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Louis Cruise Lines

MS Emerald

Your Rating:
Reviewed by: Donna March
# previous cruises: 2
Date of Trip: March 25, 2001
Itinerary: Caribbean

This was a smaller but most impressive ship and the operation by Thomson's was excellent.Free flowing embarkation right from the runway without even entering the airport- heaven!!.the facilities were excellent apart from a poor gym. The food was very good, the activities were constant and the entertainment was first class despite being a very young cast. I'm sure we shall see some of those faces on TV. The crew were fantastic and catered for every need

Public areas were plentiful and never seemed busy as there was always activities going on elsewhere so passengers were spread over the ship, apart form the show lounge which due to the quality of the shows was often too busy despite the two sittings. Plenty of sunbathing space and loungers.Plenty of different bars, the casino was moderate but adequate for the size of the ship. nice walk-round promenade. the pool was good and clean although the jacuzies did not feel so clean as they seemed to be on constantly.

Food was very good ina all the eateries but more variation of veg and a more exciting range of sweets would have raised this opinion to excellent. I'd give the food 8 out of 10 and I like good food with a top chef as my partner. The service was always excellent and attentive especially by the Head Waiters who ensured a constant quality of service.

Our cabin (superior inside)was excellent, with ample closet space,comfortable bed, ample space to move around and lovely en-suite facilities.We were disturbed every morning for an hour at 6am with the pool being filled up as this was directly above us but we got used to it by the last couple of days!!We had a problem with a broken hairdryer but this was fixed immediately!

We attended all the shows and all the light entertainment such as quizzes, Kareoke, race night. All the entertainers are real stars and a wealth of talent. all cruise staff were always there and helpful.

We sailed from barbados to St Maarten where we shared a taxi to the French side of the Island then returned for an afternoon on the lovely beach at St Philipsburg where we docked.Lots of good duty free shopping on this island. Tortolla was next. We just spent the morning out in the town. We visited the Purser's Rum shop and bar! Next was Antigua which has a bustly port town with a good market but beware of valuables. Dominica is a lovely green Island and is the least commercial of the islands we visited. we shared a taxi again to go up to the Emerald pool. This journey was lovely but the pool itself was a bit disappointing. we should have gone on the Indian river cruise(mini Amazon). St lucia was our last port before returning to Barbados. We ventured into the town.Again a good market but be on guard! A local woman even came up to us and told us to hide our camera. just use your common sense.

There were a few children, some young couples and then the ages rose but the entertainment and facilities catered for everyone excellently. Unfortunately we had two unusual characters on our dinning table who we could not escape from nut the other two people were lovely. we have kept in touch with a few people and i think a lot of friendships were formed because it was such a lovely relaxing cruise and this was all down to the organization, staff and crew.