Emerald Oct 17-24

[Friscoonetwo]

Off the Emerald Princess after a great cruise. A few thoughts on the cruise but not a full blown review.

Embarkation: Since the ship had just finished a Trans Atlantic, the coast guard had to do their thing before we could embark. DW and I got to the port about 11:30 <and yes we were forewarned by Princess about the inspection and that boarding wold be delayed> We boarded the ship about 1:45. The Princess reps in the waiting area brought us bags with goodies and water in them while we waited. There was a couple near us who were complaining and blaming Princess for the wait. Felt like telling them to be quiet and that the delay was totally beyond the control of Princess, but thought better of it. Once the Coast Guard had cleared the ship, the embarkation was the usual smooth Princess way.

Food: I know that food is subjective but it was we thought that it was excellent. We had fixed dining and our servers Julian and Angelo were outstanding, I am not a fan of this crust pizza, so did not like the pizza but DW loved it. I did have a coffee card this cruise and really enjoyed the specialty coffees at he International Cafe.

Entertainment: 3 Princess Theater productions which were great, a comedian who had us rolling in the aisles, and an impressionist who knocked our socks off with his singer impressions. He brought the house down with his Elvis. One disappointment however, there were no fruit carving, towel folding or flower arranging demos in the Piazza and no ice carving demos by the pool. They are things that we look forward to but no go on the cruise. Another little thing and maybe I am nit picking here but at the opening night show in the Princess Theater the cruise director did not introduce his staff. I know a little thing but something that have come to expect. Gives on an idea of who these people are as you see them around the ship in their various roles of running the game shows and introducing acts in the Piazza.

Condition of Ship: She looks a little tired but why let a few rust spots and rug stains spoil your cruise? Enough said.

Room: We went for an inside cabin this time and after one day DW stated that on our cruise next April we go back to a balcony. Our steward Christian was super. I really do not want to know how many towels we went through. Seemed like every time we left the room for a while, we came back to fresh towels.

Ultimate Ships Tour: Two Words : Take It. More than worth the cost. Ours was suppose to run about 2:15 minutes and ended up being over 3 hours.

Disembarkation: We had 7:00 self-embarkation but did not leave till about 7:40. Again, not the fault of Princess. The port authorities and customs did not give the OK to allow people off the ship until 7:30.

Final Thoughts: Was a great cruise. Would I sail on Emerald again Oh Yes.

[srpilo]

Welcome back

 

 

Thanks for your report

Srpilo

[HJH]

We are on the Emerald for the previous three weeks from Rome to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

You comment about the Cruise Director never introducing his Assistants was true on our two segments too. I don't believe he ever introduced the Singers and Dancers either. He's a "world of art"!

[mom22busygirls]

We also were on that cruise. I agree that boarding went well and we were on the ship before 3 p.m. Great entertainment and great food. We ate in the Crown Grill one night and had an excellent meal and excellent service. We were on the Aloha deck with an inside cabin and our steward was Angelito. I started calling him the Ninja because every time we left the cabin there were fresh towels and the bed was remade! He was great. I did overhear people complaining about the food but they were eating all their dinners in the Horizon Buffet. We at there the last night for dinner and it was okay - fine for breakfast and lunch but not so great for dinner. We had anytime dining and not once waited more than a couple of minutes for a table. I do believe on sea days that they should have more going on at the main pool - music was a little boring and not really any games for participation. They did an ice carving on the last sea day - I think it was before noon. Need to also mention the weather was great in all ports - Grand Turks was a little dreary but ontherwise we were very lucky.

 

Overall very positive for us and we alredy booked our next cruise for April 2017 and convinced our neighbors to come along too!

[cruisequeen4ever]

Great to hear!

[mom22busygirls]

We also were on that cruise. I agree that boarding went well and we were on the ship before 3 p.m. Great entertainment and great food. We ate in the Crown Grill one night and had an excellent meal and excellent service. We were on the Aloha deck with an inside cabin and our steward was Angelito. I started calling him the Ninja because every time we left the cabin there were fresh towels and the bed was remade! He was great. I did overhear people complaining about the food but they were eating all their dinners in the Horizon Buffet. We at there the last night for dinner and it was okay - fine for breakfast and lunch but not so great for dinner. We had anytime dining and not once waited more than a couple of minutes for a table. I do believe on sea days that they should have more going on at the main pool - music was a little boring and not really any games for participation. They did an ice carving on the last sea day - I think it was before noon. Need to also mention the weather was great in all ports - Grand Turks was a little dreary but ontherwise we were very lucky.

 

Overall very positive for us and we alredy booked our next cruise for April 2017 and convinced our neighbors to come along too!

[HALrunner]

Thank you so much for your report(s)! I read the with keen interest as we will be on the Emerald on 11/7. This will only be our second time on PCL, so I am very curious about what to expect.

Did you happen to call on St. Thomas on this itinerary? If so, do you remember which port your docked at (Crown Bay vs. Havensight)? We have a private excursion planned there and in the middle of the night I woke up worried about the timing. Do you recall if All Aboard time was 30 or 60 minutes before sailing?

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write about your recent experiences, hopefully "talking" about it will help you avoid the Post Cruise Blues that I often suffer from shortly after disembarkation;)

[jtagphillycruiser]

Glad to hear about your Emerald experiences. We sail on Nov. 14th, our 2nd time on this ship with the first being in 2009. We also have an inside cabin. Keeping my fingers crossed for nice weather. Oh and btw, welcome back to reality.

 

Joanne

[Whippets]

Thanks for sharing your experience! We are first time Princess cruisers, so excited to see what a different line offers. The best part about our upcoming short cruise is that we will be sailing with friends. We all just wanted to get away for a quick break!

[jackid]

Thank you so much for your report(s)! I read the with keen interest as we will be on the Emerald on 11/7. This will only be our second time on PCL, so I am very curious about what to expect.

 

Did you happen to call on St. Thomas on this itinerary? If so, do you remember which port your docked at (Crown Bay vs. Havensight)? We have a private excursion planned there and in the middle of the night I woke up worried about the timing. Do you recall if All Aboard time was 30 or 60 minutes before sailing?

 

 

 

Thanks again for taking the time to write about your recent experiences, hopefully "talking" about it will help you avoid the Post Cruise Blues that I often suffer from shortly after disembarkation;)

 

 

We docked at Crown Bay. I was a little disappointed as Havensight is so much more convenient.

 

 

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[jackid]

We were also on the 10/17 sailing. We had an oversized interior, Riviera 507, which was perfect for DH and I. Noise not an issue at all for this cabin. It was very quiet. Our cabin steward, Ariel, was awesome. Always has clean bath towels and plenty of beach towels too. Enjoyed the fine dining for dinner with anytime seating. Only had one bad experience in the DaVinci dining room. Formal night with lobster, waiter never brought DH drawn butter and never checked to see how meals were. Tables on both sides of us had problems too. I agree with other poster, need more activity and music by both pools. We enjoyed the disco, Sabatini's, and just relaxing. We had the AI drink package. Worth the money between cocktails, water and specialty coffees. One warning, do not take the Bajari Beach Escape on Grand Turk. The beach was 50 yards wide, the beach chairs, you had to practically crawl over someone to get to a chair, charged you if you wanted a chair on the waterfront, $8 bottles of beer. Not worth the money. All the cruisers in our group complained. PCL rebated each of us $5. Overall we had a great time with family & new friends. We were part of a group of 68 celebrating our nephew's wedding, which was nicely done.

 

 

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