Emerald Princess - Does It Feel Too Big

[rayandshirl]

We were on the Star in April with rough weather. Needless to say, people were forced inside. The ship seemed crowded to us.

 

We are considering a cruise on the Emerald in October. It has more passengers than the Star. How does it compare in terms of layout and space?

 

Thank you very much.

[Coral]

I have done Canada NE on the Golden Princess (sister to Star) and didn't think it was crowded. We did it on the Crown (sister to Emerald) and couldn't stand being on the ship. It was incredibly crowded, so much so that I have avoided that class of ship in the future. The ship is around the same size of the Star but has 500 more passengers and the pool is not covered - so yes, in cooler climate cruises, everyone is forced inside.

 

I love this area but will not cruise Princess again in cool area climates on this class of ship. I actually am reluctant to even cruise this class of ship in warmer climates due to the extra passengers.

[caribill]

There are some times it can feel very crowded, but most of the time we have been on it and the Crown there did not seem to be much of a crowd problem.

 

Times the added passengers can be a problem:

o Captain's welcome party in the atrium which attracts a bigger crowd than the space can handle on all three levels.

o Lines to get on/off the ship at ports

o Filling up a show lounge faster

 

 

Although there are more people who may want to use the buffet, there is the additional buffet area (including seating) at the aft of the Horizon Court called the Cafe Caribe.

 

Also, the four elevators at the aft of the ship all go down to the traditional restaurant at deck 6 as well as up to Skywalker's vs. the only two that do so on the Star.

[bhopal21]

 

We are considering a cruise on the Emerald in October. It has more passengers than the Star. How does it compare in terms of layout and space?

 

The Emerald is the same size hull as the Star with an additional 500 passengers. We cruised on it once and will never go larger than the grand class of ship again.

 

Mike:(

[OCruisers]

There are some times it can feel very crowded, but most of the time we have been on it and the Crown there did not seem to be much of a crowd problem.

 

Times the added passengers can be a problem:

o Captain's welcome party in the atrium which attracts a bigger crowd than the space can handle on all three levels.

o Lines to get on/off the ship at ports

o Filling up a show lounge faster

 

 

Although there are more people who may want to use the buffet, there is the additional buffet area (including seating) at the aft of the Horizon Court called the Cafe Caribe.

 

Also, the four elevators at the aft of the ship all go down to the traditional restaurant at deck 6 as well as up to Skywalker's vs. the only two that do so on the Star.

 

So agree with the above from caribill. Especially about the Captain's welcome party & the champagne thing, etc. and we like being around others ... just not packed/jammed!

We normally book a Speciality Restaurant on those evenings.

It's not enough of a problem to keep us from booking another on Emerald which we have -- 20 days Jan 2013.

[katisdale]

I have been on the Crown on a warm weather cruise and it did not feel crowded to me. Of course there were lots of people outside enjoying the pools etc. I took the Emerald to the Baltics last May (1st cruise on that route for the year) and it was both cold and rainy. I have never felt more crowded on a ship. Everyone was inside. One day we had trouble finding a seat anywhere in a lounge as the seats were all filled with people watching the scenery. When the shops moved their merchandise out into the hallway it was almost impossible to maneuver past the crowds.

However the itinerary was great and it was worth putting up with the crowds to get to these great ports.

[AKman2495]

How does the Sapphire compare with the Emerald?

[Coral]

How does the Sapphire compare with the Emerald?

 

The Emerald has approx 500 passengers more than the Sapphire. I have never felt crowded on the Sapphire (even in cold weather climates).

[Coral]

When the shops moved their merchandise out into the hallway it was almost impossible to maneuver past the crowds.

However the itinerary was great and it was worth putting up with the crowds to get to these great ports.

 

This is what we encountered also. We couldn't even walk into Deck 5-7 (atrium) when they put the tables out at night.

[PescadoAmarillo]

The Emerald (Crown, Ruby, Caribbean) are not fun on bad-weather sea days. The ships feel very crowded. On nice sea days they feel only slightly crowded. We enjoy these ships only because we've learned to zig when everyone else is zagging, but even I have to admit the pre-planning that is required gets a bit bothersome at times. I think if you run in a late schedule- late dining, late shows- you'll be much happier than if you want early dining.

 

We were on the Star last year after several Emerald cruises and couldn't believe how much less crowded the ship seemed and how much more we enjoyed it. But, we cruise based on itinerary, and the Emerald, we feel, has the best Caribbean itineraries.

[LarryL]

Our 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise in October 2008 has gone down as one of our favorite cruises. As Caribill said, it can get somewhat crowded at certain venues but, overall, didn't feel that crowded. Because of the large roll call on that cruise we met many great people which made it even more fun.:)

 

Larry

[Alaskanb]

What advice do you have for coping with the space issues on the Emerald? We have booked a mini for a Baltic itinerary.

[Renmar]

What advice do you have for coping with the space issues on the Emerald? We have booked a mini for a Baltic itinerary.

Just off the Emerald Baltic. We enjoyed the ship because of the following;

1. Breakfast in our room (don't forget to tip a few $$).
   
2. Enjoyed our balcony (with a mini I think you have one).
   
3. Did not take part in formal nights.
   
4. Did not attend Captains party.
   
5. Enjoyed the port days on shore.
   

Theo

[TheBestIsYetToCome]

Just off the Emerald Baltic. We enjoyed the ship because of the following;

1. Breakfast in our room (don't forget to tip a few $$).
   
2. Enjoyed our balcony (with a mini I think you have one).
   
3. Did not take part in formal nights.
   
4. Did not attend Captains party.
   
5. Enjoyed the port days on shore.
   

Theo

 

I agree with the idea behind this post (and also having come off Emerald in the Baltic recently, most of the specifics, too.) The answer really depends on what parts of the ship you enjoy using. The key, for us, is making good use of our balcony, careful timing of dinner and activities, and staying out of the champagne waterfall and Captain's cocktail parties.

[rayandshirl]

Ray and I want to thank everyone for their responses. We will just zig when everyone is zagging and be fine...The itinerary is too good not to go. Thank you all.:)

[beachnut41955]

I was just aboard the Emerald April 16-26 for the Southern Caribbean Medley 10 day cruise. This was my first Princess experience, so I have no other ship to compare it to, but as has been posted the time I felt like it was crowded was at the Captain's Champaign event. Other than having trouble finding a lounge at the pool, it didn't feel crowded to me. We did the Anytime Dining and would eat most nights by 5:30 and never had to wait. The one night we went at 6:30 p.m. we had to take a pager and only waitied about 15 minutes. We always wanted to share a table with others and met many very interesting people that way. I absolutely LOVED the Emerald, but as I said I have no other Princess ship to compare it to. I hope to rememdy that in 2013 though.

[geoherb]

When Princess first announced that it was adding another deck of passenger cabins to the Grand class ships (when it built the Caribbean Princess), I thought I'd never want to sail on a ship that large. But then there was a great deal that came along for a 10-night cruise on the Emerald at Christmas a few years ago. We went and had a great time. There are lots of smaller venues that don't get crowded most of the time. Since then, we've sailed on the Crown twice and had great cruises on it.

 

Perhaps one of the reasons it feels more crowded on the cool weather itineraries is that those itineraries attract a different demographic.

[Coral]

Our 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise in October 2008 has gone down as one of our favorite cruises. As Caribill said, it can get somewhat crowded at certain venues but, overall, didn't feel that crowded. Because of the large roll call on that cruise we met many great people which made it even more fun.:)

 

Larry

 

I was just aboard the Emerald April 16-26 for the Southern Caribbean Medley 10 day cruise. This was my first Princess experience, so I have no other ship to compare it to, but as has been posted the time I felt like it was crowded was at the Captain's Champaign event. Other than having trouble finding a lounge at the pool, it didn't feel crowded to me. We did the Anytime Dining and would eat most nights by 5:30 and never had to wait. The one night we went at 6:30 p.m. we had to take a pager and only waitied about 15 minutes. We always wanted to share a table with others and met many very interesting people that way. I absolutely LOVED the Emerald, but as I said I have no other Princess ship to compare it to. I hope to rememdy that in 2013 though.

 

These are warmer climate cruises where there are a ton of people outside and by the pools. In cooler climates, everyone is inside which makes a huge difference. You really can't compare summer climate cruises to colder climates cruises in reference to crowdiness which is what the OP was asking about.

[Coral]

Geoherb - I don't think it is the difference in demographics, it is more of a difference in destinations. I was on the Golden in Canada/NE and had no crowding issues what so ever. When I did it on the Star, it was miserable.

 

It was very port intensive where people are anxious to get off the ship when in docks, get back on at the last possible moment (as opposed to the Caribbean when people sleep in and don't always get off). There are a lot of all day tours as opposed to 3 hour Caribbean tours or people just wandering around.

 

You add into the fact that people don't use the pool area, there is no covered pool so if people want to use it, they often can't. In the Caribbean, the decks are just covered with bodies and it is difficult to find a seat as it is that crowded. It just forces everyone inside. No evening deck parties outside, people are not using Movies Under the Stars. 500 more people and there is no room for it. We had officers on our sailing complaining about the crowding of these ships and they wished they were not using these ships for cooler weather cursing.

 

So maybe it was not an issue in the Caribbean but a ton of us have had significant issues in cooler climates when we didn't on other ships. A perfect example - in Alaska, they don't use these ships as people are inside more. I think that is a strategic reason why they don't. None of the new ships are scheduled for Alaska.

 

For some reason - CC wasn't working so I couldn't quote your message. Sorry about that.

[LarryL]

These are warmer climate cruises where there are a ton of people outside and by the pools. In cooler climates, everyone is inside which makes a huge difference. You really can't compare summer climate cruises to colder climates cruises in reference to crowdiness which is what the OP was asking about.

 

My mistake Coral. I just saw the Emerald is in the northeast this year. I hadn't realized she was there. The year I cruised on the Emerald she was in the Med and then did the So Carib in October. That is a big change. :eek:

[oratheeexplorer]

How does the Sapphire compare with the Emerald?

 

The Emerald holds 3,080 passengers, the Sapphire 2,700.....so 410 less passengers....length of both 952, tonage on Emerald is 113,000 and Sapphire is 116,000......Sapphire has one less deck than Emerald which would be all cabins.....I got this from the Princess book.....we were on the Emerald for our first cruise and are booked on the Sapphire for Alaska in August.....

[Alaskanb]

Just off the Emerald Baltic. We enjoyed the ship because of the following;

1. Breakfast in our room (don't forget to tip a few $$).
   
2. Enjoyed our balcony (with a mini I think you have one).
   
3. Did not take part in formal nights.
   
4. Did not attend Captains party.
   
5. Enjoyed the port days on shore.
   

Theo

Thanks--we did that on the Island Princess too--except we went to the formal nights. We avoided large social gatherings and enjoyed ourselves tremendously. :) Did you go to the Russian Folk night--if so did you have problems getting seats?