We spent 3 days in Barcelona prior to the cruise. Highly recomend that if you are boarding a cruise in Barcelona that you spend a few days and enjoy this beautiful city. Embarkation was a breeze only took about 20 minutes to go through security and board the ship. The Emerald princess has been remolded since the last time we were on it, it looks good with the updates. We had a cabin on deck 10 with a very large balcony, good size cabin with plenty of closet space. We ate most days in the main dinning room, food was good and service was fast. As long as we didn't share a table with others we were in and out of the dinning room in 45 minutes. As far as the World Fresh market goes so much better the the old Horizon Buffet. Food was good in the buffet but they ran out of peanut butter, So I was bummed out I had nothing to put on my english muffin in the morning. Bar service was very good, staff always there and ready to serve you, except for the female bartender at Crooners, she was having a BAD cruise. I avoided that bar after my first experience with her YIKES! That is my only complaint about this cruise. Everyone esle was wonderful. The ports on this Itinerary is why we chose this cruise, each was great in thier own way. I really love the small town feel of Cartagena. Disembaration was another story, not the cruise lines fault but US customs was so backed up we sat on the ship an extra 2 hours before we could get off, luckily we had a late flight so no issues. Read Less

Excellent cruise. The boarding and disembarking process was very organized and smooth. The food at the sit down restaurant is the best we’ve ever had on any cruise. It is definitely the best food we’ve ever had on a cruise. The Market Place buffet was also excellent. The Inside cabin was large and very well kept by the cabin steward. The captain spoke to the passengers on a daily basis from the Bridge keeping us informed as to location and weather. The ship was always clean and had laundry services on each level. This was very helpful on a long cruise. Very satisfied with the Emerald Princess. Thank you to the staff. The Lotus Spa staff and crew were very helpful. We used the facility daily. Also, the gym facility is excellent. It was always clean and very well equipped. The number of ports was a perfect selection with a day at sea (to rest) in between. THANKS TO ALL AT THE EMERALD PRINCESS. Read Less

Worst cruise we have ever been on. We are platinum Princess guests and most likely will not use them ever again. We were excited to be on a brand new ship but what a dissapppointment. The ship was dirty and not well maintained. We sailed on the 2nd week of its inauguration. 2 elevators were down the entire 2 weeks we sailed. Staff was not trained and didn't know answers to basic questions. Floor in the buffet area was constantly dirty. Norovirus outbreak because people were grabbing items from the buffet without using utensils or washing their hands. Captain grossly under reported the number of people sick. Dining room had slow service and mediocre food. Buffet was severely limited because of the virus outbreak and food there was unimaginative and not tasty. The only time you got drinks served in a timely manner was when management was present. The capper to it all was the day I used a public restroom on deck 5. There was a stall with a large amount of human feces in the stall and paper towels all over the floor. Looks like it hadn't been cleaned in weeks. It was very hard for me to believe this is a new ship. Looks like some kind of refurbed older ship that had not been maintained. The carpet in the hallways was vacuumed maybe once a week. When my husband got sick with norvirus we called 911 as instructed and they did not know what we were talking about. Said someone would call us back but they never did. Other people we spoke to that got sick got a billl for $90 for calling on the phone - "consultation" we had a Carnival ship experience at Princess prices. NEVER AGAIN!!! Too many flaws to overlook Read Less

We were on the Inaugural cruise of the Regal and we assumed that this inaugural cruise would be equally well done. WRONG! During the Regal inaugural cruise every Princess Entertainer of the Year was on board. The music and performances were beyond wonderful. However, on the Sky there was no special effort to bring on board the best of the best. Sometimes it was impossible to find music anywhere. The entertainment was not as good as it usually is...second tier entertainers...there were two bands on board..they were okay but not the level we usually find on Princess. This was our 23rd Princess cruise. There was only one production show....no Crooners Bar, no Wheelhouse Bar (the only place to dance was the Piazza, which has a tile floor)...poor service in the buffet... the crew was friendly but did not seem to know what was expected of them..dirty tables and long waits for coffee at the buffet. At the International Cafe the usual wait for a cappuccino was 15 minutes. The elevators did not work properly and one was broken for an entire week. The signal lights for the elevators did not work properly, either. The chef repeated the first week’s menu for the second week! Should I send him a cookbook? We canceled our Caribbean cruise on the Sky and switched to the Regal! We feel as if we spent a lot of money for an experience that did not materialize. Read Less

We are mid-cruise on this near brand-new ship. I hope someone from Princess is reading this. This is the Sky Princess' second sailing, I believe. In many ways it is brilliant, and, in others, it is hugely frustrating and a let down. Let's start with the positives. The staff are brilliant without exception. The state rooms are calming and elegantly decorated in contemporary style. The public areas spacious, comfortable and beautifully designed. The entertainment in the theatre the best we have ever experienced on any cruise anywhere. So what's the problem? Largely three fold. Firstly, the lifts are awful. Everyone is moaning about them. Permanent, interminable waiting time whenever you try and call one. Simply put there are not enough lifts to cope with the passenger load. Especially with one out of service from embarkation. Second, the service in the restaurants is very, very slow. Unacceptably slow. We kind of understood this in a speciality restaurant on night 1, but in the main restaurant?? Unusual. Finally, a linked point, service is generally a bit slow, even in moments when it doesn't seem that busy. It is hard to understand why. On a final note, the medallion system, which whilst superb in many ways, is not flawless. I can see some cruise passengers feeling more at home with standard key cards. One of the downsides is you don't see what you've been billed (ie at the bar) until you've checked it on the app. Not for everyone, I think. Overall - has great potential, and would be 5* for us if these issues highlighted above were eradicated. One has to hope that these are the teething problems, of a new crew, on a brand new ship. Our sense is they are. Time will tell. Read Less

In our experience cruises are good, better, or the best. This cruise was on the lower end of good. The itinerary was great, but some of the staff seemed to be going through the motions at the end of a long Mediterranean season. We missed the smiles and sparkle we saw from the crew of the Pacific Princess, which we were on less than a week before this cruise began. Examples include: • the coffee guy in the International café who clearly did not want not be there and grunted at you when you ordered coffee, • the barman in the Explorer’s bar who gave us an environment lecture when we simply ask for a straw to stir our drinks and he complained that we should get glasses for the mini bar in our cabin from our cabin steward rather than him, • the deck attendants, one of whom was leaning on a squeegee broom having a chat near a big pool of water on the deck and then moving off without making any effort to remove the water, and • the breakfast dining room greeter who stood at the front of the line instead of at the end to tell people where the two only versus shared table queues should be, which resulted in confused guests. Individually these are all minor concerns, but collectively it has an impact on your impression of the crew. Most of the above issues were addressed a few days into the cruise and the overall service was better in the second half of the cruise. Nonetheless, first impressions count. An additional note on the environment and straws issue. Nearly every day of the cruise we get printed Effy, Spa and Art Auction notices, most of which go straight in the bin. If Princess cut back on these notices they could afford to provide a few paper straws without destroying the environment. The cruise did not start well when we discovered that more than 15 of the wines on the wine list in the main dining room were not available. Initially we were told that the wine was not on board, but had not been found or input to the ship’s inventory system. It took two more days before they admitted that the wine had never been loaded on board. Note to Princess, missed shipments happen, just tell us what happened, do not make things up that you have to later retract. The food in the main dining room was average. The beef dishes were good but anything else was lacklustre. Nearly all the meals were tepid rather than being hot. On several occasions our table (which consisted for 4 couples of different nationalities) had to send dishes back. One notable example was lobster night. To begin with most of the lobsters delivered were only the size of a large shrimp meaning additional lobsters had to be ordered and the green coloured risotto it came with was simply not edible. Room service was another issue, our record for waiting on the phone was 45 minutes over three calls until we gave up. I say three calls because after getting a’ we will be with you shortly message ad infinitum’ we would then get a ’please ring back later’ message and then the phone would go dead meaning we had to remake the call. I also do not understand why Princess used the Piazza rather than the Princess Theatre for folkloric events. These shows were always well attended but only about 20 per cent of the audience could get a seat, a further 20 per cent could get an unobstructed standing view and the remaining 60 per cent had to put up with obstructed or no view at all. The end result was arguments between guests re obstruction of views, thoroughfare access, and seat stealing. All this with no evidence that any of the staff were interested in policing the area while everyone was jostling for positions. Enough of the negatives, the above faults aside we still had a good time and some members of the crew did put in a great effort. We really enjoyed the wine blending experience we had in Vines. This was new Princess experience for us and the concept is very good. The Vines manger, James, was an excellent host and the table size of 8 made the experience an intimate one. Our cabin steward Frank was also outstanding. He met all our requests with a friendly smile and kept our cabin in great condition. We had a mini suite and, although it is showing its age a little bit it was still to the standard we expected. The gym and other common facilities of the ship were kept in a very clean and tidy condition. There was an outbreak of Noro virus on the ship and I have to say the ship handled the containment and ultimate defeat of the virus in a very proactive way. The Captain gave us daily reports on what was happening and the staff put in a monumental effort to clean and sanitise the ship both inside and out. The entertainment was ranged from good to excellent. The stage show, ‘Magic to Do’ was excellent and the comedian Steve Bruner put on a great show. The resident band, Topaz was also great. They played a variety of music styles and the music and vocal standard of the group was exceptional. The cruise director staff were always enthusiastic and energetic. Alex and Amy were particularly good. The outstanding part of the cruise was the itinerary. We hit nearly all the good spots in the Mediterranean and did a mix of private and ship tours. We had the best experiences doing private tours of Valetta (Malta), the Amalfi Coast (from Naples), Tuscany (from Livorno), and a foodie walking tour in Palermo (Sicily). Ships tours of the Parthenon, Santorini and Olympia were very good. The poorest experience we had was a ship tour from Rome billed as being an Olive tasting experience. This involved a long drive through the countryside, the guide telling us about an amazing set of engraved tombs dating back centuries that were in a town we drove past. We arrived at a farm with one olive tree for a very mediocre lunch that featured one dish with non-descript olive oil. We had expected to taste different olives at the very least. In summary a good, but not great cruise. Read Less

We chose this cruise because of its itinerary. Putting sea days in the middle of port days allows for time to recharge after doing tours. We left out of Barcelona without touring the city, which worked out to be best as there were riots in the area that have hopefully been resolved. Embarking at Barcelona was a breeze. No line ups at 12:00 and we were on board in less than 30 minutes. Room was ready, which was an extra treat The Emerald may be an older ship, but that is its charm. The ship flows very well. It doesn't seem crowded. The clubs are large so no fighting for seats. The standard balcony cabin on the Emerald isn't as spacious as the newer ships, but still adequate and the balcony itself was roomy. The bed was very comfortable. The restaurants are varied. We have always been satisfied with dining in the main dining room when possible, and it was up to Princess high standard for good food with reasonable portions. The buffet had enough variety to keep our plates overflowing. Room service (we get breakfast in the cabin on shore excursion days) was always prompt and accurate. I should note that I have a food allergy, and the dining room maitre D made sure I reviewed the menus the day before so they could prepare my food. Very much appreciate this extra effort. The entertainment was great. The 3 production shows were very well done. Their new Magic / production show was particularly great. Went to the theatre each night and was never disappointed. The cruise was meant for relaxing rather than partying, so expect a laid back atmosphere where you can do as little or as much as you want. No service concerns. Whatever we needed we received. Ports: Toulon:Scenic Drive, Sanary-sur-Mer & Bandol Two laid back towns with many boats in the harbour and surrounded by small cafes Livorno: Livorno on Foot and by Boat This was a surprise. We toured the city by boat. It is like being in Venice with all the canals weaving through the city. Boat tour was relaxing and walking tour was good with a wine stop. Valetta: Grand Master's Palace, St. John's Cathedral & Mdina Malta is a beautiful place. Was humbled thing of St Peter and St Luke being in this place. Much history displayed in a short time. Kotor Kotor, St. Tryphon Cathedral, Njegusi & Cetinje After leaving the port and driving through 25 switchbacks (the driver did a great job and very safe) we went out to the country and had a nice lunch with beverages like honey wine(recommended) Tour ended in Kotor and the old city behind the walls. Very nice. Corfu Achilleion Palace, St. Spyridon Church & Corfu Town The palace is very nice, especially the grounds. Enjoyed the local drink (quamquat) and dropped us off in town. Very similar to Malta. Palermo Easy Palermo Orientation & Monreale Glad we were in a bus. Italian driver (not the bus driver) are very aggressive so do not drive here. You have been warned. Monreale had the best church of the trip with it's frescos and gold. The steps up are very shallow so do not be intimidated. You can take a cab up for 2 euros shared. Naples: Memories of Naples & Pompeii When they rated this stenuous, they weren't kidding.We are not old, (mid 50's) but were beat at the end. Would have done this as 2 separate tours in the future. Walking tour of Naples including the aqueducts below the city (facinating) and a pizza lunch in a nice cafe. Off to Pompeii Pompeii is like no where else in the world. Definitely a must do tour. The remains give you a snapshot of history of that time. Be aware that mobility issues are real here, as you are walking on boulders, not cobblestones. Lots of up and down and elevation changes. Rome Debark Tour - Vatican, Sistine Chapel & St. Peter's Disembarking tours are the way to go. Get off the ship, get your bags, load them under the bus and go. No worries, no hassles. Vatican tour was great. Very special place that you just never have the time to fully appreciate. There is so much to see. I must do an individual tour in the future, as there is so much to see. Dropped up off at the train station near our private hotel. Definitely a cruise we would do again. Very relaxing and Princess treated us great. Read Less

The Emerald was a good ship and had a great selection of ports. However, the food quality seemed to be off on this ship compared with the rest of the fleet. If you are looking for good food, this is not the ship for you! The general staff were very good with the exception of the front desk personnel. If you have an issue, be prepared if you speak English they may not understand you. For the price of the cruise, the trip was great. There were plenty of chairs available on the deck for sun lounging. Entertainment was good and had a nice verity of shows. The Gastropub was excellent, don't waste your money on Share by Chris Stone, selection not very good. As a premium class guest with Princess, embarkation and disembarkation was great with little or no time spent on the process. Some of the ports (Malta) the ship could have spent more time at rather than the Greek ports. Read Less

This is the first trip on my bucket list. All of my excursions were fantastic with the exception of Adajjacio (Corsica). Nothing was open, and had not been open for awhile. The staff on board is so friendly and helpful. If you are single, beware there was no single activities scheduled the second 11 days of the trip (after many passengers left and new ones came on board). The first 11 days, there was not a singles activity until day 4 or 5 and only after a passenger wrote a long letter requesting one. I asked if there would be any singles activities so that I could meet people. The buffet was luke warm at best. Food that should have been hot was cold or luke warm with the exception of soup or hot cereals. Dining room food was also not very hot when it should have been. Good variety of food. Read Less

This was technically a 22 day cruise, but we only did the 11 day portion of Barcelona to Rome. We chose this cruise because of the itinerary plus the price and the perks were good. There were 7 of us and overall, it was a great experience. The staff was excellent and the passengers were very friendly. We all made new friends. It is a beautiful ship. The piazza midship is stunning. We all agreed the cabins could do with a freshening up in decor; it was a little bit dated. However, the rooms were spotless. The mini-suites are large and roomy with a full size bathroom and lots of storage. My parents and sister had electrical and plumbing problems with their room, but Dennis, their steward, handled the situations promptly and efficiently. The food experience onboard got mixed reviews amongst our group. My parents and sister did not enjoy their main dining dinner experience the first night onboard and never went back. The group went to Steamers one night and those that had the mussels enjoyed the experience, but those that had the fried platter were disappointed. We all enjoyed: Share, Crown Grill, World Market Buffet, The Salty Dog Grill on the lido deck, Slices, The International Cafe, Room Service & Coffees and Cones. We only saw a couple of the shows in the Princess Theatre and they were fun. Karaoke in Club Fusion was good. The Maitre D wine tasting experience was excellent as was the Love Boat disco party. Embarkation was poorly done, but disembarkation was a breeze. For our group, the shore excursions booked through the cruise ship were the biggest disappointment, specifically those that took ship tours to Marseilles, Florence and Capri. It's a lot of money to put out and not have a wonderful time. All in all it was a great time and we would definitely consider another Princess cruise in the future. Read Less

We chose a Princess cruise to celebrate our 50th wedding anniversary. We have cruised with Princess before and we were happy with our experience and that is why we chose Princess for this memorable occasion. Food and dining service were excellent and despite the number of guests on board, the Emerald Princess never seemed overcrowded due to its size and layout. Both the quality and variety of food on the ship were very good. We were pleased with our stateroom and the cabin service was excellent. We enjoyed the views from our balcony. We took advantage of our Cruise Personalizer to book on shore excursions for most of the ports and found the descriptions and information of each accurate. Getting off the ship for excursions was very well organized considering the number of people and we would recommend the Princess excursions. In a couple of ports we explored the area on our own without any problems. We would recommend Princess cruises and look forward to cruising with them again. Read Less

We had a truly delightful experience aboard the Emerald Princess. We highly recommend going on a cruise with Princess Crusies, and we would also highly recommend spending a little more money for a balcony room. I had been on a cruise years before, so my expectations were fairly open. We stayed in a balcony room and absolutley enjoyed the time spent coming into port and leaving port and viewing these moments from our balcony. The food experience we had was top notch, and I loved the flexibilty Princess provided us. Also our stateroom and the service provided was excelent. Great job Princess! There's no comparison regarding going on a cruise to see places verses driving or flying in to the various destinations and having to find lodging and going to expensive restaurants. The cruiseline provided everything and more. It's so worth having the convenience of having everything that you need on the ship and not having to pack up and move at every destination. Read Less

We always wanted to cruise the Med so this was our retirement treat. Prior to the cruise we had a great CC rollcall and so we met the night before sailing and forged some good friendships for on board. Embarkation at Barcelona was a breeze. Our room was ready even though it was early. Ate lunch at the dining room - very relaxed start to our cruise. The crew were all amazing - room steward , bar staff and deck attendants. Our cabin was comfortable and clean - great position on Aliso Deck in an inside cabin. Highly recommended. The shows and entertainment were very good - though a couple of nights there was not a lot on. The meals in dining room (we had anytime dining) were always good and we never had to wait for a table- we ate around 6:15. We had two water shuttle stops and they were handled very well and we were off quickly. We took no tours with the ship- we preorganised local operators and shared tours on our roll call. There is nothing we would change about our trip - thanks Emerald Princess for a dream holiday. Read Less

Our children gave us the surprise for our 45th wedding anniversary to celebrate in the Emerald Princess Cruise. Name itself speaks that the Cruise will treat like a princess. People are extremely helpful service is excellent and lots of fun. We felt that it is a heaven on earth. Photo gallery studio people and the passengers information were extremely helpful. The room service and cabin crew members deliver the service right away. The formal dinner chef arranged food to our liking. I strongly recommend to everyone and specifically are those who wants to have life time memories of their special events like renewal of vows, weddings, etc. The Emeralds Princess Cruise treats you very special that you remember rest of your life. One must go on this Cruise once in their life time at least. People are very friendly. I met wonderful people who were totally not known before but talking to them they were kind to attend my 45th wedding anniversary renewal of vows. I will highly recommend to everyone to sail in Emerald Princess Cruise. We got our interview to build the Legacy for our children. Thank you for taking time and reading. Read Less

My friends and I were looking for a Mediterranean cruise but late to book so many were already sold out. I thought Princess was rated similar to RCCL and Celebrity ...oops, I was so wrong. If the was one Improvement I'd. Suggest, it would be to stop nickel and diming people with stupid drink packages!!! How ridiculous to offer a water and coke package which only serviced INSIDE or Outside your cabins. It was, like much of the programs...petty. nightly entertainment limited to early only crowds. After 9pm, there's few options. The best experience was in the spa where I got 2 treatments that were e excellent. I did pass on the $60.00 manicure tho. Placing an automatic 15% gratuity was insulting. Lastly, as most cruises, the food is bountiful however what's the purpose of having different dining rooms if you're serving the same menu in each? Where was the variety? Even the 2 additional restaurants you had to pay additional for had pretty much the same menu as the others. Simply unimaginative and a basic 3 1/2 star cruise line. A touch above costa and same as NCL. And don't waste 2 days at sea just to get cheap fuel in Gilbralter ! Read Less

This was our eighth cruise with Princess and probably our last ... The Emerald is12 years old, and it shows: the cabins need refurbishing, although the carpets have been replaced recently, the main areas are in better condition and the buffet area has been totally updated.. However this ship needs a major overhaul mechanically as it vibrates a lot (confirmed by a crew member). A number of passengers, including my husband and I, found the vibration in our cabin unbearable at times, we tried to relocate but the ship was fully booked, never encountered this before on a cruise ship, maybe a ferry ... The food was pretty good in the dining room and the buffet was very good too although there were no theme nights for Greek food which would have been nice. In general, the entertainment was okay; 2 comedians, one American (excellent) and a young Brit (improved second night). Tried a theatre production, bit lame for us ...not into Trivia or bingo or gambling .... The excursions were very good although expensive,, we do our own thing as much as possible... sadly we were not able to visit Mykonos due to high wind and spent the day at sea in a force 8 gale, really unexpected... All in all loved the cruise, despite not being able to sleep properly for 2 weeks, my advice would be to book with the newer “Royal class” ships like the Regal or the Royal and stay away from the older ones ... Read Less

We chose this cruise because of itinerary and the flight included package. Loved the stops. The ship was great except for food. I am not a fish or seafood eater so I found limited choices for me in the dining room. I am a fussy eater so I thought just me but after sitting with others in dining room, they too, were disappointed. There were very few kids on this cruise so pools were good but I would guess they could get crowded with little ones at other times. I didn’t see a kids pool. The shows were nothing to crow about. The casino was dead, no competitions etc. I did enjoy the entertainment team. They were great. The game shows were also good. I also find the buffet to be small and again heavy on fish.our room was quiet and clean so no complaints there.enbarksion and disembark both great. Read Less

The ship was an average ship, Some of the employees needed more training and experience, service was average, food quality was average. Need lots of improvement in food service and quality of service. The front desk employees, either they were not knowledgeable or not feeling to assist or they were tired. At least the one who was helping us. Food was average quality, we return our food back in the dining room because it was not cooked and or was not prepared right. Our waiter in dining room was a very nice guy. Fitness center was clean but they were permitting kids in the center, kids were all over on the equipment creating a danger first to them and others. The cruise company leave the responsibility on the parents. Entertainments were not as interesting as it should be at least to our test. Maybe some customers that have not seen other cruise ships was satisfactory. Read Less

Chose the cruise because the price sounded good and was "inclusive". Was disappointed certain cities and port fees were added to the trip and the way it was presented and the experience we had. Excursions were not what was expected and not what I thought they would be and the cities were not tourist oriented and only wanted the tourists dollar. Socialism has ruined these countries and it shows it: no park benches to wait for a bus, charge for public bathrooms, bothered by street "vendors" not being chased by police, trash in the streets and next to restaurants, terrible roads in cities, every restaurant charges like they are Michelin operators ( don't even get bread for your meal but are charge if you want some. Also be aware that the charges upon debarcation include VAT taxes in certain cities and also port taxes in some places that appear on your bill. Do not appreciate wanting a daily charge for the internet ( all American Hotels have FREE internet and the hotels in Europe). Did not appreciate no seating in the World Market: go in, get your food, and then look for a seat and then wind up upside to eat with cold food! Being charge extra for the 2 "special restaurants", having the cruise lines saving money on these venues and also when people are on their tours do not eat on the boat so there again, they save money. Putting water bottles in your room with a sign for purchase on them! Sold as a seven day cruise and never told that you could go for another 14 days: poor marketing on the operator. On our flight over could not sit with my wife and coming home, supposedly, my reservation was canceled. Read Less

We booked this cruise a few weeks before sailing, as we were in need of a de-stress break. The Emerald Princess certainly delivered. We've cruised with Princess before, so we knew what to expect in terms of the ship and its layout. The Emerald Princess has recently had some updates, with a restyled buffet and top deck areas. The whole ship was beautifully maintained and extremely clean. We booked a balcony cabin; be aware that Riviera deck cabins are fully covered, and as such it was rarely in the sun. This wasn't a great problem, but we'd avoid that deck again, as we like to sunbathe on our balcony which we didn't really do on this cruise. Our cabin steward was excellent, the room was always cleaned to a high standard, and he always seemed to appear when we needed to ask a question, or if we had an armful of plates from the buffet to take to our balcony! Dining across the ship was consistently very good. We did miss the selection in the buffet that you find on the larger Princess ships, but we always found items that we enjoyed. Lines at the burger bar were very short when compared to other ships, even at peak times. Sometimes it puts you off seeing a long line to wait in, there were no long lines on this ship. We also enjoyed the pizza, and snacks from the international cafe were of high quality. Try the Passion fruit Chocolate slice - it was delicious! Food in the main dining room was on the whole excellent, and in the main staff were really warm, friendly and accommodating. One night we had wait staff who were less interested, and this really stood out as all other staff on the ship were amazing, always with a smile, and always ready to help. So two less interested staff out of a huge crew was not a big deal, but noticed. Particular mention to Franco, a Mexican waiter (I think I have his name right), as he was even more smiley, friendly and warm than the others. We were pleased to be say on his table twice. No wait or pagers for main dining room was an added bonus. We tried Curtis Stone one night, the meal was suitably longer, service was attentive, and the food was different in a good way. We were unsure as to whether we would feel it was worth the up charge, but agreed it was well worth a try. Highlight was the pasta, not how we were expecting it at all, but truly delicious - give it a try. Entertainment was very good, we enjoyed three production shows in a week with a high standard of singing and dancing. We also enjoyed the British comedian. We were so pleasantly surprised to see Arny G on board, a lounge pianist and singer we'd enjoyed watching on a previous cruise a couple of years back. It was great to be acquainted with him again, and we enjoyed watching his shows each evening. The piano bar was packed every night as Arny has an amazing singing and playing style, with an infectious personality. He is very generous in involving his audience, encouraging requests and even twisting my arm to join him on stage for a song (or two)! He even showed us round Marseille, somewhere we hadn't visited before. Arny you are an inspiration and now a true friend! Thanks for playing such a big part in making the cruise so memorable. Wonderful ports and weather, you really can't go wrong with a Med cruise on Princess, something for everyone on and off the ship. As relatively regular Princess cruisers, we are usually impressed - but we were still struck by how almost every single staff member we encountered was so eager to provide top service. Consistently high standards of food, service and entertainment across the whole ship. Princess is definitely up a notch from other cruise lines we've tried (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, P&O), everything seems to be done with more care. Can't wait to repeat on the brand new Sky Princess on the 27th October - we're hooked! Read Less

This was my family's first cruise on Princess and I have to say we are extremely disappointed. We experienced so many issues, the most important being with poor quality of service. Here is some of what we experienced: - Nights two and three we had horrible (and by horrible I mean nonexistent) service at dinner. Our other tables in our large party were literally finishing their entrees and we had yet to receive our appetizers. I still could not tell you who our assistant server was after our 7 night cruise because he was nowhere to be found. On night three no one came to our table for over a half hour. - The toilet in one of our rooms clogged like clockwork every night for the first three nights and instead of apologizing and fixing the problem the plumber essentially accused us of putting something other than toilet paper down the toilet (we didn't). When we would try to call the desk to have someone repair it no one would answer the phone, forcing us to walk to the lobby each time. After the third time the toilet broke, we went back to the desk and I could see one of the women at the desk mocking me as I spoke to her colleague. In front of my face. I work in the hospitality industry and can assure you that while direct and frustrated, I was very polite and calm while interacting with him. Completely uncalled for. Finally the next morning the plumber actually disassembled and repaired the toilet instead of the usual quick-fix from the previous nights. It worked fine after this. - The toilets in the public women's rooms were often filthy and would remain this way for hours. - The currency machines were out of order 80% of the time. The machines to check your account balance were down the last two nights of the cruise, causing insanely long lines at the front desk. When directed to the desk to exchange money, they acted as though guests were a bother. Every crew member we spoke with at the front desk was incredibly unprofessional and far from friendly. - In fact, most staff we interacted with on the cruise were unprofessional, unapologetic, and rude, making it very apparent they do not enjoy their jobs and do not wish to be there. After constant issues, sometimes all you want is a seemingly genuine apology, and we never received that. Not once. - Like I said, the attitude of most staff we encountered was poor to say the least. A couple examples: We watched an employee in the photography studio on the last night of our cruise yell (loudly!) and berate an elderly woman who took a photo of one of her pictures, not realizing this was not allowed. He followed her around the store yelling loudly for everyone to hear, demanding she delete the photo immediately. This was NOT the proper way to handle this situation and everyone around was mortified and embarrassed for her. Another night while shopping in Calypso Cove if you needed assistance from a staff member you would not receive it. Why? The two working were arguing in front of the store. - Want a drink at night? If you are directed to a bar that is supposed to be open until 11pm, prepare to get there only for them to be completely shut down and unable to pour you a drink by 10:30, a half hour before closing time. This happened twice at Adagio. - Spa staff was polite and helpful, until there was a concern with one of the treatments. Their demeanor then completely changed and became curt and defensive. - Disembarkation was chaotic. We did the walk-off option as we had to be off the ship early, and our entire group had to carry our 50+ pound suitcases down over ten flights of stairs because it was impossible to get an elevator. Three of the five elevators were marked 'R' for reserved and the other two were at capacity for over twenty minutes before we opted to take the stairs. Two people in our party who were unable to take the stairs waited over 45 minutes for an elevator. Children, seniors, and everyone in between were lugging their gigantic suitcases down the stairwells. POSITIVES: - Our stateroom, while dated, was always very clean. Our steward Winston was so friendly, always asking about our day with a genuine smile. - The restaurant 'Share' by Curtis Stone was excellent. We loved our food and entire experience here and agree it was definitely worth the up-charge. We wish we came here more than once - The Ports of Call were great. We loved each destination. It should be noted that we did not book any of our excursions through the cruiseline, only outside companies. - Embarkation was smooth, quick, and efficient. As first-time guests on Princess, we are beyond disappointed. After one day of this, we thought 'maybe this is a one-off.' But the continuous issues and unapologetic staff day in and day out made this vacation far from relaxing. We had high hopes and expectations and this cruise did not live up to them. For all of these reasons I would not recommend Princess cruiseline. I have no experience on their other ships but this one specifically was disappointing. I have sailed with three other cruiselines and have never experienced such poor service. My family spent a ton of money for what should have been the trip of a lifetime and while the ports were fabulous (again, excursions not booked through Princess) our time on the ship was stressful, agitating, and honestly shocking. Read Less

Went on this cruise for my friends 50th Birthday. The whole cruise was amazing onboad the crew were great they could not do enough for me. They made my experience priceless. The on shore excursions are a must and I pre booked before leaving so I did not have to line up to book and took my time researching them. All the places we visited were amazing to see and plenty to do. You don't have to go a shore if you don't want to but would be mad if you didn't. The bar and wait staff in the casino were a lot of fun and I liked how they remembered your name and your drink. Also top deck and pool side were great too. The daily activities were fun and a great way to meet new people. Entertainment by the cruise entertainment people were quite funny and enjoyable. All in all had the best time ever. Thank you Princess Cruises Read Less

It seamed like an ideal way to relax after a busy work schedule and as a way to see other parts of Europe in transit to Turkey. It is a matter of choice how busy one can be on a cruise and this one did not disappoint. The sea days provided the necessary relaxation to reboot the energy for the day excursions and in preparation for the long hikes ahead. A taste of three different cultures during the shore excursions provided the enrichment and entertainment that I enjoyed. Gibraltar provided the English/Spanish history. At Marseilles, although it was disappointing that our first option was not available due to the bicycle race Avignon provided another historical visit and a glimpse at the countryside. Genoa and Livorno both gave us the opportunity to see the countryside and observe the enormous engineering feats that the Italians have accomplished with roads through hills with tunnels and viaducts. The picturesque beaches were a treat. Leaving the ship in Rome was inevitable but a place previously visited. The excursions are as described in the brochures and efficiently organised at each port along with the apparent seamless process for embarkation and disembarkation. The activities provided were a huge range and everyone should have found plenty of a high quality to meet their needs. Emerald Princess is a great ship. Read Less

We chose this cruise as we had a large party and it was basically the one that suited all. That said there was some thought that there may have been better cruise available - that was proved incorrect as we all loved it. The embarkation process was seamless and very fast. Baggage assistants on the wharf helped the process and our luggage was in our room when we opened the door. The condition of the ship at present is very good with no real sign anywhere of wear and tear. Common areas are very nice and well maintained. The stateroom was above our exceptions in size and condition. The itinerary from Barcelona to Athens was very impressive and some notable surprises for us in Gibraltar and Kotor. We all agreed that what we saw of Marseilles made it our least favourite port. Stateroom steward was perfect....there when you needed him otherwise rarely saw him. he kept the room spotless. Meals were spot-on. Be aware that if you are doing a 14 or 21 day Med cruise that your menu will basically repeat every 7 days. Shore tours were very good and ran smoothly. Read Less

We have travelled on Princess before and hold Elite status so are very familiar with the standard of service etc. Although it has been 8 years since we last cruised with Princess partly circumstances and partly better ports and itineraries from other cruise lines. Their overall standard has certainly slipped in this time I have seen reviews from other cruisers with an opinion very similar to some of our . The ridiculous charging for bus transfers to get you from the port if you hadn't booked one of their excursions. EXCURSIONS were well over priced More so than in the past. Internet was very highly over priced and ate up your package very quickly as they were slow in loading, however we did discover that some PC were always being occupied because they were fast operating ENTERTAINMENT was certainly not up to a high standard on a 14 day cruise to have the same entertainers performing the same acts or songs repeated in the same order was very disappointing they need to take a look at what the opposition cruiselines are doing give me Royal Caribbean Cruiseline entertainment any day it is far superior. Princess nedd to be changing entertainers not using the same ones throughout a 14 day and 21 day cruise. The Sounds band was excellent, but too loud especially in open areas. FOOD The buffet with the idea of having cutlery on the tables and the food had a great variety I wish I could say the same about the main dinning rooms who had a repeated menu every seven days. Part of enjoying a cruising is the main dinning rooms variety and the Captains Welcome and farewell dinners of which have gone it is just like a normal night no lobster tails just a normal menu with the Bomb Alaska offered as a dessert is the only thing still offered on the last night. We shared a table by accident with an American couple accident several times and they had been on a long cruise on the same ship in February and said there was none of this repeat entertainment and menu every 7 days they were discussed. If it was a cruise over 18 - 21 days I would expect the menu to repeat. FORMAL NIGHTS We got information with our cruise papers there would be 3 formal nights on a 14 night cruise but when we got on board we discovered there were 4 formal night which is ridiculous considering cruising is now taking the more casual approach to what it use to do years ago. It appears they are cutting costs and not keeping up what use to be their good standard which is a shame as it doesn't exactly give first time cruisers a good impression and does leave you thinking what will my next cruise with them be like or do we have to do a short 7 day cruise which we don't like to avoid repeats Read Less