9/3 Crown Princess---first time cruisers

[rebeccalouise]

One more thing on tatoos. In my college days a buddy and I decided to get tattos on a dare. I chickened out but my buddy got one just the same. Nothing in your face but visible nontheless. Well back to the furture and the present time. I work for a large corporation and my friend went on to be a successful high priced lawyer here in Montreal. He still boasts and proudly shows his tattoo. Does that scare away his clients. No way. In fact it shows them some lawyers are actually human.

 

These days many people have tatoos. I guess I am old fashioned. When I was growing up my parents would have died if I brought home a boy or young man with a tatoo. That was considered low class. Yes, I am still a product of that generation and I also don't like pierced tongues and pierced noses- either. These things are "trendy" now. Maybe I just enjoy being in the company of other people that can relate to what I am talking about- where they said "good morning" as they passed you in the hall. Where people dressed up for dinner and hid their tatoos if they had them. This is old-fashioned but I still like it and it shows respect for others to dress appropriately.

 

But that doesn't mean that I would be rude to someone who had a tatoo. I have friends with tatoos but I tell them honestly I would never get one.

[djheart007]

oh my.... I am going on the Crown 11/4 -I cannot wait, no matter what is going on this board. Oh, I do have a small tatoo, that I am proud of. Also proud of my two lovely well mannered boys. This will be my 4th cruise. Oh and I am not a rude or low class person with a tatoo, look at the big picture in life not the non trivia things. :) Enjoy life !

[Sandytoes]

First someone should have warned you that the showers are small. Barely big enough for one let alone for 2.

I also enjoyed the food. Can't not say one negative thing about it. The food presentation was an art piece in itself. Elegant!

Lounge chairs is a major complaint.

There were a lot of 18-25 yrs old on your cruise. Which surprised me that you did not see much of a party atmosphere.... Princess is known to be a more relaxing cruise.

Thanks for your review....

[willysgrandma]

You know what I've found? Having not repeated a line yet (not for any reason, just trying all the lines!) but talked to many people at dinners, I think it varies more CRUISE to CRUISE then line to line.

That is so true. Our first cruise was the Celebrity Century when she was new, we loved it. Our third was the Celebrity Horizon which we hated, but made the best of it.

 

If the Horizon was our first cruise, I never would have booked a Celebrity ship again.

 

No cruise is perfect - but what land vacation is either? If you want to find something wrong, you can no matter what kind of vacation it is.

 

You just need to roll with it and laugh a lot.

[soccer seth]

P.S: I don't expect my waiters to sing (nobody does!)- they do expect them to be friendly, engaging and helpful.

 

I saw many posts on this board and the Royal Caribbean board about people upset the waiters didn't sing, dance or "perform." It seems like people enjoy this..I wouldn't care either way.

 

Nothing wrong with people getting tattoos. It has nothing to do with being low-class. I just got one on my arm with my soccer number on it, I love it. My fiance has a small butterfly on her lower back--she can cover it if she needs to, but loves to show it off at the beach. We are a fairly classy couple, so having a tattoo has nothing to do with class.

 

Thanks for all of your quick and friendly responses. We are thinking about booking the Explorer for March 2008 for our honeymoon. Also looked at the Freedom, but someone suggested for me to check out the amount of space per passenger, and the Freedom looks WAY too crowded. Thanks for the tip. You are all a huge help.

 

:eek:---love this face

[rebeccalouise]

I should have never made the comment about tatoos. I am sorry that I offended people with that one.

What I mean is that if you are looking for shipboard elegance (and some people really aren't) then the more expensive lines attract this type of person. And of course there are rude people in every price catagory- but when you have a smaller passenger to crew ratio (which the more expensive cruises normally do) and the ships aren't overcrowded (like the they are on the cheaper cruises)- the passengers don't have as many reasons to complain. Keep this in mind.

I love cruising- have done Holland Am, NCL,RCI, Celebrity, Carnival, Princess, Costa and have yet to have a bad time. The best in my view have been on Celebrity.

[ozland]

You know what I've found? Having not repeated a line yet (not for any reason, just trying all the lines!) but talked to many people at dinners, I think it varies more CRUISE to CRUISE then line to line. On our last Princess cruise we had the TIME of our lives. Our tablemates had been on 20 something cruises and said that was their favorite by far. They had been other not so great Princess, some great and not so great Royal cruises. I think it really depends on your waiter, your tablemates, the weather, etc etc etc! So don't give up on a line based on one cruise. After 2 or 3 times...maybe. You just never know!

 

I agree! We have sailed most cruislines more than once (except for Celebrity and the 2nd is coming up next year). OUR experience has been varied from ship to ship. Two on one cruiseline were good, two were really bad.

 

Our *bad* experience on one ship resulted in a life-endangerment situation caused by neighboring passengers and security was "afraid" (?) to do anything. After expressing concern for three days with no success, WE were moved to a cabin in the bilges for safety (after paying for a balcony). Neighboring passengers continued to sail in their balcony cabin and moved on to harrass other passengers!

 

Would we sail that cruiseline again? Yes, we actually did. We received a 20% future cruise as a result of the experience (not sufficient probably but that is another story). Extended family had already booked and we went with them. A different ship. We had a good experience.

 

GENERALLY SPEAKING, the only "consistency" we have found, across the board, is that service from the purser's office personnel could stand a little improvement . . . :)

 

We have yet to go on a cruise (other than the one mentioned above) that we haven't enjoyed. Have there been moments on each . . . sometimes . . . but we don't allow that to spoil our vacation.

[Northender]

I agree, you cannot compare one cruise to another. Our first cruise was on The Grand Princess. We did not know anyone and our socalled Meet and Mingle fell apart. DH and I had an absolutely wonderful time together.:)

The second cruise was on The Star and we a good rollcall. We were not joined at the hip, but it was nice to stop and talk or have a drink or two with others from the rollcall.

 

The third cruise was on The Golden and what a rollcall we had. More fun with these people but still had time for ourselves. :) I don't think we can top this group but am trying for our next cruise in March 2007 back on The Grand. Rollcall is not as big but great funloving folks. We have already made arrangements for some excursions together and dinner the night before in Galveston.

We never personally had a problem on any ship with the pursers office, they were always responsive and smiling. But on the Golden, you should have met the FCC lady. We gave her two nicknames - Cupcake was one and Witchy Woman was the other. She was really nasty and has now moved on to another ship. I hope it is not the Grand.:eek:

 

rebeccalouise - yes, you are old fashioned and that goes with the type of bringing up that some of us had. I don't like to see people covered with them, but that is their business. Also, if the tounge, belly piercing is a trend as you say, it has been one heck of a long trend.

Waiters sing and dance - heck no, just bring me my wine and dinner. I enjoy being with DH and having a nice dinner together and then meeting up with new friends afterwards in one of the lounges or piano bar.

 

To the OP, sorry about what happened to you. This was not right, but it figures. Murphy's Law certainly crept in to your cruise. Do not give up as the others say. Find a ship/line that you enjoy and stick with it. Don't make comparisons (it is hard).

Like caviargal we go to breakfast in the dining room. Great selections and nice being waited on in the morning. Lunch is either skipped or late afternoon salad. We also enjoy having a glass or wine on our balcony before getting ready for dinner and stop at the buffet and get some crackers and cheese. The staff will even put some saran wrap around the plate to keep it fresh.

I still have 190 days to go and cannot wait :cool:

[Host CJSKIDS]

Rude illmannered people were not present on the cruises where I payed more $$$$$ including Disney and Celebrity. So, I do think these lines attract better clientelle in general- not so many tattos and people who don't dress for dinner. Not so many families with kids and teens, etc.

 

As for me. Yeah, I think as much as I have traveled both on cruises to other destinations in Europe and Asia- I am pretty sophisticated. I am also a bit of a cruise snob but that comes from having been on so really good ones.

 

I've been on 5 Disney cruises and I can tell you that I've witnessed rude behavior on every one of them! I've seen people push in front for the elevators, cut in front of me late at the buffet, steal our floats that we paid for our Castaway Cay (happened on 3 different cruises) etc, and be chair hogs. Even though Disney may be more expensive than some other cruise lines it is filled with the every day kind of people.

 

We travel frequently and stay in the higher end hotels, like the Ritz Carlton and though there may be the different clientelle in these places like you are talking about I have witnessed some of the worst behavior as well. Get talking to any employee and they will tell you horror stories about how they are treated sometimes.

[jad7984]

Try RC's Voyager or Explorer of the seas. They have an awesome nightlife and the ships have the WOW factor. You will both love this ship, because it's perfect for people around our age. I would suggest the Freedom, but a friend of mine just came back and said it was the most crowded ship he's ever been on. I saw pictures and the ship looks amazing.

[ksm91411]

There is usually something that can and will go wrong on a vacation, be it land or sea. I'm sorry about the flowers and wine. I haven't had this happen, but when our family sailed for my mother's 75th birthday, we preordered a birthday cake, and it wasn't there. We were a bit disappointed, especially my uncle who had made arrangements prior to our cruise, for a cocktail party and the cake at dinner.

 

As for the higher end lines, and no chair hogging or chairs by the pool, unfortunately that has happened to me on every cruise I've been on. Believe it or not, last summer on Oceania (only 670 passengers) it happened on numerous occasions. And there were some pretty rude people, but some were great. The worst was this spring on RCCL-Monarch, there were people out there saving 12 and more chairs with one person and many items. That did drive me crazy, but DH, talked me down and we found chairs upstairs eventually. I really do wish there is some way to avoid that by the pool, and at the buffet. Maybe they could be metered.

 

But, I do hope you try cruising again, on the whole it is my fav way to vacation.

 

happy sailing all, and I hope to find much to enjoy on the Crown in Oct.

 

K

[Bubble-Ont.]

Hi Frinds.... I have read in many reviews how some have had a hard time finding a table in the buffet area. What I have done on past cruises is to ask where there are only 2 people if they minded if I share their table. I have yet to find anyone who has refused. I have met and made new acquaintances this way.....you know someone to wave at later

[dhcoaster]

I know I'll most likely take some heat on this posting, but the best nightlife on all the cruises I've done has been on our two HAL cruises. On both of those cruises HAL had a cruise director and a social host director.

[rebeccalouise]

Hi Frinds.... I have read in many reviews how some have had a hard time finding a table in the buffet area. What I have done on past cruises is to ask where there are only 2 people if they minded if I share their table. I have yet to find anyone who has refused. I have met and made new acquaintances this way.....you know someone to wave at later

 

If you try to avoid peak periods in the buffet- you won't have trouble finding a table. I used to get up at 7AM and had the place almost to myself. By 9- forget about it. At this time probably best to eat in the restaurant. I have experienced this on every cruise.

 

As for lunch, I try to eat lunch out by the pool and have never had trouble getting a table. The long walk to the buffet area- just makes me justify eating whatever I want!

[Ziv]

soccer seth - sorry you had a bad experience. one tip that might help keep your food warm at the buffet room next time: you should first find your table and then take turns getting food. Not very romatic, but the only way to deal with the craziness.

[PMD]

It is funny how people on the same cruise can have such different experiences. I was on this cruise, and while the Horizon Court is busy at times, we never had a problem getting a table. Most people tend to sit next to the serving area on the sides vs the back area or the other side when that side is no longer serving.

 

Same with lounge chairs, may areas all around the ship I didn't have a problem.

[Shoalwater]

Soccer Seth quote: "We also found that most of the dance clubs were either empty or filled with 18 year olds every night. Doesn't seem that Princess has much of a party atmosphere, but I guess I can't complain about that. That's what Carnival is for."

 

We observed the same phenomenon, but only on the Crown. On our other cruises the dance floors were generally well populated. I asked the CD and one band on that cruise about this and they confirmed that on the Crown the dance floors were uniformly empty. In a certain sense it takes away from the fun if you are the only couple dancing in a nearly empty lounge.

 

The lounges did fill for the entertainers (ventroloquist. juggler, etc) but rapidly emptied when the show was over.

 

Now, I attribute this to a northeast thing of "I paid my money, now entertain me." Don't take this as pejorative, but simply as an observation. I grew up in NJ, and have lived in NH, MA, and NY. However, when we moved here to Houston we found a totally different atmosphere. There are plenty of dance halls and lots of folks regularly fill them. The Grand out of Galveston had full dance floors every night until late!

[Shoalwater]

What we do when the Horizon is pretty full' date=' is try to look for a table with a couple of free seats and ask if we can join the people there. Most of the time, people won't hesitate to welcome us there.[/quote']

 

Usually only one side of Horizon is open at a time, and PAXwill look for tables on that side. We always cross to the other, even moving aft and there seems to always be plenty of open tables!

[Shoalwater]

DH and I were on the same cruise as OP.

 

Like a previous poster, we never wait for a table for just us in the buffet area, but ask others if we can join them. We've met some delightful people that way that have added a lot to our cruise experience.

 

You must not be from the northeast where people do everything they can to avoid eye-contact. Asking a stranger to share just isn't the way its done in some of those areas. We like to meet new people as well, but it was harder on the Crown than any of our other trips. We would always ask for a table to share at bkfst/lunch and usually had to wait much longer than expected for someone else to join us. Those that did were invariably not from the metro area. We noticed the tables for 2 filled quickly, and there were a lot of larger groups which may have played a role.

[Trifus]

I disagree with the rude crowds and lines at the buffet statement. The ship I mentioned earlier did not have rude crowds or long lines at the buffet at breakfast or lunch. That is one of the things I really enjoyed about it.

A word to the wise, you get what you pay for. The more expensive ships attract a more sophisticated clientelle.

Rebeccalouise. I'm sorry but I just had to provide MHO to your post. Just because one is on a more expensive ship doesn't make one him or her more sophisticated. It just means that they could better afford that ship.

 

Just because one has more money than another doesn't make that person any more or less sophisticated. Nor does having a tattoo, tongue, eyebrow, or nose piercing make a person any less lower class than anyone else.

 

I don't have piercings or tattoo's and myself, but I would never presume to judge someone or think any less of them for having them.

 

 

I really hope you didn't mean to say that because one couldn't afford to go on a more expensive cruise, that they're any less sophisticated. Because that would be really offensive. You will find rude people everywhere.

[rebeccalouise]

I agree that you can't stereotype people and it isn't rude to have tatoos or body peircing. I shouldn't have equated that with manners. Sorry.

[Trifus]

I agree that you can't stereotype people and it isn't rude to have tatoos or body peircing. I shouldn't have equated that with manners. Sorry.

I'm glad you clarified your position Rebecca. I for one accept your apology for the misunderstanding. It just sounded harsh when you originally posted. Have a good weekend EH.... :)