Emerald Princess Review w/photos March 3-17, 2023

[JimmyVWine]

1 minute ago, startedwithamouse said:

That's so they can raise the pricing at any time, and not have to spend money to print new menus.

Yeah.  But when you introduce packages that are price-limited, and then market them so that 75% of the passengers have said package, you owe a little more to you customers than a WAG.

[startedwithamouse]

Just now, JimmyVWine said:

Yeah.  But when you introduce packages that are price-limited, and then market them so that 75% of the passengers have said package, you owe a little more to you customers than a WAG.

But they don't. 

[JimmyVWine]

2 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

But they don't. 

Well, they DID.  This is the first time that I have seen the menu printed this way, and I am not even sure it is fleet-wide.  If this is how the menus had been all along, I could see your point.  But to introduce a price-free menu AFTER rolling out the price-based packages is just nuts.  And wrong.  And more work for the servers.  "Let me go check" is going to be the most common phrase uttered by servers toward the end of every meal.  I suppose that the good ones will commit the prices to memory, but that is a big ask.  

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Antigua     March 7

Nice sunny day. We have been to beautiful Antigua before and enjoyed the sights of the island on tours, so we decided to book a different tour today.  After a buffet breakfast, we headed out to the nice port to find our meeting place.

 

[Trish Traveler]

We booked the Eco Tour offered by Adventure Antigua (formerly known as Eli’s Eco Tour) through the Shore Excursioneer website.  The tour is well reviewed on CC and TA for years.

Easy short walk at harbor to Exotic Antigua meeting point.  We seemed to be the only ones who hadn’t been notified that the boat had been substituted due to mechanical difficulties (could be Shore Excursioneer issue).  We were actually on a larger catamaran boat operated by Creole Antigua tours, with one guide from Adventure Antigua and the Creole Captain and staff.  So this will not be an accurate description of what the tour would be on the AA boat.  That being said, this was a very nice cat which was very roomy with our small group of 19.  Sunny and shady areas on two levels. 

 

We headed north out of St. John’s on a beautiful sunny day passing Fort James and a few of the scenic 365 beaches of Antigua.  We stopped at a resort on Dickenson Beach Bay to pick up two more people before continuing on past a tiny island that has a beach bar accessible only by boat.  Over to the northeast side where we learned about the exclusive and expensive Long Island aka Jumby Island, with pristine white beaches, resort and private residences.    The AA guide told us all about the scientific sea  turtle project here. 

[Trish Traveler]

Motoring on to an area off the NE coast which is dotted with little islands until we had our first gorgeous views of small Hell’s Gate Island.  Very picturesque rock formation in the shape of a heart!  The boat was anchored here and you had the choice to stay on the boat, snorkel or swim in the area in front of the arch, or don rubber water shoes and swim to the island for a short hike.  DH chose that option. It is very sharp volcanic type rock, so be careful, he scrapped his knee traversing the little cave.  The guides are there to assist you along the way.  Up top for a short nature hike and over the top of hells gate before returning to the water on the other side.  I chose to snorkel and then relax in the “natural Jacuzzi” in front of the arch.  Not too much to see in the way of fish, but the water was beautiful. 

[Trish Traveler]

Once back on board we headed over to lovely Great Bird Island which has a small white beach and picnic tables on the water’s edge for lunch.  Heading in we saw a small sea turtle in the water.  The tour included lunch consisting of BBQ chicken, green salad, pasta salad and sweet plantains.  Juice and water beverages were offered.  An idyllic spot for a tasty lunch.  At this point we were the only tour boat there.  After lunch I tried my luck snorkeling hoping to see a turtle, but wasn’t successful.  Another refreshing swim. 

[Trish Traveler]

Back on board for a short ride and to be fitted with snorkel gear.  The area had lots of variety of coral and sea fans.  It looked like the perfect spot for tropical fish, but it was very disappointing in how few fish were present.  Oh well, it is the ocean, not an aquarium.  The snorkeling portion seemed pretty quick but it was okay considering the lack of fish. 

[Trish Traveler]

After snorkeling we were offered some refreshing rum punch for our leisurely ride back.  A nice view of the Emerald Princess and the Celebrity Millennium as we returned to port.    This was a really nice, relaxing catamaran tour, but not a huge emphasis on the “eco” portion.  Perhaps it would have been slightly different on their own boat which on their website gets in closer to mangroves, etc.  But then again, we really enjoyed how spacious this larger substitute cat was.  Great day and crew. 

[Trish Traveler]

And we still had some time to explore the port area shops, meet a pirate, taste and buy some rum before heading back to the ship to be greeted by the fantastic crew that offers you refreshing, cold infused or plain water; and the ice cold washcloths.  We really appreciate this special touch Princess.  It’s usually really needed at that point of the afternoon. 

[Trish Traveler]

Back on board we got more views of Antigua including the pretty St. John’s Cathedral which I would love to see inside someday.  Dinner was an easy buffet night with a pix of the donuts offered.  We enjoyed some of the steel pan music by Trevor Cole.  We love this calypso music and were glad to see it offered live on this sailing.  Tonight’s production show in the Princess Theatre was the much anticipated Rock Opera.  We went early to get good seats for the second show.  The costumes, singing and dancing was really good with some classic rock songs.  It wasn’t exactly what we were expecting, but it was very entertaining.  We really enjoyed this great day in Antigua.

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Martinique     March 8

Woke early to another beautiful day docked in Fort-de-France, Martinique.  We had a quick breakfast in the buffet. I love those fried potatoes, the almond croissant (sometimes offered in the buffet, but almost always at IC) and those ready-made fried eggs can be pretty good.  Pretty port area with a short walk to exit.

[Trish Traveler]

We previously visited Martinique many years ago and saw the north side by the volcano, waterfall and rainforest. Since we wanted to see more of the island, we pre-booked the 5 hour Authentic South Circuit Tour of Martinique with the Beyond the Beach Company.  We were fortunate to be on this independent tour as when we arrived in port we learned that all the Princess operated tours had been cancelled due to protests/strikes occurring on the island.  After emailing our guide, she said that our tour was still a go.  We only encountered a small traffic jam with some sign-carrying peaceful protestors at one point in the tour. 

 

We easily met the guide carrying a sign with our name at the port area.  It was a comfortable mini bus with a driver and very nice, informative guide (sorry, I forgot her name).  After heading out of the busy city area, onto an expressway and then on country roads to the south side of the island we got to see a nice sampling of the urban and rural areas with pretty views of the mountains in the background. We saw cattle grazing, sugar cane fields and banana plants along the way. 

 

 

[Trish Traveler]

Our first stop was at a charming village called La Poterie in Trois Ilets.  This is a former Jesuit Monastery which now has artists workshops, restaurants, a bakery and an opportunity to shop for colorful souvenirs.  This was also a bathroom break, although it was uphill and we had to hunt down the keeper of the key to use it.  Although, I was able to get a photo of the pottery workshop, there was no tour of that.  It was early morning so the village was pretty quiet, but some of the shops were open.  I enjoyed taking photos in this lovely town.

[Trish Traveler]

We then headed to Anses d'Arlet, a small fishing village on a beautiful little beach. The highlight is the beautiful little village church:  St. Henry Catholic Church, which was also open inside for viewing and reflection.  The little town was lovely.  The beach was fairly busy.  It was pretty to stroll and take photos for the 45 minutes we had here.  The guide had a sample of rum, rum punch and banana bread for us to enjoy under a shaded pavilion before we continued on. 

[Trish Traveler]

Next up was the stunning photo stop for Diamond Rock. 

[Trish Traveler]

Not far was the next stop at the somber but beautiful Cap 110 Memorial sculptures in memory of slaves that died in a shipwreck off the coast here. 

[Trish Traveler]

We made a brief bathroom stop at a small fruit and vegetable market.  They also had a few souvenirs but only accepted Euros except for one food vendor.

[Trish Traveler]

Our last stop was at the Trois Rivieres distillery store for a quick rum tasting.  Scenic for photos including a windmill.  

[Trish Traveler]

We returned though the countryside and into the busy city back to the port.  We really enjoyed the tour to see more of this pretty French island.  Just know that you spend a lot of time on the bus. The tour guide was great giving us entertaining and historical info throughout the tour. 

[Trish Traveler]

Back at port, we took a little time to stroll along the harbor towards Fort St. Louis, passed a little beach and then returned to browse a few vendors.  DH sampled a locally brewed Lorraine Beer, which was refreshing.   We had brought along a few packaged trail mix snacks from home to hold us over on this tour. We were able to get some nice pix of the Emerald.

[Happiest when cruising]

44 minutes ago, Trish Traveler said:

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Martinique     March 8

Woke early to another beautiful day docked in Fort-de-France, Martinique.  We had a quick breakfast in the buffet. I love those fried potatoes, the almond croissant (sometimes offered in the buffet, but almost always at IC) and those ready-made fried eggs can be pretty good.  Pretty port area with a short walk to exit.

Thanks for writing about this cruise. We did it last year and have it booked again for next year! 

[Trish Traveler]

Back on board the ship we had a late lunch of a Brie sandwich from IC and hamburger from Salty Dog Grill, along with coffee to recharge us. Relaxing poolside we watched the first half of the MUTS movie Bohemian Rhapsody.  We then enjoyed sailaway and a beautiful sunset before getting ready for dinner.  MDR dinner we chose Fettucini Alfredo (not as good as it used to be), a special of the day: delicious Butter Chicken, Shrimp & Scallops, and Striploin Steak.  We enjoyed an after dinner drink at Crooners.  I believe these menu pix are from there.  We headed back up to MUTS to catch the second half of the movie at the second showing now under the full moon!  We ordered some chocolate chip cookies from the NOW app but despite showing delivered, they never arrived after 30 minutes and it disappeared from my screen.  That makes two times it has not worked for us.

[Trish Traveler]

6 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

Thanks for writing about this cruise. We did it last year and have it booked again for next year! 

You're welcome.  Great ship and itinerary!

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Dominica     March 9

We have been to Dominica several times and have loved seeing many of the tropical nature highlights of the island.  So this time we decided to try our luck at seeing whales.  To our surprise the ship did not dock in the town of Roseau, which we are used to, but further up the road in Woodbridge which was all industrial with trailers forming a wall as the entrance to the port area.  There was a small vendor area set up for souvenirs.  We missed not seeing the small town of Roseau as we usually walk around after our tour and sometimes get a drink at the colorful Ruins Rock Café.