Another wonderful cruise for our second Trans-Atlantic! This 15-day Trans-Atlantic paired six amazing European ports with nine relaxing sea days. Not surprisingly, the passengers were almost all Princess platinum or elite sailors - most everyone was standing in the priority check-in line! My fellow sailors were nearly all retirement age or older. This itinerary was quite popular - and the ship was nearly all booked. What to know about the Emerald Princess: If you want to walk outside for exercise, the Promenade Deck straddles both Deck 7 and 8, making it tough. Instead, go to the track on Deck 18 - although you walk 16 times around for a mile! Activities included port lectures by Carla (pretty awesome...) and first-run movies - my favorites. Lectures on the nautical and technical aspects of the ship were popular. Several arts and crafts were available but tended to conflict with port lectures. Trivia was held multiple times each day and vigilantly attended by its fans. There were presentations on finance and retirement planning which were very elementary. New shows were presented each night, sometimes several. There was usually plenty of room in the Princess Theater, but space in the Explorers Lounge was limited. Our cabin (E214) was just above the Princess Theater so we could hear all three nightly shows whether we attended or not. Booked an interior about nine months and crossed our fingers for an upgrade. No luck. Paid for our own upgrade to Oceanview a few weeks before sailing! The room had plenty of space and we could see well over the life boat - but it wasn't as plush as the mini-suite we paid for during our previous ocean crossing. Cabin service was quite average. The room stayed clean, but nothing extra - not even a towel animal. We opted for traditional dining at first seating (5:30 p.m.) with a table for six. Two of our tablemates never came to dinner, but we enjoyed nightly conversation the other couple. Our dining staff was amazing! Husband always had his Diet Coke ready and waiting. My dessert coffee was delivered without fail. Our waitress could tell if something needed a fix by watching our faces! Her boss, the head waiter, made routine rounds to each table, filling drinks, if needed. The excursion desk was a bit lacking. There was always a line of people - only 2-3 staff members were available at a given time and desk hours were short (three in the morning and three in the afternoon.) Excursions were not always what the online description read and changes were not communicated. Our excursion guides were informative and helpful. Fellow passengers who failed to return on time made us so frustrated. In Dublin, the guide had to drag people out of the shops after they were 25 minutes late - cutting short our own visiting time!! Cohb, Ireland and our excursion to the Blarney Stone was the very best excursion of the trip. The scenery was beautiful, weather clear and the people were so welcoming. Our guide and bus driver were the very best - and ensured that we had the opportunity to kiss the Blarney Stone even when we were not scheduled to do so. Disembarkation went smoothly because UK customs officials visited the ship on a sea day. However, it took more than an hour to leave the pier on our Princess-arranged bus. Hotels: We stayed at Harbor Beach Inn in Fort Lauderdale. Next time, we will return to our favorite: Bahai Mar (Hilton Doubletree). In London, we stayed at the Grange Tower Hotel (it is one of the Princess hotels but I made my own arrangements) and we were very pleased. It is within walking distance of the Tower Bridge and Tower of London. Nearby, there are so many restaurants (check our the one across the street) and shops (two grocery stores on the block.) The accommodations were quite luxurious. Spent two days in London - used the Hop On Hop Off to see the sights. Buy tickets at any stop (we booked online and had to go to Trafalgar Square to get the voucher validated. Probably cost us more that way!) Took a cab to the airport - cost was a fixed 69 Pounds. One can get there via public transportation but we did not want to drag four suitcases. It was well worth the money ($109 per person) to upgrade our eight-hour Heathrow to Washington DC-Dulles air fare from Economy to Economy Plus (more seat room, plus we reserved the row with only two seats. Fortunately, the plane was rather empty in that class and we were able to spread out!! The Dulles to Phoenix flight was full and the five hours onboard seemed longer than our trans-Atlantic! Read Less

This was my 4th cruise, the 3rd with Princess. I was traveling with my wife (her 6th cruise) and we left a cold Wisconsin a Day early and flew to Fort Lauderdale, we stayed at the Holiday Inn express right near the cruise port. During the day we took the Sun Trolley and rode to the beach. The next day for $8 ea we got a shuttle from the hotel to the cruise ship which was a short ride. Our cabin was an inside cabin (B224) on deck 11. Gabriel was our room steward and did a fantastic job. Through the cruise critic roll call board we had a Meet and Greet on the first sea day. We had about 20 cruise critic members show up and also had the captain, cruise director, assistant cruise director, head of the hotel and head of the bars. It was really a good time and we made many new friends. We usually had breakfast in the Horizon or Caribe buffet. Dinner was in the Michaelangelo dinning room. Food was good, we were a little disappointed in the fruit selection on the buffet in that they never had any papaya. The service in the dinning room was excellent with my favorite wait team being Anna and Archie, they did a great job. Also Olena the hostess was very pleasant and did a good job of seating us quickly. Many meals were a shared table and we met many interesting people. We did have lunch a couple of times at the International Cafe which is also very good. Kelvin (cruise director) and Adam (assisant cruise director) were very entertaining. They did a wake up show every morning on the TV which was worth watching. All the trivia and games they did were really entertaining. The shows were well done and just the right length. The comedians were okay but not great. Our first stop was Antigua, we had arranged a tour through Antigua Adventures it was their Xtreme Circumvent tour. This was on a fast boat, we snorkeled with the Sting Rays, had a nice picnic lunch on a deserted beach, did another snorkel stop and a final beach stop with Rum punch. All the while we went completely around the island and saw many sights. The boat was Captained by Shaun with David and Travis as crew. They made the tour very enjoyable telling us local history, information and sights . This was a 6-7 hour tour, but Captain Shaun had us back with plenty of time to spare to be back on the ship. On Barbados we went with 2 couples that we met at the M & G and did a day at the beach. Our original plans were to go to the Lobster Alive via taxi , our taxi driver talked us into going to Harbor Lights instead, we got 2 beach chairs and an umbrella for $15 and use of their restrooms, I thought it was a really good deal and the beach was fabulous. I think it was the nicest beach of any of the islands we visited. Our taxi driver was right on time for our return trip. On St Lucia we did the Cosol Tour, this is an outstanding tour. They split us into groups of 8 per van, we had Sam as our driver and tour guide, he was informative on the local information and history, the tour started with a banana plantation with eating a tree ripened banana which is much more flavorful than what we get here in Wisconsin, we had several stops for us to take photos, went to the drive in volcano, the rest of our group opted to take a mud bath there, stopped at a water fall for a dip in the cool water. Also there was a stop where they had tables full of local food for our sampling. A beach and snorkel stop via water taxi. Near the end we made a stop and got a cheese sandwich with homemade bread that was unusual and delicious. During the entire tour there was the blue van which was filled with soda, water, rum punch and Piton Beer (which was very tasty). I would highly recommend this tour, at the time we took it the price was $65 ea and well worth it. We were back to the ship with plenty of time to spare. On St Kitts we did a ship snorkel tour which was OK. Also my wife bought some diamond earrings at the Gold Mine store, where we were treated very well and I think we got a pretty good deal. St Thomas we did a beach day with the couple we meet at the M & G, we got a taxi and went to Coki beach, got a beach chair for $5 ea. It was a bit of a ride to get there about 25 min. but it was a nice beach and a very pleasant day. On the way back to the port the driver made a few stops for some scenic photos. We had the driver drop us off downtown so we could do some shopping. As we were walking along the street the stores had people trying to get us to come into the store almost to the point of physically dragging us in. It was very uncomfortable and we left the downtown very quickly and went back to the ship. We had wanted to buy some bamboo sheets for our bed. Downtown the price was $290, we checked the store at the port and found the same item for $175 which included shipping to our home. Nassau was our last stop and we did the scenic harbor cruise and snorkel tour through the ship. First we had trouble even finding where the tour met. Then we were herded through a very long distance and busy areas to the boat to take us on the tour. We were split into 2 groups supposedly going to the same place but I never saw the other boat at the snorkel site we went to. We ended up snorkeling in 1-2 ft waves, we did see a large amount of fish, but I would not recommend this tour to anyone. We also took the Ultimate ship tour which was on the last sea day. The tour lasted about 4 hours but was extremely interesting and we got to see parts of the ship that most passengers don' get to see. This tour included a tour of the bridge done by the captain which was very good. I would recommend taking this tour. Both embarkation and disembarkation went okay, there were some lines but nothing that didn't keep moving. In summary this was a fantastic cruise. The Emerald Princess has a great crew and made for a memorable vacation. Read Less

This review covers a 10 day Southern Caribbean cruise and a 15 day trans-Atlantic cruise. My wife and I have trusted Princess Cruises with providing high quality, memory-making holidays for many years and this cruise did not disappoint . On the Caribbean cruises sailing we were in a group of 9 friends who have met monthly for 40 years for dinner at each others homes. While we cannot speak for the others, we must say we had an absolutely wonderful cruise and look forward to our next Princess cruise experience. Once again Princess exceeded our expectations regarding food, service, onboard activities, friendliness of the crew, and itinerary. We do not know how Princess keeps up their high standards but we are so glad to be the recipients of such attention to detail and professionalism. Embarkation: The port is crowded on turnaround day but we did not wait long to board. It appears that a number of hotels in the area have ceased providing complimentary transportation to the pier and now a contracted provider is used for this purpose at a $6 or $8 per person fee. Check-in went smoothly, we logged our wine onboard quickly. A jovial port hospitality person entertained us with jokes and stories while waiting for the gangway to open. Our walk aboard was smooth with numerous Princess employees welcoming us to the ship. It was a great start to the cruise. Cabin: Spotless and neat with a great first impression. We met Karn, our cabin attendant, right away and knew from the start we were going to be well looked after. We have always thought very highly about our cabin attendants but Karn turned out to be the best we have ever experienced. Not once did we have to ask him for anything, he seemed to know what we were going to request before we spoke to him. The cabin was constantly refreshed with basic supplies and amenities. Great location amidships, we felt no ship pitching motion and only a slight roll on a few occasions. Crossing the Atlantic was like crossing a lake! The oversized balcony was great for enjoying our daily breakfasts and lunches both of which were brought up from the International Café. Food: Dining was superb in both food quality and service. One of our group is on a gluten-free diet and each evening the section head waiter came by to discuss her dinner option for the following evening. The section head waiter visited with us each evening to check on our satisfaction with our meal choices. We heard no complaints from our friends and we thoroughly enjoyed our meals. We bought a "silver 12 bottle" wine package for this sailing and the subsequent one and it lasted the entire 25 days we were at sea. The soups were amazing, the starters varied and beautifully presented, the salads fresh and appealing, and the entree's whether meat, fish, or fowl, were all excellently prepared. We usually stuck with the sorbets or berries for dessert but enjoyed the crème brulee's and a black forest torte on a couple of occasions. Activities: We participated twice in the Boutique Fashion Shows organized by Ana Paula from Calypso Cove and had a lot of fun doing that. One of us joined the Princess Pop Choir and the rehearsals were fun and the three performances in the Piazza were crowd pleasers. Good job by Corinne from the Cruise Director's staff for getting the group of 30+ singers to perform confidently. We also took some Spanish language classes from Yris. We intend to do all of these activities on future cruises. Cruise Director: How fortunate we were to have Kelvin Joy as our CD! This was our 4th and 5th sailing with him and in our opinion he is the best CD in the Princess fleet. What sets him apart from the others is his spontaneity, the ability to go with whatever his audience gives him, his on-stage presence which seems fresh even though one can tell he's told the same stories repeatedly, and his willingness to stop and chat as he passes through the ship. He's incredibly funny at music trivia events and has a quick wit. His staff was a lot of fun especially Yris who was our Spanish instructor. We've sailed with her before and she remembered us, greeting us with hugs every time we met her. Boutiques: The young men and women who work as Boutique staffers were so much fun to visit with and get to know. Ana Paula, Charlotte, Jerome, Kurt, Natalia, Kristina, Lujpco, Gabriella, and Daria, in Calypso Cove, Facets, Meridien Bay, and Essence are all wonderful ambassadors of Princess. They were so helpful with our decision making and never once exerted any pressure on us to purchase anything. We visited each one at least once daily and they all contributed to the very positive experience we had on our holiday. Entertainment: Even though we've experienced most of the stage production shows in the past we enjoyed the shows again and admired the skills and talents of the orchestra, singers and dancers. We thought the singers and dancers were the best we've seen in recent years. The headliners were quite good with one exception. Pianist Maria King was phenomenal, with a wide range of music from classical to country. We could listen to her play every evening. Comedians Tom Briscoe and George the Irish comic were very funny. Saxophonist Oli Nez put on a great show. We did not care for Gary T. Carpenter's comedy act at all. The movies on TV were surprisingly good. Watching a movie at MUTS was a bit challenging at times and we think seat location has a lot to do with movie enjoyment outside. Popcorn and milk and cookies are a nice touch at MUTS. Piazza entertainers amazed us with their talents but that is a tough venue to perform in as there really isn't enough room for spectators and some onlookers are not very respectful to the performances. We enjoyed a number of game show events in Explorer's Lounge with the Marriage Game, the Yes/No Game, Majority Rules Game, and the various music and other trivia games being our favorites. Any activity hosted by Kelvin was a hoot.   Read Less

I had a balcony on the Port even side on the 11th Floor. The room was very roomy and comfortable; free Egyptian cotton white robe to use during your cruise, exclusive shower/hair gel-which is not for sale anywhere, however my cabin Stewart gave us a bottle of the shower/hair gel. I really enjoy the luxury of wearing my night gowns/pajama set and robe to the breakfast buffet without an employee saying a word. Also, watching the movie under the stars is a great touch- wearing my pajamas with my robe. The pool chairs are lined with a blanket and pillow and you get another blanket to keep you cozy along with popcorn. The Afternoon Tea is a very excellent offer for free every day. I also had a seafood boil which consists of petite lobsters, steam shrimp, steam clams,sweet corn and boiled petite red potatoes for an extra $20. I did not dine in the other dining rooms for a fee. Emerald offered for free an Englishmen lunch which consists of fish and chips, shepherds pie, strawberry sponge cake soak in a liquor and for a fee you can have an English beer. The private island beach is very nice and you have free shelter or you can rent a clam shell for a fee. The BBQ lunch offered on the private island beach was not of my quality. The shopping boutiques are impressive-jewelry, eye wear shades, perfume, clothes, and a general store. I really enjoy the seminars during sailing at sea- you can win free items. I won a free an exclusive only made for Princess Cruise genuine leather portfolio to keep my passport, airline tickets, and other items. The entertainment is professional and had the entertainer that won the first Star Search- awesome. Read Less

We loved the ship from the moment we stepped aboard. It had a warm, friendly feel to it, in spite of carrying over 3,000 passengers. Food: Breakfast was self-service and there was plenty to choose from - fresh fruit, cheese and smoked salmon to bacon and eggs, fluffy American pancakes and even rice pudding. Lunch was also self-service and there was always an interesting variety as well as the staple salads and fruit. It was slightly disappointing that there was not more Caribbean food, since this was the area we were visiting, but that's a very small point. Dinner was fantastic. We chose anytime dining and rarely waited more than 10-15 minutes for a table for two. Had we chosen to share a table, we would have been seated immediately. They have an excellent process when you're waiting for a table - they give you an electronic pager so you can go and have a drink while you're waiting instead of standing in line. Every evening we were spoilt for choice as the menu was so varied. The meat and steaks, as you would expect on an American ship, we're first class and seafood abounded. All four courses were beutifully presented and we felt as if we were dining in a top class restaurant. As the food was so good in the main restaurant, we didn't feel the need to pay extra to try out their fine dining restaurants. Afternoon tea was a delight and completely unexpected on an American ship. While a pianist played in the background, we were served a variety of little sandwiches and rolls, warm scones, cream and jam and a variety of little fancies, all by white-gloved waiters. There was a lovely little cafe next to the main piazza where you could get rolls, salads and a variety of little cakes, pastries and ice cream for free at any time of the day or night. We often sat there with a coffee (which you had to buy) listening to the piano player in the piazza. There were lots more restaurants and eateries on the ship that we didn't try - the pizza bar was particularly well patronised. Gratuities Like many Brits, we were appalled at the automatic adding of so much a day per person to our bill for gratuities to all staff. On boarding, I immediately went to the front desk and asked for these to be removed. This was done graciously with no fuss and we tipped those persons who had been particularly helpful during the cruise. All drinks and coffees carried an automatic 15% tip. All American cruise ships do this, not just Princess. Entertainment The theatre shows were of a very good standard and the ships's singing and dancing group performed numerous different routines. The majority of the ship's evening entertainment centred around music and. if you didn't want to drink in one of the many excellent themed bars, see a show or listen to live music, then that was it. That's not a criticism as there was a huge variety of things to go on board during the day. Movies under the stars was a delight but even better was the fact that they repeated the film in the theatre next day and on your cabin TV the day after so you had three chances to see it. All the films were very recent. While piped music played all day everywhere, it was never intrusive and matched the time of day - lovely, gentile guitar music at breakfast for instance and no music at all in the well-stocked library. A huge criticism we had with Celebirity Cruises was the blaring pop music from every oraface: not so with Princess. Where they missed a trick was in the enrichment classes. They consisted entirely of spa/health type subjects like healthy eating, losing weight, joint pains etc. The ship had a huge section devoted to art and some classes on art history would have been welcomed. There were no lectures about the ports we would be visiting and no visiting lecturers on any subject. Shame, really. The Cruise Dirctor, Kelvin, is a Brit and he was hilarious and knew his job inside out. He reflected the overall atmosphere of the ship - fun, but not in-yer-face American. There were about 20% of us Brits on board but we didn't feel overwhelmed by the vast amount of Americans. Those we met were absolutely charming. Formality We found Princess less formal that Celebrity. There were two formal nights and we were given free champaigne cocktails on the first one. It was disappointing to see that they didn't strictly enforce the dress code, though. One man was allowed in the restaurant in black jeans and a polo shirt on a formal night and some men had open-necked shirts. At times I saw some mini shorts, flip flops and t shirts at dinner - not on! If people prefer informality in the evening, they can use the self service restaurants. Overall we had a wonderful cruise with Princess and can't wait to travel with them again. Read Less

I have just got back from my first cruise and I am hooked! Firstly the destination, the Caribbean was a brilliant choice for those that enjoy the sun. Sailing for a couple of days and then a different island to visit each day is a lovely way to see some of the Caribbean, each island offering something different to see. I did tours to most of them and did various things from site seeing to beaches, swimming with dolphins, catamaran trips with snorkelling. Secondly, the ship, Emerald Princess was built in 2007 and is immaculately kept. The atrium which is mid ships and is 3 storeys high offers a resplendent focal point with shops, entertainment, restaurant, passenger services area. Our internal cabin was spacious and well-presented with ample storage, a safe, dressing table/desk, en-suite shower room with toiletries, towels, pool towels. Our cabin steward, Allan could not do enough for us and seemed to work 24 hours a day! There were several pools, one with an outdoor cinema and up to date films. There are self service restaurants, which are open most of the day, I couldn't fault the food at all, it was excellent, lots of polite, helpful staff throughout the boat from all corners of the world. There is plenty to do each day or just sun yourself round the pool. There are also some sit down restaurants, which served excellent food with attentive service. Also, some restaurants you have to pay additional amounts for $25 each and have to book. I understand they were good but did not see the need to pay the extra. Thirdly, the entertainment. There are several bars each with something taking place from karaoke, bingo, ballroom dancing lessons to groups playing, quizzes etc. there are 3 shows each evening from a comedian, impersonator, singing and dançing. The shows were good but a little disappointing, possibly there should be two a night which are longer than the half hour three times a night. I expected something akin to West End shows, but they were more performances rather than shows. There are some shops selling handbags, jewellery, watches, duty free goods, clothes, an Internet cafe, tour booking office, casino. Fourthly the tours we booked through the ship were not cheap but were well organised and we enjoyed the great variety. If you just want to get off the boat you can just go ashore and do your own thing. I understand from others that it was safe and easy to catch a taxi and you can just visit nearby beaches for the day. I was disappointed to see that water was being sold for $2 a small bottle each time you left the ship to go ashore. I think this should have just been handed out for free given that it was hot and the need to keep hydrated. I went swimming with dolphins on Tortola . The experience was wonderful, but felt that the food, which was very slow in arriving, was also very expensive, $14 for a burger and chips! They have a captive audience and you have no option as the trip spans a lot of the day! You were also not allowed to take your own photos as they wanted you to buy theirs at an extortionate price! $35 for one picture on a DVD! All the other trips I took either included food and drink or there was the opportunity to purchase them at a reasonable price from different outlets. The things I disliked were the automatic tipping added to your bill of $11.50 per day. You can however go to Passenger Services at the beginning of your trip and have this deducted from the bill and tip the people you wish to tip at the end of the trip, which is what I did. The ship does not miss an opportunity to make money, by constantly taking your photo and trying to sell them to you and the cost to use the Internet is not cheap. This can be purchased either pay as you go or in a package of minutes. You have to make sure you log out each time or the cost keeps running, which I found to my cost, when 48 of my 110 minutes was 'used' without me realising! You can purchase drinks packages, such as soft drinks and speciality coffee. The soft drinks package was well worth it as you only needed to have about 2 a day to cover the cost, although the variety is limited and is from the soda fountain and not cans. I think there should be made available a package that includes all drinks, at a reasonable cost and which could be purchased or included in the cost in advance. I also felt there should have been a complimentary welcome drink when you went on board. There was a champagne fountain on one of the formal evenings and complimentary fizz. There were two formal evenings and the rest were smart casual. This was not strictly implemented as lots of passengers did not change from their shorts and T shirts. All in all it was an excellent and very enjoyable holiday, which I would recommend. Read Less

We had never been on a cruise before. This was a good one to start with. 3 days at sea and 5 ports. It was a mostly older crowd. The staff was lovely and so was the weather! Having never cruised before, I have nothing to compare it to. However, my only complaint would be the food. While there is quantity (you can as eat as much as you want, whenever you want) there is very little quality. If your idea of a good restaurant is The Old Country Buffet or The Olive Garden, you will be fine. We were just used to a little higher standard - in both dining out and the meals we make at home. The only food we had that was really excellent was in the Crown Grill (for which you have to pay extra). Also, the coffee at the buffet is terrible. I tolerated it on the mornings that I had to, but did get real brewed coffee in the restaurants and from the coffee bar (had to pay extra) more than once. I'm not a coffee snob by any means, but what they serve you at the buffet and for room service is not good. Nice room. Room decor is a little dated compared to the rest of the ship. Excellent room steward kept it clean and was very accommodating and unobtrusive to our varying daily schedule. I will say that having a balcony on THIS floor is perfect. The floors below have a larger balcony that extends beyond our floor - so everyone above can see onto your balcony. I liked the privacy of the smaller balcony on the Baja Deck.   Read Less

Pre-Cruise My wif and I flew into Ft. Lauderdale late the night before the cruise. Stayed at the Hampton Inn Ft Lauderdale Airport North Cruise Port. Free shuttle to hotel from airport and shuttle for a nominal fee to the port. This hotel is in a convenient location to the airport and cruise port with a strip mall with department stores, liquor store, and restaurants right next door. Management makes an extra effort to please cruisers. Will stay here again. Embarkation First time out of Port Everglades in awhile and it definitely takes a little longer to get on the ship in this port. Arrived at port around 11:45 am and it took till about 1:15 pm before we were in the Da Vinci Dining Room for Lunch. Our room was ready upon embarkation and we dropped off out carry on luggage before lunch. Ship The Emerald was in great shape and we were glad to be back on a Princess Grand Class ship. We know the layout well and like to spend our time in our favorite areas, the Piazza, the International Cafe, around the Promenade, and at the Lotus Spa Pool. Cabin We had an Oceanview Cabin forward on the Plaza Deck. We found this to be a great location. It was extremely quiet and the only noise we ever heard was when they were moving sets above us in the Princess Theater. We loved the fact that we were extremely close to the International Cafe and the Piazza and yet we did not hear any noise from those areas. Food We had anytime dining in the main dining rooms and were assigned to the Michaelangelo Dining Room but found on most nights we could also be seated at the Da Vinci Dining Room if space was available. Between the two we were always able to be seated immediately if we would share a table or with a short wait if you wanted a table for two. Most of the tables for two are so close to other tables for two that we soon realized you had much more room if you would share a large table. The food was good as usual, not great, but we always found something we liked on the menu. We ate at the Horizon Court Buffet for most of our breakfasts as the variety and flavor seems to be better there in the morning than at the main dining rooms. We did not eat at the specialty restaurants but did enjoy pub lunches on sea days. Entertainment The highlight in this area was the Cruise Director, Kelvin Joy. On our ten cruises we have been on he is right at the top of the list along with Matt Baker who used to work for NCL. We went to and enjoyed all the shows in the Princess Theater and the quality of the acts seem to be the same from cruise to cruise on Princess. Shore Excursions We love the Southern Caribbean Itineraries. As always, we had some wonderful excursions at our ports of call. Princess Cays Water was warmer here this year and enjoyed swimming, snorkeling and the quieter beach to the right of the the tender marina as you come in from the ship. We shared a clamshell with another couple who were nice enough to allow us to use if for the afternoon after they used it in the morning. St. Thomas-Jester Sailing This was a independent booking made with Jester for a 10-4 sailing with a total of six people from Secret Harbor to St. John. We had done a similar tour with the Yacht Nightwind before and have also been to St. John a couple of times with other excursions. We love to sail and love the beaches and water in the Virgin Islands. The only worries I always have are time it takes you to get a taxi both going to and coming back from excursions from the Crown Bay Dock in St. Thomas. Even with getting off the ship at 8:30 am it still took us till about 9:45 to get a cab and make it to Secret Harbor. They always want to take additional passengers and make additional stops. This time we had to go to the Red Hook Ferry Dock first with other people. But we did make it on time and took a dinghy from shore to the sailboat. We met two other couples on the sailboat and had a wonderful day sailing to Honeymoon Beach on St. John then swimming and snorkeling, having lunch and drinks, and continuing on to Christmas Cove for another swimming and snorkeling stop. Food and drinks were good and plentiful all day. A great excursion. We did have the stress of the taxi on the way back again as we did not get back to the dock until 4:45 pm for a 5:00 pm departure. Don't know if we will keep doing these independent sailings on St. Thomas. Dominica-Woody's Off the Beaten Trail This was the best shore excursion we have ever done! We had a private tour for the two of us scheduled with Woody for our entire time in Dominica. Woody met us right at the pier and walked with us to his four wheel drive vehicle where we met his son Warren. He asked us if it would be okay if Warren rode along with us outside in the back of the vehicle while we toured. We told him that would be fine and Warren actually ended up being my buddy for the whole day and doing some waterfall swimming, rock climbing, river crossings and other adventures with me. We had been to Dominica before and had a wonderful time hitting all of the main attractions for first timers. This tour was about going to a lot of other places on the island that we missed the first time and getting off the beaten trail. We visited waterfalls, soaked in hot springs, waded in rivers on both the Atlantic and Caribbean sides of the island, swam in the Caribbean, went on dirt and rock roads, and saw many wonderful sights all over the island. Woody is the best. Grenada-Rhum Runner Our time in port was short and we decided to do a Princess Tour on the Rhum Runner. We had a good time on this boat. We did a short water tour on our way to Morne Rouge Beach. There was a calypso band playing while we were touring and the drinks started flowing. We had a couple of hours to enjoy this beautiful beach. On the way back the band started playing and the dancing began. Rum and sun and music all day! Bonaire-Woodwind Snorkel This excursion gets some of the highest recommendations on Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor. Unfortunately we did an afternoon snorkel when the conditions were not the best. After a walk to their dock we met the morning snorkel as they were coming in. It was obvious that they had a wonderful time based on their comments as they were getting off the boat. However, as we were boarding the boat the weather became windy and cloudy. When we got off of the coast of Klein Bonaire the water was quite choppy. A few of the snorkelers got in and then back out because they didn't like the rough seas. I stayed in but then the jellyfish came out and started stinging. This again sent some people back to the boat but I stuck with it and endured many minor stings. We did see lots of fish and many turtles chasing the jellyfish. When I got back to the boat they did put cream on the stings. They said the jellyfish were not dangerous and there would be no lasting effects. I did not have any problems. Not the best day. Aruba-Bus to Eagle Beach We went on our own to the bus station and lined up for the #10 bus to the beaches. It was going to be twenty minutes until the next bus but they brought over a large van and we were off to Eagle Beach. We got off at the Amsterdam Manor and rented loungers. This was an easy excursion to do on your own, you can stay on the same bus and go to Palm Beach if you like. We had a beautiful day on the beach and when we were finished a bus came along within five minutes to take us back to the bus station which is a short walk from the dock. Great day at one of the prettiest beaches in the world. Disembarkation and Tour Met our tour group in one of the main dining rooms. We then were called to disembark and quickly proceeded off the ship to pick up our baggage, go through customs, and get on a bus to start our tour. Everything went smoothly and we were on the bus in no time. Our tour took us on an Everglades Airboat Ride and then on to Flamingo Gardens and Wildlife Sanctuary before returning to the Ft Lauderdale Airport. This was a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend a few hours before heading home. Summary We love the Southern Caribbean, the Princess Grand Class Ships, and ten day cruises. This was a wonderful cruise! Read Less

This was our first cruise so I had no idea what to expect. People I spoke to at home either love cruising or hate it. After completing this cruise we are hooked! We chose this cruise based on the itinerary and the fact that it was not a "family cruise". It was mainly older people which was fine with us, even tough we are in our 30's and 40's. There was kids on the cruise, though you would never have known. They were not misbehaved or loud at any time. It was super easy to meet new friends on board as well. We ended up meeting some great people who we spent a lot of time both on ship and in port with. From start to finish this was an amazing cruise. CABIN: We had a balcony on Caribe (the largest balcony in a regular non suite room). Was worried the room would feel claustrophobic, but the room was spacious enough and the huge balcony was perfect. We had partially private balcony, and partially exposed to above cabins. Plenty of closet space. Lots of storage space for all our belongings as well. Our cabin steward was fantastic going the extra mile each day to make us feel special. He kept it spotless and worked around our schedule of us spending time in our room. Was nice to read on our balcony instead of sitting by the people with everyone else. FOOD: I have read other reviews from people saying that the food was not good. I do not know where they ate (buffet maybe?) We ate in the dining room (anytime dining) every night and there was not one meal that we were not 100% satisfied with and never left hungry. We did do formal nights at Crown Grill and Sabatinis (specialty restaurants $25 extra). Both were excellent. At Sabatinis we ate basically a 9 course meal. We were there for 3 hours. If you enjoy good food you will not be disappointed. The deserts were also to die for in all dining rooms. There is no doubt I put on weight this trip! We ate in the buffet only twice for breakfast as we missed the dining room cut off. We did anytime dining and sat both alone and at shared tables. PORTS: We chose this cruise specifically for the ports. We wanted all ports to be new to us. We stopped at Antigua, St. Luica, Barbados, St. Kitts, St. Thomas, Bahamas. I will not review each port as everyone's tastes are different when it comes to shore activities. We spent most time on shore at beaches and they did not disappoint. We did both Princess tours and our own exploring. Doing our own thing was best for us as you chose exactly where to go and could choose how long to stay at each place. Getting a reliable cab in each port was very easy. Just remember to decide on a rate before you get in. ENTERTAINMENT: There was amble entertainment every day. We did movies under the stars twice, watched a hypnotist, a comedian and saw vocal impressionist Sean O'Shea. He was best entertainment on board. At our show he received a standing applause!   Read Less

The cruise was nice, and the food in the buffet was AMAZING. The deserts were the best part. The ship was clean, and elegant. I was 26, and I went my 73 year old parent. The activities tended to be geared more toward older people (retirement age people). For example, they had some guess the song activity, and all of the songs were from the 1960s and 1970s. They also had bingo, art sales, and a Princess Pop Idol competition where guests would sing. But, everybody was fun and I had a GREAT time. There were a couple of dress up nights, but nobody is forced to dress up. I saw some people not dressed up. We were supposed to stop at the Princess Cays port, but with the tender, the water was too rough, and it was deemed unsafe to stop. However, we were able to make all of the other stops, and I appreciate the fact that safety was a priority. The nightly entertainment usually took place in the very nice Princess theater. Three nights had the Princess singers/dancers perform shows (that include singing/dancing to a theme, like disco). Other entertainment included a female hypnotist from Canada, a show from comedian Rondell Sheridan, singing by a member of the Letterman (Mark Preston, but I don't remember), and another comedian whose name I do not remember. Overall, the entertainment was good. Read Less

Overall, a fantastic cruise. we started with a 3 night stay in Fort Lauderdale. We arranged our own airfare and wanted a good cushion in case the flights were delayed - also flights midweek were half the price of weekend flights. Took a limo/SUV to the port, and the embarkation process was relatively painless. Got there fairly early (12:30) and had a pretty quick progress through the various queues. Got on board, dropped our light luggage in our room and proceeded up to the party on deck. Overall we were really pleased with the Emerald. Despite having so many people on board, it never felt crowded. Never had a problem getting 4 deck chairs together, never had a problem getting seats at the shows. Tendering also had minimal waits. So our biggest worry (too many ppl in one place) never materialized. A lot of this should should be credit to Princess, the ship and amenities are well planned out to maximize space and minimize issues. We thought sharing one coffee bar with 2600 other ppl might be an issue - it wasn't. Our Cabin was an inside, deck 8 - shared with 4 ppl (1 family). Not a huge cabin, but well laid out. Having a "private" closet area next to the bathroom meant that the "closet" area could be used as a dressing room to allow everyone some privacy while getting changed quickly. Our room steward was excellent, efficient and invisible except when passing in the hall with a cheery Hello! I appreciate never feeling like we were in his way... Food was better then expected. We had lower expectations than in the past, and were happily surprised. We always ate in the main dining room (Botticelli) never tried the "add - on" specialty restaurants. Never felt we needed to - lots of good options on the main dining menu. Waiters still happily add the lobster tail to the Beef Wellington to make a great surf and turf. Speaking of our waiters - they were great - super friendly, efficient, helpful, and made our dinners a real treat. Also very good at recommending wines (we love our wines, bought the gold package on board). The best part of the gold package was that it's good for any wine up to $45, but if you want a more expensive wine they just charge the difference, so we always had great wines and maximized the value of our wine package. We also attended 2 wine tastings on board, which were good, and helped us select a few wines for dinner, but didn't provide as much information about the wines as we would have liked. Bar Areas - one word... great! Spent time in Crooners (Martini's served with flair) Vines (lots of wine by the glass - served with complimentary sushi or tapas) and the coffee bar. Also the pool area bars were great, waiters were around if needed, but not bothersome. Overall - service was really good, right across the board. Port Excursions - we used princess's excursions for Antigua, St. Lucia, Barbados & St. Thomas. We were really happy with 4 out of 5 options (turtle, shipwreck snorkelling in Barbados was the only disappointment). The eco kayaking / snorkeling tour in Antigua was great, the St. Lucia 4X4 excursion was really great, open air so lots of photo's taken. Barbados we took a Ronnie Carrington photography tour which was amazing. St. Thomas was a catamaran tour with snorkeling - also fun. In St. Kitts we just took a taxi to cockleshell beach which was great, sat at the reggae bar, did some snorkeling and just generally chilled out. Princess Cays was the one disappointment... Waves were too high (2 - 2.5 m) and tendering couldn't be done in those conditions so the ship kept steaming ahead... missed our day at the beach....Apparently this isn't a very isolated situation. Entertainment - the broadway shows were good, a couple of comedians were great. Overall pretty good, typical cruise fare. Nothing that I would write home about but fun distractions during the evening. And as noted above, never had issues getting seats for any shows - they filled up but not so much that you couldn't get a seat. Disembarkation was super easy. We used the princess ezcheckout service (they take care of transferring bags directly to airline) and it meant we left the ship promptly, and were sitting in the airport by 8:30 am - ready for a 12:30 flight... good thing as our flights got delayed - but by being there we caught an earlier flight and arrived home 2 hrs earlier then our flight was scheduled. And the bags arrived with us... In summary - we had a blast. My wife cruised with Princess twice when she was single (25 yrs ago) and had great memories of her cruises. The Emerald Princess didn't disappoint - we all had a great time (2 parents, two teenage girls). The food was great, people were great, overall experience.... great! Read Less

A little background on me/us; I am 52, DH is 57, and this was our 19th cruise, our 12th time on Princess. Other cruises have been on Carnival (4), and one each on HAL, RCCL, and NCL. Our main reason to book this cruise was to escape an unusually brutal winter in the mid-Atlantic. Also, we had done the 10-Eastern Caribbean cruise (Barbados, St. Lucia, Antigua, St. Kitts, & St. Thomas) 5-years ago, and wanted to do the Southern Caribbean 10-day before the Emerald is redeployed to Houston, TX during the winter months. Our ports of call were: Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, and St. Thomas. When we had first sailed on the Emerald 5-years ago she was still a fairly new, and she had the new ship look and feel. I was curious after 5-years how well she had held up. Overall I thought she looked pretty good. The ship was clean, and was well maintained. There were a few areas where varnish needed to be reapplied to handrails, and there were some noticeably big paint chips on the metal loungers in the Sanctuary, but overall she looked good. Embarking There were a large number of PAX on this sailing that had priority boarding (300 Elites and 900 Platinum’s plus suite guests) so they divided us into two groups. Elites & Suites went to the priority lounge and boarded first, while Platinum’s where held downstairs. We were seated in rows and there were suppose to release one row at a time, in the order we were seated. As we were the first two Platinum’s to board (Not including those in suites or traveling with Elites) I am not sure how that worked out. We boarded around noon, and raced up to the Sanctuary. Spa Our first stop was the Sanctuary to reserve two spots for the cruise duration. The prince had increase effective with our sailing from $150 pp for the cruise duration to $270 pp for the cruise duration, and you can no longer use the Sanctuary the first day. The prince increase did not seem to deter many. When I got up there many of the spots in the sun had already been taken by those doing B2B or Elites. There were 2 people ahead of me, and a small line quickly formed behind me. I was told that by 12:30 all available spots for cruise duration passes had been sold. On sea days the available daily spots were all taken. The first sea day I was up early walking around and the line had started at 6:30. I walked by at about 6:50 am, and there were 3 people in line. On port days it was possible to go much later 9 or 10 am and still get a spot. We did enjoy our time in the Sanctuary very much, and the stewards were very nice, but I did feel that the service was a little less attentive then I remember. It may have been because two of the three Stewards were fairly new, only a few months in their first contract with Princess. We then went to the Lotus Spa to get Thermal Suite passes. They were $149 pp, but they were running a special for $129 pp. While the Thermal Suite appeared to be well attended we could always get a space on one of the heated tile beds. I don’t think they sold out on the passes. I used the spa on one other occasion when I did get a head to toe massage that included a facial and scalp massage-Heavenly. Cabin We had an interior cabin on the Baja deck. I loved the forward location as it was close to the forward elevators that led to the areas we used the most; the Sanctuary & Thermal Suite. The mattress was okay, room temperature was fine, but the pillows were thin and lumpy. They really need replacing. Our room steward was Christian and he was one of the best room stewards ever. Not only did he keep our cabin clean and neat, it was the little touches such as lining up in neat rows the jumble of shoes on our closet floor, or folding clothes draped over a chair that made him special. Dining The food ranged from fairly good to just awful. We ate in the buffet all but three evenings. The first 2-3 days all the food was way too salty. It did improve as the cruise went by, but with a few exceptions most meals in the buffet were just average. We did dine at the Crab Shack one evening. The Crab Shack, which debut on the Royal Princess is apparently being offered on select ships on select nights. On our cruise it was three nights. The food was very good. You start with a basket of fried shrimp and hush puppies, followed by a good size bowl of Manhattan Style Clam Chowder that was delicious. There were 4 entrees to choose from. They are meant to be shared. We got the Emerald Steamer which included mussels, clams, shrimp, snow crab, corn on the cob, sausage, and potatoes. Our waiter even honored our special request and had them include a few crayfish. The cost is $20 pp and I felt well worth it. Our last night we dined in the Crown Grill. I did not feel it was worth the $25 pp charge. If you are going to have a premium steak house on board, it needs to be more like Morton’s or Ruth Criss, and less like Outback. My filet was cooked as I ordered, but was dry and could have benefited from a reduction sauce of some kind. DH and I bother ordered mushrooms and backed potato as our side and they were served family style on one plate. Presentation was definitely lacking. Service would have been a fail, if not for the fact that a waiter in another section recognized us from our daily forays to the Sanctuary and stepped in to refill water glasses, get my DH his customary glass of ice tea, and bring our dessert. Entertainment We didn’t go to a single show or watch any comedians. However, the Platter (The daily guide to shipboard activities) was full of options. We did go to MUTS four nights to watch a movie. Some of the movies playing were Thor: The Dark World, Hunger Games, and Captain Phillips. I loved the way our itinerary ran; Two sea days in the beginning, followed by 5 port days, and then 2 more sea days to recover from our island fun (Princess Cay was cancelled due to high winds) We did ship sponsored shorex at each port, and chose moderately active activities. Aruba we did a 4x4 across the north end of the island. Truly off road, and good time had by all. Bonaire we did snorkeling. It was an easy walk from the ship’s pier to a water taxi, and from there another short walk to a catamaran. A relaxing boat ride to the snorkeling site, and about an hour to enjoy the beautiful aqua blue waters. Grenada we went river tubing. There was a van ride up into the mountains to the entry point into the Balthazar River. It was almost all rapids, hardly any lazy river floating, and over very fast, but the guides worked very hard to ensure we had a good time. Dominica we went snorkeling on the Champagne Reef, which was truly amazing. There is a volcanic vent under the sea bed floor that releases sulfuric gas, which in turn causes the bubbles that cause the champagne effect. The water is also noticeably warmer in that area, which attracts many colorful fish. The sea is a bit rough, so if not a strong swimmer go out with the novice group. I had a great guide who ensured I got fantastic photos. St. Thomas we went to Coral World and partook in a Sea Lion encounter. You cannot take your camera into the sea lion enclosure, but there is someone taking photos that I felt were reasonably priced ($39 for a flash drive that included everyone in our group). Overall I had a great time, and I am sorry that the Emerald is being redeployed to Houston, TX next year for the winter season as I would love to sail on her yearly.   Read Less

We had a blast on this cruise the "Emerald Princess", food was very good (and those that know me, that is really something) as I'm a picky eater! The Entertainment was fabulous "but way to short" it seems you go to all of that trouble to get good sets at the Princess Theater, and then the show was over within 15 minutes or so! We wish they would go back to just two shows a night and make them longer! The ship is in good shape the crew take good care of her, always cleaning or painting, The Itinerary was awesome both the Southern and Eastern (we did a back to back for 20-days different itineraries). I think the only complant we have is the Production Shows way to Short, and the Rules around the Pools are not Enforced (No Jumping, No Diving, and Babies with Diapers not in the pools). The Pool Water was never Heated only by the sun, I would ask the Deck Attend or the Supervisor to please Heat the Pool Water and the response I would get is "Quote" it is heated! The Embarkation and Disembarkation was very smooth and went very fast! The Ports of call were awesome with good selections of shore excursions. Ships information in the Princess Patter everyday was very helpful to schedule your daily activities. Service in the Dinner Rooms and or the Horzion Court Buffet were great, as they stood at the door to make everyone wash their hands before handling the utensils. Our cabin (obstructed view) were perfect we could still see the outside and some of the water. It was kept clean and in good shape. I just wish the cruise line could come up with a way to make people wash their hands after using the bathrooms, and they need to have the hand wash at the doors of the dinning rooms as well. My Husband had to use medical on this cruise and they were great, they were always checking on him to make sure is recovery was going smoothly.. In Summary- we would cruise this ship again and have booked the Royal Princess for next Feb. as we are very satisfied with Princess. Charlene Read Less

We paired two 10 day cruises into a 20 day back-to-back and were far from alone.....at our turn-around day in Port Everglades, it was announced that approximately 600 other passengers were staying aboard for another (at least) 10 days. This was our 10 cruise and our fifth with Princess and it met all our expectations. On our last trip we had qualified for Platinum status and although it offers several "perks", the most useful ones are the 250 minutes of free internet per person, and priority boarding. Although we arrived a little early at the ship and expected to have to wait for at least an hour, in actuality, we were ordering lunch in the Da Vinci dining room less than an hour after arriving at the port. We prefer the traditional dining and had the 5:30 seating in Da Vinci, which gets you out in time to make the first show in the Princess Theatre. I am not sure why some other critiquers would claim the food was "inedible". Sure, not every dish on the menu will appeal to everyone, but with at least six entrees on each of the daily and "always available" menu, there should always be something to satisfy the most discriminating palate. Yes, I did get some tough lamb, and occasionally I found the vegetables a bit undercooked, but overall, very good to excellent. Horizon Court, where we usually ate lunch, was another story. The food is not bad--but not great. It suffers from cafeteria style cooking where dishes sit on the steam table for extended period. That notwithstanding, there was still adequate choice to make an appetizing meal. One of the things that was missing from our previous Princess cruises was the deck buffet. On each of the other trips, there was a regional/ethnic buffet. On the Hawaiian trips (2) there was a deck buffet with Hawaiian foods, on a Caribbean one, we had such island dishes as pulled pork, jerk chicken, etc., and on our far eastern trip, we had two deck buffets of oriental dishes. We found the entertainment aboard to be of a good calibre. Sure, it is not Broadway, or Las Vegas level, but then, one didn't pay $100+ for the seat. I did find the production numbers quite professional, but there were some lapses, as though the choreographer ran out of ideas how to end the routine and left the dancers with a few seconds to ad lib their own end to the routine. One thing we did find a bit annoying was use of the Explorers' Lounge, rather than the larger Club Fusion for a second (or sometimes third) performance by an act that had previously appeared in the Princess Theatre. If you didn't have a seat 40-45 minutes before the start of the show, forget it. The ship's internet is slow and cumbersome to use and the 250 "free" minutes does not actually get you much. Just to print our airline boarding passes and pay baggage fees took 43 minutes. However, if you are using gmail, and just want to send and receive e-mail, it is possible to do it using the ship's wi-fi on an android tablet or i-pad without actually logging on to the internet. I do not know if this works with Windows or other e-mail programs. Last autumn, Princess canned their own art auction system and sub-contracted the job to Park West Galleries, an organization that has a less than stellar reputation for fair and honest dealing and has faced more than its share of lawsuits. However, Park West and the cruise line obviously make a lot of money from this revenue stream since Park West can afford to place four salaried employees aboard the ship and pay for a number of part-time assistants. Personally, I would never buy anything at a shipboard art auction. Another annoyance was the shipboard photographers. I know that this is also a significant revenue generator and it appears that the number of photographers has been increased and they are everywhere. When leaving the ship, it is like running a gauntlet, having to pass through several layers of photographers who are not averse to actually grabbing your arm to haul you into camera range. We were particularly annoyed one night in the dining room when, in the middle of our entrees, a photographer insisted on taking several pictures---individual couples, men standing behind their spouses' chairs, groups, etc. all while our meals cooled off. We did not take any ship's tours. Having been to most of the locations on previous trips, we preferred just to wander on our own, although we did arrange two excursions privately. The one on Antigua was with a Canadian snowbird---he is a native Antiguan, but a Canadian citizen who spends his summers in Toronto and winters in Antigua, operating a taxi service. He does only one tour per day for a very reasonable fee (Sonny, web site AntiguaTours@live.com). Our stateroom was a partially obstructed oceanview on Emerald deck, and these are probably the best value for the money on the ship. We had a couple of minor problems but these were resolved completely to our satisfaction within minutes of calling the passenger services desk. While I have listed some minor annoyances, they are just that and don't detract very much from the overall enjoyment of the trip. Sure, Princess isn't perfect, but then, neither are the other cruise lines. However, we find that they do most things just a little better than the other five cruise lines we have sampled, and are pleased enough that we have already booked our 2015 trip. Read Less

Our February 7th embarkation insured we would be on the high seas for both Valentines Day and a family birthday. Just perfect timing for our romantic vacation, and Princess did not disappoint. Oh, there were some annoyances such as some employees in the embarkation terminal and slow snaking lines. And too, disembarkation was confusing with mixed colors and unhelpful personnel, but onboard, the cruise was marvelous. The dining room service and food were excellent. Not every dish was perfect, but it did not matter. So much of the food was terrific and the service was lovely too. We are experienced cruisers, with over 40 cruises under our belt - and this Caribbean cruise ranks with the best of them. We've visited all the ports before, but this time took the ship's tour to St. John rather than just going into St. Thomas. The ferry ride in both directions was beautiful and interesting. The land tour was nothing special - just view points. Our ship's tour of Granada was fine - we had never been into the interior of the island before. The other stops we just walked around the towns, and that was fine too. The main attraction was the beautiful ship, with many areas to relax in, and good food constantly available. Oh, the pizza was as good as our local Italian pizzaria - that is a real compliment, as most cruise ship pizza is more like the frozen variety. Thank you Emerald Princess for a wonderful experience and the Valentine re-commitment ceremony was a real hoot. Read Less

I just returned from my 10 day escape from the horrible winter we have had in the Great Lakes. This was my 4th Princess cruise and my favorite itineray and ship. The piazza is organized in a way that it feels wider and easy to navigate. Food - was good - the best in Sabatinnis. I was at 6pm Boticelli for 9 of the 10 nights and Sabatinnis one night. This ship has the perfect location for the premium dining experience. The veal - wow! and the Caprese salad (artisinal cow's milk cheese - amazing!) I dislike all the marketing at all times - photographers in your face at every port, after dinner drinks every night, premium coffee bar, and such, but this ship is really in good shape and the crew take good care of her and her passengers. The southern Caribbean itinerary was amazing! Anyone who is even slightly interested Ti Tou Gorge in Dominica is a MUST, and for those very active (let me tell you it really is a tough walk) the Seven Sisters Hike in Gernanda is well worth the effort. Read Less

Wonderful cruise! We arrived a day early and enjoyed our stay at the Embassy Suites, starting with a shuttle ride from the airport, then free drinks and hors d'oeuvres at the hotel for Happy Hour. We took a hotel shuttle for the short ride to Port Everglades and had a very quick and easy embarkation. We are platinum status with Princess, so got to appreciate the expedited line. Our Riviera deck balcony stateroom was ready, so we dropped off our carry-on luggage and met our gracious room steward Supatra. We enjoyed doing the "treasure hunt", getting stamps at various venues, toured the gym and spa, and finally stopped for a bite of lunch in Horizon Court. Sailaway was right on time and fun as always. Our ports included Princess Cays, St. Thomas, Dominica, Grenada, Bonaire and Aruba. We were fortunate to have calm seas and sunny weather almost the entire trip and truly relaxed and celebrated being in the Caribbean. The crew was excellent all around, no matter which duty they performed. We ate at various times in different dining venues and always found delicious choices, whether it was a formal dining room, buffet or specialty restaurant. We particularly like to check in at the International Cafe throughout the day to see what fun new food they're offering or to enjoy a latte. The staff is always efficient and prompt. It's fun and interesting to us to meet new people by sharing a dining table, learn where they're from and hear their stories and experiences. Same with the crew, who come from all over the world. Lots of excellent movies were offered through Movies Under the Stars and through the in-room television. Although there was a lot of variety of other entertainment, we didn't take advantage of too much of it. We like to explore the various islands when we're in port and do a lot of walking, so aren't particularly looking to be entertained all evening. Clearly others enjoy it though, so glad Princess offers many options. We sincerely appreciate the internet access we received gratis as platinum members, as we needed to keep in touch with our business periodically. Disembarkation was a breeze, nice and quiet, efficient, well-organized and quick. Can't wait to go on another Princess cruise! Read Less

We drove from the west coast of Florida where we live the day before we were to leave and spent the night at a great Extended Stay America hotel in Plantation. It was close to the freeway, shopping, restaurants, about 10 miles from the cruise port terminal and was reasonably priced. We also used Park'NGo to park our car. They were convenient, reasonably priced and very efficient and quick to pick us up and drop us off. This was the second year in a row we took a New Years cruise. We were also celebrating a birthday and an upcoming retirement. This was not the best cruise we have ever done, but it came close. We had a wonderful time, had fantastic food, met some wonderful people, saw exotic places we had never been before, and enjoyed all of the amenities and entertainment. Embarkation was slow and tedious and they kept hundreds of us waiting outside the terminal on the sidewalk next to the loud buses for several hours. Once inside, there were only two agents to handle hundreds of people that wanted to be checked in. It was not a good experience. No cruise is ever perfect, but this came very close. It was also only our second cruise on Princess. The last time we did this line was to Alaska was in 2005. We chose them this time because of this ship's itinerary and the features onboard the Emerald Princess. Also, the fact that they give a Military onboard credit to Veterans was a nice gift to receive. Almost daily, they had listed in the activities calendar a Veterans get together for one of the lounges. My husband really enjoyed this, and by the end of the cruise, he had met quite a few other veterans. It would have been nice if they had provided a wait person or bartender for them when the meetings were going on. They missed a huge opportunity to sell some drinks! One of the best things about Princess is their smoking policy and the fact that they enforce it. There was very limited smoking allowed on this ship, and they even had non-smoking nights in the casino. Both were very much appreciated. I always stay out of a ship's casino if they allow smoking in it. This time I was able to use it and do a little gambling in comfort. The other feature about Princess is their Special Requests that you can enter online before you leave. I logged into my Captains Circle account, and requested Gluten Free. I have a sensitivity to wheat as it makes me sneeze. Once on board they accommodated my requests for gluten free bread very easily at breakfast and lunch. We had a traditional dining time in the DaVinci dining room. Our head waiter was outstanding, and met with me every night to go over my next day's dinner choices to make sure that my dinner choices would be prepared gluten free. We did not try either of the specialty restaurants, but the view from the deck 17 patio outside of the Italian specialty restaurant was spectacular. The International Café, Vines tapas and wine bar, and Crooners martini bar were all located in the piazza in the center of the ship. The first afternoon on the ship, I bought a Coffee Club card. It was the best deal for specialty coffees, and unlimited brewed coffee and teas made individually to order. It even worked in the dining room at dinner. We loved grabbing a lite bite, lunch or a small dessert at the International Café. Any where on the three decks of the piazza were great places to people watch and listen to live music. The spectacular balloon drop and champagne waterfall on New Years Eve were held there also. The adults only Sanctuary and Thermal Suite are gorgeous, but they charge way too much money to use them. We have been on cruise lines where these areas are free or with only a minimal charge. We highly recommend the Couples Cabana massage that is done in an outdoor cabana located in the Sanctuary. This was the first time we had ever tried this. The two young ladies that we had provided a superb couples massage experience for us. I did use the spa for two other services, and hated them because at the end of the spa service, I had to sit through a sales pitch on buying the spa products that they had used for my service. I realize that it's part of their job, but it completely turned me off. The staff throughout the ship is well trained and attentive to your every request. Everyone was always pleasant. We rarely saw the Captain, and the Captain's party we were invited wasn't very good. We missed the free appetizers and free drinks. We did use the gym facilities almost every day. It is huge with a lot to choose from, but I could tell that the exercise machines were starting to show their age as some of them appeared to be quite worn. We were gone from December 29 to January 8 and had rain on 5 of the 10 days of the cruise. The Princess cruise director and staff were very quick to redo the ship's daily entertainment schedule on the rainy day that we could not stop at Princess Cay. Every day, even in port, there was always entertainment scheduled, or activities scheduled somewhere on the ship. We cruised to Aruba, Bonaire, Grenada, Dominica, St Thomas, and were supposed to stop at Princess Cay. We could not because of the weather. We had already been to Aruba and St Thomas so we did not do any tours there. We did tours in Bonaire, Grenada, and Dominica. There is not much to see on Bonaire. I felt like we wasted our money on the city tour. It was pouring near the end of our ride on the Tuk Tuk tour. We had our raincoats and we needed them. he Tuk Tuk quit running in the middle of a rain filled street. Only 4 passengers and a driver, but my husband and another man with us had to get out and push it out of the middle of the street during this heavy downpour. We then had to get out, walk along a narrow curb hanging onto a fence so we could get away from the water and get to the sidewalk. Thank goodness it happened close to the ship. At Grenada, one of our stops was a cocoa bean processing facility where we learned how cocoa is grown, harvested and dried. It was the best part of our day there, but we were late getting back to the ship and we did not appreciate that. Dominica was very nice, but I would skip the city tour, and just go to the Hot Springs natural spa. Be prepared to walk down 50 rock steps to the grotto. It was a long bus ride to get there up the mountain in the rain, but it was well worth the trip. Again we were a little late getting back as there was a handicapped man on the trip who could not make it up the stairs and held us all up while our tour guide and his wife helped him. This tour included walking down and up those difficult steps and there was no easy handicapped access. Our disembarkation was as bad as the embarkation. We were taken off the ship early and were told to sit and wait because our bags were ready. Once we got our bags, we stood in the customs line for over an hour. It took about 2 hours of waiting to finally get through all of this. Thank goodness we had an accommodating porter to help us with our bags. The cruise director told us that there were only 200 children on this cruise, but in the late afternoons and at night it was obvious that they were allowed the run of the ship. They seemed to travel in packs, and some nights were running in the hallways or through the stairwells. Overall, we would recommend a cruise on the Emerald Princess, but make sure you don't chose a cabin in the aft of the ship. The walls loudly vibrated whenever the captain has to use the side thrusters to move the ship sideways. Early morning dockings ALWAYS woke us up.   Read Less

This was our first cruise with Princess and will definitely not be our last. We flew into Orlando a few days before our departure to visit relatives. We flew Allegiant Air which did an ok job. They charge for every little thing including carry on luggage, and snacks. It was nice flying into the Sanford Airport vs. Orlando as it is significantly smaller . The night before our cruise departed we stayed at the Hyatt Place Convention center hotel in Fort Lauderdale. This place is beautiful and new. The staff was friendly and helpful. There were a lot of eating places and shops within walking distance. They had a very nice free breakfast as well. The ship was beautiful, tasteful and very modern in décor. They kept it clean and in great working order. The staff was very friendly and helpful. They always stopped to ask if you needed help if you were looking at the ship map. One staff member, a chef, walked by me and said hi and then noticed I had stopped at the map and turned around to see if I needed help. Our room steward kept our room spotless and the ice bucket was always full, per our request. The age on this cruise was definitely older (70's/80's). My husband and I are in our early 40's but this did not bother us. There were only 32 kids on board this sailing. They had good evening shows with good variety and professionalism. They had 4 dancer/ Vegas style shows. The entertainment is definitely geared toward the older crowd. We saw a great comedian. We also enjoyed the large movie screen on deck. We watched some recent release movies. The dining was nice. We did the anytime dining and set a 5:15 reservation every night. WE had the same server who was superior to any we ever had on any other line. He quickly learned our likes and dislikes. Very professional and experienced. We went to the Crown grill and had some of the best lobster I have ever eaten. Our disembarkement experience was good until we got to the holding area where we were to collect our luggage. The staff here was rude and not helpful. They also did a poor job of sorting the luggage thus making things very chaotic. I would highly recommend this ship..   Read Less

Just returned from a 10 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. Ship was very nice, clean and we'll looked after. Found all the staff on board were friendly and worked exceptionally hard. Rooms - Adequate plenty of hanging and storage space for clothes. Suitcases can be stored under the bed or in the closet area. Food - We opted for anytime dining as we did not want to be set to one of the two seating times. There was only one formal night, when we had to wait for a table of 2 but then that was only a10 minute wait which was no hassle. Buffett and main dining rooms at breakfast, lunch and dinner were very good. We alternated between the Da Vinci main dining room, depending on whether the evening dinning menu that was posted up around mid-morning on the entrance to the dinning room would cater for our taste buds. We would then decide whether to dine in the main dining room or Buffett. We found the Da Vinci restaurant food was well presented and you could eat as much or as little as you liked. One good thing in the evening the Buffett restaurant dining tables were laid out as if you were eating in the main restaurant, which was a nice gesture and not found on the Celebrity ship we were on last year. You also had the option of the burger and hot dog grill, which I did and found the burgers delicious. Also had the option of the pizza bar not sampled. Plus the Crown grill and Sabatini's Italian cover charge of $25pp. We did not sample these, but a few people said they had a nice meal. My other half is a very fussy eater and there was always something on board that he could find to eat. So you cannot go hungry, if you do you must be more fussy than him. Entertainment - We did not go to the theatre but saw a few shows in the explorers lounge, need to get there early as it fills up pretty quick. We saw the ventriloquist (Matilda) and pianist excellent but didn't think much of the other shows that were shown there. Sorry just my opinion. Drinks - Plenty of bars on board. Soft drinks package $70, we decided to go for pay as u go. Soft drinks $2 per can, beer $5.50 buy 5 get one free plus tax. 5 different cocktails on happy hour between 2pm-4pm and 10pm - midnight, $3.99 plus tax. Gym - Used the gym in the morning, not overly busy. Found that some of the weight machines were past there sell by date. Internet - Very expensive at 79 cents per minute. Especially when you have used only 2 1/2 minutes but you have trouble logging off and finally get logged off after 20 minutes. Internet man no were to be seen, as he is only available between certain times of the day and it happens to be when you have a problem that he is not around. Disembarkation - Was good, we were off the ship and passed customs within 45 minutes. As our flight was not until 17.15 decided to do the South Beach Miami tour, this broke up the day. This is our first cruise on princess, party of 2, so cannot compare it to other princess cruises. Overall we found this cruise excellent and more relaxing than the Celebrity cruise we did last year. I would use both cruise lines again. Read Less

We booked this Cruise for our 30th Anniversary, sailing with Princess twice in the past we had high expectations for this voyage and from the staff and we were not disappointed. The ship is beautiful and was identical to the Crown Princess from our previous sailings so we felt right at home. The staff was exceptionally friendly, everyone said hello or good day in passing and went out of their way to ensure our trip was an enjoyable one. I would like to extend Kudos to Antonio our cabin steward and to Roberto our bartender at the Explorers lounge. Both are exceptional employees and they do everything they can to make sure the passengers are happy and comfortable. We had roses in our room and Antonio laid out our nightwear on the bed and placed one of the roses on the bed for us each night. The room was always kept immaculate by Antonio and we truly hope he is given a raise or promotion soon, he truly deserves it. He definitely was the best cabin steward we have ever had on any of our cruises. We found out the chef was the same chef we had on the Crown so the food was exceptional as always. We did a mix of anytime dining, buffet and we also dined on our balcony one evening. That in itself is something everyone should experience once in their life. It was $100 a couple but well worth the cost for what we got. The only part we did not enjoy was the champagne, it was very harsh and not a good champagne. The shows we saw were wonderful, we watched Matilda twice. We love Terry Fater and Jeff Dunham so it was a no brainier that we were going to enjoy Matilda. We did notice for the Princess Singer and dancers the shows were reduced to 30 minutes so they were able to get 3 shows in but they were very good shows and the staff was very talented. Our ports of call were Antigua, Saint Lucia, Barbados, Saint Kitts, Saint Thomas and Nassau. We did a catamaran tour on Antigua and had a lot of fun, on Saint Lucia and Barbados we did the Rum tours which were very informative. On Saint Kitts we did a private tour with our cruise critic group with Thenford Grey which was very fun and I would highly recommend. Saint Thomas and Nassau we just walked through the towns and shopped since we had been at both of these islands before. Our cabin was a Mini Suite on Emerald Deck E727 and this room was very quiet and nice. The only problems we had was we had to remove the drain plug from the tub to shower so the water would drain, and it took a day and a half for the fridge to cool our water and soda. The balcony was not as large as we thought it would be, and it did seem as though our Caribe deck balcony was a little larger, but it was large enough for us. We did notice they no longer put the loungers on the balconies, only the chairs with foot stools. Overall we loved our cruise and would highly recommend Princess to everyone and anyone who wants to cruise. If you do not have a good time then the fault lies with you, not with Princess. Read Less

completely agree with the Cruise Critic article about the fact that the ships are being so heavily discounted to fill them that it attracts a very different class of people on board. It not just Princess but all cruise lines do it. The buffet was packed every night which is the first time I have ever seen this on a cruise. the dinning rooms almost empty after 7pm. The staff were indifferent to us and barley spoke as if they couldn't be bothered but I can understand why as some of the people on board were so rude to them demanding instant attention and clicking their fingers at them.. And the staff know full well they are not going to make any decent tips on this voyage Formal night is a complete waste of time as people's version of formal is so very different. We ended up going to the Crown Grill dressed in our finery spending an extra $50 , the food was excellent but we didn't feel special or were made to feel special we thought we would be in there for at least 3 hours but only just managed to stretch it to 2 as the service was too quick. We would have preferred longer between courses so we could really appreciate the food. Certain bar staff were far too pushy in wanting you to order doubles which could be intimidating for any first time cruisers. A lot of the DISCOUNT cruisers would push in all the time shout their drink order at the bar without realising there was a queue (or LINE) and I think it was a completion to see how many people could fit in a lift (ELEVATOR) !! They would just keep coming when they could see it was full therefore squishing every one in side and some of them were not small people ! However we did have a fantastic holiday because most of the destinations we hadn't been to before and that is why we cruise. We don't choose cruises because of so called loyalty cards which are not really worth much, we look at itinerary dates and price and that determines where and when we go so I suppose it's inevitable that we encounter these types of cruises. It is a shame for the old cruises who like the traditions and good service. Cruising has become so popular now and reasonably priced it will be its downfall. Read Less

We toured the Canadian ports and also along the Eastern Seaboard ending in New York City. The trip got off to a terrible start when we were delayed by United in Chicago and missed our flight from Montreal to Quebec City. This was a completely avoidable delay with 45 minutes being spent waiting for an airplane to be brought to the gate from a hanger. Then another 60 minute delay while crew counted and accounted for bags. Unbelievable! We have been stranded by United before. Just the sheer apathy shown by the United folks was appalling. Fortunately after trying to find transportation to our cruise ship, Princess came to the rescue with bus transportation from Montreal to Quebec City. My advice is to NEVER, EVER fly United. We had no choice from our part of the country. The United folks were argumentative and showed no compassion or inclination to help customers. We learned later that standby flights (on our originally booked Air Canada) were available but were not offered. The cruise started in Quebec City with an overnight stay. This was an excellent option because it allowed us to see Quebec City and the St. Anne Basilica. It was remarkable. Prince Edward Island (Charlottetown) was amazing as the scenery was breathtaking. Sydney and Halifax were two stops that were also very pretty although the leaves had not yet fully turned. Bar Harbor Maine was next and it had the most beautiful port yet with the fall foliage in full swing. Full access to the Acadia National Park was not allowed because of the federal shutdown and our incompetent congress representatives. Boston and Newport and were the next two stops. Boston was crowded because of the Columbus Day holiday. Buses did not move very well and this was a poorly run tour. Newport was very interesting and we took the yellow line bus #67 to the Marble House (Vanderbilt) mansion. It was very well preserved and we really enjoyed the tour. The final stop was New York City and we toured for 6 hours by bus. Very well run tour and we were allowed to shop at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for two hours. The bus took us to LGA to depart back to Chicago and Omaha. Uneventful trip home on United with fingers crossed. This cruise was one of the best we have taken (7 total cruises all on Princess). The Princess line did not disappoint. We had excellent service everywhere we went on the ship. All crew were very responsive and served with a smile always. We appreciate Princess stepping up when we were stranded in Montreal on the way to our cruise. Enjoyed a balcony stateroom despite the cooler temperatures. Weather was great with highs in the upper 50's and lower 60's. Read Less

great cruise overall with wonderful ports of call...i mean how do you beat stops in nova scotia, boston and the big apple??? weather prohibited stopping in Maine but considering the time of year, missing one port was not a big deal... the emerald P. is extremely well maintained and the crew, as always with princess in our experience, went out of their way to make it a wonderful experience. food was generally good and i thought the breads were incredible...the waffles in the buffet were REALLY good every time we tried them. i continue to be amazed what some folks on board choose to complain about...the young servers in the buffet were working their tales off all the time..but when it was crowded there is always somebody ready to complain that they had to get their own ice water or coffee...in the buffet...geezzz..   Read Less

We love Princess, so will write nothing negative about this cruise. We were to have had ports in Greenland and Iceland, but both had to be cancelled due to extremely bad weather. We totally understood the captain's decison and felt he made the right call. We also missed Belfast, Ireland, again due to bad weather. Cobh, Ireland replaced Belfast and it was a wonderful port. There were 6 days at sea in a row due to the cancelled ports of call. There was plenty to do and we were never bored. We love the sea days, anyway. The food in the dining room and in Calypso Cove Buffet was fabulous. The service throughout the ship was top-notch, as well. The Princess Theater enterntainment was good, although we've seen better on other Princess ships...still a lot of fun and nothing to comlain about. People need to be prepared to possibly miss ports in the North Atlantic this time of year. So many were grumbing about not being able to stop and stating that those ports were the reason they chose this particular itinerary. Again, we were more than please with the captain's call, even though, we too, had chosen this itinerary for the same reason. Read Less