What a wonderful itinerary! Highly recommended if you love being at sea and five star treatment for a reasonable price.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Pretty much walked right on, no hassle, no fuss, very efficient, very passenger-friendly.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Club Dining was superior, five star service. I been in restaurants in 5-star hotels and they have nothing on Club dining on Princess. Actually, Princess is better thanks to the head waiter and hostess, who assured only the best. My only complaint was the paucity of choices on the room service menu.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
We preferred the calm and quiet on the aft deck and pool and had exactly that on the Emerald Princess.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Superb. A greeting from every one of the crew as they passed by.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Absolutely clean. The ship is being refitted and needed it as, while clean (dare I say spotless) the furniture was old and in need of replacement with areas of broken down cushions and worn and chipped wood. Carpets were clean, no noxious or foul odors, even in the heads (public restrooms), and heads were spotless. This is a mega-ship (133,000 gross tons) with over 3,000 passengers, and cleaning around that many people is daunting, but the crew pulls it off with perfection. And the stress on frequent hand washing and cleanliness is notable. A first class operation on this ship.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We were the responsibility of a wonderfully friendly, highly efficient steward, Nino, who was attentive to our every request. He had a delightful personality, and spoke perfect English so we could actually carry on a sensible conversation!
A tendered port, this process does steal away personal time ashore. But getting onto a tender for the ride in to Lahaina was smooth. However, returning to the ship via tender resulted in very long delays and lines; not pleasant.
We decided to stay onboard as we have been to Hilo and shopping was not our idea of enjoyment anyway. What a great decision! We had a five-star luxury hotel nearly to ourselves. Now that is a REAL relaxing vacation experience.
Honolulu is a huge bustling city, with tons of crazy traffic, honking horns and rude crowds. We walked 3 miles from the port to Waikiki...no problems. The skyscrapers are more abundant than french fries in a super-sized MCDonald's order. The prices in the Waikiki beach restaurant at the Hilton were so excessively high we walked out...$20 hamburgers...I think not. Great shopping mall with high-end stores and associated high-end prices. It is Hawaii and everything has to be imported by sea...or that is their excuse for high prices. My suggestion while on Oahu...take a tour from the ship and get out of the city ASAP!
What a beautiful Pacific island! We elected our own, private tour and rented a car for $60. Great decision...drove to Waimea canyon...spectacular! Stopped at our intended destination, the Kauai Coffee plantation...well worth the visit just to taste the great coffee (our favorite). Highly recommend this visit not on the Princess tour itinerary. It should be.
A beautiful port facility...better than LA, Hilo! Clean, well-cared for, very efficient. Encenada was non-threatening, remarkably large city (I expected a sleepy Mexican seaside town) with a large, active, busy port. Everyone seemed able to speak great English, even the street vendors...as if they had all lived in America.
Best we ever experienced...efficient, faster than expected, whisked thru customs with a glance at our passports and no request to declare anything, no custom form required. Very effective and efficient and painless disembarkation
*Cruiseline.com is not a booking agent or travel agency,
and does not charge any service fees to users of our site. Our partners
(travel agencies and cruise lines) provide prices, which we list for our
users' convenience. Cruiseline.com does not guarantee any specific rates or
prices. While prices are updated daily, please check with the booking site
for the exact amount. Cruiseline.com is not responsible for content on
external web sites.
Contact us
Submitting...
Need help from a personal vacation planner?
Loading...
Find the perfect cruise with weekly tips and cruise deals for as little as $30/night!
Sign up for weekly cruise deals
Join other subscribers and get the best
cruise deals of the week in your inbox every Thursday.
