empress

[kathanderik]

My husband and I are considering booking the Empress, 11 night southern Carribean in Nov, over Thanksgiving. We are looking at an ocean view room, which is really tiny! The ports look awesome. Was curious how people liked this cruse, and this ship. Much smaller ship than our prior cruises- I've been on the Navigator, the Brillance, the Enchantment and the Adventure of the Seas. We are really active during the day and often pretty tired at night. The price is certainly right. We always book a balcony and I'm afraid we will really miss it. Any input is appreciated! :)

[Ocean Boy]

I would love to do this cruise.... on a Radiance or Voyager class ship. As long as Empress does the route I know that I will never book it. I know there are those who love the ship. But 11 nights on Empress, for me, would be torture. And, no, I have never been on Empress so I don't speak from first hand experience. But I have done enough homework to know what I want in a ship. And Empress doesn't have it.

[danp]

We have cruised on the Empress three times the last departed on Feb 26 07.This is an a small ship,so the room are also small.

We did the eleven day southern and loved it.We enjoyed all of the ports but a little disappointed in Margraita island.

The Captain and the crew we found very friendly.On our last cruise it was more of a cruise with a lot of seniors onboard.We had a great table for dinner and were almost the last ones out of the dining room everynight.

We did this cruise for the itenery and the price was right.

I hope you will enjoy yourself as we did if you take the cruise.

Just one other thing the Empress will be leaving the fleet and will be going over to the med next year and may never come back to this area.

[vator90]

The ship is small, the rooms are small. We have sailed on her 3 times also, with 4 in a cabin each time, yes a bit crowded but worth it. The itinerary is awesome, and the ship is fabulous. You will get service that will probably top any you've had so far on the "mega" ships. The staff is incredable, and are by far the most consciensious, courteous staff you will ever have the pleasure of being served by. If I'm not mistaken, that crew gets some of the highest marks year in year out from its guests. If you got to have all the perks of the "sea monsters" then this ship will not suit you. But if you want a ship that is small enough that both ends stay in the same time zone :D . In the end, its whether your going to see new places or going to see a ship.

[geojobes]

I am the opposite of Ocean Boy. I prefer the smaller ships to the giants. I've been on the Empress & loved her. She is ideal for port intensive cruises, but also nice to relax on. I'm on the go so much at work, I don't need waverunners or skating rinks. I need a cold adult beverage, a decent show or 2, a nice hot tub & pool. Empress has all of that. The cabins are small, bathrooms tiny, but well maintained. The crew was fabulous & friendly. To each his own I say. The Empress does have a Portofino. Some of the larger (but not giants) don't (i.e Grandeur).

 

Book it or not. She's a fine ship.

[truffles2]

We enjoyed our cruise on Empress. There were very few rooms with balconies. We had an oceanview and it was very small but there was room for everything. My only complaint was that there was no place to sit that provided support for your back except the straight desk chair. Because the beds were pushed together, the only back support was the window ledge which was not tall enough. If you kept the beds apart, you could rest your back against the wall. The crew is great. Little ship with big heart.

[kathanderik]

Thanks for all the good info- sounds great!

We love to run around the ports, doing things during the day, and relax at night. We are getting a little tired of being part of " the herd" on the big ships, think we might go for it

[Alexis]

I am doing the same itinerary for the second time in Nov. We loved the Empress and the 11 night Southern Caribbean. The JS Balcony cabins are the size of an E1 cabin on other ships so they are more than comfortable for two people. I can live without the refrigerator as I never used it anyway. There are no bath tubs in any of the JS cabins on the Empress either. Best part is they have a good size closet for all the clothes I bring for that many nights. That ship has the friendliest crew I have ever sailed with. Being that it is so small they all recognize you and greet each person with a smile.

The ports are so intensive that you do not need all the extra features of the larger ships. You will welcome the laid back feeling of the smaller ship.

It is a wonderful ship and I will miss her when she leaves in 2008. :(

[johnjen]

I am the opposite of Ocean Boy. I prefer the smaller ships to the giants.

 

I second that! Although we enjoyed our cruise on the Explorer, it was just a bit too big for our tastes, and those elevators? I am glad we took to the stairs most of the time. We've never been on the Empress, but we're really looking forward to our cruise on it this coming July!

[Ocean Boy]

See, I said there are plenty of people who like Empress. I sailed Horizon to Bermuda and had a great time. I think Empress, Horizon, and Zenith are great ships for a 7 night Bermuda cruise. But in that situation they pretty much function as your hotel for the week. It just doesn't work for me in the Caribbean.

 

I know plenty of people don't like the Voyager ships. It is great that we have choices. I just wish I had the choice to do this itinerary on a different class of ship.

[robtulipe]

The Empress, Bermuda cruise, was the first RC ship we were on and I wouldn't do a long (over 7 nights) cruise on this ship because the cabins are so small. Granted we had an inside but there was room only for one night table and you could only exit the bed on one side as the other was against the wall as shown in the photo of DW attached below. After a few days we had the bed separated into the twin configuration which seemed to give more room since the open space was now in the middle. I know most people don't spend a lot of time in the cabin but this one was too small even for two.

I would do a BTB on Adventure or Serenade/Adventure depending on the time of year to get a longer cruise with different itineraries out of San Juan. By this time next year, this will be a moot point since Empress is leaving the RC fleet.

[cyscopup]

THE ROOMS ARE SMALL, THE SHIP IS SMALL!!! Now saying that we have done b2b on the southern route and been on the southern route a total of two times. There is no ice rink, there is no promenade, there is no mini golf, there are no multiple pools. There is however a terrific crew, a very clean and well maintained ship, a great itin.

 

We actually like sailing on the Empress of the Seas, as a matter of fact we like sailing on most any ship. Your vacation should not be determined by what size room you have (either in a hotel or a ship) because unless you are a hermit you don't spend a great deal of time in your room. As a matter of fact on the southern itin. you reall don't spend much time on the ship.

 

Sorry for the rant, but it amazes me how many people complain about the size of the ship and rooms when they haven't been on it. Or select the size of the room even when they know the room is small to begin with.

[Ocean Boy]

Sorry for the rant, but it amazes me how many people complain about the size of the ship and rooms when they haven't been on it. Or select the size of the room even when they know the room is small to begin with.

 

It amazes you when people complain about the size of the ship when they haven't been on it. And it amazes you when they complain when they knew the room would be too small to begin with. I don't quite get it. It sounds like it bothers you when people do their homework ahead of time and it bothers you when they don't.

 

I am also curious as to how you know how much time anyone, other than yourself, spends in his/her cabin or on the ship?

[golfer1966]

and use it as a lifeboat for the new Genesis class ship....LOL :)

 

I did read where they will send it to the cruise line RCI bought and send it to them to use. So, will they not replace her with another ship.?

[txflyer]

The ship is small, the rooms are small. ....and the ship is fabulous. You will get service that will probably top any you've had so far on the "mega" ships. The staff is incredable, and are by far the most consciensious, courteous staff you will ever have the pleasure of being served by.

 

My very first cruise was on the Empress back in 2001 when she was the Nordic Empress. I knew nothing about cruising...big ship vs small ship, interior vs oceanview... I probably didnt know forward from aft, and certainly didnt know port from starboard.

But looking back now after 7 cruises on 4 different lines, I can still say that the Empress was probably one of the best cruises I had ever sailed. The ship was clean, the staff attentive, the service excellent, and probably the best dining room of any Ive experienced since then. I really didnt have anything to compare it to, but I will always look back and fondly remember the Empress because she was the first.. >>jack