Empress of the Seas is Back

[Royal Caribbean International]

Weekends will never be the same with quick escapes from Miami where every night's a party and every day is packed with fun, sun & new ways to unwind. More info: http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1220/royal-caribbeans-empress-of-the-seas-heads-to-miami-for-short-caribbean-getaways-/

[poncho1973]

Empress of the Seas... including an adults-only Solarium;

 

Sold. I've never sailed a ship this tiny, but that single fact makes it > Majesty instantly.

 

If the price is solid, I want to try it.

 

 

 

ETA: Said solarium does NOT show up on the current deck plans. Either those are incorrect or it's going to be added after June 2016 (the deck plan says it is valid from Mar-Jun 2016) so we'll see.

Edited December 21, 2015 by poncho1973

[Scotty G]

Welcome back Empress!!!

[BillOh]

Weekends will never be the same with quick escapes from Miami where every night's a party and every day is packed with fun, sun & new ways to unwind. More info: http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1220/royal-caribbeans-empress-of-the-seas-heads-to-miami-for-short-caribbean-getaways-/

 

Now admit you're positioning yourself for the Cuba potential.

[TPCRUISER2]

Lots of good memories!

[poncho1973]

Now admit you're positioning yourself for the Cuba potential.

 

Bill puts the OH in Ohio!

[irishgal432]

Weekends will never be the same with quick escapes from Miami where every night's a party and every day is packed with fun, sun & new ways to unwind. More info: http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-release/1220/royal-caribbeans-empress-of-the-seas-heads-to-miami-for-short-caribbean-getaways-/

 

When do you anticipate releasing fall itineraries?

[eroller]

Only three months are available to book. April, May, and June. I'm guessing these itineraries are just filling in a gap until Royal Caribbean gets the permits to sail to Cuba. Once that happens I would be willing to bet EMPRESS will switch to 7-night cruises from Miami to multiple ports in Cuba.

[DarthGrady]

Definitely excited that she's officially open for bookings. We'll be on her next year for sure, probably in May or June.

[wblynch]

Exciting!

 

Pictures Please

[Ourusualbeach]

Only three months are available to book. April, May, and June. I'm guessing these itineraries are just filling in a gap until Royal Caribbean gets the permits to sail to Cuba. Once that happens I would be willing to bet EMPRESS will switch to 7-night cruises from Miami to multiple ports in Cuba.

 

I don't think you will see the Empress or any other RCI ship sailing to Cuba until full open travel is allowed. She carries far to many passengers to realistically think that they can get that many to people to pay the premium that they would need for the cultural exchanges that are now available. It's not like they can just drop off those people at the port, they have to have specific tours arranged for everyone.

[loubetti]

Sold. I've never sailed a ship this tiny, but that single fact makes it > Majesty instantly.

 

 

Empress is around 48,000 tons, and larger than Titanic. Majesty is almost 74,000 tons. I would not describe any of these ships as "tiny".

[ehfl]

LOL it says "Docked" at Coco Cay and "Tendered" in Nassau....

http://www.royalcaribbean.com/cruises/4NightKeyWestBahamasCruise-NE04S128?currencyCode=USD&sCruiseType=CO&sailDate=04%2F21%2F2016

[poncho1973]

Empress is around 48,000 tons, and larger than Titanic. Majesty is almost 74,000 tons. I would not describe any of these ships as "tiny".

 

Park the Empress next to Oasis and it will all become apparent.

 

Roughly:

700' long

100' wide

9 decks high

48k GT

 

vs.

 

1,200' long

200' wide

16 decks high

220k GT

 

 

Tiny.

[coaster]

Just booked a 5 nighter Empress cruise in May when I heard the news! Love smaller ships. Remember seeing Empress at the dock in 93 when she was almost new. I was jealous we were not booked on her. Ships only get better with age as far as I am concerned. Can't wait to get back on a smaller ship. Hard to come by anymore unless you are sailing a luxury line from the States anymore.

Edited December 22, 2015 by coaster

[gkbiiii]

I have to try to map it out so we get a crystal block on her.

 

 

I am now at 107 and this is my plan as well. These would be rare Crystal Blocks!

[39august]

For what it's worth, the financial officer on LB told us at the meal with an officer lunch that Empress will be doing Cuba in 2017.

[coaster]

Only thing that concerns me is her capacity. Cruise Critic article lists it at 2020 passengers. Not sure if that is double occupancy or max. That is a lot for a 48000 GT ship. Is it going to be hard to get any breathing room? Any comments from former passengers of the Empress are welcome.

Edited December 23, 2015 by coaster

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

For what it's worth, the financial officer on LB told us at the meal with an officer lunch that Empress will be doing Cuba in 2017.

 

My guess is that as soon as regular travel to Cuba from the US opens, Empress will be on her way there. And that may convince me to book her.

 

Does anyone have any updated info regarding Cuba? I was wondering if maybe they aren't releasing sailings past June because of a possibility of Cuba cruises?

Edited December 23, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[vestamark]

We cruised the Nordic Empress in 2002 from New York to Bermuda. I don't remember it feeling over crowded. Don't hold me to it by I seem to recall around 1500 passengers and 700 crew. We had a great time.

 

 

Only thing that concerns me is her capacity. Cruise Critic article lists it at 2020 passengers. Not sure if that is double occupancy or max. That is a lot for a 48000 GT ship. Is it going to be hard to get any breathing room? Any comments from former passengers of the Empress are welcome.

 

 

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G900A using Tapatalk

[pspercy]

I'll post these again, scanned from book "Under Crown and Anchor, Royal Caribbean The First Twenty-Five Years"

 

Empress of The Seas. MDR and Lobby ~1992

 

 

 

:):)

Edited December 23, 2015 by pspercy

[Ray in NH]

Only thing that concerns me is her capacity. Cruise Critic article lists it at 2020 passengers. Not sure if that is double occupancy or max. That is a lot for a 48000 GT ship. Is it going to be hard to get any breathing room? Any comments from former passengers of the Empress are welcome.

 

It has been some time since we cruised aboard Empress (2007, IIRC), from the former Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. We hit it just right and received one of our first crystal blocks on that cruise to Bermuda.

 

The only instance of "crowding" that I recall was a pinch point, near the elevator, when leaving the MDR. It wasn't horrendous, but we remember it. Other than that it was a very enjoyable cruise, and a nice ship.

 

Curiously, looking at present cabin descriptions, Junior Suites (which we had) are listed as being much smaller than we recall. The accompanying diagrams on RCI's website are more in tune with our recollection. The photo supposedly depicting a JS looks out of place. :confused: But as I said it was a while ago. :o

 

N Ray H

[Garavar]

Only thing that concerns me is her capacity. Cruise Critic article lists it at 2020 passengers. Not sure if that is double occupancy or max. That is a lot for a 48000 GT ship. Is it going to be hard to get any breathing room? Any comments from former passengers of the Empress are welcome.

 

Me too, thats too many people

[ryano]

Park the Empress next to Oasis and it will all become apparent..

 

It would look something like this. Maasdam is very similar in size to Empress.

 

Yeah, tiny for sure when comparing to an Oasis class ship or even a Freedom class ship.

 

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

The photo supposedly depicting a JS looks out of place. :confused: But as I said it was a while ago. :o

 

N Ray H

 

What photo of a JS are you speaking of?

Edited December 23, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser