Emerald Princess August 28th -September 7th….my thoughts

[phonejock]

Hi

Just got back from a very good cruise on the Emerald. Since GeoHerb has already done one of their always excellent “live” reviews, this will just be my personal observations. 
Embarkation went  much better than I thought it would be. DH and I had hired a car service and had driven up from Connecticut that morning. ( first time we did not have to fly to a cruise). We got off the highway around 12 and then were in bumper to bumper traffic most of the way to the port. Once we gave the bags to the porter and entered the terminal, it was only about a half hour to get on the ship and that included picking up our medallions. We were able to make it to the Reserve Collection dining room  in time to enjoy a relaxing lunch. 
I thought the food served in the dining room was good to excellent. We enjoyed the RC experience. We ate at Sabatini’s twice and the Crown Grill once. The service and food in both restaurants was excellent. ( I believe that the new unlimited packages are starting on the Emerald, on the very next cruise, so I can’t speak to that. I did notice the CG was open for lunch on sea days) For the first time, we signed up for the Chefs table. WOW Definitely one of, if not the best meals I have ever had. The food was fabulous, way too much, but fabulous. We had our TA put our names on the list before we got on the ship. When we got to our cabin, there was a card for it. DH just called the Dine Line to confirm we would be notified as to the date of the dinner. We ate one meal in the buffet. We had an early excursion so we went upstairs. Unfortunately the omelette station did not open till 6:30. So we just grabbed some fruit. The IC was our go to place for port day lunches. Sandwiches were good, but I wish they would have more variety and I miss the salads they used to have.

 

The Emerald’s crew was very good. Everyone was very helpful and pleasant. Our steward, Chris alway had our room made up when we got back from breakfast. Angel and Raphael took care of us during our meals. Good team. The bartenders and wait staff were a joy. 
 

I really enjoyed the Entertainment on this cruise. The people singers and dancers seemed to like each other and were having a blast preforming. The production shows were Rock Opera, Blame it on the Boogie, Sweet soul music and Magic to do. (Blame it on the boogie is so dated it is quaint).

The  guest singers were very entertaining.  All the acts in the bars were good.   The best were the comedians. I thought they were the best I had seen on a cruise. You felt like you were in a regular comedy club. It was not the same old cruise humor that we have heard before. 

 

The library was a pleasant surprise. I checked it out, even though my Kindle was fully loaded. There were fairly new books on the shelves.

 

Our room was good. It was just off the elevators. The only noise I heard was people talking as they went down the hall late at night. As everyone was using their inside voices, it wasn’t obnoxious. There are only two electrical sockets over the desk, but since they moved the TVs to the walls, we were able to use the sockets over the round bump out section. 

 

I think that covers most of the our on board experience. I will try to post a detailed review of our excursions in the next day or so.  

Travel Safe!
 

 

 

 

 

 

[JordanF]

19 hours ago, phonejock said:

We got off the highway around 12 and then were in bumper to bumper traffic most of the way to the port.

Welcome to Boston.  It must have been a day ending in "Y". 🙂

[phonejock]

EXCURSIONS  PART ONE

I wanted to give some quick notes on the excursions DH and I took. 
Princess excursions suit our comfort zone. I admire people who go exploring on their own, but that is not us. So in order….

Portland, Maine. We did Portland Highlights and Schooner Adventure.  This was a bus trip around the city followed by a 2 hour sail around the bay. We had a good guide on the bus.

The lady was involved with the local historical society and was very interesting. She gave us history as well as what is going on currently.  The sail was a lot of fun. The crew of 3 was very nice and knowledgeable. Unfortunately the sea life was shy that day.  Full disclosure, we had a perfect weather day for this. 

Saint John This excursion was our least favorite. We did St. John Highlights and Reversing Rapids.  The guide was doing her first tour, with her mentor on the bus. She was not terrible, but definitely needs polish. The Reversing rapids stop was fine. However, we only had 20 mins to do the Market, and that included the walk across the park. We literally walked down one row and back. It wasn’t fair to us or the crafters in the market. The last stop was the Martello tower. Now I knew it was being restored and you could not go in, but when we got there, the whole building was wrapped in plastic. We went into the visitors center and looked at the exhibits and watched the Park Canada video.  
Halifax Peggy’s Cove & Titanic Resting Place.  We had a very knowledgeable guide on this tour. He was a retired principal and both he and his wife are guides. The hour ride out to Peggy’s cove went quick . It gave us a chance to see the scenery. The little town is very picturesque. We had a reasonable amount of time there. Not enough to eat, but plenty to see the lighthouse and check out a couple of shops. Then we went to the cemetery to visit the resting place of the victims of the Titanic. Our quide had done his research and had bios on some of the people. 
Sydney.  We decided not to do our planned excursion here. We were going to do Sydney pub and Cider tour.  Unfortunately when we left the ship, it was lightly raining. By the time we walked to the meeting tent, it was raining sideways.  We found out then, it was a 15-20 min walk into town. ( and then you would have to walk back) We had thought there would be transport into town and then it would be short walks from there. We decided not to go.

And yes, we did read the tour description. The only thing I can figure is there is more/ different information between the Princess website and the app. On the website it does not mention how long the walk is and on the app it does. I should mention that I don’t think I was the only one who misunderstood this tour as there were a few people with canes.

 The last 3 were tours were good. I will post on them tomorrow. 

[phonejock]

EXCURSIONS PART TWO 

Ok let’s finish this up.

this post will cover the excursions DH and I took in Charlottetown, Saguenay and Quebec.

 

In Charlottetown, we did Fun with Falcons with Master Falconer Peter McMurchy. This was one of the highlights of the cruise. We had a lovely driver who took us to Peter’s home. We were in a room for about an hour where He spoke to us about falconry, how he got into it, modern applications  ( pest control) and of course, information about the birds.  It was fascinating. We all had our pictures taken with the falcons. Then we went outside, were given very specific instructions and had a Harris falcon fly to our hand. ( this is not always possible) . Peter is a very interesting individual. His presentation was excellent.  If I had to recommend just one excursion from this trip, it would be this one.

 

 In Saguenay we took the Zodiac Adventure at Saguenay Fjord National Park. A school bus picked  us up at the dock and took us out to the park. From there it was a walk down to the water.  We were given life jackets which are like winter coats. The zodiac has about 12 fixed seats with the wheelhouse in the back. It was more like a small boat than a traditional zodiac.(which was fine) .  We had a good guide who took us out into the fjord where we cruised for about an hour. We were lucky and the weather was perfect. Unfortunately the wildlife was shy. 
 

Our last tour was in Quebec. We did the Beaupre coast, St. Anne Canyon and Winery visit.

As it was our last day, we packed in the morning and then took this excursion. We had a scenic ride down the St Lawrence and then we went to the Canyon. It is an easy walk around a natural gorge.  There are two suspension bridges you walk over. There is a little movement, but not too bad. ( if you are really bothered by heights, this may not be the tour for you. ) We ended the trip with a visit to a local winery. We tasted two wines and watched a video showing the history of the vineyard and how the wine is processed. Of course we bought a bottle.  Our guide was great. Besides giving the tour, she was helping people with advice on where to go in Quebec. A real goodwill ambassador.

 

Well I hope my observations are helpful. I know I am not as eloquent as some of the master posters we have on this board. 
Looking forward to our next cruise. 
 

[Jetswdo]

Hi, we will be on the Emerald to Quebec where we are staying 2 extra nights before flying back home.  I am trying to figure out where to meet uber driver to give us a ride to hotel after cruise.  The ship will be at wharf 22----  

[Purple Gallinule]

We got off Emerald on Aug 285h. We had Chris for our RC cabin steward, too. Nice guy and very efficient.

[phonejock]

@Jetswdo  So Sorry, I can’t really can’t answer you accurately. I know we walked through  the terminal and out to our transfer bus to the airport. I think I saw signs for Uber, but can’t tell you which way to go. Maybe post that question separately and I am sure one of the “pros” here will answer it.

[geoherb]

I loved your perspective on our cruise. Can you post photos of the menu and dishes from the Chef's Table?

[cherylandtk]

On 9/13/2024 at 1:30 PM, Jetswdo said:

Hi, we will be on the Emerald to Quebec where we are staying 2 extra nights before flying back home.  I am trying to figure out where to meet uber driver to give us a ride to hotel after cruise.  The ship will be at wharf 22----  

It’s very easy..after you pick up your luggage, call up your Uber ride on the app and have a seat in the rideshare waiting area.  It’s very clearly marked, adjacent to the luggage exit, with seats.  They ask you not to exit until your Uber has arrived, which you probably already know you can easily follow in the app. Following this procedure minimizes confusion and milling crowds as cars come and go right outside the exit door.  

[judydoc]

Were they charging for the food in the International Cafe now?  

[phonejock]

@judydoc No charge for the sandwiches and the desserts (of which I ate way too many).

The only things that you had to pay extra for was the gelato and if you did not have a package, the specialty desserts.

@geoherb Sorry, did not take any pics at the dinner. 

[judydoc]

6 hours ago, phonejock said:

@judydoc No charge for the sandwiches and the desserts (of which I ate way too many).

The only things that you had to pay extra for was the gelato and if you did not have a package, the specialty desserts.

@geoherb Sorry, did not take any pics at the dinner. 

Awesome. Thanks for the reply!