We cruised on the Emerald last year, and thoroughly enjoyed it. Additionally, Princess give by far the most generous military on board credit, so they are still (just) my favorite line. The date and itinerary fitted, so what's not to like?

Well - we realised that 7 days is too short. Apart from the feeling that it's almost over before we've begun, some elements were missing (the choir, Captain's Q&A, talent contest) which we assume there simply was not the time for. We did have a Q&A with snooker player John Virgo, and while he's no Captain he was an amusing speaker and credit to Princess for this initiative.

The real purpose of this review though is to praise a tour operator that we did not actually use! We missed out the port of Stavanger due to a passenger medical emergency. There was some on board grumbling about this, but in the end you have to trust the ship's officers to do what they think is best and be thankful that it's not you and yours. Read more