An adventure on the Empress 7/28/16 - A detailed photo review!

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 7, 2016

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED

I have to mention that the seas were ridiculously calm on the first night at sea and also here in Cococay. Barely a ripple. We rode the tender to the dropoff point and all disembarked around 1200. Cococay! We were the only ship here today, so we really had a lot of open space and no crowds to deal with all afternoon.

Of course, the first thing we did was find a bar and that did not take long, as soon as we got off the tender, there it was. Just a little tiki bar but it had a decent selection of stuff. I got a Sprite and Captain Morgan (7UP is better but they didn't have any) and M got a Corona in a can. One of those skinny cans that is 12 ounces but doesn't look like it could be. Anyway, the island bbq was not set up yet, and so we decided to head to a beach and hang out for a while instead. There are a few beaches to choose from but a lot of people obviously pick the first one they see, right near the entrance so it was the most crowded. No problem getting a few beach chairs and M and I got a few more drinks before heading into the water. This beach was pretty rocky, lots of little pebbles you have to walk over to get to the water, and a lot of seaweed and stuff floating around but the water was very warm. Probably near 90 degrees. You could also literally see fish swim past you if you went in more than about 3 feet deep and it seemed the dropoff was quicker here than other spots.

After hanging out here and keeping hydrated as well as drinking booze, we headed over a ways to the next beach, a few hundred yards to the left. In between was construction and general consensus is that this is going to be another beach. There was a lot of this place that we ended up not seeing, like snorkeling areas and natural enclaves but that was OK. We got settled at the bar nearby and that would be our next stop.

The beach near Coconut Willie's tiki bar. That will be up next.....

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 7, 2016

DAY 3 - COCOCAY CONTINUED

Gotta settle at a place called Coconut Willie's on Cococay, right? The bar was not particularly crowded and we recognized the bartender from the pool bar onboard the ship so it was all good. She did take care of us all afternoon. Coconut Willie's is located near the main road, across from a row of hammocks, a beach volleyball court, some fresh water showers, and of course, banos (or restrooms).

Here we sampled a number of different beers and I think I also got a Jack and Coke. All was good. A number of people stopped by here to fill up their soda tumblers with soda as well. And a lot of people got water to go as well. I joke a little about staying hydrated but it is no joke, really. You have to do it. Especially in a hot and bright sunny tropical place like that. Oh, I will get into that shortly. M and I took turns going into the water, and the beach was not all that crowded and I actually liked it more than the first beach we had been to. These beaches more resemble those on the west coast of Florida, like Clearwater Beach, more than the eastern coast of Florida or the beaches we have up north. Crystal clear blue water, white sand. More fish swam past here as I got further out. M said he saw a stingray but I did not see any where I swam. All these beaches are protected by lifeguards, at least that is what it looked like. They had some waterslides in the water near here as well for the kids I guess.

We hung out here for so long that we missed lunch. Yes, one of us heard someone mention something about 1330 for the bbq so of course we figured that is when it would really get going. Um, that is when it ended. Yeah, we missed it. So we were now hungry with no food anywhere in sight. Luckily, they still had an electric grill setup near the main roadway, and we were able to get a couple hot dogs from there around 1430 but we missed out on the buffet. And I know it is good because I remember that the most from my previous trip to Cococay. Just make sure you don't miss it, lol.

Views from Coconut Willie's. Island directory and hammocks with banos and volleyball court in the distance. Watched a few contests and I wanted to join in to show them how to play the right way but decided against it, lol. Didn't feel like getting up and doing anything physical.

Me at Coconut Willie's, with the only Budweiser I got all cruise long.

Willie's weather station. What do you think the weather was for today?

Another shot of the volleyball arena.

So, we moved on from there and headed up the beach a little bit to check out the floating bar. It was unique for sure. We swam out to it, I got a Heineken and we just sort of hung out here until closing time, around 1500 when they began to pack up and put the product back on the floating wheelbarrow to take back to land. You can walk out to here, just the last few feet the water goes to about 4 feet deep. Whatever you do, don't jump back into the water, go down the ladder instead. I discovered that getting a mouthful of salt water is not a good thing.

The floating bar. I think the beach went a little further past here but I didn't venture out that far.

So, after 1500 it was getting to be time to head back to the ship so we began to make our way back towards the exit. More to come....

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 7, 2016

DAY 2 - COCOCAY CONTINUED

It was now 1530, and the last tender to the ship would be at 1630. Honestly, were they going to leave anyone behind at their own remote island? LOL. But still, get back to the tenders by no later than 1615 as they want everyone back on board by 1630. The line was not bad to get back on by now, most people had already gone back to the ship. On the way back, we saw a "straw market" setup which sold I have no idea what. Guess it was all stuff stocked on the ship and brought out there and stored. Don't know why anyone would go shopping there? But whatever, I guess it looks neat if you don't know what the real thing in Nassau looks like.

They don't ask for photo ID, just show your ship card and go thru security on the island, before boarding the tender. I guess that speeds up getting people from the tenders to back onto the ship. That took no time, we waited a little while for the tender to fill up again but were back to the ship by 1600.

On the way back to the ship, bye Cococay! There is a sign that says "I WISH I COULD STAY HERE FOREVER" right as you exit the island and unfortunately I did not get a picture of it.

M was tired so he went back to the cabin to take a nap. Here is where I made my mistake. Yes, he took a nap so he would be recharged and good to go later. He also wore a ton of sunscreen on Cococay. I did not. I figured it would be more fun to go right up to the pool deck, get a few drinks and hang out in the hot tub for a while. BIG mistake.

I got a Washington Apple drink (served in a martini glass, it was Crown Royal and some other stuff, not all that good) and drank it at the hot tub. BTW, I was disappointed that they do not stock Crown Royal Apple on this ship. I really wanted to try it out. A person I know back home has told me repeatedly how awesome it is and that I have to try it. I guess that will have to wait. The hot tub was moderately crowded but I was able to get a spot. They do have pool attendants on duty at all times on this ship, never seen that before. I did make friends with a few nice ladies (who were also from Philly) while I hung out in the hot tub and by about 1730, I figured it was time to get out and just get some late lunch before taking a nap of my own. I got there at the tail end of late lunch in Windjammer and only got a piece of bread and an ice cream cone (served out by the pool by a ship employee). Also got a Blue Moon beer. May as well go upscale if it's all included, lol. Yeah.

I guess it is standard to have attendants give out the ice cream on most lines now due to waste and sanitary issues. I see Norwegian does this also but as of last year, Carnival still does not. So I would be hungry until dinner, no biggie.

Side note - I know others have said it, but the Windjammer has hand sanitizer stations along with full sinks with soap now at the entrances to the buffet. Nice idea but the sinks do get a little messy after a while. I went back to the cabin for a nap at 1800, planning to get up at 2000 and head down to the MDR for a late dinner.......well, my night did not go according to plan.

I tried to get up numerous times throughout the night and M got up to get dinner and head out to drink. I got too much sun today, spent too long in the hot tub, and did not rest enough. In other words, I simply crashed and most of my night was unfortunately lost. Bummer because there was a comedian named Dan Greuter, who was scheduled to perform in the theater at 2115, and that was to be the only comedy show all cruise. I do love my comedy shows. Also missed out on the Latin Buffet and the Quest game show. I don't participate in Quest, but it is fun to watch others play.

So, anyway, M came back and forth a few times all evening, trying to get me up each time, no luck. I told him to just go and enjoy himself, I would be fine. Just needed rest. Finally, around 0000, I dragged myself up to the Windjammer to get some late night food thinking maybe it would make me feel a little better. I caught the tail end of an 80s concert in the atrium as I headed up to the buffet, looked like fun and disappointed I couldn't enjoy that either. I barely ate anything there either and closed the place down before heading back to the room to go back to sleep again around 0100. I have to note that whatever route we were on, was a busy one as at one point I could see about 5 other cruise ships passing us going numerous directions from my vantage point in the Windjammer. I know Friday is a big sailaway day for all lines out of South Florida but I never have seen that many ships all so close to each other at the same time.

Finally, M came back to the cabin around 0300, after drinking at numerous bars, including Schooner, Boleros (aft deck 7, also where our muster drill was. If you like chess, plenty of chances to play it there) and was that was a night.

That about wraps up Day 2, I am disappointed that I was not able to experience any of the evening's activities and talk about them here but then again, I never felt so lousy after being off the ship during a cruise either. Oh well. I do have to note that again, the seas were glassy smooth all night. Forgot we were even moving most of the time. I don't think we were going too fast but still, it was nice after the terrible experience I had with high seas on the NCL Star last winter.

Anyway, that is it for Day 2, it was still a pretty eventful one and I did have fun even though it was not as eventful as I would have liked. Hope you enjoyed reading about it. Our next day would be a day at sea, and I cannot wait to get into everything that I saw and did. Hopefully I can get to that in the next few days. Thanks for reading and happy summer all!

exelsor · August 7, 2016

Loving the review :)

Coco cay looks lovley, never visited before, we were supposed to but it got canceled and we just spent an extra day in nassau which i was gutted about. Im glad to see im not the only one who finds cruising exausting sometimes. I thought i was the only one going for a wee nap lol.

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SailingSal · August 7, 2016

I love, love, love your review.

We sailed Empress twice when she sailed to Bermuda out of New York. She is a great "little ship".

Your review could have been written by my husband when he was single:rolleyes:

Hope you get to dinner eventually!

Thank you for making me smile:)

attitudeda · August 8, 2016

Great review please keep it going.

Doug

venicia · August 8, 2016

following and like your writing style

thanks for taking the time to do this

V

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Great Pics.

Thanks! I'm only an amateur photographer who took a few photography science classes years ago, but I like to think I am able to get good shots at the right times to help tell a story. Thanks for following along with my adventure.

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Thanks for your review we set sail on the Empress August 11.

Doug

Thanks for following along and hope this helps you prepare for your cruise. I will try to get this done by the 11th, I am going to try to add the Day 3 of the vacation later tonight if I can stay awake long enough.

Have a great cruise!

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Thanks for the review.

It is a ton of fun to do these reviews. Thank you for reading along. The review will be continuing here pretty soon, so stay tuned for more.

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Loving the review :)
Coco cay looks lovley, never visited before, we were supposed to but it got canceled and we just spent an extra day in nassau which i was gutted about. Im glad to see im not the only one who finds cruising exausting sometimes. I thought i was the only one going for a wee nap lol.

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Yeah, Cococay is pretty cool. Part of the reason we picked this particular cruise. Well, that and it was cheap and the sail dates worked out. I am not the biggest beach person but M likes to hang out on beaches and drink all day so I knew he would have a good time there and I like to visit Key West so it was all good. The cruise we went on with Norwegian last December was supposed to go to Half Moon Cay, supposedly their version of Cococay but it was cancelled due to weather (my understanding is that they cancel that stop a lot - don't get me started on that LOL) so I was glad we were able to see Cococay and the weather was very good for us. This cruise never took us to Nassau and frankly, I have seen that enough times and really don't go out of my way to sail on cruises that stop there. And yeah, I try to do a lot of cruises. Kind of need a vacation from the vacation when I get home. Took me the better part of a week to get back to normal afterwards. Napping is a must on cruises but I was disappointed in myself that I lost most of two nights of a 4 nighter because I overdid it during the day. Rest assured, the next two nights were much more lively for me.

Thanks for reading along!

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

I love, love, love your review.
We sailed Empress twice when she sailed to Bermuda out of New York. She is a great "little ship".

Your review could have been written by my husband when he was single:rolleyes:

Hope you get to dinner eventually!

Thank you for making me smile:)

Thanks, I am really glad you like it. I understand that it was re-purchased and refurbished recently to launch Cuba cruises recently and they did a pretty good job with it. I don't know what it was like before though. It is a great little ship. Not modern, nothing cutting-edge or anything that would wow people but for a short weekend cruise, it was just fine and the crew was really good.

M and I are both single, so it is fun when we go vacation somewhere and have all kinds of plans that usually end up getting changed as we go along but that's ok as it is vacation. :D We did have fun and although there were not a ton of single women to talk to, we did find a few during the cruise and that was fun as well. That is what a cruise is for, just doing whatever, right? Some more funny stuff happened during the last two days of the vacation and I will get into that as we go along. We are still laughing about it as we tell people back home what we did on vacation, LOL.

We did get to Chops on Saturday, I will talk all about that in Day 3's review and we made it to the MDR on Sunday. Will talk about that as well. I actually wanted to hit the MDR right after Chops just to check it out but I was just too full to do it, haha.

Anyway, I again I am glad that you are getting a kick out of reading all about my adventure, stay tuned as I have part 3 coming up here if I can keep myself awake long enough tonight to put it all together.

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Great review please keep it going.

Doug

Thanks. I am happy that you are enjoying. I should be getting to our day at sea here shortly, with lots of pics, a review of Chops and a late night of bar hopping and a few surprises.

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

following and like your writing style
thanks for taking the time to do this

V

It's my pleasure to do these reviews. Thanks for the compliment about my writing style. People have always told me I should write for a travel review magazine or something, maybe it is something I could look into at some point. Get paid to write about vacationing, sounds good. :) I should be getting to the next part pretty shortly, hope you enjoy it as much as you have enjoyed reading about the first few days of the cruise.

JamesEM · August 9, 2016

Enjoying your reports and photos.

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Enjoying your reports and photos.

Thanks for reading along and I am glad you are enjoying. I am going to get to the third day of this cruise right now - I wanted to last night but fell asleep so it didn't happen. Happy cruising!

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

Good morning! I am back with the next part of my Royal Empress of the Seas review from the July 28 sailing. I wanted to get to it last night but I was too tired and was not able to stay up late to write it. So, here we go. We left off with me spending the night in bed on the second day of the cruise because I overdid the daytime activities, lol. I figured out to better pace myself for the rest of the cruise, so this next day, a day at sea featured an entire day of fun. Thank you all for reading along and I hope that this is helpful to anyone who may have a cruise on this ship planned or is thinking about booking one. Or maybe you just want to read a fun review of a nice, vintage ship on a long weekend cruise to the near Caribbean. Anyway, here goes!

DAY 3 - SEA DAY

So, I got a lot of rest the night before because, um, I wasn't feeling well and missed out on a lot of activities. So, I was up early again today. Around 0900 I finally got up out of bed and looked out our large cabin oceanview window and saw it was again a pretty nice day outside and calm seas. Since I was out of it from the night before, I had to look at the day's cruise compass (kind of like the directory of what is going on aboard the ship that day) to see what was up. Of course I was still hungry so I went up to the Windjammer for breakfast around 1000. By the way, I took a lot of pictures today so I will be breaking the day's activities down into a number of posts to include them all.

I got up to the buffet and got my normal hot breakfast fare. They had what seemed to be banana pancakes here today and they were pretty good. I sat down with my breakfast and looked out at the calm, open seas all around us as we sailed through the Caribbean. It was not crowded again today, so plenty of room to myself. Now, here is where it got kind of weird.....

Looking out the window, we saw a green and black helicopter that kept flying close to the ship and buzzing it at a relatively high rate of speed. Now, with the current world events going on, this was a little worrying. Many of us noticed this going on for a good 15 minutes or more and a few of us began to ask ship officers who were walking around on deck just what was going on. A few of them did not know and said so and another one told us that it was a photography chopper that had been assigned the task of taking photos and videos for a promotional video.

As most of you probably know, the Empress will be doing Cuba cruises later this year I think. The chopper was putting together a promo for that. Now, come to think of it, in the back of my mind that is what I figured it was all along but still, they should make some sort of announcement as to why there was a chopper buzzing within 50 feet of the ship at low altitude on the open seas to calm some uneasyness. Thinking back, the helicopter had a N-registration (US flagged) and a red anti-collision light (civilian), things only a geek would notice LOL but still it was curious. Anyway, after a half hour or so it moved on and that was over with. I also noticed this ship didn't seem to have anywhere for medivac helicopters to land on, maybe there was a spot that I did not see? Anyway, we move on.....

And it was funny to see some people completely oblivious to what was going on around us as well. Some people are just in their own world I guess, LOL.

So, M was not yet awake and so I decided to go kill some time while exploring some stuff on the ship that I had not yet seen much of. I went up to Deck 11, which was a sun deck with beach chairs and hammocks, located at the front of the ship, right above the Windjammer. Remember how I said the cafe was always hot? Lot of glass windows around and this was right above it. Nice views from here and not crowded so I had no problem hanging out here for a little while and getting more sun (like I needed it after yesterday).

More to come....lunch, me needing to find a toothbrush......shopping for souvenirs?

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

DAY 3 - SEA DAY CONTINUED

In my last-minute haste to get packed the night before the cruise (yeah, yeah), I didn't check to see that I had a toothbrush included in my 3-ounce TSA-approved carry-on toiletry bag. So, nasty I know but I actually had to go without a toothbrush on Friday (swishing with mouthwash and toothpaste just doesn't replace a toothbrush lol) and I spent a little time on Saturday trying to figure out where to buy a new one. They have an extensive shopping area on Deck 7, midship, all kinds of shops here. High-end jewelry, the usual Royal Caribbean novelty stuff, liquor, and the little commissary off to the side where they sold snacks, medicine, toothbrushes, lol. Not a huge selection and a no-name brand, but I got one for $3.50 and was good to go. Obviously added to my sign and sail account, cash is not accepted anywhere on board.

So, after getting my toothbrush, I decided to walk around the not-crowded ship and check some more stuff out. I began my drinking later today (soda and juice for breakfast, yum), and paced myself some more. I walked around the pool area, got some pics, and sat down to listen to the Caribbean house band play some while I sat down at an open table with an Angry Orchard and bbq grub. They had an outside lunch line going today.

Random shot of the aft and our wake as we sailed through the open seas....

I want to say that the photo gallery was on Deck 5, mid and this was it. No photography allowed inside and it did not seem too crowded throughout this cruise. M and I did not get any pics taken of us anytime during the cruise and even bypassed the welcome aboard photo that I usually at least get taken if cruising with family. I don't even know how they do the photo development on Royal. On Carnival, you can buy physical copies of your photos and they are posted for you to look at but I think you can also buy a digital version of them. On NCL, it is all digital. Seeing as though I did not spend much time in here on this ship, I do not know how it is done here. Maybe someone else knows?

There is also a future cruise desk just past that, forward and they are always trying to get people to put down payments on future cruises for perks like onboard credit, etc there. Didn't stop there and when there was an attendant present, nobody was talking to them.

There were two main elevator banks I think, and this was the forward one. Glass elevators and got a good look at the atrium. I think this was taken on Deck 5. Rarely a long wait for an elevator and only once had to let it go by due to overcrowding when it did stop at my floor. I usually walk up the steps if it is just a few floors up or down anyway, but some people cannot do that and I understand. Pretty neat. Must say, the elevators at the back were not glass and were shaped like triangles. Never saw that before but they still fit up to 14 people in each (according to the weight limit notice posted inside).

I also passed the Schooner Bar, deck 5 between the photo gallery and the guest services/cruise excursions desk and theater entrance. Not crowded here but we did have fun here in the evenings. Nelson the bartender also was stationed here and did a great job dealing with us and all our shenanigans.

This was the main atrium, guest services desk and future cruise excursions here. To the right was the entrance to the theater. I stopped here as there was no line and inquired about the overcharge that they put on me for the Premium package when I first boarded. M paid $231 for his, which included the daily price and 18 percent gratuity, and I paid $296 for mine at the pool bar. I figured it was too much then but did not want to argue with the bartender because I wanted to start drinking right away and knew I could get it fixed later on. So, with receipt in hand, I told the lady at the counter about my situation and she looked it right up in the system and promptly removed the old charge and re-charged it at the correct rate. No argument like I was kind of expecting. Cool. Good service, sometimes guest services people are a little jaded by people who complain about every little thing and want to argue back. Not here. I mean they had no argument as I was totally right but still. Just a word to the wise. Check all charges as you go along because if they can overcharge you and get away with it, they will and you might not even know you got ripped off. Also, you are not able to view your charges on your cabin TV as you can on some ships and there weren't any kiosks that I could find to do it yourself in public areas either. They do put updated charge printouts under your cabin door every other night or so though, so pay close attention to them.

I also looked back and said that Boleros was on Deck 7 and that was wrong. I think Boleros is on Deck 6 aft as Deck 7 is all staterooms in the aft section. Anyway, more ship exploration and pics coming up in a moment.....

FlyingCruiserNJ · August 9, 2016

DAY 3 - SEA DAY CONTINUED

It was now early afternoon and when I stopped back at the cabin to see what was up, M finally was awake. And he complained about me sleeping too much, haha. Anyway, we agreed that we would give Chops, the ship's upcharge steakhouse a shot tonight, so we called from the room phone to make a reservation. Note that if you really want to go there, make your reservation early on or before you even board. They told us they only had 1800 available for us tonight as the later times were booked up. So 1800 it would be. Fine to hang out for the afternoon and enough time to have fun after dinner also.

Quick pic taken out the cabin window of the calm seas

I guess M was still tired though, so he went to take another nap around 1400 and I went upstairs to hang out some more. Oh well. Who is sleeping the day away now? I went up to the buffet and got some sweet and sour pork and jasmine rice with black bean soup. All was good but the sweet and sour pork was pretty bland compared with what I can get at home and even make myself. The black bean soup was really good though. I also got the drink of the day, which was called Planters Punch, orange juice, Myers dark rum, and triple sec and it was pretty good. Got one at the pool bar. Valued at $10 if you do not have the package. Thought about getting another one but settled on beer instead. Got a Stella Artois a little later on.

The outdoor bbq setup. The typical but it was good. The ice cream machine was right next to here also, near the entrance to the Windjammer.

The Caribbean house band, getting ready to play out by the pool. It was HOT today. Even Carlos the CD, mentioned it as did the band. I sat at a table in the shade with my beer and lunch and just listened for a while. You can see the video board they had, which would play trivia late in the day, and movies in the evening. Not huge but still nice.

As I headed to the pool bar to get a Stella and walk around the ship some more, got a nice view of the band playing. By the way, the band was called Caribbean Roots. Had to look back at my cruise compass to remember that, lol.

An adventure on the Empress 7/28/16 - A detailed photo review!

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