First time Princess Cruiser! Tips Appreciated!

[Ashley24]

I am getting ready to book a 9 day cruise on the Emerald Princess for April 2025. It starts in Italy and ends in England. It will also be my first time going to Europe so any tips about this ship, Princess in general, or Europe would be greatly appreciated. I am cruising with my adult daughter (26). We have cruised on Disney, Royal Caribbean and Carnival but haven’t in almost 10 years. I would like a balcony room but need help with choosing one. I have just started reading tips on here and see someone mentioned larger balconies on Caribe deck. Is that only certain cabins or suites? Is the terrace pool nice to be near or loud? I’m assuming swimming won’t be important in Europe in April. We have stayed in far aft cabins before and loved it! Also we plan on taking a train to Edinburgh after the cruise so any tips there would also be appreciated. Thank you!

[skynight]

Yes, all Caribe deck balcony cabins all have 9ft x 9ft balconies that are half covered. I usually book the category BD aft cabins. I find that they are quiet and that there isn't much motion. Watch for interior connecting cabins. There are a few mid ship. You can locate them by viewing the deck plans on the Princess.com web site and then checking the connecting cabin box.

The Terrace Pool aft is a quiet pool location with nice views. There are limited lounges and basically no shade. Outriggers bar is right there. Calypso Reef Pool mid ship has movies and other videos playing all day and evening. There are newer movies in the evening.

Neptune's Reef Pool also mid ship has the most activities, which may include poolside games, live music and such.

If Lotus Spa Pool is open it is also a very quiet location to lounge.

The Emerald has a 360 degree promenade. Nice to walk, sit, view, whatever you like.

Check out all the food venues.

DRs - open for breakfast and dinner each day and lunch on sea days.

International Cafe in the Piazza. Open 24/7. No charge for food items. Coffee/Espresso drinks have a charge.*

World Fresh Marketplace, buffet, open from 6am until around 10pm every day. Never closes during that time. They may have some special theme events such as chocolate dessert day.

By the lido deck pools there are also The Salty Dog Grill, Slices Pizza & Coffee and Cones. All no charge for food items. Coffee & Cones has specialty coffee/espresso drinks for a charge.*

There is no charge for coffee, tea, and some other beverages in the buffet, DRs, room service. 

* If you have the plus or premier fares unlimited non alcoholic beverages are included. The package also includes 15 alcoholic beverages/day plus some other benefits. The main other benefits are the daily gratuities and unlimited internet. 

 

Edited May 23 by skynight

[insidecabin]

We like the inside cabins under the bar on Riviera, the last few are 2berth so no pullmans to get in the way less of a problem as you are probably going to set up at twin.
we found them quiet as long as the door closer to the deck is set not to bang.

<15seconds through the door at the end to the deck/ pool, then up half flight to the bar buffet etc. we had no need for the balcony.

There are 4 OV at the end and balcony off the same corridor
Aft elevators not too far or the rest of the ship.

Check the flights to Edinburgh as well as the train.
(Southampton has an airport.)
Also check if any round Britain cruises are available

[Ashley24]

Skynight,

Are you warning against connecting cabins due to large groups? I appreciate all the info on the amenities. 

Insidecabin, 

I am a bit claustrophobic so I like seeing the outside if I can manage it. Thanks for your tips though. 

[Ashley24]

Is C752 on deck 10 a good choice? 

[Torfamm]

14 minutes ago, Ashley24 said:

Is C752 on deck 10 a good choice? 

The vast majority would say C752 is a great cabin! 

 

I personally wouldn't pick C752 but I might be the outlier.  I'd rather have the larger balcony closer to mid-ship on either the port or starboard side than an aft cabin.  

 

Here are some reviews and photos that might help.

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/stateroom-details.php?ship=Emerald-Princess&cabin=C752

 

 

Edited May 23 by Torfamm

[deja moo]

C572 and C753 are my favorite locations. Large balcony with views out the back and to the side. There may some vibration when the ship is going fast but it is a quiet private location.

[JordanF]

All this is good advice, but I will add a little contrariness.  I prefer a cabin that is next to, above and below other cabins, with no connecting doors to other cabins to increase quiet.  I also might just get a regular balcony on this cruise because Europe in April may not be all that dry and warm, and it is a fairly port intensive trip, so balcony time may be limited no matter what the weather is.  

[skynight]

2 hours ago, Ashley24 said:

Skynight,

Are you warning against connecting cabins due to large groups? I appreciate all the info on the amenities. 

Insidecabin, 

I am a bit claustrophobic so I like seeing the outside if I can manage it. Thanks for your tips though. 

 

[skynight]

The connecting door is near the cabin entrance across from the closet area. Not big groups, maybe families. You can hear talking through the connecting door area at times.

[Ashley24]

2 hours ago, deja moo said:

C572 and C753 are my favorite locations. Large balcony with views out the back and to the side. There may some vibration when the ship is going fast but it is a quiet private location.

Do you mean C752 and C753?

[deja moo]

Yes, C752 and C753.

 

Lysdexics untie!

[sunviking90]

Lots of good advice here already, but I would also suggest looking for the roll call for the cruise too. If there isn’t one yet, and you end up booking, start one. I find the roll calls really helpful especially if you’re going to a location that is new to you. Lots of helpful info usually. Try the destination forums also.

[karatemom2]

It sounds like a wonderful cruise. We have been on the Emerald a few times, most recently for a British Isles cruise in 2022 and found her as lovely as we remembered. You mention that you like far aft cabins, so you might want to consider balcony cabins toward the back of the Riviera deck. That is a favorite spot for us as you can easily pop out the backdoor and be on the aft deck where the Terrace pool is located. It's a quick hop up the stairs to the buffet for snacks and Outrigger's Bar. If still available, the last two cabins aft on Riviera have slightly oversized balconies that are also quite protected, so very nice to enjoy even when the weather is less than perfect. We have one of these cabins booked for our Alaska cruise in September on the Ruby.

The numbers are R747 and R746. 

 

We have never found the Terrace Pool area loud - quite the opposite, it tends to be a lot quieter then the main pool area and even with a balcony, it's nice to have easy access to open deck space if we want to get a full viewing opportunity.

 

Not sure what ports you are visiting, but if it is a Med cruise you can find a lot of great information on the Europe section of the ports of call board. We did a Med cruise from Southampton on the Sky last summer and had a wonderful time.

 

Edinburgh is a great city - we have visited only once and spent a long port day there and wished we had more time. It's definitely someplace to which we will return. We visited Edinburgh Castle, the Royal Mile, St. Giles' Cathedral, the Real Mary King's Close, and the Royal Yacht Britannia. I'm sure you will love it!

[Ashley24]

I booked C752 today! I’m so excited!!!

[insidecabin]

22 hours ago, Ashley24 said:

Skynight,

Are you warning against connecting cabins due to large groups? I appreciate all the info on the amenities. 

Insidecabin, 

I am a bit claustrophobic so I like seeing the outside if I can manage it. Thanks for your tips though. 

Get to the bottom of the irrational.

few seconds walk to the outside from cabin, save a load of money.

most of the time in a cabin it is too dark to see anything outside except the ship lights.
Stick the tv on bridge cam and call it a window.

Pricing up the cruise in UK for 2pax
£809pp R744  inside a few secs walk from outside terrace
£1157  R748  OV a few seconds from outside, at the end aft view(a little nearer the door)
£1219 R742   balcony opposite the  inside

£1009 E701 OV next to aft lifts deck 8

There are also some decent OV on plaza near international cafe for those 24hr coffees and snacks or the other side  Vines for the cheeky drink to the cabin
 

[warthog2608]

38 minutes ago, insidecabin said:

Stick the tv on bridge cam and call it a window.
 

Haha, that's what we do when we have an inside cabin. We leave it on all night.

[buckeye7]

Just a general tip ...

 

When I plan a big trip, I start a google doc and share it with my husband or co-traveler. I copy all travel info there, including cruise, trip insurance, flight, and hotel info.

 

Then I make a table that includes each port and start populating it with ideas and advice about what to do in that port. Then we can begin to narrow down our choices and solidify our plans.

 

Check the Ports of Call and Roll Call boards on Cruise Critic (as has already been advised) and also Trip Advisor. You may decide on a combo of doing ports on your own, arranging private tours or transportation with other shipmates, or Princess excursions. We've done all 3 depending on the situation. I will say our favorite Princess excursion was a simple one in Tuscany that was a trip to a local farm where they served us pasta dishes and wine. It was so beautiful, so relaxing, and so fun. It didn't sound like much but so glad we booked it!

 

Enjoy your fun year of planning and then a great trip!

[cruisequeen4ever]

The Emerald is my favorite of that class of ship! The afts are fantastic. You may be able to swim. We enjoyed swimming many days in the Med but didn’t much in the British Isles. Cruising Europe is all about it the ports, so watch YouTubes, study the excursions, and book them early. If you’re used to doing lots of onboard activities, you may find you don’t do as many on this cruise because you can be pretty worn out after the long port days. 
 

Europe cruises are awesome, happy planning!

[nini]

On 5/23/2024 at 7:40 AM, Torfamm said:

The vast majority would say C752 is a great cabin! 

 

I personally wouldn't pick C752 but I might be the outlier.  I'd rather have the larger balcony closer to mid-ship on either the port or starboard side than an aft cabin.  

 

Here are some reviews and photos that might help.

 

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/ships/stateroom-details.php?ship=Emerald-Princess&cabin=C752

 

 

The balconies on C752 and C753 are GINORMOUS!!! OOOPs, I just let that secret out. The diagram on the Princess website is misleading. However, there is no loveseat, which is fine with us.

[nini]

18 hours ago, Ashley24 said:

I booked C752 today! I’m so excited!!!

 

This is our favorite cabin (due to location). You will not have a loveseat, but the balcony more than makes up for it!!! Room service does not take long either.

[Ashley24]

Since this is my first Princess cruise, it appears that I have to pay for my cruise completely before I can make dining reservations. Is this correct? Will it be a challenge to make a reservation if I wait until final payment is due? If I pay early, can I get my money refunded if I need to cancel before the last payment is due?

[MacMadame]

That's the company line but I was able to make dining reservations before the final payment a couple of months ago. Of course, Princess is changing how dining works and canceled all our reservations so who knows if I'll be able to make them again on June 14th (17th? I can't remember.)

 

Anyway, there is no way I'm paying for my cruise early just to make dining reservations. YMMV.