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I would like to say that my girlfriend and I were first-time cruisers on this cruise and we had high expectations of fun and relaxation, and very little knowledge of the whole idea of cruising and ports and excursions, etc. First and foremost we were NOT disappointed. The Crown Princess was a beautiful ship. Our interior room was about what we expected, not huge but cozy enough. We wanted to save money for food, drinks and shopping so we decided to just get the interior room. Our room steward, Richard, was top notch. My girl and I joked he was like John Tuturro's butler character in Mr. Deeds! We would be gone for minutes and he was in and out of the room. Bed made, dry bathroom towels folded, pool towels hung up, papers organized and mini fridge restocked. This guy even set my book and reading glasses carefully next to the bed and put our shoes in order. Incredible! He was the only ship employee we tipped and we did give him a very large one. I was told before cruising the stewards are really the only ones you should tip without offending anyone. We enjoyed the aft pool as our room was only a quick walk away. It was usually quieter than the other pools. Every pool has a full bar by it and friendly waiters come around asking if you would like any 'yummy-yummy' drinks.
The food at the buffets is as good if not better than most 'ruby tuesday' or 'applebys' dinners. Breakfast is fairly typical with eggs, cereal and breads but the assortment of fresh fruit was outstanding. Also each morning was a different smoked fish, salmon, tuna, whitefish, all very delicious.
The Crown Grill was the highlight. We are both 'meat and potatoes' people so this was our big evening out. We each picked out our steak from the cart the waiter brought out for us and added loaded baked potatoes. I also added lobster tail, to my surprise I was brought 5, yes 5!, tails! WOW! We could not finish dessert so our waiter had it brought back to our room so we could eat it later. This meal was one of the best culinary experiences I have ever had, the food, atmosphere, the waiter, all of it together.
Just to include some info for new cruisers that we learned about once we got on board. Coke, soft drinks, whatever, you must pay for, Alcohol you must pay for. Dinner in the dining rooms is free unless you get alcohol or wine. The buffets are the same way. The pizza, ice cream, hot dogs hamburgers are all free. You can check your ship account balance at the front desk in the piazza level. Hopefully this will help others. I will say we booked our next cruise, only our second, for next year while still on board and just had it billed to our onboard account. If that is not a glowing recommendation I don't know what is.
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