How does Emerald compare to Royal?

[Flo71]

I cruised with my daughter last year on the Royal Princess and could have quite happily stayed aboard. I thought the ship was beautiful, lots of entertainment, loved the Piazza, and plenty of good food choices. Now I know emerald is not as new a ship but will it be a very different cruising experience from the Royal (haven't been on any other Princess ship apart from the Royal).

 

Thanks in advance

[skynight]

I cruised with my daughter last year on the Royal Princess and could have quite happily stayed aboard. I thought the ship was beautiful, lots of entertainment, loved the Piazza, and plenty of good food choices. Now I know emerald is not as new a ship but will it be a very different cruising experience from the Royal (haven't been on any other Princess ship apart from the Royal).

 

Thanks in advance

The Emerald is an entirely different layout then the Royal. You will experience the same level of service on the Emerald as you had on the Royal. In daytime and evening activities will be similar on both ships. Food is generally the same, however the Emerald buffet is not as extensive as the Royal.

Positives on the Emerald are

The Emerald has Sywalker's Lounge, 5 pools with two of them adults only, a Crooner's Lounge, but also has Club Fusion and Explorer's Lounge, Wheelhouse Bar which I believe is used as the Gastro Pub in the evening, Adagio Lounge a quiet place to sit and read. It has the Share restaurant instead on Sabatinis, a full 360 degree promenade, center staircase, larger balconies.

 

While the Royal is a very nice ship, I prefer the layout on the Emerald and other Grand Class ships.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Mom33 wrote a comparison and review of those two ships. Hopefully she will see this and respond. If she doesn't, I'll try to find it.

 

They are both beautiful ships. If you're a buffet person, the Emerald Princess buffet will be disappointing in comparison. If you're a pool person, you'll likely enjoy the Emerald Princess more. The Emerald Princess does not have Alfredo's or the Ocean Terrace. I think the Emerald Princess gym is much nicer and has steam rooms and saunas for no extra charge. I enjoy Skywalkers with its views, and the Adagio Lounge for its peace and quiet. The Emerald Princess has the Salty Dawg specialty dining p (I don't consider Share a bonus on the Emerald Princess). The Emerald Princess Piazza is beautiful but not as large or spectacular as the Piazza on the Royal Princess. I actually thought the Emerald Princess felt a bit more crowded than the Royal Princess.

 

The balconies on the Royal Princess are small in comparison to the Emerald Princess. The Emerald Princess has the new Princess beds and linens. And I've often thought the Emerald Princess has one of the best crews around. Unknown thus changes but many of the same crew members do return to the Emerald Princess contract after contract.

[floridalover5623]

I'll chime in with my opinion although I'm sure they'll be many who don't agree.

 

While the Emerald is OK for an older ship it's got some problems with hot water in the cabins form time to time as well as some plumbing problems on our last cruise. Hopefully the plumbing is now fixed. One of our major peeves was the lack of adequate cooling in the cabins. Ours was just tolerable & set to max the whole time we were on the ship but there were others that had cabins were the AC was terrible & nothing could be done to correct the situation. That happened to us 2 years ago in the Caribbean & it's not fun. It seems that the ship has some problems with the AC that cannot be cured- even after just coming out of dry dock a few months ago.

 

Most of the food we had this past Feb was typically Princess & had no complaints about the DR although the Horizon buffet left a lot to be desired in comparison to the Royal buffet. The way some items were prepared was just not as good as it should have been. Of course you had others things to choose from but I suppose we've been spoiled by the Royal & Regal.

[cherylandtk]

...One of our major peeves was the lack of adequate cooling in the cabins. Ours was just tolerable & set to max the whole time we were on the ship but there were others that had cabins were the AC was terrible & nothing could be done to correct the situation. That happened to us 2 years ago in the Caribbean & it's not fun. It seems that the ship has some problems with the AC that cannot be cured- even after just coming out of dry dock a few months ago...

The situation with the A/C happens on any Princess grand class ship when one of your neighbors leaves their sliding door open all the time 'for the fresh air'. It overwhelms the system and makes everyone else in the same section miserable. Princess could be better about telling people to stop this practice, but they don't want to upset anyone by doing so. So everyone else suffers. Pet peeve of mine, too.

[cruisequeen4ever]

Both are fantastic ships with their own charm. I'm sure you'll have a fabulous time.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Shogun]

Hi

 

If you are going for sunshine and want open decks or scenic cruising the Emerald,

 

if cold weather or a trans Atlantic the Royal.

 

yours Shogun

[floridalover5623]

The situation with the A/C happens on any Princess grand class ship when one of your neighbors leaves their sliding door open all the time 'for the fresh air'. It overwhelms the system and makes everyone else in the same section miserable. Princess could be better about telling people to stop this practice, but they don't want to upset anyone by doing so. So everyone else suffers. Pet peeve of mine, too.

 

In our case it had nothing to do with anyone leaving their balcony door open. It's just that on the Emerald Princess there are certain cabins that don't receive sufficient supply of air conditioning & there's nothing that the maintenance dept can do to fix the situation. :(

There was a cabin we had a few years ago (E327) that could not be remedied & I recently read of another cruise critic poster comment on the exact same cabin & problem this year. After 5 or 6 attempts at fixing the problem we were finally moved to another location.

[riclop]

I cruised with my daughter last year on the Royal Princess and could have quite happily stayed aboard. I thought the ship was beautiful, lots of entertainment, loved the Piazza, and plenty of good food choices. Now I know emerald is not as new a ship but will it be a very different cruising experience from the Royal (haven't been on any other Princess ship apart from the Royal).

 

Thanks in advance

 

Totally different Royal class is the best.

[Shogun]

Hi riclop

 

What did you like about the Royal, having cruised on her cancelled two cruises I had booked on her, have cruised only Grand class since.

 

yours Shogun

[floridalover5623]

Hi riclop

 

What did you like about the Royal, having cruised on her cancelled two cruises I had booked on her, have cruised only Grand class since.

 

yours Shogun

 

The food choices alone at the buffet beat any other Princess ship & the times we sailed the cook staff couldn't do enough for us. :)

I think next cruise we'll eat most of our meals in the Horizon just because of convenience, selections & atmosphere. (full height windows compared to the closed darkened dining room look)

[Pink-belle]

I've sailed Emerald 5 times, most recently last month.

 

If you've sailed Ventura or Azura, Emerakd Princess, is the same layout. However, I think Princess has more style than P&O.

 

I like the Royal Princess very much, but personally prefer the Gem class ships.

 

Recently, food and service were excellent. Entertainment was the worse I have experienced in 21 cruises😦. Only 2 (old) production shows over the 11 nights.

A couple of good guest performers, but I missed the singer and dancers.

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I haven't sailed the Royal yet, but have sailed Regal and now I'm hooked on Regal. Would I not sail the other ships in the line? Yes- I would if the ship was going somewhere the Regal and Royal aren't.

 

Strengths of some of the older ships I've sailed Grand and Star have Alfredo's restaurant, which you may have enjoyed on Royal- but there isn't Alfredo's on Emerald. It was one of the things I liked most on Regal. Grand and Star both have enclosed pools, which Emerald, Ruby and Caribbean Princess do not. The buffet on Emerald is smaller than the one on Royal.

 

So I'd rate Regal, Star, Grand and Sapphire my favorites so far. I've also sailed on Caribbean Princess and toured Emerald in 2009.

 

Emerald has skywalkers lounge and the terrace pool as features you won't find on Royal. The lounges are very nice in general on Emerald. I didn't like Princess Live on Regal (same thing as Royal)- the seats were uncomfortable and it wasn't good for team games or conversation.

Edited May 14, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[antsp]

if i had to choose i would sale Emerald before Royal

[rebeccalouiseagain]

Also- the tv's and free movie choices on Royal are much better than on Emerald.

Edited May 14, 2016 by rebeccalouiseagain

[PescadoAmarillo]

Here is Mom33's very detailed comparison. I hope she doesn't mind me posting the link here.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2179869

[Mom33]

Here is Mom33's very detailed comparison. I hope she doesn't mind me posting the link here.

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2179869

 

 

Not at all Pescado. Thank you [emoji846]

[Robinsoncruiseso]

I have been an a few of the Grand Class ships, but never the Emerald. Last February we were on the Regal. Ships are not like children, It is OK to have a favorite. My favorite, hands down, is the Regal. We were on the Ruby about a week ago and while I absolutely enjoyed her, the Regal is still my favorite. You can not even compare the two buffets. Regal's is superior IMHO.

 

But there is so much than just the ship which makes it an enjoyable cruise. I had my two adult kids and my son in law on the Ruby with me so that will make it one of the best cruises ever. Our bar server on the Regal was so awesome, I am sure it added to the enjoyment of that cruise. Great people on the ship definitely shape my opinion of the cruise.

 

One thing I did not miss on the Regal was the center stairs. We normally have cabins on higher decks (we were Marina - far forward), so we would not have had a reason to take those missing stairs.

 

I am looking forward to our trip on the Island this fall so we will have another class of ship to add to our comparison.

[jeffbrig]

The Emerald is virtually the twin of the Ruby. I've sailed on both, and no significant differences stand out in my mind. The Regal is a little newer, with some changes...

[rebeccalouiseagain]

I've been on over 30 ships and the Regal is my new favorite. Love her.;)

[jeffbrig]

While the Emerald is OK for an older ship...

 

Older? I think the Emerald took its maiden voyage in 2007, not even 10 years ago...

[Lucky TGO]

if i had to choose i would sale Emerald before Royal

I agree with you and the other six people that cruise with me all like the Emerald over the Royal. I am booked on the Royal again only because we like the 10 day cruises in The Caribbean in January.

Tony

[floridalover5623]

Older? I think the Emerald took its maiden voyage in 2007, not even 10 years ago...

 

Relatively speaking of course. ;)

[Flo71]

Looking like we will be booking later today for the Emerald so thank you to all for the observations and the link to the review.

 

If the Royal was sailing from Southampton I would have chosen her as I adored my last cruise on her but it isn't so Emerald here I come. :)

[carterd2002]

Looking like we will be booking later today for the Emerald so thank you to all for the observations and the link to the review.

 

If the Royal was sailing from Southampton I would have chosen her as I adored my last cruise on her but it isn't so Emerald here I come. :)

 

I am sailing soon out of Southampton on the Emerald too - this will be our first cruise with Princess - looking forward to it:)