DMCruiser

Florence is one of my favorite cities. We have been there many times, in fact we have friends that live in Florence. Your pictures, just like your photos of Rome, have done the city a great service! Love your writing and I am enjoying your travels. Thanks!

Diana

Norris, I am one of your many "lurkers", but now it's time to comment. Your pictures of Rome are simply wonderful. We have been to Rome many times but have never captured the city like you! We love Italy and hope to return next spring. Next fall, we are on the Crown to Hawaii!! Look forward to your continuing review, thanks for sharing.:D

Keith, loved following your "live review". We did the Dawn full transit, many years ago, and it was a terrific cruise. We completed our first TA on the Island earlier this year, just before it went into dry dock. What a wonderful ship it is. Will be anxious to hear your comments after the changes. Thanks for all of your contributions on CC!

Your plans will certainly allow you to see a lot of the island. Be sure to go to Hanauma Bay early in the morning. The parking closes when it is full. We love the "House without a Key" great place for dinner. Go early and have a Mai Tai on the patio with the hula dancer and music. Lots of locals go here! Enjoy this great island.

Have a wonderful trip, Keith! Always appreciate your input on CC. Looking forward to your comments on this trip.:D

Thanks Bob, for your wonderful commentary and live review! Hope our paths cross on a future cruise!!!

Diana:D

Love your style of writing! Looking forward to following your trip as this is on our "bucket list"! Next year we are doing Hawaii, but love the TA experience. Thanks for doing this journal for us to enjoy:D

Diana

Hello all. My husband and I will be celebrating our anniversary onboard the Emerald Princess in March. We've cruised many times before but are new to Princess.

 

I have to be honest...the Emerald Princess reviews here on Cruise Critic scare me. Is the ship really in bad shape? How's the food? My husband and I are foodies and a lot of the reviews say the food is terrible??? We went on Celebrity for our honeymoon and fell in love with the Celebrity brand, however their 4 day itineraries for March 2016 don't work for us and our babysitters so we have decided to give Princess a shot. I was under the impression Princess was in the same class as Celebrity but many of the review suggest otherwise.

 

Are the negative reviews simply complaints from picky travelers that are just never satisfied? :) I'm definitely not one of those travelers...My husband and I always look at the bright side of things and have overall been greatly compensated for it. I just want this anniversary kid-free cruise to be wonderful. Any advice? Suggestions? What restaurant has the best food?

 

I would love to read your thoughts on the ship. Thanks!!!

We have been on the Emerald and loved it. If you are "foodies", you might enjoy the Chef's Table. We did it on the Emerald, and it was quite a wonderful event! Wonderful food and great wines! The chef was amazing! It is a very special evening.:D

We are going on the Allure of the seas this month. One of the ports is Florence but the ship docks in LaSpezia. How do we get to Florence? From what I have researched it seems that is so far away. Half the day is wasted just in traveling. Any suggestions?

You can take the train, but it will be quite a distance into Florence. You might want to check the Roll-Call for your cruise, there might be others making plans. Good Luck, Florence is a fabulous city!!:D

:D

There is sidewalk on the beach. Or you can walk out the front of the Outrigger Reef' date=' turn left, walk past the Army Museum, and take the sidewalk across the park area and go into side entrance in HK garden area, and continue along the garden path right to the luau garden. Either way, about a 7 minute walk. We frequently walk to OR to eat at Shorebird, or at lunch, go to Subway in Waikiki Shore building.[/quote']

 

This is the best way to get to the Hale Koa, and it is a very short walk. Don't spend your money on a taxi!:D

I've driven the Road to Hana several times. I've seen plenty, what is the benefit for me, is the ability to stop where and when I choose. An example, I've enjoyed a lava tube walk, found Lindbergh's

 

Both options are excellent, depending on YOUR choices. :)

We have also done the RTH several times and have always enjoyed the trip. On our last trip we found Lindbergh's grave and it was simply majestic. You really feel like you are at the end of the world, and was very peaceful. It can be a bit difficult to find, so get directions and don't be shy asking anyone that you might see.:D

Your review was wonderful! I am so happy I found it even though it is a year old. You are a great story teller!!! Thanks for your insights.:)

Thanks to all of you for your opinions. I called my TA and the change has been made to C752 for our trip to Hawaii!! I appreciate all of your expertise!:)

Don't believe those guys! Aft facing cabins with private balconies and wake views are known to cause serious personal issues. Don't book those cabins under any circumstances!

 

There. Fixed that right up. Next?

We are in B752 on the Crown to Hawaii in October 2016. Is this cabin and balcony the same size as C752? At the time we booked the cruise, C752 was booked, but it is now available, should we make the change?

Check your location on a Waikiki hotel maps locator to see where you are in relation to the very upscale Halekulani Hotel. Very likely it is only a short walk down the beach or street. There is bar/restaurant located beachfront there called the House Without A Key. It is covered Lanai or lawn seating under a huge tree with views of the beach and Diamond Head. Beginning at 5:30 there is live Hawaiian music under the tree accompanied by Hula dancers who are former Miss Hawaii's. This is a very popular activity and no reservations, no cover charges, come early. The lawn tables are tiny, but we only had drinks and appys. You might want to sit on the Lanai if you plan to order meals. You can find reviews on Trip Advisor and you will find it mentioned here often. Definately puts you in the Hawaii mood.

Absolutely love the Halekulani Hotel and the music, hula dancing and pupu's (appetizers). We visit them every time we go to Hawaii. The view of Waikiki Beach is the best at this location, and is not to be missed!!

Calling the reservation from our cabin as soon as we board has always worked for us.

We have attended the Chef's Table twice, each time we simply called from our cabin as soon as we boarded. It is a wonderful experience!:)

So Unbelievable!!!!

Actually, I wish we'd pick that cabin! We are ahead of the foremost tender, but there's a little narrow platform just outside our balcony, below the railing. Not a big distraction, but I don't see anything at all obstructing the balcony next door. We're not particularly sensitive to the ship's motion, but we're far from the bow so I don't think motion should be a problem in E226.

If you meet or see Mary and Tom Sheridan, please say Hi to them from Bill and Diana McVey from Redding, CA. We met them on the TA Island Princess in March this year. We so enjoyed their company! Have a wonderful cruise, wish we were there too!:)

Hello! We will be on the June 15 sailing of the Island Princess (12 day Grand Med). It will be our first time in Venice and I have a question... My 15 year old Autistic son is very interested in the paranormal and I try to look for excursions and things that will interest him during our travels. While we board the ship mid-day on Monday June 15, we don't actually depart until mid-day on Tuesday June 16. Can I assume that we will be able to leave/return to the ship if we want to during the 24 hours we will be docked in Venice? I ask because I have found a Venice Ghost Tour that my son would absolutely LOVE and they have a tour Monday night. It leaves from and returns to the Rialto Bridge area.

 

Would it be possible to get off of the ship that night and make our way to the Bridge for such a tour? Is it far? Safe (for an 8-9:30 PM excursion)?

We recently got off the Island in Venice, prior to it going into dry dock, and we had an overnight in Venice. All passengers were required to be back on board ship by 10:30 that night. It gives you plenty of time to spend the evening in Venice, but not quite total freedom! Venice is wonderful, you will love the port.

I'm glad to know somebody likes the pillows. I had one soft one, and three very firm.

My problem was the length of the pillows, and it is my problem, not the pillows'. I like a shorter pillow, even on a king size bed. I don't expect Princess to have different shapes as well as fillings, so it's not a cause for complaint for me.

We just returned from the Island Princess, and agree that the large pillows were just too much for me. Our room steward provided a small pillow that was just perfect after one request!! Darwin was just wonderful!

Orange juice was fine. In fact, I recall the waiter in MDR saying, "Would you guys like some of our fresh squeezed orange juice?" So, don't know if he was just saying that or if they still are doing it. Either way, I had a glass every morning. I don't drink fresh squeezed orange juice at home, so it's not a requirement of mine. One thing I've noticed is people continuously saying Princess coffee is "horrible." I'm not a big coffee person, but OMG!!! I had to have several cups with breakfast and the best part of dessert after dinner was getting a cup of that nectar of the Gods! Haha. Maybe they've changed their supplier? Maybe I don't know what good coffee is. Probably, I don't, because like I said I don't drink it much. But, it was fantastic to my taste buds. It could've been the creamer, too. We don't use real cream at home and I think that really made it perfect. Now we're planning to go out and buy real cream to put in ours here. On another note, I've also seen many posts claiming Princess pizza was rated best cruise line pizza. I felt there was nothing that set it apart from Carnival pizza. It was very standard. I liked it, but it wasn't phenomenal.

The next time try the pizza in Alfredo's (located in Sabatini's restaurant during lunch). The pizza is fabulous and very different from what they serve in the Grill.

Here's a screen grab that I got today of Island Princess and Artania (the original Royal Princess) in the Panama Canal today.. It's a bit fuzzy, but interesting nonetheless to Princess-philes... :)

 

IP and old RP-PanCan by RickEk, on Flickr

 

Courtesy of pancanal.com

Thanks for sharing. We are getting on the Island this coming Saturday!!!

Thank you for taking the time to review.

Happy to hear the good remarks, we board her on the 21st for the ta to Venice.

It sounds like the covered pool was warm.. I've found on our last couple of Caribbean cruises that the temperature was to cold to enjoy, I'll be sure to ask for an eggcrate too..

Chris

We too, are boarding on the 21st for the Transatlantic to Venice!! Can't wait to start our journey. It was good to hear the ship is in goo condition. I am hoping we will be able to enjoy some time on deck during the cruise!!!!:D

Going to Alaska on the Ruby for our 36th anniversary in the middle of May. Would love to do the ultimate balcony dinner, but wondering if you all thought it may be too cold out to do it? Would love to hear your opinions...thanks!

We did the UBD in Juneau in mid June and while it was chilly, we bundled up and had a wonderful dinner. The service was great and the views watching the eagles fly all around were worth the extra jackets!!

How long has the Crab Shack been on Island? You said you ate there and when I look on the Princess site, there is no Crab Shack listed as an eating venue? Would love to try it on our March cruise on the Island.

We are with you on the Island TA crossing! Have you joined the roll-call? Hope to meet you on the ship. This will be our 12th cruise and our 1st TA!!