

Joined the roll call!! Thanks!! Looking forward to chatting and the cruise!!

 

Kristin

[PACruisnfamily]

pes949,

I saw your questions this morning (~9:15am) and replied, take a look