Just off the Crown Princess 1/27 - 2/3

[karenbf]

Ask me questions. I'll be happy to reply.

 

The ship is beautiful but warm. I highly recommend bringing a fan and extension cord.

 

There are a few "you can't get there from here" areas. You learn.

[willysgrandma]

Are you going to post a review?

[Nana G]

Hi! Welcome Home-or maybe not! Our cruise is April 7th. Just a few tiny questions if you don't mind.

Have heard alot about bedding updates. I am concerned about pillows. Since I have a feather allergy, please tell me there are no feathers.... This is such a hassle in hotels now and takes forever to get hypo allergenic ones.

 

Plan to eat in Cafe Caribe and skip formal nights this time around. Did you eat there? How was it. Heard it is themed.

 

Did you stay any night at SanJuan Marriott? Have also heard mostly under construction. Hoping it is done by April.

 

St. Thomas- any store open in Crown Bay for cigarretes or liquor?

Glad to hear you had a wonderful time. We can't wait. Thanks for your help.

[karenbf]

willysgrandma- I've never done a review before. I'm better at answering questions. Hopefully, I have some answers.

 

NanaG- My husband and I have bad allergies, too. I really don't think those pillows were feather. Call Princess and have them confirm though. We ate at the Cafe Caribe and Horizon Court for breakfast and lunch mostly. We did have the seafood buffet on Saturday at the Cafe Caribe. We ate in the Michaelangelo dining room 4 times, Sabatini's once and Crown Grill once for dinner.

 

We stayed at the Normandie Hotel. It was reasonably priced and a fairly good location.

 

Crown Bay didn't have many shops open. But, I'm pretty sure there was a liquor store. We took the jitney into town ($4). There was lots there. Anything you wanted.

[skolega]

What kind of excursions did you do? We haven't secured anything for St. Lucia and I am kind of getting worried because I have read the people are very pushy there.

 

Was Sarge the comedian still on board?

[ilovetocruisetoo]

We stayed at the Normandie Hotel. It was reasonably priced and a fairly good location.

 

KarenBF - we reserved one night pre-cruise through priceline and recieved the Normandie Hotel. So I was wondering what you thought about it overall? Most of the reivews I have read (after booking of course :() were not that complimentary. Most stated there was a nightclub in the hotel which made it really difficult to sleep until they closed about 2 am. Did you experience that?

 

Also, were there any shops around the hotel to buy a few supplies ahead of time, such as sodas and water?

 

What about places to eat at or around the hotel?

 

Any info you could share would be appreciated. Thanks.

[ilovetocruisetoo]

We stayed at the Normandie Hotel. It was reasonably priced and a fairly good location.

 

KarenBF - we reserved one night pre-cruise through priceline and recieved the Normandie Hotel. So I was wondering what you thought about it overall? Most of the reivews I have read (after booking of course :() were not that complimentary. Most stated there was a nightclub in the hotel which made it really difficult to sleep until they closed about 2 am. Did you experience that?

 

Also, were there any shops around the hotel to buy a few supplies ahead of time, such as sodas and water?

 

What about places to eat at or around the hotel?

 

Any info you could share would be appreciated. Thanks.

[Kellyann]

Hi Karen, Thank you for offering to answer questions.

We will be on ship April 28 and were wondering if there were any places to dance. We are fiftyish so we were looking for the older type of dancing. On some cruises they have a small combo that plays that kind of music. Anthing on the Crown?

[jrobinso]

Hi Karen, glad you had a good time. Question about the promenade deck..does it go all the way around, or does it continue on the level above if you climb up stairs. We enjoy our morning walks on the promenade. Thanks. Also, did you use the thermal suite? What was the cost and was it crowded?

[willysgrandma]

There are PLENTY of places to dance on the Crown.

 

When we were at Crown Bay in Nov., there were absolutely no shops open. If a liquor store is open now, that is new.

 

We did a catamaran cruise in St. Lucia and it was lovely. Yes, the people are pushy but no pushier than in Jamaica - they actually had small boats that came up to the cat and were trying to sell to everyone. Someone from the cat company stood at the back of of the boat to watch over everything. Just say no.

[joand452]

Karen, what time is the muster drill? We've heard 5 pm and 8 pm.

 

Kellyann, we're on the April 28 cruise, too. Come on over to our roll call on the roll call board!

[makeup face]

Hi Karen, Thank you for offering to answer questions.

We will be on ship April 28 and were wondering if there were any places to dance. We are fiftyish so we were looking for the older type of dancing. On some cruises they have a small combo that plays that kind of music. Anthing on the Crown?

 

Hey Kellyann.....come join us over on the roll call board:D

[willysgrandma]

Muster was at 8:00 if you are leaving from San Juan.

 

Karen, how were the food menus? We felt there was too much fish on the menu - one night in the dining room there were three fish entrees. Did you find a lot of fish or have they perhaps changed that?

[SusieQusie]

Hey Karen -

 

Thanks for the offer to answer questions. We're sailing this summer on the Crown from NYC, so I know the itinerary is different. I'm assuming most other things stay basically the same.

 

I had another post going yesterday about food options - specifically what (if anything) is available 24 hours a day (other than room service). Is pizza available 24/7, and is it just by the pool, or just one sit-down restaurant, etc. One recent cruiser posted that there was no buffet available 24 hours a day, but I'm curious if that is the case all the time, or if things might change depending on the itinerary, passenger load etc.

 

What deck were you on? Any comments (good or bad) about your location?

 

Also, are there basketball courts, and if so, are they only available at certain times? Is there a game room (video games) and if so, what is the charge? I'm sure I'll have lots more questions.......maybe you'll be sorry you offered?:o

[crissyp]

Hi Karen....I love to hear about the Crown, will be sailing July 5th for our first cruise with Princess. We will be traveling with 3 other families, and a bunch of teens...We're still undecided about the dining options...anytime or traditional. My TA suggested anytime, but the more I think about this, it seems like it might be harder for us (17) to eat together. Did you notice any large groups having to wait long to eat? Also, did you notice many people using walkie talkies...I would really like to bring them along...my kids are 17 and 19, so it's not like I have to know where they are every minute, but I would like to check in with them occasionally to meet up.

Thanks...it sounds like you had a wonderful trip, I can't wait for ours!

Crissy

[Host CJSKIDS]

Our our 11/4 sailing muster was at 8 PM on Saturday and at 5 PM on Sunday for those who missed muster on our sailaway day.

[Host CJSKIDS]

Our our 11/4 sailing, muster was at 8 PM on Saturday and at 5 PM on Sunday for those who missed muster on our sailaway day.

[sherry52]

What kind of excursions did you do? We haven't secured anything for St. Lucia and I am kind of getting worried because I have read the people are very pushy there.

 

Was Sarge the comedian still on board?

 

 

Hello, I will be on the Crown on 4-7-07 and we are going to do the St. Lucia 4wd safari. It takes you around St. Lucia and off the beathen path. It also takes you to a waterfall and a natural pond to swim and/or to the beach. I think you will enjoy it.

 

Enjoy!!

[63musicgirl]

Did you use the Sanctuary? If so, what types of beverages and light snacks were available? Did you pay anything other than the $15 for the 1/2 day?

 

When you stayed in San Juan, did you go to any beaches on the north side? How were they?

 

thanks in advance!

[rangeley]

Karen, why bring a fan? is it that hot on the ship??

[karenbf]

Here goes:

skolega- We rented a car on every island but St. Thomas. Sarge wasn't on our cruise. The comedians were Steve Morris, Steve Brune, Uber Rossi, Rikki Jay, Lorenzo Clark and Rick Corso.

 

ilovetocruisetoo- We thought the Normandie was just fine. We had a great view of the ocean. The lounge noise was not a problem for us at all. We never even heard them. There are a few stores around the hotel. There is one shop in the hotel. We took the bus (50 cents) into OSJ to eat dinner and walk around. We took a taxi back to the hotel ($10). The folks at the desk were very helpful with all of our questions about the area. We got all of our last minutes needs at the Walgreens in OSJ right before we left port.

 

Kellyann- I think your best bet on any given night for dancing would be Crooner's Bar. Brett Cave is the entertainment there. He sings and plays piano. The music is right up your alley. You could also try Club Fusion. It's the dancing venue. It depends on who is the DJ though.

 

jrobinso- If you want to walk outside, the Sun deck (16) is your best bet. If you like to walk inside, Promenade deck (7) is your only choice. Promenade has open air walking space on the port and starboard sides. They just don't go all the way around the ship. You would have to go up to Emerald (8) to continue on around the front of the ship. We didn't use the Thermal suite but I heard great things about it. The cost is $10 for a half a day's use.

 

joand452- Yes, muster is at 8:00. It wasn't bad at all. We were in the Crown Grill for ours. If you get to muster early enough, you can sit through the whole thing. You don't put on your vest until they tell you to. When you get to that point, you put on your vest, someone checks you, and it's all over.

 

willysgrandma- Crown Bay has a few shops open now. Nothing like over at Havensight, though. I found the menus a bit boring. Yes, there were lots of fish dishes offered every night. I believe the last night there were 4! I preferred the food in Sabatini's and Crown Grill. There was nothing wrong with the food in the dining rooms, it was just average fare.

 

SusieQusie- 24-hr. food options are room service and the International Cafe' (nominal charge). We were on Caribe deck (10). Loved the location in the ship. The staterooms on this deck are adequate size with large balconies. The bathrooms, as expected, are small. No basketball court. There is a Video arcade on deck 17. I didn't play them so I don't know the cost. Sorry.

 

crissyp- We were with a large group, also. We did the anytime dining because we wanted to mix up the seating groups every night. One of our guys coordinated ahead of time with Princess to have tables available to us in the same area every night at 6:30 in the Michaelangelo dining room. Maybe you could do that? If you wait until 7:00 or later, you will probably have to wait for tables. There were a few people with walkie talkies. It seemed to work fine for them. If you don't use the walkie talkies, you might want to have specific times and places when the teens check in with you.

 

63musicgirl- I didn't use the Sanctuary. The cost is $10/half day. We didn't go to any beaches in Puerto Rico. The beach near our hotel was pretty but small.

 

rangeley- Yes, in my opinion, the ship is hot. The public rooms are tolerable but on the warm side. Ladies who normally would need a sweater or wrap, did not need them at all. Our stateroom temperature averaged 75 degrees. That may be fine for many, but I like it cooler, especially when I sleep. The reason for our stateroom being hot may be the amount of glass on the balcony transmitting heat into the stateroom or simply because the ship's a/c is inadequate for temperatures at or near the equator. FYI - we kept the blackout curtains pulled to most of the time to keep the heat out.

 

Hope I answered most of your questions. Keep them coming! I don't mind answering any and all questions.

[Colo Cruiser]

Karen, why bring a fan? is it that hot on the ship??

 

Because it works well blowing the BBQ fumes out of your room. :eek:

[63musicgirl]

thanks!!!

[2boyzmom]

Trying to find out if they have tap beer ??

[SusieQusie]

Karen:

 

Thanks for all the info. We, too, are on the Caribe deck! I'm really excited about this. We are located aft (C701, 703, 705 balconies, and C747 inside - furthest aft inside cabin I think) - I'm hoping there's not too much "motion" back there. We're all basically first time cruisers so the whole sea sickness thing is a bit of a crap shoot!

 

My son and nephew will be sorry there's no basketball court:( , but hopefully some time in a game room and workouts in the gym will be fun. Not to mention the pools, sun, islands and food!!

 

Thanks again -