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Emerald Feb. 6 review

cruiseintoheaven

By cruiseintoheaven,
in Princess Cruises

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cruiseintoheaven

cruiseintoheaven

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This was intended to be a quick break from work and the cold…..complete R & R, and that’s what we indeed had.

 

We flew down to FLL the day before and stayed at the Marriott Courtyard in Plantation on points. They offer a free shuttle to and from FLL and the pier, which is nice. We had several unused Uber rides and chose to use them instead as they expire this month. We arrived at the pier around noon, which made embarkation very quick – we were having lunch in the IC by 12:45.

 

Demographics: as with most shorter cruises, there was much more diversity in terms of ages. I would say this cruise had more young families with small children than we’ve seen before. Many, many blue cards – chatted with a few folks “defecting” from RCCL and they seemed pleased with their experience with Princess.

 

The ship: The ship looked great to us. We’ve been on the Ruby, CB and Regal twice, and in terms of color schemes and décor, the Emerald is top notch. Lots of new carpeting throughout the public spaces, the shops have been redone to look a bit more chic, etc. Ongoing maintenance was observed, in fact the aft pool on the Riviera deck was being varnished as we boarded. The ship was very clean, including public restrooms, for the duration of the cruise, despite some serious Super Bowl partying on the first sea day that left the pool deck looking like the aftermath of a frat party.

 

We watched a documentary shown in the theatre on the dry-dock, and it was quite interesting. Much of the focus was on hull painting, and checking/replacing/repairing the thrusters, propellers, etc. As most already know, mattresses were replaced, Sabatini’s replaced with Share, and the Salty Dog added to the Wheelhouse. The gym has all new fitness equipment, and the pixels on the MUTS screen were replaced as well.

 

The crew: Overall, very good service in all venues, that we used anyways: Crooners, Vines, Wheelhouse, bars on the pool deck, HC. We had decided before hand to skip the MDR, so aside from a brief visit during the outlet sale, we kept our super casually dressed selves out of the MDR’s so can’t speak to the service, though we did notice long lines late into each night – thinking possibly that having some of Curtis Stones selections on the menu was a draw. Speaking of which…..

 

Share is a very hip and modern space, not uninviting, but the bright lighting might be off-putting for some. We discovered Adagios on this cruise and enjoyed pre-dinner drinks there each evening. The first 25 people or so received small plates with samples as a way to promote the venue. We never made it there that early, but we did speak with a well-travelled couple who raved about their dinner there, putting it in “one of their best meals ever” category, so perhaps worth a try next time around.

 

The Salty dog……we didn’t eat there, but saw a few couples there each night. It’s a fairly inviting space, but I do see the issue with the pub height chairs/tables for some. Free pub lunch still offered on sea days.

 

Entertainment: good, varied and plentiful. Most venues had something going on each night, which was nice to see, as well as the standard Piazza entertainment, bingo, trivia, games, dance classes, etc. The comedian Carl Banks got a few laughs, but didn’t bring the house down. Magic to Do is worth going to. It reminded me a bit of Fiera! In terms of the overall quality of dancers and singers (music less contemporary) and had some pretty impressive theatrical elements. We didn’t go to any other shows but heard they were very good.

 

Food: We ate at the IC (consistently good), Vines for tapas (much improved, and busy since the last time we tried it), and HC. Food there was good, certainly wouldn’t go hungry, but after being on the Regal twice, the offerings seemed a bit repetitive and limited. One of us may have snuck out a few times late at night for a slice of pizza at Pregos, which may have been excellent, but that’s just a hypothetical statement:)

 

Finally, this was only our 5th cruise on a Princess ship, but DH Tom and I have fun comparing the features of the grand class vs. royal class ships. Honestly if Princess could marry some of the features of both classes together, it would be great!

 

Some highlights of the Emerald (and the Grand class in general) that we really enjoyed:

 

-Sitting on the Promenade in padded chairs reading a book and watching the ocean.

-The more intuitive layout of the ship, including restrooms, which seem harder to come by on the royal class.

-The large library.

-The drink holders in the theatre, and the use of lounges for trivia. Princess Live on the royal class is a nice venue with good energy, but in my opinion a bit over-used.

-Sitting outside of Adagios overlooking the aft pool as the sun set…..just beautiful.

 

Some things we really missed from our time on the Regal:

 

-The expanded HC and seemingly endless choices, as well as more seating.

-The expanded piazza, IC and ALFREDOS!

-Larger stateroom TV’s with on demand programming and better shower with shelf.

-Did I mention Alfredos?:)

Overall, we had a great time on the Emerald, and would absolutely sail on her again….picked up 4 FCC’s so we will be back!

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minniem

minniem

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We were on the Emerald the week before. Did you see any diapered babies in the pool? On our cruise there was a baby in the pool and also in the hot tub . When I questioned a crew member about this I was told although it is a health regulation, it is no one's job to enforce it. Since you said there were many families with small children, I wondered if you encountered the same situation. I thought health regulations were supposed to be enforced.

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cruiseintoheaven

cruiseintoheaven

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We were on the Emerald the week before. Did you see any diapered babies in the pool? On our cruise there was a baby in the pool and also in the hot tub . When I questioned a crew member about this I was told although it is a health regulation, it is no one's job to enforce it. Since you said there were many families with small children, I wondered if you encountered the same situation. I thought health regulations were supposed to be enforced.

 

Hmmn.....that's a tough one. Aside from some time watching bits of the super bowl, the majority of our deck time was spent on the upper decks or in the lotus pool. Unfortunately I'm not surprised to hear this - kind of like chair hogging, not supposed to be done, but not policed. I will add that staff did closely monitor people entering the HC and "encouraging" them to use the Purell before hand, which I was thankful for.

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cruiseintoheaven

cruiseintoheaven

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I was wondering if they had a spread by the MUTS screen for the Super Bowl? What movies were playing?

 

Yes, quite the spread actually. Crew handed out the usual cookies, milk, popcorn, and food from the Trident Grill and Pregos were set up in warming trays around the pool deck - they also stayed open past their normal closing time for those that still had the munchies. Wings were awesome! The only thing missing were the plaid MUTS blankets...not sure what happened there but most folks used a few pool towels. Movies were The Martian, Bridge of Spies, Man from Uncle and.....hmn....feel like there was one more.....:confused:

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Dusty Wren

Dusty Wren

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I love the Emerald, tied with the Coral as my favorite Princess ship, so its nice to hear still in tip top shape. I thought she was being deployed Down Under? If that's still the case, you make me want to have one more go before she sails from my life.:(

 

You are correct, she will be sailing her winter season down under for 2016-2017

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jpcello

jpcello

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Thanks for posting this. My sister and I are cruising on the Emerald this summer. It's also our first Princess cruise. I've heard great things about Princess and very excited for our first European cruise.

 

How accessible is this ship? My sister uses a scooter and I'm wondering about the public areas - restrooms, theatre, dining venues, etc.?

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cruiseintoheaven

cruiseintoheaven

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Thanks for posting this. My sister and I are cruising on the Emerald this summer. It's also our first Princess cruise. I've heard great things about Princess and very excited for our first European cruise.

 

How accessible is this ship? My sister uses a scooter and I'm wondering about the public areas - restrooms, theatre, dining venues, etc.?

 

Hi there.....I'm sure you will enjoy your first Princess cruise aboard the Emerald....she sparkles :)

 

The great thing about cruise critic is the abundance of nice folks willing to answer questions and offer advice on almost any topic. Regarding your question on accessibility, hopefully someone with actual experience will come along and give you more specifics. I do believe the public restrooms have accessible stalls as well as some private/unisex/accessible restrooms. The public hallways are quite wide, and I believe the theatre has allocated spots for wheelchairs, etc. If I recall correctly the MDR's are also quite easy to navigate, as is the expanded HC. Elevators shouldn't be too bad either as there are plenty. We have found that most folks on Princess ships are genuinely friendly and helpful (yes every ship has to have a rude curmudgeon (think it's maritime law).....

 

Happy cruising!

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Id rather be diving

Id rather be diving

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The Emerald is very HC accesible. My husband uses a scooter and has no problems getting around the ship. His is a smaller scooter that can easily get around the steward's cleaning carts in the hallway. The public areas are great. The cabins are easy to get into as well, unlike the Celebrity Silhouette that has a threshold at the door. He could not get over that. We'd have to lift the scooter over it. We are on the April 2 TA so I'll report back more in late April.

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Jetswdo Great Review Rare

Jetswdo

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Dh and I were very disappointed with the attitude of the crew by indoor Lotus Pool--- this used to be an over 16 pool, which worked out very well for us on the Sapphire years ago on an Alaska cruise. The manager said they allowed supervised children in area- well there were kids running all around the pool, no parents in sight, and the last straw was a man throwing up and down a diapered baby in what used to be an adult area- (not to be confused with sanctuary)--- sadly, we were going to book the Coral for another Alaska cruise, but are giving our business to Celebrity Solstice, which has certain hours for children, but adult hours mostly-- this is important to us on an Alaska sailing.

 

Sorry to hear that this happened on the Emerald as well. I think that Princess does a better job with families, then with older couples....

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