Emerald Princess

Hello all. My husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary onboard the Emerald Princess in March. We've cruised many times before but are new to Princess.

I have to be honest...the Emerald Princess reviews here on Cruise Critic scare me. Is the ship really in bad shape? How's the food? My husband and I are foodies and a lot of the reviews say the food is terrible??? We went on Celebrity for our honeymoon and fell in love with the Celebrity brand, however their 4 day itineraries for March 2016 don't work for us and our babysitters so we have decided to give Princess a shot. I was under the impression Princess was in the same class as Celebrity but many of the review suggest otherwise.

Are the negative reviews simply complaints from picky travelers that are just never satisfied? :) I'm definitely not one of those travelers...My husband and I always look at the bright side of things and have overall been greatly compensated for it. I just want this anniversary kid-free cruise to be wonderful. Any advice? Suggestions? What restaurant has the best food?

I would love to read your thoughts on the ship. Thanks!!!

We celebrated our 40th anniversary this summer on the Emerald Princess and had a wonderful time! We also don't go looking for the bad and always have a great time.

Yes, picky travelers... The food is fine, but we don't expect gourmet food served in mass quantities. If you cruise often, you might wish there were more new dishes, but many things they serve, I love. I always think the desserts are better on land (except for the Crown Grill ones). I saw some rust on the balcony below ours but they were actually out fixing it before the cruise was over. Just don't go looking for flaws and you don't see them.

I think you will find the Emerald a wonderful ship. We absolutely loved our Renewal of Vows ceremony. It was very special.

We have sailed the Emerald many times with the most recent being April.

Take these reviews with a grain of salt. For everyone that posts a bad experiences there are 5 others on the same cruise that saw none of it.

All three of our Emerald cruises were great. Make sure you get the passion fruit souffle (usually on the first night). By the way, the buffet serves most of the same food that is in the dining rooms, so you can stop by later for an extra helping...

Hot cookies and milk from a cart is served by the pools around 4-5 each day. These and popcorn at night for the Movies Under the Stars.

Most people like the pizza available near the pool but we prefer the grill (hamburgers, chicken, brats and best fries at sea) fresh cooked from 11 to early evening.

International Cafe on the lowest level of the atrium has snacks, small sandwiches, quiche, etc, available 24 hours.

Pretty hard to go hungry on any Princess ship. As Mary Ann 2 says, menus repeat if you are on the ship for several weeks but this is NOT a problem for us.

We will be on the Emerald in November for a few stops in Eastern Caribbean. I know it will be great. :)

We have been on the Emerald Princess and felt the ship and the cruise experience were great. Don't believe everything you read. The ship was launched in 2007 so it will show some age, but as with all ships maintenance is constant and ongoing. We find the DR food fine there are always selections we enjoy. There are also surcharge dining restaurants such as the Crown Grill ($25/pp), Sabatini's ($25/pp) & Crab Shack($20/pp). If you really like a dining experience sign up for the Chef's Table. It is expensive I think $95/pp. Look for the menu on line here on CC. Regarding activities, besides the shows in the theater, there will be live music and other activities in the various lounges and in the Piazza area all evening, there are also daytime activities on both sea and port days. All activities are listed in the Princess Patter.

Enjoy the cruise.

We were on the Emerald in 2010. We celebrated our 25th Wedding Anniversary! Also did the Renewal of Vows ceremony. It was a wonderful vacation! The Emerald is my favorite Princess Ship (we've been on the original Regal, Crown X2, Ruby X2 and Emerald).

Emerald Princess is one of our very favorite ships! We'll be on her again for 19 days in January! :)

Look forward to having a great Anniversary Cruise on a wonderful ship! :D

LuLu

Never read trip or ship reviews, as I like to form my own opinion. We've cruised on the Emerald and many other Princess ships and none have looked neglected. Princess is always refreshing the older ships when in dry dock.

Enjoy your cruise.

We have cruised many times on Emerald and will be on the ship for the NYE cruise 27 Dec. It has always been a great ship for us.

Also, it will be in dry dock from Nov 30 - Dec 14 of this year for some touch ups.

Enjoy your cruise and do not worry about what others have said:)

We were on the Emerald Princess in July for two weeks on a Mediterranean cruise. It was outstanding in every regard and unless you were obsessivly picky or, I dunno, normally have a bevy of butlers who attend to you at home, I seriously think you'd be hard-pressed to find anything which would warrant poor marks. I'd sail again on EPpy anytime!

On the Emerald in June in Western Med. LOVED every bit of it. See our review below:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=507037

:D:D

All three of our Emerald cruises were great. Make sure you get the passion fruit souffle (usually on the first night). By the way, the buffet serves most of the same food that is in the dining rooms, so you can stop by later for an extra helping...

 

Hot cookies and milk from a cart is served by the pools around 4-5 each day. These and popcorn at night for the Movies Under the Stars.

 

Most people like the pizza available near the pool but we prefer the grill (hamburgers, chicken, brats and best fries at sea) fresh cooked from 11 to early evening.

 

International Cafe on the lowest level of the atrium has snacks, small sandwiches, quiche, etc, available 24 hours.

 

Pretty hard to go hungry on any Princess ship. As Mary Ann 2 says, menus repeat if you are on the ship for several weeks but this is NOT a problem for us.

I'm Sailing Princess again for 2 reasons.... #1... Food to me is better then Rccl and love the pool deck Balcony for easy access #2 And I can't believe I'm saying this, But the Pizza is amazing.... Yeah I know! I used to say who the hell cruises for Pizza with all the good food available..... Trust me Princess has the best Pizza and crispy.... I'm Originally from Jersey and is just as good if not better, I have at least 2 slices per day.... Their grill is also awesome for the burgers.... I'm Going on Rccl in October and will miss both on pool deck...

As far as Emerald Princess, I have heard nothing but great things about her and looking forward to sailing her.....

Hello all. My husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary onboard the Emerald Princess in March. We've cruised many times before but are new to Princess.

 

I have to be honest...the Emerald Princess reviews here on Cruise Critic scare me. Is the ship really in bad shape? How's the food? My husband and I are foodies and a lot of the reviews say the food is terrible??? We went on Celebrity for our honeymoon and fell in love with the Celebrity brand, however their 4 day itineraries for March 2016 don't work for us and our babysitters so we have decided to give Princess a shot. I was under the impression Princess was in the same class as Celebrity but many of the review suggest otherwise.

 

Are the negative reviews simply complaints from picky travelers that are just never satisfied? :) I'm definitely not one of those travelers...My husband and I always look at the bright side of things and have overall been greatly compensated for it. I just want this anniversary kid-free cruise to be wonderful. Any advice? Suggestions? What restaurant has the best food?

 

I would love to read your thoughts on the ship. Thanks!!!

We have been on the Emerald and loved it. If you are "foodies", you might enjoy the Chef's Table. We did it on the Emerald, and it was quite a wonderful event! Wonderful food and great wines! The chef was amazing! It is a very special evening.:D

Emerald Cabin E218 Deck 8 Oceanview Obstructed - anybody can tell me the degree of obstruction. On the Princess site in the deck plans etc, looks like a clear view.

Thanks for your help

you need to google cabin review by renmar and then click on the cabin views to see that E218 is not a great cabin as far as the view. you are looking at a whole bunch of stuff between the life boats and the life boats as well. Change cabins if you want to see the water!

https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/crown-princess/cabins-200-299

:)

Emerald Cabin E218 Deck 8 Oceanview Obstructed - anybody can tell me the degree of obstruction. On the Princess site in the deck plans etc, looks like a clear view.

 

Thanks for your help

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1501475&highlight=renmar

A huge thank you to all those who replied, I did not know this site existed, it is now firmly in my Princess Favourites. Spoke with my TA and changed to E419 same deck still obstructed but much better view. Had to go up a grade, but am hopeful the upgrade fairy will visit. Thanks again for all your help.

QUOTE=cheeseclan;47637352]you need to google cabin review by renmar and then click on the cabin views to see that E218 is not a great cabin as far as the view. you are looking at a whole bunch of stuff between the life boats and the life boats as well. Change cabins if you want to see the water!

Hello all. My husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary onboard the Emerald Princess in March. We've cruised many times before but are new to Princess.

 

I would love to read your thoughts on the ship. Thanks!!!

Hi..The Emerald Princess is one on my favorite ships. I enjoy her many pools (5) and deck areas. The promenade deck is lovely to sit or walk on. Enjoy the Wheelhouse Bar for dancing and also the Explorers Lounge for games and entertainment. There are plenty of "places" to go and I never feel crowded. There is so much to do and enjoy. Princess has the best service in my opinion. Can things go wrong? Of course. That's life!!!

Sailing on the Emerald for a b2b cruise to celebrate a "big" birthday in January and sailing on her again in June to go to the Baltics. I'm a happy camper..I mean cruiser!!

I've cruised on the Emerald only 20 days so far, but really enjoyed all aspects of my time spent aboard.

I'll be aboard her again next month for 14 days for her repositioning cruise from Barcelona to FLL, for the Caribbean cruising season.

I'll let you know how she looks when I get home!

https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/crown-princess/cabins-200-299

 

:)

I shared this with my travel agent (LOL) and now she can help clients get the best obstructed view!

Hello everyone.

To us the Emerald exemplifies what makes Princess our favourite cruise line. There are several things that we would just not miss if we were to sail again soon. The first is the culinary demonstration. This is easily the most entertaining show of the cruise. The dining room staff do this show and it is all fun. The second is Sabitini's restaurant. While we were onboard the Supervisor there was Yandri from South Africa and she runs it very well. It is all good. OP's have mentioned the Interational Café with its delightful treats all day long. And finally the staff is one of the best you will find. At least in our opinion. We'd go again tomorrow if we weren't already booked to go elsewhere. With Princess.

Enjoy an with the attitude that you are showing we're certain that you will have a great time

To us the Emerald exemplifies what makes Princess our favourite cruise line. There are several things that we would just not miss if we were to sail again soon. The first is the culinary demonstration. This is easily the most entertaining show of the cruise. The dining room staff do this show and it is all fun. The second is Sabitini's restaurant.

Better hurry for Sabatini's. It is due to be replaced on the Emerald with the new "Share" restaurant concept by December.

Go enjoy your cruise....any cruise is better than being home (especially in the winter months). For us, some cruises and ships have been better than others, but no way has it made a cruise any less enjoyable.