Emerald Princess Review

4.5 / 5.0
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Review for the Panama Canal & Central America Cruise on Emerald Princess
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julieannr1
6-10 Cruises • Age 60s

Rating by category

Cabin
Family
Value for Money
Embarkation
Dining
Public Rooms
Entertainment
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Sail Date: Feb 2023

I've sailed Emerald Princess in 2019 on a Mediterranean cruise, and 5 other cruises. Agree with PP, the portions are smaller, but I prefer the smaller size, but there is noticeable cost cutting going on in the kitchen. There were 2 surf and turf nights, since one night was Valentine's day. Numerous people on board told us the Crown Grill and Sabatini's were not worth the cost, so we canceled our reservations. The burgers on 15 taste like the frozen, cheap burgers at festivals. No more Chocolate night, no midnight buffets, the pizza is okay. Two specialty coffee stations on decks 5 and 15, so if you go during an off time you won't have to wait too long. The wine on the Plus package was not the worst house wine I've ever had, it was a solid 5.

The MDR reservations are sort of a loose guideline. Dining on the first night resulted in long lines, as the people without reservations were seated, so that our 6:15 PM reservation could not be honored, despite the sign stating that people without reservations would not be seated until after 7:30 PM. The hosts are good at juggling the hungry crowd, and they bumped us to a less busy dining room, which was slow and we guessed was a training dining room.

The staff shortage is noticeable and so many people are brand new. We spoke with quite a few people who were on their first cruise contract. No more Russian staff, expect to see staff from other countries. Our room steward, Joy, was very good and experienced, and he was responsible for 19 cabins and busy.

Cabin Review

Attached is a picture of our cabin, P321. I do not recommend the room. The room is above the luggage and main loading dock (so if you pull into a port at 6 AM then expect the hatch to be opened), there is also a lot of noise from the stabilizers. The room has the two drop down bunk beds also. The picture on the ship's website is different and I could not find a picture anywhere online. A Princess booking agent, Nicole, booked us "best available room". P321 is the worst available room. We complained about the noise, it was really loud one night between 1:30-2:30 AM, and moved down the hall to an identical looking room, P241, which was much quieter. We bid for a balcony, so we were surprised when they didn't offer us a nicer room, plus it took them all day to get back to us on the noise complaint. The ship was about 60% full, so there was room to move us elsewhere. The picture is not loading, so I'll try to come back and add it.

Port Reviews

Cartagena (Colombia)

We did the city tour, and our guide brought us to the fort, said a few things but we didn't have time to go in anywhere, instead we were swarmed by people selling items. The restaurant at the end of the tour was very nice, on the water with a nice sampling of cultural food. However, there were armed guards with AK's guarding the ramp from the parking lot to the back patio where we were sitting. Also, our guide LOST two people during the tour. She brought us to a few stores where she was clearly getting a kickback. The captain announced that all people were on board, so I assume the lost souls are okay.

Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera)

The Macaw and animal sanctuary was sold out early, so we went on our own. Safe to book a taxi, and we arrived well before the tour bus and got our own private tour. Great trip! The driver also took us to the Costa Rican version of Walmart, Maxi Pali, to get a few things.

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