Review of Emerald 11/7-11/14/15

I will give you an honest review of the Princess Emerald. We've cruised 5 times with Princess so we do have some experience with them. The staff was excellent and food was as well. We ate one night at Sabatini's and although the food was very good, I don't think it's worth the extra $50 a couple. We love Vines and the International Cafe. Having the coffee card was the best thing we do! Afternoon tea is always enjoyable.

BUT, the ship should be re-named the SNOOZE CRUISE! The most boring cruise we've taken. Other people we talked to onboard agreed as well. Only one comedian and one show for him! At the pool...nothing. At least pipe in some Bob Marley music. Elevator music is better than what they had. You could hear a pin drop. There is the sanctuary where you can have a quiet atmosphere if that's your choosing. But, the other pools need some entertainment. Finally, the last day there were a couple of things going on. First, an ice sculpture (although excellent talent, it was dull) and then much later a men's leg contest. After that was over...nothing. No music. Where was the entertainment director? The band on board was mediocre at best (Wavelength). Certain "contests" in the past were always fun because the staff knew how to get the audience involved and laughing, even if it was corny! This cruise...so dull we left during several shows.

I am writing this review so that anyone going on the cruise will be aware that although a relaxing time, it has changed dramatically. My party will not go on another Princess ship. We are looking into another line now. Which is sad because we've all built up some perks.

I believe who the CD is makes a world of difference.

Did you happen to save any of the patters that you could post?

We were on the same cruise and I guess it comes down to what is important to you. We had a great time on the Emerald and wished we had booked a B2B on her. But then entertainment and partying is not very important to us. We love just relaxing, reading and enjoying the ship. I really have no negatives for last weeks cruise other than some disembarkation snafus with the walk offs but that was because the deck 6 gangway was having issues. As far as the CD goes, in all my cruises I could never tell you who the CD is. He is just not important to us. All the food I ate was delicious and service was excellent. What else do you want.

I mean for my comments to be humorous, not anything negative.

I was on the Emerald's Tranatlantic. They had entertainment every night, and I intended to go. But, each night, after dinner, I read in my room, until showtime. I fell asleep, each night, and missed the show! For 15 straight nights! That Transatlantic time zone change will really get you:)

We had Lee Childers, too, and he is a good guy, on a personal basis. He had an interview with the Captain, in the Princess Theater. This was excellent. (This was an afternoon activity, and I stayed awake:)

The passenger talent show and the crew talent show, both in the afternoon, were also excellent. The crew talent show was packed! Standing room only:)

Woman in Gold and Jurassic World were fab movies on MUTS. Also baseball playoffs on MUTS and in the Casino were fun. Love those afternoon events:)

PS - At the crew talent show, the highlight was when one of the lifeboat maintenance guys sang "You Raise Me Up". What a voice! And I am still humming it!!!!

Let me jump back in here since I was on the same cruise as OP. Even though I previously stated the entertainment was not as important to me as some other things on the cruise, I do know it is important to a lot of people. I was talking to my wife and she basically supports what OP said. The entertainment really wasn't that great. I love Big Band music and Jazz and there were really no opportunities to listen to the kind of music I like. We only went to two of the shows. The Elton John show was really good IMO but the Disco show I really didn't care for but that is because I don't like Disco music.

Please don't get me wrong here, and you have to understand I am 65 and wife is 68, but numerous times on this cruise I mentioned to my wife "wow, there sure are a lot of old people on this cruise". Not that there is anything wrong with this. Is Princess becoming the new HAL?

But regardless of my comments, we still had a great time on the cruise and would sail on the Emerald again in a heart beat.

Hi All

Is this a case of cut backs to CD budget, to bring in more acts on board,

to have a number of assistants running events etc,

yours Shogun

I also noticed a lack of entertainment on my 7 day Emerald in September. The CD definitely makes a difference.

Could the lack of entertainment have anything to do with the upcoming drydock?

I would like to add that I was also on the October TA cruise. My husband and I had an issue with the DJ in Skywalker's. While on the ship, I sent a letter to Lee Childers. Not only did he call our cabin, he arranged to meet privately with us. The situation was resolved to our satisfaction and he really went above and beyond to address our concerns.

For future reference, if one is unhappy with anything on the cruise, please try and address the problem while still on the ship. We've found that most employees on the ship want the passengers to enjoy themselves, but one has to speak up and let someone know what the problem is, before they can fix it.

So glad to know you were on the Emerald's TA cruise. I loved it!

Thanks for mentioning that you had a good response from Lee Childers. As I mentioned, I have found him to be a good guy.

Thanks so much for your posting.

So glad to know you were on the Emerald's TA cruise. I loved it!

 

Thanks for mentioning that you had a good response from Lee Childers. As I mentioned' date=' I have found him to be a good guy.

 

Thanks so much for your posting.[/quote']

 

You're welcome. :) My DH and I really enjoyed meeting Lee, and his Assistant Cruise Director, Kelley.

 

We did have some problems with incorrect charges to our shipboard account, but those were resolved quickly as well.

 

After the TA, we did stay on for the seven-day Caribbean cruise. I liked the two-piece Caribbean Steel band that played on the ship. They were out on the deck on sea days, during the lunch hour, and also played at sail-away, and in the Piazza.

 

I did notice some cut-backs at the Past Passenger Party, but it was still an enjoyable cruise. I really like the new policy at the Elite lounge of being able to order any of the seven drinks on any night.:D

BUT, the ship should be re-named the SNOOZE CRUISE! The most boring cruise we've taken. Other people we talked to onboard agreed as well. Only one comedian and one show for him! At the pool...nothing. At least pipe in some Bob Marley music.

My experience with princess in the caribbean has been that

the 'action' on the ship varies greatly with the time of year.

If you cruise during thanksgiving, christmas, new year's, and March/April,

you will find a lot of activity.

If you cruise during the first two weeks of November, the first two weeks

of December, and the first two weeks of January, you will find the retiremnet

community group cruises on board.

You can understand the cruise staff giving up on things like pool games

when they beg and beg people to participate, and still no one shows up.

And, despite the cheerleaders who want to discredit your comments,

they have been lots of other comments about there no longer being

a steel drum band on the pool deck; etc.

As the OP I really want to say that my original post does mention that the staff was great, food very good, we loved Vines, high tea, and International Cafe. I was only criticizing the entertainment. We DID have a great time. And we weren't looking for a party boat (we, too, are in our 60's). We just felt the ship was "stuffy" a little. I also felt there was a much older crowd, more so than in the past. Maybe they are leaning toward an older group and less in the way of entertainment. I said we were going to look into another cruise line. There's nothing wrong with doing that. There are many out there that friends and family of ours love. We might try another to compare. Sort of like going to the same hotel or restaurant all the time. Have your favorites you go back to, but try others as well.

And I forgot to mention that the Kamakazee duet was awesome. They were in the Piazza a couple of times. Just that compared to other Princess cruises, this ship's entertainment was lacking.

Hey Partybarbie,

My husband and I had an issue with the DJ in Skywalker's.

What was the issue? Unless it's private in nature.

Was wavelength the house band on the Emerald? Love this band and hope they are on in January.

Was wavelength the house band on the Emerald? Love this band and hope they are on in January.

Yes, that was the band in October. DH and I loved them too. They played a lot of late night sets in the Vista Lounge on our cruise.

I've been on a few cruises but never cared about who was the CD. This is our first on Princess and want to see who is on our Christmas cruise on the Empress. How do I find out?

I've been on a few cruises but never cared about who was the CD. This is our first on Princess and want to see who is on our Christmas cruise on the Empress. How do I find out?

Welcome. Do you mean the Emerald? There is no ship in the Princess fleet named the Empress.

There is a post on this forums that has a list of cruise directors. A simple search should be able to locate it.

 

There is a post on this forums that has a list of cruise directors. A simple search should be able to locate it.

Also, about two weeks before your cruise starts you should receive an E-mail which will tell you who the CD is.

I've been on a few cruises but never cared about who was the CD. This is our first on Princess and want to see who is on our Christmas cruise on the Empress. How do I find out?

You can check online - if you are cruising over Xmas this year it should be frank castiglione. I believe Lee childers gets off in Nov.

Thank you for bringing this to my attention since we depart on this ship 12/14We have been with Princess for four vacations and always satisfied. However, on our last cruise, 12 days on the Island Princess, the shows were shorter, about 40-45 minutes in length. This was much shorter than in prior cruises. Perhaps there have been some policy changes. I did not discuss this as plans have been finalized.

Otherwise, food and service was outstanding.

Was wavelength the house band on the Emerald? Love this band and hope they are on in January.

Hi Lloyd, I realize this post is nearly a year old but wanted to add Wavelength were on the Star all summer and are now on the Grand Princess until Dec. 8th/16. If you're interested in finding out where they're going next, you can find them on Facebook under WavelengthRoxx. :cool:

i realize this post is nearly a year old but :cool:

wow