Crown - 9/24-10/1

[muzicgal]

Wow, what a great cruise! I was kind of afraid after reading some reviews, but either I'm not that picky or things are better now.

 

We flew into Newark from Chicago and had a limo drive us to the port. We had him stop at a CVS so we could pick up pepsi and water. We got a 12 pack of each. I could have used more water. We just carried them on in the bag we got from CVS without any problems. We got to the port at 1:00 and got on pretty quickly. They had 3 lines. One for Lattitude members, one for US citizens (that was long) and one for non-us citizens. Being a rule follower, I got in the US citizen line. After a while I saw the people being motioned and told to go to the non-US citizen line. They would question it and were just told to go there. So what the heck, I went under the rope and went into that line and it moved much faster. Getting on the ship was a breeze, the room was ready and our luggage was there when we got to the room!

 

I LOVE freestyle dining. I am definately a fan of it now. Especially since we were in Bermuda the entire time and could get on and off and basically use it as a hotel. We didn't have to rush on because we were leaving port so we could take our time and eat when we wanted to. I thought the waiters/waitresses were just as good as if they got to know you through the entire cruise. We ate at the main dining room and also tried the 3 specialty dining rooms. Everything was great.

 

The trip to Bermuda was quite rocky. They had warned people before we left that they expected swells and to take something if it would bother you. I did and didn't have a problem, although everyone was walking like they were drunk.

 

It was great going to 3 ports. We went to St. George first. We bought a 2 day bus/ferry pass. We walked around the hilly town for a little bit. Went to the perfumery and saw how they make perfume and then I bought some. Then we decided to take a bus somewhere but didn't know where. We were talking to someone at the bus stop who works for the transit company and he gave us a suggestion which we did take. He said as long as we have the pass to use it. We took a bus into Hamilton and saw lots of beautiful scenery along the way. We got off in Hamilton and then took a ferry to the Dockyards. It made a couple of stops so it was really a great scenic ride. We had lunch at the Frog and Onion and then took the ferry back to St. George. We saw so much the first day by doing that. We used our voucher that night for dinner at the Carriage House and really enjoyed it. We went to the street festival and saw some local vendors and the Gombay dancers.

 

The next day we went to Hamilton. We used our ferry pass in the morning and took the pink line just around the bay where we were docked. It was very nice. Then we walked around Hamilton. We didn't really go in many stores since neither my husband and I are shoppers. We just looked in windows. Then we took the bus to Horseshoe Bay. What a beautiful beach. Definately take the ride to the bottom and top for 1.00 per person.

 

That's it for now. I'll post more later. If anybody has any questions I'll be happy to answer them.

[slapja125]

Glad you had such a great time...my fiancee and i go on the crown 10/22/06 and reading some of the reviews made us a little apprehensive...so its great to hear a positive review....can't wait to see what more you have to write! This is our first time to bermuda....any suggestions for us would be great. We want to make the most of the time we have there...we were thinking about buying the 3 day bus pass...did you find it useful? Any more info you have would be greatly appreciated!!!!!:)

[cruisingbug]

Thanks for the review - glad to hear you had a good time. I think I'm going to buy some Dramamine after reading about all the recent rough weather to Bermuda now though!

 

Hey, slapja1245 - we're on the same sailing! So far on our roll call it's just us and one other couple/group:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=405330

I also saw another person and invited them to the roll call but haven't seen them so far. We'd love to get together onboard!

[WEBJR]

We went in July on the Crown and had a great time. There is nothing not to like about Bermuda. St George we did the horse/carriage ride and it was great. It is a little rocky this time of year. I hope you have the same entertainment we had. Don't miss Rudi or the Liars club.

[muzicgal]

On Thursday we were in the Dockyards. We walked through the craft store and then went to see Glassworks, where they do glass blowing. They weren't doing it while we were there but they have lots of blown glass to purchase. It's a great place to buy gifts. They had everything from animals, to bowls and plates to jewelry. Very beautiful. There is also a rum cake bakery in the same building. You can sample different flavors of rum cakes and purchase them to bring home. There is also a building with pottery. There is a fort to go into there but we didn't have timei to see that. We did a helmut dive excursion that we booked through Hartleys. I would highly recommend that! I had a bit of a problem going down but he worked with me and really calmed me down. That was probably the best excursion I have ever done on a cruise. We touched the fish, coral and sponges. He told us what everything was. It was amazing. After that we went back to the ship. I would love to go back to see everything we missed there but you just can't do everything in one day.

 

Our weather was great. It was quite hot and humid though so we would do things, then go back to the ship and then go back on shore. We definately used it like a hotel.

 

Bermuda is the cleanest island I have ever seen. The people were very friendly. There is so much to see that it really requires more than one visit.

 

We did have a roll call meetup on Monday and then we met again for lunch on Sat. It was great to meet the 3 Robins, Art and Bruce!

 

I love the ship, loved the employees of the ship, love the island, loved freestyle, loved how casual everything was and loved our weather! It was smooth sailing all the way back to NYC. We did the express debarkation and we were off of the ship at 9:00 and at the airport (Newark) at 9:30. Unfortunately we had to wait till 1:00 for our flight home.

 

Any questions, just ask!

 

Laurie

[Maine Cruiser]

Muzicgal, Thanks for all the info. 12 of us (myself, my parents, siblings and our spouses) sail on Sunday (10/8) to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary.

 

I'm trying to not overpack (my husband says that I should just bungee cord my dresser whenever we travel!). Was it cold while you were at sea getting to and from Bermuda? Do I pack long pants and sweaters, or shorts and tees?

 

Thanks for your help!

[bragstarr]

Laurie, you were fast on that review.....

 

I was planning on doing a long review when I got done with everything. Will do so and post on the reviews board, but Laurie really said it all. Rocky ride down--thank goodness for my relief band!--mostly sunny skies in Bermuda and a smooth trip back. Crown is a small, intimate ship, no bells and whistles, but easy to negotiate getting from place to place. We enjoyed the experience tremendously. Wonderfully friendly crew. And I do agree, the reports of bad food on this ship are grossly wrong. We ate well at every meal, and Le Bistro was fabulous. The last night of the cruise--where everyone on these boards is complaining about "macaroni and cheese," they also had flank steak and weinerschnitzel on the menu, which my husband and I respectively enjoyed.

 

Mainecruiser, if you have the weather we had, I wouldn't bring too much heavy stuff, but you are going a few weeks later and it might be a bit cooler. I did wear a sweatshirt out of NYC. My jeans went unworn until the day we arrived back in NYC. It DOES get chilly in the Stardust Lounge and Seven Seas dining room (but then again, I am always cold) and was happy I had two nice lightweight sweaters with me (black and white).

 

Speaking of jeans, they seem to be allowing them in the main dining room on this ship. I wouldn't wear them to LeBistro, but we asked the hostess at Seven Seas and she said since there were not too many dining options, they had decided jeans were OK. I definitely saw people wearing jeans and sneakers in there all week, but the majority were in nicer clothing. Some people did dress up for the first optional formal night, very few for the second (I opted not to have to take formal stuff, lightened the load quite a bit!).

 

We did go into the Maritime Museum and fort at the Naval Yard (the locals will have no idea what you are talking about if you say Kings Wharf!). Great photo ops and some very interesting stuff in there. Hubby and I both enjoyed it tremendously. We also went to Snorkel Park--I found it very rocky and difficult to snorkel. Lots of people said Tobacco Bay in St. Georges is much better. Used the lunch voucher at Frog & Onion at the Dockyard and it was great.

 

When we reached Hamilton we took the bus to Horseshoe Bay beach. I live on Long Island, ten minutes from one of the nicest beaches around, and this surpassed it by tenfold. The sand is like powder, it is streaked with pink. If you go off to the left when you get there there's plenty of room to sit, and wander even further off to the left by the rocks and there are tons of amazing coves and stuff to discover. We really, really enjoyed it.

 

In St. Georges we wandered the streets, also went to the perfumery, and then went back to the ship and laid by a totally empty pool for R & R. Plenty of lounge chairs always available--if not by the pool, then by the hot tubs on deck 10 and on the sun deck on Deck 11.

 

Great island, and very friendly and polite people. The locals directed us more then once, and actually came up and asked if they could help when we looked confused!

 

And it was great to meet up with our small--4 posters!--CC group. Nice to have familiar faces around.

 

Any questions, please ask.

 

Robin #2

[family cruisers]

I'd like to know the same thing. Is it cold while at sea leaving from New York?

Muzicgal, Thanks for all the info. 12 of us (myself, my parents, siblings and our spouses) sail on Sunday (10/8) to celebrate my parents' 50th anniversary.

 

I'm trying to not overpack (my husband says that I should just bungee cord my dresser whenever we travel!). Was it cold while you were at sea getting to and from Bermuda? Do I pack long pants and sweaters, or shorts and tees?

 

Thanks for your help!

[bragstarr]

It was cool leaving NYC, I had on shorts and a sweatshirt. Since our first sea day was miserable and rainy, I was inside the entire day; I wore capris and a tshirt. Coming home it was beautiful and I was in a bathing suit/shorts all day. Since the weather forecast for arrival back in NYC was gloomy, I did wear jeans and a sweatshirt the day we returned.

 

I would definitely bring at least one pair of jeans and a light sweater and/or sweatshirt, but on the island, at least for us, it was shorts, tshirts and bathing suits the entire time. Then again, our weather luckily was gorgeous.

 

Robin

[family cruisers]

Thanks for the great review and answer to my question :-)

[robinzhere]

:)

 

Been too busy to write today, but I did get my pictures up on my private site. I concur with Laurie and Robin. Fear not from the bad reviews. And don't forget the Dramamine!

 

Click here to see them!

 

My favorite dinner item was the rack of lamb. Dessert: The Apple in a Jacket, Creme Brulee and the Rubarb Crumble (lunch dessert on Saturday -- you guys didn't hear me offer to share, did you?) And my friend who had the mac and cheese pronounced it "perfect comfort food" and loved it.

 

Thanks to my CC gang for helping to make the trip a delight!

[muzicgal]

Nope, Robin you didn't offer to share your dessert! but then again I didn't either.

 

I think the best word to describe the dress is "casual". Guys can wear dockers and a polo shirt any night. dockers and a shirt for the females works too. Don't take extra dress shoes or fancy clothes unless you like to dress up. I think I had a few pairs of slacks that I didn't wear. We wore shorts every day when we were on the island. I wasn't ever cold on the ship. Our last sea day was perfect weather! nice and warm and great for laying out. Don't forget to bring a hat or a visor though.

 

It was great meeting the 3 Robins!

 

Laurie

[muzicgal]

Robin,

 

Great pictures! Looking at your pictures shows me how many places we never made it to. You were at totally different places than we were at! I figured I need a couple more trips there to see everything.

 

Laurie

[SolidGoldCruiser]

Thank you so much for these positive reviews - and you all liked the food - amazing! What a relief to hear recommendations as opposed to putdowns.

 

(I like macaroni & cheese...........)

 

We will be on the 10/15 sailing, and I have a question about the shows. I think I read somewhere that there is only one main show per night. True/False? Any recommendations?

 

So glad you had good weather and a great time.

[bragstarr]

Robin:

 

Your pics are really nice. I wonder if I could somehow integrate a couple of yours into my album. I'm still working on arranging and titleing mine.

 

That rack of lamb WAS very good. Not to mention the chocolate dessert the first night, I don't remember what it was called but it was outrageous. And I want a piece of banana bread...or two...or three....

 

Solid Gold Cruiser: When there was only one show, it was generally at 9:30. Some nights there were two shows, and then one was at 7:30. There's always something else going on, like Newlywed Game or Who wants to be a Millionaire. The Jean Ann Ryan shows were generally very good, given the small space they had to work with (the troupe is only two guys and six women); the only one I didn't care for was the American in Paris (or something like that) one midweek. If Bill Heenan (the comic) is on board, make sure you catch him, and we had a singer (Travis Cloer) who was excellent. There's also a comic/acrobat, Rudi Maccagi, who was very strange at moments and truly funny at others. It's sometimes hard to catch everything and eat too!:D

 

Robin #2

[robinzhere]

Robin,

 

You can copy the pictures on that site to your own pc easily by right-clicking the picture and choosing "Save Picture As" from the menu that displays. Rename the picture to something more intuitive (they are just numbers) and save it to your own pictures. Then post with yours. You have my official okey dokey to do so!

 

Don't forget to send me one of the pictures we took of all of us making the boxes, though!

 

Robin

[slapja125]

for those of you who just got back from the crown...did you use the dine ashore program? and if so...what restaurants would you recommend...we leave in less than three weeks...yay!!!!!:)

[jeanettep]

Speaking of the Dine Ashore Program, we are thinking of upgrading to the dinner voucher and using it at the Carriage House. Should we make our reservation on line or do it once we got to Bermuda? What did you do?

 

We are in a penthouse and will have a concierge. Wondering if we should just wait until we get there and have the concierge make the reservation.

 

I got an offer from my travel agent for an upsell to the penthouse and am surprising my daughter. It's hard to keep the secret because I'm so excited to have the butler and be pampered. I can't wait to see her face when we're taken to the penthouse instead of a mini-suite.

[slapja125]

Also, not to be a pain by asking more and more questions, but does anyone who came back recently have any dining menus for the ship? or any freestyle dailys? Any help to any of these questions as always would be greatly appreciated!!!!

[SolidGoldCruiser]

Thank you Robin #2. This is exactly the info that I wanted. Much appreciated.

 

Gosh, I really enjoyed looking at those photos. Less than 2 weeks to go,

and I am counting the hours.......minutes...........

 

Bon Voyage to anyone leaving this Sunday. If you are on the Oct. 15 sailing, I'll see you aboard!

[muzicgal]

I made our reservations for Carriage House through e-mail. I made them for Tues. night at 6:30. It was pretty empty. My thought though is, if they take reservations, make them. You can sit outside there. I made reservations for sitting outside but it was so hot last week that we wanted to sit inside. Besides, it doesn't face the sunset.

 

The other thing I would strongly suggest is making reservations for the specialty restaurants right when you get on the ship. Many people had to get on a waiting list. Make them and you can always cancel them.

 

I don't have any menus from the main dining room.

 

Every day since we got off of the ship I think what day it is and where we would be if we were on the ship! I want to go back soon.

[family cruisers]

Laurie,

How was the food at the carriage house? What did you have? Did you see something else that you wish you had ordered?

While on the ship did you eat in chopsticks?

 

Since this is the "off season" was the pool on the ship crowded?

Thanks for answering any/all of these questions...

I made our reservations for Carriage House through e-mail. I made them for Tues. night at 6:30. It was pretty empty. My thought though is, if they take reservations, make them. You can sit outside there. I made reservations for sitting outside but it was so hot last week that we wanted to sit inside. Besides, it doesn't face the sunset.

 

The other thing I would strongly suggest is making reservations for the specialty restaurants right when you get on the ship. Many people had to get on a waiting list. Make them and you can always cancel them.

 

I don't have any menus from the main dining room.

 

Every day since we got off of the ship I think what day it is and where we would be if we were on the ship! I want to go back soon.

[muzicgal]

When we went to the Carriage House I had a good dinner. I had the cesear salad, which they make tableside. I had a chilled soup, I think it was mango something that was delicious. For the main course I had rock fish which was a special and was delicioius. My husband had the salad too and the onion soup which was fair, not many onions. He had a filet that he said was very good. We were too full for dessert so we passed on that. He had 2 cokes and I'm not sure if he had a tea. Our total after our voucher was 9.00. There wasn't anything else that I wish I had tried since I love fish!

 

We did go to Chopsticks. We tried all of the restaurants on board. It was nice because you get great service and it's a small section of the buffet area but you would never know you were near it. The menu is rather limited. I think we had 3 choices for the main course. We both had soup, my husband had miso soup, I can't remember what mine was LOL. We both had a spring roll that was very good. For dinner I had chicken satay with peanut sauce and fried rice. The rice was so spicy I couldn't eat it. My husband was happy to take it. The brought me some without any spice. The chicken was ok. He had curry beef and he liked it a lot.

 

I'm not sure how crowded the pool was since we never went to it. When I wanted to sit out I would sit on deck 11. Maybe someone else can answer the pool question. Since we had such good weather my guess it was crowded, but it is a very small pool.

 

 

Let me know if you have more questions.

 

Laurie

[robinzhere]

I'll jump in with the pool answers, since I didn't do any of the alternative restaurants (never got time to make a reservation, much less eat there!)

 

Remember that even though it is a small pool, a remarkable number of people are not on the ship at any given time because of unique itinerary. You don't all come back in the afternoon to go to another port of call as in most itineraries.

 

Yes, there is only one pool and yes, it is very small. I only had time to go in it once (and only had time to use the two hot tubs twice -- they were very hot), but whenever I saw the pool, it was not crowded. Two or three people in it, max. It was very deep -- over my head in most spots (except for the ankle-deep shelf around it) so the people in it were swimming, not standing. It was closed the first sea day since it was raining and the ship was rocking pretty good (they drained it). It was open the last sea day and looked crowded for the Sexy Legs Contest, but I hardly saw anyone in it the rest of the time -- and I spent most of that day reading by it.

 

I must say that even though there were a limited number of deck chairs, I saw little evidence of chair saving. Most people occupied their chairs or gave them up completely, and I had no trouble finding one or two together somewhere. It was hard to find a chair in the shade though, mostly because of the way the ship was designed. The shady spots had tables and regular chairs, not lounge chairs.

 

Hope this helps!

 

I was trying to find the review of one of the NCL ships that included the menus, but no luck. I know it's out there somewhere (maybe it was for the Dawn or Majesty but the menu was the same as on the Crown). I went to the Tuscany restaurant for lunch with my voucher. It was directly across from the ship in Hamilton on Front street -- and at the time I was too tired to go farther as I had just come back from a long morning excursion to the aquarium and zoo (that I won onboard!) Lunch (a choice of two appetizers, entrees and desserts) was good, but I would not have paid "real" prices for it. The ice tea alone was $4 and the rest of the menu had all double-digit prices on it.

[bragstarr]

I agree, the pool area was rarely crowded. They stacked the lounge chairs at night and if there wasn't one out, you could just pull one off. The last day at sea is the only time I would say there were a number of people sitting out there. My husband and I went back on St. Georges day between exploring the town, early lunch and then we sat out there for a while--virtually alone!--until we had a shore excursion at 3:30. If not by the pool, there are tons of chairs up on deck 10 by the hot tubs or on the sun deck on deck 11. There are a lot of older people, who often sat in what shaded areas there were.

 

As for the voucher, we ate at the Frog & Onion Pub at Kings Wharf. We had lunch for the $5. There is a set menu for NCL passengers but it includes 1 of 5 appetizers/soups/salads and then a choice of about 9 main courses. My husband and I both had a seafood chowder of some sort which was delicious, came with rolls. I then had the hamburger pizza, which was two nice pieces of french bread topped with sauce, cheese and ground beef and it was absolutely delicious. My husband had some sort of turkey and cheese and avocado sandwich, which came with chips (of course, we silly Americans were thinking potato chips and they were fries--forgot we were in a British situation and they call french fries chips--and he was very happy with the fries. Sodas were not included and $3 each for a healthy size glass. They do have their own beers and have a sampler which has 5 6-oz. glasses for $9, a gread deal if you are a beer drinker. Great English pub atmosphere, we really enjoyed it, some of the Jean Ann Ryan troupe was sitting right across from us along with the younger members of the ships band, and next to us was another twosome from the ship which we chatted with at length. A fun place.

 

Robin