Empress B2B - 14 Nights on the Biggest Little Ship

[Mrs.Dukes]

Thank you for your great trip report. I am really enjoying it! Nordic Empress was our first cruise many years ago! Hope the rest of your cruise is great!

[twangster]

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.

[Biker19]

@twangster needs to be compensated by RCI for these threads.

[Merion_Mom]

16 minutes ago, Biker19 said:

@twangster needs to be compensated by RCI for these threads.

 

 

+1

[TwizzlersAddict]

5 hours ago, twangster said:

 

 

Hands down the coolest cruise shot I've ever seen.!!!

[FIRELT5]

Does the Empress offer a sit down lunch in the Star Light dinning room on Sea Days ??

 

Also Since the Empress doesn’t have a Suite or Diamond Lounge, What amenities does the Empress offer to D+ and Pinnacle folks ??

[twangster]

21 minutes ago, FIRELT5 said:

Does the Empress offer a sit down lunch in the Star Light dinning room on Sea Days ??

 

Also Since the Empress doesn’t have a Suite or Diamond Lounge, What amenities does the Empress offer to D+ and Pinnacle folks ??

 

Yesterday at sea there was a brunch offered in the MDR 9am to noon.  No lunch.

 

All Diamond and above have the usual 3 drink coupons available 5 - 8:30pm.  Diamond Plus, Pinnacle and Gold Card Suites are included in the Chops Grille breakfast every morning.  Beyond that there is no dedicated space like a lounge offered.  As a Diamond Plus I have felt more acknowledgment of that level from the crew here on Empress.  That isn't anything tangible that you can assign a value to but it is something compared to other ships.  

 

Being a smaller ship there tend to be fewer top elite.  I've been on cruises with several hundred D+ and on those you are more of a fish in sea but with the lower numbers on Empress the crew do get to know you and who is who.  There are 17 of us D+ and 2 Pinnacles on this sailing.  

 

On the first cruise a Pinnacle member sitting beside me at the Schooner Bar asked something about the drinks in a pleasant and friendly tone.  "We'll take care of you" was the response.  That's not a policy written on paper but there does seem to be an effort that I have noticed to be aware and take care of me.  That works for me because I am friendly with the crew and get to know them on a first name basis.  Someone who is abrasive or demanding simply because of their C&A level might not fare as well.  

[FIRELT5]

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

 

Yesterday at sea there was a brunch offered in the MDR 9am to noon.  No lunch.

 

All Diamond and above have the usual 3 drink coupons available 5 - 8:30pm.  Diamond Plus, Pinnacle and Gold Card Suites are included in the Chops Grille breakfast every morning.  Beyond that there is no dedicated space like a lounge offered.  As a Diamond Plus I have felt more acknowledgment of that level from the crew here on Empress.  That isn't anything tangible that you can assign a value to but it is something compared to other ships.  

 

Being a smaller ship there tend to be fewer top elite.  I've been on cruises with several hundred D+ and on those you are more of a fish in sea but with the lower numbers on Empress the crew do get to know you and who is who.  There are 17 of us D+ and 2 Pinnacles on this sailing.  

 

On the first cruise a Pinnacle member sitting beside me at the Schooner Bar asked something about the drinks in a pleasant and friendly tone.  "We'll take care of you" was the response.  That's not a policy written on paper but there does seem to be an effort that I have noticed to be aware and take care of me.  That works for me because I am friendly with the crew and get to know them on a first name basis.  Someone who is abrasive or demanding simply because of their C&A level might not fare as well.  

 

 

Thanks for your excellent review. We sailed on the Empress back in the 90’s from NYC to Bermuda regularly and RCL did announce this announce this morning that the Empress

will be sailing to Bermuda again from Cape Liberty during the Summer of 2020.

 

Thank You !!!

[sealeggs]

On ‎7‎/‎23‎/‎2019 at 7:51 AM, twangster said:

IT’S CRUISE DAY!

 

At the terminal by 10:10am after a $20 Uber ride.  Today we are using terminal E.  

 

Check in was smooth as an early bird and I was led to a small waiting room for suites.   Three other guests were already waiting.    Terminal E has a lot of Carnival signage and reminds me of Terminal G.  Very similar.  

 

 

A first look at the ship from the suite holding area.

 

 

At 10:15am I heard a radio call that the ship had federal clearance.   At 10:45am boarding commenced.  First on the ship.  #winning 

 

I didn't buy The Key but I noticed the large banner welcoming guests who had.

 

 

Carry on holding area in the theater.

 

 

A half dozen guests were in Chops enjoying a lunch.

 

 

Dedicated theater seating for The Key along with Gold card holders. 

 

 

Deluxe drink package $63 per day on board.  Empress doesn’t have a Diamond Lounge so I used my 30% D+ discount and bought the DX.  It was $50 in the cruise planner so I saved a few bucks by buying it on board at $44 but this only works because I am D+.   Normally folks should buy the DX in advance except they were offering the BOGO50 for DX on day 1 only.   The beverage package table in the Centrum had the new cups (no handle) while the other beverage package displays in other areas had the old beverage cups. DX packages offered on day 1 & 2 only. 

 

Booked Chops using my D+ BOGO.   Normally this requires nights 1 & 2 but they allowed me night 1 and any port day for the return visit.  I had a really good Chops experience on my last Empress cruise so it’s one of a select few ships where I’ll pay for specialty dining.   It’s also the only specialty venue on Empress so there’s that too.

 

Noted signage for the Key in the theater and at Chops.

 

Cabins ready at 1:30pm with muster at 3:30pm.

 

Waited until 11am for my first beverage since that would make it after noon on Canada’s East coast.   

So they don't have a bar for Diamond Members and above to go and get drinks except for the ones on our Seapass Cards?

[twangster]

3 minutes ago, sealeggs said:

So they don't have a bar for Diamond Members and above to go and get drinks except for the ones on our Seapass Cards?

 

No dedicated bar for happy hour and by policy only 3 happy hour drinks.  Bartenders receive nothing from the cruise line for serving happy hour drinks on any ship in contrast to a paid drink or DX package drink where they get something for each card swiped.  Tipping cash for happy hour drinks always makes a bartender or server feel appreciated and they are more likely to return the sentiment when you tip.  

 

There is a suggestion that the Viking Crown Lounge could be a place to meet other happy hour cruisers but it also states the VCL is open to everyone on board during happy hour.  On these two sailings the Schooner Bar and sometimes Boleros has been a popular spot to find other happy hour cruisers.  Come 5pm the regulars have their spots.

 

Diamond happy hour drinks loaded on the Seapass card are accepted in all bars and restaurants including Chops.  Room service does not accept happy hour drink coupons.  

[sealeggs]

Thanks for the quick reply.

[Chrislynn55]

Thank you for your wonderful review and amazing photos! We last sailed Empress in 1992 when she was Nordic Empress, and this morning we booked one of the new Bermuda itineraries for next May. So excited to see the ship again and to dock in Hamilton and St. Georges instead of Dockyard.

[twangster]

Day 10, Cruise 2 Day 4 - Costa Maya

 

I stayed on the ship and took advantage of the much better Voom today compared to yesterday.  Voom was stable much of the day.

 

 

The Celebrity Equinox would join us again today.  She was with us in Key West and I caught her sailing into the sunset later that day.

 

 

There is definitely a lot of sargassum (seaweed) floating in the ocean this time.  Like many things in nature it varies day to day and it appeared there was more of it this time.

 

 

I stayed on the ship and got some work done.  Soon enough it was sail away time for both ships.   We arrived first and we departed first with the Equinox's helipad a popular spot for sail away.  The company ships did a "horn-off" each blowing their whistle following each others pattern.  Empress needs to step up it's whistle, Equinox put her to shame.

 

 

 

Dinner back in Chops for the second half of my BOGO.

 

 

I often forget to take pictures of the bread, I usually jump right in when it arrives.

 

 

The 16 oz bone-in ribeye tonight

 

Mushrooms and tater tots as sides.

 

 

Apple pie for dessert (with raisons).

 

 

Tonight's Headliner Show with Finis Henderson, former Motown artist, comedian, dancer, impressionist.

 

 

He did impressions of a number of different musicians and actors.

 

[bobmacliberty]

Amazing pictures Twangster...as always.  The Milky Way shots were very cool.  Must have been calm seas for 10+ second exposures.  You mentioned your hardware earlier.  Do you carry a laptop for post-processing?  Your post-processing skills are equal to your skills with a camera.

[twangster]

After dark I thought I'd walk off some of my dinner.  There were a number of low clouds passing above us and it didn't look like a great night for star gazing.  Our direction towards Belize puts the Milky Way at the front of the ship but after Belize we'll start heading back North so this would be the last chance to take advantage of the dark bow to capture it.

 

A passing storm in the distance caught my eye from deck 6 aft behind Boleros.

 

 

It didn't look good for star gazing but I thought I'd try anyways so back to deck 6 forward.  I settled in to let my eyes adjust and it seemed like it was opening up at times.  In between passing clouds I managed to get some more Milky Way shots.  Using lessons learned from the previous night I think they came out pretty good. 

 

 

[John&LaLa]

15 hours ago, twangster said:

 

Yesterday at sea there was a brunch offered in the MDR 9am to noon.  No lunch.

 

They never had lunch in the MDR on our sailing

[Biker19]

1 minute ago, twangster said:

 

 

 

Dude, seriously, start asking RCI for compensation for shots like this.

 

Biker, who is waiting for someone to crop out Twangsters name on that pic and claim it their own.

[John&LaLa]

10 minutes ago, twangster said:

After dark I thought I'd walk off some of my dinner.  There were a number of low clouds passing above us and it didn't look like a great night for star gazing.  Our direction towards Belize puts the Milky Way at the front of the ship but after Belize we'll start heading back North so this would be the last chance to take advantage of the dark bow to capture it.

 

A passing storm in the distance caught my eye from deck 6 aft behind Boleros.

 

 

It didn't look good for star gazing but I thought I'd try anyways so back to deck 6 forward.  I settled in to let my eyes adjust and it seemed like it was opening up at times.  In between passing clouds I managed to get some more Milky Way shots.  Using lessons learned from the previous night I think they came out pretty good. 

 

 

 

Nice pics, I rarely see the milky way, much less capture it.  But then I've only brung a tripod once. Tho much other stuff. 

[twangster]

19 minutes ago, John&LaLa said:

 

Nice pics, I rarely see the milky way, much less capture it.  But then I've only brung a tripod once. Tho much other stuff. 

 

Small, light, easy to pack.  The rubber bendy legs allow me to fasten it to railings.  This was on Ovation using my GoPro to capture time lapse at the glaciers.  Same tripod I used last night.

 

 

$20 on Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077PNS1L1/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

The lighter weight of a mirrorless camera helps.  My old full frame Nikon would be too much for this little tripod.  

[Bandit236]

Are there any trivia games onboard?

[TwizzlersAddict]

On 7/27/2019 at 1:23 PM, twangster said:

Cruise Compass for the 1st leg attached.

 

Empress CC 6 Night Western 7-21-19.pdf 3.46 MB · 18 downloads

Thanks for posting the CC

[cruisedude29]

All I can say is WOW!!!. Thank you so much for this review, we are booked along with my parents for the Dec.9 sailing. One of my favorite things to do at night,is to go look out at the sea from the front of the ship. I am so happy there is a great place to do this. Those milky way pictures where just amazing, thanks so much for sharing. I have never sail on a ship this size, but your review has got me so much more excited. Please keep it up and the more details you can give us the better. I do have on question how much does the ship rock compared to RC bigger ships?

Thanks again I am love loving this review.

[Bandit236]

Do they have trivia onboard?  Thank you.

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Bandit236 said:

Do they have trivia onboard?  Thank you.

 

Yes, generally in Schooner. Music trivia as well around 7pm

[John&LaLa]

9 hours ago, Biker19 said:

Dude, seriously, start asking RCI for compensation for shots like this.

 

Biker, who is waiting for someone to crop out Twangsters name on that pic and claim it their own.

 

Van Fleet already posted it with Twangster tag