Our departure is 8 am and we want to get breakfast. We head down to Botticelli dining room. We are sat at a table at 7:45 but sadly we had such poor service. The first time we have had such bad service in the dining room this entire voyage.
Our waiter seems completely out of it. I ordered juice, a grapefruit an half a bagel with cream cheese. Bernie got mixed fruit and oatmeal with tea.
We did not even get our drinks until 15 minutes after we sat down. Then trying to get milk for his tea was a real test of patience. People at other tables got their food before we got ours and they were sat later than we were.
It was not a good end to the cruise. But we know better than to let it cloud our judgement and plus almost all our meals in the dining rooms have been very good.
We left the dining room at 8:30 and walked right off the ship. Collected our bags, went thru the very non emotional customs agent and jumped in a taxi. All within 10 minutes.
A taxi ride to the airport was $14 and we were there very quickly.
Checked in and we are on our way home as I write this.
It is a time for us to reflect.
The views below are my own and are based on being on board for 24 days as seasoned cruisers.
Itinerary:
We love the trans Atlantic cruises and again this one did not disappoint. All those sea days and going West enables you to gain an hour every other day.
The ten day Caribbean is one we have done so many times I can't even count how many. I love that it brings us far enough south that we visit ports that are a bit different than the usual 7 day itinerary.
Entertainment:
This is usually a huge challenge for the cruise staff on board. But again these guys shone bright. Every day the Patter was packed with events. I especially loved that because of so many sea days we got activities that you either rarely see - like The Quest, scavenger hunts, movies in the theater, etc.
Angela the Cruise Director and Emily were a delight to watch each morning on their Wake Show. It was just the right length and their quirkiness played well off each other.
I attended more enrichment lectures than I have ever done. Maybe because the topic was of interest to me - Hollywood. But Mr. Weimer made it interesting and fun.
Once we started on the Caribbean itinerary with five straight port days I did notice a drop in events, but that is natural.
Also since the ship has changed their dining times to reflect the earlier traditional dining times the production shows were moved up to 7 pm and 9:15. But the events in the other lounges like Explorers were not changed. This caused a major issue for us. We are anytime diners and we did not change our normal dining time. We did not make it to any of the four production shows on the ten night sailing. Considering that a much larger percentage of passengers are anytime diners you would think they would just leave the times alone.
Note they also changed the Platinum Elite Lounge from 4:30 to 6:30 instead of 5:00 to 7:00 pm again way too early. The demographics on this sailing also did not warrant these early times. We went only twice to the elite lounge the last ten days. Loss of revenue.
Cabin:
For both sailings we had an inside cabin. Selection was minimal when we booked only a few weeks prior to sailing. Our first cabin was was B203 and our second was P330.
We much prefer an inside cabin for its quietness and especially for the savings in money. What we saved on the first cruise by going in an inside paid for the added ten day cruise.
B203 was the first forward cabin on Baja deck with only crew officers and cruise staff cabins forward of us. It was an extremely quiet cabin. Yes we felt movement all the way forward but I really did not notice any difference than being midship and lower, especially on those rocking sea days. The cabin did have some pipes on the left side that you could hear running water going down. I am guessing that they are pipes that went up to the Bridge area that was just above us. But I am only guessing. But the water was not an issue.
Our second cabin was P330 and loved the location. Again only a few steps from the IC and quick to get to if you forgot something. We did hear noises from below which is a crew only area with steel floors. We sometimes heard the sounds of high heals clicking or the occasional heavy walker above us in the Casino. But overall it was extremely quiet.
Overall the cabins were well taken care of. Yes there is some wear and tear. The ship is showing its age. The cabin chairs had marks on it, the light shade had a stain on it. Wires on the phone where it connects with the wall were exposed (yes Deb our second cabin was similar to yours). Showers were great - but I sure miss that ledge that the newer ships have.
Two big drawbacks are the pillows that they are using now with the new bedding. They just don't offer support. We tried on both sailings to try and foam pillows or something with some form but they said it was not possible. Both of us often woke up with stiff necks. Hmm maybe we need to buy a pillow each time we sail.
The second drawback is the archaic television programming. Come on this is 2018! Why are we watching looped shows! Now for some this may not be a problem but when you are on for a 14 night cruise and even we added ten days it can be almost a game changer. I know I know, first world problems, but I am giving you my thoughts on what I liked and did not like. I am so tired of seeing only a portion of a movie and can't wait to board a ship that has on demand again.
The positives of the cabin are we had great mattresses and the bedding (minus the pillows) we really like. Our steward in our first cabin was good, but our second cabin steward was outstanding and we made sure to reward him with extra tips a few times.
I especially appreciated when he quickly came to my aid when I accidentally knocked over the wine glasses over with the cabin binder, and they both broke. He came to my aid and vacuumed it up and replaced the glasses (note he provided the glasses without our asking for them when he saw we had wine in the cabin). Ice was always filled and we always got the four towels we wanted.
Dining:
Food was quite good about 80% of the time. Sure there were items that were a miss but mostly it was very good. I loved when they did the Curry in a Hurry meal for lunch on one of the sea days on the crossing for a price of $12 in the Crown Grill. Would love to see that more often.
All the meals in the dining room we enjoyed. Service was pretty good but staff are noticeably running around and seemed to be so busy and not the personable self we use to experience.
A big issue on this class is getting a table for two. There just are not enough of them. We would normally head to the dining room around 7:45 and often we had to wait a bit for a table for two. What is worse is you feel guilty for asking for a table for two. The first thing the hostess asks is how many in your party. When you say two they say "are you willing to share" --- no I want to dine with my spouse not with a large group of people. We were fortunate that on the second voyage we decided to seek help with a head waiter we knew on board and he insured we had a table for two each night if we wished around 7:45, but for the average cruiser they may not have that perk or know of that option.
A big shout out to the chefs on board for coming up with great meals for 14 different days on a long voyage like we were on.
We dined twice at the Crown Grill and twice at Salty Dog. The Crown Grill was a nice treat and we were very happy with the meal and especially the service. The staff there treat you special and I feel it is well worth the added $29 feel.
The Salty Dog Pub that is held in the Wheelhouse at night is a nice change of scenery and the music is an added bonus. The servers are actually bar staff and even though they get the job done they just don't know the ins and outs of service. Often we had to ask for water refills, and cutterly and wait for plates to be cleared. I still would go back because the ambiance and the food is great but wish they would dedicated one or two actual wait staff to work here instead of bar staff.
Dining upstairs was the biggest disappointment. I usually love the pizza up on deck but the two times I tried it was horrible, cold, messy and tasteless.
The burger bar is now the Salty Dog grill and we love the chicken tacos up there and they still were very good but the long queues on sea days was an issue.
But sadly the biggest disappointment was the buffet. For those that have been following my blog for a long time you know that our cruisers are a mixture of all dining venues. But lately we have really focused on dining in Horizon Court. We have been spoiled with the Royal/Regal and the Caribbean recently.
The Crown has the old style buffet. The choices are good but minimal. There is the old fashioned carving station, some hot vegetable items, usually three dishes that represent their theme and then potatoes, rice, and a hot dessert. There is also the soup station, salad bar, bread station, dessert station, and fruit station (which we really took advantage of).
After a few days we were bored with the buffet and the quality was just not the best.
Sure we did not starve, but if it comes down to ships I won't pick one that has the old buffet.
We both really were impressed with the International Cafe. Staff here were attentive and helpful and we rarely had to wait for someone to come by to take our order. They were also very reactive. When the crossing forced a lot of people indoors the Atrium was busy. Extra tables were added to the Atrium to accommodate these people.
Sanctuary:
One of the things we love on board is using the Sanctuary as our little piece of heaven. Sadly this was probably the worst experience we have ever had on a Princess Ship with very little service. Plates/glasses not being cleared. Tea service was a big disappointment. We disliked it so much that after the first day we cancelled all other reservations we had for her. You can read that blog post here.
Crew:
The best thing about this ship is the Crew! They are phenomenal. Friendly, helpful and proactive.
They seem to be problem solvers too! If there is an issue they are there trying to work it out.
Of course a big shout out goes to Amel and Sidney in Vines who are some of the best we have ever seen. Then there is also William, Jazz, Rocky, Elsa, Veronica, Wilmer, and so many more who really added to our trip.
In the end the cruise was lovely but we have come to terms that the Crown Princess is not the ship for us. We have had issues with her before and even though some things have been repaired there are still a lot of things it needs before we sail with her again.
For now we are happy to sail on the Caribbean or Royal in the new year and look forward to it.
For those booked on the Crown you will have a great time, and you are especially lucky to be sailing with phenomenal crew.
