Empress Returning to RCCL?

[wendychloecruiser]

Oh this is awesome news for us small ship cruisers!

 

Maybe they can find where the Emerald Sea is hidden. Would pay extra to sail her.

 

 

The Emerald Seas was unfortunately scrapped in December 2004. It was my first cruise in 1988 and has ultimately cost me a fortune over the years...71 cruises and counting!

[Lady Chew]

what class ship?? how many passengers?

 

We like all sizes ...

[Clarea]

what class ship?? how many passengers?

 

We like all sizes ...

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Empress

[Sandy Sails]

what class ship?? how many passengers?

 

We like all sizes ...

 

The Empress was a class all by herself. I don't know the exact passenger count but I believe it was under 1,000. She was very easy to navigate internally, lol. Didn't take long to get from front to back. And small enough for a gal from Seattle to bump into a guy from Wyoming and fall madly in love. :D

[mjsshipboy]

Her double occupancy capacity is about 1800, with total capacity at about 2000. VERY high density for a modern ship.

 

Personally I think if she IS leaving Pullmantur, she'll go to Asia for sky sea, Royal's Chinese Cruise Line that uses the old Celebrity Century...

[John&LaLa]

Our experience on Nordic Empress was not so fantastic. Toilet never worked and we were on a lower deck where every cabin was 4 passengers. Talk about a cattle car

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

I have a hard time believing that the Empress would be returning to RCI, but I'd be all for it if it happened. I love both the small and mega ships, so I'd definitely be open to trying her out.

 

The comments about Cuba make sense, but so does the possibility of her being sent to Azamara. We shall see! :cool:

 

P.s. Just thinking out loud here, but I'd love to see them send her back to Philly to do Bermuda runs again! A 25-30 minute ride to the port would be awesome...

Edited October 22, 2015 by OfTheSeasCruiser

[John&LaLa]

Maybe with luck we will get Dynamic Roommating!

 

Believe me it was awful. They finally moved us up to the balcony deck because of the toilet issues. It was so quiet up there. :D

 

Suffice it to say, it would be 8 more years before we gave Royal a second chance

Edited October 22, 2015 by John&LaLa

[John&LaLa]

Believe me it was awful. They finally moved us up to the balcony deck because of the toilet issues. It was so quiet up there. :D

 

Suffice it to say, it would be 8 more years before we gave Royal a second chance

 

Still have the mug though. ;)

[Homosassa]

The Empress was a class all by herself. I don't know the exact passenger count but I believe it was under 1,000. She was very easy to navigate internally, lol. Didn't take long to get from front to back. And small enough for a gal from Seattle to bump into a guy from Wyoming and fall madly in love. :D

 

You are correct, as originally built, she carried about 1000 passengers.

 

However, as I noted in my previous post on this thread, we sailed on her in 2006 on one of her last Philly-Bermuda runs before being sent out of the RCCL fleet.

 

At that point, "improvements" had been made such as taking away of public space to cram in more cabins, specialty restaurants, and the parent-baby play space.

 

These "improvements" made a huge negative impact on that cruise experience compared to previous cruises on the Empress. As even more cabins and passengers were going to be crammed into her when she got to her new home, I hope RCCL would do some major renovations back to her original deck configuration before the "improvements." Otherwise, maybe they could just remove any seating in public areas and add some subway type straps for passengers to hang onto as they have a cocktail, read a book, or play a game.:cool:

[The sea calls my name]

Loved this ship. It was one of my favorite for years.

[MADflyer]

Her double occupancy capacity is about 1800, with total capacity at about 2000. VERY high density for a modern ship.

 

Personally I think if she IS leaving Pullmantur, she'll go to Asia for sky sea, Royal's Chinese Cruise Line that uses the old Celebrity Century...

 

Things have been all over the place with Pullmantur this year.

 

Supposedly the Zenith and Horizon are up for sale and have been on the market for about 6 weeks.

 

http://www.theyachtmarket.com/boats_for_sale/1202077/?searchid=10847124&page=1

 

This was the same website where Splendour showed up prior to the internal transfer to TUI for lease to Thomson Cruises.

 

The rumor has been that RCI are eyeing a joint venture for new builds for China. It is unclear how this weeks Carnival China news will influence that.

 

This news about Empress and bringing Monarch back to Europe was not on the cards just 3 weeks ago when Pullmantur did a major press release about their increase in capacity in Central and South America.

 

Empress was booked for a Malmo, Sweden season and the bookings are still held.

[DarthGrady]

I hope she is coming back to RCI, I'd give her a try. It would be nice if they really fixed her up, eliminated cabins, enlarged the ones that were left and made her into a boutique ship under the RCI banner. That'd be cool, RCI sorely needs more small ships IMO.

Edited October 22, 2015 by DarthGrady

[bradpole]

Loved this ship. It was one of my favorite for years.

 

Same here! We loved that ship, and the saying some of the crew had, "the small ship with the big heart!"

[Paulette3028]

http://www.cruiseindustrynews.com/cruise-news/13195-pullmantur-another-change-of-strategy-empress-back-to-royal-.html

 

I think this is great news, she would make a good ship for short Caribbean/Bahamas cruises. This means more options for cruisers!

 

How do you guys feel about this?

 

My feeling is simply this....as a stockholder, if it has the capacity to fill a need the cruise line has...and that need can directly increase profitable revenue -- fine.

 

Until I personally see the deck plans along with itinerarys -- my feeling is that they probably have some plan in mind for the ship (possibly Cuba) and it is less expensive to take over that ship (even doing refurbishments on it) than build a new one. All the ships they are building new are mega ships.

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

This news surprised me. This announcement (in conjunction with the decision not to transfer Majesty of the Seas) is a strong indication that Pullmantur is not doing very well.

 

I cruised aboard this ship back in 1993 (when it was the Nordic Empress) and liked it. However, this ship is a lot different than the other ships currently in the Royal Caribbean fleet. The ship is small and lacks the "wow" features of the newer ships. It would surprise me if the ship is placed on a traditional itinerary from a U.S. port. Due the small cabins on this ship, I doubt that it would be transferred to Azamara. The Cuba itinerary is a possibility, but I am guessing that the ship will be based in China.

 

It will be interesting to see what Royal Caribbean does with this ship.

 

Chuck

[LEtue]

Wow, I sailed a 3 night Bahamas on the Empress way back in 1998 as part of a girls weekend.

 

The thing I remember most is the size of our inside cabin! I think it was 117 sq feet but felt even smaller :eek:

 

That was only my second cruise and we had a great time but I'm not sure I can go back to a ship that small. I like the Radiance class too much :)

[Scotty G]

Still have the mug though. ;)

 

Still using mine. Great mug!

 

Here is info on her for those not familiar with this ship.

 

http://pullmantur***************/cruise_ship/Empress.cfm

 

Pullmantur site being blocked?

Edited October 23, 2015 by Scotty G

[oneputt18]

Our first cruise was the Nordic Empress in 1992.I remember boarding and there was a pianist, violinist and a bass player as you entered the centrum. If I recall there were glass elevators. Also remember skeet shooting off the Stern.

[riclop]

No big deal.

[cruisexlife]

Maybe they'll do something like Holland America does with the Prinsendam. Obviously, an overhaul is going to be needed, possibly even a stretching to make it bigger, and capacity higher, or subtraction of rooms to make the rooms larger, and capacity smaller, depending on what Royal thinks will sell. And maybe 20 night Europe or South Pacific itineraries, something based around the ports could work. Not repeating the same cruise schedule every year, doing something completely new. Longer, port in-depth itineraries are very attractive, and on a big line like RCI, which is getting more known all over the globe with the construction of the largest ships and varied itineraries on all continents (has Royal done Anarctica yet?), I assume they could sell a 22 night Transatlantic Fort Lauderdale to Athens cruise in the middle of February.

 

However, at the same time, I think she would be a great ship to reopen the LA or San Diego market. Carnival and Princess both took shots in the dark, increasing capacity in the past 2 years, and they're showing successful. While they may need to sell rooms for a very low price during off season, these ships hold 2050 people. Empress could easily load up 1800 on a 5 night to Cabo on Sunday, return Friday, and a 2 night to Ensenada on Friday, return Sunday. Or a 4 night to Santa Barbara, Catalina and Ensenada, and a 3 night to Ensenada with sea day. And, occasionally, maybe a 7 night down to PV and Cabo. But from LA, this looks like a good ship to reopen the market from.

 

However, both thoughts are predicated upon an extensive overhaul. While some repeat cruisers may notice the size difference, what will bring people back is the WOW factor. So a modern lobby, new bedsheets/interior colors, pool deck overhaul, etc, will turn this small cruiser into a (small) floating resort.

[lovetocruiserccl]

I love her. She was my first.

[John&LaLa]

Maybe they'll do something like Holland America does with the Prinsendam. Obviously, an overhaul is going to be needed, possibly even a stretching to make it bigger, and capacity higher, or subtraction of rooms to make the rooms larger, and capacity smaller, depending on what Royal thinks will sell. And maybe 20 night Europe or South Pacific itineraries, something based around the ports could work. Not repeating the same cruise schedule every year, doing something completely new. Longer, port in-depth itineraries are very attractive, and on a big line like RCI, which is getting more known all over the globe with the construction of the largest ships and varied itineraries on all continents (has Royal done Anarctica yet?), I assume they could sell a 22 night Transatlantic Fort Lauderdale to Athens cruise in the middle of February.

 

However, at the same time, I think she would be a great ship to reopen the LA or San Diego market. Carnival and Princess both took shots in the dark, increasing capacity in the past 2 years, and they're showing successful. While they may need to sell rooms for a very low price during off season, these ships hold 2050 people. Empress could easily load up 1800 on a 5 night to Cabo on Sunday, return Friday, and a 2 night to Ensenada on Friday, return Sunday. Or a 4 night to Santa Barbara, Catalina and Ensenada, and a 3 night to Ensenada with sea day. And, occasionally, maybe a 7 night down to PV and Cabo. But from LA, this looks like a good ship to reopen the market from.

 

However, both thoughts are predicated upon an extensive overhaul. While some repeat cruisers may notice the size difference, what will bring people back is the WOW factor. So a modern lobby, new bedsheets/interior colors, pool deck overhaul, etc, will turn this small cruiser into a (small) floating resort.

 

Doubt they'll stretch her, to old for that kind of investment.

[Hoopster95]

Cuba;)

 

 

I have recently met and have spoken directly to someone (so this is heresay, not 1st hand knowledge from me directly!) who is presumably in direct dealings with Cuba on various business and investment activity. I asked him specifically about travel and even more specifically about cruising... he said no doubt within 12 months there'll be USA cruise ships there. Take that for what it's worth... maybe I can look back on this post in a year and say "You heard it here first from me" :eek::D Note... new RCL deployment will be next spring for 2017/18.

 

Btw it's just not travel/cruising, various large US corporations also... the flood gates may be opening up very quickly from what I've been told. I guess we'll all see soon.

 

So... Enchantment for 7 day Cuba itinerary out of Miami??

I'm in!!!!!!! :D

(Empress takes over 3/4 day Bahamas??)

[DarthGrady]

Doubt they'll stretch her, to old for that kind of investment.

I've got my fingers crossed that you're right John! I'm digging the possibly of another small ship in the fleet. No bells, whistles or gimmicks needed.