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First Time Princess Cruiser; and I am a Happy Campter-Emerald Princess inside passage


AF-1
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Hello Everyone; I just returned this morning from the Inside Passage on Emerald Princess out of Seattle. Background Info; My wife and I are in mid 60's and we took two of our teenage grandkids on the cruise with us. We have never sailed with Princess before so I took good info and bad info from these boards and went with the flow. Things I plan to cover in my review in the following order;

1. Overall Trip

2. The Ship

3. The Stateroom

4. The Crew

5. The Food

6. The Excursions

7. Onboard Activities

8. What I would do differently

 

So lets start out with the overall trip. On a scale of 1-5 with 5 being an excellent trip(we all may have a minor slip up; but overall I rate this trip a 5. Why you may ask; well as I get into the meat of my review I think it will become evident why I gave such a high rating.

 

Pre Cruise. We arrived in Seattle on the morning of 7 July. We booked the Marriott Waterfront across the street from Pier 66. So when I opened my room shades on 8 July and saw Norwegian Jewell sitting across the street I told my wife; wow we should have book NCL; being so close to the hotel. We spent Friday afternoon cruising Pikes Market and the waterfront area. We had dinner on the waterfront and then went to the Space Needle; which was an amazing sight at night. Friday morning after breakfast we took LYFT ride to the Museum of Pop Culture. The price was around $5.30; oh and we also used LYFT Friday night to the Space Needle and back to hotel. We had lunch at an indoor place called the Armory at the Space Needle. It's like a huge food court with lots of nice dining choices. I booked a shuttle from Marriott to Pier 91;Booked it for 1120am it was $8.00 per person. Ride took maybe 15 minutes. The driver dropped us off right in front of the passenger terminal; there was a porter waiting to take our bags and drop them off for us. This is where the story gets cool. From this point forward until our departure today; we were pampered beyond our expectations. Oh, before I get ahead of myself; since we were traveling with our grandkids; we had a medical power of attorney, a notarized letter from our daughter allowing us to take the kids on the cruise and into Canada. We had a notarized death certificate;(because our son in law died), and all the passports. We were never asked for one piece of paperwork from Delta Airlines, Princess cruise, Canadian or US customs. We had it available but never needed to show it. Now lets get to the pampering. We breezed thru security and then up the escalator to the check in line. There were at least 400 people already sitting around maybe more than that; but a lot; and they were all waiting for 12 noon when they started boarding. So we go up to the desk and the gentleman says oh you are in a family suite. Let me get your sea cards. Since this was our first time on Princess our cards were blue. In less than two minutes he gave us our four cards with a Preferred boarding group 2. He said the preferred seating area was directly behind us. I asked him; you mean we don't get in the big line area over there; he said no; you are preferred. So we walked over and sat down. We were the only ones in the lounge and it was about 11:40. This young lady says what is your boarding number; and I say we are preferred group 2; and then she says; awe come on; there is no waiting for you; why wait for more people to show up. So we were on the ship had our arrival picture taken and taking elevator to deck 9 to find our room. Wow what a thrill it was; from Shuttle arrival at port around 11:25 to in our cabin and it is 11:50. Again, since I have never sailed Princess prior to this cruise I did not know what to expect; only what I have read on the Princess thread. For those who don't know the 2 bedroom family suite is a mini suite and a inside cabin; with two bathrooms; and living room. A nice size balcony. You are the most forward cabins on the right side or starboard side of the ship. Great room; but we really didn't use balcony. It was cold and windy on the balcony. Most sailing days the cabin steward; Florintino was his name; had to tie the balcony furniture down. But it was nice having it available. So before I start my next point which will be all about the ship; I have to say first impressions are lasting impressions and we are off to a great start

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THE SHIP:

Next up the ship Emerald Princess. My wife and I both thought the ship was in good shape. As most know the crew and maintenance are always tweaking things onboard and this was the case here. They were painting and putting minwax on the wood railings during port days. Our cabin was great, never had an issue there; all the eating places and bars were in good shape. So overall I thought the ship looked nice and was well kept. Now we did see a little rust on the ship; but it was not a big deal. Inside the ship looked great. We bought the all inclusive photo package prior to sailing for $99. That was a great deal. We had a lot of pics and they gave us the thumb drive. I also purchased the cruise DVD. They had a two dvd set. Once dvd was all about the stuff that happened during our week onboard; and the second dvd was a special video of our cruise into Tracy Arm. Yes folks, we were the first cruise ship this year to get into Tracy Arm. Yes there were icebergs and yes; that is why no one has gotten in this year; but they allowed us in this cruise. All I can say is this; WOW and WOW. It was magnificent, beauty beyond imagination; and then some.But I will tell more later during the excursions section. All in All the ship was very nice. The seas were calm the whole week. I had read that it could get choppy once we left Puget sound and headed into the ocean. Not the case here; most days we never knew we were sailing; smooth as glass. Back to Emerald. There is so much going on that taking a look at the patters and trying to find your way around the ship was crazy; at least for the first two days. After that I could navigate my way around pretty easily. Next up; the Stateroom

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THE STATEROOM: OUR CABIN 2BEDROOM FAMILY SUITE: D101/D105

This cabin is the most forward two cabins on deck 9 starboard side. They consist of master bedroom; living room area bathroom with one sink and combo bath/shower. 2nd Bedroom two twin beds and two pull down beds. bathroom with shower. Living room area has two pull out couches that make into beds. There are three TV's, one in each bedroom and one in living room. A coffee table and a side table next to one of the couches. Mini frig. We swapped out the booze(we don't drink and didn't want kids being tempted) for sodas. I had already pre-purchased coffee cards for everyone. So they just put a bunch of cokes in frig and restocked when needed. We never paid for anything from the frig. The perks of this suite were awesome. Good size balcony. Two loungers, two regular chairs and a table. Unfortunately because you are so far forward and because we cruised Alaska the balcony was not used. Most days our cabin steward had to tie the furniture down. We did use balcony when in port. The perks were great. Let me list them; we did not know about some of these.

Free Laundry and dry cleaning; not once but when ever we needed

Free shoe polishing

Breakfast in Crown Grill

Dinner on first night in Crown Grill

Club Class Dining(what a great deal this was; more to come in food thread)

Quick embarkation and debarkation

Tons of storage space. Large closet with lots of hangers; and five shelves for clothing. Two drawers next to each side of the bed

Electrical outlets on the desk, in the bathrooms, and behind the TV's

Let me talk for a minute about the ships internet and intranet. I love the Princess at Sea where I could customize my days. I would add all the events I wanted to do each day. People say the wifi is slow. I never thought it was that slow. I bought a 240min package with extra 40 bonus minutes. I was able to upload pictures to one drive and also facebook every day. I have many friends and family who were counting on me for my daily post of pictures. So for me wifi was more than acceptable. If I think of anything more to add about the cabin I will. Next up-The Crew- I have to say wowzer; they amazed us

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Loving this report! We are booked on the same trip and ship in Sept. We have a mini suite with an 18' covered balcony near the aft. This is also our first cruise with Princess.

 

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

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Loving this report! We are booked on the same trip and ship in Sept. We have a mini suite with an 18' covered balcony near the aft. This is also our first cruise with Princess.

 

Sent from my LG-H812 using Tapatalk

Good you love my report; I have a few more sections to cover in the next few days

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Hello Everyone; today I want to discuss the crew and how they made this a wonderful and special cruise. A little background to set things up. My wife and I were celebrating our 35th anniversary and also my wifes birthday on Sat the 15th. I put this into my cruise personalizer before we left; not knowing if Princess would do anything other than say congrats. well they went over the top. When we checked into our cabin on day 1. They had the outside decorated with balloons and two signs on the door wishing us a Happy Anniversary and two drink coupons. Then on Wednesday they sent my wife a bday card. Inside the card were two gift cards one was for $25 to use in the gift shop and one was for $50 off any massage in the spa. Not expecting any big deal, we were truly happy campers. On my wife's birthday the head waiter got all the staff in club dining together and brought her a special cake and sang to her. On other cruise lines they make you buy the birthday cake and will sing to you. On Princess it was all complimentary. Since I am on the subject of head waiter let me tell you; his name was Petros from Poland. He was so knowledgeable of specials, menu items, and he also was the sous chef right in the dining room mixing pastas or Caesar salads. He said he has been with Princess for 19 years. Our cruise director was named Corey. He was very good too. He had a morning "wake show" on tv everyday and provided commentary of the days activities; and also interviewed all the guest performers and the naturalist. When ever I met him around the ship he stopped to talk, and made me feel like I was family. He was quick witted on stage and some really good come back lines for people. All three of the cruise staff I interacted with were great. There was a guy named Theo; but he liked to be called Ta-o. He was from Brazil and then there was Maria from Argentina. All were funny and likable. Next up was our room steward. He was from Mexico and was named Florintino. He proved to be very valuable. Whenever I had a question about something on the ship he had the answers. He kept room spotless and when one of my ironed dress shirts came back from the laundry with two buttons broken (I think the iron melted them); he took my shirt back down and had them replace all the buttons; so that they would all match. Wonderful. Then the guest service desk was wonderful. I used them three times. Twice to replace lost room keys; and once to straighten out our port valet question. In less than three minutes they had my answer. Basically our bag tags flight number did not match our Delta flight number. All was fixed. There were other interactions through the entire cruise and all were positive.. Wait staff in Horizon court were cordial; Crown Grill were very professional and nice. If I can think of any other staff that pop into my head I will list them. I believe our captain was named William Kent. I never did meet him but I am sure he would have been a hoot to talk to. Keep on reading; next up will be "THE FOOD". I will give a little hint. The always Princess Fav; Fettuccini Alfredo in the Parmesan Bowl was available on the menu every night.

Edited by AF-1
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My wife and I were celebrating our 35th anniversary and also my wife.s birthday on Sat the 15th. I put this into my cruise personalizer before we left; not knowing if Princess would do anything other than say congrats. well they went over the top. When we checked into our cabin on day 1. They had the outside decorated with balloons and two signs on the door wishing us a Happy Anniversary and two drink coupons. Then on Wednesday they sent my wife a bday card. Inside the card were two gift cards one was for $25 to use in the gift shop and one was for $50 off any massage in the spa. Not expecting any big deal, we were truly happy campers.

Wowzer!!!

We've had both birthday & anniversary on ships and never gotten more than 2 balloons, a door sign, the cake & song.:loudcry:

Maybe cuz you were in a suite??

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Thanks for a great report, looking forward to our 2018 Emerald Alaska vacation. What month did the $99 photo package become available? Appreciate all your information.

For us it was til February. (I sailed the week before this sailing)

 

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Really enjoying the review as we will be on this cruise next month. Did you do the Tracy Arm excursion and if so, would you recommend it? If not, how close does the cruise ship get to the glacier?

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We did the small boat excursion on the July 2 to Tracey Arm. The cruise ship couldnt go into either arm that day due to an ice slide at Endicott and fog and ice at Tracey. Out of the 2 small boats we were the lucky ones cause our captain was AMAZING and we made it to the little glacier sawyer and the big one South Sawyer which was the 1st time in over a yr the little boats made it in. We saw whales, sea lions and seals as well. It was freaking amazing. Def sign up for it

 

 

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