Hi Andy,
I'm another fan of the old girl. After Thomson took her out of service, I've been on a couple of beach holidays and then decided to try the Destiny - once was quite enough for me. The staff were mostly great, and a few of them had moved from the Emerald, such as the Maitre D' (whose name I forget, but the massive Caribbean guy) and a few of the bar crew. The ship however was not in a great condition and it just didn't have the same atmosphere as the Emerald did. I then moved on to RCI and did a cruise on Navigator which is a beautiful ship, enormous but again has a very different feel to the atmosphere on Emerald. Over new year, I was on P&O Ventura which again I wouldn't go back on - I didn't particularly like the ship - they've made a 5 year old vessel feel 55 years old, I didn't care of any of the 'entertainment' and I don't like the P&O regime. It's too rigid and stuck in the past - I like to sit at the bar, have a chat with the folks behind the bar and fellow passengers. P&O seem to do everything they can to dissuade you sitting at the bar. I don't want waiter service for my drinks thanks, let me make my own decision! Plus, it was full of cruise bores. Next time I'll try someone else - although who I'm not sure yet.
Anyway, back to our old friend the Emerald. She still exists and apparently is up for sale. I'd love to know what the price is and how much it would cost to operate for a year!
Anyway, for a blast from the past have a look here. She's still in excellent condition by the looks of it.
Enjoy!
http://maritimematters.com/2011/09/the-emerald-of-eleusis-and-piraeus-to-petrola-ing/
