Lodging

From Nancy D. Brown of What a Trip

Crown Princess photo Nancy D. Brown

If you long for the flavor and feel of Italy, but your budget doesn’t include a European destination, consider a cruise on the Crown Princess. Holding 3,080 passengers, this jewel of a ship from Princess Cruises is a floating resort of sorts.

I didn’t  consider myself the typical cruise customer, as the average age on my Western Caribbean cruise was about 55, yet I found myself adapting quite well to the idea of packing my suitcase once, while visiting four different exotic ports of call.

Our cruise began in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida and sailed to Princess Cays, a private beach resort; Grand Cayman in the Cayman Islands; Roatan, Honduras and Cozumel, Mexico during this seven day tour. Unlike land-based resorts, our ship was able to avoid an encounter with Hurricane Ida as Commodore Giuseppe Romano made a slight adjustment to our itinerary.

While the ship doesn’t sail to Italy, the crew had a large Italian contingent, including the two Giuseppe’s. Commodore Romano, who oversees the entire 17 ship fleet and Executive Chef Giuseppe Pollara. From the piazza-styled atrium to the Michelangelo, DaVinci and Botticelli dining rooms, Italian touches are reflected throughout the ship. Speaking of dining, guests will not go hungry with the wide array of restaurants featured on the ship. I’ll review Sabatini’s Italian restaurant and the Chef’s Table dinner on the restaurant blog. One final note about food on the ship; pace yourself. The average cruiser gains from 7 – 10 pounds on a typical cruise. Italian pizza from a wood fired oven is available from 11 a.m. to midnight on the lido deck 15. Ciao!

My Room with a View

Crown Princess Mini-Suite With Balcony D301

I’ve only cruised a couple of times, but I’ve sailed enough to know that the best location for a good night’s sleep is mid ship, preferably with an ocean view. On the Crown Princess, nearly 900 staterooms have private balconies (80 percent of all outside cabins.) As a guest of Princess Cruises on the first ever Twitter Press Trip, I landed on Deck 9 in stateroom 301 a mini suite on the Dolphin deck.

Floating Resort with an Ocean View

If you are new to cruising or simply wondering if you will be bored on a cruise ship, I offer these tips.

There is a nine hole putting course and golf simulator on board

Watch Movies Under the Stars at the outdoor movie theater

Take in an evening show or watch an art auction

Relax in the adult-only Sanctuary

Watch the world pass by from your balcony or one of 14 bars on the ship

There are four swimming pools – including one swim-against-the-current pool

There’s a sports court and jogging/walking track, as well as an ocean-view gym (where else can you get that besides San Francisco?)

Get stoned, a hot stone massage, at the Asian-inspired Lotus Spa

Spend some time in one of the largest casinos afloat

All photos courtesy of Nancy D. Brown