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

[ColoradoMom!!]

DJ Lovely!!!! 💕 Does she still say “Gooottt It????” And what was her other funny phrase? She was on the Star back in Jan 2020 for Hawaii….cracked us up!

 

Thank you for all your time in posting this. I am following intently as we are thinking of doing this cruise and know nothing of the ports! 

[nini]

7 hours ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

DJ Lovely!!!! 💕 Does she still say “Gooottt It????” And what was her other funny phrase? She was on the Star back in Jan 2020 for Hawaii….cracked us up!

 

Thank you for all your time in posting this. I am following intently as we are thinking of doing this cruise and know nothing of the ports! 

A full transit Panama Canal cruise is very worthwhile! We did this in January 2018 on the Coral and the onboard historian/ lecturer/author/ commentator was fabulous!

[KyloRen]

OMG I LOVE THIS!! I’ll be on the June 01-17th cruise to Hawaii with my kids! They are going to go nuts for some of this stuff! I love these photos thank you 🙂

[startedwithamouse]

9 hours ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

DJ Lovely!!!! 💕 Does she still say “Gooottt It????” And what was her other funny phrase? She was on the Star back in Jan 2020 for Hawaii….cracked us up!

 

Thank you for all your time in posting this. I am following intently as we are thinking of doing this cruise and know nothing of the ports! 

DJ Lovely was on our Grand 10 night cruise in 2021, and we loved them!!!  They were such fun, especially trivia!

[jaycruising]

10 hours ago, ColoradoMom!! said:

DJ Lovely!!!! 💕 Does she still say “Gooottt It????” And what was her other funny phrase? She was on the Star back in Jan 2020 for Hawaii….cracked us up!

 

Thank you for all your time in posting this. I am following intently as we are thinking of doing this cruise and know nothing of the ports! 

 

33 minutes ago, startedwithamouse said:

DJ Lovely was on our Grand 10 night cruise in 2021, and we loved them!!!  They were such fun, especially trivia!

They just crack us up so much, the trial game was hilarious, pretty sure I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard. 
 

The phrase we have talked about the most with them is BACKPACK, it’s one of the prizes and they are so funny about it… it is a life changing backpack. 

[jaycruising]

March 19, Bonaire 

 

Our first port day, and oh my it was a beauty. This was our first time to Bonaire and it won’t be the last, what a fantastic little island. 
 

We had a bit of a leisurely morning, got up, and watched our sail in to Bonaire.  

 

 

Got our stuff ready and then it was down to the international cafe, I had an egg, cheese and broccoli bite, it was very tasty and a lot like the ones you get from Starbucks, I also tried a gluten free muffin and it was terrible. 
 

The all clear to go ashore call was made around 9:15 and the people started filing off of the ship. We headed back to the cabin and got our items and off the ship we went too. 
 

right off of the ship you will see a bunch of tents and they have tours and the likes available for you. We headed to the last tent on the right to get our directions to Bonaire Cruisers. I had booked this independently. The walk to pick up the carts is about 3ish blocks and didn’t take much time. Once we found the office we filled out the paperwork and paid our $100 fee to rent and a $100 deposit (as of this writing). If you pay the deposit in cash they will return at the end of the day, otherwise it can take 7-10 days for the hold to come off. Got our paperwork and headed to the maps counter, here they go over the island with you pointing out the route and other spots to stop at. 
 

we grabbed our cart and headed out, DM was in the driver seat and I rode shotgun, I was supposed to navigate but that didn’t work out so well and got us lost in the first 5 minutes. So we finally got google maps working and we were on the way. We decided to start with the north route as e suspected it would be less busy and it sure was!  
 

First stop was at 1000 steps, it is gorgeous, I don’t think I actually have words for the colour of water here. DM stuck close to the cart and I made the climb… all I can say is stunning. 

 

 

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

We continued circling the island, I’m not sure I can tell you the name of half the places we stopped, most of the time we stopped as I wanted to take a picture. 
 

Here is our ride for the day

 

Another beautiful beach area. 

 

 

This tree just looked interesting!

 

We next made it into Tincon, it is a cute town with this beautiful church. 

 

We started to make our way back to port and as you are driving you will notice that they use cactus as a fence. What a great deterrent, I wouldn’t mess with one of these. 

 

 

Next stop was a lookout, you can see most of the island and the ships. 

 

 

there is also a shrine up here. 

 

This side of the island is very hilly and that little golf cart sure had to work. 
 

We got back to town and we sort of found a place to park, I left DM in the golf cart and I ran back to the ship, I needed some water shoes, forgot them in the cabin, more water and a little snack, so after that it was back to the cart and on to the next loop!

 

Edited April 20, 2023 by jaycruising

[jaycruising]

I have so much more to share from today, but it was a long day and I am exhausted so going to call it a night and will continue as soon as I can!

[Olympic Crow]

I went snorkeling on Bonaire during a HAL cruise several years ago.  Beautiful.  Glad you had a good day today.

[travelin.sisters]

43 minutes ago, jaycruising said:

I have so much more to share from today, but it was a long day and I am exhausted so going to call it a night and will continue as soon as I can!

sleep well, we will hang in waiting for more, but most important enjoy your cruise!

[rcprncss]

On 4/17/2023 at 3:11 PM, jaycruising said:

I’ll check tomorrow, they did show us the one in the thermal area, but the cost for that is $299 for our voyage, and is really just steam room, sauna and heated loungers. 

Hi!  I asked this weeks ago on the boards but didn't get an answer.  Do you know how many headed loungers there were?  And were there a couple of different steam rooms in the thermal spa area?  Thank you. 🙂

 

[CruisinFinsUp]

1 hour ago, rcprncss said:

Hi!  I asked this weeks ago on the boards but didn't get an answer.  Do you know how many headed loungers there were?  And were there a couple of different steam rooms in the thermal spa area?  Thank you. 🙂

 

 

@rcprncss  I did a search and found this video.   They are standing in the Emerald's thermal suite and do a bit of a tour.   

[rcprncss]

1 hour ago, CruisinFinsUp said:

 

@rcprncss  I did a search and found this video.   They are standing in the Emerald's thermal suite and do a bit of a tour.   

Thank you!  🙂 I don't understand Spanish but I will try and figure out to do closed caption to be able to understand.  🙂 

[Olympic Crow]

19 minutes ago, rcprncss said:

Thank you!  🙂 I don't understand Spanish but I will try and figure out to do closed caption to be able to understand.  🙂 

Google "Emerald Queen Thermal Suite". There are pictures. The video doesn't show all of them.

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

 

We just completed April 1 -16 Panama Canal on Emerald.

Great trip, heres a few Comments for those asking on here:

 

DJ Lovely is sooooo Funny!  anything she Hosts or participates in?  Attend!

Most of the shows 8:30pm in Explorers are a HOOT! 

Many nights we saw the 7:30 show in Princess theater, and then left alittle early

to get a good seat in Explorers!  Always a good time!

 

Panama Canal transit day.  I was out very early to get pics around the ship.

Took me about 2 hours, front to back, and around and around decks 7/8.

This was a great place to be.

Around 11am, I finally went up to Sanctuary for the rest of the afternoon.

We had booked the Sanctuary for PC day, as soon as we got onboard Embarcation.

we were First to book, and got the best seats Resrved up front.

Price was $60, but worth it IMO.  We treated it like paying for a tour.

(Full days were $40, and Half days $20 for sanctuary)

 

We booked different Dining MDR's thruout the 2 weeks onboard.

Booked "Dine my Way" on the tv,  the day of and it worked out Great.

(Instead of booking same mdr everyday) it was nice to try different places.

We also enjoyed Sabatinis and Crown Grill one night.

 

Not sure if your Itinerary hits some of the same ports we did?

 

Will touch base later....

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

[CalLuvsCrusingToo]

1 minute ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

We just completed April 1 -16 Panama Canal on Emerald.

Great trip, heres a few Comments for those asking on here:

 

DJ Lovely is sooooo Funny!  anything she Hosts or participates in?  Attend!

Most of the shows 8:30pm in Explorers are a HOOT! 

Many nights we saw the 7:30 show in Princess theater, and then left alittle early

to get a good seat in Explorers!  Always a good time!

 

Panama Canal transit day.  I was out very early to get pics around the ship.

Took me about 2 hours, front to back, and around and around decks 7/8.

This was a great place to be.

Around 11am, I finally went up to Sanctuary for the rest of the afternoon.

We had booked the Sanctuary for PC day, as soon as we got onboard Embarcation.

we were First to book, and got the best seats Resrved up front.

Price was $60, but worth it IMO.  We treated it like paying for a tour.

(Full days were $40, and Half days $20 for sanctuary)

 

We booked different Dining MDR's thruout the 2 weeks onboard.

Booked "Dine my Way" on the tv,  the day of and it worked out Great.

(Instead of booking same mdr everyday) it was nice to try different places.

We also enjoyed Sabatinis and Crown Grill one night.

 

Not sure if your Itinerary hits some of the same ports we did?

 

Will touch base later....

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

 

Ooops, forgot to mention something...

 

The Spa, upselling.

I must admit, this ship seemed the Most upselling of any Princess ships

I've been on recently.

Also, in the salon.  I went in for hair service.... the beutician began to sell

me on not only hair products, but also face, and gave me a shoulder massage.

It was awkward, and I didn't really appreciate it.

 

So just headsup.  Maybe its a new manager?

Not sure why..... but felt they weren't listening, and I had to say 2-3 times what I wanted

and NOT all the other things they were suggesting.

Was a turnoff.

Too bad, because I would have gone back for other services.

 

[jaycruising]

11 minutes ago, CalLuvsCrusingToo said:

 

We just completed April 1 -16 Panama Canal on Emerald.

Great trip, heres a few Comments for those asking on here:

 

DJ Lovely is sooooo Funny!  anything she Hosts or participates in?  Attend!

Most of the shows 8:30pm in Explorers are a HOOT! 

Many nights we saw the 7:30 show in Princess theater, and then left alittle early

to get a good seat in Explorers!  Always a good time!

 

Panama Canal transit day.  I was out very early to get pics around the ship.

Took me about 2 hours, front to back, and around and around decks 7/8.

This was a great place to be.

Around 11am, I finally went up to Sanctuary for the rest of the afternoon.

We had booked the Sanctuary for PC day, as soon as we got onboard Embarcation.

we were First to book, and got the best seats Resrved up front.

Price was $60, but worth it IMO.  We treated it like paying for a tour.

(Full days were $40, and Half days $20 for sanctuary)

 

We booked different Dining MDR's thruout the 2 weeks onboard.

Booked "Dine my Way" on the tv,  the day of and it worked out Great.

(Instead of booking same mdr everyday) it was nice to try different places.

We also enjoyed Sabatinis and Crown Grill one night.

 

Not sure if your Itinerary hits some of the same ports we did?

 

Will touch base later....

 

Enjoy your trip!

 

 

We go to the same ports but add on Bonaire and Aruba, which we had today. 

[jaycruising]

3 hours ago, rcprncss said:

Hi!  I asked this weeks ago on the boards but didn't get an answer.  Do you know how many headed loungers there were?  And were there a couple of different steam rooms in the thermal spa area?  Thank you. 🙂

 

There were 6-8 heated loungers and 3 different types of rooms, light steam, heavier steam and a dry one, then a shower scrub area. 

[rcprncss]

@jaycruising  Thank you so much!

[Momma Rene]

On 4/16/2023 at 8:42 PM, Cruising2024 said:

We'll be on the Total Eclipse Panama Canal transit cruise next April. Very interested in all your observations and pictures!

We will be too!  Following along so I can start the trip early.

[gvre]

6 minutes ago, Momma Rene said:

We will be too!  Following along so I can start the trip early.

Us also on TES cruise.

[jaycruising]

April 19, Bonaire Continue

Sorry for the delay, I have been enjoying the cruise and our ports and also fighting with my photos, sure have learned a few lessons about that, but back to the fun.

 

Before continuing with our experience around the Island, I am going to share a few photos I took from the ship as we were coming into port or just from port.

 

Still can't get over the colour (sorry Canadian spelling :)) of the water!

Pick up location for the water taxi to Eden Beach or Kline Bonaire, it's right by the ship.

 

 

 

[jaycruising]

Also here are a couple of photos from the north loop that I hadn't taken photos on my phone of... go forward I will add these in a different section as it has been difficult getting those from my camera to computer, etc.

 

 

There were a couple of these fences put up in the lake, not sure what they are used for.

 

We also came across a land sailing location, it looked like a lot of fun!

[jaycruising]

Alright, now on to the south loop of the island, they seemed to recommend that people do this loop first, but we decided to do the north first and then the south, in hopes of missing some of the traffic, turns out this plan worked well, we had lots of different areas all to our self.  The North loop is supposed to take 2.5 hours without stops and 1.5 hours for the south without stops.  We definitely stopped, I think the south route took us 3 hours or so.

 

As we started to make our way south, DM says to me, oh look I can see white tents in the distance, I giggled and said, no that isn't tents, but instead salt, we were coming upon the salt flats.

 

You can also see the salt bubbles!

 

 

 

 

 

and on the other side of the road the ocean looked like this...

[jaycruising]

Our first real stop was at the pier, they use this to move the salt from the flats over to the ships when they come in for export.  We stayed here for a while as I wanted to do some snorkelling.  It was fantastic, but you will have to take my word for it, as I don't have an underwater camera any longer.  But you didn't have to go much further then 10 feet out to see many fish.

 

This guy was also hanging around, hoping for lunch.

 

 

Some divers coming in.