Emerald Princess was an epic disappointment. Never again on Princess

[Potstech]

Here is a solution for those, like us, that do not like the Wake Show.  Turn it OFF and do something else.  Have not watched it in years.

[tml1230]

I always find it interesting how 2 different cruisers on the same cruise, on the same ship, can write diametricaly opposite reviews and opinions!

I have been following a current " live from" report from the emerald princess written by mrell345.. 

In addition to being very well written, dozens of photos are included, many of them of food.. It sure looks like the writer is having a very good cruise!

I encourage anyone soon to be cruising on the emerald princess ( like us) to follow that thread for a very balanced and fair report. 

 

 

 

[Lady Arwen]

2 hours ago, SaltyDoggg said:

Ken, appreciate the feedback. I think this is exactly my point with Princess that they do seem to exclusively cater to a much older demographic, but the reality is those guests are not going to be around forever. They need to start transitioning to people that are more my age, in their mid-50s, else lose the market.

 

Celebrity seems to have the perfect formula for attracting new blood yet keeping their legacy guests happy. They really have the perfect balance.
 

Best to you and good luck! 

 Currently on  Celebrity Ascent.  Wow!  10+ out of 10!  Gorgeous ship, spacious cabin with the absolute best bathroom, great food in all of the MDRs, service is stellar, as usual.  Not even getting off the ship this time.  
 

Princess, unfortunately, can’t hold a candle to the Edge class ships.  We’re sailing on Enchanted this summer to use up huge FCC, but I fear we’ll be disappointed.  However, we’re going with an open mind and the Premier package, so we can drown our sorrows in a few adult beverages.  

 

Happy New Year!

.  

[d9704011]

30 minutes ago, Lady Arwen said:

 Currently on  Celebrity Ascent.  Wow!  10+ out of 10!  Gorgeous ship, spacious cabin with the absolute best bathroom, great food in all of the MDRs, service is stellar, as usual.  Not even getting off the ship this time.  
 

Princess, unfortunately, can’t hold a candle to the Edge class ships.  We’re sailing on Enchanted this summer to use up huge FCC, but I fear we’ll be disappointed.  However, we’re going with an open mind and the Premier package, so we can drown our sorrows in a few adult beverages.  

 

Happy New Year!

.  

Good news on the Ascent.  We are doing a TA on ths ship in April... AQ class.  Looking forward to it.

[SaltyDoggg]

1 hour ago, Potstech said:

Here is a solution for those, like us, that do not like the Wake Show.  Turn it OFF and do something else.  Have not watched it in years.

The problem is having that ridiculous show force fed to you on the Jumbotron when you’re sitting on the pool deck. You’re literally trying to relax while listening to a nonstop infomercial. 

[Spif Barwunkel]

For the first time, beginning in 2025, Princess will have a ship based at Port Canaveral, about 30 minutes up the road from where we live. We have never cruised on Princess, but because they are moving into the neighborhood, we will give them a try. The Emerald Princess is not the ship taking up residence but even if it was, your Doctoral Thesis would not dissuade us from doing so. I do not question your feelings of frustration and disappointment, but I do think that they are a bit overblown. You latched on to a negative circumstance aboard ship and from then on, well, post #1 says it all. Your energetic, negative fervor served no purpose in generating trepidation toward a Princess cruise, no matter the ship.  

Edited January 3 by Spif Barwunkel

[NancyIL]

I usually cruise with Royal Caribbean, but I have 3 Princess cruises booked in the next 18 months - including Sapphire in Alaska and Emerald in the British Isles. I haven't cruised with Princess since I was on the Star Princess in 2016, so I'm looking forward to my Enchanted Princess cruise next month.

[chrysalis]

19 minutes ago, SaltyDoggg said:

The problem is having that ridiculous show force fed to you on the Jumbotron when you’re sitting on the pool deck. You’re literally trying to relax while listening to a nonstop infomercial. 

no worse than football at 110DB for hours on end.....

[suzyed]

20 hours ago, Iamcruzin said:

I have sailed on the Caribbean Princess the most and I didn't care for it when it was new and when it came out of dry dock in 2009 it wasn't much better. Horizon court is a nightmare, venues too small for the passenger capacity but service and food was good. You hit the nail on the head. They use the worst ships for the best itinerary.  I'm sailing on the Island Princess for Aruba, Curacao and St Kitts. I don't know why they aren't going to Bonaire. Celebrity has ABC for twice the price for 8 days. Princess offers 11 days and adds Puerto Rico.  The down side is it ends in NY. But even with the cost of a flight back to Florida it's still cheaper than Celebrity. This is going to be a snowbird cruise for certain. If I still had a place in NY that's how I would go back for the summer.

We were on Caribbean a year and a half ago and it was fine! Great itinerary and crew.

[mtnesterz]

1 hour ago, tml1230 said:

I always find it interesting how 2 different cruisers on the same cruise, on the same ship, can write diametricaly opposite reviews and opinions!

I find the review threads say more about the reviewer than the cruise line. The OP tells us some personal things. If in the same situation, I'd be trying Oceania, food being the priority and solo cabins available. To each their own.

[coo359a2]

18 minutes ago, chrysalis said:

no worse than football at 110DB for hours on end.....

or those horribly loud concerts

[CruzinNoony]

17 hours ago, SCX22 said:

 

There's a lot of effort into producing The Wake Show, not only on the CD and guests, but on the production crew who has to film and edit it.  Your admission that it's just background noise really says a lot to how useless it is.

 

I will refrase my words because that is not what I was attempting to say.  I have it on and watch it as I am sitting at the desk, putting my makeup on and drinking my coffee. I especially like it when they have a trivia question or a riddle that requires us to go to the library to drop off the answer for a drawing the next day.  Some CD's do this, some don't.

 

[SaltyDoggg]

56 minutes ago, Spif Barwunkel said:

For the first time, beginning in 2025, Princess will have a ship based at Port Canaveral, about 30 minutes up the road from where we live. We have never cruised on Princess, but because they are moving into the neighborhood, we will give them a try. The Emerald Princess is not the ship taking up residence but even if it was, your Doctoral Thesis would not dissuade us from doing so. I do not question your feelings of frustration and disappointment, but I do think that they are a bit overblown. You latched on to a negative circumstance aboard ship and from then on, well, post #1 says it all. Your energetic, negative fervor served no purpose in generating trepidation toward a Princess cruise, no matter the ship.  

My review may seem overblown to a legacy Princess guest, For the record, I took a great care in communicating the issues I had with the ship as constructively as I could given how bad everything was. The point is to say hey, this is not acceptable.  I also commented on what I loved about the ship, though there was not much to love. 
 

I know people can become very defensive When negative comments are spoken about some thing that they adore, but the truth is the truth. Didn’t mean to rub anyone the wrong way, it’s just that people who are spending a lot of money should be getting the right value.  Complacency will get you nowhere.
 

[Thrak]

2 hours ago, Potstech said:

Here is a solution for those, like us, that do not like the Wake Show.  Turn it OFF and do something else.  Have not watched it in years.

 

I'm truly surprised to hear it was on MUTS. I've never known that to be the case and I have been up top many (many!) mornings when it would be playing.

[coops14]

3 hours ago, SaltyDoggg said:

I also sailed in November. It’s interesting how everyone’s experiences and expectations can be different. I’m 58 years old and really come to expect quality food when I sail. I also come to expect a really good live, amplified band, but I found that that is not, something that everyone needs. I am also not a big fan of the production shows, preferred to be on the pool deck, listening to live music. 
 

in short, I feel there is no excuse for anything, but top quality food on a brand like Princess.  
 

curious if you’ve ever sailed Celebrity and are you an elite member on Princess?

 

[coops14]

We haven’t sailed on Celebrity, also we are not elite. We made many friends on the cruise who really enjoyed the cruise, ship and crew and have booked many more cruises.  As I mentioned it’s good we all like different cruise lines and ships. Happy cruising 😎

[Ken the cruiser]

5 hours ago, SaltyDoggg said:

Ken, appreciate the feedback. I think this is exactly my point with Princess that they do seem to exclusively cater to a much older demographic, but the reality is those guests are not going to be around forever. They need to start transitioning to people that are more my age, in their mid-50s, else lose the market.

 

Celebrity seems to have the perfect formula for attracting new blood yet keeping their legacy guests happy. They really have the perfect balance.
 

Best to you and good luck! 

OTOH we are in our early 70s and plan on cruising around 100 days a year for at least another 10, mostly on 3-5 week "boutique" cruises in either PCL Reserve Collection mini-suites or higher, NCL Club Class mini-suites, HAL aft-facing verandas, or Celebrity sunset veranda or AQ cabins (depending on ship classification).  

 

With regards to your statement, "I think this is exactly my point with Princess that they do seem to exclusively cater to a much older demographic, but the reality is those guests are not going to be around forever. They need to start transitioning to people that are more my age, in their mid-50s, else lose the market."

 

In my opinion as you suggested, Celebrity has definitely taken the lead on this to target folks in your age group. One way they are doing this is by shortening their Caribbean cruises and adding a stop at the Coco Cay private island. At the same time to enhance their bottom line, they have introduced huge price increases, to include a 20% surcharge for a refundable deposit, the elimination of their All-Included gratuities perk, and reduction in service, especially in the area of their sky suite butler provisions.

 

And I think Princess and HAL, and even NCL to an extent, have noticed this and have tried to develop some interesting booking "perk" options to entice that "older demographic" (like us) leaving Celebrity to come over to their side, especially when it comes to their creativeness when developing longer 3-5 week "combined itinerary" offerings, but without increasing their prices. However, in the case of HAL their prices have actually dropped, which has caused us to take a new look at them since we stopped cruising with them back in 2019 when they fully switched to their Music Walk entertainment strategy along with eliminating their production shows to entice that "younger crowd".

 

In our case since cruising started back up, we have cruised with Celebrity, Princess, and NCL multiple times averaging around 100 days a year and have had some awesome experiences (see some of my favorite Live From threads below). However, for us it's also about getting the most quality for our $$$. To that end we currently have 11 cruises booked with Princess, 5 with NCL, 2 with HAL, 2 with Crystal, and 0 with Celebrity though 2025, none of which BTW are in the Caribbean unless we're just passing through because we're on one of our 2 booked Panama Canal cruises.

 

Anyway, that's my two cents on the subject. 🙂

 

Edited January 3 by Ken the cruiser

[memoak]

I do find it odd that someone who has taken multiple cruises had never been on cruise critic prior to the aforementioned cruise

[loge23]

Too bad about your cruise, but your review reads like an outlier of sorts and I usually toss out outliers be it either overly favorable or otherwise. 

Lots of Celebrity comparisons in the thread. On other boards, notably on Oceania and MSC Yacht Club posts, there are many posters who have abandoned Celebrity for the same deficiencies mentioned in the lead review. We have cruised with Celebrity and have enjoyed our trips, but close friends - Celebrity loyalists (formally) - have also thrown in the proverbial towel with Celebrity. Their Reserve Class was wonderful, but apparently that have priced themselves out of line with competitors for high-end cruising like the Yacht Club or smaller ship lines. 

Every line has it's issues. That said, we do acknowledge that Princess isn't what it used to be. Their Front Office has deeply mismanaged the brand, imo. Their product seems to be always in flux - basically throwing stuff on the wall to see what sticks. Their once-vaunted wine program has deteriorated significantly, for example; and the cuts across the board have been noticable. 

There has been a shift in cruising. Family cruising is strong and passenger consists have been trending younger. Older couple cruising, resistant to change and tired of crowds, have been migrating to the more exclusive luxe lines. Holland seems to navigated this shift well; Princess, maybe not so much.

Still, Princess offers a wide choice of itineraries - possibly the best in the business. Their ships run the gamut from the Coral/Island class, to the Grand class ships, to the Royal class, to the present Sun (due soon) class - reflecting the peripatetic direction of their Marketing. It's change for the sake of change but it rarely provokes either an enhancement of the core values of the brand nor enough excitement to attract whatever new demographic they are targeting. 

Staffing issues have been noted. Every line is fishing from the same pond here and the fishing - like the service - just ain't what it used be - too many hooks, not enough fish. It also should be noted that these "fish" are actually human beings and as such, regardless of where they come from, are able to choose the situation that's best for them.

Food, a lightning rod for cruise criticism, can rarely be considered a primary factor in choosing a cruise due to its' subjectivity. We've had really excellent meals onboard cruise ships and we've had OK meals. We have never had a putrid meal. Guess we're just lucky. 

Food costs soared during the recent inflationary spike and stair-stepped higher even after the easing. Cruise lines, like any other shoppers, reacted in kind. Good cruise lines adjusted.

That's where Princess seems to struggle: with balancing costs and service. What do they want to be? How do they want to differentiate their line? And that's where the mismanagement really shows.

As I've mentioned before in other posts, we're not "loyal" to any commercial service or brand. We like what we like and will keep purchasing something that delivers for us, but we "ship" around. We appreciate perks, but they're not enough to sway us especially since other lines will sometimes match or exceed these perks in their offerings. We understand that what we pay - how much we pay - is clearly correlated to what we get.

We enjoy Princess because we're familiar with them, comfortable even. We're booked on two upcoming Princess cruises (as well as a competitor). But if our expectations are left on the pier, then we'll get comfortable somewhere else. For example, our recent cruise on MSC's Seascape Yacht Club was superb - easy 5 stars - but some aspects of our familiarity with Princess were missed;

likewise the Reserve on the Celebrity Edge. 

The Viking Ocean cruise we took delivered fine service and great dining but was a crashing bore most evenings - same with Oceania, and we are most certainly not "party animals"!

The point is differentiation. And on that point, we hope Princess's management suite gets a much-needed makeover, but cruisers should have no expectation of "an epic disappointment".

Happy Cruising!

 

 

 

 

[Ken the cruiser]

6 minutes ago, memoak said:

I do find it odd that someone who has taken multiple cruises had never been on cruise critic prior to the aforementioned cruise

We started cruising in 2012 and I didn't join CC until 2016 where I first learned we could actually refare a booking if the price went down before final payment. I know, who knew!! 😂

[cruising.mark.uk]

9 minutes ago, memoak said:

I do find it odd that someone who has taken multiple cruises had never been on cruise critic prior to the aforementioned cruise

I don't find that odd at all.  Only a fraction of 1% of people who cruise post on Cruise Critic.

[Itchy&Scratchy]

19 hours ago, SaltyDoggg said:

that’s why when I look at what Celebrity is doing, I’m blown away that they were actually able to evolve to what they have currently become because they actually want to evolve. Their food is consistent across every ship

not according to the latest Celebrity reviews in X subforum.

 

19 hours ago, SaltyDoggg said:

I spoke with one of their top IT guys when I was on board and he said the food on Emerald Princess was actually better than most of their fleet .

when did a random IT guy become an expert on food quality across the entire Princess fleet?

[SargassoPirate]

1 hour ago, SaltyDoggg said:

The problem is having that ridiculous show force fed to you on the Jumbotron when you’re sitting on the pool deck. You’re literally trying to relax while listening to a nonstop infomercial. 

Do you or have you complained about it?

[SargassoPirate]

1 hour ago, coo359a2 said:

or those horribly loud concerts

Do you or have you complained about it?

[Itchy&Scratchy]

2 hours ago, Lady Arwen said:

We’re sailing on Enchanted this summer to use up huge FCC, but I fear we’ll be disappointed.  However, we’re going with an open mind and the Premier package, so we can drown our sorrows in a few adult beverages.  

you won't be! We loved Enchanted in 2022 and we are sailing on her again in June. 🙂

Don't forget to check whether they still have crepes to order in the buffet in the evening. That was just a cherry on top of a wonderful cake, I mean - cruise. 🙂

It did have some hiccups, as you can see from my review, but we were not disappointed and in several cases - more than pleasantly surprised. And we don't even get alcoholic packages, so nothing to drown any sorrows in. I definitely put our Easy Plus drink package on MSC to good use to drown plentiful sorrows.