Vacation Photos

Here are some of the better photos from our vacation.  They are store on Google Photos in separate albums. They were shot with our new Panasonic Lumix camera.  I definitely like the results.


Island of Kauai

Island of Oahu - Honolulu

Island of Oahu - Waikiki

Island of Maui

Big Island of Hawaii

On board the Emerald Princess

Our Time In Vancouver

Our Time on Vancouver Island

October 19 – Princess .vs. Celebrity

Now that we are back on dry land in Vancouver, it is the perfect time to compare our experience on the Emerald Princess against the Celebrity’s cruise ships which we have taken in the past.

Embarkation

The embarkation process for Princess was flawless. It was quick and trouble free.  Celebrity’s embarkation process is also very smooth.  Of course it could also be the terminal layout of Vancouver that made the Princess embarkation process slightly smoother.  Unfortunately Princess withheld Marg’s suitcase because they mistakenly thought she was trying to bring in more than one bottle of wine.

In the final analysis there is no significant difference in their embarkation process.

The Cabins

There is very little difference in the cabin décor and setup between the two ships.  The balcony on the Emerald is slightly bigger but we’ve noticed that the balconies on the 10^th floor are larger than the balconies on the other floors on the Emerald.

I think that there is slightly more storage space in the Emerald cabin than on the Infinity.

Both beds were extremely comfortable.

The in-room TV selection had more variety on the Celebrity ship.

In the final analysis Princess comes out on top for their storage space.

The Ship’s Officers

The Emerald’s captain seems to be very personable and compares favorably with some of the other outstanding captains we’ve had on Celebrity cruises in the way he communications with the passengers.  What I have noticed though is that officers on the Celebrity cruises and much more accessible than the officers on Emerald Princess.  It is not uncommon to see one the Celebrity officers walking among the passengers, whereas I don’t remember seeing an Emerald officer other than on the first formal dinner night.

In the final analysis Celebrities officers are superior for their accessibility.

The Ship’s Crew

Our cabin stewards have all been excellent.  They all have been friendly, efficient and thorough.  The same can be said about our wait staff in the dining room.  In many cases the wait staff have left such a favourable impression that we remember them long after the trip is over.

It seems to me that the bar and public restaurant staff are much more friendly on the Celebrity cruises.  The staff on the Emerald Princess are polite and quick but they just don’t seem to interact with the passengers as much as staff on the Celebrity cruises.

In the final analysis we think that Celebrity’s crew is better, which is not to say that Princess’s staff was not excellent.

Food

The food found in the main dining rooms on both cruise lines is excellent.  There is always a wide variety of delicious starters, entrees, and of course desserts. The food is accompanied by a good selection of wines of various varieties. We prefer the set sitting in the evening and usually go to the anytime dinning for lunch.

Where Princess fails miserably is in its buffet room, where you can get breakfast, lunch or dinner if you don’t feel like going to a restaurant type setting.  We tried the Horizon Court buffet a couple of times and found, especially for breakfast, that they served the same food each day, there was no variety in the daily dishes, it was not fresh and the setup of the buffet was disorganized. In comparison Celebrity’s buffet always had a minimum of three different styles of food, the menu changed daily. For lunch there was a pasta bar where you could get any type of freshly cooked pasta with any sauce you want.

Both ships have omelet stations, but it is rare to find anyone manning the station on the Princess Cruise.

Most people I heard talking about the coffee served on board stated that the coffee on Princess was terrible.

In the final analysis we think that Celebrity’s food service is far superior.

Bars

Each boat has numerous bars and lounges, some small and intimate and others large and lively.  You can get any type of drink, or brand of alcohol. Service is usually exceptional.

In the final analysis I don’t think there is much difference between the cruise lines to recommend one over the other.

Live Entertainment

Each cruise liner has a theatre where they stage Broadway type productions and other lounge acts. 

We’ve found that the Princess’s Broadway shows are better, both in the professionalism of the performers and the costumes.

We feel that the star performers that Celebrity brings on board are much better than the acts employed by Princess.

On board there are many other acts that range from classical music to dance music.  They perform at the lounges and poolside bars on regular basis.  I would have to say that the Princess house band known as Pinnacle is the best we’ve seen. The other acts are all good with no noticeable difference in their professionalism.

Both cruise lines show movies under the stars on a huge screen.  The projection system is for Princess is far superior.

Of course both cruise lines offer audience participation sessions with trivia being one of the most popular things to do during sea days.  Both Princess and Celebrity do this very well.

In the final analysis, it would depend on the style of entertainment you like. Our preference would be Celebrity.

Recreational Facilities

Both cruise lines have similar setups for their swimming pool decks.  Each has two sets of swimming pools with two hot tubs associated with each pool in the middle of ship. They both have a pool and hot tub located in the bow of the ship. The major difference is that on Princess both are outdoor pools, whereas on Celebrity one of the pools is enclosed.  This comes in handy on cruises to Alaska or fall cruises north of the Caribbean, when it can get a bit cool.

We can’t compare the Spa or Gym on these ships because we’ve never been to either.

In the final analysis we give the edge to Celebrity for the covered pool.

Internet Services

On the Celebrity Infinity the internet service ranged from slow to OK.  On the Emerald Princess you would not be incorrect to say it ranged from totally ineffectively to non-existent.  Princess needs to fire their network IT shop and replace it with qualified engineers and pour a lot more money into the service.  The internet has become a daily fixture in most people’s lives and needs to be treated as such with sufficient capacity to meet the demand.

In the final analysis we think that Celebrity’s internet service is far superior and the service provided by Princess is an insult.

Local Culture

When you are going to a different culture it is nice to have educational seminars and culinary experiences that reflect the culture of the destination.  Both provide great seminars but Princess is better at providing local food in their fine dining areas.

In the final analysis, Princess comes out ahead based on their locally themed meals in the dining room.

Shore Excursions

As the shore excursions are run independently of the cruise line, it is up to the cruise line to vet the excursions to ensure that they meet their standards.  For most part the excursions we have been on are informative and interesting.

Unfortunately Princess seems to believe that shore excursions must also include shopping.  They employ a high pressure sales pitch at each port, trying to get you to go the local jewelry shop or souvenir stand.  They actually employ someone who has hour long seminars to tell you what to buy in each port.  After awhile it become annoying.

Interestingly enough I just received an email from Princess telling us about a change to the tour to Pearl Harbor.  Hello Princess we took the tour five days ago. 

In the final analysis Celebrity offers a better shore experience because you are not harassed by some stupid barker from the ship.

Décor

Princess’s décor is usually brown with dark rich wood in many of the lounges and restaurants. It gives the ship a classy sophisticate feeling. Celebrity on the other hand deploys a more modern flashy look in most of their bars and restaurants.

In the final analysis both are excellent and it would be a matter of personal preference, if it mattered at all.

As you can see it boils down to what you want in a cruise.  For our personal preference we would usually select Celebrity.

October 18 – The Last Day of the Cruise

Today was the last day of our cruise. Early tomorrow morning we will disembark in Vancouver.  Rocky and Joan will be leaving for Toronto on Saturday, but we will be staying in Vancouver until Monday.

During the day we went to final of “The Voice of the Ocean”.  This is a passenger talent show based on the popular TV show “The Voice”  It is professional done with the graphics, the orchestration, and the turning chairs for the coaches.  The six finalists all had great voices and the eventual winner could easily sing with a professional Country and Western band in any bar in North America.

As is the tradition on a cruise, the last dinner includes a parade of the kitchen staff carrying trays of flaming Baked Alaska.  For safety reasons the flame has been replaced with a red LED light bulb

Our wait staff has been great.  Our food was also delivered quickly and our glasses never went empty.  Our head waitress was a Peruvian named Daisy and her assistance was an East Indian named Wellington.

After dinner we went to our last trivia contest.  This one was different because the questions came from the audience and staff had to answer the questions.

October 17 – Second Last Day of the Cruise

This has been a great cruise.  I would guess that two thirds of the passengers are from Canada, mostly from Vancouver and the southern mainland of BC.  It makes it very easy to talk to our fellow passengers during lunch or other informal gathering as we all have a shared experience.   Surprising enough the one couple who did know where Port Stanley was, were from Seattle.   It turns out that they had lived in Cleveland and had a boat. They had crossed into Canada through Port Stanley many times.

Our dinner companions have been wonderful.  Lorne is a Baptist minister and his wife Sig works with autistic young adults in the Vancouver area.  We have had many interesting conversations with them.  It had dispelled the myth that the art of conversation is dead.

During the day we went to the hula dancing presentation.  Marg bowed out because she had missed one class and didn’t know one of the dances they were going to perform.  To the uneducated eye they all seemed the same.

After high tea in the afternoon, we went and heard Sig and her choir sing a few songs.  They were very good for only two weeks practice.

We had Rocky and Joan over for drinks before dinner tonight.  Rocky has come down with a sore throat and has cut back on his wine consumption.  We hope it gets better before he leaves for home on Saturday.

Tonight was another formal dinner night.  Marg had lobster and quail and I had two lobster tails.  We both are stuffed.

Unfortunately we went to the Marriage game show but it was packed with not a seat to be had. I don't know why they don't schedule these popular shows in the theater but I'm sure they have their reasons.  Tomorrow we are going to try to see the finals of Voice competition.  It should be lots of fun.

The captain has opened up all the engines and we have made up the time lost when we airlifted the passenger to Honolulu.  So we should arrive on schedule in Vancouver On Friday morning.

October 16 - British Invasion Trivia

We Won !

We Won !

We won the British Invasion Trivia with a score of 37 out of 43.  No one else was even close.  My goodness Rocky, Joan, Marg and myself are good!

October 15 - Sad Day on Board

We found out today that gentleman who was airlifted to Honolulu did not make it.  Our condolences go out to his wife and family.

October 14 - Medical Evacuation At Sea

Today we saw the true definition of teamwork. Last night one of the passengers suffered a severe stroke and he needed immediate hospitalization. The boat having left Kauai yesterday in the late afternoon was well past the point where a helicopter could make a safe round trip.  So the boat turned around and headed back to Oahu.  The ship needed to be within 150 miles of Honolulu for the American Navy to be able to send a helicopter for the medical evacuation.

In order to prepare a safe evacuation site, the captain closed down the forward pool area.  The staff then went about the task of securing this site.  The pool and the hot tubes were drained.  All the deck chairs were removed, the bars were shuttered, the overhead lighting cables disassembled and anything that could possibly be blown about by the wind of the helicopter secured.  Then all the cabins below this secured area were evacuated because there was a possibility that the chopper might crash into the boat while attempting the rescue.

We next saw a US Navy C130 plane circle the boat multiple times.  The plane was measuring wind speeds and directions at various points around the boat in order to determine the safest approach to the evacuation site.

When the helicopter arrived it made one pass over the ship and then circled around and hovered over the evacuation site. You could tell the pilot was an expert as he kept the chopper basically level with boat despite the rolling of the ship caused by the ocean waves.  Then one of the navy rescue team members repealed down to the deck, followed by the cradle for the transportation of the passenger. You could tell that the wind was causing havoc as the cradle was spinning widely as it descended to the deck. I was told that it had wrapped itself around some poles on the ship during its descent.

The chopper then disengaged itself from the cradle and left the area.  During this time the patient was secured in the cradle.  The helicopter then returned and lowered a cable that was attached to the cradle.  Again it was amazing to watch as the pilot made multiple adjustments in order keep the chopper as steady as possible in relation to the ship.  The passenger was then hoisted up to the helicopter which I would estimate to be at least 50 feet in the air. It went very smoothly and the patient was secured inside the chopper.

The chopper then left to very loud applause from the passengers and circled around, came back and picked up the navy officer who had repealed onto the ship.  All in all it took about 30 minutes for evacuation to be completed.  Our captain was outstanding as he clearly communicated what was going to happen and informing passengers of their responsibilities during the evacuation.

Unfortunately the wife of the patient was not allowed to travel with her husband on the chopper.  She will have to wait until we dock in Vancouver on Friday and then return to Honolulu.  From what we’ve heard he may not make it that long, but here is praying that he does make a recovery.

Congratulations to the US Navy rescue squad and the crew of the Princess Emerald for an amazing display of teamwork.

On a brighter note, tonight was the second of three formal dinner night.  We both had chateaubriand and Marg also had a lobster tail. As usual it was delicious.  After dinner we sent to the lounge and saw Dan Horn who is a ventriloquist. It was one of the funniest shows I’ve ever seen on a cruise.