Empress cabin 7186

[scdrb]

Greetings...I just booked cabin 7186 (an aft balcony) on the Empress of the Seas. Should I be concerned about being above Boleros? Anyone have any thoughts? or photos?!

Thanks for the help.

[Laoghaire]

Hi...We have not had JS#7186, but am sure some other cruisers will answer your post. From reports on other threads, there doesn't seem to be a noise problem, but perhaps a "soot" problem when in port. Also, were you aware those aft JS are alot smaller than ones on Deck 9? We booked into Room#7188 for December, only to find out that it has no sitting area. Be forewarned. We rebooked into Deck 9, midships...Helen

[Cindy and Terry]

Hi...we are also booked in cabin 7186 on the Empress of the Seas (for Sept. 2, 2006) and read these threads with interest. When are you sailing?

 

We have booked aft facing JS's on the Rhapsody, Radiance and the Adventure and loved them. If the cabins were smaller, we did not notice. But the balconies were definately much bigger. I am a travel agent and all my resources state that there is indeed a sitting area, but it could be they are giving me the cabin description for the portside or starboard side Jr. Suites.

 

I do not know about the noise level from Boleros ....although I was concerned about that too.

 

Is there anyone out there that can shed some light on these issues?

[Jimbo]

Not sure about the insides of the aft cabins facing the wake on deck 7 but Cabin #7690 has the largest balcony on that deck on the aft, if you can get that cabin that is the one to get, even though the deck plans don't show it that way that cabin's balcony is about twice the size of the 2 on each side of it.

 

If it's availabe I would grab that one.

 

Jimbo:)

[seahags]

We were in 7686 on the Empress last March. The balcony is wonderful (we are addicts to stern balconies), but the interior is VERY small compared to other class JS Suites. There was a small couch and table, so yes, there IS a sitting area albeit small. The bathroom is also very small compared to other JS. The benefit IS the balcony...we heard nothing from Boleros. In April we're in 7006, forward facing for the first time...will be interesting to see whether we like that as much as aft facing...we also are in 9184 on the Empress next April!

 

Enjoy the aft!!!

[maxs mom]

We're going on the Empress for our fifth time in July. We currently have 9650 booked, but trying to get 9684 aft. Is that a good move. The TA is working on it now. I just saw it blinking available on Travelocity and it hadn't been available until now. They said they had turned it over to Groups and wouldn't release it. Maybe he'll have some luck this morning.

 

BTW...Hey Jimbo! Getting married huh? Congratulations!

[JeanneII]

I've been staring at 7690 for days, still available on our cruise in June. We are currently booked in 7510. The extra room space is okay, but I'd LOVE to have a balcony. Is it worth the additional $1400 to get it? We are kind of new to this, but it seems like a big jump to me. How much larger are the balconies on deck 9?

[bermudashorts]

Not sure about the insides of the aft cabins facing the wake on deck 7 but Cabin #7690 has the largest balcony on that deck on the aft, if you can get that cabin that is the one to get, even though the deck plans don't show it that way that cabin's balcony is about twice the size of the 2 on each side of it.

 

If it's availabe I would grab that one.

 

Jimbo:)

 

We followed Jimbo's advice 2 years ago and had cabin 7690

It is a double balcony, (about 5 x 16?) large enough for 2 lounges, chair and little table.

Has no sitting area.

We had a blast out there, and watched the dolphins in the wake when we were sailing back from Bermuda.

 

Jeanne, its nice to have the balcony in Bermuda.

But the most important question would be if you get seasick or not.

It can be a bit rocky/ rolly back there.

Im prone to seasickness, and was sick for 36 hours because of the rough seas due to Hurricane Ivan. I'm sure I would have been sick anywhere, but it was a wide ride back there. Best to stay midship if you are prone to getting seasick.

 

From my understanding deck 9 balconies should be about 5x 8?

 

This time we are book on deck 9 midship

Wish me luck ;)

[CarlandAndrea]

I booked an aft cabin for the Empress repo cruise 04/21 - 04/29. I will post my impressions when I get back. I am more than willing to give up the sitting area for a larger aft balcony.

 

I have had an aft cabin once before, on the Celebrity Millinium, and I loved every second of it! That aft was also a corner and it had 2 lounge chairs and a table and 2 chairs for dinning. It was partially covered by the balcony above so could get out of the sun if you wanted. It was really terrific.

[JeanneII]

We followed Jimbo's advice 2 years ago and had cabin 7690

It is a double balcony, (about 5 x 16?) large enough for 2 lounges, chair and little table.

Has no sitting area.

We had a blast out there, and watched the dolphins in the wake when we were sailing back from Bermuda.

 

Jeanne, its nice to have the balcony in Bermuda.

But the most important question would be if you get seasick or not.

It can be a bit rocky/ rolly back there.

Im prone to seasickness, and was sick for 36 hours because of the rough seas due to Hurricane Ivan. I'm sure I would have been sick anywhere, but it was a wide ride back there. Best to stay midship if you are prone to getting seasick.

 

From my understanding deck 9 balconies should be about 5x 8?

 

This time we are book on deck 9 midship

Wish me luck ;)

 

 

I can't believe this! I called RCI to get the exact amount to upgrade to 7690. Got off the phone and got the OK from the husband. Went on line to upgrade, and the room is gone!!! In 10 minutes!!! I called RCI back again and found I could get on a wait list for 7690, but I think I just putzed too long. I HATE when that happens.:mad:

[maxs mom]

Same thing happened to us with 9684. The Group department took it for a while, then it became available again and we got it. So keep checking often, especially after the final payments are due.

 

Anybody have any experience with 9684?

[maxs mom]

Oops! Sorry.

[judyzoo]

We were in 8686, and the cabin was somewhat small and had no sitting area although RCI insisted that it would have one. But the balcony was huge, and the location was wonderful!

[JeanneII]

Well, 7690 became available again, and I put a hold on it for 24 hours. I need to decide if the large balcony and no sitting area is worth it. I'm having the husband make the final decision.

 

There are still suites available on deck 9 with a sitting area but small deck. Plus, those are mid ship and would rock less -- could be a plus too. I'm still not sure if motion sickness is an issue, but I plan to medicate myself as a precaution.

 

Max'smom, I have no information on 9684, but it looks like your balcony will be a large one also. Looking at the deck plans, the room is situated sideways. Will you get the sitting area?

 

Judyzoo, you would think that RC would know the rooms better. It sounds like you did not miss the sitting area though. So you think the nice size deck made up for it?

[critterchick]

Here's what Royal Caribbean's website says about the Jr. Suite layout:

 

Junior Suite Two twin beds (can convert into queen-size), private balcony, and a private bathroom. Junior Suites located on Deck 9 (except Room #9684) include a sitting area. (194 sq. ft., balcony 25 sq. ft.)

 

I guess what they don't want you to know is that the aft JS cabins also have a smaller floor plan than the stated 194 sf.

[Sassy Chassis]

Do the JSs on Empress have showers or tubs?

[terri23]

I asked a similar question about 8686 and here was the reply:

 

"the balcony is twice the size of the others, you will not have a sitting area. yes you can put two lounge chairs out there. plese see attached photos. 8686 is the second from the top. 4 panels of glass. the rest is a royal suite. the 7686 rooms only have 2 panels of glass and there are four rooms down there. if you are traveling with friends you can have a party in 8686 if most stay outside.( could be windy) we had 12 people over about 6 nights."

 

 

[terri23]

and here is a picture of 8686 inside - smaller than the other JS's

[maxs mom]

Thanks for that info and picture. Geez....I thought we would have a sitting area. Drat! Guess we'll have to do all our sitting on the balcony.

[rorito]

We had 8686 and it was the smallest JS we have ever had. Balcony was big. Lots of soot and trash from above. No sitting area, no tub. Keep in mind that unless you have a corner aft the view is outward aft, but looking down into the balcony below you. Also the Empress has a major vibration problems which is worse aft (not constant but can be destracting at times). We booked a JS on the hump for our next cruise. Besides the shortcomings noted above we still loved the Empress and had a wonderful cruise! Is there such thing as a bad cruise?

[maxs mom]

Terri.....In the picture of 8686.....what is on the wall opposite the bed? Is it the vanity area? When you walk in....is the bathroom on your left and the closet on your right? My husband's parents have 8686 and we have 9684 which is directly above. I am now trying to decide if we should switch back to a regular JS....but I really wanted that big aft balcony. Do you think we will be satisfied? We are traveling with nephews and their wives and girlfriend and they like to party with us and they have inside cabins.

[judyzoo]

Judyzoo, you would think that RC would know the rooms better. It sounds like you did not miss the sitting area though. So you think the nice size deck made up for it?

 

Yes, one would hope that RC would know such things, but sometimes their people seem to know only about general categories and not specific cabins, which is not a good thing. Actually, although they insisted there was a sitting area, I didn't believe them, so I wasn't disappointed. IMO, the balcony, and the location, made up for the smaller cabin size. We didn't have any soot or vibration problem, it was very private back there, and we loved the expansive views from our roomy balcony.

[JeanneII]

Thanks for that picture, Terri23. Seeing it makes all the difference.

 

I moved to 7690 (center aft junior suite). I just wish I had exact square footage info. on the suite itself. I can live without the sitting area to have a great deck. I just hope its at least the 139 sq. feet we originally had in 7510.:confused:

[terri23]

max'smom (or anyone else), I have more photos of 8686 that I found on the internet but am having trouble posting. you can email me at ccterri23atyahoodotcom if you want, and I'll send them to you.

 

yes, the bathroom is on the left as you enter and the closet is on the right. vanity and small table straight ahead. there is also a small three-drawer chest with a tv on top. this will be our first aft cabin and we decided the big balcony was worth it even though the cabin is small. Hope we're right!!! I have seen mixed responses re the vibration and soot. I still have almost a year to wait to find out for myself!!

[maxs mom]

terri.....I just sent you an e-mail. Hey....your next post will be 1000!