MTJSR

I am currently planning a group Slot Pull for the morning before we arrive in Cabo San Lucas.

We are planning to have the slot pull at 11am and are scheduled to arrive at 1pm in Cabo. Does anyone know if the casino is open that morning and when it closes? 

Thanks for your help!

3 hours ago, Oak City Man said:

It is all about expectations.  Some are not realistic.  Any buffet, any where, is not going to be fine dining.  

 

No-one said fine dining that I read, how about just "fine tasting". Rather than odd, overcooked, flavorless, unusual, un-chewable. And why do people have to lower their expectations just because it's a buffet on a 5,000.00 cruise?

I often wonder where Princess gets their Buffet "Hot Dish" recipes. I have never had anything good enough to want more of (or look forward to again), from the ships buffet. Yet everything I cook from any silly recipe off the internet usually tastes good  enough to make again. Wake up Princess!

But stand by, folks will come out of the woodwork to defend the mediocre Princess (grand class) buffet. I promise!

39 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

It sounds as though a more upscale cruise line might be a better choice for you. Like Cunard?

I'm following a current thread where many are raving about the food for quality, preparation and service. 

I've invested over 60,000.00 in 15 cruises with Princess. Are you suggesting Princess is working hard to be just average? Also, are you suggesting nobody is allowed to add a parallel comment without being bullied out of a conversation? 

37 minutes ago, cougaraz said:

Food is perhaps the most subjective part of a cruise

 

 

True! We all like food a certain way.

The one thing Princess can fix  immediately and not cause subjective opinions is shriveled old corm cob-lets, slumping ugly cooked tomato halves, dried out whipped potatoes and overcooked vegetables on the plates with the main course. When I get a main course item and the sides are old and tired, the whole plate looks old and tired.

Sounds like you did way better than us on the Grand. Our Caribe cabin flooded and took 3 days to dry. As a transplant recipient who has to stay away from molds etc etc, and even after talking with passenger services, received 100.00 each. I only got that after raising concerns. 

So sad!

I found this video on youtube. (No faces and no names, just scenery) 

1 hour ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

Hi Mark!  LOL  Yes, seems like eons ago! 
That's so interesting that you said that about the Emerald!  That is exactly the way I felt!  The worst cabin steward, crew didn't seem "into" work at all, dirty and dusty bits all over the ship that normally wouldn't have been there.  Just felt "off" from the minute I got in my cabin and the nightstand had black grime on it, there was a chocolate on the floor (which stayed there all cruise) and a hair band left from the previous occupants.  Just felt gross.  I'm hoping it's improved since then.

Gosh I hope so!

Since we are sharing stories, we found a patter from an earlier Tahiti port stop under the bed near the wall. Also our room steward had a strong cologne on that hung in the air in the hall and in our  cabin and we never got an elite bathroom setup. Our Botticelli waiter was sick for a week and never told us until he was feeling better. Ourfood was luke warm the entire cruise. They kept saying the kitchen is reporting everything is hot enough, especially unhelpful...the head waiter (bald guy).

I also did a hard face plant on the vacant dance floor (club fusion), sprained my wrist, bruised my face and torqued my shoulder during the Elite cocktails (was not drinking) one night and not one uniformed crew person came to help me up, in fact my mom said they went behind the bar and watched. The DJ (romeo) was the only one that came to help.

I could go on and on but like you said, lets hope it has improved.

2 hours ago, DrivesLikeMario said:

The ship needed some TLC so I'm glad it's getting it.  I also hope they get a change of crew too.  I had the worst cabin steward I've ever had with Princess on the Emerald recently - and that's a rarity.  They're usually the best. 

Very interesting, we were on Baja midship to Hawaii over Christmas and also had our first worst steward. Something about the Emerald was off, other elements were also not what we have come to expect. 

P.S. Hope all is well with you and your family! That Sapphire cruise we were neighbors seems so long ago, scary😳

Mark

Very cool, I tried to get one of it in San Francisco but couldn't. Thanks for posting!

Having sailed 15 days on the Island before the retrofit, I think Princess took a very sexy ship and ruined it. It now looks like a big white tuna freighter. They double ruined it, by taking down the faux jet engines on the funnel. 

10 minutes ago, MissP22 said:

After many years of filling them out I personally don't think they every read any constructive complaints. 

Totally agree!

Just a thought, reports on how it "was" back then are nice, but cannot be used to counter or dismiss someone's current sailing review. I just don't get the validity of it. 

The comment of "unhappy people yell from the highest mountain" should be looked at seriously, as these people took the time to make a comment. Doesn't change come from protest etc?

Not everyone protects their cruise line loyalties by remaining silent to slippage in Princess's performance. My two cents

41 minutes ago, Cruiserkenn said:

Yes, I respect your views, MTJSR, as I have often read your posts.  I am hopeful that Princess will take action to fix the problems.  I will follow up in April, with how it worked out.

Thank you! I hope so too and I look forward to your review. Mark

2 hours ago, spyro1952 said:

You will always find a few negative reviews of certain ships or cruises.  I wouldn’t let a few disgruntled pax deter your plans.  I have been on the Emerald numerous times and always had excellent service, food, crew etc.

Since every cruise can be very different, I am not sure such a rule is realistic. I was disappointed, not disgruntled this cruise, when the overall product fell far short of expectations. And for 8,000, I had some expectations!

Having just sailed the Emerald over Christmas and New Year's, and after 15 Princess cruises I can say with some authority that the biggest problem was the amount of people (holidays) the new menu choices, luke warm food and very odd tasting/no taste dishes. And this time the food issue was widespread, not just our group. The staff was very well aware of the passenger grumblings and our waiter even told us, he had never seen it this bad.

Now having said all that, the head waiter we talked to reported that changes were underway and it was an "all hands effort" so have fun and I trust Princess will get a handle on whatever was the cause.

My table mates ordered it on the Emerald Hawaii cruise and were not impressed by the serving temperature, item size and overall presentation. They commented they should have gone to the Crown Grill instead. 

9 hours ago, Dani24 said:

 

I look at this menu and none of it looks "odd" to me. Then again, I live in the San Francisco area - which is well known for its food, and has many of the world's top restaurants. I've dined at many of them.

 

There is a certain style of language used in fine dining, and this menu appears to be modeling those of high end restaurants. They're trying to give a feel of luxury. I can't say if any of these taste good, since I haven't tried them yet. But they look appealing to me. 

 

Perhaps for some people dishes like "spaghetti and meatballs" are safe and familiar. Something like what's on this menu may not be easily accessible back home, so it may come across as "strange" or somehow unappealing, and they bristle against it. In America we have a bad habit of "Americanizing" ethnic cuisine. Italian, Mexican and Chinese food are prime examples of foods that aren't at all authentic (or even close). 

 

For others, dishes like spaghetti and meatballs are boring and uninspired. Why spend all that money on vacation to eat basic foods I can easily make/enjoy at home, or order from many inexpensive restaurants? Traveling is an adventure, and for many, like myself, trying new and creative foods is part of that adventure. When I cruise Princess I want a classy, luxurious atmosphere. Not my local Applebee's. 

 

Besides, there's always basic comfort foods in the buffet or the burger/pizza grill or from room service or elsewhere. There are also some basic dishes on the "always available menus". If you're not an adventurous eater, don't demand that choice be denied to others who are, when you have other options.

 

Or, expand your horizons and discover something new! 

I too live in the San Francisco Bay Area, spent two years in cooking school and ran two restaurants in my earlier years.  My point above was based on the fact that the Crown Grill was booked the entire cruise and it serves the "familiar" as you say. Also the people at my table commented nearly every night that they just wanted "good" food. The items on the menu all sound fancy, however they were mostly not good. The ship was not full of people looking for fancy worded menus, but more "familiar" offerings, which explains why on this cruise most people flooded the buffet every night (familiar but even worse tasting). Our dining room was only 70 percent full each night. Our waiter later in the cruise, whispered to me that very few people like the food.

So to your point "Why spend all that money on vacation to eat basic foods"?  All I can say is, why spend the 8,000 I just did and come home complaining, I just had the worst Princess food I have had in 15 Princess cruises?

Here is an example of too many odd/strange concoctions, and none ordered of these at our table of eight on the Emerald were liked by anyone. Lobster 3 ways was a complete joke. A crawdad over gooey weird tasting rice and a drizzle of lobster? sauce. 

I would be happier with spaghetti and meatballs than worthless unmemorable swill. If the  kind cruising I have invested in over the years is no longer, I've cruised my last time with Princess.

We just got off the Emerald to Hawaii and it needs new menus, new head chef and all new buffet items. It was the worst collection of odd items and the poorest tasting luke warm food I have ever experienced on any Princess ship. Bring on something new and different!

I just got off the Emerald and we did the Hawaii cruise over Christmas. Though every cruise is a good cruise, this was our 5th Hawaiian cruise and my 15th on Princess and our least favorite...sadly. 

If I were you, I'd read the reviews here on Cruise Critic and get the cross section of opinions. Our favorite cruises to Hawaii were on the Golden and Grand ships. The Emerald was so overcrowded, the Piazza an insane mess and the staff temperment was all over the place. Finally, the food was consistently marginal/poor at best.  You will hear others say food is subjective, but on this sailing, the food was the common discussion among passengers.

Hard for me to be so honest as I have spent my years defending Princess, but this last cruise has caused me to start shopping other cruise lines! (ncl/rc)

52 minutes ago, mthomp5 said:

There was an earlier post (post #119) on the food cost per passenger per day for some of the cruise lines.  Makes you wonder who is “taking advantage” of who. 

Indeed!

I would write a full review of the Dec 19th cruise and all it's disappointments / issues, but people would just think I was making it up. I submitted an issues report day 12 onboard and I got a form letter that didn't even cover the main topic. Our entire table told the head waiter (bald head waiter in Bottechelli) and he quickly dismissed us and we never saw him at our table again. For this cruise Princess seemed completely tone deaf. 

11 hours ago, apeller said:

Our head waiter also informed us that  passengers  were" taking advantage" in the dining room and they had had to implement new rules. He told us that he made someone very unhappy because they could only get 2 lobsters at dinner, and if they wanted more, it was always available at the Crown Grill.  All the cutbacks were a result of passengers taking advantage. He also explained how Princess cares so much about the environment and has all but eliminated straws.  Of course he made sure we knew it wasn't about the money. The entire cruise our catch phrases were, "Don't take advantage", and "It's not about the money."

After paying over 8,000 for this cruise and eating barely 300 in true food value, obviously I find their argument laughable. Also the Captain gave a talk in the Princess Theater and when asked about garbage in the sea, he added that of the million tons of garbage on the shores around the world, the straw is the least concern.  

33 minutes ago, RDC1 said:

During the past year we have been on HAL, Royal Caribbean, and Princess. While there have been differences in the menu's, the over all quality is pretty similar on each of the three.

This would be true, however this thread is specifically about the Emerald. This ship, at least on my cruise that just ended and the O.P's apparently had unusual (normally mediocre) to now poor food review. I have been on lots of Princesse's ships and have learned to not be too impressed on the food to now blown away on just how much lower it can get. When the food is now served cold and overcooked and the waiter is afraid to go back into the kitchen and get yelled at, there is a major problem. (this last part was my recent experience on 2nd seating Bottechelli)

17 hours ago, Coral said:

This is probably going to sound odd.

 

I would probably be ok with Princess's food if I was booking a super cheap cruise to Mexico or the Caribbean. If I am only paying $700 pp on the cruise - I would probably think the food is fine as I am not paying that much for the vacation.

Totally agree, we just paid 8,000.00 for BAJA 609 and had the worst expensive food of any previous cruise.