Emerald Princess Nov 16 short review

[Lovtotravel2]

The rain and missed ports were not great, the limping into port at an 18% list to starboard and getting tossed out of bed when the winds hit the ship left a lot to be desired.

 

But the real problems are:

 

Sailing from Houston, big mistake, hard to get to port, fogged in, but that's the norm. Bad Luggage handling, long waits to get on board. Finally sailing out 20 hours late. Your in Texas too so no drinks or fun while stuck there.

 

Luggage handling, pay the porter then find out he left your bags at the curb, or when they are loading them on board dropping a few into the sea. Hand to God, when it was delivered they told the people it was in the rain for a while, but now we know it rains salt water in Texas, and Rick Perry says the environment isn't changing.

 

Missed ports due to sailing from Houston.

 

But hey more sea days, well with a Cruise Director that is more focused on a really bad morning show, was no where to be found, no updates, no added activities so who wants more dead time with nothing to do.

 

Meals in the Lido were cold, not sure they ever tried for warm, and forget about hot unless you wait and wait and wait for an omelet. But not sure we can blame the kitchen, since by the time you find a waiter for silverware or a cup of coffee its time for lunch.

 

Main Dinning room was worse, bad food, over cooked Luke warm and lots of bad service.

 

Bar service was hit or miss, you got waited on, but it was always a gamble to see if you got what you ordered.

 

The staff moral was low, few smiles, lack luster service, many areas were dirty, slow to clean up dishes or drink glasses. But watching staff yell at each other is so entertaining.

 

The shows were so so , had to walk out on the disco one the singing was so bad, but the dancers were good.

 

Casino, some great staff some so so, bar service slow, but I broke even, and with no ports it was open a lot.

 

Then there is the coming home, hit by winds and list so bad you roll out of bed, and then sleep at an angle all night, and get in 2 hours late. Slow getting off the ship, and then about half way they though the list they just tell everyone to go, that was a cluster to find luggage and get though customs.

 

Then there is Texas, as you leave asking if you have booze or Tobacco as they are going to charge you tax to take it home with you. It was amazing seeing that no one had bought any :)

 

But really the best part of the Port of Houston, and Emerald Princess was getting on a flight out of Texas and knowing you will never be on the ship from hell or at that port ever again.

 

My advice, if you are not at final payment and can change, do as fast as you can.

[Working 2 Cruise]

From what I've read and I've heard (from people who have sailed on her months on end every year), the Emerald is a wonderful ship. So, I will take your rant with a big grain of salt.

 

Princess is not responsible for weather... it's also not responsible for luggage handling. This is handled by the port itself.

 

I find it very hard to believe that everything you ate was cold or bad... When th some chefs and cruises, the quality of the food can vary, but not that much. Some of the worst food I've ever eaten was on the Carnival Splendor.

 

As far as dirty conditions, I can see something happening once or twice (once or twice too many), but I don't believe it was everywhere.

 

As for the weather, this is part of cruising. Most of the time, you'll have smooth seas, others, not so much.

 

I wouldn't hesitate to sail the Emerald.

[Lovetocruiseprincess]

Other than port problems it's hard to believe the Emerald had degraded to the level you describe. When we were last on it about 1 1/2 years ago everything was fine and we wouldn't hesitate to sail on it again if they bring it back to Florida.

[mollyanne]

Other than port problems it's hard to believe the Emerald had degraded to the level you describe. When we were last on it about 1 1/2 years ago everything was fine and we wouldn't hesitate to sail on it again if they bring it back to Florida.

 

The Emerald will be back in Florida next winter.

[pablo222]

The rain and missed ports were not great, the limping into port at an 18% list to starboard and getting tossed out of bed when the winds hit the ship left a lot to be desired.

 

 

Thank you for your review.

 

I have been on Emerald 13 times and one of my favorite ships,

but unlike the cheerleaders here, I understand your frustration.

 

Once things start going wrong, it just cascades.

 

Your experience with Houston is consistent with many posts here.

Unless I lived five minutes from the port, I would sail from somewhere

else.

 

And, yes next year emerald will be back in Florida

-- doing short cruises!

 

My experience with short cruises on Princess -- even when

they are essentially free -- not worth the price.

[SwissDave]

Other than port problems it's hard to believe the Emerald had degraded to the level you describe. When we were last on it about 1 1/2 years ago everything was fine and we wouldn't hesitate to sail on it again if they bring it back to Florida.

 

It is very easy to imagine that things have degraded, especially in service. It will not have been the same crew as you had, except for perhaps a handfull of them as crew are rotated around the fleet and have differeing lengths of contract. In my experience poor crew is becuase of poor leadership and poor management. Have a bad manager on board and the crew will be bad.

 

The only comparison that could be realistically been made would be from perhaps the last 1 or 2 cruises, certainly not 1.5 years ago.

[billco]

It is very easy to imagine that things have degraded, especially in service. It will not have been the same crew as you had, except for perhaps a handfull of them as crew are rotated around the fleet and have differeing lengths of contract. In my experience poor crew is becuase of poor leadership and poor management. Have a bad manager on board and the crew will be bad.

 

The only comparison that could be realistically been made would be from perhaps the last 1 or 2 cruises, certainly not 1.5 years ago.

We sailed on the Emerald Princess on the 17 day October, 2014 Transatlantic and the following 5 day cruise. There was some crew change between cruises, but we experienced very few of the issues reported by the OP, especially in regard to food and cleanliness. Also, Kelvin Joy is one of the more popular cruise directors.

[R&S]

We were on the 5 day cruise sailing out of Houston and agree with most of what you posted.

 

Bottom line, we were on a cruise and we enjoyed our time together but we have definitely had better experiences on a Princess ship.

[BridgeMates]

Like I said on another thread, we are really glutons for punishment. We were on the Emerald last January....the one that returned to port a day early due to fog and noro virus. We did get a rebate for the lost day, but it was according to the price you had paid for the cruise. In our case, not much. When prices got down so low a couple of weeks ago, we booked again for January. Been on the Emerald a couple of times departing from other ports and have always enjoyed this ship, so we'll take our chances again. I can understand how disappointed you might be flying down from Minnesota and encountering all the problems weather brings to this port. Galveston is easier as you don't have the channel to go through, but even Galveston has had problems with fog which fouled up our family's flights back to California after one cruise.

Hope you have better luck with your next cruise.

[BridgeMates]

Like I said on another thread, we are really glutons for punishment. We were on the Emerald last January....the one that returned to port a day early due to fog and noro virus. We did get a rebate for the lost day, but it was according to the price you had paid for the cruise. In our case, not much. When prices got down so low a couple of weeks ago, we booked again for January. Been on the Emerald a couple of times departing from other ports and have always enjoyed this ship, so we'll take our chances again. I can understand how disappointed you might be flying down from Minnesota and encountering all the problems weather brings to this port. Galveston is easier as you don't have the channel to go through, but even Galveston has had problems with fog which fouled up our family's flights back to California after one cruise.

Hope you have better luck with your next cruise.

 

Sorry, it was the Caribbean Princess last year, not the Emerald. Have had great times on both ships.

[jeffdal]

On Emerald right now. It's delightful and Houston port was the easiest ever.

 

 

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[djms11504]

I was on the same sailing as the OP and I'd have to say I agree with nearly all they said. The whole experience was very lackluster. Service was bad everywhere for us except the MDR but the food there wasn't spectacular. I too found the ship to be dingy and not well kept. Also I saw the asst cruise director more than the actual one.

[Beermam42]

Princess has cruises out of Bayport though fall and winter season next year. They will bring the Caribbean Princess a sister ship of Emerald back.

Port options are limited. More cruise ships, bigger, more people taking cruises, all adds up to docks have not caught up to number of ships.

Port Canerval is in final stages of new terminal for RCL and they will be sailing three ship from there. Ft. L and Miami are full.

Mobile is vacant but air transport and low surrounding popuation lead to Carnavial pulling out of there.

New Orleans, 7 hrs trip to get from gulf to docks, nice for passengers in daylight but has fog issues at times. Also pilot expense goes up.

That said there will be new terminal downriver from present location by next year. The location is a true second destination in that you have something to do either coming or going. Airport is convienent.

 

Tampa small ships shallow harbor.

All other ports up eastern coast make cruises into caribbean to far away. The main cruise season US is Oct to May.

[woohooTOO]

"But really the best part of the Port of Houston, and Emerald Princess was getting on a flight out of Texas and knowing you will never be on the ship from hell or at that port ever again."

 

Don't let the door hit you in the ass on your way out.

[TowMater]

On Emerald right now. It's delightful and Houston port was the easiest ever

 

Since you report that this week's sailing has been delightful, I assume

y'all are finding hot food & servers/waiters to assist with silverware and drinks?

[geoherb]

Thanks for posting your review. It makes me glad that we did not book the Emerald for our New Year's cruise. It worked out less expensive for us to take the 3-day and 4-day cruises on the Caribbean Princess. We will drive to Fort Lauderdale from North Carolina since airfare would double what we're paying.

 

We took two 4-day cruises last year on the Ruby, so we know how the short cruises are. I did not see much diminishment in food or service other than not having a formal night and its associated menu.

[CruisingJs]

We sailed on the Emerald Princess on the 17 day October, 2014 Transatlantic and the following 5 day cruise. There was some crew change between cruises, but we experienced very few of the issues reported by the OP, especially in regard to food and cleanliness. Also, Kelvin Joy is one of the more popular cruise directors.

 

Ditto. I think people now cruising out of Houston are frustrated with the port and the weather and are blaming the Emerald Princess for their unhappiness. Since we just got off the ship on November 11th I doubt much of the crew changed. There was always silverware on the tables in the Horizon Court and people rushing to bring you a drink. The crew was fantastic and I very much enjoyed Kelvin and Dan's morning show. They were both seen all over the ship. If you're concerned about the port...fine, cancel your cruise but you don't need to have concerns about the Emerald and her crew.

[lrodsangel]

The rain and missed ports were not great, the limping into port at an 18% list to starboard and getting tossed out of bed when the winds hit the ship left a lot to be desired.

 

But the real problems are:

 

Sailing from Houston, big mistake, hard to get to port, fogged in, but that's the norm. Bad Luggage handling, long waits to get on board. Finally sailing out 20 hours late. Your in Texas too so no drinks or fun while stuck there.

 

Luggage handling, pay the porter then find out he left your bags at the curb, or when they are loading them on board dropping a few into the sea. Hand to God, when it was delivered they told the people it was in the rain for a while, but now we know it rains salt water in Texas, and Rick Perry says the environment isn't changing.

 

Missed ports due to sailing from Houston.

 

But hey more sea days, well with a Cruise Director that is more focused on a really bad morning show, was no where to be found, no updates, no added activities so who wants more dead time with nothing to do.

 

Meals in the Lido were cold, not sure they ever tried for warm, and forget about hot unless you wait and wait and wait for an omelet. But not sure we can blame the kitchen, since by the time you find a waiter for silverware or a cup of coffee its time for lunch.

 

Main Dinning room was worse, bad food, over cooked Luke warm and lots of bad service.

 

Bar service was hit or miss, you got waited on, but it was always a gamble to see if you got what you ordered.

 

The staff moral was low, few smiles, lack luster service, many areas were dirty, slow to clean up dishes or drink glasses. But watching staff yell at each other is so entertaining.

 

The shows were so so , had to walk out on the disco one the singing was so bad, but the dancers were good.

 

Casino, some great staff some so so, bar service slow, but I broke even, and with no ports it was open a lot.

 

Then there is the coming home, hit by winds and list so bad you roll out of bed, and then sleep at an angle all night, and get in 2 hours late. Slow getting off the ship, and then about half way they though the list they just tell everyone to go, that was a cluster to find luggage and get though customs.

 

Then there is Texas, as you leave asking if you have booze or Tobacco as they are going to charge you tax to take it home with you. It was amazing seeing that no one had bought any :)

 

But really the best part of the Port of Houston, and Emerald Princess was getting on a flight out of Texas and knowing you will never be on the ship from hell or at that port ever again.

 

My advice, if you are not at final payment and can change, do as fast as you can.

 

I can totally relate to majority of what you said. The weather just plain stunk. The Houston port has some major issues. The embarkation was chaotic to say the least even for suite passengers. We heard about the luggage issues but the only problem we had was our luggage not getting delivered until well after dinner.

 

We ate in the Crown grill twice and the food was good but very slow service. Ate in the dining room one night and the food and service was good. We ate in the buffet the rest of the time and the food was usually hot and good - but there were some exceptions. Thankfully we didn't have any issues with cleanliness! Our cabin steward was awesome and very accommodating and our morning breakfast from room service was the best we have ever had. So sorry you had so many issues!

 

Each of us have different experiences and should never be criticized for sharing their opinions.

 

 

[mysaddlebred000]

The embarkation was chaotic to say the least even for suite passengers.

We ate in the Crown grill twice and the food was good but very slow service.

 

Each of us have different experiences and should never be criticized for sharing their opinions.

 

 

I take it you were in a suite. Did they have a suite/elite lounge where you waited to board?

 

Also, if in a suite, did they make you have your "first night free" specialty restaurant dinner the first night or did they allow you to go another night. Thanks

 

YES, agree that no one should be criticized for voicing their opinions.

[JimmyVWine]

Princess is not responsible for weather....

This isn't really true insofar as the sailaway conditions in the Houston channel are concerned. Or, to the extent it is true, it is irrelevant. If a cruise line intentionally places a departure port on Antarctica and passengers complain about frigid temperatures at departure, whose fault is it that the passengers are cold, Mother Nature's or the cruise line's? If a cruise line puts a departure port in the Amazon rain forest and passengers get drenched almost every time the ships depart and return, whose fault is it that the sailaway parties on deck are always canceled and rained out, Mother Nature's or the cruise line's? Princess chooses to use a departure port that is consistently going to have problems due to wind and fog. It is as predictable as lake effect snow in Buffalo. You may not know exactly when it will happen. But you know that it is going to happen. So yes, Princess shoulders a good bit of blame even if it cannot "control" the weather because it can avoid it should it choose to forego the sweetheart deal it gets for sailing out of Bayport. Princess gets a great economic deal, and in so doing, it gets the blame for the side effects that come with it.

Edited November 26, 2014 by JimmyVWine

[SwissDave]

We sailed on the Emerald Princess on the 17 day October, 2014 Transatlantic and the following 5 day cruise. There was some crew change between cruises, but we experienced very few of the issues reported by the OP, especially in regard to food and cleanliness. Also, Kelvin Joy is one of the more popular cruise directors.

 

I agree about Kelvin, he was certainly very good on Emerald earlier this year, no complaints about him from me.

I was referring more to other areas of management, if wait staff were not good, slow etc then that comes down to their manager, and likewise bar staff. A good manager should be able to motivate his staff in a professional way, not by shouting at them, and if as was reported is true that some staff were yelling at each other (in a bad way it seems) then again it should be their manager sorting that out - and not in front of passengers.

[billco]

I agree about Kelvin, he was certainly very good on Emerald earlier this year, no complaints about him from me.

I was referring more to other areas of management, if wait staff were not good, slow etc then that comes down to their manager, and likewise bar staff. A good manager should be able to motivate his staff in a professional way, not by shouting at them, and if as was reported is true that some staff were yelling at each other (in a bad way it seems) then again it should be their manager sorting that out - and not in front of passengers.

In our 22 days onboard Emerald we had absolutely no problems with any of the staff we encountered. We gave our room steward a generous tip. My wife did a "make a difference" card on a headwaiter for his help on her dietary issues. I filled out one on a personal trainer. We had anytime dining and ate frequently in the horizon court, so had a variety of servers. The server in the International Cafe was constantly refilling our coffee. The server behind the counter remembered my favorite snacks after a couple of days. We had good weather throughout our cruise and few embarkation/disembarkation issues, so perhaps those were major contributors to the issues the OP encountered. If so, I think it was a rare anomaly.

[cracra cruiser]

I do have to agree that the Port of Houston was the worst port I have ever sailed with - weather, extra taxes on duty free items, delay, etc.

 

I definitely don't fault the ship for weather. Having learned how often the Port of Houston experiences weather issues thought, you'd think that Princess would relocate its ships to Galveston where it's easier to come and go.

 

I was on the 11/16 sailing - the crew was very friendly and felt bad for the frustration of passengers that we were stuck in port.

 

The ship listing on the last night was a bit of a surprise... it was an adventure - the storm we were in was a real adventure too.

 

The ship seemed good for her age. Was on a different cruise line last month and that ship was old and the food was horrible - so was happy to be back on Princess.

 

Princess again? Definitely

Houston again? NEVER

[lrodsangel]

I take it you were in a suite. Did they have a suite/elite lounge where you waited to board?

 

Also, if in a suite, did they make you have your "first night free" specialty restaurant dinner the first night or did they allow you to go another night. Thanks

 

YES, agree that no one should be criticized for voicing their opinions.

 

We were in a full suite but were directed to the regular waiting area although there was an elite lounge. We did get our first night free at the Crown Grill but since our luggage didn't arrive to our cabin until well after 8:30pm - we wore the clothes we had on when we boarded (sweats) and the maitre d was very gracious.

[KruzeKrazy!]

We've sailed out of Houston (Galveston) with no issues whatsoever other than the crappy hotel in Galveston (I selected it from the Internet based on location and price so that was my fault...) we stayed at the night before embarking.

 

And that my DW's checked bag didn't make it on our non-stop flight (the airline's fault, of course) but did make it prior to cruising (since we stayed a night before in that crappy hotel so I guess that was good planning after all...).

 

The ship both left and returned on time and we missed no ports.

 

We were happy I planned ahead and had a rental car reserved to return to the Houston airport - others we saw didn't and they ran out of cars so they had no timely and easy way to get to the airport.

 

Bottom line: we had no issues cruise-wise sailing out of Houston. We would do so again.