Emerald Princess Review from a Royal Die Hard!

[ggprincess2004]

Hi All,

I am glad that you enjoying my Emerald review, even though we are Die Hard RCL fans it is impossible to bash Princess and the few negative things I commented on have happened on RCL as well, we truly did enjoy the Princess experience and will cruise with them again ;) For those who will cruise with Princess for the first time, trust me your going to love it :) Next up will be a Bermuda cruise on NCL out of Boston, I have heard many negative things about the line but the only way to know for sure is to cruise with them.

Ron :)

 

Ron,

 

I look forward to your review of your NCL cruise to Bermuda. They home port at locations convenient to us, and we have been very reluctant to give them a try. Based on your review of the Emerald Princess experience, I will trust your comments on NCL. Thanks for taking the time to write such a fact-based review. Also, we just disembarked Golden Princess, and although our cabin stewardess did the job and did it well, she was the most unfriendly of any we have experienced to date on Princess. Oh well, we never wanted for clean towels, etc., just a smile now and then. Thanks again!

 

Ginger

[ribarfly]

Hello! We were on your exact cruise and we were in room 242 on the Riviera Deck, which was on Deck 14. My husband and I agree with everything you said on your review. My only complaint, and this seems to be with every cruise line everywhere, is that there is simply not enough time in port to do anything but race back and forth from your excursion to the ship. In the days of yore, the ships actually stayed in port past 8pm so perhaps a person could even dine on one of the islands if they chose to. I know those days are long gone. So, that was our only complaint about our trip....not enough time to explore by yourself in port. Oh....and Grand Turk......hmmmmmm.....one big tourist trap with bright lights and loud music.

 

 

 

Compass Rose, you should have joined the roll call for the sailing we had a great CC group onboard that sailing :D I have to agree I would have rather stayed overnight in St Maarten or St Thomas instead of going to Grand Turk but at least now we can say been there done that……..never again!

Ron ;)

[ShipShapeinFL]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ShipShapein FL

Great review Ron and it was so nice meeting you and your wife. I am glad you enjoyed your first Princess cruise.

 

Hi Robin,

Thanks it was great cruising with you and Chris, hope we all cruise again in the future. Don’t forget we will be on the Liberty of the seas in December maybe you could join us.

Ron :)

 

I would love to take a cruise before the end of the year but it doesn't look like that is going to happen. We are starting to look at Panama Canal cruises next fall. Definately, want to go on a 10 day.

[Lynda59]

Hey Ron -

I think you did a great job with this review, but I think you should have mentioned about the great cruise critic people you met since I was one of them! (Ha!Ha!)

 

We had Anytime Dining and we ate dinner in DaVinci once and Michaelangelo six times (we found a waiter we really liked). Our menu had a steak every night. I know because I had a steak 4 or 5 nights. There was some type of beef medallions on the every day menu which was very, very good.

 

Glad to see you booked a cruise out of Boston. We liked the Spirit - especially the back by the pool which is covered for those of us who like outside but do not want to be in the sun all day.

[Katie333]

Thanks for the comparative review! I admit I'm not an RCI fan based on my single cruise with them, and I think it's partially because while the lines are similar, the things that differentiate Princess (such as the more accommodating and variety of options at places like IC and buffets) are more important to me.

 

Great perspective.

[ribarfly]

Hey Ron -

I think you did a great job with this review, but I think you should have mentioned about the great cruise critic people you met since I was one of them! (Ha!Ha!)

 

We had Anytime Dining and we ate dinner in DaVinci once and Michaelangelo six times (we found a waiter we really liked). Our menu had a steak every night. I know because I had a steak 4 or 5 nights. There was some type of beef medallions on the every day menu which was very, very good.

 

Glad to see you booked a cruise out of Boston. We liked the Spirit - especially the back by the pool which is covered for those of us who like outside but do not want to be in the sun all day.

 

 

Hi Lynda,

 

Damm…..I was dieing for a steak all week figures the only night I go there NO STEAK :( Anyway here is the last sentence in my review ”And lastly we are grateful for all the wonderful new friends we have made sailing on the Emerald.”

Our most precious memories of the cruise will always be all the great new friends we made onboard the Emerald ;) I am sure we will all cruise again in the future.

Ron :)

[need2cruisesoon]

That was our situation with RCL we cruised exclusively for 11-years working our way up to D+ to take advantage of all the perks but as of late they have made many changes to the Crown & Anchor program so it was the perfect time to see what other lines have to offer. I plan now is try them all so next up is NCL.

As for my favorite RCL ships -

Radiance Class, we just love all the ships and their crew, probably the best class ship for an Alaskan cruise.

Voyager Class & Freedom Class because of the Promenade, ice shows and overall size.

And of course the Oasis she is just unbelievable a must cruise at least once.

Ron :)

 

 

Ron

 

Got to agree with you regarding the Radiance Class ships. My GF and I did the Radiance of the Seas last summer up to Alaska and absolutely loved the ship, felt very comfortable and the staff was outstanding.

We are on the Princess Ruby this summer and are equally excited about this beautiful ship as well.

 

Ron

[Jasperdo]

Nice review, thank you! I feel the same way, that Princess and RCCL are very similar. Some things are better on Princess, others on RCCL. But, overall they even out, and both provide a great cruise experience.

[M&MCruisin]

Ron - excellent review. Being that I want to try RCCL, I liked seeing the comparisons. Thanks for all you did on the roll call and it was a treat to meet the cruise director. Wish we had more show up for the meet n greet, but it was great to meet everyone in person. Thanks for sharing all this...very helpful!

[adk0425]

We also love sailing with RCI and just returned from our first Princess cruise. Of course we also made comparisons and yours seem on point with ours. Bartenders are not as friendly on Princess, we always found "our spot" on an RCI ship and returned night after night to that bar/bartender. Not so on Princess. We ended up most nights in the Speakeasy Lounge bringing our own drinks as the cigar lounge had no full-time attendant (as RCI does). Also the shows on RCI are fabulous, Princess, not so much (absolutely terrible). However, I did enjoy Princess and will sail again with them, they just do not have my undivided devotion and if it is a trip between RCI and Princess, I'll choose RCI :-)

[Patsfan3]

We are just off of the Emerald and for the past 3 years we have been going RCCL.

 

We really liked the added touches of Princess. There are still chocolates on the pillows. One hot day getting back on the ship they handed out cold towels-very nice!

 

They still serve fillet in the dining room-for free!! They also still serve rack of lamb and beef wellington.

 

Another plus for us was the availability of apple juice throughout the day for our little one-without a charge unlike RCCL.

 

The coffee package was a great value, especially using the 2 for 1 coupon!! And the soda package was cheaper than RCCL.

 

We would definately go Princess again!!! It was wonderful:D

[TowMater]

The coffee package was a great value, especially using the 2 for 1 coupon!!

 

 

Where could I find this 2-for-1 coupon for the coffee??

[ajachome]

Thanks for a great review. :cool:

 

We might cruise on Emerald this July. :)

 

by the way, how would you rate the vegetarian options on this ship. Do they have any asian options ( indian, chinese, thai...etc). Thanks.

[Patsfan3]

It was in a coupon booklet that was in our cabin. Not sure if it is one everyone gets?