Empress of the Seas

[travel12]

I would really like to hear comments from those who have taken January and February cruises on the Empress. There haven't been many comments lately. I am booked for February 2006 and like to hear everything I can about the ships I cruise on before my actual trip. All comments would be welcome.

 

Brenda

[Spanky My]

Not sure why we have had very few reviews since december. Hopefully folks who have taken the 11 day trek on the Empress of the seas will chime in with the good and bad from january and February....

[maxs mom]

A new group just got back today. Maybe someone will post tomorrow. We leave on Monday. You'll hear from me when we get back. Gotta go pack!:D

[denb]

We were on the January 17th 11 night cruise. Apologies in advance that we only have the first part done. Maybe this weekend we'll add part 2.

 

As we’ve seen in posts before, the main attraction of this cruise was the ports of call rather than the ship itself. However, Empress had nostalgic value for us, since our very first cruise in 1992 was on Nordic Empress. Being our first cruise, did a 3 night Bahamas and we were in a lower inside cabin. We’ve come along ways, as this was our fifteenth cruise and we were in an owner’s suite. Nordic Empress was recently refurbished and renamed Empress of the Seas. The refurbishing was nicely done, in our opinion, with the additions of Portofino’s, Ben & Jerry’s and Latte-tudes. It doesn’t have all the amenities of the newer ships, but with all the ports of calls, we had plenty to do. Our suite (Theodora Suite – 9184) was great. It was one of the aft suites with two balconies. One off the bedroom (we could lie in bed and see the stars at night) and the other off the sitting area. Each area had it’s own flat panel wide screen TV. It had amble closet area. One double door closet with mirrors for the Mrs and one single door closet for the Mr. It also had a Jacuzzi tub in the large bathroom. One of the decks had the lounge chairs and the other deck had a nice size table large enough to have a meal on, along with seating for four. Our room had a refrigerator and an “unsafe”. It was a safe that wasn’t bolted down and basically served as a place to put all our valuables and save someone the time in locating them. You could just pick up and walk off with the safe.

 

 

Back to the beginning…we flew to San Juan a day early and stayed at the Marriott San Juan Resort and Stellaris Casino, which would have been a nice destination in itself. It was on the beach, had a casino and was close to eating (right across the street was a Starbucks and a Gelattos) and shopping. The next morning we took a cab and arrived at the pier (Pan American) at 11:15. We were sixth in line for boarding and after a brief wait and the first ones in the suite check-in line, we were onboard at 12:00. The hallways to the staterooms were closed off and you could only access the public areas until 1:30. We went to the Windjammer and explored the ship until 1:30. We were unpacked by 2:30 and had our muster drill at 5:30. Our muster station was in Boleros, so we were quite comfortable. Sail away was at 6:00 and this Captain was always on time leaving the ports and always arrived early to give us more time in the ports, sometimes as much as two hours. First kid sighting was at 6:30 pm running past Café Latte-tudes to Schooner Bar and at 6:31 was seen running back. All in all, there were very few kids and they were never a problem.

 

 

ship and room pictures:

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW7jA

 

Day One – St. Maarten

 

 

Arrival – 8:00 (two hours early). We were docked next to Jewel of the Seas with Queen Mary II anchored off shore. This being our first port of call, we didn’t want to be on a schedule. The Empress was backed in giving us a panoramic view of Philipsburg and it’s bay. We ordered room service and had it on our deck and enjoyed the view. Later we went ashore and stocked up on Starbucks coffee, diet Dr. Pepper, Champagne, and souvenir shirts. Back on board, we enjoyed the ships Jacuzzi and poolside drinks. The Empress set sail at 5:00pm. We don’t go to shows that feature the onboard singers and dancers. We prefer to wait until they have guest entertainers, particularly the comedians.

[mwsrccl]

Great job so far denb! Keep it up!!

[travel12]

Thanks so much for the first installment. I am looking forward to the remaining story.

 

Brenda

[sgttami]

My husband and I were in the same suite (9184) in November and the pictures of the suite brought back memories (all good!!) We never did take pictures of the room...it will be hard to go back to "just a plain balcony" cabin, especially one without a jacuzzi tub in the bathroom.

 

In addition we also stayed at Marriott and would have loved to spend a few extra days there..we really wanted to have a drink IN the pool where the little bar was but time wouldn't allow it. We had 15th floor ocean/pool room and one of these days plan on spending time there, whether it's before a cruise or just a getaway...

 

Looking forward to hearing about how you enjoyed the rest of your trip.....

[onevacationlover]

I just cancelled our cruise (few weeks ago) for 3/28 on this ship because we could only get an interior and I had heard the cabins were small; therefore I cancelled. After seeing your pictures, we definitely did the right thing because we too wanted a suite. Thanks for the pictures, we did to book way in advance to get what we want.

R

[denb]

Forgot..... Some of our pictures from St. Maarten.

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW7yA

[onevacationlover]

Oh, I liked the stuffed animal..

R

[denb]

Day Two – St. Barts

 

 

Arrival – 7:00. This was our only port where we had to tender, but it was worth it, because the view of the island from the ship was spectacular. Our shore excursion was snorkeling at Colombier, inside the Marine Park. It was a great excursion, but unfortunately, the sky was overcast, so the clarity wasn’t as good as it could have been. There was a digital photographer as part of the excursion and he was selling DVD’s of underwater shots as well as shots he took of us. There were only two good pictures of us, but we paid the $45 for the DVD anyway. It seemed a little pricey. We had been told by the dealers in the casino that St. Barths is an island for the rich and famous and the locals can be a little on the snobby side. The locals know English, but often will speak in French. The crew ended up being very nice. After our excursion, we wanted to go shopping. There weren’t many shops near the tender pier, so we only went into one, bought a $29.00 T-shirt and went back to the ship. There was a very nice yacht anchored just off our starboard side which we were admiring. Among the many toys the yacht had, was a helicopter. The yacht was The Octopus and we’d seen it in Ft. Lauderdale before. While we were watching it, a man and woman and someone who looked like a bodyguard came out and got into the helicopter and took off. The captain made an announcement that the owner of the yacht was Bill Gates. As we set sail, The Octopus followed us for awhile and then we went our separate ways. As we left, we could see St. Maarten in the distance. The two islands are very close. The show that night was the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers in Viva. It was high energy Latin. We didn’t go to it. That night was a pool party with Calypso band and dancing bar waiters followed by the Caribbean buffet.

Pictures:

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW70Y

[maxs mom]

OOOOOOOHHH! I am enjoying your pictures! We are packing right now and leave on this cruise on Monday! Keep it coming!

[denb]

Day Three – St. Kitts

 

 

Arrival – 7:00. Our excursion for the day was the Scenic Rail Tour. We’re still trying to get that song out of our head. Come ride the scenic train…. There were two tours offered. One at 7:30 and the other at 10:30. Of course, everyone wanted the 10:30, so it was sold out and we got the 7:30. We went to the Windjammer for an early breakfast and there was a crew member who took our cabin number. They were conducting a “survey”. When we walked by the pool and jacuzzi’s, they were closed for “cleaning”. Everywhere you looked there were crew members spraying and wiping everything down. That was odd. Since our tour was at 7:30, we went down to the debarkation deck at 7:00. The crew member told us it was taking a while to get cleared because there were so many sick passengers. He said there was even a possibility that we wouldn’t be allowed to disembark. It would depend on the St. Kitts officials. We later learned that a passenger came on board sick. It was now rapidly spreading from one passenger to the next. The previous night, 40 passengers had called down to the infirmary. Those passengers were quarantined and not allowed to leave their cabins for 72 hours. The crew was given a red alert and all were called upon to begin the sanitization process. Wash everything down with bleach water. While we were in St. Kitts, the crew tried to be discreet so as not panic the other passengers into thinking they were sick. After St. Kitts, they didn’t even try to be discreet, you could see the bleach spray on everything and had to be careful what you leaned against, cause if it got on your clothes, it would bleach out spots. When you went into any dining area, they would squirt the hand sanitizer onto your hands. It was no longer a voluntary request, it was mandatory. All in all, the crew did a great job of doing what they could to minimize the number of illnesses. You just had to put it in the back of your mind and not let it ruin your vacation. We took every precaution we could and washed our hands 20 times a day and were fortunate not to get sick.

 

 

Now back to St. Kitts and the scenic train. The ship was cleared at about 8:00 and after a short bus transfer, we boarded our train. As it turned out, the 7:30 excursion was a great time to go. It wasn’t very crowded and we had plenty of room. There was an upper and lower deck on the train. It was such a beautiful day, everyone was on the upper deck which was a covered open air deck. A hostess on each car offered drinks throughout the trip, no extra charge. This included water, soft drinks, and frozen drinks. Each car was equipped with an ice blending machine. The advantage of taking a train ride through the island is we got to see vistas that could only be seen from the train which went through lots of sugar plantations, as well as through villages and along the coastline. There were lots of photo ops and it was beautiful and relaxing. The tour commentator spoke excellent English and everyone was very friendly. St. Kitts seems to be a developing tourist attraction. They have a shopping area built, but have not yet filled it with open shops. The shopping leaved much to be desired. While there is a great deal of poverty by our standards, the people seem happy and friendly. St. Kitts is a beautiful island and will only improve as a destination.

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW7nQ

[LKitt82566]

I am enjoying you review!

Great pictures!

[Spanky My]

Dont stop here. Many folks are enjoying your thoughts and comments!

[travel12]

This is a great way to do a review. I like the pictures at the end of each island description.I wish the next year would go by in a flash so that I can enjoy my cruise as much as you enjoyed yours.

What would be an example of a dinner in the main dining room...start to finish?

[JMA]

I also am very interested in hearing more about the Empress of the Seas....we are considering a cruise in Feb. 06, because of the itinerary....we have cruised almost every line except RCCL; just got off the Dawn Princess.....and love the Southern Caribbean....

 

 

 

JMA

[Swedish Chef]

We too have booked for Feb.2006 and look forward to some reviews, we booked into the JS 9684 and would like to hear from people who have stayed in that room.

 

Thanks

[denb]

Day 4 – St. Lucia

 

Arrival – 10:00, but the captain got us there early and we were cleared by 8:30. There’s a rain forest on St. Lucia and it rained off and on the entire day. We could see the Pitons coming into port, and there was a rainbow across the entire bay. We’ve been to St. Lucia before, so we decided to take it easy and just go shopping. We waited for a break between showers and then went down to the Pointe Seraphine Shopping Complex. It’s basically a mini-mall. We bought a 512GB memory card for our digital camera. Maybe not the best deal, but it was only day four and we were already running out of memory. There is another shopping area that you can get to via water taxi. We got back on the ship befoe the next shower. St. Lucia is a very lush island…… maybe because of all the rain, huh?

 

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW72Q

[denb]

Day 5 – Barbados

 

 

Arrival 7:00 There was a lot of shore excursions offered and lots to do, but we decided on a Catamaran Sail and Snorkel. Our first stop was an area where we swam with (huge) turtles. Too many people, too few turtles. We did get to touch them, but the other passengers kept us from getting too much one on one time with them. The second stop was at a sunken ship wreck and plenty of space there. Lots of fish and beautiful, clear water. The catamaran then pulled up to the shore and the beach had the best sand of any beach we’ve ever been on. The sand was so soft, it was like walking on powder. Our table mates had been to the beach on every island we’d been to so far, and this was their favorite. The name of the beach was called Brown’s Beach. So here we were in Barbados on beautiful Browns Beach drinking an ice cold Banks beer, with our mascot Beav. It was the best. Although we arrived by boat, this beach is a short taxi ride from the pier. We think our table mates said it was $10 admission which included beach chairs and umbrella. After our tour, we got back onboard and had lunch. We got back off to shop at the pier. It was limited shopping. We would have liked to do more on this island and seen more of it. We didn’t get a feel of what the culture what like. We heard mixed reviews about the downtown shopping. Some said the people were very friendly, some felt uncomfortable. I’d like to know how the ones who felt uncomfortable felt about shopping at Margarita Island. One of Bridgetown’s claim to fame is Tiger Woods got married on this island. That was a good payday for the island that day. Tiger also leased every helicopter on the island to keep unwelcome guests out. Entertainment onboard was The Comedy and Magic of Nick Lewin. Finally, a show we could enjoy. Let’s skip Margarita Island and go back to Barbados.

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW7po

[denb]

Thanks to everyone for their positive comments. It's given us the boost we needed to put our notes together and finish our review.

[denb]

Day 6 – Grenada

 

Arrival 7:00 Grenada had been devastated from a hurricane and they were still in the process of recovering. It was a Sunday when we docked and the shops were not open, only a few vendors at the spice market. We walked up to the fort that we could see from the ship. The view from the fort was worth the walk, but along the way, we could see the damage from the hurricane. We could also see another dock on the other side from atop the fort. We had been at that dock the last time we were in Grenada and there was more to do within walking distance from there. Since we didn’t have a shore excursion, there wasn’t much to do, so we had a ship day. Ship days are nice too. We read, had drinks by the pool, played chess, napped, ate, walked, took a jacuzzi, and napped again. Another passenger told us that a cab driver on Grenada told them to be careful on Margarita Island. They said everything was at least 45 miles away from the dock and the drivers usually didn’t speak English, so keep that in mind. They also said it wasn’t uncommon for the cab driver to carry a gun. Don’t know if it’s true, but we decided not to take a cab ride anywhere.

 

http://share.shutterfly.com/osi.jsp?i=EeAMmzFqyZuW7rg

[Nyco]

denb Thanks for the great shots and your review

 

Now if i only new who is booking the room i wanted :D :D

Swedish Chef We too have booked for Feb.2006 and look forward to some reviews, we booked into the JS 9684 and would like to hear from people who have stayed in that room.

[Swedish Chef]

I'll be Happy to give you room 9684 if you can get me 9184, I booked this room 9684 the beginning of Jan.05 and I can't believe there are only rooms on the 3rd deck left.:D Hint as to the Swedish Chef - He lives where the greatest Hockey Player of all times came from and now owns a Team in Arizona:cool:

[travel12]

Your island by island descriptions are great. Waiting for more!