It is refreshing to hear positive things about the Emerald. We sailed the Emerald in Spring 2022. Of course, we were "sliding" off of covid, which "may" have contributed to the crankiness of many crew members. We had never seen so many negative and frowning crew members before on a Princess ship. A crew member (waitstaff) actually snapped at us while we were seated in the buffet area. We had just asked a question and wow........ This was not the Princess we loved.
Not all crew was like this of course, but the down mood was palpable.
It was quite a positive contrast on the Sky last June! And yes, Explorer's Lounge is MUCH better than "Princess Live" on the Sky... for sure.