Compare NCL Crown and RC Empress of the Seas

[tinker]

Has anyone sailed to Bermuda on both these ships and can do a comparison?
We sailed on the Empress of the Seas in October of 2004 when RC offered an 8 night itinerary. It was absolutely the most perfect vacation with five full days on Bermuda. That year they alternated between a 6 night itinerary and an 8.
Now RC has a rather odd itinerary for the Empress where you don't get to Bermuda until 3:00 pm on a Monday and it leaves at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday so only two days there.
The Norwegian Crown has a better itinerary where we would arrive earlier on Monday and leave later on Thursday so would have more time on Bermuda.
So the question is, do we sail on a ship and line we really love and have had experience with but time on the island is cut short, or sail on the Crown which gets so-so reviews and food not as good from my only experience with NCL.
Any opinions or advice please.
Happy Holidays!!!

[Writeratsea]

Has anyone sailed to Bermuda on both these ships and can do a comparison?
We sailed on the Empress of the Seas in October of 2004 when RC offered an 8 night itinerary. It was absolutely the most perfect vacation with five full days on Bermuda. That year they alternated between a 6 night itinerary and an 8.
Now RC has a rather odd itinerary for the Empress where you don't get to Bermuda until 3:00 pm on a Monday and it leaves at 8:00 a.m. on Thursday so only two days there.
The Norwegian Crown has a better itinerary where we would arrive earlier on Monday and leave later on Thursday so would have more time on Bermuda.
So the question is, do we sail on a ship and line we really love and have had experience with but time on the island is cut short, or sail on the Crown which gets so-so reviews and food not as good from my only experience with NCL.
Any opinions or advice please.
Happy Holidays!!!
Hi Tinker, a quick hello from Writeratsea (Edward). I hope you had a lovely Xmas and will have a safe and nice New Year's as well. You have a difficult decision. You would like to maximize your time in Bermuda as with the NCL Crown. But your experieince with RCL Empress of the Seas was so extrodinary that it may be difficult to resist despite the shorter itinerary. Don't forget that what made your prior Empress trip so special was the great group of CCers that you bonded with onboard. They probably will not be onboard again and you may be disappointed with the trip. Perhaps you should check the roll calls of each ship to see how many CCers may be going on each ship on the date you are planning. This is an intangible that may be significant for you. I have heard that the Crown is very similar to my favorite, the Majesty. And I believe the Crown shifts from St. George to Hamilton to the dockyard each day, which makes it easier to visit each area. It will be interesting to hear how you arrive at your final decision. If you have any questions or would like some ideas, let me know again. :)
Edward

[NextOne]

Empress has ONE 8-day trip out of Norfolk to Bermuda in 2007, leaving June 2. We grabbed it as soon as we realized there was the extra day. Come join us!

[tinker]

Hi Edward! We did have a nice Christmas and thank you for the well wishes. Yes, we did have an exceptional CC group on the Empress which I know we will never duplicate but also the service was so great, as well as the layout of the ship compared to our recent Celebrity Zenith to Bermuda experience.
Celebrity was not for us at all and I would hate to have another not so great experience by choosing the Crown.
NextOne, I did see that one 8 night sailing from Norfolk but we don't like to go away until the fall but thanks for the suggestion.
It is still a long way off but half the fun is the planning!
ARe you sailing the Majesty again next year Edward?

[smeyer418]

We have been on both the Empress and the Crown. My preference was the Crown...(I also had an owners suite)... Longer time in Bermuda, more ports NCL's Dine a shore program(one meal taken ashore my suggestion is the Carriage house in St George). The food was about the same. In a regular room the Empress on the seas---which are smaller than the Crown's---the room service was better. I like freestyle which suits me but the Crown when full can have a wait to eat and I never eat at the buffet(which is better on the Empress)....My preference would hinge on price frankly as they are close in any case(but for me if the amount was close I would take the Crown...)

[Writeratsea]

Hi Edward! We did have a nice Christmas and thank you for the well wishes. Yes, we did have an exceptional CC group on the Empress which I know we will never duplicate but also the service was so great, as well as the layout of the ship compared to our recent Celebrity Zenith to Bermuda experience.
Celebrity was not for us at all and I would hate to have another not so great experience by choosing the Crown.
NextOne, I did see that one 8 night sailing from Norfolk but we don't like to go away until the fall but thanks for the suggestion.
It is still a long way off but half the fun is the planning!
ARe you sailing the Majesty again next year Edward?
Yes we are sailing on the Majesty again. We were going to try something different (we booked the Pearl for 2008) but our adult kids want to cruise. They have heard so much about our cruises to Bermuda and seen the photos that they persuaded us to organize a family cruise. They have never cruised before and as everyone knows the first cruise is usually the most memorable. We are leaving later on the 9/30/2007 sailing so that we have the Monday off when we come back to rest up. I wish you lived closer to Boston and joined us on this cruise, I would just about guarentee you would have a great time. The crew is so exceptional, friendly and remembers us from prior cruises. If you come up to Boston early, we could show you the great stuff that Boston has to offer. Things to do and see, and great seafood. I think you have to choose either the RCL or NCL cruise. They are comparable in price and quality. The only difference is the intinerary, I would prefer to stay more days in Bermuda. And as Smeyer mentions in his post, the dine around program is unique to NCL. It is a great program. Basically for $5 you get a voucher for a $25 lunch, for $10 a $50 dinner per person. Some of the participating restaurants have a special menu, others allow you to order anything and take the amount of the voucher off the bill. The voucher includes food, tips and sodas. Alcaholic beverages and wine are extra. The Carriage House that Smeyer recommends is excellent and would give you a nice Bermuda experience. Something else to think about. Think about joining us on the Majesty, and see Boston as a bonus. I have been busy and intend to write a review of the trip, which was the best yet. Have a nice New Year.:)
Edward

[smeyer418]

:)

Sid
Thanks

[tinker]

Thanks for your input Smeyer. Edward, thanks for the invite to Boston but it is a 5 hour or more ride for us from PA and I would maybe consider it if NCL offered bus transporation. We have used the cruise line bus transportation with RC and Celebrity in the past and they contract with Academy Bus Line for transporation to the port in Bayonne. A nice perk not having to drive and pay to park.
For sailing out of NYC on the Crown we use a local bus company from our dowtown area here in PA and into Port Authority in about an hour and 15 minutes for $32 r/t.
I read some really good reviews of the Crown, but again we loved the crew on the Empress and the layout of the ship. We had a sort of bummer of cruise on the Zenith to Bermuda and don't want to repeat that on going with a ship we have never tried, i.e. the Crown. RC is not offering bus transportation at this time to Bayonne which is another minus.
Decisions, decisions!!!!
Keep the input coming as we have lots of time to decide as I do really want to cruise end of Sept. or beginning of October and hopefully some of our original group will sail again.

[RichNY]

HI Tinker

We also did the Empress 8 nighter from Bayonne and would do it again , if it was still available.We sailed on the Crown this past September and really enjoyed it. Hurricane Florence caused us to miss one day in Bermuda but since we have been there so many times, mostky land trips, it was not a big deal...Being Freestyle fans we loved the Crown. She is a great little ship with a super crew . Since we like a balcony we had an Owners Suite..Unlike the Empress the OS are the only cabins that offer a balcony. We until the last minute to book it and got a fantastic deal..:D We found the food to be OK......nothing great but don't forget that NCL has since changed their menus for the better. If you main goal is to have more time in Bermuda , then the Crown is the way to go...

There is an outside chance we might do it again in September....

[ddoll]

This summer will be our third cruise from NYC to Bermuda. All 3 have been on different cruise lines: 1st was RCL, 2nd was Celebrity and this one will be on NCL.
We choose by the itinerary and haven't been disappointed yet. Our goal has been met by all three lines as they have been very similar cruising experiences. I can't imagine one of those lines to have such a bad onboard time as to spoil our beautiful Bermuda vacation.

[tinker]

Well, I booked the Empress today for 10/6/07. What really made the decision for us was our not so great Zenith to Bermuda cruise this past October as we didn't enjoy the ship's layout and the passengers were just plain rude and not friendly. So, I thought it best to return on the Empress as we did experience it in 10/04 and love the ship, our fellow cruisemates wonderful and the crew exceptional as they seemed to enjoy the cruise as much as we did abd know it is a sure shot. The Crown does get great reviews, but the pool deck seems very tiny and one of the places we love to be most of time on sea days.
AND, I rec'd the email of specials from RC and there was a discount code for $125 off an outside cabin on the Empress! SOLD!! LOL
Also another part of the decision making on choosing between the RC Empress and NCL Crown was my one and only experience with NCL and Freestyle cruising this past June and like Smeyer said, there was always a wait. Food was also just so so but not so bad that if we can get a good enough price, we are sailing the NCL Spirit to the Bahamas this summer as a girls trip again.
I am disappointed that the ship doesn't arrive in Bermuda until 3:00 p.m. but seems like a good time to hop a bus and visit the Swizzle Inn since too short of a day for the beach!
Thanks for all of your input.