Who else just got off the Emerald 3/31 and was disappointed?

[chrysalis]

As I have stated in my "live from" thread, we were far from being dissatisfied. As a matter of fact, we considered our 20 days to be some of the best ever.

 

We ate in Anytime, and not once waited for a table, and always found the crew to be fantastic except for the 2 people I have mentioned previously.

 

I have to agree with others, we were appalled by how some passengers behalved......both to the crew and to other passengers. One example, DW and I were sitting at a small, round table for two in the Piazza on one afternoon, enjoying drinks and watching the entertainment. The "cookies and milk" ladies were making their rounds and after giving me my cookies, walked to the other side of the table to serve DW hers. One of them put down a napkin and the other put a cookie on it......and up rushed a passenger, and just swiped the cookie right off the table and walked away. This was not a friend or acquaintance having some fun, this was a total stranger. Our jaws dropped in amazement, and the cookie ladies just shook their heads.

[naplesam]

And the complaining often is worse at certain times of the year and from certain embarkation points! ;)

[gertz]

I'll be on the Sapphire (again) in just over a week so I'll letcha know. :)

 

I've been on small ships, big ships, and the "mega" ships such as the CB, and IMHO, the impression of crowding has more to do with the CD, weather, itinerary and one's fellow passengers than anything else. I don't think it's just the number of people.

Pam I would never disagree with you, I have too much respect for your knowledge to do that and you of course are right.

However, please consider if you have a ship with the original design to carry approx 2600 people and without making major changes to the lounges, theaters, dining rooms, pools and whatever else you add another 500 people then at peak times you put another 3 to 5 hundred more on board I think you will have some crowding no matter the weather, CD or anything else.

See you on the Sapphire next week.

Jack

for the very lovely

[jackdiamond]

By the way, the seafood goodie on the first night was outstanding. Additionally, the pizza was probably the best I have ever had on a cruise ship, except, possibly the Celebrity M class. Those fellows even made an anchovy pizza at my request.

[snowman]

Thank you.

 

Have not sailed on the Emerald but quite a few of your comments apply to other Princess Cruises. In trying not to offend the rule breakers, Princess is offending those who are loyal to Princess. We just shrug off some of these shortcomings so that we continue to enjoy our cruise. But I am glad you listed the issues.

Sulton, if you have never been on the Emerald how can you comment on it. We have been on the Emerald 2 times and we loved it. The OP was asking about the Emerald not about Princess per say. You do have some really interesting topics and I for one apprecaite them. Thanks

[Pam in CA]

However, please consider if you have a ship with the original design to carry approx 2600 people and without making major changes to the lounges, theaters, dining rooms, pools and whatever else you add another 500 people then at peak times you put another 3 to 5 hundred more on board I think you will have some crowding no matter the weather, CD or anything else.

 

See you on the Sapphire next week.

I agree with you to a certain extent and understand your logic. We were just very pleasantly surprised at how well the CB handled the extra people and didn't feel at all crowded; less so than on other ships. But then I don't go near the outside pool and avoid the buffet at peak times. :)

 

See you next week! Whoo hoot! It's coming up fast!

[cookingchick]

THANK YOU for saying exactly what i am thinking!!!!! We were on the Emerald in Nov over Thanksgiving and witnessed the same thing with constant complaining by passengers. My husband and I are low maintenance so not every little thing bothers us but many passengers complain about everything including things Princess has no control over, such as weather!!! I often wonder why these people just don't STAY HOME and quit making our cruise depressing!!!! A bad day on a cruise is always better than a good day at work.

 

LOL...whenever I encounter chronic complainers/whiners I move in the other direction as fast as I can and say a silent prayer and give thanks that A) I don't have to live with them, B) I don't have to work with them, and C) I'm not related to them! :D

[Duck Duck Cruise]

Your Quote (less staff, i had to beg for a drink and when i wanted a water i got a not so nice face.)

 

 

 

I would take a very tired, hard working, honest, caring crew member even if they were sick, had a headache, just worked a 14 hour shift..............

 

over the workers we have in the U.S. that don't have any manners, smack their gum in your face, act like YOU are disturbing them when you only want to pay for your purchases.

 

I very rarely hear a Please, Thank You, Pardon Me, or get a smile in return for a smile.

 

So, YES I will take the crew as they are and remember that they work many, many long hard hours and are away from family and are HUMAN just like you and me!

 

Lin

[Ula]

I think Emerald is sister to Crown. My folks did Crown and came back not over happy with the ship. They have her booked again. Mom said they talked about the ship and how to deal with the size. Crown is going a place they want to go. They are not fans of the larger ships. But looked at how to deal with things they had problems. with.

[sunsurf]

I really hate hate saying this but i was a bit unhappy with this sailing.

I heard so much complaining from other cruisers that is was just pissing me off. I feel like i have to defend princess so i do but some complaints are right on! We didn't sail on your voyage but did on 02/28-03/10 and there was a number of people that we met that just wouldn't stop complaining..I'm talking constant verbal diahrrea--everything from the deserts being too small to the salad's not having enough salad, talking about how much they paid for the cruise and how ripped off they felt..etc. It was down right annoying. After a few conversations with these people, we managed to escape and never see them again for the rest of our trip. :D

 

Anyone else notice that although their entertainment is good there was imited shows. Yep, but aside from that we enjoyed the Fernandez show and really LOVED listenting Barrington "Barty" Brown. Very charming fellow with a beautiful voice. We had an opportunity to meet him and his wife one night and really enjoyed speaking with them. Great people!!

 

less staff, i had to beg for a drink and when i wanted a water i got a not so nice face. We had to hunt them down for beer & cocktails, but if it was a coke card they were trying to sell--they were up your a*s

lounge chair hogs in full force, and when attendent did remove towels cruisers yelled at him and he backed down. same group of chair hoggies out on sea days by the aft pool. Saw them while having breakfast outside and had to laugh. It really is quite comical to see the lengths they go to save the whole back row of loungers--only to have someone unknown to them just plop themselves on a chair and be told they're saving it for someone. Kudos to the couple that sat on a 2 of those "saved loungers" and didn't budge after it was unoccupied for quite some time. Another story for another time. A fight almost erupted lol. Where was my video camera when I needed it!!

 

dining staff in anytime dining was not so friendly at all, guess i have to go back to traditional. had 2 awesome servers that u coudl tell really really loved their job. Others we had during our cruise at dinner---thumbs down.

 

list goes on and i hate to complain but after 13 princess cruises i definatly see slack. This was our 3rd princess cruise and although I was a bit dissapointed, I made the best of every single moment. Had a great time, but found the service on the Crown and CB to be much better imo. That being said--I agree with you when you say the word slack. Crossing my fingers for our next one!!;)

 

i never ever complain and i probably wont this is my place to vent but when i tell you all the complaints from fellow cruisers i was just getting sick of hearing it. i tild one woman to go back to RCCL if she hated princess so much, omg she wouldnt shut up

 

okay i feel better thanks for the vent:rolleyes:

It does the body and mind good!

[k9mama]

We were on the 3/20 sailing as first-time crusiers and thought it was fantastic. I cannot wait to go back!

 

Yes, there were definitely rude folks aboard...but this is the case everywhere, IMO, unfortunately. I found them to be the exception, rather than the rule.

 

Our cabin steward, Crispin, and dining room staff, Roy and Enrique, were as friendly and helpful as we could have hoped.

 

My parents, who are more experienced crusiers and loyal to Princess, were slightly disappointed with this trip, and feel that the level of service has slipped in the past several years. It has not stopped my mom from lobbying hard for a Southern Caribbean itinerary "next time", though. I'd be on the next sailing, if I could.

[Cnevada]

Kitty,

while there is not much on any cruise not to like, I do agree about about some issues.

We found the wait staffers very accommodating -- more so if you included an extra trip -- but the entertainment fell short on the 3/30 cruise. We found the karaoke more entertaining than some of the shows. "Barty" the pianist put me to sleep. We went to Sky Walkers one night for a pre-dinner drink at 7:30 -- and the bar wasn't even staffed. We stopped in Adagio after dinner on two nights but walked out because it was so slow.

This was our first 10 day cruise, and longer cruises tend to attract older people. This cruise did not have a high energy level.

Still, I'm rested, tan and stuffed with wonderful pizza. I'm not complaining, but from now on I will book 7-day cruises.

[sultan_sfo]

Snowman -- keep up your excellent posts.

 

Could not decide whether I should or should not explain -- but here goes. Usually, when there is a negative review or posts about Princess Cruises, some jump on the poster and ignite a flame. So I was hoping to pre-empt flaming with my very early post by mentioning other cruises!

 

Thank you.

 

Have not sailed on the Emerald but quite a few of your comments apply to other Princess Cruises.

...

 

Sulton, if you have never been on the Emerald how can you comment on it.

...

Thanks

[obnurse]

Although we enjoyed the entertainment more than some others have expressed, we too thought Barty was awful. He was about 3 decades too old in his music for our taste. But we did enjoy the comedians and the ventriloquist. The productions shows were ok, not "wow" for me. We loved MUTS at night. Could have cared less about MUTS during the day, but really enjoyed the movies at night. Snuggling up under the stars with cookies and a good movie was really fun for us. The one thing we missed was Caribbean music with steel drums by the pool during the day. Still, overall 4.5 stars for us!

[Pam in CA]

Sulton, if you have never been on the Emerald how can you comment on it. We have been on the Emerald 2 times and we loved it. The OP was asking about the Emerald not about Princess per say. You do have some really interesting topics and I for one apprecaite them. Thanks

I'm with Sultan on his response; the OPs list was actually very generic and so Sultan's response was likewise. While the OP was on the Emerald on a specific sailing, almost all of the issues listed have been asked about and rehashed for literally years about ships ranging from small to large. There is absolutely nothing new on that list that could/would apply only to the Emerald or that sailing. You'll often find similar complaints about every Princess (or other cruiseline) ship if you search hard enough.

[bestmom1]

We were on the Emerald for 12 days last year and loved it. We did hear some complaining about the Horizon Court and Main Dinning rooms. Finally I asked one Lady if she was basing her complaint on her previous experiences eating at McDonald hamburger stand? Went right over her head, what a surprise.

 

So, here is my idea on how to reduce the ship board complaining. Give each passenger a physical exam before allowing them to board ship. Those with "Me First" stamped in Gold on their tail assembly will be rejected and not allowed to board.:D

 

 

Bob

LOL! I vote for that, and you for president and Emperor for life!

I also agree with the poster who said the worst day cruising is better than the best day working. Our first cruise was on Voyager of the Sea, and it was a disaster, we sailed into hurricane Michelle, and many many events were canceled. But our room steward made up for everything! I marvel every time we cruise at how hard the staff works.

 

I'm so glad that we tried cruising again, we also had a less than great experience on HAL in the Mexican Riviera this Thanksgiving, and I think the crew was tied of dealing with drunk passengers.

We are on Emerald this June to do the Baltic (2nd time) and I look forward to our 1st Princess voyage.

Liz

[Hello-Kitty]

what great responses! Thanks again for the vent out.

me and hubby for the most part are low maintanance for sure.

All we ask for is sun, lol....all we love to do is lay by the pool and eat all the goodies we dont at home.

I am happy with a cookie and milk and really have no complaints.

 

As another poster here said the ship was low energy and that is exactly right, i just couldnt find the words, thank you.

there was alot of older crowd but they usually have more energy than me!!

 

I just felt i was sticking up for princess all week, go figure.

 

My cabin steward was so nice and we did give him extra $$, we usually do that in the beginning b/c hubby just says to him/her all we ask for is ice every day and 2 wine glasses:D

my cabin was never wiped down, u can see the pile of dust on furniture when the sun shined in, just really not usual princess behavior, i went to close the bottom drawer with the lamp, the one next to the desk in a balcony cabin...the drawer would go all the way in, so i pulled out drawer and to my surprise a gift was left 4 me....work out shirt, socks and a pair of mens underwear.....yuck i discarded it i used a zip lock baggy, lol

i told me steward only b/c i did not want him to think it was my husbands underwear, he was so upset and told me if his supervisor found out he would be in trouble, i said omg i would NEVER tell on u! i just was embarassed to thnik u might think it was mine.

So he was nice i felt bad and could not complain he wasnt doing his job:cool:

 

As far a food goes no compaints here, i eat salads at home so bring it on, it all tastes good:D