Live on the Emerald for Jan 15 to Feb 4

[Skittles]

Vickie - i think i double posted....sorry

[Skittles]

Vickie, are you on the eastern itinerary this time? We are on that one in about 19 days...Keep us posted on ports...Thanks

[laketahoe1]

daWoods, we have also taken wine on previous cruises with Princess. Actually we've checked a case of wine as baggage and it's always arrived in our cabin just fine. There seems to be more of an issue now than there was in the past or maybe there has always been an issue and I just don't remember.

 

Just thought I'd see what was going on if anything in FLL. We sail on the Emerald on 2/14.

 

We'll be trying for sure. Worst that can happen is our friends that live in FL will have lots of wine to take home.

[Tigger B]

Hi there Tigger B - I think you are travelling with Kathy and Matt aren't you? Well give them both our love and tell them that we're thinking of them (Sue & Roger) - we had such a great time when we cruised with them a few years ago, and I know you'll be having a ball with them too!!

 

All of you, have a wonderful time - wish we were there too.

 

Hi KittyCat...Yes we did sail with them. It was our third sailing together, however it just ended. We got off the ship on Friday so they probably are back home right now...We didn't want to leave and Security had to drag us off by our feet...

 

I will be talking to them soon and will tell them you said hello...

 

Brian.

[Tigger B]

Georgio Pomatta was in November. :)

 

Tony Herriott is now the Captain as of the Jan. 15th sailing. Fantastic guy and is very personable.

 

Brian.

[Tigger B]

Ummm ....Brian if you are at home looking for Wakey Wakey TV you my friend have more problems than cruise critic can help with!:D

 

Gail

 

Hi Gail...Yes I have problems...I miss Wakey Wakey...Ha Ha. Hope you and Luis are home safe by now...

 

Brian.

[Colo Cruiser]

Tony Herriott is now the Captain as of the Jan. 15th sailing. Fantastic guy and is very personable.

 

Brian.

 

 

Thanks, we had him on the Diamond last March, he is a great guy.

Pomatta must be on Vacation. :)

[johnmik1]

Thanks, we had him on the Diamond last March, he is a great guy.

Pomatta must be on Vacation. :)

 

FYI-It's Giorgio Pomata

[WascallyWabbitt]

Hello Vickie...I have been following your posts closely as we will be on the Emerald very soon.

 

I have Ochlophobia fear of crowds so I am concerned about crowds. Hope this isn't a big ship. I also have Eisoptrophobia, fear of mirrors and am wondering if they put mirrors in the elevators or cabins.

 

Wouldn't you believe it...One more fear of mine is Cibophobia, fear of food. I sure hope this doesn't ruin our vacation plans.

[WascallyWabbitt]

Hello Vickie, We are on the Emerald very soon and I hope my fears are not valid ones.

 

I have Ochlophobia; fear of crowds, Cybophobia; fear of food, and Eisophobia; fear of mirrors. Hoping this ship isn't a big one.

 

WascallyWabbitt

[PescadoAmarillo]

I have just read this thread from the beginning. Thanks so much for posting. We are booked B2B on the Emerald next January (as well as the small ships). Having just returned from a great cruise on the Golden, we are thinking the big ship is the way to go, but we need to decide if we can put up with the shortage of seats in the venues (which was bad on the Golden and must be worse on the Emerald). I'll continue to read with interest.

[vickie_bernie]

Another lovely day at sea today.

 

But first did I mention we went to Princess Cays yesterday, much busier than the first sailing but still no real problem finding a lounge chair. And we even got food this time and it was very good. It was overcast but still warm, and yes everyone said the water was cold, but really! It wasn't a problem. Bernie brought some cereal packages from the buffet (he likes to serve the fish mini wheat) and then when you snorkel feed the fish and watch them come!

 

Another nap, then we went to Sabatinis for dinner and that was so good!!!! We paced ourselves and we left full but not too too bad. We love the location of this restaurant, much better than on other Princess ships. Oh and you have to go to Andagios ahead of time for a drink, very nice bar and relaxing. Bernie says the small surcharge is well worth it at Sabatinis -- again the service is over and above.

 

We got to sleep in today and we did! The Horizon court for breakfast (funny on this sailing they are handing out the utensils rolled in a napkin, where on teh last sailing we picked them up in the buffet line? Makes it easier to carry your plate but sometimes you have to find a server to get you them if they are busy.

 

After breakfast we went down to the coffee bar and had our latte. And we actually learned something new! We always buy the coffee card and we knew that you can get free brewed coffee with the card but you can also get hot chocolate and premium tea. We hung out there for a bit and got some warm cookies. Then darn it if the martini demo didn't start. Well I got to shake my thing with the raspberry martini, yum! And I got to keep the glass -- hopefully it will make the journeyhome in one piece.

 

So many things to do, so many choices but we decided to head up to the top deck and enjoy some nice weather. It was busier than we had experienced but we got to meet some nice people in the forward pool that were from my home town of Drummondville Quebec so I got to speak French and exchange family names.

 

We found out there are 1400 Canadians on board, yes we are taking over!!! EH! There is a group from Timber Mart, and they seem to be enjoying themselves, nice group.

 

So far we've been able to get into many more of the evening venues. I guess it is reflective of the crowd dynamics. Hard to say, obviously each cruise is different.

 

It is the first formal night tonight, and the Captains Meet and Greet, but we passed the event but met Mr Deering in the hallway as we were going to dinner and he was there with all the other senior staff so we got to meet the Captain again. Bernie recommends the filet mignon for dinner -- like butter, and definately the hazelnut souffle, but you need ice cream with it too. Oh are we going to need to diet when we get home!

 

Tomorrow we are in St. Thomas and we are planing on going to St. Johns so we are aiming to catch the 930 ferry but that depends on the imigration line up.

 

We are going to bed early :D even though we had a nap, probably watch a movie and fall asleep with the imprint of the chocolate on our cheek!

 

Miss all my new friends, but there are a lot of new friends here too.

 

Oh and we got the chef's table for the 31st. It sits 10 -- you have to decide if it is worth it for yourself, we think so!

 

Re the wine question.... we originally brought on four bottles of wine with no problem, and some pop. When we went into town on turnaround day we brought some wine and pop and flowers again no problem. You are allowed to bring wine on board as per the contract. We love enjoying a glass in our room before dinner, but the ship has a great selection (but no Canadian wine :( and at very reasonable prices).

 

Cheers

Vickie & Bernie

[Lidolounger]

...what I wouldn't give to see you shake your thingy:p - I'm anxious to hear what you think of the ports coming up...

 

We bought the picture of Lawrence & Bernie...should have seen our daughters reaction:eek:

 

Miss ya!

 

Donna

[newbie2468]

What is a cabin crawl, who arranges it, who gets invited.. what is it all about.. sounds like fun ! Also, how do you arrange for a meet and greet of CC'ers? We are sailing on the CB in March and already there is a group on the roll call...

 

Thanks for any info

 

Have a great sail :)

 

Tori

[sunsetbeachgal]

Vickie & Bernie,

 

Look forward to hearing about these ports...our group of four couples were so pleased with the Jan. 15 sailing that we are most likely going to book the other Emerald itinerary for next January.

 

One of our favorite places on the Emerald (maybe I ought to start a favorite Emerald places thread!) was the International Cafe'-warm chocolate chip cookies in the afternoon (the cookies on the ragular buffet were dreadful), almond croissants in the morning, nice quiche and sandwiches for lunch, and wonderful coffees in a peaceful, quiet setting! Oh, I can taste them now-but I won't since the diet has started!

 

Carole in NC

[aco44]

My wife and I will be on the Feb. 14 sailing. I was wondering what items are you charged for and which items you are not charged for at the international cafe.

[aco44]

My wife and I will be on the Feb. 14 sailing. I was wondering what items you are charged for and which items you are not at the international cafe.

[Tigger B]

What is a cabin crawl, who arranges it, who gets invited.. what is it all about.. sounds like fun ! Also, how do you arrange for a meet and greet of CC'ers? We are sailing on the CB in March and already there is a group on the roll call...

 

Thanks for any info

 

Have a great sail :)

 

Tori

 

Tori,

 

You can check out this link. It may give you an explanation. Vickie set it up for our cruise and it was a big hit...Anyone can set it up. So take charge with your group and just "Do it"...

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=687226

 

Brian.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Dear Acco44,

 

We were on the Jan 15 sailing with Vicki & Bernie, and we spent LOTS of time at the International cafe as we loved it. As far as drinks, if you are a coffee drinker, you need to buy the coffee card. You then get free regular coffee and they punch your card for each cappucino, latte, etc. (the card has 15 punches on it, as I remember and it costs around $26). If you want any of the fancier coffee ones like carmel macchiato, etc. they charge you two punches.

 

The morning pastries have no charge-donuts, croissants, etc. The lunch foods-sandwiches, quiche, yummy desserts also have no charge. At dinner they have some fancy appetizers that have a charge-I think it is $3. They have the best afternoon cookies (warm, most days:) ) and milk that there is no charge for. They also sell gelato-$1.50 for three scoops, and they also sell some candies and chocolate strawberries-not sure what the price as I stayed clear of these!

 

Enjoy!

Carole in sunny but cold NC

[City_Woman]

Dear Acco44,

 

We were on the Jan 15 sailing with Vicki & Bernie, and we spent LOTS of time at the International cafe as we loved it. As far as drinks, if you are a coffee drinker, you need to buy the coffee card. You then get free regular coffee and they punch your card for each cappucino, latte, etc. (the card has 15 punches on it, as I remember and it costs around $26). If you want any of the fancier coffee ones like carmel macchiato, etc. they charge you two punches.

 

The morning pastries have no charge-donuts, croissants, etc. The lunch foods-sandwiches, quiche, yummy desserts also have no charge. At dinner they have some fancy appetizers that have a charge-I think it is $3. They have the best afternoon cookies (warm, most days:) ) and milk that there is no charge for. They also sell gelato-$1.50 for three scoops, and they also sell some candies and chocolate strawberries-not sure what the price as I stayed clear of these!

 

Enjoy!

Carole in sunny but cold NC

 

Thanks so much for this. Hubby wanted to know this exact thing!

 

Judy

[sunsetbeachgal]

HI CityWoman,

 

Glad to help-you must be getting so excited-only a month away! We tried to avoid the buffets so we didn't overeat, and ate most breakfasts and lunches at International Cafe'. There is definitely enough to have a light lunch there. Also, their pastries taste as good as they look, unlike some other desserts on board. You will love their cookies-the chocolate chip are SO good (the ones at the buffet tasted like sawdust!). The bake them right there, so are fresh and yummy :D And we never had any crowds there-it seemed to take people awhile to catch on to this wonderful little place-I had read about it in CC, so headed straight there the first day!

[vickie_bernie]

oh my goodness is the cc board slow - not having any problem with my hotmail server so it must be cc server from sT. Thomas

 

Okay first, the cost of items at the International Cafe are: all items are free in the morning and afternoon, and dinner there are tapas and each tapa costs $1, they serve them in plates of three or four, but you could always get one. They also have gelato which is $1.50 for 3 scoops. They have chocolate fondue, chocolates with marzipan and candy apples all at a cost. The cookies and milk are FREE, yum just had two.

 

Donna did you really buy the picture of Lawrence kissing Bernie's head -- how funny, not that I am jealous. Would love to sail with you both again you were a lot of fun.

 

Carole, sorry I didn't get a chance to talk with you more, we seem to run into each other when we were both preoccupied.

 

The cabin crawl was organized by me and it was so much fun, check the thread that brian posted.

 

Today we are in St. Thomas, we got off early around 8:20 and we caught a taxi to Red Hook ferry and the costs was $11 per person. The ferry left at 9 am and the taxi made it, but we were all freaked out over the ride, mind you the traffic was light so give some extra time just in case. The ferry from Red Hook to St. Johns was $5 and was only 15 minutes. Then when we got off we took at taxi to Trunk Bay for $6 each. The beach was beautiful, but the waves were really coming in, supposedly this is unusual. Snorkeling was poor because of the waves. It was a lot of fun to watch everyone struggle with the waves.

 

We went back to the dock but caught the ferry to Charlotte Amalie and it was $10 per person and it was about 40 min ride. Taxi from there to Crown bay was $4 so in total it was $36 per person.

 

We had lunch in town and then came back to Crown bay, the prices in the shops were the same as in town. The perfume that we checked out on our last sailing was cheaper on the ship and the ship gives 10% off if you buy $250 or more, so it worked out way cheaper.

 

Tonight we are going to CAribe Cafe for a "rice table" meal, not sure what that is so will let you know.

 

We are in ST. Kitts tomorrow and we are doing a tour with Grey Tours.

 

Vickie & Bernie, relaxing on the Emerald

[seastar2]

My wife and I will be on the Feb. 14 sailing. I was wondering what items you are charged for and which items you are not at the international cafe.

 

 

We have an active rollcall going for the 2/14 sailing...join us!!!!:D

[mycruz]

I hope you enjoy your dinner at the Caribe Cafe tonight. We ate there on the Rice night not knowing what it was all about and were pleasantly surprised! Let us know what you think, believe it or not, everything is not made with rice:) .

[sessa]

My husband and I live in White Rock BC and will be on the Emerald on Feb,4th. When you are getting off we will be getting on for a B2B also. We have enjoyed hearing all about the ship. Today we woke up to a ton of snow here in Vancouver. We are looking forward to some warmth and sun after this snowy day here in beautiful Vancouver. Enjoy the rest of your vacation and thankyou for the reports.

 

Nessa & Rick