Fun and Friendly Cruise - Average Ship

Item: Crown Princess
Rating: 4.2
Author: SantaCruzers

Crown Princess Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

SantaCruzers

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 55

Overall rating:

4.2 out of 5

7 Night Mediterranean (Barcelona To Rome)

Sail date: July 14, 2018

Ship: Crown Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: C626

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Overall, our experience on the Crown Princess was very nice. The ship, though a bit dated and oddly configured, was clean, comfortable, and classic. The food and entertainment was excellent, and the service was friendly and efficient.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Fast, efficient, and very organized process - from the time our taxi dropped us, until the time we got to our room was less than 30 minutes (and our luggage was waiting for us)!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The food was very good (especially the nightly specials prepared to match the flavors and cuisine of where we were in port), but the dinning rooms were crowded, noisy, and a bit rushed. On our last 2 nights aboard, we opted for the specialty dinning rooms where things were a bit more relaxed.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

We didn’t participate in many, but there were many to choose from. The ones we did attend were very crowded and hectic.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We got into the routine of attending the early show, and then dinning later, which was a good way to avoid the crowds. The quality of entertainment was excellent, whether the main evenings production or the musicians and singers at the smaller venues.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

There ship was very clean! The layout was a bit odd. There weren’t any bars or lounges adjacent to the dinning rooms, which was unfortunate when waiting for a table. Our main complaint though - not enough deck shade. Unless we were willing to get up early and claim a shaded spot (which you’re technically not supposed to do, but people did anyway) we were stuck in full sun.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ship tip

The room was typical of any balcony room we’ve had (maybe a tad smaller) but the balcony itself was huge! With the door open, it made our room feel very spacious. The bathroom, shower, and closet space was excellent.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Gibraltar (U.K.)

5 out of 5

This port was a fantastic and unexpected surprise. Of course we knew the ship was going there, but we had no idea what to expect. It was a fun little port!

Thumbs Up 2

Marseille (Provence), France

4 out of 5

We selected a wine and cheese tour and it was fantastic.

Thumbs Up 8

Genoa, Italy

5 out of 5

We took the tour to Portofino and loved it!

Thumbs Up 2

Livorno (Florence & Pisa), Italy

5 out of 5

Chose Pisa over Florence and we were amazed!

Thumbs Up 3

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5

This is where we disembarked. We didn’t spend any time in port, except to catch the train. The 5 star rating is for Rome. Whatever you plans may be (either ending your cruise or continuing on for another 7 days) be sure to visit this spectacular city!

Thumbs Up 8

Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Traveler Photos

8 Comments

Cruisers4Lyfe 5 months ago

Thanks for sharing

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks

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graham123 6 years ago

😎😎

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marilyn27 6 years ago

Nice review

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carajoemom 6 years ago

Which days were the formals, any chance you saved the Princess Patters or took a photo of the MDR Menu you can share? Was the good better on the formal nights?

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IkeDeb 6 years ago

Very nice

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SantaCruzers 6 years ago

The “Disembarkation” category did not have a field for us to explain why we only gave it 2 stars, so we are commenting on our own review... Getting off the boat was very easy and efficient, but once you’re off you’re on your own (unless you’ve paid for a pricey transfer). A shuttle takes you to the port exit, but from there you have to catch a taxi (expensive) or bus (cheap) to the train station for the train to Rome. As it turns out, the train station is only another mile or so beyond the port exit. It would be very helpful if Princess could arrange for direct shuttle service to the station, rather than make passengers deal with multiple transfers. We are 2 young men, so it was too difficult for us, but for older couples or families with children and a lot of luggage, transferring to the train to Rome might be challenging.

Thumbs Up 0

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