Live from Emerald Princess, April 16 - May 4, 2023, full Panama transit

[jaycruising]

May 2, Sea day

 

 

It was Groundhog Day again here, started with the gym followed by breakfast in the buffet. 
 

There wasn’t a ton on the schedule and our weather took a major change we we from about 90 degrees to about 66. It was quite a shock to the system as it has been so hot since we got on board. So us and everyone else was hiding inside. 
 

We decided to go and play some cards for a bit and went by the international cafe, but no room since it was officers vs guests Jenna. We actually sat and watched for a bit as they are entertaining 

 

 

Then we headed up to the Wheelhouse to play cards. There were quite a few groups up here playing cards or games. 
 

Just after 1 we headed up to the Sanctuary for our final afternoon. Except this time instead of swimwear we had sweaters and socks on!  And when we got there they got us blankets 

 

We quickly ordered something to eat (I ate so much this day). I had the granola and cottage cheese (it was much sweeter then last time) and DM got the banana muffin. Note these are items you can only get in the sanctuary 

 

As you can guess it was pretty quiet up there but we still enjoyed our time up there. I spent my afternoon editing photos, watching videos on my iPad and staring out to sea and looking for dolphins, we did spot some!

 

And then we ate more!  Had our final tea time up in the sanctuary 

[jaycruising]

As usual, even if it was cold we really enjoyed our afternoon in the sanctuary, the team up there is so good!  I grabbed some photos of the area to share

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The pool is not just for sanctuary guests but is the quiet pool and is only for adults 

 

 

They also have space for massages up there, we only saw them used once. 

[jaycruising]

We had made plans tonight to meet with 2 couples we had met on the cruise (well only 1 couple knew about it, so we kind of crashed their dinner) and we had really enjoyed our time with them so we were looking forward to one more with them. We met up in Explorers lounge before heading to the dining room!
 

it was formal night so everyone was dressed their best!

 

 

I started withe the escargot, they are so garlicky and good!

 

For our main we all went with steak and lobster, though some shared their lobsters with others

 

lol

 

They did offer us a second lobster tail at no charge. 
 

I had the sugar free cherry trifle

 

And DM had the chantilly swan, couldn’t resist a picture. 

 

Thank you again for being fantastic dinner companions, we really enjoyed your company!

 

After we parted ways we sat in the Piazza for a bit and watched the steel pan player. 

[theloo]

That food looks great!  Looking forward to great meals on the Emerald in 2 months 😋

[jaycruising]

We headed up to the theatre early this evening as I wanted to see Rock Opera, it was the one production show I wanted to see on the ship and it didn’t disappoint. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I really enjoyed this show, it was a great mix!

 

After another fantastic day it was time to crash

[jaycruising]

22 minutes ago, theloo said:

That food looks great!  Looking forward to great meals on the Emerald in 2 months 😋

They food overall has been good, and we have not gone hungry at all, but I will be honest the quality has gone down a bit over the last few days. But we have all managed to find something good to eat. 

[Prost]

Forgive me if asked before, how is the WiFi speed on Emerald (I will sail in it in two weeks).  Any noticeable difference from region to region?

[gottagocit]

Not sure it’s been mentioned but the Cruise Director David and Asst DJ both said on the voyage that it was their last on the Emerald for that time being. Both were taking some time off following our stop yesterday in LA. 

[jaycruising]

14 hours ago, Prost said:

Forgive me if asked before, how is the WiFi speed on Emerald (I will sail in it in two weeks).  Any noticeable difference from region to region?

I did mention it, but no worries, the wifi was really good until we got to Mexico and then it went downhill. It was still useable but not as fast as before. I still streamed YouTube and did all this and the photos and. Ideas on it. 
 

 

5 hours ago, gottagocit said:

Not sure it’s been mentioned but the Cruise Director David and Asst DJ both said on the voyage that it was their last on the Emerald for that time being. Both were taking some time off following our stop yesterday in LA. 

not yet, that’s in the update I’m doing now 😊

[jaycruising]

May 3, Final Sea Day

 

 

Surprise, we didn’t have Groundhog Day today. Today they were having the culinary demonstration in the theatre at 10 and if we followed our usual routine we would t have made it. So we hung out in the cabin until around 9:20 and then headed to the theatre to get a seat. If you do want to attend this you need to arrived early as the theatre filled up and was standing room only. 
 

The show was put on by Chef and Rui the Director of restaurant operations or Maître D. And as we had done chef’s plate with them we knew they were characters together and this would be funny. And it really was more funny than any kind of cooking demonstration. 

 

 

Soup cooking safety in the galley

 

A small sample of kitchen and dining staff

 

A bit of their shtick

 

 

[jaycruising]

After the demonstration they do a galley tour, however we decided to skip it as it seemed like the whole theatre was going and it was just too many people and we weren’t sure how thorough it would be. 
 

So we did head to the gym to work out instead and get our workout in. I have to say it was worth it, I ate so much good food and came back pretty even in the weight, so I am happy with that!

 

Had to peak out and take a pic of our calm seas…

 

This photo is really deceptive though, it was actually only about 15 Celsius (60 Fahrenheit) outside and the wind was cold. 
 

We then headed to the buffet and had lunch for a change. This was the first lunch we ate up there, but had skipped breakfast. It was very busy up there as well and had to search and wait for a table to be cleared. 
 

They also had some specialty cakes up there too

 

 

 

After then our lunch we headed back to the cabin and began the very unpleasant task of packing. This made us realize just how much we loved the longer cruise, it didn’t feel like we had just got settled and then we’re packing up. 

[jaycruising]

About 3:30 we went up to the theatre again to watch the Voice of the Ocean finale. The coaches were quite funny and all of the singers are so brave, and great job. Kudos to them

 

 

 

 

 

Our winner

 

We then went down to the shops to take a peak at what they had for sales, DM was looking for a sweater she had seen, but didn’t find it. Instead I bought this cute ornament and a bag of gummy bears, for $5!

 

DM then considered buying some chips, but I reminded her we could order them from room service. So we did that and went back and sat on the balcony and annoyed some sunshine. It was quite warm on the balcony with the wind blocked

[gottagocit]

1 hour ago, jaycruising said:

not yet, that’s in the update I’m doing now 😊

Oops! Sorry. 

[jaycruising]

1 hour ago, gottagocit said:

Oops! Sorry. 

No worries at all 😊

[jaycruising]

Just before 6 we went and joined our other new cruise friends for our last dinner on board the ship!  It was also great meeting you all and having fun on board with you!  Thank you all 

 

 

 

Tonight I had the seafood medley, I enjoyed it

 

Then the tropical fruit soup, I miss my cold soups already 

 

For my main I had the Prime Rib, it was ok, but didn’t get much as it was very grisly, tough to cut

 

Then we had the Baked Alaska parade

 

 

 

 

 

 

But for my dessert I had the coconut crème brûlée, not sure why I didn’t have this earlier it was very good!

 

After we finished our dinner we headed back to the cabin to put our bags out. They don’t have to be out until 10ish, but we had a number of things we wanted to do tonight so wanted to get that taken care of   
 

We then went down to Explorers lounge and played tv sitcom trivia, it was fun, we got 17.5 out of 24

 

As I was sitting there I started feeling drops on my arm, turns out something from the roof was dripping. The carpet was soaked. I did report it to someone and hope they cleaned it up!

[jaycruising]

A couple at our table left so I was able to move over to a drier seat since we were staying to watch the Hollywood hiccups game. As our host for the night, Fortuna Luck stated it was the entertainment team re-enacting movies with a $2 budget and a paper clip. 
 

First one was Jurassic Park

 

 

E.T.

 

Dirty Dancing

 

 Ghost / Ghostbusters mashup

 

 

 

 

 

The Bodyguard 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

The Lion King

 

 

 

Top Gun

 

 

 Jaws

 

 

 
Magic Mike

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

And finally Titanic

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was so funny, I had laughing tears in my eyes more than once during this. Dave our CD then said a few words about the cruise and thanked his team, which were an awesome group. He then also mentioned that he was going on vacation and getting off the ship with us and also that DJ Lovely was getting off as well. I am sorry for those getting on board after us as they are fantastic. The rest are pretty funny too!

Edited May 5, 2023 by jaycruising
Photo

[jaycruising]

We weren’t quite ready to call it a night. And headed to Crooners to watch Don Juan for a bit. If he is on your ship, go and see him, he is so good and crooners was busy every night. 
 

Tonight included. We stood and watched for a bit, then found a couple seats, we got to enjoy a set and a half

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somehow I ended up with a glass of champagne, not complaining though

 

We finished watching the set and made our way back to the cabin for our last sleep. We also had a time change tonight to Pacific time. 

[jaycruising]

May 4, Disembarkation 

 

I was awake awfully early today, in fact I actually had a terrible sleep. I think it had to do with the time change and then having that specific time to get off of the ship, I never really sleep well then. I did feel us pull into port as I could feel whenever they pulled into port, but that is basically the only time I every heard anything. 
 

It had been raining and the weather in LA wasn’t that great. Stepped out on our balcony for some last views and could see them working away down below. 

 

Views of the port of San Pedro

 

 

 

 

 

We got dressed and ready for our travel day and headed down for one last international cafe breakfast. I didn’t have my egg bite as the oven wasn’t working and I don’t like cold eggs, like that. And I had my first and only chocolate croissant 

[jaycruising]

We were back in our cabin around 8, we had to be out of the cabin by 8:30 and our departure time was 8:50 in club fusion. So we actually decided to leave our cabin and head down and wait in club fusion early and played a bit of cards while waiting. We did have a bit of a shock for a moment when Lucy called the wrong colour group. But our colour group was actually called early and we got off the ship around 8:40. 
 

We quickly found our bags and joined the line to go through customs. 

 

The line actually moved quite fast. Not sure if I had a chatty agent or he was trying to figure something out about me, but he sure had a lot of questions. Then made my way out. With another quick goodbye and hugs from cruise friends in the terminal, I was out and on my way to find our bus. 
 

Our cruise in November ended here as well and I found it to be a disaster, I booked an Uber and then he tried to get me to pay more in cash and when I refused he cancelled my ride, so I wasn’t going to deal with that, so we booked the airport shuttle instead. Not sure I’m going to do that again, no fault of the cruise line though…

 

We were directed to the very end of all the busses and the lady organizing and the driver were arguing about how to load the luggage, we got on the bus and could hear them going on, took probably 30 minutes before we left, also the driver needs one more smoke!  The bus smelled like he had smoked a pack in it before we got on. 
 

We finally got on the way, only to miss the turn to exit the port. So, he tried to turn the bus around 🤦‍♀️. That didn’t work so around we go again, got to say goodbye to Emerald one more time

 

 

 

Finally made our way out and the bus in front of him waited and we followed him!

 

 

Then we make it to the airport and he is driving by terminal 1, so the bus starts yelling at him and he says oh he is just going to stop in between terminal 1 and 2, um no, not doing that. Then he said something rude as he pulled over got out and let the terminal 1 guests off, then he stopped at terminal 2, thank goodness we got off here. Needless to say I don’t think he got any tips from that bus! 
 

Friends were on another bus and their bag got left at terminal 1, so they had to make the run back. Not sure I will use the transport again. 
 

Luckily the line to drop bags is as short and I said goodbye to my bag again

 

We also quickly got through security, thank you TSA Pre. DM’s bag did get pulled but she forgot to take her water and full size bottle of sunscreen out. 
 

Found our gate and waited for our flight, which was slightly delayed because the flight before ours was late. They also asked for people to gate check their bags so we also did that since the flight was full, I almost regretted that once I got to Calgary 

 

[jaycruising]

Takeoff views

 

 

 

The flight was very smooth for the first part. I watched a movie that took pretty much the whole flight. The seatbelt sign came on early as they were trying to avoid some storms in the area. 

 

The mountains are still looking pretty with their snow cover

 

 

 

Calgary from above, we sure could use some rain, everything is still pretty brown, but the green is starting 

 

We landed and we’re quickly off of the plane. The one thing about landing in Calgary is that sometimes you have a long walk to customs. Today was only about 5 minutes. I said goodbye to DM as she has one more flight to get home, luckily I will see her in just a few weeks!  I made my way through customs quickly (thank you Nexus) and then got to wait forever for my bags. Remember that bag I gate checked in LA, while it was the last one on the carousel , so slow I had actually gone into baggage services already. But there it was, thank goodness for bag trackers. 
 

This actually turned out to be good as we got home during rush hour and I could see my exit from the highway while we were on the plane and it was backed up (I live about 10-15 minutes away). But I booked an Uber and by that time traffic wasn’t bad. I was in front of my house by 6pm MST. 

 

Now to take care of all the work, getting groceries, etc. 

 

This isn’t the one me of my report though. I am going to start working on the photos from my main camera (these are all iPhone photos) and will post any worth sharing and will wrap up with final thoughts. 

Edited May 6, 2023 by jaycruising
Sp

[lakegirl16]

@jaycruising Thank you for taking us along.  I'm on the Panama Canal Transit/Eclipse cruise next April.  Enjoyed so much a glimpse of what we will see!

[gottagocit]

We also used the Princess airport transfer but our driver didn’t have quite as many issues as yours I guess. For those who’ve I’ve seen in these boards asking questions about a “safe flight time” out of LAX I made note of the time at various points during disembarkation and airport check in. I may should add this info to the west coast departures board but will add it here before I loose my notes. Our United flight to Houston departure time was 1:09 pm. 

Worth noting we disembarked San Pedro on a Thursday (ie: traffic)

 

9:10 Appointed gathering time in Elite/Platinum Lounge 

9:00 Our group called to begin disembarkation

9:08 Located luggage in terminal and entered immigration queue

9:28 Cleared queue and began ~150 yard walk to bus

9:38 Boarded bus

9:52 Bus loaded and leaving

10:35 Arrived at airport terminal 1 (Southwest)

10:42 Arrived at terminal 2 (Westjet)

10:45 Arrived at terminal 3 (Delta)

10:49 Arrived at terminal B (International-didn’t stop)

10:49 Arrived at terminal 4 (American)
10:53 Arrived at terminal 5 (American,JetBlue)

10:55 Arrived at terminal 6 (Alaska- didn’t stop)

10:57 Arrived at terminal 7 (United)

Quickly checked  bag (prepaid) with curb agent 

11:32 Through security screening (no TSA Pre) and at gate 71B

I believe “early walk off” passengers were allowed to begin walking off around 7:30. The earliest Princess airport transfer scheduled disembarkation times were 8:50 am if I recall correctly. 

Once we cleared the terminal parking area traffic, while heavy, was always moving until we reached the congestion at each airport terminal during our transfer but I can’t say if the early walk offs found the same or not. 

 

[ocean happiness]

On 5/4/2023 at 8:53 AM, jaycruising said:

We had made plans tonight to meet with 2 couples we had met on the cruise (well only 1 couple knew about it, so we kind of crashed their dinner) and we had really enjoyed our time with them so we were looking forward to one more with them. We met up in Explorers lounge before heading to the dining room!

 

Thank you again for being fantastic dinner companions, we really enjoyed your company!

 

 

 

Steve and I had a great time getting to know you and your Mom!  We were glad Mike and Molly invited you to join us.  It was such fun!