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

[Trish Traveler]

41 minutes ago, Happiest when cruising said:

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. 

I believe we did appetizers and drinks there quite a few years back.  It is a great view of all the action in Oranjestad.  Thanks for the recommendation on Reflexions.  I'll keep that in mind for future cruises.

[Trish Traveler]

7 minutes ago, Almagetty said:

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

🎉👍🚢🤗  That's fantastic!  Have a great time!  Be sure to enjoy all the planning and anticipation.

[JGmf]

Never sailed on Princess before, but wondering since I don't eat meat.....at formal night can I order, say, the fish dish AND a lobster tail?

[startedwithamouse]

14 minutes ago, JGmf said:

Never sailed on Princess before, but wondering since I don't eat meat.....at formal night can I order, say, the fish dish AND a lobster tail?

Yes!

[Trish Traveler]

11 minutes ago, JGmf said:

Never sailed on Princess before, but wondering since I don't eat meat.....at formal night can I order, say, the fish dish AND a lobster tail?

👍 Absolutely, we ordered double entrees more than once.  They just usually put one on the table at a time.  

[JGmf]

10 minutes ago, Trish Traveler said:

👍 Absolutely, we ordered double entrees more than once.  They just usually put one on the table at a time.  

 

Oh boy.  Thanks.  Gotta get elastic waist formal wear now...

[Thrak]

1 hour ago, JGmf said:

Never sailed on Princess before, but wondering since I don't eat meat.....at formal night can I order, say, the fish dish AND a lobster tail?

 

1 hour ago, Trish Traveler said:

👍 Absolutely, we ordered double entrees more than once.  They just usually put one on the table at a time.  

 

Be aware that putting only one entree on the table at a time means they will almost certainly serve you the entire order. You will get the extra entree you wanted but the plate will also contain all of the associated side dishes.

[Trish Traveler]

I realized I forgot to say how much we also enjoyed the food from the Salty Dog Grill located outside on the Lido Deck 15, 11am-9pm. We loved their unique street tacos (shown in my post #7) and grilled chicken sandwiches, and DH enjoyed an occasional burger or hot dog. 

 

Also located up there was the Slice for pizza 11am-11pm, and Coffee & Cones 7am-7pm.  It was nice to have another spot to get specialty coffee besides IC.  The pizza slices are huge, so order accordingly.  The only ice cream we tried was the occasional soft serve swirl which is always good.

[ecs66]

Great review.  We're doing this the 14-night Circle Carriben in February 2024 on Emerald.

 

Wondering ... you mention the formal nights.  How many pax get gussied up for these evenings?  We've heard that not many do that any more.  The info will help with our packing!  Thanks...

[Trish Traveler]

14 hours ago, ecs66 said:

Great review.  We're doing this the 14-night Circle Carriben in February 2024 on Emerald.

 

Wondering ... you mention the formal nights.  How many pax get gussied up for these evenings?  We've heard that not many do that any more.  The info will help with our packing!  Thanks...

There are some people who still love to go formal, but it is definitely becoming much less. I'll tell you what we wore which seemed more typical.  DH wore dress pants with a long sleeve, button down shirt with no tie.  I wore a tropical style long dress two times and a short casual cocktail dress one time.  On a two week cruise, you definitely need to make clothes choices that will fit in your luggage and can be re-worn.  A man could definitely bring one outfit to wear all three of those evenings.  As a side note:  there are self-serve laundromats, although we didn't need to use them.  

 

Have a great cruise! 

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Disembarkation     March 17

Happy St. Patrick’s Day!  Returned to a beautiful sunrise in Ft. Lauderdale.  Quick buffet breakfast before grabbing our carry-ons and all the items in our safe (you need to be out of your cabin by 8AM).  Always double check your cabin for any possessions you might potentially leave behind.  Said a fond farewell to our excellent room steward Sonia, who gave us great service all week.  Our departure point was the Explorers Lounge where our group was called a little later than listed. Important to note:  You will only hear announcements for your color/number group in the meeting place you were assigned – they are no ship wide announcements.  I have included the wrinkled sheet as an example showing all the departure categories for this cruise only so you can an idea.  * Your cruise may be different times.

 

We easily disembarked, found our luggage and were delighted at how fast the customs/immigration process went as they were using the super-fast facial recognition screens, rather than live agents physically checking your passports. Out to the taxi line for a quick ride to Ft. Lauderdale Airport.  We had a 2:00pm flight so we couldn’t check our luggage until 4 hours prior to the flight at 10am, so we enjoyed sitting outside with our luggage enjoying our last dose of the warm weather in Florida. 

[Trish Traveler]

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023 continued

Final Thoughts:

 

This cruise was great!  The crew is fantastic – friendly and hardworking.  The ship is clean and in really good shape for an older class of ship.  We saw a lot of painting and varnishing being done on the outside decks at various times during the cruise.  The only odd thing, which I have seen discussed on this board before, is the strange gray stains on many of the public toilets.  I don’t understand why the stains are not removed or the toilets replaced.  I know they are otherwise clean, but it is very unsightly. Our cabin toilet was perfectly white, as it should be. (I know, first-world problem)

 

There definitely were pool chair hogs out early claiming their spots on sea days and barely using them (just like all cruise lines).  We don’t lay out in the sun, so that doesn’t affect us except when they claim the minimal loungers available in the shade.  We definitely noticed less shady pool deck areas compared to our last cruise on the Celebrity Equinox (of course, they also have an indoor pool area which helps).  But the Emerald had a lot more tables in the shade, than lounge chairs.  And it was nice to see lots of people enjoying those tables to play various games, or eat outdoors.  So the tables are well used.

 

We also loved the Emerald Promenade Deck as it goes completely around the ship, although it does involve stairs or you can just reverse at that point.  Plus it offers another nice shady spot to relax and enjoy the closeness of the ocean.  Being in an inside cabin, we used Promenade as our “balcony” when we needed to get our ocean fix, sip a cocktail or coffee, or catch a sunset.  DH enjoyed walking and reading out there.

 

In this review I highlighted the main Showtime performers we saw but I definitely want to give a shout out to all the talented musical performers on the ship:  Party Band Opus, No Strings Attached Duo, Trevor Cole, Pacific Duo, DJ Manuel, Luis Ramos and the Princess House Band ( I hope I didn't leave any out).  We enjoyed the great variety throughout the day and evening offered in the Piazza, Club Fusion, Wheelhouse, Lido Deck, and the small but extremely popular Crooners for pianists Ryszard Sulek and Juan Carmelo Escobar (we never got a seat in there when they were actually playing, but you can hear them nearby in the Piazza).  We never made it to the late night entertainment at Skywalkers.

 

Activities – There are a plethora of activities offered on the Emerald.  I talked about some of the highlights we attended.  Just to give you an idea of even more: Pictionary, Soduku, Ring Toss, Ping-Pong, movies in Princess Theatre and MUTS, Lawn Bowling, Knitters & Knatters, Bridge & Mahjong, Putt-Putt, Bible Study, Bean Bag Toss, Dance Classes, Egg Drop Challenge, Tea Time, Multiple Trivias, Bingo, Crafts, Martini Demo, Good Spirits at Sea Demo, Basketball, Fitness Center, Spa, Casino, Karoake, Art Auctions, Shopping and more.  That’s one of the things we love about cruising – you can do as much or as little as you want!

 

We definitely loved the longer cruise and hope to do more in the future (God willing)  No cruise is perfect, but we still believe cruising is one of the best vacation choices and the best value when you consider your accommodations, food, transportation to ports of call, and shipboard entertainment is all included!  Princess still offers a product we love and we will definitely consider them for future cruises.  Thanks to the entire Emerald crew for a wonderful experience.  And as always, thanks to all of you here on Cruise Critic for your invaluable advice that help to make our cruises even better. Thanks for sticking with me if you made it all the way through this review.  It serves as my memoir and I hope it is helpful to you also.

                 The End 

[Trish Traveler]

Happy Easter and Passover to those of you celebrating. Have a blessed holiday!

[canadarocks]

Trish, thank you again for your wonderful Emerald Princess review. A great memento for you and an awesome reference for those of us boarding her in the future! 👍

[Robbie555]

On 4/8/2023 at 8:34 AM, Trish Traveler said:

Happy Easter and Passover to those of you celebrating. Have a blessed holiday!

Excellent pictures, Trish Traveler. 

 

To complement your great pictures, a picture of my own when I was on the Emerald Princess from Dec. 3-17, 2023 as I noticed that none of your pictures include the awards and prizes.

 

Did you participate in the trivia and sports contests?

 

For me, I played numerous trivia games and was also part of Progressive Trivia and I fnished 3 out of 20 teams. I managed to win several items of the five different awards presented:

 

1. Blue Emerald Princess coaster.

2. Blue Princess notebook.

3. Gray Princess bag.

4. Bottle of Champagne.

5. Princess medal.

 

Did you win any of these awards?

 

 

 

[JimmyVWine]

On 4/8/2023 at 11:33 AM, Trish Traveler said:

The End

Brava!  What a wonderful, comprehensive summary and review.  Lovely photographs that really capture the voyage.  A cruise down to the Southern Caribbean islands is on my shrinking bucket list, and your stories assure that it will remain there.  

[Trish Traveler]

1 hour ago, Robbie555 said:

Excellent pictures, Trish Traveler. 

 

To complement your great pictures, a picture of my own when I was on the Emerald Princess from Dec. 3-17, 2023 as I noticed that none of your pictures include the awards and prizes.

 

Did you participate in the trivia and sports contests?

 

For me, I played numerous trivia games and was also part of Progressive Trivia and I fnished 3 out of 20 teams. I managed to win several items of the five different awards presented:

 

1. Blue Emerald Princess coaster.

2. Blue Princess notebook.

3. Gray Princess bag.

4. Bottle of Champagne.

5. Princess medal.

 

Did you win any of these awards?

 

 

 

We did play some trivia, but just the two of us not on a team this cruise.  Our highest score was 13/20, so no prizes for us. 🤣  We still enjoy playing anyway. Princess does offer lots of trivia and games.  Congrats on your wins!

Glad you enjoyed the review.  My only prize swag is from Carnival and RCCL.

 

[Trish Traveler]

39 minutes ago, JimmyVWine said:

Brava!  What a wonderful, comprehensive summary and review.  Lovely photographs that really capture the voyage.  A cruise down to the Southern Caribbean islands is on my shrinking bucket list, and your stories assure that it will remain there.  

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it.  Definitely get to the Southern Caribbean islands.

[Trish Traveler]

Good News is that we received our refundable OBC check in the mail today!  They said it would be two weeks, and this was 25 days, so not too bad.  I know others have been waiting much longer for their refunds on other cruises.  💰👍

[Robbie555]

1 hour ago, Trish Traveler said:

Glad you enjoyed the review.  My only prize swag is from Carnival and RCCL.

 

Thanks for sharing your prizes from Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

 

I won several awards as well from RCCL and Carnival.

 

 

[zukecruiser]

Also received my OBC check yesterday, still waiting for my October 2022 check.  

Thanks again for your pictures and review, nicely done.

[Trish Traveler]

Glad to hear you also got your refund.  Hopefully you can make some headway on the October money due you. 

You're welcome...glad you enjoyed the review.

[Lucky TGO]

On 4/5/2023 at 3:33 PM, Trish Traveler said:

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023

Pre-Cruise & Embarkation Day

 

This is our review of the 14 night “Circle the Caribbean” cruise on the Emerald Princess.  Departing from Ft. Lauderdale with ports of call in St.Thomas, Antigua, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao and Aruba; with five relaxing Sea Days. This is our longest cruise yet.  In the last year, we have sailed NCL (our post-pandemic return to cruising), Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  We thoroughly enjoyed all those cruises.  WE prefer mid-size ships with the NCL Escape being the largest we have sailed, but it was only at 60% capacity at the time.  This would be our 22^nd cruise over many years.  And this would be our 4^th Princess Cruise, and as we have sailed their similar class of ship on the Crown and Ruby and were familiar with the ship layout.  We booked this cruise about 3 months out for a decent price on the Princess Plus package.  We like that Princess does offer some of the longer cruises with interesting itineraries.  We learned from Guest Services onboard that this sailing was at full capacity.  Being a long cruise there were not many children – I would guestimate maybe 25.

 

While at home we had no problem downloading the Princess app, but it worked a little wonky with check in not wanting to accept my passport due to middle name which was also on my res. I tried both by typing it in and scanning it with no success. Discussing it here on CC before calling Princess Customer Service who assured me in this case, I could enter it without the middle name (it was fine at check in).  I know some pax have issues with Princess customer service 800 number calls from posts here on CC, but I consider myself lucky that the 3 times I had to call, the wait time wasn’t bad, and my issues were handled pretty quickly.  We chose our check in times about 45 days prior to the cruise when it became available.  In regards to the APP once aboard, I found it wasn’t as easy to navigate compared to other cruise lines.  Quite often, I would get kicked off and have to sign in again on my phone, which was easy once I realized this.  The daily schedule was laborious to scroll through, so I am so glad they still provide the paper copy of the Princess Patter which is now renamed the Princess Event Listings. 

 

Once onboard the ship you will also find large digital screens in the public areas and elevator banks where you can scroll the daily activities.  Fun to know: If you indicate on your reservation that you will be celebrating a special event while on board, you will see a “Happy…” with your first name listed as you approach one of those digital boards and it senses your medallion.  It doesn’t seem to be instant though – we were waiting for an elevator for a couple of minutes when it appeared for the man who had been standing next to us.  We saw a few other birthday and anniversary wishes throughout the cruise. 

 

Medallions – We indicated we wanted them mailed to our home (or you can pick them up at the ship).  They arrived about 14 days prior to the cruise with lanyards.  Onboard they sell a variety of accessories such as wristbands you can purchase for your medallion.  We love that when you approach your cabin door it automatically unlocks!  We didn’t like that our names were listed outside our cabin door (I know it’s helpful for the stewards, but can be privacy issues).  When you order from a bar, they will still ask for your cabin number to verify.  My medallion did pop out of the lanyard holder once, but I found it and was able to pop it back in with the help of Guest Services. 

 

This review has a lot of detail and photos.  However, I didn’t get photos of every menu and I realized my plated food pictures were taken too close.  These are definitely amateur photos.  My ship photos focus mostly on food, drinks and sunsets.  I always research a lot here on CC before I cruise, so I hope my review can also be helpful to others.  I was on the Roll Call for our cruise which is always good for more helpful information. Our roll call did not have any group meet & greet arranged, but several pax on the roll call arranged to share tours ahead of time. I also didn’t list every activity we did onboard, but I will say that this cruise seemed to have even more activities of all types compared to the last three cruises I have taken (which also had plenty). Quite often I was conflicted about which fun activity to choose. 

 

Pre-Cruise

We flew in one day early just in case there were any weather airline issues.  We booked the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port on 10^th Avenue for a discounted rate through ValueTrips. It is located very close to the port (about 10 minute ride), not far from the beach, close to restaurants and shopping including Publix and Total Wine if you want to carry-on the allowed one bottle of wine per person.  They provide an airport shuttle for $5 per room (on your bill), and a shuttle to the port for $9pp payable to the driver (reserve the day before with the hotel front desk).  The hotel is a nice, clean, average property.  The location is great.  The pool area is small.  The complimentary breakfast is good.  There are also tables outside in front if you want to enjoy the Florida warmth while eating breakfast. The front desk staff is great - friendly and professional.

 

Cruise Day – Embarkation

Enjoyed a quick hotel breakfast on, before attaching our cruise luggage tags.  We had an 11am check-in time with Princess, so we took the quick hotel 10am shuttle to Port Everglades.  After a short wait outside, we were allowed in to begin the check in process which was quick. Next we were led to the waiting area as group #1 (of course, there are other categories of pax that have their own waiting area and board first).   By 11:40am we were onboard the ship!

 

We first headed to the World Fresh Market Buffet on Deck 15, which wasn’t open yet.  But I was able to get some photos of food before it opened.  As it opened late at 12:10 (instead of 11am listed in the Patter) there was a rush of people and I chose to skip it at that point and avoid the crowd.  We knew  that this class of ships has the smallest buffet of the recent ships we have been on, but were familiar with it from sailing Crown & Ruby.  The U shaped layout is confusing at first because it has two identical sides (port & starboard) although both sides are not always open.  And then the back aft portion (the former Planks) also is sometimes open and may feature some specialty themed dishes.  It is also easier to find seats back there, or right outside if you prefer.

 

So we definitely found a variety of delicious food choices all week that we liked.  You will not have quite as many choices, but still always a changing variety of two soups, salad bar, ready-made salads and sandwiches, make your own sandwich fixings, grilled fish, grilled chicken breast, stews, casseroles, two pasta dishes, vegetarian, Indian & Asian dishes, fresh fruit, and more.  There is a daily carving section with meat like roast beef, turkey breast, roast pork, brisket, roasted chicken, and beef wellington.  A variety of eye-catching desserts on display.  The serving dishes/pans of food may look small, but they can swap them out quickly to ensure that you have fresh hot, food. 

 

The main entrances to the buffet have sinks to wash your hands and gel dispensers throughout the buffet for sanitizing.  Passengers started out using them, but definitely got more lax as the cruise went on.  I was surprised that unlike my last 3 cruises, there was no crew posted to remind passengers (although there is not one main entrance to this buffet).  Luckily this cruise seemed to not be affected by any large outbreaks of any illness, but as I write this review, I am hearing reports that the cruise after ours unfortunately did have a gastro outbreak (which can happen on land just as often).  Most passengers know how to politely behave at a buffet, but I am still disgusted by the few who forget basic hygiene rules and do things like lick their fingers while in line and then touch the tongs or serving spoons.  YUK.  We always set our filled plate down at our table and then return one more time to the gel dispenser or use the gel I always have on hand.  Enough on that subject and on to the fun!

 

Next we went to check in at our muster station and have our medallion scanned.  We really like the e-muster rather that the in-person muster drills.  But please people do it shortly after boarding, so they don’t have to make numerous reminder announcements.  Nearby was a desk for internet so we got in that line to have them help us sign in for our included Plus internet service.  Don’t forget to put your phone on airplane mode at sailaway.

Great photos The only thing wrong is now I’m starving  😁😁

The Captain of The Rowboat ,

Tony

 

[Trish Traveler]

14 hours ago, Lucky TGO said:

Great photos The only thing wrong is now I’m starving  😁😁

The Captain of The Rowboat ,

Tony

 

Thanks!  Yes, I'm missing all that food!!  I had to make my own coffee this morning and I see no offerings of pastries to choose from!  😂

[trbarton]

On 4/5/2023 at 12:33 PM, Trish Traveler said:

Review of Emerald Princess March 3-17, 2023

Pre-Cruise & Embarkation Day

 

This is our review of the 14 night “Circle the Caribbean” cruise on the Emerald Princess.  Departing from Ft. Lauderdale with ports of call in St.Thomas, Antigua, Martinique, Dominica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Curacao and Aruba; with five relaxing Sea Days. This is our longest cruise yet.  In the last year, we have sailed NCL (our post-pandemic return to cruising), Royal Caribbean and Celebrity.  We thoroughly enjoyed all those cruises.  WE prefer mid-size ships with the NCL Escape being the largest we have sailed, but it was only at 60% capacity at the time.  This would be our 22^nd cruise over many years.  And this would be our 4^th Princess Cruise, and as we have sailed their similar class of ship on the Crown and Ruby and were familiar with the ship layout.  We booked this cruise about 3 months out for a decent price on the Princess Plus package.  We like that Princess does offer some of the longer cruises with interesting itineraries.  We learned from Guest Services onboard that this sailing was at full capacity.  Being a long cruise there were not many children – I would guestimate maybe 25.

 

While at home we had no problem downloading the Princess app, but it worked a little wonky with check in not wanting to accept my passport due to middle name which was also on my res. I tried both by typing it in and scanning it with no success. Discussing it here on CC before calling Princess Customer Service who assured me in this case, I could enter it without the middle name (it was fine at check in).  I know some pax have issues with Princess customer service 800 number calls from posts here on CC, but I consider myself lucky that the 3 times I had to call, the wait time wasn’t bad, and my issues were handled pretty quickly.  We chose our check in times about 45 days prior to the cruise when it became available.  In regards to the APP once aboard, I found it wasn’t as easy to navigate compared to other cruise lines.  Quite often, I would get kicked off and have to sign in again on my phone, which was easy once I realized this.  The daily schedule was laborious to scroll through, so I am so glad they still provide the paper copy of the Princess Patter which is now renamed the Princess Event Listings. 

 

Once onboard the ship you will also find large digital screens in the public areas and elevator banks where you can scroll the daily activities.  Fun to know: If you indicate on your reservation that you will be celebrating a special event while on board, you will see a “Happy…” with your first name listed as you approach one of those digital boards and it senses your medallion.  It doesn’t seem to be instant though – we were waiting for an elevator for a couple of minutes when it appeared for the man who had been standing next to us.  We saw a few other birthday and anniversary wishes throughout the cruise. 

 

Medallions – We indicated we wanted them mailed to our home (or you can pick them up at the ship).  They arrived about 14 days prior to the cruise with lanyards.  Onboard they sell a variety of accessories such as wristbands you can purchase for your medallion.  We love that when you approach your cabin door it automatically unlocks!  We didn’t like that our names were listed outside our cabin door (I know it’s helpful for the stewards, but can be privacy issues).  When you order from a bar, they will still ask for your cabin number to verify.  My medallion did pop out of the lanyard holder once, but I found it and was able to pop it back in with the help of Guest Services. 

 

This review has a lot of detail and photos.  However, I didn’t get photos of every menu and I realized my plated food pictures were taken too close.  These are definitely amateur photos.  My ship photos focus mostly on food, drinks and sunsets.  I always research a lot here on CC before I cruise, so I hope my review can also be helpful to others.  I was on the Roll Call for our cruise which is always good for more helpful information. Our roll call did not have any group meet & greet arranged, but several pax on the roll call arranged to share tours ahead of time. I also didn’t list every activity we did onboard, but I will say that this cruise seemed to have even more activities of all types compared to the last three cruises I have taken (which also had plenty). Quite often I was conflicted about which fun activity to choose. 

 

Pre-Cruise

We flew in one day early just in case there were any weather airline issues.  We booked the Hyatt Place Fort Lauderdale Cruise Port on 10^th Avenue for a discounted rate through ValueTrips. It is located very close to the port (about 10 minute ride), not far from the beach, close to restaurants and shopping including Publix and Total Wine if you want to carry-on the allowed one bottle of wine per person.  They provide an airport shuttle for $5 per room (on your bill), and a shuttle to the port for $9pp payable to the driver (reserve the day before with the hotel front desk).  The hotel is a nice, clean, average property.  The location is great.  The pool area is small.  The complimentary breakfast is good.  There are also tables outside in front if you want to enjoy the Florida warmth while eating breakfast. The front desk staff is great - friendly and professional.

 

Cruise Day – Embarkation

Enjoyed a quick hotel breakfast on, before attaching our cruise luggage tags.  We had an 11am check-in time with Princess, so we took the quick hotel 10am shuttle to Port Everglades.  After a short wait outside, we were allowed in to begin the check in process which was quick. Next we were led to the waiting area as group #1 (of course, there are other categories of pax that have their own waiting area and board first).   By 11:40am we were onboard the ship!

 

We first headed to the World Fresh Market Buffet on Deck 15, which wasn’t open yet.  But I was able to get some photos of food before it opened.  As it opened late at 12:10 (instead of 11am listed in the Patter) there was a rush of people and I chose to skip it at that point and avoid the crowd.  We knew  that this class of ships has the smallest buffet of the recent ships we have been on, but were familiar with it from sailing Crown & Ruby.  The U shaped layout is confusing at first because it has two identical sides (port & starboard) although both sides are not always open.  And then the back aft portion (the former Planks) also is sometimes open and may feature some specialty themed dishes.  It is also easier to find seats back there, or right outside if you prefer.

 

So we definitely found a variety of delicious food choices all week that we liked.  You will not have quite as many choices, but still always a changing variety of two soups, salad bar, ready-made salads and sandwiches, make your own sandwich fixings, grilled fish, grilled chicken breast, stews, casseroles, two pasta dishes, vegetarian, Indian & Asian dishes, fresh fruit, and more.  There is a daily carving section with meat like roast beef, turkey breast, roast pork, brisket, roasted chicken, and beef wellington.  A variety of eye-catching desserts on display.  The serving dishes/pans of food may look small, but they can swap them out quickly to ensure that you have fresh hot, food. 

 

The main entrances to the buffet have sinks to wash your hands and gel dispensers throughout the buffet for sanitizing.  Passengers started out using them, but definitely got more lax as the cruise went on.  I was surprised that unlike my last 3 cruises, there was no crew posted to remind passengers (although there is not one main entrance to this buffet).  Luckily this cruise seemed to not be affected by any large outbreaks of any illness, but as I write this review, I am hearing reports that the cruise after ours unfortunately did have a gastro outbreak (which can happen on land just as often).  Most passengers know how to politely behave at a buffet, but I am still disgusted by the few who forget basic hygiene rules and do things like lick their fingers while in line and then touch the tongs or serving spoons.  YUK.  We always set our filled plate down at our table and then return one more time to the gel dispenser or use the gel I always have on hand.  Enough on that subject and on to the fun!

 

Next we went to check in at our muster station and have our medallion scanned.  We really like the e-muster rather that the in-person muster drills.  But please people do it shortly after boarding, so they don’t have to make numerous reminder announcements.  Nearby was a desk for internet so we got in that line to have them help us sign in for our included Plus internet service.  Don’t forget to put your phone on airplane mode at sailaway.

I also have a reservation at the Hyatt through Valuetrips. Is the hotel near the water taxi?  I’ve used it before & it was a fun way to get around. 
 

Thanks for your review. 
 

Tom😀