Cruised the Emerald from March 21-28th. My wife and I are late thirties, no kids. Our first Princess cruise, and we were not disappointed. We have cruised RC 5 times and Celebrity once, all within the last two years. Been wanting to try Princess, so we cruised during my birthday.

Trying to keep this relatively short, but informative, I will start off with the negatives. I personally did not like the boarding procedure. We arrived at 11am, and no-one was allowed to board until around 12:15. Granted, nice to go directly to the room, but would have preferred to board upon arrival and wait until the standard 1 or so before the room was ready. In the end it was around 1 before we made it to the room anyway, and we went straight to it once on the ship. Next, we ate, then changed and went to the fitness center. I like to work out every day, and to my shock the fitness center is closed the first day so they can heard the masses through it to try and sell future events / programs. We both thought the entertainment was below the standard of RC. After one production show we did not go back, although we did see the two comedians and they were both very good.

Now, for the positives. First, the food is the most important thing for us in a cruise. It does not have to be fancy, but good. We love foods where a true chef makes the most of each ingredient. IMHO Princess was a step above the other lines we have cruised in both quality and taste. We LOVED the fact you could eat in the dining room for both breakfast and lunch everyday of the cruise, not just at sea days. So relaxing, and the lunch menu changed everyday! We attended Sabatini's the first night, and it was excellent. Worth every penny. Now, it was not quite as good as Murano's, but then again it was 1/3 the price, and very close. The Chilean Sea Bass was both our favorites, and the best fish meal we had on the cruise. Not a single complaint with the dinner in the dining room, with great selections each night. Had an awesome waiter named Manuel from Portugal. We even got selected for the Chef's Table dinner. So worth it, and would recommend to anyone to go straight to the maitre' d upon boarding and sign up. Remember only 10 to 12 are selected, so good luck. Really enjoyed the kitchen galley tour, and appreciated the personal time the executive chef, Antonio Constantino provided during the tour and throughout the incredible meal. Read more