Review of May 20-30, 2024 Emerald Princess

[Cruz4Sun]

The day before this cruise we drove to Ft. Lauderdale and stayed at the Candlewood Suites on State Road 84.  It was fine for just one night and only 8 minutes from the port.

 

The next morning we headed to the port at 9:30 and by 10:45 we had boarded the ship.  We dropped off our carry on luggage at our cabin and headed up deck 15 for a beverage.  I walked over to the World Fresh Marketplace and used a house phone to call the dine line.  I was able to make reservations for the Salty Dog Gastropub and Planks on the dates and times I wanted. At noon we headed to the Botticelli dining room for a delicious lunch of beef tenderloin with a soufflé for dessert.

 

For the sail away we met some new Cruisecritic friends at the Outrigger Bar.  The following day we went to a Cruisecritic slot pull and actually came away winners!  Always nice to get to see folks we’ve been chatting with for months.

 

We were in a handicapped accessible cabin R301.  The room and the balcony were both spacious and we loved the close proximity to the Lido deck.  It was easy for me to run upstairs to grab a beverage or water from the Mix bar or to visit the Terrace pool, especially on port afternoons when it was quiet.

 

My husband uses a mobility scooter but we got off the ship several times. In Tortola we walked to nearby Seven Restaurant and had some interesting appetizers at their outdoor seating. At St. Kitts we walked around the port and ended up at a food court where we got lamb and fries from Alibabba.  At St. Maartan we looked at lots of shops then stopped at an outdoor bar for a cold and creamy mudslide.  Havensight in St. Thomas has tons of shopping which we enjoyed before going to lunch at the Smoking Rooster in building 6.  Got an amazing sandwich with brisket, bacon and cheese (not health food for sure) along with a bushwacker drink for my DH and some mango and peach ice tea for me.  We will visit this again the next chance we get.

 

On the ship we found the Emerald Princess much more handicapped friendly than the Caribbean Princess.  We could easily get to a table with chairs at the International Café, Vines, Adagio bar, Skywalkers and even Crooners if we went early.

 

While on the ship we tried lots of drinks including Honey Lavendar latte, Black Forest Freeze, Baked Alaska, Baccarat and Expresso martinis.  The plus package allowed us to try many new beverages without feeling pressured to finish ones we didn’t enjoy.  We really liked the wines in real wine glasses at Vines bar and were able to listen to music in the Piazza at the same time.

 

We went to Crown Grill one night where my DH got the ever-reliable filet.  I tried the veal chops and enjoyed them a lot. Our dinner at Planks was great, the barbeque meats are tender and served with many tasty sides.  We skipped dessert as the 2 choices did not appeal to us.  Our dinner at the Salty Dog Gastropub was a mixed bag.  The asparagus appetizers were delicious.  The SDG burger was good but slightly overcooked.  The short rib entrée was fatty and had more sauce than meat.  Next time we will skip this option and go to Steamers instead.

 

I went to every Zumba and Line Dancing class offered.  Susan, the Zumba instructor/entertainment director did a great job.  I attended Deal or No Deal which was fun and won a couple of scratch off cards (alas, both were losing cards). We enjoyed lots of evening entertainment including comedians Doug Funk, Angelo Tsarouchas, and Jimmy Schubert.  Other shows we liked were Michael Minor, Bryan Cheatham, Nina Sky and Tommy Proulx. 

 

At the end of the cruise we did the walk off disembarkation and were headed home by 8 a.m.

Another successful cruise in the books!

[Cruise Raider]

Nice review .. thank you for taking the time to post.  
I do have a question for you .. you can now make reservations at the Salty Dog?  
 

[tml1230]

GREAT review! thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.....

we board in a couple weeks with our 10 year old granddaughter heading up the east coast to Canada.

thanks again!

[In Toronto]

Thank you for the great review.  We are also boarding for the cruise up to Canada as is tml1230.

Disappointed to hear about the Salty Dog Pub experience.  I was looking forward to it.  Might need to rethink it.

Plan on going to Planks so will keep that plan.

One thing that I had heard was that these restaurants take close to 2 hours for dinner.  Did you find that?  

Our cruise is completely sold out.  Was your cruise completely full?  Did you find a problem with crowds?

Thanks.

Ellen

[Cruz4Sun]

1 hour ago, Cruise Raider said:

Nice review .. thank you for taking the time to post.  
I do have a question for you .. you can now make reservations at the Salty Dog?  
 

Thanks.  Yes, once on board we were able to make reservations for the Salty Dog Gastropub.

[Cruz4Sun]

1 hour ago, tml1230 said:

GREAT review! thanks for taking the time to share your experiences.....

we board in a couple weeks with our 10 year old granddaughter heading up the east coast to Canada.

thanks again!

Lucky you!  Hope you have a great cruise.

[Cruz4Sun]

41 minutes ago, In Toronto said:

Thank you for the great review.  We are also boarding for the cruise up to Canada as is tml1230.

Disappointed to hear about the Salty Dog Pub experience.  I was looking forward to it.  Might need to rethink it.

Plan on going to Planks so will keep that plan.

One thing that I had heard was that these restaurants take close to 2 hours for dinner.  Did you find that?  

Our cruise is completely sold out.  Was your cruise completely full?  Did you find a problem with crowds?

Thanks.

Ellen

Enjoy your cruise to Canada!

 

Both Salty Dog and Planks took about 1-1/2 hours.

 

I believe our cruise was sold out but we didn't have a problem with crowds.  We like to go a half hour early to any entertainment to find seating with a nearby space to park the scooter.  We found out going just before start time is much more frustrating than waiting for 30 minutes.  We do avoid times and places that we know will be crowded.  For example when everyone is heading to the deck party, we go to Crooners or Club Fusion.  

[Cruise Raider]

7 minutes ago, Cruz4Sun said:

Thanks.  Yes, once on board we were able to make reservations for the Salty Dog Gastropub.

Wow.. that’s great!  We’ve been skunked out of dinner there before because it was just too crowded.  So nice to know we can get a reservation.  
 

[sillymom]

Thanks for the terrific review.  We are going on the Emerald this weekend...so excited!

Question for you:  Any tips on doing the walk-off disembarkation? We've never done this before and are wanting to give it a try. 

[Robkat]

Thanks so much for your review, which we read with great interest as we're boarding the Emerald in just about 2 weeks for the Canada/New England.  We did that same cruise last year on the Caribbean P and we're interested to see how similar (or, what the differences are) between these two ships.

 

Is it necessary to make reservations for the Gastropub and for Planks/Steamers?  Were they very busy when you went?  Given where Planks/Steamers are located (at the back of the buffet), do you feel they do a good job of making them feel like a nice dining space, as opposed to just an extension of the buffet?

 

Thanks again and good to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. 

[Cruz4Sun]

3 hours ago, sillymom said:

Thanks for the terrific review.  We are going on the Emerald this weekend...so excited!

Question for you:  Any tips on doing the walk-off disembarkation? We've never done this before and are wanting to give it a try. 

As soon as you get the disembarkation questionnaire fill it out and take it directly to the customer service desk.  This is your best chance to get in group 1. When you get the information on where the meeting place is, going 1/2 hour early will get you in the front of the que.  Our meeting place was the dining room on deck 5 at 7:30.  The early birds got there at 7:00 and headed to the front of the dining room where you can see the disembarkation station being set up.  Everyone will get off, but being at the front avoids the busy line of passengers with lots of luggage.  I hope this helps.

[Cruz4Sun]

3 hours ago, Robkat said:

Thanks so much for your review, which we read with great interest as we're boarding the Emerald in just about 2 weeks for the Canada/New England.  We did that same cruise last year on the Caribbean P and we're interested to see how similar (or, what the differences are) between these two ships.

 

Is it necessary to make reservations for the Gastropub and for Planks/Steamers?  Were they very busy when you went?  Given where Planks/Steamers are located (at the back of the buffet), do you feel they do a good job of making them feel like a nice dining space, as opposed to just an extension of the buffet?

 

Thanks again and good to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. 

Congrats on your Canada/New England cruise.

 

It is highly recommended to make reservations for the casual dining options.  I saw a few people doing a walk up and were told either no or to come back at 8:30 (way too late for me).  Both restaurants were quite busy.  Planks/Steamers is set up very nice and definitely feels like a nice dining space in the evening.

[gsmith2424]

9 hours ago, Robkat said:

Thanks so much for your review, which we read with great interest as we're boarding the Emerald in just about 2 weeks for the Canada/New England.  We did that same cruise last year on the Caribbean P and we're interested to see how similar (or, what the differences are) between these two ships.

 

Is it necessary to make reservations for the Gastropub and for Planks/Steamers?  Were they very busy when you went?  Given where Planks/Steamers are located (at the back of the buffet), do you feel they do a good job of making them feel like a nice dining space, as opposed to just an extension of the buffet?

 

Thanks again and good to hear that you enjoyed your cruise. 

I'm on Emerald now and can say yes Causal Dining options do require a reservation (told by staff at each location) which kinda shocked me (this is probably due to the limited space that they have as compared to Royal/Gem class casual options). Tried to get into Gastro on the 2nd night right at opening and nothing was available until 8:30 (all tables were open when we got to Gastro; looked a couple times after but still had 2-3 tables open even after we left after not getting a table). The two that rotate upstairs have both been busy but haven't attempted to go to them yet. This reservation thing on the Emerald has kinda set me back a bit as I've used the casual as a fall back incase nothing was good on the MDR menu. 

 

With that said this hasn't been a normal Princess type crowd on this ship for the May 30-June 9 cruise. We got a lot of younger people on here and kids to the point to where the kids staff is really keeping busy (75-100 kids). Also we got over half the ship that are first timers and probably only 20-25% of the ship is Plat/Elite. With the mix we have on this one the dining trends are a bit different than the last two cruises I've taken on the Sky back in Jan 2023 (Western Caribbean) and Nov 2023 (TA)

 

As for the rotating one upstairs it is themed a little different but not enough to really set them apart from the rest of the buffet. 

[tulok]

6 hours ago, gsmith2424 said:

I'm on Emerald now and can say yes Causal Dining options do require a reservation

Thank you for the heads up. We board Sunday and that will be one of the first things I do. I would like to try all of the dining at least once. 

[gsmith2424]

2 hours ago, tulok said:

Thank you for the heads up. We board Sunday and that will be one of the first things I do. I would like to try all of the dining at least once. 

No problem. I don't know if they will have this other casual option on the ship for your cruise but they also have the Crab Shack on right now. The Planks/Steamers/Crab all have been rotating during the cruise. The schedule for what venue will be the one running should be posted at the stand for each one near the rear elevator. (Didn't mention Gastro as that is a permanent one and is open every night.

[Cruz4Sun]

1 hour ago, gsmith2424 said:

No problem. I don't know if they will have this other casual option on the ship for your cruise but they also have the Crab Shack on right now. The Planks/Steamers/Crab all have been rotating during the cruise. The schedule for what venue will be the one running should be posted at the stand for each one near the rear elevator. (Didn't mention Gastro as that is a permanent one and is open every night.

If you call the dine line they can tell you what nights Planks/Steamers will be operating.  I had a few nights in mind that I wanted to use the casual dining option and once I booked Planks I just filled in the other night with the Salty Dog Gastropub which is open nightly as stated.

[tulok]

With only a 10day cruise, I also already know what days I want to go to casual dining. I will call when I board on Sunday. Is this not something that will show up on the app once we board? 

[Robkat]

12 hours ago, gsmith2424 said:

I'm on Emerald now and can say yes Causal Dining options do require a reservation (told by staff at each location) which kinda shocked me (this is probably due to the limited space that they have as compared to Royal/Gem class casual options). Tried to get into Gastro on the 2nd night right at opening and nothing was available until 8:30 (all tables were open when we got to Gastro; looked a couple times after but still had 2-3 tables open even after we left after not getting a table). The two that rotate upstairs have both been busy but haven't attempted to go to them yet. This reservation thing on the Emerald has kinda set me back a bit as I've used the casual as a fall back incase nothing was good on the MDR menu. 

 

With that said this hasn't been a normal Princess type crowd on this ship for the May 30-June 9 cruise. We got a lot of younger people on here and kids to the point to where the kids staff is really keeping busy (75-100 kids). Also we got over half the ship that are first timers and probably only 20-25% of the ship is Plat/Elite. With the mix we have on this one the dining trends are a bit different than the last two cruises I've taken on the Sky back in Jan 2023 (Western Caribbean) and Nov 2023 (TA)

 

As for the rotating one upstairs it is themed a little different but not enough to really set them apart from the rest of the buffet. 

Yes, thanks for this info.  Very useful in helping us to plan our first hour onboard! 😅😅

[Cruz4Sun]

2 hours ago, tulok said:

With only a 10day cruise, I also already know what days I want to go to casual dining. I will call when I board on Sunday. Is this not something that will show up on the app once we board? 

No, it doesn't show up on the app, even once you book it.  When I made the reservation they told me to write it down on my calendar as it would not appear with specialty dining reservations.

[CruzinNoony]

In the theater is the handicapped section way up on deck 7 or is there access to deck 6 to sit down near the stage?

[Freckles1983]

3 hours ago, Cruz4Sun said:

No, it doesn't show up on the app, even once you book it.  When I made the reservation they told me to write it down on my calendar as it would not appear with specialty dining reservations.

how do you book casual dining restaurants on the app?? I don’t seem to have the option 

[In Toronto]

10 hours ago, gsmith2424 said:

No problem. I don't know if they will have this other casual option on the ship for your cruise but they also have the Crab Shack on right now. The Planks/Steamers/Crab all have been rotating during the cruise. The schedule for what venue will be the one running should be posted at the stand for each one near the rear elevator. (Didn't mention Gastro as that is a permanent one and is open every night.

Where is the Crab Shack set up?

[gsmith2424]

2 hours ago, In Toronto said:

Where is the Crab Shack set up?

It is where Planks/Steamers is at. They are rotating the three on this cruise.

[gsmith2424]

4 hours ago, Freckles1983 said:

how do you book casual dining restaurants on the app?? I don’t seem to have the option 

You don't. You have to do it on the ship via the dining number on the ship.

[Cruz4Sun]

17 hours ago, CruzinNoony said:

In the theater is the handicapped section way up on deck 7 or is there access to deck 6 to sit down near the stage?

Yes, there is access from deck six to sit near the stage.