Emerald Princess Review w/photos March 3-17, 2023

[Trish Traveler]

2 hours ago, Thrak said:

 

I've never been served Eggs Benedict with "regular" bacon on a Princess ship. I did, however, learn after the first time to order extra Hollandaise on the side. Like you, I found the Hollandaise on their EB to be dry (like it had sat under a heat lamp) and not very abundant. Getting extra on the side takes care of that issue nicely.

Hollandaise on the side sounds like a good idea.  👍

[Trish Traveler]

1 hour ago, princess76021 said:

Love 😍😍,love, 😍😍  love your photos!!!

Thank you so much. Happy to share.

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Aruba    March 14     7am-5pm

Sunny and warm. The NCL Epic is also in port with us today.  This was a chocolate pastries kind of day for breakfast.  We have been to Aruba several times and have done island tours and snorkeling in the past.  They are definitely known for their beautiful white sand beaches.  Our plan today was to take the bright yellow local public Arubus north to Boca Catalina Cove/Beach for snorkeling.  The bus station is close to the cruise dock.  It is just behind the main street in Oranjestad, called Lloyd G. Smith Blvd.  Google it and you will see the location.  There is a small booth to buy bus cards: $5USD roundtrip (or you can pay the bus driver, but it holds up the line getting on).  L10A Oranjestad to Arashi is the route north to the most popular beaches such as: Divi, Eagle (low rise hotels), Palm (high rise hotels & resorts), Malmok, Boca Catalina and Arashi Beach (which is also walking distance to the lighthouse).  You can get the schedules online.  I believe we were on the 8:50am bus departure which was quite full with locals and tourists.  Politely ask the bus driver to let you know when you are at your destination, because they did not call out the stops. You enter the bus after paying via a turnstyle and exit the bus by the middle door.  Don’t forget to take your sunscreen, water and beach towels from the ship if heading to any beach.

[Trish Traveler]

It was a pretty ride viewing all the various beaches along the way.  With all the stops, it took about 30 minutes to Boca Catalina which is the beach right before Arashi end of the line.  We had researched here and knew it is one of the best snorkeling spots on the island and we saw that this is where a great many tour boats show up for their snorkeling excursions.  We had snorkeled this area before swimming over from Arashi, but it is a long swim and can be difficult depending on wind and currents.  So we figured it would be much easier to enter right where the concentration of fish are on the reef.  Boca Catalina is a very small beach with NO facilities and minimal sandy area, with just a couple of palapas for shade.  Most people seem to come here to snorkel.  There are definitely some very rocky entrance areas, but we walked down further north on the beach and scouted a safer looking entry at the Catalina Cove.  We bring all our own gear and we have a waterproof waist pack that is triple bagged, to keep all our minimal valuables with us while snorkeling.  It’s beautiful here and some pelicans were there to greet us.  We also saw the amazingly blue Aruban Whiptail Lizard on the rocks here.

[Trish Traveler]

Right away in the water we began seeing lots of fish.  It was amazing!  We saw a great variety of fish.  Some of the highlights were Sargeant Majors, Blue Tangs, Snake Eels (which I originally thought were sea snakes until I googled it), Palometos, Needlefish, French Angel, Butterflyfish, Trunkfish, White Spotted Filefish, Scrawled Filefish, Parrot fish, Cowfish, Yellow Tube Sponge, Brain Coral and more!  There were no real large fish, stingray or turtle sightings, but that was okay.  The good snorkeling is spread out over a decent size area, and there were many snorkel tour boats coming and going.  The snorkeling area is roped off so boats don't enter in.  It was a breezy day which is common in Aruba, but the wave and current conditions were fine for a perfect day of snorkeling!  So here's an aquarium worth of pictures! 😁

 

[Trish Traveler]

After two hours of fantastic snorkeling (deemed the best of this cruise for us), we were delighted with our success and ready to move along to Arashi Beach.  It is about a two block walk along the street side from Boca (I don’t believe there is access walking on the beach).  You can actually see the California Lighthouse from here and some of the interesting cactus on this arid island. 

 

Soon the Arashi Beach Shack beckoned us to buy a celebratory drink.  The Aruba Ariba and a Balashi Beer really hit the spot.  Nice shade while we relaxed and enjoyed the view from this idyliic beach which was quite busy with tourists.  Last time we were here, there were no facilities.  They have about 20 palapas for shade if you get there early, and we didn’t use chairs, but I believe they now rent them, along with umbrellas.  It has such a relaxing vibe with no noisy rentals or loud music.  Restroom for $1.  The colorful Kukoo Kunuku party tour bus also stops here on some of their tours.  The water here is delightful to swim in with a mostly sandy bottom, but definitely dark, rocky areas to avoid.  Although we didn’t eat pie today, it just so happened to be Pi day, 3.14…..

[Trish Traveler]

When we were ready to leave, we found the bus stop right between the beach and the parking lot and once again enjoyed the views along the way including seeing some windsurfers at a beach popular for that sport.  This bus returns right back to the bus terminal in town. 

[Trish Traveler]

We then took some time to stroll and enjoy the sights of busy Oranjestad on this very warm afternoon.  We spotted some iguanas near the little bridge next to the cool dockside bar called Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant.  Last time we were here we continued on all the way to Queen Wilhelmina Park which is very nice and sometimes has iguanas present. There is lots of shopping at this port with stores and vendor booths. 

[Trish Traveler]

Dinner in the MDR  and I enjoyed a delicious Coconut Shrimp appetizer, Mahi-Mahi and my favorite Crème Brulet for dessert.  Tonight’s showtime in the Princess Theatre was a hilarious comedian, Sam Demaris that we really enjoyed. This had been our last of 9 port days.  Another fantastic day, but we were exhausted! 😴

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 to be continued...

(just two sea days and disembarkation are left to review)

[Trish Traveler]

Correction:  Aruba was the last of 8 port days not 9 (unless you count Ft. Lauderdale).

[Thrak]

Your underwater pics are great but the Lizard is my favorite by far. 😎

Aruba is the only place I have seen 8 oz. beers. Those tiny little bottles boggle my mind and they cost as much as 12 oz. bottles at home.

[warren buffet]

Just now, JimmyVWine said:

Yeah.  But when you introduce packages that are price-limited, and then market them so that 75% of the passengers have said package, you owe a little more to you customers than a WAG.

 as long as the waiters are very good about knowing/remembering which ones are over 15 dollars, I am ok with it. From everything I hear, Princess is having a lot of problems with the bar personnel messing up cabin numbers/mediallion orders to the extent that people get charged when they have a drink package sometimes. Causing people to have to line up on guest services a lot. then seem to remove them quickly. so. if a waiter tells someone incorrectly that something is 15 or under, I think they would remove the charge instead of debating. 

[Trish Traveler]

8 hours ago, Thrak said:

Your underwater pics are great but the Lizard is my favorite by far. 😎

Aruba is the only place I have seen 8 oz. beers. Those tiny little bottles boggle my mind and they cost as much as 12 oz. bottles at home.

Thanks!  And we thought we were really lucky to see that blue lizard the last time we were in Aruba in November by Queen Wilhelmina Park!  It is very unique.

Those beers can be tiny.  But they stay cold because you finish them fast 🤣 

[rcprncss]

Love this review!  Thank you so much.  You sure have a lot of energy on each island!  🙂 I look forward to more.

[Trish Traveler]

21 minutes ago, rcprncss said:

Love this review!  Thank you so much.  You sure have a lot of energy on each island!  🙂 I look forward to more.

Thank you!  My adrenaline really kicks in on vacation and there were a few naps thrown in there when possible.  We don't stay up too late most nights.  I definitely was exhausted when I got home after two weeks, and luckily had nothing pressing to do so I could rest up to prepare this review 🤗😉

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Sea Day     March 15     3rd Formal Night

 

We grabbed some pastries and coffee for breakfast for enjoying an early morning soak in the aft hot tub that has great ocean views.  After morning trivia, I took some time to start packing one of our suitcases with our snorkeling gear and other items we wouldn’t need in the next two days. 

 

[Trish Traveler]

Buffet lunch had a variety of tasty items and once again featured Asian in the back section.  Also shown are the IC sandwiches, which can be heated for you also.  Enjoyed a refreshing  Illusion cocktail from Crooners.  While relaxing on the pool deck I decided to try another NOW order as I saw a cute key lime pie in a jar dessert featured. The NOW app is actually pretty easy to navigate with categories for all the specific items.  It took about 30 minutes to arrive, but I actually had to go up to the crew member carrying it as his GPS apparently wasn’t quite keying in on me with all the people on the Lido Deck.  It was a tasty treat.

[Trish Traveler]

Tonight was the third formal night of this 14 night cruise.   We missed the Captain’s Farewell Cocktail Party as we were waiting in line for 25 minutes to be seated for the MDR Gala Dinner, with reservations.  Luckily, we had learned to grab a glass of wine to sip while we waited.  It was a delicious meal of Beef Tenderloin & Lobster Tail.  We skipped dessert and had after dinner drinks from Crooners Bar – Dark & Stormy and Mango Margarita. Enjoyed the Showtime with Vocal and Instrumentalist Ric Steel, who you might guess from the picture did a great Johnny Cash song!  DH ducked out early to get us some of the last seats in Club Fusion for the tribute to the Beatles with the Beatlemaniacs.  Crowd was lively and lots of dancing to all these favorites.

[memoak]

9 hours ago, warren buffet said:

 as long as the waiters are very good about knowing/remembering which ones are over 15 dollars, I am ok with it. From everything I hear, Princess is having a lot of problems with the bar personnel messing up cabin numbers/mediallion orders to the extent that people get charged when they have a drink package sometimes. Causing people to have to line up on guest services a lot. then seem to remove them quickly. so. if a waiter tells someone incorrectly that something is 15 or under, I think they would remove the charge instead of debating. 

Just off the Emerald for 15 days and no issue with the plus package and no problem with incorrect charges. Had my Woodford Manhattans and my wife’s many different kinds of martinis all within the package even though we bought it when it was $40 per day and $12 limit. No issue with all drinks up to $15 and just a slight extra when we had glasses of the old vine zin

[Trish Traveler]

4 minutes ago, memoak said:

Just off the Emerald for 15 days and no issue with the plus package and no problem with incorrect charges. Had my Woodford Manhattans and my wife’s many different kinds of martinis all within the package even though we bought it when it was $40 per day and $12 limit. No issue with all drinks up to $15 and just a slight extra when we had glasses of the old vine zin

We also had no incorrect charges on our account for any alcoholic drinks.  The only charges we had problems with were from the new Juice Bar, and those were taken off.

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Sea Day      March 16

Finally slept in a bit before breakfast buffet.  There had been an early rainstorm with some rocking, but it was starting to clear up. Spent a chunk of the morning packing.  While in the cabin I was able to watch another one of the enrichment speaker’s talk about Hollywood which was really interesting and made the packing not so miserable. 

 

So the last sea day was once again sunny, just a little cooler with some higher waves.  Be sure to always check your onboard account often, but especially on the last full day of the cruise, so that you can check for any discrepancies and get it cleared up with Guest Services while still onboard the ship.  I found the Princess final statement the most confusing to read of all my cruises in the last year.  We ended up with a credit, but learned it doesn’t automatically get credited to your CC.  A check will be mailed in 14 days, which as I type this at 3 weeks has not yet arrived.

 

Some of our highlights of the buffet lunch today were Roast Turkey Breast, Breaded Broccoli Florets, and in the aft section Indian was featured: Butter Chicken, Tandoori Chicken, Grilled Fish, Mango Lassi and Samosas. Yum!   One absolute fail on the dessert buffet was the Brownies. 😲 Yikes, it was burnt and that dish definitely should not have been put out.  However, that was the only dish I saw in 15 days that was not presentable. 

[Trish Traveler]

Last relaxing afternoon on deck watching a bit of the Sound of Music on MUTS.  Later, inside I enjoyed a Nutty Irishman coffee drink in anticipation of St. Patrick's Day, while listening to the lovely Princess Pop Choir Performance made up of passengers who have practiced together throughout the cruise.  Dinner in the buffet of a nice healthy salad and pumpkin soup. Went to enjoy our last sunset at sea (for this cruise anyway) which was partially blocked by clouds, but then turned amazing as the sun rays shown down.  Sometimes the addition of some clouds make the best sunsets.  Ahh. 😍

 

Showtime in the Princess Theatre was the cute Voice of the Ocean which is like the TV show, The Voice.  Complete with the turning chairs to select the very talented passenger singers.  Time to put our packed luggage outside of our door with their colored luggage tags.  Even though we had requested the last departure time off the ship, we received the category before that.  It didn’t really matter that much.  Last night to enjoy these extremely comfortable beds and bedding. 😴

[Happiest when cruising]

12 hours ago, Trish Traveler said:

We then took some time to stroll and enjoy the sights of busy Oranjestad on this very warm afternoon.  We spotted some iguanas near the little bridge next to the cool dockside bar called Lucy’s Retired Surfers Bar & Restaurant.  Last time we were here we continued on all the way to Queen Wilhelmina Park which is very nice and sometimes has iguanas present. There is lots of shopping at this port with stores and vendor booths. 

Have you ever had lunch or anything at Iguana Joes? It’s a fun way to start or finish a day there.  If you ever want a beach day and evening, Reflexions Beach Club is a short cab ride away and so beautiful. They have a very nice restaurant and when the ship departs late, you can enjoy a sunset dinner right at the beach. 

[Almagetty]

Thanks for an excellent review! You’ve convinced me to take this cruise next year 🙂