Recent passengers on Emerald or Grand Class Ships….

[Triptkr]

I am looking for solid advice from those that have either sailed on the Emerald Princess (fairly) recently in an aft balcony or have sailed on the Emerald Princess in E732.    (I am open to advice from anyone who has been on any of the sister ships to Emerald [Ruby, Crown, Caribbean] with regards to the below concerns.)

 

• In regards to the aft balcony concern:

Some of the things that I am hearing are issues with those (crew or passengers, it doesn't matter) that smoke on the promenade deck; that smoke being a problem for anyone in the aft portion of the ship who would like to enjoy their balcony.   Is this still an issue?  

 

• ln regards to stateroom E732 on Emerald Princess:

Has anyone here had this stateroom?   What did you think of the location?  Would you book it again?  Did you experience any noise/vibration from Club Fusion when trying to sleep or during the day?  Did anyone experience any issues with not being able to enjoy this balcony due to cigarette smoke from the below promenade deck?

 

Thanks so much!

[cruzsnooze]

If you are over the dance floor in Club Fusion the music will be loud and goes on until late into the night. 

[HaveDogWillTravel]

I sail aft facing cabins almost exclusively.  I last debarked the Ruby on June 9th and the entire aft promenade was closed and used by crew for smoking almost all the time. Occasionally I’d find it open on a sea day for a while. The smoke will permeate up to Baja deck. Of course with it being worse the lower you are. The only aft cabin I found with a minimal intrusion was an Aloha deck penthouse. Even up there it  still woke me up from my afternoon nap more than once. On the Dolphin deck Vista suite in April it was terrible. 
 

That said no one knows if this crew smoking on the promenade will continue or not. 

[Triptkr]

2 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I sail aft facing cabins almost exclusively.  I last debarked the Ruby on June 9th and the entire aft promenade was closed and used by crew for smoking almost all the time. Occasionally I’d find it open on a sea day for a while. The smoke will permeate up to Baja deck. Of course with it being worse the lower you are. The only aft cabin I found with a minimal intrusion was an Aloha deck penthouse. Even up there it  still woke me up from my afternoon nap more than once. On the Dolphin deck Vista suite in April it was terrible. 
 

That said no one knows if this crew smoking on the promenade will continue or not. 

Thank you for your helpful feedback.  

[Parrottdizes]

1 hour ago, Triptkr said:

• ln regards to stateroom E732 on Emerald Princess:

Has anyone here had this stateroom?   What did you think of the location?  Would you book it again?  Did you experience any noise/vibration from Club Fusion when trying to sleep or during the day?  Did anyone experience any issues with not being able to enjoy this balcony due to cigarette smoke from the below promenade deck?

 

Thanks so much!

I have been in D732 on the Emerald Princess and had no problems with noise from the lounge. However, I did read a post (somewhere on this forum) from someone who was on the Emerald deck in the same location and they complained about the noise. 

If you can, move up one deck to Dolphin deck and you should be far enough away to no be bothered by the noise from the lounge. 

 

[lx200gps]

16 minutes ago, Parrottdizes said:

I have been in D732 on the Emerald Princess and had no problems with noise from the lounge. However, I did read a post (somewhere on this forum) from someone who was on the Emerald deck in the same location and they complained about the noise. 

If you can, move up one deck to Dolphin deck and you should be far enough away to no be bothered by the noise from the lounge. 

 

Very similar experience here as well. Though we hadn't stayed in E732, we did have E728, nearby and also right over Club Fusion. I went into the trip quite nervous about being over the "disco" as I'm a horribly light sleeper, but it turned out to be a complete non-event. I made a point of carefully studying the cabin for evidence of what lay below, and the ONLY thing I could hear was a very faint low-frequency sound, but only in the bathroom, and even then so faint I had to strain to hear it. That being said, if you are able, it would always be best to be in a cabin sandwiched between two cabin floors, as the Dolphin deck would be.

[Triptkr]

7 minutes ago, lx200gps said:

 That being said, if you are able, it would always be best to be in a cabin sandwiched between two cabin floors, as the Dolphin deck would be.

 

30 minutes ago, Parrottdizes said:

 

If you can, move up one deck to Dolphin deck and you should be far enough away to no be bothered by the noise from the lounge. 

 

Thanks to both of you for your thoughts on this.  I have been very diligent on keeping an eye out so that we can move up to next deck if nothing else to help with the potential noise problem.  Of course now I'm concerned about the cigarette smell that seems to lately plague anyone on any deck aft-facing.  

 

If it's not one thing, it's another!

[capriccio]

We have been in Vista Suite E732 on the Emerald and had no issue with noise.  Shows in the Vista Lounge are over and done with by 11 pm but even earlier than that we didn't have an issue.  Before covid the smoking section was on the starboard side promenade below suite E733 and mini-suite E731.  We have been in E731 on Emerald's sister ship, the Ruby Princess,  and weren't bothered by the smoke but that was before the reported closing of the entire aft section of the promenade deck for smokers. 

 

This is our favorite cabin location.

[Triptkr]

3 minutes ago, capriccio said:

We have been in Vista Suite E732 on the Emerald and had no issue with noise.  Shows in the Vista Lounge are over and done with by 11 pm but even earlier than that we didn't have an issue.  Before covid the smoking section was on the starboard side promenade below suite E733 and mini-suite E731.  We have been in E731 on Emerald's sister ship, the Ruby Princess,  and weren't bothered by the smoke but that was before the reported closing of the entire aft section of the promenade deck for smokers. 

 

This is our favorite cabin location.

Thanks for your input.  Aft facing is our favorite location too and normally wouldn't think twice about booking in this location.  I'm amazed that Princess, despite the numerous complaints they've had, haven't found another location for smokers to go.   

[voljeep]

yeah, we've got a true aft on baja on the CB coming up in the late fall ... 

[Triptkr]

5 minutes ago, voljeep said:

yeah, we've got a true aft on baja on the CB coming up in the late fall ... 

Are you concerned about the cigarette smell?

[voljeep]

1 minute ago, Triptkr said:

Are you concerned about the cigarette smell?

sure - hope that changes - but it's not enough to move cabins for I don't think ... we are out on the balcony mainly when the ship is moving anyway, so shouldn't that help dissipate that?

[Triptkr]

5 hours ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

I sail aft facing cabins almost exclusively.  I last debarked the Ruby on June 9th and the entire aft promenade was closed and used by crew for smoking almost all the time. Occasionally I’d find it open on a sea day for a while. The smoke will permeate up to Baja deck. Of course with it being worse the lower you are. The only aft cabin I found with a minimal intrusion was an Aloha deck penthouse. Even up there it  still woke me up from my afternoon nap more than once. On the Dolphin deck Vista suite in April it was terrible. 
 

That said no one knows if this crew smoking on the promenade will continue or not. 

In your two experiences, when did you smell the cigarette smoke?  Was it just when the ship was at port or was it also when the ship was sailing?   

 

TIA!

[memoak]

We sail mostly in aft suites. The noise from the lounge is really only an issue if you are an early to bed type. We rarely get back to the stateroom until after midnight and have never had an issue with noise

[HaveDogWillTravel]

9 hours ago, Triptkr said:

In your two experiences, when did you smell the cigarette smoke?  Was it just when the ship was at port or was it also when the ship was sailing?   

 

TIA!

Both sea days and port days. Of course some port days I’d be off the ship for a large part of the day. 
 

The stench would be intermittent and not typically constant.  However there were several occasions where I was forced to vacate the balcony for a longer period of time.
 

We’d be eating lunch on the balcony at our table and it would be overwhelming for several minutes then be gone as the wind changed. Same thing would happen during my early morning coffee times. There were times I’d wake up at midnight and go out to watch the stars and would have to retreat back inside and shut the door it was so bad. That said there were plenty of times that I didn’t smell it and did get to enjoy the balcony. For the price I pay for those full suites I feel I should be able to use the balcony 100% of the time. 

 

As it’s now been a year since the restart my patience is growing thin with regards to this. If I find my meals or naps disturbed by smoke on my 2 week sailing to Hawaii this November  I will speak to the HGM on board.
 

Just as a point of reference I’ve sailed 27 days in the aft facing suites , vista (Ruby), penthouse (Ruby) and owners (Grand) since the restart.  The Aloha deck penthouse was the only one where it was not that big a deal. However I often couldn’t stand at the balcony as the smoke would be noticeable there. But it wasn’t when sitting at the table or sleeping on the lounger. So that made it bearable.  

[nini]

As I have mentioned with @Triptkr on a different thread, the cigarette smoke does permeate and float up to the Baja deck and is basically 24/7.

Agreed, WTH is Princess thinking?!?!?!

 

Aft balconies is where we always try to book. This is ridicu!ous!

[nini]

Yes, we were on the Emerald in May.

[caribill]

54 minutes ago, nini said:

 

Agreed, WTH is Princess thinking?!?!?!

 

 

The problem is that they aren't.

[seagunthera]

I have E730 on the Sapphire on hold and am now thinking twice about the smoke.  UGH!  Has anyone ever complained and if so, what did management say?

[caribill]

32 minutes ago, seagunthera said:

I have E730 on the Sapphire on hold and am now thinking twice about the smoke.  UGH!  Has anyone ever complained and if so, what did management say?

 

There have been threads on Cruise Credit about this problem.

 

Due to Covid, crew are not allowed to smoke indoors as they would be too close to one another in their normal indoor smoking area. So the aft of the ship's promenade deck is where they were allowed to smoke. (The crew area at the front of the ship (near the crew pool) is too windy when the ship is at sea for smoking.

 

Management's response has basically been that the aft on the promenade deck is the only suitable area for outside crew smoking.

[HaveDogWillTravel]

4 hours ago, seagunthera said:

I have E730 on the Sapphire on hold and am now thinking twice about the smoke.  UGH!  Has anyone ever complained and if so, what did management say?

Yes I have and as @caribillstates the HGM gave those reasons. However, now that crew restrictions have vastly relaxed from what they were when I was told that there is no reason the indoor crew smoking area should remain closed. 
 

When that explanation was given to me the crew were not allowed off ship, the crew bar was closed, the crew dining area was closed, the crew were not allowed to have parties or even socialize outside of their work team.  None of those things are the case anymore. Hence I will want to know why the old crew smoking areas are not open. 
 

That said I have a Dolphin deck Vista on the Sapphire, the Baja deck grand suites on the Diamond and Sapphire booked. So cleeeeeeearly I am addicted to aft facing suites. I know I have a problem. 

[Triptkr]

7 minutes ago, HaveDogWillTravel said:

Yes I have and as @caribillstates the HGM gave those reasons. However, now that crew restrictions have vastly relaxed from what they were when I was told that there is no reason the indoor crew smoking area should remain closed. 
 

When that explanation was given to me the crew were not allowed off ship, the crew bar was closed, the crew dining area was closed, the crew were not allowed to have parties or even socialize outside of their work team.  None of those things are the case anymore. Hence I will want to know why the old crew smoking areas are not open. 
 

That said I have a Dolphin deck Vista on the Sapphire, the Baja deck grand suites on the Diamond and Sapphire booked. So cleeeeeeearly I am addicted to aft facing suites. I know I have a problem. 

You make all good points.  It would be really nice to know now whether this is being allowed currently...as in is it being allowed today?? 

Don't know about you, but we have final payment coming up soon and I'd really like to be able to make an informed decision on this.   Don't get me wrong, the information provided has been helpful. 

Honestly the more I read about Princess and what they're allowing--a lot of it to the detriment of the customer experience, the more I lean towards another cruise line.  

[HaveDogWillTravel]

It was true as recently as June 9th on the Ruby. 
Please let your experience speak for itself. A lot of negative comments are posted because folks without something to complain about have gone home and moved on. They don’t post nearly as much. 
 

81 days since the restart and I’ve had much more good than not. I can’t wait for summer to be over so I can sail again!  

Edited July 13, 2022 by HaveDogWillTravel

[capriccio]

7 minutes ago, Triptkr said:

You make all good points.  It would be really nice to know now whether this is being allowed currently...as in is it being allowed today??

Since the title of your thread is rather short on specifics it may not have opened by recent Emerald cruisers. 

 

Have you checked for a current (or very recent) 'live from the Emerald Princess' thread?  You could ask on it.  Alternatively, go to the current (or very recent) roll call and ask.

[Triptkr]

23 minutes ago, capriccio said:

Since the title of your thread is rather short on specifics it may not have opened by recent Emerald cruisers. 

 

Have you checked for a current (or very recent) 'live from the Emerald Princess' thread?  You could ask on it.  Alternatively, go to the current (or very recent) roll call and ask.

Good points.  How does one re-title after thread has been started?  Or do I need to start new thread?