The following are my unfiltered observations in regard to the California Coastal Cruise on the Emerald Princess we were on in June. Although I will not comment on the sites we visited in Los Angeles, I will mention how we got around, along with options that a tourist without a car can use.
Flight Arrangements:
- We used a travel agent to handle of our booking requirements. As a result, we were able to specify the airline to use for this trip (Delta) so that we each could get a free checked bag on our flights. Additionally, we were able to select flight times, so that we didn't have to rush to the airport on either leg of this trip.
- The Marriott LAX is Princess's hotel of choice for pre-cruise stays. All pre-cruise transfers take place between the airport and this hotel, and the hotel to the pier.
- (Not a Princess issue) In order to get free Wi-Fi, one has to register in Marriott's loyalty program. However, registering for this plan at the same time as checking into the hotel can be problematic. I couldn't complete the data entry part of loyalty program registration, nor could hotel staff. As a result, I was charged for the Wi-Fi upon leaving the hotel.
- (Not a Princess issue) Dining choices near the hotel are very limited and are overpriced. On our first night, we spent $120 for a simple dinner, each of us having a single drink. Soft drinks and candy from the hotel's store easily cost twice as what one would pay at a local 7-11 store. The only reasonably priced outlet where food and beverage is sold was the hotel's Starbucks outlet.
- Although Princess was supposed to provide a transfer from the airport to the hotel, we were not able to find it. Instead, we used the hotel's shuttle to get from the airport to the hotel.
- The transfer from the hotel to the pier ran a little late in arriving due to Los Angeles' traffic jams. Once the bus arrived at the hotel, it was a relatively quick trip from the hotel to the airport.
Embarkation/Settling in.
- The check-in process for people who have lost of misplaced their Princess Medallion needs to be fixed. Although we had notified Princess of my problem a day in advance, they did not have have either a replacement medallion or a temporary cruise card available when we arrived at the cruise terminal. We had to wait 30 minutes before a cruise card could be given to me before proceeding onto the ship.
- Once on the ship, we proceeded to Guest Services and traded the temporary cruise card for a medallion. However, it took 15 minutes' waiting at Guest Services for the replacement medallion to be printed and handed to me.
- The Guest Services area did not have adequate air conditioning to keep people comfortable while in the area on embarkation day. This is likely a result of the crowds of people needing service once they got on the ship.
- Upon activation of my new medallion, my partner's medallion was accidentally deactivated. We had to go back to Guest Services to rectify this.
Restaurants.
- Buffet. (Complementary).
- We were underwhelmed by the range of food selections found in the buffet.
- The layout of the buffet made it harder to find the foods one wanted to eat, as there was no default flow of people through this space.
- Buffet staff always handed us both plates and tableware when we went to get food from the stations.
- Buffet staff would fetch beverages for us, making it a more enjoyable dining experience in the buffet. - Botticelli Dining Room (Complementary).
- This was the easiest of the complementary dining rooms in which to get a table for dinner service, due to its location at the back of the ship.
- Once seated, the wait staff was friendly, professional, and efficient.
- At dinner, we were often served extra main courses and desserts, both containing items we didn't think to order. as samplers. At one meal, we enjoyed the extra courses more than the dishes we had ordered.
- On the last night, we were not prepared for the cruise director, and the noisy lights-out parade of sparkling Baked Alaska desserts. This was very disturbing, and almost ruined our meal. - Da Vinci Dining Room (Complementary).
- I found it hard to get seated in this dining area unless I arrived early. If seated here, service was of the same quality as in the Botticelli dining room. - Crown Grill (Specialty Restaurant).
- On both occasions that we went to this restaurant, there was no one waiting in front of us. There was no one manning the host/hostess location, and we had to wait 5-10 minutes to be recognized and then get seated.
- It took a while for table service to start, but once started, it was almost flawless.
- Food quality was very good, but not as good as I've had at some land based steakhouses in the NYC area.
Excursions.
- San Francisco - Japanese Tea Garden
- The Japanese Tea Garden is an island of serenity in a chaotic city. There is not much to do here, save enjoying the beauty of the place. However, like many excursions, it involves a bus ride from the cruise ship.
Post-Cruise Debarkation and Airport Transfer.
- Debarkation was very quick. We were off the ship shortly after our color code was called, without having to wait on line.
- Our luggage was easy to find at the pier, as our group's luggage was in a relatively small area compared with some other ports I have sailed from.
- Customs at the Los Angeles (San Pedro) cruise terminal used facial recognition, and we breezed through the checkpoint without incident.
- Buses were lined up for those using airport transfers. As soon as a bus was filled with luggage and passengers, it was off to the airport. We had booked a 2:20 pm flight to be safe. We could have booked earlier flights, as the bus reached our airport terminal before 10:30 am.
Miscellaneous Items of Note.
- We had purchased the Princess Premier package. This entitled us to:
- Photo Downloads of all pictures taken of us together or as individuals
- Three 8"x10" print photographs of our choice for each person
- Two meals at the ship's specialty restaurants for each person
- Unlimited Wi-Fi for four devices each person
- Unlimited specialty desserts
- Exercise Classes (unused) - The photography area did not associate my partner's solo pictures with our room. As a result, these pictures were lost to the ether.
- Pictures in the photography area were hard to find in their displays. Cruisers mishandled pictures, intermixing undesired pictures with those of other cruisers.
- On the last day of the cruise, the photography area did not have enough staff to deal with both download issues (such as our missing images) and photo purchases.
- The music volume at the Crooners' lounge was excessively loud, making conversation impossible without having to shout.
- The "Baked Alaska" parade was a needless interruption of dining on the last night of the cruise. For people with visual impairments, the lack of adequate light can create a dangerous environment.
- On the last morning of the cruise, using the Da Vinci restaurant as a debarkation staging area is confusing, as people may think to go there for their last morning's meal on the ship and miss out on that meal.
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