Just back - Crown Princess 2/17-2/24

[buzzsmom]

We just returned last night from a great week on the Crown. It was the first cruise ever for me, my husband and two sons ages 4 & 5. We travelled with my mom (7 Princess cruises) my brother, sister in-law adn their son and daughter. Since I've never written a review before, I'll try to make this as concise as I can!

 

Embarkation-

This went very, very smooth. We had stayed at the SJ Marriott for two nites prior to the cruise. (Nice hotel) A transfer delivered us to the ship. We arrived at 1:30 and honestly were at our cabin by 2. I kept wondering where the lines were! My mom, who sails Princess all the time was with us and said that almost all her embarkations were this smooth.

 

Cabin-

We had a "quad" stateroom on the Caribe deck. It was plenty roomy for the four of us. My brother and his wife also were on the ship. They have two young teenagers, so they had a mini-suite on the dolphin deck. Their room was very spacious, but smaller balcony. I loved our Caribe deck balcony. It was HUGE! My boys LOVED the bunks that drop from the ceiling and then fold up during the day. The bed linens also were very nice - nice, smooth sheets, tons of pillows and a duvet - which I really like. Plenty of space to stash all FIVE of our suitcases. The room got a little warm in the late afternoons - not a huge deal though. "Frankie" our steward from the Phillipines was terrific. So nice and made towel-animals for the boys every day. They loved him for that and asked if he could come home and move in with us!! Guess I'd better learn to make those towel critters... Seriously though, Frankie did a great job - brought us anything we needed.

 

Princess Pelicans-

Our boys LOVED this club. This was a relief for my husband and I so we could have some time to veg by the pool, eat dinner in peace, socialize with my mom, brother and sister in-law, and see some entertainment. The boys BEGGED us each day to go to "Pelicans" They went there each night from 7-10 and some afternoons too. There was one night where they took them for a kids dinner in the HOrizon buffet. The staff was EXCELLENT. Very caring, yet strict about rules and they were very, very safety concious. No one picked up a kid unless they presented id or had id on file period. They always made sure the door was shut once you entered the club. I felt very relaxed leaving my boys there. They had lots of arts&crafts activities, games, movies. You get a beeper too when you drop them off just in case. On two nights we also did extended babysitting which is after 10pm. It cost us $10 per hour for the two of them up until 1am. They set out beanbag chairs and blankets and the kids all curl up an watch a movie. Some of the counselors that I met were Regan, Kristi and Cherrylou and they were all fantastic.

 

Casino-

My husband liked playing Poker. I tried the slot machines and won 4 dollars. I'm not much a gambler, but it was fun to play a few slot machines.

 

Birthday-

My littlest son turned 4 and they decorated our door with balloons and brought him a special birthday treat. He felt very special.

 

Food-

I thought the food was very good. I wasn't crazy about the pizza, but it was ok. The burgers and fries from the burger bar near the pool were very, very good. Always fresh. The buffet items were mostly good. The cookies in the Horizon court were YUMMMY. My niece reported that the cookies at the INternational Cafe were even better. My mom and I had espressos at Internation cafe a few times and they were delicious. We had traditional dining in the Botticelli dining room. For the most part, the food was good. And I liked that they didn't bring you HUGE portions - it was just enough - I already gained about 10 pounds from all the other treats on the ship! Chatree and Seskan were our servers and they were exceptional. We loved them. They were just wonderful people and took their jobs so seriously. They made us feel very welcome and important.

 

Shore Excursions-

We only did two. The Trunk Bay St johns snorkel was our first. St JOhns is very pretty and I'm glad I got to see it. Trunk Bay was pretty but very crowded - not sure I'd pay the $$ to do this again. My niece, sis in-law and I did the Aruba Countryside horseback ride. Both my niece and I are competitive horseback riders. My niece is currently ranked #4 in the US in her division. We were very impressed with the ride. The horses were fresh, sound and well-cared for. Not your typical "stay in the line" trail ride. Emily and I both had energetic horses. My sister in-law, a beginner, had a very quiet, calm horse. We were able to trot and canter once we got to the ocean. It was a blast.

 

Ports-

We didn't really see much of St thomas or Kitts. We did hike up to the fort in Grenada. That was fun. The people in Grenada were very aggressive though and that was a turn-off. The men especially were leering over my 13 year old niece and that scared her. Bonaire and Aruba were beautiful - really delightful. Friendly people, clean and pretty surroundings. I had vacationed in Aruba before and was so happy to return.

 

Fitness Center-

Lots of new machines, clean, great view. The Fitness center and spa staff were very nice.

 

Negatives -

Really we had very, very, very little to complain about. The only thing that bugged us was the extra fee for spinning and pilates classes. My husband and I didn't do them b/c of that. We ran on the treadmills instead. That and the sometimes weak A/C in our room were our only "slight" negatives.

 

We loved the Crown. I actually started to cry when we left (Very easy disembarkation - we were on our way to the airport by 10:15) It was a magical week and not one we will soon forget. It was wonderful! :) Now back to laundry, cleaning bathrooms, grocery shopping and shoveling, ugh, SNOW here in Virginia. Best wishes to all of you heading for the Crown in the future - you're in for a treat!

[Bustaty]

Thank you for your review.

Really appreciate when previous cruisers take time to give their perspective on their cruise. I always seem to learn something new.

No little ones here, but it sounds like Pelican's Club will be lots of fun for grandchild.

Thank you again.

[willysgrandma]

Very nice review. We also loved the Crown.

 

I am happy to hear your review of the Pelicans Club. Were there a lot of kis on the ship? We were on in November when school was in session and the parents we asked about the Pelican Club weren't crazy about it. I am happy to see that you were.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[buzzsmom]

Willsygrandma-

 

Yes, there were lots of kids on this sailing. It was school vacation for everyone in the northeast. (We're from VA, so our son skipped school!) I think there were 20 or so little ones in the Pelicans. There were lots of teenagers. They were all well-behaved when I encountered them during the day. My brother, who is not easily offended - he's a blue-collar kind of guy that works in the trucking industry - said the teenagers were a little out of hand after midnight in the buffet area. Mostly being loud, swearing, etc.

[cbcaper]

Thanks for the great review. Only a few more weeks to our b2b on the Crown. It is going to be great. Getting married and honeymoon all in one.

[buzzsmom]

cbcaper -

 

Have fun on your back 2 back. I can't imagine anything more wonderful than spending your honeymoon on the Crown. Especially for 2 weeks! Congratulations :)

[BrooklynGirl2]

Buzzsmom...thanks so much for your review and your perspective on the Crown. We are headed to the Crown in June with a 6 year old. I especially was interested in hearing about the Pelican Club. I'm glad your boys enjoyed it. It's nice for you and dh to get some R&R as well. We cruise for this reason. Our son enjoys the kids club (we've done Celebrity 4 times) and we get to relax a bit doing nothing while we know he's having fun with friends. The Pelican Club sounds great for our son.

 

Did your 2 boys sleep in the upper bunks? Did you have any problems/fears about them tumbling out of them? What did you think of the safety railings? I just read on here that someone's child fell out of his bunk...luckily onto the adult's bed below and wasn't hurt. We are also on Caribe deck and was glad to hear you felt the cabin was roomy enough for the 4 of you.

 

Thanks again for the review.

[willycruise]

We leave in just 5 days....I can't wait.....

 

BK

[Dixe Lee]

<<<<<<Embarkation-

This went very, very smooth. We had stayed at the SJ Marriott for two nites prior to the cruise. (Nice hotel) A transfer delivered us to the ship. We arrived at 1:30 and honestly were at our cabin by 2. I kept wondering where the lines were! My mom, who sails Princess all the time was with us and said that almost all her embarkations were this smooth.>>>>>>>>>>>

 

Very nice review. We never get tired of reading them and yours is full of good info! One question, was your stay at the Marriott arranged thru Princess or did you book yourself. I see where you had a transfer to the ship, and I assume that was a Princess transfer. We sail on the Crown for the first time in October and we are still in the process of figuring out how to handle the hotel situation. We have transfers from the airport to the pier, but we have decided to fly into New York a day early and are debating whether to arrange our hotel thru Princess or try ourselves - thus the dilemma of how to get to the pier. Appreciate in advance any info.