Just booked Empress for March 2020, did I make a mistake?

[MandyMooToo]

I just booked the husband and I on a 6 night cruise on Empress in March 2020 going to a couple of places we have never been (Costa Maya and Key West).  The price was very good and I was looking for a short cruise for the late winter/early spring months so even though this was 6 days instead of 4 or 5 I jumped on it anyway.  After booking I started reading some reviews saying that Empress may have seen better days, much better days, and she was showing way too much age, etc.  Now normally I would have researched a cruise and ship and ports to death before booking but this one just kind of fell into my lap so I did not read anything until after I booked and I am worried I may have made a mistake.  Any comments on Empress?  We do cruise the larger ships often but really just look for relaxation, some shows, some trivia and the Schooner of course 🙂

[Clarea]

5 minutes ago, MandyMooToo said:

 ... Any comments on Empress?   ... 🙂

 

A very simple search would have brought up this excellent review:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2686747-empress-8-night-eastern-caribbean-🎵-oops-i-booked-it-again-🎵/

 

[dswallow]

I hope you've read this live review thread: 

 

 

[MandyMooToo]

1 minute ago, Host Clarea said:

 

A very simple search would have brought up this excellent review:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2686747-empress-8-night-eastern-caribbean-🎵-oops-i-booked-it-again-🎵/

 

I read this review and it was/is very good!  I was just hoping there was more than one person in love with the ship.  This is one great review where there are many bad reviews so I suppose I was looking for more good than bad...

[TheSteveK]

Not only that, but he's back on the Empress right now

 

Also, I think I'm on the same cruise, March 15?

 

[MandyMooToo]

3 minutes ago, dswallow said:

I hope you've read this live review thread: 

 

 

I read the other review by this CC member, I will look at this one too, thank you.

[Clarea]

Just now, MandyMooToo said:

I read this review and it was/is very good!  I was just hoping there was more than one person in love with the ship.  This is one great review where there are many bad reviews so I suppose I was looking for more good than bad...

 

More info here: 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/search/?type=forums_topic&search_and_or=or&search_in=titles&nodes=51&q=empress

[MandyMooToo]

2 minutes ago, TheSteveK said:

Also, I think I'm on the same cruise, March 15?

 

 

March 1, 2020 for us.

[TheSteveK]

1 minute ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

March 1, 2020 for us.

 

Ah well, for a minute I thought we'd be on with some fellow TN folks (Go Vols!)

 

I haven't been, but from what I have seen, the ship seems to be well maintained.  As long as you're not seeking the wall-to-wall excitement of bigger ships, it seems like it'll be a nice little cruise 🙂

[Clarea]

Other threads on the subject:

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2683008-thoughts-on-empress-of-the-seas/?do=findComment&comment=57993059

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2678546-need-thoughts-on-empress-of-the-seas/?do=findComment&comment=57876958

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2659913-nervous-to-sail-empress/?do=findComment&comment=57394456

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2650671-empress/?do=findComment&comment=57163959

 

[twangster]

I ran into some people at the Boleros Bar last night.  They too had seen my 1st review so I asked them if they thought it was fair or slanted.  They agreed it was fair, or at least that is what they told me.  They too like this ship.

 

There is nothing wrong with just being into big ships.  If that's your sweet spot, so be it.  I like the variety offered across the Royal fleet.  For people that don't like big ships Royal has small ships.  For people that only like big ships, Royal has that too.  For people like me that like all ships and variety, Royal has that.  

 

At the core pick a small ship to experience the sea and feel like you are connected to the ocean while you cruise.  Pick a big ship if the ship is as much the destination as the ports are.  One thing many cruisers agree on, service is better on small ships.  

 

I'm struggling to figure out how to spend more time on Empress.  I booked too many other cruises before these Cuba alerted itineraries became available. 

 

To each their own.

[Tree_skier]

2 minutes ago, twangster said:

I ran into some people at the Boleros Bar last night.  They too had seen my 1st review so I asked them if they thought it was fair or slanted.  They agreed it was fair, or at least that is what they told me.  They too like this ship.

 

There is nothing wrong with just being into big ships.  If that's your sweet spot, so be it.  I like the variety offered across the Royal fleet.  For people that don't like big ships Royal has small ships.  For people that only like big ships, Royal has that too.  For people like me that like all ships and variety, Royal has that.  

 

At the core pick a small ship to experience the sea and feel like you are connected to the ocean while you cruise.  Pick a big ship if the ship is as much the destination as the ports are.  One thing many cruisers agree on, service is better on small ships.  

 

I'm struggling to figure out how to spend more time on Empress.  I booked too many other cruises before these Cuba alerted itineraries became available. 

 

To each their own.

I've been following your Empress reviews and you have convinced me give her a try. 

[TheSteveK]

4 minutes ago, Tree_skier said:

I've been following your Empress reviews and you have convinced me give her a try. 

 

RCCL needs to put Twangster on the payroll

[MandyMooToo]

7 minutes ago, twangster said:

I ran into some people at the Boleros Bar last night.  They too had seen my 1st review so I asked them if they thought it was fair or slanted.  They agreed it was fair, or at least that is what they told me.  They too like this ship.

 

There is nothing wrong with just being into big ships.  If that's your sweet spot, so be it.  I like the variety offered across the Royal fleet.  For people that don't like big ships Royal has small ships.  For people that only like big ships, Royal has that too.  For people like me that like all ships and variety, Royal has that.  

 

At the core pick a small ship to experience the sea and feel like you are connected to the ocean while you cruise.  Pick a big ship if the ship is as much the destination as the ports are.  One thing many cruisers agree on, service is better on small ships.  

 

I'm struggling to figure out how to spend more time on Empress.  I booked too many other cruises before these Cuba alerted itineraries became available. 

 

To each their own.

 

We have cruised the bigger ships and will be on Allure next month but I like all ships!  We were on Brilliance in February and had a blast so I expect to do the same in March.  Just had a few concerns after reading some reviews that were not very positive.  I would say we will be more connected to the water and have a much more intimate cruise in March than September.  Thank you for the response and for the review.

[schlimazel_traveler]

My daughter's favorite activity host from our recent Grandeur cruise is moving to Empress and she is determined to follow him! I'm starting to think it sounds perfect.

[marci22]

Did you book an oceanview cabin? 7164 is still available for that cruise. It's a little more than the 2N category but you'd have a little extra space.

Edited August 12, 2019 by marci22

[MandyMooToo]

7 minutes ago, marci22 said:

Did you book an oceanview cabin? 7164 is still available for that cruise. It's a little more than the 2N category but you'd have a little extra space.

 

We have always booked inside cabins until our cruise next month.  My husband is an officer and spent many years on a shift work schedule.  He is used to complete darkness after blacking out our bedroom so too much light is a struggle for him.  We (he really) broke down and agreed to a Central Park balcony on Allure next month and we will be testing it out to see how dark we can get the cabin with curtain clips!  But thank you for the advice.

[marci22]

1 minute ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

We have always booked inside cabins until our cruise next month.  My husband is an officer and spent many years on a shift work schedule.  He is used to complete darkness after blacking out our bedroom so too much light is a struggle for him.  We (he really) broke down and agreed to a Central Park balcony on Allure next month and we will be testing it out to see how dark we can get the cabin with curtain clips!  But thank you for the advice.

I think the curtains really block out the light. I usually leave them open a little bit just so I know when it's morning.

[dreamer976]

49 minutes ago, TheSteveK said:

 

RCCL needs to put Twangster on the payroll

+1!

[dswallow]

1 hour ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

We have always booked inside cabins until our cruise next month.  My husband is an officer and spent many years on a shift work schedule.  He is used to complete darkness after blacking out our bedroom so too much light is a struggle for him.  We (he really) broke down and agreed to a Central Park balcony on Allure next month and we will be testing it out to see how dark we can get the cabin with curtain clips!  But thank you for the advice.

 

For whatever reason I've found that the curtains used seem to acquire pinpoint holes over time, your "blackout" mileage may vary a bit because of this. 🙂

[ACEMommy2008]

2 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

 

We have cruised the bigger ships and will be on Allure next month but I like all ships!  We were on Brilliance in February and had a blast so I expect to do the same in March.  Just had a few concerns after reading some reviews that were not very positive.  I would say we will be more connected to the water and have a much more intimate cruise in March than September.  Thank you for the response and for the review.

The first cruise my husband and I took together was on Empress, in April 2018. Like you, I also was apprehensive after booking, reading all

the negativity. However, once aboard, we fell in love!  The smaller size made for less crowds and a more relaxing atmosphere, exactly what we were looking for!  Funnily enough, we are booked on the Brilliance for April 2020. Your thoughts?

[Cruisegirl6]

My sister and brother in law are currently online and sending me all photos.  They are thoroughly enjoying it....my brother in law who has heart issues is very happy to report the casino is smokeless.  There is no diamond lounge but on embarkation day they had a spillway party somewhere out on deck shaded area and said there are diamond happy hours also daily.  They said the ship is clean, feels like its larger due to many areas having an open feeling to it.  My sister said food was good and CocoCay they loved.  With this being said, we decided to cancel our next cruise this October on Carnival and for hours yesterday I was tossing on the Empress for 5 nights or the Navigator 4 night.....over and over I been saying 5 nights vs larger ship with more....finally I asked my other half how he liked the Majesty last year when we went to Cuba...he said there was no place to walk around other than the casino and schooner bar....I got my answer and booked the Navigator.

 

Empress is a well maintained ship and its all up to you, but there may be more activities on a larger ship and with the Navigator I knew she had the ice rink show, always my favorite, so do consider whether activities and shows are important and take that into consideration.  

[MandyMooToo]

37 minutes ago, ACEMommy2008 said:

The first cruise my husband and I took together was on Empress, in April 2018. Like you, I also was apprehensive after booking, reading all

the negativity. However, once aboard, we fell in love!  The smaller size made for less crowds and a more relaxing atmosphere, exactly what we were looking for!  Funnily enough, we are booked on the Brilliance for April 2020. Your thoughts?

We loved Brilliance!  It was not too big and not too small and the staff was wonderful.  We were traveling with two other couples and everyone seemed to figure it out and ask us where the others were all over the ship!  The food was good, entertainment was good and the Schooner was our favorite place to hang out.

[DrDani226]

4 hours ago, MandyMooToo said:

I just booked the husband and I on a 6 night cruise on Empress in March 2020 going to a couple of places we have never been (Costa Maya and Key West).  The price was very good and I was looking for a short cruise for the late winter/early spring months so even though this was 6 days instead of 4 or 5 I jumped on it anyway.  After booking I started reading some reviews saying that Empress may have seen better days, much better days, and she was showing way too much age, etc.  Now normally I would have researched a cruise and ship and ports to death before booking but this one just kind of fell into my lap so I did not read anything until after I booked and I am worried I may have made a mistake.  Any comments on Empress?  We do cruise the larger ships often but really just look for relaxation, some shows, some trivia and the Schooner of course 🙂

We just got off Empress Saturday, so I can share my thoughts. We went with my 8-year-old daughter, and decided we would not likely sail a ship that small with children again. Honestly, I don't think I would sail Empress again at all. It was not awful (I mean it was still a cruise:)), it was just too small for us, which also leads to less activities. I will say that we loved Bolero's and Schooner's, as they were huge! I think we have just been spoiled with the bigger ships and the numerous amenities they offer. However, I think Empress is probably good for a simple, relaxing week:) 

[MandyMooToo]

1 minute ago, DrDani226 said:

We just got off Empress Saturday, so I can share my thoughts. We went with my 8-year-old daughter, and decided we would not likely sail a ship that small with children again. Honestly, I don't think I would sail Empress again at all. It was not awful (I mean it was still a cruise:)), it was just too small for us, which also leads to less activities. I will say that we loved Bolero's and Schooner's, as they were huge! I think we have just been spoiled with the bigger ships and the numerous amenities they offer. However, I think Empress is probably good for a simple, relaxing week:) 

 

Great, thank you.  We will be on Allure next month, then Empress and then Freedom later that year so maybe a small ship sandwiched between two larger ships will be relaxing.  Sometimes I feel like I need a vacation from my vacation if there have been too many activities.