I chose this cruise because it left from Vancouver and came back to Vancouver, which is my home port. This was my first time on Princess and the first cruise for my daughter who came with me. The Emerald Princess has a capacity of 3500 passengers and was extremely crowded. There is not enough public space for that many people and too much space is given over to selling artwork and photographs. There were line-ups for anytime dining and the tiny atrium was standing room only. Because of the line-ups, we ate later than we normally would have and as a result, were not able to attend many of the entertainment events. Often we arrived to find there were no seats left at all. Sharing tables with others in the Horizon Court buffet was the norm. I found it difficult to tell direction on this ship, even after 10 days, and signage for the restrooms was poor.

We ate breakfast and some lunches in Horizon Court and found it to be adequate. We had very nice dinners in the paid venues Crown Grill, Crab Shack and twice in the Saltydog gastropub. We really enjoyed the appetizers, soups and desserts in the main dining room and we liked the pub lunch in the Wheelhouse Bar. Our favourite place was Vines where we received excellent service and enjoyed the tapas and California rolls.

We watched the Wake show in the morning which started our day with good laughs and good information. Our favourite event was the ABBA trivia session hosted by Jen and Omparo (sp?) but we also enjoyed comedian Steve Caouette, music group Pinnacle, the Walker Black Duo and the Sun Shine Duo. Read more