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

[ADS94]

Rock climbing wall!

 

 

Some construction still. This is the only area of the ship I've seen construction still ongoing.

 

 

Viking Crown Lounge & Fitness Centre

 

 

 

 

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[jaspercat]

I am so jealous:)

 

Thank you taking time out from your cruise to post your great pics. Have a fantastic cruise!

[ADS94]

Boleros Lounge at Muster

 

 

 

I'm at karaoke right now. I took this picture during Muster.

 

 

Drink #3 of the cruise.

 

 

Staff have been nothing but eager and energetic. Everyone seems to be so relieved we are underway! Nothing but smiles and laughs. A few glitches here and there. The big word is Cuba though. It's the most talked about thing between the staff and C&A folks. Rumour is going around that it's August she'll go.

 

Prop wash, we are underway!

 

 

 

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[ADS94]

Schooner Bar

 

 

 

Card Room

 

 

RC Online

 

 

Speaking of online... Heres the VOOM Surf + Stream speed test

 

 

The Centrum. Looks beautiful!

 

 

The ship looks brand new. Royal did an amazing job with this ship. She doesn't look her age at all! I was just on the Grandeur and she certainly showed her age. The Empress of the Seas could be a brand new ship for all I knew. Her age only shows with the junior suites with their door placements. If Pullmanter drove her into the ground then they spent enough time to make sure she was brought to Royal's standards.

 

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[Destaw71835]

What was the emergency?

 

The ship looks amazing!

[ADS94]

What was the emergency?

 

The ship looks amazing!

It's even better in person!

 

I don't know. Everyone I talked to was mum about it. Don't know if that was because they didn't know or didn't want to say.

 

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[Citymom92]

Such terrific pictures! I don't have anything to compare her to, but I think the Empress looks beautiful. If you have a chance, could you get a pic of the bar menu, particularly bourbons available on Empress? Thanks!

[Clarea]

...

 

Speaking of online... Heres the VOOM Surf + Stream speed test

 

 

 

...

 

Excellent speeds from the high earth orbit satellite.

[Citymom92]

Thanks Bob for the interpretation of the internet speeds! It's all Greek to me.

[NCEMT]

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!!!

 

 

What a touching story. THank you for sharing

[Royalty X]

The ship looks amazing!!! [emoji7]

 

Can you please take a pic of the ship models in the gift shop (if they have them)?

 

If you're using the tapatalk app, I sent you a message...

[NCEMT]

I love the pictures! We were cancelled twice, and went on the carnival sensation for the same week, May 9th.. I wish we could have changed to a later Empress Cruise

[molsonschooner]

Excellent speeds from the high earth orbit satellite.

 

Those are faster speeds than I was getting at home until I switched to a different provider

[Setting sail for fun]

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!!!

 

 

 

So happy for you and your family.

What a blessing!

[Setting sail for fun]

Following along. What an exciting first day.... And your photos are great!

[ADS94]

More coming today. Greetings from the island of Cuba!

 

Phone GPS confirmed it... Sailing past Cuba this trip.

 

 

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Edited May 29, 2016 by ADS94

[ADS94]

 

Edit: Havana, Cuba

 

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Edited May 29, 2016 by ADS94

[ltjessec]

The ship looks empty/non crowded. Is that the case?

[travelwide]

Did the D,D+ and Pinnacle meet in some small corner of one of the few lounges for Happy Hour last evening or were you told there is no nightly event only to use your three vouchers on your card? I saw the letter and drink menu you posted but am confident there is still a nightly event.

 

I am keeping this simple so that this post is not deleted from this thread. Just a simple question I, and I assume others who it pertains to, would like answered.

 

Thank you and have a great day!!!

[beej]

What a great first day. DH is really getting excited about Cuba and seeing all the old cars. Have to keep ears to the ground for more info. Thanx for a great first day

[Jodi Cruiser]

she looks amazing! This was our honeymoon ship 17 years ago and can't wait to sail her in a few weeks> if you could post some info on food and drinks it would be greatly appreciated. Keep up the great work and have a great cruise:)

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

Thanks for sharing!! Love to see the smaller ships getting love!!

 

 

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[jsausley]

My brother and I are onboard as well. I'm echoing a lot of your sentiments. This is his first RCI cruise and I've told him to be aware that it does not represent your standard RCI cruise.

 

The ship is beautiful and I love the lay out. I love Boleros, the Starlight dining room and the casino. They are all gorgeous and the new seating surfaces, tables, etc. all look great. It was really nice having silverware last night at dinner that may have never been used before -- no water spots or markings from going through the cleaning process.

 

We are jealous of your suite -- I won this booking fro Casino Royale while on the Grandeur in March so we just have an inside stateroom. It is a little claustrophobic -- I'm used to a balcony room.

 

The staff has been wonderful with the exception of our waiter last night. We are on my time but we had a 15-20 delay between every course. Everyone else has been wonderful -- the casino host and dealers, the Windjammer staff and our stateroom attendant.

 

The Windjammer layout is horrendous. It is the only part of the ship that reflects its age. Traffic is horrible and with a sold out booking like this It takes forever to maneuver through the lines. We will be doing breakfast in the dining room from now on, most likely.

 

Overall I love the ship and I am hoping to book a cruise to Cuba when they are announced. Some teething problems though, but that's to be expected.

 

Can we visit your suite? :P

[Paulette3028]

My brother and I are onboard as well. I'm echoing a lot of your sentiments. This is his first RCI cruise and I've told him to be aware that it does not represent your standard RCI cruise.

 

The ship is beautiful and I love the lay out. I love Boleros, the Starlight dining room and the casino. They are all gorgeous and the new seating surfaces, tables, etc. all look great. It was really nice having silverware last night at dinner that may have never been used before -- no water spots or markings from going through the cleaning process.

 

We are jealous of your suite -- I won this booking fro Casino Royale while on the Grandeur in March so we just have an inside stateroom. It is a little claustrophobic -- I'm used to a balcony room.

 

The staff has been wonderful with the exception of our waiter last night. We are on my time but we had a 15-20 delay between every course. Everyone else has been wonderful -- the casino host and dealers, the Windjammer staff and our stateroom attendant.

 

The Windjammer layout is horrendous. It is the only part of the ship that reflects its age. Traffic is horrible and with a sold out booking like this It takes forever to maneuver through the lines. We will be doing breakfast in the dining room from now on, most likely.

 

Overall I love the ship and I am hoping to book a cruise to Cuba when they are announced. Some teething problems though, but that's to be expected.

 

Can we visit your suite? :P

 

We have been on Her Majesty many times, and can compare by seeing how tight the WJ is from the pictures posted here of WJ on Empress....Her Majesty WJ was difficult at times for breakfast, this clearly looks much tighter.....so if lots of people head to MDR for breakfast that will make it easier all around.

[LMaxwell]

Windjammer serving some food until 1:00AM; appropriate for a party ship. hopefully spreads to other ships.