Emerald Review 3/27-4/6 with pictures

[Mom33]

Here is a review of our Eastern Caribbean cruise of March 27-April 6 on the Emerald Princess.

 

We had a wonderful cruise thanks to the Captain Nash and his marvelous crew. Service was excellent in all departments. When we sat in the Horizon, someone was there to serve us drinks promptly. We had many dining experiences with different waitstaff throughout the cruise and they were friendly and did a commendable job. Food was served at a nice pace and served hot. We ate in both anytime dining rooms and never had to wait to be seated. I noticed that they didn't have an extra early traditional dining room in Da Vinci this time.

 

Thanks to the cruise director Peter Tredgett and his crew, the entertainment was plentiful and well done. Our evenings were always full of activity. We saw 4 production shows, 2 shows by the Beatle Maniacs, 4 movies, 2 comedians and a singer-comedian, along with two bands for dancing and the jazz ensemble from the Princess orchestra. The crew show was a standout as was the ballon fight :)

 

We had a Caribe balcony and were pleasantly surprised to find the old, comfy furniture on the balcony! YAY! This time we had a comfy bed. On the Emerald last year, we had a sagging rock for a mattress. Our steward Amando was always greeting us with a hello and smile and did a great job servicing our cabin.

 

The weather was mostly good with our day in Antigua a washout. We also visited

St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Thomas and Princess Cay. Barbados was our favorite this time. I was ill on Barbados day on our previous cruise and never experienced the beaches. We had a lovely visit to Carlisle Beach this time.

We mostly went to the beach on this trip since we had been to these islands before.

 

The one exception was on St. Thomas. We have been here many times and usually go to St. Johns for Trunk Bay. This time however, we decided to update our photos to digital by taking a tour up to Bluebeards Castle and Drakes Seat. Our last time up was during the super 8 movie era. :D Our driver was insane and gave us one heck of a roller coaster ride up and down the hills.:eek: We walked down the 99 steps back into town.

 

We had a quirky experience with the ships elevators this trip. They always opened when I pushed the button! We never waited for one. It became a standing joke all through the cruise. On disembarkation day, we went to the forward elevators to go down to deck 5 and the Michelangelo to wait for self disembarkation to begin. I pressed the button and the door opened. I am still shaking my head as I write this.It will never happen again I am sure.

 

The only complaint I can make this trip concerns Princess Cays and the placement of the clamshells. They are using them in the middle of the beach area now and they are blocking all views of the water. They used to be on one side of the beach. I don't go to the beach to see clamshells. I want to see some sea wherever I sit. Pictures to follow.

[Mom33]

Charlotte Amalie

 

Cockleshell Beach, St. Kitts overlooking Nevis

 

St. Kitts

 

Carlisle Beach, Barbados

 

Marigot Bay, St. Lucia

[TracieABD]

Thank you! Awesome photos!!!

[Colo Cruiser]

Nice!

 

Noticed the clamshell thing last month on the min side of the beach.

Kinda dumb placing them where they are. :rolleyes:

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for taking the time to post your review and pictures.....:):):)

Bob

[A1A]

I too noticed the clamshell placement on PC last week while on the caribbean Princess and agree with you and Colo Cruiser. Glad you had a great trip on the Emerald, thanks for the photos and for a nice review!

Ken

[Grammyluvs]

Thanks for the review. We are boarding her this Thursday for the 27 day Grand Adventure.

We also have a Caribe balcony room and was so glad to hear we have the old furniture and comfy beds. YAY! Also, Peter Tredgett is our Cruise Director. Your review came at a great time!

One question...do you remember what movies they were showing? We have 6 straight days at sea, so probably will catch one or two.LOL

[Mom33]

Thanks for the review. We are boarding her this Thursday for the 27 day Grand Adventure.

We also have a Caribe balcony room and was so glad to hear we have the old furniture and comfy beds. YAY! Also, Peter Tredgett is our Cruise Director. Your review came at a great time!

One question...do you remember what movies they were showing? We have 6 straight days at sea, so probably will catch one or two.LOL

 

We saw Argo, Lincoln, Skyfall and Snow White and the Huntsman. Some of the other movies were Life of Pi, Premium Rush, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part II, Robot and Frank along with some oldies like Back To The Future, Dirty Dancing and Casablanca:D

 

Everyone is welcome.:D

 

I wish I could have made the pictures bigger, but I can't figure out how to do it.

[chrysalis]

Nice....and no photos of our very rainy day in Antigua?:D

 

Lucky you with the elevators. We met some of the rudest people ever in those things this time.

[MustangGT]

Enjoyed your review! We were on the same itinerary on the Emerald at the end of February/beginning of March.

St. Thomas was our only repeat island on this cruise and we enjoyed the cruise very much!

I'm interested in your opinion of Cockleshell beach on St. Kitts. Did you go there on a Princess excursion or independently? We were very disappointed in this beach - we took a Princess excursion there. We thought it was dirty and many of the loungers were in bad shape.

We also had a Caribe balcony and we were relieved to find the 'old' furniture:D

[Mom33]

Nice....and no photos of our very rainy day in Antigua?:D

 

Lucky you with the elevators. We met some of the rudest people ever in those things this time.

 

I can't tell you how many rides we actually took alone. It was really weird.

 

Here is a rainy day in Antigua :)

 

[blazerjan]

Thanks so much for the review.. we are doing this same itinerary in November on the Emerald. St Thomas is the only repeat for us so we're looking for something new to do. We are not beach people when we don't have the kids/grandkids with us.

[Mom33]

Enjoyed your review! We were on the same itinerary on the Emerald at the end of February/beginning of March.

St. Thomas was our only repeat island on this cruise and we enjoyed the cruise very much!

I'm interested in your opinion of Cockleshell beach on St. Kitts. Did you go there on a Princess excursion or independently? We were very disappointed in this beach - we took a Princess excursion there. We thought it was dirty and many of the loungers were in bad shape.

We also had a Caribe balcony and we were relieved to find the 'old' furniture:D

 

We did the Princess excursion and we were not impressed by the beach at all. We were impressed with the view however.

We like beaches with soft white sand and easy access into the water. We do not care for beaches with rocks and shells to walk through and drop offs right near the beach. We were also disappointed in the loungers and the lack of umbrellas.

[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. I am considering a 10 day cruise on the Royal Princess that includes some of the ports you visited so I enjoyed your pictures.

[davekathy]

Here is a review of our Eastern Caribbean cruise of March 27-April 6 on the Emerald Princess.

 

We had a wonderful cruise thanks to the Captain Nash and his marvelous crew. Service was excellent in all departments. When we sat in the Horizon, someone was there to serve us drinks promptly. We had many dining experiences with different waitstaff throughout the cruise and they were friendly and did a commendable job. Food was served at a nice pace and served hot. We ate in both anytime dining rooms and never had to wait to be seated. I noticed that they didn't have an extra early traditional dining room in Da Vinci this time.

 

Thanks to the cruise director Peter Tredgett and his crew, the entertainment was plentiful and well done. Our evenings were always full of activity. We saw 4 production shows, 2 shows by the Beatle Maniacs, 4 movies, 2 comedians and a singer-comedian, along with two bands for dancing and the jazz ensemble from the Princess orchestra. The crew show was a standout as was the ballon fight :)

 

We had a Caribe balcony and were pleasantly surprised to find the old, comfy furniture on the balcony! YAY! This time we had a comfy bed. On the Emerald last year, we had a sagging rock for a mattress. Our steward Amando was always greeting us with a hello and smile and did a great job servicing our cabin.

 

The weather was mostly good with our day in Antigua a washout. We also visited

St. Lucia, St. Kitts, Barbados, St. Thomas and Princess Cay. Barbados was our favorite this time. I was ill on Barbados day on our previous cruise and never experienced the beaches. We had a lovely visit to Carlisle Beach this time.

We mostly went to the beach on this trip since we had been to these islands before.

 

The one exception was on St. Thomas. We have been here many times and usually go to St. Johns for Trunk Bay. This time however, we decided to update our photos to digital by taking a tour up to Bluebeards Castle and Drakes Seat. Our last time up was during the super 8 movie era. :D Our driver was insane and gave us one heck of a roller coaster ride up and down the hills.:eek: We walked down the 99 steps back into town.

 

We had a quirky experience with the ships elevators this trip. They always opened when I pushed the button! We never waited for one. It became a standing joke all through the cruise. On disembarkation day, we went to the forward elevators to go down to deck 5 and the Michelangelo to wait for self disembarkation to begin. I pressed the button and the door opened. I am still shaking my head as I write this.It will never happen again I am sure.

 

The only complaint I can make this trip concerns Princess Cays and the placement of the clamshells. They are using them in the middle of the beach area now and they are blocking all views of the water. They used to be on one side of the beach. I don't go to the beach to see clamshells. I want to see some sea wherever I sit. Pictures to follow.

 

We were on the same sailing as you. We also had a fantastic Cruise. I had to laugh when I read your remarks concerning the elevators. When we did use the elevators our experiences and comments were the same as yours.

[Keith1010]

Thanks for taking the time to write and post the review.

 

Keith

[Mom33]

Your welcome to all those that have responded.:D

[Tak8]

Enjoyed your review and photos. I've been to St. Kitts twice, but never to Cockleshell beach. It's looks great. I think I found my beach for next cruise that includes St. Kitts.