AF-1

Is there a place on the Emerald where we can leave notes or messages for members of a large group?

 

What do I need to do when I first board the Emerald - I'm a Princess newbie. I have heard it is the time to make reservations with the Crab Shack but where do I do that? Purser's Desk or is there someone there from the restaurants that I should do it with? When you first board the ship you can pretty much visit all the eating establishments and make reservations; the Crab Shack is located deck 15; it is part of horizon court; during the day it's horizon court and at night it turns into crab shack

 

What happens at the Spa on Embarkation Day? Do they have Give Aways or special deals? I did not go to spa; but they do run specials

 

Does Emerald have special 2 for 1 drinks daily? They have a drink of the day which is a lower price than normal

 

What is trivia like? Is it low keyed like on Celebrity or is it a huge thing like on HAL? Trivia was always crowded. Music Trivia was my fav

 

Thanks for your help.

I have highlighted my answers in pink. If you have more questions please ask. I was on Emerald Last July. Great ship; great crew; although the crew has most likely moved on to other ships

George C. how long would you say it takes to see Pompeii? Would you say 2-3 hours without being rushed?

satxdiver, thanks for your excellent explanation.

The 2011 problem was fixed years ago.

 

The current problem is about a year old. Reason to wait until 2019 is that there is now a scheduled dry-dock then. To have one earlier would mean canceling at least two weeks of cruises, greatly upsetting anyone who had bookings at that time.

 

So Princess made the choice to disappoint passengers for more than a year with some shorter port times and some different ports instead of disappointing a smaller number of passengers by cancelling their vacations totally.

 

Your guess is as good as mine as to which is the better option overall.

Thank you for your excellent explanation. Wait and see. I am scheduled to sail in Feb 2019; so I already know the propulsion won't be fixed. I would change to a different ship; except the cruise I am going on is a rock and roll cruise and the tour operator has booked the Caribbean Princess for this date. No biggie

Whimsy, thank your for answering my questions.

As is a suite.

 

Nothing special at all. Not worth the extra dollars and they assign you the laziest staff.

 

Annie

Annie, I am confused; are you saying that you stayed in a full suite and had a lazy staff? If this is true; why didn't you let the hotel manager know right away; he would have fixed it pronto

Thanks for a wonderful review; you covered all the things I am interested in. Was the ship full to capacity? Was your cruise director Corey?

I also have used Romeinlimo. Excellent service and you can see a lot more using them than the ships excursions

Is coastal kitchen on all Royal ships and is this just for suite guests?

Host Clarea after I expanded your signature; I notice you have sailed RCI quite a bit. I assume you like them the best. I also have sailed them more than other lines. Since I sailed Princess last July and was treated so well in our suite I am going to try them again. Did a suite on NCL and won't be back there. We even had a butler with our suite; but after two weeks my wife and I decided to try another cruise line; hence Princess came into the picture. Thanks

I had a flower arrangement in my suite on Emerald last July

I guess since I am not a sea merchant; I don't have a clue as to why the company would wait so many years to make a permanent fix to this problem. From the likes of this and other threads; this has been an issue since 2011; that's going on 7 years; and another 17 months before they make a permanent fix. I guess when you chug along the Caribbean you can get away with adjusting your itineraries; and transatlantic crossing don't really affect port calls. Oh well I guess when I sail her in Feb on 2019 she will still be limping. No big deal. I would book another ship; but this one is hosting a rock and roll oldies show; so I have to take ship in order to see the groups. Again, not a big deal

I read on another thread that the ship will go in for repairs May 2019; it will be an extended drydock. Question is; will the ship chug along for another 18 months

Thank you Host Clarea

Does Jewel have the glass elevators that you can see outside the ship?

Bermuda is very pretty; weather should be nice; but since hurricane season is still in effect; you never know; but that would not stop me from booking. The port is right across from Newark airport and it's in an industrial shipping area. There are signs and if you have gps in your car you should be good to go. Enjoy

Thanks so much for all the info so far. Maybe the suite only breakfast was the reason for the two different answers we got about if the dining was the same or not

 

Does anyone know about the priority embarkation? I’ve never had that on princess...would it be the same for the OS and the club class? Not a deal breaker just wanted to be aware

 

 

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full suite guests have a special check in line and desk. Once you have your sea card you will be directed to go the the elite/suite staging area; you will be the first people allowed onboard once boarding opens. Mini Suite guests have no priority unless they are elite plus the mini suite. If you and your friends arrive together suggest you all go to the elite suite line and check in at same desk; and you and your friends may be able to board together.

My wife and I have never sailed on Princess, but are looking at a Princess cruise that fits our plans very nicely. I'm trying to decide whether or not Princess is a good fit for us.

 

We have mostly cruised on upscale lines (mainly Silversea and Crystal). We are thinking of booking a Princess cruise that will bring us home from a land trip in Europe. It would be on the new Sky Princess, which I understand is similar to the Royal, Regal and Majestic. We've never cruised on a ship anywhere nearly that big and are concerned that it might seem extremely crowded and impersonal. I have a tentative booking in an Owner's Suite on the Sky Princess and am trying to decide if I should keep it.

 

If you could help with a few questions, we would really appreciate it.

 

1. What suite amenities does Princess offer? Is there a special lounge or dining area? Is there a butler? Are there any other perks that are worth noting? Does the Owner's Suite have any special arrangements? The owners suite has same perks as other suites on the ship. You will get priority boarding; Club Class dining, free laundry, bottles of water everyday, mini bar setup, fruit basket and hor dourve's delivered everyday; club class dining; which is a special section of dining room reserved for suite guests; you will not have to wait to be seated; breakfast each morning in one of the specialty dining venues; again no wait to be seated, special lounge for suite and elite guests.

 

2. Does Princess offer ballroom dancing? They may offer it depending on how many sign up. I have seen ballroom dancing offered on my cruise

3. How crowded is the gym? That will depend on when you go

 

4. Is laundry included with a suite? Yes, free laundry for suite guests

 

5. In general, how crowded is the ship? I really don't like waiting in lines or feeling rushed to get a good seat in the theater or on an excursion. I'm concerned that a big ship may create a feeling of competing for scarce resources all of the time. Since this is a new ship and its a transatlantic crossing; there will most likely be a lot of people onboard. That said; I have never felt crowded on any ship I've been on and I have been on the large megaships

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

I have highlighted my answers above; hope this helps

according to another thread; Princess has the ship scheduled for drydock in May 2019. It will be an extended dry dock to deal with the propulsion issue. Sorry that anyone who sails prior to drydock; they will have their itineraries tweaked and depending on where you are headed; some ports may be changed or dropped.

Glad you enjoyed Club Class Dining. That is a nice perk.

:D

Thank you so much. So, if our first port is Newport, Rhode Island, I can purchase soda & bring it back to my cabin? This is good to know.

yup you should be good to go

Hi everyone; let me give you a run down of what we received in our suite last July. We were in a two bedroom family suite. On embarkation day; we were the first to board; We were on emerald princess; I walked down to crown grill and made a dinner reservation; they were very accommodating and said whatever you want you get; they also told us to come back for breakfast; the breakfast menu in crown grill is small; but you can order whatever you want and they will make it; so don't worry about what is listed on menu. You can swap out your mini bar; we just told our room steward and he called room service; they arrived within twenty minutes; they swapped out our mini bar for sodas. Since we had two teens we got rid of the booze. They restocked our sodas all week and we were not charged for anything. four bottles of water per day was delivered; along with a fruit basket and hor dourver's every day. My wife and granddaughter each had a corsage for the first formal night; along with free dry cleaning. Club Class dining was great; we were seated witihin a minute; so never waited for a table. We also received a invitation to go to the elite lounge every night. All the perks were very nice. Since this was a two bedroom suite; both our grandkids and us received matching perks. There were usually two fruit baskets and two plates of snacks every day. We ordered breakfast through room service once; it arrived ontime and was hot.

Seriously? Did you know about Sabatinis for the Suite only breakfast. This is one of the reason that my wife and I book suites. I dont think its worth 1000/day, but it is not the same menu as everyone else. Also did you know you could order off the MDR menu for room service? That is a great suite perk, too !

I have to agree with TimTrek, you were in a suite and along with that suite comes perks. Breakfast in the crown grill or Sabatini's depending on which ship you sail; club class dining where you are seated right away and have a different menu; fresh fruit and hor's douvere's every day in your suite; free dry cleaning, bottles of water every day. mini bar setup with booze; there are more perks; i have only listed a few. If you didn't take advantage of these then you missed out

Like the above post says; you can bring soda onboard. One of the dining rooms will be open on embarkation day; they will list which one will be open. Boarding will start with suite and elite guests first then all others. I would say 11-noon for boarding.

Great review. Love your pictures; they tell so much of your story. Your narrative is funny; but spot on. It was nice to see Corey in your review. He was our cruise director on our Alaska cruise this past July. Very nice and will stop and chat with anyone. Likeable and great CD. Thanks for taking the time to post your review.