I just returned from the November 17, 2017 Emerald Princess cruise, sailing to Catalina and Ensenada. The Emerald Princess is a beautiful ship, but I left the cruise feeling underwhelmed by most of the experiences we had. I was travelling with my mother, and I had a lovely time. But I don’t think I would sail Princess again in the near future.

EMBARKATION: Embarkation for us was very easy. We arrived around 12pm. There were people directing us at every step. One of the employees handed us paperwork to fill out (one form was for each passenger, and one was per cabin), and we proceeded up to check in with an agent. When we got there the agent informed us that we needed to fill out each form for EACH person. I apologized and let her know the forms we filled out were handed to us by the employee downstairs and we were told one per cabin. She immediately got snippy and said “I’ve worked here a long time” but then immediately followed it with “well, there are a lot of new employees down there”. It was something minor, but certainly a jarring way to be welcomed aboard. Once we left her, we were given a number to go and wait in a room, but when one of the employees saw my mother and her cane, she was gracious and allowed us to board immediately. We were onboard and in our cabin within 10 minutes.

CABIN: We were in cabin A710 on the Aloha deck. The cabin was great. Lots of closet space. Comfortable beds. Small but clean bathroom. Our balcony was lovely and had plenty of room to sit out there and relax. Our steward Marvi was attentive. No towel animals, though. This may be an outdated tradition, but the kid in me was hoping for one. The location was great. Very convenient to the pools, mid-ship and the buffets. A longer walk to our dining room and the princess theatre. The only down side is you can hear every door slam, and every conversation in the hall. Read more