Just Back from Emerald..just my experience

[1 HappyCruiser]

Are there any adults pools that are covered? I shouldnt be in the sun.

 

No not really, but the Lotus pool can have some shade at times depending on the direction of the ship.

[sueb]

How good is WIFi from the cabins in the Emerald?

Thanks for any information

 

We didn't utilize this, so I really can't answer your question. We did use the internet a few times in the CyberCafe and it was fairly quick.

[Hunwolf]

How good is WIFi from the cabins in the Emerald?

Thanks for any information

 

Back in June when we were on there it varied from very slow to poor. It's almost not worth the money...or more to the point...if you aren't getting it for free don't bother.

[writersblock15]

SueB, you were a great wind wench and a great Stars and Stripes captain.

 

From the other wind wench.

[1 HappyCruiser]

They also don't give the bonus minutes for Platinum & Elite.

[Maya57]

We were also on this cruise and in fact you (SueB) was our captain on the American Cup Rogetta. For those reading this our boat won, "Stars and Stripes"

 

I have been on over 40 plus cruises and an Elite with Princess. But I agree with you that we had an OK time but far from the best. Since Carnival purchased Princess about 3 or 4 years ago I have found them go down hill. On my last Princess cruise a photographer who has been with Princess more than 10-years said that Carnival Corp created a morale problem by making the crew work longer and harder.

 

The Horizon Cafe is still badly laid out. Its too small with lines running all over the area and out into the eating area. They should take a page from some of the other cruise lines and have food stations far apart so lines, if any do not intermingle.

 

In the morning they had waffles and whip cream but no strawberry's or other fruit to put on top (Belgium waffles)

 

I thought the cruise director also kind of odd. He wore the oddest looking clothing I have seen. Would love to know where he got that tux he wore on fomal night. He also wore it at the captains circle party. The assistant cruise director Collette was the MC/host at one of the comedy show and was terrible. Not funny and actual acted stupid.

 

We were a family of 15 tarveling together. We were suppose to have 2 tables 10 for adults and 5 for the kids. This was all confirmed with Princess a week before departure. The first night we wre assigned a tble of 9 and 6. The Matr'd was not very pleasant, his attitute was "tough luck" I looked him in the eye and told him that this is no good and if he did not take care of it now I would be talking to his bosses in California. "You will hear from them before the week is out"

A 1/2 hour later he came running to my table telling me he would take care of it and tommowrrow we will have the correct tables.

 

The first night at the incorrect able we had the worse waiter and assistant waiter I have ever had.

 

After changing table we had great service with a great waiter and assistant. The waiter Viggillo (sp) was great with the kids and with one of the others at our table who gave him hard time.

 

BTW, my cabin and those of my two daughters (with kids) cabins (D704, D706, and D708) were all fine. Nothing like SueB wrote. Cabin steward was very good and attentive. My only complaint is the lack of privacy on the balconies. People on higher decks can look down on your balcony. Could not go out in my PJ's in the morning and have coffee on my balcony

[caribill]

How good is WIFi from the cabins in the Emerald?

 

We were in three cabins on the Emerald last year.

 

WIFI worked great in two of them. In the third cabin the signal was often weak unless we propped the cabin door open.

[firstimer2]

Question: I heard that anyone can go in and use the Lotus Spa pool and area. Is this correct? Or will we be kicked out?

 

Also: We got 2 rooms on the Riveria deck w/balcony, after booking a guarantee about a month ago. I thought that was pretty good. But we've never sailed on Princess before.

[caribill]

Question: I heard that anyone can go in and use the Lotus Spa pool and area. Is this correct? Or will we be kicked out?

 

 

Anyone but children. It is an adults only pool.

 

You do not have to use Spa services or be in the Sanctuary to use this pool.

[Colo Cruiser]

Question: I heard that anyone can go in and use the Lotus Spa pool and area. Is this correct? Or will we be kicked out?

 

It is not a pool that is exclusive to the Spa.....

All the pools are open to everyone.

Some are adults only.

[jotabecu]

We were in three cabins on the Emerald last year.

 

WIFI worked great in two of them. In the third cabin the signal was often weak unless we propped the cabin door open.

 

 

Thanks.

 

I guess it depends how far you are from the WiFi in the corridor.

 

In a recent Ocean Princess trip I had the dish on the ceiling one cabin away and even though it was closed it was a very quick connection.

[sueb]

SueB, you were a great wind wench and a great Stars and Stripes captain.

 

From the other wind wench.

 

: ) I LOVED that excursion. It was such a blast! You were a also great wind wench by the way!

[sueb]

We were also on this cruise and in fact you (SueB) was our captain on the American Cup Rogetta. For those reading this our boat won, "Stars and Stripes"

 

I have been on over 40 plus cruises and an Elite with Princess. But I agree with you that we had an OK time but far from the best. Since Carnival purchased Princess about 3 or 4 years ago I have found them go down hill. On my last Princess cruise a photographer who has been with Princess more than 10-years said that Carnival Corp created a morale problem by making the crew work longer and harder.

 

The Horizon Cafe is still badly laid out. Its too small with lines running all over the area and out into the eating area. They should take a page from some of the other cruise lines and have food stations far apart so lines, if any do not intermingle.

 

In the morning they had waffles and whip cream but no strawberry's or other fruit to put on top (Belgium waffles)

 

I thought the cruise director also kind of odd. He wore the oddest looking clothing I have seen. Would love to know where he got that tux he wore on fomal night. He also wore it at the captains circle party. The assistant cruise director Collette was the MC/host at one of the comedy show and was terrible. Not funny and actual acted stupid.

 

We were a family of 15 tarveling together. We were suppose to have 2 tables 10 for adults and 5 for the kids. This was all confirmed with Princess a week before departure. The first night we wre assigned a tble of 9 and 6. The Matr'd was not very pleasant, his attitute was "tough luck" I looked him in the eye and told him that this is no good and if he did not take care of it now I would be talking to his bosses in California. "You will hear from them before the week is out"

A 1/2 hour later he came running to my table telling me he would take care of it and tommowrrow we will have the correct tables.

 

The first night at the incorrect able we had the worse waiter and assistant waiter I have ever had.

 

After changing table we had great service with a great waiter and assistant. The waiter Viggillo (sp) was great with the kids and with one of the others at our table who gave him hard time.

 

BTW, my cabin and those of my two daughters (with kids) cabins (D704, D706, and D708) were all fine. Nothing like SueB wrote. Cabin steward was very good and attentive. My only complaint is the lack of privacy on the balconies. People on higher decks can look down on your balcony. Could not go out in my PJ's in the morning and have coffee on my balcony

 

Go Stars and Stripes! Thank you for the comments. I didn't experience some of the things you did, but I guess our reflections must have been on the ship as a whole. Never would say I didn't have a good time...we did. It wasn't great though. Just fell a little short. Now the fellow passengers were a great group and LOVED the excursion we both enjoyed...and we Won! That's always a perk ; ) I hope your family had a lovely time overall!

[Maya57]

Anyone but children. It is an adults only pool.

 

You do not have to use Spa services or be in the Sanctuary to use this pool.

 

If you do not use Spa services there is a charge to use the Sanctuary pool.

 

I forgot the exact cost but I think it was $40.00 per person per week. There is also a daily rate but not sure how much.

 

So the answer is yes any adult can use the pool but NOT free for everyone

[firstimer2]

If you do not use Spa services there is a charge to use the Sanctuary pool.

 

I forgot the exact cost but I think it was $40.00 per person per week. There is also a daily rate but not sure how much.

 

So the answer is yes any adult can use the pool but NOT free for everyone

 

Thanks for the info!

[quincytoo]

I agree with luvsprincess...don't be nervous. A cruise is what you make it. This one was a little 'bumpy' for us and we didn't hate it or anything. Everyone will experience something different. We loved the majority of the staff on this ship. They were all very happy which can make a big difference. They were not fake happy, but appeared genuinly happy. We met some great fellow cruisers from all different countries and background.

Some things we didn't love about this Princess experience, but they may not bother you. Our last few cruises have been on newer RCCL ships so perhaps we were comparing. Not sure. We have decided to take a 'cruise break' and experience an island for a week to mix things up.

Go and enjoy! Did not mean to scare you away or make you nervous.

 

I enjoyed your review and not once did I think it was bad :)

 

My first Sapphire cruise wasn't on the same greatness scale of the Diamond or the Caribbean Princess cruises but the second Sapphire cruise was our best one yet :)

 

Thanks for taking the time to post a good review and coming back to answer the questions!

[sueb]

I enjoyed your review and not once did I think it was bad :)

 

My first Sapphire cruise wasn't on the same greatness scale of the Diamond or the Caribbean Princess cruises but the second Sapphire cruise was our best one yet :)

 

Thanks for taking the time to post a good review and coming back to answer the questions!

 

Each cruise on any given ship will be different..Thanks for your comment! And you are welcome!

[sueb]

If you do not use Spa services there is a charge to use the Sanctuary pool.

 

I forgot the exact cost but I think it was $40.00 per person per week. There is also a daily rate but not sure how much.

 

So the answer is yes any adult can use the pool but NOT free for everyone

 

Just my two cents worth..I didn't find that to be the case this past week on the Emerald. Now, that being said , perhaps I wasn't aware that this was the case. One could freely use this pool and even walk through the spa are to get to it (or go the less direct route via the next deck up.) I , along with other passengers I was with, did just that. I really didn't see any indication or notice that we weren't welcome there. I hope we weren't doing something wrong! Perhaps it is different on other ships, but I believe it is open to all (adults that is) in this case. It is not an easy pool to find though. Happy Cruising!

[rdsqrl]

If you do not use Spa services there is a charge to use the Sanctuary pool.

 

I forgot the exact cost but I think it was $40.00 per person per week. There is also a daily rate but not sure how much.

 

So the answer is yes any adult can use the pool but NOT free for everyone

No, this is incorrect. The Lotus Spa pool is available to all (well, all adults -- no kids allowed). There is no such thing as a "Sanctuary pool," with the exception of the Coral/Island, where the Sanctuary has its own dedicated pool. That isn't the case on the other ships. Although the Lotus Spa pool is right near the Sanctuary, it is not part of it and is open to anyone to use.

[1 HappyCruiser]

If you do not use Spa services there is a charge to use the Sanctuary pool.

 

I forgot the exact cost but I think it was $40.00 per person per week. There is also a daily rate but not sure how much.

 

So the answer is yes any adult can use the pool but NOT free for everyone

 

Duplicate answer.

[Maya57]

No, this is incorrect. The Lotus Spa pool is available to all (well, all adults -- no kids allowed). There is no such thing as a "Sanctuary pool," with the exception of the Coral/Island, where the Sanctuary has its own dedicated pool. That isn't the case on the other ships. Although the Lotus Spa pool is right near the Sanctuary, it is not part of it and is open to anyone to use.

 

Was on the Emerald 2-weels ago and whatever pool located in the middle of the spa (Lotus or Santuary) has charge for non-spa passengers. It was posted in the spa and/or daily paper.

Wheher the people in the spa enforce this or not is another question.

[sueb]

Was on the Emerald 2-weels ago and whatever pool located in the middle of the spa (Lotus or Santuary) has charge for non-spa passengers. It was posted in the spa and/or daily paper.

Wheher the people in the spa enforce this or not is another question.

 

Uh oh..guess I was unitentionally bucking the system ...lol!

[rdsqrl]

Was on the Emerald 2-weels ago and whatever pool located in the middle of the spa (Lotus or Santuary) has charge for non-spa passengers. It was posted in the spa and/or daily paper.

Wheher the people in the spa enforce this or not is another question.

Well, I'm not going to argue with you. If this were the case, that the ship was now charging for use of the Lotus pool, I'm sure yours wouldn't/won't be the only post to mention it. We'll see . . .

[1 HappyCruiser]

Was on the Emerald 2-weels ago and whatever pool located in the middle of the spa (Lotus or Santuary) has charge for non-spa passengers. It was posted in the spa and/or daily paper.

Wheher the people in the spa enforce this or not is another question.

 

Well, I'm not going to argue with you. If this were the case, that the ship was now charging for use of the Lotus pool, I'm sure yours wouldn't/won't be the only post to mention it. We'll see . . .

 

If so it's definitely a new ruling & will tick off a great number of people including myself.

[jennifers490]

If so it's definitely a new ruling & will tick off a great number of people including myself.

 

I agree! that's always been my favorite pool so i am hoping maybe it was a misunderstanding and was really just the sanctuary charge...can't wait to find out the answer from the "live from" thread :)