Emerald Review 12/6 - 12/15

[Packman1000]

Here is a review, and my opinions, of the 12/6 sailing on the Emerald.

 

We are aged 51 and 49. This was our 7th crusie, 3rd on Princess, 2 on RCI, 1 on HAL and 1 on Celebrity.

 

First a few words about my fellow passengers. I would guess the median age range was in the mid 70's. Very few children. Very few people in their 20's 30's or 40's. One person told us a crew memeber told them that there were less than 50 passengers under 45 years old (not likely, but it makes a point). I am not sure why this cruise was so skewed to an elderly crowd. I do actually prefer sailing with folks older than I, versus folks much younger, but a few more in our age range would have been nice. With that many 'mature' passengers, it did make for some problems with the cruise. Sadly, we saw a number of people fall. There were a lot of wheel chairs, walkers, etc. and those take more space, which is at a premium on a crusie ship. Older folks move slower, are confused easier, and that many people of the same age all tend to do similar things at similar times. So lines were long and slow moving in the normal crowded places on the ship. The theater holds 900 and with over 3,000 passengers onboard, and with 2 shows a night...well, the math doesn't work. Early dining in the anytime dining room had some longer waiting times too. And overall, I think people got frustrated much easier than would be normal. In general, people were rude, but I may have been too, so I shouldn't point fingers.

 

The embarkation started about 45 minutes later than I have seen on other cruises - about 12:15 for us. Luggage didn't arrive to our cabin until after the muster drill. Our stateroom was not fully cleaned when we arrived at about 1:00 although it had been gone through (what we found in the bathroom was particularly disgusting). This was rectifeid immediatly upon notifying our room steward, Marlon. Everything else during the crusie relating to our room was the best we ever had - excellent, except for that first day. The bed was very comfortable. Our few requests were tended to quickly.

 

The ship is beautiful, as you would expect of a new ship. But it is very large and it takes a long time to get around (much longer for some...). It was frustrating that you could not get from end to end on some of the public decks without gong up or down. For instance, it is nearly impossible to get to/from the aft pools, hot tub and outdoor seating without walking through the Caribe Cafe. With a wet swimming suit, I wasn't delighted to have to walk through an eating area to get to the other pools or my room!

 

With 3,100 passengers, I didn't think there was enough public indoor seating areas. We constantly couldn't find tables in the Horizon Court during breakfast and lunch. That probably isn't Princess' fault as much as insensitive passengers that just plunked down at a table and didn't move, even though they finished eating an hour earlier. We saw large groups of people playing cards in the Horizon Court duing prime buffet hours when many could not find a seat. That is just rude!

 

The entertainment was fabulous, except for one comedian on opening night, and I suspect the first night is a tough audience because people are tired. The singers and dancers were great. There were some numbers they performed that were the best I've seen by far. They performed 4 different shows, some 3 times. I did notice some lip syncing (sp), but I guess that would be normal. As I said earlier, the theater could not seat all that wanted to get in, which angered many. However, some of the other entertainment venues were poorly attended. I think people just expect to go to a show the theater every night, and this ship wasn't built for that - be aware if you are crusing on her.

 

The food was good - about the same as I remembered from previous cruises, but everyone's taste is subjective. We chose anytime dining and mostly asked for a table for 2. We did sit with others several times, but because of the age difference, we didn't have a lot in common with table mates, so it was easier just to get a small table. We tried the evening buffet in the Cafe Caribe a few times - not many people there and the food was very good, but it felt the same as breakfast and lunch in the buffet. Service in the dining rooms was good with the exception of one night when I think they were short a waiter and it took us 2.5 hours to complete dinner. We didn't go to the alternate dining rooms. We liked the food items at the International Cafe and there were never many people there - Princess has a winner with that idea in my opinion.

 

As far as excursions, Princess gets an F from us. We only chose 2 excursions with Princess and they cancelled them both - one nearly and hour after it was supposed to begin. This left us with nothing to do in 2 ports because it was too late to set up anything else. Princess is quick to point out that it isn't their fault, but they must take some responsibility for there own excursions. I intend to write a private letter to them on this subject. We also booked two excursions with private tours and they were very well done. On a side note, it rained in every port except Princess Cays - highly unusual. This was my 4th Caribbean cruise in either late November or early December and I only got rained on once before. I guess I was due!

 

There were several disappointing circumstances during the cruise. In Grenada, it took much longer than expected to get customs clearance, leaving hundreds of passengers having to stand in line for over an hour. Then the tenders were extremely slow for some reason (note to self, don't book an excursion in a port where a ship with over 3,000 passengers will have to tender). Another poor situation ocurred at disembarkation (which also took longer than on past ships). First, the room that the luggage was in looked like a castle's dungeon - dark, wet and too small. Again, I saw 2 people take terrible falls. Then once oustside, there was mass confusion - thousands of people (the Caribbean Princess docked in the same area) that caused chaos. There must have been 500 people wating for cabs and there weren't any. There were so many angry people, we just stood in the background since we had a late flight. Princess did try to make things right in that they finally got a Greyhound bus and took the rest of us to the airport at no charge. They were also very apologetic. The porters said Princess should never have put both of those ship right there together (they were also very upset). Princess reps told me it was the cabs fault...

 

On the night before we returned to Fort Lauderdale, the cruise director, Neil, met with CC'ers in one of the lounges to talk with us. He was very accomodating and it seems clear to me that Princess really tries to satisfy their customers, which is truly an impossible task. In my opinion, it all comes down to too many people for the size of the ship, port, or island for that matter. No differnent than airlines, airports, etc. With that said, we did each buy a future cruise credit with Princess and will cruise with them again, just on a smaller ship.

 

Remember what they say on the Caribbean Islands, "slow down, you're on island time now".

[Baxter]

We were on the same cruise -- we are 37, 38 and 14 months. We have previously sailed on the Grand (x2), Golden, Sapphire, and Sun. I will agree with the description of the demographic on the cruise -- I do know that there were 19 children between the ages of 3 and 12, and a handful of children under the age of 3.

 

One thing I will comment on -- in 8 cruises in total, I have never come across the sheer number of ignorant passengers that were on the Emerald Princess. We witnessed domestic outbursts in the hallways, screaming matches in lines, we had elevator doors closed as we were trying to get on (definitely intentional), and heard "hurry up and close the door before the stroller gets on". We observed staff members treated worse than animals; they were yelled at, made unreasonable demands of, told off, etc. We spoke with several crew members who had indicated they had worked for the line for years, and had never seen anything like this in their time onboard. And I am more than happy to point fingers because I made a point of not being rude...my husband, however, couldn't quite hold it in at times!

 

We also found the ship to be a bit more cut-up than other Princess ships, but once we figured out our way, all was well. But it probably did increase the frustration levels of folks who obviously came on to the cruise with the sole intention of having a miserable time.

 

We also found the food....fine. I think I preferred the old-style menus, but that is a preference thing. My husband was happy once he discovered he could still have the fettuccini in the parmesan bowl if he ordered the full-size. I personally wasn't fond of the buffet selections but, then again, I never am. I don't sail on a cruise to eat in a cafeteria.

 

We had a marvelous dinner in the Crown Grille...the food was outstanding, and the service equally food. Maybe to the chagrin of our fellow passengers, we were happy to find out they would happily allow our daughter to attend the specialty restaurant...other cruise lines will not. She was well-behaved (as were the other diners!). It is a very quiet restaurant with a nice ambiance...just don't sit too close to the outside as hallway traffic through the photo gallery might be distracting.

 

The Grenada tendering experience was awful, but again often that can be attributed to the miserable people tendering with you. We waited over 2 hours in Club Fusion, only to be told that now they were ready to dock. We got on the tender anyway, but our tender-mates complained that it was raining. So now they refused to get off the tender, slowing the process even more. The ones who actually got off, refused to move from in front of the entrance to the mall making congestion even worse.

 

In the beginning, I was of the mindset that these fellow passengers were ruining my vacation. Then I decided only I could let them ruin it, so I changed my mindset. My family had a wonderful time together...we enjoyed the ports, enjoyed our meals, and enjoyed the staff. We can't wait to sail again.

 

I do want to commend the staff for dealing with the crowd as professionally as they did. They are not paid enough money to put up with the attitude, grief, and harassment that was thrust upon them.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the reviews, I agree about rude people in the HC playing cards and such. :(

Try an Alaska cruise, people don't want to be in the cold so they stay at the tables in the HC all day long for the scenary. :eek: Real morons in my book.

[bcruiser1]

Here is a review, and my opinions, of the 12/6 sailing on the Emerald.

 

We are aged 51 and 49. This was our 7th crusie, 3rd on Princess, 2 on RCI, 1 on HAL and 1 on Celebrity.

 

First a few words about my fellow passengers. I would guess the median age range was in the mid 70's. Very few children. Very few people in their 20's 30's or 40's. One person told us a crew memeber told them that there were less than 50 passengers under 45 years old (not likely, but it makes a point).

 

Hi Packman,

 

We were on the same cruise. I need to tell you that although my observations are very close to yours; my experience was a bit different.

 

My family brought down the average age. With my hubby, I aged 50, my 14 yo son, our 6 and 4 yo niece and nephew, my 35 yo brother, and his 34 yo wife, her 30 yo brother...etc. The issue we had was that there were only 7 teens on the ship, and only 4 registered with the teen center, where my son wanted to hang out. He had a good time, but limited variety of people. My little niece and nephew (ages 4 and 6) hung with the few Pelicans on board, and they were happy, although wished there were more kids.

 

My issues with the older folks were that some were VERY rude. We were in the midship elevator, and the door opened, when my son was behind a man who screamed "move" at him. I need to tell you, I gave it right back. Just because someone is older, they don't have a license to mis-behave. The staff also doesn't carry a license to be rude, and we witnessed VERY rude staff--several times.

 

It was a lovely ship. Completely fabulous, BUT...there wasn't enough space for all of the people in dining rooms, etc. The Horizon court was no bigger than it was on the grand, but the Emerald carried several hundred more peope.

 

I wanted to go to the CC review with Neil at 5:15, but the timing was awful--we were still getting packed.

 

My biggest complaint was about getting off the ship. The luggage situation was a real "cluster." It was disorganized, poorly lit, and VERY hot in the luggage room. One of our traveling companions' luggage was lost, and it took over an hour to locate it. After finding it, we went to get a taxi to go to the airport--us and about 600 other people.

 

We skipped breakfast to hurry up and wait. It was a crappy way to end a wonderful trip. I loved the Islands, and the itinerary, and still feel like I'm aboard the ship!

 

Well, now back to Colorado--and snow!

[RKANTOR720]

Thanks so much for your reviews. It is unfortunate that some passengers ruin a trip for others by being rude.

By the way do you remember which night was Caribbean night in the Dining Room? We usually skip it and try the alternatives. We are booked on the January 25th sailing and still looking forward to it. After all it is a vacation.

[TTEllis]

I was on the Nov.26th-Dec.6th sailing of the Emerald, I have NEVER in my life been around more miserable OLD GEEZERS in my life. I knew ahead of time that the ship was gonna be 80% seniors, 80% was not even close it was 95% right off the bat seniors, 75% of those were simple sorry miserable human beings. Now that the old miserable rude passenger issue is out in the open I can post a complete review. Hey what did you'all think about the wheelchair olympics and the Scooter Store 500 on a daily basis around the Horizon Court buffett, JOKE wasnt it??!!! Too bad for Princess. Too bad for the crew, it was sad. Later Todd

[Christapie]

ttellis, Wow now I'm wondering about our upcoming cruise in Jan. 5th. What is it about these 10 day cruises that bring out the worst in some people??? I have been waiting all year for this cruise and am so excited.

 

Christapie

[cruzfiend]

I'm beginning to second guess our cruise, too. Hopefully, all the ornery people will have already sailed:rolleyes:

[lindanick]

The longer the cruise the older the crowd (They are the ones likely to afford it).

 

The colder the cruise the older the crowd. (Young want to wear bathing suits).

 

This seems to fit the bill. It is colder now in the Caribbean, and it was a ten day cruise.

 

Linda

[Colo Cruiser]

The longer the cruise the older the crowd (They are the ones likely to afford it).

 

The colder the cruise the older the crowd. (Young want to wear bathing suits).

 

This seems to fit the bill. It is colder now in the Caribbean, and it was a ten day cruise.

 

Linda

 

 

Not any more, any cruise is subject to this now as experieneced on 3 previous cruises (7,9,10, dayers) this year by me. As well as 3 day repo.

Think they are looking at this versus the retirement home. :rolleyes:

[GSDsky]

Thats Reallity at it's finest.

Been here on the Dawn Princess which was 10 days. My DW and I called them GOF's. Grumpy old farts. Christ I am almost 60 but not that bad. We laughed everytime one made an ass out themselves. Now had two cruises on the Sea Princess which was 14 days but had a high passenger content from the British Isles and no GOF's. Hmmm has me wondering.:confused:

Anyway we will be on in Feb and should be a good laugh again.:p :p :p

[Sanibel*Gal]

Thanks for the review! Hopefully, by the time we sail all those crabby old folks will be on to other destinations!

 

We did sail our first 10 day to the Panama Canal and noticed LOTS of older folks on that cruise as well. However, cannot say they were rude or pushy... we just never found them in any lounges or the specialty restaurants. They all went to bed early, no fun at all! We met a great couple on one of our snorkeling excursions, close to our age:) and just wished we had met them sooner!

[GSDsky]

GREAT spot you live in!:) :) :) :) :)

[TTEllis]

ttellis, Wow now I'm wondering about our upcoming cruise in Jan. 5th. What is it about these 10 day cruises that bring out the worst in some people??? I have been waiting all year for this cruise and am so excited.

 

Christapie

 

Sweetheart, you have a mind of your own, just make sure when you get back and post a review make sure its genuinely honest or dont post one at all. I've have never felt more sympathy for anyone or anything in my life than I did for this crew. If it will tell you how bad it was Im looking at Carnival for next years cruise and I can cruise pretty much anything I want. Read my complete review I'll post it by the end of the week, of course I'll take endless heat from all the old geezers on this board but granny, grandmaw, and maw-maw will get over it. This endless wheelchair, Hooverrounds, and scooter thing is COMPLETELY tongue in cheek at this point. If I had a quarter for everytime I heard on the ship that so and so "fell" and so and so "slipped" and how many people "twisted there knee out at the pool" I'd have enough $$$ to pay for another 10 day's on the Emerald. You dont have to take mine or anyone else's word on anything if your under 70(much less 40) and a reasonably happy individual trust me your in for a BIG surprise, you'll see for yourself. This past cruise was a VERY enlightening experience. Check out my review, like I said all these miserable OLD women on these cruise boards with too much time on there hands and their claim to fame is how many times they've posted on the AOL Cruise Critic message boards may be offended, could care less!! Later Todd

[joanne1]

Thanks for the review! Hopefully, by the time we sail all those crabby old folks will be on to other destinations!

 

We did sail our first 10 day to the Panama Canal and noticed LOTS of older folks on that cruise as well. However, cannot say they were rude or pushy... we just never found them in any lounges or the specialty restaurants.

 

Thanks you for posting your reviews, I am thinking that our cruise will be a little younger because it will be during Spring Break for many . . . my thoughts on so many older people is the same as Sanibel's, more lounge chair space for me :D . Can you tell me anything about the pools, the sanctuary, the evenings, the gym, MUTS, and your other ports?

[Baxter]

my thoughts on so many older people is the same as Sanibel's, more lounge chair space for me :D .

 

Not on the last cruise. They were double-teaming...some were up at 5:30am and they would reserve tables/chairs PLUS lounge chairs, in case they wanted to sit on them for 5 minutes. And staff weren't very accomodating about removing "saved" items.

[m steve]

We were on the cruise and found it really nice. The Grenada thing was caused by the Grenadian Government and not the ship. I guess someone wanted a payoff and tied us up until they got it. Cruise director Neil explained this and we were supposed to dock along with other Princess ship and they docked the smaller ship instead and made us tender which was not planned. We also were directed to Havensight in St. Thomas rather than at scheduled Crown Bay. I preferred that but had to scramble to change my car rental to that location.

The food was quite good but was disappointed with Sabatinis. Too much jarred antipasto and too much food.

The main dining room was ok but a traffic jam most nights for late seating. Only one way to access it and no bar nearby. The Maitre D' Manuel spent all his time sucking up to a table near us and ignored the rest of the diners. I hope he got a gigantic tip from them and no one else seemed to tip him in our area.

Theatre problem was real bad as some from early seating stayed for both shows so fewer seats available.

There were a lot of people older than us and scooters out numbered kids. Some were rude and blocked the elevators so ambulatory people were shut out.

There was a shortage of smoking areas in the bars regardless of the side of the ship. Wheelhouse had a large smoking area but the music was country and few people went in.

Overall it was a good ship and would sail it again although some people blamed everything on the ship and crew. I still preferred it over Carnival and almost as good as HAL.

The best thing was that the coffee is now drinkable. I guess all the complaints here and on the ship got through to them.

[choochella]

Boy, it's sad to hear how you have experienced such a bad time on this cruise. We sailed the first 10 day Caribbean on the Emerald and had a blast! Guess us putting up with the "Bears" was better than putting up with the "GOF"'s. We have been sailing 10 day itineraries for the last 4 years and have never encountered this. Maybe it's WHEN we cruise. October vs. November/December. Not that one month would make a difference.

 

Although, we did encounter some rude people. But, I guess you'll get that any time. There are always going to be people that are never satisfied, and find that the littlest things will tick them off. I just shrug them off and figure that's how they want to live. I just feel sorry for the staff having to put up with that. The crew on our cruise were just the best. I believe that I am on vacation. No work, no cooking, cleaning, etc. I'm going to have a good time. Just my mindset.

[greyhound49]

My wife and I were passengers on the 12/6 Emerald Princess Southern Caribbean cruise and can add our confirmation to most of what has already been posted as to the obnoxious behavior of quite a number of the older passengers. Both my wife and I are in our mid-seventies so we are not picking on an age group other than our own. The demanding and rude behavior of these people was certainly unexcuseable but it appeared to be the way they are accustomed to normally perform in public. We felt particular sympathy for crew members and staff who took the brunt of their irrational behavior but it certainly diminished the pleasure of the cruise for the rest of us. Those of us who reside in South Florida are not unfamiliar with this kind of behavior as we see it in grocery stores, malls and resturants from people just like those aboard The Emerald Princes. No surprise that a large number of the passengers were groups from senior citizen condo communites which dot South Florida. For those of you that may think you would enjoy living in South Florida or retiring here you just might consider that you could end up with these very people as your neighbors.

[jt1120]

About shows and "lip-synching."

 

Most production shows have a fair amount of music that is "sequenced." In other words, the band plays with some pre-recorded tracks, and that also means the singers sing with some prerecorded tracks. The tip is this, if they are one of the lead vocalists, they are probably singing live. Probably. The dancers mouth the words, but they are not singing.

 

Having said that, I was on the same cruise two trips before you and found the singing to be mediocre, but the dancing and costumes to be top notch.

 

Hope my info helps.

[Nanatravel]

My wife and I were passengers on the 12/6 Emerald Princess Southern Caribbean cruise and can add our confirmation to most of what has already been posted as to the obnoxious behavior of quite a number of the older passengers. Both my wife and I are in our mid-seventies so we are not picking on an age group other than our own. The demanding and rude behavior of these people was certainly unexcuseable but it appeared to be the way they are accustomed to normally perform in public. We felt particular sympathy for crew members and staff who took the brunt of their irrational behavior but it certainly diminished the pleasure of the cruise for the rest of us. Those of us who reside in South Florida are not unfamiliar with this kind of behavior as we see it in grocery stores, malls and resturants from people just like those aboard The Emerald Princes. No surprise that a large number of the passengers were groups from senior citizen condo communites which dot South Florida. For those of you that may think you would enjoy living in South Florida or retiring here you just might consider that you could end up with these very people as your neighbors.

 

 

Thanks Greyhound. As a seniors' Care Giver (daughter) and one who is just starting to look at retirement relocation, I really appreciate your candor. I know the rate of car accidents on Florida's highways is enormous. It's "their" road, so don't get in the way.

 

We are off to Florida this weekend and will get a taste for ourselves (once again).

 

Bon Voyage to all and Happy Holidays

Nanatravel

[GSDsky]

Condo available on a GOF course.

 

All this time I thought it was a typo in the real estate section.:confused:

[TTEllis]

Condo available on a GOF course.

 

All this time I thought it was a typo in the real estate section.:confused:

 

Good one!!!

[Packman1000]

Thanks so much for your reviews. It is unfortunate that some passengers ruin a trip for others by being rude.

By the way do you remember which night was Caribbean night in the Dining Room? We usually skip it and try the alternatives. We are booked on the January 25th sailing and still looking forward to it. After all it is a vacation.

 

rkantor - if they had a Caribbean night, it passed me right by. I'm looking at the Patters right now and still can't find it. Sorry.

[Packman1000]

Thanks you for posting your reviews, I am thinking that our cruise will be a little younger because it will be during Spring Break for many . . . my thoughts on so many older people is the same as Sanibel's, more lounge chair space for me :D . Can you tell me anything about the pools, the sanctuary, the evenings, the gym, MUTS, and your other ports?

 

Joanne, I'm sure your cruise during spring will be much younger. I liked the pool areas - there are 5 pools and at least that many hot tubs. One of the good things about our cruise was that they were not as crowded as past cruises. The pools and hot tub in the back of the ship always had room in them (you needed to climb steps to get to them). The sanctuary looked nice, but I didn't spend $10 to sit in a chair for a few hours. But if that is your thing, it looked like there was plenty of room. The gym was very nice and I used it most every day. Lots of treadmills and weight machines, free wights, stair steppers, etc. I really liked MUTS. We watched a couple of movies later at night when most were in bed. During the day, the screen was washed out by sunlight, but you could still watch it if there were some clouds in the sky.

 

We really did have a nice time on the ship and thoroughly enjoyed it. I think you just need to have a little tolerance - it's tough to put 3,100 people in that size of space and not have some issues with other people. Enjoy your cruise.

 

Packman