Odds and ends from Emerald repo, Sept. 25-Oct. 1

[jasbo49]

Hi everyone. We got off the Emerald Princess yesterday in L.A., and I thought I'd drop in a few thoughts. This was a repositioning cruise, Vancouver, B.C., to L.A., a transition from the Alaska cruising season to the warm winter itineraries of the Pacific and South America.

 

This was the first Princess cruise where we were told at check-in that the cabins would not be ready until 2 p.m. I don't know why they were not ready at boarding as usual, or what time they were really ready. We didn't get on board until after 12:15 and, after having lunch, we went to our cabin a little before 2 and it was ready.

 

We found the crew to be the usual Princess crew, mostly happy and interested in keeping us happy. The one place we found fault was the Horizon Court beverage service. Several times we waited 10-15 minutes or more to get coffee, lemonade, whatever ordered and delivered. By then, you're finished with your meal or close to it. And they seem to frown on self service.

 

Since so many recent threads are based on booze, I'll dispense with those in a paragraph: The old-style AIBP was in effect, the drink prices seemed to be the same as our January cruise and, yes, we had the BOGO Happy Hour. The Platinum-and-up cocktail hour had the new drink menu (I miss the Chairman of the Board and the fancy-pants margarita, whatever it was called) and the price was $6.50 rather than the old $5.

 

We love listening to live music, and tried several lounges and acts in the first night or two. We were about ready to give up when we stumbled onto a duo called 2 Cool in the Wheelhouse. It was a guy on guitar and a lady on keyboards, and they both sang. We loved them. They played a nice mix of mostly familiar and a few new (to us) tunes. Maybe blue-eyed soul would be a good description? We watched them for five nights and heard just one repeat song, a Van Morrison song I didn't know that well.

 

The cruise director was Corey Moir. I really like the guy. He's out and about, or you might run into him ashore. The only CDs I've liked more are those who've been around years and have mellowed a bit (David Cole, where are you?}

 

This cruise made us realize how much we like the newer, bigger ships, if we can just avoid those tiny balconies. We really appreciate the buffet on the Royal and Regal. And the TVs that offer so much. I know there are people who are eager to say, "You're on a cruise. What do you care about TV." We all have our own paces, and sometimes our calls for a couple hours of down time, whether it's reading or TV or balcony time.

 

I'll be happy to answer questions. But I'll warn you: We didn't do bingo, zumba, trivia, karaoke, specialty restaurants, Sanctuary, art auctions or a dozen other things.

 

Jim

[Jojiboy]

Thank you for posting your thoughts. I heard David Cole left Princess and is running his own company back in Pennsylvania. We enjoyed having him as a CD too.

 

 

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[easyboy]

Nice to know Emerald still had the BOGO and the AIBP. It’s now missed in some ships,

Thanks for the feedback.

 

 

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[LawDog61]

We were on the same cruise and I agree with Jasbo. the 2 cool group was great. The rock band Star Wave ...well, I don't care for the female singer much, but the lead guitar was pretty good...even did some Kinks.

 

I Usually don't go to the shows in the main theater but caught the Ric Steel show on the last night(country music) and it was terrific.

 

This was our second time in Club Class and it was excellent . Also, we really enjoyed Astoria, a nice change. Overall, a very pleasant cruise.

[CineGraphic]

Corey really is special. We were on his first cruise as a CD, and we hope to sail with him again in December

 

 

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[lovevacadays]

Thank you for your review. Sounds like you had a wonderful time.

[Lucky TGO]

Thanks for sharing nice review.

Tony