JoRoy218

Hopefully that has not changed. We upgraded to Plus on the Emerald in June, so that could use the OBC. They also refunded the $10. we paid for Medallion delivery.

So, correct me if I am wrong but isn’t it a “perk” of sailing in a suite to order off the menu? Didn’t see anything mentioned about discontinuing that? But then again, very ambiguous on several things. Certainly needs clarification.

The cruise was great! I believed I mentioned we stayed overnight in SF. Day 1 we took the Hoho bus for the entire loop, got off at several stops and further explored. Day 2 we decided against Sausalito based on some recommendations and did discover many of the shops we were interested in would not be open. We stayed in SF and did a lot of walking and exploring. Just a great city to wander around (we were aware of some areas to avoid), I hope that Sausalito will rebound in the near future, looks like it would be a cool place to visit. I highly recommend Princess cruises!

I need to share a very positive experience a few weeks ago on the Emerald. Every meal we had (and we ate in various venues, from Reserve Dining, to MDR to Sabatini’s) was just right. The beef dishes in particular were spot on. Perhaps some were not seasoned as we like, but was easily fixed with a bit more added at the table. It was probably the most consistently good food we’ve had on any cruise thus far. No complaints at all!

We always enjoy breakfast in Sabatini’s, another great perk.

That’s a win! 😎 Multiple ways to order…via cabin phone, Medallion app on your phone/iPad, etc or cabin TV under food/drink. Food takes a bit of time but we would frequently order only a reg coffee and cappuccino and it would arrive in less than 20 min. Or use the room service card your steward places in your room night before, schedule for your preferred time. You can even order a carafe of coffee from room service if you like. It showed up earlier each time. Enjoy!

This is true but…usually very difficult to find a seat in the Piazza. What works for us (for our first cuppa) is room service using the app. Never had to wait more than 20 min., always served hot.

Excellent review and SO wonderfully detailed! Agree with it all 100%. We’ve done one SF-Hawaii and loved it. Guess we were lucky and did not experience any bad weather to or from. The day on the Big Island was rainy but didn’t really stop our plans. The entertainment on board as mentioned above, was wonderful. Enjoyed the final show of the hula dancers and ukuleles was memorable and special. Can’t wait to do another Hawaii cruise! Enjoy!!!

We too purchased “Plus” on first day of cruise two weeks ago on the Emerald. The main advantage to this is that we were able to use our generous OBC to reduce the total cost. Re: $10. charge to mail Medallions, we did not have the Plus package (before boarding) but elected to have Medallions mailed. There was just the $10. charge for mailing our two in the same box.

57! Amazing!

Thanks, found them on AARP site, lots of cruise line choices, 10% off.

Thanks, I sure will! (I see we’re “neighbors” - MS here)

Am interested in getting Princess gift cards through AARP. Is this still a thing?

CCL stock today, upgraded from “hold” to “buy.”

🤣😂😖 Maybe they had an inside connection?

We spent a short time in the Wheelhouse, wanted to like them but… actually felt sorry for them.

Oops, I stand corrected! 😉

Unfortunately (at this time) one cannot make advance reservations. Suggested to go straight to the Sanctuary upon boarding for your reservation. Yes, there are plenty of loungers but the “prime” seats near the windows, are taken quickly. it is $40. for a half day (1-5). The afternoon treats include “tea time” with a very generous selection of finger sandwiches, sweets, scones (including clotted cream and raspberry preserves - yum), and of course hot tea. You can order food off a limited menu but that is extra $. Staff is very attentive, but not intrusive.

We too were on the same Emerald cruise. We also booked a suite, a Vista on deck 8. We have quite a few Princes cruises under our belts, don’t even look at other lines. Was sorry to hear about your embarkation difficulties, the procedure seemed to be a “cluster” with staff shouting out instructions and very few listening/following. It was hot and crowded, got there around 1045. Lunch in DaVinci was perfect, as were all the meals in MDR, staff excelled. On most cruises, there are “hits & misses” but we did not experience any “misses.” We spent quite a bit of time in Sabatini’s, love to go on every ship. Ate bfast there almost every morning, and two dinners. Maybe because we ate later we did not experience the delay you described. The courses were spaced nicely and it seems we were departing within 1.5 hrs, more or less. Staff of course was top notch! Loved Stefan from Romania, his enthusiasm was contagious. Yes, the ship is older but it seemed in very good condition. We noticed new carpeting in quite a few areas. We also spent one afternoon in the Sanctuary. It was almost full, staff kept busy, nice, peaceful day. Shows were good though “Blame it on the Boogie” was not our favorite, “Rock Opera” was outstanding and probably the best show I’ve seen on a ship. They also had two comedians (who did two shows each), who were also very good. All in all, probably the favorite cruise at this point. Itinerary was just right with two sea days thrown in. Just my two cents…

We were on the Emerald last week, arrived in time for lunch. Got a printed list of lunch possibilities, DaVinci was listed. There was no “Reserve seating” for lunch that day. Opened at noon. Was packed within 30 min.

Thanks for all the above, never realized I needed to stay on top of ticketing issue. I check on all the other moving parts. Spent two hours today being shuffled back and forth with 3 reps at EZAir and then finally they turfed me over to Princess Guest Relations. I was given two Princess email addresses and suggested I write a very detailed note re: problem. It sure would be nice if they are not ticketing appropriately, that Princess would hold their staff accountable and not leave the passenger holding the bag. We’ll see what the next step brings. 😖

Yup, same here. Flights frequently changed well before embarkation day. Never had it happen this close to start of cruise. Appreciate everyone’s tips and advice!

Good question, didn’t check, was thoroughly frustrated at having to use my “cruise time” to settle something EZAir caused. This is main reason why we elected to buy our own return tickets instead of accepting the EZAir flights. I spent more than 2 hours on this issue instead of enjoying the beautiful ship. 🤬 The only person who seemed concerned was the Guest Services lady on the ship who was powerless to do anything.

We’re just off a CA Coastal and though the cruise itself was absolutely flawless, EZAir was a bust. ONE DAY before boarding, I got an email from Princess stating there was a flight change to our return flights home. Like most everyone else, these flights were booked approx. 7-8 months ago. The new flights were on another airline (which we never use due to poor service) and added 4hrs to our initial 8 hr travel day, having us land around midnight. Once on board I called EZAir and was simply told “your flights are no longer available.” Now before calling, I checked the Delta site and saw there were seats left (not many) and stated this to the rep. Her response was “the airline changed it’s schedule.” I repeated what I saw and said nothing changed with the schedule. She said there were no other flights available with one stop. I asked for another rep and was simply told “your seats are no longer available.” I again said I was ON the Delta site and saw our original flights were unchanged and yes, our original seats WERE available. She then offered other excuses, none of which made sense. I also spoke with Marybeth in Guest Services (Emerald) and she was trying her best to help. She even phoned me back later that day and the following day to see how things were. She deserves a gold star! I had no success in returning to our original flights and after discussing with DH, decided to book ourselves on our original flights, of course paying for it ourselves and would tackle this headache when we got home. Got home late last night (on our originally booked flights, no changes in schedule) and ready to do battle. Makes one not want to use EZAir in the future. It sounds like the issues with EZAir have been increasing for many.

Similar experience, re-fared flights after final payment, requested refund to original form of payment. It took approx. 10 days after request. I too have had similar issues with Princess reps not having good command of English. I try to work with them but frequently find my self saying “ I can’t understand what you just said.” Or they misunderstand and simply use the algorithm to answer questions, etc. Very frustrating and time consuming.