Empress of The Seas

[Tom47]

44 minutes ago, twangster said:

In other news, the "chat" icon now appears in the Royal app for Empress for a November cruise.

 

 

Historically this experimental feature was only available on Allure and Harmony. 

 

It doesn't work unless you are on the ship so there is no way to know if this is a glitch or a sign that this promised feature is soon to arrive across the fleet including Empress.  

   

Some more questions. I don't own a smart phone, but DD,DGD do.  We will be on Allure in 2022.  Does chat feature mean that they can chat/text aboard ship?  If Empress is scrapped, will Majesty do some of her itineraries?

[twangster]

28 minutes ago, Tom47 said:

Some more questions. I don't own a smart phone, but DD,DGD do.  We will be on Allure in 2022.  Does chat feature mean that they can chat/text aboard ship?  If Empress is scrapped, will Majesty do some of her itineraries?

 

Prior to the shutdown Allure did feature chat functionality in the Royal app on an experimental basis.  It's assumed that will continue into the future.

 

I have no insight on Empress or Majesty beyond the speculation here on Cruise Critic.  Everyone's guess is as valid as the next.

[Tom47]

26 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Prior to the shutdown Allure did feature chat functionality in the Royal app on an experimental basis.  It's assumed that will continue into the future.

 

I have no insight on Empress or Majesty beyond the speculation here on Cruise Critic.  Everyone's guess is as valid as the next.

Thanks

[OACAggie]

2 hours ago, twangster said:

In other news, the "chat" icon now appears in the Royal app for Empress for a November cruise.

 

 

It doesn't work unless you are on the ship so there is no way to know if this is a glitch or a sign that this promised feature is soon to arrive across the fleet including Empress.  

   

 It is showing on other ships as well like Anthem & Oasis.

[twangster]

23 minutes ago, OACAggie said:

 It is showing on other ships as well like Anthem & Oasis.

 

Indeed which is a hopeful sign.  Or it could just be they are using some crew remaining on board to test it on ships during this pause and they'll shut it off when cruising restarts.  

 

I've been trying to figure out how one could argue this helps towards a contactless or contact reduced restart.  

 

If nothing else "free onboard chat" is a nice way to generate some interest and goodwill once cruising resumes.  Personally I'd like to see them open up iMessage, Messenger and WhatsApp like some U.S. airlines have done for free.  That would give people comfort knowing they can reach loved ones back home at all times without having to pay $$$$$ for it.  That would truly set them apart and the bandwidth used by texting characters is miniscule. 

[WeMissSeaView]

Empress is now an anchored in the bay with Majesty again.  Back to the new normal.

[Kbonner]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

In other news, the "chat" icon now appears in the Royal app for Empress for a November cruise.

 

 

Historically this experimental feature was only available on Allure and Harmony. 

 

It doesn't work unless you are on the ship so there is no way to know if this is a glitch or a sign that this promised feature is soon to arrive across the fleet including Empress.  

   

I guess it is implemented for a more agile communication with/for the Turkish beaching pilot?

[notmyrealnameoremail]

On 9/23/2020 at 2:00 PM, livingonthebeach said:

Majesty can and has docked in Havana -- but her fate might be the same as Empress. The Cuba relations thing won't be reversed overnight - it will take some time. 

 

Are Empress and Majesty the only two Royal ships that can dock in Havana?

[Pratique]

16 hours ago, twangster said:

Indeed which is a hopeful sign.  Or it could just be they are using some crew remaining on board to test it on ships during this pause and they'll shut it off when cruising restarts.

Maybe it means that they've rehired the IT people who were laid off.

[livingonthebeach]

1 hour ago, notmyrealnameoremail said:

Are Empress and Majesty the only two Royal ships that can dock in Havana?

 

As far as I know those are the only 2 RCI ships that ever docked there -- (Empress out of Miami and Majesty out of Tampa and P.E.) for the short time the sailings were allowed (2016-2019).  Maybe some Vision class ships could have docked there but they never went.  Empress was going to the port of Cienfuegos, Cuba as well -- don't know if Majesty was going there as well. 

 

[notmyrealnameoremail]

1 hour ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

As far as I know those are the only 2 RCI ships that ever docked there -- (Empress out of Miami and Majesty out of Tampa and P.E.) for the short time the sailings were allowed (2016-2019).  Maybe some Vision class ships could have docked there but they never went.  Empress was going to the port of Cienfuegos, Cuba as well -- don't know if Majesty was going there as well. 

 

Thanks.  I suspect that the Cuba cruise market can be profitable for Royal and that makes it worthwhile for them to have ships that can go there.  Since allowing cruises to Cuba from the USA would not require a change in the law, just Presidential action,  a new President could make it happen quicker than you might think.  Remember how fast it got shut down.

[Saab4444]

3 hours ago, notmyrealnameoremail said:

Are Empress and Majesty the only two Royal ships that can dock in Havana?

Grandeur, Rhapsody and Vision could dock there as well.

[livingonthebeach]

5 minutes ago, notmyrealnameoremail said:

Thanks.  I suspect that the Cuba cruise market can be profitable for Royal and that makes it worthwhile for them to have ships that can go there.  Since allowing cruises to Cuba from the USA would not require a change in the law, just Presidential action,  a new President could make it happen quicker than you might think.  Remember how fast it got shut down.

 

Yes I do remember how fast it was shut down.  I was on Harmony in May of 2019 out of P.C. when I booked onboard for Empress to Havana and Cienfuegos.  Just one month later the cruise was cancelled and re-routed to the Western Caribbean.  I went ahead with the cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya. Some people on that cruise had made custom T-shirts with "The Cruise that was supposed to go to Cuba" emblazoned on them.

[Biker19]

19 hours ago, twangster said:

Indeed which is a hopeful sign.

It looks like they have that chat bubble enabled in the app, regardless of any ship.

 

Biker, who has no cruise booked yet has the texting bubble in the app.

[Sea Viewer]

I'm booked in December, now have the chat icon and a room assigned.

 

Mary 

[keyboardjunkie]

12 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Yes I do remember how fast it was shut down.  I was on Harmony in May of 2019 out of P.C. when I booked onboard for Empress to Havana and Cienfuegos.  Just one month later the cruise was cancelled and re-routed to the Western Caribbean.  I went ahead with the cruise to Cozumel and Costa Maya. Some people on that cruise had made custom T-shirts with "The Cruise that was supposed to go to Cuba" emblazoned on them.

 

We were on the ship that was sailing to there when it closed......surprised everyone...us, the crew, and the Captain!

[livingonthebeach]

5 minutes ago, keyboardjunkie said:

 

We were on the ship that was sailing to there when it closed......surprised everyone...us, the crew, and the Captain!

 

Did you have to change itinerary mid-voyage or were you able to cruise to Cuba?  How was it? 

[LXA350]

On 9/22/2020 at 10:52 PM, coaster said:

Healthy sail recommendation #66 below is going to be tough on Empress. It currently have quad cabins for crew. You are talking about a huge increase in converting passenger cabins to accommodate crew if the single occupancy crew cabin recommendation is enacted.

 

66  - Crew should be placed in single-occupancy crew cabins whenever possible to minimize extended periods of close contact with other crew members.

 

 

 

 

 

Here we will see on the larger ships that they will dedicate inside cabins for this purpose. On the samller and older ships this will be to inefficent.

[keyboardjunkie]

13 hours ago, livingonthebeach said:

 

Did you have to change itinerary mid-voyage or were you able to cruise to Cuba?  How was it? 

 

We had to change itinerary.....lots of people complained.  They gave us a future cruise credit for part of the voyage. 

 

We were disappointed because we had waited to go but there was nothing anyone could do.

[keyboardjunkie]

1 hour ago, LXA350 said:

 

Here we will see on the larger ships that they will dedicate inside cabins for this purpose. On the samller and older ships this will be to inefficent.

 

With less guests on each sailing, the extra cabins will be available.  This was a point raised in the full report.  They also need to set aside cabins for potential isolation in case of COVID cases.

[CruisingFA]

I wonder if they left the 2 in Europe to bring crew back to the states instead of just sailing them back over empty. It would be easier to get all the crew to a meeting point in Europe and then the 2 week quarantine could be taken care of on the sailing. 

[ipeeinthepool]

3 hours ago, CruisingFA said:

I wonder if they left the 2 in Europe to bring crew back to the states instead of just sailing them back over empty. It would be easier to get all the crew to a meeting point in Europe and then the 2 week quarantine could be taken care of on the sailing. 

 

They may likely use some of their ships to quarantine and transport crew to various parts of the world but it won’t be these two ships.  They have other ships in Europe they could use.  In addition they would also fly crew into the Caribbean using friendly ports such as Barbados or St Maarten.

[Kbonner]

22 hours ago, ipeeinthepool said:

 

In addition they would also fly crew into the Caribbean using Covid friendly ports such as Barbados or St Maarten.

🤧

[CruisingFA]

On 9/29/2020 at 6:21 AM, ipeeinthepool said:

 

They may likely use some of their ships to quarantine and transport crew to various parts of the world but it won’t be these two ships.  They have other ships in Europe they could use.  In addition they would also fly crew into the Caribbean using friendly ports such as Barbados or St Maarten.

Sure that’s a possibility for the ships that are hanging out in the Caribbean. But for the 6 ships in Europe(all still sailing in November according to royal) it’s easier to get the crew in Europe and sail them home.  Until anything is officially announced regarding majesty and empress it’s all speculation of what may or may not happen 

[ipeeinthepool]

2 hours ago, CruisingFA said:

Sure that’s a possibility for the ships that are hanging out in the Caribbean. But for the 6 ships in Europe(all still sailing in November according to royal) it’s easier to get the crew in Europe and sail them home.  Until anything is officially announced regarding majesty and empress it’s all speculation of what may or may not happen 

 

Did you ever wonder why Royal used these two old ships to transport some crew back to Europe? Are these the most comfortable or efficient ships?  Nope.  Royal decided months ago that these ships weren't coming back to the US.  They will either be purchased by some other cruise line or sent to the beach.