Exploring Princess Cruises' Crown Princess!

In July 2019, I was super excited to explore Crown Princess - my first ever experience onboard a Princess ship!

I have to admit it was quite odd being in Southampton as I had only got off my last cruise on P&O Azura the week before. Prior to boarding I met up with the lovely Paul and Carol from ‘Paul and Carol Love to Travel’ who very kindly drove me to Ocean Terminal where we were to board. There’s something about seeing a cruise ship before you board her, albeit even if it’s only for a few hours.

Following check in we were each given an Ocean Medallion which we got to keep as a little memento of the day, which was a lovely touch by Princess. It was quite the day for Crown Princess as it was the launch of Ocean Medallion on the ship!

Walking onto the ship, I couldn’t help feeling as if I had been on her before. I realised this was largely because Crown Princess is the same class of ship as Azura. Therefore, although her interiors were different, they shared a degree of similarity. I loved her atrium as it certainly gave you a ‘wow factor’ moment, but it wasn’t overly glitzy and felt quite welcoming. A nice touch was the band playing in the centre giving a nice atmosphere, as did the Welcome on Board banners.

But the day was just starting, we were given a fantastic lunch, during which we never stopped laughing! My starter was the Fettuccini Alfredo, which was potentially the cheesiest thing I’ve ever eaten. Following this I had the Beef Tenderloin finishing with a chocolate soufflé and coffee. The food was lovely and was even better with the wine given to us, I certainly felt very spoilt!

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Ship Tour

Our first stop was the Princess Theatre which was almost identical to that of Azura. Speaking from experience, there’s plenty of seats here and the views are perfect.

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Next on our tour was the Piazza, which is the ground floor of the atrium and holds a variety of shops and café’s including the ‘International Café’ which serves complimentary foods from around the world 24/7.

There is also Vine’s bar which is wine bar offering paired wines with foods too. I was particularly interested with the Vine’s bar Chocolate Journey which gives you certain wines paired with different types of chocolate – sounds like my dream pairing!

Walking towards the lifts, we walked through the Art Gallery which held some beautiful pieces of art. Interestingly they were in a completely different style to that of P&O Azura.

We then explored the Lotus Spa which certainly seemed the place to go if you fancied a bit of pampering. It offered a range of treatments including manicures, pedicures and hot stone massages. We also explored their Fitness entre which had all the gym equipment you could ever want, coupled with panoramic views over the bow of the ship!

On one of the hottest days of the year it seemed fitting that our next stop was the outside decks. These included the extra cost ‘Sanctuary ‘which had the comfiest sun loungers I’ve ever seen! This looked like a fantastic place to relax if you wanted something a bit special on your cruise – they even have their own stewards!

Adjacent to the Sanctuary was the Sanctuary Pool which is adults only and is quite quiet as many people think its extra cost when it’s not!

Mid-Ships was Neptune’s Pool which had several hot tubs as well as a pizzeria, coffee cart and ice-cream parlor all free or charge!

There is also the Calypso pool which features more hot tubs and large Sea Screen which shows films throughout the day into the evening. If it gets cold at night, Princess offers blanks as well as popcorn for the film

At the very back of the ship was the Terrace pool, this boasts fantastic wake views when the ship is underway so it’s always a popular space. There’s even a splash pool above it on deck 17 which would be the perfect place to cool off after a day of sunbathing.

My favourite bar on-board Crown Princess had to be Skywalkers as it hangs over the side of the ship and offers beautiful views of the side and back of the ship. I could defiantly imagine myself ending an evening here with a few cocktails!

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Finally, we visited Club Fusion which is a more intimate entertainment venue which looks perfect for dancing the night away! Based off its décor I feel like this bar wouldn’t feel out of place in a city like New York or London.

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Alas our time on Crown Princess came to an end, although I did manage to sneak a picture of her promenade before disembarking!

Having only cruises on P&O I wasn’t sure what to expect, however I was pleasantly surprised with Crown Princess. I was taken back by how traditional the ship felt, this wasn’t what I expected at all as I had imagined her to be quite glitzy, but Princess had managed to make it feel modern, but also traditional at the same time! I’d certainly consider cruising on her or one of the other members of the Princess Cruises fleet. I’d like to thank Princess for letting me visit their wonderful ship on such an exciting day for Crown Princess!

I’d also like to thank all the Cruise Bloggers who were so nice to me and I can honestly say I didn’t stop laughing as we went around the ship. If you ever want to see more cruise information, I’d recommend looking these guys!

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