Empress OTS to be home-ported at Miami

[MADflyer]

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.

 

To be technical, Empress should not be referred to as a 'class' of ships as a second ship of the same construction was never ordered by the original company, Admiral Cruises.

 

NCL stretched this a bit in recent years by calling their Norwegian Spirit, Spirit Class when the ship is really a Leo class ship, but Spirit is registered as a sub-class. They did the same for Epic, a F3 class ship, that had a sister ship ordered that was later cancelled.

 

Carnival has started calling their Concordia Class, Splendor, 'Splendor Class' for reasons that are well known.

 

I will be happy if RCI actually correctly refer to Empress as only Empress of the Seas.

[mpoole3]

On Empress of the Seas®, that “you only live once” philosophy means just a few days are packed with moments that count. Seek further, unwind like you mean it, and do it all your own way. With fast and early boarding, dining what you want when you want it, and longer stays in port. Enjoy a sunset on every cruise and decadent Sunday brunch with a complimentary Mimosa or Bloody Mary every day of the week. And the party does not stop onboard. Every night is Saturday, with live music, amazing entertainment, and dancing the night away at Boleros Latin lounge.

 

(Also noticed on that page, under Empress of the seas, they have, “Party.Chill.Repeat” ) Sounds like the new Miami Party ship.

[MADflyer]

 

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

 

Thank you for your post. You might notice that on my posting of bookings at Grand Cayman that Empress was not booked for the 31st of May.

 

That led to a further clue. Pullmantur had booked Majesty at Grand Cayman every Tuesday from that week for Majesty well over a year ago, when they were going to be sailing from Cancun with the ship.

 

It looks like RCI might be using those Grand Cayman bookings for Empress of the Seas.

 

By the way, I think Grand Cayman is always a tender port at the moment as they are in the process of deciding to build their first cruise dock.

 

 

I am not sure if some or all of these Majesty bookings will be used by Empress

 

1. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 May 31 2016 8:00AM May 31 2016 7:00PM

2. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jun 7 2016 8:00AM Jun 7 2016 7:00PM

3. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jun 14 2016 8:00AM Jun 14 2016 7:00PM

4. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jun 21 2016 8:00AM Jun 21 2016 7:00PM

5. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jun 28 2016 8:00AM Jun 28 2016 7:00PM

6. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jul 5 2016 8:00AM Jul 5 2016 7:00PM

7. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jul 12 2016 8:00AM Jul 12 2016 7:00PM

8. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jul 19 2016 8:00AM Jul 19 2016 7:00PM

9. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Jul 26 2016 8:00AM Jul 26 2016 7:00PM

10. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Aug 2 2016 8:00AM Aug 2 2016 7:00PM

11. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Aug 9 2016 8:00AM Aug 9 2016 7:00PM

12. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Aug 16 2016 8:00AM Aug 16 2016 7:00PM

13. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Aug 23 2016 8:00AM Aug 23 2016 7:00PM

14. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Aug 30 2016 8:00AM Aug 30 2016 7:00PM

15. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Sep 6 2016 8:00AM Sep 6 2016 7:00PM

16. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Sep 13 2016 8:00AM Sep 13 2016 7:00PM

17. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Sep 20 2016 8:00AM Sep 20 2016 7:00PM

18. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Sep 27 2016 8:00AM Sep 27 2016 7:00PM

19. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Oct 4 2016 8:00AM Oct 4 2016 7:00PM

20. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Oct 11 2016 8:00AM Oct 11 2016 7:00PM

21. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Oct 18 2016 8:00AM Oct 18 2016 7:00PM

22. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Oct 25 2016 8:00AM Oct 25 2016 7:00PM

23. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Nov 1 2016 8:00AM Nov 1 2016 7:00PM

24. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Nov 8 2016 8:00AM Nov 8 2016 7:00PM

25. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Nov 15 2016 8:00AM Nov 15 2016 7:00PM

26. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Nov 22 2016 8:00AM Nov 22 2016 7:00PM

27. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Nov 29 2016 8:00AM Nov 29 2016 7:00PM

28. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Dec 6 2016 8:00AM Dec 6 2016 7:00PM

29. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Dec 13 2016 8:00AM Dec 13 2016 7:00PM

30. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Dec 20 2016 8:00AM Dec 20 2016 7:00PM

31. Majesty Pullmantur Cruises Ship Management 2,744 0 Dec 27 2016 8:00AM Dec 27 2016 7:00PM

[MADflyer]

On Empress of the Seas®, that “you only live once” philosophy means just a few days are packed with moments that count. Seek further, unwind like you mean it, and do it all your own way. With fast and early boarding, dining what you want when you want it, and longer stays in port. Enjoy a sunset on every cruise and decadent Sunday brunch with a complimentary Mimosa or Bloody Mary every day of the week. And the party does not stop onboard. Every night is Saturday, with live music, amazing entertainment, and dancing the night away at Boleros Latin lounge.

 

(Also noticed on that page, under Empress of the seas, they have, “Party.Chill.Repeat” ) Sounds like the new Miami Party ship.

 

Yes. That is the case. I had posted some of those details in post 61 as well. It should be interesting to follow the release of this ship.

[ADS94]

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.

[LMaxwell]

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.

 

That's definitely a longer stay in KW. Most ships leave KW by 6PM or earlier usually.

[ADS94]

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.

Edited December 21, 2015 by ADS94

[MADflyer]

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.

 

Well, if they go live with a page that serves STAKE in Chops, then you can not really expect them to follow the maritime distinction of what makes a ship a part of a class.

 

They really had to combine these ships with the current webpage layout or it would have looked odd though.

[Retired LEO]

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.

 

The menu of ships on the home page has Empress listed under the Sovereign Class right under Majesty.

[LMaxwell]

The menu of ships on the home page has Empress listed under the Sovereign Class right under Majesty.

 

It wasn't that way an hour ago.

 

Voyager class is totally missing too.

 

I bet there is an IT guy screaming at his console "STOP PEOPLE!"

 

edit: when you click the ship and it shows a pictogram at the bottom of the page it has Empress class separate, but the thumbnail is a copy of majesty.

Edited December 21, 2015 by LMaxwell

[Paulette3028]

Itineraries for Empress

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/cruises?price_max=1000000.0&currencyCode=USD&shipCode_NE=true&action=update

[FLACRUISER99]

The menu of ships on the home page has Empress listed under the Sovereign Class right under Majesty.

It now says "Ships from the Sovereign and Empress Class"

[ahecht]

Well, if they go live with a page that serves STAKE in Chops, then you can not really expect them to follow the maritime distinction of what makes a ship a part of a class.

 

They really had to combine these ships with the current webpage layout or it would have looked odd though.

 

If you like dining, you can also get "multi-course dining for breakfast, lunch and dining in the Main Dining."

 

If you like extra apostrophes, you can "choose to dine in our pre-determined seating's or at your own time."

 

Seriously?

Edited December 21, 2015 by ahecht

[MADflyer]

If you like dining, you can also get "multi-course dining for breakfast, lunch and dining in the Main Dining."

 

We now have STEAK in Chops along with Voom Wifi. I am sure they will have dinner in the MDR soon.

[garnetpalmetto]

To be technical, Empress should not be referred to as a 'class' of ships as a second ship of the same construction was never ordered by the original company, Admiral Cruises.

 

NCL stretched this a bit in recent years by calling their Norwegian Spirit, Spirit Class when the ship is really a Leo class ship, but Spirit is registered as a sub-class. They did the same for Epic, a F3 class ship, that had a sister ship ordered that was later cancelled.

 

Carnival has started calling their Concordia Class, Splendor, 'Splendor Class' for reasons that are well known.

 

I will be happy if RCI actually correctly refer to Empress as only Empress of the Seas.

 

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.

 

Just chiming in here, but it is completely appropriate to refer to Empress as an Empress class ship. There doesn't have to be more than one member to make it a class. The USS Enterprise (CVN-65) for instance, was referred to as an Enterprise class aircraft carrier even though she was the only ship in her class. IMO the only ships Royal Caribbean incorrectly refers to as a class are the Visions.

Edited December 21, 2015 by garnetpalmetto

[eroller]

Only three months are available to book. April, May, and June. I'm guessing these itineraries are just filling in a gap until Royal Caribbean gets the permits to sail to Cuba. Once that happens I would be willing to bet EMPRESS will switch to 7-night cruises from Miami to multiple ports in Cuba.

[OfTheSeasCruiser]

IMO the only ships Royal Caribbean incorrectly refers to as a class are the Visions.

 

Ehh. Although they were built in pairs, they're still relatively the same design, with minor differences.

 

If you stick with the logic that they should be in different classes, you might as well put Harmony in a different class than Oasis and Allure, because she's going to be fairly different from them.

[Retired LEO]

Someone from RCI must be monitoring these boards. It seems any mistake or error in their listings that is brought up here is quickly fixed on the web site.

We're all working for RCI as proof readers. :rolleyes:

[MADflyer]

Ehh. Although they were built in pairs, they're still relatively the same design, with minor differences.

 

If you stick with the logic that they should be in different classes, you might as well put Harmony in a different class than Oasis and Allure, because she's going to be fairly different from them.

 

You are spot on!

 

Classes are supposed to be groups of ships with similar design. One could argue for a single class ship, but as classes are not registered for ships and therefore establishing a class for a single ship is simply not necessary.

 

RCL has grouped the Vision class together due to this similar design of the three pairs of ships.

 

In registration with Det Norske Veritas, Splendour and Liberty are 'Sister vessels' and Vision and Rhapsody are 'Sister Vessels' and Enchantment and Grandeur are 'Sister Vessels'.

 

The grouping together as Vision class was done later by RCL for RCI due to the similar design of the 6 ships.

 

An interesting fact that I have never known the answer to is that the ship Sovereign was registered as having 'no sister ships' just like Empress is.

 

Yet the sister ships of Majesty and Monarch were designated as a part of the Sovereign class by RCL for RCI.

 

Here is the current registration for Empress that should be updated by the time the ship sails for RCI:

 

https://exchange.dnv.com/Exchange/main.aspx?extool=vessel&vesselid=g107404

[MADflyer]

Here is the deployment flyer that includes all sailings from March through June.

 

Empress appears to continue with the pattern 5/5/4 following this initial period.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/15048027_Empress_Caribbean_Deployment_Flyer.pdf

[MADflyer]

Here is the Saturday Every Night and Sunday Every Day flyer for the release of Empress of the Seas.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Empress/15048028_NE_Consumer_Flyer.pdf

[MADflyer]

Empress of the seas will be a no formal night ship for the 4 and 5 night sailings offered per information sent to travel agents.

[LMaxwell]

Here is the deployment flyer that includes all sailings from March through June.

 

Empress appears to continue with the pattern 5/5/4 following this initial period.

 

http://www.creative.rccl.com/Sales/Royal/Deployment/15048027_Empress_Caribbean_Deployment_Flyer.pdf

 

I like that all the 4 day itineraries have a sea day. that's great.

[MADflyer]

Empress of the seas will have a bow to stern 'makeover' with refreshed cabins. The ship is stated to be being 'Re-imagined' and not 'revitalized'

 

The main work of the refit will concentrate on repurposing the specialty restaurant back to Chops Grill, Re-vamping the lounge as a Boleros venue and adding spa services. The Casino Royale will be 're-imagined'

 

The pool party event 'PLUNGE' will be a new addition for Empress sailings.

[MADflyer]

I like that all the 4 day itineraries have a sea day. that's great.

 

It seems they have done a good job with 'short' notice as far as I can see. Very happy with the early expansion of the Miami port prior to the new terminal.

 

That 5 night overnight in Cozumel with 2 sea days will sure appeal to a certain market as well.

 

I wonder if they will do any major events similar to the concert series that Carnival is doing at Cozumel?