Cathy64

That sounds good, thanks to you both :)

Booked on this cruise next year, would love you hear how you enjoyed the cruise

🙂

7 minutes ago, miss prairie girl said:

Hi Croptop, hope you start feeling 100% soon!  If you have your "Sea Days" writeup saved, I, for one, would love to read your observations. Your cruise is one we are considering......and we are in landlocked central prairie Canada with snow and snow and more snow! If the Internet cooperates and you have the time available, I would love to live vicariously !

I would also enjoy reading them Xx

1 minute ago, Croptop said:

 

Weather-wise, I think we got pretty lucky and had temperatures between 15-18 degrees C (low- to mid-60s F) from day 1 and I was able to hang out in the Sanctuary from the very start. If it got a little too cool, the attendants provided some nice little fleece blankets to keep warm with. 

That sounds nice, thank you Xx

20 minutes ago, Croptop said:

Apologies for the lack of updates. For some reason, I am finding it virtually impossible to get Cruise Critic to load in a timely manner on Emerald's internet connection. Only now as we're steaming in to Hilo and I'm able to connect my phone to the the cell network and create a hotspot am I able to load CC (man I miss being able to use Tapatalk).

 

I had a bunch of stuff written for the sea days but it's all history now so I'm not sure it's worth posting. The temperatures have gotten steadily warmer and the seas steadily smoother over the last 4 days and my seat in the Sanctuary is looking more and more like a good idea.

 

I will say that never in any of my prior cruises have I seen such large and consistent lineups for the buffet. It seems like as soon as a serving line opens, people are lined up and wanting to eat. I guess that's what happens when there are a bunch of sea days. While I know that everyone's food tastes are different, I'll just say that for me, the food has been ok. Not stellar; just ok.

 

On the first formal night, I had dinner at the Crown Grill which is usually the highlight of every cruise I take. This time, though, it didn't seem quite as "special" for me as it normally is. The option to add a lobster tail (without paying an added fee) is gone, the asparagus spears where so small as to be blades of grass, and the serving size of the Black and Blue Onion soup seemed smaller than usual (but I could be mis-remembering). And the ribeye steak was just... ok. Maybe it was the last vestiges of the sea sickness talking. Or maybe I've just ordered the same thing at the Crown Grill so many times that I'm getting jaded. Don't get me wrong, as a whole, the meal was good. The service was attentive and prompt. But it just wasn't that truly special meal that I remember from prior cruises on other Princess ships.

 

We're just pulling up to the pier in Hilo as I type this so it'll soon be time to go ashore and explore a bit. For now, I'm just hanging out in the Sanctuary where I'll wait to let the masses go ashore before I venture out.

 

I've noted some of the questions asked of me in the posts above and will do my best to gather up answers and post them.

Good to hear that the sea sickness has gone and you are enjoying your cruise, shame about the food! When did it get warm enough to sit out on deck? I am not looking forward to the first few days when we go 😞 have a nice day Cathy x

19 minutes ago, jl88 said:

March 12 will be a day late... Ship leaves San Pedro March 11.  Hope to see you on board then.

 Opps, my mistake lol x

Also following we will be boarding on the 12th of March, hope your having a fab time 🙂

18 hours ago, Quacker said:

We made the mistake booking the last cruise before the ship was being sold!!!

It was a 26 day  -  the first 21 days were fine but the last 5 were terrible.  Boxes 

were stacked in Public Areas - pictures off the walls and in crates - couldn't fine a glass 

or bottle of wine unless you wanted to pay the big bucks for the fancy stuff, etc.

We had this problem on the Diamond two years ago, I am a fussy wine drinker and was unable to find a glass I enjoyed after day one when they ran out of the one I like. I now find myself being on the Emerald in March before she goes into dry dock. I would not have booked if I had known 😞

Hi Bob, good to read you are having a fab time

thanks for taking the time to let us enjoy your cruise with you! We are doing Hawaii in March

have a fab cruise 

Cathy 🙂

On 10/27/2018 at 11:25 PM, geocruiser said:

My TA still has NOT gotten a change notice.  She found this out through me calling and telling her.

Same for me, I had to phone them and then they phoned Princess, very poor

Been trying to look for them for ages thanks for the link :)

Any cabin number yet? x

Gosh I feel shattered just reading it. Hope things start to look up x

Have a fab cruise, look forward to hearing how it went, we are booked on our first Princess in March

Cathy x

:( Oh no... hope baby arrives soon x

Now I'm going to sound awful! I booked my November 2016 cruise for myself and my two younger boys (14 and 17) in November 2015. It's over Thanksgiving break. In March my oldest son (21) who lives in another state about 1000 miles away called to tell me he and his girlfriend are pregnant and will be due on November 19, 2016. I didn't cancel then nor do I plan on cancelling either. If I don't see the baby until she's a few months old I'm ok with that, and it will give them time to adjust as well.

I am the same, grandchild Number 2 is due 20th December.