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

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

bump

 

Thanks :) I wish I could update this more often but been busy getting that money for my next cruise vacation in a couple weeks. LOL. I have a crazy schedule and I sleep at weird hours so I guess now is as good a time as any to continue on with the review. Enjoy the rest of Day 3's activities!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 3 - SEA DAY CONTINUED

I left off at the point where we were getting ready to go to dinner at Chops Grille, the ship's signature steakhouse and I believe the only upcharge restaurant offered. It is located on Deck 5, midship and it features a $35 cover charge that is added to your onboard account and is supposed to include gratuity. It had been a busy day up to that point, and it was time to sit down to a nice gourmet dinner. I had heard really, really good reviews of Chops from people here on cruise critic, so I told M that it looked like something to try out and surprisingly, he agreed and we thus made plans to visit. As I said, 1800 was the only time they offered us for a reservation, so I guess it was a popular attraction.

I guess M told the maitre'd that I was running a few minutes late when he headed to the table because he saw me walking towards the entrance and ushered me right to the correct table without me even having to introduce myself. Cool. I was seated and we had a two-top table near the window with nice views of the open seas outside. I was sitting with my back to the window. I would say the decor was pretty much modern, upscale but not a huge dining room, I don't think you could fit any more than maybe 50 people in there at one time. We got our menus and a generous helping of bread to start us off while we figured out what to order, along with water (they want to try to sell you San Pellegrino water as well but I didn't want or need any as they will top off your regular ice water as much as you want). Unlike the MDR, you can only order one appetizer, one entree, and one dessert here although that is more than enough and you won't leave hungry - that I promise. It was not crowded when we arrived (people right to our left and right and seemed like some ship officers dining at the far end of the room) but it did fill in some more by the time we were done, near 2000.

 

 

 

I ordered a colossal shrimp cocktail for my appetizer and it was pretty good. I can't tell you what the stuff in the bowl on the right was though, haha. Thought it was apple slices but after tasting one, no way. On the left was good cocktail sauce. I didn't eat most of the stuff on the right and M did not want it either. I believe he got a crab cake app and said it was good. I also ordered a nice glass of Chardonnnay and I cannot remember the name (hard to find good glasses of wine for under $12 by the way) to go with my dinner. One of two glasses of wine I got all cruise long, haha. While in a steakhouse, may as well go with the nice wine, right?

 

 

We also ordered our entrees, and I picked the 10 (maybe 11 or 12) ounce New York Strip. They also offered a Filet Mignon (which M got) and probably a ribeye and something else. I know they had huge cuts of meat and lobster for something like a $20 or so upcharge which I found kind of odd because we were already paying the premium to even get in there but whatever. Upcharge was like half the menu, talk about bait and switch. Anyway, I got my strip medium and M got his filet and I would venture to guess his was better than mine, at least it looked better. My steak was more on the medium rare side than I would have liked and the taste, while good, was not stellar and I can get much better steaks at home at a place like Texas Roadhouse, to be honest. Maybe I just like well-seasoned steaks and I didn't get that here. They do put as much steak sauce as you want on the dish for you though, so that helped. The baked potato with just butter on the side was really good though. I do like myself a good baked russet potato.

 

 

I ordered a liquid center chocolate cake as my dessert. They only have a few choices and most of them feature an item with some sort of cheese in it, and the cake did not, so I went with it. Very rich and impossible to finish, but it was good. Nice presentation as well. I do like warm melting chocolate cake on Carnival more, shhhhhh - maybe this is Royal's competing product. I forgot what M got for dessert. The ice cream and the caramelized banana was a nice touch though.

 

 

We were done in there around 2000, and we left the wait staff a little extra cash for a job well done. He was attentive and did a good job, so we made sure he was rewarded extra for it. So, like I said I would, that is my review of the Chops Grille. Would I do it again? Probably not. Was it worth $35? Probably for all we got. But I thought the quality of the steak I got was not as good as I was expecting. It was a good atmosphere however and I guess M enjoyed himself. It was an experience that I guess I am glad I had. It probably rates about even with other cruise line steakhouses, pretty much on par with Norwegian and not as upscale as Carnival but the food was about equal.

 

So, with that over, it was time to plan out the rest of the night's activities.....more to come.....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 3 - SEA DAY CONTINUED

 

I guess M went back to the room to take another nap around 2000 and I went upstairs to the open decks to watch the sunset. I had not yet been awake to see a sunset on this cruise and that is one of the things that I love to do while cruising - watch sunsets. A sunset at sea just cannot be rivaled by any sunset on land.

 

On my way up to Deck 10 and 11, I stopped to take a pic of the Spa onboard, which is Deck 10 aft, right next to the Adventure Ocean which is the kid's entertainment club (the place that kids go to so that their parents can do their thing). Not a fan of spas, but what is it about cruise ship ones that people just love to spend a large premium to go to? I also got a picture in the Viking Crown nightclub/lounge, which was quiet now but would be very lively later on. Located 10 aft. We move on....

 

 

So, I stopped by the dinner buffet, which was still open and while I didn't get any food (was full), I got a vanilla soft serve ice cream cone and a Samuel Adams from the bar near the buffet line. I did want to go to the MDR but it would have been a waste as I was just too full from Chops. I went upstairs with my cold one and watched the sunset from Deck 11. It was a cloudy evening with towering thunderclouds and lightning in the distance. The sun went in and out of the clouds, but I did get a few good shots of the sunset itself. Many other people were up here to watch as well.

 

 

 

 

I think it might have rained shortly afterwards, I cannot remember but I do remember that it did rain during the day a few times during this cruise. The exact times I am not sure about, haha. Anyway, after sunset, there was a lull in the activity for a while, so I went back to the room to take a short nap. And I made sure that this one actually was short because I was not about to miss yet another activity-filled night onboard. Our late-night shenanigans are up next....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 3 - CONTINUED

M made sure I got up around 2230, and I headed upstairs to the White Hot Deck Party, up on the pool deck. This was going to be a pretty much all-night event, so I was glad I took a nap to recharge for it. I wasn't wearing white as many people were not but that was OK, nobody had a problem with it. I was still a little groggy from the nap, so I started slow with a Corona and went up to the sun deck to grab a hammock and just lay out for a while and chill. It was not crowded and the deck chairs were still wet from the rain we had gotten a little earlier and I got my spot on one of the hammocks. Nice view of the stars and of everything all around us. I think I saw one or two other ships go by in the distance and there was still some lightning around from the storms earlier. I guess we were close to the Florida Keys also, as we could see lights way off to the right side of the ship and we were only a few hours out from Key West.

 

They were also doing general trivia on the video screen on the pool deck for anyone to look at. You could also hear the music being played (popular party stuff and top-40) in my location. Some lines have secluded sun decks that block out the pool deck music but not on this ship. I also will mention that there was a music impressionist named Greg London who played in the theater during the evening (according to the cruise compass) if anyone was interested in knowing about that, but we were not interested and didn't go so I don't know how it was.

 

 

 

 

We hung out and drank some at the bar and M danced some (I don't even try to dance but he tries and does the same dance for all occasions LOL), until things began to slow down around 0030. The party was supposed to run until 0130, but it was beginning to thin out a lot so we headed down to Schooner Bar to drink and chill out some. Met a few nice girls here, talked to them a bit, drank a bunch. Nelson kept our alcohol (and bottled water) flowing, and I decided to get myself a Florididian drink off the specialty menu. I forget exactly what was in it but it was fairly good. I also got a few beers and they closed up at 0200, so it was off to find another place to party until all hours of the night.

 

We went upstairs, to the Viking Crown Lounge, on Deck 10 aft, as that seemed to be the last place open for business. We sat down at the bar and did a few shots, I got a Jack and Coke and some beer, and M drank who knows what and we argued about Philly sports with a guy from Boston and his wife/girlfriend, which was funny. Viking Crown Lounge is a club-type setup with a dance floor and DJ with security outside and inside, but everyone was in a good mood, well-behaved and having fun. It was still fairly crowded until we literally closed it down at 0330. Yes, they stopped serving, turned the lights on and turned the music off and that was pretty much our cue to make our way out and back to the cabins for sleeptime. It was fun though.

 

So, close to 0400, it was time to head back to the room to sleep, as our Key West arrival would be early in the morning, like 0900. I do wish they had late night pizza on this ship as that would have been a great place to go to after drinking all night but they only offer for-fee room service ($3.75 I think) and I didn't want to do that right before bed so that was it for the night. M went back to the cabin and I did one last walk around the ship to see if anything was still going on and it wasn't, so I headed back shortly afterwards myself. I did get a random pic of the ship's arcade however, located on Deck 5 near the guest services desk. Some of the games looked like fun but I did not play anything in here.

 

Yes, that was more like the typical cruise evening that I like. Lot of stuff done today and a lot of fun had. We still had one more port visit coming up, which would feature a visit to Key West, Florida the next morning. All kinds of fun stuff happened here, and I got a bunch of pics as well. That will be up next. I thank you all for being patient with me in putting this review together, as these do take a long time to put together if they are to be done right and I like to make my adventure reviews the best they can be. Hopefully I can get to Key West day shortly, maybe tomorrow or Friday if possible, and I hope you are really enjoying following along. Have a good evening and happy cruising!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I know it has been a while since I have updated this Empress of the Seas review, and I do apologize for that. Just haven't been able to sit down for a couple hours, collect all my thoughts and get them posted here. However I figured I have gone long enough without posting, so here we go. I left off with our Saturday night activities, and will pick up on Sunday morning, and the day we had in Key West, Florida.

 

DAY 4 - KEY WEST

 

I have been to Key West more times than I can remember and M has been there a few times on land vacations, so this wasn't anything new for either one of us. But, it is a familiar place with plenty of things to see and places to drink, so this was a definite all-day port visit kind of day. Miraculously, I woke up before 0900 with no headache and was able to make my way up to the Windjammer to get some breakfast. We had already arrived in port, and I was able to get a pic out the cabin window of the port in Mallory Square that we were parked at.

 

 

As most of you probably know, if you stop anywhere outside the USA on a cruise and then stop at a port within the USA, you have to clear immigration at that USA port. Oh, they do take this seriously also. I will get into this a little, haha. They made numerous announcements that all passengers had to go to the theater on Deck 5 ASAP with passport and cruise card in hand in order to check in with ICE officers before anyone could disembark. I stopped by there before breakfast to take care of that, and there was no line at all to deal with. They did mention the penalty for not doing this was a $3300 fine and possible detainment in your cabin, so everyone HAS TO DO IT. And the sooner everyone does it, the better. Anyway.....

 

I got a nice platter at the Windjammer and sat by the window to chill out with some grub and to see what was going on at the port area and waited for M to take care of his ICE stuff and to meet me at the buffet. I told him before going upstairs myself that he had to wake up, take care of his immigration and then he could go back to sleep. Well, apparently he would rather sleep than go to the mandatory check-in, and I heard him paged numerous times on the PA system as I sat at breakfast. Yeah, they did mention that it would be a $3300 fine and cabin detainment if he did not go. LOL. Finally, after 1000, I got tired of hearing his name called over the PA system to check in, so I went back to the cabin (and left half my breakfast at the table) to wake him up and make him go to the theater. He finally got up and went to the theater to check in and I guess, went back to sleep for a while after that (yeah, he had fun the night before) and I hung out on the pool deck for a while to take some pics of Key West from the high up perch on the ship and to watch some planes come in for landing at EYW airport.

 

 

 

 

I waited for M to call me to let me know he was awake and ready to go off the ship, so I sat down with a soda on the pool deck and checked flightaware on my phone (4G service is great here) to see what scheduled flights were due in to EYW and when and texted some folks back home to tell them all about the vacation so far and to see what was going on back home. Got this nice pic of what appeared to be a American Eagle (used to be US Airways Express) Embraer 175 coming in from Charlotte on final for Runway 9. EYW has a very short runway (4800 feet) so many weight restrictions, no really long flights and no big planes, not to mention very little ramp space for the planes to park at. I also saw a few other flights and will talk about that in the next post.

 

 

Finally, around 1130 M called me to tell me he was awake and ready to exit the ship, so he came upstairs, got a drink or two and I went back to the cabin to get a nap. More in a second....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 4 - KEY WEST CONTINUED

 

I also saw a Silver Airways Saab 340 (AA eagle connection carrier prop) on its way in from Miami I think but did not get a picture. It just is neat to see the planes fly right over the ship on approach. Never flown in here, my one land trip featured a drive down US 1 through the Keys many years ago. Anyway, on my way back to the cabin, I got this awesome picture of a Delta 737-700 on final to 9 from Atlanta. 737-700s are the largest planes that can fly into EYW and have very good short field performance which is why they often are sent on this route.

 

 

Also, got another pic of Key West, where we would be spending the day.

 

I got a shower and changed and met M up on the pool deck around noon and we headed down to exit the ship on I believe, Deck 3 at the gangway. Not a long line to get off here, as I guess most people had gotten off already but we exited and walked past the pier exit and into Mallory Square, the downtown of sorts here at Bone Island. We were the only ship here today, so we got the prime parking spot at the square. Many times, you have to park over at the Naval Base and get a tram ride into town but not today. It allows you much more flexibility in how long you are going to spend in town, not having to worry about the shuttle back to the ship. More scenic also. It was a hot and humid day (what else is new) but partly cloudy with no rain in sight and we made our way past the shops and restaurants right in the port area as we made our way into town. Nice shot of the ship from the dock.

 

 

We made our way past the big red museum and stopped at the CVS right near the Old Town Trolley stop and ticket office. I think this is a new building as they moved but either way, it is really busy and the prices for essential stuff are not bad. I got a big bottle of Powerade just to stay hydrated for the afternoon and M got some stuff for himself and we made our way down Duval Street to find places to drink. Places as in plural.....

 

 

Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum - my cousin loves this place and stopped in when she visited here on a cruise with me a few years ago. Not my kind of place but heard it is interesting.

 

 

So, of course a stop in Key West would not be complete without a stop in Sloppy Joe's Bar. I got a pint glass from here some time ago and use it a lot at home, we sat down and ordered our margaritas from the bar. They have good food here and plenty of seating but we elected to just drink today. A preview of our visit here.....

 

More shortly.....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 4 - KEY WEST CONTINUED

We got a few regular margaritas but they have all kinds of crazy stuff on the menu here. Didn't get any of these but they have slushy mixers to make pina coladas and Captain Morgan rum runners. We chilled out with our drinks and watched some ESPN on one of the many televisions they have in the place and after a while, were on our way to the next place.

 

 

 

 

 

Our next stop was Irish Kevin's, a few blocks down the road. I was beginning to feel a little tired and not so much like drinking now, so I hung out at the bar with M, where we met our friends from the Schooner Bar and talked for a good few hours. It was not crowded when we got in and the bar staff (maybe owners) were really nice. It was not crowded when we got there but it did fill in some by the time we headed out. They ordered some sort of food (still not sure what it was but whatever) and we each got a few Yuengling drafts (a local Philadelphia area beer now distributed in Florida - oldest brewery in the USA) and watched some sports on TV. It was a nice, authentic Irish pub atmosphere with live music. Not bad. Around 1400 we figured it was time to move on from here, we said bye to the girls for the time being and headed down a few blocks to get some Key Lime pie. M likes that even though I do not.

 

 

 

More in a few...

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 4 - KEY WEST CONTINUED

 

We made our way down out of the main area and to the Key Lime pie shop the folks at Irish Kevin's told us about and M got his pie on a stick. The shop also sells all kinds of stuff related to Key Lime pie and was very busy today. Today was the least busy I have ever seen the touristy stuff there but that is probably because the locals were not out yet and there was only one small cruise ship in port today. Kinda cool to not be bumping into thousands of other people everywhere you try to go for once.

 

Got a few neat pics of Duval Street and of the Conch Train Tour trolley as we walked along to and from the pie shop. The trolley takes you around town and gives you a nice background of the place and shows important places. They also have the Old Town Trolley and each sells tickets at their office in town, so if you want to ride it is probably better to do it that way rather than buying them as an excursion. Not a huge difference in price but still.

 

Also saw some new construction in this area, townhouses going for minimum of a half million dollars. Sign me up. I was once told by a local while hanging out at Flying Monkey Saloon on Duval Street that real estate is insanely expensive there and renting is way more affordable so you really have to have money to own anything there.

 

 

 

Our next stop was at a place called the Rum Barrel, somewhere around 1500. We did not have to be back to the ship until 1630 so plenty of time. It is a bar and restaurant owned by former Philadelphia 76ers President and fitness guru Pat Croce. I had gone here years ago while on a land vacation and was informed by M that it was still open. Also, I think he owns a pirate museum there (I went on a tour there some time ago) and is big into that stuff so plenty of pirate themed stuff at the restaurant also. So, we hit this place up as it has a distinct Delaware Valley feel to it. I got a steak sandwich (what else lol) and a frozen drink called the 302 (double of 151 proof liquor and some other stuff) and both were pretty good. M got some conch fritters which he said were good. Plenty of Philly sports memorabilia and the Phillies-Atlanta Braves game was also on. Not terribly crowded here either but the staff was all from the Delaware Valley originally. The Phillies lost of course (just that kind of year for them) and M decided to get one of the T-shirts they had on sale there as a keepsake from the place and by 1600, we were on our way.

 

 

 

 

More coming up....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 4 - KEY WEST CONTINUED

So, since we did not have to be back onboard until 1630, we slowly made our way back to the ship. The main square features a type of straw market I guess, never stopped in here in all my visits but maybe something others might be interested in.

 

 

I think this is a Hemingway museum? I know it was overhauled a while back and they supposedly have a lot of stuff in there open to the public but I did not go in.

 

 

Since you are still in the USA here, you just need your photo ID (driver's license) and ship card for pier security when you arrive back. And they do check it closely, not all places do. We got through that and I thought it would be cool to get a picture of me getting ready to board the ship again for the last time on this cruise. M did not want to get into this picture, whatever. Again not a long line to get though security once onboard, guess pretty much everyone was back on by now as it was after 1600.

 

 

M went back to the cabin to sleep some more and I headed up to the pool deck to watch us sail away from Key West. We had a 1700 departure time and left pretty much right on schedule. The band was playing again for our departure as well.

 

 

Later Conch Republic (look that up, if you don't know that history, it is interesting to read about)! Until next time....

 

 

Thought this was interesting as we backed out from the dock and sailed out slowly through the channel. Never saw this before, guess it is the old battle fort that was a big part of the early days of the island back in the 18th century timeframe. I never knew they had this. There is also a little beach past this that it seems locals and those in resorts were hanging out at. Very few natural beaches in Key West as the makeup of the island does not lend to having nice beaches.

 

 

Continued....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 4 - KEY WEST CONTINUED

I checked out some stuff on the web and texted back and forth with home a little more as we sailed away and before cell service gave out, while hanging out on the deck with a large Coors Light and a little before 1800, headed downstairs to get ready for dinner.

 

 

I forgot to mention that it seems Key West has good pizzerias as there is one on pretty much every corner but I did not sample anything here today. I am very picky about my pizza. Also, looking back at my notes, I noted that the townhouses are 1.6 million Washingtons, not a half million. Even more awesome, lol. Also, guess it was too hot for the chickens today as we only saw a couple in the street near the pie shop. If you are interested about the history of chickens running through the streets there, look it up. Lot of history with that also.

 

I strolled through the casino on the way back to the room as it was closed due to being in port at this time, and as you can see it was just not that large. Smallest casino I have ever seen on a ship. Thinking back, maybe my hangovers were non existent on this ship due to the lack of cigarette smoke at most or all of the bars. Never thought about it but it would make sense. It is nice to not have to breathe smoke in while drinking. Sorry smokers, but that is how I feel about that - those of us with sensitive breathing issues don't handle secondhand smoke well.

 

 

We made sure to go to the MDR once on this cruise, and tonight would be that night. It was not crowded in here on this evening when we went in around 1930 (we had anytime dining so we could go whenever we wanted) and it seems that anytime dining is on the upper level and assigned time dining is on the lower level. It appears that this ship only has one dining room also, am I correct? Anyway, I got a soda and a glass of red wine and a shrimp appetizer and a New York Strip steak, cooked medium for the entree. May I say the NY strip was better here than in Chops? M got French Onion soup and I forget for his entree.

 

We also met a mother and daughter from the Atlanta area celebrating the daughter's 21st birthday and who were on their first cruise at the table next to ours. Nice to talk to. They said they were having a great time and we joked that they were already hooked and probably had already booked their next cruise. They told us they actually had already, LOL. Cruising does do that to you. Anyway, I got Cherries Jubilee for my dessert (an old Carnival favorite that they don't do anymore with their new menus) and it was excellent. We were probably out of there no later than 2030, quick service. Dress code is casual but not overdone. I had a polo shirt and long pants and that was fine. Of course you can dress up more if you want to.

 

 

 

 

 

After that, the cruise was beginning to wind down and I had to take care of the task of packing everything back up for the trip home. You dread it but that time does always come on a cruise. I took care of most of that while M went to the Schooner to drink some more and meet up with our lady friends and by 2130 I was done with the packing. Filling out the customs forms had never been easier than now because neither of us bought anything at all as souvenirs outside the country, so it was just pretty much sign and keep moving. We also planned on doing self-assist debarkation the next morning as we only had a carryon bag and backpack each, and based on looking down the hallway, almost everyone planned to do the same. Very few bags outside for collection on this ship it looked like.

 

Will wrap up this day's activities in a moment....

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

DAY 4 - KEY WEST CONTINUED

We went to hang out at where else, Schooner Bar? I got the last Molson Canadian bottle they had (said I was going to drink as many different beers as possible on this cruise) We said our goodbyes after a little while to the girls and headed into the theater to catch the 2200 show. On the way, we passed the piano player, Billy Pando, who sounded good but looked lonely as not many people were listening, shame.

 

 

 

The show was really good, much better than I figured it would be. It was a theme of pop music and how it has evolved over the last 50 years or so. Good dancing, special effects and most importantly, LIVE PIT BAND MUSIC. Other lines have done away with this, but those who still have it win. It makes all the difference. We got beers from the roving bar staff, and the show was over by 2300. Decent crowd here as well as it was pretty much the last big event on the cruise, if you don't count the late night farewell dance party up in the club. I also loved that they brought out all the ship department managers and some other staff onto the stage as a farewell and Carlos Torres gave a nice farewell speech as well. Good way to end things.

 

 

 

After that, M went back to the cabin to finish up his packing and to get ready for the early morning back in Miami and I did one last wandering pass through the ship to see what was going on but everything was pretty much done with. A few people still hanging out in the hot tub around 2330, but really not much else to do other than go to sleep and be ready to get off the ship in the morning. Random pic of the now-closed shopping complex on Deck 6.

 

 

Around midnight it was back to the cabin and ready to go for the morning. I forgot to take pics of the cruise compass each day so this was all four combined, and I think we might have only gotten a towel animal one day out of four. Oh well. It was bedtime shortly after that, and with that, the cruise was really pretty much over. Tomorrow would be a hectic and early day. I will get into that later on, along with final thoughts and comments about the ship, ports, crew, etc so stay tuned for that.

 

 

I hope you have enjoyed this review up to this point and I have enjoyed sharing my experiences with you. Have a good night and happy cruising!

[JamesEM]

Thanks for the reports and photos.

[sublarry]

I just found this post and cant remember how to subscribe so I will attach myself this way so I can find it later. We are going on the Empress in October, our first Royal cruise so this will be much needed reading.

 

Larry

[robinbtigger]

Thank you for your review and photos! We just got off the Empress on Saturday and it was fun to see the ship and crew in your review :).

[DeadPhish]

Great review and Go Phils!

 

Gotta check out that Philly bar next time I'm in Key West.

[FLACRUISER99]

Another thanks for doing this as I am boarding on 9/3.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thanks for the reports and photos.

 

It has been my pleasure to share my experiences with others. Thank you for reading.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

I just found this post and cant remember how to subscribe so I will attach myself this way so I can find it later. We are going on the Empress in October, our first Royal cruise so this will be much needed reading.

 

Larry

 

I think there is an icon somewhere on the page that you can subscribe to a thread or a review in this case. I haven't updated this as often as I would have liked and it is taking me nearly a month to complete the entire thing, but I should be able to finish it up finally tonight. This was only my second time on Royal and I wasn't expecting much more than a clean ship that ran on-time with friendly crew and plentiful drinks and good food and this ship more than met my expectations. As long as you don't expect the Empress to be anything like the Oasis or a ship like the Carnival Vista or something in terms of amenities and size, you can have a great time on it. I am glad you have gotten some insight into this ship through reading my review and I do hope you enjoy your upcoming cruise this October.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Thank you for your review and photos! We just got off the Empress on Saturday and it was fun to see the ship and crew in your review :).

 

You are welcome! I love to combine writing about my experiences with pictures to convey a great ship and vacation review, glad you like it. What did you think of the Empress? For being a small and older ship, it is nice for what it is. Good food, drinks, clean and easy to relax on and just enjoy a long weekend away from home, at least that is how I saw it. Happy cruising!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Great review and Go Phils!

 

Gotta check out that Philly bar next time I'm in Key West.

 

Thanks, glad people have had a good time reading along. This season was a rebuilding year for the Phillies for sure, but we are going to hopefully improve somewhere between 15 and 20 games on last year and the future looks bright with some of the guys already here and those who will be up through the system next year. Ahead of schedule if you ask me, actually. Rum Barrel is really a cool atmosphere and that combined with the staff in there, it really makes you feel as if you are back home in the Delaware Valley. Be sure to get a souvenir t-shirt from there as well, some interesting stuff to choose for sure. I should be finishing the review up tonight, so be sure to check out my final day's observations and final thoughts on the whole thing.

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Another thanks for doing this as I am boarding on 9/3.

 

You are welcome, I hope this has helped you prepare for your journey. I thank you for reading along and I am going to finish the review up tonight, so it will all be done and you can see what to expect with the entire experience, embarkation to debarkation. Have fun on your cruise!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

Hello! I am finally back with the final part of this Empress of the Seas adventure review. I did say it would take a while to finish but here I finally am to wrap things up. Thank you again for everyone who has read along and commented and I hope those of you who are sailing in the near future on this ship or are thinking about it have gotten some valuable insight from this review as well. Anyway, we left off with the somber last night on-board, and upcoming is the final morning and all the craziness that comes along with that, plus my travel adventures to get home. Here we go with the final day of the cruise.

 

DAY 5 - DEBARKATION MORNING AND TRAVEL DAY HOME

 

So, the last night was the only night we really felt any kind of wave activity at all and even that was not all that extreme. It was noticeable, but something that more or less helped you sleep with just a gentle rocking. Getting up to use the bathroom in the middle of the night could be a little difficult though due to the side to side motion. Anyway, as usual, it was hard for me to sleep on the last night because I want to get up in time to vacate the cabin and all that and wanted to be rested up enough for the upcoming trip home.

 

So, I had mentioned earlier that each time the engines throttled up or changed in forward to reverse or side thrust, we felt it in the cabin. I guess we had a really early arrival to the port channel, because I was awakened before 0600 by these sounds and vibrations. I was awakened a few more times by these and looked out the window before 0700 and we had not yet arrived at the port. I guess each ship has to wait its turn to get into the channel because there were a lot more pax ships and cargo ships there today than there were when we left on Thursday. Finally, around 0730 we both got up and I got a quick shower and changed and did a final check to make sure I did not leave anything in the cabin and it was up to the Windjammer one last time for breakfast. I also took one last look at the bill they put under the door overnight to make sure my onboard charges were correct and they were, so no need to go to guest services on the final morning.

 

A final look at the port area from our cabin window.

 

 

The elevators were kind of crowded as you could imagine as a lot of people were doing self-assist debarkation and were crowding the atrium to get off the ship at the same time between I guess, about 0800 and 0830. The ship was cleared fairly quickly and most people seemed to be off pretty quickly. M and I were not in a huge hurry to get off as the flights we had targeted to take home did not leave until noon or later. They were closing the breakfast buffet up as we were arriving so we got a plate of the last remaining leftovers in the line and that was it. I checked in with home and we figured out our flight stuff over breakfast and by 0900, we made our way off the ship. The line was not too long to get off and soon, we heard the beep of our cards scanning and that was it. Overall, the debarkation process seemed organized and went quickly so no complaints here.

 

The line at customs was about 15 minutes, not a huge wait and soon we were through after getting the usual questions about bringing in foreign fruits, veggies, contraband, etc and as I mentioned earlier, we bought nothing outside the country so we were through quickly. You probably know this, but the area outside arrivals is just crazy after a cruise. You have the taxis, the Royal-purchased buses and the private shuttles all in that little area outside. Well, here it got interesting.

 

I do travel light and I probably used about 75 percent of what I brought in these bags. You can do a 5 day cruise with just a carry-on and backpack if you plan correctly.

 

In all the cruises I have taken from Port of Miami, I never have not been able to get a ride with a private shuttle company back to the airport, even if I had not previously booked one. However, this seemed to be a problem today all of a sudden. Royal will NOT let you book their bus travel back to either Miami or Fort Lauderdale right on the spot, they say you have to pay for it while still on the ship. Other lines do not do this but whatever.

 

I was able to get a van driver further down the curb to offer M and I a ride back to FLL for like $20 but I passed as M said he had made a deal with another company (that I have dealt with in the past) to get us on for a set price. However, some lady from the port came over and told us we could not do this and she was going to write the poor guy a ticket. Are you kidding me? She said that only pax who had pre-arranged travel could be here. Never heard that one but we did not feel like arguing so we moved on. We thought about doing the Uber thing but I am not keen on that so it was plan B, get a cab. Lesson learned here, have pre-arranged travel, book the cruise line shuttle, do Uber, or just get a taxi but don't wait until you are off the ship to figure out what to do if you do not want to pay an arm and a leg to get to the airport.

 

The craziness of the ground transportation area

 

So, yeah, we had to pay $80 plus tip for a cab ride back up to FLL. It did not take long as the traffic slowed in spots on 95, but it was at least convenient and we got to FLL around 1030. We split up here as we had separate flights booked to home (he wanted a direct flight home which left later and I just wanted to leave FLL ASAP so I left earlier on a connecting flight). I got on the flight around lunchtime and had a connection in stormy Atlanta, and a delayed flight home that finally got me home around 1900. M actually landed around the same time that I did back at a cloudy and also sort of stormy PHL. Yeah, but I probably had more fun traveling than he had sitting in the airport all day waiting for his flight home, lol.

 

 

 

Anyway, that is it for yet another Flying Cruiser of NJ vacation. I hope you have loved reading about this vacation as much as I enjoyed writing about it. Questions and comments are welcome. I will finally include a section about my overall observations of the ship and ports and some final thoughts in my next post. My next cruise is a California Coastal on the Grand Princess out of San Francisco in mid-September and I am looking forward to that. I will do a review of that one as well, as I do for all of my cruise adventures. As the ageless rocker Billy Joel says, good night, and have a great rest of the summer!

[FlyingCruiserNJ]

CRUISE WRAP-UP - COMMENTS AND OBSERVATIONS

 

I always like to include an editorial section at the end of each cruise that focuses on major aspects of the cruise itself, including things like crew, ship, check-in and debarkation experiences, etc. So here we go with that....

 

Firstly, remember how I said flying in day-of is risky, even if you have a non-stop flight? Well, even though I did it on this trip, see what happened with the recent Big 4 airline IT meltdowns and how much that disrupted travel for days on end for many people? Yeah, I saw that thread on cruise critic about people who were missing their cruises because they could not get to the ports. Keep that in mind........

 

PRE-CRUISE, CHECK-IN AND EMBARKATION

 

I feel like I got plenty of pre-cruise information from Royal Caribbean and it was easy to plan out everything I wanted to do onboard, see things like ship layout and to pre-purchase anything I wanted to do before sailing. Just know that within 72 hours of sailing you cannot book anything like excursions or drink packages but you can do it once you board. The cruise personalizer is easy to navigate on the Royal website.

 

The checking in was smooth as well. Much of it was because I printed out all my documents beforehand and also because the ship was just not that large but it did not take long at all to get through it all and onto the ship. Embarkation was quick as well, and the staff was helpful and friendly throughout. Would give this process an A.

 

ONBOARD CREW

 

I thought most of the crew was accommodating, friendly and helpful and had a good attitude. I don't ask for much, just nice friendly and prompt service and M cares even less about that, but our expectations were exceeded. Can't say we met any bad crew members. Of course M made friends with most of the bartenders (lol) but they, along with the dining room staff and Windjammer people, were all pleasant. The ship officers were visible as well and always happy to answer questions and talk with people. Even the guest services people were fine to deal with and many times, you can get a bit of an attitude from these folks on cruise ships.

 

The cruise director, Carlos Torres, was good. Not over the top, but you did see him out and about and was good with organizing major events and keeping folks in the loop about what was happening on the ship. Same with the captain as well.

 

The entertainment was fine, at least what I saw. Caribbean Roots was always playing on the pool deck and they did a good job. The one stage show I saw was good. The things like the deck party were run well and were fun. I did not see the comedian but from what I heard, he was good and it was a fun atmosphere. The 80s party in the atrium that I saw the tail end of the night I was in bed all night due to feeling ill seemed to be fun from what I gathered. Again, this ship does not have modern amenities and does not feature most of what you will see on the newer and larger ships but what they did have, was well done. Probably A.

 

SHIP FACILITIES AND ATTRACTIONS

 

Not a lot of stuff to see on here, but everything seemed to be clean and welcoming and was in good working order. I would say they could use a few more bars throughout the ship, especially during busy times, but I did not have to wait long for a drink most of the time. The bar staff was also good to deal with.

 

The things like internet cafe, pool area, promenade deck lounges, theater, casino and the clubs, were all in good shape, and were comfortable and clean. They served their purpose and although the casino was small, it was nice to hang out in there a few times and play the penny slots for a while. The bar in there is also good, nice mojitos there.

 

The shops seemed to be OK, good variety and prices. I only bought a toothbrush, but some of the prices and products offered in the shops that I saw while passing through seemed to be OK. Lot of different variety from liquor, cigarettes, to clothing and Royal Caribbean novelty stuff, in addition to the snack and medicine commissary I got the toothbrush from.

 

For what this ship offered, A, compared to other ships sailing today, it was pretty far behind technology wise and amenity wise, so lower when compared but on its own merits, it was just fine.

 

FOOD AND SERVICE

The food was pretty good here. The hours for things like ice cream and late night bistro/late risers breakfast could be better but maybe due to space constraints on here, they couldn't offer anything more. A late nite pizza place would be a hit as it is not only good to eat that late, but it is a great place to hang out at an talk after a night of partying. Again, maybe other ships have that and they simply cannot put something like that on here, dunno.

 

The Chops. Atmosphere was fine as well as the service, but the food was not great. Not bad, just not great. Got an awesome sirloin at Texas Roadhouse just last week that was a hundred times better. Oh well. It is nice just to experience.

 

The MDR was fine, food quality and service wise. We did not go at the most crowded time so I do not know about wait times at peak hours but we had a good time there and were in and out in just over an hour. We did do anytime dining, do not know how the assigned times dining worked out on this ship.

 

Windjammer was really good, in terms of food selection and taste, and never had a problem with seating in there. That is, when it was open and I do wish it was open more than it was.

 

Overall, B+ as the dining times and specialty dining quality was not as good as I expected but still was just fine and did meet my expectations.

 

PORTS

 

I loved Cococay and so did M. I had been there years earlier and although I got the island BBQ then and did not this time, it seemed to be more fun this time. More to do. If you just want to hang out on a beach and drink and swim, you can do that. You can also play things like basketball and beach volleyball and there is shopping as well. The food is also good but make sure you get there when it is served or you will miss it. Definitely liked this stop and would go there again happily if offered as a port stop on a future Royal Caribbean cruise.

 

Key West was the typical Key West. Been there lots of times, great place to just walk around and drink and eat, you can also shop there or go on a sightseeing tour, or combine the activities. We just walked around and drank and ate here as we have both seen pretty much everything there is to do in Key West. The docking of the ship in Mallory Square really helped as well both asthetically and time-wise as we had more time to hang out in port without having to get a shuttle all the way out to the Navy Yard.

 

Would rate the ports of call A for this cruise.

 

Overall, I think this ship and itinerary met and exceeded my expectations. I was not expecting an exotic cruise to faraway places on a ship with all the bells and whistles. This is an older ship that has been re-purchased and overhauled for eventual cruises to Cuba, and they did a pretty good job with it, all things considered. M and I wanted to just hang out on a long weekend and drink and eat some while visiting a beach and Key West on a nice, clean ship with friendly crew and we got that. If you are looking for just a short getaway for a good price or this is your first cruise and you are not sure if you will like it, this is a good ship to try it out. Not too long a sailing and not too huge where you will be overwhelmed by everything there is to do and see. I would recommend this ship and this itinerary anytime.

 

And that is all. If you are planning on cruising this ship in the future, have fun and if you are thinking about cruising it, go for it as you will have a good time. Happy cruising all and thanks for reading along with my adventure!

[twallo]

Thank for the detailed review and all the pictures. We are on the Empress in a few weeks and these positive reviews are getting us more excited. Thanks again and happy cruising!

 

 

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[hannibal54]

Thanks for all of the photos, I just booked the Empress yesterday.