Back from the Emerald - some thoughts...pretty long

[WJBonds]

Hi Guys,

 

For those who don't know me, I am an old 39 (think Jack Benny), New Yorker, with 20 cruises under my belt. Everything from Carnival to Crystal. My wife and I just returned from 10 days on the Emerald in a "mini-suite".

 

This was our fifth cruise with Princess but the first on the Emerald. My first thought was how similar the Princess ships are. Basically, if you know your way around one of them, you know your way around all of them.

 

Now, before I say some negative things that will bring out the "flamers", let me first say that I loved the cruise. Yes, I have plenty of complaints - little nit-picks - but all in all we had a wonderful time.

 

The ship is beautiful, kept really well, and had a wonderful crew. Yes, wonderful. Service was really special. Waiters, bartenders, deckhands, etc. all went out of their way to insure that we had a good time Truly exceptional.

 

The problems we encountered were standard cruise problems. Too little public space for too many passengers. Try to get a chaise by one of the pools after 9:30 or 10. Impossible. You would see rows of deck chairs with nothing on them but a towel and a paper back book. The deckhands were sympathetic but did nothing to alleviate the problem. We saw two interesting situations. One was a family that kept two sets of lounges. One in the sun and one in the shade. The other was a family that had both four lounge chairs and a table with four chairs. They would alternate during the day but always protecting the one they weren't using. This was a constant for the entire cruise.

 

My wife and I would not play that game and we made do with what we could scrounge up. But, a luxury cruise experience it was not. By the way, a similar situation takes place every morning in the "Sanctuary". People line up before dawn to buy a lounge chair for the day. $150 per person buys you a chair for the entire cruise. Perhaps this is what we are coming to - a la carte cruises where even the lounge chairs are rented at an additional charge.

 

I will next discuss my thoughts on the ship's dining. High on my list was to get an invitation to the "Chef's Table". We did and it was the highlight of the cruise. (More in a bit.) I usually think of dining on a ship as a quality "catering hall" meal but not restaurant quality. This was certainly true on the Emerald. In fact maybe average catering hall would be more descriptive. While the service was exceptional in every venue, the food ranges from good in the specialty restaurants to poor in the buffets.

 

The Crown Grill is the top of the line restaurant with a surcharge of either $25 or $34 per person plus gratuity. The room is beautiful and the service is exceptional. The food is good, but not like a high end New York restaurant.

 

Sabbatini's is much the same, ($20 p/p plus gratuity) but to be honest, it is getting kind of old. Eighteen small courses served beautifully. If only they tasted better... Also, they have been doing the same dinner for years. Isn't it time for a change?

 

The regular dining rooms (we had anytime dining) offer adequate but not exceptional meals. The problems were more with the availability of tables. We saw one group complain that it took them 90 minutes to be seated. My wife and I never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a table for two. (But, isn't even that too long?) Food was o.k., portions miniscule - one lettuce leaf was a vegetable, two were a salad. The servers gave you anything you wanted, but only after you asked - extras were almost never offered.

 

The buffet was simply awful. The "carving" of the day one afternoon was a tube of meatloaf. It looked like something I used to feed my dog. Truly awful. It was mentioned here on cruise critic that the first night of the cruise is a special lobster seafood buffet. Don't believe it. The lobsters served were tiny - claws only - and given out two at a time. Not special, not luxurious, not good.

 

Pizza, and the always available hot dogs and hamburgers, were a nice alternative for lunch by the pool.

 

Now, back to the Chef's Table. On this cruise they had three. Ten people each, done on three nights. Without giving away everything, this was special. We really were personally escorted by the head Chef and head Maitre' D. Service was great. Food good and very creative. Plus, some special extras. If you have an interest, you should try and go.

 

Lastly, I will briefly mention entertainment. The Emerald runs all of the shows for two nights. They say it is to allow everyone to have more freedom in deciding when to go - but, in reality it cuts the number of shows in half. In the old days we would see an early lounge show, have dinner, and then see the production show. When done on this cruise, there was nothing to do the following night.

 

Anyway, I will be glad to answer anyone's questions while the memories are still fresh.

 

In the end a very nice trip - but I keep thinking that you really get what you pay for.

[PescadoAmarillo]

Thanks for your review. I found your thoughts about "not enough public space" particularly interesting. We were on the Emerald for 20 nights in January, and just this evening returned from 9 nights on the Mariner of the Sea (with approximately the same number of passengers but on a lot bigger ship). The most positive advantage about RC over Princess (and I'll post a more detailed list of comparisons in the next week or so) was the size of the public spaces, and the amount of seating in those spaces, that cut down on the stresses of coping with chair hogs or long pre-show waits in the theaters and lounges.

 

DH walked the outer decks on the Mariner every day, and counted (in round numbers) the number of deck chairs on the upper decks. He stopped at 2000 (there were still more), and every one was in a location with something to offer (no nasties by the ship's loud fans). Every night we walked into the Savoy Theater to see a show less than five minutes prior to show time, and had plenty of seats to choose from. The theater holds about 400 more people than the Princess Theater. The end result...more time each evening spent having drinks, listening to live music, strolling the Promenade and less time spent waiting for a show to begin. We figured that we spent about 12-15 hours over the 20 nights on the Emerald just waiting. And sitting. And waiting.

 

We loved our 20 nights on the Emerald, but our cruise on the Mariner has reminded us of the attributes of other cruise lines, and it's nice to have options to choose from.

[jackdiamond]

WJBonds-What was your cabin assignment?

 

Thank you.

[sultan_sfo]

Thank you for your detailed review. But food food food seems to be main concern on your "mind" (thoughts) although I agree completly about about your comments on Sabatinis.

[Colo Cruiser]

Thanks for the review. :)

[kooljamming]

We recently sailed on Sapphire Princess and I must agree with the serving size. I am a growing girl (from back to front) and simply had to order two entrées upfront. For the most part I enjoyed the food, but I tend to enjoy most meals that I don't have to prepare or that's NOT wrapped in paper and served with fries. I wasn't expecting gourmet, just food prepared and presented well. For the most part I got that but needed portions for a growing/expanding girl.

 

THE MEATLOAF: I thought about trying it but decided the extra calories should be used more wisely:p

 

[rcacace]

Very few people seem to realize that they've reduced the number of shows on a 10 day cruise to that of a 7 day & the 7 day to that of a 4 day (if they have one) and it represents a major cutback in the entertainment budget.

Yea, the ships are getting larger & I'd book the smaller ones if available but as you well know they've moved them all from the Caribbean. Maybe if the economic slowdown continues & they have trouble filling them here they'll bring the Sun & Island back to the Caribbean for a while.

btw- I passed on the tube meatloaf also but I did hear some people say it was pretty good.

[twocats]

Are you sure that is meatloaf?? It looks a lot like a loaf of french bread on my computer :D

[spongerob]

Now, before I say some negative things that will bring out the "flamers", let me first say that I loved the cruise. Yes, I have plenty of complaints - little nit-picks - but all in all we had a wonderful time. No flames, but I'll have a little fun, I hope that's okay!

 

The problems we encountered were standard cruise problems. Too little public space for too many passengers. Try to get a chaise by one of the pools after 9:30 or 10...This was a constant for the entire cruise. It's not a lack of lounge chairs, then, it's the location. I agree with your frustration by the way, particularly with the tables.

 

My wife and I would not play that game and we made do with what we could scrounge up. But, a luxury cruise experience it was not. By the way, a similar situation takes place every morning in the "Sanctuary". People line up before dawn to buy a lounge chair for the day. $150 per person buys you a chair for the entire cruise. Perhaps this is what we are coming to - a la carte cruises where even the lounge chairs are rented at an additional charge. You get what you pay for. And you pay for what you get. A lesson that is lost on some people.

 

The Crown Grill is the top of the line restaurant with a surcharge of either $25 or $34 per person plus gratuity. The room is beautiful and the service is exceptional. The food is good, but not like a high end New York restaurant. Or even a low-end New York restaurant. $25 isn't be enough for sandwich and a coffee at TGIF's.

 

Sabbatini's is much the same, ($20 p/p plus gratuity) but to be honest, it is getting kind of old. Eighteen small courses served beautifully. If only they tasted better... Also, they have been doing the same dinner for years. Isn't it time for a change? COULDN'T AGREE MORE!

 

The regular dining rooms (we had anytime dining) offer adequate but not exceptional meals...Food was o.k., portions miniscule - one lettuce leaf was a vegetable, two were a salad. Well, there's your problem, you went expecting "high-end New York" and got "high-end LA".

 

The "carving" of the day one afternoon was a tube of meatloaf. It looked like something I used to feed my dog. Truly awful. :eek: So how did it taste? :D

 

...

 

In the end a very nice trip - but I keep thinking that you really get what you pay for.

 

Thanks for providing your thoughts.

[Infi]

The problems we encountered were standard cruise problems. Too little public space for too many passengers. Try to get a chaise by one of the pools after 9:30 or 10. Impossible. You would see rows of deck chairs with nothing on them but a towel and a paper back book. The deckhands were sympathetic but did nothing to alleviate the problem. We saw two interesting situations. One was a family that kept two sets of lounges. One in the sun and one in the shade. The other was a family that had both four lounge chairs and a table with four chairs. They would alternate during the day but always protecting the one they weren't using. This was a constant for the entire cruise.

 

I agree with this observation 100%. I think Princess tries to cram too many people onto their larger ships, and it really shows in the big public areas like the theater and pool. There's no real way to fix this, so they just deal with it by hosting multiple shows etc. The chair hogs you encountered sound awful...I wish the pool staff would do a better job enforcing the no-chair-saving rule. :(

 

Thanks for your review. I found your thoughts about "not enough public space" particularly interesting. We were on the Emerald for 20 nights in January, and just this evening returned from 9 nights on the Mariner of the Sea (with approximately the same number of passengers but on a lot bigger ship). The most positive advantage about RC over Princess (and I'll post a more detailed list of comparisons in the next week or so) was the size of the public spaces, and the amount of seating in those spaces, that cut down on the stresses of coping with chair hogs or long pre-show waits in the theaters and lounges.

 

DH walked the outer decks on the Mariner every day, and counted (in round numbers) the number of deck chairs on the upper decks. He stopped at 2000 (there were still more), and every one was in a location with something to offer (no nasties by the ship's loud fans). Every night we walked into the Savoy Theater to see a show less than five minutes prior to show time, and had plenty of seats to choose from. The theater holds about 400 more people than the Princess Theater. The end result...more time each evening spent having drinks, listening to live music, strolling the Promenade and less time spent waiting for a show to begin. We figured that we spent about 12-15 hours over the 20 nights on the Emerald just waiting. And sitting. And waiting.

 

PescadoAmarillo, I really enjoyed your live-from Emerald and look forward to your comparison review of Mariner as well. Will you be posting it here? I have heard positive comments about layout and passenger flow on RCI's Voyager class, and wish Princess could take a note from their book on that subject. It sounds wonderful to not have to camp out in the theater 30+ min before showtime just so you can get a decent seat. The hurry-up-and-wait really is an unnecessary annoyance.

[sherman931]

Thanks, I enjoyed reading your review.

[Beyondships]

Opinions about food are very subjective. I had a great meal in the Crown Grill on Emerald last month, which I would characterize as comprable to high end New York restaurants. Just my opinion, however.

[ooops]

Hi Guys,

 

For those who don't know me, I am an old 39 (think Jack Benny), New Yorker, with 20 cruises under my belt. Everything from Carnival to Crystal. My wife and I just returned from 10 days on the Emerald in a "mini-suite".

 

This was our fifth cruise with Princess but the first on the Emerald. My first thought was how similar the Princess ships are. Basically, if you know your way around one of them, you know your way around all of them.

 

Now, before I say some negative things that will bring out the "flamers", let me first say that I loved the cruise. Yes, I have plenty of complaints - little nit-picks - but all in all we had a wonderful time.

 

The ship is beautiful, kept really well, and had a wonderful crew. Yes, wonderful. Service was really special. Waiters, bartenders, deckhands, etc. all went out of their way to insure that we had a good time Truly exceptional.

 

The problems we encountered were standard cruise problems. Too little public space for too many passengers. Try to get a chaise by one of the pools after 9:30 or 10. Impossible. You would see rows of deck chairs with nothing on them but a towel and a paper back book. The deckhands were sympathetic but did nothing to alleviate the problem. We saw two interesting situations. One was a family that kept two sets of lounges. One in the sun and one in the shade. The other was a family that had both four lounge chairs and a table with four chairs. They would alternate during the day but always protecting the one they weren't using. This was a constant for the entire cruise.

 

My wife and I would not play that game and we made do with what we could scrounge up. But, a luxury cruise experience it was not. By the way, a similar situation takes place every morning in the "Sanctuary". People line up before dawn to buy a lounge chair for the day. $150 per person buys you a chair for the entire cruise. Perhaps this is what we are coming to - a la carte cruises where even the lounge chairs are rented at an additional charge.

 

I will next discuss my thoughts on the ship's dining. High on my list was to get an invitation to the "Chef's Table". We did and it was the highlight of the cruise. (More in a bit.) I usually think of dining on a ship as a quality "catering hall" meal but not restaurant quality. This was certainly true on the Emerald. In fact maybe average catering hall would be more descriptive. While the service was exceptional in every venue, the food ranges from good in the specialty restaurants to poor in the buffets.

 

The Crown Grill is the top of the line restaurant with a surcharge of either $25 or $34 per person plus gratuity. The room is beautiful and the service is exceptional. The food is good, but not like a high end New York restaurant.

 

Sabbatini's is much the same, ($20 p/p plus gratuity) but to be honest, it is getting kind of old. Eighteen small courses served beautifully. If only they tasted better... Also, they have been doing the same dinner for years. Isn't it time for a change?

 

The regular dining rooms (we had anytime dining) offer adequate but not exceptional meals. The problems were more with the availability of tables. We saw one group complain that it took them 90 minutes to be seated. My wife and I never had to wait more than 20 minutes for a table for two. (But, isn't even that too long?) Food was o.k., portions miniscule - one lettuce leaf was a vegetable, two were a salad. The servers gave you anything you wanted, but only after you asked - extras were almost never offered.

 

The buffet was simply awful. The "carving" of the day one afternoon was a tube of meatloaf. It looked like something I used to feed my dog. Truly awful. It was mentioned here on cruise critic that the first night of the cruise is a special lobster seafood buffet. Don't believe it. The lobsters served were tiny - claws only - and given out two at a time. Not special, not luxurious, not good.

 

Pizza, and the always available hot dogs and hamburgers, were a nice alternative for lunch by the pool.

 

Now, back to the Chef's Table. On this cruise they had three. Ten people each, done on three nights. Without giving away everything, this was special. We really were personally escorted by the head Chef and head Maitre' D. Service was great. Food good and very creative. Plus, some special extras. If you have an interest, you should try and go.

 

Lastly, I will briefly mention entertainment. The Emerald runs all of the shows for two nights. They say it is to allow everyone to have more freedom in deciding when to go - but, in reality it cuts the number of shows in half. In the old days we would see an early lounge show, have dinner, and then see the production show. When done on this cruise, there was nothing to do the following night.

 

Anyway, I will be glad to answer anyone's questions while the memories are still fresh.

 

In the end a very nice trip - but I keep thinking that you really get what you pay for.

Great review. I was on the Diamond Princess recently and was a little disappointed with the entertainment. Although it was considered one cruise, it was technically 2 back-to-back cruises (Bangkok to Sydney to Auckland). The entertainment (guest entertainers, production shows, etc) was fine on the first 19 days of the cruise. The 8:15 and 10:15 shows were the same each night, no repeats the next night (with the exception of the last production show which had a third performance to ensure that everyone had a chance to see it). From Sydney to Auckland was a different story. The production shows were repeats (which I didn't expect, but can understand), and most of the guest entertainers were the same ones too. Of the 12 shows, we only went to one (and it was so awful we left after the second song...it was the first time we had ever left in the middle of a show). I don't understand why they didn't have other entertainers for the 2nd portion of the cruise; we were told about 500 people were staying onboard in Sydney and continuing on to Auckland. Anyhow, just thought I share my thoughts too.

[TorontoTL]

I was on the Emerald quite recently. I have to comment on the Princess Lounge and the shows there. Each show is shown on four occasions on the Emerald. If you go to see the show on the first day of showing, yes it is packed for both shows. However, if you go on the second day, you had a huge choice of seats anywhere in the lounge for either of the tow showings. We went to see two of the three shows and had no problem finding excellent seats just a couple of minutes before the show started. We didn't have to sit around and wait. My advice, go on the second day of the shows not the first if you don't want to go early.

[Clutterlady]

Thanks for your review. I ususally don't pay attention to food reviews as everyone's taste vary. Can't wait to board the Emerald next week:)

[TorontoTL]

Thanks for your review. I ususally don't pay attention to food reviews as everyone's taste vary. Can't wait to board the Emerald next week:)

 

That's quite true isn't it.

[sunsetbeachgal]

Thanks for your review. We cruised on the Emerald in Jan, and thought the dining room food was some of the best on Princess that we have experienced, and our group did not share your observations about serving size. We tended to avoid the buffet in favor of light dining at the International cafe' and for the pub lunches on sea days. And we really enjoyed the pizza.

 

Pescado (Jeanne)-can't wait to hear your comparison of Mariner vs. Emerald. We experienced the same thing with lack of crowding in the theater for the shows, and enjoyed the layout.

[DiTomCruisers]

Thanks Mr Bonds.. Nice review..

[ginagirl]

Thanks for your review. I ususally don't pay attention to food reviews as everyone's taste vary. Can't wait to board the Emerald next week:)

If your statement is valid, then how can one explain that a couple can sail on one Princess ship and rave about the food quality and preparation; and then sail on another Princess ship, with almost identical menus as the other ship, and yet find the quality and prep to be quite unsatisfying. There is definitely something else going on here. More like one ship allocates more funds for better quality food offerings and a more skillful kitchen. This has been our personal experience, and I can't come up with a better explanation.

[awhcruiser]

Looks like spam loaf to me.....lol

 

 

We recently sailed on Sapphire Princess and I must agree with the serving size. I am a growing girl (from back to front) and simply had to order two entrées upfront. For the most part I enjoyed the food, but I tend to enjoy most meals that I don't have to prepare or that's NOT wrapped in paper and served with fries. I wasn't expecting gourmet, just food prepared and presented well. For the most part I got that but needed portions for a growing/expanding girl.

 

THE MEATLOAF: I thought about trying it but decided the extra calories should be used more wisely:p

 

[WJBonds]

I agree with you. Seems like we didn't have these problems when we sailed on RCL a couple of years ago.

[WJBonds]

We were in D232 - mini-suite - port side close to the front elevator

[mzwaag]

We were on the same cruise and have no complaints about the food at all. The lounge hogs is a different story. I was out for 3 hours and the 2 lounges next to me had towels in them and just before I was going to go in a lady came and pulled her towel off of them. The next day there were two people next to me and left there towels in their chair when they left and never came back. It was windy so they blew away.

[everwonder_y]

As far as lounge hogs go, I was just on the Sapphire and they had signs everywhere about not saving chairs. So if some chair was left unattended for over 30 minutes I moved their stuff or turned it into the staff and moved in. I had no problems or any confrontations by doing this.

[poncho1965]

We just got back but I'm still jealous! And the food was great :)

 

 

Thanks for your review. I ususally don't pay attention to food reviews as everyone's taste vary. Can't wait to board the Emerald next week:)