Empress B2B - 14 Nights on the Biggest Little Ship

twangster · July 31, 2019

6 hours ago, Bandit236 said:

Are there any trivia games onboard?

If I was a smarter cruiser I would have been recording the answers for these three cruisers in case the questions repeat. You can always use another keychain...

4 hours ago, cruisedude29 said:

I do have on question how much does the ship rock compared to RC bigger ships?

Thanks again I am love loving this review.

Not really but I'm not sensitive to motion. It's a hard question to answer.

Sea conditions change one day to the next. On the first leg we came around Cuba and entered the Caribbean Sea. There was a gentle swell hitting us broadside and you could feel an ever so slight motion from it. On the next cruise crossing that same area and nothing, smooth as can be. One guest on the first sailing might say "Yes I could feel it" while a different guest on the next sailing doing the exact same itinerary might say "Couldn't feel a thing". They would both be right.

BTW - in this very same area I felt Allure move like I had a few more drinks than I did. It was moving more than Empress on that occasion.

The ocean is big and powerful and sailing Symphony on the transatlantic there was a swell from a distant hurricane a thousand miles away. On that occasion Symphony had more motion than Empress has.

It's sort of like asking if it was sunny on my cruise thinking the answer would indicate the chance of your cruise being sunny.

John&LaLa · August 1, 2019

12 hours ago, twangster said:

Using lessons learned from the previous night I think they came out pretty good.

Can you share what settings you used for this shot?

Jimbo · August 1, 2019

Has there been any rough seas during your b2b..........we were on that ship years ago on a repositioning from San Juan to NYC......Hit a storm between Bermuda and NYC..........The ship was really going up and down, went with a another couple. The rolling started and it really got bad. You would be lieing in bed on your back and it was so bad the rolling would turn you in your bed to your side and then back again to your back. It was like that all night.

Finally morning came and my buddy and me went up toward the front the ship and you could see the whole front of the ship take the wave on the way up and then on the way down the bow would fill up with water then back on the way up the water would pour out of the bow.

Awesome sight, we then went up to the windjammer and it was almost completely empty. Most passengers and crew and our wives were back in their cabin sea sick..............

So you know it can get bad in that ship with rough seas and storms.

After that cruise my wife said she would never sail on the ship again no matter the price or the itinerary...........The ship is just to small!!

Can't believe after they sold it, they rebought it and brought it back into service.......Still can't believe they did that....

Jimbo

perfect match · August 1, 2019

Awesome review, Twangster! Pictures, as usual for your pictures, are spectacular! Thank you!

twangster · August 1, 2019

7 hours ago, John&LaLa said:

Can you share what settings you used for this shot?

I shot this using a full frame Sony A7III with a Sony 12-24mm lens. A crop sensor body that most people shoot wouldn't be able to get this wide. The A7III also has really good low light performance, night and day from my last full frame body, a Nikon D750.

Also keep in mind I have a pretty good investment in gear. Body and lens for this shot are ~ $3,700. Not trying to brag but let's keep expectations real. A <$1k kit can shoot the Milky Way but not achieve the same results.

Camera settings shown at the top, Lightroom adjustments below that.

Using Adobe Lightroom I added a lot of clarity and adjusted other light levels and white balance. This is why I shoot in RAW. There is a lot of data captured in a RAW file that can be manipulated using software such as Lightroom. Shooting in JPEG would lose all this extra data and you would never be able to achieve these results. This is how JPEG produces a lower file size, it throws away all the extra sensor data it doesn't need for a JPEG picture. A RAW file is much bigger because it contains all the raw sensor data that was captured.

Original picture as it was captured on the left, final picture on the right after adjustments in Lightroom.

The one on the left is closer to what you see with the human eye. Between the two brightest stars you can sort of see a cloud like area with the human eye that is the center or heart of the Milky Way.

Keep in mind I've been shooting the Milky Way for several years now so I've got some previous experience on land with a firm tripod. On land you have more control and can take longer exposures, up to around 25 seconds for this focal length. That allows you to lower ISO or make other adjustments for better results. I wanted to keep the exposure shorter because of the ship's movement.

I use an app called PlanIt Pro. It has an AR feature where you can hold up your phone, adjust the time or date and it will show you where the Milky Way will be at that moment in the future.

After we left Belize heading North to Cozumel I used this app to see when and where the Milky Way would be on Night 11.

This tells me the MWC (Milky Way Center) will be visible between 8:43pm and 3:07am. At 12:16am the MWC will be as shown for the location we are at this moment in time. On land that works well, on a moving ship you don't always know where your position will be in six hours or the heading of the ship hours later so there is some guess work and extrapolation involved, but at least you know what direction to find it.

With a full moon the results would have suffered a lot. I don't try to shoot the night sky on land most of the moon phase, it works best without moon light. New moon was perfectly timed for me, that's just luck. For Costa Maya it was July 31st.

The MWC in the Northern Hemisphere is visible at night in summer months only, you can't shoot the Milky Way in the winter.

There is also a lot of luck involved. Based on the cloud cover after leaving Belize pictured above the Milky Way would not be visible. I got pretty lucky two nights in a row with the ship heading South towards the Milky Way, on the right phase of the moon, without major cloud cover. Costa Maya and Belize are close so the ship was only moving at ~8 knots.

I don't always bring my A7 with me, that's why I have the RX100VI - for travel. I threw the A7 in my backpack at the last minute.

I was in the right place at the right time with cloud cover that was in my favor on a slow moving ship with the right gear. It's pretty rare to get all that working in your favor on a cruise, on a ship with a public area that is dark. I may never get another opportunity like this.

twangster · August 1, 2019

8 hours ago, Jimbo said:

Has there been any rough seas during your b2b..........we were on that ship years ago on a repositioning from San Juan to NYC......Hit a storm between Bermuda and NYC..........The ship was really going up and down...

Can't believe after they sold it, they rebought it and brought it back into service.......Still can't believe they did that....

No rough seas, yet :)

Even Anthem got shook up pretty good in rough seas. That's why they try to avoid rough seas now. It's also why Jim Van Fleet is the Chief Meteorologist as a full time employee of the cruise line now. Going forward you likely won't hear many more Anthem/Empress stories of this nature unless they truly are unavoidable.

The point is even large ships suffer in truly rough seas.

While Empress moved out of the Royal Caribbean fleet, it didn't exactly get sold outright to a 3rd party. She moved to a related company line. When Cuba opened up but with the ability to only take small ships, the business units within the relationship worked it out so that Empress could come back to Royal.

I think there is some hope that Cuba becomes available again at some point. If it does it will only take small ships for a while so they are keeping Empress close for the moment.

Edited August 1, 2019 by twangster

bobmacliberty · August 1, 2019

1 hour ago, twangster said:

I was in the right place at the right time with cloud cover that was in my favor on a slow moving ship with the right gear. It's pretty rare to get all that working in your favor on a cruise, on a ship with a public area that is dark. I may never get another opportunity like this.

Don't forget a heavy dose of skill and preparation. Well done.

John&LaLa · August 1, 2019

3 hours ago, twangster said:

I shot this using a full frame Sony A7III with a Sony 12-24mm lens. A crop sensor body that most people shoot wouldn't be able to get this wide. The A7III also has really good low light performance, night and day from my last full frame body, a Nikon D750.

Also keep in mind I have a pretty good investment in gear. Body and lens for this shot are ~ $3,700. Not trying to brag but let's keep expectations real. A <$1k kit can shoot the Milky Way but not achieve the same results.

Camera settings shown at the top, Lightroom adjustments below that.

Using Adobe Lightroom I added a lot of clarity and adjusted other light levels and white balance. This is why I shoot in RAW. There is a lot of data captured in a RAW file that can be manipulated using software such as Lightroom. Shooting in JPEG would lose all this extra data and you would never be able to achieve these results. This is how JPEG produces a lower file size, it throws away all the extra sensor data it doesn't need for a JPEG picture. A RAW file is much bigger because it contains all the raw sensor data that was captured.

Original picture as it was captured on the left, final picture on the right after adjustments in Lightroom.

The one on the left is closer to what you see with the human eye. Between the two brightest stars you can sort of see a cloud like area with the human eye that is the center or heart of the Milky Way.

Keep in mind I've been shooting the Milky Way for several years now so I've got some previous experience on land with a firm tripod. On land you have more control and can take longer exposures, up to around 25 seconds for this focal length. That allows you to lower ISO or make other adjustments for better results. I wanted to keep the exposure shorter because of the ship's movement.

I use an app called PlanIt Pro. It has an AR feature where you can hold up your phone, adjust the time or date and it will show you where the Milky Way will be at that moment in the future.

After we left Belize heading North to Cozumel I used this app to see when and where the Milky Way would be on Night 11.

This tells me the MWC (Milky Way Center) will be visible between 8:43pm and 3:07am. At 12:16am the MWC will be as shown for the location we are at this moment in time. On land that works well, on a moving ship you don't always know where your position will be in six hours or the heading of the ship hours later so there is some guess work and extrapolation involved, but at least you know what direction to find it.

With a full moon the results would have suffered a lot. I don't try to shoot the night sky on land most of the moon phase, it works best without moon light. New moon was perfectly timed for me, that's just luck. For Costa Maya it was July 31st.

The MWC in the Northern Hemisphere is visible at night in summer months only, you can't shoot the Milky Way in the winter.

There is also a lot of luck involved. Based on the cloud cover after leaving Belize pictured above the Milky Way would not be visible. I got pretty lucky two nights in a row with the ship heading South towards the Milky Way, on the right phase of the moon, without major cloud cover. Costa Maya and Belize are close so the ship was only moving at ~8 knots.

I don't always bring my A7 with me, that's why I have the RX100VI - for travel. I threw the A7 in my backpack at the last minute.

I was in the right place at the right time with cloud cover that was in my favor on a slow moving ship with the right gear. It's pretty rare to get all that working in your favor on a cruise, on a ship with a public area that is dark. I may never get another opportunity like this.

Thank you, very enlightening

HBE4 · August 1, 2019

6 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

Thank you, very enlightening

Pun intended? 😉

John&LaLa · August 1, 2019

1 minute ago, HBE4 said:

Pun intended? 😉

Indeed

Beachammo · August 1, 2019

Fantastic review....

I'll be sailing Empress at the end of the month. This looks soo much more appealing than the Oasis Class!!

John&LaLa · August 1, 2019

3 minutes ago, Beachammo said:

Fantastic review....

I'll be sailing Empress at the end of the month. This looks soo much more appealing than the Oasis Class!!

I board Harmony Sunday.

Cool idea for a review 🤣

tcmagnum · August 1, 2019

On ‎7‎/‎30‎/‎2019 at 10:15 AM, twangster said:

With our fabulous dinner over around 10pm I was too full to retire so I changed into shorts and went for a walk outside on deck 6. Venturing forward we were sailing into some sea mist from the warm waters yet cooling air and there were some clouds in the sky but I also glimpsed what I thought was something I've photographed before in the night sky. So I went back to grab my camera and mini tripod.

I've often sailed into the sunset but tonight we were sailing into the milky way.

Capturing the milky way requires long exposures but on a moving ship in the ocean it took some playing around to find some settings that worked. With the 10 to 15 second exposures I was using I managed to catch some lighting in a distant storm on the horizon.

The bow is dark at night so the bridge crew can keep watch. The long exposures captured enough light to make the bow look like it's illuminated but it isn't, that's just low levels of ambient light

The sea mist, clouds and moving ship didn't make for the best astrophotography conditions but I'm pleased with the results.

More lightning:

On land the stars would be more precise and clear, that's the problem with shooting from a moving platform, but I'll take the results.

A place we stay up in Canada on Lake Superior...Lake Shore Salzburger Hof Resort.

Posted this information - thought you might be interested since you took these very cool pictures...

BE ALERT FOR PERSEID FIREBALLS: Earth is entering a stream of debris from giant Comet Swift-Tuttle, source of the annual Perseid meteor shower. Forecasters say the shower won't peak until Aug. 12-13, but already NASA cameras are catching Perseid fireballs streaking over the USA. The Perseids produce more fireballs than any other annual shower--largely due to the size of the parent comet--so your chances of seeing one are good. Visit today's edition of Spaceweather.com for observing tips.
https://www.meteorshowers.org/

twangster · August 1, 2019

Day 12, Cruise 2 Day 5 - Belize

I awoke late after staying up late for the Milky Way and discovered we were at anchor in Belize. Due to the great barrier reef system here and the lack of a pier or deep water harbor ships must anchor well away from shore (and the reefs) . Guest use tenders to make it anywhere.

The tenders were queuing up getting ready to take guest ashore.

One of the many tenders in use today.

Today I booked Scuba Diving through Royal Caribbean in the Cruise Planner before sailing. Catching a sale event and given the tender operations it's just easier booking through Royal especially in Belize since it's a tender port.

Our meeting point is common on many Royal ships for ship excursions, the main theater. Here all guests received a different sticker based on their excursion and we waited to be called.

When they were ready for us or excursion was called. Our dive boat picked us up right at the ship. We would never visit the Belize mainland today, we went straight to our dive boat and back. A couple of Carnival guests were already on the dive boat since we shared anchorage with the Carnival Conquest today.

in the past sometimes these dive boats will take you their dive shop to get fitted. In our case they came prepared with all of our gear and some extra stuff for size mismatches. From here it was roughly a 45 minute ride to the reef we would dive today.

i had bought a new underwater housing for my RX100. Yesterday as I was getting my stuff ready the inner gasket popped out of the track on the new housing. I spent some time trying to get it back in but there was no way I could get it to stay. Not willing to risk my favorite travel camera I went back to my old GoPro for underwater shots.

The reef is very beautiful here and the pictures don't do it justice.

A Green Moray eel wasn't very pleased with our presence.

Our dive master pointed out a resting stingray in the sand below.

Two Spotted Eagle Rays swam past at a safe distance to check us out. Very majestic with their movement.

We enjoyed two dives with a surface interval in between. This is all done with a plan to respect dive tables and how your body absorbs gases under pressure at depth.

Both were enjoyable dives but I was disappointed I could use a better camera compared to my aging GoPro. I guess I'll need to come back another time.

After the dive was over they served a box lunch and we headed back for the 45 minute ride to the ships.

We stopped first to drop off the Carnival guests at the Conquest. The Conquest class was my first introduction to Carnival when I used to sail with them a number of years ago before switching to Royal. It really struck me how badly the Conquest needed a paint job.

Finally we were off to our home around the corner.

Big difference that some routine maintenance can make.

twangster · August 1, 2019

Windjammer had American Night tonight.

Main theater tonight had the Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers performing Jazz Cabaret with music by the Empress of the Seas Orchestra.

Some acts were solo, some duets.

Music was quite good. Royal did a great job casting these performers.

Some older stuff, some newer stuff. All very well done.

Later in the Schooner Bar was Name that Tune 70's music. One group got them all correct, quite amazing given one very challenging song.

Edited August 1, 2019 by twangster

twangster · August 2, 2019

20 minutes ago, twangster said:

Day 12, Cruise 2 Day 5 - Belize

Oops. Make that:

Day 11, Cruise 2 Day 5 - Belize

The struggle is real cruising and doing a live trip report a day delayed.

twangster · August 2, 2019

Voom check in.

Morning in Belize before diving:

Also noted way out where the ships anchor was fringe for cell phone coverage. Sometimes great, sometimes not so much.

This might vary based on who your cell phone plan is with. The dive site had no coverage but as we got closer to where the ships anchor we had coverage on the dive boat.

After leaving Belize as we moved up the coast towards Cozumel much later that night after enjoying the evening activities:

Generally speaking Voom has been stable and not doing the complete but brief outages today.

Edited August 2, 2019 by twangster

cocod08 · August 2, 2019

Really enjoying the review just booked Empress for Bermuda May 2020 looks like a fantastic little ship.

perfect match · August 2, 2019

Twangster, I’m really impressed with your Milky Way pictures, and the steps you took to get them from their initial point to your final picture. Thank you for sharing the process.

I enjoyed your dive pics and description of your dive excursion there. Belize is one of the places I haven’t been diving yet. Hope to change that soon.

twangster · August 2, 2019

Day 12, Cruise 2 Day 6 - Cozumel

We were docked in Cozumel when I woke. No plans today but I'm going to take advantage of my cellular plan including Mexico in my "home" area to make some calls and get some work done. I like Cozumel so don't get me wrong but I've been a number of times this year with more stops booked. With some overcast and rain clouds in the distance I'm going stay on the ship today.

#boring

From my office (balcony) I spotted the Carnival Paradise arriving.

Carnival has modified some of these old ships to add balcony cabins. Cool idea.

Voom has been pretty stable most of the day but towards the end my VPN was flapping occasionally so the on again off again Voom struck again for an hour or so. I think it's a sign I need to stop working, like someone flipping the house lights on and off. Time to move on.

With the work day done it's time to switch into cruise mode. Happy hour is calling... and the bartenders are taking care of me.

A lot going on around the ship but I saw it last week and I'll be back the week after next so I took the time to enjoy a Crown & Anchor bottle of wine on my balcony. Something about the sea air and sound of lapping water that recharges the soul. The wine didn't hurt that effort either.

Edited August 2, 2019 by twangster

BekkaW · August 2, 2019

On 7/26/2019 at 6:22 AM, twangster said:

I wasn't aware that Empress ever had a diamond lounge in the VCL. July 2018 when I last sailed her it didn't.

Nor did she when we sailed in November 2018

twangster · August 2, 2019

Day 13, Cruise 2 Day 7 - Sea Day

Position report on our way to CocoCay tomorrow.

Calm seas today. It has the makings of a beautiful day at sea.

Chops breakfast starts with some fruit.

Eggs Benedict. Yum.

emdia43 · August 2, 2019

Is there any place to get Pizza on Empress?.

twangster · August 2, 2019

39 minutes ago, emdia43 said:

Is there any place to get Pizza on Empress?.

Windjammer. Keep in mind the WJ is open late each night and there has been pizza every night, among other selections.

twangster · August 2, 2019

Boleros

On this sea day I've got some time to kill so let's look at Boleros. I can't say enough great things about Boleros on Empress. it is the biggest and best Boleros across the whole fleet.

Located on deck 6 aft with entrances on port the port and starboard side.