Princess Newbie considering Emerald, ??s Please!

[jana616]

Hi, my husband and I are in our mid-30's and are looking into the 5/16 sailing on the Emerald Princess to Eastern Caribbean. We've sailed on RCCL before, but never Princess. I was wondering about a couple of trivial things...

 

1) on a 7 night cruise, how many formal nights are there?

2) do they serve lobster in the main dining room any of the nights?

3) do they have a midnight buffet?

4) we really enjoyed watching Quest and the Love and Marriage Game on RCCL. Do they have anything like that on PCL?

5) I have been reading as much as possible about the Princess and the Emerald, but I can't figure out what has extra costs. I see that there are two specialty restaurants that cost extra. But then they talk about a coffee shop with pastries-is this extra? Mostly I seem to be confused on the dining option costs, I guess.

 

Any help on these things (which I know may be dumb questions!), or any other advice would be very much appreciated!

[RickEk]

Hi, my husband and I are in our mid-30's and are looking into the 5/16 sailing on the Emerald Princess to Eastern Caribbean. We've sailed on RCCL before, but never Princess. I was wondering about a couple of trivial things...

 

1) on a 7 night cruise, how many formal nights are there?

2) do they serve lobster in the main dining room any of the nights?

3) do they have a midnight buffet?

4) we really enjoyed watching Quest and the Love and Marriage Game on RCCL. Do they have anything like that on PCL?

5) I have been reading as much as possible about the Princess and the Emerald, but I can't figure out what has extra costs. I see that there are two specialty restaurants that cost extra. But then they talk about a coffee shop with pastries-is this extra? Mostly I seem to be confused on the dining option costs, I guess.

 

Any help on these things (which I know may be dumb questions!), or any other advice would be very much appreciated!

 

1) 2 formal nights...

2) Yes! If you're disappointed in the size of the tail you get, order another one!

3) No... the buffet is open 24 hours...

4) Yes, there will Princess Idol, Newlywed Game etc.

5) The International Cafe has pastries that are free... some items do have a cost, but it's slight.

[Colo Cruiser]

The Crown Grill is $25 and you get the smaller lobster tails but for a $9 upcharge you can get live Maine and/or 12 ounce Brazillian or Australian tails/porterhouse/rack of lamb/filet/chops.

It is excellent and well worth the $$ and you can order as much as you want. ;)

[johnfas]

Hi, my husband and I are in our mid-30's and are looking into the 5/16 sailing on the Emerald Princess to Eastern Caribbean. We've sailed on RCCL before, but never Princess. I was wondering about a couple of trivial things...

 

1) on a 7 night cruise, how many formal nights are there?

2) do they serve lobster in the main dining room any of the nights?

3) do they have a midnight buffet?

4) we really enjoyed watching Quest and the Love and Marriage Game on RCCL. Do they have anything like that on PCL?

5) I have been reading as much as possible about the Princess and the Emerald, but I can't figure out what has extra costs. I see that there are two specialty restaurants that cost extra. But then they talk about a coffee shop with pastries-is this extra? Mostly I seem to be confused on the dining option costs, I guess.

 

Any help on these things (which I know may be dumb questions!), or any other advice would be very much appreciated!

 

-Usually 2 formal nights (remember if you do not like formal there are other venues)

-Usually serve lobster on one of the formal nights.

-No midnight buffets, but on Princess there is no need...you can eat 24 hours a day! There is always somewhere to get a meal. You will not go hungry!!

-They play all those games on Princess also.. may be different but they have several lounges they use for trivia, newlywed, etc. etc.

-Emerald is a beautiful ship, sailed last February. Hopefully you are considering the 10 day.

-You can eat no charge if you wish all week in the Main dr. or in the Horizon court or in the International Cafe (our favorite spot). In the Cafe the only thing you pay for is specialty coffee. You can buy a card which gives you 15 any size specialty coffees for $24 (they normally sell for $2 or 3 each). You can also enjoy fresh brewed coffee all day if you wish as long as you have a coffee card, otherwise fresh brewed is $1. The International Cafe has pasty, muffins and hot breakfast sandwich in the AM. For lunch the have salads, sandwiches (hot or cold) dinner time they switch some of the items like cheeses, nuts, figs and they always have fresh baked cookies after 11 am (yum). Someone said a small charge for some items..no true anymore as they got rid of the gelato :( which was $2.

-They also have Vines Wine bar. You can get free sushi or tapas,no the wine is not free :(

-Specialty rest. are great Sabatini's $20 cover charge pp, and Crown grill $25. Both are a very nice dining experience and well worth it.

-Hope this helped a little.

[caribill]

 

At the International Cafe they also sell Gelato, three scoops for $1.50.

 

Coffee made from syrup is at no charge in the 24 hour buffet, the restaurants, and room service. Some people like it. Some people hate it.

[Langley Cruisers]

...no true anymore as they got rid of the gelato :( which was $2.

 

When did this happen? I can find no mention of that anywhere on this board and yes, I searched. Please let me know where I can find this information.

[Shifra]

The International Cafe has all types of foods at different times and recently added breakfast sandwiches. Everything is free except the gelato. All specialty coffees come with a charge. Vines has sushi and tapas that are free and a wonderful selection of wines that you must pay for.

 

Also free would be the great pizza, burgers and hotdogs, fries, soft ice cream, Cafe Caribe/Horizon Court and of course the 3 main dining rooms. Almost forgot......every afternoon there is a tea held in the dining room with finger sandwiches, scones and pastries and fresh baked cookies and milk in the piazza and outer decks also in the afternoons.

 

I can feel myself gaining weight as I type this......;)

[skellis]

Don't forget free popcorn at Movies Under the Stars (MUTS). Also Horizon Court (the main buffet) has Cafe Caribe which has specialty foods which change daily (sushi, Chinese, etc), free hamburgers and hotdogs, Pizza (best on the seas) (room service delivery of Pizza is $3.00), room service continental breakfast, sandwiches and salads from room service, and on sea days British Pub lunch in Windjammers. Also I had great meals in the Crown Grill, with great service. If you go hungry on the Emerald you must have a tapeworm or more will power than the other 3000+ passengers on the ship. In my opinion the food on Princess out shines the RCCL ships I have been on and I was on the Brilliance of the Seas in February 2009 (because of the itinerary only) and the food was mediocre at best.

 

The Emerald is a beautiful ship, I was on the last Baltic cruise of the season last September and I am sailing on the Ruby on March 30.

 

Do try to relax and enjoy yourself and not run, run, run as the ship has many places to relax and enjoy the water, wind and sea. Check out the adults only pools, sip a libation and recharge yourself. I think you will love it and come down with the same cruising addiction I have.

[johnfas]

When did this happen? I can find no mention of that anywhere on this board and yes, I searched. Please let me know where I can find this information.

 

We just returned off the Golden and there was no gelato. So we asked the chef and he said he would check into it. He ended up saying that he would advise that passengers were requesting it. To his knowledge it is no longer served. But I can say there is no freezer near the International cafe where the gelato used to be.

[bhopal21]

We just returned off the Golden and there was no gelato. So we asked the chef and he said he would check into it. He ended up saying that he would advise that passengers were requesting it. To his knowledge it is no longer served. But I can say there is no freezer near the International cafe where the gelato used to be.

 

This thread is about The Emerald and there is Gelato at the International Cafe onboard. We availed ourselves of it everyday last month and it is nothing short of a bargain.:D

 

Mike:)

[rdsqrl]

When did this happen? I can find no mention of that anywhere on this board and yes, I searched. Please let me know where I can find this information.

I believe it has been previously reported that when the International Cafe was added in drydock to the Golden and the Star (wait, did the Star get it? I forgot . . . ), because the space was not originally meant for the IC but the smaller Patisserie/Lobby Bar, there was no room for the gelato machine. Therefore, only ships with original ICs (Ruby, Emerald, and Crown) will have gelato -- leading some to believe that a fleet-wide gelato ban has been implemented if they're on one of the other ships.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thats it, no room for the gelato machine on the Golden/Caribbean refits.

Its still available on the Ruby/Crown/Emerald. :D