Background- Our 12th cruise- DH & I - mid 50's and DS 15; prior on Princess, RCCL, Cunard. We chose this cruise for the ports and return to Princess after service issues on recent RCCL cruises.Pre-Cruise- Flew to Miami from NY day before. Took a cab ($80+tip) to Hyatt Place in FLL near port. Special rate of $105 for King suite w/sofabed. Room fine for one night. Had dinner next door at Outback; better than our local one. Walked to Total Wine for 4 bottles to bring on board. Excellent selection. Difficult to choose only 4 bottles. Bought water and liquid toiletries at Publix next door. Breakfast next morning was crowded ar 8:30. Left for port at 11:15.  Free Shuttle was packed, so we took a cab to the port for $6.Embarkation- Luggage loaded and short wait at 11:30 outside of building. Once inside, another short wait and onboard and in our cabin by 12:15PM. Kudos to Princess for great organization.Cabin-Aloha 530 BC, port, mid-ship. Originally booked BA on Caribe Deck. Noticed a substantial price drop for BC before final payment. Since trip was port intensive, balcony size not an issue. First thing we noticed- flat screen TV. We were on the Caribbean and Crown Princess in 2005 and 2006 -an improvement. Robes already in closet and room sparkling clean. Contacted our wonderful steward, Charlie for some minor issues- convert twin beds to double, nasty odor in refrig., egg crate and more hangers. All taken care of and refrig. swapped out next day. First time we noticed a Steward actually cleaning our balcony every day. He even folded a few stray articles of clothing. This was the best cabin service of all cruises and lines. We did notice some cut-backs. Our bar soap was not replaced until we threw away the old, small slivers or asked for new ones.Dining- Embarkation lunch in Da Vinci Dining Room. First time a DR was open for lunch on any of our embarkations.  What a treat. Not many knew it was open. Just a few tables occupied. What a way to start the cruise. Excellent service and food; salad, grilled salmon and apple pastry for dessert. The waitstaff frequently asked in we wanted a beverage. This became a theme on the cruise. We sensed that they are now trained to "sell" beverages.  Not subtle, as in the past, but almost a hard sell. Really noticed it in the DR at lunch and dinner. Almost appeared their performance depended on selling wine, beer, cocktails or they had a quota. We purchased beverages when we wanted them. We had traditional dining, early seating in the Botticelli Dining Room, Deck 6 Aft at a table for 3. The only way to get there were the aft stairs or elevators. Lucio was our Headwaiter, Noel our waiter and Riccardo assistant. All three are from the Philippines and are outstanding. Lucio left for vacation after our sailing.The food was very good and Noel could sense when an occasional dish was not to someone's liking. He suggested alternatives and insisted we try something else, even when we were stuffed. We found the food extremely salty on the Crown in 2006. On the Emerald, broth-based soups and beef dishes were too salty for our tastes.We always found tasty dishes; most fish entrees were very good.We celebrated my birthday on Sunday night with a cake for 1. It was delicious. Our serving team serenaded me. Other dining options: Room Service Breakfast- adequate for early port days. Prompt, usually arrived 15 minutes before requested time and orders were 100 percent correct. Coffee was fine. Dining Room Breakfast- We were pleasantly surprised. The service was excellent. On prior Princess/Cunard cruises, DR breakfast was a nightmare -poor, rude, slow service and mediocre food. This time,friendly, efficient service and orders correct. Special requests met with a smile- kadota figs, strawberries , eggs benedict without sauce. Food was fresh and hot. Pastry waiters always circling around. Kudos to Emerald Princess staff for several great breakfasts.

Lunch- Wheelhouse Bar on sea days offers a pub lunch similar to those offered on Cunard. We love them. No different. Cottage Pie and Fish and Chips outstanding. Service was prompt and friendly. Pizza by the pool is still outstanding. Had a slice when not out all day in port. Horizon court always great for fresh fruit, salad and other goodies. They still have the ice cream on one side at 3:30PM daily. DS was there daily, when not in port. I finally tried the food in the International Cafe. The shrimp salad and spinach quiche were excellent. We had unused punches on our coffee cards from our Crown cruise. We used up more punches on delicious iced white chocolate mocha and grabbed a cup or two of fresh brewed java when leaving for ports. The hot cappuccino was also great.Lunched twice in Sanctuary- great fruit skewers.Dinner at Sabitini's' was excellent. Portion size cut down, so you are not so stuffed. Lobster tail, veal and chicken great entrees. All appetizers fantastic, as was the service and wine. Sanctuary-I rushed to book my cruise-long chaise at 1:15PM. I got chair 17 out of 20.The cost was $15/day for the cruise.That was my birthday gift. I chose a chair in the shade, under a "fake" tree. The attendant service was superb.I was always greeted by name and my chaise was "made up" for me each morning with a thick towel. Although port intensive, I still managed to visit daily, even if only for an hour. It was convenient to the lap pool just downstairs, my favorite. Entertainment-We skipped the production shows. Comedian, juggler and hypnotist were good. I volunteered and was hypnotized. A treat were the two nights the show band played jazz in Adagio.