Emerald Princess Jan 23-Feb 6, 2016
As Jan 23d came closer we read a number of post from those on the Emerald Princess following completion of the recent dry dock and the issues with water, plumbing and air conditioning. We hoped that any issues would be addressed and corrected by our Jan 23d embarkation. During our 14 day cruise we had no issues with water or plumbing however it did seem that at times the air conditioner was having trouble keeping the cabin as cool as we would have liked it.
Embarkation: We drove to the port, as usual, and upon arrival followed the traffic headed to the luggage drop off area. As we waited our turn, we noted that the traffic line was unusually long and taking a lot of time. We got to the area where the porters are usually located and heard the police officers yelling out, “drop and go”. We pulled up and I began unloading our luggage and quickly noted that there were no porters, none, zero! The officers continued to yell for drivers to “drop and go” but no one wanted to let their luggage sit there with no porters around to take control. After several minutes three porters showed up, one of which was obviously a supervisor who attempted to explain to an obviously new porter what he was suppose to do. The other walked to the far end of the line and began taking luggage from those waiting. The new guy was so unsure of what to do after the supervisor left, those of us waiting walked our luggage down to the end where the other porter was loading luggage into the carriers.