I enjoyed the first part of my cruise. It ended badly because of catching Covid onboard, and then being quarantined. I was feeling great when I boarded and had zero signs of illness. Perhaps passengers should have their temperatures taken or some simple way of proving that they are not ill when they board. I was definitely not the only person who came down with Covid. The crew puts a small ottoman in front of your cabin door when you are quarantined. They place your meals and your clean towels on this ottoman. My husband, who did not catch Covid, saw several of these ottomans in front of other cabin doors. Someone came on board with Covid.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
The process was fast, efficient, and professional. No negative aspects of this part of the cruise!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
2 out of 5
In the last 8 months, I have been a passenger on the Emerald Princess twice. Last November my husband and I were in Europe on a cruise that left from Southhampton and visited France, Spain, and Portugal before crossing the Atlantic back to Fort Lauderdale. The food was not good on that cruise. We liked the Hawaiian itinerary, so we gave the ship's food another chance. It was still not good in the buffet or in the dining room. If you are not a seafood lover, and you prefer beef, you don't want to be on this ship. I never had one good, tender, tasty beef entree the entire time on the ship, not even on "formal night" in the dining room. They also use too many ethnic spices that didn't suit my American palette.
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
We did enjoy playing the Trivia and general knowledge games on the ship. The hosts were friendly, often funny, and did a good job. As far as the pool went, the only time you could use it without children jumping in, playing, and taking over, was when we were in port. While at sea, the "adults only" pool was very crowded, with everyone avoiding the main pools. We were very surprised to see so many parents bring their children on a 16-day cruise that included 10 days at sea. Even though Princess had a hosted program for children and teens, the kids still found plenty of time to run up and down the staircases, unsupervised.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The ship's own singers and dancers for musical stage shows were very good performers. We really enjoyed those evenings. However, some of the performers brought on for the purpose of entertainment were not so good. There was a comedian who was not funny, and they had him perform two nights. After watching him the first night, we skipped the second performance. Ship's performers get 5 stars, traveling performers get 3 stars!
Children's Programs
We did not travel with children. However, the ship was full of kids as noted above. They had too much unsupervised time to run wild.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The highlight of the Emerald Princess is its crew! They are friendly, smiling, extremely helpful, and seemed genuinely happy to assist the passengers. Our room steward and the wait staff were all wonderful.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Even though it's an older ship, it is still well-kept and beautiful. The staircases in the mid-ship "rotunda" are stunning. We have no complaints on cleanliness in public areas or our stateroom.
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We upgraded to a mini suite, so the cabin was extra spacious. It had plenty of storage space in both the closets and the bathroom, more than we needed. It also had 2 TVs, so you could watch from the couch in the seating/living room area or from the bed in the sleeping area.
Ship tip
Wash your hands frequently and don't use public restrooms, only your own cabin restroom. I was healthy when I boarded, I had Covid by day 10 of the 16-day cruise. I was quarantined in my cabin for 5 days.
Because I had contracted Covid while onboard the ship, Guest Services told me that they were canceling my and my husband's prepaid transfers to LAX. They said we were on our own to get to the airport. I was quarantined for 5 days, so I was no longer considered contagious. My husband and I had to be very insistent that we wanted our transfers. Finally, Guest Services agreed. My cruise ended on a very bad note! The disembarkation process itself was simple and efficient.
Glad part of your cruise was really nice. Awful to get sick on your cruise. Glad you enjoyed your mini-suite while you were in quarantine. Wish this virus would just go away!
Sorry to hear you got ill, hope you’re feeling better. You could have caught Covid at one of the ports, unfortunately there’s still a lot of it about and it’s a risk we have to be prepared to accept if we want to go on any kind of holiday.
Sorry you got sick on your cruise. Sadly Covid is alive and well, and everywhere, not just on the ship. But the longer you are in a congregate setting, the more risk there is. There was lots of it in our British isles cruise in June. 4 of our friends contracted it. I think this will be an ongoing issue.
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