Emerald Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,873 reviews

Sunny south islands on the Emerald

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Emerald Princess
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NSAHO79
First Time Cruiser • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Nov 2009

We arrived from Nova Scotia a day early and stayed at Hampton Inn at Plantation. This was a very nice hotel. Due to some mis-communication, we did not get their free shuttle and had to pay $40.00 to take a cab to their hotel. Upon arrival they immediated deducted that amount from our bill. That's what I call service. There is a large shopping center across the street so we went there twice to eat and shop. We took the hotel shuttle to the cruise ship at 1:00 PM and were on board within 10 minutes. Most of the passengers had already boarded. We headed to our mini-suite which was on the Port side and about 3 cabins from the back of the ship (Aft). For anyone who is interested we never noticed any strong movements in the ship or any noises from other rooms or pools, etc. There was a laundramat just three cabins away from ours and the Horizon/Caribe Buffets were six decks directly above us so it was very convenient. Our room was very nice, not cramped at all and the balcony was larger than the one on the NCL Gem (our only other cruise). Our room stewart, Dario, was just wonderful and knew our names by the second day. Service all over the ship was very good and everyone was friendly and helpful.

We didn't eat at any of the specialty restaurants so I cannot comment on them. Except for two meals we used the buffet exclusively. The food (for the most part) was very good and plentiful. The first night we went to the Da Vinci dining room because they had prime rib as the main course and it was superb. Service was also very good.

But, there were a few problems with the meals. First of all the only drinks that are free (during meals) are coffee, tea, hot chocolate and water or juice. At no time is fountain pop (soda) free. On the NCL Gem all the fountain pop was free and included with your cruise fee. On this ship you could BUY a soda card for $29.00 for the entire cruise. We stuck to water and tea. The other thing we didn't like was that the juice at breakfast was in carafes full of ice so the juice was diluted. On the NCL Gem there were dispensers for various types of juice and you could get whatever you wanted and it was full strength and cold.

Cabin Review

Cabin AC

Room D728 - Dolphin Deck AFT. Mini-suite. Very good size with a full bathroom. A large closet, two TV's and a large balcony with four chairs (two reclining). Passengers can request a fruit basket every day which was nice especially since my DH is diabetic and needs healthy snacks during the day. Did not notice any noise or a lot of movement from the ship. Your balcony can be viewed by two decks of balconies above you. Laundry facilities right down the hall. Buffets are six decks up so very handy.

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