Cruise Review: Emerald Princess 10/26-11/07/12

[2little time]

After an easy two hour flight to Quebec we settled in to the Hotel Clarendon for our three day stay prior to boarding the Emerald. The hotel was located a block from the Chateau Frontenac and a short walk to all the shops and restaurants. It was very cold the first day we were there and despite layering I was cold all the time. We walked all over town and took several tours to see the various sights. We discovered a wonderful little bakery called Paillard that had the most wonderful croissants as well as soups and sandwiches. The only language difficulty we encountered was with the cab driver from the airport who understood little English. It was past peak for the most part although there was still a little color. We enjoyed crepes at a tiny little restaurant next to the Chateau and a light meal at “640” a bistro next to the hotel one evening. We would have liked more time in Quebec as it went by quickly.

We were excited about the cruise and had chosen it for the itinerary because of the ability to see friends in all but one of the ports. I was looking forward to a Maine lobster. My husband and I are in our late 50’s and have been Elite for several years. Overall, this was a lovely cruise. I will, however, be honest about those things that were not what I expected.

 

Embarkation: Easy and quick since we waited until after 1300 to board. We were in our cabin within 30 minutes.

 

Cabin: We always get suites. This would be our first aft suite….a VS on the Caribe. We had the “dreaded beam” balcony. There are actually 2 beams on these balconies. Both are about 2’ wide and 6” deep. On this particular balcony one was located to the extreme left and the other to the right almost directly in front of the sliding glass door. The floor of the balcony was unevenly sized with an average of about 5’x11’. The old style wood furniture was in place. There was a table, 4 chairs, 2 lounge chairs and a smaller table. It left about 4 feet of width at the rail to stand at the balcony as furniture took the rest. The lounge chairs were in the sitting position and as such did not even enable you to walk between the railing and the end of the lounge chair as it left only about 6” of space. There was nothing I could do to rearrange the furniture to make more room as it was really wall to wall furniture. The beam was not as much an issue as all the furniture. I would suggest if you are on a warm weather cruise and plan to use the loungers ask for the new type of chairs that can be collapsed when not in use. Overall use of the balcony on our cruise was limited due to the weather. I am not sure if it was just this cruise or if it is a common aft problem that the glass barrier beneath the balcony rail gets covered in salt spray such that you cannot see through them. They were washed once during the twelve days but it immediately got covered again. I did notice the smells from the vent that others have spoken of but they were not offensive.

The inside of our suite was smaller than those we have been in that were not aft. I noticed the missing space in the bedroom area as well as the bathroom. The vanity is smaller in the bathroom and there are no shelves.

As this was our first aft cabin I did notice some differences. The bed rocked end to end rather than side to side. I learned how to tell when the pilot left the ship and when we were docking by the thruster noise (is that what they are called?). I had to separate all the wooden hangers so they would not vibrate as there was appreciable movement while at sea. I did love to watch the wake. It was mesmerizing and beautiful.

All considered, I would probably get another aft cabin if the opportunity presented itself.

We had the best room steward of all our 24 cruises. His name was Florian, a 10 year veteran from Romania. He did everything consistently and without even asking him. What an asset he is to Princess. He is to pick up a new contract in April on the Royal. I hope those of you going on this maiden voyage have the good fortune to have him for your steward.

 

Food: although navigating the small area with so many walkers and scooters made it difficult.We ate at Sabatini’s the first evening. I like the new menu but it is still too much food. My husband had the strip steak which he thought had been “perfectly cooked”. I had the “Lobster 3 Ways” which I did not enjoy as much as I had hoped. The lobster tail was in a bisque sauce and was not flavorful and the lobster risotto was fishy tasting. The pasta was Carbonara and was to die for. I would get it again as a main plate. At 7:30 pm, we were the only table occupied.

We ate in the Caribe Café one evening and found the food enjoyable

We chose “anytime” dining and enjoyed some of the new repetitious items such as the tri-tip steak and crème brulee. Some of our favorite meals included the escargot, onion soup, lamb, the new hamburger, and the everyday Crème Brulee. My husband loves the International Café and had the Greek salad every day.

We also enjoyed our several dinners in our room and unlike last year, had no trouble getting the MDR menu’s each day.

We ate in Sabatini’s each morning for breakfast. There were never more than one or two other occupied tables.

 

Ports: Our original itinerary was disrupted by hurricane Sandy. Our hearts go out to those who suffered so greatly from her impact. By the first cruise day we were told Bar Harbor, Newport, and Boston would not be visited and that we would substitute Saguenay, Corner Brook and St. John as a result. The Canadian people were so gracious. I will always remember how the whole town turned out to see the “big ship”. As ports go, Saguenay and Corner Brook were scenery only with little else to do other than the craft display in the little port building. We would then hear that New York had been cancelled but that we would stop in Boston “to let some people off” but that there would be no other dismemberment. To me this was not a “Port” or something we should have paid port taxes for but apparently we did as there was no refund for the fact that New York’s stop had not been replaced by another visit port. We then proceeded to Charleston and then on to Ft. Lauderdale.

Entertainment: Can’t speak to this as we avoided the crowds.

 

Internet: Horribly slow. Thank heavens we had free internet because we had booked prior to July 12. I think sometimes it took 5 minutes to send things. Accessing the internet once a day for about 10 of the days ran up a bill close to $400.00 dollars. I was careful to log off each time but it was still a whopper of a bill. (written off).

 

Overall Impression of the Ship: The Emerald is a beautiful ship and has been well cared for. It has been over a year since last being on this ship and I did not notice wear. I was dismayed by the number of scooters and walkers and the growing trend to leave these parked outside the doors in the cabin corridors and in traffic areas in common places. I also noticed that some persons felt that if they were on a scooter that they could go ahead of everyone else in line for the elevator and pushed right through. Other times I heard scooter horns when they wanted to break through the line. It was so bad at one point that a lady with a walker felt she had to rush to move out of the way of the scooter and almost fell. One frail lady waiting for the elevator was being “pushed” from behind and loudly said “You have a seat on that thing and I am standing so don’t think you are going ahead of ME”.

 

I have no complaints with Princess about anything. The service was exemplary, food good and overall experience positive. The weather was not their fault and they did a nice job trying to appease the complaining passengers who felt otherwise.

Port-wise, this was a disappointing cruise. I had loved ones in all the ports we missed and was so looking forward to seeing them. We did not get to Maine so having the “Maine Lobster” on my bucket list was not checked off. That will be for another time.

[cantwaitfornextcruise]

Thank you for the report we are sailing this saturday looking forward to a relaxing holiday

[2little time]

Thank you for the report we are sailing this saturday looking forward to a relaxing holiday

Have a wonderful time!

[BoPippy]

After an easy two hour flight to Quebec we settled in to the Hotel Clarendon for our three day stay prior to boarding the Emerald. The hotel was located a block from the Chateau Frontenac and a short walk to all the shops and restaurants. It was very cold the first day we were there and despite layering I was cold all the time. We walked all over town and took several tours to see the various sights. We discovered a wonderful little bakery called Paillard that had the most wonderful croissants as well as soups and sandwiches. The only language difficulty we encountered was with the cab driver from the airport who understood little English. It was past peak for the most part although there was still a little color. We enjoyed crepes at a tiny little restaurant next to the Chateau and a light meal at “640” a bistro next to the hotel one evening. We would have liked more time in Quebec as it went by quickly.

We were excited about the cruise and had chosen it for the itinerary because of the ability to see friends in all but one of the ports. I was looking forward to a Maine lobster. My husband and I are in our late 50’s and have been Elite for several years. Overall, this was a lovely cruise. I will, however, be honest about those things that were not what I expected.

 

Embarkation: Easy and quick since we waited until after 1300 to board. We were in our cabin within 30 minutes.

 

Cabin: We always get suites. This would be our first aft suite….a VS on the Caribe. We had the “dreaded beam” balcony. There are actually 2 beams on these balconies. Both are about 2’ wide and 6” deep. On this particular balcony one was located to the extreme left and the other to the right almost directly in front of the sliding glass door. The floor of the balcony was unevenly sized with an average of about 5’x11’. The old style wood furniture was in place. There was a table, 4 chairs, 2 lounge chairs and a smaller table. It left about 4 feet of width at the rail to stand at the balcony as furniture took the rest. The lounge chairs were in the sitting position and as such did not even enable you to walk between the railing and the end of the lounge chair as it left only about 6” of space. There was nothing I could do to rearrange the furniture to make more room as it was really wall to wall furniture. The beam was not as much an issue as all the furniture. I would suggest if you are on a warm weather cruise and plan to use the loungers ask for the new type of chairs that can be collapsed when not in use. Overall use of the balcony on our cruise was limited due to the weather. I am not sure if it was just this cruise or if it is a common aft problem that the glass barrier beneath the balcony rail gets covered in salt spray such that you cannot see through them. They were washed once during the twelve days but it immediately got covered again. I did notice the smells from the vent that others have spoken of but they were not offensive.

The inside of our suite was smaller than those we have been in that were not aft. I noticed the missing space in the bedroom area as well as the bathroom. The vanity is smaller in the bathroom and there are no shelves.

As this was our first aft cabin I did notice some differences. The bed rocked end to end rather than side to side. I learned how to tell when the pilot left the ship and when we were docking by the thruster noise (is that what they are called?). I had to separate all the wooden hangers so they would not vibrate as there was appreciable movement while at sea. I did love to watch the wake. It was mesmerizing and beautiful.

All considered, I would probably get another aft cabin if the opportunity presented itself.

We had the best room steward of all our 24 cruises. His name was Florian, a 10 year veteran from Romania. He did everything consistently and without even asking him. What an asset he is to Princess. He is to pick up a new contract in April on the Royal. I hope those of you going on this maiden voyage have the good fortune to have him for your steward.

 

Food: although navigating the small area with so many walkers and scooters made it difficult.We ate at Sabatini’s the first evening. I like the new menu but it is still too much food. My husband had the strip steak which he thought had been “perfectly cooked”. I had the “Lobster 3 Ways” which I did not enjoy as much as I had hoped. The lobster tail was in a bisque sauce and was not flavorful and the lobster risotto was fishy tasting. The pasta was Carbonara and was to die for. I would get it again as a main plate. At 7:30 pm, we were the only table occupied.

We ate in the Caribe Café one evening and found the food enjoyable

We chose “anytime” dining and enjoyed some of the new repetitious items such as the tri-tip steak and crème brulee. Some of our favorite meals included the escargot, onion soup, lamb, the new hamburger, and the everyday Crème Brulee. My husband loves the International Café and had the Greek salad every day.

We also enjoyed our several dinners in our room and unlike last year, had no trouble getting the MDR menu’s each day.

We ate in Sabatini’s each morning for breakfast. There were never more than one or two other occupied tables.

 

Ports: Our original itinerary was disrupted by hurricane Sandy. Our hearts go out to those who suffered so greatly from her impact. By the first cruise day we were told Bar Harbor, Newport, and Boston would not be visited and that we would substitute Saguenay, Corner Brook and St. John as a result. The Canadian people were so gracious. I will always remember how the whole town turned out to see the “big ship”. As ports go, Saguenay and Corner Brook were scenery only with little else to do other than the craft display in the little port building. We would then hear that New York had been cancelled but that we would stop in Boston “to let some people off” but that there would be no other dismemberment. To me this was not a “Port” or something we should have paid port taxes for but apparently we did as there was no refund for the fact that New York’s stop had not been replaced by another visit port. We then proceeded to Charleston and then on to Ft. Lauderdale.

Entertainment: Can’t speak to this as we avoided the crowds.

 

Internet: Horribly slow. Thank heavens we had free internet because we had booked prior to July 12. I think sometimes it took 5 minutes to send things. Accessing the internet once a day for about 10 of the days ran up a bill close to $400.00 dollars. I was careful to log off each time but it was still a whopper of a bill. (written off).

 

Overall Impression of the Ship: The Emerald is a beautiful ship and has been well cared for. It has been over a year since last being on this ship and I did not notice wear. I was dismayed by the number of scooters and walkers and the growing trend to leave these parked outside the doors in the cabin corridors and in traffic areas in common places. I also noticed that some persons felt that if they were on a scooter that they could go ahead of everyone else in line for the elevator and pushed right through. Other times I heard scooter horns when they wanted to break through the line. It was so bad at one point that a lady with a walker felt she had to rush to move out of the way of the scooter and almost fell. One frail lady waiting for the elevator was being “pushed” from behind and loudly said “You have a seat on that thing and I am standing so don’t think you are going ahead of ME”.

 

I have no complaints with Princess about anything. The service was exemplary, food good and overall experience positive. The weather was not their fault and they did a nice job trying to appease the complaining passengers who felt otherwise.

Port-wise, this was a disappointing cruise. I had loved ones in all the ports we missed and was so looking forward to seeing them. We did not get to Maine so having the “Maine Lobster” on my bucket list was not checked off. That will be for another time.

 

FYI....you could have had it..the lobster in St.John,Halifax,PEI, is the same lobster as Maine...same waters.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Wow...I didn't think the scooters were supposed to be left in the hallways...the hallways really aren't that wide and I would think this is a hazard if, God forbid, there was an emergency especially one requiring passengers go to thier muster station.

 

I think I would complain to passenger services if I saw scooters left in the halls, especially overnight...I seem to remember announcements on recent cruises saying that scooters are not to be left in the halls..

[Mom33]

I was very interested in your cruise because we thought about doing it next season, and I was eagerly waiting reports when you had your cruise itinerary changed by Sandy. I'm sorry you missed the ports you expected and didn't see your loved ones. Now we don't know what to do about booking this itinerary at this time of year.

 

Glad you missed the storm in it's fury and arrived safely in FLL.:)

[GingerCandy]

We were on the same "mystery cruise" and it was very enjoyable inspite of the change of itinerary. The seas were calm, but the weather was mostly cold, windy and cloudy.

 

I agree about some of the people on scooters being very pushy and/or rude. Some of those pushy folks were on two feet however. ;) Other than that, no complaints. The captain did a great job taking care of us.:)

[CI66774]

God, I hate scooters. I realize some have to have them to walk because of age but (I know I will be flamed for this) I hate the morbidly obese people on scooters. I just want to shout, "Get off your fat a$$ and walk, then you won't need a scooter!" I've never shouted this but I think it all the time (sorry it's rude, but it's the truth)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the review!

[2little time]

FYI....you could have had it..the lobster in St.John,Halifax,PEI, is the same lobster as Maine...same waters.

Sadly we did not go to PEI. In Halifax, the tour took an hour longer than anticipated and we had no time to get to a restaurant. I had a lobster roll in St. John but it was a short port day and I was not hungry enough to eat a lobster dinner at noon.

[2little time]

I was very interested in your cruise because we thought about doing it next season, and I was eagerly waiting reports when you had your cruise itinerary changed by Sandy. I'm sorry you missed the ports you expected and didn't see your loved ones. Now we don't know what to do about booking this itinerary at this time of year.

 

Glad you missed the storm in it's fury and arrived safely in FLL.:)

I think this cruise was just on the edge of the seasonal weather change. As another poster said, the maritime weather in Canada was actually quite normal for this time of year....cool, foggy, drizzly in the mornings and some clearing early afternoon. The seas were fairly calm. The weather in Charleston was lovely. The hurricane is what made it difficult. I would hope that would not be the issue again next year. I very much enjoyed this cruise.

[Grammyluvs]

Thanks for the review. I kept up with the Emerald during that time. It must have been quite the adventure wondering where you would end up next. Boy, all those scooters in the hall really would be a problem in an emergency. Surprised nothing was done. I wonder why so many on one cruise. Glad you are the type to make lemonade out of lemons.

[2little time]

Thanks for the review. I kept up with the Emerald during that time. It must have been quite the adventure wondering where you would end up next. Boy, all those scooters in the hall really would be a problem in an emergency. Surprised nothing was done. I wonder why so many on one cruise. Glad you are the type to make lemonade out of lemons.[/quote

 

I think the median age on this cruise was 65+ which probably accounted for so many assistive devices. I think Princess will need to provide more information for persons with these devices as to how to store them. I saw a nifty type of walker with a seat that totally collapsed into itself. This was perfect for the tight spaces.

[timetravler]

As you know we were on the same cruise. We were on the Rivera deck and only one walker was left outside the cabin and no scooters. I still get cranky when I see plates and cups and such outside the door. There is no reason to leave you food in the hall and never understood this practice. Maybe the Rivera deck didn't have many scooters as we never had a problem at the elevators with them. I do know that Loveboat kept his scooter in his room at all times and never was rude. But then both Anthony and Dee are such nice people. Plus Honey(Their service dog) was always quiet and well behaved. I too was disappointed with all the ports we missed, but Princess did keep us safe. I do think however that they should have offered some port money back in the form of OBC's or something like that. I also wished Princess would have explained better why we went to St Johns instead of Maine which is just across the border and why we could not get off the ship in Boston. Their explanations we weak at best. But I was happy all and all with the cruise in general.

[monkeybench]

Wow...I didn't think the scooters were supposed to be left in the hallways...the hallways really aren't that wide and I would think this is a hazard if, God forbid, there was an emergency especially one requiring passengers go to thier muster station.

 

I think I would complain to passenger services if I saw scooters left in the halls, especially overnight...I seem to remember announcements on recent cruises saying that scooters are not to be left in the halls..

 

This seems to be a never ending battle. Scooters are clogging the halls/scooters can't fit through the door. I suspect we'll be treated to the worst of humanity if we ever did need to get through a scooter-packed corridor in a hurry. God help us if the steward carts are out at the same time :)

[Gunner22aa]

I know some people must use them and I appreciate the need. I got run over by one in the buffet line on the Summit 3 years ago. A lady came zipping down the buffet line with her eye on the food and not the road. We both ended up in a pile and her first words were not I'm sorry but rather "Im going to sue you for my medical expenses" She demanded my name, cabin number and home address. I gave none to her and she started screaming. Someone else in her party calmed her down and that was the end of it except for a healthy bruise on my leg.

[2little time]

I know some people must use them and I appreciate the need. I got run over by one in the buffet line on the Summit 3 years ago. A lady came zipping down the buffet line with her eye on the food and not the road. We both ended up in a pile and her first words were not I'm sorry but rather "Im going to sue you for my medical expenses" She demanded my name, cabin number and home address. I gave none to her and she started screaming. Someone else in her party calmed her down and that was the end of it except for a healthy bruise on my leg.

We found that the Caribe Cafe lines were narrow and made it difficult to go around scooters in line. Twice we encountered such obstacles that made it a less than pleasant situation so we stopped going there.