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Want to hear about my week on the Crown? (11/10-11/17)

iambumbo

By iambumbo,
in Princess Cruises

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iambumbo

iambumbo

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Overall a great trip. Trip consisted of me (35), my wife (34) and a college buddy of mine (35). Sixth cruise for my wife and I (Carnival Celebration, RCCL Explorer, Carnival Destiny, RCCL Adventure, Carnival Miracle), third for buddy. Tried Princess primarily because of the itinerary as it had three new islands for us (St. Kitts, Grenada, Bonaire). I'll relay my experiences (good and bad), but feel free to ask me any questions you like.

 

PRE-BOARD: Trip got off to a rough start. Got to O'Hare to find our nonstop to SJU on American was delayed two hours. Ended up being three hours before we got in the air. Flight smooth, read magazines for the 4 1/2 hour trip. Took a cab from the airport to our hotel, El Canario by the Lagoon, where buddy met us outside right at midnight.

 

We picked El Canario because it was a decent price, high rated on Trip Advisor, and couldn't find a better deal on Priceline/Hotwire. Paid about $115 for the night for the 3 of us. Hotel in a great location, room ok for a night. Minor nits: the outlet next to the bed had something in one of the openings that would shock you on touch, also couldn't get cold water in the shower. Oh well. Continental breakfast hit the spot.

 

After dropping the luggage and the wife went to bed, went about 3 blocks east and grabbed an overpriced sandwich at a cafe, played at the Radisson casino for a couple hours, took them for $50, and went to bed.

 

Next morning picked up promptly at 10am for a private tour of El Yunque. We'd done it once before, our buddy hadn't. Most of the drive there was on the road along the ocean, through the country rather than the highway, very cool to see true Puerto Rican life. Once there, it was nice being able to take our time on the long walking tour. Guide (who hadn't joined us) said he got a $275 ticket while we were gone because he didn't have his license. (?!?!) That's a shame. Took us back to the pier and boarded the ship around 3:30pm.

 

EMBARKATION: One of our smoothest yet, probably because of time of arrival. Only about 30 minutes to get on board. They had stores to buy liquor right after check-in to take on board for those inclined. No need for me as I'd smuggled (shhhh!) 18 beers in my checked luggage. :rolleyes:

 

SHIP LAYOUT/AMENITIES: We all felt the ship was very poorly designed and very difficult to navigate. Usually within a day or two I've got my bearings oriented but even to the very end I'd still head out in the wrong direction. The front of the ship was sealed off the whole week so we couldn't walk all the way forward outside. Major design flaws in the buffet: everyone seemed to bottleneck in the middle with no real areas to transition. Wished they had shuffleboard but none to be found. Deck chairs around the pool area could be difficult to find once everyone's back on board or on sea day.

 

Good things about the ship: aft pool for adults area nice and quiet if you want that, casino not nearly as smoky as most, dining rooms attractive and not too crowded of a feel, cabins (ours was interior) had plenty of closet/storage space, no problems with water pressure/temperature,

comfortable deck chairs.

 

Food: I'm more of a meat and potatoes guy, so much of the food was beyond me, if you know what I mean. The shrimp and prime rib were excellent, but most of the time didn't care too much for any of the appetizers or entrees. Best alternate/everyday menu I've seen though, you could get a chicken breast/New York strip/beef mini-filet any time if you didn't like a regular item. Saved me a few nights. Still, may be the biggest deterrent from doing another Princess cruise in the future-- to be honest, I'm a better fit with Carnival cuisine. Fire away, food snobs! No comment on room service, only ordered some cookies and a beer bucket once mid-afternoon, they were really slow (45 minutes) and brought the wrong beer.

 

Entertainment: Only saw one show, the hypnotist, very funny. Skywalker's had a normal routine: American dance/disco early on for the older crowd, around midnight flip to Puerto Rican music as that crowd dominated the dance floor, then R&B before closing around 2:30. Something for everyone, although fairly empty most nights we visited. Casino was fun, plenty of tables, $5 minimums all nights after the first. Played a lot of Blackjack and some Roulette, ended up winning about $100 for the cruise after a few hours a day at the tables. Dealers hit and miss but floor managers and wait staff very friendly. Is that good or bad when they know what drink you want and don't even need to see your card anymore? Liked playing ping pong but could use more than 2 tables for a ship this size, mini golf fun and always empty but really kind of a joke (worn down, beaten up turf). Didn't really play any of the games or pay attention to much of the poolside activities, but looked liked plenty going on for those interested.

 

Service: Overall, perhaps the best I've encountered on any cruise, particularly among the staff not "assigned" to me, i.e., random staff you run into in the hallways, buffet attendants, etc. Cabin steward just got on the ship, perfect except for one night due to a schedule mixup where he was at a meeting, very apologetic so no worries. Dining staff was competent although they seemed a bit rushed, perhaps they were short staffed this week. No complaints here. Our head waiter was more friendly and accommodating than any other cruise, checking in almost daily to make sure we're happy and bring more bread (and we'd never complained...)

 

Crowds: Ship didn't seem too crowded, plenty of space to do your own thing or hang with the crowd if you want. Passengers skew a bit older than the RCCL/Carnival crowd I'm accustomed to but didn't feel out of the loop by any means. Average Puerto Rican crowd for a sailing out of San Juan, maybe 20% of the passengers if I had to guess. No problem here since their women were amazingly beautiful. :cool: I enjoyed their energy though I suspect some of the crowd probably thought they were too loud. The lido deck band's skewed toward the Spanish-speaking crowd, which did bug some people around me. I thought the band really sucked, but not because they were playing that kind of music which I actually enjoy. They just played it quite badly!

 

PORTS: San Juan: Old San Juan always worth a visit. First time in the Condado area for me, just beautiful. El Yunque always worth the trip.

 

St. Thomas: Docked on the pier away from Havensight. Always like to snorkel in this port. We went on the Sea Blaster excursion through the ship. Great crew and a great spot to snorkel (St. James Bay???). Served some great rum punch, with a chaser by request. Yummy. We'd been in this port several times before so no need to go into town (plus it was Sunday, stores close at 2pm).

 

St. Kitts: We'd previously booked a horseback riding tour through Trinity Stables on our own (made arrangements through the Internet with the owner), $55/pp. Picked up wife and I at the pier (had a sign) along with a cute 8-year-old girl and her dad and grandpa. We all rode in the open cab in the back of a pickup for about 15 minutes to the stables. Gave us helmets and our guide took us up into the rainforest, through a winding path past some wild horses and other animals. Timewise, about 1:15 up, 30 minute rest while taking a short walk to see a very cool 300 year old tree (where my wife dropped my passport (D'OH!) and fortunately realized it before we got back on the horses, walked back and found it there), then about another hour down. Soooo much fun, though my allergies made my eyes water. (Cleared up once back in town and away from the horses fortunately, nobody else had my problem.) The horses would suddenly break into a gallop for 15-20 seconds, all at the same time, and we'd "race" each other. Well worth the money and one of my most fun excursions ever. They dropped us back in town, did a little shopping and then back on the ship. Port pretty expensive for "tourist" shopping, my experience was apparently the consensus too. Enjoyed the $2 beers in the shopping area though, forget the name, but it's the St. Kitts beer.

 

My buddy did the volcano hike through the ship, thought it was a little pricey at $119. He liked it but very strenuous, he said about 1/4 of the hikers never made it to the top, and others slowed up the pack. Be forewarned-- it sounds like it's very physically demanding so make sure you're in shape before picking this excursion.

 

Grenada-- Did the Seven Sisters Waterfall Hike through the ship. Took about 40 minutes to get to the spot, with a stop or two on the way for pics. Started pouring rain about 5 minutes into the walk and rained hard most of the way. Hike itself is about 40 minutes long, VERY muddy and easy to lose your balance. They give you a walking stick to help, still, at least half the people ended up with a mud-splattered butt or leg. Not me! :) Eventually end up at a couple waterfalls, one with a drop of probably 50 feet. A few locals jumped in and showed a few tourists how to do it too. Water very cold, would've felt better if the rain hadn't felt so cold. Guides were friendly, as were the people we rode with. Warning: the mud will probably make your shoes permanently stink, even though some guys at the end will wipe them clean for a buck. Ours are probably shot, so don't wear a new pair (we brought our old ones, so no biggie for us). On the drive back our driver was going too fast for some people, I liked it as we only had about a half hour for shopping before the ship left! Never bought anything, not really impressed with the island.

 

Bonaire: Snorkeled here on the Seacow. Took us to two spots, one just off Klein Bonaire and one off the mainland. Both were amazing. I've probably snorkeled at about a dozen different spots and this is probably the best. Beautiful coral, many fish I'd never seen before, easy to navigate without running into the coral. The Seacow staff very friendly and knowledgeable, but it's really just a big dinghy. No music and just a weak rum punch. Did a little shopping and then stopped at the bar right at the pier. The Dutch owner is a great guy and will get you and your friends (plus new ones you make at the bar) good and liquored up at a good price before sending you on your way back to the ship. Trust me. :) Probably my favorite port, had a great, great time.

 

Aruba: We rented a jeep on our own from Royal, plenty of those guys right at the end of the pier from all the companies. Took a cheap Suzuki to save $30 from a Wrangler, paid $45 but probably could've bargained him down another $5-10. Car was a total joke, everything falling apart but got us around the island. Went to Baby Beach first, nice start to the morning. Then got sort of lost trying to head east, eventually took some serious backroads into Arikok park. Shocks? We don't need no stinkin' shocks!!! Saw a cave with Indian carvings and a sand dune. Got out and walked along the rocks on the east coast-- very jagged rocks and huge waves made for some amazing photos. Wanted to hit another beach so rather than continue north, headed back east and stopped at Casibari Rock, a cool looking formation of... rocks. Then stopped at another beach just south of the hotels along the ocean, then back to the ship. Did a little more shopping for tourist crap, and then back on board.

 

Day at Sea-- Was nice that they had a service club meeting in the morning to do makeups for my Rotary club. Not exactly heavily attended, just me and a 70-something couple of Kiwanis from Orlando. Continued to work on the sunburn around the pool (freshwater, by the way, a nice plus), enjoy some more beverages, ping pong and mini-golf. Finally in port for lunch so did the formal dining, delicious fish and chips. Nice relaxing day to finish the cruise.

 

Disembarkation-- Not too bad. Supposed to be out of the rooms between 8-8:30 am, went to eat at the buffet, reported to Club Fusion by 9am, we were called around 9:30am. Found our luggage without too much problem. Cabs right at the end of the walkway and no wait grabbing one to the airport. About $28 after tip.

 

Fairly easy check-in at the airport, I guess they figured it would be no problem since they'd lose my luggage on the way at a Miami layover. Screw you, oops, I mean, thank you American Airlines! (Full disclosure: they did deliver them to our home the next day although it sucked waiting for two hours to get out of O'Hare knowing we had a 2 1/2 hour drive home still.)

 

SUMMARY:

 

Highlights: Great all-around service, great excursions, lots of closet space in the room, and on a personal note, encountered enough oddballs on the ship and in ports for me and my buddy to create tons of our own inside jokes.

 

Lowlights: Food not really my taste, poorly designed ship made it confusing to navigate with tons of bottlenecks in the buffet, no shuffleboard, a little too conservative of a crowd/not enough party atmosphere for me.

 

All in all, a very memorable week with far more pros than cons. Hope you found this informative, or at least entertaining!

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christinelee

christinelee

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Thanks for the review! We will be on her in Jan.The El Yungue trip....is that the normal length or can you adjust the time frame........Why does everyone not like the buffet layout..... just take your time....they are not going to run out of food....or go to the dining room for lunch.....Anyway, Thanks for the review

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iambumbo

iambumbo

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We did our own private tour and paid about $20 more per person, so we were on our own schedule. He dropped us off at the pier, so we saved on a cab at least.

 

You can easily find an El Yunque tour through the many bus tours that pick up at the hotels. Those usually run around $50 and last about 4 hours total. Last time, we really had to scramble to catch the bus after doing the long trail hike, so we went our own this time to avoid the rush.

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nicschick

nicschick

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EMBARKATION: One of our smoothest yet, probably because of time of arrival. Only about 30 minutes to get on board. They had stores to buy liquor right after check-in to take on board for those inclined. No need for me as I'd smuggled (shhhh!) 18 beers in my checked luggage.

 

What time did you get to the pier? Did the store have beer, also?

 

 

Thank you for your detailed review.

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iambumbo

iambumbo

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Crusinagain-- They mention the early closing several times during their shows (live and on the tv) so it would be tough to not know about the early closing. Obviously they don't want people to get mad at them for not saying anything about it.

 

Nicschick-- We got to the pier around 3:45, maybe off by 15 minutes either way. Sorry didn't check to see if they have beer at that store, but I wouldn't count on it. That's why I brought my own. :)

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texreno

texreno

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Thanks, Great review and I was glad to hear your comments about the friendly staff not assigned to you. The DW and I booked this ship for next April partly because of the service attitude from the staff on our Grand Princess cruise last April. It's good to hear that this attitude is fleet wide.

 

Your review of Granada was very helpful. This cruise has too many port days for for our taste so we were thinking about staying on board at one port. Granada was the port we were thinking about not getting off the ship due to some articles we've read and your review confirmed our thoughts. Granada sounds like a good port to stay on and take advantage of the Spa Specials.

 

PS. The DW and I are in our late 40's early 50's and Carnival, while always a fun cruise, is a little too young for our taste now. Enjoy it while you can and we'll see you back on Princess when you hit 50.

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travlin housewife

travlin housewife

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Had to laugh at that little tidbit about the "oddballs" ! I'm not cruel or vicious,but it is always funny to note some of the characters one encounters during any travel experience. My late father & I always had little nicknames for some and would remember & laugh about them years later! I'm sure I've often been someone elses "oddball" LOL

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iambumbo

iambumbo

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Willysgrandma-- I wouldn't say there was too much seafood, just that I didn't care for the kinds they had. Wouldn't have minded seeing an orange roughy or a cod, but it was always different stuff like barramundi. Guess I'm a simple man with simple pleasures.

 

Tex-- Grenada would definitely be the port I'd skip on this itinerary. Also because your time in port is also the shortest by far, I think only about 5 hours. By the time you get off and do anything, almost time to re-board.

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sun&sea

sun&sea

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Great review. I was on the Crown the week before you! Brought back memories when you mentioned the volcanoe hike!!:eek: I decided I would do this with a friend for my 50th birthday!!! What memories we have of this, but I will not be doing that again!! Strenuous is an understatement. 6 hours of the most strenuous hiking I have ever done. Great memories though!

 

Janet

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iambumbo

iambumbo

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Serene-- If I remember correctly, the casino was smoke-free on the first formal night, but that's it. Regardless, I don't know if it was the crowd on board or great ventilation, but all week long it was the least smokey casino I can remember being in (cruise ship or elsewhere).

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