Here are some photos to show the interior of a cabin aboard the Crown Princess, which incidentally happened to be mine and my husband's, in mid-January in the Caribbean.
This is the Crown Princess mini-suite, which simply means that there was a sitting area with a couch and a couple of chairs, and a small balcony with four lounge chairs and a table, quite useful for having breakfast in the cabin at 7:30 a.m., and for standing at the rail to let the night air whip my hair into a salty tangle.
I took the photo before we unpacked our bags. The unusual bed cover is to protect the coverlet from the suitcases flung on top. We didn't jockey our own cases. Passengers relinquish their bags before they board, and by evening, our bags had been delivered to our door. We carried aboard only modest hand luggage.
Here is another shot to show you the small yet adequate cabin, which was mid-ship on the so-called Dolphin deck, which has a significant advantage in that when one stands looking down, over the rail to the ocean, there is no view of other balconies. All other balcony cabins overlook balconies below, and our Dolphin deck escaped that fate because the lifeboats are slung beneath our deck, which extends to cover them. Of course, I could look up at people watching me, but most people were not watching the sea. Instead they were at the casino, in the vast auditorium, in the remarkable number of small, intimate lounges and bars, or dashing about in the noon-day sun in port.
I want to show you the flowers my husband had delivered to our cabin. I put them outside to enjoy during our alfresco breakfasts.
Our cabin was serviced at least three times a day by Lauro, from the Philippines. He was responsible for 17 cabins, every day of the week. On shore, I talked to cruise ship personnel and learned that employees of the ship line work on 10-month contracts, and work 11-hour days, with a couple of hours mid day for a break, which they might use to dash ashore to enjoy private time.
The service staff are usually either from Eastern Europe--Romania, Latvia, Lithuania, Bulgaria--or from either the Philippines or the Latin American countries. I imagine that the competition for these jobs is fierce, with an eager pool of willing workers at the ready back home. As a result, the service employees are really top-notch. One cruise ship staff member told me that his salary provides a better-than-average income for his family in the Philippines, and that he can send his sons to a private school. He added that when he is home, he is treated like a king. Our waiter and our cabin steward have been at the job for many years, having worked up to their present positions.
The officers, crisp and polished, are often from sea-faring families, and pleasant to talk to, but we did not frequently interact.
The Crown Princess is a new and pretty ship, with commissioned art everywhere, at every stairway and landing, on the walls of public rooms, and even in the cabins; it is everywhere. The art is mass-market and meant to please the viewer.
Here are a few pictures, which I have requested to use, but have not yet been given permission. I might have to remove them at some point. The works are far better to view on board ship.
The mosaic floor is in the central atrium that rises three floors and is surrounded by graceful spiral staircases. Musicians entertained here in the evenings and at night, and in other places besides. The musicians are classically trained string and wind ensemble performers.
I took these ship photos on the first day in a port, when most people were ashore or in the many dining rooms or other public spaces, and not here, in the morning. As for lounging about like a kidney, nothing can beat the area on the top deck, called the sanctuary, where children are not permitted. Again, either no one has found this spot, or they are all at the beach on shore. I took the picture late morning on the second day out.
In all, I would return to the Crown Princess, if i could avoid the rest of the 3,000 passengers, which I managed to do this day. In fact, a person is never amid the crowds due to the design of this ship, which cost 1billion dollars to build and furnish.









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