On April 1, 2023, we embarked the Emerald Princess from the port of San Pedro, California, for a 15 night journey with a full transit through the Panama Canal.
It seemed a little like coming home, because in August 2022, we sailed on her for a 12 night cruise around the British Isles. I believe that was the first (and maybe only) time to get a picture of sheep, cows, a barbed wire fence, and a cruise ship in the same photo.
One thing I really like about Princess is the medallion. 2022 was my first experience with the Princess Medallion, and I LOVED it. Princess rolled out this feature on some of her ships just prior to the pandemic, and now all of the ships are using the medallion. The medallion serves as your room key (more about that later), and your charge card. Security can scan the medallion as passengers debark and embark the ship, and servers identify guests with the medallion when ordering any food or beverages or making purchases in the shops, etc. (Note, there were some kinks still being worked out when we first used the medallion and the app in 2022, but as of April 2023, things are much smoother.)
Princess supplies a complimentary protective case and lanyard for the medallion.
However, I chose to purchase a reusable wristband for mine. I’m not a huge fan of a lanyard so the wristband works for me. It looks huge in this picture, but I have a tiny wrist. My wrist band is made of a rubbery material.
The back has a snap-style fastener.
Hubby chose a different type of wristband. It was made from recycled materials, and it fastened on his wrist more like a belt.
There are different medallion wearables from necklaces, lanyard cards, bracelets, and clip-ons that can be ordered in advance or purchased once onboard the ship. Even the symbol in the middle can be personalized with birthstone colors or other symbols/graphics. I chose the basic one with the color of my loyalty status and the Princess symbol.
As we near our stateroom door, the sign greets us by name and the door automatically unlocks. This is especially helpful when my hands are full of luggage or (more often) a snack or drink.
Another thing I like about the medallion is that it can become a refrigerator magnet after the cruise. A much better option than my catch-all drawer full of cruise cards.
We ate most of our meals in the Da Vinci main dining room for dinner. The Da Vinci is on deck 6 and is directly above the Michelangelo dining room on deck 5, and they are the two easiest dining rooms to access. The Botacelli is on deck 6 aft but the galley is between the two dining rooms on that floor, so to get to Botacelli, one must use only the aft elevator or stairs.
The Princess medallion app allows you to make reservations in advance for each night of the cruise. We like to eat early, so we choose the earliest dining time and make reservations on the app ahead of the cruise for every night of the cruise. Dining times can be adjusted onboard as needed. (Reservations for the main dining can usually be made AFTER you have made final payment for the cruise – unless you have a high loyalty status that allows you to make reservations sooner.) Showing up as soon as the dining room opens will make it more likely to get a table near a window or in a preferred location.
Another great perk Princess offers is afternoon tea. So far, this is complimentary on Princess. White glove service, hot tea and little finger sandwiches, scones and other dessert in the afternoon. I’m partial to the mini eclairs and the warm scones. They used to bring individual hot water pots and offer a selection of teas. Now they have the black tea already brewed and serve it with the goodies.
Other than the dining room, we enjoy the International Cafe.
The specialty coffee there is really good. It is an extra charge, but it is included in the drinks package if that is purchased. The drinks package is not worth it to me since I don’t drink alcohol. I used to purchase a coffee card. (15 specialty coffees for one price), but as of March 2023, Princess discontinued the coffee card. Now I just order and pay for individual coffees as I want one. I also pre-order a case of bottled water to the room. They also have 6-packs of soda available for pre-purchase to be delivered to the room as well.
In the morning they have breakfast pastries here (donuts, banana bread and more), fruit, and a couple of breakfast sandwich options. At lunch and dinner times they usually have some sandwiches (I like the Cuban) and desserts; in the afternoon they have several sweets to choose from (I like the cookies). There is a gelato case, (free with the Princess Plus package, but on our 2023 cruise, it is $4.00 for three scoops.)
On Deck 15 (Lido Deck – outdoors) they have another specialty coffee shop/ soft serve ice cream area which is next to “Slice,” the pizza place.
I prefer the sit-down, indoor pizza restaurants on Princess’ newer ships, but the pizza is still really good here, and if the weather is not great for eating outdoors, the entrance to their buffet area is right behind here, and there are more tables inside.
The Salty Dog is also on the lido deck. (diagonal from Slice) They serve hot dogs with multiple toppings, burgers, bbq, and fries (including chili cheese fries – hard to eat gracefully but delicious.)
Probably the most popular complimentary venue is the World Fresh Marketplace. This is the Princess buffet. They used to have lots of self-serve items with large spoons/tongs, but they have really cut down on that as much as possible We found that they had pre-portioned several items into grab-and-go type offerings.
For breakfast, we were never happy with their scrambled and fried eggs, but the made-to-order omelets were tasty. And people who like Eggs Benedict said that it was good. In the UK we found that we needed to designate “crispy bacon” otherwise the bacon would be Canadian bacon – more like ham. (Continental breakfast is complimentary from room service and that is a great option, too. You pre-order the night before with a hang-tag menu that can be placed on your door knob at night.) When on the Panama Canal cruise, they called bacon, bacon.
Often for dinner, many of the same items that were on the main dining menu (soups, salads, and some main courses) could be found on the buffet.
The Emerald Princess also has some specialty dining venues (for a fee) at dinner time. The Crown Grill on deck 7 is an excellent steak house. I really enjoy the Filet Mignon-so tender! But they do not only have steaks. They offer chops and seafood, too. Their sides were delicious. The last time we went, I decided to try the sea bass. It was delicious! Our table shared creamed spinach, grilled asparagus, and mushrooms, and we each got a baked potato.
Sabatini’s is On deck 17 – They have Italian food. WARNING… don’t fill up before dessert – and I highly recommend the sampler – small portions of all the dessert selections.
There are 3 large entertainment venues on the ship: the Princess Theater, Club Fusion, and Explorers Lounge; several smaller venues with live music and entertainment; and Skywalker’s Nightclub far forward on deck 18 which is a great daytime venue if you want to see the views from the front of the ship in a climate-controlled atmosphere.
Speaking of daytime venues, I prefer the solitude on my balcony; however, there are lots of seats outdoors under cover on the promenade deck (deck 7) and inside, comfortable, climate-controlled seating on deck 7 outside of the explorer’s lounge and inside the wheelhouse pub (which is usually quiet during the day). These are great options when the sun is directly on the balcony or for those who are staying in rooms without a balcony.
Another good place to hang out and people-watch is in the Piazza and nearby international cafe. Throughout a sea day and in the evening, there will be live entertainment in this area from games to classical music to show bands. And of course the cafe is handy for a snack right here, too.
There is a small library with a selection of books and board games to check out, and they set out copies of the daily sudoku and crossword puzzle. On sea days, one of the dining rooms (that is not being used for lunch) will be open for people who want to meet up to play bridge or Mah Jong. If we are traveling with friends, we use that same designated venue to play card games or other games we have brought with us. Otherwise we search for a suitable table in the buffet area during off-peak times. The library has playing cards and a selection of board games available to borrow.
The Casino is on deck 6, and guests getting off the forward elevators or leaving the theater will walk through the casino to get to the dining room. Typically the ship casinos can be pretty smokey, and being sensitive to smoke, I try to avoid them by only using the mid-ship elevators/stairs if needing to go to deck 6. They have a “Speakeasy” in the casino area where guests can smoke and mingle.
Princess does not have all the water slides, flow riders, ropes courses, etc., that other cruise lines have to attract kids, but they DO have a special area for kids and a program of kids’ activities suitable for each age level.
The Tree House is for ages 3-7:
The Lodge for ages 8-12:
The Beach House for ages 13-17:
Enjoy staying active? There is a fitness center and multiple pools for all ages.
At night they play “Movies Under the Stars.” Deck 16 Mid
There is a small basketball court and a small (and I mean small) outdoor walking track on deck 19 forward. 16 times around the little putting green area equals one mile.
But it can get VERY windy up here walking laps. I find it better to get walking in on the outdoor promenade on deck 7.
The Sanctuary is an adults only area and is an extra fee to reserve. The fee includes some food service, though. In 2023 the cost was $20 for a half-day and $40 for a full day. They also offer a “Length of Cruise” option. The price was not posted for that option.
One thing we noticed in 2022 was a significantly smaller presence of photographers than usual. This held true in 2023, too. In the past, photographers were everywhere – snapping photos at dinner; as we got off the ship in every port; and had backdrops set up all over the ship. They did have some backdrops and staged areas for those who wanted to have photographs made, and that is really nice to do at times, but I quite liked not having photographers in my face throughout the cruise. There is no obligation to buy the photos they take. This ship still has the photos on display for people to stop by and browse the printed copies. Many cruise lines have gone to digital kiosks instead for viewing and purchasing photos.
The ship was definitely showing some age on the outside in 2022. If you look closely at the photo below you will see that there is a lot of rust on the forward hull near the water. However, the ship went into dry dock during the fall of 2022, and came out looking much fresher with a new paint job and some updates to some of the soft surfaces onboard.
One thing I really hoped would get revitalized was the INTERNET system. The app continually crashed. I had an internet package that included streaming. Most of the time I could get my emails. Anything more than that was VERY slow if accessible at all. I was assured by the internet manager that this is a common occurrence for cruise ships in Europe because there are only 3 satellites to connect to AND the war in Ukraine has two countries competing for and sucking up a lot of the available bandwidth. They are looking to improve as the technology is accessible. (Hopefully Elon Musk’s Spacelink will be a great boost.)
The good news is he was RIGHT! The internet has been MUCH better on the Panama Canal cruise.
So far, the balcony cabins on Princess only contain a couple of chairs besides the bed. We prefer a mini-suite cabin on Princess because of the sofa and extra space it provides. To see a full review of the min-suite cabin I had on the British Isles Cruise, click here. (My Panama Canal Cabin is just like it, only mirror-imaged.)
Our first port is Puerto Vallarta. Post coming soon….
Thanks so much for this review Shirley. The medallion sounds great!