Empress of the Seas - Great "Little" Ship

[mistymusic]

We were on a 5 night cruise on Empress, Aug 20-25, visiting Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Key West. For anyone contemplating a cruise on this beautiful ship....GO FOR IT!!!! She is small but beautiful, the staff were amazing and it was a wonderful experience. Be happy to answer any questions. :)

[kris816]

How was the food in the Windjammer? I've read mixed reviews about the variety. Also, can you talk about the MDR menus? I've also read they are different than the rest of the fleet. Thanks!

[mistymusic]

The Windjammer food was just so-so....not as good as what we've had on the other ships. But, we seldom eat there other than lunch on boarding day, early morning coffee and ice cream!!!! We have always loved the MDR and eat there unless there's a time issue. The Empress MDR has a cool brunch buffet on Sunday and they also had it on our other sea day. It was fabulous!!! Also have complimentary mimosa's and bloody Mary's with the brunch. Now for the dinner menu......very different. Everything we had was very good but I did miss a few of the "staples" that are on the usual MDR menu. Honestly, neither my hubby not I had a bad dish. They served lobster and prime rib one night and hubby ate lots!!! He said it was all very good and was impressed that the lobster was not rubbery, as he called it. I don't eat seafood so I don't have an opinion on that. The only thing that I was disappointed in was the dessert menu....not many choices.

 

We only had one other disappointment and that was music/entertainment. Not much music for the "before dinner" crowd and the singers and dancers were great but then they had 3 comedy acts in a row. Not our style.

 

Otherwise, the ship is beautiful, well maintained and the service was top-notch. I call her a "little beauty". Of course we LOVE Key West and that was awesome as usual....Grand Cayman was just so-so.

[BillOh]

We were on a 5 night cruise on Empress, Aug 20-25, visiting Georgetown, Grand Cayman and Key West. For anyone contemplating a cruise on this beautiful ship....GO FOR IT!!!! She is small but beautiful, the staff were amazing and it was a wonderful experience. Be happy to answer any questions. :)

 

I haven't looked at the itineraries yet, how long did you stay in port at both places?

[kris816]

The Windjammer food was just so-so....not as good as what we've had on the other ships. But, we seldom eat there other than lunch on boarding day, early morning coffee and ice cream!!!! We have always loved the MDR and eat there unless there's a time issue. The Empress MDR has a cool brunch buffet on Sunday and they also had it on our other sea day. It was fabulous!!! Also have complimentary mimosa's and bloody Mary's with the brunch. Now for the dinner menu......very different. Everything we had was very good but I did miss a few of the "staples" that are on the usual MDR menu. Honestly, neither my hubby not I had a bad dish. They served lobster and prime rib one night and hubby ate lots!!! He said it was all very good and was impressed that the lobster was not rubbery, as he called it. I don't eat seafood so I don't have an opinion on that. The only thing that I was disappointed in was the dessert menu....not many choices.

 

We only had one other disappointment and that was music/entertainment. Not much music for the "before dinner" crowd and the singers and dancers were great but then they had 3 comedy acts in a row. Not our style.

 

Otherwise, the ship is beautiful, well maintained and the service was top-notch. I call her a "little beauty". Of course we LOVE Key West and that was awesome as usual....Grand Cayman was just so-so.

 

Great feedback. Thanks.

[oneputt18]

Fond memories, our first cruise 1992, will sail her soon.

[paigemorgan]

did they serve Escargot in the MDR.

[FLSteve11]

did they serve Escargot in the MDR.

 

I'll be sailing on her tomorrow, can't wait!! :)

[easyboy]

The Windjammer food was just so-so....not as good as what we've had on the other ships. But, we seldom eat there other than lunch on boarding day, early morning coffee and ice cream!!!! We have always loved the MDR and eat there unless there's a time issue. The Empress MDR has a cool brunch buffet on Sunday and they also had it on our other sea day. It was fabulous!!! Also have complimentary mimosa's and bloody Mary's with the brunch. Now for the dinner menu......very different. Everything we had was very good but I did miss a few of the "staples" that are on the usual MDR menu. Honestly, neither my hubby not I had a bad dish. They served lobster and prime rib one night and hubby ate lots!!! He said it was all very good and was impressed that the lobster was not rubbery, as he called it. I don't eat seafood so I don't have an opinion on that. The only thing that I was disappointed in was the dessert menu....not many choices.

 

We only had one other disappointment and that was music/entertainment. Not much music for the "before dinner" crowd and the singers and dancers were great but then they had 3 comedy acts in a row. Not our style.

 

Otherwise, the ship is beautiful, well maintained and the service was top-notch. I call her a "little beauty". Of course we LOVE Key West and that was awesome as usual....Grand Cayman was just so-so.

Glad you enjoyed the food.

[mistymusic]

We were in Georgetown, Grand Cayman from 930 to 530 and Key West from 7 to 430. We did the glass bottom boat/bus tour in Grand Cayman. The boat was very disappointing (not much at all) but the bus tour of the Island was excellent with stops at some fun/interesting places. In Key West you cannot go wrong with the Conch Train tour. Excellent tour with loads of information and great history. Of course, after the tour we shopped and then spent a couple hours at Sloppy Joe's....which we loved and had a fabulous time. While there it poured rain but we were lucky enough to get a PediCab (covered) back to the ship for $5 (of course, we tipped generously....:)). Fabulous day in KW...which is one of our favorite places.

[bespin]

Were there any particular daytime activities on the sea days? Thanks.

[mistymusic]

Not really. That was our one major complaint for the entire cruise. Nothing really going on during the day on sea days....at least that we wanted to do. If you are into belly-flopping and the love and marriage game...then you would be all set. LOL I'm sure it's because it's a very small ship but we love music, the pool, etc. Pool is very small and far too crowded for enjoyment. While it's a nice little ship, it isn't one we will sail again. We are very much into the Vision Class size, although our November cruise is on the Freedom so it will be interesting to see how we feel about that size.

[hannibal54]

I will be on her next month, I am still looking up this about the ship. What is the dress in the MDR? I have heard it is real causal. It would be good to hear from someone who has sailed on her for when I do may packing for the cruise.

[mistymusic]

Dress in MDR is casual...very casual. We saw many in shorts, but very nice shorts, shirts, etc. Nothing tacky, but more casual than on other ships. Just go with an open mind and the knowledge that She is small, and enjoy the uniqueness.....it was worth the trip. I have noticed there have been many comments about the size of the staterooms. We had an oceanview on deck 3 and our cabin was fine. Had a huge window and enough space....but then we never spend much time in our cabin anyway so it's never an issue with us. As anyone who cruises knows...the bathrooms are always SMALL!!!! LOL Have a great cruise. ;)

[FLSteve11]

Just got on about 2 hours ago. Easiest boarding ever, was in the terminal and onboard in 6 minutes (literally). Looks in good shape. I love the schooner bar already. Also like all the little places to sit with Windows in areas like by the rear stairs on each deck. Weird fitness setup though in the VCL :).

 

 

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[mistymusic]

Steve, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised at how nice She is. Our favorite hang-out was the Schooner Bar......and they have 2 great piano guys who alternate. Enjoy the cruise!!!!

[FLSteve11]

Definitely looking forward to it. Already seen much of the ship (except stateroom, but I've done the tiny inside majesty rooms so I'm ready ;)) sailing solo this time so will make the trip different

 

 

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[mistymusic]

LOL Steve. Doesn't take long to see the whole thing!!!!

[loubetti]

She's "small", but still larger than Titanic, at 48,000 GT.

[puggylicious]

Did you use the Internet package on the ship? Wondering if it was good.

[mistymusic]

No. We prefer to not be "connected" while we're on vacation. It's quite expensive but I noticed loads of people were using it.

[puggylicious]

Thank you Mistymusic. We are booked for a cruise on the Empress and were so happy to see your thread. The Empress was our first cruise and we are really looking forward to sailing her again. So glad you had a good cruise.

[RoLoHa]

Nice to hear of another happy Empress cruiser. It seems that RCI has resolved many of the issues reported on earlier cruises. We sail in 13 days and are very excited to experience the smaller ship. Its our first time visiting Key West as a cruise port as well.

[LMaxwell]

She's "small", but still larger than Titanic, at 48,000 GT.

 

Not exactly. more "hotel" space (stacks of cabin decks), but significantly shorter.

 

I am looking forward to booking when Cuba opens

[FLSteve11]

So far doing well. Food was good in the MDR, show was good, the casino is small but was not crowded last night (see if that changes after the first night). In KW now, nice docking near Mallory Sq. it's in good shape and service has been really good.

 

 

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