Just back from Bermuda aboard the Empress of the Seas

Hello all my fellow Cruise Critic members. And a special hello to all who were on the Empress Of the Seas from July 24th to Aug 1st. :)

Just went back to work today because I needed a few more days to come off my cruising high. The Empress is a really nice ship and has a great staff! Me and my family (or should it be my family and I) had a wonderful time on board and in Bermuda.

Anyone have any specific questions, feel free to ask and I will be more than happy to answer any that I can.

The Funkman

Any pictures to post? How was embarkation? What about ongoing construction on board?

Where did you sail out of? Was it rough with much rocking? What did you do while in Bermuda? Thanks

Haven't figured out how to post the pics yet. I guess I have to get an account at Webshots and post a link here. Have to clean up the photos first anyway...some are sideways. Embarkation was easy! We got there around 2 and was on the ship by 2:30. I did not see any construction going on aboard the ship...everything was open. Portofinos was well worth the extra $20 per person. The meal there was fantastic....especially the flourless chocolate cake!!!

We sailed out of Bayonne on July 24th and it was drizzling a little. The winds were up around 15-20 knots with 4-6 foot swells (as far as what the captain told us) It was a bit rocky the first night and first full day. I had a triple dose of stuff (seabands, Bonine and Ginger ale) and still had the quesies. Laying up on deck in a lounge chair helped the best. Coming back was very smooth, hardly felt the ship moving at all. Just the occasional walking down the hall and then you hit the wall. The drunk people probably walked straight! More than likely it was the captain turning the wheel a little saying "lets see how many people we can bounce off the wall now!"

Bermuda was great! As soon as we got into St. George (8 night cruise) we hit St. Catherines beach. That was much better than what Tobacco bay looked like. It actually had a surf and was very clear water. When we got to the Royal Naval Dockyards, we took a 3 hour tour of Bermuda by taxi....ask for Walter Sullivan Swan, a really nice fellow in his 70's. Also at the dockyards we went to the snorkel park which was good for the kids. They have a slide out in the water that the kids and adults both were using. The only other beacj we hit was of course Horshoe Bay. It was windy that day so the did not rent umbrellas but it was fine. The sand was so fine it felt as though I was walking on baking flour. Only saw one jellyfish that was washed up. The lifeguards cmae by and scopped it up so no problem. BTW, the lifeguard station is pretty far away from the actual water, so in an emergency these people must have to haul butt to get out there! Just keep an eye on the kiddies just in case.

Any other questions, please ask....

Oh one other thing, at the first dinner when we were sailing out of Bayonne, the engine must have changed speeds or something because the whole dining room was shaking and the glasses were clanging and stuff. Everyone was looking around wondering what was up, but I knew from a previous post that this always happens, so don't be alarmed when it does.

Thanks for the info. What deck was your cabin on? What nights were formal and what nights did you have midnight buffets? How was the entertainment?

sorry for the wait on the response....I usually respond at work. Anyway, we were on deck 3 towards the front of the ship, inside cabin. On our 8 night cruise, the formal nights were Sunday night and Friday night. There were 3 midnight buffets, 1 regular, 1 chocolate and the gala buffet that was in the main dining room. The first 2 were on the pool deck. The first one was Tuesday night, the next one, the chocolate one, was Wednesday night and the gala was on Friday night. I was too tired to go to the gala one. The entertainment was great. I'm sure the shows we saw will be different for your cruise, except for the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers that stay on the ship.

feel free for more questions

Funkman - if you had the early seating for dinner, the change of speeds you felt was most likely the ship slowing down to let the pilot off and then returning to normal cruising speed. The vibration is especially noticable in the dinning room since it's located aft, over the engines and propellers.

I was on the same cruise in June but had the late seating - didn't even notice the speed change when the pilot departed, but then I was probably seizing another beer at the time.

CarpeCerevisi

Thanks for the info. I did have the early seating. I knew that the vibrations would happen, just did not know what it was from. Thanks

Funkman- How was teh wave action at Horseshoe Bay? Looking for very calm waters for the kids to swim,they can't do waves and body surfing yet.

Was it calm at snorkel park,and are there restrooms there?

awatt,

Horseshoe Bay was windy so it had waves. My kids are 9 years old and do not body surf or anything but they got a kick outta the waves picking them up and washing them up on shore. I think our taxi driver had mentoned that the southern shore beaches were the ones that had the waves. Just keep an eye on the kids and I'm sure they will be fine. There was also a nice cave that was on the right side of the beach. People usually have the chairs inside because of the shade but we just walked past them and went into the cave. One section was so dark that I couldn't even see what was in there. I had to take a picture with the flash on and wait to see what was inside.

Anyway, do not miss Horseshoe Bay. It was the softest sand I have ever felt and that is the beach that everyone says the sand is pink....you can actually see the pink crystals. Bring a ziploc bag to bring some home. The kids will love it. If they have no problem putting their heads underwater, bring some goggles so they can see the colorful fish in the water.

Thanks for the great info!

To Funkman and Awatt:

Just to let you know that there are bathrooms/changing facilities at Horseshoe Bay Beach, but nothing at Snorkel Park. A snack bar is presently under construction at Snorkel.

Snorkel Park is about a 10 minute walk from where the Empress of the Seas docks. The water at Snorkel Park is calm, but with rocks and shells on the sea bottom.

I was on the July 18-24 cruise to Bermuda and also got startled by the noise at the early dinner seating.

As my family and I were leaving the ship, you were just getting on.

RRE

Empress of the Seas July 2004

Thanks rre125,we'll bring our water shoes to snorkel park.

How hot was it in Bermuda? Is it humid? Water temps?

Thanks,

Cutekatcar

Hi

read your post because I have been to Bermuda many times on the NE, and before her on Song of America, and before that...well, you get the idea.

South shore beaches are great, but they are on the Atlantic side. North shore beaches are also Atlantic, but tend to be more sheltered. Anyway, Shelley's Bay, east of Hamilton and accessible by bus, is a great beach for kids. Very calm, almost like a bay, with a long shallow shelf. There is a small playground there, and a snack shop that also rents inner tubes and such. One of my very favorite places when my kids were little. Usually pretty empty, used by more locals than tourists. hope this helps.

hi all, thinking of sailing Grandeur 7/05 5 night to Bermuda, have heard that while in port in Bermuda the casino is shut down. was this true of your cruise?

casino and shops are closed while in port

We understand part of the ship has been renovated. Does anyone know about level 3,4, and 7. We aren't sure and I don't want to be in an old cabin?

Any info about which ones are or aren't. Thanks for this upbeat report

I was in an inside cabin on deck 3 and did not have any problems with it except size. Did not look like it was recently renovated but it also did not look as if it was falling apart either. The only problem we had was one morning on returning from breakfast, the battery in our door lock needed to be changed. It would not let us in. The steward contacted maintenence and within 5 minutes it was fixed. They had the room cleaned while we were at breakfast so they were very efficient.

Going to go for a bigger cabin next time, possibly even one with a window.

Great pictures

Thanks

Well me and my daughter are cruiseing on the empress of the seas on October 2, 2004 and are very excited. does any one ave a fun place to go? how was the rooms? Any PIctures???:rolleyes:

if anyone is traveling on this cruise 24days

how was everything me and my daughter are traveling on the 2 of october! we r so excited

Oh one other thing, at the first dinner when we were sailing out of Bayonne, the engine must have changed speeds or something because the whole dining room was shaking and the glasses were clanging and stuff. Everyone was looking around wondering what was up, but I knew from a previous post that this always happens, so don't be alarmed when it does.

Thanks for the info, I appreciate it! I hope I'll remember, as we don't go until Jan. I'm sure I will remember, after the initial surprise! :eek: :D

What did you think of the ship? We have been on bigger boats and are worried that there won't be enough for our son to do. We really like the 11 night itinerary for December 2005 though. Were the rooms really small? Was the boat crowded with lots of lines?

Any info would be appreciated as we try to make up our minds.

Deb

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=16189&page=11&pp=25

Cruisekost - We have a Meet and Mingle scheduled on that trip for October 2nd. Above is the link to our thread with everyone listed. Please join us.

Theresa