Live from Empress - May 20, 2017 (Key West, Havana, and Cozumel)

Entertainment during dinner, courtesy of waitstaff.

Edited to add the short report confirms shorts in MDR was NOT a day 1 phenomenon. More seen tonight.

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Love all the pics!! Cannot wait to see some from Cuba!

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Schooner Bar Menu

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Just out of curiosity - was the ceviche legit (as in - the fish was not pre-cooked before soaking in the citrus juices)? I'm kind of a ceviche snob.

I also realize that may not be the best thing to be a snob about ... citrus juice cooked fish. Sigh.

Just out of curiosity - was the ceviche legit (as in - the fish was not pre-cooked before soaking in the citrus juices)? I'm kind of a ceviche snob.

 

I also realize that may not be the best thing to be a snob about ... citrus juice cooked fish. Sigh.

I'm sorry - I actually don't know when/if I ever had ceviche before, so I can't answer. I can say that our guide said it was made with locally sourced shrimp that is only available here due to over fishing.

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Went to the production show, Bailamos, and it was very good. Lots of talent on stage. Not supposed to take photos (and I'm a little gun-shy about doing so having been yelled at recently for doing it!), so I only have the bows to show you.

A bit of time between plans, so listened to some more Billy Pando.

Ended the night in Boleros, listening to Latin music before the majority rules game show (in which my team did NOT win!!) The hosts were a lot of fun!

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Day 3 Cruise Compass ( [emoji1083])

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Hoping to get to sleep as I am planning an early morning- hoping to see sail into port. Will probably post again when I get back from CUBA!! [emoji1083]

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Loving your review. Great photos and no you can never have enough photos, you're doing great. Key West is such a fun little town.

First, thanks a bunch for posting this live review!!:cool: I am loving all of the pictures! We have 4 couples doing this itinerary in October, 2018! I know it's a long way off but I am already excited about it! Wondering about the required Visa to get off in Cuba; cruisers can purchase this on board ($75), right? Is it any cheaper to purchase one pre-cruise? (Clueless when it comes to Visas) Also, do you need to be signed up for a "tour" to walk around Cuba or can you just get off of the ship and walk around on your own? Looking forward to seeing all of the vintage vehicles, tasting some Cuban cuisine, and picking up some cigs for friends back home!;p

First, thanks a bunch for posting this live review!!:cool: I am loving all of the pictures! We have 4 couples doing this itinerary in October, 2018! I know it's a long way off but I am already excited about it! Wondering about the required Visa to get off in Cuba; cruisers can purchase this on board ($75), right? Is it any cheaper to purchase one pre-cruise? (Clueless when it comes to Visas) Also, do you need to be signed up for a "tour" to walk around Cuba or can you just get off of the ship and walk around on your own? Looking forward to seeing all of the vintage vehicles, tasting some Cuban cuisine, and picking up some cigs for friends back home!;p

Yes, Visa is currently $75 for US citizens and it is added to your sea pass account. Honestly I don't know if you can get it elsewhere for a different price.

I can 100% confirm that you do NOT need a cruise tour. You can just walk off the ship and nobody really cares what you do (nobody asks.)

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Alter Ego, thank you for your wonderful review! Do you know what time passengers were able to leave the ship if they did not book a tour through RCCL?

Thank you for the wonderful live review. Hoping you had a great time in Cuba and post lots of photos.

I'm enjoying and learning so much from your posts! Will be on the May 29th cruise! Thank you very much!

Following. This is all really fascinating.

Soon thereafter, we were in Key West.

Wow, it's unusual nowadays to see an open "conning wing" on the side of the bridge like that, where the Captain (it's almost always him/her) uses the thruster controls to dock the ship. Nifty!

It's enclosed on nearly all modern ships....kinda wonder what happens when Empress is docking in the rain. I guess the Captain just gets wet. :)

Sorry - no pix from Cuba tonight. Need to go through them and am, well, a little tipsy as will become clear in a minute...

MDR room menus...

Breakfast

Dinner

So bummed - I don't have a dessert menu from tonight because I went to Chef's table tonight. Yes, anyone reading who was in Chops tonight, it was my Chef's Table group that was a little...loud tonight. I love Chef's Table and have been lucky to get great groups. I have been similarly lucky tonight- really great group of people. And I'm not saying that because Joseph poured me three (four?) chocolate martinis. I really liked everyone.

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Amuse bouche not included on menu. Probably my least favorite of the night. Crab with champagne jelly.

The rest in menu order (I apologize- I had the worst lighting of everyone.):

Sorry - I need to stop. I'm having a posting issue;Tapatalk is giving me problems. Will try to post again after Phil Tag's (sure to be) phenomenal comedy show. Seriously, he was in the welcome show and I've heard people quoting him all week. His adult only show is sure to be funny. Sorry for any delay!!

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Thank you so much for doing this thread, we are on the July 15th sailing and all this information is great.

Trying again to finish dinner.

Starting from lobster...

Finally success!! Tapatalk did not like the lobster photo- note to others, sometimes when there is an issue, Tapatalk likes a screen shot of your photo (the photo itself is too big). Now continuing...

The aforementioned Chocolate Martini (#1)

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Something slightly unusual.

Sometimes you get a galley tour when you order Chef's Table. But, nobody recalled having it during a busy dinner rush - until tonight. Between the ravioli and beef, the chef took us back to see the kitchen. Honestly, it was a different experience to see the kitchen staff during rush time. There are two dining room kitchens- 4th and 5th. We went into the 5th, which handles MTD and Chops. (Here is where I will inject my apology to the MTD patrons who heard us coming and going.)

It was interesting to see the respect the chef had. In fact, once we walked in, he immediately checked on something before coming back to us.

Chef!

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Will end the night with

Day 4 Cruise Compass

Will unfortunately leave you hanging for another day. Posting is actually a long process and I have both informative and fun pictures from Havana to go through. Luckily, we don't land in Cozumel until late!

But first, is this a turtle?

Good night everyone!

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No worries!! Enjoy your cruise first!! Sounds like you had a great time with friends!!:cool: Oh, I see you're up!! Good morning sunshine!!:D Feeling great, I hope!!:rolleyes:

Found this this morning (I tend not to look at the junk included with the Cruise Compass.) I thought I knew what time it was - even checked the TV. But, apparently my phone didn't update automatically and it's an hour earlier.

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I have slightly disappointing news - my grand idea for posting good Havana photos didn't work. Furthermore, at some point my phone was acting funny, so missed several great photo ops. I still have some to show you, but will need to download the others when I get home.

Will start with informational posts and finish with a brief Havana tour. Hope you enjoy.

I heard 1,000 people had cruise excursions, with 400 taking the 8, no 7, no 6 hour tour. Those people were told to meet at various times in the Royal Theatre and, maybe (?) Boleros. Those traveling independently were told to go to Schooners. That was basically to reconfirm that everyone had their Visa, Passport and Sea Pass card. After that, we were okay to leave. We disembarked from the 5th deck and they had the exit corded off for those in the excursions coming from the theatre - somebody simply opened the rope and let me through.

You first have to go through immigration. There are many lines and it didn't take long to get through.

You then go through security, with your belongings x-ray'd. Then, you are free.

Currency exchange is unmissable. There are 12 (?) cashiers. Didn't take long at all.

Infamous stairs. There is also an elevator (but crew staff warned that it may not always work. I saw people using it.)

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