First Impressions of Emerald…Not Great :/

[mamamusings]

We’re currently on the Emerald for the California Coast cruise, and so far we’re *really* not impressed with Princess. I’ve sailed several times on NCL, and my husband is a new cruiser. Neither of us are feeling like we’re likely to want to sail with Princess again. I’m hoping that our experience will improve over the next few days, but I’m not very optimistic. 

 

1) Food frustrations: 

— The buffet is much too crowded and close (particularly compared to what we had on the NCL Bliss), and seems to shut down between meals for a lengthy rearranging rather than staying open continuously.

— In order to have lunch together with the foods that we want, we have to go to three different places—the buffet, Slice or the Salty Dog Grill, and a bar (for sodas). And the weather isn’t exactly conducive to standing in line at the grill. It’s been frustrating and time consuming.

— Both orders we’ve placed through the app today have had something missing or incorrect. First, even though I ordered tea a pizza and drinks order arrived with only the pizza, and a request to get the drinks never yielded them—I ended up walking down two decks to get to a bar where I could get the requested drinks. Then, when I ordered ginger tea with lemon wedges this afternoon, because my stomach was off, I got a selection of completely different tea bags along with lukewarm water in a to-go cup (I clearly specified the wedges and that it was to eat in). My husband ordered a club sandwich that came with the bread completely dry, so he had to go up to the buffet to get some mayo to put on it. We could have called to ask for those things, but at that point it would have taken so long it wouldn’t have been worth it. (The water for the tea would have been ice cold!)

— On our breakfast door hanger for this morning, we asked for both coffee and tea. We got the coffee, and we got tea bags, and we even got honey. However, we didn’t get any hot water. 🙄

 

2) I also wasn’t super impressed at the meet and greet today, when the officers kept answering questions by saying that on “short cruises” like this one they just weren’t able to do some of the entertainment people like—including shows that get advertised on the screens but aren’t actually scheduled, or trivia games. I really got the impression that they felt that this cruise wasn’t a particularly important one for them. Not all of us can afford the time or the money for longer trips, and it bothered me that they seemed to see us as sort of second-class cruisers. 

 

3) When we stopped by guest services this morning to ask what the pool and hot tub hours were (since last night a lot of them weren’t even filled), they said they didn’t know! That seems like kind of a basic question to be able to answer. 🤷‍♀️

 

4) We noticed this morning that the underside of my husband’s pillow case had blood stains on it (clearly old ones). While I’m sure that the washing process removed any actual hazards, it was still pretty gross. 

 

I don’t like to think of myself as a particularly demanding traveler, but this has really been a disappointing experience thus far. Please tell me that it will get better. 😄

 

[mamamusings]

Oh, and one more nit to pick—I thought the whole point of the medallions was that staff would know who we are and that we have a the plus package. But at nearly every place we’ve gone, we’ve been asked for our room numbers!

[SwimCarrie]

have a feeling things aren't going to get better given the length of the list already. Hope it turns around for you! 

[Mike45LC]

Mama, between early morning and mid-evening, the buffet is open.  Around 11 am, they will close one side while they transition that side to lunch, but the other side is still open for breakfast.  Same thing will happen in the afternoon and then late afternoon, where they close down one side to transition. They then close down the other side to transition it.  But the buffet is open all day.

[sunviking90]

1 hour ago, mamamusings said:

Oh, and one more nit to pick—I thought the whole point of the medallions was that staff would know who we are and that we have a the plus package. But at nearly every place we’ve gone, we’ve been asked for our room numbers!

When you go to order something, their screen may also show the medallions of others around  you too. They ask your room number to confirm it is you. Don’t know if I explained that well or not. After the firs5 few days if they get to know you they don’t ask.

As far as room service goes, we have had better luck calling room service with our orders than using the app. The print out they get at the other end is often misleading. One of the room service attendants showed it to me once and I could see where the errors in my order happened and why. I’ve never had an error when I call though. 
I hope things get better for you.

Edited May 22, 2023 by sunviking90

[DallasGuy75219]

12 minutes ago, sunviking90 said:

When you go to order something, their screen may also show the medallions of others around  you too. They ask your room number to confirm it is you.

Some, particularly those who only have the handheld readers, not the tablets like at a bar, just won't use them and will instead write down cabin numbers and drink orders to be keyed into the POS system later. 

[Kay S]

I guess it isn't the Emerald that's not impressing you.  It's Princess.  I hope things improve for you, but staffing and service have been problematic since the restart of cruising.

[Coral]

One side of the buffet is always open. I am on the Crown right now (sister to Emerald) and they have signs saying which side is open and which side is closed.

 

Good for you that the Slice, the buffet and Salty Dog are all on the same deck level 🙂 

 

The Emerald is an older ship.

[capriccio]

As far as the ships go you are comparing apples and oranges. 

 

The NCL Bliss first sailed in 2018 whereas the Emerald is 11 years older (entered service in 2007). The Bliss is much larger - almost 170,000 tons with a passenger capacity of over 4,000.  The Emerald is 113,00 tons with a passenger capacity of 1,000 less.

 

If you wanted a newer, larger ship more like the Bliss you should have chosen a Royal Class ship but even those are smaller (around 145,000 tons and have 400 fewer passengers than the Bliss). But the Royal Class is still smaller overall than the Bliss (Breakaway Class).

[eclue]

We recently completed 18 days on the Emerald via the Panama Canal. It was one of our very best of 45 Princess cruises.....our room steward was outstanding. We never had any problems finding a table at the buffet or getting drinks of any kind there.....we had room service deliver our coffee every morning exactly at the time ordered and the correct order of one coffee and one decaf coffee....The original poster should just stick with NCL - a line that we tried once and would never go back....

The Emerald is a great ship!!!

[voljeep]

you have to scroll after putting the sandwich in your cart and order condiments (mayo) separately

[snoozecrooze]

Very unfortunate experience you're having 😞

I can understand not coming back to Princess if your time doesn't improve. Seems to be a bit unlucky that you've just run into those annoying persistent staffing and/or training inconsistencies across the industry that Princess has certainly not been immune from. I hope you can continue being flexible about the remainder of your cruise and also that things do turn around for you soon, regardless.

[Roberto256]

12 hours ago, mamamusings said:

the Salty Dog Grill

Isn't it confusing for princess to have a 'Salty Dog Grill' and a 'Salty Dog Gastropub' ?

 

[Roberto256]

1 hour ago, capriccio said:

The NCL Bliss first sailed in 2018 whereas the Emerald is 11 years older (entered service in 2007). The Bliss is much larger - almost 170,000 tons with a passenger capacity of over 4,000.  The Emerald is 113,00 tons with a passenger capacity of 1,000 less.

I think it's fair to evaluate any cruise a cruiseline offers.

 

I was always suprised before the pandemic, when carnival kept around old ships like the ecstasy ... which was horrible compared to their newer ships.

 

Same with Princess, passengers are free to (and do) evaluate a cruise line based on the cruise they are on.

 

You almost never see posts here warning prospective cruisers away from older ships...

[memoak]

12 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

Isn't it confusing for princess to have a 'Salty Dog Grill' and a 'Salty Dog Gastropub' ?

 

No one is an outdoor grill and one is a sit down restaurant. 

[Roberto256]

1 minute ago, memoak said:

No one is an outdoor grill and one is a sit down restaurant. 

I guess you are missing how similar two name are.

 

"I'll meet you at the salty dog..."

 

[memoak]

10 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

I guess you are missing how similar two name are.

 

"I'll meet you at the salty dog..."

 

Since one is primarily a lunch venue and one is only open for dinner most people can figure this out by looking at their watch

[RNRcruisers]

33 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

 

You almost never see posts here warning prospective cruisers away from older ships...

 

I actually do see people saying that here. Personally I don't mind older ships - they usually have layouts I prefer.

 

OP - I am sorry you aren't having a good start to your cruise. I would recommend you keep an open mind and try not to focus on the negatives and it may get better. I often find crowds worse on the first day than they are later as people settle down.

 

We have been on NCL and prefer Princess but of course that is subjective.

[Roberto256]

1 hour ago, memoak said:

Since one is primarily a lunch venue and one is only open for dinner most people can figure this out by looking at their watch

Are there so few possible names for venues, that this is the only option princess had?

There is simply no reasonable reason for a business to do something like this.

 

But, like always, there are posters here who will defend anything princess does.

 

It hardly matters.   I'm sure one or both will fade into oblivion, like Share, etc

Edited May 22, 2023 by Roberto256

[memoak]

3 minutes ago, Roberto256 said:

Are there so few possible names for venues, that this is the only option princess had?

There is simply no reasonable reason for a business to do something like this.

 

But, like always, there are posters here who will defend anything princess does.

 

It hardly matters.   I'm sure one or both will fade into oblivion, like Share, etc

Does Nordstroms and Nordstroms Rack also confuse you ?  Crown Grill and  crown Grill bar ?

[Roberto256]

2 minutes ago, memoak said:

Does Nordstroms and Nordstroms Rack also confuse you ?  Crown Grill and  crown Grill bar ?

This is obviously a very important issue to you.

You should continue to enjoy it, long after anyone else cares.

 

Which princess ship has nordstroms?

 

Edited May 22, 2023 by Roberto256

[JimmyVWine]

2 hours ago, Roberto256 said:

I think it's fair to evaluate any cruise a cruiseline offers.

But when it comes to comparing two buffet areas, the differentiation as between old and new is apt.  The buffet areas on the Royal Class are world's apart from the Grand Class ships, as if Princess was saying: "We know we need to do better here", and they did.  So it is only right to acknowledge that they made an improvement to align with the competition.  One should not reach the conclusion tht "I will never sail Princess again because their buffets are awful" without first experiencing a state of the art buffet.

 

OP:  The ship's pool hours should be listed at the bottom left of the back page of the Event Listing Sheet that you receive each evening. Yes it is odd that someone at Guest Services would say "I don't know" instead of "Let me find out."  That is poor performance by the crew member as well as his/her supervisor who should be training better. 

 

As for asking for your cabin number, the Medallion readers that the crew members use capture information about anyone within a specific rage of the reader itself.  Maybe 20 feet or so.  At a bar, or while lounging at the pool, that circumference can capture many more guests than just you.  The crew member is just trying to avoid creating a billing issue that would frustrate you even more than you are frustrated by having to say your cabin number.  Pick your gripe:  Having to utter 5 syllables or having to have an unwanted charge reversed at the Guest Services Desk by someone who doesn't even know what the pool hours are.    

[mamamusings]

1 hour ago, JimmyVWine said:

OP:  The ship's pool hours should be listed at the bottom left of the back page of the Event Listing Sheet that you receive each evening. Yes it is odd that someone at Guest Services would say "I don't know" instead of "Let me find out."  That is poor performance by the crew member as well as his/her supervisor who should be training better, 

Actually, the pool/tub hours were not on the event sheet, which is why we asked. I even asked if they were printed or posted anywhere, and they said no. Their supervisor was standing right next to them, and also didn’t know. 🤷‍♀️

[Kay S]

This is slightly off topic, but I was under the impression that ships with an indoor Salty Dog Gastropub did not also call the grill Salty Dog but still Trident Grill.  Ships without the indoor venue renamed the grill "Salty Dog."  Of course, I could just be imagining the whole thing. 🙂

 

If our friends are happy with NCL, they should continue with them.  The beauty of cruising is that we have choices.  (See you very soon, HAL.)

[AF-1]

I hope your cruise has a happy ending.  I would be upset if my family could not sit together at the buffet.  There are other dining options available on the ship.  Good luck and happy sailing.  Cheers