We have just got off the Crown Princess after 15 nights cruising from Southampton to New York via Lerwick in the Shetland Islands then three stops in Iceland Akureyri Isafjordur & Reykjavik before a couple of stops in Canada one in St John’s Newfoundland then Halifax Nova Scotia.

This is where I will tell you all about the cruise and our experiences of this first time with the Princess cruise line.

I made plenty of notes during the cruise and now that I’m on land with rapid internet I can re-live the entire cruise and write up this post.

Day 1280 – September 2nd, 2017

Embarkation day for Crown Princess

The boarding process in Southampton was very quick and painless. A short taxi ride from our AirBnB accommodation to the terminal.

Check-in at Queen Elizabeth terminal

A quick note here, the Ocean Terminal is the closest one to the Red Funnel ferry and you can probably walk to here from the Isle of Wight ferry or close by. The Queen Elizabeth terminal is a bit further and might not be so comfortable to walk.

We handed our luggage off to the porter with a couple of quid tip, then entered the terminal. We joined the line of early arrivals which by this time it was 11.40am and not long found ourselves at a check-in counter.

Passports checked and ESTA paperwork which is required for USA entry. Cruise cards received and a ship plan we took seats upstairs and waited to board.

Queen Elizabeth 2 Terminal Southampton

Boarding started with suites and Elite class passengers and then proceeded with a number system. It was very organised and hassle free and after about 25 minutes we were making our way through security and on to the ship.

The dock was busy with fresh supplies and all the passengers luggage being loaded.

Busy dock loading fresh supplies

On we go to Crown Princess

The announcement said that the cabins were not yet ready but passengers could make use of all facilities and enjoy an early lunch in the Horizon court.

Moni & I thought we’d give the cabin a chance encounter and to our luck it was all ready and waiting for us. We dumped our carry on bags and made our way to explore the ship. All up from leaving the apartment in Southampton till accessing our cabin was 1 hour and 15 minutes, the quickest ever. You can check out the photos of the cabin E625 on Emerald deck 8 here.

Each evening we received the Princess Patter which is the daily program or schedule of events happening around the ship.

Princess patter embarkation

Princess patter embarkation continued

Our luggage was delivered to the cabin before the drill which was at 4.15pm.

Normally I book a balcony cabin and after 16 cruises this will be only our 2nd obstructed view cabin, the first was with Holland America in Alaska. I chose this for a couple of reasons;

a) it is probably going to be rather cold at this time of year for this particular cruise to enjoy a balcony.

b) the balcony prices were much more expensive and this was actually a very good deal.

c) I had to save some dollars for the next cruise in less than two weeks time on Celebrity Solstice for 18 nights Honolulu to Sydney and here we have a balcony.

Lunch in Horizon Court

First place we stopped at was the buffet in Horizon Court on deck 15 aft.

Horizon Court buffet on Crown Princess

Lunch was very nice and the service even better. We really loved the set-up of the buffet and work flow. One entrance in and a couple of exits. This is the same at each of the buffets both sides and the back. Once you have a table, the waiters will come along and ask for your drinks, water, tea or coffee or even a beverage from the bar.

A quick note here about drinks packages. The crew are very polite and not pushy at all with regards to up selling these packages. This can be said for the photos as well.

Lunch buffet at Horizon court on Crown Princess

Lunch food items from Horizon court buffet

Crown Princess buffet

First meal onboard Crown Princess

Let the tour of the Crown Princess begin

After lunch we explored some of the ship. First impressions are great, she looks in good condition and the flow for getting around seems easy.

Deck 19 Crown Princess

Here you will find the Putting course, Jogging track, Center court or Paddle tennis. Also here is the Platinum photo studio, all aft.

Center Court Sports area on Crown Princess

Center Court on Crown Princess

Crown Princess putting area 2017

Funnels of the Crown Princess

Basketball court behind the funnel

Platinum Studio on Crown Princess

Looking down from deck 19 aft

Deck 18 Crown Princess

Only has the Skywalkers Nightclub (aft).

Skywalkers Nightclub on Crown Princess

Skywalkers Nightclub on Crown Princess

Skywalkers Nightclub

The Skywalkers Nightclub overhang on Crown Princess

Deck 17 Crown Princess

The Youth & Teen centers (aft) and The Sanctuary (forward)

Youth & teen area on Crown Princess

Youth & teen area on Crown Princess 2017

Youth & teen center

The Sanctuary on Crown Princess

The Sanctuary on Crown Princess

The Sanctuary – Crown Princess

Adult only Sanctuary on Crown Princess

I’ll add photos each day of the cruise updates so as not to make this one post far too long, so stick around please. Tomorrow we will look at Deck 16.

I decided to have a swim in one of the pools as the weather was great this afternoon. Plus, I’m not expecting to get much sun this cruise and it might be my only opportunity.

Swimming in the forward pool

A quick check to see the loading of stores for the cruise. Pallets of potatoes and carrots plus lots of other goodies.

Taking on fresh supplies for the cruise at Southampton

Drill followed by sail away

Next up was the compulsory drill which was easy. You do need to carry your life vest with you here. The explanation was clear and it was over quickly. Time for sail-away…

Drill on Crown Princess

We perched ourselves at the rear of the ship and sipped on drinks as we manoeuvred out of Southampton docks past the Isle of Wight and on our way towards the Shetland Islands.

Cocktails at sailaway

The Red Funnel ferry past us as did a Royal Caribbean ship.

Royal Caribbean ship passes by as does the Red Funnel

Dinner on Crown Princess in Botticelli Dining Room

I had requested early sitting fixed dining on a table of 6 when booking the cruise, and the sun was still up as dinner time approached.

On the promenade deck before dinner

Our allocated dining room was Botticelli and dinner was at 5.45pm. We joined our table companions and experienced our first dinner on Princess. The meals were fine and the service ok, but our fellow guests left us, shall I say, wanting more.

Dinner menu embarkation night on Crown Princess

Dining room meals on Crown Princess

I had the spring rolls followed by fettuccine then roast pork for main meal. Moni had grilled salmon with extra vegetables.

Dessert menu on Crown Princess 2017

For dessert I had the chocolate soufflé and Moni the creme brullee.

Chocolate soufflé & Crème Brulée on Crown Princess

As we didn’t eat every night in the dining room I don’t have the entire cruise menus, but I will include the ones that I do have along with our meals.

After dinner we had our first Movie Under The Stars experience up on deck. The movie was ‘Founder’ about the start up of the burger chain McDonald’s.

That was it for embarkation day on the Crown Princess.