Deesquared

His name is a shortened form of his actual last name.

I think you can find a gross definition for any word on Urban Dictionary...

Can anyone tell me which ship Funch is on currently?

He was on the Emerald in September, and my mom fell head over heels for him and his smooth jazz in Crooners.

We are going to be on the Ruby in March, and if he was on it I think my mom could be convinced to join us!

Thanks for your help, yes indeedy!

On 10/21/2018 at 3:24 AM, Dreamer115 said:

Thanks at least I know they had one.  Did you enjoy it and how was the ship?  Did it have a covered pool by chance?  Haven't checked out the Emerald.

I enjoyed it, but it was a different crowd from a LA - Mexico cruise we did with the family last year. Nearly everyone was from Vancouver, and there were some large groups travelling together. This caused crowding in some areas like the International Cafe.

I loved the overnight stop in San Francisco. San Diego was nice too.

I like the Emerald. She is in good shape. Just needs a bit of refreshing maybe. We ate dinner in the MDR each night (anytime dining) and always enjoyed the selection of entrees. The MDR is quite loud, but that's just the way it is. We had one dinner in Share, which was awesome. So delicious, and also nice and quiet!

There is not an indoor pool on the Emerald. There are two main pools on Deck 15, along with hot tubs. There is an adult only pool on deck 14 aft (Terrace Pool), which I really liked. Close to the buffet/Cafe Caribe and a bar. There is also a small adult only pool underneath the Sancturary. Nice and quiet, with softer chairs.

Emerald does not have Sabatini's like some of the other ships. She does have Crown Grill and Share.

I just went on the 10-day California Coastal on the Emerald. It was from Sept 24 - Oct 4, round trip from Vancouver.

We had stops in L.A. (San Pedro), San Diego, Santa Barbara and an overnight in San Francisco.

It's weird that it's not showing up in your searches...

13 hours ago, CineGraphic said:

Actual singing has nothing to do with lip syncing. Cripes!

Oopsie! I meant it's like a glorified KARAOKE contest.

Sorry for the confusion! lol...

I haven't heard of this. They offered "Voice of the Ocean" on the Ruby last year. It's like a glorified lip synch contest.

Was the Escape Room offered?

No, I don't recall seeing it in the Patter, or being announced. I would have liked to have tried it!

My understanding is that if you don't use it you lose it! So even if it expired and you never booked, then you lose the deposit paid.

.

When advertising the FCD on a recent cruise, they always said that if you don't use it in two years, it will be refunded. They were very clear on this point.

Darstamp and Deesquared:

 

Aside from the space issue, can I ask what category room and/or deck you two stayed on? We have a midships obstructed oceanview...

Riviera (Deck 14) aft balcony.

Close to the Terrace Pool, only one floor up to the buffet, and no noise above or below.

You could feel a bit of swaying while sleeping, but not much.

Can you tell me what dining room was open upon embarkation?

 

Helen

It wasn't Botticelli (Deck 5 aft), so either Michelangelo (Deck 5 midship) or Da Vinci (Deck 6 midship). Not much help, I know! Ha ha...:D

I think it was Da Vinci. They will try to steer you to the buffet, but just keep saying that you want to go to the Main Dining Room. This was the first time I shared a table with strangers, and it was the best way to start our holiday! We met the nicest people, and saw them throughout the cruise.

Darstamp and Deesquared:

 

Oh-no! I just booked the Emerald for the So-pacific RT/LA in 2020, choosing her over Island Princess due to all the negative opinions of too many people for the public space after her retrofit.

 

Aside from the space issue, can I ask what category room and/or deck you two stayed on? We have a midships obstructed oceanview...

Crystalspin, don't worry too much! I'm sure you'll have a good time no matter what. There is a good chance that you won't see the crowding issues that we had, and here's why...

Last spring, I took my family on a Mexican cruise on the Ruby. She is the exact same layout at the Emerald. It was a full sailing, but did not feel crowded at all. People were spread out amongst the decks, pools, and indoor areas. It was mainly couples, families, and one or two small groups (family reunions, etc). We were able to see all the shows by showing up 30 minutes early, always found spots to eat, and deck chairs were always available somewhere. There was usually a 10 - 15 minute wait for a table at the MDR, but nothing outrageous.

For this recent cruise on the Emerald, it was a Vancouver round-trip. These do not come around very often, so Vancouver folks jump at the opportunity. I'd say 90% of the guests were from Metro Vancouver. So, now you need to know that Vancouver has a very large population of folks who have immigrated here from Hong Kong/Mainland China. Out of the 90% of the Vancouverites, 75% of them were chinese folks. There appeared to be a very large group travelling together, perhaps arranged by a travel company. They had a flip-chart board by the front desk with a daily schedule. There also appeared to be a large group that may have been a dance club? Maybe it was the same group, I'm not sure.

Sooooo....what does that mean to you? Well, there is quite a difference in a group of 100 people travelling together and 50 couples travelling together. Large groups often wanted to sit together, whether at the cafe or in the theatre. There would often be a large group of people dancing a type of line dance at Club Fusion. They would take up most of the dance floor, leaving little room for other people. This is not something you would typically see if it was 25 or 50 couples dancing. These folks did love to dance, and it was lovely to watch them, but it gave the trip a different feel in Club Fusion and Explorers Lounge. I don't know if Skywalkers was similar, but I doubt it.

The flip side is that many asian people do not like to sit out in the sun, so there were deck chairs available all the time. The pools were almost unused. Smaller venues without dance areas were quite quiet. Adagio was always empty! Great place to chill out.

So, depending on where you are sailing, you will probably not notice any significant crowding. But do get to the theatre early! :)

My daughter and I were just on the same cruise. I have submitted a review which I hope will be posted soon. We found the ship very crowded. .

Oh my gosh, it was soooo crowded. We popped into the Princess Theatre for one of the shows, and it was already packed 45 minutes before the show began. We didn't even bother trying to go to any other shows.

The International Cafe was a gong show all the time. People were taking chairs, and dragging them around to make room for 10 people to sit at two small round tables. I even saw people drag a large glass-topped table over to the edge of the Piazza so they could eat their lunch while sitting on the ledge near the stage. :o

It would be nice if they added a reminder to turn off balcony lights, along with the other information you get when you get in your cabin. Wash your hands, don't leave balcony door open, and turn off the light after x-o-clock. Simple. I'm sure many folks just don't realize there is a switch for it.

Can you tell me who the Captain is, as well as the CD and Maitre D?

 

Thanks so much. Also, I know this is subjective, but how was the food in the MD?

Captain is Steven Lewis. He always had fun nautical facts at noon announcements.

CD is Jen Glancey. She lost her voice for a couple days, so Entertainment Director Matt Thompson and Amparo took over the Wake Show, and other events.

Maitre d'hotel is Rui Pereira.

We ate at DaVinci and Michelangelo MDR for dinner each night. It's very loud! Nice selection of food each night. The beef dishes were often chewy, but the beef wellington was very good. Presentation was always very nice, but the veggies were pretty bland. Desserts were wonderful! I always felt like the food was as good as you could expect when they are cooking for 3000 each night.

One of my mom's favorites was the night she ordered fried chicken and fries. It was delicious!

Ooh, excellent question.

 

I'll add one more: Are the PrincessConnect plans available, ie Surf, Social, Unlimited? Is Internet upgraded at all?

Thanks!!

Oooohhh...I don't know about that. It doesn't say anything in the Patters, and I didn't purchase any internet plans or such. If I see any reference to it in the Patters, I'll let you know!

You likely won't know the answer to this but... Is Chris still the main bartender in Wheelhouse?

Ha ha, sorry. You're asking the wrong person! Strongest drink I had was a virgin Piña Colada!

We're on her in a couple weeks..

Wondering who the Band is, and whether they'll still be aboard in 3 weeks.

And cruise director, same question ..

 

Did you have a wonderful time? How does the ship look? Any sign of the new cocktail menus and wine lists by chance?

 

Thanks - hope you had a great trip..

The party band is Pinnacle. They played in Club Fusion most nights. There was also DJ Gonzolo Riff for sailaway parties.

CD is Jen Glancey. Nice lady, but not as colourful as P.J. on the Ruby! Entertainment Director is Matt Thompson, who was really fun and friendly.

My mom and I had a great time. She enjoyed listening to singer-pianist Funch at Crooners each night. I enjoyed trivia and karaoke.

The ship looks fine to me. There was often a wet spot on the floor outside of the Explorers Lounge, with drying fans running nearby. Must be a leak somewhere?

I'm not a drinker, so unfortunately I don't know anything about the cocktails and wine lists!:)😊

Just got home after 10 lovely days on the Emerald. We had mostly great weather, especially for our port days at L.A., San Diego, Santa Barbara, and San Francisco.

I hope to post some photos when I get time, but I'd be happy to answer any questions that anyone might have!

r if you are looking for a good mall, go to the newly remodeled Century City Mall instead. Lots of good shops and restaurants and much nicer than the Beverly Center. Enough shops to keep you busy for hours. Uber will probably cost you around $60 each way. Taxis will cost more than twice as much.

 

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Ohhhh....wish I had seen this sooner! Oh well.

We went to the Beverly Centre, checked out Macy's and Bloomingdales, and felt like we were done. I had no interest in looking at Jimmy Choo, Burberry or anything like that.

We did have lunch at Farmhouse, which was very good.

Uber was ~$45 to get there, and would have been ~$65 to get back because it was a busy time (3:00pm). Luckily, my phone died, so I had to spend half an hour to charge it, and the price went back down to $45 by the time we left!

Thanks for the advice!

I've stayed in R726 (aft deck 14) on Emerald and Ruby. No noise at all because you are under the eating area of Cafe Caribe. You are not under the pool or deck area. It's nice and close to the Terrace Pool too!

BEWARE, If you ask a crew member which MDR is serving lunch do not be surprised if they tell you MDR is not open and direct you to the buffet.

Why do they do this? Our first Princess cruise was last spring, and every staff member tried to herd us into the buffet. I only knew it was open from reading about it here on Cruise Critic. I guess it's more work for them?

With Emerald the only ship in port, turning up late isn't the necessity to avoid long queues that a 3+ ship day brings at Canada Place! I'd still ditch the onboard sitdown lunch for an extra few hours in Vancouver myself though - the menu never changes, and while it's of course nicer than the buffet you have to give up three hours of sightseeing time to board early enough to get in before the doors close.

.

Luckily (or not?) I live in Vancouver, so I've done all the sightseeing here already! Good idea though, for those coming in from out of town.

We were sent similar guidelines for our recent trip on the Star. We flew into Vancouver that morning, cleared customs, and arrived at the port around 10am via Sky Train. We were in the International café enjoying our Lattes at 11am and seated in MDR at 12:15 for lunch.

Your experience may differ if the ship is late or disembarkation delayed.

Wow! I hope we have the same luck as you!

How wonderful to have a good friend to share this mini-vacation with! Have a wonderful time. I will be passing by you as we board in Vancouver on Monday!

Hello all,

On our upcoming cruise on the Emerald, boarding does not start until 12:30, and our recommended time to board is 2:00pm - 3:00pm. :o

We are planning on boarding as soon as we can, but will the MDR even be open for lunch for such a late embarkation? It's so nice to start your holiday with a sit-down, white-tablecloth meal!

Thanks!

Dianna