lizjoemom

I will be on this cruise as well! First time on Princess, I'm really looking forward to it!

Hi all, this is my first Princess cruise on the Emerald. We will be doing PC from FLL over Thanksgiving. It is a 10 day cruise and I was wondering which nights are formal nights and are formal nights usually the lobster night? I am looking at booking our specialty dining but don't want to miss the formal nights in the MDR. Thanks for the info!

2 hours ago, memoak said:

No Alfredo’s. You will have a Crown Grill and a Sabatini’s. For casual a Salty Dog Gastropub and maybe a pop up loke Crab Shack. You can always look at the deck plans to find out where these things are

Thank you!

Can someone please tell me which specialty restaurants are currently open on the Emerald? Is there an Alfredos? Any info would be appreciated.

On 8/25/2023 at 12:38 PM, sunviking90 said:

A few more comments: had our 4th dinner in the MDR last night and DH and I were both commenting on how pleased we are with the food. I’ve had lamb 2 nights in a row (along with mint sauce, yum) and it’s been great. DH has enjoyed the fish dishes he’s had. We have been cruising since our 20’s over 30 years ago, so we have realistic expectations and have seen and accepted the declines in food, but we are pretty happy with everything so far. Last night I had the BEST key lime pie! I sometimes make my own with an authentic Florida recipe and this was almost as good. 

Planks and Steamers is now open on this ship and it is $14.99.  Last night was Planks, and we were told it will be open every 3 nights. Tonight Steamers will be open on the other side. We may try Planks one night as we will have “just” enough OBC left to cover. 

We will be going on Emerald in November. I am very glad to hear that they have opened Planks and Steamers! The website doesn't have them listed as alternative dining options. Thanks!

On 7/29/2023 at 7:35 AM, david63 said:

Just make the cruises all inclusive and all such problems go away.

If they did that, most people would not be able to cruise at all. Look at Virgin's prices, they include all gratuities, food, wifi and what they call "essential" beverages; coffee, tea, water, juice, but have to pay extra for various levels of alcoholic drink packages. The prices are way more than Princess and other mid/better cruise lines. It's all about what people are willing to pay. My DH doesn't drink alcohol but needs wifi and we like alternative dining, so we will pay the upgrade on our 10 day on Princess, which doesn't even come close to the price of a 5 day Virgin cruise. Either way, the cruise is a business, they are in it to make money, the customers need to decide if they are willing to pay the price.

Agree. This will be our first time on Princess and we plan on upgrading to premier. DH will need to have internet access for work on multiple devices, so we had already planned on purchasing the wifi. I feel that there is value in the upgrade if just for the wifi and gratuities (including bar gratuities). In January on Carnival Celebration, my sister in law and I paid about 550 dollars each for the drink package alone. Yes, there were alternatives to the dining room that were free of charge, however, we still had to tip. There were other casual alternatives like the backyard bbq and emerils that were an upcharge and of course the fine dining is additional ($45pp I think). All in we probably spent close to the same amount as DH and I are spending on this, longer cruise on Emerald to PC, (I do realize it is a smaller ship with less options) but still works out to about the same price. We looked at other cruise lines for this trip, we have been looking a loooong time, and have found that even with the premier upgrade cost, for us, it is more affordable and the ports are ones that we are looking forward to seeing for the first time. Either way, cruising is and always has been an affordable option for us, especially when traveling with our kids when they were young.

thanks so much to everyone for the great info. I'm thinking we will just do the premier, seems to be worth it, I especially like the idea of reserved seating for the shows as last time I was on Carnival it was difficult to find good seats! Also, we will definitely use the specialty dining and will have enough devices to be able to post a live post every day! Stay tuned.....

On 7/31/2023 at 4:49 PM, memoak said:

You don’t need 15 drinks to have a plan save you money. We take the Plus plan and then my wife upgrades the Wi-Fi plan to 4 devices just for her. 

That is a good point, I will work the numbers that way as well! Thank you!

On 7/31/2023 at 4:51 PM, Rick&Jeannie said:

@lizjoemom...the general consensus as to the "is it worth it" question for Plus or Premier is whether you feel you will use the drink benefits.  We are not heavy drinkers at all, but given that Plus includes WiFi, gratuities and what few drinks we actually get we always book Plus Fare.  I have heard it said that with only 2 drinks per day you break even.  You have to determine for yourself.

Thank you very much, it's beginning to look like we are leaning towards the premier (only because we need multiple devices).

On 7/31/2023 at 5:02 PM, Steelers36 said:

Premier = 2x $80/pp/day = $160/day (you do the math for your cruise length).

 

Crew Appreciation = $16/pp/day (unless in a Mini-Suite or Suite) = $32.

4-Device Internet Plan = $40/day.

SD Credits = 2x2x $39 = $156/voyage (you get 2 SD credits each for the voyage).

Your a la carte spending before beverages is:  $72/day x # days + $156.

Take that total and subtract from Premier cost of $160 x # days.

 

This net balance is your pot of money for beverages.

Now divide that balance by the # days of your voyage and you have an average dollar amount for beverages each day.  Now, divide that daily amount by 1.18 to get to a "bar menu price" total.

 

Question:  Will the two of you combined spend that much in beverages each day?

 

You can get start pack(s) of 500ml bottled water (12 in a pack) for about $7 and will be in your cabin.  Must be ordered pre-cruise.  On board, I think each bottle is about $2.

 

Bar drinks seem to range from $10/$11 up to $18 or so for most part. Beer is about $7 or more depending on brand.  Every drink price you see on the menu - including non-alcohol - attract 18% gratuity on top.  Regular coffee from specialty cafe locations is $2 and up for cappucino, etc.  Real fruit juice I forget cost.  There is a juice bar you can visit unlimited I believe with the Premier (you can read all the inclusions on Princess.com).  They just have changed things so Premier guests can also go to the "for-fee" Casual Dining locales unlimited times, so IDK how much you might do that as not mentioned.

 

You may not have to get into the weeds as you may find there is so much money on the table from Premier package cost that a la carte consumption works for you  If it looks close value, then get the package and no worries.

 

 

 

ETA:  Example using 10-night voyage.

Premier cost is $1,600.

A la carte = ($72 x 10) + $156 = $876.

Net balance = $724.

Divide by 1.18 to remove bar gratuity = $724 / 1.18 = ~$613.50

Beverage allocation per day = $61.35.

 

As mentioned above, this is an amount for two of you combined and you would add up bar/beverage menu prices and see how close you get.  You might think about a sea day versus a port day off the ship.  You might also consider amounts for any Casual Dining you want to go to that costs if not on the package.

 

Wow! Thank you so much for breaking it all down for me like that, it is exactly what I was looking for! Now I will do some number crunching! Thanks again!

DH and I will be sailing on the Emerald in November and he will be needing to get a wifi package so that he can use his laptop and phones. I am trying to make an informed decision about whether or not to go all in for the new Premier pricing or just do a la carte, but having never been on Princess before I need some information and am hoping some of you can help me out. We are looking at the premier package because he needs multiple devices connnected and we enjoy the alternative dining and specialty restaurants when we cruise. However, he doesn't really drink at all except for bottled water (very little soda or alchohol), and I enjoy a few drinks while cruising but I know I won't be drinking 15 drinks during the day. All the other stuff, fitness classes, desserts, etc....we would probably not be using too much. So my question is about prices on board. How much is a water bottle or top shelf/better liquor drinks? What is the charge for the specialty restaurants (fine dining) and is it hard to make a reservation at them while on board?(if I cant get a reservation then what's the point?) What is the cost for room service now with the new price structure? (I haven't been able to find a clear cut answer). I appreciate any info that anyone can give me so that I can make the best decision for us. Thanks so much! Happy Sailing!

8 hours ago, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

Our cruise was in February 2022. Cruise lines were just getting back up to speed after the pandemic. There were only 950 passengers on board. The buffet was very lacking and the meals in the dining room were not up to normal Princess standards. Our room steward informed us that we had to pick either having our room serviced during the day or in the evening. We thought it was a staffing issue, but the ship was only 1/3 full and we would often see our steward doing make work tasks.

 

We are trying to give Princess the benefit of the doubt on this poor experience as they were still dealing with the Covid fallout. I’m confident that you will have a better experience. 

Thank you, I appreciate your honesty. I recently went on one of Carnival's new ships and wasn't sure what to expect from cruising after the pandemic, but my fears were unfounded as it was one of the best cruises I've ever been on, hopefully, this cruise will be good too, since they have had time to work out the kinks! Thanks again!

9 hours ago, JimmyVWine said:

The “Retreat Pool” area is an adult only pool/lounge chair area that is free for any adult to use on a come-and-go basis. It is away from the large movie screen known as “MUTS” or Movies Under The Stars and as a result is a bit more peaceful. It has the same lounge chairs, its own bar, but no free food or drinks. (Well, if you have a drink package, drinks are already paid for so they seem free).

 

The Sanctuary on the other hand, is a completely separate, enclosed solarium that one must book and pay for once on board either for the length of the cruise, or by the day, or by the half day (am or pm). It cannot be reserved in advance online or on the app. As others have noted, on any given cruise there are usually enough people staying on for the following cruise who will beat newcomers to the punch and reserve most of the area. But there will be some spots open on departure day and those will sell out within an hour of the commencement of the boarding process. Sometimes within 10 minutes. 
 

Hope this helps. 

Thank you for your explanation! 

On 5/24/2023 at 11:11 AM, Poulsbo Cruisers said:

We are platinum cruisers with Princess. In February 2022 we took a 10 day Panama Canal cruise on the Emerald Princess. If that had been our first Princess cruise, we would never have made it to gold status. It just about caused us to give up on Princess altogether. Then we decided that we’ve had so many great cruises with Princess that we shouldn’t judge them on that one terrible experience. 
 

You may decide to give up on Princess, but I’m sure you would find a completely different experience on one of their other ships. 

Can you elaborate on why it was so bad? Makes me a little nervous, it's my first time on Princess and we are going on the 10 day PC out of Ft. Lauderdale on the Emerald. I mean, we will still go no matter what (we have cancelled PC 2 times already during Covid), but I would like to know what to expect. Thanks!

Also, to the original OP, sorry that you aren't having a good time. Some cruises/cruise lines just don't resonate with everyone. I do believe that a bad day at sea is better than a bad day at home! LOL. As long as I don't have to go to work or cook or clean....I personally was an NCL cruiser years ago, but when they changed to freestyle, I hated it! haven't been back on NCL since, so to each his own. I hope you are still on the cruise it gets better!

So I am new to Princess, can you explain to me how the Sanctuary works? I thought it was just an adult only area that you can just go to at any time. Do you need to have reservations and pay extra for it? I assumed it was like other cruise lines. Thanks for the info.

Thanks!

Hi, we will be going on Emerald Princess PC in November and one of the stops is Grand Cayman. I was wondering if anyone knows of any all inclusive day resorts  near 7 mile beach or any other nearby beaches? I have been to GC a few times, but haven't been in awhile. We are looking to do a beach day in GC, but would like amenities like chairs and umbrellas and possibly food and drink. Thanks for any info!

We got a free bottle in Rudi's on Celebration last week on Monday night (Sunday sailing) not sure about the Steakhouse.

I agree with Pirate4me2 the layout and ambience of the Steakhouse was much better than Rudi's. Neither me nor my traveling companion had steak, I think that the food and the service was much better at the steakhouse were better than Rudi's. That said, both restaurants were very good and the service on the ship was amazing everywhere we went.

 

My 16 year old son would probably prefer the ship that has the most 16 year old girls, which is pretty much any ship in the line, if you're sailing around school breaks!

:D LOL! That's exactly right! We just went on Paradise (not much on that ship in the way of entertainment for youngsters) in August in our group were 3 teenage boys, 14 and 15. Wherever there were girls, there were the boys!

My husband slept on the side of the bed that necessitated climbing over "the box". He stubbed his toe on it a number of times enroute to the bathroom in the middle of the night....so beware! Honestly, I'm not sure what the designers were thinking of when they decided that boxes were a good idea!

LOL! My husband slept on the "crawling" side as well, he must have bumped his head three times on the pull down bunk mounted on the adjacent wall!

We thought the exact same thing, "I don't know what the heck the designers were thinking, with that big box and huge plastic light fixture?"

Not sure if there is any purpose to the box, we never thought to try to look in it!

Just off Paradise, 17 of us, here are some of the favorites:

Hands down across the board for all ages: Bacon Mac and Cheese!

Close runner up: Chocolate Melting cake

Personal favorites:

Thai Marinated chicken fingers (son loved them!)

Short Ribs

Pork Chop

Fried Chicken from the everyday menu

Onion soup

Beef Barley

Veal Parmigiana

Pasta with seafood

Bitter and Blanc

Carrot Cake

Cheesecake.

On the buffet: Mongolian Wok, (but the lines were soooooo long)

Cheeseburgers

Reubens

Thanks, I better just bring one just in case!

I'm sure the answer is somewhere here, but I cant find it. Leaving on the Paradise tomorrow and my MIL said that when she went last time there was no hair dryer. All the other Carnival ships I've been on have had them in the room. Does anyone know if there are hairdryers in the room on the Paradise?:confused: