just off Emerald to Hawaii

[ddled]

We just did Emerald from LA to Hawaii. Overall it was a very good cruise-well worth the time. Here are a few thoughts as a review:

Embarkation was as smooth as possible-walked right on. Stayed the night before at Vagabond Inn in San Pedro-very good service, and easy to use. 

Ports- In Hilo we rented a car and went to Volcano Winery-if you like wineries this was a nice place-good wines and charming location. Something different to do and a short hour or so drive. Town of Volcano has several places to poke around in too. Honolulu-rented a car and drove North Shore. great scenery, breathtaking views-shrimp trucks are fun places to stop for lunch. Kuawai  we did a hop on bus you can get from the pier-not through the ship, but it is fun. Went to several places including a great plantation stop that could have been all day. In afternoon we went on fern grotto tour-great scenery, fun to see all the movie locations. Maui-we went whale watching-did excursion from ship. Saw lots of them and close. Even better would have been to go on a zodiac-faster and they get closer. Ensenada-get off here and do something-no problems. We did a ship excursion to LaCetta winery-well worth the trip-great time and no fears.

Entertainment on ship-excellent-in particular the dance music. They had a duo from Mexico-the Rumba Duo that was very danceable and the show band was very good too-Atomic. Theater acts were very good-did think the dancers were just average except the Magic show which was really unique. Dance floors were bigger than most ships and were used. The nightclub floor however was an exception-glass with edges that stick up.

Food-much has been said about this but we found it to  be very good. Ate in MDR all nights except 2 in Crown Grill which was fantastic. Had room service for lunch, buffet for breakfast. In all places choices were numerous and well presented. We had no real complaints. 

Misc-several things that we thought-

chairs in Explorers were worn out and needed replaced. Our bed was lumpy and sagged in the middle-if this is the new bed they are in trouble-our great room steward had to  put a board under the mattess! Wine policy seems to be that you can bring on wine at any port-Over 1 per person you pay a corkage fee of 15 if you want to take it to dinner. I got several versions of this, but I did bring wine on in Hilo. 

 

Final thoughts- I would not be afraid to sail Emerald anywhere. Service was excellent, food very good with lots of choices, entertainment was great. She needs a little tlc  in the upcoming dry dock, and that will help, but all in all it was a great cruise. 

Not part of the cruise but if I had to do it again I would fly into any other airport than lax! The place is dump and that is a nice comment. 

Princess continues to put on a fine cruise for us and we look forward to out next one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Thrak]

Thanks for the review. We agree about Emerald. We did 28 days on her in October of 2917 and had a fantastic trip.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for your comments.

[srpilo]

Thanks, and welcome back to reality

 

Srpilo

[skynight]

Agree with ddled's review. We sailed on the same voyage as well as the 2 previous sailings, b2b2b. In all it was a very nice cruise with great crew. All the live music entertainers were really good and there were lots of them including the Princess orchestra, Brian @ Crooner's, Rhumba Duo @ Wheelhouse, Guitar/Vocal, Matt,, Olga @ the Piazza piano, Atomic the Party Band and the classical violin Sotto Voce Duo. There were also recorded ballroom dance sessions with DJ Romeo.

Food was good in all venues. I also enjoyed the CD Staff, the 6 of them were great, and the CD, Duke, is very enjoyable. Duke had just joined the ship for this cruise. 

[caribill]

12 hours ago, ddled said:

We just did Emerald from LA to Hawaii.

 

 

 

Can you post what time the traditional dining second seating was?

 

Thanks

[ddled]

7:30 I believe  we eat first and it was 5

[AF-1]

Thanks for a great short review.  Glad you had fun, food, and fellowship with the staff

[Gimer]

Who were your Hawaiian Ambassadors on this cruise?  Mahalo. 

[skynight]

7 hours ago, caribill said:

 

Can you post what time the traditional dining second seating was?

 

Thanks

Botticelli, 5:15 & 7:30

Da Vinci 5:00

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Gimer said:

Who were your Hawaiian Ambassadors on this cruise?  Mahalo. 

Tiki Dave & Leialoha.

They disembarked when we did and are not on board this current Hawaii cruise.

They mentioned they are on the Star next season

[caribill]

2 hours ago, skynight said:

Botticelli, 5:15 & 7:30

Da Vinci 5:00

 

Thanks.

 

When we were on the Emerald in December, 2nd seating was also at 7:30, but many events (shows, entertainers, trivia, Captain's welcome and farewell speeches) were not over by 7:30, but were over by 7:45 when late seating used to be.

 

Did these events get rescheduled on your cruise to be over by 7:30 or did they still end after 2nd seating had started?

[skynight]

14 minutes ago, caribill said:

 

Thanks.

 

When we were on the Emerald in December, 2nd seating was also at 7:30, but many events (shows, entertainers, trivia, Captain's welcome and farewell speeches) were not over by 7:30, but were over by 7:45 when late seating used to be.

 

Did these events get rescheduled on your cruise to be over by 7:30 or did they still end after 2nd seating had started?

Not really. Theater shows were at 7:30 and 9:30. Most 7:30 shows filled by 6:50/7:00, The 9:30 shows usually had more seating available. Shows and activities in Explorers Lounge were usually during late seating times, or maybe 9:30, difficult to get a last minute seat.  Some Explorer's Lounge shows were in three sessions with a late show around 10pm or later and an early show around 6:45. Crooner's  & Wheelhouse were pretty much filled by before 9:00, but 2nd sets usually provided seating. Entertainment in Adagio was also around 8:30, 9:30 sets.

Captain's Welcome and Farewell events were at 6:45pm, with officer introduction around 7:15, and ran to about 7:30, but of course you could leave anytime. Captain's Circle was at 5pm and 7pm.

Long ago we changed our evening dining to ATD so we could schedule dining around evening events and not the reverse. Works well for us. Some nights we skip the DR have a quick bite and just go to the shows/events.

Edited March 17, 2019 by skynight

[emmak8]

Thank you for your comments. Emerald gets my vote. Enjoyed many cruises on her.

[Karlzmom]

Onboard now!  Current Hawaiian Ambassadors are Tui & Maile.  

[Micahs Grandad]

We were on the Feb run to Hawaii.

 

Classical duo was outstanding. Princess used to have foursome than trio and now a duo.

 

Atomic is the best cover band we have ever seen.

[skynight]

1 hour ago, Micah's Grandad said:

We were on the Feb run to Hawaii.

 

Classical duo was outstanding. Princess used to have foursome than trio and now a duo.

 

Atomic is the best cover band we have ever seen.

From what I understand it may have to do with cabin availability 1 instead of 2. You noticed that the Modern  Gentleman were only on one time. That was because they did not have the cabin space to keep them on board longer. Going from 4 to 2 saves one entertainer's cabin for additional entertainment.

[Micahs Grandad]

24 minutes ago, skynight said:

From what I understand it may have to do with cabin availability 1 instead of 2. You noticed that the Modern  Gentleman were only on one time. That was because they did not have the cabin space to keep them on board longer. Going from 4 to 2 saves one entertainer's cabin for additional entertainment.

 

If I remember correctly they were on during the crossing back to California and they had noplace else to go. Interesting thought as to why they reduced the size of the classical strings group.  

[gbolton]

12 hours ago, skynight said:

Tiki Dave & Leialoha.

They disembarked when we did and are not on board this current Hawaii cruise.

They mentioned they are on the Star next season

They are going to be the Hawaii Ambassadors on our cruise March 24th, 2019.  So excited!

[4cats4me]

On 3/16/2019 at 12:49 PM, Thrak said:

Thanks for the review. We agree about Emerald. We did 28 days on her in October of 2917 and had a fantastic trip.

 

Glad to know the Emerald will still be around in 898 years. 🤣

(sorry, Thrak... just couldn’t resist) 

[Thrak]

D'Oh! Fat fingers are so annoying. You would really love my awesome texting abilities.

[fosteranch]

My husband and I just returned from the Emerald Princess Hawaiian Cruise Feb 24 - March 11, 2019. We had a wonderful and relaxing time. Our balcony cabin was port side, midship on the Baja Deck. The beds and pillows were so comfortable. The air conditioner worked great and we had no trouble keeping the room at a very pleasant temperature.

 

I read where someone said they did not receive the Princess Patter. Ours was in the rack outside our cabin door every evening along with any other promotional information. We felt very well cared for and spoiled by our extremely efficient room steward. 

 

The food was outstanding, the entertainment we saw was excellent and all the employees were very pleasant. The ship was clean and the staff did all they could to encourage handwashing.

 

Getting on and off the ship could not have been easier. We could not have been happier with the whole cruise experience.

 

Regarding the airport experience: LAX is a madhouse, very run down, and not near enough seating.