My thoughts on the Emerald Princess

[Anne Funnell]

Thanks Laura, that was a great review - we are a party of six who are really looking forward to our cruise on the Emerald in a month's time.

 

There is one thing that is puzzling me. When DH and I cruised on the Diamond last year, the Horizon Cafe was open 24 hours - which was great if anyone fancied a late night snack or a plate of titbits for sailaway parties.

 

I notice that on the Emerald - the Horizon closes at 5.30pm but the Cafe Caribe - which seems to be next to the Horizon on deck 15, is open 'til 11pm. Is Cafe Caribe a help-yourself eatery (like Horizon) and if we wanted - will we still be able to collect a plate of snacks and titbits to take back to the cabin?

[Esprit]

We've had two cabins on this deck and booked our third for next year.

 

Perhaps I's should have kept quiet as everyone will want one now!!

 

Lots of steps to climb to the Lido deck and just as many down to the Restaurant decks. Perhaps not the best deck after all.

 

Being looked down on by the other three decks may not appeal either. You also can't look directly down to the sear as you look on the D Deck below.

 

Nah! It's not the best deck at all.

[Esprit]

This was only our second Princess Med' cruise so haven't Laura's experience but I thought those attending the Champagne waterfall looked suitably dressed. Had we ventured to the Horizon Court then the view may have been completely different.

 

Those queueing for picture portraits all were dressed formally and I was surprised howw many were dressed up at 5.30 pm (maybe due to the Captain's Circle party that night).

 

Even in the dining room it seemed most were suitably attired on the two formal nights but I wasn't really taking too much attention to what others were wearing.

 

Peter

[spongerob]

Laura, thanks for your review. It sounds like you had a great time. I want to know what went on in Skywalkers. Did you dance? Is there video? It's just friends here, you can share. :D

[gooch47]

We were on the Emerald from Rome to Venice beginning July 17 (I think it was). We both commented that we have NEVER been on a more efficiently run ship. Check-in for us was at our hotel and it couldn't have gone smoother. Our cabin steward was amazing, and like the OP said, all the employees seemed so happy. Because of the incredible heat we experienced at our various stops, we just didn't feel like participating in the formality of the dining rooms most nights so we ate in the Horizon Court for dinner every night but two. We've eaten there before on other cruises and it was usually just "OK." We found that we really enjoyed both the food and the ability to take exactly the portions you wanted ... more or less depending on your mood.

 

I'd sail the Emerald again in a heartbeat.

[Posaune]

Thanks for the wonderful Emerald review. My wife and I were on the August 9 Emerald cruise from Barcelona. This was only our third cruise, but the staff was by far the best we have seen. I did not miss a single show and found the cast and orchestra to be wonderful. Many of the orchestra members were veterans of some major touring bands. They had some fine musicians and dancers on the stage. The Venetian Orchestra was a real treat and I was very happy that the 15 minutes of rain late in the afternoon forced them to move the concert from the deck to the theatre. The repertoire ranged from Vivaldi to Bernstein and Leroy Anderson.

 

I agree that the food was wonderful throughout the cruise. We had dinner in the dining room all but two nights and only had to wait 10 minutes for a table on one occasion.

 

I used a laptop on the ship and found the internet service to be much faster than I expected.

 

I regretted the stop in Marsailles was canceled due to high winds (50 knots), but I am sure that it was a wise decision, and one that was taken in stride by everyone I spoke with. I felt sorry for the two couples that had missed the ship in Barcelona and had flown to Marsailles only to see the ship turn and leave just before entering the harbor!

 

I was impressed with CD James. Having read many negative comments about him on this forum I was not expecting the pleasant young man who would do anything in his power to keep folks happy and entertained. His ability to remember folks after only two or three days on the ship amazed me.

 

My only real complaint was on the evening of long tour days (10-11 hours), only having the smaller Caribe buffet open was a mistake. Many folks were too tired to dress up for the dining rooms and headed to a very, very crowded Caribe. It might help to have one side of Horizon on those nights.

 

Richard

[cruisefool43]

Thanks for sharing your experiences. We just got off of Carribean Princess and Club Fusion was empty there as well. I will be cruising on Emerald in Oct on a Mediterranean trip. How were the ports? Also, we will be doing round trip from Rome. Anyone stayed overnight in Rome at an economical hotel? Thanks.

[DrivesLikeMario]

Great review. I printed it out for my parents who are looking forward to their Caribbean cruise on the Emerald. :)

[WarEagle76]

but did make one mistake doing the Princess Istanbul excursion.

Peter, regarding your comment, which Princess tour did you take in Instabul? We took the Elite Collection and Lunch at Ciragan Palace tour and it was great. Also, day we were in Instabul Topkapi was closed to all except those on Princess Tours which enbaled us to see it with no crowds.

 

Laura, thanks for your review, we were really impressed with the ship and the crew as well. I agree with most of the others in that we were very tired at the end of the day after touring and didn't participate in any nightly activities. If on a cruise with more days at sea, probably would have.

[TXTraveler76]

Hi Laura,

 

Great review! I will be on the Emerald in March and have also chosen a Caribe balcony. If the Club Fusion is set up like the Carribean Princess, I totally agree that it is one difficult place. Glad to see that you continued with another family cruise this summer. Your kids are very well behaved as I never heard a peep from them on our British Isles cruise. I am sure they make you very proud.

 

Take care,

 

Jacki

[ourlol]

Richard,

 

We missed Marseille as well due to high winds. It was the only port on the itinerary I hadn't been to before. I didn't hear anybody complaining however. If this is going to be an ongoing problem I suspect Princess will have to look into this issue for future sailings.

 

Happyvalley,

 

I can only reiterate the comments of others. The Baja balcony is more private, but the one on Caribe is bigger (half of which is sheltered from view). The latter is the best of both worlds in my opinion.

 

Cruisefool43

 

I haven't stayed in Rome overnight. I suggest you have a look at the Mediterranean board here on Cruise Critic. You will find lots of recommendations for Rome Hotels there. Alternatively have a look at the roll calls for similar sailings to your own. Often you can see where others have booked hotels.

 

Treesah,

 

Like Richard (Posune) said, the 'Classical Concert' was a real treat. I assume passengers will only have the opportunity to see them if the ship is docked in Venice overnight. There were two performances; 7 pm and 9 pm. Ours should have been held by the Calypso Pool, but due to an electric storm in the area it was deemed more suitable to hold the concert in the Princess Theatre. The time went all too quickly but I suppose they were on stage for just over an hour. The programme read as follows:-

 

Antonio Vivaldi ~ Four Season. Lara Augustin ~ Granada.

Johann Strauss ~ Leichtes Blut

Di Capua Eduardo ~ O Sole mio.

Leonard Bernstein ~ Tonight

Leroy Anderson ~ Pop for Strings

 

They were given a standing ovation at the end. Well deserved too.

 

Anne,

 

To be honest I much preferred it when Horizon Court stayed open late. Cafe Caribe (when we visited between 11 and say 12.30 am) was a much smaller affair. There is certainly enough selection there however to grab yourself a plate of something to take back to your cabin. From memory there was a small salad bar, guacamole, soup, pizza, chips, meat carved to order, made up rolls or rolls made up with fillings of your own choice, a selection of fancy cakes, cookies.

 

We tended to just grab a coffee (I quite like it believe it or not) and sit out by the aft pool for 10 mins or so before retiring for the evening.

 

We didn't eat there in the early evening so I don't know how the service differs at that time. I certainly saw tables laid with linen, glasses and cutlery.

 

Rob,

 

Did I dance... oh yes... I was dancing!! Regrettably... there IS a video... two in fact! What a shame therefore that I seem able to reduce the size to share it here. ;)

 

The lemon-tinis were great at the time, but for now anyway my drink of choice is water on the rocks!

 

Peter,

 

I envy you that you are already booked again for next year. I think it unlikely I will be able to cruise in 2008. I do have an excuse though. I am going to surprise my dearest friend by turning up for her wedding in Barbados. She knows how much I hate flying, so will definitely NOT be expecting me. I expect tears (on both sides) when I knock on her door on the morning of the ceremony. I just need to work out my disguise so she doesn't recognise me before then.

 

I also agree that most were dressed up on formal nights. Mine was more a general observation. The evening attire worn on other nights was generally more 'relaxed'. I'm not necessarily saying this was a bad thing - after a long day in port folk don't always want to dress up. I know my friends were shattered after the first four days following long tours on each. In the end they cancelled some excursions towards the end of the sailing, if only to get some r&r.

 

Jacki,

 

I hope the happy atmosphere on board holds true for your trip next March. Have a wonderful trip. I don't know if Princess read these threads but it would appear that everyone who has sailed on the Emerald to date has commented on how friendly and happy the staff are. It would be nice if they got to hear how much this aspect has been noted (and appreciated) by passengers.

 

On that note... I'm still ironing! No peace for the wicked.

 

Laura

[Esprit]

What a great surprise for your friend?

 

I agree about the size of the Caribe Cafe too. We dined there on the Italian theme night and it was hard to find a table.

 

Have to say I was a little disappointed with the ambience. The tables were nicely laid (unlike Horizon Court) and I read that casual clothes were expected but not day/beach wear. Many people looked like they had come straight from a tour or the Lido deck so it felt like we were in the Horizon Court again.

 

I agree about your Club Fusion comments. We often walked in just as the quiz was finishing and there seemed to be very few teams. We did enjoy our time in there though when Opus were playing. Their lead singer worked terribly hard to get people on the dance floor and keep 'em there.

 

As for our disappointing Istanbul tour it was supposed to be one of my highlights of the cruise, but I just didn't like the place. It was very hot (not that I am really bothered by it usually) and we queued for ages to get into the Blue Mosque. You had to remove your shoes first so with the heat the place stunk a bit. The interior didn't inspire me either. Loads of wires fell from the ceiling to suspend the lights over the prayer mats.

 

Next we queued to get into the Hagia Sophia (meanwhile being pestered by street sellers). Once inside all you could see was a massive erection of scaffolding right up to the dome. The interior decoration was in a poor state of repair and there was just nothing I thought worth taking a picture of.

 

From there we were taken to a Carpet demonstration (sales pitch in other words) and was a complete waste of time.

 

Finally we were allowed to roam the Grand Bazaar but with only a hour to do it in you darn't go too far in for fear you'd get lost or not make it back in time.

 

The best part of the whole day was the sailaway and good riddance to Istanbul.

 

Needless to say it wont be one of our ports of call next year.

 

Cheers

Peter

[tjaker11]

Laura,

 

Thanks for the revue. We sail in November. Looking forward to it.

 

JoAnne

[silvercruiser]

Enjoyed your review, as we're boarding Emerald Oct. 7 in Venice for repo back to FLL. Can't wait!

Glad you cleared up the Elite/Platinum question, because I was wondering why you didn't take advantage of the free laundry for Elite passengers instead of bringing it all back home.:)

[Michael Kays]

great review..we were on the June 10th Venice to Barcelona..best Princess cruise we have been on..we rebooked for a Jan 2008 Caribbean Cruise.

 

One question..the young man James Ley, on our cruise was not the CD he was the Assitant CD, there was a blonde lady that was the CD on our cruise..did she leave?

[ourlol]

Michael,

 

No female CD for us on our sailing... so can only assume she has moved on to another ship. James was our CD and his deputy was a chap called Martin.

 

Laura

[sackman]

As has been mentioned previously - outstanding review. Just the kind of thing I've been looking for, actually. We sail on 11/26 and I've been hoping to get some info on the specifics of the ship. You answered all of my questions and some I didn't even know I had - yet.

 

Bravo, and thanks.

[Flainefan]

Hi Laura!

 

Nice to hear from you again. For some reason I didn’t get chance to chat to you at the CC get-together, but I did meet your husband, Brian. Like you, I have been engaged in a marathon wash/iron session. My only consolation is that, as I iron each outfit, I remember where/when I wore it. Great memories of a wonderful cruise.

 

I agree with your comments about Club Fusion. Opus seemed a very competent and versatile band, but I don’t think they got the recognition they deserved from passengers because the location seems out of the way and, indeed, the subdued lighting is somewhat gloomy.

 

My only other minus was the port lecturer. His delivery was poor and the presentation was outdated.

 

Overall, we were delighted with the standards of service. We had dinner in the Michelangelo “anytime” dining room each night with a variety of wait staff. All were very welcoming and attentive, but I must mention Aldo and Ramil in particular. Due to flight delays from UK to Barcelona, we only got onboard shortly before sailaway and went to the dining room ten minutes with ten minutes to spare, feeling rather despondent. Aldo and Ramil were brilliant. They cheered us up and made us feel special. We were able to eat in their section on four occasions. I can’t praise them enough.

 

It amazed me how many of the staff greeted us by name whenever we met them. Does Princess include memory classes in their training?!! It made us feel valued and, I have to say, that we never felt crowded on this ship, despite its enormous size. The one and only drawback I can think of size-wise was that it was a long walk from our cabin at the stern of the ship to the dining room. Still, it gave us an appetite for the excellent meals!

 

Happyvalley, you asked for information about balcony cabins. Well, if you don’t mind being at the stern (we happen to love it – so private back there), you would be well advised to consider B748 right in the port-side corner at the back of the ship (or its opposite number B749 on starboard). It was a great room with a large and very private balcony with plenty of room for 2 loungers, 2 chairs and a table, and the extra cabin table when we had a champagne breakfast there. Still plenty of space to move around. We liked to watch ports slipping away in the evening. The sound of the wake doesn’t bother us; we find it quite soothing, though I know some might disagree.

 

To anyone thinking of a cruise on the Emerald Princess, you will love it. I would love to sail on her again in future.

 

Margaret

 

PS Laura, I hope the new business venture is going well.

[ourlol]

Margaret,

 

In the end the timing of the CC gathering worked against me. If truth be known I was rushing down the corridor at 18.10 with my daughter (who had had her hair put up for the formal night) still dressed in casual clothes. How we managed to turn ourselves round in time for the formal night dinner at 18.30 I'll never know. The fact I managed to show my face at all in Crooners at all is nothing sort of a miracle. Needless to say I too felt it a shame I didn't get to speak to everyone there. Another time perhaps!

 

My only consolation is that, as I iron each outfit, I remember where/when I wore it.

 

Thankfully my own marathon ironing session is over. That said after ironing nearly 40 shirts I'm afraid I'd almost lost the will to live, let alone muse over who'd worn them and when. :D

 

I definitely envy the location of your cabin. Very often Richard and I would sit aft of the ship watching the wake. To have that panorama every day must be absolutely wonderful.

 

The comments made here certainly confirm my own thoughts about the Emerald Princess. The atmosphere on board is to be applauded. Let's hope this holds true for future sailings... as things stand at the moment it is a special ship indeed.

 

Laura

 

PS: Thanks for the good wishes. With just 4 days to go now to the launch... it's a tad scary.

[cruisingpeople]

Laura,

As mentioned by everyone else, Thanks for the great review. We did the Maiden voyage of the Caribbean Princess back in 2004 and the ship (being their first 3,100 passenger) and crew were outstanding. We will be doing the first US run of the Emerald out of Fla. in October and it is nice to know that it looks like Princess has done another great job with a new vessel and crew. We have a group of more than 60 CC'ers that can't wait to sail on her and this kind of review makes us want to sail even sooner.

 

Thanks again,

Joe

[Anne Funnell]

Margaret, I am so concerned about the thought of a flight delay - my stomach is churning with anxiety. What time was your flight due to arrive at Barcelona? It concerns me so much because we are a party of six, four of whom havent cruised before and I so wanted everything to go well.

 

I sure know that next time I cruise I will not rely on 'Princess' air.

 

It sounds as if you had a lovely time anyway - we're so looking forward to it.

 

Thanks to all of those who have given such glowing reviews.

[Flainefan]

Anne,

 

Our flight with Titan air was originally scheduled for 13.15 but then changed to 14.15. Gatwick was a complete zoo on 9th Aug and there was a delay to the flight “because of late arrival of incoming aircraft”. I think we eventually took off at 16.00 or so. Barcelona was another zoo and our bags took ages to come through. By the time we got to embarkation it was already past 21.00 and sailaway was 22.00 so no time to see any of Barcelona except the road from airport to ship. We had hoped for a short ramble down Las Ramblas!

 

Another problem was that we had missed the muster drill so we were told to report to the additional drill in the Explorers Lounge at 21.30 with our lifejackets. We duly turned up, but unfortunately no-one came to conduct the drill! After complaining to the purser desk we gave up and headed to the dining room at 21.50 in time to catch last orders. Thank goodness for Aldo and Ramil, our waiters! They were so nice and caring when we were feeling tired and frustrated. You may be sure that I gave Princess extensive feedback on the less than auspicious start! Despite this unfortunate experience, we did have a superb time. I’m sure you will love the ship and the itinerary, which is exhausting but so worthwhile.

 

I see that Peter (Esprit) has already booked for next year. Wish we could do the same! I’m sure we will sail on the Emerald again sometime in future. Having previously sailed on the Dawn to Alaska, we loved smaller the Sun class ships and thought the Emerald might be too big, but it was marvellous. The staff were so attentive that it did not feel impersonal and anonymous at all.

 

Enjoy your trip. Wish I was coming with you!

 

Margaret

[ourlol]

Sadly, the delays with Princess air to Europe are nothing new. We had similar problems back in 2001 and thereafter have always made independent travel arrangements. Even in 2003 we waved goodbye to some friends at Gatwick (who were on the same sailing as us... but on Princess flights) to board an early morning Easyjet plane, none of realising at the time they would be still there some 4 or 5 hours later.

 

Even on this cruise I met one UK couple who, having had their flight time changed and pre-empting the possibility of hold ups, decided to book their own flights to Barcelona... this despite the fact that they had already paid for it as part of their fare. They simply didn't want to lose a day and felt it was worth the extra expense.

 

Anne. Try not to worry too much. There will be a large contingency of passengers on board the plane... too many for the Emerald to ignore and depart without. Fingers crossed your biggest fears will prove unfounded and you will leave on schedule.

 

 

Laura

(Someone else wishing they were going with you)

[crows nest club]

We were on the 28 July Venice to Barcelona Emerald cruise, along with Tina, Bob and Laura. Having initially been told by Princess that our outward flight with Titan Air would leave at 'around 12 noon', then had it altered to 1.15 p.m. departure, the final straw was being told about 3 weeks before departure that the actual time was to be 5.15 p.m. (6.15 p.m. Venice time). Even with no delays (and this did not seem likely with a charter flight out of Gatwick in the main holiday season), it would mean that we would not be on board until at least 10 - 10.30 p.m. In the event we heard that passengers actually arrived between 10.30 and 11 p.m., thus rather negating the brochure description of an evening and over night in Venice. With this in mind, we booked our own BA 7.30 a.m. flight from Gatwick, shared a taxi with Tina and family in Venice and was on board with our cases delivered by 1.p.m.

 

As we enjoyed the Emerald so much we have all booked again or next year but have pre-empted any problems with late Titan Air departures and booked the same outward flight again from Gatwick with BA, paying only £11 plus £28.50 taxes and surcharges. Needless to say we do not get any credit from Princess for the flight as the charter comes in the overall package. We however feel that this justifies the guarantee of at least the afternoon and evening in lovely Venice.

 

Anyone thinking of doing the Med cruise on Emerald will find a wonderful ship with great crew members who seem only too willing to make your holiday so enjoyable.

 

Daphne

[Anne Funnell]

Oh dear, I am trying not to be anxious but it's hard......

 

Thank you so much Margaret, laura and Daphne - I can see this all becoming very fraught! We are supposed to be boarding Titan Airways at 13.50 thus arriving at Barcelona at 16.50 but in all probability this wont happen. If it was just the two of us I would attempt to book a flight with BA now and disregard the Princess air.

 

It has taught me one thing - I will ensure that we travel the day before in the future.

 

Anne XX

 

ps.....I wish you were all gong to be there too. :>)