Enchanted or Emerald????

[nadine26]

We are regulars at Celebrity, Royal and Holland. Princess has good prices for next December. We hesitate between a 10 days on the Enchanted and a 14 days with a great itinerary on the Emerald. I would like to have the opinion of the connoisseurs of Princess! THANKS!

10-DayEastern Caribbean with Martinique
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Fri, Dec 8, 2023 - Enchanted Princess

 

14-DayCircle Caribbean
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Sat, Dec 9, 2023 - Emerald Princess

[Sea Hag]

If I were shopping for myself, I'd give the nod to the Enchanted since it has our favorite cabin type, the M6 minis on Marina. 

[KLM3164]

Agree with @Sea Hagwe would go with the Enchanted (newer ship) and book one of the Fab Four cabins if available (M6) on Marina or Lido. 

[Musky Ike]

You can't go wrong with either. We like the grand class of ships and sail on them while we still can. We were on the Emerald in January and will return to her in March for the circle Caribbean cruise. 

[memoak]

We usually prefer the Grand class ships and are sailing the Emerald in March on a trans canal 

[davekathy]

53 minutes ago, nadine26 said:

We are regulars at Celebrity, Royal and Holland. Princess has good prices for next December. We hesitate between a 10 days on the Enchanted and a 14 days with a great itinerary on the Emerald. I would like to have the opinion of the connoisseurs of Princess! THANKS!

10-DayEastern Caribbean with Martinique
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Fri, Dec 8, 2023 - Enchanted Princess

 

14-DayCircle Caribbean
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Sat, Dec 9, 2023 - Emerald Princess

Pick the itinerary you like best. Everyone's experiences/opinions positive or negative may not be yours. 

[LACruiser88]

10 minutes ago, davekathy said:

Pick the itinerary you like best. Everyone's experiences/opinions positive or negative may not be yours. 

Best advice so far!

[MissP22]

I vote for the Enchanted only because it's a newer ship & a class I prefer. 

I couldn't care less about any Caribbean port, you may.

[Booboochase]

1 hour ago, Sea Hag said:

If I were shopping for myself, I'd give the nod to the Enchanted since it has our favorite cabin type, the M6 minis on Marina. 

New to Princess - may book Enchanted Med cruise, can you tell me why mini suite on Marina? Thank you!!

[Buckeye10640]

1 hour ago, nadine26 said:

We are regulars at Celebrity, Royal and Holland. Princess has good prices for next December. We hesitate between a 10 days on the Enchanted and a 14 days with a great itinerary on the Emerald. I would like to have the opinion of the connoisseurs of Princess! THANKS!

10-DayEastern Caribbean with Martinique
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Fri, Dec 8, 2023 - Enchanted Princess

 

14-DayCircle Caribbean
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Sat, Dec 9, 2023 - Emerald Princess

I have been on Enchanted twice and she is a great ship, as well as one of the newest ships.  If the pricing is similar, you have the freedom to take the 14 day cruise, and you have no distinct preference on ports.....I would go with the longer cruise!

[Booboochase]

1 minute ago, Buckeye10640 said:

I have been on Enchanted twice and she is a great ship, as well as one of the newest ships.  If the pricing is similar, you have the freedom to take the 14 day cruise, and you have no distinct preference on ports.....I would go with the longer cruise!

Sorry - I am totally hijacking this thread! Have you done any Med cruises on Enchanted? Be our first time if we take the plunge - Either 1 week Athens to Barcelona, or the next week Barcelona to Rome, or the full two weeks - so unsure! Family is going, this is why we are considering.  Thank you for any advice!

[Sea Hag]

37 minutes ago, Booboochase said:

New to Princess - may book Enchanted Med cruise, can you tell me why mini suite on Marina? Thank you!!

The M6 minis on Marina and Lido are the front corners of those decks, so there are four of them. Both decks have larger than normal balconies, and the ones on Marina have huge balconies that extend out over the bridge. The floor plan of these is way above average, in our opinion. There's some separation between the living and sleeping areas so when my hubby gets up at way-too-early oclock, he has access to the living area, the bathroom, and the balcony without disturbing me. These are also club class, or to use the new term, reserve collection. We like that a lot. These cabins are convenient to the resources on Lido deck and the walking/jogging track up top. There's a big window in the sleeping area that makes for great star watching.

 

Those are the merits. There are what some folks would consider to be downsides or deal breakers, but not us. Top of the ship, way forward you get any motion that's available. We like that. the balconies are steel fronted, rather than glass. We don't mind that. If it's foggy, you will definitely hear the foghorn. We tolerate that. These cabins are about as far away from the main dining rooms as you can get. We're fine with that. 

 

That's about it. I keep thinking I'm going to stop recommending these, since there are so few of them and I'm probably making them harder to get. But I find myself recommending them anyway.

[Booboochase]

Sea Hag, these cabins sound amazing!! I don't recall seeing these available though, no surprise.  I did see a forward cabin with a larger balcony, I don't recall if it was a mini or a balcony but it said you can't utilize the balcony when the ship is moving due to wind.  I wonder if that should be a deal breaker? 

[Hlitner]

We would be happy with either vessel (and have been on both).  But, the balconies are somewhat larger on the Emerald which is a big plus.   Everytime we cruise on the Royal Class ships my thoughts wander to, "whatever were they thinking?" when they made the normal balconies so darn small.

 

Hank

[Sea Hag]

37 minutes ago, Booboochase said:

Sea Hag, these cabins sound amazing!! I don't recall seeing these available though, no surprise.  I did see a forward cabin with a larger balcony, I don't recall if it was a mini or a balcony but it said you can't utilize the balcony when the ship is moving due to wind.  I wonder if that should be a deal breaker? 

I forgot to mention wind. Yes, it can get windy on any of these forward-facing cabin balconies. I can usually work around that and find a place to sit out of the wind except for when it's really, really windy. We've never had the steward close off access to the balcony. This is another possible dealbreaker for some but not for us. 

[richsea]

We’ve sailed both, & prefer Enchanted over Emerald. Enchanted has smaller balconies, but her standard balcony rooms do not a anywhere to sit other than a desk chair or the bed, while Enchanted also lacks a sofa, she does have a deluxe balcony with a loveseat. This may not be important to you but it is to us. Also, I prefer a hand held shower head which Emerald lacks. I haven’t sailed Emerald in some years, but other than the points I made, she is a nice ship. If these things don’t matter to you, then I would choose the 14 night sailing. 14 days over 10 is preferable

[davekathy]

Like all these type of threads, it all about personal preference. No wrong answer. 

[buckeye7]

We are booked on the Enchanted for the Barcelona to Rome trip. We have a mini suite on Caribe, midship, and one of the ones with an extended, angled balcony. Of course we haven’t seen it yet, but people say it makes the balcony large enough to enjoy. I like that it’s midship and a lower balcony. Check out the deck plans and you’ll see the ones with the extended balconies. 

[mtnesterz]

What jumps out at me is you will be returning to port and presumably flying home, Dec 23rd. If flying around the Holidays doesn't bother you, then the longer cruise would be the choice. 

As far as ship, the Emerald, is better for sightseeing, Skywalkers, a full Prommenade deck...

Staff and food are consistent in our experience ship to ship on the line.

Edited February 14, 2023 by mtnesterz

[jeromep]

6 hours ago, davekathy said:

Pick the itinerary you like best. Everyone's experiences/opinions positive or negative may not be yours. 

I agree, choose based upon itinerary.

 

The Emerald is an older vessel, but not ancient by any means.  There is a charm to the lower pax count Princess ships.  They are more classic in design, the wrap around promenade decks is a huge plus, and the internal layout is such that there are rarely any crowds to navigate through, except maybe for evening shows.  The older ships are a bit more "outside" focused, so the very walkable wrap around promenade deck, the "closeness' to the water afforded at that deck, plus a very nicely designed top deck.

 

The Enchanted is much more modern and is an "inside" looking vessel, which seems to be the trend in new ship designs these days.  Spectacular large and open central areas, and a fairly impressive top deck, but no promenade and not that many outside venues lower down on the ship.  There is some outside seating located at dining venues around the Piazza, but no wrap around promenade.

 

I'd take the longer sailing.  I've had my eyes on that 14-day cruise for a number of years now, but can't pencil out how to get all that time off from work and schedule it when school isn't in session.  It will probably be a few years until we can actually try to do that cruise.

[Booboochase]

3 hours ago, buckeye7 said:

We are booked on the Enchanted for the Barcelona to Rome trip. We have a mini suite on Caribe, midship, and one of the ones with an extended, angled balcony. Of course we haven’t seen it yet, but people say it makes the balcony large enough to enjoy. I like that it’s midship and a lower balcony. Check out the deck plans and you’ll see the ones with the extended balconies. 

Have you done a Med cruise? We have only ever done Caribbean so this is entirely new and a bit overwhelming trying to decide if we want to travel that far and the planning involved.  On the other hand, a great opportunity to cruise with family who are booked.

[buckeye7]

1 minute ago, Booboochase said:

Have you done a Med cruise?

Yes, we did a 12-day Med cruise with Princess but it was over 10 years ago. It really does take a lot of planning!  It’s a different kind of cruise than a Caribbean one. You are much more busy sightseeing. But it is so wonderful to see so many places and have a beautiful ship taking you there!  We are very anxious for our cruise this May!

[Booboochase]

Ours would be in September.  Family going has booked two weeks! Athens to Rome. We are still all over the place with which week to book or to even book!  Two weeks seems like it's pretty ambitious  😄

[nasa1974]

10 hours ago, nadine26 said:

We are regulars at Celebrity, Royal and Holland. Princess has good prices for next December. We hesitate between a 10 days on the Enchanted and a 14 days with a great itinerary on the Emerald. I would like to have the opinion of the connoisseurs of Princess! THANKS!

10-DayEastern Caribbean with Martinique
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Fri, Dec 8, 2023 - Enchanted Princess

 

14-DayCircle Caribbean
Roundtrip from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida departing Sat, Dec 9, 2023 - Emerald Princess

Like most everyone has said it comes down to personal choice. Are you looking for a great itinerary or a different ship experience? Either the Enchanted or the Emerald can give you the different ship experience depending on what kind of ships you have cruised on in the past. Only the Emerald seems to have the itinerary you really like. Ship experience vs. itinerary, your choice.

Just enjoy which ever you choose.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

we personally prefer newer ships.