Live Emerald Princess Panama Canal LA to Ft. Lauderdale 2/16 to 3/3

[jaycruising]

Thank you so much for sharing, we are on the April 16th sailing, staying on caribe for the first time and that vantage gives a great view on those balcony sizes. 

[Solara]

4 hours ago, pmallen said:

Oh, forgot to mention: it's a long way from Cartegna to Ft. Lauderdale, so we're traveling near max speed (avg 20kts.or so) into 6 ft sweels and pretty good winds. Things are definitely rocking and rolling, but I don't see evidence of anyone having an issue with it.

 

4 hours ago, pmallen said:

Oh, forgot to mention: it's a long way from Cartegna to Ft. Lauderdale, so we're traveling near max speed (avg 20kts.or so) into 6 ft sweels and pretty good winds. Things are definitely rocking and rolling, but I don't see evidence of anyone having an issue with it.

Are the Deck 10 Caribe balconies partially covered at all.  Hard to tell from the angle of your photo. 
Thanks. 
 

[pmallen]

3 hours ago, Solara said:

 

Are the Deck 10 Caribe balconies partially covered at all.  Hard to tell from the angle of your photo. 
Thanks. 
 

Yes! If you look at the Dolphin deck balconies, you can see, between the balconies, a divider and a connector. Then, the slider into the cabin is clearly visible. On the Caribe deck above, you can see a double divider, and just barely see the connector (zooming in helps). You camd see the slider at all. The balcony above extends beyond the connector amd part way over the first divider. I'd say that gives you 5-6 feet of covered balcony. Someone who's measured it could say for sure.

 

Hope that helps.

[pmallen]

Day 14: At Sea

 

The wind and waves were a little sporty all night amd through early afternoon today. Not enough to cause discomfort, but pretty windy on deck, amd loud in the Sanctuary, where the wind hisses through the fabric covers.

 

In the morning we went to the culinary show,  where exec chef and maitre'd demonstrated two dishes  a dessert, with quite a bit shtick thrown in. It was a good show, played to a packed house. We then went from the theater to the DaVinci dining room for a brief kitchen tour/walk through. Saw some beautiful fruit sculptures, and a patry chef sketching out Easter decorations. Beware, the line to go through the kitchen moves pretty slowly.

 

Tonight's dinner was the gala, with surf and sea including filet mignon and plentiful lobster tails. I mamaged to convert mine into a "marsh and turf" by asking to add a lobster tail to the duck breast, which our waiter happily did.

 

Apologies, but my photo of the menu cut off the appetizers. Highlights were escargot and wedge salads.

 

A word about the casino: it's a bit smoky, though far from the worst I've experienced. The rules are extremely "house friendly." Extremely. The electronic poker table takes a 12.5% rake (max $8, I think). Blackjack pays 6-5 and they use a 6-7 deck (I've heard both) continuous shoe. Among the pictures I'm including is the worst beat I've ever.seen in my life. BJ takes are $10, though there is a $25 table that paya 3:2 for blackjack.  Go for the fun amd socializing, not the winning. My actual mission has been to see what sorts of casino offers I can get with a couple hours per night of break-even gambling.

[pmallen]

The blackjack picture.

[pmallen]

15 minutes ago, pmallen said:

The blackjack picture.

And yes, I should have stood on soft 18. But still.

[JGmf]

15 minutes ago, pmallen said:

And yes, I should have stood on soft 18. But still.

 

Yeah, but you would've lost either way.

 

Thanks for posting and taking the time to share photos.  I'll be on the ship in late June.  I'm a loyal NCL person, but their casino offers are horrible.  Going to try what you are doing: spend some (fun) time at the casino and then see what it yields in offers, if any. 

[pmallen]

3 hours ago, JGmf said:

 

Yeah, but you would've lost either way.

 

Thanks for posting and taking the time to share photos.  I'll be on the ship in late June.  I'm a loyal NCL person, but their casino offers are horrible.  Going to try what you are doing: spend some (fun) time at the casino and then see what it yields in offers, if any. 

Good luck! And regarding that hand, I was 3rd base. So I stand on 18, she takes the ace and gets 17. Oh well.

[Robbie555]

5 hours ago, pmallen said:

In the morning we went to the culinary show,  where exec chef and maitre'd demonstrated two dishes  a dessert, with quite a bit shtick thrown in. It was a good show, played to a packed house. We then went from the theater to the DaVinci dining room for a brief kitchen tour/walk through. Saw some beautiful fruit sculptures, and a patry chef sketching out Easter decorations. Beware, the line to go through the kitchen moves pretty slowly.

 

Was there a galley tour available for everybody? Or was it only for certain passengers.

 

On my sailing, on the there was no galley tour - at least not which was announced on the daily platter.

[pmallen]

2 hours ago, Robbie555 said:

Was there a galley tour available for everybody? Or was it only for certain passengers.

 

On my sailing, on the there was no galley tour - at least not which was announced on the daily platter.

It was available if you went to the show, which was open to anyone. I suppose you could have also fallen into the line without going to the show.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

13 minutes ago, pmallen said:

It was available if you went to the show, which was open to anyone. I suppose you could have also fallen into the line without going to the show.

 

I did that once, when I was late for the Culinary show but wanted to see galley tour!

 

I have a questions about PC day and Sanctuary...  you said you booked Sanc. thruout your cruise.

Is it possible to just book sanctuary on PC day? 

Arrive at least an hour early to get a good chair?

I've never booked Sanctuary before and No idea of cost either.... thanks for you help!

 

[pmallen]

12 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

I did that once, when I was late for the Culinary show but wanted to see galley tour!

 

I have a questions about PC day and Sanctuary...  you said you booked Sanc. thruout your cruise.

Is it possible to just book sanctuary on PC day? 

Arrive at least an hour early to get a good chair?

I've never booked Sanctuary before and No idea of cost either.... thanks for you help!

 

I think it's possible, but unlikely to be available. You can book individual days, but I thinknthey give preference to those booking the whole cruise. But I'm really not sure of that. Also, PC day in the Sanctuary cost $60 pp vs $40 the rest of thendays, not counting the whole cruise discount.

[pmallen]

Day 15: At Sea -- Final Day

 

Well, not much to report here.

 

Had an early workout, where we learned the tread mills aren't available until 8. Had a final couple hours of cash poker with the crew after that, then spent the afternoon in the Sanctuary.

 

We headed down to pack around 3:30. Pro tip: compared to the skirmishes yesterday,  no one was doing laundry today.

 

We used the EZ check for our bags, especially since our flight doesn't leave until around 5 tomorrow, and we didn't want to lug them around all day. You pay whatever your airline charges for bag fees (or not, depending on your status), plus a single $25 charge for all the bags in your cabin. Importantly, there are no overweight charges applied, and we definitely had one heavy one. The convenience of putting your bags out the night before and not messing with them until you arrive at your final airport is well worth $25, I think.

 

We said our goodbyes to various staff who we saw regularly. I have to say, I remain flummoxed by included gratuities. We thought our cabin steward did an outstanding job, so I handed him directly $50. I have no idea if he gets to keep it, or has to pool it. I don't suppose there's a point if it's pooled,  but I really don't know.

 

We had a lovely final dinner, amd then played a little blackjack in the casino. After that, had a cigar in the smoking lounge, then called it a night. I've included a picture of the cigar selection on board, if you can make it out.

 

That's it for today. I'll report on the disembarkation process amd share some final thoughts tomorrow.

 

 

[pmallen]

Day 16: Disembarkation and some final thoughts.

 

Completely uneventful, which is good. We were up early, around 5. Got up to the buffet to beat the crowds for breakfast. Turns out we could have probably slept another hour.

 

Our flight isn't until late, so we drank coffee in our room right up until we needed to vacate at 8. Our assembly area was the casino, but we waited at the Good Spirits bar until it was our call time. Our flight is at 5, so we were near the end. We got called at 9:20, which was about 15 min behind.

 

A 15 min cab ride north got us to the Sandbar Grill, right on the beach (picture below), where I'm writing now while we kill a couple hours before heading to the airport. As I say, an uneventful disembarkation.

 

A Few Final Thoughts

 

To be honest, we paid a lot of money to be on this cruise,  and it's been on the calendar for over a year. I'm the kind of person who's inclined to want to think I had a good time, and got a good value for my money. And we did. We had a wonderful time, thought this cruise and ship were outstanding, and everything lived up to or exceeded our expectations.

 

Others are not so inclined, and you can read them here. I don't doubt the validity of their experiences, but I can't imagine being on a trip like this and being constantly disappointed. Especially after the trip we were just on. I've read reviews of this itinerary amd this ship from just a couple turns ago that were so bad, I was truly fearful we had made a horribly expensive mistake. Turns out, I can't believe we were on the same cruise.

 

I share all this just to suggest you take these reviews, good or bad, with a grain of salt. Each person's perspective is just that: their perspective. Look for trends, of course, but don't let an isolated review weigh too heavily.

 

With that, you've been a lovely audience. I hope your next cruise is a great one. This cruise was awesome, and I highly recommend it.

Edited March 3, 2023 by pmallen

[smelmel]

Thank you for taking us along on your cruise!  We are on the Emerald in November (our first since 12/19) & my excitement got a boost thanks to your review.

[sammyjoanne]

On 2/19/2023 at 3:57 PM, jaycruising said:

Thanks for sharing, doing the canal in April!

Same 1st of April LAX to FLL 🙂  cant wait!

[gottagocit]

Thanks for taking the time to post updates related to your voyage. We’ve been on 11 Princess ships including the two trips on the Emerald and enjoyed both very much. It’s good to hear she’s still in good shape and has a good crew. We’ll sail on here again in April on the reverse PC route of your voyage.
Your thread helped us begin to get excited for cruising again particularly with all the cutbacks and lose of perks we’re reading about almost every week of late. This could be our final one for some quite some time if not for good while we go back to land based travel for a while unless we change our minds on this voyage. 

[eclue]

8 minutes ago, gottagocit said:

Thanks for taking the time to post updates related to your voyage. We’ve been on 11 Princess ships including the two trips on the Emerald and enjoyed both very much. It’s good to hear she’s still in good shape and has a good crew. We’ll sail on here again in April on the reverse PC route of your voyage.
Your thread helped us begin to get excited for cruising again particularly with all the cutbacks and lose of perks we’re reading about almost every week of late. This could be our final one for some quite some time if not for good while we go back to land based travel for a while unless we change our minds on this voyage. 

I think there is a lot of negativiity out there. Since the covid crisis, we have been on 9 cruises - different ships - total of 45 cruises total on Princess. We are with you on the April 16th trip.  We have found the food to be excellent, the service to be superior and crew attitudes helpful and simply amazing so don't give up just yet. I think some people tend to post only their negative thoughts...nothing is perfect. Cruising sure beats land travel in my mind. Will maybe see you on the Emerald in April!!!

[sammyjoanne]

3 hours ago, pmallen said:

Day 16: Disembarkation and some final thoughts.

 

Completely uneventful, which is good. We were up early, around 5. Got up to the buffet to beat the crowds for breakfast. Turns out we could have probably slept another hour.

 

Our flight isn't until late, so we drank coffee in our room right up until we needed to vacate at 8. Our assembly area was the casino, but we waited at the Good Spirits bar until it was our call time. Our flight is at 5, so we were near the end. We got called at 9:20, which was about 15 min behind.

 

A 15 min cab ride north got us to the Sandbar Grill, right on the beach (picture below), where I'm writing now while we kill a couple hours before heading to the airport. As I say, an uneventful disembarkation.

 

A Few Final Thoughts

 

To be honest, we paid a lot of money to be on this cruise,  and it's been on the calendar for over a year. I'm the kind of person who's inclined to want to think I had a good time, and got a good value for my money. And we did. We had a wonderful time, thought this cruise and ship were outstanding, and everything lived up to or exceeded our expectations.

 

Others are not so inclined, and you can read them here. I don't doubt the validity of their experiences, but I can't imagine being on a trip like this and being constantly disappointed. Especially after the trip we were just on. I've read reviews of this itinerary amd this ship from just a couple turns ago that were so bad, I was truly fearful we had made a horribly expensive mistake. Turns out, I can't believe we were on the same cruise.

 

I share all this just to suggest you take these reviews, good or bad, with a grain of salt. Each person's perspective is just that: their perspective. Look for trends, of course, but don't let an isolated review weigh too heavily.

 

With that, you've been a lovely audience. I hope your next cruise is a great one. This cruise was awesome, and I highly recommend it.

 

Just read the entire thread and it sounds amazing. im doing the LAX to FLL 1st of April. Im a little bit confused on the testing side of things.  Coming from the UK I know we dont have to be tested to go into the USA any more (were fully vaxxed), but for cruise ships a while ago we read the LA rules were we still needed to be tested to go on the princess ships. So its been a little confusing. The website keeps saying the cruise health portal will be updated nearer the time when we put our details in, but its getting close lol.  Did any of you needed to do a covid test to board at LA at all?

[gottagocit]

15 minutes ago, eclue said:

I think there is a lot of negativiity out there. Since the covid crisis, we have been on 9 cruises - different ships - total of 45 cruises total on Princess. We are with you on the April 16th trip.  We have found the food to be excellent, the service to be superior and crew attitudes helpful and simply amazing so don't give up just yet. I think some people tend to post only their negative thoughts...nothing is perfect. Cruising sure beats land travel in my mind. Will maybe see you on the Emerald in April!!!

All good points.
 

We do enjoy cruising when the itinerary is an interesting one but tend to not repeat routes simply to cruise somewhere. This will be our first since being in Antarctica on the Coral when covid was dropped in our lap in early 2020. We did have an incredible land based trip (safari) in Tanzania last July that reignited our love of land travel. It’ll be hard to beat that one but we are visiting Scandinavia and the Baltics this fall by air/land and will include a few days in the very far north looking for the Aurora. 

That said we do have a long Mediterranean voyage booked in ‘24 with several ports we have yet to visit so if this one goes well we may keep that one which was booked with a 4 year old FCD. 

And yes we should bump into each other during the voyage. I just noted you’re from Houston. My DW’s father will join us on this one and he’s from Bay City, not far away at all. 

Edited March 3, 2023 by gottagocit

[pmallen]

2 hours ago, sammyjoanne said:

Just read the entire thread and it sounds amazing. im doing the LAX to FLL 1st of April. Im a little bit confused on the testing side of things.  Coming from the UK I know we dont have to be tested to go into the USA any more (were fully vaxxed), but for cruise ships a while ago we read the LA rules were we still needed to be tested to go on the princess ships. So its been a little confusing. The website keeps saying the cruise health portal will be updated nearer the time when we put our details in, but its getting close lol.  Did any of you needed to do a covid test to board at LA at all?

For this trip, we needed either proof of vaccination, OR evidence of a negative test. This was required due to a stop in Colombia, so its their requirement.

[gottagocit]

2 hours ago, sammyjoanne said:

…. The website keeps saying the cruise health portal will be updated nearer the time when we put our details in, but its getting close lol.  Did any of you needed to do a covid test to board at LA at all?

We apparently will board the Emerald the day you disembark in FLL and we just noticed this afternoon that our voyage requirements have been updated on the Medallion App to show proof of vaccination OR a medically witnessed negative covid test taken in the day or two prior boarding must be uploaded into the app and I suppose shown again at boarding. 
Take another look at yours as it should be updated as well. 

[snoozecrooze]

7 hours ago, pmallen said:

I share all this just to suggest you take these reviews, good or bad, with a grain of salt. Each person's perspective is just that: their perspective. Look for trends, of course, but don't let an isolated review weigh too heavily.

Wonderful report and a great takeaway. I don't deny the legitimacy of others' concerns as well, but have really appreciated and enjoyed the cruises we've been privileged to experience post-pandemic. I'm thankful for you taking precious time out of your vacation to share with us your thoughts throughout the days.

 

And please come back to share with us how the Casino overlords treat you after your donations on this cruise! I watch a YouTube vlogger couple who started this experiment last year and have unquestionably categorized Princess's casino offers as being the most generous out of all the lines with which they've tried the casino experiment. I'm curious to see how your experience is as well. Hope you have/had a safe trip home and look forward to seeing where the seas take you next!

[sammyjoanne]

22 hours ago, gottagocit said:

We apparently will board the Emerald the day you disembark in FLL and we just noticed this afternoon that our voyage requirements have been updated on the Medallion App to show proof of vaccination OR a medically witnessed negative covid test taken in the day or two prior boarding must be uploaded into the app and I suppose shown again at boarding. 
Take another look at yours as it should be updated as well. 

Thanks its updated 🙂 

[gottagocit]

3 hours ago, sammyjoanne said:

Thanks its updated 🙂 

Excellent! You’re quite welcome.