anyone on Crown Princess lately??

[brightonguys]

I know I can read the member reviews and check out the Princess boards (and, of course, I have :)), but I'm curious to get the take on the Crown from any GLBT cruisers -- what you liked, any tips or suggestions, how the GLBT gatherings were, etc. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

Ed and Rich

[jlesw]

We haven't been on the Crown, yet. We sail on June 10 from Rome. But our experiences on four other Princess Cruises have been fabulous. You'll love it!

Jim and Bill

[jkazoo]

I know I can read the member reviews and check out the Princess boards (and, of course, I have :)), but I'm curious to get the take on the Crown from any GLBT cruisers -- what you liked, any tips or suggestions, how the GLBT gatherings were, etc. Any input is greatly appreciated!

 

Ed and Rich

 

 

My partner and I were onboard, and met several great guys (no women showed) at the GLBT/FOD meetups. They were scheduled every night around 5 or 6 depending on the day being at sea or in port. The only strange part was the last night was sked. at 7 or 7:30, which overlaps a traditional dining time, so we just rescheduled our own time earlier.

 

Never felt singled out or looked at askance by other passengers or crew. Treated really well overall, but there were a bit fewer GLBTs around than I thought there would be. And plenty of couples onboard didn't join in. NO problem, but it would have been a lot more isolating if we hadn't got along really well with the other couples and single gay guy travelling with family. We felt perfectly fine dancing at the club, but not sure that would hold all the time.

 

Tips: I guess these are personal preferences, but the lotus pool toward the front was never crowded. I would guess less than half the passengers even knew about it, content to gather around the larger pools. It looks like part of the spa, but it's not.

 

There was one night when anytime dining did NOT work. Too long a line at the dining rooms, lots of frustrated people. We just went up to the buffet. After that we made reservations for anytime didning, and showed up when we felt like it, sometimes coinciding with our reservation, sometimes not. In either case, we were seated right away. Of course we let them knew we and released a reservation.

 

Get to the theatre early. A half hour is not too early. All the early diners are already there for an 8:30 show. We missed sitting for the early show twice--too full.

 

I really loved the pizza on deck. Very authentic thin crust, excellent saucing and minima toppings. But couldn't see what the fuss about a hamburger was. It's a hamburger! You can get it anywhere, right? Personal pref. again.

 

Don't miss the croissants at the Int'l cafe in the AM.

 

Really enjoyed Princess Cays, and the ability to really get away from the crowd.

 

Have a great time. I miss it a lot!

[brightonguys]

Thanks for the input, jkazoo, much appreciated. I'll definitely remember the croissants in the morning and to get to the theater early. Did you enjoy the shows that you saw? Oh, how about the aft pool -- did you use that much or find it crowded? I remember enjoying that area on the Diamond Princess. One last question, how was the gym?

 

Jim and Bill, having just done a cruise out of Rome last summer, I can tell you that you all will have a blast. If you have any questions that I might answer, just let me know (we were on Azamara Quest around the Western Med).

[jblazzze]

My partner and I were on the Crown last year. We found Cruise Director's staff to be very friendly and attended a couple FOD meetings. They were scheduled every other day for the first few days, then less frequently later on. We found them to be scheduled at odd times (i.e. just before the shore excursions got back, or right in the middle of our preferred dinner hour). There were really only two other GLBT couples on board that we found out of 3000+ cruisers. It is definitely not a floating gay bar.

 

Although the entertainment staff were fantastic, we really didn't care for the ship. We found the food to be average - nothing particularly outstanding, merely edible. The remainder of the crew (with the exception of the cabin steward) were a bit indifferent (they seemed harried and overworked). There always seemed to be a long line to do anything that we wanted to do at the time that we wanted to do it. Disembarkation for shore excursions was slightly worse than a cattle run. A good number of the other passengers seemed to be petty, childish and low-brow. Perhaps it was just this particular cruise.

 

My partner had been on Princess several times before (perhaps 15-ish years ago). He said that the quality of service had deteriorated significantly over that time period. Together we had been on NCL and Azamara. We would return to either of those before booking another cruise on Princess. Having said that, Princess does have some very interesting iteneraries that the other lines do not. We might give their small ship cruising a try, but I don't think we will do the large ship again.

 

Best,

Joe

[DILLON123]

hey guys

 

We were on the crown earlier this year and the FOD parties were great.

I have one tip. When you first get on board hunt down the Maitre D and sign up for the chefs table (I think we paid 75 dollars pp.) WORTH EVERY PENNY and then some. by far the most unforgettable experience on the ship!!!