Crown Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
2,240 reviews

Great cruise - pity about the missed ports

Review for the British Isles & Western Europe Cruise on Crown Princess
User Avatar
mezza
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

Rating by category

Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
Service
Cabin

Additional details

Sail Date: Aug 2010
Cabin: Oceanview (obstructed view)

This is a review of both the British Isles and the Transatlantic as they were done back to back. Some 400 of us opted to do the 2 cruises, but while 'great minds think alike', I'm not sure that it is the way to go, given the repetitive nature of scheduled menus, entertainment,and overused jokes

Coming from the southern hemisphere on our annual pilgrimage to the north, we saw that b2b would not only give us the opportunity to relax and see more but that it would be cheaper to fly return to NYC rather than one way x2. We therefore flew to NYC and had 3 days there before embarking the QM2 for Southampton. On arrival we picked up our Avis car and began our 8 day drive around the UK via Edinburgh - for the tattoo - and a great way to fill in time before embarking the Crown. It was excellent. We atayed overnight at the Novotel Southampton - very ordinary hotel- but close to the docks and the Avis office

There was a slight hitch in embarking because just as the Elite/platinum folk were given the nod to board, it was announced that there was a problem with the elevators. Apart from that, no other probs and we were eating lunch on board by noon. STATEROOM Very happy with the cabin - our one of only 2 E cabins - partially obstructed category cabins. The cabin steward introduced himself immediately and was efficient and friendly each day. On rough sea nights, our midship cabin still rocked but only once was there a need to take a pill PORTS The first port St Peter port was the first to be missed because of winds and there were more to come. We had great private CC tours in Cobh, Dublin and Belfast and they just made me want to go to Ireland again. It was fortunate that we did as on the Transatlantic run, we had rain that worsened to a gale and caused the missing of Belfast. Such a pity for those who had not seen Belfast before. The rest of the UK ports were great but since we had driven to most of them before, we did our own thing and this was soooo good. The Liverpool Beatles tour was great but we loved Scotland and hope to return for more of the Highlands. Iceland - well what do you say about a port that EVERYONE was waiting to get to!!! To stand on the deck and video from afar was tragic but we all shrugged our shoulders, mumbled a lot openly and questioned in silence. The fact that we actually got to stand on land in Qaqaqatok, Greenland -after too many sea days - and experienced small icebergs in our compensatory scenic cruising on the east coast of Greenland was to a degree some consolation. Did it make up for not seeing Reykjavik? well, disappointment goes slowly!! St Johns, Nova Scotia was great and all the better since it too has a reputation of not getting into!! Then finally back to NYC FOOD While I must say that the food on Princess is a bit ordinary - seems to be the same food across all ships - I must make mention of the Head Waiter in the Anytime Dining. He was marvelous in ensuring my meals were low salt as requested. Some nights were great and at other times, I think they just forgot but when I told him, he tackled it immediately and the next night, the meal was good. The biggest problem of b2b cruising is that the menu is repeated and while you may think this gives the opportunity to try something different - no - not everything on a menu is appealing once you get past the exotic culinary descriptions. I got to the stage that if I saw another asparagus spear, I would throw it at someone!!! We did try Sabotini's the first week for the third time and as always was good and we tried Crown and Grill for the first time and had a wonderful meal ENTERTAINMENT It was unfortunate that we had seen the production shows the year before so to see them again was not too bad but to have them scheduled again on the Transatlantic was a bit much. The other entertainers - comedians and Hypnotist, left me cold so I do not have a good word for the entertainment or the horribly shrill voice of our female welsh CD. There were however 2 exceptions - the 'Welsh Dragon'( the CD's name for her, can't remember her real name) who got a standing ovation at the end. She was delightfully funny. The other entertained our minds - Mr Maxton-Graham's lectures on "the other way to cross" ( history and stories of the early cruise liners and Titanic) was just marvelous and a highlight of the day to get a good seat. BEST things about the 26 days - definitely the UK ports and scenic cruising of Greenland WORST things about the 26 days - repetitive food and entertainment and the hour one had to wait in the Princess Theatre in order to get a good seat AND the missing of 3 ports

Cabin Review

Oceanview (obstructed view)

Cabin OV
previous reviewnext review

Find a Crown Princess Cruise from $128

Any Month

Get special cruise deals, expert advice, insider tips and more.By proceeding, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

© 1995—2024, The Independent Traveler, Inc.