The Crown Princess - a feeling of déjà vu

I visited the Crown Princess last week for the morning. It was the first Princess ship that I had been on and, generally, I liked it. A lot of people I have spoken to who have cruise on a number of brands have rated Princess really highly. As a result I had high expectations.

Wondering through the ship I liked a lot of the features but I couldnt shack a feeling of Déjà vu....until it struck me, I'd wandered the same corridors on Azura earlier this year! The layout is incredibly similar, down to the speciality restaurants being in the same place. This isn't necessarily a bad thing though I think I prefer Azura (it might have something to do with the magpie in me liking the new, shiney features!). Talking of bling - check out the atrium, possibly one of my favourite.

Here are, in my opinion, the best bits of the Crown Princess;

• Movies Under The Stars - I could really imagine laying on a sun lounger in the middle of a Caribbean cruise, sipping a cocktail and watching a movie - a great area for all the family.



The Lotus Spa Pool

• The Sanctuary - an adult only 'oasis of tranquility'. This is a great area to get away from kids. Not having any of my own at the moment my tolerance of screaming kids running around is slight! At a cost of $10pp for half a day I thought this was quite reasonable.
• Lotus Spa - really nice area to have a treatment or two after working up a sweat in the fully-equipped fitness centre.
• The Premium Suite (L106) - the layout and size of this cabin far outshone the Penthouse suite (the grade above). The view was obstructed but the cabin more than made up to it

• Sabatini's (& Adagio) - this speciality restaurant and bar had a great atmosphere, and space to sit outside with a waterfountain. If there is a large group as well, there is a chance that you could book out a section, or all of Adagios. There is a cover charge of $20 for this restaurant and definately worth every penny.
• The Atrium - bling, bling, bling!

The general atmosphere on board was bright, airy and a touch of luxury without the snobbery. I would definately consider going on a cruise with Princess.

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