Emerald Review 12/6 - 12/15

[sunsetbeachgal]

HI Packman,

 

Thanks for your review..very well written. We are on the Jan. 15 sailing of the Emerald-same itinerary you did. When we booked it we assumed that there would be lots of older people as our sailing departs on a Tuesday and returns the following Friday, so would require working folks to take two weeks off from work. However, I hope that we don't get the same problem types as you described. How sad-people who are retired, have the money to travel and health that is good enough to travel, and they still are not happy! The poor staff! We are younger retirees who decided to relocate to the coastal Carolinas-the weather is not quite as warm as Florida, but the people are wonderful.

[jt1120]

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

 

Bon Voyage to all and Happy Holidays

Nanatravel

 

I'll put in a plug for where we live, Southwest Florida (Ft. Myers - Naples). Great place to live, lots of golf courses, and not too far away from three ports! And because of the economy right now, prices are the lowest they've been in a long time. Great place to relocate or retire to.

 

[no I do not sell real estate]

[sunsetbeachgal]

HI Joe & Christine,

 

I'm curious-are your impressions of Emerald in line with some of the complaints I've read (I see that you sailed on her)? Is it really that much larger than the other Grand Class ships? Is the buffet as bad as people say?

[audrey]

Is there anyway that someone that was on this cruise could post daily patters and menu from your trip.thanks ahead of time if you are able to do it.

[obendus]

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.

 

If you have the equipment and time to do so, I'll join others in pleading for a scanned copy of the Patter.

(Since the Emerald is still in it's infancy of Caribbean itineraries, a copy of the Patter has yet to appear anywhere)

Thanks in advance if you are able, and if not, Happy Holidays!

[ssabaste]

Caribbean Night was the 2nd Sea Day. When we made Crown Grill reservations I checked with the Maitre' d who was taking reservations during embarkation which night was Caribbean, and he had a list of the themes for each night. So, if it changes to a different night you can check before you make a reservation for the specialty restaurants.

 

We ate at both The Crown Grill (at the counter again!!!, which is really fun, and makes you feel very special!), and Sabatini's and enjoyed both. The Crown Grill was the best meal onboard!

 

Enjoy your trip.

[KCSungirl]

HI Packman,

 

Thanks for taking time to post a review. It was nice meeting you in the elevator.

 

TTEllis - You had me rolling on the floor. The Hooverround reference was priceless.

 

Best, Sungirl

[RWayne]

We were also on the cruise on 12/6 and quickly discovered how miserable and cranky some old people can be. I'm 53 and my wife is 50 - we're on our way to eventually joining that age group but certainly nowhere near those folks in attitude. The non-stop kvetching, whining, moaning, groaning and "I have nevah" noises could have ruined our vacation but we and our good friends with whom we cruise regularly decided not to let these unhappy people ruin our trip. We made a point of seeking out the staff to let them know that despite the rude and unforgivable treatment they were receiving from many passengers, we certainly appreciated their eagerness to ensure OUR vacation was a success. Once we decided not to let the cruise become a damnable experience, it was great in every respect. (Of course that meant avoiding the strollers, walkers, and scooters so we never used the elevators....) We dived at three islands - Dominica was the best. I'm never haughty about food (aren't those snooty comments about food always funny?) and I reveled at every trough I could find. It was a great cruise, and I'm eagerly awaiting our next one. On Princess, naturally.

[daWoods]

As someone who is caught between two age groups (not old, not young) I've found rude folks in both categories as well as my own. While looking after the needs of my father before he died, I met many old folks who were unhappy with life and let everybody know it. I also found others who loved life and couldn't get enough of it. I've met them on cruises too, and have wondered why some bother spending the money. I suppose they're looking for something that will make life more fun, but unfortunately packed their bad attitudes with their formal outfits. Those with good attitudes have a great time, and they deserve to be there as much as anyone does, no matter how old. If their scooter gets in your way, walk around, or wait a few seconds, all the while being thankful you don't have to use one.....yet.

 

Anyone who lets people with bad attitudes, old or young (yes, I've met them too) spoil their cruise needs an attitude adjustment of their own. It's your vacation, don't let anyone spoil it.

[cruzzers]

Don't be worried about this ship for future cruises. I think the time of year makes a BIG difference. We were on the Emerald Nov. 6 and had a wonderful time. We are in our middle 50's and never felt out of place. There were several young people onboard and we had quite a range. The older folks were well traveled and quite pleasant to be with. That said, we cruised last year on the Caribbean Princess on Dec 10 and what a mess. There were several tour groups from south Fla. onboard with a much older travel group. We witnessed people making threats to each other who were trying to save seats in the Princess Theater and lots of scooter wrecks. We just learned to take the stairs and stay out of the way. We started going to the theater an hour early just to watch the fights before the show. As one commedian said, "Some people will pay to travel to new places, just they have a new place to complain!" Aint it the truth!?

[crzytrvlrs]

Hello,

I was on the same ship with you all on Emerald 12/6-12/16. Funny how many of you complained about this ship. Was I on the same one? We were the few young passengers on that ship. There were 5 of us betw 20-30 and my Mother is 60. I warned my family before I booked this cruise that Princess' passengers are mostly seniors. When we got on board, we were surprised that most of them were! No many in our age group and very

few teens and children, but we ALL had a great time! I do think this cruise ship is best for couples and the older generation as there are not many activities on the ship for our age group or younger, except for Karaoke and Theme dances. Their gym and Lotus Spa are great. They have spa deals!

 

The service in the buffet area was the best we've had, but this was our 4th cruise (Royal Caribbean and Carnival) and our first Princess. We always go on big ships, more room=more fun for us. Neptune Pool area was always crowded, but there are more pools on this ship, head to the back!

I actually thought this ship was half empty...didn't looked there were 3000 on board.

 

By the way, head to Cafe Caribe towards the back. Best service. Also, all dining areas in Horizon Court and Cafe Caribe are open during breakfast and lunch. You just have to walk across to the other side. Plenty of room! I guess, since 90% were the older generation, they didn't want to walk over. Main dining at Botticelli was slow, though we were in no hurry.

 

Regarding excursions, thank goodness we were delayed entry to Grenada. Did you get out there?? Very aggressive taxi drivers and vendors. Just tell them you booked tour on the ship and they'll leave you alone. I highly recommend Aruba See & Sea Tour and Wacky Rollers 4WD excursion in Dominica. Sapphire Beach at St Thomas was nice for snorkeling.

 

We are the younger crowds on this ship. We did wish there were more of our age, but with 7 of us in the family we had an absolute wonderful time by ourselves. The Entertainment Crew rocked!! Kudos to Sean and Emma!

 

I do have 2 complaints: Tour desk people need to experience these islands before they work there. They have no advice to give, but a map of the island. Best to do your research first, which I did EXCEPT for Grenada. That gentleman told us 15 min walk to the beach and we ended up in a bad part of town! Also, the Passenger Service Assistance Desk never answers the phone in the morning! We had a plumbing problem, but luckily are steward was just down the hall and called maintenance for us.

 

Overall, we had the best time on this ship and cannot wait to book Ruby Princess, the new ship. Hoping they'll extend their itinerary to Europe or Asia! I always thought Royal Caribbean was the fun ship, but you can have fun on Princess, too!

 

To those who are going on Emerald, just have fun. If you hear negativity just don't mind them. No matter what enjoy your vacation! We surely did!

[lynwar]

Hi

I was on the Dec.6 cruise as well. The staff we encountered were very very nice, extra nice, because we were respectful to them. There is no need to be rude and obnoxious, because chances are, the people being so will be tagged with an "MO" around the ship and the staff will not be as gracious (but probably more frustrated and irritated, no doubt).

I observed that many of the couples were "commandeered" by the wife--some of the husbands of these older couples was just along for the ride. They were either very confused (evident) or overruled and were "yes, dears". However, there were also some husbands who drug their wives along. I work in a retirement "community" doing activities for Assisted Living and Independent residents and see the scooters (our poor walls), wheelchairs, walkers, canes, every day, and some who insist that they go into the elevators first-I've had the upper floor residents get on first and my 2nd floor residents have to wait through 3-4 elevators-same with the ship-and the moving out of the way sometimes to let other cruisers on or off.

The one place I didn't care for the scooters on the ship was in the Horizon Court Buffet line. One man had an aide choosing his food, with him right there driving his scooter and everyone had to get out of his way. This can be dangerous-to feet and legs. As a general observation-the scooters become vehicles, which are also dangerous when driven by people with no training. There also becomes a feeling of entitlement, where the drivers think that they have the right of way, when they should wait like everybody else. (This is for everywhere-not just the cruise ships).

Since I work with this population daily, I understand their behavior-agree with it--no-but observe it daily. Luckily, I'm in a position at work to shake my finger back-and cajole the person out of the accosting.

 

Overall, we enjoyed our cruise-would have loved to have gone with Choochella's roll call, originally planned, but in the end, had a good time. We made friends as we went, ran into some of our new roll call friends Packman 1000 and M Steve in different venues, chilled out at the Aft Pool-avoided a lot of the crowds-went to one show. When another one was filled by showtime-then we went to the Casino! I really enjoyed the Crooner's Piano Bar Lounge--I went there frequently to listen to David Williams.

The other thing to which I will agree-is that many of the older group tended to sit at the window tables in the pool areas just reading or playing cards-and-somewhat in the Horizon Court. That was pretty bad when trying to find a place to eat, especially by the Trident Grill. We found that we could usually find a spot at the back of the Cafe Caribe-but-on occasions, that was just as full.

We are Platinum Members and have already booked the Ruby Princess. We were not aware of this extensive population when we changed to this date. But-tis the season, I guess. Being in the service industry as I am, I tend to have more patience and understanding, but some behaviors are universally alarming.

This was the first time we've encountered as much rain on a cruise. The $5 rain poncho (Saran Wrap plastic) we purchased in Aruba (and could have bought for $1 at the dollar store) really became one of our best buys. The one day I didn't take it ashore with me-I got drenched!!

 

All I can say is that we all have our own individual, or sometime corporate grievances--but we also have some good memories. I always go with the idea that I'm going to have a good time-it's MY time-and usually, I don't see as many of the "drama" that others witness (except for the Grenada thing, for instance). My husband and I usually do our own thing.

I enjoyed having the access to a computer on board.This was the first time we used them (and knew how to use them). The International Cafe was very nice and it was right by the String Quartet and the Russian Piano Player-all wonderful musicians. Very peaceful.

 

Take care for now. Lynne