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Bye Bye Majesty and Empress (It's official)

Ourusualbeach

By Ourusualbeach,
in Royal Caribbean International

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Ourusualbeach

Ourusualbeach

Posted
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Posted (edited)
5 minutes ago, vacationlover_mn said:

We hated Majesty (turns out we’re big ship people :)), but I am super sad to see these small ships go- I was hoping to try some of their unique itineraries (after we wrap up sampling all of the big ships out of the southern ports).  Does celebrity still have some smaller ships that visit the smaller, less common, islands?

It is not necessarily about size of the ship (Royal still has 3 vision class ships left) but about how far the ships can get in 7 or 8 days which caters well to Royals demographic.

 

take a look at Grandeur’s itinerary for 14 nights in January 2022 if you want a unique itinerary.

 

 

Edited by Ourusualbeach
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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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1 minute ago, vacationlover_mn said:

We hated Majesty (turns out we’re big ship people :)), but I am super sad to see these small ships go- I was hoping to try some of their unique itineraries (after we wrap up sampling all of the big ships out

of the southern ports).  Does celebrity still have some smaller ships that visit the smaller, less common, islands?

I don't follow Celebrity all that closely any more but once they got rid of Horizon, Zenith, and the Galaxy sisters, I don't think they have anything left that equates to "small". Though, I suppose that is a relative term. I think their smaller ships equate to RCI's Radiance class. Of course, they have nothing on par with the Oasis class as far as I know.

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vacationlover_mn Great Review Rare

vacationlover_mn

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Just now, Ourusualbeach said:

It is not necessarily about size of the ship (Royal still has 3 vision class ships left) but about how far the ships can get in 7 or 8 days which caters well to Royals demographic.

 

take a look at Grandeur’s itinerary for 14 nights in January 2022 if you want a unique itinerary.

 

 

Thanks!

 

I've already picked my 2022 cruise (we wanted to do a shorter one, since we're not sure what the covid rules will be in early 2022).  However, I'll have to check that out, when we're booking for 2023 🙂

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

Posted
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1 minute ago, Ourusualbeach said:

It is not necessarily about size of the ship (Royal still has 3 vision class ships left) but about how far the ships can get in 7 or 8 days which caters well to Royals demographic.

 

take a look at Grandeur’s itinerary for 14 nights in January 2022 if you want a unique itinerary.

 

 

Fourteen days on Grandeur would probably be torture for me unless everyday was a port day.

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LB_NJ

LB_NJ

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On 1/3/2021 at 6:25 PM, Bery said:

Hi,  I cannot say how sad that we are. Yes - CoVid was the last stroke.  We always have loved cruising:  Above all - our Bermuda cruises - our first cruise on RCI Song of America (1996, 1997, 1998, 1999) and the others: Celebrity Zenith (2000, 2001, 2006), Holland America (2011, 2012), Celebrity Summit (2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018) and Holland America (2019).  Our 17th cruise to Bermuda on the RCI Empress of the Seas to Hamilton and St. George was to be our last hurrah - where we began our enchanted and lovely journey . We planned a celebration of my husband’s 90th birthday with 3 generations of our family (15 children and grandchildren and us) on the Empress for July 2020.  My husband, one last time, wanted to visit Bermuda on the smaller ship to St. George and Hamilton.  With our final payment due and CoVid with us, we decided to cancel in March 2020 and so we rebooked in May for a 2021 July sailing on the Empress.  Then again it was snatched from our dreams,  We looked forward to our last cruise, our last toast of so many, at our favorite “paradise” at the Hamilton Princess after 16 Hamilton Princess toasts to the most beautiful place that God made!  Slainte!

It is a little more money however, Oceania has a small ship that stops at St. George and Hamilton.  

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ILCTCRUISER

ILCTCRUISER

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15 minutes ago, LB_NJ said:

It is a little more money however, Oceania has a small ship that stops at St. George and Hamilton.  

We’re booked Oceania Insight this July.  Read @LB_NJ’s post and did a check.  Celebrity June 26 to King’s Wharf.  Our Oceania fare is roughly $200 less than comparable X fare and we have gratuities prepaid and a $400 OBC.  We port Hamilton and St. George.

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rvvanman

rvvanman

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We sailed on Empress in March, 2020. Little did we know that it would be the last cruise before they shut down for the Coronavirus pandemic. We loved the intimacy of the "Smallest ship with the Biggest heart". The itinerary was perfect for our plans. We wanted a quiet get-away. The crew saw to our safety as much as possible - always cleaning frequently touched surface. Gratefully, as far as we know, nobody became ill with COVID 19 during the trip. There was no delay at disembarkation, which would have been likely had there been evidence of an outbreak. We happened to have a lovely cabin - there were several unique, larger than average cabins on a couple of the upper decks that were very comfortable - but they seemed to remain a secret.

 

Not everybody needs or desires the largest ships with the latest attractions and throngs of people standing in lines. For us, the small crowds, the ease of boarding and disembarkation, the ability to easily get on and off the ship in ports, and the exceptional friendliness of the crew made all of the difference. When we were in ports, we would often be astride a much larger vessel. We watched the lines snaking down the pier as passenger were waiting to get on the ship, while we could walk right on. Easy. No stress. Greeted with a friendly welcome and a relatively short walk to our cabin.

 

We were hoping to sail on her again, but obviously will not. 

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travelinmoma

travelinmoma

Posted
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On 12/16/2020 at 10:42 AM, Bery said:

We used our FCC ($500) to rebook Empress for Bermuda in July 2021 and paying an additional $500 deposit.  We are wondering if we can now get the refund for the total of $1000. Anyone know?

We did something similar and so far they have only refunded one deposit.  😞  I feel like they should refund the whole thing if they are the ones cancelling the cruise.

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soremekun

soremekun

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11 minutes ago, WeMissSeaView said:

Empress has sailed from Muscat.  Should now be crewed by the new owner.

I wonder if the two crews spent a few days together going over transition items.  Or is it almost like going from one car to another of a different manufacturer?

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  • 2 weeks later...
twangster "Live from...." Rare

twangster

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6 hours ago, WeMissSeaView said:

Yesterday, Majesty was docked in Greece.  Today the transponder is not working.  I wonder if it is getting a new transponder.

 

Would think the AIS transmitter isn't tied to a company.  A while ago they removed the "of the Seas" and set it to broadcast simply "Majesty".  

 

Maybe they powered off the bridge and/or the entire ship to do maintenance or other work.  

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