Just back from the empress of the seas

[Spanky My]

This is my first review on here so I hope it helps somone.Trip was april 11th 11 day southern caribbean.

 

EMBARKATION: After a all nighter from portland oregon we arrived in San Juan apprx 11:30 am and went straight to the ship. Getting on board took about 25 minutes. Very smooth.

 

The SHIP: Was in very good shape . Small by most standards ,but much to our liking since it was a port intensive trip. Very clean and well kept.

 

CABIN: We had an inside cabin on level 3. It was small as others had stated so no surprise there. It was adequate/quiet and we spent very little time in our room. our cabin attendent was GREAT. We always left notes if we needed extra ice or something and he took care of all our needs.

 

Dining and Food : We sat at a table of six with some very friendly folks from arizona. We had main seating with dinner at 6:00 PM. WE also ate breakfast and snacks at the widjammer which was a buffet .The food was good to excellent. We never had a bad meal. Several have complained in the past about the quality on this forum. We had no complaints. Our waiting staff was the best we have EVER had. Even the matre'D was very talkitive and came to our table every night to answer any questions or concerns.

 

Entertainment: Well it was good some nights not so good others . I would have to say most of the other cuises we have taken had in general better entertainers overall. But everyones taste is different. We did not make every show.

 

Meet and Mingle : We met some very nice folks and chatted with them throughout the trip. To all of them we met it was enjoyable to spend time with some of you. Our OFFICIAL meet and mingle was on the 3 night prior to dinner. We had an UNofficial meet the first night after the muster drill.

 

Ports of Call : This was THE BEST itenarary we have ever been on! We visited St maarten,St Barts,St Kitts,St Lucia,Barbados,Grenada, Margarita Island ,Curacao and Aruba. We are beach and water people, so we found nice spots on many of the islands to Snorkel and relax by/in the warm ocean.We only took 2 ship tours and rented cars or did PRIVATE TOURS in most spots to go out on our own. If you like great beaches , snorkeling and water activity do this trip.

 

Disembarkation :That is the only part of the trip besides the plane trip home which was tiring and LONG! We got off the ship apprx 9:45 am after being out of our stateromm about 7:45 AM. Finding our luggage and customs was a breeze however. They lost our luggage on the way home,and it just showed up this morning.

 

Summary: This review was just OUR OPINION of the trip an realize some will have complaints no matter what the circumstances are. The crew was very friendly and we really enjoyed and would recommend this itenarary to anyone. a word of CAUTION::: Be advised that the rooms are VERY small and do research on this ship ahead of time so you KNOW what your getting into. For us it was just the right size ship. To others it maybe woefully inadequate. I would be HAPPY to answer any questions while it is FRESH in my mind. Hope you enjoyed the review. SPANKY MY

[rburns44]

Thanks for your review! I am going on the Empress in June with friends. Have never gone on a smaller ship but I know what to expect. For several it will be their first cruise so they will not be comparing ship sizes. I have to agree with you that the Southern Islands are the best!

 

Becky

[albertiger]

i will be leaving wed. for the Empress 4/29 repo. sailing. really looking forward to a small ship again! (by today's standards ;) ) :D

[Spanky My]

If people do the research and know up front that their room will not be like the LOVE BOAT/suite and maybe smaller than most, they will not be disappointed. The ship was in VERY GOOD condition overall and EASY to navigate after the first day. Enjoy your cruise and I think the service you will get by the crew we had ,will be appreciated......

[gamomluvs2cruise]

Thanks Spanky My!!! I found your review very helpful. I do have a few questions. Do you know if there is sushi available? We are going on the 5-09-05, which is a 5-day. Can you even guess at the activities or entertainment that would be offered? Thanks!:)

[Pumbaamd]

We were on the Empress when she was the Nordic Empress. We had a great cruise! I believe I've read that she is to be sold to an RCL subsidiary and going to Europe. My question is, what RCL ship will take over her southern Caribbean itinerary? That itin is too good to give up. We'd love to take that trip on another RCL ship.

[Spanky My]

I do not recall seeing ANY sushi on board either on the menu or at the windjammer on the upper back portion of the ship. We did not go to potorfino's which was a $20 dollar PP specialty restraunt however. As to the entertainment we had two nights of comedy, couple of singers, the royal caribbean empress of the seas dancers performed twice,a violinist and a pianist and a passenger talent show. You will probably get something from that list. However it changes week to week. E-mail Rccl and give them the ship and sailing date. They sent me back a list of folks performing. Expect about two-three days for a response however. Have fun....

[gamomluvs2cruise]

Spanky My... I appreciate your help and I will certainly take your advice and emal RCCL!!! We are excited just to be taking this trip!!!:)

[Robyn922]

Thanks for all the info Spanky My!!!

 

Sounds like a blast!

 

We're sailing 5/19 for a 5 day western caribbean- and it's my first cruise!!

[jillybabes]

Thanks Spanky My for the wonderful review, we will be sailing on May 14th and are looking forward to a small ship for a change.....;) Jill

[maxs mom]

SpankyMy....Welcome home and glad you had a good time. Wasn't that itinerary the best?!! Yours is the first review I've seen since we got back a month ago. We beached it in every port and they were all great. What was your favorite beach?

 

 

I asked the Loyalty Ambassador about the rumor that they were selling the ship after 2006 and she said they weren't. But I wouldn't be surprised if they do. They need to build a new small ship to do itineraries like this but that won't happen. I'm tired of the same old mass market itineraries. This one was very nice and I don't think the big ships can do it. I just keep expressing this on comment cards.

[Spanky My]

Well we visited several that were nice. We always pack our own beach umbrella's cooler and snorkel gear when going to the caribbean, so we always have shade. We went to pinel island in St maarten and took a 15 minute walk across the island opposite the water taxi and really enjoyed the snorkeling and quiet with only 6 other people on the beach. In St barts we rented a car and hit SEVERAL great spots, Gouvenor and lorient were nice. We snorkeled at lorient and saw sea turtles and a number of fish larger fish. I really like ST Barts if you are willing to get away from the masses and enjoy clean beaches too expensive to buy anything there save your money.. Margarita island we found a nice beach as we had a very nice private tour with some folks living there from indiana for the last 5 years. I would highly recommend them if you go there again. There email address is crusin_n_ style98@ yahoo.com . Ask for marcella. Great folks ,tell them Jim and ann sent you. In curacao we found SEVERAL great spots. We rented a car and drove up the island and stopped at playa fortin and playa knip. The water was CRYSTAL clear and the snorkeling at knip was great. They have little huts and tables for shade NO CHARGE!! We really like curacao. Lots of good beaches in aruba. Snorkeling however was nowher near as good in aruba as curacao. Water a little stirred up. Anyway thats my take......Spanky MY

[LindaO]

Quick Question... We sail on the Empress on Friday and would like to know who the Loyalty Ambassador is... is it Rosemare? We've sailed with her many times.. and if it is I'll definately bring her a little something from the states!

 

Thanks!!!

[Spanky My]

I am not sure . But maybe some of the Meet and Mingle crowd who I met will chime in with the answer to your question. Hey gang help out linda 0 out if you can......

[LindaO]

Thanks Spanky.... for trying... I guess I'll just wait until I get on her to find out!!! We're just happy to be cruising again!

[AltaJoe]

Thanks Spanky My!!! I found your review very helpful. I do have a few questions. Do you know if there is sushi available? We are going on the 5-09-05, which is a 5-day. Can you even guess at the activities or entertainment that would be offered? Thanks!:)

 

I was on Empress with Spanky My. On one night, sorry I can't remember which one, they brought out 1 tray of Sushi at 6:00pm in the Windjammer. By the grace of God, DW and I went up there to grab a little something to tide us over until our 8:30pm dinner. We hadn't done this previous and didn't so it again. It lasted about 10 minutes, mostly thanks to me. When it was gone, it was gone.

 

I asked Daniele, the Windjammer manager if this was something out of the ordinary and he said yes, it was an experiment. I think that its because sushi is so labor intensive.

 

I suggest you seek out Daniele and ask if they have plans for sushi on the cruise. He's always around, and wears his head closely cropped (shaved), so you can't miss him.

[herb]

the itinerary sounds great! Hoping to be able to take this cruise in the future. Glad you had a good time.

[Spanky My]

I just got the word from a fellow cruiser on the empress ,that the Loyalty Ambassador on the Empress is Jayne Colella. I hope that helps.....SpankyMY

[LindaO]

Thanks Spanky... I appreciate your research! We leave on Thursday and Sail on Friday! :)

[laurasue]

Oh I am dying to do the Empress's 11 night sailing!! Thanks for the review.... adds more fuel to my fire ;)

[donnajo]

laurasue~

 

We just booked the 11 nighter for 4/10/06. Why don't you come along?

There is a coupon in the C&A magazine for 200off per cabin (gold members) and 225off per cabin (platinum)

 

Donna

[gamomluvs2cruise]

AltaJoe...thanks for that tip.:)