Just off the Emerald

[Relax Cruiser]

Just writing a quick review of our First Cruise on Emerald which concluded yesterday. Full review coming soon once I scan all the Patters and upload menu pics from Camera.

 

Embarkation Process:

Was very smooth. We had rented a car from Alamo National which dropped of us of the pier. Word of warning, even though they say 6mins it actually took us almost a good 20-25mins to go from airport to pier. Our check-in time was 1:30pm and we arrived at 1:35pm and handed our bags to the porter. We proceeded to checkin where we waited in line and quickly seen to. We had a max waiting time of 10mins. Afterwards we proceeded to security check and headed up the gangway where they take your photo. We then proceeded towards the ship and went up to our room (which was ready by then) to refresh and meet our room steward.

 

Food:

Food on Emerald was excellent. We personally loved the buffet and spent most of our time there apart from dinner time. Dinner we had AnyTime dining and opted to share a table (because we love meeting new people) and most of the time our table was one of the loudest with some great laughs. Never encountered a bad person. I must admit though dinner menu was left a little undesired. Most of the time ended up ordering the same thing but that wouldn't put me off and give it a bad review. Pics to follow later. British pub lunch was one of the best I've had along with Afternoon Tea. I have definitely put on a couple of pounds after coming back home. Mix of Vegetarian as well as Non-Vegetarian food as well as Sugar-Free desserts.

 

Entertainment:

Entertainment is where I was left a little bit disappointed. Only one worth watching was Magic To Do, rest all were low-key and catered to the more mature/older crowd (we are in our 30's). Al Katz the comedian is not to be missed if he's on your ship. Super funny. The same could not be said of that of Carl Banks. Soul Rockers was good not great, lead singer was a little off at most times. Movies Under The Stars was a good selection: The Martian, Jurassic World, The Man from U.N.C.L.E and so on. Sail away from FLL was low-key (probably because of weather).

 

Ship Condition:

Post Dry Dock I can confirm we had new mattresses. We were in an OV Obstructed room (E708), and although obstructed managed to catch the sunrise at one time and could see the ocean, and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. Room was near to Buffet, Pool, Piazza, Photo/Video Gallery, Club Fusion and so on. Ship was clean throughout. Could make out it had new carpets and dining areas were very clean. Toilets flushed properly and had no problems whatsoever with blockages (as had been reported earlier). Loved the chocolates we used to get every night as well as the little tote-bag.

 

Formal Nights:

There were 2 formal nights. We dressed up for both and got some great photos. They also held a raffle of $100 worth of pics for which we won 1st prize, so make sure you take a lot of photos with different backgrounds. More chances at raffle. Lot of people did not dress up for 2nd formal night but they were in the minority.

 

Zika Virus:

We had already booked our cruise before the outbreak so probably will not go to the Caribbean again in the near future. Lot of bug spray was put on before we headed to Coba in Cozumel as it was in the jungle. Captain made frequent announcements on how to protect yourselves.

 

Ports:

Very disappointed with the cancellation of Princess Cays. I made sure I made a point of it in the survey today. It seems to be happening on an frequent basis. We met atleast 2-3 couples who told us that this had happened 3 times before. But rest of the ports were awesome. If you plan to go to Roatan, Honduras it's a 15min walk back to ship and it was fun watching people run back to ship at 4:45pm (Yes, 4:45pm and All Aboard Time was 4:30pm).

 

Anyways, here was a quick review of the cruise holiday. Would not hesitate to book another one with Princess and Emerald in particular. Loved every moment of it. Staff were great, people were great and especially food. Miss having my bed made this morning.:p Hope you'll enjoyed the review and will answer any questions from my experience.

[Woobstr112G]

Thanks for posting your review.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review.

[mamaboss]

Thank you for taking the time to post.

[riclop]

Just writing a quick review of our First Cruise on Emerald which concluded yesterday. Full review coming soon once I scan all the Patters and upload menu pics from Camera.

 

Embarkation Process:

Was very smooth. We had rented a car from Alamo National which dropped of us of the pier. Word of warning, even though they say 6mins it actually took us almost a good 20-25mins to go from airport to pier. Our check-in time was 1:30pm and we arrived at 1:35pm and handed our bags to the porter. We proceeded to checkin where we waited in line and quickly seen to. We had a max waiting time of 10mins. Afterwards we proceeded to security check and headed up the gangway where they take your photo. We then proceeded towards the ship and went up to our room (which was ready by then) to refresh and meet our room steward.

 

Food:

Food on Emerald was excellent. We personally loved the buffet and spent most of our time there apart from dinner time. Dinner we had AnyTime dining and opted to share a table (because we love meeting new people) and most of the time our table was one of the loudest with some great laughs. Never encountered a bad person. I must admit though dinner menu was left a little undesired. Most of the time ended up ordering the same thing but that wouldn't put me off and give it a bad review. Pics to follow later. British pub lunch was one of the best I've had along with Afternoon Tea. I have definitely put on a couple of pounds after coming back home. Mix of Vegetarian as well as Non-Vegetarian food as well as Sugar-Free desserts.

 

Entertainment:

Entertainment is where I was left a little bit disappointed. Only one worth watching was Magic To Do, rest all were low-key and catered to the more mature/older crowd (we are in our 30's). Al Katz the comedian is not to be missed if he's on your ship. Super funny. The same could not be said of that of Carl Banks. Soul Rockers was good not great, lead singer was a little off at most times. Movies Under The Stars was a good selection: The Martian, Jurassic World, The Man from U.N.C.L.E and so on. Sail away from FLL was low-key (probably because of weather).

 

Ship Condition:

Post Dry Dock I can confirm we had new mattresses. We were in an OV Obstructed room (E708), and although obstructed managed to catch the sunrise at one time and could see the ocean, and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. Room was near to Buffet, Pool, Piazza, Photo/Video Gallery, Club Fusion and so on. Ship was clean throughout. Could make out it had new carpets and dining areas were very clean. Toilets flushed properly and had no problems whatsoever with blockages (as had been reported earlier). Loved the chocolates we used to get every night as well as the little tote-bag.

 

Formal Nights:

There were 2 formal nights. We dressed up for both and got some great photos. They also held a raffle of $100 worth of pics for which we won 1st prize, so make sure you take a lot of photos with different backgrounds. More chances at raffle. Lot of people did not dress up for 2nd formal night but they were in the minority.

 

Zika Virus:

We had already booked our cruise before the outbreak so probably will not go to the Caribbean again in the near future. Lot of bug spray was put on before we headed to Coba in Cozumel as it was in the jungle. Captain made frequent announcements on how to protect yourselves.

 

Ports:

Very disappointed with the cancellation of Princess Cays. I made sure I made a point of it in the survey today. It seems to be happening on an frequent basis. We met atleast 2-3 couples who told us that this had happened 3 times before. But rest of the ports were awesome. If you plan to go to Roatan, Honduras it's a 15min walk back to ship and it was fun watching people run back to ship at 4:45pm (Yes, 4:45pm and All Aboard Time was 4:30pm).

 

Anyways, here was a quick review of the cruise holiday. Would not hesitate to book another one with Princess and Emerald in particular. Loved every moment of it. Staff were great, people were great and especially food. Miss having my bed made this morning.:p Hope you'll enjoyed the review and will answer any questions from my experience.

Thanks for your review.

[Cancun01]

Thank you for your enthusiastic review! It is great to get a younger person's perspective. We were on the Emerald in the fall and I have to admit the we found the food had become underwhelming. However, having read your review perhaps it was just that cruise. Thank you for posting and may you have many happy travels!!!!

[Lanwood]

Thanks for the review.

Roatan on the Regal ended up being our favorite destination out of the whole 14 day itinerary. I think we just got too spoiled there...

[hawkers]

Just interested in your cabin! Is E708 a balcony cabin? What is the obstruction?

[Colo Cruiser]

just interested in your cabin! Is e708 a balcony cabin? What is the obstruction?

 

Look here....Obstructed View....

 

 

https://sites.google.com/site/cabinviewbyrenmar/crown-princess/cabins-701--731

Edited February 1, 2016 by Colo Cruiser

[hawkers]

Just interested in your cabin! Is E708 a balcony cabin? What is the obstruction?

 

 

Sorry just checked again & I can see the obstructed view!

[arctickitty]

Thanks so much for posting your review.

[trystran72]

Sounds like you had a great trip! That's awesome winning the photo raffle! :)

[KirkNC]

Welcome home, glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[SCHappilyRetired]

Thanks for your review. We sail he Saturday.

[Kopy]

thanks for the review, we will be taking the same ship on Feb 20 and 27. Could you please tell us who the cruise director was, and also what were the names of the bands on the ship in Club Fusion, Explorers lounge, and Wheelhouse bar. We love dancing on cruises so this is very important to us. Glad you had such a great time and keep cruising Princess

 

Thanks John and Alison

[colonialinnkeeper]

Nice to hear about your trip. Thanks for posting.

[crzy4cruises]

Thanks for the review.

[Paula_MacFan]

Thanks for posting the review. Very easy to read!

 

Sorry to hear about Princess Cays:( We're set to visit there in 3 weeks for the first time. I hope we make it.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Paula_MacFan

[Happy2cruise]

We will boarding the Emerald in 26 days and really appreciated your review. Having sailed her twice before, looking forward to being on her again:)

[Cabogirl13]

Thank you for the review. We are on the Emerald in a little over a month and love hearing perspectives and opinions. I do understand that opinions, by nature, are subjective, but I love hearing them! Thanks again and I will watch for photos.

[Lymanite]

Just writing a quick review of our First Cruise on Emerald which concluded yesterday. Full review coming soon once I scan all the Patters and upload menu pics from Camera.

 

Embarkation Process:

Was very smooth. We had rented a car from Alamo National which dropped of us of the pier. Word of warning, even though they say 6mins it actually took us almost a good 20-25mins to go from airport to pier. Our check-in time was 1:30pm and we arrived at 1:35pm and handed our bags to the porter. We proceeded to checkin where we waited in line and quickly seen to. We had a max waiting time of 10mins. Afterwards we proceeded to security check and headed up the gangway where they take your photo. We then proceeded towards the ship and went up to our room (which was ready by then) to refresh and meet our room steward.

 

Food:

Food on Emerald was excellent. We personally loved the buffet and spent most of our time there apart from dinner time. Dinner we had AnyTime dining and opted to share a table (because we love meeting new people) and most of the time our table was one of the loudest with some great laughs. Never encountered a bad person. I must admit though dinner menu was left a little undesired. Most of the time ended up ordering the same thing but that wouldn't put me off and give it a bad review. Pics to follow later. British pub lunch was one of the best I've had along with Afternoon Tea. I have definitely put on a couple of pounds after coming back home. Mix of Vegetarian as well as Non-Vegetarian food as well as Sugar-Free desserts.

 

Entertainment:

Entertainment is where I was left a little bit disappointed. Only one worth watching was Magic To Do, rest all were low-key and catered to the more mature/older crowd (we are in our 30's). Al Katz the comedian is not to be missed if he's on your ship. Super funny. The same could not be said of that of Carl Banks. Soul Rockers was good not great, lead singer was a little off at most times. Movies Under The Stars was a good selection: The Martian, Jurassic World, The Man from U.N.C.L.E and so on. Sail away from FLL was low-key (probably because of weather).

 

Ship Condition:

Post Dry Dock I can confirm we had new mattresses. We were in an OV Obstructed room (E708), and although obstructed managed to catch the sunrise at one time and could see the ocean, and wouldn't hesitate to stay here again. Room was near to Buffet, Pool, Piazza, Photo/Video Gallery, Club Fusion and so on. Ship was clean throughout. Could make out it had new carpets and dining areas were very clean. Toilets flushed properly and had no problems whatsoever with blockages (as had been reported earlier). Loved the chocolates we used to get every night as well as the little tote-bag.

 

Formal Nights:

There were 2 formal nights. We dressed up for both and got some great photos. They also held a raffle of $100 worth of pics for which we won 1st prize, so make sure you take a lot of photos with different backgrounds. More chances at raffle. Lot of people did not dress up for 2nd formal night but they were in the minority.

 

Zika Virus:

We had already booked our cruise before the outbreak so probably will not go to the Caribbean again in the near future. Lot of bug spray was put on before we headed to Coba in Cozumel as it was in the jungle. Captain made frequent announcements on how to protect yourselves.

 

Ports:

Very disappointed with the cancellation of Princess Cays. I made sure I made a point of it in the survey today. It seems to be happening on an frequent basis. We met atleast 2-3 couples who told us that this had happened 3 times before. But rest of the ports were awesome. If you plan to go to Roatan, Honduras it's a 15min walk back to ship and it was fun watching people run back to ship at 4:45pm (Yes, 4:45pm and All Aboard Time was 4:30pm).

 

Anyways, here was a quick review of the cruise holiday. Would not hesitate to book another one with Princess and Emerald in particular. Loved every moment of it. Staff were great, people were great and especially food. Miss having my bed made this morning.:p Hope you'll enjoyed the review and will answer any questions from my experience.

 

On my last princess cruise on sail away night the buffet served lobster the knuckles and claws, did you notice if they still do this? Also thank you for your review

Edited February 2, 2016 by Lymanite

[TorontoTL]

We board the Emerald this weekend and are looking forward to our short cruise. Thanks for you review.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[spyro1952]

On the Emerald in April for TA. Thanks for your great review and look forward to the follow up. :)

[Relax Cruiser]

Just interested in your cabin! Is E708 a balcony cabin? What is the obstruction?

 

I know Keith has answered your question but just to let you know obstruction was not a lifeboat. Some kind of wall? But we could see half the ocean. And it wasn't a balcony. I personally loved the room, very near to everything and very quiet. Only thing you could feel was the vibration of the ship because it was aft but apart from that no complaints.:)

[Relax Cruiser]

Sounds like you had a great trip! That's awesome winning the photo raffle! :)

 

Yes Kim, that was one of the highlights of the trip.:)