Island Hopping in the Eastern Caribbean: An Emerald Princess 5/2/10 Review (w/photos)

[mississauga]

 

Andy, I think what Mississauga means is that Carnival put its emphasis into Grand Turk and Roatan, which are both docking ports (not tender), rather than investing their money in a private island where you have to tender.

 

Thanks for clarifying, Hollybelle. Yes, HMC is a tender port.

[MetalManCPA]

I was in room C203 a few doors down from you on the May 9-16 Western Caribbean cruise with my daughter, and she is now on the Eastern leg (she took a 14 day cruise while I only 7).

 

Beautiful ship.

[Redwing55]

HBelle,

I just love your style. You should go pro. This has got to take a lot of work but clearly it's worth it to us readers!

 

We were on the Emerald in Jan and your review is just enhancing our great memories. I even recognized the bartenders (is that a good thing?:))

 

Anyway keep it coming and enjoy your future cruises- Disney should be a blast- albeit a bit more pricey but a bit more Disney. I'd rate their island the best of the cruise lines.

 

But I do prefer Princess- for now- due to value and itineraries- and we enjoy the variety of entertainment options. Hard to knock any cruise line- for me anyway.

 

Thanks again.

[flimflubin]

Hey neighbor I'm loving your pictures. I no you're using a DSLR camera what brand? I"m looking into purchasing a camera for some good shots. Any suggestions? I must admit since I'm going on a 10 cruise we skipped Disney this year for the first time. I'M MISSING DISNEY. Having withdrawals.

[u2cruiser]

That was a lovely day on Princess Cays thank you. Lovely pictures. I like the one with the ship framed by the rails. Love the reverse focus one too. Very clever. :)

 

Full steam ahead to St. Maarten with a guest appearance from Andy Hippo and family, plus an out of control scaryplane lol! :D

[pcrum]

Loving the review. The photos on Princess Cays were absolutely gorgeous!

 

Just a question for Hollybelle, Andy, or anyone else on the cruise...We were told that instead of the usual paper comment card that is left in your cabin the last night, that Princess does an e-mail comment card that would show up in our e-mail when we got home. We've been back more than a month, but so far, have received nothing regarding asking for our comments on the cruise. We've received lots of ads from Princess as well as the Captain's Circle Magazine, but no comment card. I wondered if maybe they just send random e-mails out to just a select group of passengers instead of to the entire ship.

 

And Hollybelle, this is a bit off topic, but you now have me going though your Disney trip reports!! We live in Orlando and have visited Disney quite often, so it's always fun for us to read of others experiences there!! It's been about 10 years since I read a Disney trip report (used to love Brian Bennett's trip report site, but I think he has stopped writing) but yours are very entertaining! I used to scour the Disney boards when my kids were little for tips, AP pricing, etc., but now that they are older (15 year old boy/girl twins), we've kind of latched onto cruising instead. Thanks for bringing back great memories with the Disney trip reports!!

[kittikats sister]

After virtual sailing with Andy I am so happy to be doing it again with you. Your photos and review are great so far and I am looking forward to more. Between you and Andy I feel like I am on a b2b. Now that is an accomplishment. :D

 

Is this my Shifra from the oceanic 6 !!!

[7x5090g]

Just a question for Hollybelle, Andy, or anyone else on the cruise...We were told that instead of the usual paper comment card that is left in your cabin the last night, that Princess does an e-mail comment card that would show up in our e-mail when we got home. We've been back more than a month, but so far, have received nothing regarding asking for our comments on the cruise. We've received lots of ads from Princess as well as the Captain's Circle Magazine, but no comment card. I wondered if maybe they just send random e-mails out to just a select group of passengers instead of to the entire ship.

 

We got both. As a matter of fact my wife got an email at 00:00 on May 9 (day of disembarkation) from Princess seeking for comments - we hadn't even gotten off the ship yet!!!:eek: I almost tempted to write using my wife's blackberry - hoping they won't force us off the beautiful ship.

[Hollybelle]

I was in room C203 a few doors down from you on the May 9-16 Western Caribbean cruise with my daughter, and she is now on the Eastern leg (she took a 14 day cruise while I only 7).

 

Beautiful ship.

 

I can only imagine how fun it is to do a B2B like your daughter is doing. I think the very best part of it would have to be at the end of the first week when you DON'T have to get off the ship! Was Lino your steward?! Loved him.

 

HBelle,

I just love your style. You should go pro. This has got to take a lot of work but clearly it's worth it to us readers!

 

We were on the Emerald in Jan and your review is just enhancing our great memories. I even recognized the bartenders (is that a good thing?:))

 

Anyway keep it coming and enjoy your future cruises- Disney should be a blast- albeit a bit more pricey but a bit more Disney. I'd rate their island the best of the cruise lines.

 

But I do prefer Princess- for now- due to value and itineraries- and we enjoy the variety of entertainment options. Hard to knock any cruise line- for me anyway.

 

Thanks again.

 

Thanks, Redwing. Believe me, I enjoy this so much that I would totally love to go pro (with writing and/or picture taking :D). Now I've just got to figure out a way to do it. It does take a lot of work but it's worth it to me, and I hope to the readers!

 

I agree that it's hard to knock any cruiseline, which is refreshing to hear because so many people out there do just that. Disney is definitely pricey, no doubt about that. The price for our upcoming 4 night Dream cruise is practically the exact same thing we paid for this 7 night on the Emerald (going Eastern, no less). In the case of Disney, the ship is our destination; whereas on the other lines, the ports are what I really look forward to.

 

Hey neighbor I'm loving your pictures. I no you're using a DSLR camera what brand? I"m looking into purchasing a camera for some good shots. Any suggestions? I must admit since I'm going on a 10 cruise we skipped Disney this year for the first time. I'M MISSING DISNEY. Having withdrawals.

 

I treated myself to a Canon Rebel Xsi for Christmas this past year. It's one of their entry level cameras and currently there are two newer models on the market (the Xti and T2i, I believe). Personally, after doing a lot of research, I don't think you can go wrong with any entry level DSLR, but I'd recommend Canon or Nikon because they have the widest selection of lenses. I bought online, but would also recommend going into a store and actually holding them in your hands. You might find that one feels a lot better to you than the other.

 

I'm having Disney withdrawals myself and I was just there in March. :rolleyes:

[Hollybelle]

That was a lovely day on Princess Cays thank you. Lovely pictures. I like the one with the ship framed by the rails. Love the reverse focus one too. Very clever. :)

 

Full steam ahead to St. Maarten with a guest appearance from Andy Hippo and family, plus an out of control scaryplane lol! :D

 

Yep.. the sea day will be a brief post in comparison to the monster review St. Martin will turn into. Thanks for the compliments. I really like the one with the rails, too.

 

Loving the review. The photos on Princess Cays were absolutely gorgeous!

 

Just a question for Hollybelle, Andy, or anyone else on the cruise...We were told that instead of the usual paper comment card that is left in your cabin the last night, that Princess does an e-mail comment card that would show up in our e-mail when we got home. We've been back more than a month, but so far, have received nothing regarding asking for our comments on the cruise. We've received lots of ads from Princess as well as the Captain's Circle Magazine, but no comment card. I wondered if maybe they just send random e-mails out to just a select group of passengers instead of to the entire ship.

 

And Hollybelle, this is a bit off topic, but you now have me going though your Disney trip reports!! We live in Orlando and have visited Disney quite often, so it's always fun for us to read of others experiences there!! It's been about 10 years since I read a Disney trip report (used to love Brian Bennett's trip report site, but I think he has stopped writing) but yours are very entertaining! I used to scour the Disney boards when my kids were little for tips, AP pricing, etc., but now that they are older (15 year old boy/girl twins), we've kind of latched onto cruising instead. Thanks for bringing back great memories with the Disney trip reports!!

 

Just as Andy said, we also received a link to the online survey IMMEDIATELY. I wonder if they had your email wrong or something. In addition, we went down to the desk and got some paper ones to fill out and dropped them in the comment box. I figure it can't hurt for them to hear how great the crew was more than once.

 

Thanks for checking out my WDW trip reports, that's where this love of recounting our adventures came from. It's also where my desire to really focus on and improve my photography started.

 

Is this my Shifra from the oceanic 6 !!!

 

Not THE Oceanic 6?!?!?! :eek:

[Hollybelle]

Wow Holly, outstanding pictures. You have a real talent:)

 

Louise, I totally missed this post. You snuck it in there when I wasn't paying attention! And I just wanted to say thank you!

[Hollybelle]

We met back up with Brett and headed up to the Neptune pool to enjoy the “sailaway” performance by Evolution. By the way, LOVED them. They were great. And I appreciated that they had a few random songs in their repertoire.

 

The pool was fabulous. This is something else I really liked on the Emerald... they have something like 5 pools and 7 or so hot tubs. On some ships the hot tubs were always so packed you couldn’t get anywhere near them; whereas, on the Emerald we utilized the hot tubs throughout the whole week.

 

 

 

The pool was was so incredibly refreshing and the perfect temperature on this first day (later in the week there were days where it felt like bathwater):

 

Ahhh... LOVE the hot tubs. In this next shot you can see that the pool and upper decks were really starting to clear out for the day.

 

 

Oddly enough this was one of my favorite moments of the trip... just enjoying the pool/sailaway/band combo after a relaxing day on Princess Cays with the rest of our cruise still laid out gloriously in front of us. This is when I’m always thankful for 8:15 dining. The sun’s still out but not as hot and the decks are clearing up due to all the early diners going in to get ready. As you’ll see throughout the review... I much prefer the “day” hours of island hopping and sun catching to the “night” ones in the bars and lounges.

[Hollybelle]

We were ready for dinner at about 7:30 and headed down to Vines (wine bar). Quick sidebar: on the first day we received two $25 credits (one per room) to put towards a bottle of wine. This came as a complete surprise to us from the TA. Just to note, when booking we always find the best available price and then ask the actual line to match it. This works quite often (with Carnival). Then you get the best of both worlds: best price and booking direct. Well Princess wouldn’t match the TA special of $100 OBC so we just booked with the TA. We didn’t have any issues doing so, and it turns out we got an additional $50 to put towards wine!! Woot!

 

Okay, back on track... if you ever receive something like this it says to redeem it at any dining location or through room service. I knew it was a stretch, but I thought they may consider Vines a dining locale, considering they do serve some tapas. But they don’t. It has to be redeemed in the actual dining rooms. No biggie, at dinner I had Daniel bring us a sealed bottle to drink later.

 

Another ceiling shot taken as we walked to dinner:

 

We headed into the Michaelangelo early to find our table already set and ready for us (around 7:45). Wonderful! Daniel and Daniel greeted us warmly and dinner went much more smoothly this night. For your taste buds, how about some pineapple crème brulee and a fudgy chocolate chip cookie:

 

What do you do after eating dessert? Why that’s easy... go get more cookies from the International Café, of course! There was a little entertainment in the Piazza:

 

[pcrum]

This is when I’m always thankful for 8:15 dining. The sun’s still out but not as hot and the decks are clearing up due to all the early diners going in to get ready. As you’ll see throughout the review... I much prefer the “day” hours of island hopping and sun catching to the “night” ones in the bars and lounges.

 

Totally agree...we always go for the late seating because it is so nice to enjoy the pool area around 5-6 pm when people are leaving to go to dinner! Lunch, a nice nap during the heat of the day and then out to the pool to enjoy the late afternoon...now that's a routine I can get into!!

 

Pam

[Hollybelle]

We watched Etienne the juggler for a bit before heading back to the stateroom to change. Brett and I had a date with the Princess and the Frog and a bottle of wine we needed to get to. We got up to the MUTS area around 9:30 where quite a few people had already made themselves comfortable. We found two chairs in a little alcove on the third deck and settled in.

 

 

 

Fancy schmancy plastic wine glasses:

 

 

P.S. Big fan of MUTS! The little details (like chair covers, blankets, and popcorn) really make a difference. Pair that with our love of Disney movies and it was a fantabulous night!

 

We were in the room, lights out, by midnight.

 

I know this was just a brief update, but up next will be our first day at sea!

[7x5090g]

Totally agree...we always go for the late seating because it is so nice to enjoy the pool area around 5-6 pm when people are leaving to go to dinner! Lunch, a nice nap during the heat of the day and then out to the pool to enjoy the late afternoon...now that's a routine I can get into!!

 

Pam

 

If I didn't have a 6 year old, totally agree with the late sitting. This is especially true on sailaway and all of the port visits. We felt rushed trying to get ready for dinner and ended up missing everything else.

[Woobstr112G]

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts/pictures. SOunds like you had a great cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

[cherylandtk]

Hollybelle,

Quick, email the board host and ask them to edit your post #117 and tell them you did not realize it's against policy to name your TA....This is too good to lose. ;)

[Hollybelle]

Totally agree...we always go for the late seating because it is so nice to enjoy the pool area around 5-6 pm when people are leaving to go to dinner! Lunch, a nice nap during the heat of the day and then out to the pool to enjoy the late afternoon...now that's a routine I can get into!!

 

Pam

 

Pam... looks like we're on the same page. That's the PERFECT routine. :cool:

 

OP;

 

Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts/pictures. SOunds like you had a great cruise.....:):):)

 

Bob

 

We certainly did. Thanks, Bob.

 

Hollybelle,

Quick, email the board host and ask them to edit your post #117 and tell them you did not realize it's against policy to name your TA....This is too good to lose. ;)

 

Oooh... I had no clue. Thanks for the head's up; I'll do that now. I do hate that after 15 minutes we no longer have the ability to edit our own posts.

[u2cruiser]

I sooooooooo want that choc chip cookie and ice cream right now :mad:.

 

Are you all going to be twice the size by the last day's pics? :D

[Shifra]

Is this my Shifra from the oceanic 6 !!!

Yup that's us. Hello to both of you. Our last 2 cruises we were only the oceanic 2. Steve & Yvonne are busy with all inclusives, they are in Jamaica this week. We would rather be at sea.

[BalconyGal]

Hollybelle, I must have missed something...where can I read your Disney reviews?

[Hollybelle]

I sooooooooo want that choc chip cookie and ice cream right now :mad:.

 

Are you all going to be twice the size by the last day's pics? :D

 

Oooh, I hope not... especially considering we'll still need to fit into the bathing suits that last day! :D But those International Cafe cookies were oh so gooooood!

 

Hollybelle, I must have missed something...where can I read your Disney reviews?

 

Heather... I linked my most recent Disney review in the first post of this thread. However, it's not connected to any of the ones prior to that. I've written 6 total; if you follow this link (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=534877&highlight=christmas+cape) it'll take you to my December 2009 report, which then has a link to all the previous ones (July 09 is probably my favorite). I don't imagine you'll want to read them all, seeing as that'd probably keep you busy for eons! :eek:

[CruiseCheers]

HBelle,

I just love your style. You should go pro. This has got to take a lot of work but clearly it's worth it to us readers!

We were on the Emerald in Jan and your review is just enhancing our great memories. I even recognized the bartenders (is that a good thing?:))

 

We are all very lucky that it is a down time for Holly at work....another reason she loves her job at Clemson. It seems that she gets alot of her review done during working hours. ;)

 

Sure it is a good thing that you remember your bartender. Ask Hollybelle if she remembers our Bushwacker bartender in St Thomas. I think it might be a good thing that I took a picture of Rui to refresh her memory.

[7x5090g]

Heather... I linked my most recent Disney review in the first post of this thread. However, it's not connected to any of the ones prior to that. I've written 6 total; if you follow this link (http://forums.wdwmagic.com/showthread.php?t=534877&highlight=christmas+cape) it'll take you to my December 2009 report, which then has a link to all the previous ones (July 09 is probably my favorite). I don't imagine you'll want to read them all, seeing as that'd probably keep you busy for eons! :eek:

 

Sorry slightly off topic but actually we were also at WDW over Christmas. But I was there from Dec 21 to Dec 26 and then I was in Fort Lauderdale until Jan 1. We were within close proximity to each other but we just didn't know each other at that point.