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Thoughts on the Emerald Oct. 29-Nov. 18

Murphey

By Murphey,
in Princess Cruises

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Murphey

Murphey

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Itinerary: These two cruises made a perfect b2b as they are different itineraries. We had done this same thing 2 years ago and did it again due to the ease of getting to FLL (Yes from PDX, it’s just as cost effective to fly to FLL as it is to go to points in CA-go figure). Shortly after boarded, we heard the announcement that we would be reversing our itinerary and dropping Dominica (where we had a private excursion arranged) and picking up St, Kitt’s (which is on the 2nd trip), but it was OK with us…who cares – we are cruising.

Precruise we stayed at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood for 2 nights. Drop dead beautiful property. With a nightly rate of $70 thru priceline, it was a steal. What wasn’t a steal was DH giving the cabbie a $100 bill instead of a $20. Bummed for a short while, then decided karma would take care of that…

Embarkation: Simple. Got out of taxi at 11:45. In cabin by noon. I kid you not, it was that easy. Helps perhaps to be in priority boarding.

Cabin: C742 We have had this cabin before and if we can’t get an aft we prefer these. Had a chance at the coveted end mini on E for the first cruise, but didn’t want to move.

Cabin steward was Octavio. Perfection. Fabulous. Gave him our list of things and told him whenever…everything was arranged within 2 hours. Smoking was not an issue what-so-ever on our balcony. Either there weren’t any smokers around us or they were very conscientious.

Laundry Service: I find this can be hit or miss on Princess, especially since the new “green” process. I found the laundry-dry cleaning to be excellent on the Emerald. We always put our laundry out prior to dinner and it comes back the next evening when our steward comes on duty. One morning I gave Octavio a couple of things and we had it back that evening. I asked him how he did that? He smiled and said “I have friends!” with a wink!

Internet: Just fine. Sometimes as fast as at home, sometimes as slow as a security line at the airport. But hey, we are at sea. Come on folks.....do not expect to be able to do business as usual on a cruise ship. If quick internet access is an absolute necessity, rethink your trip. I truely felt sorry for the Internet guy.

oops....better tend to some things around here...to be continued....

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Murphey

Murphey

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Continued....

 

Roll Call: Because of the itinerary change on the 1st leg, I don’t have any idea who ended up getting together for the meet and greets. On the 2nd leg, we had a nice turnout at Skywalkers. Kudos to everyone who did an excellent job of organizing everything, especially Jeanie. Unfortunately for us, we tend to get involved with “our own thing” and space out the activities. On cruises with more sea days I think it is more conducive to get together. I will say that I enjoyed chatting with them all prior to the cruise immensely. You are all a lovely bunch! The only sour note for us, was we had arranged for private transportation for us and 2 other couples at one of the ports. The other 2 couples didn't show (even though I had left a note at their cabin the day before). The weather was iffy, but would have been appropriate to at least show up and cancel at that point. Left us in an awkward position.

Dining: We had late traditional dining. This has always been our favorite. Our waiters (Ricky and Inna-1st leg and Georgie-2nd leg) were wonderful. We had a lovely table for 4, set for 2. I know that most people love to interact at dinner, but the evening meal for us is “our” time and we prefer to dine alone. The other issue is that sometimes we just want an appetizer and salad, or we skip dessert. We find it rude to just sit there (and too tempting to eat more than we really are in the mood for), and also rude to leave early with other people. Princess is adding some more interesting items; it’s nice to have a bit more variety, especially when you become familiar with the menus. There are many things off the menu…(french onion soup, escargot) that your waiter will inform you. The head waiter was happy to provide anything extra (we like garlic bread) that you desire. We had wine every night. Most off the wine list, some of our own. Never a corkage fee when we brought our own. We ate at the Crown Grill one night. Very nice. I had the foie gras/scallop appetizer….worth the whole meal!!! Yes, I understand the whole controversy over it, but just had to try it. I had rack of lamb, which was good, but the rack of lamb in the dining room was almost as good….really. It was nice to have a change of venue, but again….lots of food. Try the escalloped potatoes…very good. I felt the only thing missing was the service. It was good, but not fantastic. I believe this was not the norm. It was extremely busy that night, and the stress showed. Worth $50? I don’t know. The food in the dining room is pretty good. On a long cruise though, a change of pace is nice.

To be continued….

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Murphey

Murphey

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On and on....

 

Captain’s Circle: We were invited to Most Traveled Passenger luncheon on both cruises. We were glad they had the luncheon instead of the cocktail party. These were very nice occasions held in Sabatini’s. The menu was different each cruise which was nice…the food/presentation is exquisite, and the wine flows freely throughout which means a nap later…..The Past Passenger parties were actually fun. We sat near the back and slipped up to the bar. Our bartender “friends” brought us what we normally drink, instead of what they were serving! There were 3 of them the last formal night. 5, 6:15 or 7:30. We think we have had more than our share of Princess cruises, but just had to be amazed at the most traveled passengers. The first cruise, the couple was from FL (of course), and had almost 1,300 days. The second cruise, the couple (1158 days) live in the same small town that we are from in Oregon. We were flabbergasted, as not only that, but the lady had been our sons’ Spanish teacher in high school. Very, very small world.!!

It was interesting to find out that new two new ships coming out will be around 3600 passengers. Also, all outside cabins will be balconies. The other interesting tidbit we were told at our luncheon is that during the dry dock of the Grand in April, they will be either removing or relocating Skywalkers. Speaking of Skywalkers, we attended the Elite/Suite cocktail hours several times. My only complaint would be that the hours are not very conducive to late dining. The staff up there were a joy though, and that gave us incentive to get ready early and head up there.

Our observation on the dress code: For the most part, everyone looked great. Especially formal nights. With all the talk of not wanting to dress as requested, we were really surprised how any people put forth the effort. Personally, I think it adds to the cruising experience. In the traditional dining room, from what I could see, everyone looked very nice each night. We also saw the “shorts, T’s, baseball cap” crowd”, but not in the dining room and hey, they were comfortable doing their own thing. That’s mainstream cruising now.

Odd and Ends forthcoming…..

Essiesmom: I thought we might have been held up....but from where we were, we really couldn't see if the gangway was still out!! Did you see them running up??That was a nice day, wasn't it!!

Bopippy: We met with the Maitre 'D on the first day to check our table. They had us at a table for 6 and we asked for a "nice" table for two. Possibly a 4 tabletop set for 2. We have done this numerous times in the past and found for 2nd seating it usually is no problem if there is room. I think it would be difficult for 1st seating though, as it is more requested. Oh...one other thought; there was only 1 early seating designation, not the two that Princess is now advertising as being available.

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oratheeexplorer

oratheeexplorer

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Itinerary: These two cruises made a perfect b2b as they are different itineraries. We had done this same thing 2 years ago and did it again due to the ease of getting to FLL (Yes from PDX, it’s just as cost effective to fly to FLL as it is to go to points in CA-go figure). Shortly after boarded, we heard the announcement that we would be reversing our itinerary and dropping Dominica (where we had a private excursion arranged) and picking up St, Kitt’s (which is on the 2nd trip), but it was OK with us…who cares – we are cruising.

 

Precruise we stayed at the Westin Diplomat in Hollywood for 2 nights. Drop dead beautiful property. With a nightly rate of $70 thru priceline, it was a steal. What wasn’t a steal was DH giving the cabbie a $100 bill instead of a $20. Bummed for a short while, then decided karma would take care of that…

 

Embarkation: Simple. Got out of taxi at 11:45. In cabin by noon. I kid you not, it was that easy. Helps perhaps to be in priority boarding.

 

Cabin: C742 We have had this cabin before and if we can’t get an aft we prefer these. Had a chance at the coveted end mini on E for the first cruise, but didn’t want to move.

Cabin steward was Octavio. Perfection. Fabulous. Gave him our list of things and told him whenever…everything was arranged within 2 hours. Smoking was not an issue what-so-ever on our balcony. Either there weren’t any smokers around us or they were very conscientious.

 

Laundry Service: I find this can be hit or miss on Princess, especially since the new “green” process. I found the laundry-dry cleaning to be excellent on the Emerald. We always put our laundry out prior to dinner and it comes back the next evening when our steward comes on duty. One morning I gave Octavio a couple of things and we had it back that evening. I asked him how he did that? He smiled and said “I have friends!” with a wink!

 

Internet: Just fine. Sometimes as fast as at home, sometimes as slow as a security line at the airport. But hey, we are at sea. Come on folks.....do not expect to be able to do business as usual on a cruise ship. If quick internet access is an absolute necessity, rethink your trip. I truely felt sorry for the Internet guy.

 

oops....better tend to some things around here...to be continued....

 

 

just wondering.....who gets the priority boarding, do you have to be an elite member?

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lynwar

lynwar

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I wonder if they are going to remove Skywalkers from across the bar in the back and try to tuck it somewhere up near the mid to back like on the newer ships like the Emerald, Ruby and Crown. That, indeed, sounds like a big job. So, then, is the back/aft of the ship going to be reconfigured?

Lynne

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Fairport

Fairport

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We were on the same cruise. It was the best Princess ship we have yet experienced, there is nothing we can fault about this ship. Everyone from the Captain on down was friendly and always had a kind word. Great cruise, it ended too soon.

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Essiesmom "Live from...." Rare

Essiesmom

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Essiesmom: I thought we might have been held up....but from where we were, we really couldn't see if the gangway was still out!! Did you see them running up??That was a nice day, wasn't it!!

 

 

I was at my computer and heard lots of jeering, so I went out onto my balcony...This couple were standing there, and they had retracted the gangway, but the door was still open. After a few minutes, they sent it back out and let the couple on. EM

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