Emerald Princess Review - March 5-10

[kmhkmb]

Just off of the Emerald Princess and thought I would share my thoughts. I'm sure this has been covered in other threads - there was a very large number of college students on this cruise. We heard from a fellow passenger that Princess sells an average of 83 AIBPs per cruise and that this cruise they sold over 800 and even with that, apparently their day 1 alcohol sales were equal to that of an entire cruise! We noticed some card sharing/passing along alcohol to what I'm guessing were underage PAX. They ran out of beer on Princess Cays by 1 pm - another PAX told me that one of the tender drivers told him that he had never seen that in his 15 years on Princess! I'm actually wondering if it wasn't intended - running out of beer on the island meant that many of the students returned to the ship early and there were likely less very drunk folks on the tenders to annoy other PAX.

 

 

I'm glad this wasn't my first cruise as the atmosphere on the ship was completely different from what I've experienced in the past - it was very odd to see so many bikini clad, barefooted women roaming the ship. I suspect it was a very hard cruise on the crew - apparently they needed to add more bartenders and the ship was a bit messier than I seen in the past (e.g., spilled drinks on the atrium staircases, beer bottles/glasses left throughout the ship). Our steward said it was causing a lot of extra work for him as all of the quad cabins had 4 students and they weren't getting up until mid morning or later - he also said their rooms were very messy.

 

Highlights:

- The food: it was consistently delicious throughout the ship!

-The crew - consistently friendly despite the heavy workload this cruise (with the exception of the crew in the Sanctuary)

-The itinerary - 2 port days and 2 sea days was perfect!

-Magic to Do - best show I've ever seen on a Princess ship

-Watching the sunrise - there really weren't any students to be seen and the ship was very peaceful

-The Platinum/Elite lounge - this was my first cruise as a Platinum member and we loved going to the lounge before dinner. Also LOVED the 150 internet minutes and found I was able to use my phone throughout the ship (just not in our cabin) - I was even able to have a wi-fi phone call with my husband back at home using the "What's App" app out by the Terrace Pool as I watched the sunrise - it was wonderful!

-Wake watching and roaming around the promenade deck - it never gets old for me!

-The trivias and marriage game show hosted by assistant cruise Director Frenchie - she did a great job!

-How beautiful the ship looked - the crew do such a great job maintaining her!

-Watching the movie "Joy" under the stars

-The Love Boat deck party - it was really well done and smaller number of students that were there really added to the party feel!

- The many polite students we encountered that reminded us that not all students are bad!

-Getting upgraded the day before the cruise from an interior to an obstructed oceanview cabin (Emerald 510). We were able to hear noise from the Explorer's lounge when there was a live band (I think this cabin is over the stage) - but most nights it was done by 10 pm (with the exception of the finals for the Voice which went past 11 - but given the other noise issues we had this was not really a concern).

 

Lowlights:

-The four party-hardy female students that had the cabin next to ours - they were generally loudly getting ready to go out when we were getting ready to go to bed (10-11pm) and woke me up when they noisily returned to their cabin in the early morning hours/or had loud conversations/were rowdy in the hallway (usually around 2-3 am).

-Non existent service in the Sanctuary - I was able to book it for the afternoons of the sea days at the start of the cruise which I was pleased about but despite there being 3 attendants who looked bored I was completely ignored - they didn't even say hello when I first came to claim my spot. I was able to help myself to the infused water...when there were glasses available. They served afternoon tea without the scones - I asked for the scones and eventually got them on the first day - on the second day I had to ask three times and it was 4:30 before they arrived without the jam. I don't understand this as they obviously had them right there - for some reason they weren't serving them. Given the activity level on this cruise though it was still worth it to get a way from the hoards for awhile.

 

Bottom-line - we still had a great cruise despite all the students - for the most part they added entertainment value! :) I would however suggest bringing earplugs if you are on one of the getaway cruises in early March - they really helped me get some sleep. We also found it fairly easy to avoid the students by avoiding the pool areas, bars and buffets - there tended to be large numbers in those locations. I also need to give Princess credit for doing what they could to contain the partying - there was security walking the hallways at night to contain the rowdiness (they just couldn't be everywhere at the same time) and they were cutting people off when they had too much to drink. I'm not sure there is too much they can do to control the underage drinking (what appeared to be underage drinking at least - it is hard to tell). Perhaps minors should have a different colour cruise card? I didn't purchase a beverage sticker so I wasn't troubled by the long lines at the bars - I felt badly for others with the sticker though since it was tough to get drinks.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[carterd2002]

Thanks for your review! Although we will be traveling a different itinerary in July (7 day Scandinavia) which will no doubt mean a different type of cruiser (probably an older demographic overall) it's good to hear others' experiences, especially since we haven't cruised on Princess before.

[floridalover5623]

Delightful. :(

[Happy2cruise]

Thanks for your review. We were on the Emerald the week before and a totally difference atmosphere. Really feel sorry for the staff and all they had to put up with.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

 

Did you let the MD or anyone know about your issues in the Sanctuary?

[kmhkmb]

Thanks for your comments.

 

Did you let the MD or anyone know about your issues in the Sanctuary?

 

Hi Colo Cruiser,

 

I didn't make any complaints while on the ship since it was only 2 afternoons - just reported here because it I thought it might be of interest. I will however mention it when I fill out the Princess post-cruise survey.

[Colo Cruiser]

Hi Colo Cruiser,

 

I didn't make any complaints while on the ship since it was only 2 afternoons - just reported here because it I thought it might be of interest. I will however mention it when I fill out the Princess post-cruise survey.

 

 

I am sure they would have loved to know that this was occurring there.

There are many crew that would love the opportunity to work there.

Not acceptable. :(

[Host CJSKIDS]

I couldn't agree more with you in regards to the Sanctuary crew. We have done the full cruise package on every cruise since it came out. The service was terrible this time around. What a huge difference between our last cruises on the Regal. If you needed anything, you had to go interrupt them as they were huddled together talking.

 

They actually ran out of tequila within the first hour on Princess Cay and all alcohol besides beer by 12 noon!

 

There was a lot of sharing of cards. One night while at Crooners, they actually told a guy that he was cut off. He complained stating that he had that AIBP and he would just go to another bar. Well what happened was they refunded him his package and went back and charged per drink every single single he and his girlfriend had since they boarded!

 

We were bothered that we never got to enjoy drinks out on the top deck. We just couldn't get to an outside bar as it was always such a zoo. Forget about being anywhere near the midship pool or bar, it was out of the question for the most part.

Edited March 11, 2016 by cjskids

[bmench]

I was wondering what movies were shown on muts. Thank you

Becky

[klever]

I was on this cruise, as well. This being my first cruise on Princess after being loyal to Royal Caribbean, and to a lesser degree, Norwegian and Celebrity, I was curious to try Princess as it had the reputation of attracting a slightly older, less party-hungry crowd. The fact that there were 700 plus spring breakers aboard was a bit disconcerting. I heard from my table-mate that Princess had offered UNC students a cruise fare of $400/pp for an interior cabin INCLUDING the $49 all-you-can-drink package. Can anyone verify this? If it's true, I'd say BAD MOVE, Princess. Drunk and rowdy college students were everywhere. I also heard there was damage to many of the student-occupied cabins. All in all, it was a decent cruise, but I wish I had chosen a different week to go.

 

Signed,

Old Fart

[klever]

A lot of good, current flicks: The Martian, The Revenant, Spotlight, The Peanuts Movie, Enchanted (not current, but always fun), and there were many good movies on the TV as well, including Creed, Steve Jobs, and The Big Short.

 

I was wondering what movies were shown on muts. Thank you

Becky

[kmhkmb]

I heard from my table-mate that Princess had offered UNC students a cruise fare of $400/pp for an interior cabin INCLUDING the $49 all-you-can-drink package. Can anyone verify this? If it's true, I'd say BAD MOVE, Princess. Drunk and rowdy college students were everywhere. I also heard there was damage to many of the student-occupied cabins. All in all, it was a decent cruise, but I wish I had chosen a different week to go.

 

Signed,

Old Fart

 

I can't verify that but I'm not at all surprised - we thought they must have done something to attract that number of students to a cruise line that is not known as a party-line that offers booze cruises. I must say that does change my opinion of Princess - I question this strategy for filling cabins as I think it was a big turnoff for their traditional customer base and caused damage to the ship - I know that I heard of a stateroom door being damaged by a boyfriend pounding on it trying to get his girlfriend to let him in (apparently they just had a fight and his fists left dents in the door) - security needed to intervene. I'm actually surprised that no one went overboard given the level of intoxication.

Edited March 11, 2016 by kmhkmb

[ronulbrich]

My wife and I were also on this cruise, very disappointing. We also heard that the price they paid was $400.00 and included there drink Pak.

 

On the bright side we saved money on drinks because we couldn't get close to the bar for a drink. We are platinum and I'm afraid this will be our last princess cruise. We will stay with Celebrity.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Host CJSKIDS]

I was on this cruise, as well. This being my first cruise on Princess after being loyal to Royal Caribbean, and to a lesser degree, Norwegian and Celebrity, I was curious to try Princess as it had the reputation of attracting a slightly older, less party-hungry crowd. The fact that there were 700 plus spring breakers aboard was a bit disconcerting. I heard from my table-mate that Princess had offered UNC students a cruise fare of $400/pp for an interior cabin INCLUDING the $49 all-you-can-drink package. Can anyone verify this? If it's true, I'd say BAD MOVE, Princess. Drunk and rowdy college students were everywhere. I also heard there was damage to many of the student-occupied cabins. All in all, it was a decent cruise, but I wish I had chosen a different week to go.

 

Signed,

Old Fart

 

We spoke to some of the kids that organized the sailing. There were about 60 of them that went last year. They organized a Facebook page in regards to the sailing and then it spread to friends and friends of friends. I can tell you that some of the kids weren't happy because it was a different cruise than what they had been on last year when there were so few of them. We had asked many why they chose Princess since it isn't a party ship and the answer was always because of the positive things that the group said last year.

 

Being that I saw long lines of them purchasing the drink package and getting it on their cards the first day, I don't think it was included on many of them otherwise it would have been on their cards when they checked in like mine was. And since many of the kids were sharing the drink card and some got caught, that also seems like it wasn't included. Some of the kids may have purchased the cruise under the sip and sail promotion so then it was included. Some we spoke to paid the same price that was offered to everyone and then less for the 3rd and 4th passengers so they just split the cruise fare into 4.

[cruisequeen4ever]

On our Christmas cruise aboard the Emerald, they were hard at work trying to prevent underage drinking. Sooooooo many teens were trying to sneak into Skywalkers. Security was planted at the doorway to check IDs, and they had a long list of pax to cross-reference to verify age. Kids even argued and showed fake IDs. I think on this spring break cruise it was probably more difficult to discern the ages, since college students are right around 21.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Elizabeth K.]

My friend and I were also on this cruise. I plan to write a full review when I get a chance, and also to write to Princess. But bottom line is that I was super disappointed in Princess for subjecting us to this. It's my 9th cruise on Princess and 7 of those had been in Feb. I decided on this one for a number of reasons and wrongly thought that it was a little early for Spring break. Anywhere we thought to go where they might not be, they were still there with the exception of the Platinum lounge. The most disturbing thing was seeing the young girl in her bikini, just about unconscious, being taken back to the ship from Grand Turk in a wheelchair by security. I felt terrible for the staff. Fortunately we were not disturbed at night, and our table in the Botticelli dining room was in a good spot that was pretty peaceful. I did speak to the Captain's Circle hostess one morning after a number of kids hijacked Crooner's the night before, and she appeared to get it but what can she do? Sorry Princess....big mistake on your part :mad:

[klever]

I saw something similar as I was going off to Grand Turk around noon, only it was a young man passed out in a wheelchair.

 

I also had a somewhat amusing encounter with a young fellow who, at 1 pm was already pretty blitzed. He had eight hash marks written on his t-shirt in black Sharpie, indicating the number of beers he had consumed thus far that day (his girlfriend claimed it was actually ten). He asked me, slurringly, if I had heard of the Wade Boggs Challenge. Apparently, Boggs, a Hall of Fame baseball player, is legendary for having consumed 107 beers in a day. This is what this kid was aspiring to. Sad. Better to remove his liver now, because it's not going to be around for very long.

 

My friend and I were also on this cruise. I plan to write a full review when I get a chance, and also to write to Princess. But bottom line is that I was super disappointed in Princess for subjecting us to this. It's my 9th cruise on Princess and 7 of those had been in Feb. I decided on this one for a number of reasons and wrongly thought that it was a little early for Spring break. Anywhere we thought to go where they might not be, they were still there with the exception of the Platinum lounge. The most disturbing thing was seeing the young girl in her bikini, just about unconscious, being taken back to the ship from Grand Turk in a wheelchair by security. I felt terrible for the staff. Fortunately we were not disturbed at night, and our table in the Botticelli dining room was in a good spot that was pretty peaceful. I did speak to the Captain's Circle hostess one morning after a number of kids hijacked Crooner's the night before, and she appeared to get it but what can she do? Sorry Princess....big mistake on your part :mad:

[brellis]

We were also on this cruise (family of 9) and although the kids were not as bad as they could have been, we could not use the pools, hot tubs or any deck areas. Crew seemed to enjoy the "show" more than being concerned with being helpful to anyone not in a bikini.

 

Review coming in another post soon.....

[bbmeekhof]

Unfortunately we had hot water issues in our stateroom (C735)

 

We were extremely disappointed and frustrated by our experience. Upon talking to the passengers on either side of us - they also had the problems.

 

 

We returned to our room to shower about 10:00 p.m. on our first night but found the shower and the bathroom faucet to have only water that was scalding hot. There was no range of temperature from either the shower or the faucet, just dangerously hot water.

 

 

Around 8:00 a.m. on day 2, we reported our water issue to Thawon, our cabin steward, and he arranged for a plumber to correct the issue. (Thawon did a fantastic job during the cruise and was very attentive.) When we returned to our room at midday, the plumber had been there but we still only had scalding hot water and no range of temperature. We reported the issue again to Thawon. A plumber worked on the issue again in the afternoon, but when we arrived back in our room that evening we only had lukewarm water, too cool, still no range of temperature, and still unable to use the shower.

 

Between 8:00 and 9:00 on day 3 I visited the Passenger Services desk to report the issue and our increasing frustration at being unable to use our shower. I was told by Carlos, unbelievably, the rocking of the ship was probably the cause of the problem but he would send someone to look at it. At noon when we arrived in our room the issue had still not been resolved. I again visited the Passenger Services desk and was told a plumber would be there immediately. My wife and I waited in our room for an hour but nobody came to fix the shower. I again visited the Passenger Services desk and was again told a plumber would be there immediately. I responded that I had been told the same thing before and I needed to speak with someone else about the issue. I spoke with Lee, the Finance Manager, and he assured me it would be corrected immediately. We requested a different room but were told none were available. Lee did offer a bottle of wine for our trouble. My wife and I again waited in our room for a plumber who did not appear. About 3:00 we received a number of phone calls from Passenger Services saying the issue was corrected when in fact, checking it ourselves, it was not. Violeta, Housekeeping Supervisor, arrived to check the temperature of the water and called Passenger Services from our room to confirm there was still a problem. Thirty minutes later Violeta returned telling us the issue was corrected but when we checked the water, there was no change. After more phone calls, Lee arrived at our room to tell us the problem was found to be in the engine room and was being worked on. Around 5:00 p.m. we again had hot water, although there was only a very small range of temperature. We decided to live with the situation rather than spend more of our cruise frustrated and angry.

 

Three days folks.

 

We also noticed several of the public ladies' rooms that were closed for plumbing issues throughout the cruise.

[Host CJSKIDS]

We had mainly hot water in our mini-suite last week on the emerald. So disliked brushing my teeth in warm water and a very warm shower after a long day in the sun wasn't overly inviting.

Edited March 16, 2016 by cjskids

[riclop]

Just off of the Emerald Princess and thought I would share my thoughts. I'm sure this has been covered in other threads - there was a very large number of college students on this cruise. We heard from a fellow passenger that Princess sells an average of 83 AIBPs per cruise and that this cruise they sold over 800 and even with that, apparently their day 1 alcohol sales were equal to that of an entire cruise! We noticed some card sharing/passing along alcohol to what I'm guessing were underage PAX. They ran out of beer on Princess Cays by 1 pm - another PAX told me that one of the tender drivers told him that he had never seen that in his 15 years on Princess! I'm actually wondering if it wasn't intended - running out of beer on the island meant that many of the students returned to the ship early and there were likely less very drunk folks on the tenders to annoy other PAX.

 

 

I'm glad this wasn't my first cruise as the atmosphere on the ship was completely different from what I've experienced in the past - it was very odd to see so many bikini clad, barefooted women roaming the ship. I suspect it was a very hard cruise on the crew - apparently they needed to add more bartenders and the ship was a bit messier than I seen in the past (e.g., spilled drinks on the atrium staircases, beer bottles/glasses left throughout the ship). Our steward said it was causing a lot of extra work for him as all of the quad cabins had 4 students and they weren't getting up until mid morning or later - he also said their rooms were very messy.

 

Highlights:

- The food: it was consistently delicious throughout the ship!

-The crew - consistently friendly despite the heavy workload this cruise (with the exception of the crew in the Sanctuary)

-The itinerary - 2 port days and 2 sea days was perfect!

-Magic to Do - best show I've ever seen on a Princess ship

-Watching the sunrise - there really weren't any students to be seen and the ship was very peaceful

-The Platinum/Elite lounge - this was my first cruise as a Platinum member and we loved going to the lounge before dinner. Also LOVED the 150 internet minutes and found I was able to use my phone throughout the ship (just not in our cabin) - I was even able to have a wi-fi phone call with my husband back at home using the "What's App" app out by the Terrace Pool as I watched the sunrise - it was wonderful!

-Wake watching and roaming around the promenade deck - it never gets old for me!

-The trivias and marriage game show hosted by assistant cruise Director Frenchie - she did a great job!

-How beautiful the ship looked - the crew do such a great job maintaining her!

-Watching the movie "Joy" under the stars

-The Love Boat deck party - it was really well done and smaller number of students that were there really added to the party feel!

- The many polite students we encountered that reminded us that not all students are bad!

-Getting upgraded the day before the cruise from an interior to an obstructed oceanview cabin (Emerald 510). We were able to hear noise from the Explorer's lounge when there was a live band (I think this cabin is over the stage) - but most nights it was done by 10 pm (with the exception of the finals for the Voice which went past 11 - but given the other noise issues we had this was not really a concern).

 

Lowlights:

-The four party-hardy female students that had the cabin next to ours - they were generally loudly getting ready to go out when we were getting ready to go to bed (10-11pm) and woke me up when they noisily returned to their cabin in the early morning hours/or had loud conversations/were rowdy in the hallway (usually around 2-3 am).

-Non existent service in the Sanctuary - I was able to book it for the afternoons of the sea days at the start of the cruise which I was pleased about but despite there being 3 attendants who looked bored I was completely ignored - they didn't even say hello when I first came to claim my spot. I was able to help myself to the infused water...when there were glasses available. They served afternoon tea without the scones - I asked for the scones and eventually got them on the first day - on the second day I had to ask three times and it was 4:30 before they arrived without the jam. I don't understand this as they obviously had them right there - for some reason they weren't serving them. Given the activity level on this cruise though it was still worth it to get a way from the hoards for awhile.

 

Bottom-line - we still had a great cruise despite all the students - for the most part they added entertainment value! :) I would however suggest bringing earplugs if you are on one of the getaway cruises in early March - they really helped me get some sleep. We also found it fairly easy to avoid the students by avoiding the pool areas, bars and buffets - there tended to be large numbers in those locations. I also need to give Princess credit for doing what they could to contain the partying - there was security walking the hallways at night to contain the rowdiness (they just couldn't be everywhere at the same time) and they were cutting people off when they had too much to drink. I'm not sure there is too much they can do to control the underage drinking (what appeared to be underage drinking at least - it is hard to tell). Perhaps minors should have a different colour cruise card? I didn't purchase a beverage sticker so I wasn't troubled by the long lines at the bars - I felt badly for others with the sticker though since it was tough to get drinks.

 

What did you expect during spring break and a short cruise. At least you were lucky you did not go Carnival as was reported by a fellow cruiser of loud sex going on in the balcony next to there room all night and every night.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the review.

[CRLess]

Unfortunately we had hot water issues in our stateroom (C735)

 

We were extremely disappointed and frustrated by our experience. Upon talking to the passengers on either side of us - they also had the problems.

 

 

We returned to our room to shower about 10:00 p.m. on our first night but found the shower and the bathroom faucet to have only water that was scalding hot. There was no range of temperature from either the shower or the faucet, just dangerously hot water.

 

 

Around 8:00 a.m. on day 2, we reported our water issue to Thawon, our cabin steward, and he arranged for a plumber to correct the issue. (Thawon did a fantastic job during the cruise and was very attentive.) When we returned to our room at midday, the plumber had been there but we still only had scalding hot water and no range of temperature. We reported the issue again to Thawon. A plumber worked on the issue again in the afternoon, but when we arrived back in our room that evening we only had lukewarm water, too cool, still no range of temperature, and still unable to use the shower.

 

Between 8:00 and 9:00 on day 3 I visited the Passenger Services desk to report the issue and our increasing frustration at being unable to use our shower. I was told by Carlos, unbelievably, the rocking of the ship was probably the cause of the problem but he would send someone to look at it. At noon when we arrived in our room the issue had still not been resolved. I again visited the Passenger Services desk and was told a plumber would be there immediately. My wife and I waited in our room for an hour but nobody came to fix the shower. I again visited the Passenger Services desk and was again told a plumber would be there immediately. I responded that I had been told the same thing before and I needed to speak with someone else about the issue. I spoke with Lee, the Finance Manager, and he assured me it would be corrected immediately. We requested a different room but were told none were available. Lee did offer a bottle of wine for our trouble. My wife and I again waited in our room for a plumber who did not appear. About 3:00 we received a number of phone calls from Passenger Services saying the issue was corrected when in fact, checking it ourselves, it was not. Violeta, Housekeeping Supervisor, arrived to check the temperature of the water and called Passenger Services from our room to confirm there was still a problem. Thirty minutes later Violeta returned telling us the issue was corrected but when we checked the water, there was no change. After more phone calls, Lee arrived at our room to tell us the problem was found to be in the engine room and was being worked on. Around 5:00 p.m. we again had hot water, although there was only a very small range of temperature. We decided to live with the situation rather than spend more of our cruise frustrated and angry.

 

Three days folks.

 

We also noticed several of the public ladies' rooms that were closed for plumbing issues throughout the cruise.

 

We were also on this cruise and discussed our hot water issue in another thread. We were in B755 and our issue appeared on Formal night. From what our awesome cabin steward (Minguel) told us, sometime during that day, they were working on the water lines in the ceiling just outside our room. When DW went to shower that night, our shower had one temperature....EXTRA Scalding. I called the passenger services desk, and Minguel also called his supervisor. It took another few phone calls on my part, but the plumbing folks did eventually show up and they were able to fix the problem that evening. The downside was that we missed formal night (OK, for Brenda that was the downside), but there were two positives that came from it. First, I didn't have to wear the tux, and second we had dinner in the Salty Dog Gastro Pub and loved it...so much so that we went back on our second leg (See TracieABD's Live From thread).