Empress of the Seas

[sunnydaze]

Hey little guy,

 

I clicked on your screen name and there you were.

 

It cracked Sunny and I up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

I notice that you have quite the wardrobe. The Denbs must be light

packers if they take along a selection of sweaters for you. Us

Canadians are only allowed 44 lbs, and so we don't have an ounce to

spare.

Too bad you aren't on our cruise. Sunny is a real animal lover and would

love to meet you. Just last week she found a rescue Shih Tzu for an older

couple and part of the deal was that we have to look after the dog, when

they go cruisin to Alaska in May. She had never met the dog or the owner,

I guess it will be coming to work along with our own Shih Tzu.

 

Keep up the posts - we look forward to reading them.

 

I think I need a vacation - now I'm talking to a beaver.

 

Sunny and DH

[denb]

Yes, Beav is quite demanding, requiring a new t-shirt whenever he sees one in his size. On the bright side, though, he allows us to go along with him on his cruises to take pictures of him. I think he made all of his money in the logging business.

 

Aruba, Sea Day, and Debarkation day left. Hopefully we'll finish by this weekend. We're heading down to Texas this weekend to visit my mother and sister. Being in Wisconsin, we're looking forward to above freezing temperatures down south.

[cathynov14]

the service on the ship 100 %. food so so, not much to do on the ship at all, if you are over 70 a lot to do, I enjoyed the islands but the ship nothing to do unless you were over 70 and a couple, they did seem, to have a great time, oh they ran out of ice tea 3 days before the cruise was over, I would go again but no on this ship., cathy

[Smooth Sailing]

We are booked in cabin JS 9146 for 2/27/06 - can't wait - we do have an aft balcony on the NCL Sun in Oct. to tide us over.

[denb]

I didn't see much about the food. How were the dinners? What would a sample dinner consist of ? Do you remember the menu from one of your nights? Brenda

We always say we're going to take pictures of the menu and never do. We remember a variation of fish, pasta and beef was offered each night with the fourth choice alternating between chicken, lamb, turkey, veal. Rosemary chicken and some type of steak (I think strip steak) could be ordered any night. For the first four nights, fruit soups were offer and were excellent three out of the four nights. Hot soups were offered each night too, along with appetizers and salads. We really like RC’s breads and rolls. We remember the food being good, but nothing stands out except a Rosetta pasta dish. The desserts were good, but not as good as on Celebrity. We only ordered one dessert each night. On Celebrity, we always ordered two ‘cause we couldn’t decide. The lunch menu was the same each day with only the special of the day changing. We only went once and went to the Windjammer every other time.

The normal dress code:

Casual (departure San Juan)

Formal (St. Maarten)

Casual/Caribbean (St. Barts)

Smart Casual (St. Kitts)

Casual/70s (St. Lucia)

Casual/Western (Barbados)

Formal (Grenada)

Smart Casual Margarita Island)

Formal (Curacao)

Casual (Aruba)

Casual (at Sea)

[denb]

Day 9 – Aruba

 

 

Arrival - 7:00 Aruba is a Dutch island similar to Curacao with the pastel buildings, beautiful water and great shopping. It is very tourist friendly with a crime rate of zero. Aruba is a slight favorite for us over Curacao. As a native of this Dutch island, you are entitled to go to the university in Holland with your tuition paid in full by the government. If you choose another university, the Dutch government will pay half your tuition. Last time we were there, our cab driver’s wife, son and daughter were all doctors. I think the cab drivers probably make more money that a lot of jobs in the United States. Also, last time we were there, the unemployment rate was zero too (wonder if there’s a connection between the unemployment rate and the crime rate). Recently, the government raised taxes for an oil refinery. So the refinery is closing in Aruba to relocate to a more tax friendly island, so now they are experiencing unemployment. Aruba also has it’s own facility that turns ocean water into drinking water. Due to Aruba’s location, they have only experienced one hurricane in the last 40 years. If we were to go an island as our vacation, this island would certainly make the top three, along with St. Thomas and Grand Cayman. We have scuba dived here before and it was great. This time we hired a cab ($60) and paid as much as we would have (probably less) for the island tour excursion. This was better for us, because the cab driver let us set the pace. We had him stop on the way to our first destination for cold soft drinks. We bought him one, and this set the pace for a relaxed friendly excursion. He took us to a rock formation which was interesting. It had a rock that looked like a turtle and another that looked like a bear’s head. It also had a cave with native drawings dating back 700 years ( I think that’s what he said). We then drove out to the natural bridge. Even though they had been hit by the recent hurricane, they did get a lot or rain and wind leaving pot holes in the sand packed road. The road is on the coast and how you tell if you’re on the road or the beach, I have no idea. This “road” out to the natural bridge is also where you see a lot of the ATV’s and jeep tours. The view along the coast is amazing with the surf crashing on the rocks. We stopped randomly to take pictures and they sure don’t do justice to the real thing. One place we stopped, there was one other vehicle. Sure enough, it was our table mates again! What are the odds? They had rented a car and they later told us, it was probably a mistake. They spent the entire day pretty much lost. Like I said, it’s sometime hard to tell if you’re on a real road or not. They are going to cancel their entry into ‘The Amazing Race”. When we got to the natural bridge, there were probably about 100 people there, but we were still able to get good pictures of just us. That’s the other nice thing about hiring a cab; he took lots of pictures of the two of us. The natural bridge is definitely worth seeing and like I said the trip out was beautiful too. Our cab driver even took us by his house… they are very proud of their island as well they should be. We had the cab drop us off downtown at Crystal Casino (we’d been there twice before), but we ended up not playing because the tables games were too crowded. We went shopping instead in the attached mall. The nice thing about Aruba was we were there until 11:00 pm so you can do whatever you want and have plenty of time. The ship has an agreement with Aruba that allows the ship’s casino to be open while in port. The casino onboard opened at 7:00. The show was before dinner at 7:15 with a guest comedian Chris Bliss. He’s been on the Tonight Show and was pretty good. We had a great day in Aruba.

[AltaJoe]

denb, I've read that there are 3 formal nights on the 11-night Empress. Is that correct? Do you remember which nights they are?

 

Thanks

[denb]

Ummmm..... I just listed them above in post #55.

[AltaJoe]

Ummmm..... I just listed them above in post #55.

 

Yes you did. Sorry I missed it.

[sunnydaze]

Hi there,

 

Thanks again for all your trip reports. You did such a good job!!!!!!

 

Sunny and I like to keep a bottle in the room for a cocktail while

we get ready for dinner. Some cruises that has been a problem.

Last couple of times we sailed on RCI, they went thru our bags when

we came back from a day ashore. Did you notice any problems like

that on your cruise.

 

Thanks a lot,

 

Sunnys DH -

[herb]

What a great itinerary and what a beautiful ship! :) Thanks for sharing your thoughts as well as pictures. We'll keep this cruise in mind for the future!

[niteJazz]

Hi there:)))

 

This may be a very basic question but I wanted to have opinions based on experience.

 

Would a sport jacket with tie be adequate for formal nights? How do others stick with suit policy?

:)

Thanks for great writing and tips!

[sunnydaze]

My husband's just leaning over my shoulder saying - " Tell him I've seen lots of guys wear sports jackets + ties, but I charge for wardrobe consulting" HA!

Actually - it ranges from there all the way to a Tux. Generally, people aren't as formal as they were on our 1st cruise,tho.

Isn't this darn packing fun?

[CrusinLawyer]

We have a large group (110 people) traveling on the Empress of the Seas this week. I'll be sure to post some information about the trip when we get back.

 

I've visited the ship while it was in port in NJ this September. The upgrades came out well and the ship appeared to be in good shape. Some of the photos I took are on the website we set up for our group: www.PADSailAway.com.

 

If anyone has helpful information about the ship or our ports (St. Kitts & St. Maarten), please let me know so that I can pass them along to my group.

 

Steve

[Spence]

I thought that your review was excellent. Too bad I now have to wait 11 more months. If anyone else has had different experiences on this ship I'd love to hear from you also. I didn't see much about the food. How were the dinners? What would a sample dinner consist of ? Do you remember the menu from one of your nights?

 

Brenda

 

Try this web page

http://mcrowley.cruiseone.com/travel/cruises/cruiseline.do?ITINERARY_ID=805|||&PGTYPE=menus_lunch

[denb]

Day 11 - At Sea

 

 

After nine different ports, it’s nice to have a day at sea. The bad news is that is it also packing day. Except for packing, we spend the day doing the things we want. Sleeping late, having breakfast, reading, sitting in the jacuzzi, enjoying the view and going to the casino. What we learned on this cruise is the most important thing is the level of relaxation you allow yourself. On this cruise, we hit our peek. Something about an eleven night cruise will do that. The whole cruise was very relaxing and for that reason we’d love to do it all over again and we plan too.

[denb]

Day12 – Debarkation

 

 

We didn’t have to worry about getting off early, as we had a late afternoon flight. Platinum and diamond members were given the Viking Crown Lounge as their private debarkation lounge. We didn’t have a clue as to why being about as far away from deck five (forward) as you can get (deck 9 aft) is considered a ‘benefit’. It was very crowded and they had already run out of food, coffee, etc. With standing room only, it appeared it would be a stampede once our color was called, not to mention the long trek to the gangway. So, we headed down to a lower deck. As luck would have it, as we got to the centrum level they called our color. We followed the moving line off the ship and retrieved our luggage in minutes. Instead of waiting for a limo or bus, we caught a cab. This got us to the airport about 6 hours early. The ticket agent asked if we’d like an earlier flight and even promised to try to get our luggage on the same flight (he was being funny), but were we ever grateful. We ended up getting home (along with our luggage) before our original flight was even due to leave.

[denb]

Summary:

 

 

We’ve been on 16 cruises so far, and except for the 3 on Empress they’ve all been on bigger and newer ships. Other ships have more amenities and bigger cabins, and yet this was the best cruise we’ve had. What made this the best cruise was the itinerary (9 ports of call) and the fact that we made it our best. Many cruisers complain about the food, the staff, the ship, the weather, the excursions, the ports, the other pax, their room, their table mates, shopping, chair hogs, kids, and everything in between. We take things as they come, and make the best of every situation. We don’t let any thing, or any other person make our cruise experience for us. We make our cruise experience. And we always make it GREAT!

[denb]

Addendum -

This above review was for the January 17th 11-night cruise. We just got back from a 5-night cruise on the Empress of the Seas. When we were on her in January, we were reminded of how much you can feel the thrusters and seas on a smaller ship. After our May cruise, we now know it’s the time of year, not necessarily the size of the ship that controls how much rock and roll you experience (which, by the way, we enjoy). Early in the year, winds are stronger, making waves and swells larger. We never felt her rock once in May. It was the smoothest cruise we’ve experienced.

[Giventofly]

Hey!!!

 

I was on the same week!

 

Review Posted here:

 

http://www.realtyone.com/daniel.smith/empress.asp

[Giventofly]

Thanks for the great review and awesome pics!

 

I LOVE your mascot.

[w&k]

Thanks so much for your in-depth review... we are going next spring, and are looking forward to it already.

 

Wendy

[kc320]

How about doing a review on the 5 night Empress you took?? I am going on her in Sept & Love reading about everyone's experiences!

[bas7]

denb,

 

I'm sailing on a seven day out of Fort Lauderdale, my home, on October 10th, 2005, on the Empress of the Seas. I plan to take the same Scenic Railway Tour as you took in St. Kitt, but haven't been able to book on-line as of yet. I guess it's still to soon before departure. Did you see any children waving? I hear it's popular for the kids to wave at the passengers as the train passes by them.

 

Thanks so much for your detailed review of your voyage. It has me so excited.

 

I prefer smaller ships. Theres an intimacy you just don't find on the bigger ships. My first cruise was on Holland America's ms Volendam, and I enjoyed it emmensely. Second voyage was on Holland America's ms Zuiderdam, a bigger ship, yet still very enjoyable.

 

Since I wanted to experience crusing on another line, and the price was just right for an outside cabin, Room 8112, and new islands to see, St. Kitt and Labadee, and most of all the ship without question had my attention, I chose Royal Carribean for my voyage.

 

Thanks again for your wonderful review, and beautiful pictures.

 

I'm waiting with bated breath for October 10th, 2005.

 

Best,

 

Bruce

 

Holland America's ms Volendam, December 16, 2004, 11 Day Southern Carribean

Holland America's ms Zuiderdam, April 9th, 2005, 7 Night Eastern Carribean

 

Soon To Sail on RCCL, Empress of the Seas, October 10th, 2005, 7 Night Eastern Carribean

[jillybabes]

Here is the review that I posted from our May 14th cruise on the Empress...

 

 

 

We just returned from the 5 night Empress of the Seas sailing to Key West and Grand Cayman and had a wonderful time. We left home on the West Coast of Florida on Friday the 13th and stayed overnight in Ft. Lauderdale at the Renaissance which I got on priceline for $75.00. We had stayed there previously so we knew it was a nice hotel. We awoke on Saturday and left for the port which is only a couple of blocks away at 10:15. Arrived at the port and waited about 20 minutes til we were able to sit and wait for check-in which started at 11:40. We were on the ship by 11:45 and in the Windjammer having lunch by noon. At 1:00 PM even though the doors were closed to the hallways we were able to go to our cabin. Our oceanview cabin #8166 was very nice and there was plenty of storage space, the only drawback was our piece of luggage did not fit under the bed but no problem I was able to put it in the closet. The bathroom had enough storage space too and the bed was most comfortable. We went to the muster drill and I saw that there was luggage starting to be delivered to the cabins. On our way back from the drill, we saw our piece of luggage and rolled it into the cabin. The time was 4:30, so we had plenty of time to unpack and get ready for our early dinner. We had a table for 8 by the window aft and had the best tablemates of any cruise we had been on.

This was our first trip to Key West and we took the Conch Train tour which I highly recommend. There is so much history there and we had the nicest tour guide that has lived in Key West for 40 years. We were the only ones on the first morning train that left at 9:30 so we had a private tour! After the tour we went to Kermit's and I had chocolate covered keylime pie on a stick which was to die for...No trip to Key West is complete without a stop at Margaritaville so we got ourTee shirts, had lunch and margaritas.

Monday was a sea day and we were able to relax by the pool, but the chair hogs were out early so we had to settle for a regular chair til 2 lounge chairs became available.

Grand Cayman was lovely, we have been there before, and just went into town, walked around a bit then went back to the ship for lunch and an empty pool with lots of lounge chairs.

The food was wonderful and plentiful as always, whether we were in the Windjammer or the dining room it was always very very good.

The Service on board was excellent, our waiter, asst waiter and head waiter were great, very friendly and acommodating. Our steward team was also good. The shows were good, 2 review type shows, a comedian, magician and a juggler...Karaoke was fun and what can I say about the Quest! All in all we had a great time and would definately make a return visit to the Empress! If you have any questions ask away.........Jill

__________________This was one of the smoothest cruises we have ever been on and it was also the smallest ship that we have sailed....