AF-1

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

Sorry about misspelling Camper on my title. Trying to correct it

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

Perfect, thank you.

I'll stick to asking questions on here.

I just got off Emerald today; 16 Jul; I will be writing a review so watch for it. This is my first cruise with Princess line; and I have nothing but 5 stars for the entire trip; the ship; the crew; the cabin, the excursions. etc. so stay tuned

Do not stress out. I did cruise with five adults and five rugrats. ages were 2-14. There were plenty of activities onboard for the kids even the toddlers. My wife and I told our kids that we only expected to have dinner somewhere on the ship with all the kids; other than that they were free to roam onboard or on shore. It worked out well. Having the kids club actually gives you a break

I second Le Bistro. Very good food and staff

The ship enters the passage way at 5:30 and sails in. You will most likely transfer around 8:30 or 9. Once you are off the ship; it will then head over to Juneau. Which ship are you on? I am on Emerald this Sunday and our Tracy Arm times changed. We don't arrive until 7 and leave at 11; then get to Juneau at 2:30

I have good friends who've sailed on the Regal who looked forward to an Asian themed cruise. While they enjoyed the Majestic's Dubai to Singapore cruise, they would not sail the Majestic again & it had nothing to do with racism. :rolleyes:

 

They're very objective & have taken other cruises around Asia so they looked forward to the Majestic. For them changes made to venues such as Crooners (La Mer restaurant) & Club 6 (VIP Gaming) and the Vista Lounge (Vista Gaming Lounge) diminished their cruise experience. Like other posts I've read, La Mer the French restaurant was poorly located with a steady stream of passengers walking past the open area & at those prices the menu didn't appeal to them. Replacing Gelato's with more high-end shops was another degradation for their cruise experience. They greatly enjoyed to Asian themed show & the ports.

 

While they said the ship was okay they have no plans to cruise again on the Majestic but they don't participate on CC including posting reviews. They cruised expecting to have a great cruise but didn't love it enough to sail the Majestic again unless the itinerary & price were great.

 

Too often reviews that result in such low ratings are unreasonable rants by passengers who didn't research what to expect & then vent their anger. Particularly anything different is more likely to be poorly reviewed which happened to the Royal but the nearly identical Regal received better ratings.

 

I agree that the CC reviews are primarily from North American & European passengers who are not the core demographic for the Majestic. That skews the ratings & as has been said...take any reviews with a grain of salt! :confused:

Astro Flyer, thank you for posting this. I know on Royal Caribbean they do immersed cruises in different parts of the world. They then cater to that clientle in that part of the world. If you happen to book that ship, expect to have the cruise geared toward that part of the world

www.medjetassist.com. As Host Jazzbeau noted, it is medical evacuation insurance. We don't travel without it.

got it thanks

I would book a hotel where you can walk to a cvs or walgreens. I do not know of any by the airport. Also do not know if there are any downtown either. I am staying downtown tomorrow and Saturday and will ask hotel what the nearest store within walking distance. This time of year is cruise season; so all the hotels jack their prices. Between Seattle and Vancouver I believe there are 10 ships sailing Alaska

We only ate in the MDR one night and breakfast twice but yes we did use it. There was never a line for either side when we were there.

perfect, thanks for the answers

The discount on MedJet more than pays for the AARP membership, and that's something you should be buying anyway. It provides much better medical evacuation than what's included in travel insurance or credit card benefits.

so is this a webcompany that sells insurance? do you have a link

No, we did not have binoculars in our suite unless I missed them.

 

I brought one rain jacket and one heavy jacket. My husband brought just one heavy jacket that was also waterproof.

 

I really liked the Jimi Hendrix exhibit and also the guitar exhibit that showed the history of the guitar and had guitars all the way from the 1800's.

Great info. Thanks. Did you guys do the club class dining?

What a great review and perfect pictures. You are a true star. I do have three questions. 1. As a suite guest did you receive a pair of binoculars in your cabin; and how many rainjackets/coats did you pack? I was confused reading your first post.3. What was your fav thing about pop culture museum? I leave tomorrow 7 Jul for Seattle. Thanks

My take on the 35% is this: Some people liked it and some didn't. You can have a great cruise vacation on any ship. I choose to have fun no matter what ship I am on.

why do they want people to get off this specific cruise

Thanks again for posting. I leave Sunday so these patters are very informative

This is Sunday, June 18th (and a test to see if it is readable...:))

 

I can read them fine. No problem; thanks for posting

So it seems this act this applies for non US citizens only, and has nothing to do with the actual ship; is that correct?

Thanks in advance if you you get them posted this week..

Do you need to reserve the shuttles? Or are they down at ground transportation waiting?

You do not need to reserve ground transportation. It is located outside baggage claim and walk across skybridge. They have vans waiting. Its called shuttle express. I reserved online and saved 5%. Cost for two adults and two kids was $34.20. Kids ride free so this price is pretty good i am bookd at downtown Marriott on 7 July

I got my question answered. No pre-clearenace in Victoria; but wont take long to clear in Seattle. Thanks everyone who chimed in

Just got off the Emerald Princess this morning (6/25) after Alaska cruise. Any questions please ask.

 

Sent from my VS985 4G using Forums mobile app

Do you remeber the times for using the luggage valet program? Like 11am-11pm? Thanks

Since no one seems to have any pix.

You can go to the MDR on the first night and ask your waiter to request the week's menus from the Maitre D'. You'll get the whole week at one time to aid in your planning.

Thanks. That is very good to know

We used the service last week on Ruby Princess :) The times are from 11:00 AM to 1:00 AM...

This is awesome news. This makes my day, my week and my cruise. Yea I qualify for the valet program