My husband and I set sail on the beautiful Emerald Princess on March 28th to celebrate my birthday AND our over-due honeymoon. I had been reading several member reviews on CC for several weeks before our cruise because I wanted to be as well prepared as I could be and to know what to expect or not expect from this cruise. This was my husband's 10th cruise (he has sailed several lines prior, including Princess), and only my 2nd cruise (previously on Carnival). This is my review of the ship, the food, the entertainment, the staff, the itinerary ports of call. EMBARKATION: This was the smoothest embarkation you could ever experience. I think from the time the shuttle dropped us of at the port (we parked at a remote parking lot because it was cheaper) to the time we were on board and in our cabin (WE WERE ON DECK 14 and had to use the stairs)...it took us about 30 minutes!!!! And we even had to tag our luggage because someone forgot the luggage tags at home! As mentioned, my husband has been on several other cruises, and he even said that this was the best embarkation he ever experienced. THE SHIP: The ship was very beautiful. It was very clean and the dEcor was perfectly matched for each venue. There were several clubs/venues, some of which we didn't get to spend much time in because we were off doing something else on the ship or in port. I think the spot we frequented the most was Club Fusion, and it was a nice place at the back of the ship where trivia, music, karaoke, bingo and several other things were going on. We had a balcony cabin on the Riviera deck (Deck 14) which is just below the Lido deck (where all the pool activities and MUTS take place). Our balcony was small than some of the one's on the lower decks...but the plus was that no one could look down on top of us since there were no balconies above us! The closet was large enough for all our clothes and we were able to stow our luggage under our bed perfectly. I will advise though, to request one of those egg carton mattress pads that you hear people talk about on here. We did not, and the bed was not very comfortable; kind of like sleeping on a sofa bed or futon. I will request one on any future cruises with Princess. THE FOOD: This is where it gets a little tricky! We chose anytime dining for our dinner option, and after reading the reviews on this here on CC, I was really worried and nervous that we were going to have a hard time when it came time to eat dinner. I was pleasantly surprised however, that whenever we went down to the dining room (there are two designated for Any Time dining), we had no problem getting sat right away, even for just a table for two! Of course, we chose to go down for dinner around 5:30pm because of the previous posts about having problems on waiting...but it worked out perfectly for us. I will say though, that we only chose to eat in the dining room 3 or 4 nights out of the 7 because the menu just didn't suit our appetite. It was very strange, some of their options and what they were paired with. To be quite honest, I think they do this to encourage people to eat at one of the two specialty restaurants they have on board which require a cover charge of either $20 or $25 per person. We however, did not partake in either of these restaurants, but chose either to have dinner in the Horizon Court (buffet) or have pizza or a hamburger, hot dog or grilled chicken sandwich with some fries. Some of you have probably read some reviews saying that the pizza wasn't good. I completely disagree on that! It was really good, and we had it several times during our cruise. On one night in particular, there was just so much going on that we wanted to do, we sat out to watch MUTS (they were playing The Blind Side) and we had pizza and milkshakes for dinner! We also had a beautiful bowl of fruit (we got to choose what fruit we wanted) brought to our room on Monday to eat from all week). THE ENTERTAINMENT: This cruise had some pretty good entertainment throughout the week. There were 3 production shows, Boogie Shoes, I Got The Music In Me and one other one that escapes me right now. There were two comedians and a magician which they called "The Bad Boy of Magic", and trust me, his show was not a magic show I would have allowed my kids to watch, even though there were some in the audience that night. He was funny...and did some amazing tricks, but he was a little...shall we say "vulgar" at times. The one comedian, Kevin Hughes (a Carolina native), was hilarious. We saw him several times throughout the week. When we saw him listed on the Princess Patter, we made sure to make the show; that's how much we liked him! The singers and dancers on the boat were pretty good. One of the shows I didn't care too much for, I thought it was a little weird (Boogie Shoes). I will tell you that if you want to have a drink during the show, stop at the bar before you go into the theater because the seating is such that you will not get served unless you are sitting on the end of a row and there are only servers for about 15 minutes prior to the show, and with 800 people, you might have a hard time getting service. THE STAFF: For the most part, the staff was great. Our room steward, Dennis was fantastic! I was a little surprised to find out that they don't do the towels animals anymore unless you have children in your cabin. But...Dennis made it up to me and made me my very own "monkey". The only staff member that really shocked me (in a negative way)...was the CRUISE DIRECTOR...Dan Stein. He was funny, don't get me wrong. Whenever he would MC a show or on his morning show (The Wake Show), he was pretty funny. HOWEVER, whenever we would pass him on the ship OR while we were in port, he didn't really acknowledge anyone. He just wasn't as personable as a Cruise Director should be. He had a staff of 7 I believe, that were on the Cruise Director's team...and there were some of them that were much better suited for that position IMHO. One of which was Mark! LOVE HIM!!! After one night, he knew me and my husband by name and he always had a smile and fun way about him. He is someone I could totally be friends with him for years to come! ? ITINERARY: On this cruise we visited Princess Cays, Bahamas...St. Martin... St. Thomas, USVI...and Grand Turk! Princess Cays was just a beach day, and the water was freezing. There really isn't anything to see here, so it's a day to relax on the beach or do some water sports/excursions. St. Martin was a big cluster of people because there were 7 ships counting ours that were in port that day. One of which was the Oasis of the Seas which added about 20,000 people to that little island for shopping! You couldn't hardly walk around inside a store because there were just so many people! TIP-on the ship they will have a Port & Shopping seminar on your first sea day (Tuesday), DON'T MISS THIS! You will find out some great pointers for the three ports you are going to as well as have the option to pay $25 for a book with loads of coupons for FREE stuff and BIG discounts! ALSO, very important for you to know as well. The ship will tell you that they have their "recommended shops" and that those are the only shops you should buy your jewelry. What that really means is, those shops are paying Princess for advertising, and you can get some great deals at other jewelers, sometimes even better than what the "premium recommended jewelers" offer. St. Thomas is where we did our jewelry shopping, as we have a jeweler there that my husband has been using for several years "Imperial Jewelers". We got a great deal on a beautiful blue diamond ring, a tanzanite ring and a citizen watch for my husband! But out of all the ports, Grand Turk was our absolute favorite! The water was the clearest and the bluest of all ports. It was very untouched and so clean. It was the one port where we didn't feel like we were being haggled at the shops like we were in St. Martin and St. Thomas. The largest Margaritaville is located here with its own pool and beach, cabanas and chairs which are complimentary to the cruise passengers. We did a reef snorkel and stingray encounter excursion here, and it was fantastic. SO, if you are debating on which port you want to do your excursion(s) at, I highly recommend Grand Turk. Save your shopping for St. Martin and St. Thomas and for those of you who have never been to either island, know that most of the stores you see in St. Martin, you will see in St. Thomas and the prices will be about the same...in regards to jewelry. The only complaint really that I had about the entire cruise was that it seemed as though there were not enough children activities. It seemed like the boat was over-run with kids ranging from 2-18...and they were running rampant throughout the ship. It was very aggravating! I would definitely not cruise this time of year again because of Spring Breakers. I thought that most of them were already done with their holiday, but obviously not. I was talking to Mark (the cruise director staff) about all the children, and he said there were about 2-3 children for every adult on the ship! They were booked to capacity this cruise, so that gives you an idea of how many there were.

If you sail this ship, I truly don't think you will be disappointed.