Emerald Princess Review w/photos March 3-17, 2023

[trbarton]

On 4/5/2023 at 12:40 PM, Trish Traveler said:

Before 1pm the announcement was made that cabins were ready.  We were in an inside cabin C621 on Caribe Deck 10 located between aft and midship.  It was fun to walk up and see on the digital display that the cabin was opened.  When booking we were a little concerned about what might be located in the large unmarked area next to us in case it was noisy.  We never did learn what is there, but it makes a mild constant motor noise, similar to the ships engine when sailing.  At first, I thought it might be annoying, but really after the first night, I never noticed it again.  It was more of a white noise.  Other than that the cabin was really quiet.  The cabin is average in size for an inside, but what we expected. It does have nice nightstands with two large drawers for storage.  The desk/vanity is a large size with lots of storage and a blow dryer.  The TV was really large.  They offer quite a variety of stations including TV shows (the Love Boat!), movies, ship info, account info and some of the ship entertainment replayed.  Since we were in an inside cabin we would use the live ship webcam to check weather conditions and if we had arrived in port.  We really liked the very large open closet and the other closet with shelves and the safe.  Lots of storage and plenty of hangers. 

 

The bathroom is small but has storage room for toiletries.  The shower is really small with the dreaded shower curtain rather than a glass door.  There is a lack of outlets and no USB ports that we found.  The only 2 outlets are by the desk, but can only hold on one item if it has a fat plug.  We just stayed diligent on swapping out charging our devices through the cruise.  I usually bring a few items from home I find useful including dollar store bins that fold flat, plastic hooks that fit over the bathroom door, and magnetic hooks for the walls (which are metal) of the cabin for hats, etc.  I also type up a complete itinerary with our shore excursion plans and leave room to add any other daily plans so we can both see at a glance our schedule.  I use flat magnets to place this on the wall.  Overall, we found the cabin quite comfortable.  Later that night we learned that there are motion lights located at the base of the nightstands for safety at night when getting up in the dark cabin.  This was helpful, except that sometimes it would go on if you roll over in bed and the bedding moves.  In addition the ceiling light outside of the bathroom and next to the closet is also motion-sensored and way too bright for us in the middle of the night.  Outside of the door on the digital screen, at the bottom, are spots to indicate you want your room serviced or do not disturb, which is very helpful for your room steward.

 

Waiting for us on the bed was our first Princess Patter.  I bring a highlighter to indicate the activities we are most interested in attending.  They have reduced it from two pages to one since we last cruised with them.  I understand for eco reasons, the reduction, but I do miss basic info like sunrise and sunset times, port info and maps, and port agent info if you need it for an emergency while in port (that was available on TV).  We also met our room steward Sonia, who did a great job all cruise!

Your magnetic hooks are just what I bring along with hooks to add documents. I also have some stronger magnets as I decorate my door during the holidays. Here’s a copy of my door last Christmas. I have a friend that makes a door sign for me. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

I can highly recommend the Valuetrips web site. I made a reservation for December 6-9, 2023 for 3 nights & was charged $460 including all fees at the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port. On the Hyatt web site it is $300 per night, so over $1,000 for 3 nights with fees. 
 

Tom😀

[trbarton]

On 4/7/2023 at 3:45 PM, ecs66 said:

Great review.  We're doing this the 14-night Circle Carriben in February 2024 on Emerald.

 

Wondering ... you mention the formal nights.  How many pax get gussied up for these evenings?  We've heard that not many do that any more.  The info will help with our packing!  Thanks...

Here’s some photos of myself on Formal Night. I enjoy dressing up a little & get a lot of nice compliments.

 

You’ll see how some of my friends also dressed up. 
 

On this cruise around 30% of the people dressed up. 
 

I’ve questioned before, while onboard with management, as to why they don’t in force the dress code when it’s listed as a formal night & was told that they don’t want to upset the passengers. 
 

If this is so than they should call it something else. 
 

Tom😀