Empress 7 Day Bermuda 4/28 - Review

[Gypsywych]

We got back yesterday, and are already looking for another cruise.

We had a fabulous time.

 

 

Norfolk's new terminal is beautiful, spacious and comfortable. Royal Caribbean's staff inside were friendly, efficient and kept everyone moving along at a reasonable pace.

My husband and I unloaded, parked in a parking garage across the street (a little more expensive than the recommended Cedar Grove), and were onboard having drinks in less than two hours.

The ship is a bit worn about the edges, but she feels loved, and her staff is constantly cleaning something. The entire crew was friendly and very helpful. I can not say enough about how great they were.

We had two problems in our stateroom during the cruise, and both times the issues were repaired within an hour.

 

We had a JS, on level 9 right under the pool deck. The only time we had a problem with noise was at 5:30 every morning when the chairs would be dragged out. Other than that, we never heard noise from above. The balcony made up for any problems we may have imagined from it. :D

Our Steward was unobtrusive, efficient, and friendly. I had a different towel animal every night. (I'm sorry, I can't remember his name for the life of me! ) We didn't see much of him, but our room was always tidy, fresh towels, and turn down was always waiting on us when we came back from dinner.

My ONLY real complaint about the room was the size of the shower. How a girl is expected to shave her legs in that tiny triangle, I have no idea, and the shower curtain molested me nightly. :eek:

 

Sail Away was wonderful, we watched the Chesapeake Bay fade from view about 2 1/2 hours after we pulled away from the dock, on a lovely sunset.

The Empress is smaller, so she rocked quite a bit, but DH and I luckily were never seasick. We just laughed a lot about not being able to walk straight.

 

The Carmen Dining Room is loud, and while the food and service is excellent, the noise levels can at times be near deafening, and does hinder any type of dinner conversation, as you have to yell to be heard across an 8 person table. Very frustrating.

Our waiter, Bernardo and his assistant, Atilla are two perfectly charming young men and we enjoyed their sense of humor. The last night, Bernardo saved us a special dessert that we had all found so wonderful. A thoughtful touch, and greatly appreciated. They were both very good at remembering preferences, and habits.

 

Bermuda is a beautiful island, full of friendly people and loads of history. Clean. Everything was spotless. Their houses, their yards, their streets, their public restrooms. Everything was so clean. Obvious pride in their home.

We docked in Hamilton on Monday afternoon, and sailed away on Thursday noon. While we were there, we were busy with something from the time we got up, til the time we fell into bed. The bus/ferry system is a marvel, and I enjoyed those almost as much as I did the shopping.

 

There is not as much to do at the Dockyard as I thought there was, but still a good way to spend a morning. The humidity and heat are rising as the summer season begins, so make sure you wear a hat and carry your sunscreen. The beaches are all wonderful, the pink sand gorgeous.

I can't say enough good things about Bermuda. Special thanks to Captain Cookie and Rush for the Evening Glass Bottom Boat Tour. We had a blast!

 

All in all, we had a great time on the Empress and Bermuda and I am sorry to hear that she will not be continueing this itinerary after this season. As far as I'm concerned, Empress and Bermuda were a perfect match.

 

If anyone has questions, I'm happy to answer them as I can.

[wolfcathorse]

There is a question (rumor) going around that Capt Rolv Olausson was your master instead of Capt Martinson (who's going to Voyager). Can you confirm who your captain was.

[Gypsywych]

I never saw him, heard him on the announcements twice. His first name was Gunnar. Other than that, I can't tell you. Sorry. :o

[tcha]

Thanks for posting Cruise Elf. We sail on June 10. It sounds like you had a great trip. With the weather here in Norfolk, I'll bet that ship is rocking today. Weather is windy out to sea.

[careywv]

We sail in 19 days...YAY! :)

 

What nights were formal nights?

I've been reading about the midnight chocolate buffet. Does the Empress have this?

[Gypsywych]

Formal Nights were the 2nd night and the 6th night. We had one Smart Casual night in the middle, but DH and I missed it. We went off to eat at the Hog Penny Pub in town. Great food, great waiter, don't let the guy at the door scare you off!

 

Oh! Gala Buffet and Chocolate... on the last formal night. Beautiful displays. You'll love it

[Inshape]

Are the water temps warm enough to swim in this time of year?

[redsoxfan58]

Thanks for the great review we leave on the 19th for our 1st cruise. Did you eat in Portifino's at all? I'm trying to decide if we should try it. We got 2 price reductions so I'm trying to tell my DH we can afford to try it.

 

Did you do any excursions? We want to get the bus passes too and just go off on our own.

 

How was the entertainment? I had RC send me a list but I haven't heard of anyone.

 

What time were you able to board? We're having our son drop us off and I was wondering if you can get on before 1 pm.

 

Thanks may think of more questions later. :)

[Gypsywych]

Are the water temps warm enough to swim in this time of year?

 

I saw a few people in the water. They looked a bit chilly. ;) The beaches and boats appeared to get more use than the actual water.

 

 

 

Originally posted by redsoxfan58

Thanks for the great review we leave on the 19th for our 1st cruise. Did you eat in Portifino's at all? I'm trying to decide if we should try it. We got 2 price reductions so I'm trying to tell my DH we can afford to try it.

 

Did you do any excursions? We want to get the bus passes too and just go off on our own.

 

How was the entertainment? I had RC send me a list but I haven't heard of anyone.

 

What time were you able to board? We're having our son drop us off and I was wondering if you can get on before 1 pm.

 

Thanks may think of more questions later. :)

 

We did not eat at Portofino's. We had such great meals in the Dining Room that it never occurred to us.

 

We bought 2 day transportation passes for 20.00 each, which let us ride buses and ferries unlimited for those 2 days. Well worth it! We went every where we wanted to go.

We also went on 2 excursions. One to the Crystal Caves, Aquarium and the Gardens. The Gardens are closed for renovations. The Caves are worth it.

The 2nd was an Evening Premier Glass Bottom Boat ride. Again, loads of fun and worth it.

 

DH and I made it to one show. The late night comedian. Very funny. We did not see any other of the productions shows, though we did hear loads of praise from other cruisers.

 

We made it to the port about 12:30pm. We unloaded with the porter, and then went to park and still made it onboard close to 2pm. Boarding was very smooth. I do not know if you can board before 1pm.

[marshone]

We were also on the 4/28 Empress sailing and I completely agree with the previous post!!! :)

 

The terminal in Norfolk is wonderful. We, too, parked downtown ($14.00 per day vs. the $10.00 at the Cedar Grove Lot) and walked the couple of blocks to the terminal. We were on the ship a little before noon - rooms were ready at 1:00.

 

We had a JS on Deck 9 and our cabin steward(ess), Mayra took excellent care of us. The bathroom shower is TINY and we did have a slight problem with a shortage of hot water several days.

 

We had planned to eat at Portofino's at least once, but found the food and service in the dining room to be so good - we never got around to trying Portofino's. Our waiter and assistant waiter, Sugi and PingPing, were two of the best we have ever had (in 15 cruises).

 

This was our 3rd cruise to Bermuda and we, once again, loved it. The weather was perfect for long walks and sightseeing. I stepped into the water at Alexandra Battery Beach and it was cold, but we saw people in the water at Tobacco Bay. We took several ferry rides at night after dinner and they were wonderful.

 

The Windjammer layout did not "flow" well - people seemed to always be in one another's way. It was often difficult to find a place to sit, so we chose to eat more of our meals in the dining room. We did have breakfast served in our cabin one morning - it arrived on time and was just as ordered.

 

I heard wonderful things about the shows, we only went to one, Thursday night's singer Delisco - he was the winner of E! Networks "The Entertainer". It was an excellent show and I highly recommend him. A band called "Primetime" played in Boleros Lounge and they were also very good.

 

The only negative, and it's not a big deal, was that we had a group of 19 people and in the evenings we like to get together for a drink before our 6:00 dinner. Several nights we had a hard time finding somewhere we could all go. Boleros usually opened at 5:00 or 5:15, so we went there several times. Schooner Bar was open, but because of the limited # of places to go was sometimes too crowded for us to sit down. The Viking Crown Lounge (which always has such a great view) opened at 6:00 two nights, the remaining nights it opened at either 10:00 or 11:00 PM. I don't know if the hours for the Viking Crown Lounge is a recent change fleetwide, so if it was just on the Empress. On other ships, we have always enjoyed having a pre-dinner drink in the Viking because of the view.

 

Regardless, we had a wonderful cruise on the Empress and decided to book one of the Canada/New England sailngs from Norfolk in 2008.

[Janet524]

We're leaving on May 12th on Empress...started getting my "wardrobe" together today! We're also in a JS on Deck 9. I was concerned about noise from the pool deck above, but from what posters have written, it's not that much of a problem. Can someone tell me if Empress has gotten the upgraded bedding yet? And have they done a Concierge Lounge? From earlier postings, it sounds like you did not get into St. George. I thought that we would be in Hamilton and then re-position to St. George for a day. No matter - Bermuda is wonderful and easy to get around. 5 Days and COUNTING!:D

[careywv]

Great information. Thank you!

 

My DH and I are going to go to Portofino's instead of doing formal nights. He can not stand to dress up for any reason. Khakis and a button front shirt or a polo is "dressed up" for him. I would hate for us to be underdressed for the formal nights, so I talked him into Portofino's on those two nights. ;)

 

We are just too excited. We can't until it's our turn to go. :)

[Merion_Mom]

My ONLY real complaint about the room was the size of the shower. How a girl is expected to shave her legs in that tiny triangle, I have no idea, and the shower curtain molested me nightly. :eek:

OMG! We had a whole rolicking thread about this. Let me go find it...........

 

Here it is: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=394418 Enjoy!

 

And thanks for your excellent, well-written review. :)

[agathasmum]

Cruise Elf,

 

You said you parked across from the cruise terminal rather than Cedar Grove. Do you by any chance remember the name of the parking garage you used? We are taking the June 30th cruise and my DH is already muttering about having to dop bags and then drive to park and try and get back to the cruise terminal. I think this would suit us better!

 

Thanks

 

Susan

[KFL]

They will load your baggage on the shuttle bus at the parking lot. You do not have to drop your baggage off at the terminal.

[TPKeller]

I have a question!

 

Thanks for writing this, I don't now how I didn't see it until today...

 

Did they have the bus/ferry passes for sale on the ship prior to arrival? I have read that the lines can be long if you wait until you are ashore. If the passes were offered on the ship, did they also offer 3 day passes? Was there any markup on the price?

 

Thanks!

 

Theron

[sunny OH]

Bedding was upgraded while in drydock November 2006.

 

Transportation passes are DEFINITELY THE WAY TO GO!! One taxi ride will cost you $20 plus tip!

 

Entertainment was well worth the while, Bermuda's not the most "happening" place to be at night so you might as well take in the free entertainment.

 

St. George's is a VERY tight fit to get into, the previous Captain=Captain Frank Martinsen told us during the "Captain's Corner"=very worth your while if it's offered-a behind the scenes video with Q&A session-that if the winds are any higher than 10 mph they can not maneuver the entrance into St. George's because land is LITERALLY 20 yards away! on both sides! They show them docking in St. George's in the behind the scenes video. So I would have to assume that the winds were high on the day you were to reposition to St. George's from Hamilton.

 

If you're a golfer you should definitely take your clubs! But, then again, if you're a golfer you've probably already booked your tee timesss:)

 

Definitely make your way to the Dockyard and visit their Glassworks shop, all made on site and something for everyone! Very nice, ornate souvenirs:) There is also a nice place to eat there, can't remember the name but it's in the courtyard. It has a bar, but also sit down seating. Caves are definitely worth the physical effort. The glass bottom boat is the best effortless excursion you could ever ask for.

[TPKeller]

St. George's is a VERY tight fit to get into, the previous Captain=Captain Frank Martinsen told us during the "Captain's Corner"=very worth your while if it's offered-a behind the scenes video with Q&A session-that if the winds are any higher than 10 mph they can not maneuver the entrance into St. George's because land is LITERALLY 20 yards away! on both sides! They show them docking in St. George's in the behind the scenes video. So I would have to assume that the winds were high on the day you were to reposition to St. George's from Hamilton.

If you look at my St. George's cruise map, you can clearly see the channel that has been cut in the harbor, and how narrow it is!

 

Theron

[wildbill32]

We were on the last 11 day the Empress did this season (4/9 sailing). In regards to the earlier poster's question about the captain, Capt. Martinson was leaving the ship at the conclusion of our cruise, and after his vacation was reporting to the Voyager.

 

We went to Portofino's twice, once for dinner and also for the murder mystery dinner. The food and service was excellent on both occasions. Highly recommended-the seafood skewer and the dessert sampler!