My Excellent Crown Adventure Feb 2 - 16

[Stevesan]

February 2 – 16 2008. Fourteen splendid days combining Explorer and Classic Southern Caribbean cruises on Crown Princess.

 

I make a precruise overnight at Sheraton OSJ. This is a very borderline 3 diamond casino/hotel. It is, however, only a short stroll to Pier 4, Crown’s usual dock. A word of warning: Do not, repeat DO NOT, accept a back room. The extremely amplified noise, oops “music”, from the casino duo reaches into those rooms until 3AM!!!

 

Boarding, which begins about 12N is quick, forty minutes from terminal entrance to cabin. No lines were evident either week. Note: There are duty free booze shops inside the terminal. You may carry liquor on board either in your carryon or by container. No questions are asked. The ship, less than two years old, is in nearly faultless condition. The crew continues the maintenance on her daily. They were stripping and revarnishing all the outside wood during Week Two.

 

My cabin is on Lido Deck 15, close to the pools and buffets. An egg crate topper makes the mattress comfortable. The hard working cabin steward is Rungpana. She absolutely earns an add-on tip. MUTS oversees the Calypso pool with daytime videos and movies at night. There are few in attendance, except for the Super Bowl which was SRO. We’re sailing full both weeks, but there is nary a wait in either Anytime dining room for a “share”. Buzzers are handed out for special seating requests. The dining staff is efficient and the food first rate, much better than the lido buffets. Lunchtime offerings included Red Snapper and Cioppino, always perfectly prepared and presented. Formal nights evince “code worthy” apparel. However, fewer than twenty percent are wearing tuxedos, perhaps an equal number in suits, the remainder wear a mix of jackets and dress pants. There is very little “sparkle” among the ladies.

 

I discover that large groups on board ship can make a difference, especially when they’re all closely acquainted. During Week Two there are two large groups on board. Five hundred folks are with an insurance company, all from Tennessee. The other is a large contingent from a paint manufacturer. Individually they’re good people, but when assembled in the dining room the clamor approaches record decibel levels. A bar room atmosphere prevails throughout every evening. One night is so loud I can’t stand the racket and escape to the Café Caribe for dinner. That’s when I discover that this ship’s buffet food is no match for main dining room fare.

 

Port Activities:

My interest narrows to boat snorkel trips. If that’s not in your repertoire, skip to the in transit and disembarkation lectures.

 

Week One (Explorer):

 

Feb 3 – St Thomas: Ship’s snorkel with Capt Nautica . http://www.captainnautica.com/feedback.php

A high speed (35 knots) pontoon boat takes us to Buck Island. First stop is over freighter wreck, visibility is very poor, few fish and less coral. Second stop is on lee side of island, Turtle Cove. Visibility is much better. Did a swim-along with a turtle family, also Stingrays and a Barracuda.

 

Feb 4 – St Kitts: Crown arrives late so Nevis Sailaway cancels snorkel portion of trip. Arrive at beach for swimming and lunch. Sail back becomes booze cruise.

 

Feb 5 – Grenada: First time here so I take an island highlights land tour. Vehicle is a small minibus with about nineteen of us on board. Beautiful island, pop. 100,000. Frequent stops with good views. Bus driver/guide, Louise, is excellent. A good introduction to the island.

 

Feb 6 – Bonaire: Catamaran snorkel with Woodwind http://www.woodwindbonaire.com/cruises.html, .

Boat is crowded with 25 passengers, but both the crew, Deirdre (Dee) and Ulf, and the snorkeling is first rate. Lots of marine life and live coral with some fish and turtles. First stop is near shore, mainly for orientation and any who require snorkeling guidance. Second stop, near Klein, is much better. There’s a strong current, so we drift snorkel.

 

Feb 7 – Aruba: Booked NW Sail And Snorkel. Operator is Red Sail Sports, so I figure why not? Huge mistake!!! 125 people are crammed onto a catamaran, like sardines in a can. There aren’t even enough seats, unless you count the foam pads placed on the net. This is a disgraceful instance of squeezing every last dollar out of the suckers, that’s us folks. I can’t envisage suffering thru this so I immediately leave their boat and request a refund. There were no questions asked.

 

Week Two (Classic)

 

Feb 11 – Barbados: Full Day Snorkel trip on Silver Moon II.

http://oceanadventures.bb/sailing.htm

Good crew with 24 snorklers on board, but it’s a large cat affording adequate space. First stop is the ritualistic swim with the turtles. Second stop is at a near shore reef. There’s lots of large, live, coral formations, but few fish. Lunch on board follows.

 

Feb 12 – St Lucia: Full day snorkel with Dive Fair Helen.

http://www.divefairhelen.com/cruise_ship_special.htm

Boat meets us at ferry dock just across from cruise ship. Bumpy ride to dive shop at Marigot Bay. Ten snorkelers and nine divers board boat and head for Anse Cochon. Excellent marine life. The reef is easily accessed from the Tiki Village beach. Lunch is served on board, then a second stop at Richmond’s Trench. Large coral formations on each side are near the surface. A good day with an excellent operator. A big thumbs up for DFH.

 

Feb 13 – Antigua: Full Day snorkel with Eli’s Eco Tour:

http://www.adventureantigua.com/tour.html

Today’s boat Captain is J.D., not Eli. Tony was both narrator and snorkel guide. Tony proves to be a good replacement for Eli. A very windy day, 25 knots, makes for a rough ride to the North Shore. First stop is Bird Island beach for a short hike and/or snorkel lesson. There were two more stops, the last at Hell’s Gate. The weather and seas are too rough to snorkel over the reef to the Atantic side, so I just snorkeled between boat and reef. Nice coral and reef, but sand covers most of it and few fish venture out. Lunch is served on board. There are other options here including a climb to the top of Hell’s Gate via the island cave, which most choose to do. Good or bad weather, Eli’s is the best snorkel excursion in the Caribbean.

 

Feb 15 – Tortola: Full day snorkel with Patouche.

http://www.patouche.com/day_charters.htm

It’s another windy day. We sail Shamwari to the leeward, smooth, side of Norman Island. The first stop is at Treasure Caves. We snorkel along coral reefs and gardens and enter three of the caves. The island and caves were reputedly the inspirational source for Robert Louis Stevenson’s classic Treasure Island. Lunch is at Willy Ts, a floating restaurant. Willy T’s is a good divergence from the inevitable barbecued chicken on the snorkel boats. Patouche is a class act. Be aware that Patouche, on the close of this day, relocated their operation from H.R. Penn Marina to a location near the airport.

 

Disembarkation: Express walk off begins as soon as the ship is cleared which is scheduled for 8:45AM. Clearance is announced at 7:45AM on Feb 16. Tours are offered for those with late flights. I take the Yunque Rain Forest Tour. It’s an interesting trip and a good time killer. We arrive at the airport a bit early, 12:30PM. SJU is a mess with poor signage, long lines and lousy food joints. Subway has a loooong lineup. Note to Continental Elite passengers: The President’s club has to be the worst on the planet. No snacks available, few magazines anyone would want to read and a limited number of newspapers which arrive late. It’s still better than the appalling terminal.

 

The Princess “EASYCHECK” baggage service and on board airline service is easy peasy. For a $15 fee you collect your luggage in the cruise terminal, deliver it to the EASYCHECK drop off point, and you don’t see it again until you are home. Your airline boarding pass, which includes baggage claim number(s), along with instructions are delivered to your stateroom the last evening. This greatly eases the pain at the airport. There are airline, flight departure time and connection restrictions so it’s not available to every one.

 

In Transit: Turnaround day offers two options. All passengers must leave the ship to go through immigration in the terminal. You may disembark at any time after the ship clears, but are not allowed to return to the ship until embarkation begins.

If you prefer to stay on board, or visit OSJ later in the day, you gather in the Michelangelo dining room at 10:45AM to be accompanied through immigration and then reboard.

 

I really do like this ship. Katy Hepburn would definitely declare Crown as “Yar”. The interior design minimizes her size and the numbers of passengers. It is an attractive ship that has more than a few appealing venues, prominent are the International Café, Wine bar and Café Caribe. Best of all is the staff. They are universally courteous and friendly without fawning. Finally, if you like water sports this is an excellent itinerary. It’s not quite up to some of the Western Caribbean ports such as Roatan, Cozumel and Belize, but there are definite contenders here: Worth honorable mention are Bonaire, Aruba, St Lucia and Tortola. All of which are definitely worthwhile. Welcome aboard. If you don’t love it, it’s at least preferable to work so enjoy.

[parisbully]

Stevesan, Thanks for the review. You didn't sound too enthusiastic about Silvermoon in Barbados. We have the smaller cat booked in April. Can you give a little more info on this?

[Stevesan]

Stevesan, Thanks for the review. You didn't sound too enthusiastic about Silvermoon in Barbados. We have the smaller cat booked in April. Can you give a little more info on this?

 

I was on the "smaller" cat SMII.

Mayeb I was a bit too blase because this was my second time with SM. Unlike my first trip, this time the boat was a bit too crowded and the turtles were not as cooperative as thwey usually are. But don't let my comments discourage you. Ocean Adventures is a first rate operator. I'm sure you'll enjoy them.

I do hope they have the two toilets repaired, though. they have electric pumps, both of them failed during our trip: a good argument for manual pumps.

No worries, though. The fish pee in the sea, so can we!:p

[cruisinbuddy]

Glad to hear you enjoyed the ship as much as we did.

Cheers

[Colo Cruiser]

Excellent review, thanks. :)

[Elizabeth K.]

Hi Steven,

 

It was so nice to meet you last week, even if it was only in the immigration line. I wholeheartedly agree with you about the friendly staff. I felt like a queen all week.

 

I hope you were able to change your dining room. We witnessed some of folks from Tennessee taking over Neptune's pool late afternoon on Friday. Very intoxicated, throwing each other in the pool etc. These were adults in their 40's-50's. It was easy enough to find a quieter area on deck fortunately. We did meet a really nice couple with that group tho when we were on the beach in Barbados so I won't generalize about the entire group.

 

All in all the best cruise to date. We're already planning the next one--thinking about the Ruby next Feb:D

[dforeigner]

Thanks for taking time to write a review.

[Maringa]

Can you tell me if any work was done on the miniature golf links while you were on the boat? Someone posted pictures of it last week and showed that it was under re-modeling. We're going on the March 15th, and my little son was looking forward to playing on it while we were on the cruise. I'm hoping that it will be finished by the time we get on...

[Stevesan]

Can you tell me if any work was done on the miniature golf links while you were on the boat? Someone posted pictures of it last week and showed that it was under re-modeling. We're going on the March 15th, and my little son was looking forward to playing on it while we were on the cruise. I'm hoping that it will be finished by the time we get on...

 

I'm sorry, but that's one of the many places I failed to visit. So many things to do, so little time!:p

[PescadoAmarillo]

Stevesan, thanks for the review. Sounds like you enjoy doing the same sorts of things we do, so I read your excursion reviews with great interest. I'm glad you had good luck with Dive Fair Helen in St. Lucia. We had such a horrid experience with them (diving) a couple of years ago, I posted a scathing review in the dive section of this board. You might consider posting an update there, saying your good things to provide some balance. Maybe they're turned around their operation, but when it came to equipment (defective) and safety (MIA), they were the worst we ever dived with.

[bonnie voyage]

Thanks for the great review......one question:

 

we are staying at the Sheraton in OSJ. you mentioned to NOT get a room on the back side due to casino. Where exactly should we request a room location? thanks in advance for your assistance.

[Stevesan]

Thanks for the great review......one question:

 

we are staying at the Sheraton in OSJ. you mentioned to NOT get a room on the back side due to casino. Where exactly should we request a room location? thanks in advance for your assistance.

 

The front. If that's not available, a side room NEAR the front.

The problem is not with the casino, but the over amplified duo playing there. They set up their stage at the back street side of the casino.

BTW - The noise (dammit, I meant music) is only Friday and Saturday nights.

[SusieS]

Hi- Was the Aruba excursion booked through Princess, or through an outside company? Thanks- Susie

[Stevesan]

Hi- Was the Aruba excursion booked through Princess, or through an outside company? Thanks- Susie

 

Thru Princess. My dumb error, but Red Sail Sports as the sponsor gave me false delusions.

[Northender]

Loved you report. :) We will be doing this same route early April.You mentioned you were on Silvermoon II, we have booked Silvermoon I for our rollcall. This one holds less than II, but they only allow 12 people. You mentioned that the II was the smaller one - what are we on, a dingy???:D

[Sandytoes]

Thanks for sharing your review. I have to agree, a Southern itinerary is excellent for snorkeling.

[gopher's girl]

Thank you for sharing all of that detail. I was on the Crown in November and miss her terribly. Very cold up North.

[tngal35]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Crown in 30 days! :D We are doing the same excursion in Antigua, so I'm glad to hear it was a good experience.

 

On the EasyCheck - do you sign up for that before the cruise? How do you find out which airlines participate?

 

Thanks!

[Cruisebird]

Stevesan...we are preparing for the same cruise on March 1st and were wondering if on your turnaround day, do you have to participate (again) in the lifeboat drill?

[Stevesan]

Stevesan...we are preparing for the same cruise on March 1st and were wondering if on your turnaround day, do you have to participate (again) in the lifeboat drill?

 

Nope. Once is enough, but if your mustard drill is the Princess Theater it might be worth a second visit. Mark, the #2 cruise director, emcees the drill and is truly a funny guy. Funnier than any of the "professional" comics, but that's not a fair comparison. Mark is much better. That British "accent" is a great help.:)

[Stevesan]

Thanks for the review. We will be on the Crown in 30 days! :D We are doing the same excursion in Antigua, so I'm glad to hear it was a good experience.

 

On the EasyCheck - do you sign up for that before the cruise? How do you find out which airlines participate?

 

Thanks!

 

The "EASYCHECK" application and instruction form is delivered to your stateroom early in the week. Enrollment deadline is 12N Wednesday. The participating airlines are: American, Delta, Jet Blue, Continental (yay), United and Northwest. Connecting flights must be on the same airline as the first leg carrier, and departing flights must be between 11AM and 11:59PM of the same day you disembark.

Finally, your flight destination must be in th CONUS, including Hawaii. The fee is $15 p/person.

This is the best invention since ice cream, which reminds me: I failed to mention the gelato bar at the International cafe. They have Nutella (chocolate), Straciatella (vanilla with chodolate chips) and two or three other kinds. It's a whopping $1.50 for three large scoops.

That did it. See ya, I'm off to the freezer for a bowl of my Dreyer's French Silk!!!:p

[Stevesan]

Stevesan, thanks for the review. Sounds like you enjoy doing the same sorts of things we do, so I read your excursion reviews with great interest. I'm glad you had good luck with Dive Fair Helen in St. Lucia. We had such a horrid experience with them (diving) a couple of years ago, I posted a scathing review in the dive section of this board. You might consider posting an update there, saying your good things to provide some balance. Maybe they're turned around their operation, but when it came to equipment (defective) and safety (MIA), they were the worst we ever dived with.

 

Thanks for the suggestion. I took your advise and posted my snorkel reviews on the scuba/snorkel board. I added comments to the DFH portion to clarify that they apparently cleaned up their act. I hope it's a permanent fix.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=718822

[1bigsexy]

Thanks for sharing. Always nice to hear other's experience on my fav ship.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks for the suggestion. I took your advise and posted my snorkel reviews on the scuba/snorkel board. I added comments to the DFH portion to clarify that they apparently cleaned up their act. I hope it's a permanent fix.

 

I'm glad you posted your review. We only chose DFH because it was so highly recommended on these boards, and when our experience was quite the opposite, I was pretty irritated (not to mention downright shocked at their lack of service). My review of them (under my old log-in name) goes back almost three years, but it's still there. Nice to be able to give prospective divers a balanced review. Thanks for letting me know!