Emerald Princess Cruise Review and Comparison to Carnival

[neongoddess]

I'm writing this review of my (very first non-Carnival!) cruise aboard the Emerald Princess. This was a 5 day cruise with 2 days (an overnight) in Cabo from 5/27/23 to 6/2/23.

 

I will preface this review by confessing that I am a regular cruiser on Carnival; I am not bougie and didn't really have any high expectations for this trip, although I've heard, of course, that Princess is classier and all-around better. Anyway, here goes!

 

I really hate to say it but the first three days of this cruise were not impressive to me at all, and I felt like Princess did not live up to its reputation. First, the app didn't work on the first day, my room was missing bathrobes and washcloths, etc. Also I never met my room steward, but none of that was *that* big of a deal to me. On day 2, neither I nor my traveling companions (in a different cabin, on a different deck) received our room service breakfast. (Word on the ship was that they had too many orders and were unable to keep up...?) Eventually the app started working and on day two I ordered a hummus/veggie plate to be delivered to my deck chair. It was so incredibly tiny (and absolutely nothing like the photo) that it was kinda comical (see pic).

 

On our first port day, we docked in Cabo at like 12 or 1 pm. I have never in my life waited *so long* to get off of a ship! We finally made it into Cabo at like 4:30 p.m. I've been to Cabo before so okay, whatever, no big deal but it was a disappointment. Water taxis were no longer running to Medano Beach by that point so we all just walked around, shopped, and went to a restaurant. At about 8pm my group wanted to go back to the ship. We waited in line at the port for a full hour before finally being able to board a tender. Some people were in line for well over an hour. I have been on several other cruises to Cabo and have never had such issues getting a tender to and from the ship before. (To be fair, I am not sure if this was a problem with Princess, or a problem with the port, or what, but it was definitely crappy to miss out on most of our time on shore.) At some point I finally cracked and contacted customer service about my experiences thus far via Twitter. 

 

Day 4: We were only in Cabo till 11 a.m., but we had an excursion so we were able to get off and back on to the ship in a timely manner. Later we ordered pizza through the app and again, it did not show up. Finally guest services called me back (one of their Twitter staff had put me in touch with them after my complaint about the Hummus plate and other issues). I talked to a guy named David (I think) Pitchfork. He listened to all my complaints and somehow my service was magically much, much better after that. The rest of my cruise was smooth sailing, so-to-speak, and was more what I had expected my cruise to be like!

 

The rest of my review is a comparison of my experiences on Carnival (I've taken 10 or 11 Carnival cruises) vs my one experience on the Emerald Princess.

 

Public Bathrooms: Princess wins for the completely-enclosed, practically soundproof toilet cubicles. Very nice.

 

App: Carnival wins simply because the app works consistently. Also, their app sends push notifications for events you bookmark. It is pretty useless to be able to bookmark events if you can't recieve a push notification when the event starts.

 

Rooms: The rooms themselves were pretty similar, but Princess wins for cleaning your room multiple times per day instead of just one. The frequent cleaning service really added to the cruise experience for me. I did miss the towel animals, but overall Princess wins this category for me. 

 

Adults-Only spaces: It's a tie. The Sanctuary is a little nicer than the Serenity deck, but Serenity doesn't cost anything extra, so to me it's a wash. 

 

Ice cream/Gelato: Princess wins for it's premium dessert sundaes. Soft serve cones are similar on both lines, so no preference there. 

 

Indoor spaces/decor: The Emerald Princess has classier indoor spaces than most Carnival ships I've been on. 

 

Outdoor spaces/sports deck: Carnival wins hands down in this category both for variety of outdoor activities and also because the sports areas on Princess were small and kinda run-down.

 

Customer Service: Carnival wins in this category. My room stewards always greet me by name on the first day of my Carnival cruises; on Princess, I never even met my room steward at all. Also, no one on Princess offers you drinks when you're in the hot tub, pool, or on deck. You have to use the app instead (but I don't have my phone on me while I'm in the water, so for me this is not very convenient). I saw multiple guests bussing their own dishes, because (apparently?) there were not enough staff to bus tables. I've never had an issue with things like room service just not showing up on Carnival, either. The general lack of customer service on Princess during our first 3 days was very surprising to me.

 

Drinks: Both are good, but for me Carnival wins. The MDR on the Emerald Princess does not have a cocktail menu. You can order a cocktail, if you happen to know what you want....but there's no menu for them. Also Princess uses paper straws in their frozen drinks, which I hate. Carnival uses candy straws, which I love! Also the bartenders aboard the Emerald Princess were not very friendly at all. 

 

Movies under the Stars: Princess wins for an all-around better setup for movies, including screen location and blankets provided on the deck chairs. 

 

Shops: The Emerald Princess has better shops with more merchandise selection than most of the Carnival ships I've been on. 

 

Burgers and fries: Guy's is way better than the Salty Dog. Salty Dog is okay but nothing to write home about in my opinion. 

 

Pizza: Princess wins due to more and better cheese.

 

Other food: Princess has a better selection in their buffet for sure, although quality is fairly similar. I prefer Carnival's steakhouse. I only ate in the MDR on Princess once so I can't really compare these, but I'd give the edge to Carnival because I love their dancing waiters! The Italian restaurants on both lines are a tie, I love both. Princess' Italian place is more formal, while Carnival's is more casual.

 

Entertainment: I did not see a production show on Princess, so I cannot compare those. Comedy shows are more frequent on Carnival, but the comedian on the Emerald Princess was quite funny, and the venue was bigger, so you could actually get a seat (which is sometimes not possible on Carnival ships). Princess seemed kinda lacking in deck parties (personally I love deck parties, but I wasn't expecting Princess to be a "party" cruise so I was not really surprised by this). I prefer Carnival for this category although both are good.

 

Embarkation/debarkation: Princess wins for being faster than Carnival for both of these processes. Sooooo smooth!

 

Other: The Emerald Princess had lines everywhere, all the time, so I was unfortunately unable to take full advantage of the amenities they offer, such as premium desserts. If the ship had more staff I think I would have enjoyed this cruise a lot more. Also I was only able to attend the piano bar (one of my favorite cruise activities) once, because it was always packed. Most of the other fun-looking activities seemed to conflict with my preferred dinner times (I like to eat late, so this might not be an issue for most people).

 

While at this point I must confess that I prefer Carnival for their consistent customer service and overall "fun" atmosphere, I still enjoyed trying out Princess and might give them another go in the future, if the price and itinerary are right. I have heard that Princess usually has much better service than I experienced initially. Also, Princess *did* come through for me after I contacted guest services with my concerns, with improved service as well as adding some future cruise credit to my account.

Edited June 2, 2023 by neongoddess
Spelling

[theloo]

Thanks for your review.  I will be on the Emerald next month.  I'm sorry about your tender experience and sad to say that sounds normal.  I'm glad service improved and you still enjoyed your cruise.

[Mike45LC]

Thank you for the comparisons.  Good to see, especially since I was on the Emerald last month. 
 

Did you try the International Cafe on the Emerald?

[snoozecrooze]

1 hour ago, neongoddess said:

Finally guest services called me back (one of their Twitter staff had put me in touch with them after my complaint about the Hummus plate and other issues). I talked to a guy named David (I think) Pitchfork. He listened to all my complaints and somehow my service was magically much, much better after that.

sigh this makes me both laugh and cry at the same time. The app has had so much potential since its birth like half a decade ago, but they took forever to launch it and then COVID killed any momentum it was trying to build at all, and now it still can be just a total clunker, but with a ton of staffing issues to contend with and a lackluster IT to boot. Fantastic impression for first-timers!

 

And David's a Princess old-time CD, who's now an (associate?) hotel GM (essentially the one who was onboard with you), so that's likely what happened here.

 

I haven't been on Carnival in a minute but I do look back fondly at some of the moments that you can only have on Carnival (I'm with you on fun deck parties and Guy's), and I really appreciate the concise comparisons you gave. Your review of Emerald does hearken back to the several more pointed threads in this forum about the ship's cruises so far this summer season from LA. Hopefully it improves and in the meanwhile, hope you can give Princess another try some day. (and I'm also hoping that Princess gets their act together here for at least those first few days!)

[mtnesterz]

Princess and Carnival are two different class lines.

If your cabin was cleaned multiple times a day, and the other cabins on your steward's area, then he or she was in the hallway most of the day. In future, I would encourage you to introduce yourself. The robes were offered on your app pre-cruise, and the washclothes were both only a mention to your steward. We find that getting to know your steward is the fastest way to make your needs happen. But on Princess and higher lines, stewards will not intrude themselves on you, without good reason.

For your safety, you may be too young to remember Jim Morrison, but drinking alcohol and sitting in hot tub is not a good idea. 

Edited June 2, 2023 by mtnesterz

[cr8tiv1]

8 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Princess and Carnival are two different class lines.

If your cabin was cleaned multiple times a day, and the other cabins on your steward's area, then he or she was in the hallway most of the day. In future, I would encourage you to introduce yourself. The robes were offered on your app pre-cruise, and the washclothes were both only a mention to your steward. We find that getting to know your steward is the fastest way to make your needs happen. But on Princess and higher lines, stewards will not intrude themselves on you, without good reason.

For your safety, you may be too young to remember Jim Morrison, but drinking alcohol and sitting in hot tub is not a good idea. 

 

My over-worked room steward was responsible for aft cabins...on both starboard and port sides of the ship.  If I needed something, I would leave him a note or hand it to the "other" guy who placed it on his cart or looked for him.  There were a couple of times, I hunted him down myself.  I always request more wash clothes and are given them.  I had to request onboard (even if it was on my folio) for robes.  They are in the wash on turn around days and usually show up the next day.  

 

Heard from someone on board the following cruise to Hawaii, that this particular cruise (5 days to Cabo/Holiday weekend) was really extra tough on the crew.  Had a choice between your cruise and a tamer one to San Francisco.  Glad I went a week earlier.

[stoneharborlady]

I didnt know they had straws made out of candy.  What kind of candy?  Interesting.

[neongoddess]

9 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Princess and Carnival are two different class lines.

If your cabin was cleaned multiple times a day, and the other cabins on your steward's area, then he or she was in the hallway most of the day. In future, I would encourage you to introduce yourself. The robes were offered on your app pre-cruise, and the washclothes were both only a mention to your steward. We find that getting to know your steward is the fastest way to make your needs happen. But on Princess and higher lines, stewards will not intrude themselves on you, without good reason.

For your safety, you may be too young to remember Jim Morrison, but drinking alcohol and sitting in hot tub is not a good idea. 

Yeah I know the lines are two different classes, which is why I was surprised that customer service was actually worse on Princess! I was expecting it to be better (or at least as-good). I did order the robes in the app pre-cruise, they just didn't come. I'd have mentioned the washclothes to my steward if I'd ever managed to see him, lol. I requested a call on the app but it never came, and hold times on the phone were long enough that I hung up. 

 

Is it normal for room stewards on Princess to not introduce themselves? (Other people on my cruise mentioned they'd met *their* room stewards, so I figured it was the standard practice.) 

 

There were plenty of people drinking in the hot tub on Princess, dangerous or not...there was just no one bussing the empties and people had to get out to order their drinks. Bottles and cups were all over the hot tub area. One of the people in the tub with me got out and cleaned the area himself. There must have been a stack of at least 10-15 cups and many glass beer bottles as well. It was pretty bad. 

Edited June 3, 2023 by neongoddess

[neongoddess]

1 hour ago, cr8tiv1 said:

 

My over-worked room steward was responsible for aft cabins...on both starboard and port sides of the ship.  If I needed something, I would leave him a note or hand it to the "other" guy who placed it on his cart or looked for him.  There were a couple of times, I hunted him down myself.  I always request more wash clothes and are given them.  I had to request onboard (even if it was on my folio) for robes.  They are in the wash on turn around days and usually show up the next day.  

 

Heard from someone on board the following cruise to Hawaii, that this particular cruise (5 days to Cabo/Holiday weekend) was really extra tough on the crew.  Had a choice between your cruise and a tamer one to San Francisco.  Glad I went a week earlier.

Yeah I think my cruise was short staffed or maybe just more crowded than they were anticipating. 

[neongoddess]

57 minutes ago, stoneharborlady said:

I didnt know they had straws made out of candy.  What kind of candy?  Interesting.

Good question. The general texture reminds me of candy cigarettes, if you remember those, but they come in lime, strawberry, and chocolate flavors. They are wider than a standard straw, to facilitate drinking icy/frozen cocktails (I think the candy straws are *only* used with frozen cocktails, but I could be wrong). The lime straw is my favorite with a fruity, tropical cocktail such as a Miami Vice. (Not everyone likes the candy straws....they do offer packs of reusable metal straws for sale at the bars, but I like the candy.)

Edited June 3, 2023 by neongoddess

[mtnesterz]

33 minutes ago, neongoddess said:

Yeah I know the lines are two different classes, which is why I was surprised that customer service was actually worse on Princess! I was expecting it to be better (or at least as-good). I did order the robes in the app pre-cruise, they just didn't come. I'd have mentioned the washclothes to my steward if I'd ever managed to see him, lol. I requested a call on the app but it never came, and hold times on the phone were long enough that I hung up. 

 

Is it normal for room stewards on Princess to not introduce themselves? (Other people on my cruise mentioned they'd met *their* room stewards, so I figured it was the standard practice.) 

 

There were plenty of people drinking in the hot tub on Princess, dangerous or not...there was just no one bussing the empties and people had to get out to order their drinks. Bottles and cups were all over the hot tub area. One of the people in the tub with me got out and cleaned the area himself. There must have been a stack of at least 10-15 cups and many glass beer bottles as well. It was pretty bad. 

I believe you. Been reading other recent reviews too. Our most recent Princess cruise was right after restart. I attributed short staff and other things, like sourcing problems, to Covid. But, these issues appear to be persisting. Yes, our (Princess)steward greets us, except once, then I went to meet him. 

Really appreciate your review.

Here's my point, if they can't fully staff the Emerald, which we will be on this summer, and taking into account the Grand is leaving the fleet in '25, how will they possibly staff the upcoming Sun and Star? 

Edited June 3, 2023 by mtnesterz

[cr8tiv1]

1 hour ago, mtnesterz said:

I believe you. Been reading other recent reviews too. Our most recent Princess cruise was right after restart. I attributed short staff and other things, like sourcing problems, to Covid. But, these issues appear to be persisting. Yes, our (Princess)steward greets us, except once, then I went to meet him. 

Really appreciate your review.

Here's my point, if they can't fully staff the Emerald, which we will be on this summer, and taking into account the Grand is leaving the fleet in '25, how will they possibly staff the upcoming Sun and Star? 

 

I did not see a shortage of crew on the Emerald.  But then again, I didn't use the bar/app.  It did take 24 hours to change out the min-bar, but other than that, I did not see any issues with a lack of staff.  

 

And where did you hear that the Grand Princess was leaving the fleet in 2025?  That saddens me immensely.

[mtnesterz]

4 minutes ago, cr8tiv1 said:

I did not see a shortage of crew on the Emerald.  But then again, I didn't use the bar/app.  It did take 24 hours to change out the min-bar, but other than that, I did not see any issues with a lack of staff.  

And where did you hear that the Grand Princess was leaving the fleet in 2025?  That saddens me immensely.

Thanks about the staffing! Will keep a good thought for this summer. We don't drink so being served is not a concern. The Grand? Oh gosh, on the last cruise as I recall. As I look on the Princess website, there are no sailings past  April, '25. Arguing against that, looking just now, newer ships are also not booked past that month. So... oops, it's past time to edit that out.

[memoak]

I was on the Emerald in March. Great bar service never had to use the aop. Just belly up to the bar and get a drink in 2 minutes

[WAvoyager]

10 hours ago, neongoddess said:

Is it normal for room stewards on Princess to not introduce themselves? (Other people on my cruise mentioned they'd met *their* room stewards, so I figured it was the standard practice.) 

 

There were plenty of people drinking in the hot tub on Princess, dangerous or not...there was just no one bussing the empties and people had to get out to order their drinks. Bottles and cups were all over the hot tub area. One of the people in the tub with me got out and cleaned the area himself. There must have been a stack of at least 10-15 cups and many glass beer bottles as well. It was pretty bad. 

It definitely sounds like a staffing or capacity related issue.

 

Our cabin stewards have always introduced themselves, and provided their business card so we’d have their name and the number to reach them at if we needed anything.  We do mini-suites half the time, and they have to come by to drop off the welcome drinks, but IIRC, it’s been the same in standard balcony cabins as well.

 

And while I’ve often seen drinks at the hot tubs (honestly people, can’t you find a better place to leave your empties?!) I’ve never seen a buildup of more than a couple of drinks.  But we’re always at the main pool / hot tub areas, which are pretty well staffed.  Don’t know how the more isolated hot tubs fare.

 

Sorry you had a less than ideal experience- it hasn’t been the case for us.  Thanks for the great comparison review!

[JGmf]

On 6/2/2023 at 12:39 AM, neongoddess said:

Also, no one on Princess offers you drinks when you're in the hot tub, pool, or on deck. You have to use the app instead (but I don't have my phone on me while I'm in the water, so for me this is not very convenient).

 

Thanks for your review.  I'm on the Emerald in 14 days and getting a bit antsy given some of your experiences.

 

Regarding the hot tub/pool area - yes, I totally agree - I don't bring my phone either: so not having roving servers is going to annoy me too. 

 

This will be my first Princess cruise, so when I return, I'll do a similar comparison to all the NCL cruises I've been on. 

 

Hoping for the best!

 

 

[cr8tiv1]

4 hours ago, WAvoyager said:

And while I’ve often seen drinks at the hot tubs (honestly people, can’t you find a better place to leave your empties?!) I’ve never seen a buildup of more than a couple of drinks.  But we’re always at the main pool / hot tub areas, which are pretty well staffed.  Don’t know how the more isolated hot tubs fare.

 

Sorry you had a less than ideal experience- it hasn’t been the case for us.  Thanks for the great comparison review!

And this is why I avoid the hot tubs.  Let your imagination fill in the rest.  

[Bemidji Ty]

Thanks for your well-written, honest review.   Cheers. 

 

[mnocket]

15 hours ago, mtnesterz said:

Here's my point, if they can't fully staff the Emerald, which we will be on this summer, and taking into account the Grand is leaving the fleet in '25, how will they possibly staff the upcoming Sun and Star? 

This is a great point and raises questions as to whether the staffing shortages on current ships is more the result of not wanting to hire rather than not being able to hire?  

[LACruiser88]

14 hours ago, cr8tiv1 said:

And where did you hear that the Grand Princess was leaving the fleet in 2025?  That saddens me immensely.

I have not heard any mention of when the Grand will be leaving the Princess fleet.  It makes sense that as the oldest ship in the fleet, she will probably be the next to go.

 

13 hours ago, memoak said:

Great bar service never had to use the aop. Just belly up to the bar and get a drink in 2 minutes

We have never used the app to order anything other than room service.  We do not mind walking to the nearest bar and ordering our drinks.  Call us "Old Fashioned."  🍷

[cr8tiv1]

4 minutes ago, mnocket said:

This is a great point and raises questions as to whether the staffing shortages on current ships is more the result of not wanting to hire rather than not being able to hire?  

 

At the restart, it was the inability to hire:  Expired visas, got other jobs, couldn't travel, etc.  Now, Not sure if they are fully staffed.  I haven't had any issues, except that staff is overburdened with the new app making them run all over the place.  

[memoak]

54 minutes ago, mnocket said:

This is a great point and raises questions as to whether the staffing shortages on current ships is more the result of not wanting to hire rather than not being able to hire?  

We did not have any issue with staffing at any bars or restaurants on the Emerald in March. Of course we prefer to hang out at bars and get to know bartenders rather than ordering on an app and making someone chase us down

[neongoddess]

3 hours ago, memoak said:

We did not have any issue with staffing at any bars or restaurants on the Emerald in March. Of course we prefer to hang out at bars and get to know bartenders rather than ordering on an app and making someone chase us down

I did try to sit down at the bar by the aft pool on Lido (not sure what the name of the bar was). The bartender asked me to stand up, leave my stool, and wait in line. Long line of people waiting for a drink  next to a bunch of empty stools. To me it was weird and also kinda off-putting. 

 

Since sitting at the bar and socializing (which is what I normally do) did not appear to be an option, I started using the app instead (once it started working).

 

Edited June 3, 2023 by neongoddess

[darnheather]

Can you please tell me more about the premium desserts and the desserts in general when you have the Plus package?