Empress of Seas – Laundry / Internet/ Jr. Suite

[JohnFLL]

Hi folks, I was wondering of any of you might be able to answer a few questions. I didn’t have much luck using search.

 

LAUNDRY BAG

 

My wife and I booked back to back cruises on the Empress for a total of ten days. Since I don’t really want to pack for ten days, I’m wondering if the wash and fold laundry bag is available?

 

INTERNET

 

It’s always thrilling to have your cell light up when you approach the US coast after a long cruise. Considering that Empress is straddling the keys for roughly half its five day voyage, I’m wondering what other cruisers experience is in terms of connectivity at sea. Were you able to intermittently get emails when you were in the vicinity of Florida?

 

JR. SUITE

 

From what I gather the only benefit is the room, faster boarding and double points. Beyond being a C&A Emerald member, there are no other Jr. Suite benefits offered on Empress. Correct?

 

Thank you for any thoughts or answers.

 

Regards,

John & Arlene

[Scotty G]

 

INTERNET

 

Regards,

John & Arlene

 

We were on Empress in July and had the basic Zoom package (WiFi). I was making and receiving phone calls and had streaming come in without much if any delay.

 

So if your phone is wifi capable you should be good to go with that package.

 

You can get basic Zoom info on the RCI website.

[rt1092]

Hi folks, I was wondering of any of you might be able to answer a few questions. I didn’t have much luck using search.

 

LAUNDRY BAG

 

My wife and I booked back to back cruises on the Empress for a total of ten days. Since I don’t really want to pack for ten days, I’m wondering if the wash and fold laundry bag is available?

 

INTERNET

 

It’s always thrilling to have your cell light up when you approach the US coast after a long cruise. Considering that Empress is straddling the keys for roughly half its five day voyage, I’m wondering what other cruisers experience is in terms of connectivity at sea. Were you able to intermittently get emails when you were in the vicinity of Florida?

 

JR. SUITE

 

From what I gather the only benefit is the room, faster boarding and double points. Beyond being a C&A Emerald member, there are no other Jr. Suite benefits offered on Empress. Correct?

 

Thank you for any thoughts or answers.

 

Regards,

John & Arlene

 

They had the wash and fold on the 5 night cruise.

We use an international plan with verizon calls $1.79 per minute and we turn off our data. In Key West we turned it on.

One big plus with the JS is you have a balcony and a larger room with a coffee maker. Other than the double points no other special perks.

We tried it and liked the ship so much we are trying to sail on it monthly. Till the prices go up.

[Clarea]

JS Perks:

 

Bathtub, priority check-in and boarding, tea kettle, coffee maker, bathroom amenities, robes, double C&A points, and a silver Seapass card.

[rt1092]

JS Perks:

 

Bathtub, priority check-in and boarding, tea kettle, coffee maker, bathroom amenities, robes, double C&A points, and a silver Seapass card.

 

No bathtub on the Empress. The JS is about the same as a typical balcony cabin on the other ships. But the closet (small walk in) is bigger.

Edited August 13, 2016 by rt1092

[Clarea]

No bathtub on the Empress. The JS is about the same as a typical balcony cabin on the other ships. But the closet (small walk in) is bigger.

Thanks for the correction.

[JohnFLL]

Thanks everyone for the rapid responses.

 

I’m sorry for not being clearer about the internet question. I was wondering if my cell phone provider could intermittently pickup emails considering that Empress won’t be that far off the coast. Having said that, I did sign up for one 5 day stretch for $9 a day for one device. That’s the lowest I’ve seen on any RCCL ship.

 

Clarea, you sold me on the in room coffeemaker. 

[Clarea]

... I was wondering if my cell phone provider could intermittently pickup emails considering that Empress won’t be that far off the coast ...

Once the ship is out to sea, it turns on it's cell tower, and your phone will connect to it. Using the ship's cell tower for data would be very expensive. Best to put the phone into Airplane mode and use the ship's WiFi.

[JohnFLL]

Thank you.

[JohnFLL]

For the benefit of those that might be searching and asking the same questions…

 

• The laundry bag is not available on the Empress 5 day sailing according to the room steward. Laundry is available on an individual garment basis.

• Provided you don’t need to be continuously connected, you’ll have access through your cell provider for a decent period. I had access in Key West and Cozumel. It turns out that Mexico was included in our plan and we didn’t even know it. In addition, I had a access for a couple of hours or more after leaving each port.

• With Royal Caribbean’s staggered boarding procedure, a suite guest wouldn’t be any quicker boarding the ship. Also, we never used the coffee maker. It was just too easy to walk down the hall and get fresh brewed coffee.

Edited September 7, 2016 by JohnFLL

[bob@karen]

Glad these questions were asked! We board Monday after 14 days on Allure. I'm more concerned about laundry as we are planning on using a guest laundry room at our hotel Sunday. Also we realize that the Jr Suite on Empress is likely to be smaller than our current balcony cabin, I'm happy to hear that the closet is likely to be bigger. Looking forward to relaxing on a smaller ship during 10 days of b2b cruising. [emoji924]

 

 

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[bob@karen]

The closet is smaller than our previous balcony cabin closet and the hangers are permanently affixed to two of the rods and none on the 3rd rod which is ok because with life vests on the floor there's no room to hang anything on the 3rd (lower) rod. Also no couch or second chair in jr suite. Hoping for good weather so we can use our aft balcony. Already warned by cabin steward to expect soot out there! Going to get a few pool towels to protect our clothes from the soot out there. Forewarned is good!

 

 

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[cruisenfever]

 

Clarea, you sold me on the in room coffeemaker. 

Before you get overly excited about the in room coffeemaker :D , it should be noted that it's a 2 cup coffee maker with coffee pods that are too big for the coffee maker provided and, if used, will make one heck of a strong cup of coffee!!

[spookwife]

Thanks everyone for the rapid responses.

 

I’m sorry for not being clearer about the internet question. I was wondering if my cell phone provider could intermittently pickup emails considering that Empress won’t be that far off the coast. Having said that, I did sign up for one 5 day stretch for $9 a day for one device. That’s the lowest I’ve seen on any RCCL ship.

 

Clarea, you sold me on the in room coffeemaker. 

 

once the ship hauls anchor, the ship board towers turn on and override any shore based options.

[Clarea]

Before you get overly excited about the in room coffeemaker :D , it should be noted that it's a 2 cup coffee maker with coffee pods that are too big for the coffee maker provided and, if used, will make one heck of a strong cup of coffee!!

And a mess too!

[reedl]

once the ship hauls anchor, the ship board towers turn on and override any shore based options.

 

Actually No. The ship has to get out to a place where it will not affect land based communications. Imagine the ship being near land and someone on land has their phone connect to the ship's cell phone tower. That would be an expensive phone call.

[bob@karen]

The coffee maker made a big overflowing mess this morning. Coffee from deck 10 is easier and better!

 

 

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[seabeew]

The closet is smaller than our previous balcony cabin closet and the hangers are permanently affixed to two of the rods and none on the 3rd rod which is ok because with life vests on the floor there's no room to hang anything on the 3rd (lower) rod. Also no couch or second chair in jr suite. Hoping for good weather so we can use our aft balcony. Already warned by cabin steward to expect soot out there! Going to get a few pool towels to protect our clothes from the soot out there. Forewarned is good!

 

 

Hey Bob and Karen, we're on the cruise with you. We may have talked to you earlier. Anyway, the Junior suites on deck nine on the port and starboard sides have a nice modern couch\loveseat. My husband is snoring on it right now.

Edited November 24, 2016 by seabeew

[bob@karen]

Wow! We'll have to check out those cabins. We love the deck 7 location of ours just above Boleros and the walking track. Haven't used the elevator since the first day!

 

 

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[poohnpals]

We sailed a back to back on Empress in October. I used the laundry service, filled up my bag and I think it was $23. I hadn't realized they didn't have self serve laundry prior to boarding.

 

We too tried to use our self phone while skimming the coast of Florida but had no luck. That's ok, we're on vacation.

 

Enjoy your cruise! We loved this ship

 

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