11 night Empress OTS review

[Babie]

I first wanted to give you a little information about me.

 

This was my 10th cruise. My first with RCI and my first in the Southern Caribbean. Although I've done a couple of B2B's, this was also my first single cruise longer than 7 days.

 

 

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Getting there.

 

I had what seemed like the flight from hell that would make my trip NUTS! I flew from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Phoenix, AZ. Then from Phoenix to Las Vegas, NV. After a short delay in Vegas I then flew to Philadelphia, PA. THEN finally boarded my flight to San Juan. There was some mechanical problems on the plane so we sat there for about 1 1/2 hours before taking off.

 

Upon arrival in San Juan, due to the plane delays, a friend and I shared a cab straight to the ship. What I got to see of San Juan was really great. I've made a mental note to be sure to return for a few days so I can enjoy it a little more.

 

Once onboard the ship, our staterooms were ready. We boarded between 2 and 3 pm local time. There were no lines at check in so all went very smooth.

 

The ship and my stateroom were what I expected, so I wasn't disappointed in the least. Now, I'm not saying that I was impressed or surprised in any way. I had no initial feeling one way or the other about the ship or my stateroom.

 

I'll stop here and give a little information about my experience on the ship and with the crew. As well as the other passengers.

 

For starters. IF the ship has stabilizers, they were never used. I've never been docked on a ship where they had to assist you off because the ship was rocking so badly WHILE DOCKED in calm waters. The gangway literally moved 3 to 4 feet back and forth So if you were a slow walker, injured in any way, or elderly, you had to have some assistance WALKING off the ship. If I had to compare the experience with anything, I'd say it was worse than entering a tender when the boat isn't docked. (This was only a problem in St. Maarten)

 

The crew were fantastic! For that matter so were the rest of the guests. I won't say that I met and talked to everyone, but

I came close! I only ran into 2 problems at all, and that was with 2 crew members that cleaned the area near the Windjammer.

That was nothing more than dirty looks every time they saw me. (I have bright pink hair and tend to talk a lot and generally

stand out in any crowd, so I can understand dirty looks)

 

On the second day at 9am was our scheduled Meet & Mingle. Since RCI (Or Cruise Critic) scheduled it so early and only an hour

before docking in St. Maarten, I was surprised that about 45 people showed up! It was a great chance to meet those I'd been

talking to online.

 

I'm a late night person. On most of my cruises, I stay up until sunrise. This was hard to do with so many ports, but since the

guests were a bit older and the disco very slow, I had no problem sleeping. I did manage to meet quite a few other people around

my age that liked to hang out and talk. So that was nice.

 

I participated in The Quest. If you've never gone to or seen the Quest, you MUST participate! There were 14 teams,

and we came in 3rd. I was very surprised how involved the crowd got! And it was crowded! I was also surprised at some of

the "quests" we were sent on! Several of which the CD had to tell the camera man to turn off the video camera!

 

My thoughts on the ports:

 

St. Maarten - I was not impressed at all. To give the island some credit, I did have a terrible headache before even

leaving the ship. Once I grabbed the water taxi to the town proper (or whatever) I was feeling horrible. But it was the first

port on the itinerary and I'd never been to any of the ports before. So the lady I had met on Cruise Critic and I walked

around a bit. We each put a $5 bill in a quarter slot machine at the casino right at the water taxi pier (neither of us even

won 2 quarters lol) We then walked down the first street there (sorry, I didn't get the name) It was really dirty and crowded.

I normally love crowds, but because of my headache, I was miserable. I was annoyed at how narrow the streets and sidewalks were. We walked a couple blocks until we say a small market area (between the boardwalk and the first street). I walked through it for

about 10 minutes. I bought a shot glass (I collect those at every place I visit) and some bottled sodas for the ship. After about

45 minutes to an hour after leaving the ship I told my friend that I was going back to the ship. I would have liked to have

checked out Orient beach and some other things, but my headache was getting worse. Although I disliked my first trip to St. Maarten,

I'm more than willing to give it a second chance. If for no other reason than a chance to check out a beach and some local beer.

 

St. Kitts - Again, I wasn't very impressed. No headache this time, but I just couldn't find anything to do near the pier

except shop. And once you've seen 1 Diamonds International, you've seen them all. So I grabbed a shot glass and headed

back to the ship after browsing for about an hour.

 

Antigua - I really loved Antigua. But then I didn't do anything. I walked around the pier area, shopped a bit and walked

into a cute little bar. I sat down and ordered a beer. (I love trying local beers when I travel) I started talking to the man

next to me and it turned out he was a local. We sat and chatted for about 3 hours. He bought all the rest of my drinks for me, and

it was a really great day. (He was a straight man, so no, don't think that! I talk to everyone!)

 

St. Lucia - Another port I liked a lot. And another that I did nothing in. I walked around, bought a shot glass and some

Sheridan's, then was headed to a bar for a beer. (I ordered 2 lol) The lady working there fell in love with 3 of my rings. So

we talked about them for a bit, then she offered me some money. Now I won't say how much, but I got four times what I paid

for them about about half what they are appraised at. (I sold her 3) So I started back to the ship when 2 English ladies called

me over to yet another bar (they were on the ship) We sat and talked for hours! We had more local beer and had a great time!

 

Are you seeing a trend? Drinking and talking in port? LOL

 

Barbados - Ok, I felt great, and had not been to a beach yet! So I marched my butt up to the Information Desk and asked a cute

gay purser where the crew liked to go. He said the "Boat Yard". So I went to my stateroom and changed. Before leaving I ran into another

English lady and invited her to go to the beach with me. We grabbed a cab (about $15 total) and headed out. Upon arrival at the

Boat Yard I was very worried. First, all you see is a shack surrounded by other businesses. ABD it costs $15 per person to go in!

This was the best $15 I'd spent the entire cruise! The cover charge included chairs, 1 drink, non motorized water toys and a free

shuttle back to the ship. This place is a blast! If you want to party, go there! If you just want to lounge in the sun quietly

go there! It had everything you'd want. The crew member I had asked where to go was there as well as about 20 others. We had

a lot of fun together!

 

FINALLY there was a day at sea. I was really looking forward to that as I left Barbados. But I ran into a couple that are my

age at the disco that night. So we ended up talking, drinking, and generally having a great time! We got the boyfriend into bed

and the girl and I spent most of that day at sea together )without ever sleeping from the night before) It was a blast!

 

Needless to say that after the sea day, I was even more exhausted!

 

Isla De Margarita - Another place that I LOVED! I only walked around the pier area, ran into a cruise critic pal and she and I walked on

the beach collecting shells, talking and just getting some sun. It was the most relaxing day! The beach and water were beautiful!

There was a cute little sandbar. We had to wade (about thigh deep) about 10 foot to get across to it, but it was worth it. SO

many shells and coral and not many people.

 

Curacao - Well, it was beautiful. I found it was way too expensive for most things. But the couple that are my age and I walked around, grabbed

a bite of Dutch food (Bitterballin'... just for the name LOL but I liked it) The little alley ways, streets and nooks were a great

time to explore. Not that there was much I wanted to buy... especially at some of the prices they wanted. I'm sure had I looked

I could have found some great deals on more useless crap to clutter our home with.

 

Aruba - Nowhere near as beautiful as Curacao, but the people were friendlier, the prices better, and the port time GREAT! I walked

around for about 3 hours by myself in the late morning and late afternoon. Bought a few things for me and finished my entire

Christmas shopping list! I then returned to the ship to find my friends. We made plans to meet at my stateroom at 5pm so we could go

to Carlos & Charlie's for drinks. A lot of the crew was there so we partied with them until about 9 then all stumbled back to the ship

together lol.

 

All in all, it was a nice cruise. Although I prefer a ship with more nightlife, the chance to see so many ports at such a low

price (I paid just over $1000 including my airfare including the single supplement) made up for the lack of nightlife.

 

I'm mostly neutral about RCI, so I'll be giving them another chance just on a larger ship. I would, however, do this same

itinerary again if I have the chance before she leaves the fleet in March. (I'm considering the Feb 25th sailing for my birthday)