May 28 Empress first sailing back with RCI live review (many pictures!)

Subscribing. Have a great cruise.

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Subscribing!

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Looking forward to seeing the "new" Empress. Have a great time!

would like to know what they are doing for diamond and Diamond Plus members on the empress. I did not see any dedicated Diamond Lounge. Please let us know how they are handling this on a nightly basis. Thank you

Thank you for this-- we have been wondering as well. I hope you have a terrific trip.

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This should be good. Looking forward to it.

Following alone, looking forward to your reports and photos.

We booked the aft owners suite on deck 8, which I will post many pictures of!!

Awesome! :D

We were given the opportunity to be one of the first ones on the Empress by the loyalty ambassador. We accepted the offer instantly! We are now going to head to the pier at 0800 tomorrow morning to be escorted on to the vessel. I plan on taking a lot of pictures!!

Even more totally awesome!!!!!! :D:D:D:D

What a great unwritten perk... have a fabulous morning!

Sailing 6/11. Same itinerary. Please post compasses if possible. Thank you and have a great trip.

We will be on the 6/11 cruise too!

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And I'm back again with an update! I wish I could reply to each one of your posts but it seems it's far too cumbersome so I'll try and address everything here at the beginning.

 

Thank you to everyone who posted so far! I'm glad to be sharing the Empress' rejoining of the fleet. I know I'm going to have a fantastic time! A little bit about our room... We booked the aft owners suite on deck 8, which I will post many pictures of!! So I am sad to say I can't give pictures of a more representative cabin. I will try and peak in a few when cleaning is going on and report back.

 

For requests, I will post the cruise compass each day, all of the pages. I do not done in the MDR often so I might not get a menu picture from there, I will try to get one if they have a stand outside! If anyone has any special requests for pictures of the Empress ask away! I want to document as much of the ship as I can.

 

I apologise for spelling mistakes the next few days small screen curse with added spellcheck nightmare!! :)

 

To bring everyone up to date... We are staying at the Marriott in downtown Miami. We are really close to the port for a good reason. Our previous room was upgraded and now we have a very spacious hotel room for the night. Not bad!

 

 

After lunch at a local place, I walked down to that triangular island south of Dodge Island. I hustled because it sounded like someone was leaving (at 1430!) But alas after waiting for half an hour, it was not to be. I wish I could have walked further or caught a ship leaving, but I did see Royal Caribbean's headquarters, and get yet another neck arching glimpse of the Empress of the Seas. The suspense is killing me! The Enchantment was perfectly content hiding behind RCCLs HQ.

 

 

 

 

We were given the opportunity to be one of the first ones on the Empress by the loyalty ambassador. We accepted the offer instantly! We are now going to head to the pier at 0800 tomorrow morning to be escorted on to the vessel. I plan on taking a lot of pictures!!

 

Getting on the ship early and one of the first will be fun. It turns what I always consider a wash day (embarkation day) into a fully fledged day on the ship. So excited!

 

I pre purchased voom surf stream. I will check it with D discounts and do some speed tests for those who are wondering. I will make to to have at least one, maybe two updates a day! I'll make sure to post an ongoing commentary about the ship, as well as my final review once I get back to Citrus county.

 

Hope you all enjoy the trip as much as I will!

 

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I will be in 8004 in a few weeks. I think that is right next door.

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What a great early boarding perk! What is a loyalty ambassador and how did you get picked? Can't wait!

22 years ago we found out our 6 year old son's cancer had spread and his prognosis was VERY poor. We desperately planned what we thought would be our last family vacation with him...a 3 day cruise on Empress of the Seas. (Nordic Empress back then) The only cabin that was available (we booked it 3 days prior to sailing) was the aft owners suite...I think the one you are staying in!!! It cost us $4000 for the 4 of us to go. (our daughter was 3) I went out and bought a video camera in order to document the entire trip. (Did I mention we had no money...but who cared?) It was an amazing trip that we will always cherish. I hope to sail in that same cabin someday soon! Our son...well, after being told he had 9 months to live, he is a happy, successful 28 year old!!! I really look forward to your pictures of the ship and your suite. Thank you!!!

Thank you for sharing! Booking today.:)

Looking forward to your review!

Looking forward to your review!

Amazing story Tiggercat!

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22 years ago we found out our 6 year old son's cancer had spread and his prognosis was VERY poor. We desperately planned what we thought would be our last family vacation with him...a 3 day cruise on Empress of the Seas. (Nordic Empress back then) The only cabin that was available (we booked it 3 days prior to sailing) was the aft owners suite...I think the one you are staying in!!! It cost us $4000 for the 4 of us to go. (our daughter was 3) I went out and bought a video camera in order to document the entire trip. (Did I mention we had no money...but who cared?) It was an amazing trip that we will always cherish. I hope to sail in that same cabin someday soon! Our son...well, after being told he had 9 months to live, he is a happy, successful 28 year old!!! I really look forward to your pictures of the ship and your suite. Thank you!!!

Thank you for sharing this personal story. It touched my heart. Best wishes to all of your family.

22 years ago we found out our 6 year old son's cancer had spread and his prognosis was VERY poor. We desperately planned what we thought would be our last family vacation with him...a 3 day cruise on Empress of the Seas. (Nordic Empress back then) The only cabin that was available (we booked it 3 days prior to sailing) was the aft owners suite...I think the one you are staying in!!! It cost us $4000 for the 4 of us to go. (our daughter was 3) I went out and bought a video camera in order to document the entire trip. (Did I mention we had no money...but who cared?) It was an amazing trip that we will always cherish. I hope to sail in that same cabin someday soon! Our son...well, after being told he had 9 months to live, he is a happy, successful 28 year old!!! I really look forward to your pictures of the ship and your suite. Thank you!!!

Thank you for sharing. All I can say is God is good all the time and all the time God is good. Would be wonderful to do a family cruise once again.

So anxious to see some pictures. Anyone have some to post?

So anxious to see some pictures. Anyone have some to post?

I will be posting tonight! Heres some teasers....

She's such a beautiful ship!!!

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Thank you!!!

I doubt I will ever sail on her again, but really interested in seeing if she is anything like she was back in 1996 when I sailed on the Nordic Empress (the ships name at that time).

I know she has probably completely changed, but it will still be fun to see how she changed. I'll be sailing along in spirit.

Have a great cruise and Bon Voyage......

Gwen :)

I'm also sailing on the Empress 6/11 sailing. I can't remember is this ship has a solarium, but if so. I'd love to see a picture of it.

Excellent start!! Looking forward to the rest as we were one of the first cancelled. Nordic Empress was our second RCI ship after Song of America!

Following along! Have a blast!