Emerald Princess - 23 Dec -Panama Canal full transit

[friend of Eeyore]

Had a whole paragraph typed up, but managed to lose it. So not retyping except to say: I hadn't seen escargot on the menu all week so I asked about it yesterday and Claudia (one of the Head Waiters or whatever they're calling them these days) said she could get it for me today. Yummy last dinner.

[mrell345]

Sad to be finishing up the cruise but we have had a great time.  Good food, a great cabin Stewart and serving staff.  There is quite the party going in the Piazza right now.  Looking forward to next cruise.  I would definitely sail on Emerald again.

[friend of Eeyore]

8 minutes ago, mrell345 said:

Sad to be finishing up the cruise but we have had a great time.  Good food, a great cabin Stewart and serving staff.  There is quite the party going in the Piazza right now.  Looking forward to next cruise.  I would definitely sail on Emerald again.

If only I could stay awake for these parties. Lol. I've been tucked in the room with luggage out since 8ish, I think. Waking up early for an early flight.

 

I'll review later, it was a good cruise, but I'm not keen on big ships, and Emerald is still too big for me. We haven't been on Princess since Covid, and had 250 days before that - but 150 of them were on the R Class ships. We've been trying other lines, and will likely keep exploring.

[mrell345]

[Itried4498]

Great cruise indeed!  Great to see lots of youngsters at the farewell party tonight.  Every other party looked like it featured the cast of Cocoon.  
 

Most of the families seemed to be that of the crew.  The Captain was staying in a stateroom near ours with his wife and son.  We saw him in the restaurant a few times and rode the elevator with once.  Pretty cool to see him acting as a regular passenger while not on duty!

 

 

[TheMichael]

44 minutes ago, Itried4498 said:

Great cruise indeed!  Great to see lots of youngsters at the farewell party tonight.  Every other party looked like it featured the cast of Cocoon.  

 

😂

 

Did You Know™: Wilford Brimley was only 49 when filming started for Cocoon...

[tml1230]

OP- again let me thank you for your review and incredible  photos!! I really enjoyed and following your daily adventures. we are every much looking forward to our upcoming trip on the emerald with our 8 year old granddaughter..

 

       After reading yours, then  a separate and  very current review of the emerald princess titled "never again on princess" , I shook my head at the contrast in points of view!

 

      I look forward to your future reviews and have a safe journey home.

[mrell345]

04:50 AM,  heavy swells coming into SAN Pedro, pilot is just coming aboard

[mrell345]

A frisky 13 C / 55 F this morning

[mrell345]

Much calmer waters behind the breakwater

[mrell345]

USS Iowa

[mrell345]

Looks like it will be a busy day at the cruise port.  Norwegian Bliss is just coming in.  She is big enough that she had to turn in the outer harbour and back down the channel 

[mrell345]

[mrell345]

07:15 AM they just started the self walkoffs

[azbirdmom]

Thanks for taking us along.  Safe travels home!

 

[mrell345]

They’ve announced they are experiencing minor delays due to technical difficulties shoreside

[IndyKid]

3 hours ago, tml1230 said:

After reading yours, then  a separate and  very current review of the emerald princess titled "never again on princess" , I shook my head at the contrast in points of view!

I think a lot of it has to do with a person's expectations. If you go on a cruise with the idea that it has to be perfect in every way, then you're bound to be disappointed. Alternatively, if you pack a little patience and understanding with the attitude of "I'm going to try and enjoy myself no matter what" then you will have a great time!

[d9704011]

12 minutes ago, mrell345 said:

They’ve announced they are experiencing minor delays due to technical difficulties shoreside

No doubt those with flights scheduled before noon are becoming a bit anxious.

[mrell345]

Only walkoffs so far,  apparently 5 of the 6 facial recognition terminals are working.

[mrell345]

A few people talking about flights, quite a few rebooked due to the 787 issues

[EDVM96]

9 minutes ago, mrell345 said:

A few people talking about flights, quite a few rebooked due to the 787 issues

737-Max9 you ment? They are all grounded by the FAA.

Edited January 7 by EDVM96

[mrell345]

Ok so the transfers to LAX is a bit of a gong show getting people organized on the buses to leave 

[azbirdmom]

44 minutes ago, mrell345 said:

Ok so the transfers to LAX is a bit of a gong show getting people organized on the buses to leave 

 

That's pretty typical in San Pedro.  Hope you make your flight in plenty of time!

[mrell345]

Our flight is at 8 PM so we have lots of time, I booked a day room at the Hilton LAX hotel to relax in before taking the hotel shuttle back to the airport for our flight later on.

 

I will do a final review after I get home.  I will probably post it here and do a separate thread.

[mrell345]

16 hours ago, friend of Eeyore said:

If only I could stay awake for these parties. Lol. I've been tucked in the room with luggage out since 8ish, I think. Waking up early for an early flight.

 

I'll review later, it was a good cruise, but I'm not keen on big ships, and Emerald is still too big for me. We haven't been on Princess since Covid, and had 250 days before that - but 150 of them were on the R Class ships. We've been trying other lines, and will likely keep exploring.

The only reason we were up is because the wife wanted to go to the second chance raffle in the casino at 10:30 PM.  When you buy scratch and win tickets you put your name and cabin number on the back and put it in the drum for the last night’s draw.  They pull out 3 names who get to spin the wheel for a chance to win $200.00.