ADS94

Yeesh, now we are booked on the very first cruise on the Empress :eek:

I'm not too sure how I feel about that...

I'm starting to glance at my May 28th sailing with more and more trepidation now. Hopefully everyone goes according to plan. I'd hate to be the shakedown cruise.

I believe it is now in the South Pacific and not likely to return to U.S ports.

This was brought up one of the Empress threads, Legend OTS is booked for Key West, Florida in March of 2016. Coming from New Orleans and going to Nassau. Could be a misfire for 2016 and they meant 2017, or a placeholder.

Can anyone who is Diamond or Diamond Plus do a fake booking for 5 night empress and tell me what the total price is?

My 5 nights May 23 is 1800 for the OS for two.

Rechecked prices logged in with Diamond discount; jeez, that's a HUGE discount. they must be hoping all the C&A crowd in So Fla packs the ship in short notice.

 

Also, the courtesy hold button is back for Empress. Go figure.

Yeah, it's massive. BOGO takes off 1066 for me in the OS. C&A takes off 1566. I wish it was like this for all ships!

On another note... Royal's IT department still has some trouble. All of the Voyager-class ships vanished from the ship page!

Yes crazy. Stick with BRILLIANCE. Superior ship in every way possible.

I agree with this. I'd only suggest the Empress if you are looking for a cruise that's actually really cheap. I have the Brilliance booked for next fall and wouldn't ditch it for the Empress.

Nordic Empress old deckplans.

Here's my major takeaways from last time she sailed with Royal.

Deck Three: 6 Cabins on Deck Three all the way forward have been taken out.

Deck Four: No changes

Deck Five: Theater, Explorations Desk, Information Desk have been renamed. Carousel Pub turned into the Schooner Bar. Conference Centre and unknown area turned into Chops. Casino Royal Lower level turned into Next Cruise and picture gallery.

Deck Six: High Society Lounge turned into Boleros. Compass Room becomes the Video Arcade. Old Photo gallery removed, Casino Royale takes over its former location.

Deck Seven: No changes

Deck Eight: No changes

Deck Nine: Library added to forward Stairs/Elevator

Deck Ten: Adventure Ocean expands, takes over the Kids' Playroom and two unidentified rooms. Shipshape Centre/Gym/Spa merged into just the "Spa"

This sure is short notice. Royal's internet infrastructure for the Empress broken on a lot of levels. The reservation on RCCL's website has broken links, and tons of references to the Majesty. My "5 Night Key West & Grand Cayman Cruise" only has shore tours available for Cozumel, Mexico.

Any link I click on in my cruises brings me to a Majesty OTS page. It's also worth noting that the picture used for the ship preview in My Cruises is a Sovereign-class ship.

It seems like this was really rushed. I am surprised, they had a decent amount of time from the announcement to set up the backend.

I have no problem holding any cruise by RCCL, caribbean or otherwise. I even did ~3 early this morning trying to get a good Empress stateroom.

Well, looks like Royal decided to make its class. Ship selection page now says "Ships from the Sovereign and Empress class"

Edit: minor, but all graphics of the ship display it as a sovereign class ship. These are the small ones in "Meet our fleet" and next to the cruise selection pages on search.

29 May in Key West has Empress in from 8 AM to 8 PM. Grand Cayman lasts from 7 AM to 3 PM. I can't say I've taken a cruise out of Miami that went to Key West. Is 12 hours a normal time in port or part of the "longer stays?" Grand Cayman seems normal.

It looks like everything is supposed to be live except the ship page. It still shows up as "stake" for Chops. It looks like they won't call her the "Empress Class" and might just end up calling it "Empress of the Seas" if the Find a Cruise by Ship drop down menu indicates anything.

Empress will be tendered on the 31st of May, 2016 while in Grand Cayman.

Do the buttons work?

Only the "view staterooms" buttons work. Suites, Outside, and Interior.

No mention of Voom. Would be weird to have a party boat geared towards the younguns without that high speed internet.

Empress of the Seas' webpage is back... here's the screengrab.

If it's in the cards, go to Chops. The Chops staff is fantastic. We had a late reservation and were the last ones there, the manager sat down with us an talked, a lovely experience.

The food and service at Giovanni's was not that good. We liked Chops a whole lot better.

Paul is a great CD, love the guy. Always check out things he's doing. One of the best in the business, right up there next to Marc Walker.

Park Cafe is a great place for a snack in the solarium. It's a lot better than the main dining room or the windjammer when you only want something small. Everyone is really pleasant up there.

If you have an aft cabin, you'll probably hear the South Pacific Lounge. We had 8086 on the stern, JS. We could hear the music coming from there well into the early morning hours, quite annoying.

I remember a ton about this ship, just got off it not too long ago! I'd be willing to answer any specific questions too.

I highly doubt that. Bear in mind that Splendour isn't going to Pullmantur, so I doubt that she's going to be brought back.

 

As to why they used "Legend". I have no clue, but the fact that it is stated to come from New Orleans, is very odd. Something surprising could be going on.

Yeah, I highly doubt Splendour is staying too - that was the only link I could feasibly make between "Legend" in Key West and actual ships available.

In terms of surprising, it could be the first cruise by the Empress, maybe drydocks somewhere in the New Orleans area? Repo cruise from New Orleans to Miami?

I'd love to see Monarch or Sovereign brought back to do 5/6 day schedule out of New Orleans.

But, who knows what RCCL is doing. We'll find out sometime.

The Legend OTS? Hasn't Legend been in Asia for awhile now?

If Royal had no problem booking the Empress for the other times, I don't see why they would suddenly book the Legend OTS there. My only other guess would be that a Vision class ship is slated to take the Legend OTS planned stops there.

Grandeur is locked into Baltimore.

Enchantment services Orlando/Miami.

Rhapsody is off in Europe for the first part of 2016.

Vision is sailing from Tampa during the first part of 2016, then leaves and Rhapsody takes its route.

Splendour is the direct sister to Legend. Maybe smoke and mirrors by RCI to keep Splendour in the fleet?

I can place a hold on a Jan 10 2016 Allure cruise, and all payment is due now. Maybe it is working for some and not others, RCCL testing those who do have access and those who do not?

Just checked, I still have the option for a courtesy hold. Dec 3 2016 Rhapsody out of Tampa.

Just a wild guess from me, but considering travel agents have been informed, ports are booked, and the webpage on choice air is made, and the webpage on RCCL's website is there (but not updated) I personally strongly think it will be sometime in 2015. Could come out tomorrow for all we know.

I just came off the Grandeur over Thanksgiving. We started to use the balcony near the end of Day 2. We only went to the Bahamas, so it wasn't all that warm (but that was because of the cold front moving through). Going back to Baltimore, the balcony was usable the entire time except the last night, needed the bathrobe to watch VA Beach go by.

Yes, I am. I had a reservation for a side balcony, then saw it was only $40 to upgrade to a D1 on the stern of the ship. Tried to change and it kept saying it wasn't available. Tried contacting Royal on Saturday and I got nothing. The website is always slow and buggy.

Is there a fee to enter the Solarium, or is it free like the Carnival Serenity area? I do enjoy my time in Serenity with no kiddos running around.

The Solarium is free. If you have rough weather or anything that prevents the main pools being used, the age restrictions are waived and anyone can use the Solarium. I find it's a very relaxing place myself.

Hmm... looks like Empress itinerary will be announced soon, from what we've seen with all the bookings in Key West and Grand Cayman. Empress now also shows up on RCCL's ChoiceAir website to select.

Info says the picture is from 1996, and has all the JS with balconies on deck 9.