Back from Christmas Emerald...My Thoughts

[stlrod]

We've returned from the Christmas sailing of the Emerald. Overall, it was a good trip. We are a family of 4 (kids are 16 and 20) and were in cabins E414 and E610. This was our second sailing on Princess. The first was 10 years ago. There were some noticeable differences.

 

Embarkation—We arrived at the pier at 11:45, the doors opened a little after noon and we were in our cabins within 15 minutes of entering (and we didn’t even have our boarding passes yet.)

 

Initial Impression--The ship is beautiful and tastefully decorated with just the right amount of Christmas decorations. Onboard, we had lunch in the Horizon court (so-so) and then went exploring. We made reservations for Wednesday night at Crown Grill, booked two spots in the Sanctuary for the week and purchased coffee cards (a must for coffee drinkers.)

 

Room—Room was laid out very nicely. Our cabin stewards were excellent. E414 had virtually no obstruction and E610 was almost totally obstructed. I would definitely book E414 again if sailing on this class again.

 

Dining—For the most part, the meals were mediocre. I was a little bothered that the “themed nights’ set out in the brochure on our desk did not match up with what ultimately done. The highlights were definitely the Crown Grill and the International Café (loved this place.) Our waiter was the most unfriendly we have ever had on any ship (we’ve sailed Disney, Carnival, NCL and RCCL) and the assistant was only slightly better. The staff at the International Café were exceptional. We also enjoyed the London Pub atmosphere and food at the Wheelhouse Bar on sea days.

 

Entertainment—We did not attend the production shows (rare for us to skip them) so we can only comment on the others. The hypnotist was boring and her act was repeated for the first 3 nights in different locations. The impressionist and comedians brought on later in the week were much better. We enjoyed the Chistmas caroling in the Piazza as well as some of the specialty performances. MUTS was hit and miss. My kids went up for the teen movie the first night only to have football run over and the movie not played. We did enjoy it during the day (except announcements always came at bad times.) The cruise director, Tim Donavan, and his staff were very good though I would probably skip the London Pub night next time (too long and not very funny.)

 

Ports—Princess Cays was beautiful and renting a cabana was great. The basic rental did not come with anything special (food delivery, etc) but it could as most of the waiters were just standing around that day. In St. Maarten, we toured with Bernard (Slim was our tour guide) and it was an excellent tour. In St. Thomas, we toured with Godfrey and the tour was so-so (in fairness to Godfrey though, the weather turned bad and St. Thomas just isn’t what it used to be.)

 

Onboard Activities—This is where I think the biggest decline has occurred. They were fairly lacking and not much to appeal to our kids’ ages. We do not gamble but the casino looked pretty empty most of the time. The midnight mass was excellent. The Sanctuary was wonderful (and they even let us cancel the first sea day when it was overcast and then we just booked the next sea day.) The Spa was also excellent (I had a massage, my wife and oldest had detox/slimming treatments and my youngest had teeth whitening.)

 

Disembarkation--We walked-off early due to having an early flight. It seemed like everybody else did as well whether they needed to or not (everyone but us in the shuttle heading back to the airport had afternoon flights.) They really should limit the number of people doing this to those having early flights. The process was made worse by the number of people around us complaining about the cruise or the dismbarkation process (some people need to get a grip.)

 

Overall Impression—It was a good cruise, but nothing special other than being away on the holidays. I think the problem is that Princess tries to be all things to all people and in the process doesn’t stand out in any one area. They don’t have the “fun” ships (Carnival), the cruises are not all about family (Disney) and they aren’t really geared for the active lifestyle (RCCL.) I think they know that also. One of the funniest moments to me was the night we left St. Maarten when the cruise director, in an attempt to be humorous, made mention of the number of ships in port, which included the Oasis, and asked, “Did you see those people on the other ships leaning over their balconies and watching our movies?” I thought, “Yeah, right.”

 

So that I don't end on a negative, I must say the ship never seemed crowed except the first night when we went to dinner. I like how the ship is "broken up." I also thought the kids/teens on the ship were well behaved despite seeing some obvious underage drinking on the pool deck on Christmas night.

 

Hope I gave enough detail. Feel free to ask me any questions. Our next cruise will be on the Oasis on 12/18/10 and we are very much looking forward to it, especially after seeing the ship up close.

[stlrod]

Forgot to mention Grand Turk. We were about an hour late docking at Grand Turk due to a Seabourne ship being late getting out (this was very disappointing since the time in Grand Turk was so limited and cut short by rain a little later.) We had been on one of the first ships to visit Grand Turk and it is much better now that it is more fully developed. We had reserved the Flow Rider in advance for the kids and were glad we did since it was all booked up for the day. Grand Turk is an excellent port and surprisingly not as crowded as I feared with the Glory also being there.

[sunsetbeachgal]

We have friends who were on your sailing and echoed some of the same comments. Unfortunately she said the weather last week left something to be desired, which, although is beyond control, affects the whole cruise experience.

[Woobstr112G]

We've returned from the Christmas sailing of the Emerald. Overall, it was a good trip. We are a family of 4 (kids are 16 and 20) and were in cabins E414 and E610. This was our second sailing on Princess. The first was 10 years ago. There were some noticeable differences.

 

Embarkation—We arrived at the pier at 11:45, the doors opened a little after noon and we were in our cabins within 15 minutes of entering (and we didn’t even have our boarding passes yet.)

 

Initial Impression--The ship is beautiful and tastefully decorated with just the right amount of Christmas decorations. Onboard, we had lunch in the Horizon court (so-so) and then went exploring. We made reservations for Wednesday night at Crown Grill, booked two spots in the Sanctuary for the week and purchased coffee cards (a must for coffee drinkers.)

 

Room—Room was laid out very nicely. Our cabin stewards were excellent. E414 had virtually no obstruction and E610 was almost totally obstructed. I would definitely book E414 again if sailing on this class again.

 

Dining—For the most part, the meals were mediocre. I was a little bothered that the “themed nights’ set out in the brochure on our desk did not match up with what ultimately done. The highlights were definitely the Crown Grill and the International Café (loved this place.) Our waiter was the most unfriendly we have ever had on any ship (we’ve sailed Disney, Carnival, NCL and RCCL) and the assistant was only slightly better. The staff at the International Café were exceptional. We also enjoyed the London Pub atmosphere and food at the Wheelhouse Bar on sea days.

 

Entertainment—We did not attend the production shows (rare for us to skip them) so we can only comment on the others. The hypnotist was boring and her act was repeated for the first 3 nights in different locations. The impressionist and comedians brought on later in the week were much better. We enjoyed the Chistmas caroling in the Piazza as well as some of the specialty performances. MUTS was hit and miss. My kids went up for the teen movie the first night only to have football run over and the movie not played. We did enjoy it during the day (except announcements always came at bad times.) The cruise director, Tim Donavan, and his staff were very good though I would probably skip the London Pub night next time (too long and not very funny.)

 

Ports—Princess Cays was beautiful and renting a cabana was great. The basic rental did not come with anything special (food delivery, etc) but it could as most of the waiters were just standing around that day. In St. Maarten, we toured with Bernard (Slim was our tour guide) and it was an excellent tour. In St. Thomas, we toured with Godfrey and the tour was so-so (in fairness to Godfrey though, the weather turned bad and St. Thomas just isn’t what it used to be.)

 

Onboard Activities—This is where I think the biggest decline has occurred. They were fairly lacking and not much to appeal to our kids’ ages. We do not gamble but the casino looked pretty empty most of the time. The midnight mass was excellent. The Sanctuary was wonderful (and they even let us cancel the first sea day when it was overcast and then we just booked the next sea day.) The Spa was also excellent (I had a massage, my wife and oldest had detox/slimming treatments and my youngest had teeth whitening.)

 

Disembarkation--We walked-off early due to having an early flight. It seemed like everybody else did as well whether they needed to or not (everyone but us in the shuttle heading back to the airport had afternoon flights.) They really should limit the number of people doing this to those having early flights. The process was made worse by the number of people around us complaining about the cruise or the dismbarkation process (some people need to get a grip.)

 

Overall Impression—It was a good cruise, but nothing special other than being away on the holidays. I think the problem is that Princess tries to be all things to all people and in the process doesn’t stand out in any one area. They don’t have the “fun” ships (Carnival), the cruises are not all about family (Disney) and they aren’t really geared for the active lifestyle (RCCL.) I think they know that also. One of the funniest moments to me was the night we left St. Maarten when the cruise director, in an attempt to be humorous, made mention of the number of ships in port, which included the Oasis, and asked, “Did you see those people on the other ships leaning over their balconies and watching our movies?” I thought, “Yeah, right.”

 

So that I don't end on a negative, I must say the ship never seemed crowed except the first night when we went to dinner. I like how the ship is "broken up." I also thought the kids/teens on the ship were well behaved despite seeing some obvious underage drinking on the pool deck on Christmas night.

 

Hope I gave enough detail. Feel free to ask me any questions. Our next cruise will be on the Oasis on 12/18/10 and we are very much looking forward to it, especially after seeing the ship up close.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts.....:):):)

 

Bob

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting the review. We sailed on the Emerald during Thanksgiving week. The weather was beautiful then. We had a great table in the traditional dining room and all of our meals were good there. I think a lot has to do with timing.

 

We don't require much in terms of onboard activities, although I must confess to being addicted to trivia.

 

This cruise turned out to be one of our best--and now we're booked for the Crown Princess in March.

[cruiser boo]

thanks for your review. We are on the Emerald b 2 b in late Jan.

Did anyone say if there were any changes made w/ ship in dry dock?

Did you happen to notice or use the water cooler in the excercise room? A few weeks ago someone else said they removed it???

In St Marteen I noticed there will be a total of 3 lrg ships in port such as you probably had. Did that make the port "overcrowded" in your opinion.:confused:

thanks

[1 HappyCruiser]

If the waiter & assistant were as bad as you said, why didn't you ask for a change of tables ASAP?

[jtagphillycruiser]

Thank you for your review. DH and I were on the Emerald on 11/15/09 sailing and our weather was perfect. Bad weather can make or break a trip. Well, at least you had some good family time...Happy New Year.

[Northender]

It sounds as tho you enjoyed your cruise no matter what.:)

 

Thanks for the review and all your comments.:)

[Times Prince]

STLROD,

Thanks for the review.

 

I'm curious - what made the midnight mass excellent? Two years ago, as choir leaders on vacation, we volunteered to do the music for Christmas Masses, and were accompanied by a staff pianist. Do they have staff leading the singing now, or is it still a passenger volunteer situation.

[stlrod]

cruiserboo--I'm not sure what changes were made during drydock. Everything sparkled for sure and the carpet looked new. Didn't notice whether there was a water cooler in the exercise area (was just there a short time.) We had lots of ships in St. Maarten and it did not seem crowded (though we avoided downtown.)

 

1HappyCruiser--I didn't say the service was bad--just unfriendly.

 

Times Prince--I really liked the informality of the mass (yet traditional.) I also enjoyed hearing from the two priests onboard. There was no one leading the singing--just the pianist. Made me a little sad at the beginning to hear "I'll be Home for Christmas" being played before mass (no worse than venison on the menu on Christmas Eve.)

[Guest Spo]

The cruise director, Tim Donavan, and his staff were very good though I would probably skip the London Pub night next time (too long and not very funny.)

 

Thanks for the review.

 

What is the London Pub night?

[Colo Cruiser]

What is the London Pub night?

 

Its a comedy skit thats been around for many many years.

[Sandyrella]

Thank-you for taking the time to post a very honest review.

 

I am also wondering about St. Maarten. We will have 5 ships in port the day we are there in March. You said there were other large ships in port but can you tell me how many? Did you find it crowded? We were also considering a tour with Bernard but we are now worried about traffic getting back to the ship.

 

Thanks again!

[Northender]

I don't want to scare you about St. Martin but traffic is a bear on a good day:eek:

[cruiselady77]

I have taken many Princess cruises, and although my favorite ship so far is the Star, I was on the Emerald last April, and just came from the Ruby in November. I have tried other lines, but just find Princess to be that much better. If I have one complaint, and I'm sure its on every line, is the people that drape all the deck chairs with towels, then disappear for the day. They say the towels will be removed, but i've never seen this happen. It's very difficult to get a deck chair on sea days, and I wish people would be more considerate... but.. if this is my only bitch,.. it's not a problem... lol... going back on the Ruby in March

[stretchcruz]

Thank you for your honest review.

 

My mom and her roommate were in E414 for the first transatlantic sailing...we were so jealous, as we had booked the same category but ended up in a room with a lifeboat outside (we expected that) and 2 bunks that I kept hitting my head on (not so expected). Mom's room was great!!

[Guest Spo]

Thank-you for taking the time to post a very honest review.

 

I am also wondering about St. Maarten. We will have 5 ships in port the day we are there in March. You said there were other large ships in port but can you tell me how many? Did you find it crowded? We were also considering a tour with Bernard but we are now worried about traffic getting back to the ship.

 

Thanks again!

 

We took a tour with Bernard a year ago in November. There was plenty of time built in so that we could be flexible. We had one of "those" couples that could NEVER get back to the bus on time so we missed shopping, but we had time to spend at the beach where the planes come in. I would imagine if traffic is going to be a problem, he will adjust to accommodate it.

[Johanna7]

We were on the Emerald Nov. 29 to Dec 6 and it was just prior to going to Drydock. It was great. We had the anytime dining which we enjoyed. We ate only in the Michaelangelo dining room. No complaints about the food or the service.

 

The weather was perfect.

 

We liked Princess Cays, it was the first time for us. We had been to Holland America's Half Moon Cay 5 times though and they are both nice. As is Labadee with Royal Caribbean.

 

Only 2 ships in St. Maarten, Emerald and a RCCL one. We loved the ferry that took us downtown and back. Nice scenic ride. You can buy an all day armband for only 6 bucks.

 

St. Thomas was okay but I would have preferred Havensight.

 

Grand Turk was a first for us and we were quite impressed. We took the Conch tour and it was quite interesting. Learned more about conch than we ever wanted to know but it was interesting and we got a passport for having been there.

 

The onboard activities were fine and I won in trivia 7 times so came home with a few nice items. Of course the people that were on the team I was on were brilliant. It really helps to have great team mates.

 

As we had a lovely balcony on the Riviera Deck, we were able to see quite a lot from the ship and it was only 1 floor to the Lido. We ate there for all the breakfasts and lunches.

 

We had a wonderful cabin steward.