JamieLogical's Live from the Emerald Princess 12/18-01/02

[quint!!]

On 12/18/2022 at 7:24 AM, JamieLogical said:

At our hotel in Los Angeles now. We got in close to on time last night. Had to walk about 12 miles to the baggage claim then had a whole bunch of confusion about how to actually get an Uber or Lyft. Apparently you have to take a shuttle bus from the pickup area to a whole separate area where ride shares are allowed in. That was NOT fun. After the initial confusion and searching around, the shuttle bus itself was completely packed.

 

After we got to the hotel we got some room service and got to bed. We were so exhausted. It may have only been 10:00pm Pacific, but for us it was 1:00am after and extremely long and stressful day.

 

While we were in the Lyft to the airport after leaving our house yesterday morning, I realized I had the wrong shoes on! When traveling for a cruise, I usually bring three pairs of shoes. Sandals get packed in my backpack. Boat shoes ger packed as the core of my bundle in my carry-on. And hiking shoes that I wear on my feet as I travel. Well on my way out the door, I just slid on my sneakers on autopilot without even thinking of it. And, of course since I wear my hiking shoes, they weren't on the packing list I triple-checked! No way suede sneakers are the right shoes for traipsing around in jungles and riverbeds, so I contemplating getting another Lyft to run back home, but the timing would have been really tight. Ultimately we decided I would try to find shoes in LA. I checked Google Maps as we ate our lunch in the airport and found a sporting goods store 0.7 miles from the hotel that we intend to walk to this morning.

 

For anyone who is curious whether I got to see my beloved Bills' game. I did get to see most of it, no thanks to American Airlines. The Live TV function on the flight just said something like "we're sorry this service is currently unavailable." I ended up paying $19 for a two hour wifi pass towards the end of the flight and then paying $4.99 for NFL+ to watch the first half of the game.

 

We landed shortly after halftime. I ended up missing the first 5 minutes of the third quarter. Then I got cell service as we landed and taxied and was able to watch/listen to the game as we deplaned, navigated the 18 miles of the airport to the baggage claim, waited for our bags, got our bags, tried to figure out the Lyft situation, rode the shuttle to the ride share area, and rode towards our hotel. The game ended with the Bills' winning field goal while we were in the Lyft.

 

Alright, need to get ready for breakfast and then head out to the sporting goods store. Will try to catch up with all of you later.

Just wondering if you can tell me what the theme nights were on the emerald princess for 15 days? Was it country western 80s just trying to figure out what to  pack!! Love your blog

[quint!!]

Can you tell me what the theme nights were? I’m trying to pack for our cruise next month and I’m struggling to find out if there’s a white hot night or a rock ‘n’ roll night or an 80s night or anything like that if you could help me out that would be great. Thank you so much for your posts.

[Buckeye10640]

On 1/1/2023 at 9:38 AM, Homosassa said:

We were on one of the last cruises that had Cartagena on the itinerary back in March 1985 (Sitmar Trans-Panama cruise, Aruba to San Diego).

 

The port stop was interesting. We were traveling with our then eighteen month old daughter. She was one of the six children on board ship.

 

The day before the stop, all the parents were called for a meeting with the Captain and Cruise Director. 

 

For safety reasons, they wanted all children to remain on the ship and had us fill out information on emergency contacts and any legally designated guardians. We were also asked to turn over their passports to be kept with the file. (Gasp!!!! All passengers had passports for the cruise).

 

Passengers could only go ashore on ship excursions and each tour bus had an armed escort on board.

 

 

I think at that point I would have chosen to stay on the ship!

[KKB]

12 hours ago, Priszm said:

We were in the CB in August.  First time I've ever understood why people were always so concerned with who the CD is.  Kristoff and crew were superb. 

I don't think I've ever seen an entertainment staff click so well...some have come close! They had SO much fun together--which meant we had so much fun too!!

[graphicguy]

@KKB...been a while since I sailed Carnival.  I've had mixed experiences.  It's "different" than what I usually sail.  Some like it, obviously, otherwise they wouldn't have passengers on their sailings.  Not my "go to" cruise line.  But, if the price is too good to pass up, I'd sail them again.

 

@JamieLogicalyou've sailed a lot on different lines.  We both have a lot of experience on cruises.  We know what we like, what we don't like, and what we're ambivalent about.  Sounds like this cruise was more the latter than the former.

 

BTW....was at the Bengals/Bills game last night.  Obviously, a tragic experience.  I know you're a huge Bills fan.  Football game takes a back seat.  If there's a silver lining, seeing the players gather in the middle of the field, from both teams, praying for Damar Hamlin, reinforced my faith in professional sports personalities.

 

The young man is at one of the top Cardiac Hospitals in the Midwest.

 

Just heard most of the team (Bills) flew home.  More important things in this world than football. 

[KKB]

14 minutes ago, graphicguy said:

@KKB...been a while since I sailed Carnival.  I've had mixed experiences.  It's "different" than what I usually sail.  Some like it, obviously, otherwise they wouldn't have passengers on their sailings.  Not my "go to" cruise line.  But, if the price is too good to pass up, I'd sail them again.

 

@JamieLogicalyou've sailed a lot on different lines.  We both have a lot of experience on cruises.  We know what we like, what we don't like, and what we're ambivalent about.  Sounds like this cruise was more the latter than the former.

 

BTW....was at the Bengals/Bills game last night.  Obviously, a tragic experience.  I know you're a huge Bills fan.  Football game takes a back seat.  If there's a silver lining, seeing the players gather in the middle of the field, from both teams, praying for Damar Hamlin, reinforced my faith in professional sports personalities.

 

The young man is at one of the top Cardiac Hospitals in the Midwest.

 

Just heard most of the team (Bills) flew home.  More important things in this world than football. 

Carnival price: FREE (Casino Match) Free 14 day cruise to Hawaii? Think we'll be OK

 

But yes, moments like last night give us all pause & be grateful for our blessings. 

Praying that young man recovers & lives a long happy life.

[graphicguy]

15 minutes ago, KKB said:

Carnival price: FREE (Casino Match) Free 14 day cruise to Hawaii? Think we'll be OK

 

But yes, moments like last night give us all pause & be grateful for our blessings. 

Praying that young man recovers & lives a long happy life.

FREE works quite well!! 😉

[quint!!]

Trying to find out if there were other theme nights besides the formal nights? Like western night or rock ‘n’ roll night or white night anything along that line? 
Thank you so much so sorry I’ve asked three different ways. I’m not sure which way is visible or which one is the one that works? Thank you again.

[jagoffee]

10 hours ago, quint!! said:

Trying to find out if there were other theme nights besides the formal nights? Like western night or rock ‘n’ roll night or white night anything along that line? 
Thank you so much so sorry I’ve asked three different ways. I’m not sure which way is visible or which one is the one that works? Thank you again.

You should find that information on this thread:

 

 

 

[hollydog]

Did you have to show proof of Covid vaccination to go ashore in Cartagena?

[Robbie555]

38 minutes ago, hollydog said:

Did you have to show proof of Covid vaccination to go ashore in Cartagena?

Not on my 12/3/22 sailing.

[Musky Ike]

1 hour ago, hollydog said:

Did you have to show proof of Covid vaccination to go ashore in Cartagena?

No, but carried ours with us today just in case.

[memoak]

16 hours ago, hollydog said:

Did you have to show proof of Covid vaccination to go ashore in Cartagena?

Just got a update on my March Canal cruise which goes to Colombia and if you need proof of vaccination or a negative medically observed test to get on board

[jagoffee]

16 hours ago, Robbie555 said:

Not on my 12/3/22 sailing.

 

15 hours ago, Musky Ike said:

No, but carried ours with us today just in case.

How about when you boarded?  I just received a notification from Princess for our 1/17/23 cruise that stops there.  If one is not fully vaccinated, a Covid test is required before boarding.  It stated that this was because of Cartagena.

[Musky Ike]

We attested on the app that we were vaccinated but could not download the certificate. They did not ask for proof at check-in. But have it just in case.

[Robbie555]

10 hours ago, jagoffee said:

 

How about when you boarded?  I just received a notification from Princess for our 1/17/23 cruise that stops there.  If one is not fully vaccinated, a Covid test is required before boarding.  It stated that this was because of Cartagena.

I don't recall being asked to show my Covid-19 vaccination card prior to embarkation.

I may have had to do so when I did on online check-in.

[JamieLogical]

Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Sorry I haven't been back on CC at all since returning from our cruise. Everything has been insane in my real life. I didn't even unpack from the cruise until Weednesday night! My husband had COVID when we returned, work was completely nuts (I work at a college and our Spring semester starts Monday), I had a flat tire when I came home.... just all sorts of stuff to deal with and I feel like I am just now getting things back under control. Hopefully I will have a minute to actually relax this weekend!

 

I am sorry I didn't post about the last two days of the cruise. Overall, my general impression is that I will probably never sail Princess again unless there is an absolutely AMAZING itinerary for an AMAZING price, but it would have to be genuinely amazing. When I booked this Panama Canal sailing with Princess, Celebrity was supposed to have a Panama Canal sailing on the Millennium at the same time, just offset by one day. The price for the Millennium sailing was double the price of the Princess sailing, so it seemed like a no-brainer choosing between the two. Confronted with those same options now, I might be very very tempted to just pay double and sail on Celebrity. Especially since the Millennium is such a fantastic ship that has been complete renovated inside and out.

[jwattle]

27 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

Rumors of my demise are greatly exaggerated. Sorry I haven't been back on CC at all since returning from our cruise. Everything has been insane in my real life. I didn't even unpack from the cruise until Weednesday night! My husband had COVID when we returned, work was completely nuts (I work at a college and our Spring semester starts Monday), I had a flat tire when I came home.... just all sorts of stuff to deal with and I feel like I am just now getting things back under control. Hopefully I will have a minute to actually relax this weekend!

 

I am sorry I didn't post about the last two days of the cruise. Overall, my general impression is that I will probably never sail Princess again unless there is an absolutely AMAZING itinerary for an AMAZING price, but it would have to be genuinely amazing. When I booked this Panama Canal sailing with Princess, Celebrity was supposed to have a Panama Canal sailing on the Millennium at the same time, just offset by one day. The price for the Millennium sailing was double the price of the Princess sailing, so it seemed like a no-brainer choosing between the two. Confronted with those same options now, I might be very very tempted to just pay double and sail on Celebrity. Especially since the Millennium is such a fantastic ship that has been complete renovated inside and out.

Or, pay thhe difference on Princess for an upgraded room...just a thought 🙂

[JamieLogical]

6 minutes ago, jwattle said:

Or, pay thhe difference on Princess for an upgraded room...just a thought 🙂

 

A room upgrade wouldn't fix the issues with food, understaffing, and lack of maintenance on the whole rest of the ship though.

[catgirl411]

Glad you are back…we were wondering what happened to you.  We were on the same sailing. We ended up taking it because we had over $1,000 in FCC that had to be used before Dec 31. While. I wouldn’t say we’d never sail Princess again, our next two bookings are on Celebrity…one of which we just booked when we got home. We compared to SOuth America itineraries in Feb 2024 and decided that though the prices were similar, we didn’t really want to do Sapphire Princess…mostly based on our food experience on Emerald.  

Edited January 13, 2023 by catgirl411

[catgirl411]

4 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

A room upgrade wouldn't fix the issues with food, understaffing, and lack of maintenance on the whole rest of the ship though.

Agree…we had a mini suite but the food was the same of course and the public washrooms still were often in a state of disrepair. We also had a suite on Royal Princess in August and the food was pretty much the same as on Emerald. Unless the cabin comes with upgraded dining like Aqua Class or Suites on Celebrity, the food is the same regardless of cabin category. 

[JamieLogical]

2 hours ago, catgirl411 said:

Agree…we had a mini suite but the food was the same of course and the public washrooms still were often in a state of disrepair. We also had a suite on Royal Princess in August and the food was pretty much the same as on Emerald. Unless the cabin comes with upgraded dining like Aqua Class or Suites on Celebrity, the food is the same regardless of cabin category. 

 

The food quality would be the same, but I guess if you get to sit in that Club section in the MDR, the service might be a bit faster/better? Not sure who gets access to that section... is it based on room category or status?

[abbydancer2003]

2 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The food quality would be the same, but I guess if you get to sit in that Club section in the MDR, the service might be a bit faster/better? Not sure who gets access to that section... is it based on room category or status?

Everyone in a full suite, plus people who book Club Class Minis.  We usually do it to get the better service, with no waiting.  They also offer specials which are sometimes very good.  (Pre pandemic we've had crepe suzettes - before they were part of the rotating princess favorites) and pastas cooked in the dining room at lunch by the section manager.

[nini]

5 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The food quality would be the same, but I guess if you get to sit in that Club section in the MDR, the service might be a bit faster/better? Not sure who gets access to that section... is it based on room category or status?

It is based on cabin category.

[catgirl411]

12 minutes ago, JamieLogical said:

 

The food quality would be the same, but I guess if you get to sit in that Club section in the MDR, the service might be a bit faster/better? Not sure who gets access to that section... is it based on room category or status?

It’s included in Suites and there are mini suites that can be Club Class for an additional fare. Not really worth the upcharge IMHO. On Emerald we opted for a regular mini suite and reserved a table every night in the MDR (Botticelli).  We were seated promptly and we had a great server…better than ClubClass was.  My quibble wasn’t with service, it was the food quality on both ships.