Live from Emerald Princess- Aug 3, 2019

[S&DMOM]

Hi- we are currently in the Emerald Princess.  We just boarded yesterday and I wanted to post a few observations so far.

 

Embarkation:

1. We flew in the same day as the cruise (scary, I know;) but we had no issues with flight delays, etc   We did take a taxi from the airport to the port and I think we were “ taken for a ride”.  The lady at the airport and most people online  said it should cost  about 50E but we were charged 80E.  So if taking a taxi to the port consider taking prearranged transport in athens.

 

2. Check In was a breeze. No lines.  Rooms were ready when we boarded at 2:30 and luggage arrived soon after. BTW- there is a Durty Free store after the X-ray check In area which sells wine and other alcohol. We already purchased two bottles of wine before security and wished we had waited as the selection was much better in the Duty free. 

 

We had dinner at the Crown Grill the first night using our BOGO offer from the coupon book.  Service was excellent but the food was not good.  Nothing compared to our previous experiences at specialty restaurants in Celebrity in terms of meat quality and taste of the food.   Only the first night so we will see if the food quality improves. Not impressed with selection in the buffet at lunch today either.  Hopefully dinner tonight will be better.

 

No problem using an old  Coffee Card I got from my friend. International Cafe was nice and ice chai I got this morning was tasty.

 

Guest services was a zoo all day yesterday but much better today while at the port of Santorini.  We request extra keys to be made for our rooms twice and they still don’t work:(   Tendering process was excellent and we had a very short wait this morning at 8 am to get on shore. 

 

So just a few observations so far. Any questions that that I can answer let me know.

 

[S&DMOM]

Quick note about internet- we purchase 1 device onboard and it was $119 for 14 days. It is the OceanNet and great speed.

 

Unlimited photo package was $299 onboard.  I think it was offered as $199 before boarding online.  So consider repurchasing. 

[phabric]

Following along.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for checking in. Where did you embark and where are you going?

 

Bon Voyage!

[S&DMOM]

54 minutes ago, Colo Cruiser said:

Thanks for checking in. Where did you embark and where are you going?

 

Bon Voyage!

Athens- traveling the Mediterranean 

[tobyt]

Smooth sailing I look forward to reading we board later this month!

[VegasDave]

What times are the production shows and movies under the stars?

[strobellayjam]

4 minutes ago, VegasDave said:

What times are the production shows and movies under the stars?

We did this very same cruise just a few weeks ago and wish we were still there!  There were production shows at 745pm and 10pm; MUTS was at 7pm and 10pm.  (Going by memory here as I only just recycled my Patters so someone correct me if I'm wrong but those were the general timeframes).

[Lucky TGO]

Have a great cruise. I will be  following along .

Tony

[MermaidPrincessSusi]

Sounds like a fun cruise! We will be doing the Mediterranean next year, so I am going to follow along! I look forward to your posts and cruise tidbits! We have been on the Emerald several times for South Pacific, so I am familiar with the ship! Probably some of our friends on the crew are still there!!! 😁😁

[Craving A Cruise]

Bon Voyage! I will be following your adventures!!!

 

 We sail on the Emerald in November for our full transit thru the Panama Canal. 😀

[Critic276]

How was the mattress? I have a bed topper I bring when ships have hard beds. Do I need to bring it? We are sailing from Athens on the 21st. Thank you for posting. I will be watching your trip for ideas. Hope you have a great trip! 🎉

[debs246]

Also looking forward to sailing along with you. We are on the Emerald 4 November Barcelona to LA so interested to hear your comments about the ship.

 

I know it’s not important (as I’ve been told before!) but can I ask who the current captain and cruise director are? I know it may change before we join.

 

Enjoy your vacation.

Debs

[greenie082756]

8 hours ago, Craving A Cruise said:

Bon Voyage! I will be following your adventures!!!

 

 We sail on the Emerald in November for our full transit thru the Panama Canal. 😀

Same with us over the holidays! First time cruising Christmas and New Years.

Thanks for sharing S&DMOM!!

[strobellayjam]

7 hours ago, debs246 said:

Also looking forward to sailing along with you. We are on the Emerald 4 November Barcelona to LA so interested to hear your comments about the ship.

 

I know it’s not important (as I’ve been told before!) but can I ask who the current captain and cruise director are? I know it may change before we join.

 

Enjoy your vacation.

Debs

When we were on the Emerald a few weeks ago, the captain was Steven Lewis and the CD was Fernando Cunha. 

[brt49]

I'll be on 8/17 - 8/31.

 

Are the TV's on demand or the old system?

[Aus Traveller]

On 8/4/2019 at 10:03 PM, S&DMOM said:

 We request extra keys to be made for our rooms twice and they still don’t work:(   Tendering process was excellent and we had a very short wait this morning at 8 am to get on shore.

 

We have cruised only once on the Emerald Princess - a six week cruise from the UK to Sydney n 2016. This is the only ship we have had continual problems with our door cards. When we couldn't open our cabin, we would go to passenger services, and they would send someone from Security. The lock mechanism was replaced a couple of times to try to make it work.

[debs246]

@strobellayjam Thanks for the info. We haven’t cruised with this Captain or C.D. before so I’ll be interested to see if they are still onboard in November.

 

@Aus Traveller That was the last trip we did on the Emerald as well! We didn’t have a problem with the door cards but a few weeks into the trip the air conditioning vent would start clicking at 03.00a.m. Thankfully they did manage to sort it out as it was like Chinese water torture!

[S&DMOM]

On 8/5/2019 at 6:03 PM, Critic276 said:

How was the mattress? I have a bed topper I bring when ships have hard beds. Do I need to bring it? We are sailing from Athens on the 21st. Thank you for posting. I will be watching your trip for ideas. Hope you have a great trip! 🎉

 

 

We have had no problems with the mattress.  Very comfortable.

19 hours ago, brt49 said:

I'll be on 8/17 - 8/31.

 

Are the TV's on demand or the old system?

 

Yes.  On demand movies and a huge selection of them! 

[S&DMOM]

Just checking in again.

 

Santorini Port- tendering process fast and seamless.  We got an early start at 8am and had no wait for the cable car up to Thira.  We walked to the local bus station.  The directions on Tom’s cruise website is accurate and detailed.  If in doubt The locals were very helpful.  The ride to Oia is 1,80 E each way. We stood in the bus part of the way there b/c it was very full. Enjoyed a beautiful morning, had a few drinks and took many pictures.  Ride back was easy and bus picked us up where it dropped us off.   Bus was only half full and an express ride back to  Thira.  Ride the cable car back down ans had no wait for the tender back to the ship. 

 

Kotor Port-

 

What an amazing sight as we got off the tender this morning!! The landscape is absolutely beautiful.  We didn’t wake up early enough to watch the sail in but we watched the sail out and loved it!!  We had a private tour with M tours.  Our tour guide Milo was excellent- easy to understand, entertaining and full knowledge.  He actually gave  Bill Gates a tour a few days ago!!:). We wish we had more time here.  

Edited August 6, 2019 by S&DMOM

[S&DMOM]

Random thoughts about the ship:

 

1. MDR food is MUCH improved! Dinner last two night was flavorful and warm.  Buffet still lacks variety and taste  IMO.

 

2. The soda package is advertised as having smoothies but there are no smoothie anywhere. 

 

3. Tendering process the best when compared to other cruise lines IMO

 

4. On demand TV and internet work well.  Internet was a little off today while in Kotor but otherwise fast.

[yamanid]

On 8/5/2019 at 2:49 AM, strobellayjam said:

We did this very same cruise just a few weeks ago and wish we were still there!  There were production shows at 745pm and 10pm; MUTS was at 7pm and 10pm.  (Going by memory here as I only just recycled my Patters so someone correct me if I'm wrong but those were the general timeframes).

 

 

We were also on Emerald for 3 weeks Barcelona to Barcelona and have just returned home  -  like you wish we were still onboard.!!!!    Brilliant time again.

[Aus Traveller]

12 hours ago, debs246 said:

@Aus Traveller That was the last trip we did on the Emerald as well! We didn’t have a problem with the door cards but a few weeks into the trip the air conditioning vent would start clicking at 03.00a.m. Thankfully they did manage to sort it out as it was like Chinese water torture!

We found the passenger mix interesting on that "Four Continents Cruise", US to Sydney in 2016. It was roughly one-third Aussies, one-third from UK and one-third from USA. The lead-up to the USA Presidential election put in an interesting side note. We found it fascinating talking to different Americans and hearing their views. We do Anytime Dining, so met a lot of very interesting people.

[debs246]

@S&DMOM

Thanks for keeping us updated. I’ve never been to Kotor, it sounds lovely so I will watch out for that on future itineraries.Noticed on the webcam you’re in Messina today - did you get to see the all singing all dancing clock tower? 😄

 

@Aus Traveller

Yes it was an amazing cruise with some wonderful people. We are still in touch with couples around the world that we met on this trip. I always think the Emerald has a friendly atmosphere so I shall be happy to be back onboard.

[StLouisCruisers]

For those interested in pre-arranging their transfer from airport to ship or hotel, we used George's Taxi in Athens (#1 on Tripadvisor) and they were fantastic.  The price quoted to Piraeus was 65 Euros but well worth it.  We arranged a few weeks earlier and gave them our flight number.  When the flight was delayed 3.5 hours I wondered if they would be waiting, but they were!  What a relief after flying all night.  I believe we paid at the end of the ride.  

 

And the ship probably made it to port right after the Messina Cathedral's beautiful demonstration.  I could hear the rooster crow from the top deck of the ship as we were docking.