Just Back from Emerald 10-day S. Carib - Questions?

[freddybeachpete]

I will do my best to post a review in the next couple of days but happy to answer any questions people have about our March 17-27 cruise to Southern Caribbean (Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, St Thomas, Princess Cays) onbord Emerald Princess. Trip was, in a word, fantastic:D

[Colo Cruiser]

Glad you had a great trip.

We got off when you got on. :D

[Ontario Cruiser]

Did they have wine packages? Do you know how the taking wine on board went? Thanks Ontario Cruiser\TA April 26th

[phonejock]

Will be on the Emerald in July. How is the ship and crew? I am expecting the answer to be awesome as always!:)

[alexandra cruiser]

can you post a complete review? Ship,cabin,food,service,port of call,excursions,etc...yes, I m a total newbie to Princess and trying to determine which cruise,line,etc .for next yr.

Do you use anytime dining,any wait?

Order coffee/drink packages?

Basically anything you care to share would really help?Have been on smaller ships(700) and below,but can t find one doing s.caribbean.:confused:

[freddybeachpete]

Did they have wine packages? Do you know how the taking wine on board went? Thanks Ontario Cruiser\TA April 26th

 

Sorry no info on wine packages as I am a non-drinker.

 

My wife and I hand carried 3 bottles of wine on board when embarking and had no issues. Bottles were opened and remained in our cabin but my wife typically brought a glass with her to dinner and no problems.

[freddybeachpete]

Will be on the Emerald in July. How is the ship and crew? I am expecting the answer to be awesome as always!:)

 

Ship was in fine shape and all staff with whom we interacted were excellent. Just as we remembered from our cruise on the Emerald two years ago.

[freddybeachpete]

can you post a complete review? Ship,cabin,food,service,port of call,excursions,etc...yes, I m a total newbie to Princess and trying to determine which cruise,line,etc .for next yr.

Do you use anytime dining,any wait?

Order coffee/drink packages?

Basically anything you care to share would really help?Have been on smaller ships(700) and below,but can t find one doing s.caribbean.:confused:

 

I will try to have a complete review up this weekend but it threatens to be LONG so be prepared :p. Basically though, we had a GREAT cruise and can highly recommend the Emerald Princess. :)

[Grammyluvs]

Looking forward to your review.

[tully07]

Glad to hear you had a great trip!! We're doing this one next February. :D

[waterbabyfish]

Any good shows to see?

[Texas]

Did you use the Sanctuary? If so, was it crowded? How did you like it? Thanks.

Look forward to your review.

[BoPippy]

Ship was in fine shape and all staff with whom we interacted were excellent. Just as we remembered from our cruise on the Emerald two years ago.

 

we were on the Emerald 2 years ago also and going again next week.We must just be missing each other on these trips and only live 1 1/2 hour drive apart.lol.Great ship.We can't wait until next week.:)

[OCruisers]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise on Emerald as much as we did on our B2B on her in January.

 

Which ports did you enjoy most/least?

Where did you most enjoy spending your time with on the ship?

 

LuLu

~~~~

[wests5]

We were on the Emerald 2 years ago also, and leave on the 16th of April.... wondering if you did any tours or beach time on islands that you can recommend? Glad you had a great time.... we are looking to do the same!

[freddybeachpete]

Any good shows to see?

 

Really enjoyed the comedian Sarge, Mark Preston of The Lettermen was FANTASTIC and the band Sol Provider were very good. The various Princess production numbers were standard fare. The Int'l Crew show on the final night was ++ enjoyable. In Crooners the pianist/singer was a hoot - Cory Simon.

[freddybeachpete]

Did you use the Sanctuary? If so, was it crowded? How did you like it? Thanks.

Look forward to your review.

 

No, we didn't.

[freddybeachpete]

we were on the Emerald 2 years ago also and going again next week.We must just be missing each other on these trips and only live 1 1/2 hour drive apart.lol.Great ship.We can't wait until next week.:)

:):) We ran into some Monctonians - they commented on my UNB Varsity Reds shirt and informed me that our hockey team had just won the Nationals which was nice!!

[freddybeachpete]

We were on the Emerald 2 years ago also, and leave on the 16th of April.... wondering if you did any tours or beach time on islands that you can recommend? Glad you had a great time.... we are looking to do the same!

 

Aruba - Trikes Aruba - 5 stars (out of 5)

Bonaire - Woodwind Snorkelling - 5++ stars

Grenada - water taxi to Grand Anse beach - 4 stars

Dominica - Bumpiing Tours - 5 stars

St Thomas - stayed on board

Princess Cays - stayed on board

[freddybeachpete]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise on Emerald as much as we did on our B2B on her in January.

 

Which ports did you enjoy most/least?

Where did you most enjoy spending your time with on the ship?

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

We enjoyed all the ports and as you see from my previous post our activities were very different in each place so hard to choose a fave but if pressed I would have to say that Bonaire for snorkelling or Dominica for the island tour with Levi of Bumpiing Tours which went to Champagne Reef, Titou Gorge and Trafalgar Falls/Hot Springs.

 

Fave place on board, by far, is the International Cafe/Piazza. Also liked the area at the stern with the small pool, hot tubs, etc. overlooking the ship's wake.

[flamomo]

I was on the cruise too, and had a wonderful time. I felt the ship and the crew were great.

 

I did the Princess snorkeling excursion to the Champagne Reef on Dominica, and it was excellent. It was a guided snorkel, and the crew on the cat were very good.

 

The only port where I was underwhelmed was Grenada, but it was my fault because, having been there before, I didn't book an excursion. I and my friends didn't feel the port had a lot to do/see on our own.

 

I don't use the Sanctuary at all, so can't offer any info.

 

We did spend most afternoons in the aft adult only pool, and loved it. Never crowded, almost always available lounges, nice views, nearby bar ...... what more could one ask for!!

 

Mary Lou

[oratheeexplorer]

Trying to talk my hubby into doing this cruise next winter. The 2 caribbean cruises we have been on were each 7 day cruises. I would LOVE to do this one.

 

I believe there are like 5 port days in a row. Did you feel rushed around or too busy with this type of itinerary? What were your favorite ports? Favorite excursions or beaches?

 

Looking forward to your review!

[oratheeexplorer]

Just saw your post of which excursions you did. Were these tours through the cruise line, or all booked with private companies? The one on Dominica, did you do a lot of hiking in the different areas, and if so, was it difficult? I have read some reviews on the different ports about some people not realizing how strenuous some of the tours were. I hope you will give some details of each excursion when you do your review.

 

Again, looking forward to that review....thank you!

[freddybeachpete]

Just saw your post of which excursions you did. Were these tours through the cruise line, or all booked with private companies? The one on Dominica, did you do a lot of hiking in the different areas, and if so, was it difficult? I have read some reviews on the different ports about some people not realizing how strenuous some of the tours were. I hope you will give some details of each excursion when you do your review.

 

Again, looking forward to that review....thank you!

 

I am a research-a-maniac using CC and TripAdvisor so book all my trips independently. The Bumpiing Tour was (at most) moderately strenuous (to climb down the boulder field to the bottom of the Falls) but very do-able for most unless you have a mobility impairment. Most in our group were 45-55 but there was a pair of (I'd guess) 60 yo ladies who managed without problem.

[oratheeexplorer]

I looked at Trikes Aruba's website and it looks amazing! We did the Scoot Coupe Caravan style around Cozumel and loved it, so I'm sure we would love this! Gotta get a cruise booked to Aruba so we can try it out! :)