Crown Princess - New England Sept. 15-22 - LOOOONNNGGG Review

[sandyoftheseas]

Background:

We are a professional couple...late 30's, early 40's. This was our 6th cruise together, 4th on Princess. We've previously sailed on the Sun Princess, Dawn Princess, and Grand Princess. We consider ourselves somewhat well-traveled with usually at least one trip out of the country each year.

 

Pre-cruise travel:

Normally, we would try to arrive at the embarkation city at least one day early but since we only had to fly from Detroit to New York, we were able to get a direct non-stop flight into LaGuardia early on the day of embarkation. There were no issues with the fight or the pre-arranged car service and we were at the Brooklyn Cruise Terminal by 9:00 am.

 

Embarkation:

Many people were still disembarking from the previous cruise so we waited until check-in was opened at 10:30. The whole check-in process including security took approximately 10 minutes. We waited in the holding area until our number was called around 12:00 pm. We quickly boarded the ship and were exploring out stateroom by 12:15 pm. There were two things we didn't like about embarkation. First, they did not use a PA system to call the group numbers. Instead, they stood by the doors and tried to shout over the noise in the room. Of course, this caused everyone to come rushing to the front to see if it was their number that had been called. This caused a lot of confusion and made it difficult to get through the crowd. Second, the embarkation photo was taken at the top of the escalator as you made your way to the ship. There was no background for the photo so all of the people behind ended up in the photo with you. I don't imagine they sell too many of those onboard.

 

Sailaway:

After a quick look around our room, we headed to Cafe Caribe for lunch. The food was decent and we didn't have any trouble finding a table as has been complained about here on CC but this may be due to our early embarkation. It may have gotten busier later. We decided that since this was such a large ship, we would take the guided tour and hopefully learn some "insider" tips. This was not the case. In fact, I think we found things easier on our own. Don't waste your time, just explore on your own. After the muster drill we met up with the crew from our CC roll call for drinks at the Outrigger bar and then went up to the Princess Links mini-golf course for some pretty amazing views during sailaway. The passing under the Verrazano Narrows bridge was spectacular from this high deck vantage point.

 

Ship Info:

The ship is beautiful as expected. Common areas are plentiful and tastefully decorated.

 

Stateroom:

We booked a category BG guarantee and were assigned a category BA on the Caribe deck. This is a balcony category with one of the larger balconies. Although we did not spend a large amount of time on the balcony, we were glad to be able to step out and enjoy the view whenever we wanted to. The room was small but adequate with lots of storage space. We requested an egg-crate mattress the second day after a difficult night's sleep the first night. It was on the bed when we returned that evening. Some have mentioned issues with the in-room safes but We had no issues with ours. The bathroom is small but again, adequate for us and there were two robes waiting for us in our room as we had requested on the Personalizer. One thing we found a little bothersome was that our room (C305) was directly across from one of the luggage areas. So, on the first and last nights, there was some noise outside our room as the stewards delivered/picked up luggage. Just something to consider if you're looking at this or nearby rooms.

 

Dining:

We prefer Princess' anytime dining and request it on every cruise. We ate at a table for two every night and although we were never able to be seated immediately, we never waited more than 10-15 minutes for a table. If we had agreed to be seated with others, we would have been seated immediately every night. We felt the food was very good. We really enjoyed the beef wellington. The only evening that we did not eat at one of the two anytime dining rooms was the night we ate at the Crown Grill. The food and service were EXCELLENT. Definitely worth the extra cover charge. The steak was perfectly prepared and the chef even cracked my lobster claws when I had difficulty with them myself. We highly recommend the dessert sampler tray with a small portion of each of the desserts on the menu. They were all so good, we were glad we were able to sample them all.

The buffets were as expected. Not outstanding but not terrible either. As reported here on CC, the International Cafe was a nice change of pace. We had lunch there one day and the sandwiches and salads were surprisingly good. And the gelato was definitely worth the extra $1.50...three huge scoops! Considering we each gained about 7 lbs. on the trip, the food must've been pretty good!

 

Service:

We felt the service was on par with previous Princess cruises we've been on. We never ran into a rude or seemingly unhappy crew member. Everyone was friendly and helpful. Overall, service was very good.

 

Activities/Entertainment:

Daytime Activities - There was the typical daytime fare. Although this was a very port intensive itinerary, we did find time to enjoy the trivia and horse racing which we both enjoy. We also played a round of mini-golf but this is one area of the ship that in our opinion could use some sprucing up. Maybe it just doesn't get a lot of use so they don't feel it's worth the time and energy to keep it up. There was no staff member there when we went so we had to search for the putters and balls ourselves. And, it certainly would've been more fun with a real scorecard (we just had to grab a piece of scrap paper).

 

Nighttime Entertainment - We only made it to a couple of the evening shows. Kimika, a husband and wife musical/comedy group was OK but not great. The husband was a very good guitar player but the overall show was just so-so. We also caught one of the juggling shows. The juggler, Jeff, was very good and funny too. I was surprised at how well he did with the very low ceiling in the Explorer's Lounge. The hypnotist show was funny. You'd never catch me volunteering to go up there! We did end up onstage for the Peer Factor game, though. We didn't sign up but when we went to watch the show, one of the couples that had signed up was a no-show. The crew was begging for volunteers and somehow I was able to talk my husband into playing. I can't say what we had to do because that might ruin it for future guests, but I can say that in the end we all had fun (even my husband who hates being called onstage for anything!).

 

Casino - The first full day on the ship we took advantage of the casino gaming lesson offered by the casino host, Jo. She did a fantastic job explaining craps which is a game that we were always too intimidated to try. After the lesson, we felt confident enough to give it a try and actually played several times during the trip. We also were glad that the casino offered non-smoking and low-limit periods. While we both enjoy gambling a bit, we do it just for fun so we're not into betting large sums on the tables and we hate having to breathe all that second-hand smoke. My husband tried out the electronic poker pro table on the last night of the cruise and said that he wished he had given it a try earlier. He was surprised that it was almost as fun as with real cards.

 

Spa - The one at sea day gave us a much needed chance to relax and wind down from all of the hectic activity of the first 5 days. We had pre-booked a couples massage. Although we enjoyed the massage and the girls were very nice, we felt it was a bit over-priced and the music they played was not what I would call relaxing. In my opinion it was too upbeat and the thumping drums were very distracting. Also, beware when you are getting undressed and onto the table if the blinds in the room are open. We were quite surprised when a couple of guests went walking by the window and could've stopped and looked in if they had wanted too. I guess we had just taken for granted that the walkway outside the window was not a public area. One thing that we enjoyed very much as part of our treatment was the use of the thermal suite before and after the massage. They have several steam rooms with varying degrees of humidity. Two very nice tropical showers and heated ceramic loungers that were just heavenly! One word of caution...if they try to charge you for the thermal suite in addition to your treatment, don't let them because it is included already. When we confirmed our reservation on the first day, they told me that I would have to pay $20 to use the thermal suite before my treatment. Thinking that they had changed their policy, I agreed. But when we actually went for the massage, we asked again and they said it was included. Obviously, the first girl we talked to didn't know the policy. Maybe she was new or something. Either way, we checked our bill at the end of the cruise to make sure the charge was not on there and it wasn't so it all worked out OK.

 

Ports/Shore Excursions:

We pre-booked all of our excursions through Princess. We usually use Princess excursions in ports that we've never been to before because we like the security of knowing that they are already set up on the ship's timetable and we've always been pleased with Princess' execution of the tours.

 

Newport, RI - Did the Cliff Walk in the morning and the Colonial Newport Walking Tour in the afternoon. The Cliff Walk was nice and the scenery was beautiful. This is one that we would do on our own if we went back. It would be cheaper and we could go at our own pace. The Colonial Newport walking tour was very fun and informative. We're glad we were on a guided tour because our guide was very passionate about the history she was relaying and this made the tour very enjoyable.

 

Boston, MA - Took the Princess shuttle first thing in the morning to Quincy Market. It was $12 per person round trip. This turned out to be a mistake because our Freedom Trail walking tour ended at Quincy Market later in the day so we would've been able to do our shopping then if we had known. The Freedom Trail is a must do if you've never been to Boston. The amount of history along that one "red brick line" is amazing. This is one that could be done easily on your own but it was nice having a guide to point out things that weren't written on the plaques. More than once I noticed someone who was just walking the trail on their own edging in to hear what our guide was saying at one of the stops.

 

Bar Harbor, ME - This was our favorite port! Exactly the type of quaint little village you think of when you think of New England. Well, at least when I think of New England. There was even a drugstore soda fountain like they used to have when I was a little girl. It really brought back memories. We went shopping up and down main street. Bought some nice souvenirs to take home, including presents for our dog at a shop called "Bark Harbor". In the afternoon, we took Princess' limo tour into Acadia National Park. The park is beautiful...a definite must see! We were a little disappointed with the tour guide. We had spoken to another couple who had done the tour in the morning and they said the guide was great. Unfortunately, he must've tired out after lunch because most of the ride was spent in silence. In fact, one of the older ladies slept most of the ride. I guess we were expecting a more personal experience. That's why we paid the extra for the smaller group (only 8 people). Oh well, they can't all be gems.

 

Saint John, New Brunswick, CA - In the morning we did the Horse Drawn Trolley tour. It was an enjoyable ride and gave a nice overview of the city. We departed the tour at the top of the hill and checked out some of the sights a little closer on our own. It was an easy downhill walk back to the pier. In the afternoon, we did the Wonders Of The Bay Of Fundy tour. It started with a guided tour of the New Brunswick Museum focusing on some of the region's history and ending with an interesting exhibit of whales including the fully restored skeleton of a local whale named Delilah. Then there was a boat tour up the mouth of the Saint John river to witness the reversing rapids. Our tour went just after "slack" tide so, although we didn't see the rapids in action, we did see the amazing change in sea level as the tide came in and we saw the whirlpools beginning to form as the salt water from the ocean pushed back against the fresh water from the river. This is truly an amazing bit of nature.

 

Halifax, Nova Scotia, CA - Early tour was the Citadel and Public Gardens. This tour stopped at the Fairlawn Cemetary where many of the victims from the Titanic disaster are buried. The Citadel fort was interesting but there was not enough time to see much. The gardens were beautiful but again, too short on time to really enjoy them. We just walked through and got back on the bus. The commentary was not great either. Overall, this is another one we would probably do on our own if we went back. We had also booked the Treasures Of The RMS Titanic tour. We were a bit disappointed in the museum. Although there were some interesting artifacts such as the actual transcript from the SOS telegraph transmissions, shoes from the unknown child, and an original deck chair, we felt the exhibit was much too compact and with all of the people trying to get through it was very hard to really see anything well. We left the tour after the museum because we had already seen the cemetary in our earlier tour. Again, this was an overlap that we hadn't anticipated. It was fine though because it allowed me to finally get a lobster roll and the walk back to the ship along the boardwalk was very nice.

 

New York, NY - Since New York was the embarkation/disembarkation port for our cruise, there were no excursions offered through Princess. However, if you've never been to this city, I highly recommend that you plan for a few days before or after your cruise to explore it. Although we are from a small town in the midwest, we never once felt uncomfortable during our two day post cruise stay in Manhattan. There is so much to see and getting around is so easy. I can honestly say that this was one of the highlights of our trip.

 

Disembarkation:

Since we were planning to stay in Manhattan for a few days after the cruise, we were anxious to get off the ship and get started seeing the sights right away. Therefore, we elected to do the express self disembarkation. We couldn't have been happier with our decision. First, we did not have to worry about getting our bags outside of our room by any certain time. We packed at our leisure the night before disembarkation. We were in the first group to get off the ship and we were through customs and standing curbside waiting on our pre-arranged car service by 8:30 am. This worked out so well I think we'll probably at least consider it on every Princess cruise we take in the future. But be warned, they aren't kidding when they say you have to be able to handle your own luggage. There is nobody there to help you.

 

Summary:

Overall we had a wonderful time as we've done on every Princess cruise previously. If you enjoy the good stuff and don't sweat the bad stuff, it's pretty difficult to have a bad time on a cruise. We loved the Crown and we loved the Northeast. Now we just have to figure out where we'll go next.

[twocats]

Great review, thanks. We will be on the Grand doing some of the same ports on the 18th. Was the street in Bar Harbor where you did your shopping actually Main St? If not do you know the name, also what street was the drugstore with the soda fountain? That sounds fun. Thank you

[MEcruzr]

Twocats... you can walk up Main Street in BH for shopping, there are tons of shops and such on the streets off Main as well. It's a very walkable-shopable port! :)

[twocats]

Thanks so much.

[SailBadtheSinner]

Twocats asked:

..........also what street was the drugstore with the soda fountain?.....

 

 

I believe the drug store in question is West End Drug Company and is located on Main St. As you walk away from the harbor, it will be on the right as the uphill walk on Main St starts to levels out.

 

I was in there in June taking a picture of soda fountain for my SIL who is a retired pharmacist from Ohio and wanted a pix of it to show her friends back home.

 

 

SBtS

[twocats]

Thank you, I will add it to my places to look for. :)

[sandyoftheseas]

We're glad you guys enjoyed the review. It was our first attempt at posting a review and it's nice to know at least a few people found it useful.

 

twocats - It looks like MEcruzr and Sailbad have answered your questions. Enjoy your cruise!

[twocats]

Yes Sandy I got what I need, but thanks again for the review, so many dont' write upon return, it's nice that you did, and thanks to the others for the help.

We leave California tonight!!

Carole

[paylady]

Bar Harbor was my favorite too.

[Deloresgardella]

Hi Carole, I don't know if you remember me but I cruised a couple years ago with my grandson through the Panama Canal. I met you and your husband then, along with your sister and brother-in-law. Last year a friend of mine and I cruise the Baltics starting at Copenhagen and this year I did the Mediterrean, Rome, Athens, Greece, Rhodes, Naples and Cyprus. I am really interested in doing the New England itinerary. Let me know how it is. Want to do it the end of Sept or Oct. Thank you

Delores