Emerald Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,873 reviews

Princess Going Downhill

Review for the Mediterranean Cruise on Emerald Princess
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SturdyTraveller
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

Rating by category

Cabin
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
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Entertainment
Fitness & Recreation
Service

Additional details

Sail Date: Aug 2015
Cabin: Interior

This was my 7th cruise with Princess, my 2nd on the Emerald. Sailed on it 2 years ago, and there is a noticeable decline in many areas.

Entertainment is the biggest change - the old Vista lounge (now Club Fusion) used to offer a second evening entertainment venue. It sits empty 95% of the time now, its used for the Captain's Circle events. I would expect they'll convert it into another pay restaurant or something to take your money when refitted. The few dance shows at the Princess Theater are the same ones I saw 2 years ago, You'll only see the dancers and shows a few times. The entertainment has really gone downhill, they hire lousy comedians and unknown singers now. Not sure if this is a trend on all Princess ships, but its definitely disappointing. There was one group, the Mosaic Trio that I enjoyed. The crew put on trivia shows and the like to entertain you, rather than hire entertainers.

Food - every breakfast in the Horizon court is the same and disappointing. Service is hit and miss there. Coffee is terrible. They even have plastic fruit on display there now! Fruit selection is not as good as before. A lot of dinner items they serve in the Horizon court are things people would never want and just sit there untouched. Dining Room main courses were generally good, but the waiters there are a far cry from what they used to have. Most can hardly speak English, ours always abruptly shoved our menus into our faces when we greeted fellow diners. They used to remember your preferences & name. They put no effort into that now. Don't expect a good cup of coffee in the dining room, its now the same crap they serve in the buffet. You have to buy a $30 (+15%) coffee card now to get a decent cup of coffee. ANY kind of coffee or tea in the International Cafe must be had with this card. Picking your pockets. A lot of little things that made the dining room feel like a classy restaurant have disappeared - the service, poor coffee, cheap quality ice cream, even the baked Alaska is terrible. Touted pasta dishes were dried out and lacked flavor.

Cabin Review

Interior

Our interior cabin was too hot- technician increased airflow which helped slightly, but it was still too hot and you had the squeaking noises from the ventilation now. First time I had a problem like that on a cruise ship, usually the AC is great. We heard there was a problem in other areas of the ship too. Cabin steward was OK. Cabin was relatively quiet (hallway noise) except for annoying morning announcements. Bed was uncomfortable for my wife. She had cabin steward put a cover on the mattress which helped a bit, but the ship needs better mattresses.

Port Reviews

Rhodes

No need for any tours to the walled city as it is a 5 min walk there.

Kusadasi

Great shopping here. Saw Ephesus already so didn't bother with that. Friends took a cab there for 60 euros (couple). The ship charged a fortune and they saw less.

Santorini

Been there aleady. Tram to the town is now ridiculously overpriced at 10 Euros roundtrip. Going for your wallet.

Malta (Valletta)

Great place. Good shopping, inexpensive, scenic, friendly and safe.

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