Star vs Emerald Princess (Caribbean Eastern)

[penaddict]

I'm trying to decide between two cruises.

Both are Princess.

Their itineraries are pretty similar.

Star includes Nassau, Bahamas, and Emerald (for about $100 more) goes to Princess Cays, Bahamas.

We've never been to the Caribbean and have gone on the Crown Princess ship only.

Any difference between the two ships and two ports?

Thanks!

[taszmom]

I'm trying to decide between two cruises.

Both are Princess.

Their itineraries are pretty similar.

Star includes Nassau, Bahamas, and Emerald (for about $100 more) goes to Princess Cays, Bahamas.

We've never been to the Caribbean and have gone on the Crown Princess ship only.

Any difference between the two ships and two ports?

Thanks!

 

Emerald. Better amenities on ship, and I would rather go to Princess Cays vs Nassau.

[capnjack]

Speaking as one who has not been on either ship, I would go with the Star Princess. They are both Grand class with similar designs, but the Emerald has an extra deck of passengers (3100 passengers vs 2600). The Star also has the the Vista Lounge rather than Club Fusion. The Vista Lounge is an acceptable second venue for the production shows. Club Fusion doesn't work (lousy sight lines), so ships with Club Fusion use Explorer's Lounge as the second venue, and it is too small. Otherwise the amenities are very similar

[penaddict]

Oddly enough, I just went to Princess' site and see that both Star and Emerald go to Princess Cays, Bahamas, no mention of Nassau (weird).

So for $100 less per person ($200), Star sounds like the better deal.

[Shifra]

As far as which ship, the Emerald will be an exact replica of the Crown that you were on. Star Princess was recently renovated to inlude some of the amenities found on crown class ships. Either ship would be a good choice, I have enjoyed them both. My preference would be Star since it has less passengers and the price is lower.

[kiberkid]

The Star Princess has tiered baclonies, does the Emerald as well?

[capnjack]

The Star Princess has tiered baclonies, does the Emerald as well?

 

Like all the Grand class ships, the Emerald has tiered balconies.

[gertz]

The Emerald has a passenger space ratio of 38 the Star's is 42. A difference you might notice.

[Raamo]

I've been on the Emerald - but not the Star. I'm booked on the Star and this thread suggests I'll like the Star better - one deck less of pax and same # of rooms = win win :)

[tjcox9]

For us, the Star was comfortable, the Emerald was quite the opposite.

 

We are booked on the Star again for itinerary purposes only, never again on Emerald for any reason as it felt much more crowded.

 

But I must admit, that we are prejudiced toward the much smaller ships and even the Star is pushing our upper limits. All we can say about the Emerald experience is that it was a learning experience for us!

[penaddict]

The Emerald has a passenger space ratio of 38 the Star's is 42. A difference you might notice.

 

Just curious, what does space ratio mean?

 

And I learned that the cruises are the same except for one date when they switched the ports.

[rdsqrl]

Just curious, what does space ratio mean?

 

And I learned that the cruises are the same except for one date when they switched the ports.

It's a number which you can use to get an idea of how "crowded" a ship will feel. It's derived by dividing the Gross Registered Tonnage of a ship (that's the volume of enclosed space, not how many pounds the ship weighs!) by the number of passengers. While some like to bandy about the space ratio as if it's the be-all and end-all of determining how much room you'll have to spread out, it does not take into consideration how well laid out a ship's interior might be: how many public rooms there are, how they're arranged, etc.

I've sailed on the Grand and the Crown (the twins to the two ships you're considering) and even though both cruises were full, I can't really say that I felt the Crown was that much more crowded than the Grand. She and her twin, the Emerald, have more public rooms and more open deck space than the smaller ships, which do absorb some of the extra passengers. And all ships are going to feel crowded if you choose to eat lunch at the buffet at high noon (along with everybody and his brother) or try to slip into the theatre five minutes before a show and expect to get a seat (just like those things will get you stuck in a crowd on land, too).

It may seem like I'm blindly defending these huge ships (even though I do think 3100 passengers is big, big, big -- I really prefer the much smaller Dawn) but I just think there's beeen too much knee-jerk negativity about the Crown-class ships on this board by people who don't like them and don't hesitate to pass that opinion off as fact.

[penaddict]

I've only been on "larger" ships (RC and Princess Crown). I had no problem with them (other than maybe a crowded pool or hot tub) but that can happen anywhere as you said.

Both sound good but I'll probably go with the Star because for the same ports, I'll pick one with the lower price.

[caribbeanboy]

Look at the Mariner/Navigator of the Seas @ 138,000 GRT with a max capacity of 3807 and the Carnival Dream @ 130,000 with a max of over 4300! and let me tell you that you will definitely notice the difference.

[gertz]

Just curious, what does space ratio mean?

 

And I learned that the cruises are the same except for one date when they switched the ports.

 

Try Google or go into search it will be worth the effort.:D

[Colo Cruiser]

I would choose the Emerald too, better amenities.

[chucklet]

We are just off the Star after a 30 day from Sydney, Aus. to LA. She is one of the Grand class of ships and has been upgraded with MUTS and is in good repair. The good news is, for Elite, Platinum and suite guests, the Skywalkers bar is open from 5-7 for appy's and drinks (appys complimentary, drinks not). The promenade deck gets quite congested trying to negotiate between the Vista lounge and the Princess theater via the Photo gallery/piano bar (We tended to go around via the deck if the weather was good).

 

The golf simulator is a lot of fun, once you get the hang of it and the Conservatory pool area is great if the weather turns inclement.

 

In heavy winds, the Skywalkers bar/'spoiler' acts like a sail and can affect the bridges ability to navigate/ control teh ship in following seas/winds. We missed Christchurch NZ and overnightes in Dunedin due to this issue.

We sailed aboard teh Emerald in Feb of 2008 and she is MY Favorite Princess ship. If I had my druthers, I would pick the Emerald's itinerary.

 

We took the VIP package at Princess Cay and found it well worth it. We had a private beach cabin and a catered 'gourmet' meal ( not the throng's buffet) which was more than we imagined (we gave some away to neighboring Cabin inhabitants). I HIGHLY recommend this option which is limited as there are only about a dozen cabins. The beach area is semi private and great for snorkelling.

 

The Emerald is a classy ship. One item we REALLY enjoyed was teh martini bar on deck 15 adjacent to Sabatini's, It was always quiet and they served up awesome stuffed olives to help offset the liquor.

The mermaid's tail was a nice place to enjoy the fruits of teh Horizon's buffet, and overlooked the 'adult-only' pool.

 

I can't speak to the ports, but our cruise's last stop was Princess CAY and it was icing on the cake!

 

 

 

I'm trying to decide between two cruises.

Both are Princess.

Their itineraries are pretty similar.

Star includes Nassau, Bahamas, and Emerald (for about $100 more) goes to Princess Cays, Bahamas.

We've never been to the Caribbean and have gone on the Crown Princess ship only.

Any difference between the two ships and two ports?

Thanks!

[Tatka]

Look at the Mariner/Navigator of the Seas @ 138,000 GRT with a max capacity of 3807 and the Carnival Dream @ 130,000 with a max of over 4300! and let me tell you that you will definitely notice the difference.

 

You can't judge other ships by comparing them to Carnival's big ships. They desingned in such a wrong way...

 

We sailed on Liberty CCL and Ruby/Caribbean Princess with approx the same tonnage and PAX number, all during school vacation ... Liberty

was crowded to the point I wanted to hide in my inside cabin (wrong choice when sailing with Carnival)... and on Princess we hardly felt that we are sailing with 3100+ other passangers.

 

You really need to compare the size and design of public areas, for example - the pools. There is a huge difference when crowd is spread out between 4-5 pools (2 of which are adult only) and when it is concentrated in the same huge footboll stadium like setting....

 

Another thing is dining. On Princess you have almost 24 hours a day buffet thus people don't feel like rushing for lunch all at the same time creating a zoo. :)