Emerald Princess - what do you love about her?

[Jo and Rob]

We are cruising on the Emerald Princess for the first time in April and wondered what your favourite parts of the ship are and which activities you have enjoyed while on board. As this is a Caribbean cruise and we have an outside rather than a balcony we are more likely to use the outside areas of the ship so information on good areas for sunbathing or relaxing would be good.

 

Any additional information such as secret doorways, or parts of the ship you wish you'd discovered earlier in the cruise etc would also be great to hear.

 

I can't wait for your responses.

 

many thanks :)

[chrysalis]

Have you been reading this blog?.....

 

100+ days this winter, and 100 days last winter on board.

 

http://www.pescadoamarillo.blogspot.ca/2012_11_08_archive.html

[SCFCRUISER]

I see you have been on the Crown. Emerald is the same ship, just different interior furnishings & newer.

[Happy2cruise]

I see you have been on the Crown. Emerald is the same ship, just different interior furnishings & newer.

Agree,if you liked the Crown, you will like the Emerald:D...same design.

[skynight]

We are cruising on the Emerald Princess for the first time in April and wondered what your favourite parts of the ship are and which activities you have enjoyed while on board.

many thanks :)

The entire ship is nice.

5 pools, including 2 for adults only the Terrance pool aft and the Lotus pool Fwd. If there are not too many children on board the Chill out family area pool is a quiet place, it's aft and all the way up top just under the Skywalker's Lounge. The Calyspo Reef pool has MUTS going all day and night, while Neptune's Reef pool has live music in sets on the sea days. Also the pool games and Cruise Staff activities are held at Neptune's Reef.

 

Dining:These are at no extra charge

Horizon Ct./Cafe Carib open from 6am until midnight. Some days are themed, watch for them.

DR open for breakfast each day and for lunch on sea days

International Cafe open 24 hours and on port days has a pasta bar in addition to their regular fare.

Pizza/Ice Cream bar & Grill on the Lido deck open from 11am until around 11pm.

Catch the "warm" soft cookies at 3:00pm each day on the lido deck and at the International cafe. The cooled off one's are available all the time.

On two of the sea days there will be a Pub Lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. Fish & Chips etc.

Some nights the Cafe Carib is turned into the Crab Shack where you can get buckets of seafood. There is a $20 surcharge.

The Crown Grill, steak, chops, & seafood, and Sabatini's, Italian are also nice. These also have a surcharge of $25.

 

Daytime activities include all the standards, Trivia, Bingo, Art Sales, Food Demos, Pop Choir a passenger Choir if you like to sing, ballroom dancing, 3:30pm Tea in the DR, Free hour long Zumba, line dancing. Cards are played in the Crown Grill each afternoon, but it is not hosted.

 

Evening activities include:

Four different production shows. The 70's Disco show I felt was the best. There were guest entertainers including comedy, singers as well as some hypnotist and magic. Live music can be found in all the lounges, but if you enjoy soft music check out the Wheelhouse Bar. There will also be live music and activities in the Piazza area. The cruise staff runs theme nights, game shows, evening trivia/quiz games, karaoke. Don't miss the Pub Night in the Explorer's Lounge, it's costumed and includes the theater performers. Arrive early, it will be SRO. We went to the game show before Pub Night and just stayed.

 

It's a nice ship and a nice cruise.

[Drews_Cruise]

Thanks for the great overview. Were getting really excited too.:D

[berlingo]

Does anyone know whether they do a Flash Mob on Emerald? I heard something about this last year and would love to give it a try.

 

Having loved the Crown last year we are off around the Med on Emerald in July.

 

PS By the way we are not really following you two but will look forward to another of your excellent reviews. Have a great time on the Emerald.

 

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

[Rosethorn40]

I love the fact that I'm on her right now, and I have escaped this brutal winter.

[ne1travel]

Have you been reading this blog?.....

 

100+ days this winter, and 100 days last winter on board.

 

http://www.pescadoamarillo.blogspot.ca/2012_11_08_archive.html

 

Thanks for this...didn't know it was out there & is a nice read.

[caribbean2000]

We love the Adagio lounge, which is next to Sabatini's. It is hardly ever crowded and in fact many passengers don't even find it over the course of a cruise. Good piano music most nights and on a few evenings some of the musicians from the show orchestra show up for jazz. It's a very comfortable venue if you want to get away from the crowds that sometimes make seating difficult in Explorers and the Wheelhouse. Some excellent appetizers available from Sabatini's too. Looking forward to being there in 10 days!

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod

[Minoushka]

I hung out at the back of the ship ..had breakfast and lunch out there every day

Coming from Canada I prefer eating out doors plus everyone i knew always knew where to find me ...very easy

Loved the Crown grill ...lovely food ,scallops,goat cheese salad ,lamb chops and lobster plus dessert sampling ...best meal ever ..do not miss it

Skip the Casino ...never pays

Check out sales ...some pretty good ones esp on last seaday

Princess has changed ...a lot ...not fir the better ....food IMO was not as good on this ship ...ok but not great

 

 

Michele

[Drews_Cruise]

I love the fact that I'm on her right now, and I have escaped this brutal winter.

 

Hey Rosethorn was your formal dinner the first day at sea or the second day at sea. I'm not sure which itinerary you are doing but we do two sea days before arriving at Aruba and I'm trying to find out which of those will be our formal night. Thanks for the help if you can.

[FritzG]

We were on the Emaerald in January, and I have to say there was nothing about her that we didn't love. We had sailed on her in Sept. 2012, the fall TA, and we really enjoyed it, but this time it seemed like it was a step or two above that cruise. She is now our favorite ship; Ruby has now moved to second favorite. Compared to our Hawaiian cruise on the Grand last April it confirmed that the Grand is by far our least favorite.

[skynight]

Does anyone know whether they do a Flash Mob on Emerald? I heard something about this last year and would love to give it a try.

Sent from my KFTT using Tapatalk HD

Did not see this during the 20 days we were on board this year.

[Woobstr112G]

Emerald was our first Princess ship. Absolutely love the design. My favorites are The location of the Allegro/Sabatini's, the Terrace pool, and the large seating area for MUTS. Can't wait till October when we will once again be embarked on her.....:):):)

 

Bob

[san diego sue]

Was on in February and also loved the ship. It was the first time on her and we had been on all the other Princess ships prior, and I count it among the best.

Even though it looks like the Ruby, Crown and Caribbean, there was something different about her .Had a great time, staff wonderful, food yummy, entertainers excellent.

[geocruiser]

We were on her two times. I really love the food in the main dinning room.

[petlady7]

We are also on the 8 April cruise , hopefully see some of you there

[philv]

We are cruising on the Emerald Princess for the first time in April and wondered what your favourite parts of the ship are and which activities you have enjoyed while on board. As this is a Caribbean cruise and we have an outside rather than a balcony we are more likely to use the outside areas of the ship so information on good areas for sunbathing or relaxing would be good.

 

Any additional information such as secret doorways, or parts of the ship you wish you'd discovered earlier in the cruise etc would also be great to hear.

 

I can't wait for your responses.

 

many thanks :)

 

You have to check out this blog: http://www.pescadoamarillo.blogspot.com/

This lady has been on the Emerald Princess for the past 100 days, I kid you not! Her writing style is excellent and she includes photos in daily postings. I am on the Emerald March 9 and have been following her blog all winter. It's delightful! :D

[PescadoAmarillo]

We love the Adagio lounge, which is next to Sabatini's. It is hardly ever crowded and in fact many passengers don't even find it over the course of a cruise. Good piano music most nights and on a few evenings some of the musicians from the show orchestra show up for jazz. It's a very comfortable venue if you want to get away from the crowds that sometimes make seating difficult in Explorers and the Wheelhouse. Some excellent appetizers available from Sabatini's too. Looking forward to being there in 10 days!

Gene & Kathy from Cape Cod

 

Unfortunately, there is no longer any entertainment in the evenings in Adagio. That lounge has basically been abandoned; I guess bar revenue didn't warrant any musicians up there.

 

No flash mob.

 

Thanks for the nice comments on my ramblings!

[Steelers36]

Was on in February and also loved the ship. It was the first time on her and we had been on all the other Princess ships prior, and I count it among the best.

Even though it looks like the Ruby, Crown and Caribbean, there was something different about her .Had a great time, staff wonderful, food yummy, entertainers excellent.

 

Technically, not correct. The RUBY, EMERALD, & CROWN are the same, but the CARIBBEAN has several differences - mostly in where things are relative to the other three ships. Like rooms/restaurants/casino.

 

Nonetheless, the ships are pretty similar. Someone commented EMERALD is now their favorite over RUBY. I find that curious and interesting. Was it the weather, the itinerary, the staff, some food dish, the entertainment that trip over another? I don't see how it could be the ship itself. You could drop 99% of Princess cruisers into many areas on board those two ships and they'd only have a 50-50 chance of guessing correctly which ship they were on.

[nellydean]

On this ship end May for a Canaries cruise from S.ton (is this the first time the ship has been deployed in this area?), so interested to read all comments, and will definitely read the blog :)

 

Only been on the Grand before, and was not keen on the layout - I like to be able to walk from one end of a deck to the other as much as possible without having to go up or down floors to access lifts. Can anyone tell me if the newer Emerald is any different in this aspect? Thanks.

[susancruzs]

Emerald Princess has a great layout (I think) but for the Botticelli Dining on Deck 6 you have to use the rear stairwell on 7 to get there. If you are in the Piazza area on 5 or 6 that will not work. I think it is the same as the Grand in that respect. I do the traditional dining which is in Botticelli but once a day for the evening meal isn't a deal breaker! :)

[debandbruce]

In my opinion the Emerald has some of the nicest pools on any ship I have been on. Love the layout, lots of loungers in the sun or the shade. The ship is easy to navigate and has a wonderful crew.

[Jo and Rob]

Thanks for all the great responses. We usually eat in the dining room whenever we can but I love sea food and would like to know more about when the buffet has seafood. What is the bucket exactly?

 

I did the Flashmob on the Crown Princess which was great fun but rehearsals can be restrictive and people seemed to come and go which made continuity difficult. I might try out the choir this time as I was impressed with it on the Crown.

 

Forgive me for forgetting but we sail on different lines so sometimes I get mixed up. Is the soft serve ice-cream free on the Lido deck? What time? I think it but don't won't to promise free ice cream to children and then get it wrong!!

 

I will indeed check out the recommended blog, 100 days at sea? Lucky lady.