First time on Princess

Item: Emerald Princess
Rating: 4.3
Author: billb

Emerald Princess Cruise Review to Transatlantic

billb

Contributor Level: Second Mate

15 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 96

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

29 Night Spanish Passage And Panama Canal Adventure (Barcelona To Los Angeles)

Sail date: November 04, 2019

Ship: Emerald Princess

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: C101

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

Mostly cruise on Royal and Celebrity, first time on Princess and would do them again if the itinerary was right.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Embarkation in Barcelona was the smoothest, easiest and quickest we have ever experienced at any port with any cruise line.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Most of our evening meals were in the MDR (Michelangelo) and food was good, sometimes great. Service was fantastic. Crown Grill was superb, International Cafe was wonderful but often difficult to get a seat. Vines often served as overflow seating. Food in the buffet area was much better than most buffets but again seating could be difficult during peak times. Pizza and stromboli at Slice was very good!

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Attended a number of the lectures and all were well done. Fitness center was well equipped and not normally crowded.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Much of the entertainment was sub-par. There were exceptions - there was a violin duo that were really good and played often in the Piazza, Georgia and Lee played most nights in the Wheelhouse and were very enjoyable, musician John (forgot last name) in theater was amazing.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff was fantastic! Service was superb! From Mar and Ketut in the Wheelhouse, Chris in Crooners, Sontorn an Dcky in the MDR and Nestor who maintained out cabin all 29 days.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

Layout was easy to learn and well laidout. Ship was clean and appeared to be well maintained.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

Cabin was clean and comfortable and well maintained. Cabin steward, Nestor, was great. It was probably a little small for that length of cruise (29 nights) but we aren't normally in the cabin. I wish all cruise lines would get rid of those clingy plastic shower curtains!

Ship tip

Check onboard early and explore the ship - there is a lot to discover.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Barcelona, Spain

5 out of 5

Spent 2 nights pre-cruise here. Have always loved Barcelona and this time was no different.

Thumbs Up 2

Cartagena, Spain

5 out of 5

Stayed in town instead of doing excursions this time and loved it.

Thumbs Up 1

Malaga, Spain

5 out of 5

Same as Cartegena, stayed in town and explored. Have been several times and always enjoy it.

Thumbs Up 2

Casablanca, Morocco

4 out of 5

Did an excursion to Rabat and loved it. Casablanca seemed dirty and run-down but Rabat was wonderful and we had a wonderful tour guide.

Thumbs Up 1

Santa Cruz De Tenerife, Canary Islands

4 out of 5

Ponta Delgada, Azores

4 out of 5

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

1 out of 5

Although our cruise did not end here, we had to disembark and go through CBP and get back onboard. Absolutely horrible experience. Those of us that were BTB passengers were to muster at 0930 in the theater and from there escorted through immigration and back onboard. Always has been a simple process on other cruise lines. THREE hours later at 1230 we were still waiting in the theater. No one ever gave an official explanation but when we finally were allowed to go through immigration it was a disaster. After finally getting passport stamped we had to get back onboard and that seemingly simnple process was just as bad, different employees telling different directions and no one actually knowing what to do. This may have been a Port Everglades/CBP problem and not a Princess problem but that is just a guess. I think there were a number of factors that snowballed together.

Thumbs Up 1

Disembarkation

1 out of 5

See above

Traveler Photos

5 Comments

Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

cruisereckoning 4 years ago

Thanks for the review

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Fiesta83 4 years ago

Glad you enjoyed your cruise

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Justlovecruisin 4 years ago

The disembarkation has been terrible this past year. It seems that maybe the restrictions have been tightened for the ships, as I know they have been in other places. Or they are checking baggage more, or something. We just sailed through Panama Canal from Ft Lauderdale on the Emerald, and we had a 2 hour wait to embark and a 2 hour wait to disembark. Instead of the first passengers getting off at 7 am, it was close to 9 before anyone went. I am thinking that perhaps this is a combination of coming from Spain, and also from coming from Central America. I truly do not believe it is Princess, other than maybe they aren't real practiced at long delays that they don't have control over.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Cruiserike0322 4 years ago

Great!!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

What a Disappointment!!

EXTRAORDINARY MIX OF TOURISM AND RELAXATION AND ENTERTAINMENT

Sunny and warm Alantic crossing!