labcoat99

We were scheduled for the April 27 - (7) day cruise out of Rome. We received the move over offer last night and accepted. Booked through Princess. We had booked a Deluxe Balcony cabin - not a guarantee. It is being processed now.

I booked around 5pm yesterday, I had been checking periodically. There is a pending charge on my credit card.

I was able to book Spellbound on the app yesterday for our upcoming April 27th cruise. The app did take a very long time to load (longer than the usual long time) 🙂

Hello, We ordered drinks as soon as we were on the ship. We had Princess Plus. No additional NYC taxes were charged to our account.

We are recently off the Emerald Princess that departed New York City on September 30. This was our second cruise on the Emerald Princess. The first was several years ago to Alaska. Pre-Cruise We drove to the pier in Brooklyn on the morning of departure. Getting to the pier was easy using Google maps. We arrived around 10:30. When you arrive by car there is a drop-off area for your luggage. We pulled right in and were met by a porter who took our bags. You then proceed to the parking lot where an attendant has a portable credit card reader, and you pay for the week in advance. Parking at the pier was $45 dollars per day, $315 for the week. There were plenty of parking spaces right next to the ship. From the parking lot it is about a 2-minute walk to the cruise terminal to check in. You can see the Statue of Liberty in the distance. Embarkation Once inside the terminal there were plenty of staff who directed everyone where to go. We were both “green lane” upon arrival; however, my wife had her medallion and I did not, mine was shipped but never arrived in the mail. It’s still somewhere in the USPS system. She would have been on the ship in under 5 minutes. I needed to have an old-style room card printed to get on the ship and was told to then go to guest services to get a replacement medallion. That process took about 15 minutes. Guest services made me a new medallion with my name on it after I was on the ship. The Ship The Emerald is an older ship but was very clean and still looked in good shape. Everything seemed to be working as it should. The exterior of the ship could use some touch up paint here and there. Cabin We had a (BD) balcony cabin in the aft part of the ship. The cabin was very clean and in good condition. Our room attendant was outstanding, she serviced the room twice a day and was always checking to see if we needed anything. Our only issue with the cabin was the annoying motion sensor lights that go on at night. Thankfully because of prior reviews I was prepared with a roll of painter’s tape and covered the sensors. The motion lights are very bright and really light up the room. A couple layers of tape fixed that issue. Dining We generally ate at the buffet for breakfast and lunch. The buffet area was a little cramped compared to the newer Princess ships, but the lines moved quickly. The buffet food was good and there was always a good selection to choose from. The handwashing stations at the entrances to the buffet were used sporadically by the guests. The pizza by the pool was very good. The main dining room food was good to very good. The lobster on the second formal night was the best we have had on a cruise. Definitely an upgrade from some of the sad little tails on some previous cruises. We also ate at Sabatini’s one night. The food and service there were excellent. Service in the main dining room was very good. We ate in all three dining rooms. The Michelangelo dining room in particular had a fun vibe in addition to very good service. The wait lines to enter the dining rooms were very manageable after the first night. The first night there was a minor wait but much better than another Princess cruise we were on earlier this year. Ports Newport – Newport is a tender port. We had been to Newport several times before. We opted to take the free shuttle to the mansion area and walk along the Cliff Walk. The free shuttle is located several blocks to the left of where the tenders drop you off. We walked along the Cliff Walk and decided to walk back to town, which was about a mile through a nice neighborhood. We walked around town for awhile and headed back to the ship. The tenders ran frequently and there was never much of a line. Boston- The ship docked at 10am. We did Boston on our own. We took an Uber ($18) from the ship terminal to Fenway Park for an 11am tour that we had booked in advance. The one-hour tour was excellent. The tour takes you throughout the park and you learn the history of the players and events that have occurred there throughout the years. After the Fenway Park tour, we took an Uber ($12.50) to the North End. We picked up the Freedom Trail and worked our way back towards Boston Common. We stopped at various places along the way. A highlight was a stop at Mike’s Pastries for cannoli and Italian cookies near the Paul Revere house. There was a line, but it moved quickly. The cannoli and cookies were excellent. Many people in the area were carrying Mike’s Pastries boxes. We also visited Quincy Market and other historical sites along the Freedom Trail. An Uber from Boston Common back to the ship was $12. We found Boston to be clean and very tourist friendly. Bar Harbor- Bar Harbor is a tender port. We were told that the tenders get backed up quickly so get a tender ticket early. We got our tickets at 8am. We waited over an hour for our number to be called for a tender. The tendering operation at Bar Harbor was not nearly as efficient as in Newport. The tender ride to the dock in town is about 25 minutes. The town of bar Harbor requires large cruise ships to be tucked behind an island, so they are not visible from the town. Princess should have utilized additional tenders or local providers during the peak morning rush. Some people waited much longer than we did. We booked the 2 ½ hour Acadia National Park tour on Oli’s Trolley. Oli’s is located near where the tender exit is. The scenery on the Acadia tour was fabulous. We made several stops to get out and view different scenic areas. Our driver narrated and pointed out different points of interest along the way. At one spot we had a Bald Eagle fly by for a quick cameo. We lucked out with the weather. It was very clear and unusually warm for early October. On top of Cadillac Mountain, there is an impressive view of the town below. After our trolley tour ended, we walked around town and bought a few souvenirs from a shop that was having a half price end of season sale. We saw lobster rolls for sale at several places. One place was charging $39 each. We passed on that. Later that afternoon the tender line to get back on the ship extended far down the street to the tender dock. The line did move a little faster than expected as Princess enlisted a large tour boat to help tender guests back to the ship. Still, the line was very long. The ship left Bar Harbor later than expected. The full tenders were still running past the original posted sail away time. Halifax- We toured Halifax on our own. In the cruise terminal as you exit the ship there are various shops. There is also an informational center with locals handing out maps. The staff will point out various places of interest and even draw a walking tour map if you ask. We decided to visit the Public Gardens and the Citadel. The Public Gardens were about a mile walk from the cruise terminal. The gardens were nice, and we spent about a half hour there. Next, we walked to the Citadel which was nearby. We walked up a very large hill and paid our admission and toured the inside of the fort. The fort overlooks Halifax harbor. Several small group demonstrations were conducted by the Citadel staff. There is a changing of the guard ceremony at the main entrance of the fort at the top of every hour. At noon, a large cannon is shot that can be heard throughout the city. After the Citadel we walked along the waterfront boardwalk. There are many shops and restaurants along the boardwalk. We ordered a cinnamon/sugar fried dough "Beaver Tail" and sat at the end of a pier to enjoy the water views. The boardwalk leads back to the cruise ship docks. St John/Bay of Fundy- At St. John we booked the Bay of Fundy Coast to Shore Tour with shoreexcursiongroup.com. We met the tour bus a block from the cruise terminal. Our first stop was the Reversing Falls Rapids. Here we watched the tide going out to sea. The water was really roaring through this area. Next, we drove about an hour to the small fishing village of St. Martins. As we drove, the tour guide narrated and told many stories along the way. We then made a stop at the Caves restaurant. The restaurant overlooks the Bay of Fundy and a large sea cave that was carved into a sandstone cliff. Because it was low tide, we were able to walk out onto the rocky flats and explore. At high tide they are under water. The restaurant serves very good seafood. We had very good seafood chowder. The next stop was in town where you can visit several small shops and see a couple of covered bridges. Because it was low tide, several fishing boats were out of the water on supports waiting for the tide to come back in. Here, the difference between high and low tide can be over 20 feet. On the way back in St John we stopped at the old City Market. There are many inside vendors selling everything from meats and produce to clothing items. We purchased some Canadian candy bars that the local tour guide recommended. The pop up candy shop took US dollars and gave US dollars as change. After the market, we went back to the Reversing Rapids area. The water was now gently flowing as it was slack tide and not roaring through the area as it was several hours earlier. In an hour or so the water would be flowing rapidly in the opposite direction as before. It was very interesting to see. From here, the bus returned us to the ship. At the cruise ship docks there is a Container Village. Here, there are shipping containers that have been painted bright colors and converted into various shops selling things from food, artwork and souvenirs. At the cruise terminal we were asked by security to show picture ID and our medallions to get back on the cruise ship. This was not required in Halifax. Entertainment- We enjoyed the various musicians throughout the ship. The quiz shows etc. seemed well attended. We enjoyed the Rock Opera production in the Princess Theater. It was one of the best performances we have seen at sea. Staff- The staff on the ship were very friendly and helpful. We did have 2 separate occasions at different pool areas where we ordered drinks with a server, and they just never arrived. On both occasions our order was taken, our medallions scanned, and the drinks just never came. We never saw either waiter again after each order to inquire if there was a problem or if they just forgot. It wasn’t a big issue because we had the Plus package and never reached our drink limit. If we were paying as we went, we would have had to go to guest services to have the charges removed. Disembarkation- Since we drove to the port, we utilized self-assist and wheeled our luggage off ourselves. There was a small line getting off the ship, but it moved along. Getting through customs was a breeze with facial recognition. We were in our vehicle and on our way home by 8:30am. Miscellaneous- The internet on the ship was adequate. For the most part we were able to use our phones/iPads when needed to email, text etc. We did enjoy very nice weather for most of the cruise. It was very foggy in St. John, but it never rained. Even though the ship was reported as being full it rarely felt crowded. The only long lines I noticed (besides the Bar Harbor tenders) was at the poolside grill serving hamburgers during lunch. Other than that, things moved easily. The gym facilities were in very good shape. The different exercise machines were all working and the exercise area was clean and well kept. My wife took a couple of exercise classes and found the instructors to be very welcoming. Overall- This itinerary has been on our to do list for awhile. We had an enjoyable time once again on the Emerald Princess.

We recently used Pink Elephant Parking when flying out of Newark Airport. It’s about a ten minute ride to the airport. The shuttle’s were clean and timely. We had zero wait after parking at the lot and about a 15 minute wait for the shuttle at the airport after getting our luggage. Everything is done online. Our cost was about $150 for 8 days.

For our last cruise in late January we used Pink Elephant Parking. Cost was around $150 for 8 days. 10 minutes from EWR, vans were clean and ran frequently. We had zero wait for a van at the lot and about a 15 minute wait after getting our luggage on our return flight back. Reservations and payment was all handled online. Would use them again.

Just off the Regal’s January 29th Eastern Caribbean sailing. The sailing had about 3200 - 3300 passengers according to different sources. I definitely did not feel too crowded except waiting in line for dinner (that’s an entire new topic) and a couple of times as the shows were ending and a new group wanted to get into the theater. Other than that, I never really felt crowded at all.

Just off the Regal Princess Eastern Caribbean 7 day cruise leaving from Fort Lauderdale. This was our second Princess cruise and first cruise since 2018. This was our 12th cruise overall. This was also our first Medallion cruise, and our first cruise with the Princess Plus package. Pre- Cruise Arrived in Fort Lauderdale the day before our cruise. We stayed overnight at the Best Western Oceanside. The hotel was fine and within walking distance to many restaurants and bars. The Uber from the airport to the hotel was $17 plus tip. The next morning, we saw many other Regal cruisers in the hotel lobby. The hotel offers a shuttle to the port for $11 per person. We took an Uber to the port for $15 plus tip. The port is about a 10-minute ride from the hotel. Embarkation Dropped off our luggage and got in line at about 11:10am. Quickly moved through a couple of checkpoints, got our Medallions and was on the ship by 11:35. The whole embarkation process was easy and well organized. The staff were all very friendly. The Ship The ship was in very good shape. Everything was very clean. Every crew member we encountered for the entire week was very friendly and helpful. Cabin We had a (BB) balcony cabin midship. Our cabin was very clean, and our room attendant did a very nice job servicing our cabin twice a day. The balcony was a little tight, but we enjoyed it throughout the cruise. Dining The Horizon Court buffet was well stocked and had a nice variety of food. There were handwashing stations at each entrance to the buffet that were monitored by the crew. We usually had breakfast and some lunches/snacks at the buffet. They had a specialty coffee station available in the buffet during breakfast. The pizza from the pool area was very good. Better than expected. The street tacos and burgers were good as well. The main dining room food was good to very good. Service was a little slow at times but very good overall. Unfortunately, getting seated in the main dining room was a disaster. There was an organized group of approximately 800 Irish Music fans on board. The Princess staff chose to close two of the three main dining rooms to the non group passengers until 7:45pm. This meant that the remaining 2000+ passengers on board who were not in the group and who wanted to eat before 7:45pm were forced to wait in long lines for the one available dining room that was open to them. This caused a lot of frustration and confusion. Passengers who had thought they had dining reservations for times before 7:45 had them disappear and those in lines with reservations had to wait and be seated along with those without reservations. When I asked guest services about the situation their response was that they were sorry and aware of the problem. They suggested getting in line at 5pm or waiting until 7:45 to eat. I did not understand the logic of making 2/3 of the dining rooms unavailable until 7:45 so less than 1/3 of the passengers could eat together and forcing the vast majority of other passengers to wait in unusually long lines. Ultimately, we chose to eat later and avoid the crowds and lines. We did speak with several passengers who had small children or just wanted to eat before 7:45 so they could attend shows etc. They had to wait in long lines to be seated each night. This was an area where Princess could do a lot better. We also ate at the Crown Grill one night. The food and service was excellent. Ports Princess Cay- We tendered to Princess Cay. We mostly relaxed and enjoyed a nice day on the beach. We really enjoyed being able to use Princess Plus at the bars for drinks. A barbeque type lunch was provided, the food was satisfactory. Puerto Rico- We toured the city and forts on our own. We ate lunch at a small restaurant called Manolines. The restaurant was filled with mostly locals along with some cruise ship passengers. We each had shrimp mofongo which was excellent. Amber Cove- For Amber Cove we booked an outside excursion with Exceptcust -DSRR Tours to the Damajagua Waterfalls. We found them on Trip Advisor. There was another couple from the ship with us on our tour. The price was substantially lower than the cruise ship which takes you to the same exact waterfalls and this excursion also includes lunch. To use outside tours in Amber Cove you must walk out of the port area to an area where the local tour guides assemble. They are not permitted in the cruise ship area. It’s less than a ten-minute walk from the cruise ship and past the shops and then along sidewalks to the gate to reach the local tour guides. After we met our guides, we took about a 20-minute ride in the van through a couple of small towns and the countryside and arrived at the falls. We were placed in a larger group and we all received a life vest, a helmet and a bottle of water From the base it’s a moderate ½ hour hike up the mountain to reach the falls. There are several rest stops along the way. After reaching the highest waterfall we jumped and slid our way back down the mountain in the water. This was a very active excursion and a lot of fun. Our group at the mountain ranged in age from the upper 60’s down to teenagers. Apparently, the Princess or other cruise ship tours do not allow jumping into the water, you must slide, keep that in mind if that’s something you want to do. After reaching the bottom of the last waterfall we returned our gear and went to a small local Dominican restaurant for lunch. We then visited a small tobacco shop where they made and sold cigars and souvenirs. We were back at Amber Cove about three hours before the ship was scheduled to sail. On a previous trip to Amber Cove we also used an outside provider for an ATV countryside tour. That tour was fun as well. Turks and Caicos – Again, here we booked a local vendor, Exclusive Escape Tours. We did the Supreme Snorkeling Tour. We met the group on the beach near the cruise ship. They provide easy directions on how to meet them. We took a center console boat with about 17 people to a reef near the ship. One of the mates dove down and brought up several live conch which we ultimately ate for lunch. We then snorkeled at the reef for about 45 minutes. Despite a moderate current we saw lots of fish in the clear blue water. Next, we went to a private island and played with several stingrays that always hang near the island. We had rum punch and freshly prepared conch salad at the island. After hiking and swimming at the island we got back on the boat for the short ride back to the pick up point on the beach. We spent the rest of the day on the beach and at the Margaritaville pool. A Virgin Cruise Line ship was docked next to us in port. Several people mentioned there were less than 1000 passengers on the entire ship. Entertainment We went to two shows in the Princess Theater. The first was an Abba tribute. The singer had a very good voice, and we enjoyed the show. The second show was a tribute to Billy Joel. The performance for this show was reminiscent of a high school variety show. The Princess stage band for both shows was outstanding. The singers and musicians in the piazza and the various bars were enjoyable to listen to. We watched the NFC and AFC NFL championship games on the big screen in the pool area. Several movies were played each day on the big screen as well. Staff We found that every staff member we interacted with was pleasant and eager to make sure you were having a good time. The “Love Boat” captain was visible around the ship. This was his last voyage before taking a vacation. Many passengers enjoyed getting their pictures with him. Disembarkation Getting off the ship was easy. We left the ship around 9:15. We easily found our luggage. Going through customs involved putting your face in front of a facial recognition camera and you were on your way. Then the adventure began. As we went outside to see about getting a cab or an Uber to the airport we encountered a river of ankle to shin deep water flowing through the cruise terminal. We decided to take a cab to the airport. This involved us taking off our shoes, rolling up our pants and carrying our luggage high enough not to get wet as we proceeded to the cab area. Unfortunately, some passengers walked through the water and got soaked along with their luggage. It was raining steadily and the terminal drainage system could not handle the volume of water. The cab ride to the airport was $19 plus tip and took less than 20 minutes in the rain. Miscellaneous While there have been some noticeable cutbacks since we last cruised, this cruise exceeded our expectations. We enjoyed having the Princess Plus package, we tried several new drinks, and it was nice to not have to worry about the end of cruise bill. The internet on the ship was slow to very slow. We enjoyed nice weather for most of the trip. Overall We thought the Regal Princess was a great ship, it was very clean, and the crew was great. The biggest negative was the main dining room seating situation; however, we adapted and made the best of it. We are already looking forward to our next cruise.