Pretty good cruise but probably won’t do It again

Emerald Princess Cruise Review to Hawaii

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 35

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5
Emerald Princess

15 Night Hawaiian Islands (Los Angeles Roundtrip)

Sail date: February 02, 2019

Ship: Emerald Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Overall the cruise was pretty good.. just issues getting on and off the ship, some bad weather, rough seas, but over all we had a Good time and it was very relaxing with wonderful shows and great customer service..All our questions were handled quickly and politely and never had any issues with anything. We are early 60’s and most of the ships passengers were much older with activities geared for the older demographic, but we met some amazing unforgettable people and the cruise was an unforgettable time as we celebrated my birthday and retirement.

Embarkation

3 out of 5
We were very lucky that we weren’t out in the pouring rain for hours ! We got there at 10:00, got our bags in and checked quickly. However because there were issues beyond Princess’ control, it was a horrible experience for others! First, the Emersld had to go into Ruby Princess’ Berth do it was much smaller. There was a terrible downpour of rain and extreme winds, BUT it would’ve been nice if Emerald could’ve passed out Umbrellas or raincoats and have better organization and information for passengers for which line to go into or where to take your bags. Also because the winds were so bad, the port authority kept closing the gangway so no one could get on . It also would’ve been nice to pass out water bottles or little snacks to everyone waiting until sometimes 4:00 to get on.. it was s long long afternoon to board! Because of all the craziness we didn’t leave LA. Until dark . Oh and I also heard the previous disemarkment had technical difficulties so it took forever for passengers to get off..it was the “perfect storm”! And we hadn’t even left yet! That first night at sea was pretty rough too! Glad I took my Dramamine! It was bad!!!

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
We thought the buffet was awesome! We ate there for breakfast everyday and the service was phenomenal ! Always checking our coffee, constantly seeing if we needed anything and right there for service. Good food! We enjoyed the dining room almost every night and found the food good, pretty quick bringing out food, asked if we wanted coffee . There was only one night we were seated in a different section and the service was super slow but otherwise we enjoyed the experience. We did go to the Curtis Stone restaurant one night and it was a wonderful experience with good food, different but good.. Great steak!!

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
It was really geared to the older crowd.. we didn’t want to learn ukeleli or hula or knit or make leis.. but there were plenty of things to do if you wanted to. Bingo every day, movies under the stars (except because of the terrible storms, wind, cold rain, we weren’t able to take advantage of it as much as we would have. No fault of ship, just wouldn’t go in February again!! We enjoyed what we did do which was relax .

Entertainment

5 out of 5
I thought the entertainment was awesome!! Great variety! Musicians were great! Something for everyone ! DJs good, we loved Tiki Dave and his wife.. we enjoyed all the music - if it wasn’t my favorite, we just left. There was one guy that I just didn’t enjoy but everyone else seeemed to.

Children's Programs

No children traveling with us

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Waiters, drink staff everywhere were great! Our room steward was just okay.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
It’s just an older ship . Clean but old . Common areas and pools and bars clean .

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Very clean, size was fine - bathroom small but not terrible, just don’t drop anything in the shower. Extremely wonderful comfortable bed and pillows .

Ship tip

The back of the ship deck 15,16 great place to hang out. Great views, easy access to buffet and eat outside, enjoyed the little fountain, pool is right there too. That was our little hangout, (when the weather was good)

Ports of call

San Pedro (Los Angeles), California

4 out of 5
Just boarded / nothing else

Lahaina, Maui

5 out of 5
Favorite stop.. Did a whale watching excursion AND a catamaran sail, which ended up being a whale watching trip because of no wind! Best ever day! Favorite excision!

Honolulu, Oahu

3 out of 5
Just too touristy! Too crowded! We did do the luau though, which was pretty good.

Nawiliwili, Kauai

3 out of 5
Usually our favorite island but because of the high high winds, our plane ride over the island was cancelled but we had a nice lunch at Dukes, walked around the Marriott, did some shopping and just went back to the ship ..

Hilo, Hawaii

4 out of 5
Did a wonderful excursion to see Rainbow falls and a cave, and a tour of a coffee plantation . Because of severe storms we had to stay overnight in the port and left in the morning. Great farewell party on deck though!

Ensenada, Mexico

3 out of 5
Don’t care for Ensenada but we took a wonderful wine tour! They gave us a free bottle of wine after and we had a great time !!

Disembarkation

1 out of 5
Poor! We were supposed to walk off at 7:15 but didn’t get off till 8:45! It was poor in every way!
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3 Comments

Gwbigdog    2 years ago

Fiesta83    4 years ago

buckyboy    5 years ago

Thanks for the detailed review. Glad you managed to have a good time. Too bad about the weather but like you say perhaps avoid some months.

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