Not Quite Live from the Emerald Princess with lots of pictures, menus, etc....

but still quite recently. We were on the Nov 29th sailing with stops in Cozumel, Roatan, and Belize.

We usually cruise on Carnival, but a little variety never hurts. I had taken advantage of a couple of left coastal cruises on Princess last year where 100% of the cruise fare was given back as a credit against a future 7 day or longer Princess cruise and it was use it or lose it.

There were some things we missed that are available on Carnival, and some things we enjoyed that aren't available on Carnival.

I prepaid for parking at the port and found it to be very easy. You drop your checked luggage off first and the go around again to enter the parking lot. I lucked out and was directed to a parking spot not far from the terminal entrance.

Embarkation was a breeze with one slight screw up on my part. I'm Platinum on Princess and it was my GF first Princess cruise. When I handed them our boarding passes, mine said VIP and GF's did not. Of course, they looked at GF pass and said we weren't qualified for VIP check-in.

I told another person that we were denied the proper line for check-in and she quickly escorted us to the proper place. Very professional and score 1 for Princess.

BTW, the ship was ready for boarding before the cabins were, so apparently it isn't always true that passengers on Princess can head straight to their cabins after boarding. No big deal. Ours was ready.

I had every intention of eating lunch in the MDR - one of which is open embarkation day (and sea days), but it was not to happen.

So off to Lido we go.

It was somewhat a miss and somewhat good. The "scallops" GF and I agree seemed more like fish sticks in the shape of balls. The desserts were pretty good. Princess does have great desserts. And International Cafe always has something good, if nowhere else.

a little disappointed in lunch I made a run for the pizzeria and found the pizza to be Excellent! Much better than what I had on Golden last year. It became my go to food when necessary.

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts and the pictures. Looking forward to seeing more.....:):):)

Bob

Looking forward to the rest! Thank you!

You're welcome.

The bathroom seemed on the small side, but was adequate.

also the shower

I had requested via the travel agent a hand held shower attachment but there wasn't one and I'm still undecided if that would have been a disaster.

The open closet is great and we had plenty of room. Even after we hung our clothes, and they also work for suitcase storage.

I had brought 4 bottles of wine on the ship - expected to be charged for two of them, but weren't. Also brought water and cokes onto the ship, some in checked bags, without anyone batting an eye.

The balcony was good sized and had a sliding door. Sliding doors make more sense to me, but can sometimes whistle in strong winds and this one was a little difficult to fully close in winds until I figured out to lift up on it some when trying to close the latch.

The a/c was also not working properly in the cabin initially. As it turned out, there were several cabins impacted. When we told the cabin steward there was the standard response of it is because the drapes were open and the sun was shining in, but we had closed the drapes earlier.

In any event, there were enough reports of something is wrong, a engineering had a crew working on it. Before we set sail the temperature was dropping in the cabin.

Later in the cruise, on Thursday, there was a similar issue, and after calling twice, someone came to the room to check on. They connected a gee whiz thing to the control in the room and were able to increase the air flow coming out our vent which brought instant relief.

Hanging over the aft rail looking at what I imagine is one of the expensive cabin balconies

various teas and sweeteners available on Lido

The menu from Trident Grill

Our beloved Saints on MUTS. Not sure what has happened to them this year and the coaches are probably thinking the same.

The always popular safety drill. I do like that Princess scans the cards so they have a pretty good idea of who attended and who didn't. Those who don't are invited to attend a second one. We were required to bring our life jackets but didn't have to walk to the life boat area after the instructions.

after - back in the cabin

looks easy to open the balcony partitions, but could be deceiving

A sprinkler on the balcony

Overlooking the Junior Suites. We just like full cover over our balconies.

and now walking around the ship a little. I guess the ship tour started promptly, but I found them.

A number of shore excursions did sell out

We had meant to try Sabatini's, but never got around to it. Loved the look of Adagio bar.

Decided to check out the Happy Hour goodies but didn't try any

In the beginning wasn't crowded but after a while people came out of the woodwork.

Thanks so much for doing this! Your pictures are great and very informative. Looking forward to your review of the cruise!

You're Welcome!

Great pictures!! Thanks for taking the time to post them.:D

The sun was starting to fade to time to get busy...

The mini-golf

Just time to run through the Sanctuary before they closed it for the day.

The exercise pool below

Hearts and Minds, for any interested

and as the sun was setting

The temperature started dropping in the cabin

but still time for a quick casino tour before it opened.

the hull plate

and what everybody probably wants to see - more food! We had traditional late dining.

A pre-dinner libation

Fettuccine Alfredo as a starter

Trio of Cantaloupe, Honeydew, and Watermelon,

Caesar Salad,

Crispy Hand-Rolled Vegetable Spring Rolls,

Cognac-Flamed Crawfish Etouffee with Louisiana Hot Sauce

Now that's a slab of beef - for some reason mine was larger than others. :-)

Slow-Rosted Corn-Fed Prime Rib with Natural Rosemary Jus and Horseradish Cream,

Traditional New York Cheesecake,

Flourless Chocolate Cake with Double Cream,