Traveling the World: Cruising the Caribbean on Emerald Princess

Breakfast and Lunch in the Main Dining Room (Da Vinci)

James Beard French Toast (coated with crispy corn flakes) completely delicious -easily the best I have ever had in any restaurant afloat or ashore. Even when it wasn't on the menu, I could still order it -- love the flexibility. Order oatmeal and get granola, brown sugar, and cinnamon with it -- hmmm, feels like I am in a classy restaurant. Val also loved her Eggs Benedict - breakfast was truly delightful - thank goodness it was only open on sea days...

Eggs Benedict (left) and James Beard French Toast (right)

Lunch in the main dining room was very good – and much to my surprise and delight, Hot and Sour Thai soup followed by Chicken Korma – Thai and Indian – heaven. The only bummer? Da Vinci is only open for Breakfast and Lunch on Sea Days; on port call days you are limited to the Horizon buffet option.

As newly minted Princess Elite members, we enjoyed pre-dinner appetizers in the Skywalker lounge at 1700. The Skywalker lounge is all the way aft on the 18^th deck – a really beautiful view for sunsets or sunrises – and free pre-dinner appetizers which change each cruise evening.

Intra-Net Aboard

Special note and kudos to Princess for their ship-wide Intra-net. Intra-net means basically that you are connected within the skin of the ship – but not onto the Internet off-board. We logged on with our computers, Ipads, and Iphones giving us free access to the daily activity schedule, from which we can select the activities we want making our own daily activity schedule, check on our itinerary, and best of all, send short messages back and forth to stay coordinated during the day. When you are used to staying in touch with each other, cruise ships can be a challenge. The free intranet was very much appreciated.

Good Spin Class

Val took a spin class this morning – she is a regular at our club ashore and has been taking it long enough to be a good judge of the classes aboard which she said was good and better than she’d done aboard our last Celebrity cruise.

Specialty Restaurants - Crown Grill and Share Experiences

We tried two of three specialty restaurants aboard Emerald Princess. The only one we missed was the Salty Dog Pub - we aren't generally Pub food folks. Our first Specialty dining experience aboard Emerald Princess was Crown Grill – the premium Steak and Chop house. We were sad to find out that Sabatini’s - their Italian specialty dining room was replaced by Share during the December yard period – we are Italian lovers but hey, let’s try something new. It was interesting to compare Princess with Celebrity specialty restaurants – especially since we were on a 10 day cruise and would be able to revisit if desired. On our Celebrity Reflection Trans-Atlantic (16 days) we ate more than half the nights in specialty dining (Our favorite was the trendy Qsine - Ipad equipped, with small portions, followed by the Tuscan Grill (Italian).

Crown Grill:

We arrived at Crown Grill at our reservation time of 5:30pm – were seated immediately but disappointed to find out that all of the window seats were already taken. Next time when we make reservations, we will specifically ask for a window so they’ll reserve one for us. But truly, this was the only disappointment in Crown Grill – a truly superior dining experience. The venue is tastefully appointed in a traditional style with lighting the ladies really appreciate – bright enough to eat, but low enough to compliment their hair and faces.

Our server Benjamin was perfect – attentive, accommodating, and offering good recommendations throughout our meal. When we asked for variations or “extras” he was right on it – as good as any five star restaurant ashore. Starting with the wine list which had good variety in both varietals and pricing, through appetizers, our main course, and dessert – we felt the way we want to feel when we pay the extra money ($25 per person) for specialty dining on a cruise ship. Crown Grill gets two thumbs up from us.

Appetizers in Crown Grill - Beef Carpaccio

Scallops

Share:

We were a few minutes early to Share since we were eating at our Barbados sail away time and wanted to make sure to get a window seat. We were the first diners – but did we get a window seat? We asked for one and were walked directly to one. There we were informed that these seats were “less comfortable”, "Well, what about that half booth over by the port side window?", “that will be moving a lot” which was funny since we were still docked. So like Goldilocks we were told that the third one – a booth with two chairs in the middle of the room under a bunch of bright lights was perfect for us. Yes, things didn’t start on the right foot and it didn’t get better from there… The venue was newly constructed aboard Emerald Princess in December replacing the Italian Specialty restaurant Sabbatini’s..

First up, wine list – mostly pricey wines and nothing decent by the glass. The Chef’s offering of sliced meats, olives, and bread was first rate. Appetizers – the Tagliatelle with King Crab was good, the Cavatelli beet salad was borderline at best. Then on to the main course, two with Turbot Gratin, one with Wild Mushroom Ragu, and one with butter poached Lobster. Three out of four were practically inedible – the lobster was ok but I butter poach lobster at home and frankly, mine is better. If it is possible to create a good impression after consistent disappointment, dessert in Share did exactly this – absolutely amazing, perhaps in the top three I’ve had in my life – Two thumbs up and four licked plates on this one. Overall though, at an excessive additional price of $39 per person, we expect the experience, wine, and food to be on par with the finest restaurants ashore and have us dreaming about our next reservation there. This was most certainly not the case at Share – we were very disappointed by the experience and felt the restaurant charge was slightly criminal.

Dinner in Da Vinci's

We rarely look forward to eating in the main dining room - but from our first dinner on, we looked forward to seeing what the evening meal would bring. First off, the Headwaiter, Francesco from Molfetta (near Bari) Italy -- about a hour from our former home in Avellino, made us feel welcome and so special each evening. Later in the cruise, beginning on January 11th; the 14th anniversary of our meeting, Francesco had traditional Italian antipasti - Caprese (sliced fresh tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil and balsamic) sliced meats, Cheese plate, Calamari - waiting for us every evening. He also had the chef's prepare us a special pasta dish for our anniversary - it was truly a special experience. It also didn't hurt that we ended up with a window table for four - which was really cool since eating early, we had sunset dining every night.

Our Headwaiter Francesco from Molfetta Italy

Our special evening Antipasti courtesy of Francesco

Our Waiter Jorge (left) and his Assistant Waiter (also his wife) Karateryna (center)

Our window table for 4

Desserts - Oh My Goodness

It isn't enough that they make their own ice cream and sorbet every day, they also do a great job with Creme Brûlée (available every evening) and some kind of chocolate "craziness". Best desserts I can remember on any ship - Ocean, River or otherwise...