My husband and I have been on 10+ cruises on all the major lines, from Europe to Hawaii, Alaska and all over the Caribbean. In 27 yrs of cruising this was by far the WORST vacation EVER on land air or sea. Something is seriously wrong on this ship. Service is overwhelmingly poor. Bad attitudes abound. Yes, you can find a nice person here and there, but overwhelmingly unhappy crew and rude officers. From the spa to the buffet, to the front desk, they all act as though you are a bother to them. To add to such a poor experience NOROVIRUS went through the ship. Yes, I was a victim. I spent 4 days in my room! You are required to not leave your room until symptom free for 24 hrs. Yes, you will receive a medical bill. Room service was slow, made mistake after mistake with my simple orders. No spoon with soup....No toast with eggs. Overall the ship is older and dirt was in every corner and carpet edge. Do not sail on this ship. Caribbean Princess . Read Less

My father and I went on the Emerald Princess (dubbed the money pit later by me). Our destinations were Rotan, Belize city and Cozumel. The cruse was great except the elaborate prices for anything other than iced tea or water. Also the gratuity that is charged for ordering a drink at the bar. And I have never seen a casino that charged for drinks to players and then charged gratuity to boot (until now that is). The food was average on the buffet and dinner was a 7 out of 10 I would say so not to bad there. The shows were the best part of anything aboard except they let kids sit anywhere and all of the screaming kids accompanied by bad parenting skills were distracting to everyone including the performers. Drink prices if you are not clever enough or are to honest to pour out a bottle of mouth wash and smuggle food coloring /vodka in the mouthwash bottle are $9.50 + $2.95 gratuity for a very small glass - screw driver, Scotch and water so on Wine was anywhere from $7 to $22 a glass depending so no big deal there. I think that's about normal. Beer was $6 per or 5 for $25 about what I pay at a pro game NBD there either. Mixed drinks like the "Isaak" were $15 along with Margareta's and any other frozen mixed drink that required as far as I can tell 2 brain cells to make. I cant figure out why the price difference because the content was the same. $15 for a Margareta and $15 for a Blue Margareta or a long island iced tea which has several shots I think. And last but not least is the shore excursions... Holy Cow!!!!! Looked but not booked... went ashore and got them at least half price from locals as I am used to doing this and I speak the language very well and I tip and tip very well at least 20% according to effort of my provider not because someone makes me do it. swimming with the dolphins was $169 per aboard the ship for 1/2 hour. booked the trip with a local including driver round trip and lunch 2 hour tour was $99 .... for 2 (WAMO). Didn't get to Belize city due to bad seas. ( not the captains fault) But we trolled along to Mexico at 4 knots to waste the day instead of cruising on and spending more time in Cozumel. No itinerary refund BTW just an "We are sorry but thanks for your port and docking money anyway". Unless you just love being at sea and watching daytime shows that are for kids or have kids in them like all of the bars... (who lets their kids in bars with a bunch of old drunks?) Or fantastic night time entertainment (really the best part of the whole ship trip) with again a bunch of screaming brats running wild. (they even let them run wild on formal night in the dining room). Some peoples .. and their children... I am back to flying folks! I'll spend my time and money there not on the way!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hope this helps someone who is thinking about but has never been on a cruse.   Read Less

Upon arrival, everything seemed to be good. Our cabin steward, Dominick, was terrific. The food in the Dining Room was very good and the wait staff was remarkable. The food in the buffet was good for a buffet, there was plenty to choose from, so you could find something you liked. East Coast Connection was great and a Duo that played mostly in the Wheelhouse was good. The rest of the entertainment was mediocre at best. There was plenty of seating around the pool. On the flip side, the condition of the boat, after being aboard for awhile, was grungy. Carpets were coming loose, several elevator buttons didn't work, lounge and dining area ceiling panels loose and where some lighting was repaired, panels not replaced. Areas that were supposed to have double-doors had one missing. Wallpaper was peeling off the wall in the halls. There were soft-spots in the floors including one in the elevator. None of this was overly terrible, but not what you would expect from this caliber of ship. We have previously sailed on the Star Princess, so we had a good comparison. This is the first cruise we have ever been on at 11:00 p.m. everything was completely shut down with the exception of the casino and the deli down in the atrium area. After being told about the Norovirus, there were no extra hand sanitizer distributed, and those that were there were often empty. The men's public area bathrooms often were out of soap and paper towels. There were public restrooms out-of-order as well, they were eventually repaired. If you got up very early in the morning, you had to walk past bio-hazard bags in the hall from rooms where there were sick people. Tuesday night, the Captain told us we were not stopping in Belize, our final port, because fog was forecasted in Galveston Saturday and the port could close. We would be required to get off of the boat Friday because the CDC was overseeing the cleanup of the boat. Princess did provide a nice motel room and transportation to and from the hotel. They credited us one night from the cost of the cruise to cover any food for the night and next day. They also offered to credit us 20% toward another cruise booked by the end of 2014. If all this wasn't bad enough, not going into every little detail, Princess arranged our transfer from the hotel 9:00 a.m. Saturday when our flight didn't board until 3:30 p.m. That is all they offered to do, if we wanted to wait, we would need to make arrangements and pay for it ourselves. Thank you Princess for a not-so-wonderful 32nd Anniversary Cruise. Read Less

We were so excited to get back on Princess and feel that Princess level treatment. We have cruised 5 times together, but I have cruised 10+ times prior to meeting my husband. Our last cruise was my first Princess cruise and first experience with the Princess treatment. I was sold after our 14-day cruise to Hawaii in March 2012. I told my husband that it would take a lot for me to cruise with anyone but Princess. That was then, this is now after the cruise that we just got back from. The food and the service is lacking, but what surprised me the most is the cleanliness of the ship and the laid-back attitude of the staff. Here are some of the things that I encountered during the week. 1. The staff would run you over in the hallways and at the buffet. The cart was always outside of our stateroom (in the way). Never once was I asked if I wanted it to be moved. 2. The boat was filthy. We always noticed dirty plates and trash left on tables for hours. The wood in the main dining room had dirt stacked on it (not been cleaned in months). 3. The staff around the pools was horrible. Be ready to serve yourself.... 4. Anytime dinning; the waiters for the most part are ok. I think these are the waiters in training. They know that they will probably never see you again, so they treat you as such. 5. The food was not up to par, worse I had on a cruise! The menus were terrible; no theme. The dessert menu was horrible; most nights I could not find a dessert that anyone at the table liked. Everyone ordered ice cream. That is terrible on a cruise! The buffet was in itself the worse food I have ever had on a cruise ship. They served me raw turkey from a carving station. When I complained and took the time to write a note and take it to the Customer Service desk; no Princess staff member contacted me. I assumed that it somehow got discarded. 6. The heat on the entire boat was an issue. We had our cabin thermostat turned down to the coldest and I was sweating. 7. We did not have a toilet in our cabin for 3 1/2 days of the 7 day cruise. This is NOT ACCEPTABLE. The only thing that they would tell us is WE ARE WORKING ON IT. They did give a pitiful OBC, but all people got that, even if they had a working toilet. 8. The entertainment on-board ship was the bright point. It was great! 9. Do not go on this ship expecting to be entertained. It is a laid-back atmosphere; not much to do unless you like Bingo or Trivia. There was not much, no themed buffets no dessert buffets. NO EXTRAS! 10. I never saw the captain of the ship. The people that had cruised with Princess a lot did, but they were the only ones. I guess my money is not as good! 11. We did not go to Roatan. The wind was blowing and they made an announcement a few minutes prior to the time that we were suppose to get off of the ship that the port was going to be cancelled. 12. The cabin had bunk beds to our surprise. We were not told ahead of time. The carpet was filthy and the mattress sagged in the middle. 13. Did not get robes as requested. 14. Did not get egg-crate even though requested about 1pm on embarkation day. Since Carnival and Princess are the same company; I believe that Carnival is a better choice because it is a cheaper cruise. When you spend the extra money, you believe that you are getting a better cruise. This is not the case with this cruise. I believe our next cruises will be on Royal Caribbean or NCL. I really believe that Princess has totally lost our business for life. We love cruising and will continue to do so, just not on Princess. Read Less

This was our 6th cruise with Princess and our first as Platinum members. Arrival: We arrived in Houston Friday night around 8pm and met the Princess representative at baggage claim, and were put in our own van for the hour ride to Galveston. Hotel: Princess booked us into the Hotel Galvez. It is a lovely old hotel, and very clean. The lobby is being renovated so you couldn't see the entire lobby past the construction wall. Ate a late dinner at the restaurant, and it was fine if pricey. Also had the breakfast buffet the next morning and it was good quality for the money. Next time I would arrive earlier to see more of what Galveston has to offer. Embarkation: Princess offers several shuttles to the terminal starting around 9:30. We booked for 1:30 but there was room on the 12:30 shuttle so we went then. Embarkation was very quick and easy, we were in our cabin by 1:15. Ship: The Crown Princess is our new favorite ship! The piazza is really beautiful, a notch above the atrium conversions on Grand class ships. The purpose-built piazza layout on this class provides more seating and better traffic management than the older atriums. Seeing the built-to-order layout of this ship is a nice change from the retrofitted designs on Princess' older ships. It's grander, and much more impressive on the Crown. The ship itself is in great condition, except for a few maintenance items in the spa I'll mention later. We noted very little wear in public areas or cabins. I liked the overall layout of the venues on this ship, with the exception of the spa thermal suite, which is actually downstairs from the rest of the spa. Cabin: We had a mini-suite on Dolphin deck 9, and it was ready upon check-in. I liked the newer color scheme; gone are the salmon/pinks. Our steward, Mario, kept the cabin very clean and neat. My one complaint about the cabin would be the air conditioning, it seemed to be inconsistent in temperature, ranging from comfortable to too warm. Food: We had anytime dining and usually chose the DaVinci dining room. Our first night our server was Denis from Ukraine. We liked him so much we requested him the rest of the week. We didn't pack any formal wear on this trip so we ate in Cafe Caribe on formal nights. By the third night the ma'tre d' had our reservation penciled in, which was nice. The food was good to very good, but we weren't wowed by anything, except the daily soups and ice creams, which were excellent. The pizza on Lido deck was very good as well. We didn't actually have anything from the grill on this trip (how unusual). The International Cafe was very good as usual. We tried the gelato ($1.50 for 3 scoops) and found it to be of good quality. We made friends during the week and added them to our dinner table, finally expanding to 8 people. The staff handled the extra diners well, and was very responsive to our requests. Spa: The thermal suite pass was $108 each for the week (up $10 from last year but now includes a fun salt scrub). We had the pass in Alaska and loved it so got it again. The thermal suite needs a little TLC. One of the fog showers was broken, which was not fixed during the week. All the fountains in the steam rooms were off the entire week. Several of the hand showers in the steam rooms were inoperative. And finally the large steam room was turned off the entire last day. This was strange considering how well the rest of the ship was maintained. Roatan: It was too windy to dock the ship, so we skipped it and had an extra sea day. It was fun watching the cruise director rearrange the day and get a revised Patter distributed within a couple of hours (though they couldn't make up their minds which movies would be showing and when). Belize: This is a tender port. We took the ruins and river tour and met in the theater at 7:20am. Our group was herded to the tender so we would all be together. We enjoyed the Altun Ha ruins. Our bus broke down on the way to the river portion of the tour, and the tour company had a 'rescue' bus to us within 20 minutes. The river portion was a lot of fun -- and very wet at the end. Highly recommended. Cozumel: Another long day, we met on shore at 7:10 and went en masse to the Ultramar ferry to Playa Del Carmen. The ferry is very comfortable and air conditioned. The bus tours all stop at a 'rest stop' (gift shop) then head out. The Cob' Maya ruins were amazing and truly the highlight of the trip. The site is still deep in the jungle and has one of the few temples you can still climb. Highly recommended. Toilets: On Thursday someone flushed something that clogged the system to a block of cabins for the day. We chatted with several people who were affected and it wasn't a big deal for them (though they didn't speak for everyone, of course). They also got $50pp credits for their troubles. Disembarkation: The worst part of any cruise! Left our cabin at 8am and headed to the MDR for breakfast. Afterwards we waited in Club Fusion (Platinum/Elite lounge) for our group to be called. Customs was very fast and we were on the shuttle to the airport within 20 minutes of being called. Overall another fine cruise on Princess. We've booked another cruise already. Read Less

Maybe I've been spoiled by sailing with Celebrity last year, where everything was terrific. The Crown Princess entertainment was the best thing about our experience. The staterooms were also nice, although pretty much standard. The things that really disappointed were the food and the way dining was set up. We were 'traditional' dining, but seated during an open reservations timeslot... we had another couple at our table for 8...but 4 people at a large empty table is a bit pathetic. The menus were uninspired and the meat often grey and bland. Desserts were hit and miss: the creme brulee was excellent, but the so-called apple crumble reduced us to tears of laughter it was so mis-named. It resembled a cafeteria-style apple dessert made with canned apple pie filling. We did not even eat it. The specialty restaurant (Crown Grill) was not worth the extra surcharge ($25) We had reservations but still stood and waited 10 minutes to be seated in the virtually empty restaurant. The meat was just ok, and the sides nothing to write home about. But what really galled me on this ship was how much we were nickel and dimed to death. Every time we turned around there was an added charge... for delivery of a smoothie that was part of our "all soda/smoothie package" for example. The spa is nice but not the kind of retreat that I would have imagined it should be. And the pressure / sales pitch to buy the products bordered on offensive and uncomfortable. I did not appreciate being told my hair cut was a disaster and needed to be fixed the moment I sat down for a special scalp treatment. Did they not realize that I had had my hair cut just before the trip and would not be happy for their "expert" view - designed to merely sell me their services? The adult area pool was only open a few days because of the rough weather (its overflow would have swamped the spa). I was glad I wasn't on Carnival :) but I will stick to Celebrity from now on. There's a reason they score so highly all the time. Read Less

We were so excited to get back on Princess and feel that Princess level treatment. We have cruised 14 times..Princess 06, Carnival 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, and 2012, Royal Car in 2007. Our first cruise was a Princess cruise and we were in awe of the whole experience. I realize it being the first may have impacted our memory, but we knew what service, pride, great food, attentiveness, and genuine care all meant to us in our first experience. THIS TIME NONE OF THOSE ATTRIBUTES were found. Sure...there were a few (4 that we can name) employees that were awesome. But, beyond that here are the challenges and issues we were faced with daily: 1. They would run you over in the hallways and never move out of the way or say excuse me or good morning...etc 2. The boat was filthy. We always noticed dirty plates and trash left on tables for hours. 3. They didn't have coffee ready in the mornings on deck 16...sometimes it would be there but behind the bar...and the person they had working was too lazy to set it out...even though there would be 20 people waiting for it 4. They would be talking and joking to themselves in packs and would completely ignore you unless you said "excuse me" 5. In the dinning area upstairs once we saw a dad with his kids...one of the kids knocked over a glass of milk..two waiters were standing at the station 3ft away and totally turned their backs and one walked off quickly not to help. The father had to clean it up himself 6. Their non-smoking policy is ridiculous! If you enjoy a cigar don't take this cruise. You will be required to smoke it only in certain area which take you away from any of the fun. You can't even smoke on your balcony. 7. The staff won't help uphold the "no saving chairs" rule. We saw people literally saving chairs with towels as early as 6:30 am...and they would save them in two areas so they could have sun all day or shade all day...two people taking up 4 chairs...and the staff never paid attention to this even when it was brought to their attention 8. Their staff around the pools was horrible. Twice we were out at the pools for hours and NOT ONCE did someone even walk by to ask us if we wanted anything to drink...so be ready to serve yourself 9. Anytime dinning - AVOID IT LIKE THE PLAGUE. when you do anytime dinning you get a new staff each time and they simply act as though you are a POS and that somehow you don't deserve great treatment because they won't see you again...we will never do anytime dinning again even if that means choosing a whole different cruise because seating is unavailable 10. The food was sub-par...worse than Carnival food. Temperature not hot. Hard cold rolls. Menus were horrific...not even themed. 11. Who purchased their salt and pepper shakers? What a joke. Even in the upscale dinning areas you get the same shakers...now this might seem trivial...but here is the issue...food was horrible...you could not get pepper out of shakers...and worse...we found in 4 different dinning areas salt in pepper tops...pepper in salt tops...it is like they simply don't care 12. Silver unpolished everywhere...we never sat at a table where the silver on the table had been cleaned...and it appeared that it had been weeks since the last time they took care of their silver 13. The heat in the buffet lines was Stupid. Since day 1 they have had to know that they have a serious heat issue in the buffet area. I watched people sweating and dripping sweat onto the food areas...you may think this is an exaggeration...but it isn't...the temperature in the buffet lines easily hit 85 degrees. 14. The spa is a joke. They over promise and their treatments don't work. They don't follow through on things they promised to send to your room later. They don't cancel your reservations and then call you wondering why you don't show up. The worse part is the PRODUCT SELLING at the end of a treatment. It is low class...hi pressure...poorly timed...and way too obviously a commission deal to me. Advice...if you do a spa treatment tell them up front that afterwards you don't want to be pitched ANYTHING!!!!!!! On both my treatments I had to shut off the pitch after 10-15 minutes and say I am not buying and can I relax now and enjoy the spa. A 45 treatment should not be followed by a 10 minute pitch for lotions that cost more than the treatment itself. Sadly Carnival and Princess are the same company. Carnival is a better choice but if you spend money on one you are supporting the other...so our next cruises will be on Royal C and we will now try Norwegian because Princess has totally lost our business for life. I hope you don't read this and think we just had a bad cruise...we didn't. Our vessel and crew were the bad points...not the cruise itself. We will continue cruising...it is one of our favorite things to do...but on a Princess vessel...NEVER AGAIN. Don't trust them to deliver that old Princess level treatment anymore. Read Less

We booked this cruise about 13 months in advance when there were 4 port stops. A few months after booking they removed Costa Maya as a port without ever giving a good reason. Regardless it was the only time that worked for the friends we went with so the reservation stayed. Boarding was easy enough. We probably showed up around noon and the lines weren't long at all considering it was Spring Break. The ship itself is pretty similar to the past 2 ships we've cruised on if not a bit smaller. I don't think the piazza was as nice as our RC ship. We had an interior room and it was small in typical cruise ship fashion. We moved around a night stand, table and our bed to open up some space. Some positives of Princess: Movies Under the Stars: Blankets and comfortable chair pads. Popcorn, cookies and milk. Awesome experience and good movie selection Grill: Hamburgers, Bratworst, hotdogs, chicken, fries. Everything I tried there was good. Pizza: Awesome. Best of any cruise I've been on. They have about 4 huge ovens to keep Pizza coming nonstop until 11pm. NY style slices. Only downside here was that many speciality pizzas they had listed ingredients which were never put on the pizza. Wine Policy: Ability to bring on about 5 bottles of wine free of charge despite their new policy saved us a lot of money. Entertainment: Great shows(classics and productions), trivia, contests. Dan the deputy cruise director blew our cruise director our of the water in terms of presentation/entertainment skills. Ultimate Drinks and More package: Excellent deal. The chocobannana smoothie/shake was my personal favorite. Very good price and the bartenders will often give a drink(coke) plus a smoothie from 1 card so no real need to buy 2. Downsides: We went to the Horizon buffet for lunch a couple times and found the selection was quite large but the quality not so great. That would prove to be the theme for Horizon throughout the cruise. Lots of food but none of it tastes very good(except for breakfast). In fact, food overall on this cruise proved to be a huge disappointment. The main dining room(MDR) has a Homestyle selection each night. I'd avoid it. In fact one night the "Homestyle" offering was fried chicken and french fries. Seemed better fitted for the grill or Horizons. On both Carnival and Royal Caribbean the always available menu had a NY strip. On Princess no such offering. Our room steward was good. She kept our towels replaced, our room cleaned and she even put our patters on our bed instead of outside our door like most others had them. The only downside was that she never talked to us much and never addressed me by my name when I would greet her. She would just say "good morning" and smile. This was a departure from our last cruise on RC where the steward would regularly engage us and ask us about our day. Dining room service was absolutely terrible. The waiter never talked, could barely explain the menu and the assistant waiter would often disappear for 15-20 minutes at a time leaving our drinks empty. At no point did they pickup on the fact that our table ordered the same drinks each night. We had to request them each night. Our table was continually one of the last to finish even if we showed up early. Bar drinks: mixed terribly. Tend to be on the weak side. Some places had old menus with old prices and different recipes for the same drink or different offering all together. This lead to me getting a different drink than I expected and at different prices a couple times. The overlying theme with Princess was that overall things were good but nothing really stood out as being so good that it deserves a special mention. Certainly not the same as our Royal Caribbean cruise where just about every staff member we regularly encountered recieved a special mention. Read Less

This cruise was not a bad recovery from last year. Cruised Carnival last year for the LAST time. Wouldn't cruise Carnival again if they gave the tickets away. Got to the terminal at about 10:30 but didn't get on until after noon. Longer wait than we are used to. We booked two interior rooms as always since we have little use for balconies. We were Aloha deck all the way forward. Other than ship movement it was a perfect location to shield us from noise we are very sensitive to. It was very quiet there. Liked the staterooms and overall look of the Crown Princess. It's in pretty good shape. THE BAD: As always you can probably find others to disagree but we hated the buffet food on the Crown Princess. We have never experienced great buffet food on a cruise ship but this stuff was garbage. Really, just a bunch of slop and items that don't even go well together. The most hated part of the buffet is the herded cattle type corral system they have. There is only one entrance to the buffet and they have someone manning the gate where you go in. The employees were way overbearing demanding you use the Purell machines before entering the buffet line. We believe in clean hands but it got so annoying I had to tell these people to back off. The buffet set up creates a big line and makes you take way too much food so you don't have to wait in a long line again just for seconds. If you want to dash in quickly for a small item, forget about it. My wife accidentally left her dish of sauce on the buffet line and tried to go back to get it by stepping in the exit. She was scolded and had to wait in line all over again. Hands down, the worst buffet system ever. Food on the Crown Princess in other locations was okay. Entertainment: We have walked out on so many hokey cruise shows. Usually it is the fly in entertainment we like the best. Not the case here. We loved the Crown Princess singers and dancers and didn't care for the fly ins. Ports: We love the ports traveled to. In fact we went to the same ports on a different cruise last year. Roatan: we used Roatan Island Tours Plus. Cardy Grant is a class act. Belize: we love going out to Caye Caulker to swim with the sharks and rays on the reef. Salvador Arce with Hicaco is a dear friend and simply the best. Cozumel: We went to Mr. Sanchos, shopping and to La Mission for lunch. Overall one of the best cruises for us. The weather was great and the Crown Princess staff was very good. Read Less

We set sail out of Galveston on March 23rd, 2013. We flew into Houston and took the shuttle bus down to Galveston, The Princess Crew met us at the airport and everything was very simple getting on the bus. We then set off to Galveston which is about an hour away. Very good ride down to Galveston. We got to Galveston in plenty of time so we had lunch on the pier. The food was very good there. We then embarked onto the Crown Princess. The lines were long but not unexpected. The check in process went really well. We set sail that evening and were shocked to learn that the Set Sail Drinks would be billed to our room and they were not that great. Would never do that again. We then went to dinner that evening. As you have probably already read, the meals on this ship are mediocre at best. The menu is not that great. We have had way better meals on the 3 other cruise lines that we have been on. The meals did not get any better as the cruise went on and the buffet was substandard at best. The entertainment bands by the pool were good but not what I expected. I expected music that would put me in the mood for the Carribean...not put me to sleep. It was really good sleepy time music. We arrived in Honduras on Tuesday. We had a great time doing the snorkeling trip at the ship wreck that we booked through the cruise line. This was an excellent place to see Iguana and monkeys as well. The second port was Belize. We booked the Zipline/Cave Tubing on our own as the ship was already booked for this. We were a bit worried about doing this but it turned out great. Both were fun and the cave tubing was beautiful. I would highly recommend this. The 3rd port was Cozumel. We also booked our own excursion going deep sea fishing. This too was excellent. I would highly recommend booking your own trip unless it is an all day trip. You can save a lot of money booking it on your own. We saved over $500.0 doing it on our own. About 1/2 of the crew on the Princess Ship acted like they did not even want to be there. This was a bit disturbing as all of the other cruises that I have been on were extremely friendly and went out of there way to make your trip pleasant. Not on this ship. I spoke with a number of cruisers on this ship and they will not sail on Princess anymore. There were some that the only ships that they did cruise on was Princess. I am one of the ones that won't be on this cruise line anymore. It was a beautiful ship but the crew and the food were not good enough for another trip. I hope this helps someone else out. Read Less

This was our first time on Princess and we had a nice time. From reading previous reviews, there were complaints about smells and the food, both of which I'll get into. Overall though, we had a nice time. Embarkation - we didn't end up making it down to Galveston until almost 3pm because of heavy traffic in Houston. Once we got there though, the lines went by quickly and painlessly (except for those that don't understand removing metal prior to walking through metal detectors). Once on the ship, the rooms were ready of course, so we went directly there first as we walked on our luggage. All the restaurants were open for dinner, not just the buffet, so that was a nice surprise. Cabin - we had a balcony cabin (BD category), I'm pretty sure we will be getting a balcony every time from now on. Having the ability to step out into the fresh air and have a view anytime you want, definitely worth it. Plus depending what deck you're on, it's pretty private ;) Luckily the only way you were seeing us on the balcony was if I was up against the rail or you were peeking around the wall from an adjacent balcony. Inside was a normal size from what I recall of other cabins. TV was nice enough, mini fridge worked out well, bed was comfy enough, bathroom...it's a regular cruise ship bathroom :) but it was functional. The closet was a decent size surprisingly, along with a cupboard with shelves to store more items. Public Areas - pretty nice I would say. The only bad thing was in the piazza area (atrium, whatever you want to call it), that's where I caught a little of the "smell" that people have talked about. Nowhere else on the ship though and it was only occasionally that I'd pick it up. Fitness center - again, pretty nice. Lots of treadmills, some ellipticals, a few bikes (aside from the spin bikes for the classes only), plenty of lifting machines and free weights. You can definitely get a good workout on this ship, but if you're wanting to use the treadmills, they are packed very early (half of them are closed until 9am so you don't wake up people below). There is a sauna and steam room in each locker room (you don't have to pay for the thermal suite, that's separate and very nice, but I can't see paying $100 for the use of it). There's also a separate pool and two hot tubs (adults only) in the middle of the fitness center (VERY NICE!!!) that are typically free of people, though if the seas are rocky, the pool will be empty (no water), but the hot tubs are still open. Food - pizza is ridiculously good, had to put that in first :) Not 24hrs, but 11am-11pm, same for the ice cream (scoop or soft serve). All the food we had on the ship was very good, I am not sure what people complain about, maybe my palate is not up to Tony Bourdain's, who knows...but I liked it all. We ate in the Da Vinci dining room all but one night, great service and food. Had either pizza or buffet, or both, for lunch. Again, always a good selection and tasty. Always the buffet for breakfast, again, never a bad meal. Definitely, definitely, definitely, go to the International Cafe and have some freshly baked chocolate chip cookies with a glass of milk, so good. Usually they just have cookies on hand, but are still relatively fresh. Occasionally you'll catch them fresh out of the oven (one of the girls will come around with a basket of them and a bunch of glasses of milk), do not miss it. Tried several new things on the ship: crawfish etouffee, escargot, pheasant, oxtail. Good to try new things :) Desserts were all pretty good, no chocolate lava cake, but they did have vanilla bean creme brulee every night, very good. Entertainment - the ship shows were ok, nice dancers and singers. Guest entertainers, Duncan Tuck, amazing on the guitar, funny guy too, if you haven't heard/seen his rendition of California Dreamin, it's ridiculously awesome, check it out. AJ Jamal (comedian), very funny guy, had to keep it somewhat PG13, guess Princess doesn't do "adults only" shows. Also saw Steve Moris (tried to see him twice). First time he was in the Explorers lounge, too small for the amount of people that went to see him. Next day he was in the Princess Theater though and plenty of room there, good show, music and comedy. The International Crew show was great, see some regular people singing/dancing/etc, along with a hilarious version of "If I Were Not Upon the Sea". Service - great on all accounts, from the room steward to the dining room to on deck waiters. Everyone was very nice and helpful. Our room steward was Carlito (Aloha forward, starboard side), very nice guy, quick to get anything we needed...he also likes to sing while he takes care of the rooms :) Kids program - we had our boys with us (15 and 17), so they hung out with the other kids doing their activities and general "kid stuff" all over the ship. They enjoyed it, had some video games, lots of activities. Value - seemed like they charged for more things than we've seen on previous cruises, or charged more for some things ($2 for a can of soda, yikes). Other things have changed though too, you can bring a bottle of wine for each paying adult for free (consume in your cabin), bring water or soda with you for free. We ended up just bringing a case of water with us and a few bottles of soda for the kids. Bringing liquor in a bottle is a still a no-no, but bringing a bottle of soda (even if it's opened) is ok...if you catch my drift :) Overall - had a nice time...ship was nice, food was nice, people were nice. I would probably sail with them again, just a different itinerary, getting tired of Caribbean. Read Less

This was our first time sailing on Princess. We took the March 23rd trip on the Crown Princess out of Galveston (visiting Roatan, Belize & Cozumel). It really was a great trip & a great ship. The ship was beautiful, lots of different areas to spend your time, lots of activities to participate in. We had a balcony room on the Riviera deck, just below Lido. It was very nice & had lots of storage. I was a little worried that the noise from the pool areas would carry down to our room, but I never noticed any pool noise. Just the scooting of loungers at night, which was no problem. We didn't get a chance to check out everything, so I'm just going to review the highlights. We used The Sanctuary for 2 1/2 days (during the days at sea). It costs $10 pp for half a day. I thought it was WELL worth it. You get a quiet, relaxing area, with filtered sunlight. The Sanctuary is beautiful, with soft cushioned loungers. The hubby & I managed to get a double lounger facing the windows every day. If you ask nicely, they can shuffle the loungers around & add a lounger at the window if all of the other window spots are booked. If you don't book an entire week at The Sanctuary, you need to be there BEFORE 8am to book your spot for the day. I know they say 8am, but get there earlier. By 8am, most of the prime spots have already been taken. If you like to lounge outside & relax, this is the place to do it. Otherwise, you're fighting for regular loungers in the sun with hundreds of other people, lots of noise & you will BAKE. One of the main reasons I went with Princess was for the Movies Under the Stars. It was pretty good. The first night, we found a prime spot & it was really enjoyable. Later on, the more people find out about the movies, you will have to nab a spot early or get stuck with an obstructed view of the screen. They have blankets, which you will need, its chilly & windy. Most nights they start off handing out popcorn & towards the end of the movie, its cookies & milk. We watched 2 movies & I wish we could have fit in more. The Princess Theater was nice. They had a musician who did two shows & he did music from the 60's & 70's, which I really liked. The cruise productions are good as well. I will say I was more impressed with the theater & shows on Royal Caribbean cruises. The only real complaint I have about Princess was the food. We ate all of our dinners in the main dining area. Unless you're a seafood lover (which most people are), your choices are kind of limited. I don't eat seafood, so I was eating beef at pretty much every dinner, which I'm fine with. However, both my husband & I found the food to be bland. It was really lacking in flavor. One night I ordered prime rib & it came out tasting like pot roast. I've sailed on Royal Caribbean twice & the food was AMAZING, so I was expecting the same here & was disappointed. If you REALLY enjoy cruise food, go with Royal Caribbean instead. The buffet areas have lots of choices, but again the food seemed to be lacking flavor. All in all, it was a great trip. All of the staff was friendly & the ship is well run. I loved The Sanctuary & The Movies Under the Stars, but was really disappointed with the food. If food isn't that important, you will love the cruise. Personally, I'm going to be sticking with Royal Caribbean. Read Less

We are a family of five with three teenage kids ages 19, 15 and 11 and this was our third spring break cruise in a row. Our previous two cruises were on the Norwegian Star and Royal Caribbean's Navigator of the Seas, so we are gaining a pretty well rounded perspective and experience of what each cruise line has to offer. We enjoyed our previous two cruises and enjoyed this cruise on the Crown Princess as well. Each cruise line has strengths and weaknesses, and my review of the Crown Princess will be from that comparative perspective. Port of Galveston Getting to the port of Galveston from the Houston airport was unreasonably expensive and inconvenient. If I relied on the cruise line's own transfer, it would cost $37 per person each way, which for a family of 5 would cost me $370! I spent more time trying to find a cheaper transfer option than I did planning the cruise itself. Other cruisers have had success getting one-way car rentals to/from Galveston using Enterprise but that option was no longer available. I ended up finding a cheap car rental from Houston Hobby. We arrived two days before the cruise so a nine-day full size car rental with tax was only $188. I actually paid $50 to park my rental car for the week at Park N Cruise. With gas my total cost was about $250 round trip for 5 people. Plus we had the use of a car (we went to visit NASA and shopped at Wal-Mart for pre cruise items), and we were able to depart for the airport right after disembarking without waiting for a bus. It is silly that a weekly car rental plus parking and gas is cheaper than van service to/from Galveston and the Cruise lines need to figure out a cheaper way to get their passengers to the port. Adding hundreds of dollars for an airport transfer is ridiculous and I will never cruise out of Galveston again. Embarkation/Disembarkation Smooth and orderly on both ends. We were impressed how early we were allowed to our rooms. We boarded at about 1pm and our rooms were ready, bags arrived shortly thereafter. This was way earlier than we have experienced on other ships we've sailed. It was also a welcome change to do the muster drill while seated in the Club Fusion lounge rather standing in the hot sun like on other cruise lines. We used "express walk off" for disembarking and were out of customs by 8:00 am. The Ship The Crown Princess is a large, beautiful ship, and like NCL and RCL ships it is designed to appeal to many types of cruisers. As such, the four different pool areas each have their own vibe and appeal. At the front of the ship is the Sanctuary, a fee for entry adults only retreat with private cabanas and massages. The most forward main pool area is the party pool with live bands, sexy leg contests and other fun activities. The other main pool is quieter, and has multiple levels and the Movies Under the Stars screen, which plays movies and concerts even during the day, when it is almost impossible to see the screen in the bright sunlight. My favorite is a smaller pool at the aft of the ship, which is surrounded by balconies that enjoy a great view of the ocean beyond the stern. While Royal Caribbean ships emphasize sports (rock walls, wave simulators, mini golf) and Norwegian emphasizes entertainment (Blue Man Group, Legends of Rock, etc), Princess's signature item is the Movies Under the Stars. We really enjoyed the drive in movie like experience, however on some upper levels one must view the screen through Plexiglas railings. They provide some cozy blankets because it can get pretty chilly and windy at night. The Piazza was a nice area, but nowhere near as impressive as the interior promenade "avenues" on the RCL ships. I miss hanging out in a cafe watching people walk by on the RCL promenade. On the Crown it was often difficult to find a spot to see the performances held in the Piazza as the pretty spiral staircases don't make very good bleachers. Staterooms We booked three separate staterooms for our family of five. An aft Aloha deck 12 balcony (category BD) for us, and two side-by-side ocean view staterooms (no triple cabins were left) for the kids. We had mini suites on our previous cruises and the standard balcony stateroom was fine, basically a smaller version of what we were used to. The beds were very comfortable and the bathrooms and showers were small but efficient. The flat screen TV had a large selection of movies, TV shows and other programs. The mini fridge had ample room, as it fit the entire case of Coke Zero I brought aboard with room to spare. Our balcony was relatively small, but private. It's worth noting that the balconies on decks 9 or 10 extend out wide over the tops of the lifeboats so their views are not obstructed, but this leaves those balconies fully exposed to the decks above. I personally wouldn't like this lack of privacy, and actually saw some people from higher decks dropping ice cubes on the lower balconies. Not cool! Our cabin steward (Rodgie) was excellent. Very personable and kept the room neat and clean. There were no towel animals but I never cared for that gimmick anyways. The nightly chocolates were good enough for me. The ocean view rooms were the same as ours except for the good sized windows in place of the balcony. Ours were obstructed view but still had plenty of visibility over the tops of the lifeboats. Overall the rooms were fine with no issues. Dining Room We elected anytime dining and split our dinners between the DaVinci main dining room and the buffet. Overall we ranked the food on the Crown Princess as "hit or miss" with some items excellent, some good, and some not so good. The dining room menu was mostly very good with some glaring exceptions. For example, my wife ordered a prime rib and was served a cut that was two thirds fat. She should have sent it back or gotten another one but she's not that type. I wish I had taken a picture of it to send to Princess. We were also not impressed that margarine, not butter was served with the bread. There were many very good items though, especially the lobster tail, salmon, scallops and other seafood items. The beef wellington was very good too. The desserts were OK, but seemed to have a sweetness level lower than American palettes are accustomed. We noticed that the pastry chefs were Asian, and since we travel to Asia often, we have noticed that lower sugar desserts are common there. Service in the dining room was efficient, timely and polite. At the hour we usually ate (around 7:00 pm) the waiters were so busy there seemed to be no time for them to chat with the guests. They did a great job of getting our orders of multiple courses correct and brought them out promptly and hot. Props to the maitre d who went out of his way twice to find us a table earlier than the ATD guests were supposed to be admitted to the DaVinci DR. Buffet The buffet selections were smaller than on other ships, but the quality was pretty good. Some of the MDR selections were also offered in the dinner buffet. I liked that smoked salmon was offered each breakfast, however quiches were served cold! Very strange. The buffet layout and traffic pattern is the worst I've seen. There are three separate enclosed buffet areas in which you are forced to follow through a narrow, crowded line with a specific entrance and exit. There is little opportunity to "browse" the food selections since you are trapped in the buffet line. This design also makes returning for seconds problematic, as one has to cut in line to retrieve a specific item. Other Food The New York style pizza slices served on the pool deck are very good and quite popular. People are seen eating pizza slices all over the ship, including in the buffet and at MUTS. The burgers at the Trident grill were also excellent. The specialty coffees at the International Cafe were very good and reasonably priced, however for some reason regular coffee is not offered there. Regular coffee (which was also very good) was ONLY available at the buffet on deck 15. This is a major oversight since coffee lovers like us would appreciate access to regular coffee in more than one place on such a big ship. We always enjoyed regular coffees at the cafes on RCL and NCL. Princess needs to fix this. We all got soda cards, which at $36 pp I believe are cheaper than other lines. It was nice that the wait staff was usually OK with only one of us digging the card out of our pockets, and were usually prompt at bringing the sodas despite no additional tip. We have had problems being neglected before, especially on NCL. Entertainment I will start off by saying that our cruise director Kelvin Joy was the best we have had. He was very entertaining, had a great sense of humor and was a great master of ceremonies for many of the ships events. Kelvin just returned to the Crown for our cruise and relieved the previous CD whom wasn't getting very good comments from previous CC reviews I have read. Kelvin, Colin the assistant CD, and CJ the DJ hosted most of the events on the ship and were all very funny. The staff performs a skit at the end of the crew show that is hilarious and is a must see. The main theater shows were excellent, with great singing, dancing and costumes. While the song and dance numbers were enjoyable, they were all very short, only 30 to 40 minutes long in order to fit three shows in per night. The Crown may need to do three shows due to the smaller size of its theater, which we heard only fits about a third of the ships passengers. In spite of its size, we never had to wait for a seat in the theater and it filled to capacity only on the last night of the cruise. While the dancers changed themes each performance, and a couple comedians performed on some nights, there was a surprising lack of variety of performances offered on the Crown. Other ships have also had magicians, hypnotists, acrobats, parades, and even ice dancing. On Norwegian each theater show would be almost 2 hours and have a number of different acts. Princess settles for one short act. Good performances, but too short in my opinion. There was a running joke among the staff about the lack of people up in the Skywalker's Lounge (basically the ship's disco) and it turns out it was no joke. We went a couple times and never saw more than 6 or 8 people up there. The waiters there looked very bored and we actually felt sorry for them. Skywalker's is restricted to ages 18 and older and if they opened it up to all ages they would probably fill the place. I am sure the teenagers would love to dance there. There was an ultimate deck party one night that was pretty fun but not as well attended as one would expect. In fact, it amazed me how deserted the upper decks became at night. I would take some evening walks at about 11:00 pm and would often be the ONLY passenger on the pool decks while over 3000 others were below decks. Youth Programs Being spring break, there were hordes of kids on this cruise and we met many vacationing teachers as well. Our 15-year-old son registered with the teen center and basically used it as a meeting place to get acquainted with other teens. Once the cliques were established the teens wandered around the ship in groups and crowded stairwells in chat circles. The teen center stayed open until 2:00 am, which is too late in my opinion. Most parents want and need to know their kids are back in their staterooms by the time they go to bed, and don't like to search the ship for their teen late at night (one reason for some of my late night walks). We set our own curfews but it was hard to enforce while in "vacation mode" and with no working cell phones. It would be helpful if ship's security enforced a curfew for teens by midnight at least. Wayward teens appeared to be a problem for other parents as there was more than one middle of the night announcement over the ship's PA announcing a missing person. Overall Conclusion Overall we really enjoyed this cruise on the Crown Princess. We liked the ports of call a lot, but since the Crown has already departed for the Mediterranean for the summer, I will not bother reviewing shore excursions here. We liked the ship, the food was pretty good, the entertainment was good and the staff was friendly and helpful. There are certain things we liked more on NCL and RCL but we would still enjoy cruising on Princess again. Read Less

We are diamond cruisers with Royal Caribbean and have cruised with Cunard, Carnival (never again) and years ago on the SS United States. This is our first with Princess; leaving from Galveston going to Roatan, Belize and Cozumel. We had heard that Princess was a cut below RC but were very pleasantly surprised with the Crown Princess. What was most pleasing was that unlike RC, even with over 3,000 passengers (900 were children) we never encountered a crowded area, seldom found ourselves in a line of more than 10 minutes and never heard kids running up and down the halls. The ship has three main dining rooms two of which are for anytime dining and one exclusively for traditional seating. We prefer traditional. Our mini-suite was excellent with 2 flat screen TVs a tub with shower and large balcony and the price was less than RC charged for a regular balcony cabin on its ship with the same cruise itinerary sailing on the following day. The food and service in the main dining room was actually very good and compared favorably with RC. Sure, some of the dishes were a bit bland but with a bit of salt and pepper were actually quite good. On Lobster night I asked for 4 of them and went away well satisfied. To tell the truth, we thought that the Dining room meals were just a good as those in the Crown Grill at $25 per person. Even the food in the Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe buffets was not bad at all. What we really appreciated were the following: Very large gym (seldom any children), 5 Pools with an Adults-only pool and hot tubs and Adults only lounge areas (actually enforced), more than adequate outdoor lounge chairs on multiple decks (always some available), and children/teen activity areas in remote areas of the ship so that we never encountered groups of them in the halls or on the stairways. Even though it was spring break, we never saw any inebriated or rowdy college kids. Best of all, unlike RC, there were seldom any PA announcements regarding tours, sales, or bingo games -- they were all printed in the daily schedule provided to each cabin the night before. Finally, the cabins had great sound proofing. All in all, we are now confirmed fans of Princess and although we would certainly consider another cruise line if its ships can match these amenities, we'd actually choose it over Royal Caribbean. March 30, 2013 Read Less

This review is based on my objective opinion and observations. We try to take one cruise a year. The last time we sailed on board Princess was in 2010. In 2011 we sailed with Celebrity. Last year we opted for a land vacation by renting a Class A RV for 15 days. We are a family of four and brought along my Mother. I do most of the planning when it comes to vacations. The wife is rather busy with school and the house hold. I have a confession to make. We booked a mini suite on the Emerald deck E730. Yes the one with the extended balcony. And an inside room D720. In order to have the same Muster Station, and not wanting to lose our coveted covered extended balcony, I requested do not upgrade. On March 6, I received a voice mail from our TA. I called her back and she informed me that we had been upgraded to a family suite. Initially my heart sunk as I did not want to be apart from the other room. Our TA informed us that we were now assigned rooms D106 and D102. OK, now I am cool about most of it although I heard people complaining about how windy it is out on the balcony. I also debated on whether to inform the wife that our room assignment changes. We drove to San Antonio on Friday March 8, picked up my mother and from there to Houston. We spent the night at the Double Tree hotel in downtown Houston. We chose this hotel for its location to the Aquarium. We walked to the Aquarium for the little ones to see the place and met with my mother's brother for dinner. The following morning, in order to avoid any potential traffic issues on I-45. On the way down to Galveston, we stopped at Panera for breakfast. We arrived in Galveston around 11 am unloaded our luggage, the stevedore helped us staple the luggage tags, and off I went to park the vehicle. I walked back to the dock, gathered the family and carry one and proceeded to check in. We went through security and filled out the health forms. We had one Black box wine, a 12 pack of Coke Zero and a 24 pack of Perrier. We had no issues at all going through security. Afterwards, we were directed to the main line. I informed the attendant that we were in a suite and she allowed us to switch lines. There was nobody ahead of us. Passports checked, credit cards checked, key cards issued and off we go to the Elite/Suite lounge. As we try to go in, we were asked for our Elite pass. I informed the waiter that we were not Elite but were in a full suite. We were allowed into the lounge and not even five minutes later, everyone in that lounge was escorted to the gangway in order to board the ship. Once on board the ship, we headed to our assigned rooms. At this point, the wife has yet to realize that we are heading to the front of the ship rather than the aft section of the ship. When sailing Princess, we always get a mini suite on the Emerald deck. As we approach the room, I tell the wife that it is confession time. I informed her of the room change. She gives me that look (well I leave it up to you to decide which look). I informed her that we are now in the family suite and I open the door to the cabin. The first thing she noticed is the flower arrangement I order for her. Additionally, all suites come with a flower arrangement as well. The room set up is not bad. The main room is like a mini suite. The bathroom is like that of a mini suite as well, not as fancy as the other suites but include all the amenities that come with a suite. The location of the sofa bed is on the opposite side of the beds because there is an additional sofa bed perpendicular to the other sofa bed. On the opposite side of the 1st sofa bed is a large screen TV with a DVD player and a DVD menu. In front of the 2nd sofa bed is a small table. The diagram shows a total of four chairs and two tables in this living room area. We only had one table and one chair. Between the second sofa bed and the big screen TV is a door that leads to the inside room which can sleep up to four guests. The balcony has the regular wooden furniture that comes with a suite. Two chase loungers with a small table, two chairs with a full size table. The diagram show four chairs and two full size tables. There were no palm trees in our room either. These misrepresentations were not an issue for us. We found the actual room set up to be practical for us. We walked all the way to the back of the ship and took the elevator up to the youth center and check out the Pelican area. We were greeted by the staff inside. Now here is a first that I have never heard before. Please do not construe this as policy. It may have been an experiment for this particular sailing or something that they do exclusively onboard the Crown. Our youngest one is still on diapers but within the age group allowed at Pelicans. The staff allowed us, on a trial basis, to let her enroll into the program with a few caveats. They do not do the diaper change thing would not be allowed to participate with the program while were out on an excursion. Needless to say, we were delighted. Off we went down to the Crown Grill to make a reservation for that night. Then we went to the International Cafe for lunch located at the plaza level. I was disappointed that they no longer make the shrimp salad the way they used to with light oil and lime juice. Now they make it with a cream based dressing and does not taste the same as the shrimp salad we stated back in 2010. After lunch, we went back to our stateroom. Our luggage was already outside our room. We proceeded to unpack and put everything away. We met our cabin steward Yevgen. What an outstanding lad! He went over the perks that come with the suites, told us that he would later bring us our "small" bottles of champagne and went to bring us the appropriate size flotation vest for our little ones. We gathered our vests and proceed to go down to the theater in order to beat the crowd before the Muster alarm sounded. After Muster, we went back to our room and dropped off the vests, then went up to the lido deck for the sail away party. We went back to the room to get ready for dinner. We fed the little ones and took them to Pelican's. We signed the little ones in and we were provided with a pager in case they needed us. Down we went to the Promenade deck and had the wife and mother wait while I went down to Vines to purchase a couple of bottles of red wine. In the past, Vines would offer wines that one could only get there and were not available at the restaurants. This is no longer the case, at least on board the Crown. In the past, we were able to borrow the appropriate wine glasses to use with the wine you at a specialty restaurant. Again, this is no longer the case, at least on board the Crown Princess. So off I go to meet my party at the Crown Grille. We go in and find out that they sell the same wine inside the restaurant. I felt bad for the waiter as he could have received part of the 15% gratuity from the wine. We were finished with our second course and waiting for the main course to arrive when the beeper went off. Off I go to Pelican's. Our youngest one missed us. She gave me a big hug and we both went back to the Crown Grill hoping that everything would work out. Thank goodness for smart phones. Thank goodness for Wow!Wow!Wubbzy. That game kept the little one entertained and we were able to finish dinner, eat dessert without interrupting anyone else's dinner. It also help that we were sitting in an area isolated from other patrons. After dinner we went back upstairs to Pelican's to check out our oldest one and we went back to our room for the night. The next morning we went up to Sabatini's for breakfast. Since this was our first time eating breakfast at Sabatini's the manager confirmed that we were staying at a full suite and proceeded to take us to our table. What an awesome concept! The menu is pretty simple. Whatever you want, however you want it, they will make it. For me, eggs benedict, but instead of Canadian bacon, smoke salmon. By the way, the wines that we drank and recommend (we bought and drank wine six nights) are Chateauneuf-du-pope by Serabel and Le Bocce Chianti Classico. From the bar set up, we had Vodka, Cognac, Scotch, and Gin. We do not drink Gin, and Yevgen swapped the two Gin bottles for Scotch. On Sunday, we had our first Gala dinner. We were also invited to the Captain's Circle cocktail type event which was held at the theater. We chose not to attend this event. Those who know us know that we actually spend a lot of time relaxing at our stateroom. Yevgen also made towel animals for each of the gala dinners. The little ones were delighted. I read many complain about the family suite's balcony being useless out at sea. There were only to instances where the wind was an issue out on the balcony. We simply used the chase loungers and had the wall block the wind. The weather was also great for our uncovered balcony. It was mainly overcast and therefore not much of an issue with sun burn on our way to Roatan. Many have voiced their concern about having a balcony with little ones on board. Our rules were pretty simple, no little ones out on the balcony without an adult being present. If the adult went inside, so did the little ones. Please ensure that one locks the balcony door as our little ones were able to open and close the heavy door when left unlocked. One of my complaints with Princess is that their balconies are always dirty. During this cruise, the glass on all the balconies was actually cleaned while on port by the room's respective steward. Also, the beds were very comfortable. One complaint is the excessive use of salt on the food, in particular with the dinner meals. How bad was the salt? Let me put it this way, I had a hard time removing my wedding band every night at bed time. Another first, at least for us is the charge for Limoncello at dinner. In the past, one would be charged only for the souvenir glass. Now, you get charged for the drink and for the souvenir glass. The Photography staff will not put your pictures aside anymore. Now, they direct you to put your photographs at the bottom of certain display racks. Another perk that we used was the complementary dry cleaning service. We did not have any issues with damaged, discolored, or shrunk clothing. Mostly was simple wash and dry service with a few dry cleanings here and there. One night, we decided to try the new dinner menu at Sabatini's. I had read some bad reviews about the food. On the Crown, Sabatini's is actually located on deck 16, right underneath the tween center. One can hear stumping from the children running around and the sound check from the Adalgio bar next door (maybe it was a sound check from the tween center). The service was great. The food was not that great. The texture of the calamari was at point. Unfortunately, the breading (flour) was soaking in oil and not sticking to the calamari (as compared to the one on the main dining room). The lobster cooked three was also a disappointment. The lobster was too salty and the taste was nothing to rave about. The lobster in the main dining rooms is much better. The lobster served at the Crown Grill was outstanding. Limoncello and cappuccino are no longer included with the dinner price at Sabatini's. I loved their fresh made pasta (that particular night was ravioli night). I also liked their fresh mozzarella. My mother ordered the veal chop which she loved. Another disappointment was that they no longer offer Tiramisu. This may be a non-issue for those who live big cities. But we live in a small town that is 150 miles away from civilization. Therefore we were looking forward to having Tiramisu at Sabatini's. For those booking a room toward the front of the ship please be aware that you will hear the sound when the crew releases the anchor. I thought this would be an issue for those on the lower levels. Regardless, please remember this in order to avoid waking up in a panic. No worries, we knew exactly what was happening. But I just want to forewarn those who may not be prepared for this type of wake up call. Another issued we encountered was on our way to Cozumel. The winds were pretty strong. I would say 30-40 mph sustained winds with gusts up to 60mph. The forecasted high for Cozumel was 72 degrees. So I woke up around 2 am and went to the front desk (Purser's Office) and asked about cancelling our island beach tour. The girl working the desk took a look at the patter to confirm the forecasted temperature and in a condescending tone, looked at me and explained that I could cancel but there would be a cancelling penalty of 100% of the purchased price. I went back to my room and was unable to sleep as I was worried about our little ones. We woke up at 0530 hrs. and headed to the buffet for breakfast. We met our tour guide at the dock who informed us that they were cancelling the excursion due to the weather. Go figure! The DVD player in our room was not working. We reported this to our stateroom steward and had someone come in a replaced the DVD player. Another first for us was having a baked Alaska parade at the anytime dinner room. Compared to our previous Princess cruise, the staff was very friendly and polite. Every time we would walk by an employee we were not only acknowledged but greeted as well. I did witness the crew taking food away from the guests while disembarking at the ports. Regardless of the warning on the patters and with public announcements both via the TV and the speaker system, some still thought that the rules did not apply to them as they attempted to walk off the ship with fruit on hand. Another thing that we witness is a youngster pulling corals out of the sea in Roatan. Luckily the family did not receive a fine. Yes there were plenty of law enforcement personnel on the west end of the island. Another peccadillo was a lady smoking at the casino. For disembarkation, we requested that both of our rooms would be allowed to leave together at the same time. We each received a different luggage tag. Luckily, our room had enough tags for both rooms. The disembarkation lounge is another perk that we enjoyed. We were scheduled to disembark at 1040 hrs. We were off the ship by 0930 hrs. Yes, there were many negatives but the plusses were there as well. The wife and I agreed that this particular sailing was our best one with Princess. We were extremely delighted with the SERVICE provided by the staff at the Crown Princess. The Children's program was superb. I believe that one thing that helped us was that each time our pager went off (a total of three times), we went straight to the club to pick up our youngest one. She only had issued late in the evenings. During the day, she had no problems being for the duration. We always had breakfast and lunch together. With exception to the nights we ate at the Crown Grill and Sabatini's, we always ate dinner together as well. Our oldest one loved the Children's program and did not want to leave the ship at the end of our cruise. We will be back! Read Less

We sailed on the 3/23 sailing of the crown princess. Everything about the trip was problem free and enjoyable. We arrived at the port around 11am and walked right up to the suite line with no wait, then had a lounge to relax in with beverages. Within 20 minutes we were welcomed aboard, went right to our room and started enjoying our vacation. The suite was beautiful, the steward was nice and helpful and we enjoyed all of the suite perks. The french toast at Sabatini breakfast is a winner, as well as the international cafe which we freuqented daily. The Crown grill was delicious, and the buffet and main dining rooms were generally pretty good. The burgers at the pool grill were delicious as was the pizza. We had a blast in all 3 ports and arranged our own tours to save on cost. The debarkation was unbelievable organized, from the luggage, waiting lounge, leaving the ship and the air port transfer were all smooth and the best we have ever experienced. The Princess Pelicans was a great program, diverse activiities and our 6 year old thoroughly enjoyed it. There were 3 sessions a day and he attended most of them. The fitness center was busier than we expected but still had nice ammenitites. All in all we loved the trip and would cruise the crown again! Read Less

My husband and I are not new to cruising. This was our first cruise with Princess but we have been on a total of 6 previous cruises including Carnival and Royal Caribbean. Hotel Info: My husband and I drove from 4 hours west of DFW and spent the night in Webster at the Hampton Inn off I45. We have learned to stay in the Seabrook-Webster area of Houston as hotel prices are about half of what rooms in Galveston book for. We didn't arrive at the hotel until midnight so we didn't take in any of the hotel amenities but the important things we checked off as a plus; friendly front desk,great bedding, the hum of a fan in the room (can't do the silence), strong shower pressure and great complimentary breakfast. Didn't rush to get to Galveston the next morning because Baybrook Mall (just 2 or 3 miles away) was calling. Port of Galveston: We always choose to depart out of Galveston. Just don't want the extra hassle and expense of airfare. A tip to travelers: As soon as you get to Galveston, go to the ship terminal and drop off your luggage! No need to travel around with it all day. You can just pull up and the service personnel will ask you if you're picking up or dropping off and they will direct to which ever way to go. Use a porter for your luggage. They are professional and work hard. We tip a couple of dollars per bag. We even checked our water and sodas. Just tied the bag up good and tagged it. No problem. Beats having to drag it around with you until your room is ready. We always park with EZ Cruise Parking. Close by and efficient. I usually receive Internet coupons for money off that I use. Dropped off the car, shuttled to the terminal and no luggage to drag around because it's already there! On the ship by 1:30 after only about one hour wait for check in. All was smooth. Stateroom: Our room was ready when we arrived and guess what? We were upgraded from E712, right above Club Fusion to R750 right off the Terrace Pool. When we booked our room was to be TBA and did we ever luck out! Two porthole windows right off the back of the ship. Loved the rooms. Typical cruise ship stateroom but must admit we have had better bedding on other cruise lines. The mattress was a bit lumpy and thin. I think Princess could overhaul the bedding and bathrobes. Room Steward was Sandie and he was a jewel. Always spoke to us by name whenever he met us in the hallways. Our room was always spic and span and we never went without ice in the bucket. Ship: Love all aspects of the ship. Immaculate at all times. The glitz associated with Carnival ships wasn't present here and that was nice in a different way. I personally prefer the cocktail lounge seating in the Main Theater's on other ships. Princess Theater had your typical row seating as most theaters. I felt sorry for the waiters assigned having to squeeze down the isles. Dining rooms were nice and loved the Piazza area. Activities: Hubby and I took part in numerous activities onboard. The darn wind blew like never before which really hampered outdoor/deck activities. We couldn't tolerate the Sanctuary due to wind and that was a shame. Beautiful area. The MUTS were usually a bit windy too and chilly but it was March. Loved, loved the movies in the Princess Theater. We saw Lincoln, Argo and Silver Linings. We had already seen two of these movies but enjoyed them again just the same. Other activities: Loved the Scholarship at Sea Lectures. I am not good with names but the Art Director on the ship loves what he does and we so enjoyed the Art History Lecture. Other activities we enjoyed were tour of the galley and cooking demo by the Grand Chef of the Princess Cruise Lines. We got to go backstage and tour the dressing rooms of the Princess Dancers. We also enjoyed all of the nightly performances as well as the fly in entertainment. The Cruise Director wasn't one of our favorites. The personality just didn't seem to fit the CD's we have had in the past. Mainly she needs to come up with some new jokes. Pretty lame in this area. Food & Dining: We loved the Horizon Court Buffet. Can't imagine not being able to find what you like here. Omelets cooked to order and all of the fresh fruit and lovely salad vegetables you can imagine! Workers of this area were diligent about guests using hand sanitizer entering buffet every time. Thank You! Can't say enough good about the buffet. Now as to the Main Dining room: We had 8:00 seating and here are some things I liked: We actually saw the Maitre D most every night and on a few occasions they prepared speciality dishes from a station set up in our areas like Caesar Salad and a spicy penne pasta dish was was my favorite food of the trip. Beautiful Baked Alaska and Parade of waiters on the last night was impressive. Our waitstaff while very professional and efficient enough were just not as personable as what we have had on other cruise. Keep in mind that my husband and I had a table for two and ate in the dining room every night. Usually by the second night, the waiters don't even ask if you drink iced tea, water or enjoy coffee with dessert. It just appears. I would order my iced tea every night but sometimes I waited 10-20 minutes for it to arrive. Every night, we had to tell them we would like to order wine with our dinner. They never once referred to us by name and our waiters in the past always greeted us by name. In fact we ate in the dining room at lunch one day and were waited on by our own nightly waiter and he never acknowledged that he knew us. As far as the meals go, nice selections and beautiful to the eye yet lacking in flavor. I have just decided that this is just personal taste as we have lacked flavor to our standards on other cruises. We ate at the Crown Dining Room one night and paid the $25 dollar surcharge. Save your money. The same foods can be found in the Dining Room. Nice to look at, just not very tasty. The breads each evening were beautiful to look at but why are all of the rolls so hard? It hurts my mouth! Excursions: Loved all of the ports! In Roatan we booked online privately with Victor Bodden Tours. Had our personal driver, Lany and he took us all over. We went to Iguana Farm, Monkey Farm, Cameo Factory,West End Beach and a local grocery store. Belize was great! Booked cavetubing.bz with Vitalino. We were met with a handshake and a bottle of water. Had the best guide ever "Edwin". Everyone should cave tube. Loved the lunch at the end of the trip. Served up some local fare of stewed chicken, rice and beans, coleslaw and an amazingly cold bottle of Coca Cola! Cozumel: One of our favorite ports of all times turned into a disappointment. Due to the high winds that I mentioned earlier, all marinas were closed and no water sports were allowed. I had booked a deep sea fishing adventure with chichi and it was canceled. Amanda had our deposit refunded via PayPal before we even go home. Perhaps next year ChiChi! Side note: We have always booked privately on our own and have always had excellent tours for a fraction of the cost. I will do so again next year. Seven days flies by in a flash when you're having fun and in no time at all we are waking up back in Galveston. Debarkation was smooth and routine. Once again a tip to you all....grab a porter! Money well spent!Hubby and I have already booked the Caribbean Princess for next Spring Break. First time we will be leaving out of Houston...we will see. Read Less

7 Night W Caribbean on Crown Princess Mar 23, 2013 Perspective: We are both 50ish ;). We have cruised 25 or so times mainly on main stream cruises, and did cruise once on Crystal. We favor value for the buck and cruising off season away from school holidays. Usually we cruise just to be on a ship and enjoy a relaxing vacation. This cruise was booked one week before sailing. It was close to Spring Break and Easter but no issues. Pre-Cruise: We drove to the ship. Parked at Galveston Park N Cruise. Booked online to save a few bucks. Nice close parking with no shuttle. We dropped luggage going and carried it off and crossed the street returning. Embarkation: We arrived a little before noon. No wait at security. Each bag had some wine in it that went through with no issue. Also had plastic bottles of water in one that was not examined. We had Platinum check-in and embarkation which saved a lot of time. We were in the dining room (Princess has one dining room open for embarkation lunch from 12 to 1:30) by a little after 1. Cabin: Cabins were ready when we boarded (Princess has cruisers disembark early so that all cabins are ready when the next cruisers embark). We normally book inside cabins but the last minute pricing was very good. We booked a balcony guarantee and were assigned a cabin on Aloha deck port side far aft that had an extended balcony; a nice upgrade. Cabin and balcony were very nice; we were not able to have a lounger on the larger balcony for two reasons 1) safety from the wind and 2) only for suites which seemed a bit arbitrary but they make the rules. The cabin size was nice with desk and chair plus another armchair, no sofa, larger than insides though. Refrigerator was a good size. Separate closet area with safe and shelving is nice. Bathroom is a good size, good round shower with good pressure and temperature. Cabin was serviced twice daily. It was very clean with very little wear noticeable. Mattress was good but was a bit worn. No towel animals. Overall Service: Excellent. Food: Beverages - We carried on bottled water at embarkation. We carried on wine. There is a corkage fee of $15 which we were charged each night. Purchased the Ultimate Soda package for $7 plus gratuity per day. It included sodas, shakes, smoothies, and mocktails. Each morning used for a Virgin Mary and during the day for mocktails (favorite was the no-jito), and club sodas. Normally just ordered at a convenient bar. Drink service in showroom was excellent even when ordering with the package. Would definitely do the package again. Never ordered room service, so can not comment on it. Generally, the buffet is a bit crowded. It is a smaller area with islands but a lot of people just queue up as if it was all one line. When it is not too crowded it is very convenient in that you can go to the one or two areas and get your items quickly. For Breakfast, we did go up the two decks to the buffet area. Caribe Cafe had nice short lines good for simple items particularly cereal. Horizon Cafe was a bit busier. The omelet area was hot and not worth the wait. Other egg choices were hot and quicker; eggs benedict, fried eggs, and boiled eggs. Lots of variety of meats and sides. Drink service was at the table as well as the silverware. For lunch, we would eat on the balcony. We would do it ourselves room service from the buffets, the International Cafe, or the outdoor grills. The buffet has quite a bit of choice. We favored the cheese, meats, breads, Indian food, BBQ, and fried treats like fried shrimp one day, calamari another, and egg rolls another. Salads and paninis from the International Cafe were excellent a quick service. Also had a hamburger. Beverages were ordered at the bar under the MUTS and enjoyed with lunch. No corkage fee on our lunch wine on the balcony ?. Great lunch on the balcony. For dinner, we had the anytime dining. We always requested and were seated at a table for two. The first 3 nights we just took the first available table. The third night of the cruise we were seated at a table for four (used for two) where the service was excellent and professional. The table was near the dining room entrance but screened from the traffic nicely. We requested the Matri D reserve that table for us each night at 8. Reservations seem to be a bit of an issue but we did get the reservation. Princess's dinner menu has all items in one list, the always available and the changing items are mixed together in one list. We enjoyed the food very much. We typically order 4 courses plus dessert to insure getting something that we find excellent. For example, we might order appetizer, soup, pasta, entree and dessert. With a little research you will find the choices that match your tastes, to us Princess excels in the roasted meats and the pastas (we like the lighter ones vs. the alfredo). The Prime Rib the first night was excellent. The always available beef medallions and the tenderloin were not as good as the roasted beef. Lobster and shrimp were very good. Waiter always shared the chef's recommendation as well as his own. Everything that was the waiter's recommendation was indeed excellent. We did not try the specialty restaurants. No need; the dining room was excellent. Entertainment: Princess offers three shows in the main showroom most nights. This worked well for us, there was always a show at the time we wanted plus the shorter format was good too. The small orchestra was excellent. They supported the showroom and several nights provided jazz and ballroom dance music. There were two other musical groups that were good as well. Several nights they have special parties in the Atrium including a balloon drop and a champagne tower. They had the specialty performers for short times during the day as well. Seating is limited, it is more just a stand for a few minutes and watch the performance event. We enjoyed the platinum cruisers event, won a bottle of sparkling wine from the random drawing. Princess does several past cruiser events based on number and levels of the past cruisers on board. On our cruise the most traveled cruiser was recognized for over 700 days cruising with Princess. The Crown Princess has MUTS. This was popular at night -- loungers with blankets, popcorn and cookies delivered at no charge. We had recent movies offered like Skyfall, Lincoln, and Life of Pi. Princess also ran movies in the main showroom some days, very enjoyable. Princess has the best pools. There are four fresh water pools on the Crown Princess. There is the forward pool near the spa that is open to adults with two hot tubs. There is the family pool and the solarium type pool toward midships. And another adult pool far aft. There are lots of loungers, prime ones get taken but there are more a little way from the pools. The workout room is very typical, crowded the first day and better the rest of the cruise. Did not use the for-pay services in the spa area. The no charge part of the spa has a steam room and a sauna. There are also nice showers in the same area. There is easy access to the spa pool and hot tubs from this area. The running track is too narrow, very high on the ship and therefore often windy. The Promenade deck 7 has a nice teak wood deck good for walking and jogging. One has to do stairs at the front of the ship to do a full circuit. It was a very well used area but not extremely crowded. The internet area is convenient. The service is easy to use and moderately fast. The Casino is large and attractive. They do have an active poker table. Ports of Call: We had visited each of the ports before. It was our first time at the Mahogany Bay area in Roatan. We walked off the ship through the shopping area on to the pretty man made beach. Water was shallow and nice for easy swimming. Very few fish for snorkeling. Belize is a tender port. The Crown Princess docked at the Carnival Placa Maya port in Cozumel which is a newer shopping area owned by Carnival and leased out. All three ports have great natural areas for excursions; we just did not do any this trip. We did price some alcohol in Cozumel, the ship prices were as good. Disembarkation: Somehow we missed the form to request express walk off. The guest services representative said express was full and we would have to put our luggage out and claim it. Having walked off the ship on most cruises, we just decided to meet in the Platinum disembarkation lounge. This worked great. We explained the mixup and the rep in the lounge sorted us out and merged us in with the other walk off disembarcers. We were walking across the street to our car at around 8:15. Summary: This was a last minute booking, mainly for a vacation get away vs. traveling to the ports. Princess delivered a hassle free, enjoyable week. We were pampered and well fed. We enjoyed the cruise very much and will be checking out the Caribbean Princess when it comes to Galveston.   Read Less

My last cruise was in 1999 and much had changed in cruising since then. Though I loved those earlier cruises, both my husband and I really enjoyed every moment aboard the Crown Princess. The entertainment was so enjoyable, the food (of course) delicious, and the staff was incredible. Being a first-time cruiser, my husband packed his passport in his suitcase, so -uh oh - when it came time to board. The reassured us and dove into the ship's hold to retrieve it and bring it to him. . . all with smiles. Then I lost a necklace one evening and no idea where. The next day, there it was at the passenger service desk. What a relief! There was something for everyone, but for us we didn't want all the many extra activities that are on many ships - we wanted a place to have good, relaxed fun! And we love kids - we have a passel of grandkids - but we didn't want a ship overwhelmed with them during our getaway. It was perfect. The kids we saw were well behaved and it seemed there were lots of activities for all young ages that they enjoyed and didn't take away from the relaxation we wanted. The port stops were interesting - we particularly liked Roatan and our day with Islander Tours. But we enjoyed our time on the ship just as much! Now we're figuring out our next cruise adventure! Read Less

We cruised before on the Ruby 2 years ago. This time we were with our "kids" to celebrate my daughter graduation from HS. She is 18 and my son 21. They has a inside room across hall from us. We had a balcony room A618. We stayed 2 night before cruise at the Galveston Hampton Inn. Nice view of Wal-Mart (LOL it is what it is) and the ocean . Nicely decorated room and hotel. Our room, 518 nice but smelled like something died in the wall, phew! Embarkation was good. Got there about 1100 and were on just after 1200; Waited for about an hour. Right off the bat we noted the age of the passengers. My kids thought they were the youngest on board. They weren't but pretty close with ourselves running right behind them. It felt like you walked in a "retirement home". I never saw more scooters, walkers, oxygen tanks in one spot in my life. Our neighbor, 60 yrs old himself mentioned to me the over whelming age of the passengers. We estimated 70-80% being over 60 and well over 60. Those under 50-30 10%. We took this cruise as it fit our schedule and price. Entertainment: Good. The comedians excellent and the shows we thought. MUTS did not show many movies and had large gaps of time just showing scenic nature shots of Alaska. The pool side band played maybe 2-3 times a day for about a half hour. The cruise out party nothing other than drinks. The Pools: of 4 hot tubs around the two main pools 1-2 were closed much of the cruise. Rarely were they all open. Disappointed and not acceptable to me. The pools were cold most of the time as well. For a ship coming out of Galveston with weather already cool, common gives of something not so frigid. The Food/Dinning; Poor to OK. Very bland or over salted; The dining room food seems to have deteriorated. They featured nightly "home style cooking". They had meatloaf one night as an item or a turkey dinner. If I wanted that I would have stayed home. For what is supposed to be a higher end cruise line and in comparison to before the food in the dining room and the buffet were OK at best. I'm not that fussy but I expected better. Ports Visited: Roatan -- excellent. Belize City -- what a dump. Four ships in anchor off with tenders required, which we like actually, but the port is small and crowed. If you're not doing an excursion don't bother. I don't know why Princess even goes there. Phew! Cozumel. Excellent port. Took excursion on speed boat twister to private island called Paradise. Lunch provided, open bar, wild & fast but save ride 2 $84 each. Lot of fun. Galveston, wish we had more time there. However for a cruise location and if your looking for warm weather and only have 7 days to cram that in like us before heading back up north at least 1-2 days are in cooler weather cruise day wise, FYI so you really get about 4-5 days in hot weather. Next cruise for us will be back out of FLL or MIA. The ship: as cruised Ruby before we knew what we were getting; even so still can't help but feel for a "big" ship how small it is and how little it has to offer in public spaces. Very chopped up. Small dining rooms. Smoking: Despite no smoking in staterooms and balcony we had 1 near us either below or beside who smoked on his balcony. Despite complaints never seemed to go away. The Piazza Atrium, was constantly filled with the smell of smoke coming out of the casino. Wasn't like that on the Ruby. This pretty much ruined the piazza and go to feel for the employees who have breathe that in every day. So next cruise for us will be in sometime in the future. We are going to try Royal Caribbean, Celebrity or even Carnival. At least Carnival I hear has some sort of ambiance of fun I'm told. It was still a nice cruise just not a "higher end" cruise that it should have been. Read Less

Let me begin by saying that I am now a fan of cruising and will cruise again in the future, but will most definitely cruise on different lines / ships until I find one that exceeds my expectations. With that said, the Crown Princess did not meet my expectations in some areas (based on pre-cruise marketing materials and information directly from Princess, and the on-board experience) and exceeded my expectations in other areas. Embarkation: Exciting process for my first cruise and walking onto the ship for the first time was wonderful. Princess greets you with a smile! When first arriving, read the signs carefully, especially the very small ones that are hung in difficult to find locations. If you do not, you will most likely end up lugging your luggage to your own stateroom or lugging it back down the stairs to find the drop off. Don't be afraid to ask questions of the staff, but be prepared for the staff member to not know the answer. Staff have been assigned specific duties and may not know all the duties, so may not be able to answer your question. (Please ask nicely - they are there to help you and make your journey special - I noticed so many passengers treat the staff negatively - their work is important and passengers are not superior to staff.) Embarkation was efficient and Princess knows how to move passengers quickly. Room: Choosing a mini-suite was a financial challenge, but I am very thankful that I did. In this area, the room exceeded expectations. The bed was comfortable, lots of counter space and storage areas, two televisions, spacious closet space, large bath, desk, couch, chair, table, perfect space for 7 nights. Maybe a smaller room would have been just as nice, so I hope I haven't spoiled myself for future cruises. If money is not an issue, choosing a mini-suite is the way to go. It is perfect for two people and it was nice to return to at the end of the day. Having a large bathtub/shower may have been worth the extra dollars. Not sure if the smaller rooms have a refrigerator in the room, but this was a nice amenity. On the other hand, I spoke with another passenger that cruises often and always books the cheapest room because she does not spend much time in the room and still receives all of the same activities/dining as mini-suite passengers. A shout out to our Cabin Steward - he was attentive, always had a greeting and smile, and promptly provided when asked. The balcony - a wonderful amenity and used often. The blue mat was prickly, so wear your shoes/slippers on the balcony, but thankful for the relaxing experiences / views from our balcony. Dining: This was the most disappointing aspect of my cruise on Crown Princess. The literature, the marketing materials, and reviews all led me to believe that the food and experience would be something special, even 5 star quality. That was certainly not the case. The food lacked in overall quality, taste and presentation. One night I ordered a Pear-Stilton Salad and what I received was, picture this, a white salad plate with small pieces of chopped canned pear and small scraps of Stilton strewn about the plate with a few pecans for color. It was at the most maybe 1 piece of canned pear and 1/2 ounce of Stilton. It was a joke - literally laugh out loud plating - that I took a photo and may post. If you like cheese though you will always have the opportunity to eat a square of Cheddar or Edam as it was served at every buffet meal. I saw asparagus once on the entire cruise and then I only received 3 small stalks (which were overcooked). Never saw a bit of crab, but did have lobster one night - just a small tail, but at least it was served. As for the steak don't expect it to be a good cut or cooked properly. The staff of the Horizon Court Buffet were always helpful, but the Horizon Court Buffet is not open 24 hours, so if you think you will have a buffet open to you around the clock this is not true. However, you can get cookies, pre-mixed meat or seafood salads (chicken, tuna or other) or paninis (don't bother) 24 hours in the "International Cafe." One night the Horizon Court Buffet was closed, so all passengers were directed to the Cafe Caribe. We were not to happy having to wait in a long buffet line. No explanation was provided - this may have helped - many passengers were "disgruntled." Our party chose the "Anytime Dining" option and we appreciated the opportunity to eat when we wanted. We enjoyed the "Bier-fest" themed night - the food for this special evening was delicious. Lotus Spa: If you are a spa person - lower your expectations. The spa is co-ed, lacks solitude / quiet, and is truly an "up-sell" experience. If you order a 50 minute facial, expect 20 minutes of discussion (skin type, product sales) and only 30 minutes of mediocre facial work. I cancelled my massage because the facial was so disappointing. I also did the Go Smile teeth whitening process and purchased the up sell. I would suggest skipping this experience and save the $400 for something that is more meaningful. If you can get the spa to give you a DIY (Do it Yourself) body scrub, the Orange Vanilla was spectacular. I took it back to my room and enjoyed a hot shower and the scrub. Get two if they will give it to you. If you are a sensitive, large woman/man, be prepared to hear spa staff openly talk about how "soft" most passengers are. It was certainly something I did not expect to hear, or appreciate, and was quite offended. TIP: The spa robe was nice, so I would suggest getting a robe from the Spa to use in your cabin (just remember to return the robe to the spa on your last day.) Excursions: We enjoyed all of the excursions. The literature was different from the experience, but that was ok - we were on an excursion, in a foreign county, experiencing something different and so went with the flow and enjoyed it all. Our tour guides were all fantastic. Our next trip to Cozumel we plan to not do any excursions, but simply enjoy walking around, shopping and eating local cuisine. The excursions were a bit overpriced for what you receive, but it was an easy way to see the countries and not have to research on our own. Activities: Bingo: four games, expensive, crowded and predictable. If you have the "free bingo card" coupon - expect to purchase the most expensive pack to get your one free card. Daubers for $1.50 make a great souvenir - as they have a picture of the Crown Princess on it. Casino: Fun entertainment - don't expect to win anything and you will enjoy the entertainment; electronic poker table was interesting; loved the Caribbean stud and open face blackjack. All of the dealers were professional and friendly. Games: Always something to do - trivia, tv game shows like games etc. Fun - cruise staff very bubbly and make the experience enjoyable. Don't forget to check out the small putt putt course. Movies Under the Stars: I was looking forward to this activity the most and found myself highly disappointed - I guess I set my expectations way to high on this. The pre-cruise email from princess stating the movies that would be shown during our cruise was incorrect - we never saw any of the movies promised, but they did show "Breakfast at Tiffany's." If you like soda, popcorn and candy while you watch a movie, bring your own soda and candy (you can purchase candy in the giftshop) or get some cookies from the international cafe. A small bag of popcorn will be provided if you ask. The screen is big and the lounge chairs comfortable. We had no problems hearing the movie either. Get there early if you want to sit next to your loved one. Try not to sit behind/near the hot tub or you will get sprays of water often. Unfortunately for us during one evening movie, the ship staff decided to do something with the sewage, so we were subjected to some pretty awful odors. Not sure what that was about and hope if doesn't happen to you. Entertainment: Spectacular! Don't miss the crew show - lots of fun! The Princess Theater was spacious. Arrive at least 15 minutes early to get a seat or 25 minutes early if you like a certain spot to sit. Suggestion: Move to the middle of a row so that others can fill in and not have empty seats. Don't leave a single seat between you and the party beside you - sit in the chair next to your fellow passenger - it is polite and leave more seating room for those that arrive one minute before show time. Enjoy this part of the cruise - we did and Princess does this right. Disembarkation: Easy process. We packed the night before and were ready to go in the morning. We chose the Easy Walk-Off process and it was easy. We left the ship and 7:30am and were in our car on and the road by 9:00. Again, Princess has highly structured/efficient people moving process that works. Follow the instructions and your experience will be smooth. TIP: Get a copy of your account statement the night before. The line can get long, so if you see a short line at customer service desk - jump in the line. I feel very blessed for this opportunity and I thankful for the vacation. I am now a cruiser and will cruise again. Will I choose Princess again - maybe. Read Less

I am half of an "older couple," but active. Usually we cruise Celebrity and have cruised Carnival 2 or 3 times for specific reasons (Country Music Cruise). We had heard good things about Princess; found a week-long cruise for a good price, and invited another couple to join us on the trip. Our stops were Roatan, Belize, and Cozumel. That trip was supposed to have had a fourth port (the Maya Riviera), but there were too many ships stopping at the port. So, that port never actually showed on the itinerary. What we experienced was that because there were SO MANY ships stopping at the remaining ports, often those ports of call were somewhat overloaded with cruise tourists. We booked too late to get a choice of evening dining times; so often had a bit of a wait to get the mediocre meal (I'm attempting to be generous with my judgment of the food). "In a nutshell," the food was overcooked and under-seasoned. For example, I asked for my steak to be VERY RARE ("cold on the inside, please"). It came back medium. The waiter got me another huge chunk of meat to replace it... medium. My friend loves Eggs Benedict: the yolks were completely dry... like a hard-boiled egg (only with some sort of packaged topping). One night I ordered a Thai dish... completely BLAND! (When we asked for some "chili sauce" and they brought us Tabasco!) Another time we ate at the British pub (forgot its name).... Neither the Steak and Kidney pie nor the Fish-n-Chips were at all authentic (soggy and without flavor). The overall feeling of the ship was crowded: not enough seating around the pools; $15 or $20/day if you wanted to have access to the "Sanctuary" (a quiet pool). At mealtime, the buffets were always crowded, with many food choices, but the food there was also poorly seasoned. Cabin: the attendant was slow to respond; nothing special done to our cabins as on other cruise lines (like the little wash cloths made into bunnies or elephants). Had to be asked for ice; no automatic pitcher of ice water kept in the cabin. (In fact, I'm not sure I recall having had a pitcher in the room... only an ice bucket that was kept in the fridge). I did not find the entertainment particularly entertaining. The best night - in my opinion - was the one in which the crew performed. Toward the end of the cruise, the entertainment line-up changed: the "old" singers and dancers left the ship; a "new" entourage boarded. The new group had pretty costumes. Period. I have NEVER been critical of a cruise. If this cruise is typical of Princess Lines, I cannot understand how they got their reputation. From my memory of cruising Carnival, the Crown Princess had worse food... but fewer kids onboard. Read Less

Just returned this past weekend from a great week aboard the Crown Princess. We have previously done this itinerary from Galveston but I could not remember too much about it so we decided to give it a go since it was a change of pace from the eastern cruises we typically do in the winter. We arrived in Galveston the day before and used Super Shuttle for our transportation from Hobby airport. I spent a lot of time looking at different options and this seemed the most reasonable. We were a group of 4 adults and chose to book a private SUV at $35 per person. When we arrived there was a slight snafu, I received a voicemail from the company and they told me that it looked as though our flight was now arriving at 10pm instead of 10am. Not sure where they got that from so I called them back and it ended up being their mistake. Now the problem was that because they thought we were delayed they did not have a driver available to take us. I was not very happy and a bit testy from traveling since 3am and after a bit of a back and forth they had the super shuttle van take us by ourselves to Galveston for the same price. The van was perfectly fine and the driver was very nice. We stayed at the Hotel Galvez which we all thought was very nice. I really love historical hotels and the location was right on the beach with great views from the rooms. I only wish it had been warm enough to actually hang out on the beach, it was pretty chilly. There were restaurants within walking distance and a town car that would take you into town and pick you back up for no cost. It was really easy to call them and get picked up when we were ready to go back to the hotel. My husband was excited to stay at the Galvez since it is said to be haunted, he even called months in advance to request the "haunted room". To his disappoint nothing out of the ordinary happened during our stay. The rooms are clean and slightly updated but very small which we expected since the hotel is so old. Our rooms were fine for 2 adults but if we were looking to get 3 or 4 in a room it would be very tight. Check in is at 4pm but we arrived by 12pm and only had to wait about 30 minutes for our room to be ready and the others in our party could check in right away which was really nice. If you stay at the Galvez they do have a complimentary shuttle to the pier but you need to make sure you sign up right away as it does fill up quickly. We ended up getting in the 12pm slot and it worked out great. When we arrived at the pier there was really no wait at all. Dropped our bags off and were on board within about 20 minutes. I thought the check in was very organized, we have preferred check in but the rest of our group without boarded very shortly after us and were very complimentary of the whole process. Once on board we dropped our things off at the room and headed up to the buffet for lunch. The weather in Galveston was sunny but cool so since we would not be hitting the pool we ended up getting back off the ship and walked around the historical strand which is right across from the pier. We made it back on board just in time the muster drill and then we were off! Dining I have to say that we thought the food was very good on this cruise but we were not overly thrilled with the selections on the new menus. Maybe it was because some of our old favorites were missing but I had a harder time choosing something in the MDR at night because not a lot seemed to appeal to me. I did enjoy all of my food, except for what they were calling a filet in the MDR, it tasted almost gamey to me both times I tried it. I always love the fettuccine and we had that as a third main dish to share every night. Loved the ice creams and sorbet selection each night and usually added a scoop to whatever dessert I had. We went to Sabatini's on our first night and Crown grill on our last night and both were excellent and definitely our favorite meals for the week. These are so worth the extra cost! We love to start and end our trips in the specialty restaurants. Afternoon tea was really nice (this was the first time I have gone), a good selection of sandwiches, cookies and pastry. I thought there was supposed to be live music but the occasions we were there is was just music over the speaker system. All in all a very nice experience in the afternoon when there was not a lot going on. We tried to make it to pub lunch but both times the line was HUGE and we didn't feel like waiting an hour plus so we have yet to give that a try. Enjoyed lunches in the MDR and the buffet and found both to have really nice selections during this time. Wish they had more available late night, the cafe caribe was open until midnight but it just seemed to have old left over looking options from dinner that night and nothing great for a little late night snack. Pizza always works though, very yummy. Entertainment We love to do Movies Under the Stars and enjoyed the movies even though most we have already seen. They played Bourne Legacy, Pitch Perfect, Robot and Frank and Premium Rush. My only issue was that the first and last night they replayed the same movie which usually does not happen. The comedians on board were a lot of fun and we enjoyed seeing Lincoln and Argo in the Princess Theater. We didn't attend any of the other shows as they don't usually interest us. We also enjoyed the entertainment in the Piazza throughout the day and evening when we were waiting around for this and that. Ports Belize- We did a princess excursion, the river cruise, Altun Ha ruins and lunch. I really enjoyed this tour but the rest of the group I was with did not. Their biggest complaint was that the river cruise portion was way too long for the type of boat they put you in. I can agree with that, the boat was small and had everyone facing inwards so you always had to turn or stand up to see anything they were pointing out. We did see a lot of wildlife which was great but it did drag on a bit. The lunch was nothing special, you pull up to a building on the side of the river (they called it a resort, I'm not sure why). There was a food line inside for chicken, rice and salad and a soda. It was ok, and by that time we were starving. It's not a lot of food but enough to hold you over until the tour is over. I thought the ruins were wonderful but it was so hot and no shade to be had so definitely wear a hat or bring your sunscreen! We got to climb up some of the structures and get some great pictures but you need to be very careful as the steps can be steep and very uneven. Roatan- This was my first time at this port and we knew it would basically be a beach day. I was expecting something like Princess Cays but I was pleasantly surprised. Mahogany bay was a very nice beach and the water was wonderful! We had a lot of fun and really loved the chair lift that you could take to get to the beach, its $2 cheaper to get the tickets on board the ship. Next time I would love to head out to one of the other beaches and see more of the island. A very pretty port. Cozumel- We had planned to head to one of the beach clubs for the day but the weather was cloudy and it rained off and on most of the day. We took it as a nice break from the sun and decided to walk around town and do a little shopping. We also stopped at Pancho's backyard for lunch which was decent but nothing to write home about. Sea Days- We had three on this cruise since one of our ports got canceled shortly after we booked. I don't love sea days, I find them to be a little boring but I tried to get to some new things and keep busy. We loved the Thermal Suite and used it every afternoon, I don't think it's worth the price they charge but we still tend to purchase the weeks pass. I did feel like there were a lot more people than usual just walking in without having the pass which was annoying since we actually paid for it. People were also just really sloppy leaving towels all over the floor and on the loungers after they left. Our final sea day was cold and rainy, a bust weather wise. This was my only issue with leaving from Galveston, it's not very warm this time of year so your first and last days can be iffy weather wise. We still found a lot to do but it was a little disappointing. Just some other things... This was the first time for us that there was a kiosk near the purser's desk where you could print out your statement without having to wait in line, that was really nice. I did actually find a mistake, a bottle of wine was charged to us in error. The staff at the desk were very helpful and cleared up the charge right away. I thought all of the staff was wonderful and always very helpful. One of the members of our party got a horrible sunburn (her own fault for not wearing any sunscreen) and the buffet staff could see how uncomfortable she was and told her to put plain yogurt on her burns, they even brought her a bunch to put in her cabin fridge. Good to know for the future. We were in cabin R737 and loved our room steward Romel. This is always our favorite location when we do not get a balcony room; we are steps from the aft pool which is really nice. All in all this was a great cruise; I really enjoyed the itinerary and look forward to sailing on the Crown again in the future. Read Less

To give you a bit of background information, we are a family of four (husband and self in our mid -forties and our two boys, ages 16 and 13) from the Seattle area. This was our 12th cruise. Transportation from George Bush Airport to Galveston: There's been numerous posts on the easiest and most economical way to get from Houston to Galveston....well, I think we found the answer (at least for a family of 4). We flew in Friday, arriving around noon. We had reserved a car through Enterprise, but here's the trick: We rented through the office in Humble, TX (a $10 taxi ride from the airport). So when we landed my husband got the car and the rest of us collected our luggage, then husband came to pick us up 15 minutes later. We casually made our way to Galveston and we stayed one night at The Hotel Galvez in Galveston. Very nice hotel, great location, great pool, free parking and they offer a free shuttle to the terminal. (The only con to the hotel was that the room was a bit small.) Anyways, we kept the car overnight, had fun in Galveston and then the next morning husband dropped the 3 of us off at the terminal around 10am (with the luggage) and he returned the car and Enterprise gave him a free ride to the Tremont Hotel (a hotel right across the street from the terminal) and then he walked over. We were back together around 10:45. So the one way cost including car rental, gas & taxi was approximately $95. It worked great; we saved approximately $60 plus had the independence of having a car for the evening. (We ended up doing the reverse a week later when disembarking). The ship: The Crown Princess is in very good condition and has been kept up well. Embarking and disembarking was easy and organized. The staff was all very helpful and cheerful. The food was typical of Princess ships, entertainment was good (of what we saw - we only went to two comedian shows). The pools were on the cold side, not sure why (we did appreciate pool towels poolside). We loved MUTS. Our boys utilized the teen club (Remix). PARENTS, HERE IS A PIECE OF TEEN ADVISE: If you have kids in either Shockwaves or Remix, get them checked in the first day and have them go to the first night's events. That first night is when kids meet up with other kids and "groups" are formed then. If your child waits a day or two it is much more difficult for them to be included in already formed groups. Back to the ship....This was a primarily older group of passengers, but everyone we met was nice. (We only witnessed one atrocious (pool) chair hog). We gambled (and lost) a bit. The servers poolside did not push drinks at all; they were helpful, but not hovering. And Princess must have upgraded some of their beds, because our bed was insanely comfortable. The only con of the ship is that the cigar lounge has terrible ventilation. It took 3 days to air out my husband's and mine clothes after a few hours in the lounge smoking cigars. Excursions: Our family of four are certified (scuba) divers, so I pre-arranged private dive excursions for all three ports. We were thrilled with our choices of dive shops. If you would like info on that then please feel free to email me at: weskidoyou@q.com. My only other piece of excursion advice is do think long and be well informed when booking excursions. We met many people that did ship's tours that were 8 hours long. People said they were exhausted and hot because the tours were so long. Just a thought. Disembarkation: Again was quick and smooth. My husband left the ship 30 minutes before us (to be at Enterprise right at 9am when they open), meanwhile the 3 of us collected luggage and went through customs and then were picked up curbside. Again a small quirk with Enterprise is that the Enterprise office in Humble closes at noon, so these arrangements only work if your flight times coincide. We had a great time and were once again happy with Princess. Read Less

This was a really fun, nice cruise. Of course, it helped that we had great weather and very calm seas. I have done this cruise two times previously in the month of April, and the weather this time was much better. There is so much to do on the Crown Princess, or you can just relax with plenty of lounge chairs, both in the sun and in the shade. They also now have a 15 minute rule for saving deck chairs and loungers. I really didn't see any chairs being saved on this trip. We had three days at sea, and there was still plenty of space for everyone. The Sanctuary is a very nice option as well. $10 per person for 4 hours. We enjoyed the entertainment options each evening. On the main stage in the Princess Theater there were three shows nightly. There were also entertainers one or two times nightly in other venues, all scheduled so that there was plenty of time to dine and still see each show. There were Zumba classes, line dancing lessons and ballroom dancing lessons, all free. There were even classes for a Mob Flash on the last evening. The dining options are endless, with the original assigned dining, open seating and the option to make a reservation in one of the three dining rooms. There were lines waiting a few times for the "anytime" dining, but people were given beepers. That allowed them to visit other venues while waiting. The dining experience was excellent. Our cabin steward was great. We especially appreciated the fact that Princess expects ALL staff members to greet ALL guests ALL the time. It gives off a feeling that the staff enjoys their work. The entertainment was exceptional. The singers and dancers were amazing, with tremendous set designs, costumes and music. One of the highlights for us was enjoying some of the cruise director staff, especially Dan, Mark and Nicole. What talent! Read Less