My partner and I booked a 14-day cruise on the Emerald Princess last October. Cruising out of Athens, the itinerary was to include Odessa and Yalta, Ukraine. Unfortunately those two stops were replaced with stops in Bulgaria and Romania, but they both turned out to be very interesting. After spending 5 wonderful days in Athens, we boarded the Emerald for our 30th cruise. Embarkation was fast and easy. The Princess Representatives were courteous and efficient and we were onboard within 30 minutes. The ship was fresh and beautifully decorated.

We went to our balcony cabin on the Lido deck and were greeted by our steward, Jesada. He was wonderful throughout the cruise and took care of all of our requests.

Our next stop was the Crown Grill to make reservations for dinner one evening. We had late seating in the Botticelli Dining Room (traditional dining), so we checked out our table which was near the front of the dining room, yet in a quiet location. After lunch, we went back to our cabin and our luggage had already been delivered, so we unpacked and were set for the cruise. After Muster Drill, we met some of our fellow Cruise Critic members at the Tradewinds Bar overlooking the pool for a Sail Away Party. We were a bit disappointed that more members did not show up for either of the two Sail Away parties (in Athens and Istanbul). Almost 100 people had signed up, but it was very nice meeting all of those that did turn out. Read more