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... Read more