We had a truly delightful experience aboard the Emerald Princess. We highly recommend going on a cruise with Princess Crusies, and we would also highly recommend spending a little more money for a balcony room. I had been on a cruise years before, so my expectations were fairly open. We stayed in a balcony room and absolutley enjoyed the time spent coming into port and leaving port and viewing these moments from our balcony. The food experience we had was top notch, and I loved the flexibilty Princess provided us. Also our stateroom and the service provided was excelent. Great job Princess! There's no comparison regarding going on a cruise to see places verses driving or flying in to the various destinations and having to find lodging and going to expensive restaurants. The cruiseline provided everything and more. It's so worth having the convenience of having everything that you need on the ship and not having to pack up and move at every destination. Read Less

The food quality and selection is not what I have been used to on Princess cruise. Was served French fries with a filet mignon. Being on a Mediterranean cruise would have expected a better selection of seafood and fish. King prawns were the size of baby shrimps. Although the MichelAngelo waiting staff was really courteous and helpful. Pedro the head waiter was good to find us nice and enjoyable people to sit with. Front desk service is useless they give you the run around! We were booked on a shore excursion on our day of disembarking but the bus couldn’t carry luggage. It would have been great to visit Mykonos but the rough sea prevent it us to port.... the captain decided for the safety of the passenger to continue our route. I’m glad that he made that call for our safety. Princess didn’t live up to their slogan.... Come Back New! I found that Princess cruise line has been going down in quality over the last 5 years. It not what it used to be. Read Less

Choose this cruise to experience Greece and its food, drink and culture. The good is that Princess did an awesome job on embarkment (no wait) and disembarkment. Excursion organization and cleanliness, and great staff. It couldn’t have been any better. I rated 4 stars because I wouldn’t take this cruise again. It was boring. Entertainment was for older people ( we were a party of 8 in our late 50s and early 60s). Pool parties and piano bar weren’t what we had on other cruise lines. After dinner we struggled to find things to do. We were looking for dancing or comedy. There was one great band with a woman singer that we found 2 nights and that was the entertainment highlight. We had people in our party fall asleep and leave during auditorium shows. We did trivia a few times and that was fun. Food and drink were awesome. Service was exemplary. Shore excursions ... mostly good, organized, good guides and clean bus on all with no waits. Crete we did a beach excursion and when we got there there weren’t enough lounge chairs for our party to be together, stained cushions on loungers and you couldn’t swim cause of the rocks .. not what we expected. Now Corfus excursion was awesome town and cooking class. Highlight of the trip. We booked wanting to see white beaches and bluest water with the white buildings and saw none:(. Too windy to go to Mykonos (which we booked for) and princess did nothing for us that day ie, free drinks, more entertainment so that felt like a wasted day. One more thing, we were on a Greek cruise and the nightly dining had no Italian or Greek food or appetizers. Would highly recommend they change this to have 2 or 3 options for the area every night. Also the wine and beer of that region would be a plus. Would recommend this cruise for older people. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the ports that it was stopping at. We also liked the amenities and class of the cruise. We enjoyed the club class dining. Our servers Jelana, Ryan, Iris and Bazvan were the BEST! We always asked to sit at their station and enjoyed their company immensely. The saw to our every gastro need and gave excellent tips on what to order. They really added to our vacation enjoyment! We took 2 of the cruise excursions which were both extremely well run. The guides were very knowledgable. We tried to sign up for some tours in Marseille but they were canceled. I liked Paulos who gave tips on the ports during the sea days. We loved the Sanctuary. It was a quiet and relaxing way to spend the afternoon. The servers were all very friendly and accommodating, waiting on for every need. We really liked the evening shows in the Princess theater, especially the dance themes like the 70's disco. The activities during the day seemed geared more for older people. Too much pushing of the anti-wrinkle, burn fat seminars at the spa. Also we would have liked more lounge chairs available in the shade around the pool. We liked that there was not too much loud music around the pool. Liked the band that played periodically at the pool in the evening. The shuttles to town should not have a cost attached. When you pay $8000 for a cruise, you expect that it will bring you to the actual place that is listed on the itinerary, not have to pay $15 pounds to get you there. My neighbor was so excited to see our pictures, she wants to go on the same cruise next spring. She indecisive on this or a Italy bus tour. Are there any incentives you can give to help her decide? Read Less

We booked this cruise a few weeks before sailing, as we were in need of a de-stress break. The Emerald Princess certainly delivered. We've cruised with Princess before, so we knew what to expect in terms of the ship and its layout. The Emerald Princess has recently had some updates, with a restyled buffet and top deck areas. The whole ship was beautifully maintained and extremely clean. We booked a balcony cabin; be aware that Riviera deck cabins are fully covered, and as such it was rarely in the sun. This wasn't a great problem, but we'd avoid that deck again, as we like to sunbathe on our balcony which we didn't really do on this cruise. Our cabin steward was excellent, the room was always cleaned to a high standard, and he always seemed to appear when we needed to ask a question, or if we had an armful of plates from the buffet to take to our balcony! Dining across the ship was consistently very good. We did miss the selection in the buffet that you find on the larger Princess ships, but we always found items that we enjoyed. Lines at the burger bar were very short when compared to other ships, even at peak times. Sometimes it puts you off seeing a long line to wait in, there were no long lines on this ship. We also enjoyed the pizza, and snacks from the international cafe were of high quality. Try the Passion fruit Chocolate slice - it was delicious! Food in the main dining room was on the whole excellent, and in the main staff were really warm, friendly and accommodating. One night we had wait staff who were less interested, and this really stood out as all other staff on the ship were amazing, always with a smile, and always ready to help. So two less interested staff out of a huge crew was not a big deal, but noticed. Particular mention to Franco, a Mexican waiter (I think I have his name right), as he was even more smiley, friendly and warm than the others. We were pleased to be say on his table twice. No wait or pagers for main dining room was an added bonus. We tried Curtis Stone one night, the meal was suitably longer, service was attentive, and the food was different in a good way. We were unsure as to whether we would feel it was worth the up charge, but agreed it was well worth a try. Highlight was the pasta, not how we were expecting it at all, but truly delicious - give it a try. Entertainment was very good, we enjoyed three production shows in a week with a high standard of singing and dancing. We also enjoyed the British comedian. We were so pleasantly surprised to see Arny G on board, a lounge pianist and singer we'd enjoyed watching on a previous cruise a couple of years back. It was great to be acquainted with him again, and we enjoyed watching his shows each evening. The piano bar was packed every night as Arny has an amazing singing and playing style, with an infectious personality. He is very generous in involving his audience, encouraging requests and even twisting my arm to join him on stage for a song (or two)! He even showed us round Marseille, somewhere we hadn't visited before. Arny you are an inspiration and now a true friend! Thanks for playing such a big part in making the cruise so memorable. Wonderful ports and weather, you really can't go wrong with a Med cruise on Princess, something for everyone on and off the ship. As relatively regular Princess cruisers, we are usually impressed - but we were still struck by how almost every single staff member we encountered was so eager to provide top service. Consistently high standards of food, service and entertainment across the whole ship. Princess is definitely up a notch from other cruise lines we've tried (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, P&O), everything seems to be done with more care. Can't wait to repeat on the brand new Sky Princess on the 27th October - we're hooked! Read Less

We chose this cruise as a wedding anniversary treat, looking for a romantic setting, lots going on but not a party atmosphere, and not overrun with kids. The ship delivered perfectly. There was always plenty to see and do, and places on the ship that catered to adults only. The ship was busy, but there were never long lineups anywhere, even for free pizza, burgers or ice cream on the top deck. The excursions were all wonderful and very well-organized as we were taken ashore and returned quickly and efficiently at all ports. On board, there were good entertainment choices and lots of opportunity to stay fit (Zumba class on the deck, etc.) Loved the adults-only pool areas. The restaurants were definitely a highlight of the cruise with wonderful food experiences at all but one. The suite was beyond expectations in terms of space and comfort. A few minor glitches: difficult to get through to restaurant reservations or room service on the phone. Communication was a challenge with some staff as their English was not great (but then, we don't speak any other languages so some of that is on us). Loved all the restaurants, except Steamers Seafood was a bad experience. Quality of the food and service at this restaurant did not warrant an upcharge. Drinks were a bit pricey. At the Anytime Dining breakfast, it would have been nice to have more yogurt, granola and fruit options. Too focused on American-style breakfast. Some of the entertainment was average, but still fun and enjoyable. And it would have been nice to have even more places on the ship to have a quiet conversation over a drink. Read Less

This was our fourth cruise on princess 2nd time on the Emerald. Th is was a 14 day cruise. Starting in Rome. 10 ports ending in Barcelona. I recommend this cruise or any cruise going to th is region of the world, we previously did a family land tour of northern Italy so this would be all new territory. We were picked up at our hotel in the Spanish steps area to the Ship. I think it was about Two hours. This trip was my wife and I first time cruising just the two of us. Getting on the ship was very organized and quick dropped off our bags waited about 2 minutes to get to the check in desk received our cards and off to the ship. We had a balcony 14 deck near the front of the ship, same type size room we had when we did Alaskan cruise Two years earlier. Plenty of room for two and our four bags . One thing to know if you never cruised before we bring a heavy 6 foot extension cord with multiple plug ins. The bed was great room clean and our room Stewart was very good always seemed to know when we would leave room always kept clean . There are two dining rooms we ate Da Vinci, and Michelangelo. We ate breakfast almost every day at Da Vinci. . And Dinner at Michelangelo had the best Materdi Carlos the magnificent And our lovely waiter Franco from Mexico. We had anytime dinning but our table was always saved for us we started with just my wife and I and as we made friends we had a table for 6.the food was good some excellent some ok mostly very very good. Franco always new what we’re drinking and never waited long to receive them. I would not recommend the buffet much. We ate there two times . Excursion We did two from the ship. We did Pompeii from Salerno all I can say was the tour guide from the princess ship was horrible he made up stuff and not one time did he take us to a shady area when it was near 100 degrees. My suggestion make all your excursions before you leave home online with reputable companies. We did a excursion in Kotor Montenegro was booked before we left home. We did this from a group of 6 Aussies we met from roll call. We did a speedboat. Blue cave , submarine caves tour with swimming at the blue caves,a very fun 3 hour tour, we then did The Godfather tour booked from princess , this was a very fun day. Great tour guide if your a fan of The Godfather movies you will enjoy this. Our next paid excursion was also not from princess with family we met from roll call. We did Pompeii again from Naples. This was a fantastic tour our guide his name was Sasha was so knowledgeable his father was also a tour guide I told him what the tour guide from the princess ship told us and he said what load of garbage i showed him the pictures I took from the first tour and what the guide told us about that. He was blown away with the crap the first guide told us. Every time there was shade he took us to the shady spots and explained what was the real history, all ”other ports we did either the hop on bus or just walked the towns. We had some of the best food on land ever.seafood was more then fantastic. One thing if your going to book your excursion from princess do it before you get on the ship most of the good excursions sold out very fast. I do recommend using non princess excursion. We made a lot of new friends in this ship. After dinner we would go to crooners bar see the piano player. We did trivia one night. And we watched a few movies on the deck with greasy popcorn. If you drink much including alcohol coffee and water get the drink package we got ours free with our balcony booking so it was worth it. Drinks are not cheap if you buy your own . Bottle water $2.50. Latte $2.50 each . We had a later time to get off the ship in Barcelona our transportation was supposed to pick us up at 10 but after 3 phone calls they finally got there by11.00 there is no place to sit and almost no shade at the Barcelona terminal. Then they took us to the wrong hotel , this was not booked through princess . One thing I would recommend transfers book from princess. If you smoke they have a cigar smoke room or you can smoke on the 16 th deck ... Feel free to ask my anything you would like to know. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we had a large party and it was basically the one that suited all. That said there was some thought that there may have been better cruise available - that was proved incorrect as we all loved it. The embarkation process was seamless and very fast. Baggage assistants on the wharf helped the process and our luggage was in our room when we opened the door. The condition of the ship at present is very good with no real sign anywhere of wear and tear. Common areas are very nice and well maintained. The stateroom was above our exceptions in size and condition. The itinerary from Barcelona to Athens was very impressive and some notable surprises for us in Gibraltar and Kotor. We all agreed that what we saw of Marseilles made it our least favourite port. Stateroom steward was perfect....there when you needed him otherwise rarely saw him. he kept the room spotless. Meals were spot-on. Be aware that if you are doing a 14 or 21 day Med cruise that your menu will basically repeat every 7 days. Shore tours were very good and ran smoothly. Read Less

Emerald Princess Cruise Ship Review: Summary of pros:                                                      Summary of cons: Ship Atmosphere Our steward (name was Kemmanat) Room location on Lido Deck                                     Port of Salerno view Big room/closet                                                         Food was hit or miss Princess Beds                                                              Great Internet Gluten Free taken seriously Share Crooner’s Bar/AJ Clarke Skywalker’s bartenders Pools Love Boat Cast/Ashleigh Front Desk Pompeii/Salerno port Embarkation/Disembarkation                                                          Overall:  One of our favorite ships, and one of our favorite cruises!  Ship atmosphere: Relaxed ambiance.  This cruise was all about the destinations, and this ship was perfect for that.  No over-the-top gimmicks, no climbing walls and waterslides! This kind of energy was saved for the ports and excursions.  It was a mostly older crowd which looked to be ages 40+ (including us at 49 and 52). We saw very few young children on this cruise. It appeared and sounded as if most people were European or Australian.     Lido Deck Room 247/Balcony: First, we LOVED being on the Lido deck.  Walk right out to the pool, the food, etc.  We expected noise, being so close to all of this, but never heard anything! It was very convenient! But second, there was no one above our balcony that could look down onto our balcony, as we could to the ones below us.  Speaking of the balcony, you need this!  Watch the sunrise or sunset from the privacy of your balcony in a chair with a drink or snack. Wake up to amazing views and go outside to take pics in your PJs.  It’s just an entirely different experience with a balcony.  Room L247 was a good size, with a huge closet and a lot of drawers.  By far, this is our favorite cabin on any cruise we’ve sailed on, and we will always book on the Lido deck in the future.     Princess Beds: That bed….I miss that bed!  The bed and the bedding were so comfortable.  We’ve talked about the bed/bedding as much as we’ve talked about anything else!   Internet:  The Internet was incredible!  All texts and pictures were sent and received instantly as if we were on land.  We’d sit at the pools before dinner after long days on our feet exploring in the ports, perusing Facebook, posting pictures, using Google Maps, watching news stories, etc.  Not once was anything slow. One night we were nowhere near land in the middle of the ocean and I sat inside our cabin on our bed Facetiming our children. And this is before the upcoming Medallion system! Food:  We arrived to see a Gluten free acknowledgment on the desk, even though I’d already received an email verification from them.  When we gave our card for drinks at dinner, the server would then point out what was gluten free on the menu.  So it must have also been registered electronically.  So nice to know they take it seriously as I have Celiac’s disease. There were always gluten free options, no matter where we went to eat, with always at least one dessert option in the main cafeteria area. However, the food was hit or miss; sometimes great, sometimes disgusting really.  Overall I’d say the food was fair during the day, and above average at dinner.  Not as memorable as other cruises, but not bad, mostly.     Share: Amazing food!  But allow a lot of time!  There are six courses with considerable time in between.  For us, it was just too much time spent on dinner – about 3 hours.  But all of the people working there were very nice and went out of their way to make our anniversary dinner special.  They even sang to us! Crooner’s Bar/AJ Clarke: We ended up going there four out of seven nights. The bartenders were professional, friendly, and skilled.  It was them that introduced us to a Beverly Hills Iced Tea, based on questions about what we liked.  AJ Clarke was very talented and entertaining.  One night his mom was his guest. We very much enjoyed his performances.  We also liked the Crooner’s Bar isn’t enclosed, allowing people to come and go at ease and spend a little or a lot of time there, without worrying about interrupting his performance. Skywalker’s Bar:  The bartenders were great!  Funny, accommodating, and skilled! We sat at the bar the last night and wished we’d done that every night.  We went to Skywalker’s almost every evening. The DJ, servers, music, crowd – average. The bartenders there made Skywalker’s a lot of fun!     Pools: There were four pools, never crowded.  We loved them all, but especially the ones at the back of the ship.  It was amazing watching the sea go by behind us. The band, The Sound, frequently played at the Neptune pool.  They were incredible!  Great lead female singer, awesome song choices (top 40 from many eras; songs everyone knows). But it was entirely too loud!  However, moving up to the top deck took care of that. When they started playing, many people would move to the top deck, but also many would leave.  I felt bad for the band as I’m sure they noticed people leave when they started playing.  But it wasn’t them, they were amazing! It was just overwhelmingly loud if you were down in the pool area.      Love Boat Cast: We had every intention of attending the Love Boat fun, but missed it due to an emergency call from home we had to take care of.  However, upon leaving our room after that call, we encountered some of the cast at the elevators as they were just leaving the pool area where it took place, on the Lido deck close to our room. They carried the fun that we’d missed to us personally!  Took our hands and danced, even used our cameras to take selfies.  As quick as they appeared, they were off, laughing and having fun.  They probably ran into other cruisers and made their night also!  They could have ended their responsibility on deck and gone on their way.  Thank you Love Boat cast!  That made our night!  I was able to zoom in on one of their name tags from the selfies and one girl’s name was Ashleigh. Her tag says she is the Jr. Asst Cruise Director, from South Africa. Thank you!   Front Desk: Everyone at the front desk was incredible.  They helped us with a few different things, but mostly they were instrumental in getting our luggage to us, that had been missing for five days.  It was the fault of United Airlines, not theirs.  But when our luggage finally made it to Santorini, it was them that got it from the port, onto the ship, and to our room.  Thank you! Pompeii Ruins: Our very favorite excursion, ever! Our guide, Paulo, was incredible too! If you ever have a chance, cruise port or otherwise, this is simply a must!       Embarkation and disembarkation:  We arrived with no luggage, so it was very simple from the start.  But we walked right in, and right onto the ship.  From Uber to our room was about 15 minutes!  Disembarkation was also simple.  We were the last group off, walked right off, and right to our luggage.  Again, from room to transfer service was about 15 minutes.  Easiest process we’ve ever been through.  No lines at all, anywhere, on or off.  Salerno: One morning we opened our balcony curtains to the amazing view of the next port – and it wasn’t.  Apparently this port is also a container terminal.  The view was row after row of huge industrial containers. Not a huge deal, but a strike contrast from the other incredible views off our balcony that we enjoyed waking up to each morning. Our excursion guide explained that they’d actually built a port for cruises, then discovered it wasn’t deep enough and had to return to using the container terminal.       Steward: Sadly, this was our first cruise where our steward disappointed us.  According to him, our schedule should revolve around what made his job the most easy.  When it didn’t we were judged, put down, and criticized.  Most of the people in the rooms he serviced rose earlier, ate earlier, and went to bed sooner. Several times a day he would ask us why we weren’t in port, weren’t we going to eat dinner, when were we going to bed. Our replies were met with judgement, shaking his head, looking put out, or openly telling us we wouldn’t receive his services if we didn’t comply.  One night early on told us he was done at 5:30, and wouldn’t be back to turn down our bed if we didn’t leave for dinner by 5. We told him we wouldn’t be leaving for dinner by then but that was fine, we understood, no worries. But at that point we tried to temper his frustration by responding to his many criticisms about our schedule.  We explained that we were on an 8 hour time difference, slept/ate later, liked the activities offered at night, slept in, liked going to the pool in between the port excursion and dinner, etc.  He shook his head, put out. I walked away thinking we didn’t owe him an explanation, and that his response was incredibly rude. It got worse as the week went on as he tried to tell us what our schedule should be, and we went on with the schedule we’d planned, on OUR vacation. He became more and more insistent, and we anticipated his glaring judgment, harsh words, or condemnation each time we came and went from our cabin.  One day we returned from port to put our suits on. He asked where we were going and I told him we were going to the pool.  He then scolded us and asked why we weren’t getting ready for dinner. We told him we were going to dinner later. Again, we were met with his irritation.  There were too many incidents to go into each one, but most were similar to this, each worse than the next.  However, the worst incident was one night when we were in our room taking pictures of the sunset and getting ready for dinner, when he went from annoying to alarming.  We had just returned from port and there he was standing by our room, again asking why we weren’t at dinner.  We explained we wanted to watch the sun set from our balcony, and would also be getting ready for dinner, AND what time we’d be leaving, that it would be at least an hour or more.  He wasn’t happy about that. About 15 minutes later he opened the door without even knocking.  He knew we hadn’t left, obviously. He probably hadn’t left the place he was standing when we got to our room – lurking, as always, by our door.  But apparently he thought we needed a reminder that we were on his time and he was waiting, and that barging in would make us go faster. I was unclothed, nude from the waist up.  It was very embarrassing, and the trust to our privacy was now completely gone. That was a purposeful violation of our privacy that alarmed and actually frightened me. But even that aside, I don’t appreciate being told how to spend my time while on vacation, especially that I should be out of the room by 7 and back from the port and at dinner by 5:00, when the ship doesn’t ask that, provides many activities at all times, and doesn’t even require you to be back on the ship that early.  The dining room schedule was our focus, not his. If I want to sleep in I don’t owe an explanation and don’t deserve condemnation or judgment, from anyone.  I don’t need to be scolded by the steward because I went to the pool at HIS dinner time, or because I bring pastries back to our room instead of eating them there. Boy, his stare in the hallway between me and the napkin was intense! The pastries were gone when we returned a couple hours later, of course. Part of a cruise is enjoying the freedom to experience the many wonderful things scheduled, at all times, not on the steward’s schedule. But even if we wanted to sleep in all day or not eat dinner at all, that’s our choice, it’s our vacation. Usually the steward is rarely seen. Ours was always there, as soon as we opened the door to leave, and right there when we returned, asking why we weren’t where we should be, according to him.  We continued to be kind, in every interaction, even when he barged into the room as I was nude.  What do you do when someone has a key to your room and there’s nothing you can do about it? You respond with kindness, but include it in your review.  Hopefully others will also let Princess know, and this will be taken care of for future cruisers. Summary: We love Princess, and we loved the Emerald ship! We’ve sailed with Royal Caribbean, Carnival, and Norwegian previously but this was our first Princess cruise. We are now BIG fans of Princess. We had an almost perfect week! Read Less

We wanted to see some of Europe and this looked to be a great way to see a lot of the places we wanted to see and cruising is one of the best ways to holiday. unpack once and let them take you to the places you want to see. The ship is very welcoming lots to do well set out very clean. Was impressed with the food on board especially the dining room, all food groups were catered with. service on board was exceptional couldn't fault it. Activities on board were ok some needed to go on longer as passengers were enjoying themselves, and some games, etc just stopped. some activities were only available on port days but we were off on shore would have liked some of these to be done later or on sea days. the Ports were very interesting and different we did x2 tours with Princess a bit more than we wanted to spend but very happy with the experience. Overall it was a rewarding experience and one I would recommend to anyone Read Less

My husband and I were celebrating our 10-year wedding anniversary and wanted to explore Italy and Greece. I loved the itinerary Princess Emerald had to offer which covered a lot of the places we wanted to see...and more. The ship was very nice and had a lot more amenities that I wanted such as the "adult only" pool areas as well as the sanctuary pool/areas. Our cabin, while an inside one, was more than we expected too. Surprisingly, it had enough space not to feel cramped up and storage for our things. Our stateroom service was exceptional too! Everyday she made sure we were comfortable and happy with our accommodations. Our dinning experiences were great too. We had anytime dinning so we got to enjoy the different rooms and waiters; all the Major Ds were good too. We tried two of their restaurants: Crown Grill and Share - they are a must do! Food and service was phenomenal at each. Entertainment and activities were good too...it was nice that they balance it out (not a 24/hr party nor a lack of one). The ports and excursions were nice and many of our guides were good. We enjoyed those trips and it was well organized. Overall we had a great time, met a lot of interesting people from all over the world, and it was the vacation we were hoping for. We enjoyed everything Princess had to offer and how it provided an amazing experience for us; that we literally cried when we stepped off the ship for the last time. Looking forward to planning the next adventure. Read Less

OK, first of all this is our fourth cruise, our 1st on Princess. We booked this cruise to visit four of my sisters in the Islands. We've sailed on Norwegian, Celebrity and Disney. We flew into the L.A. area a few days early and stayed at the Crown Plaza in Redondo Beach, nice hotel and staff. Nice pier to hike around with good seafood to boot. We took an uber over to the Reagan Presidential Library and enjoyed it very much. Worth checking out in beautiful Simi Valley. The Emerald Princess was going for an 18 day re-fit at the end of this cruise, and it was very much due. I will commend the vessels maint. crew for constantly painting and varnishing whenever the weather permitted. I was told the buffet dining rooms were getting a complete makeover. Also, a new medallion system would be used for passenger access. Embarkation was a breeze, well organized, everyone was very helpful. The entire process took about 20 minutes and we were in our cabin. We booked very late so the best we could do was a room (E311) with an obstructed view on Deck 8. The room was not as big as the new cruise ships, but clean and well maintained. Bathroom and shower were on the small side but what I expected on a vessel built in 2007. Our cabin attendant Nester kept the place spotless the entire voyage. Although the view was obstructed you could still see the ocean going by. On the down side, since the window doesn't open the room can get a bit stuffy at times. For lunch we ate at the Horizon Court Buffet the first couple of days. You won't starve, but just your average fare there. About the 3rd day we started having lunch at Botticelli's on Deck 6 Aft. It was set up for open seating just for lunch and the food was better. For supper we ate mainly at Michaelangelo's and Da Vinci main dining rooms. The menu's between the two really didn't change much, so after three days at sea the food was not so good. I will say they know how to cook Salmon to perfection, but after many, many Salmon suppers I won't need to eat it again for quite awhile. One item that didn't sit well with me concerning the menu was the "Side Menu" with the higher end items (Maine lobster, steaks, ect), at an additional cost. We both loved getting our morning coffee at the International Cafe on Deck 5 Piazza for a small fee. And their freshly made sandwiches and pastries were always excellent. We had "anytime" seating for the main dining rooms and almost always sat with other couples and got to visit people from all over. I would say most of the crowd on this ship were in there 70's to mid-80's. A very nice group of people, we felt young being 56 and 65. We only took two of the offered excursions because we were meeting family on two of the islands. The whale watching in the bay at Maui was great, Humpback Whales that seemed to be everywhere in that bay. It was fun! There wasn't a cruise ship dock there so we had to us the ships Tenders. Added a few minutes getting off the ship, but no big deal and it was kinda fun. We took the wine tasting excursion during our stop at Ensenada, Mexico and absolutely loved it. Well organized and very smooth. They gave us two free bottles of wine and we couldn't be happier! We only attended one show the entire trip, for about ten minutes the first or second night. We were content sipping on wine and finding cozy spots on the ship to kick back and read. We probably won't do another Princess cruise based on the food issues. We just got spoiled on Celebrity. The crew on this ship went above and beyond to make you feel at home, we especially liked the "Main Dining Room Singers"! Disembarkation was smooth, we caught an uber to John Wayne Airport, no problems! We volunteered to give up our seats and ended up staying another day in Santa Anna, so we visited the Nixon Library in Yorba Linda. Another day well spent. Read Less

We chose a 16 day cruise to Hawaii to celebrate my wifes 50th birthday. The ship ( Emerald) is 12 years old but it was fine for our needs. Food: The buffet had choices and always found something to eat. The 24/7 cafe is very good as was the burgers and fries by the pool. We had a great time relaxing on the sea days to / from Hawaii. Great Pizza by the pool. Movies under the stars was great and food in general was good. Always a choice of options and waiters were always happy to assist and or change dishes as needed. Wine options are not great if you like sweet wine. 5 pools to swim in and always free space and not crowded. Gym is very good and plenty of space on the decks. The sanctuary is great if you need privacy. Dining room was very good but not excellent. Shows were ok but not fantastic. Crowd was too old to go to a disco but were always happy to go line dancing etc. All staff were friendly. Room attendant was efficient and serviced our needed. Ports in Hawaii were all good. We both had a great time and would go on Princess again. Read Less

Excellent cruise again. Easy embarkation. Our suite was perfect. The food and service were perfect. Entertainment was top notch. Disembarking was easy and very quick. We loved being on the ocean for a total of 10 days. Really the only thing disappointing was that we were not able to get off the ship at the stop on Maui as it was by tender boat and my husband is handicapped so he was not able to get on the tender. However, we were able to watch whales and dolphins and seals from the ship which was wonderful. We received wonderful service from the staff on the ship and were always treated with extreme care and concern. The entertainment was great. The shows were Vegas quality. They are always packed but Princess does a good job setting aside seats for this disabled and their partners. We will try to do our future cruises with Princess. Read Less

Ports and excursions. Great way to see 4 islands in Hawaii without the hassle of plane rides, car rental, accommodations, food, etc. Each island is unique. Maui had an unbelievable number of whales. There were about 10,000 in the area and we were there in peak whale watching season. Oahu was crowded but we did the hop on hop off experience. Saw and climbed Diamond Head, Boy for snorkeling as well as the north part of the island with the blow hole; past the area where Obama grew up and went to school. The big island of Hawaii was probably the most disappointing. Because of the recent eruptions, the tour could not get to where we were expecting to go. Not the cruise line's fault. If you like to be at sea the 4 days going and 5 returning were as expected. In all a great way to see the islands without the hassle mentioned earlier. The days at sea were filled with the usual cruise activities. There was plenty of trivia. Tai Chi was offered early in the day followed by a 45 minute Zumba class that was geared to all people (with various physical levels within the song ). Line dancing was very basic; but the learn to dance classes (7 dances - waltz, tango, swing, etc) were well taught. The entertainment by the cast was well done (Magic To Do is great); the guest performers were average but the 2 comedians were among the best we have seen. The room steward was excellent and very attentive ; the food at the fixed dining was excellent as was the service. In all a very enjoyable cruise. Read Less

We actually took this cruise because our good friends wanted to go to Hawaii and they like sea days. I'd read previous reviews , most of which were negative. Everyone was complaining about the condition of the Emerald Princess and how poor the staff were and bad food on board. WELL, I want to tell you they are all wrong!! The ship is due for a referb but it's by no means shabby. Everything was clean and shiny and everyone we came in contact with was OUTSTANDING! We'd never encountered a more service oriented or happy crew in all capacities and this was our 27th cruise. The quality of the food was EXCELLENT. The menus were imaginative and delicious and the Michelangelo Dining Room staff was top rate! Our waiter and his assistant (Lito and Jeffrey) were delightful and made our dining experience memorable every evening. Their Manager Alexander was so interested in how we were enjoying our meals. The cabin steward (Marlon) was pleasant and efficient and our balcony cabin was extremely comfortable. During the entire cruise we were contending with a big storm out of the North and our wonderful Captain Todd made it into all our appointed ports where others cancelled days ahead. He made a decision to stay safely in port in Hilo as the winds and waves were gale force that night. Everyone certainly appreciated that decision!. We had a Valentine's Day surprise where the Captain renewed our vows and presented us with a lovely certificate signed by him! Sorry this is so lengthy but I wanted to put a positive word in for this lovely older ship and her amazing crew. Read Less

It was an easy cruise to get to since we live in Arizona. We just wanted to get away on a cruise where we could just relax so we looked forward to the sea days. Plus we love the Hawaiian Islands so we always look forward to going back there. The entertainment was outstanding. We felt the entertainers were the best combination we have ever had on a cruise. Our room steward (Enrico), dining room waiter (Jack) and junior waiter (Edmund) were fantastic and rank with the best we ever have had serve us. The embarkation was the one negative point on the cruise. With a major raistorm on the embarkation day, the port was totally unprepared. You had to wait in a downpour of rain in a line outside of the tent for over an hour to drop off your luggage. Then you had to wait outside of another tent in the rain for another 45 minutes before you could get into the security tent. The City of Los Angeles should be totally embarrassed that this terminal is totally inadequate to handle a foul weather situation. Many people had the clothes in their suitcases totally soaked from the rain. Several people had clothes ruined from being soaked (like leather jackets). Now back to a positive. The food in the dining room would rank with the best we ever have had. The Chef did an excellent job of having a diverse menu and didn't repeat dishes on a 15 cruise. Take away the issue on embarking, it was a great cruise, Read Less

We left from Los Angeles and the weather was rough for the first couple days, but that was to be expected with a storm front. Embarkation went very well, very organized. Disembarkation was also very good. The cabin was good and the steward was excellent. Nearly all the food we order and the food on the buffet came to us lukewarm, at the best. The last 4 days, we found a terrific waitress in the Michaelangelo dining room. The best meal we had was the Specialty Dining at the Crown Grill. We also enjoyed good English Pub fish and chips on three days, for lunch. Entertainment was so so. We like the comedian and the ventriloquist, but the stage shows were really not that good. This is something we always used to enjoy on Princess. Service with the buffet staff was also so so. I often felt I was in their way, and that is not acceptable. The ports were good and the excursions we took (2) were very good. The big problem came in Maui. After our whale watching excursion (which was terrific) we went to the ship to eat, then back on the tender to town for some shopping. We waited in a HUGE line to get on the tender back to the ship. The line went at least a city block and kept growing. We got on the tender and headed out to the ship and the waters became rough, to say the least. When we approached the ship, the deck hands tied us up the the ship and at that point things went from bad to worse. Waves were slamming us against the ship, we heard the fiberglass on the tender crack against the ship. The ship was raising up and down, and our little tender was slammed against the metal rails since the bumpers had come off and left so protection for us. The deck hand in our tender was handing out barf bags to everyone and at least 35 people began throwing up. It was bad enough with waves not only going over and into the tender, but they were also going up and over into the ship. At that point, the deck hands ran away and up the stairs to avoid getting wet and leaving us still tied to the ship. They left us tied to the ship until we screamed at them to cut us loose! Finally, we got loose and the tender operator took us back out into the rough seas. He didn't seem to know to have the front of the tender facing into the waves, so we were sideways in the awful rocking water for over 2 HOURS! We left the dock at 5:15 and we finally got on the ship at 7:20 pm. Most of us could barely walk and once on the ship, the women began crying. The fear was real. We put on our life jackets because we though we were going to be turned over in the sea. It was the worse experience we have ever had and we have been sailing for over 15 years. We called and asked to speak to a supervisor or someone in charge. We were told they would call us back, NOPE! Not one peep from anyone in charge. I can guarantee you that a lot of us called and no one called any of us back. I was sick and barely able to walk, so my husband called the service desk and was told he would have to come down and get the sea sickness (meclazine) medicine if we wanted any. He went to the medical office and it was closed, so back up he went to the service desk, where they ended up having a couple packets of the pills. We missed our evening meal since we were so sick. No one on the Emerald Princess responded to our requests about this nightmare, AT ALL! We have done the Hawaii cruise twice before, but we will never do it again after that treatment. I will not be on Princess again after this cruise, either. This was the worst service in the restaurants, the worst food, and to top it off a tender from HELL. I cannot understand how the service on Princess could go downhill so completely in such a short amount of time. If you go on any cruise, but definitely Princess, you better think to take care of yourself and other passengers in an emergency, the crew does not care about you and you will be left to fend for yourself. We were on this cruise for our 40th anniversary, we got no mention of the special day, at all. Other cabins had birthday and anniversary signs, we got NOTHING. It was on our reservation, so there was no excuse. The ship is really showing it's age. We opted for a balcony cabin and it was nice, but the hallways are pretty banged up, the elevators were banging in between floors, tile is cracked and uneven. I heard the ship is going into dry dock in March, but it needed renovation more than a year ago from what we saw. I don't think there is enough seating for Movies under the Stars. Until the last sea day at a night that was pretty cool, we couldn't ever find seating. They are pretty stingy with the popcorn, too. The guy came around once with about a cup full of corn in the little bag. My husband didn't get any since he wasn't there when they handed it out and the guy never came back. I didn't realize we one had one chance to get some for the whole movie. The last Hawaii cruise was nothing like this. What a sad and frightening journey. Read Less

We selected this cruise because I wanted to have a string of at sea days to relax and enjoy the ship. Princess cruises have fabulous itineraries and our cruises have been dedicated to touring the ports on other cruises leaving scant time for enjoying the ship itself. Princess is a favorite because it is a cruise liner in the traditional sense. No mountain climbing or amusement park at sea. Just a beautiful, well laid out ship with a lot to offer for people from every walk of life in the style of yesterday with the all the trappings of of today's designs and interests. Beautiful Piazza, clubs, lounges, great entertainment. Our cabin, A-753 was one of two of the largest and we spent our days at the Lotus Spa enjoying treatments, reading on our balcony, enjoying the fine dining, shopping, taking in shows & trying out new experiences we hadn't had time for before. The Chef's Dinner was totally amazing. So from the start. The ship was beautiful. We embarked without a hitch and by the time we finished signing up for treatments, enjoying lunch at the International Cafe and exploring some we found when we arrived at our room that our Steward Tina had already had our bags inside and waiting for us to unpack. She offered help which was very kind. As Suite and Elite members we had many treats awaiting us and the expanse of the room was wonderful. Where we had thought a dining table and extra area wouldn't be used we quickly found out the more space you have, the more you can fill it up! The cabin was beautiful and although extra large the bar fixture with television in the living room was the same as the full suite we usually take so it was somewhat awkward in that it face the corner of your room instead of the living area itself. Needless to say when we watched a DVD with friends we were cuddled on the couch nearest the sliding glass door and our friends moved the chairs to that side as well. The Tv could not be seen from the other side of the couch! Still all in all, it was a hiccup that was easy to live with. The beds are glorious, the bathroom and whirl tub inviting and we couldn't have been more please. After the drill we relaxed a bit with some drinks and treats and got ready for dinner at the Crown Grill. Let me just say I have never been in a Crown Grill I haven't adored and this one was much more elegant than any of the other ships I had been on and almost twice as large. It looked like a NY Steak House and we dined on our favorite Onion Soup and a Fillet for me, Rib Eye for him! The vegetables, the dessert, the service, the food, it was all what we had expected and more. What a treat. As to other dining, we were once again happy to be at the Club Dining Room where the service was extraordinary. The wait staff was efficient, friendly and knowledgable. The extra items they served there proved to be what we mostly dined on! There's a feel of gaiety in Club Dining when Suite people get to meet each other and enjoy sharing stories and making friends. It's one of the best features Princess has added as far as I'm concerned. The food, which I always thought was okay on Princess was now good and really good! Each meal from service to the food itself was a delight. In the mornings we enjoyed our Suite Breakfast at Crown & Grill and I would have to believe that this is where all our weight came from! The eggs benedict were always perfect. The danish, the salmon, fruit, waffles, mimosas, Nemosas and Bloody Marys were all fabulous. The staff there was always happy, funny and engaging. It was a great way to start off our morning. As for the other venues, we really liked Share. It was our first time there and the "tasting" was extensive, varied and delicious. My favorite is the International cafe. I love their sandwiches and salads and my husband enjoyed their cakes and cookies as well. My favorite lunch place. As for activities, there were so many different offerings for people that no one could be bored. Games, crafts, music, dance, entertainment. You'd have to be totally dull not to find something to do. We like to "do" the Lotus Spa. I love the pampering and the Salon. We enjoy our treatments and opted for 90 minute treatments since we had so many sea days. They offer a new package. Where we did 3-2-1 twice over each they offered a package of ten so we could each have five and then whatever we added had the discount applied. After treatments we would meet in the Thermal room and enjoy that venue as well. So it was approximately over two hours later that we'd emerge and it took up a large part of the day. I also like to get my hair done at the salon after and their staff is always the best we've had. As a five star hotel needs to offer the best in personnel, so does a ship line for those people who know what to expect and want to receive it. They did not let us down. The staff we all friendly, fun and a joy to be with! Before I forget if you haven't done the Chef's table, cough up that money and do it! You feel like you're in a Michelin rated restaurant between presentation, foods and service. It was the biggest surprise for me of the entire trip. Their chefs are incredibly talented and this dinner is their time to shine....to provide a meal they can not do for the thousands they serve. It was too good to be true! And people always ask me about Princess tours vs. saving money and taking other tours. I say, in for a penny, in for a dime. Spend the money. Princess tours are generally well thought out and provide many different options. Face it, a cruise isn't going to introduce you in depth to an area. It's like a poo poo platter in a Chinese restaurant. You get a taste of what you are most interested in and if you want to go back and visit one day, you can! We opted for the Helicopter tour on Hilo which included a land tour of their most recent volcanic eruption. It was amazing. We learned a lot from our guide and totally felt immersed in the activity, legend and rhythm of the area. Couldn't have had a better tour. Enjoyed a lunch at a winery in between & picked up a strange critter on the road to take home to the tour's children. Our small tour group of six got on so well, we did another tour together and did a few more things throughout the cruise. Pearl Harbor's tour was okay, but where I usually choke up, read the names of all the brave heroes who have died and find myself totally part of the historical event, it just didn't happen for me. I'm not sure if it was the tour or the way it was set up or that we couldn't get onto the platform of the Arizona. But i'm glad i went. We also did the Luau that night and although I am glad I went to it I found it to be very commercial and not authentic. It is however, one of the highest rated on trip advisor and expedia and was offered by Princess so I went. I'm glad I experienced it but felt that there had to have been another luau somewhere that I had seen so many times in movies and in history books. The Maui tour we opted for was Whale watching & it was the most active day they said they had. We were fortunate to see so many whales and baby whales all over including twenty feet from our boat! Great and amazing. The last Island is of course known to most as the Jurassic Park/World island although I ventured more to South Pacific. We had a great tour, a sandwich lunch in a park and after we jumped on another helicopter and got to take in the amazing beauty of the Island that has captured so many hearts. I might have sang bali hai but we got back to our cabin and ordered up Jurassic World so we could see on tv what we had seen in real life. As of Ensenada I say nada. We didn't do a tour, I had no interest and the town was kind of nasty. But that's okay, my friends who did the Princess wine tour there loved it! Princess tours are great. And the best part of the tour is of course that Princess will not leave without you when you're on their tour. There had been something about tenders stuck at the ship in Maui that couldn't get near to the door to disembark because of the waves and some type of medical emergency. But as I listened to some of those passengers complain i could only think, Princess doesn't control a sudden rough current and their job when it happens is to keep you safe,, even if you're onboard the tender for thirty minutes. They wanted an apology. Let them go to church. Sometimes I just had to laugh at some of the expectations of other passengers but we all come from different places so it is what it is! Princess did a great job of handling the crisis. Everyone was safe and onboard ship. I don't want this to sound like a puff piece so here is my complaint. Even though I receive free internet with my husband for our level I still value it. And others had to pay. Princess knew that their internet wasn't working well at all. It would take over 30 minutes to download an email if you could! Most times you didn't get anything no matter where you were. It was an old system which didn't deliver. I believe they should have informed people about this. They were wonderful in crediting back your minutes. On land you could find a wifi to hook into and get some things done, but they should have been up front about it. That is my one take away that wasn't positive. I totally enjoyed this trip. I loved having the time to do the things on the ship I wanted to do. Seeing the shows in the theater (when you could get in), the entertainment at the clubs, a martini at the piazza. It was all good. They moved the elite lounge to the Fusion club and it was rather dark and cut up in there so I didn't use it this time but it didn't matter. You don't have to do everything! Yes, I love the happy hour and enjoy it on all the other ships but there was so much to do if you didn't do this. You just couldn't get bored. The people are great, the ship is beautiful, the rooms are fabulous, the food was great. What else could you want? Read Less

We didn't want to fly all the way to Hawaii from Philadelphia, so we choose this cruise because iwe wanted to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary with a cruise to Hawaii. This was not our first cruise, but was our first cruise on the Princess Cruise line. We were only in the four main Hawaian Islands for one day each so the rest of our time was on board the ship. Our cabin was small and had little room for storage. The bathroom and shower were even smaller. There were far too many people on board for the space available in the entertainment areas and you could not get seating at the shows unless you went there about 45 to 60 minutes before the show started. This became very stressful when you have to hurry your dinner schedule in order to get seating for an event. During the days at sea ther was little to do except for early in the morning. Few events were scheduled for the afternoons so we spent a lot of time naping or reading. On the last day of the cruise. I had to pay $25.00 dollars to use a computer for a few minutes to confirm my airline reservation and print our boarding passes. which I thought was outrageous. Considering the amount of money it cost us for this cruise, I have to say I foud it mostly boring and very overpriced. Based on our experience, I would not recommend Princess Cruise line. Read Less

Second time out on the 15 day cruise to Hawaii....especially like the long days a sea and familiarity with the Islands too. The Pacific was a little less than generous with the amount of sunny days, but then again, it is January. The ship enjoyed a good bit of rocking and rolling but gradual for the most part. Stabilizers are king. Cruise wise everything was on time, on schedule, well described by the Captain daily. The Emerald Princess is looking and feeling a bit tired. The staterooms are in need of sprucing up. The TV's are +6 years old technology. The carpeting, curtains etc., though not horrid, are dated. The bed is heavenly. We found that the ship is due for dry dock shortly which would explain the rust spots on the balcony----highly unusual. Additionally the dining/hospitality crew seemed at odds with the menu....confused and unaware of the ingredients and prep for some of the most obvious entrees. And for us anytime diners (the greatest invention since John Paul Jones) the dining room was the full length of the ship from our state room.......6x/day got a little tedious. The waiters and Captains used to offer us their take on various menu items. Neither happened at all. For the most part, however, the food offerings were good, a little lacking in variety especially fish dishes, but served attractively and in a timely manner. The Crown Grill and Curtis Stone's SHARE remain the top of the line on the Princess line or any line for that matter. Well worth the few extra dollars. We seldom do ship tours, but on this outing we did want to see Waimea Canyon on Kauaii and took the tour. Glad we did. Top drawer hostess/driver. On the other hand we took a tour on Hawaii which indicated some sort of "foodie" slant at three fabulous houses in the Hilo area. The houses were fabulous, The food not foodie fare....far from it. Not a keeper and very expensive. The entertainment on the Emerald features Tiki Dave and his wife Leialoha, a husband and wife tag team, who perform songs of the islands (and others) and during the day they teach anyone who wants to learn how to play the uke and/or the hula. They also host a daily Hawaiian arts and crafts seminar with purchasable yarn, beadwork, lei material etc. t hat proved very popular. Other entertainers were typical cruise fare. Homogenized stage shows, good solo bar background performers, the occasional magician or comedian. One thing Princess has always been noted for is consistency. The Emerald on this cruise showed some signs of wear, tear and change needed. Read Less

We have never been to Hawaii and thought this would be a great 2 weeks away from New York in January. Even though the weather was great (perfect in Hawaii) we just wanted to get off the ship and eat some decent food. Starting with the cabin, the day we boarded and started putting clothes on shelves and moving clothes from one shelf location to another we noticed a lot of dust on our clothes. Closer inspection revealed that the shelves and flat surfaces were covered with dust. My wife and I had to clean all of them before unpacking. Next was the shower. I didn't notice the first night because I didn't use the shower until the second day. The soap shelf was caked with old soap residue that was brown. It was disgusting. I asked the room steward to come in and clean the shower. She blamed the previous crew ands isn't speak much after that. The bed clothes were never changed. On the first morning my wife accidentally spilled some cereal on the sheet near the pillow. The same spill mark was there the whole 15 days. I complained to the front desk and was assured someone would contact me but that never happened. When I went down a few days later I was told that they spoke to our cabin stewards supervisor. Deplorable. Next is the food. The buffet had an underwhelming selection of food and sometimes we just walked away and went to Giovanni's Pizza. The Pizza was always good, always fresh. The milk was luke warm most everyday and I had a suspicion that it was powdered milk. The orange juice seemed like it was from concentrate with lots of sugar. It was also usually just cool. We almost always had to ask for ice. The Botticelli dining room was mediocre at best and nothing stood out as exceptional. I ordered a strawberry sundae for desert and there were no strawberries. Just juice. We enjoyed the company at the table but always left feeling disappointed about our meal. One night we decided to try the Crown Grill. As far as steaks go it was ok. Not great. Another night we tried Share from Curtis Stone. It was the best food on the ship. The pizza came in second. On a couple of days we ordered room service hamburgers which were ok. Again, not great. Our days in port were fantastic and we did our own excursions. On board entertainment was not special. There were a few decent acts but overall nothing we wanted to sit through. The crew was friendly. We first sailed with Princess back in 2008 to Alaska on the Dawn Princess. That one set the standard for us and everything was great. The food, the cabin, the dining, it was all fantastic. So either Princess has lowered the standard and is maximizing profit by way of offering substandard food or there is a wide difference from ship to ship. And it wasn't just us. Lot's of people felt the same way. Our next cruise is on the maiden voyage of Sky Princess in October. We are having second thoughts but we would expect the new ship to start off with a good impression. We will see. Read Less

heard and read good things about Princess and it went were I wanted to go, Hawaii. But compared to the cruise I went on with Carnival in 2013 Princess fell short in many areas. The food was Denny's class. Too many ship board pushy sales people and events. Internet useless. many activities were over crowded or just plain full. Our excursion was far from what the description stated, many parts missing. I liked the open dining but the scheduled dining took over an hour for dinner to arrive. The specialty dining did not live up to what I experienced on Carnival and I would not spend the money on them in the future. The shore excursions were quite expensive. Theater events were good, enjoyed them. loved our cabin. One....mind you one of the crew staff was something we both looked forward to seeing her for morning coffee. Won't use Princess again. Read Less

This was the first time we sailed from L.A. to Hawaii. Somewhat of a bucket list experience to cross such a distance. It was 4 days at sea going and 5 days at sea coming back. Two days in each direction were as our captain reported, "a little lumpy". It was not bad, just very slow rocking but we never felt seasick. Loved looking at the sea. Nothing out there, just water and sky, but very peaceful and loved having a balcony to meditate on the ocean. Three miles of deep ocean under our large ship. Glad we did it. Hawaii was great. Loved Wikiki. Take your suit and take a dip in the ocean. Get a drink at one of the beach bars. Kaiwai was boring but quiet and laid back , A country feel. Maui is striking. Didn't expect the steep mountains, in the back round. Loved Lailana. All kinds of places to eat, drink and shop, Wanna go back. ( Yum, coconut ice cream or coffee ice cream) Tender was way too hot going back. Don't sit where there is no air. Hilo was cool. Make sure you eat at Pineapples restaurant. Great local avocato salad, Used uber to get from ship to town. Two standouts, all the shows including atrium live music and "culture and nature" lectures. Learned a lot about Hawaii. Low points: Food on ship was boring. Think school lunch, blaa. Read Less

First ever cruise with Princess, but will also be our last. We have cruised with three other cruise lines previously, never have we been so disappointed. We were thinking perhaps our unpleasant experiences were a ‘one-off’ with Princess but having spoken with several Elite level passengers who had decided ‘enough was enough’ and that they would no longer cruise with Princess due to ongoing cuts and increasing poor service - we quickly realised a pattern had well and truly formed for the cruise line with no signs of improvement on the horizon. High time this ship went into dry dock. All chairs in the common areas had little to no padding left in them, VERY uncomfortable. Condescending entertainment crew. Sodas in every venue were flat. Entertainment and food were mediocre at best. A real shame, we were hoping to cruise again with Princess but this trip has certainly put us off. Met a couple of lovely elite level couples, if it wasn’t for them, the last 15 days would’ve been a complete write off. I might add, several other elite level passengers we spoke with all stated they would never cruise with Princess again. Read Less