August 1 Cruise Review Part II

[Tom S]

August 1 Crown Princess Cruise Review Part II

Back on our a little bit loud aft deck (B756) moving closer to Grand Turk with a spectacular view of the sun rising. This time I promise no Champaign, but admittedly I’m still a bit fuzzy from last night’s Tropical Island Night Deck Party and other assorted folly. We are thankful that there are plenty of silly people on board this ship so that DW and I fit right in.

Although I prefaced Part I of my review with the caveat that I was hard at work on our anniversary bottle of Champaign, I still want to apologize for sending readers on a wild WEB chase searching for the Segway tour in San Juan. The Segway tour that DW and I enjoyed so much was in the Royal Navy Dock of Bermuda.

I also apologize to anyone that might have read my dribble and couldn’t find the Princess Port in the Bronx. Stop looking. The very efficient Princess Port is in Brooklyn. When I post the full review upon my return I will correct these any other errors that we find. My initial blunders will be our little secret.

A reader asked what the sign said that got us our ten seconds of fame on the Today Show while in New York. It read:

“20 years

5 Kids

2 weeks”

DW and I are celebrating twenty years of marriage by deserting our 5 children ages 8-18 for our first extended childless vacation since our honeymoon. We have cast aside the Mouse, the Dells, House on the Rock, Wall Drug and the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn for two weeks of adult fun. The Crown has exceeded our expectations.

Couple of thoughts about kids on the Crown. I love kids. Hell, people say that I am a big kid. However, IMHO this particular cruise is better suited for adults. The children we have seen have for the most part been very well behaved and often appear to be having fun at the various events, especially off ship. However, we have seen plenty that seem a bit bored and looking to Mom or Dad to help keep them entertained. I know good parents can make it work, but it seems to be a lot more toil than I would want to undertake while on the Crown which excels at pampering adults.

One family took their two rambunctious toddlers and a preteen to the upscale Sabatinis restaurant. No one; not the children, the parents or the surrounding diners, seemed to enjoy this decision.

Aside from the Griswalds, our dining experience at Sabatinis was wonderful. We enjoyed a great window table (far enough away from the table hopping Griswald toddlers) with an aft view. The elegant room complimented the delicious and abundant food. The servers were knowledgeable and very friendly. In short, Sabatins is a big step up from the dining rooms, but not quite the Crown Grill which as I mentioned in Part I DW and I adored. Comedian Philadelphia Plowden was very funny at the Princess theatre, but the prior nights’ performance by comedian Andres Fernandez set the bar pretty high.

San Juan The Line Dance

The embarkment procedures to the San Juan Port needs to be reviewed by Crown. We experienced long lines at each station required to get off the boat. I understand the line for immigration inspection, but once we got past them we waited quite a while for Crown staff to open the doors. Outside we waited in line for our Bacardi tour bus; again long wait at Bacardi tour and extremely long lines for free drinks at Baccardi. Would not recommend!!

Did have a nice lunch at the Parrot Café in old San Juan and threw down a few yards at Sr. Frogs where “if the music is too loud, you’re too old.” These two stops were really an upbeat ending to an overall not so good experience in San Juan. On Board, Movies under the stars was great with padded cushions and blankets added to the deck loungers. Free fresh popcorn was nice touch.

St. Thomas is our favorite stop so far. What really made it work was getting up early. We had a nice cafeteria breakfast as we traveled into port. The ship made a magnificent entrance as we meandered through the numerous small islands in the area.

No immigration so we were off the ship by 7:00 AM and into our safari painted shuttle bus ($11.00 pp) heading to Coki beach within minutes. The ride to Coki beach, and most of the really good beaches for that matter, is a 30-40 minute drive on the other side of the island. Our driver (“Mamma”) traveled up and down extremely narrow roads through steep, but scenic mountains at a pace that would match any Great America Roller Coaster. That they drive on the opposite side of the road in St. Thomas and in Mamma’s case both sides of the road at times, added adventure to our early morning excursion. At one point two New York women screamed and their husbands threw up their arms laughing as if they were truly riding the Hurricane. DW and I held on tight and enjoyed the thrill ride

When we regained our stomachs and landed safely at Coral World we enjoyed a deserted and pristine Coki beach for almost two hours. The beautiful view of small islands in front of us and warm clear waters were ours alone!

At 10:00 AM we snubaed (is that really a word?) through Virgin Island Snuba Excursion www.visnuba.com booked on the recommendation of another CC review. Tammy & her 9 year old daughter Kaitlan guided us and literally held DW’s hand as we traveled through the amazing underwater world of St. Thomas. I Would highly recommend this small, friendly and family owned company.

With this excursion also came a free pass to Coral World, a small nature park with plenty for adults and children to enjoy, including two story below ground observation rooms of the Atlantic ocean and an opportunity to swim with and feed baby sharks. We spent most of the afternoon at Coral World since Coki beach had filled up by the time we returned.

We chose a more subdued cab ride ($10.00 pp) back to the ship as it began to rain. Our $4.00 fold up ponchos saved us once again.

After a well deserved nap, we had a great dinner at DaVinci; enjoyed a glass of Cabernet at the vines, danced to big band music at the Explorer’s lounge, and ended the night singing, dancing, laughing and drinking Margaritas from a monkey with a straw in his head at the Tropical Island Night Deck Party. Cruise director Tim Donovan and his staff have done a wonderful job. Fernando is especially entertaining.

Thanks for all the well wishes.

[toddy23]

Thank you for the great reviews, keep them coming. My DH and I are leaving on the 19th to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I can't hear enought about The Crown!

[toddy23]

I did have a couple questions, what time does the late buffet stay open? I will miss the 24 hour buffet on the CB. Do you know if the International Cafe serve any hot dishes? (ie, salad with hot chicken tenders)

[Pixelator]

Tom -

thanks for all your reports! My daughter and I will be sailing on the CB NEXT WEEK and I've been doing much-enjoyed research here at CC. After reviews, photos, and all postings, now reading your LIVE posts has made me feel like i'm just about to step on the ship! Thanks!

 

Bob Laubach

Manassas, VA

[afcj1]

Tom,

Thanks for part II, I enjoyed it as much as part I :)

I've signed up for the Snuba excursion with Tammy for our 10/27 Crown trip, but will be going to St. John, as St. Thomas is unavailable on Sunday...that being said, can you tell me a little bit more about the "Snuba" experience? I tried that ports of call, but nobody replied that they had done it.

Also, do you think its worth visiting Coral World as a separate trip?

Thank again,

Annette

[Coolmama_1]

Thanks for Part 2! Sounds like you are having a fabulous time!

[xxTheRiverNJ]

Thank you for the great reviews, keep them coming. My DH and I are leaving on the 19th to celebrate our 10th anniversary. I can't hear enought about The Crown!

Are you going to the CC meet and greet on the 2nd day at skywalkers at 3 PM. Go to Roll call and answer the posts. See you onboard.

xxTheRiverNJ

[CMM]

Tom,

I am really enjoying your review and great sense of humor. No apologizes needed! Thanks to you I actually found an interesting segway alternative in San Juan by searching a bit!

Enjoy the rest of the cruise & thanks for taking the time to post!

[jckvpa0]

"One family took their two rambunctious toddlers and a preteen to the upscale Sabatinis restaurant. No one; not the children, the parents or the surrounding diners, seemed to enjoy this decision. "

Tom you are to funny !!! Glad your having a great time !

Five kids, what are you thinking :eek: !!! No seriously, I'm one of five, Irish Catholic family in the 60's, you do know what century you are in :p !!!

[Tom S]

I know one of the buffets is open past midnight, but I have not been their other than for one breakfast so I can't give you more details. International Cafe has sandwiches which they will toast for you. The rest I beleive are cold and delicious food and treats

 

Annette you will love Tammy. The Snuba group we had was small and she explained and demonstrated everything very well. Although my wife struggled a bit, Tammy helped her through it and my wife raves about the experience. Send me a note with more specific questions and I will try to answer when I return to the real world

 

CMM I am glad you found something fun to do in San Juan. That was the one port where we made the wrong excursion choice.

 

jckvpa0. The older kids have helped raise the younger ones just like I did in my large Irish Catholic family. Five children are truly a blessing.

I will post a final and complete review after I have hugged each one of them.

[Cruzin2paradise09]

August 1 Crown Princess Cruise Review Part II

 

Back on our a little bit loud aft deck (B756) moving closer to Grand Turk with a spectacular view of the sun rising. This time I promise no Champaign, but admittedly I’m still a bit fuzzy from last night’s Tropical Island Night Deck Party and other assorted folly. We are thankful that there are plenty of silly people on board this ship so that DW and I fit right in.

 

Although I prefaced Part I of my review with the caveat that I was hard at work on our anniversary bottle of Champaign, I still want to apologize for sending readers on a wild WEB chase searching for the Segway tour in San Juan. The Segway tour that DW and I enjoyed so much was in the Royal Navy Dock of Bermuda.

 

I also apologize to anyone that might have read my dribble and couldn’t find the Princess Port in the Bronx. Stop looking. The very efficient Princess Port is in Brooklyn. When I post the full review upon my return I will correct these any other errors that we find. My initial blunders will be our little secret.

 

A reader asked what the sign said that got us our ten seconds of fame on the Today Show while in New York. It read:

 

“20 years

5 Kids

2 weeks”

 

 

DW and I are celebrating twenty years of marriage by deserting our 5 children ages 8-18 for our first extended childless vacation since our honeymoon. We have cast aside the Mouse, the Dells, House on the Rock, Wall Drug and the Chattanooga Choo Choo Holiday Inn for two weeks of adult fun. The Crown has exceeded our expectations.

 

Couple of thoughts about kids on the Crown. I love kids. Hell, people say that I am a big kid. However, IMHO this particular cruise is better suited for adults. The children we have seen have for the most part been very well behaved and often appear to be having fun at the various events, especially off ship. However, we have seen plenty that seem a bit bored and looking to Mom or Dad to help keep them entertained. I know good parents can make it work, but it seems to be a lot more toil than I would want to undertake while on the Crown which excels at pampering adults.

 

One family took their two rambunctious toddlers and a preteen to the upscale Sabatinis restaurant. No one; not the children, the parents or the surrounding diners, seemed to enjoy this decision.

 

Aside from the Griswalds, our dining experience at Sabatinis was wonderful. We enjoyed a great window table (far enough away from the table hopping Griswald toddlers) with an aft view. The elegant room complimented the delicious and abundant food. The servers were knowledgeable and very friendly. In short, Sabatins is a big step up from the dining rooms, but not quite the Crown Grill which as I mentioned in Part I DW and I adored. Comedian Philadelphia Plowden was very funny at the Princess theatre, but the prior nights’ performance by comedian Andres Fernandez set the bar pretty high.

 

San Juan The Line Dance

The embarkment procedures to the San Juan Port needs to be reviewed by Crown. We experienced long lines at each station required to get off the boat. I understand the line for immigration inspection, but once we got past them we waited quite a while for Crown staff to open the doors. Outside we waited in line for our Bacardi tour bus; again long wait at Bacardi tour and extremely long lines for free drinks at Baccardi. Would not recommend!!

 

Did have a nice lunch at the Parrot Café in old San Juan and threw down a few yards at Sr. Frogs where “if the music is too loud, you’re too old.” These two stops were really an upbeat ending to an overall not so good experience in San Juan. On Board, Movies under the stars was great with padded cushions and blankets added to the deck loungers. Free fresh popcorn was nice touch.

 

St. Thomas is our favorite stop so far. What really made it work was getting up early. We had a nice cafeteria breakfast as we traveled into port. The ship made a magnificent entrance as we meandered through the numerous small islands in the area.

 

No immigration so we were off the ship by 7:00 AM and into our safari painted shuttle bus ($11.00 pp) heading to Coki beach within minutes. The ride to Coki beach, and most of the really good beaches for that matter, is a 30-40 minute drive on the other side of the island. Our driver (“Mamma”) traveled up and down extremely narrow roads through steep, but scenic mountains at a pace that would match any Great America Roller Coaster. That they drive on the opposite side of the road in St. Thomas and in Mamma’s case both sides of the road at times, added adventure to our early morning excursion. At one point two New York women screamed and their husbands threw up their arms laughing as if they were truly riding the Hurricane. DW and I held on tight and enjoyed the thrill ride

 

When we regained our stomachs and landed safely at Coral World we enjoyed a deserted and pristine Coki beach for almost two hours. The beautiful view of small islands in front of us and warm clear waters were ours alone!

 

At 10:00 AM we snubaed (is that really a word?) through Virgin Island Snuba Excursion www.visnuba.com booked on the recommendation of another CC review. Tammy & her 9 year old daughter Kaitlan guided us and literally held DW’s hand as we traveled through the amazing underwater world of St. Thomas. I Would highly recommend this small, friendly and family owned company.

 

With this excursion also came a free pass to Coral World, a small nature park with plenty for adults and children to enjoy, including two story below ground observation rooms of the Atlantic ocean and an opportunity to swim with and feed baby sharks. We spent most of the afternoon at Coral World since Coki beach had filled up by the time we returned.

 

We chose a more subdued cab ride ($10.00 pp) back to the ship as it began to rain. Our $4.00 fold up ponchos saved us once again.

 

After a well deserved nap, we had a great dinner at DaVinci; enjoyed a glass of Cabernet at the vines, danced to big band music at the Explorer’s lounge, and ended the night singing, dancing, laughing and drinking Margaritas from a monkey with a straw in his head at the Tropical Island Night Deck Party. Cruise director Tim Donovan and his staff have done a wonderful job. Fernando is especially entertaining.

 

 

Thanks for all the well wishes.

 

Glad you're enjoying! We had an incredible time at the Tropical Island Night Deck Party as well - and yes, I have to agree, Fernando is very entertaining (and cute too ;) ). He would do well as the CD, IMHO!