Emerald Princess - Thanksgiving Cruise

[GradUT]

Iggy's Mom and Jeffdal--Thanks for the info on the kid-free areas. I think we are definitely going to need them on the Christmas week cruise. (And I'm certainly not shy about telling kids to get out of adult areas! :))

[caribill]

Can someone tell me about the Crab Shack? does someone have a menu they can post?

 

 

[Aggie4Life]

Thank both of you for positive reviews of very recent sailings! I've been debating on Emerald vs. NCL Jewel during Spring Break (we are mid life adults traveling alone). MY husband is a bit weary of a bunch of HS kids being onboard, but I'm thinking Princess will be a lot more subdued than Carnival out of Galveston that same week. Thoughts?

[trabeler]

MY husband is a bit weary of a bunch of HS kids being onboard, but I'm thinking Princess will be a lot more subdued than Carnival out of Galveston that same week. Thoughts?

 

If both cruises you're considering are the same length, I'd definitely expect Princess to be a bit calmer than Carnival. We have sailed over Thanksgiving the past 5 years - Carnival Magic from Galveston, Emerald & Caribbean Princess from Bayport, Carnival Splendor from Long Beach, and the Celebrity Mercury from Baltimore.

 

Celebrity had the least kids, followed by Princess. Carnival was an order of magnitude more than Princess. Emerald this year had 600 kids while the Carnival Magic had around 1200! While there were a lot of kids on Princess, they were fairly well behaved. I cannot say the same about Carnival.

 

We did one Princess sailing over spring break and could only compare it to Celebrity sailings at spring break, but I'd expect that our Thanksgiving experiences on Carnival should be similar during spring break.

[iggy's mom]

Wednesday - Roatan

When DH & I woke up, the Emerald was in the process of docking in Roatan. The temperature was pleasant and the cloud cover helped with that. During the morning it would sprinkle, and then rain, and then clear up with the sun back out. Docked behind us was the Carnival Dream. There was a third ship however it was docked across the bay, and I could not see which one it was.

 

We had nothing planned for the day except to get off the ship, look around and take pictures. This is the first cruise we have taken where we did not plan shore excursions, and we loved it!

 

I've read that people don't like the area that was built around the cruise ship dock, but we had fun exploring all of the shops. After that we walked to the beach, got several good pictures of the Emerald, and then thought about eating at Fat Tuesday, but passed on that.

 

After a couple of hours on shore, we headed "back home", had lunch (where I had a very boring chicken sandwich from the grill...I should've had pizza), and went to the Thermal Spa. I forget when it started to rain, but sometime early afternoon the rain started. It was off and on, sometimes light and sometimes a down pour. Soon, it was time to watch for any pier runners and we would be off for Belize (or so we thought). According to the Pattern, all aboard time was 5:30pm. As we pulled away from dock, it was apparent that the sea and mother nature, were not in a very happy mood.

 

Our evening consisted of seeing the comedy/magic show, which we both enjoyed, dinner, and checking out the nightlife. As the evening progressed, the sea got more topsy-turvey.

Edited December 4, 2014 by iggy's mom

[jeffdal]

Wednesday - Roatan

When DH & I woke up' date=' the Emerald was in the process of docking in Roatan. The temperature was pleasant and the cloud cover helped with that. During the morning it would sprinkle, and then rain, and then clear up with the sun back out. Docked behind us was the Carnival Dream. There was a third ship however it was docked across the bay, and I could not see which one it was.

 

We had nothing planned for the day except to get off the ship, look around and take pictures. This is the first cruise we have taken where we did not plan shore excursions, and we loved it!

 

I've read that people don't like the area that was built around the cruise ship dock, but we had fun exploring all of the shops. After that we walked to the beach, got several good pictures of the Emerald, and then thought about eating at Fat Tuesday, but passed on that.

 

After a couple of hours on shore, we headed "back home", had lunch (where I had a very boring chicken sandwich from the grill...I should've had pizza), and went to the Thermal Spa. I forget when it started to rain, but sometime early afternoon the rain started. It was off and on, sometimes light and sometimes a down pour. Soon, it was time to watch for any pier runners and we would be off for Belize (or so we thought). According to the Pattern, all aboard time was 5:30pm. As we pulled away from dock, it was apparent that the sea and mother nature, were not in a very happy mood.

 

Our evening consisted of seeing the comedy/magic show, which we both enjoyed, dinner, and checking out the nightlife. As the evening progressed, the sea got more topsy-turvey.[/quote']

 

We were one of the pier runners in Roatan. We stayed at Mahogany Bay and went down the beach as far as we could get from the cruise herd. Found a great spot, had fun in the water, then ate at a nondescript bar and restaurant that was indoors but part of the compound. They had free wi-fi (or wee fee) so we ate/drank (Honduran beers) and checked in with the world. It started to downpour and we waited for it to end and went back out. There were about 50 people on the beach. We stayed until the crazy storm came and then made our way in the wind and rain to Fat Tuesdays.. where we danced and ate until it was time to go and then made a dash for the boat. Since we were cold, we promptly headed to the Lotus Pool to get warm.

 

I am not a big fan of corporate owned manufactured chain experiences but we had fun and made the best of it.

[iggy's mom]

We were one of the pier runners in Roatan. We stayed at Mahogany Bay and went down the beach as far as we could get from the cruise herd. Found a great spot, had fun in the water, then ate at a nondescript bar and restaurant that was indoors but part of the compound. They had free wi-fi (or wee fee) so we ate/drank (Honduran beers) and checked in with the world. It started to downpour and we waited for it to end and went back out. There were about 50 people on the beach. We stayed until the crazy storm came and then made our way in the wind and rain to Fat Tuesdays.. where we danced and ate until it was time to go and then made a dash for the boat. Since we were cold, we promptly headed to the Lotus Pool to get warm.

 

I am not a big fan of corporate owned manufactured chain experiences but we had fun and made the best of it.

 

Sounds like you found a great spot, and had fun!

[satxdiver]

We have sailed out of Bayport twice now and will be doing it again next year. This is a much nicer port facility than the not-so-converted warehouses in Galveston. We found access to the port facility to be very easy unlike the single bridge to the island and the Gulf parking lot (aka Gulf Freeway). The terminal itself is quite nice and modern.

 

We love Roatan and Mahogany Beach even though it was built by Carnival for cruise ships. Having been to Roatan many times in the past we are quite content to just stay in the port area. The beach is nice, the shops interesting and the dining/drinking places inviting. It is so relaxing to just wander around without having to deal with tours.

 

We were on a Magic cruise the first week of December as has sometimes been our custom to have a pleasant cruise without a lot of children aboard. Well we found out quickly how wrong we were! There were 260 or so aboard as announced by the CD. Now that is nowhere near the 1000 or so but still a lot of kids. We did not have a problem with any of them however. Don't the parents in TX make their kids go to school?

 

Having been on the Emerald and its sister ships Ruby and others, they are indeed really nice ships. Asiago is a well kept secret and often empty allowing a very relaxing time.

 

Glad to hear the OP had a good time aboard. See you on the Emerald.

[iggy's mom]

Thursday - Belize...well, nope a day at sea

This morning we had set the alarm to go off pretty early as we wanted to be up and outside talking pictures as we anchored. During the night, mother nature continued her fit. Before the alarm went off, the Captain came on over the louder speaker (you know it's not anything good, when it's nearly before sunrise and the message is being broadcast in the room). The Captain stated basically that there had been 50 knot winds during the night, and the Pilot and himself decided that it was unsafe to anchor so we were missing Belize. He also mentioned how big the waves were, but I forget the number. He also stated that the Carnival Splendor and Carnival Dream had to cancel their spots in Belize as well. Also, said that a revised Patter would be delivered to the staterooms (which we didn't get until much later in the day...I wound up stopping by Guest Services to get one). Over the next few hours, the Captain would repeat his message two more times.

 

I have to admit, although I didn't want to miss Belize, I was not unhappy to have another ship day!

 

The CD revised the location for the three NFL games. Originally there were to be on the big screen pool side. However due to the weather the games were shown out there, plus first and second games were shown in Skywalkers. The 3rd game was show in a different club, Club Fusion. DH found himself a nice chair location and made himself comfortable for the first two games. Skywalkers doesn't have any food, so I earned a few brownie points by bringing him up some pizza at lunch time. I meanwhile, spent my day joining various activities, popping in and out of the NFL games, hitting up the gym, and the Thermal Suite. I really think this was my favorite day of the whole cruise!

 

We had dinner in the dinning room, and we skipped this night's show "Boogie Shoes."

[iggy's mom]

Odd and Ends Notes:

Note sure why, but I thought that the ship would have a few more decorations for Thanksgiving. They bar staff put up a few decorations in the morning but nothing that one couldn't buy at the 99 cent store. The food and beverage department did do a really nice display that was out by the International Cafe.

 

Due to the weather the Ultimate Deck Party was moved inside to the Piazza. It was fun but probably would've had a bigger turn out had it been outside at the pool as scheduled.

 

I had fought about doing the Pub Lunch on this day, but the line was continuously long. No doubt with most people inside due to the lousy weather.

 

Many of the formally quite spots were wall to wall with people trying to find a place to read, play games, or chat.

 

Saw the Captain twice out and about on the ship. One time he was walking around by Vines and the International Cafe asking passengers who they were doing, and the like. The other time, was up by the big screen and he again was holding court chatting away with people. I thought throughout the cruise by he and CD kept us informed but weren't bothersome.

[irisdeane]

I would like to know how Emerald Princess was. We are cruising 08 March 15. Will be our first Princess cruise.

Thanks!

 

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[jeffdal]

Ultimate Dance Party pic!

 

 

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[MarElz]

Odd and Ends Notes:

Saw the Captain twice out and about on the ship. One time he was walking around by Vines and the International Cafe asking passengers who they were doing' date='[/quote']

 

Well that seems very personal. :D:D:D

 

Surprised to see the Emerald at Bayport this morning, not sure what that's about. Looking forward to boarding in just a couple of weeks!

[James in SA]

That would be Norwegian Jewel in Bayport this morning. Emerald hopefully will be there tomorrow morning.

[MarElz]

That would be Norwegian Jewel in Bayport this morning. Emerald hopefully will be there tomorrow morning.

 

Thanks James, didn't look too closely, glad to know there wasn't another problem with the Emerald!

[iggy's mom]

[ATTACH]333197[/ATTACH] Ultimate Dance Party pic!

 

 

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Thank you for posting the picture!

[iggy's mom]

Friday - Cozumel

Soon after getting up on Friday, the Emerald Princess began to dock, so we went out onto the balcony to watch the docking and to snap some pictures. The Carnival Dream started it's docking procedures not that long afterwards. Due to the Dream's docking, guests on the Emerald were not able to get off the ship. After about 20-30 minutes, people were able to go ashore. According to the Patter we were due to arrive in Cozumel at 7am with all aboard being at 3:30pm. There was a total of six cruise ships in port on this day.

 

DH & I once again did not have anything planned for Cozumel. We did just about what we had done in Roatan. Got off of the ship, and walked around the pier area. We looked in just about all of the shops in the area. We decided to eat an early lunch while ashore. We choose "Three Amigos" which right near the entrance to where one shows their ship card to back on the ship. The lunch as actually quite tasty and we had a lovely view.

 

Once back on the ship, I hit up the gym and the Thermal Suite.

 

At about 3-3:15'ish, I meet up with DH & we went out to deck 7 to see if we'd have any pier runners. People were streaming on the ship, and at 3:30, we noticed they were not pulling up the gang planks. At around, 3:45'ish, maybe later, there was an announcement from the Captain that we were waiting for a shore excursion to get back. It must have been a very big shore excursion or more than one, because there easily was over 200 people who got back in this group of people. I know I wouldn't have liked to been in their shoes, but they made it back and that was good. Once we set sail, we were the third ship to leave for the day.

 

This evening was the 2nd formal night. We ate in the Crown Grill. While the front of the house service was less than stellar, our waiter was decent and the food was excellent.

 

We skipped the main production show this evening. DH went to the Marriage Match Game Show. He likes this show so he usually goes to it on which ever cruise we are on. Me on the other hand, I always skip this one. Not sure why, but I have never liked it. I went to the 70's Warm Up with ABBA Hour. It really was just ABBA music playing in Club Fusion but since they are one of my favorites, I enjoyed listening to the music.

 

We had a very lovely day!

[cruz chic]

Can you tell me if they have eliptical machines in the gym on the emerald? Thx.

[iggy's mom]

Can you tell me if they have eliptical machines in the gym on the emerald? Thx.

 

Yes, they do. DH used them just about every day.

[cruz chic]

Yes' date=' they do. DH used them just about every day.[/quote']

 

Thx so much. I've enjoyed your review since I'll be doing this cruise in February.

[iggy's mom]

Thx so much. I've enjoyed your review since I'll be doing this cruise in February.

 

Thank you!

[iggy's mom]

Sea Day - Saturday

Our last day on the ship, and the last day of vacation. :( On this day, I spent a time doing as much as possible around the ship. During the day I got my last two visits to the Thermal Spa in, and ran a few miles around deck 7.

 

In morning, I did most of the Culinary Show. I like the cooking part, but didn't stick around for the Galley Tour. There was a mini crew talent show that was going on as the bridge between the cooking and the tour, and for some reason I did not have the patients to wait around. As a note, if you are interested in the Galley Tour, definitely get to the theater early as it filled up quickly, and a decent amount of people wound up with no place to sit.

 

I then meet DH for the ice carving. Afterwards we did the Pub Lunch, which we both enjoyed! It was easy to get in, and the line was no where anything like it was on the missed Belize day. Later we went to Bar Wars, which okay. I did my last afternoon tea later in the day, as well as one last trivia contest.

 

The show in the Princess Theater was a comedian who both of us liked. While it did seem a bit strange to have this type of show on the last night, we both were happy to end with a show that we enjoyed.

 

We had dinner at the Crown Grill. Like the previous night, the front of the house experience was horrible, but our waiter was nice and pleasant and the food was fabulous!

 

Other notes:

I forgot to mention, but around day 3 (or it may have been day 4), after our Steward cleaned our room, he also left information about debarkation. There was a paper to be filled out and returned to Passenger Services desk based on what type of debark was being choose (carry off your own, Princess transportation to the airport, etc.). We filled out the paperwork and returned it on the same day. We choose to carry off our own luggage, and we selected and were assigned Group A, which was the first group off the ship.

 

We had purchased an internet package on embarkation day. For the most part, the internet service was the best we have had in several cruises.

 

This day's Patter listed the "most traveled passengers" on our cruise, and they had 1186 days with Princess!