Was anybody here on Empress 6/25-6/30?

[gr8pmkn]

Hi all,

 

I was on Empress of the Seas for the Ft. Lauderdale / Key West / Grand Cayman cruise the last week of June this year. I am looking for some photos of some people I met on the trip. They hung out at the pool bar most every afternoon. I was wondering if anybody may have some random shots of the pool bar area that may have captured these people.

 

Can anyone help?

 

Thanks!

Dave

 

P.S. This was my second cruise (first one was 15 years ago). Overall, I was pleased, with more pleasant surprises than disappointments.

[BMW325]

Hey Dave, I wasn't on your cruise but will be on the Empress on September 3 with the same itinerary. Was wondering if you could let me know how you liked it and what to expect.

 

 

 

Thanks

 

Jim

[gr8pmkn]

Hi Jim,

 

This trip was for my wife's family reunion. We had people of all ages -- from my 19-month-old son to my wife's 90-year-old grandmother -- totalling 23 people. Most of the family are veteran cruisers, and typically cruise on Royal Caribbean. ...Some of them had some pretty harsh words about the ship (such as "They should take this tub out to sea and sink it!").

 

My only other cruise was for my high-school senior trip 15 years ago, on a small boat that catered to the young crowd, so this was a much different experience. (So, I thought the boat itself was quite large, though I was told otherwise.) I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the food -- while not gourmet, it was much better than I was expecting, and very plentiful. The service was excellent all around, but especially in the Carmen dining room and Windjammer Cafe. My biggest disappointment was the size of our cabin -- we were on the 9th deck with an ocean-view stateroom, and it seemed as small as the interior cabin I had 15 years ago. (The fact that my wife and I were sharing it with our toddler made it even more cramped.)

 

We couldn't really do any excursions, given our son still naps in the middle of the day. We walked around Key West for a while, very disappointed at how touristy everything seemed. It was also way too hot, so we re-boarded and hung out on the boat. In Grand Caymen, we spent the morning on 7-Mile Beach, just playing in the water. It was very nice and relaxing, and I wished I had more time to explore Grand Caymen. (My wife did the sting-ray-city excursion on a different boat there a few years ago and loved it.)

 

Getting on and off the boat was very easy. Babysitting services in the evening were very reasonably priced. (Though, drinks at the bar are outrageously expensive!) We didn't really get a chance to enjoy any of the nightlife, since our son had us up early every morning -- we went to bed early. I did catch part of the welcome-aboard show the first night, and saw a little bit of a very bad magician...

 

Hope that helps. Sorry -- I'm not a veteran cruiser, and since most of our time on-board was spent exploring the boat with my son, I'm probably not the best one to give a review.

 

Have fun!

Dave

[BMW325]

Dave,

 

Appreciate your feedback. I guess having a little one in tow makes for an entirely different experience. I was concerned about the food and the overall condition of the ship and you answered that.