11 night Empress review 1/31/05 sailing

[GiniB]

This was our first trip on the Empress. The couple travelling with us had been on her 3 times.

 

I loved the size of the boat, never got lost once. You'll see the same folks over and over (this can be good or bad).

 

The demographics on this cruise were unique. Because it's the middle of winter and during a school year and 11 days long, there were very few young people on board...when I say young, I mean under 50. There were about 1550 passengers aboard, 6 (yes, 6) were under the age of 16, so you didn't have to worry about kids running around. Approximately 100 were between the ages of 16 and 45. In fact, the average age on board was 68. (I got these numbers from a guest services employee, and they seem about right).

 

I have some very definite opinions about the effects of the demographics on our cruising experience. I know I'm going to get slammed for posting them here. We are in our 40's and very active. I never expected to be one of the youngest people on the boat. Suffice it to say that children are not the only age group who can be rude, hog elevators, jump in front of you in line and whine and complain about everything from there being too many young people on board (!) to not getting towel animals in their room every day.

 

Our cabin (8132) was small, but we expected this. There was plenty of storage though, which surpised us. Shower was tiny, with the "attacking curtain" others have mentioned. We didn't have too much trouble with it, but one of the onboard comedians did a pretty funny joke about it that made us laugh each time we showered.

 

Some of the rooms have safes (ours did) and some don't. They have a very limited number of safe deposit boxes available at the Purser's desk, so be aware of this before you go. I heard several complaints about this.

 

Our largest suitcase was too large to fit under the bed, but our cabin steward took it for us and stored it somewhere.

 

Speaking of which, we slipped her a $20 the first day and we had the best service ever. We took a foldable cooler and she kept it full of ice the whole time.

 

We ate in the dining room every night except for the one night we ate at Portofinos. The food was usually unimpressive. Not bad, but not great. I liked all the soups and salads. The main courses were usually just okay (exception: the beef tenderloin was the best I've ever had). The desserts were usually disappointing (someone once mentioned in a review their overuse of gelatine based desserts...I didn't know what they meant, but now I do). The flourless chocolate cake was really good though.

 

Portofino's was pretty good. Nice for a change, but again, not spectacular.

 

We avoided the Windjammer as much as possible, especially during peak meal times. It was crowded, the lines moved at a snail's pace and I thought the food was standard cafeteria fare.

 

The service was uniformly great. We saw only one staff member who was less than fantastic...he was at the Purser's desk and we called him **** boy. But truly, he was the only one.

 

I will review the individual itinerary stops under each appropriate port of call.

 

Disembarkation was very quick. We were in the yellow group (3rd or 4th group called) and we were through customs and at the airport by 10:00.

 

Overall this was a great trip and the itinerary can't be beat. I highly recommend it.

[VanessaC322]

Thanks for the review! I understand what you mean about the demographics on the ship. No slamming here.

[Spanky My]

Looking forward to the rest of your review. Thanks for taking the time to give your opinion of the good and not so good so expectations do not ruin anyones trip...

[GiniB]

Spanky,

 

I've posted my Margarita Island and Grenada reviews under Ports of Call, Caribbean-Other. I'll get to all the ports within the next several days (in between loads of laundry:confused: ).