Crown Princess - cruise review

[Sunbeam56]

We came back late Saturday evening. Our week (November 10-17, 2007)on the Crown Princess was great even if it took us a few days to find our way around on the ship.

CHECK-IN -The check-in went very smoothly : the bus left the Marriott in Condado area at 12 :40 and at 13 :30 we were in our cabin.

CABIN - Our cabin (E731) was very comfortable; we enjoyed the larger balcony, the walk-in closet and having a bathtub, it was larger to take our shower.

FOOD - After reading comments on the food, we were gladly surprised to find that it was good, well presented and varied. My husband said the coffee was good, no bitter taste. We enjoyed the fact that we could order fresh fruits in our cabin.

POOLS : we found the areas around the pools a bit cramped, but having the balcony helped a lot. We would go swimming and sit on our balcony afterwards.

EXCURSIONS - We took excursions in almost all the ports (St. Thomas, St. Kitts, Bonaire, Aruba, San Juan) : 4 through Princess and 1 private. As we had already taken an excursion on Grenada on a previous cruise, we just walked around.

ANYTIME DINING - We did enjoy anytime dining because we wanted a table for 2.

MUTS – Movies Under The Stars, we went one evening and it was quite different to watch a movie outside. The choices of films were good.

DISEMBARKATION : It went smoothly also.

SAN JUAN AIRPORT : very busy airport. The whole process was not so bad : 20 minutes to give our checked luggage and 45 minutes to pass security. This is where we found that it looked a bit disorganized : the line-up was very long and people were getting upset, vocal, pushing and passing in front of others until they added another security guard to help the process. Also an X-Ray machine broke down and they did not redirect the people to other machines but just left us in that line, so we just passed under the rope and went to another line.

DISLIKES - There were a few minor details that we did not like :

our cabin was almost never ready until late in the morning even if we did put the little tag (Service please) to indicate to our cabin steward that it ready for him,

people leaving their dirty dishes with or without food in the hallway when they were eating in their cabin.

[live4vacation]

sunbeam56,

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Crown next week. We are staying at the Marriott in Condado and you had mentioned a taking a bus to the pier, does the Marriott offer a shuttle? Thanks in advance.

[Julia’s Journey’s]

Thanks for the review, we have been toying with the idea of a cruise on the Crown:D

[Kurbanfan]

sunbeam56,

Thanks for the review, we will be on the Crown next week. We are staying at the Marriott in Condado and you had mentioned a taking a bus to the pier, does the Marriott offer a shuttle? Thanks in advance.

 

 

I was going to ask the same thing. We are also staying at the Marriott.

 

OP how did you like the Marriott? And is there any good places to eat breakfast in that area?

Thanks!!

[Sunbeam56]

I don't know about a shuttle to the pier as we had the transfers from Princess and they picked us up with a bus. I know there was a rep from Princess near the elevators. Maybe that person could answer your questions. I think the taxi to the pier is not that expensive - $12-$15???

 

As for eating facilities on Ashford Avenue where the Marriott is, you have many restaurants and all sorts of prices. We went mostly to Wendy's which is about 2 minutes walk from the hotel. There is a Starbuck across the street. There is also a Subway, Dunkin donuts, Haagen Dazs.

 

The Marriott is beautiful hotel, the rooms are beautifully furnished. We were asked at the check-in if wanted an ceanview room for $50, we refused and she said that the room had city view. We were happy with that. But when we got in the room, we were lucky it had a view on the ocean and the city.

[Kurbanfan]

The Marriott is beautiful hotel, the rooms are beautifully furnished. We were asked at the check-in if wanted an ceanview room for $50, we refused and she said that the room had city view. We were happy with that. But when we got in the room, we were lucky it had a view on the ocean and the city.

 

$50 for oceanview:cool: I thought it would be more like $30. I know we paid a extra $20 for oceanview at the Intercontinental hotel in Miami.

Thanks for the heads up.

Starbucks is good enough for us for breakfast.

Did you have to wait very long for anytime dining? Any good entertainment on board?

[fozziscooter]

Thanks for the review! I can't wait to get out of this cold weather!:)

[Sunbeam56]

Did you have to wait very long for anytime dining? Any good entertainment on board?

 

 

As we did not want to share a table and really wanted a table for 2, we went for dinner early - between 17:45 and 18:15. We never had to wait at that time. We ended up going to Michelangelo 6 out of the 7 nights, because we really enjoyed the service given by Lester and José Antonio.

 

 

The entertainment, well that was something else. The last night I got up and left after 10 minutes. The shows with the Princess dancers were good. The others one, I wish I would have gone to the MUTS and see a movie that I seen already.

[azdmelani]

As we did not want to share a table and really wanted a table for 2, we went for dinner early - between 17:45 and 18:15. We never had to wait at that time. We ended up going to Michelangelo 6 out of the 7 nights, because we really enjoyed the service given by Lester and José Antonio.

 

 

The entertainment, well that was something else. The last night I got up and left after 10 minutes. The shows with the Princess dancers were good. The others one, I wish I would have gone to the MUTS and see a movie that I seen already.

 

We found Lester at the end of our August cruise and loved him! Going again in January, do you know when his contract is up?

[Sunbeam56]

We found Lester at the end of our August cruise and loved him! Going again in January, do you know when his contract is up?

 

He mentionned that he was anxious in going back home (Grenada) for a holiday. I do not remember when. I think it is pretty soon. I will ask my husband tonight if he remembers and I will let you know.

[Sunbeam56]

We found Lester at the end of our August cruise and loved him! Going again in January, do you know when his contract is up?

 

 

My husband thinks that he is going in March for 2 to 3 months.

[LizC]

We found Lester at the end of our August cruise and loved him! Going again in January, do you know when his contract is up?

 

First thank you so much for the review!!!

 

Hope to be on the Christmas sailing we have a major concern about air right now but that is another issue.

 

With anytime dining where do you eat same dining room? Did you ask for Lester?

 

Any info would help.

[azdmelani]

My husband thinks that he is going in March for 2 to 3 months.

 

thanks! I will look for him in January. Grenada is on our itinerary, so at least he gets to go home for a short amount of time.

[Ricks]

As we did not want to share a table and really wanted a table for 2, we went for dinner early - between 17:45 and 18:15. We never had to wait at that time. We ended up going to Michelangelo 6 out of the 7 nights, because we really enjoyed the service given by Lester and José Antonio.

 

 

The entertainment, well that was something else. The last night I got up and left after 10 minutes. The shows with the Princess dancers were good. The others one, I wish I would have gone to the MUTS and see a movie that I seen already.

 

We were on crown from 11/3 - 11/17

Entertainment_ crew show was good, princess dancers good....everything else really was not good.... they need to find better pool side bands.... They stunk...bottom line

[dcrow72]

did the repos cruise on the crown 10/20. Pier to Marriott Condado was 12.00 plus .50 per bag. Beautiful hotel. Food expensive but excellent. Paid the extra for the ocean view and it was paradise! Also chose the executive level (check the rooms while choosing online and you'll see it as an option if available). With that, get access to executive lounge on the top floor where snacks and drinks always available. Have breakfast offerings for free as well as appetizers and desserts in pm. Staff wonderful; even printed my boarding passes and helped us choose where we should visit in OSJ during our stay.

 

Anytime dining on the Crown has 2 rooms; DaVinci and Michaelangelo. We did both and even at 7 PM with a group of 8 never waited more than 5 minutes for a table. The buffet was excellent too; not typical buffet fare.