Maybe LIVE from Emerald Princess Nov 7 - Nov 23rd

[Coral]

Lunch menu - sorry about the light reflections:

 

 

[Coral]

Dinner Menus:

 

[CaribbeanIsland]

Thanks for great review. Will be on the ship soon. Can you post the officers?

[Sadebud]

Thanks for taking the time to post. I have friends onboard with you (Roxanne and Walt...say hi from Tracy if you meet them!).  Enjoy your cruise!

[Coral]

Right before dinner - the Captain came on and said that due to our sea conditions (remember I mentioned that it is pretty rocky onboard) - the pilot boat can't bring us into port tomorrow in Le Verdon like normal so the pilot captain (I think that was the word they used) will board our ship via helicopter at 5 am and will assist our ship docking while on our ship. I think I got this right - maybe they board the ship anyway but can't do it normally and he will be brought onboard via helicopter.

 

He indicated that our times in port will not be affected by this. Though he did tell us that we can not be out on public decks during that time and we can not use any flash photography that would interfere with the pilot coming onboard.

 

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On a side note - the destination speaker showed us a map of France and indicated that Le Verdon is so important that it is missing from most French maps. Le Verdon apparently has a population of 1100 or something like that. Apparently the port has nothing in it. Princess is providing a free shuttle to Soulac.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, CaribbeanIsland said:

Thanks for great review. Will be on the ship soon. Can you post the officers?

I will try to get this on the next sea day.

[DougH]

[Coral]

8 hours ago, DougH said:

Thank you!

[ReadyToCruise2]

Coral,

 

Great information!  We will be boarding the Emerald Princess after you arrive on Nov. 23 for a 10-day Panama Canal cruise.  Even though yours is a longer cruise, I suspect there will be some commonality (some menus, entertainment, etc.) between your cruise and ours, so your review is very helpful of what to expect (and at the very least getting us more excited to be onboard!).   Also, based on the number of still available cabins on our cruise, I suspect our passenger load will be similar to yours at maybe 2/3 of full capacity.

 

One question: Are they using all 3 main dining rooms on your cruise? 

 

I've noticed on our cruise in pre-reserving dining times in the DMW app that only the Da Vinci and Botticelli dining rooms are available to select.  The Michelangelo never comes up as an option.

[sunviking90]

Coral,

thank you for taking the time to do this! We are also on the cruise and also in a mini suite on Dolphin aft starboard. We are really enjoying it so far, with the crew being wonderful as always. The dining room was a bit chaotic on the first night I agree. We made reservations for 6 pm every night of the cruise, but we are actually going in earlier as we’re finding the service better a little earlier before it gets busy. We have the same table every night.

ReadyToCruise2, as far as I know the Michelangelo is not being used, unless it’s an overflow. It doesn’t appear on the patters as open.

Coral, can I ask how you are finding the wifi? We were travelling a bit before the cruise, so I got an esim for Europe with a lot of data, so I’ve just been tethering off of that while in port. I was going to get the wifi once we are on our sea days, but I’m wondering how it is. I’ve heard reports that it is very poor on the transatlantics. 

 

[Coral]

4 hours ago, ReadyToCruise2 said:

Coral,

 

Great information!  We will be boarding the Emerald Princess after you arrive on Nov. 23 for a 10-day Panama Canal cruise.  Even though yours is a longer cruise, I suspect there will be some commonality (some menus, entertainment, etc.) between your cruise and ours, so your review is very helpful of what to expect (and at the very least getting us more excited to be onboard!).   Also, based on the number of still available cabins on our cruise, I suspect our passenger load will be similar to yours at maybe 2/3 of full capacity.

 

One question: Are they using all 3 main dining rooms on your cruise? 

 

I've noticed on our cruise in pre-reserving dining times in the DMW app that only the Da Vinci and Botticelli dining rooms are available to select.  The Michelangelo never comes up as an option.

Hi,

 

I am too tired to walk over to Michaelangelo right now to find out. I did ask our waiter (we are in Botticelli) and he said that Michaelangelo is being used on our cruise to help DaVinci but will not be used on your cruise. I will double check this on the next sea day. I just quickly looked at tomorrow's patter and Michaelangelo is not even listed as available.

 

According to my waiter - the passenger count on your cruise is 1400.

[Coral]

2 hours ago, sunviking90 said:

Coral,

thank you for taking the time to do this! We are also on the cruise and also in a mini suite on Dolphin aft starboard. We are really enjoying it so far, with the crew being wonderful as always. The dining room was a bit chaotic on the first night I agree. We made reservations for 6 pm every night of the cruise, but we are actually going in earlier as we’re finding the service better a little earlier before it gets busy. We have the same table every night.

ReadyToCruise2, as far as I know the Michelangelo is not being used, unless it’s an overflow. It doesn’t appear on the patters as open.

Coral, can I ask how you are finding the wifi? We were travelling a bit before the cruise, so I got an esim for Europe with a lot of data, so I’ve just been tethering off of that while in port. I was going to get the wifi once we are on our sea days, but I’m wondering how it is. I’ve heard reports that it is very poor on the transatlantics. 

 

I am starboard near the aft elevators. On this cruise - I am hearing the elevators chime at times. Not a big deal. Great location.

 

I think you are right about Michaelangelo. It is not even listed in the Patter.

 

Our dining experience started out frustrating but it has worked itself out. We are in Botticelli and had a set time reserved before the cruise. Though with a party of 2 - our table was placed in an area where the tables are very close to each other (bench seats on one side) and it is not my favorite. We worked with the dining staff and they have re-assigned us to a different table and we can come anytime but have to be out by a specific time when the table is reserved next. Or - we could have had a much later time. My friend likes the early shows so we are going early. The past few days have been off as I have had full day tours. It will be fine once we cross the Atlantic. We are eating quickly - so tonight when I showed up late, I was still able to get out by the time I am supposed to.

 

Our new waiters are very kind and really good. The head waiter who is now called Restaurant Manager has also been very good. He has stopped by our table every night. My waiter made me order dessert tonight and I am regretting it!

 

I am using ship's internet and it is not very good. We booked with Princess Plus. I was awake at 5 am this morning and it seemed to work best at that time. I have not been able to upload port photos yet to CC. I am not even getting all of my email downloaded. Just about half of my email is downloading. Sort of bizarre. I am logging into web email and noticing large gaps that are not downloaded. 

[Coral]

Today is Bordeaux, more specifically Le Verdon.. I had a tour of Bordeaux on your own plus the Cite du Vin museum.

 

There is absolutely nothing to do in Le Verdon. The ship ran a shuttle free to Soulac. 

 

It was very foggy this morning. The Pilot Captain (I think that was the title) was brought onboard at 5 am this morning to bring our ship into port. He is leaving the same way via helicopter at 8 pm. We are told to avoid the open deck and we were also told not to be on our balcony on that side of the ship. I don't remember what side they mentioned.

 

The ride into Bordeaux was very foggy this morning. It took 2 hours. There are more roundabouts and speed bumps on this route than I thought was possible. It was a 2 lane road and was bumper to bumper. We ran into a stalled traffic issue and had to take a different route.

 

Also, the bus has to go on the apron of the roundabout so it seemed like a bumpy ride. I had brought my Kindle to read and it didn't seem to work out that well. We had about 2 hours to walk around Bordeaux and walked about 6 miles during that time. It is a pretty city and the locals were very friendly when I asked for directions. My goal was to walk to a certain church which we were told would take about 15 minutes. About 38 minutes later - I realized I walked to a different church which was under renovation. We then walked along the river back to our bus. 

 

We then were transported to Cite du Vin museum (La Cite du Vin). I encourage anyone not familiar with this Wine Museum to look it up. It is stunning looking externally and internally. Whoever the architect was - he was creative. On top of this - this is an interactive museum. They give you a device and earphones (and pick your language). You walk to an exhibit and scan the code there and it goes off talking about the exhibit and several of them asks you to interact with he exhibit. There are a variety of exhibits that talks about every aspect of wine - one part is about smells of wines and encourages you to to smell in this device - due to COVID, I did not. It covers wine in a variety of different ways and is pretty darn cool. It is not like anything I have ever seen before. We could not do it justice in 2 hours. Our ticket included one wine tasting. There is a wine store on the premises which looks amazing architecturally also (maybe once we hit the TA part of the cruise I can upload some pics) and the museum store was also pretty cool. Right next to the museum was an inside market which I enjoyed walking through. Some stands included fruit and vegetables. Others, bread, others sandwiches, pastries and desserts, etc... I took a ton of pics and hope I can eventually post them when internet improves. Except for a foggy morning - the weather did cooperate and it was a nice day to walk around.

 

Near the Wine museum and the market - I saw a Uniworld rive boat ship docked nearby. It is too bad that Bordeaux is 2 hours from where we docked.

 

Museum website: https://www.laciteduvin.com/en 

 

We took a different route back to the ship and passed along several chateaus and what the guide referred to as castles. It was truly beautiful. 

 

Tomorrow is Bilbao, Spain. I think. The next 4 ports I have 4 private excursions booked. Tomorrow it is booked through Spain Day tours and includes the Guggenheim museum.

 

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To anyone who is on the Emerald Princess in the future. The ship looks great and the crew are very happy and friendly. The passengers on this sailing are wonderful. Everyone is very polite and thrilled to be on the ship.

 

 

 

[Cleckie]

18 hours ago, ReadyToCruise2 said:

Coral,

 

Great information!  We will be boarding the Emerald Princess after you arrive on Nov. 23 for a 10-day Panama Canal cruise.  Even though yours is a longer cruise, I suspect there will be some commonality (some menus, entertainment, etc.) between your cruise and ours, so your review is very helpful of what to expect (and at the very least getting us more excited to be onboard!).   Also, based on the number of still available cabins on our cruise, I suspect our passenger load will be similar to yours at maybe 2/3 of full capacity.

 

One question: Are they using all 3 main dining rooms on your cruise? 

 

I've noticed on our cruise in pre-reserving dining times in the DMW app that only the Da Vinci and Botticelli dining rooms are available to select.  The Michelangelo never comes up as an option.

We are on Emerald Jan 2nd for full Panama canal transit. When dining first opened I was able to book all 3 main dining rooms, then one day she I was checking my dinner reservations all my nights booked in Michaelangelo were blank and that dining room was no longer an option to book. Looks like as of now it is closed for our cruise.

[dickinson]

Just found this Live from.  Sounds like a nice cruise!  Looking forward to more posts - internet permitting.

[LidoLiz]

This has been an amazing cruise so far.
We are in Bilbao today under a blue sky, and the afternoon sun is actually hot on our port side balcony.

Fortunately, I have discovered the espresso mocha milkshake, available on the Lido deck, is covered by our Plus plan! Note to self: only one per day. 🙄

[Coral]

Hi All,

 

I have taken pictures of the Patters and Menus but will need to wait for a sea day to upload them.

 

Today was Bilbao. It was a very sunny 70 degrees out. Simply gorgeous! I went back and fourth between going to a seaside village or seeing Bilbao. I think they both would have been good choices.

 

I did a tour through Spain Day tours: Highlights of Bilbao and Guggenheim

 

https://www.spaindaytours.com/spain-shore-excursions/bilbao-shore-excursion/

 

There were 14 of us on the bus (12 from CruiseCritic Roll Call) and it was another early morning tour as we had to be outside at 7:15 and it was dark at that time. It was a full sized coach and seemed brand new. By the time we got to Bilbao - it was gorgeous outside.

 

We saw several sights in Bilbao, went to Guggenheim museum. I can't believe I went to the most unusual wine museum yesterday in Bordeaux and then today went to Guggenheim museum. This museum was also extremely cool! Being a dog person - I of course liked the "puppy" that had flowers all over him and found the spider creepy.

 

We had approx 2 hours in the museum (not enough as it was so cool) and then we went to the historical quarter and had free time which many took the time to eat some local food.

 

Bilbao felt like a real (non-touristy) Spanish town and it was pretty neat to walk along the narrow streets, walk into the stores and see the old architecture. I especially like walking into the markets and grocery stores and seeing what products they buy or how the products we buy are packaged in other countries.

 

One of the first things we did was stop at a  Vizcaya Bridge. It is the strangest bridge I have ever seen as it moves cars and people across very inexpensively. I kept looking at the bridge not understanding how it worked until I saw it come closer to us. I can't get the page to load on the ship but here it is: https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/1217/  We also stopped at some great viewing areas overlooking the town.

 

Princess ran free shuttles into Bilbao which surprised the heck out of me (I can't remember being on a previous cruise with free shuttles). So this was nice. Though most didn't find out until we had booked tours through Princess or privately.

 

I did speak with some people who did eat in the Michaelangelo dining room. It is overflow from Davinci. I asked our waiters about it today and they said that all the food is coming from the Davinci galley and that is why it is taking so long to get to us. Both of us looked at each other as our food service has been very quick and efficient. Our waiters have been amazing. I did ask for the children's menu tonight and took a picture of it. Spaghetti and meatballs have definitely been replaced with mac and cheese. I said something to the Restaurant Manager (no longer titled Head Waiter) and he asked if I wanted some spaghetti tomorrow. I said no but will wait until Italian night. Sad to see this go off of the children's menu.

 

Tomorrow I am going to LA CORUNA TO SANTIAGO DE COMPOSTELA through Spain Day tours again. Meeting time is not until 9:15 and am so glad I can sleep in. These 7 am tours are killing me. I think there are some others on our Roll Call going on this also.

 

So far the weather has been amazing for me. I know there was rain in Cherbourg, France. Our tour took us out of it and we only had rain driving back to the ship.

 

Keeping fingers crossed that the rest of the ports are rain free. Several showed rain initially but right now, they appear to be rain free.

 

I am going to try to go to the show tonight.

 

Theresa

[Papa Yoda]

Great thread thank you!  I did think I recognized your DRO Rui, but when I knew him his last name was different:

 

 

Might be an interesting story there...

 

He is the best Maître d' we've had on Princess!

 

 

 

[azbirdmom]

Thanks for sharing the information about the D-Day tour.  We are going on a British Isles cruise next June and the Princess version has been sold out since we booked.  Mike's tour is booked but he did recommend a couple of others that I plan to check out.

[Coral]

10 hours ago, Papa Yoda said:

Great thread thank you!  I did think I recognized your DRO Rui, but when I knew him his last name was different:

 

 

Might be an interesting story there...

 

He is the best Maître d' we've had on Princess!

 

 

He was excellent in 2010 when we did Christmas and New Years on the Sapphire. I recognized the first name right away.

[Coral]

My pictures finally downloaded.

 

[Coral]

Bilbao:

 

 

[Coral]

La Coruna:

 

 

[Coral]

I will try to post some pictures of ports later today. Here are some from yesterday. I will need to charge my laptop and will post more later.

 

Yesterday was La Coruna and I went to Santiago de Compostela through Spain Day Tours. We had 14 on our bus and our bus was a full, very nice, newer coach and we had a great guide. I wasn't sure if I should do this port because I am not Catholic but I loved this port. Every turn was a beautiful square, building, etc... It was literally a surprise every block. It was stunning. It felt incredibly safe. Felt like a non touristy Spanish town through people take a month long pilgrimage to this town all the time. Great experience to visit this beautiful, historical town.

[Coral]

More from  Santiago de Compostela: