We booked this 5-day 'get-a-away' to celebrate our 38th anniversary. the port was within driving distance, it occurred over my week-long break from school, and just fit all our needs. Also, it was a Princess cruise, which we always cruise on, and would give me a break away from young children, as I am an elementary school teacher. Even though this was over a holiday, we had been on 3 holiday cruises previously, and they basically the same...mostly adults and a few children. Nope. There were a large number of families, with kids, and totally unlike any other Princess cruise we'd been on, and this was our 9th. Happily, the children were very well behaved (for the most part) and the elevator tag got old early on, lol. So for a different cruising experience, with more family and child related activities, and a lot of children everywhere, we still had a great time. The only thing that was really something I would like to see change - and I know it will be for the Emerald's next dry dock - is the absence of hand washing stations. I've really come to like those. The food was good (even if the buffets could have had a wider selection), the service fantastic, and overall I would recommend this ship and destination. I will add that we have been to Cabo many times, so we never even got off the ship. So nothing to report for excursions or even the site.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We have usually embarked earlier than the state rotation times. This time we were told to expect at least an hour delay, on top of the posted time. They took our luggage and we toured the USS Iowa. When we got back to the ship, passengers were getting on. We walked inside, through customs, and were on board, earlier than our original time. All was smooth, everyone was friendly, and so began our cruise.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
We had Club Class dining, as it was good. Not as good as our last cruise with Princess, but still wonderful. The buffet was good, but I am not a 'breakfast food' eater, and always look forward to the non-traditional choice for breakfast (like rice and noodles with something with sauce on top). There was nothing like this at either side of Horizons and Cafe Caribe had the same, but fewer choices - eggs, toast, oatmeal, hash browns, etc. That said, I definitely didn't starve. The highlight of the cruise was our balcony dinner, on our anniversary, while anchored in Cabo. The service, food, and ambiance was 5-star. Kudo's to the captain for making sure the ship turned appropriately during out dinner, so we could alternately see the lighted and song filled boats, the land, and the full moon. Ha ha, that really happened, but I'm sure that the tide, not the captain was in charge. We had drink packages and we met too of the friendliest bartenders ever. And we have met some very personable and memorable bartenders on ships in the past.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
This trips had a lot of children, so many of the activities - dancing, trivia, etc, was geared to children, so I found myself not participating as much as I usually do. Nothing wrong with Princess doing that, as they needed to have more family/children activities with so many families. I just cruise Princess for the more adult games and trivia activities, so I went with a 4 instead of 5 here.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
We did not go to any production shows on this trip, the one we planned on going to had been canceled do to rough seas, and it had people flying in the air. That was totally understandable, as safety should always be first. But the lounge entertainment we watched, from the bar a couple of times, was very good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Always there to help, friendly, and we had absolutely no issues.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were in a Club Class Mini Suite - which isn't a choice in cabin type here. It was clean, nothing stained or broken, and very nice.
Ship tip
The Emerald does not have hand washing stations outside the buffet, as of yet. Visit a restroom to wash before going, and then you can avoid eating with hand sanitizer on top of dirty hands ;) Seriously, this is the first ship I've been on that hasn't been retrofitted yet. I didn't realize how wonderful that feature was.
The actual disembarkation was smooth. My only critique was that I have not been on less than a 7 day cruise in many years, and the 'carry your own luggage off' was a bit confusing. It was assumed that everyone knew this policy, so they didn't communicate it well, and the paperwork contradicted itself. I've always had a choice of what time I preferred to disembark, and wasn't entirely happy with having to get off the ship at 9:30 because of where my cabin was, even when I had 'early disembarkation.' We had a 9 hour drive ahead, and wanted to get on the road. The staff ended up being very accommodating, and we did get off earlier than our listed time. We were very thankful to them for that. Other than the confusion about the different method of disembarkation (to us) getting off, going through customs, and picking up our car was smooth and painless.
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