Emerald Princess - 23 Dec -Panama Canal full transit

[mrell345]

[mrell345]

43 minutes ago, EDVM96 said:

Marinetraffic and CruiseMapper show "Reported ETA: 2023-12-30 03:00 LT (UTC -6)", which means 09:00am local time. Are you 2 hours late in Puntarenas tomorrow?

 

So far as I know we are on time 

[Kabuki12]

On 12/26/2023 at 7:26 PM, Thrak said:

 

They wouldn't let me bring an Emotional Support Hippo onboard. I call Shenanigans!

 

(Call me insensitive but I'd chuck the dog and it's owner overboard.)

I have seen 2 small dogs on 2 separate cruises this past year that were not service dogs.  One belonged to a family and frequently had different family members walking or sitting with it at tables, so I guess it was an emotional service dog for the whole family.    Perhaps, I can bring my emotional support rooster. 

[Kabuki12]

On 12/26/2023 at 7:26 PM, Thrak said:

 

They wouldn't let me bring an Emotional Support Hippo onboard. I call Shenanigans!

 

(Call me insensitive but I'd chuck the dog and it's owner overboard.)

I have seen 2 small dogs on 2 separate cruises this past year that were not service dogs.  One belonged to a family and frequently had different family members walking or sitting with it at tables, so I guess it was an emotional service dog for the whole family.    Perhaps, I can bring my emotional support rooster. 

[trbarton]

On 12/23/2023 at 2:31 PM, mrell345 said:

Platinum/Elite event buffet

I guess that anyone going to Skywalkers doesn’t have the early 5 pm dinner in the MDR. 

Thank’s for the photo’s. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

On 12/24/2023 at 8:11 AM, mrell345 said:

Special winemakers dinner sort of like a chefs dinner. It will be in either Sabbatinis or Crown grill at some point $140.00 per person (USD)

On the Previous cruise they had the Chef’s table at $100. I’m surprised to see the increase. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

On 12/24/2023 at 4:48 PM, canadarocks said:

So unusual to have the MDR with all the meals at the very aft of the ship. I expected Da Vinci to be the one for breakfasts & lunches. 

I also expected the same thing. 
 

I was on the last cruise & was told by management, the move was because it’s the largest dinning room, so that there isn’t a large line outside. 
 

Understood when I heard the explanation. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

4 hours ago, mrell345 said:

Thanks for all of your photo postings. I was a professional photographer for 20 years & many times when I enlarge the photo it’s not clear & heard to read. 
 

Tom😀😀😀👍👍👍

[mrell345]

Sunrise in Puntarenas

[Mike07]

On 12/23/2023 at 3:17 PM, mrell345 said:

Boarded at 11:00 this morning, everyone on arrival, regardless of Captains circle status is funnelled into the same security line with the exception of handicapped.  After security we went up escalator where blue and green separated.  After green document verification platinum and elite went straight onto ship while everyone else got a group number and had to wait to be called as there were still a large number of people.  We are platinum so went right on.  About 30 mins for us from shuttle to ship.  Rooms were available at 1PM.

 

 

That was probably one of my favorite ship experiences in recent memory... the Emerald doing a Panama Canal transit. But, it was unique in that the Emerald had just been activated for service after the COVID shutdown. The ship had maybe 750 pax. You could get a pool chair at any time of the day and then like 2 waiters would make sure you were good on drinks within like 5 minutes.

Edited December 30, 2023 by Mike07

[Sammikins]

Thank you so much for your posts! I am doing this exact cruise in 3 weeks and am enjoying the preview and appreciate the info which is reminding me of things I need to do. One question: are you noticing any problems with pesky insects, like mosquitoes?

[mrell345]

3 hours ago, Sammikins said:

Thank you so much for your posts! I am doing this exact cruise in 3 weeks and am enjoying the preview and appreciate the info which is reminding me of things I need to do. One question: are you noticing any problems with pesky insects, like mosquitoes?

Not so far

[mrell345]

We did the Walk in the Clouds tour today, a tour of the San Luis park with a stop at the El jardin tourist stop on the way back to the ship ( I did a write up on the tour over in the Costa Rica thread).

[DougH]

What has the weather been like overall?  Average temps? What have been the topics of the guest lectures? Worth going to? I board when you get off next week and am getting excited.  Does the ship seem full? 

[mrell345]

[mrell345]

39 minutes ago, DougH said:

What has the weather been like overall?  Average temps? What have been the topics of the guest lectures? Worth going to? I board when you get off next week and am getting excited.  Does the ship seem full? 

Ours is a sold out cruise but you can always find a quiet place on the ship.  The Panama Canal lecturer has been pretty good.  It’s been hot and humid for most of the cruise.  27 to 28 with high humidity on top.

[mrell345]

Two sea days coming up

[EDVM96]

2 minutes ago, mrell345 said:

Two sea days coming up

And a formal night on New Year's Eve. 🧐

I bet it's Beef Wellington time tomorrow.

[mrell345]

Two sea days coming up

[mrell345]

0715 and we are up sitting by the Neptune pool enjoying the morning.  
 

I have been pleasantly surprised this voyage, the rampant chair hogs that come up and claim all the chairs early in the morning haven’t been present this cruise.  The chairs are usually mostly free until around 9:30 or so on the upper decks and around the pools.  

 

Having the coffee restaurant with the espresso machine up here also means you don’t have to go all the way down to the IC if you want such a drink, though they don’t have the food options the IC has.

 

It doesn’t feel as humid this morning though that may change during the day.

[mrell345]

[friend of Eeyore]

23 hours ago, Sammikins said:

Thank you so much for your posts! I am doing this exact cruise in 3 weeks and am enjoying the preview and appreciate the info which is reminding me of things I need to do. One question: are you noticing any problems with pesky insects, like mosquitoes?

My husband and I got a couple of bites each around Panama. Nothing too bad, and haven't noticed them otherwise.

[mrell345]

It doesn’t say for what level but we are Platinum

 

[mrell345]

Supper tonight, surf and turf with baked Alaska for dessert

[Sammikins]

1 hour ago, friend of Eeyore said:

My husband and I got a couple of bites each around Panama. Nothing too bad, and haven't noticed them otherwise.

Ok, thank you. I read that it could be a problem but it sounds like it’s not much of an issue.