Emerald Princess Review
Rating by category
Additional details
Started out at the Crowne Plaza hotel downtown the day before the cruise. Although, not really impressed with the hotel due to no lobby, the room was quite large and new. Bathroom was really nice. They have a free shuttle from airport to hotel so that is nice. Also a free shuttle to cruise port and that is why we picked it. The restaurant in the hotel was very good. Okay, enough about the hotel.
Our stateroom was R510 and a balcony and I highly recommend it. It was directly below the Lido deck which means it was very private - no one could see over the top of it and pretty much not from the sides either. We had a fantastic steward also named Dennis from the Philippines. He was so good that I tipped him over and above twice while we were on the trip (and I'm cheap)! We got room service for breakfast every day except the last day and there is no charge for breakfast room service so that is great. The ONLY disadvantage to R510 is the fact that it is below one of the pools and you can hear them in the morning when they drag a few of the lounge chairs out. That was a little bothersome but otherwise we heard no noises. The good thing was that we were only one deck below the Lido which is the one that has the buffets and pools so that meant that we simply walked up one flight of stairs and didn't have to wait on elevators. Smart huh?! :-)
Princess Cays: Very nice beach area and cookout. Watch out for the bats though near the cookout. They had a couple of them swooping down while were in the line. Funny now - but not funny when you are in line. Don't know what their problem was as it was broad daylight. But, beach area was nice. Now, back to the ship. Make sure and meet one of the assistant cruise directors named Mark Cornish if he is still working on this ship. If you can find him (nickname may be Ceramic Mark) and follow him you will laugh your butt off. This guy is funny without even saying a word! He is British and does a show where he sings also. Other shows to make sure you attend (if they still hold them) are: Michael Jackson Thriller dance class, Mark Cornish singing, Magician James Michael.
Cabin Review
R510 is a balcony room on the port side just below the Lido deck. It's also just about mid-ship and not far from elevators and staircase. Very quiet room with excellent view and privacy. The only drawback was at about 6:30am or so you might hear them moving chairs above on Lido deck. But, on plus side, this location allows you to go up to Lido deck by going up one flight of stairs and not having to wait on elevators. I thought it was a great location. The view from the balcony was completely unobstructed. Also, this stateroom has the best steward on the whole ship - Dennis! He's from Philippines and is fantastic.