I am planning on buying a place in france so my cruising may have to be cut down slightly. MAybe only once a year.

Definately think about the year after, be interesting seeing the itineries.

Black sea on the emerald

Any comments.

No funny stuff luci

Nope!

Except to say have a lovely time !

Funny stuff Moi
Only comment I have is................ Have a great cruise Andy! It sounds such a brilliant itinerary that you'll need a holiday to recover from your holiday

luci

Thanks luci, i have plenty of memory chips so can take some piccies 4 the site.

I will of course raise a glass or two (or more) to you.

Andy

Looking forward to seeing the pics already!! Have been to St Petersburg, when it was still Leningrad, and all the ports sound so interesting your review could take a while!

luci

on board, beer in hand.

hello to you luci

theres one here for you, oooopss you are back in blighty

Hi Andy
Oi where's me drinkie? You are a naughty boy with me stuck here in the bucketing rain. Hope you didn't let it go flat.
Three weeks on Friday till we set sail. Not sure yet if MIL is going to make it as she fell yesterday and is in hospital with a broken arm

Hope you're having a great cruise!

luci

I am thinking of booking a stay and cruise on the emerald next summer, and would like some advice from anyone who has been on her- hope andy gets to read this on board, he will be able to find out the answers!
I have only cruised on the Island Escape (loved it) and know the emerald has different dining arrangements
1) How formal are the formal nights? Does hubby need to pack suit? Do I need a long dress?? (please say no!)
2) What is the deck space like? I believe it has an enclosed promenade deck- are there any shady places to sit outside?
3) Can you eat outside? (this was an attractive feature of the IE)
4) What are the best cabins for a good view? I don't want to look at a lifeboat, or have people walking outside my window, but can't afford more than a "superior plus".
thanks for any help, kate

Hi Kate

As you know our resident Emerald expert Andy is currently onboard. You may have to wait until he returns for a full answer as the cost of using the internet on the ship may be too much to reply fully.

I can probably answer the formal question though. Most gents wear a suit, some wear dinner jacket, others a jacket and tie and some just a shirt and tie with a pair of smart trousers.

For ladies just about anything goes. Long dress, calf-length dress, normal dress, trousers or skirt and nice top, more or less what you would wear on a night out. Ball gowns aren't necessary, although you could wear one if you wanted.

HTH

luci

Hi

Kate went on Emerald last sept and did cruise and stay, We were on level 2 and had a outside cabin couldn't see much when in port but had a decent view when sailing.

I didn't get dressed up I wore black trouser and a smart top most nights. you can dress up for captian cocktail party and one other night but it didn't have to be a formal dress or dinner jacket for the lads. My bloke wore a shirt and tie as did may others.

You can eat outside at Lunch as the lido is open for Lunch as is the dining room. I don't rememer it been open at evening times for eating out only on the midnight buffet didn't always go to this as the meal where lovely and I was always full. You can sit under cover during the day but this mainly round the pool area near the bar. I enjoyed the emerald we did the adriatic coast wasn't keen on the stay part but that was choice of hotel. Loved crusing so much off again next year on destiny for 2wks.

Hope this is of help to you before Andy gets back with more upto date info.

thanks for the replies Luci and 1lovehols. I will certainly look forward to picking andy's brains! Am interested to know which hotel you went to 1lovehols as we have never been to Greece before, and don't want to be put off by a bad hotel. We are looking at the Dassia Chandris. Any thoughts? I have looked at the reviews, but the only bad one doesn't give any information. We are not looking for luxury, but both in our 50s and don't really want a place overrun with kids! ( I will also ask on the Corfu forum)
thanks, kate

thanks luci yes, good cruise

met up with blot and co, had a laugh

cruise is going good, keep buying you drinks but you dont turn up so drinking them myself

kate

I am on board at the moment but one thing is internet access is £1 per minute at sea so I will chat when I return.

Andy

thanks for that Andy- look forward to hearing all about it,
kate

As long as they're not going to waste Good to heard you met up with Blot and co.

luci

hi

We went with portland direct so we stayed in corfu town at the mon repos which we hated so changed to the yalirsci palace which was over run with wasps.

welcome back andy- hope you had a great holiday! hope you may have the answers to some of my questions when you have unpacked! I am hoping to book in the next couple of days. the price is extortionate, but as we have to go peak season there is no point waiting for a bargain.

Hi Kate

Im back and kicking but have 700 emails, so I will give you a quick one now "fnar fnar" and a longer one later today.

) How formal are the formal nights? Does hubby need to pack suit? Do I need a long dress?? (please say no!)

No he does not need one, shirt and trousers are fine, tie is a maybe. Some do like to go for the full tux, but smart casual is fine.

2) What is the deck space like? I believe it has an enclosed promenade deck- are there any shady places to sit outside?

If you have a brochure, you will see the deck plans. From deck 5 there are outside area's. The main outside areas are the Lido deck, where there is seating and a bar, and the sun deck where there is a bar also.

there are smaller open spaces inbetween these but these are either small end of ship spaces or two of the decks can be walked round (evac points etc).

3) Can you eat outside? (this was an attractive feature of the IE)

Outside eating can be done on the lido deck, where you can obtain buffett style food and either eat on your sun lounger or there are chairs and tables around the bar.

4) What are the best cabins for a good view? I don't want to look at a lifeboat, or have people walking outside my window, but can't afford more than a "superio

Oooooh, tough question, I never have portholes coz I am out and about till well after dark and I love the surprise of comming up for breakfast in shorts only for bits of me to drop off in sub zero temps (joke).

Basically the higher the deck the better view. Care should be taken coz deck two gets a bit over looked in docks especially near the reception part of the ship, as the gangplank goes right past these windows.

Decks 3 and 4 have the fun of the lifeboats then you are looking at cabins with lots of public areas nearby.

Maybe someone who has had a cabin up the top can answer, my family had 357, there was a view but as I say there was also a lifeboat.

more details

Andy