Just off the Emerald

[Relax Cruiser]

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

 

I remember the cruise directors name was Neil (Cant recall his last name) and he was from Australia. Nice guy, met him a couple of times while passing by. Name of the bands was Soul Rockers. They played at both Club Fusion as well as Explorers Lounge, didn't go to Wheelhouse Bar so can't comment on that. They were ok, not great. Had a good selection of songs, fast as well as slow but were a little off at times. Nothing to keep you from dancing though. ;)

[Relax Cruiser]

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.

 

Yes opinions are subjective, but I try to form my own opinion rather than listening to other people's complaints and deciding before going on the ship if it'll be good or bad. Needless to say, we both had a great time on the Emerald. Just scanned the photos/patters so will be uploading them tomorrow on a different thread.

[Relax Cruiser]

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

 

They did serve Lobster with King Prawns but not on sail away. It was on the formal night and very delicious too. But they only had it one night so make sure you take it when they offer it. You won't get it again. They also take the lobster apart for you if you want them to.

[Relax Cruiser]

Follow up with Food Photos/Patters coming tomorrow. Just finished scanning them and will upload tomorrow on a separate thread.

[hawkers]

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.:)

 

 

Thank you for the explanation. I realized later that I had checked the Regal deck plan by mistake - hence the balcony question! [emoji4] We have E701 booked for our trip & I'm sure we will enjoy the location. We have always been midship but looking forward to the aft location.

[floridalover5623]

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

 

They stopped that about 3 or 4 years ago. The idea was to alleviate the congestion on the first evening but never worked out very well since many people ate at the seafood buffet & then proceeded to the DR also.

[Star24K]

Thanks for your review.

[Magellan321]

Did the same cruise! I was ok missing Princess Cays, there were 7 ft swells when they attempted to anchor for tendering and ocean temps were listed as 74 degrees in the marine forecast. The food in the main dining room was awesome! Getting into the anytime dining not so awesome:(. I totally agree, the band Soul Rocker wasn't very good. We had 4 "comedians", Al Katz's show in the Explorers Lounge= very good, vocal impressionist Tyler Bryce= ok, Carl Banks= eh, the last night we had a really good musical comedian...i just can't remember his name. FYI, the A/C issues continue to be an issue! It took till Thursday evening to get ours fixed on Caribe deck. When it was fixed it was great!

[floridalover5623]

Did the same cruise! I was ok missing Princess Cays, there were 7 ft swells when they attempted to anchor for tendering and ocean temps were listed as 74 degrees in the marine forecast. The food in the main dining room was awesome! Getting into the anytime dining not so awesome:(. I totally agree, the band Soul Rocker wasn't very good. We had 4 "comedians", Al Katz's show in the Explorers Lounge= very good, vocal impressionist Tyler Bryce= ok, Carl Banks= eh, the last night we had a really good musical comedian...i just can't remember his name. FYI, the A/C issues continue to be an issue! It took till Thursday evening to get ours fixed on Caribe deck. When it was fixed it was great!

 

What cabin did you have on the Caribe deck?

[Magellan321]

We were in Caribe 531

[Magellan321]

I forgot to add.....room service was on time, hot, and the correct orders

all week!:p

[floridalover5623]

We were in Caribe 531

From what I've been reading more people say that the starboard side has had more problems wit their AC than the port side.

[Magellan321]

From what I've been reading more people say that the starboard side has had more problems wit their AC than the port side.

 

It was wicked warm even with the curtains closed.....

[Relax Cruiser]

We did not have any problems with AC. We were in Aft. E708. AC/Heating worked fine as well as no blockage of toilet. I did have an issue with curtain being an inch smaller hence there was water spillage from shower onto floor but that was replaced immediately.

And yes, room service was always on time. We had to go to pier at 6:45am for our meeting time at Cozumel, Mexico and although room service started at 6:30am requested it at 6am and it was delivered.

[Magellan321]

We did not have any problems with AC. We were in Aft. E708. AC/Heating worked fine as well as no blockage of toilet. I did have an issue with curtain being an inch smaller hence there was water spillage from shower onto floor but that was replaced immediately.

And yes, room service was always on time. We had to go to pier at 6:45am for our meeting time at Cozumel, Mexico and although room service started at 6:30am requested it at 6am and it was delivered.

 

We had one issue with no water in our bathroom on Thursday....thankfully it was very very quickly resolved. Lol...the shower curtains! Room service rocked....I forgot an item on our Cozumel morning and the girl that delivered brought it anyhow. I have the exact same order every morning and thankfully somebody noticed!

Edited February 4, 2016 by Magellan321

[floridalover5623]

It was wicked warm even with the curtains closed.....

I know what it was like. We were on the Emerald 2 years ago & had the same problem. We even had to keep our door open to get some cooler air. What gets me is that the problem is ongoing & they haven't been able to fix the situation yet.

[GUT2407]

Thanks for the review.

 

We're on her in about ten months, her first season DownUnder I believe, just can't wait, but never can.

[Daniel1313]

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.

 

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.

 

Your not missing much if you miss it !!!!

[floridalover5623]

Your not missing much if you miss it !!!!

 

But still, it's a nice beach day for people who haven't seen it before with chairs, shade, activities & lunch provided at no cost.

[lukesgrammie]

For those that read my previous thread...we made it there on time, and learned my lesson to always arrive to the port the day before!

 

DINING

 

We travel with friends and booked a table for eight to ten with the intention to meet other people. We were assigned to a table for four (Bochellis (sp sorry) with a waiter that had NO personality and food that arrived "warm". I think perhaps the group from the oldie cruise got first dibs on dining times? Carlos fixed this problem the second week of our cruise by moving us to DaVinci (sp again) where the service was above and beyond, the food was hot and the company was wonderful. Only complaint is bring back anytime favorites. Sure did miss that! We ate in Crown Grill twice and it was wonderful although I heard a rumor they were raising the cover charge to $35 soon. Bad move Princess. Curtis Stone menu did not appeal to us...nor did the $39!!! Pizza and burgers were wonderful as usual. Horizon court was ok.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

So so...but the highlight of our cruise was meeting Bill Medley in our hallway. What a treat! He chatted with us for several minutes and then our friends surprised us with tickets to his concert. My husband is a huge oldie collector and Bill and his daughter McKenna were wonderful. The best part...he autographed the back of my husbands 128 gb I pod which he now refers to as "Bill"! No Caribbean music by the pool??? What happened to the good music from yesteryear?

 

CABIN

 

I was so concerned about C107 at the bow of the ship. No movement and quiet. The new mattresses are great and our cabin steward Rock was wonderful. Cabin was always clean and Caribe balcony wonderful. The balcony doors ALL open. Got a few waves from the crew on the bridge which was right above our balcony!!! Plus....lots of exercise going back and forth to the cabin. Long walk, but hopefully burned off the extra calories.

 

The condition of the ship in my opinion was very good. Always clean. I did notice that they were not reminding people to use hand sanitizer...lots of people walking right by it going to the buffet.

 

PORTS

 

We have been blessed to have visited many of these islands before except for Turks. Not enough time there. Forget Princess Cays and spend more time in islands like Turks. The most beautiful beach is steps away from the dock. Alcohol checks surprised me. We walked on with chocolate rum for gifts and were prepared to check them....they just looked the other way.

 

This is just a short review....still waking up and back to loads and loads of wash!!! I will check back if you have any questions!

[AF-1]

Thank you for posting reviews of this ship. I have booked a cruise on Emerald next year and have not sailed with Princess so any info I receive on the ships/service/food, is very helpful

[OCruisers]

Entertainment:

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. .

 

So agree! Al Katz is not to be missed! He's a very professional comedian who always puts on a great show!!

[hawkers]

Question please? What time is late traditional dining? 7.45 or 8.15 or 8.30?

[OCruisers]

Question please? What time is late traditional dining? 7.45 or 8.15 or 8.30?

 

Late Traditional was 8 PM in Botticelli (Deck 6 Aft).

[floridalover5623]

DINING

 

We ate in Crown Grill twice and it was wonderful although I heard a rumor they were raising the cover charge to $35 soon. Bad move Princess. Curtis Stone menu did not appeal to us...nor did the $39!!! Pizza and burgers were wonderful as usual. Horizon court was ok.

 

 

I haven't heard that one yet. I'll try to find out more info.