Empress of the seas - 12 nights with Kids - Are we crazy?

[Tee & Chilli]

Merion Mom is definitely on point. I’m booked on the Empress as a solo and will not share the cabin due to the size and cruise length. Only you can decide what’s best for you and your family however you asked on a public forum and people gave their opinions.

[rimmit]

We have cruise a ton with our kids.  Our son’s first was a 14 night TA when he was 15 months and our daughter did a 16 night repo from Barcelona to Dubai at 13 months.  They have done several other TAs and repos now and many other cruises And international travel in between.  Our kids are Diamond on their own points and our son is just 30 from D+ and he just turned 9.  My daughter is 4 now.   We are highly adventurous and literally go anywhere with them.  We have many up coming vacations where people think we’re “crazy” as well.

 

That being said, the ONLY cruise we ever been that we did not have a great time was on the NCL Breakaway.  We still had a good time, but it wasn’t “great.”  The reason being the cabin size.  We are small family.  I am 5’3 110 lbs and my wife the same.  Our two kids track at the 20 percentile for height and weight.  All of us combined are about 300lbs.   We don’t take up much space and travel light.  We only bring typically 3 medium size luggage’s max on a 14 night or longer vacation, and sometimes one car seat and a stroller.  In this case we didnt have a car seat even.  We have sailed in everything from insides to grand suites with separate bedrooms.  Typically we pick based on price and the type of deal we get.  We got a killer deal on the inside cabin on the Breakway.  And keep in mind we regularly sail the Grandeur some times for 12 nights in Which inside cabins are 138 sq ft, so we never thought the size of a cabin would be an issue for us due to traveling light and that we do not occupy much space.  BUT the Breakaway was 131 sq ft.  And that 7 sq ft made a much bigger difference than I realized.  The cabin layout was somewhat poor as well.  Our daughter was 3 and our son was 7 at the time for age comparisons.  14 days in that cabin wasn’t miserable,  but it was annoying.   There just wasn’t space for anything.  Part of it was cabin design,  but I literally didn’t unpack my luggage as there wasn’t enough space to unload my clothes.

 

Back to your question.  Do I think you’re crazy?  No, definitely not.  We have done crazier so I totally understand your POV.   That being said only you know what your family needs.  I am the kind of person that is the little devil on the shoulder always pushing people to their travel boundaries and I always say “do it!”  We had a ton of fun on our CA/NE cruise in 2018 on the adventure When they were 3 and 7.  The cabin will be TIGHT at 126 sq ft, but you will live.  The worst case scenario is you’re cramped for 12 nights.  Best case is you have memories for a life time.  These are first world problems here.

 

You can check out our travel blog that we tried to get started at one point.  Hasn’t been updated in over a year as we are just too busy, but it has some great family travel tips including a live blog of when we did a Canada New England tour to help with your planning.

 

http://thesmallworldfamily.com/

 

Canada New England on Adventure of the Seas

 

https://thesmallworldfamily.com/2018/09/01/canada-and-new-england-cruise-live-blog-day-2/

 

Disclaimer:  I have not been on the empress, but have been on cruises on similar size ships when I was a child the early 90s before mega ships. My brother was 4 years old at the time and I was 9.  We had a fine time.  This was before iPads existed, so we didn’t have access to endless entertainment and it was still a great time and I have fond memories.  

Edited January 12, 2020 by rimmit

[DrDani226]

Everyone’s different, but if you’re just looking for opinions...we cruise often. We just did Empress with our 8 year old for 6 days. We wouldn’t do it again. There was very little for her to do. However, she also does not do the kids club. My husband and I may consider the ship again, but not with kids. It was much smaller than I anticipated. And we’ve been on Grandeur several times. 

[#55worktoplay]

16 hours ago, stevea36 said:

any RCI ship that is just making a day stop in NY usually docks in manhattan, not Bayonne.   They reserve Bayonne (Cape Liberty) for cruises that start or end there.

 

That being said, here is the itinerary for the sailing on 16OCT2020:

Fri 16Oct2020Montreal, Quebec-4:00 PMBoarding

Sat 17Oct2020Quebec City, Quebec, Canada9:00 AM6:00 PMDocked

Sun 18Oct2020Cruising--Cruising

Mon 19Oct2020Sydney, Nova Scotia8:30 AM3:30 PMDocked

Tue 20Oct2020Halifax, Nova Scotia9:00 AM4:00 PMDocked

Wed 21Oct2020Saint John, New Brunswick (Bay Of Fundy)12:00 PM8:00 PMDocked

Thu 22Oct2020Bar Harbor, Maine7:00 AM6:00 PMTendered

Fri 23Oct2020Cruising--Cruising

Sat 24Oct2020New York City, New York7:00 AM9:00 PMDocked

Sun 25Oct2020Cruising--Cruising

Mon 26Oct2020Cruising--Cruising

Tue 27Oct2020Port Canaveral, Florida7:00 AM6:30 PMDocked

Wed 28Oct2020Miami, Florida8:00 AM-Departure

 

 

 

 

It could be bad weather at that time of year and even hurricane or tail end of one.

 

IMO, the cabin will be too small, They are extra small on this ship, the ship could in for rocking And again it too is very small and 3-4 days at sea may be very long, if your kids have been on Oasis they will be bored on Empress.
 

I would do it on another ship and as another poster stated I would look at Brilliance out of Boston.

[mjkacmom]

7 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

Oops. Didn't realize it started in Montreal.  Thought the cruise started in Quebec.  Still, I would fly in a day early if that works for you.  In 2019 in October they had a Chinese lantern festival in the Montreal Botanical Gardens, you need to buy nighttime tickets in advance.  I thought it was very well done.  It is very near the old Olympic Stadium.  The Biodome was closed for refurbishment.  Not sure what it will be like this year.

 

If you actually do dock in Bayonne: 

Your children might like the Liberty Science center better than Ellis Island/ Statute of Liberty.  If you want to climb to the Crown you need to get tickets in advance (not sure it is worth the climb even though I have done it a few times).  I have never done it however I don't think there is anything that stops you from going to Ellis Island/Statute of Liberty from New Jersey on the ferry and then taking the ferry to downtown NY (Battery Park) from there you can explore NYC. 

 

FYI, there is airport like security to get on the ferry to Ellis Island/Statute of Liberty.  I have no clue as to what you would do with car seats or a stroller.

There is nothing to stop them from taking a N.Y. ferry, but they would have to find their own way back to NJ. I don’t know what they’d do with the car seats though.

[mtsublueraider]

13 hours ago, kruzerci said:

I think you had your mind made up that you are taking this before you asked. Even with overwhelming negative responses, you’re going to do it LOL

 

 

Ha ha! Actually that's not 100% the case but for some strange reason I want to do it and have a blast to prove that we CAN. Is that sick and twisted or what? 

[mtsublueraider]

11 hours ago, LB_NJ said:

 

Oops. Didn't realize it started in Montreal.  Thought the cruise started in Quebec.  Still, I would fly in a day early if that works for you.  In 2019 in October they had a Chinese lantern festival in the Montreal Botanical Gardens, you need to buy nighttime tickets in advance.  I thought it was very well done.  It is very near the old Olympic Stadium.  The Biodome was closed for refurbishment.  Not sure what it will be like this year.

 

If you actually do dock in Bayonne: 

Your children might like the Liberty Science center better than Ellis Island/ Statute of Liberty.  If you want to climb to the Crown you need to get tickets in advance (not sure it is worth the climb even though I have done it a few times).  I have never done it however I don't think there is anything that stops you from going to Ellis Island/Statute of Liberty from New Jersey on the ferry and then taking the ferry to downtown NY (Battery Park) from there you can explore NYC. 

 

FYI, there is airport like security to get on the ferry to Ellis Island/Statute of Liberty.  I have no clue as to what you would do with car seats or a stroller.

 

 

Thank you for the detailed feedback. We actually saw that museum on the map and wondered if that could be a better choice. I wonder if they have a "check" area where we could leave car seats. That'd be ideal! Of course we still don't know for sure if it's NYC or NJ. 

 

It's funny... on other empress cruises it specifically says Cape Liberty, NJ as a port stop while this cruise says NYC. 

[mtsublueraider]

9 hours ago, Merion_Mom said:

 

People are not telling you that they don’t like the Empress. They aren’t saying “don’t cruise with your kids.”  They are responding to your precise question about taking two young children on the Empress on a TWELVE night cruise - roughly twice the length of “all the Caribbean cruises” you say you have been on - when your only accommodation option looks like 126 sq ft. 

 

As I stated before, there are no suites available for this sailing. 

 

And you are talking about taking taking their car seats!

 

That would take up ALL of the space in the cabin that isn’t a bed. NO exaggeration. 

 

We are trying to give you advice based on reality. 

 

 

And that's fair. I appreciate that viewpoint and you're correct. Maybe i just don't want to accept the reality. Ha! 

 

Maybe a better follow up question is..

 

How does the service, staff, and food compare to that of larger ships. We realize options are limited but are the options good! Is this ship clean. If we can get over the small space but the limited options are very good I think we'd have a better whole picture of what to expect. 

 

As for the car seats.... ours actually can open up and go all the way flat so they may actually fit under a bed (assuming all of that space isn't taken with luggage! 

[mtsublueraider]

7 hours ago, Tee & Chilli said:

Merion Mom is definitely on point. I’m booked on the Empress as a solo and will not share the cabin due to the size and cruise length. Only you can decide what’s best for you and your family however you asked on a public forum and people gave their opinions.

 

Heck, at the hotels both kids sleep in our king bed with us anyway. This just might work! 

 

I appreciate the opinions. They're really helpful! 

[mtsublueraider]

5 hours ago, DrDani226 said:

Everyone’s different, but if you’re just looking for opinions...we cruise often. We just did Empress with our 8 year old for 6 days. We wouldn’t do it again. There was very little for her to do. However, she also does not do the kids club. My husband and I may consider the ship again, but not with kids. It was much smaller than I anticipated. And we’ve been on Grandeur several times. 

 

 

That's great feedback. Medicine is hard to take sometimes. 🙂

[mtsublueraider]

7 hours ago, rimmit said:

We have cruise a ton with our kids.  Our son’s first was a 14 night TA when he was 15 months and our daughter did a 16 night repo from Barcelona to Dubai at 13 months.  They have done several other TAs and repos now and many other cruises And international travel in between.  Our kids are Diamond on their own points and our son is just 30 from D+ and he just turned 9.  My daughter is 4 now.   We are highly adventurous and literally go anywhere with them.  We have many up coming vacations where people think we’re “crazy” as well.

 

That being said, the ONLY cruise we ever been that we did not have a great time was on the NCL Breakaway.  We still had a good time, but it wasn’t “great.”  The reason being the cabin size.  We are small family.  I am 5’3 110 lbs and my wife the same.  Our two kids track at the 20 percentile for height and weight.  All of us combined are about 300lbs.   We don’t take up much space and travel light.  We only bring typically 3 medium size luggage’s max on a 14 night or longer vacation, and sometimes one car seat and a stroller.  In this case we didnt have a car seat even.  We have sailed in everything from insides to grand suites with separate bedrooms.  Typically we pick based on price and the type of deal we get.  We got a killer deal on the inside cabin on the Breakway.  And keep in mind we regularly sail the Grandeur some times for 12 nights in Which inside cabins are 138 sq ft, so we never thought the size of a cabin would be an issue for us due to traveling light and that we do not occupy much space.  BUT the Breakaway was 131 sq ft.  And that 7 sq ft made a much bigger difference than I realized.  The cabin layout was somewhat poor as well.  Our daughter was 3 and our son was 7 at the time for age comparisons.  14 days in that cabin wasn’t miserable,  but it was annoying.   There just wasn’t space for anything.  Part of it was cabin design,  but I literally didn’t unpack my luggage as there wasn’t enough space to unload my clothes.

 

Back to your question.  Do I think you’re crazy?  No, definitely not.  We have done crazier so I totally understand your POV.   That being said only you know what your family needs.  I am the kind of person that is the little devil on the shoulder always pushing people to their travel boundaries and I always say “do it!”  We had a ton of fun on our CA/NE cruise in 2018 on the adventure When they were 3 and 7.  The cabin will be TIGHT at 126 sq ft, but you will live.  The worst case scenario is you’re cramped for 12 nights.  Best case is you have memories for a life time.  These are first world problems here.

 

You can check out our travel blog that we tried to get started at one point.  Hasn’t been updated in over a year as we are just too busy, but it has some great family travel tips including a live blog of when we did a Canada New England tour to help with your planning.

 

http://thesmallworldfamily.com/

 

Canada New England on Adventure of the Seas

 

https://thesmallworldfamily.com/2018/09/01/canada-and-new-england-cruise-live-blog-day-2/

 

Disclaimer:  I have not been on the empress, but have been on cruises on similar size ships when I was a child the early 90s before mega ships. My brother was 4 years old at the time and I was 9.  We had a fine time.  This was before iPads existed, so we didn’t have access to endless entertainment and it was still a great time and I have fond memories.  

 

 

 

We are of the same cloth. I will be reading your blog. YES, the devil on the shoulder that wants us to push our boundaries and try something new is a real thing. I keep telling my wife... worst case we have a HECK of a story to tell. 

And this is from someone who was on the infamous Oasis cruise that came back a day early because everyone had a stomach virus. That's a story. Good grief. 

 

Thank you again. It's good to know there others "like us" out there! 

[MainerRN92]

I think you should do it because you sound very excited about it! I live in Maine, and it is a great time of year to visit! You may be a little past peak leaf peeping season in Bar Harbor and the farther north ports in Canada, but it'll still be fun! Plan on it being "cold" as a Florida resident (my Jacksonville family freeze with anything below 80😂), but to us New Englanders it'll still be very mild, nothing too crazy. I do highly suggest doing it again when your kids are older, say 10 and 12 range, because most of these port stops are rich in history, and they will enjoy and appreciate that a lot more at that age if they are anything like my sister and I growing up! As for the size of the cabins, I've never been on Empress but I've never been a fussy person with space in my cabin, I don't care if I have to side step around suitcases on the floor cause there are no more shelves and the bathroom is barely big enough to turn around in, because I'M ON A CRUISE SHIP!! Which is what is most important ☺️

[Phamer55]

I think you should definitely take this cruise with your kids!  That is a truly unique itinerary, definitely not the same-old-same-old.  Plus you get it at such a great price too.  I know the ship is old, but it's still Royal.  Lastly, I've solved your cabin problem: you need to book cabin 9664, 8664, or 7664.  These ocean view cabins, which are priced the same as the others in the category, have their own tiny "room" for your 2 kids.  Check out this video of the cabin...there's even a curtain that provides a little privacy if you want it.

 

 

[Merion_Mom]

6 minutes ago, Phamer55 said:

I think you should definitely take this cruise with your kids!  That is a truly unique itinerary, definitely not the same-old-same-old.  Plus you get it at such a great price too.  I know the ship is old, but it's still Royal.  Lastly, I've solved your cabin problem: you need to book cabin 9664, 8664, or 7664.  These ocean view cabins, which are priced the same as the others in the category, have their own tiny "room" for your 2 kids.  Check out this video of the cabin...there's even a curtain that provides a little privacy if you want it.

 

 

 

I already checked that for him.  The only available oceanview cabins are the 126 sq ft kind.

[Merion_Mom]

@mtsublueraider

 

You also mentioned the cabins that face forward, on the most forward part of the ship.  

 

The Empress is a small ship.  She is somewhat less "stable" than more recent builds.

 

Time and place of that cruise are likely to mean at least some bad weather, and definitely some higher waves.  You will feel that THE MOST up there.

 

As to your other question above:  She is wonderful.  Clean.  Well-kept.  FABULOUS crew.  Kind, friendly, efficient, warm, everything you want in your hosts.

 

Facilities?  Few.  There is one large open area for your kids to run around in, but not a lot of options.  Do you anticipate that they will want to spend time in Adventure Ocean?  They will be among very few kids, which can be either good or bad, partly depending on ages.  Will the 3 year old be completely potty trained?  They don't do diapers in AO.  

 

One specialty restaurant.  

 

I really like the "old-fashioned" theater, with sofa and chair type seating, and little tables for your drinks.

 

SInce it's so small, it's easy to get around.

 

No smoking anywhere inside the ship.

 

Do your kids tolerate showers?  That will be your only option, and the bathroom and shower stall are TEENY TINY.

 

Those are all of my additional thoughts for now.  😄  

[3monkeys4me]

There really are too many variables for anyone else to say whether or not this is a good idea for your family. So much depends on your family dynamic, how laid back your kids are, what kind of travel you are used to and what you want to get out of a vacation. 

 

When my older two kids were younger we could have easily done that type of vacation... small cabin, not a lot of kid orientated activities, etc... would have been fine. The kids were pretty content and easily amused. At that age they didn't really think much beyond what there was in front of them. So even if our previous vacation was Disney World, they were fine with tent camping at a small state park or whatever. It didn't matter. We pretty much just did whatever vacation we wanted to and they went along with it. We did make an effort to have some downtime and planned activities that they wouldn't get too restless with.  Even now as teens, they would be fine with cruising on the Empress without all the stuff on the larger ships. My youngest child however is completely different. She needs a lot of activity to keep her entertained. She has been like that since she was born. While she wouldn't outright complain on vacation, especially when she was younger , she would be bored and it would be my job to entertain her. I personally can only handle so much time at the pool before I am done with it. So we have had to evolve our vacations over the years, not only to keep her occupied but so that I could have an enjoyable vacation too.

 

As for lack of space... I think we would have been okay with two young children. At this point there is no way I would spend 12 days in a single cabin, even a larger one. My 2 of my children are now adult sized and we just need more space.  We had one night with the 5 of us in a larger hotel suite and I was feeling pretty cramped by the time we checked out the next morning. But when they were 3 and 5 we spent 5 months living in a tiny RV while our house was being built and it wasn't an issue at all. 

 

Anyway, good luck on deciding. Report back if you do the cruise, I am curious how it will go for you!

[mtsublueraider]

18 minutes ago, 3monkeys4me said:

There really are too many variables for anyone else to say whether or not this is a good idea for your family. So much depends on your family dynamic, how laid back your kids are, what kind of travel you are used to and what you want to get out of a vacation. 

 

When my older two kids were younger we could have easily done that type of vacation... small cabin, not a lot of kid orientated activities, etc... would have been fine. The kids were pretty content and easily amused. At that age they didn't really think much beyond what there was in front of them. So even if our previous vacation was Disney World, they were fine with tent camping at a small state park or whatever. It didn't matter. We pretty much just did whatever vacation we wanted to and they went along with it. We did make an effort to have some downtime and planned activities that they wouldn't get too restless with.  Even now as teens, they would be fine with cruising on the Empress without all the stuff on the larger ships. My youngest child however is completely different. She needs a lot of activity to keep her entertained. She has been like that since she was born. While she wouldn't outright complain on vacation, especially when she was younger , she would be bored and it would be my job to entertain her. I personally can only handle so much time at the pool before I am done with it. So we have had to evolve our vacations over the years, not only to keep her occupied but so that I could have an enjoyable vacation too.

 

As for lack of space... I think we would have been okay with two young children. At this point there is no way I would spend 12 days in a single cabin, even a larger one. My 2 of my children are now adult sized and we just need more space.  We had one night with the 5 of us in a larger hotel suite and I was feeling pretty cramped by the time we checked out the next morning. But when they were 3 and 5 we spent 5 months living in a tiny RV while our house was being built and it wasn't an issue at all. 

 

Anyway, good luck on deciding. Report back if you do the cruise, I am curious how it will go for you!

 

thank you for the feedback. I’m going to keep looking at it and pricing it against other ships and just flying back and forth to do a round trip from somewhere too. 
 

I really think I want to do a fall color cruise but maybe it’s about finding the right one. 

[travelinmoma]

Another tip I would add is splitting the bottom beds and setting up the room as two bunks on either side.  It makes it easier to get around and just seems more spacious.

[LB_NJ]

Some random thoughts.

 

They do fall color cruises out of the New York Metropolitan area and Boston all the time. They also tend to be shorter cruises.

 

For this specific cruise on Empress, because of the dates, length of the cruise, and nature of the ship I would expect very few children and mostly retired people.

 

I sailed on Empress last January, just before it went into drydock, and this is based on that trip.  Also, I have a cruise booked for May on the Empress to Bermuda, fantastic itinerary, so nothing here is enough to stop me from sailing on her again..

 

a) For the most part the crew was great except I was not thrilled with our particular room steward and one particular person at the front desk.  I assume this can happen on any cruise.

 

b) I think the MDR is much better then the buffet for dinner.  However, I generally prefer the MDR,

 

c) I stayed around midships in an obstructed view cabin. It was small however, based on the info on various web sites the inside cabins are smaller yet.

 

d) Generally we ate breakfast in the buffet however the one time we ate in the MDR we were on the lower level towards the stern.  At that time I noticed significant rumble from the engine and/or propeller.  I would suggest a cabin midships.  Also, I would try to get a table in the MDR as far forward as possible.

[LMaxwell]

No way would I do that with a 3 and 5 year old.  12 days.  Cool/Cold weather cruise on a ship with not only limited kids amenities but limited adult amenities.  There is NOTHING so great on Royal Caribbean to be brand loyal; I'd look and see what other snowbird cruises there are that time of year and branch out.  It takes a lot of mental gymnastics to choose Empress over competition in this scenario. 

Edited January 12, 2020 by LMaxwell

[LMaxwell]

IMO you should look at Celebrity Summit 12 night from Boston with a lot of perks thrown in sure to surpass RCI experience or Carnival Sunrise 12 night from NY to Florida which includes partial Panama Canal which is actually pretty unique itinerary.  Carnival OV rooms are ENORMOUS; seriously.  Their kids program is fantastic and their included food kills Royal Caribbean.  I would anticipate an above average Carnival crowd for that itinerary as well 

[mtsublueraider]

Let’s throw another angle at it.... would everyone still have the same opinion if this was the 14 night out of Quebec City on Vision of the Seas? 

[flippergirl]

I have 2 kids who are 2 and 4 and I would not want all of us in that size room. My youngest needs a nap and having a separate area is key for us. 

As for car seats I would get 2 ride safe travel vests or whizrider vests. 

[LB_NJ]

27 minutes ago, mtsublueraider said:

Let’s throw another angle at it.... would everyone still have the same opinion if this was the 14 night out of Quebec City on Vision of the Seas? 

 

Are the rooms larger and is there an indoor pool the children can use?

 

Again, this time of year children are in school (so not many children) and the length of the cruise would tend to be more for retired people who have the time.

[Clarea]

2 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

 

Are the rooms larger and is there an indoor pool the children can use? ...

 

Rooms on Vision would be larger than those on Empress.  There is an indoor pool on Vision for age 16+, though if the weather is cold, they sometimes let younger children use it for certain periods during the day.