Just returned from a fabulous Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Crown 1/25/09-2/1/09. Traveled with DH, DB & SIL (50's). This is our 11th cruise (1 RCCL, 2 Carnival, 7- NCL) but first on Princess. We are blessed to say we have never met a cruise we didn't like. If I do any comparisons, it will be mostly to our recent NCL cruises on the Pearl (S. Caribbean and Alaska). The weather was mostly very good. Leaving and returning to Ft. Lauderdale were windy days, but sunny and in the 70's. The ports ranged from the 70's to mid 80's. As I write this, I am listening to a CD of steel drum music that I bought on the ship performed by Wilson Jean Baptiste, who performed all week at various times in the Piazza. As usual, I did a lot of research here on CC and I want to thank everyone for the wealth of information that helped enhance our cruising experience.

Pre-Cruise We flew out of chilly Chicago one day early to Ft. Lauderdale. Arrived to a sunny, warm Saturday. I love the fact that when we got off our SW plane in the airport, we could see cruise ships in the port. Assures us that we are in the right place and we indeed are going on a Caribbean cruise! When I step outside the airport and see my first palm tree, I am instantly transported into tropical vacation mode. A quick cab ride to the Embassy Suites on 17th near the cruise port. This is a beautiful property, with a large tropical atrium. It is a bit pricey (we used an AARP discount and shared a suite) but well worth it. Our room wasn't ready, but we were able to check our luggage and we walked over to the Harbor Shops which are just a block behind the hotel. There are several little boutique type shops for browsing. We then ate a delicious, affordable lunch at RJ Gators and enjoyed sitting outside, sipping delicious mojitos. Next stop, also located here, was Publix grocery store and Total Wine; where after enjoying a complimentary wine tasting, we purchased wine to bring onboard. Although we didn't use them, this hotel is also near the Sun Trolley and the Water Taxi. Back to the hotel to check in, change into bathing suits and enjoy the beautiful pool area and hot tub. Next we enjoyed the Embassy Suites Manger's Reception from 5:30pm-7:30pm with complimentary drinks and snacks. The next morning, we stepped out onto our balcony and were delighted to see the Crown berthed at the dock. With our excitement building, we headed down to the complimentary breakfast in the atrium, which was also very good. We were really happy with the choice of this hotel for the convenience to the cruise pier and walking distance to shops and restaurants. After a quick 5 minute ride, we arrived at the cruise terminal at about 11AM, to our first up close view of the magnificent, massive Crown.

Embarkation & Cabin We were processed quickly through security and into the seated waiting area for group #3. After a short wait, our group was called and we were in our cabin by 12 noon. I like that Princess allows you to go right to your cabin. We had an inside room forward, on Caribe deck 10. It was very nice, clean and as-expected size-wise; comparable to insides we have had on recent cruises with NCL. I loved the large closet with no doors (allows easier access). It allowed room for all our hung clothes and room for me to hang my over-the-door shoe holder, for various items. There is also a closet with shelves and the safe in this area. The bathroom was nice-sized with room for all our toiletries. I prefer NCL's glass shower door over the clingy Princess curtain. Inside the shower, the spot for soap and toiletries is small (my items kept sliding out all week), and again I prefer NCL's soap/shampoo dispenser. Our bed was already placed in the queen configuration, as requested with nightstands on both sides that also had two drawers each for storage. We loved the fluffy duvet bedding and pillows. There is room under the bed for all your empty luggage. The room has lots of mirrors which opens it up and makes it feel larger. Across from the bed was the desk area with chair. I would have preferred drawers here instead of shelves, but that is just a small convenience item. Attached to this was the mini-fridge (wish it didn't have the extra cabinet door, because you have to open 2 doors to get in the fridge - again, no biggy). We had our room steward remove the mini-fridge items so we could put in our own. Above this was the area for the glasses/ice bucket. And above that was the flat screen TV (loved watching Love Boat episodes throughout the week). As stated here before, I also thought the blow dryer was weak and took twice as long to dry my hair. But, I did know that ahead of time and still chose to pack extra shoes instead of my blow dryer. You will find your pool towels in your room and the room steward exchanges them as needed. We met our room steward, Carlos, who did an excellent job all week. He also brought us 2 of the waffle weave robes. We requested wine glasses from him, but he told us that you need to order them from room service. So we verified that with room service and they promptly delivered two glasses for use with our own wine. Since these don't get replaced by the room steward as I thought, we just ordered 6 glasses the next time. We also brought our own corkscrew and enjoyed sipping wine in our room while getting ready for dinner each night. We really appreciate that Princess lets you bring wine onboard. There is a laundromat room on most passenger floors with washers, dryers and ironing boards. We learned our sailing had 3119 passengers this week, so it was a pretty full sailing. We had very few children onboard and the ones I saw were very well behaved. Read more