Crown Princess Review

Poor value and nickel/dimed to death

Review for Alaska Cruise on Crown Princess
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linus172
2-5 Cruises • Age 70s

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Value for Money
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Sail Date: Aug 2014

You would think that after paying over $10k for an Alaska CruiseTour that you should not have to pay extra to get a soda with your meal or have to spend $29 for a soda card, but not here. For "your convenience" they charge $11.50 per person (children included) per day for tips for the room stewart and serving staff. This works out to a total "take" of $250k. If this was shared among the entire 1200 person crew (which it is not), each one gets a $200 "tip" per week. Then they say that if you wanted to put a little extra in an envelope for someone you should. They are always trying to sell you something, from art auctions to the constant push to buy jewelry. The seating and space in general around the central "piazza" is limited and then they have tables of junk (jewelry, t-shirts etc) for sale taking up the isles. These ships were designed for cruising in the warmer climates where many people can sit outside and around the pool. This is not an option when the temperature is 50 degrees with fog or a cold rain (typical Alaska). That is when you discover that the ship is sorely lacking in comfortable quiet public space (that is not in a bar!) to just sit an relax, watch the scenery or read a book. The rear portion of the ship experienced a constant vibration, even when in port. This, combined with the rolling of the ship when at sea, was accentuated by the 15th level aft location of the Horizon Buffet. We left a plate full of breakfast and never returned.The "anytime" dining rooms are located further forward and on the 5th and 6th level did not have as much of a problem, However, sit-down breakfast was limited to one dining room and closed at 9:30 AM, even when at sea when you might just want to sleep-in. The staff, while very courteous, was not very fluent in English, which made getting your request correct difficult. As you may guess, we did not enjoy cruising and will NEVER cruise again.

Cabin Review

The room was spacious with plenty of storage space and an inviting balcony that could not be used in four of the seven days due to the cold rainy weather.

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