Looking For Advise From Princess Cruisers!!

[jamers113]

My wife and I just finished our platinum carnival cruise and want to try princess were looking at a 10 day on Emerald princess . Ship looks beutiful ,and we like the new ports. How are the rooms ? We always like balcony, and carnivals are small. Also woundering about food, service and time in ports . Any other helpful hints have searched archives but would like resent experiances were in the our early 50s and usually travle with friends thanks in advance for any help you can offer Happy Cruising!! Jaime&Mary :cool:

[chrysalis]

We did back to back cruises (20 days) on the Emerald in March08 and are doing the same thing in March09. She is a wonderful ship with great amenities. There is no reason why you would not enjoy your time on her.

 

The food is always very good, and so is the service. We find that "anytime dining" suits us perfectly.

 

The ship runs 2 different and alternating itineraries, so I can't comment on the ports unless I know what cruise is of interest to you.

[bythehex]

We've been on Royal Caribbean twice, Carnival twice and Princess twice (going on our third Princess cruise next month), so I think I can give you a reasonable comparison.

 

The balcony rooms on Princess are quite different than you're used to on Carnival. While I prefer Princess ships because they are a lot more elegant, and not as garishly decorated as Carnival, the balcony rooms on Carnival have extra seating with the sofa in the room. Princess's regular balcony rooms have a desk and chairs, but no sofa. The room is much more compact. We could easily accomodate three people in a Carnival or Royal Caribbean balcony room, but it would be mighty tight for three on Princess. As for the balconies themselves, they're great. Be aware that, depending on what deck you're on, some of them are uncovered, meaning you might get more sun than you want. On the Crown Princess the decks were stepped, meaning that the people on the balconies above can look down on you very easily, or you on others depending which deck you're on. In other words, don't go out on your balcony naked unless you plan on putting on a free show!

 

If you choose Princess I'm sure you'll have a great time. We loved their ship overall, the layout and the decor, the food and the service, we felt all those things were a step above the rest. That's just our personal opinion.

 

Hope I was able to answer your question.

 

- Sharon -

[alabama ghost]

We were on a 10 day cruise on the Emerald in January and had a great time! We were on the Caribe deck with a balcony that was half covered/half uncovered and about twice the size of other standard balconies. It was great! We enjoyed the ship also, especially the Cafe Caribe and the International Cafe. We had lunch several days at the International Cafe with their chicken salad and wonderful pastries. Have a wonderful time!

[LuvTheGoodLife]

following refers to 'side' of ship balconies only, i.e. those on starboard or port sides of any ‘Grand’ class ship (Grand, Golden, Star, Diamond, Sapphire, Caribbean, Crown, Emerald etc) and not any balconies that face directly aft....

 

Baja deck balconies are sized 9 ft. wide x 5 ft. deep and have full ceiling overhang. Lido, Aloha, Riviera (found on Caribbean, Crown, Emerald, Ruby only) decks have the same balconies. You can stand at the railing of these balconies and look down on to part of the Caribe deck balconies and all of the Dolphin deck balconies.

 

Caribe deck balconies are sized 9 ft. wide x 9 ft. deep and have ceiling overhang over the first 5 ft. Standing at the railing, you will overlook Dolphin deck balconies below.

 

All of the cabin interiors/bathrooms of the balcony cabins are the same with respect to size (unless it is a handicapped cabin).

Dolphin deck balconies (all balcony cabins are actually mini-suites and thus bigger than regular balcony cabins on the interior with sitting area, 2nd TV and bathtub/shower combination instead of the small shower stall found in the regular balcony cabins). The balcony is sized 9 ft. wide x 7 ft. deep and has no ceiling overhang as protection from sun or rain.

 

Emerald deck has several mini-suites each side with fully covered balconies. The last mini-suite cabin towards aft end on each side has extra wide balcony – approximately 7 ft. deep x 18 wide, according to someone who stayed in one of these. Emerald deck also has some regular balcony cabins near the front that have the balconies set back under the roof and back from the railing. You look straight out to the water but cannot look down on the water. The walking track goes past these balconies and walkers can see you on your balcony. I do not have any measurements for these Emerald deck balcony sizes.

Hope this helps. Enjoy your cruise!

Below is a link of photos which helps explain the tiered balcony design from StuartM:

 

http://good-times.webshots.com/album/563286324HHwMgb

[jamers113]

Thanks For All The Help I Think Ill Be Able To Find A Great Cabin Does Anyone Have A Favorite We Love Spending Time On Balcony And Dont Really Like Others Watching Us ! Were Not That Excitting Anyway Lol.

[Clutterlady]

We loved our Caribe deck balcony. Half covered and half open, so best of both worlds. Had a table and 2 chairs plus 2 semi loungers. We were mid ship, great location and super balcony.

[tvaud]

My wife and I just finished our platinum carnival cruise and want to try princess were looking at a 10 day on Emerald princess . Ship looks beutiful ,and we like the new ports. How are the rooms ? We always like balcony, and carnivals are small. Also woundering about food, service and time in ports . Any other helpful hints have searched archives but would like resent experiances were in the our early 50s and usually travle with friends thanks in advance for any help you can offer Happy Cruising!! Jaime&Mary :cool:

 

Jaime & Mary, Princess tends to be more formal than Carnival as well. On your 10 day cruise, you will have 2 formal nights and the rest Smart Casual. Be sure to read the Princess dresscode guidelines, so you will know what to expect...and what to pack.:) Despite what some posters here will lead you to believe, most passengers do follow the dress guidelines. Welcome to Princess and have a grea cruise!

[Hot2Travel]

Thanks For All The Help I Think Ill Be Able To Find A Great Cabin Does Anyone Have A Favorite We Love Spending Time On Balcony And Dont Really Like Others Watching Us ! Were Not That Excitting Anyway Lol.

 

As you probably know a corporation owns Princess and Carnival.;) As a past passenger on Carnival you probably will qualify for discounts or upgrades from Princess. Check it out when booking. :)

[flycess]

You will LOVE the Emerald. We have sailed her 3 times and will definitely be back again. It is a lovely ship and without a doubt had the best crew we have ever had. Have a great time!

[Sandytoes]

Thanks For All The Help I Think Ill Be Able To Find A Great Cabin Does Anyone Have A Favorite We Love Spending Time On Balcony And Dont Really Like Others Watching Us ! Were Not That Excitting Anyway Lol.

Mid-Ship

Caribe, Aloha, Baja - in that order.

[vickie_bernie]

We've sailed four times on Carnival and 9 times on Princess. Our last cruise on Carnival was the Spirit three years ago.

 

We sailed on the b2b on the Emerald last January. I wrote a review and can be found on teh Review section of the cc home page. Just look for Vickie_bernie around February of 2008.

 

the differences in rooms are the following (based on the Spirit) couch in room on C, Princess had more storage and drawers. Carnival had no knobs on the doors to the cabinets just leather strips and the doors kept getting banged. There was no fridge in the room, but I think the newer Carnival ships do have them. Carnival had more bathroom amenities and I thought the entire bathroom was larger than princess.

 

Princess will not see your past cruises on Carnival as credits, but I've very rarely found the past passenger deals to be that great anyways and have always found better prices on my own thru my ta.

 

The one thing I love about Princess is the anytime dining, their afternoon tea is so much better too. I love Carnival's dining room staff and their dancing and singing.

 

Princess is definately subdude compared to Carnival. Oh yeah Princess doesn't have your account on the tv, and I miss that.

 

all just my opinion

[Cruzman]

My favorites, E 730, E 731