Elbow Room on Emerald Princess

[musicmom3]

We like our elbow room and were concerned about feeling hemmed in on our recent 16-day transatlantic voyage on the Emerald Princess. Our last cruise was a 12-day Mediterranean on the Celebrity Solstice, where there seemed to be long lines for everything from elevators to enrichment lectures. We are not experienced cruisers, so are feeling our way one cruise line at a time. What we found on the Emerald was that, despite a six-in-a-row run of unplanned sea days (thanks, Mother Nature), with the exception of anytime dining during certain hours and sometimes limited buffet seating, we never once felt crowded. There was always a little nook to tuck into, a niche to get away from it all. There also was almost always no wait at the elevators, despite one being out of service toward the end of the trip. No wait at the Laundromat either.

Thanks to all the experts here who helped us plan our trip! We were disappointed to miss ports of call and went a little stir crazy on those sea days, but it could have been a lot worse without the Emerald's smooth traffic flow.

[stoneharborlady]

We like our elbow room and were concerned about feeling hemmed in on our recent 16-day transatlantic voyage on the Emerald Princess. Our last cruise was a 12-day Mediterranean on the Celebrity Solstice, where there seemed to be long lines for everything from elevators to enrichment lectures. We are not experienced cruisers, so are feeling our way one cruise line at a time. What we found on the Emerald was that, despite a six-in-a-row run of unplanned sea days (thanks, Mother Nature), with the exception of anytime dining during certain hours and sometimes limited buffet seating, we never once felt crowded. There was always a little nook to tuck into, a niche to get away from it all. There also was almost always no wait at the elevators, despite one being out of service toward the end of the trip. No wait at the Laundromat either.

Thanks to all the experts here who helped us plan our trip! We were disappointed to miss ports of call and went a little stir crazy on those sea days, but it could have been a lot worse without the Emerald's smooth traffic flow.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip! I have not been on the Emerald, but felt the way you did about not feeling crowded on the Caribbean Princess. I am always a bit surprised when people complain that there are just too many people aboard her, with the extra deck. I never felt crowded on her.

 

Karen

[ninapeter]

Enjoy, relax and my mantra is "there is not enough time to do nothing." You will find your days go flying by. Make lunch dates in the dining room with new friends, have tea with someone you do not want to have lunch with, trivia, shows in the atrium, pools, gym, shows at night, the deadly mean casino, cards, games, bridge, read, nap, are a a few things to keep you involved.

[Times Prince]

We like our elbow room and were concerned about feeling hemmed in on our recent 16-day transatlantic voyage on the Emerald Princess. Our last cruise was a 12-day Mediterranean on the Celebrity Solstice, where there seemed to be long lines for everything from elevators to enrichment lectures. We are not experienced cruisers, so are feeling our way one cruise line at a time. What we found on the Emerald was that, despite a six-in-a-row run of unplanned sea days (thanks, Mother Nature), with the exception of anytime dining during certain hours and sometimes limited buffet seating, we never once felt crowded. There was always a little nook to tuck into, a niche to get away from it all. There also was almost always no wait at the elevators, despite one being out of service toward the end of the trip. No wait at the Laundromat either.

Thanks to all the experts here who helped us plan our trip! We were disappointed to miss ports of call and went a little stir crazy on those sea days, but it could have been a lot worse without the Emerald's smooth traffic flow.

Thanks for the positive feedback about this cruise.

 

We've sailed on Emerald Princess and her sister ships and have never felt crowded.

[cmarshall9]

I hope you found Skywalkers to enjoy some alone time with a great view during the day. :p

[DavidTravels]

Interesting comments. We were on the Emerald Princess 16 day transatlantic and we felt that (possibly due to the bad weather) the ship felt crowded.

 

We tried to get into three early shows with no luck.

 

The buffet area was always crowded morning, noon and night.

The mid ship elevators were very slow.

 

The first week of the cruise offered very little in the way of port talk (nothing for Oslo, Kristiansand or Glasgow) or lectures or other activities. I had to stand at the back of the theatre for the first talk about Cobh.

 

Of course, we still had a great time and did have some great personal service onboard the ship.

 

Our preference remains Celebrity...particularly the Solstice Class.

[Coral]

Interesting comments. We were on the Emerald Princess 16 day transatlantic and we felt that (possibly due to the bad weather) the ship felt crowded.

 

We tried to get into three early shows with no luck.

 

The buffet area was always crowded morning, noon and night.

The mid ship elevators were very slow.

 

The first week of the cruise offered very little in the way of port talk (nothing for Oslo, Kristiansand or Glasgow) or lectures or other activities. I had to stand at the back of the theatre for the first talk about Cobh.

 

 

This must be the key. I sailed the Crown Princess on a cooler weather cruise and it felt incredibly crowded. We could never walk in the atrium in the evening. We couldn't find a place to sit in the atrium to enjoy IC. I tried going to the shows many times and could never find a seat. I remember walking outside of Explorers Lounge and couldn't get through due to so many people outside of the Lounge trying to watch the show. It was port intensive so we were often in the Horizon Court with everyone else and could not find seats, even willing to share. We had first dining and were often 15 minutes late as we couldn't get an elevator (had a parent with me with a disability so stairs were out of the question). It was incredibly disappointing. I have yet to go back to the Crown or her sister ships due to this.

[PescadoAmarillo]

We've found the Emerald Princess can feel VERY crowded...at times. Those silly sales tables and photographers backdrops cause huge congestion in the Piazza at the same time people are standing in line for dinner or making their way to/from the Princess Theater. We often take to the promenade just to move from the front of the ship to the back (and we'll miss it on the Royal!).

 

Nice weather certainly helps to spread people out. But so does marching to the beat of our own drummer, and doing things just before or after what we've learned to be the worst times throughout the day. Certainly we'd love to not have to leave Skywalkers Elite lounge by 5:45pm so as to avoid the gridlocked aft elevators going to early dining in Botticelli, but we do, or else we stay a bit later and arrive at our own table for 2 ten minutes late. We've learned not to fight the crowds.

[musicmom3]

I hope you found Skywalkers to enjoy some alone time with a great view during the day. :p

 

We did indeed. The two side-by-side seats tucked in at the back were especially awesome, not that we ever got a chance to sit there, but we always had plenty of other choices.

[musicmom3]

Interesting comments. We were on the Emerald Princess 16 day transatlantic and we felt that (possibly due to the bad weather) the ship felt crowded.

 

We tried to get into three early shows with no luck.

 

The buffet area was always crowded morning, noon and night.

The mid ship elevators were very slow.

 

The first week of the cruise offered very little in the way of port talk (nothing for Oslo, Kristiansand or Glasgow) or lectures or other activities. I had to stand at the back of the theatre for the first talk about Cobh.

 

Of course, we still had a great time and did have some great personal service onboard the ship.

 

Our preference remains Celebrity...particularly the Solstice Class.

 

That's the cruise I'm commenting on...and I'm betting we have different biorhythms and were hitting things at different times, which would explain the different crowd experiences. As for the port talks and enrichment-type lectures, we were underwhelmed and stopped attending them after experiencing the first in each series. Just going on one cruise each, which is no basis for judgment, really, we did feel Celebrity had a much better handle on staffing those sorts of things.

[Coral]

We've found the Emerald Princess can feel VERY crowded...at times. Those silly sales tables and photographers backdrops cause huge congestion in the Piazza at the same time people are standing in line for dinner or making their way to/from the Princess Theater. We often take to the promenade just to move from the front of the ship to the back (and we'll miss it on the Royal!).

 

Nice weather certainly helps to spread people out. But so does marching to the beat of our own drummer, and doing things just before or after what we've learned to be the worst times throughout the day. Certainly we'd love to not have to leave Skywalkers Elite lounge by 5:45pm so as to avoid the gridlocked aft elevators going to early dining in Botticelli, but we do, or else we stay a bit later and arrive at our own table for 2 ten minutes late. We've learned not to fight the crowds.

 

I think this is easier in the Caribbean which is more leisurely. We were in Canada NE and all the tours left at the same time, etc....It was difficult to avoid the morning rush, etc... At dinner, we often got back at 5 and had dinner at 6 (traditional) so there wasn't that much flexibility. Our friends on Anytime had worse problems with dining and often dined with us as there were empty tables near us. We had done a similar trip on the Golden previously and didn't run into these issues.

[musicmom3]

We've found the Emerald Princess can feel VERY crowded...at times. Those silly sales tables and photographers backdrops cause huge congestion in the Piazza at the same time people are standing in line for dinner or making their way to/from the Princess Theater. We often take to the promenade just to move from the front of the ship to the back (and we'll miss it on the Royal!).

 

Nice weather certainly helps to spread people out. But so does marching to the beat of our own drummer, and doing things just before or after what we've learned to be the worst times throughout the day. Certainly we'd love to not have to leave Skywalkers Elite lounge by 5:45pm so as to avoid the gridlocked aft elevators going to early dining in Botticelli, but we do, or else we stay a bit later and arrive at our own table for 2 ten minutes late. We've learned not to fight the crowds.

 

Interesting comments, which I relate to. We seemed to naturally move at a pace that was a little off from other cruisers', too, which probably accounts for our impression of good traffic flow, although there was no way that we could see to get around the buffet crunch. With iffy weather, the outside tables were mostly empty, so at times we just bundled up and ate with Mother Nature. The other thing we did, after we figured it out, was to make an anytime-dining reservation each morning at precisely 8:00am, which was the earliest that reservations could be made on this cruise. It felt like the old days, trying to synchronize satellite time with Walt Disney World time to get a coveted reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom! On the Emerald, we experienced waits up to 45 minutes (for a two-top), before we learned one could make that very critical morning call.

[musicmom3]

This must be the key. I sailed the Crown Princess on a cooler weather cruise and it felt incredibly crowded. We could never walk in the atrium in the evening. We couldn't find a place to sit in the atrium to enjoy IC. I tried going to the shows many times and could never find a seat. I remember walking outside of Explorers Lounge and couldn't get through due to so many people outside of the Lounge trying to watch the show. It was port intensive so we were often in the Horizon Court with everyone else and could not find seats, even willing to share. We had first dining and were often 15 minutes late as we couldn't get an elevator (had a parent with me with a disability so stairs were out of the question). It was incredibly disappointing. I have yet to go back to the Crown or her sister ships due to this.

 

This was exactly what I was afraid of happening, and am so glad did not. Pretty much anything else I can deal with (although the six unexpected sea days in a row on our cruise were challenging), but that sardine-can feeling...that is a tough one. I can see why you would not want to return.

[canadarocks]

The other thing we did, after we figured it out, was to make an anytime-dining reservation each morning at precisely 8:00am, which was the earliest that reservations could be made on this cruise. It felt like the old days, trying to synchronize satellite time with Walt Disney World time to get a coveted reservation at Cinderella's Royal Table in the Magic Kingdom! On the Emerald, we experienced waits up to 45 minutes (for a two-top), before we learned one could make that very critical morning call.

 

Thanks so much for posting this! It would have never occurred to me to reserve a table for breakfast! :cool: Which dining room did you eat in for breakfast?

[chrysalis]

Thanks so much for posting this! It would have never occurred to me to reserve a table for breakfast! :cool: Which dining room did you eat in for breakfast?

 

Think you misunderstood....no reservations for breakfast

 

They called at 8am to reserve dinner

[canadarocks]

Thanks so much for posting this! It would have never occurred to me to reserve a table for breakfast! :cool: Which dining room did you eat in for breakfast?

 

Think you misunderstood....no reservations for breakfast

 

They called at 8am to reserve dinner

 

D'oh! I knew that sounded too good to be true! :o Planning our very first Princess cruise, and I was thrilled to think that breakfast reservations were a possibility!

[musicmom3]

Thanks so much for posting this! It would have never occurred to me to reserve a table for breakfast! :cool: Which dining room did you eat in for breakfast?

 

Oops! Sorry I wasn't clear--this was for a dinner reservation, at Michaelangelo's. We found that if we didn't get through by 8:10 AM, there would be no reservations available or they would be very late. As it was, the reservations were accepted from 5:00 to 5:30PM and then again at 7:30PM onward. Reservations were not allowed for the hours between 5:30 and 7:30pm.

[canadarocks]

Oops! Sorry I wasn't clear--this was for a dinner reservation, at Michaelangelo's. We found that if we didn't get through by 8:10 AM, there would be no reservations available or they would be very late. As it was, the reservations were accepted from 5:00 to 5:30PM and then again at 7:30PM onward. Reservations were not allowed for the hours between 5:30 and 7:30pm.

 

No, my bad for not realizing what you meant! ;)

[musicmom3]

Enjoy, relax and my mantra is "there is not enough time to do nothing." You will find your days go flying by. Make lunch dates in the dining room with new friends, have tea with someone you do not want to have lunch with, trivia, shows in the atrium, pools, gym, shows at night, the deadly mean casino, cards, games, bridge, read, nap, are a a few things to keep you involved.

 

An excellent philosophy! I think what threw me was the unexpectedness of all of a sudden finding out we had six sea days in a row instead of a few clumps of two interspersed. Luckily I had packed my laptop along with my tablet, so was able to get a lot of digital scrapbooking (my hobby) done.

[OCruisers]

D'oh! I knew that sounded too good to be true! :o Planning our very first Princess cruise, and I was thrilled to think that breakfast reservations were a possibility!

 

Don't worry about it. There is never a line for breakfast in the MDR for either breakfast or lunch. Wait until it actually opens ... NO LINE!

We almost always have lunch in the MDR on At Sea days. Never waited on Emerald or any other Princess ship. :)

 

Note: If you want a table for two, tell them when you enter or you'll be seated with others.

 

LuLu

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[canadarocks]

Don't worry about it. There is never a line for breakfast in the MDR for either breakfast or lunch. Wait until it actually opens ... NO LINE!

We almost always have lunch in the MDR on At Sea days. Never waited on Emerald or any other Princess ship. :)

 

Note: If you want a table for two, tell them when you enter or you'll be seated with others.

 

LuLu

~~~~

 

Thanks again for your help. On HAL ships breakfast in the MDR seems to take forever. Is it the same on the Emerald?

[BarbinMich]

We were on the Emerald TA as well, but didn't find the "crowding" any different than on other Princess cruises (we've done 20). We have anytime dining and usually eat in Caribe/Horizon court around 8 pm. We also know it's impossible to get a seat at the early show in the theater (at 8 or 8:15) because all the early traditional diners and other early diners get there at 7:45 or so and fill up the place. And after this cruise, we know it's hard to get into the first show in Explorer's because (a) the people there for the previous event (dance band, trivia, etc.) stay for the show and (b) the 1st-theater-show folks are ready for their 2nd show of the evening. The second show in each venue is much easier to get into, but unfortunately sometimes overlap a bit. On previous cruises they have had theater shows at 7, 8:15 and sometimes later as well. The 7 pm show is usually not crowded. The piazza is usually full during the day, but the IC itself (by the coffee bar) may or may not be. I agree re formal nights when there are photo set-ups everywhere, adding to possible congestion and the sales tables during the day, but then we're not walking around constantly--there are so many places to "get away from it all."

[DavidTravels]

Thanks again for your help. On HAL ships breakfast in the MDR seems to take forever. Is it the same on the Emerald?

 

Often we had breakfast in the MDR and service was spotty at best and very slow. Not complaining since we didn't have a whole lot to do in the morning until the 10:30 am trivia. Food came at various times (or not at all) although there was never a problem getting croissants etc (we don't eat them).

 

Honest...we aren't complainers; however, we both found Princess...at least the Emerald...lacking. We love the rooms at the very stern of the ship but oh boy did these ever rock and roll and creak and shake. And...we have been on five trans Atlantics with never this kind of problem.

 

Simone...one of the assistant cruise directors was fantastic...so energetic and inclusive.

 

DavidTravels

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks again for your help. On HAL ships breakfast in the MDR seems to take forever. Is it the same on the Emerald?

 

No.

 

Honestly, every meal we've ever eaten in an HAL dining room seemed to take forever. Every. Single. One.

[OCruisers]

Thanks again for your help. On HAL ships breakfast in the MDR seems to take forever. Is it the same on the Emerald?

 

We very seldom go to breakfast in the MDR.

For LUNCH in the MDR on Princess our order does always come promptly.

 

One cruise line (can't remember which) has this Express Breakfast thing in the MDR. Be ready to eat immediately when you order that. :D

 

LuLu

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