Empress of the Sea review 1-30-06

[Retired not Expired]

First, a special thank you to Cathy and Helen who provided such good information and tips for this cruise right here on Cruise Critics. They and others on here made planning and the cruise itself a very special time.

 

Empress of the Sea 1-30-06 through 2-10-06 eleven day sailing out of San Juan, PR. Cabin was 7638, a partially obstructed ocean view. A positive on this cabin is that it is at the exact pivot point for the pitch of the ship and very little, if any, movement was felt on the rare occasions when the seas got a little rough. I say rare because of other than 10 foot seas the first night and 6-8 foot seas for short periods a couple of other times, the seas stayed under 5 foot for most of this cruise. My wife, who is prone to motion sickness, was able to remove her wrist bands after the second day and stopped taking meclyzine by day three. A few of our friends, with cabins fore and aft, did have a couple of episodes of motion sickness on later days. If you are prone to motion sickness and plan on taking a cruise on this ship, I highly recommend this cabin or the ones next to it or above or below it on the Starboard side or their opposites on the Port side. Very little roll with this ship. It was mainly pitch.

 

Pre-cruise. We flew in two days early and stayed at the Coral Princess Inn in Condado. Although I was disappointed when I saw the outside and the office in this quaint little boutique hotel, I was quite satisfied a short time after checking in and getting settled. Rooms run from $120 to $160 a night. I do not recommend the $120 rooms as they are quite small. We got a mid-grade room for $145 and loved it. All the floors and bathroom walls were done in marble with the exception being the patio floors done in a brick red tile. Our room, number 25, was adequate size with two double beds, microwave, refrigerator, and had DSL internet provided through the TV cable. It opened onto a patio on the second level with wonderful padded chairs and love seats as well as glass top tables. I recommend rooms 22-26 as they open on this patio rather than an interior hallway.

This is a non-smoking hotel but smoking is allowed on the patios. Two ashtrays are provided in the lower patio for the breakfast area but none on the second level. Smokers may want to take a small metal ashtray for their own use out on these patios.

 

Breakfast is provided and is a quite good Continental breakfast of fresh and canned fruit, croissants, bagels, hard rolls, toast, luncheon meats, cheeses, yogurts, oats, cereals, sweet rolls, tarts, sweet breads, juice, and wonderful coffee in a lovely setting.

 

The hotel is kept very clean and secure as you must be buzzed in to enter. It has a small pool and the patio areas have some nice plantings to enjoy. The staff is top notched, very friendly and helpful. I mentioned we would like to do the Rain Forest tour and they set it up with Rich Sunshine Tours for Sunday and called us with the particulars. It was $45 a person for a five hour tour and well worth it. Rich was very knowledgeable and gave the eight of us on the tour much history about the island. Since I can’t walk long distances, he was also kind enough to wait for the wife and I after the others stated walking the trail. We were able to walk part way in to enjoy some quiet solitude along a babbling brook in beautiful surroundings before we met back up with him and he took us to another beautiful setting with a small snack shop where we had a lunch of one of the best hamburgers I’ve ever had prior to meeting up with the others. I highly recommend Rich Sunshine Tours for your stay in San Juan. The only concerns we had were watching the 15-25 foot breakers coming across the road we traveled to the rain forest, looking more like the North Shore of Oahu in January rather than the Caribbean. Couple this with the people coming off cruise ships that weekend telling of outside doors being locked to keep people off decks and their glee of being off the ships due to rough seas made us worry about our time on the small Empress. But; like I said above, our cruise was quite different and pleasant.

 

The cruise. The Empress of the Sea is a small but well anointed ship, easy to navigate, and a top notched crew who are always smiling and try hard to make things right for you. It became apparent quickly that they take much pride in their jobs. The only drawback I saw was the assistant waiter had to work with more than one waiter which cause some minor gaps in service but it was not due to their trying hard to do their best. Our stateroom attendant was Denise, our waitress Margarita, the assistant waiter was Lazley, and the head waiter Rocky, who was also the assistant in charge of the dining room. Rocky was the first head waiter we’ve had who made a point to visit each table every night not only to check on our meal but assisted in helping the service as well as telling us about the next day dining and giving tips on the various islands we were to visit. This is one great crew but just a little short handed as in the assistant waiters and everyone so busy they didn’t have anyone to wipe down the deck chairs after the brief rain showers. Very minor things. The only other drawback I saw was not opening the Windjammer earlier on early port calls so people could enjoy a leisurely breakfast rather than the mad crush that happened as people tried to grab a quick breakfast prior to going ashore for their tours. Not a major thing but it did take a little away from an otherwise relaxing and peaceful cruise. But at about $100 a day per person, this was an outstanding value for the money.

 

My wife and I were the fifth and sixth persons on the ships as we had arrived early and were eating by noon. Since she is diabetic, we had requested a refrigerator in the room as there are none provided on this ship. But, as usual, the home office didn’t do their job. Ten minutes after a phone call to housekeeping resulted in a smiling young man delivering one to our cabin. We rewarded him for his quick service. We also asked Denise to separate our beds as our 139 square foot cabin had the pull down beds and this gave us more room. It was quickly done and she too was rewarded early as well as at the end for her great service. She kept up the cabin very well as well as providing entertainment with the many towel animals.

 

The cabin was small but space was well used. Six drawers, several shelves, space above the beds by the window, adequate closet space with plenty of hangers, space under the beds for luggage, six shelves in the bathroom. We never felt crowded or the cabin seem untidy. Of course, we had the attacking shower curtain but bar soap and a shampoo dispenser , both kept supplied. Safes are in the closet.

 

Our Meet & Mingle was held at five on the third day of the cruise with about twenty wonderful people showing up. I won a bottle of Champaign which we shared with our tablemates on the first formal night fo which there were two and one smart casual. A couple from our Meet and Mingle won what I believe was called the Love and Marriage Game held on-board. I believe it was Little Tommy that won it for them but you will have to ask them who Little Tommy is. I won’t tell but it did involve red faces.

 

We used the On-board Luggage Valet available to American Airlines flyers. Paid $10 per person, our boarding passes were delivered to our staterooms the last afternoon as well as white bar coded tags for our luggage. We were escorted off the ship as the first group. Cleared immigrations, claimed our luggage, cleared customs, turned in our check in luggage to the American rep, in a cab and to the airport before nine. Quick and easy. Recommended for American flyers. We could have gone straight to security at the airport but I noticed our flight was delayed and we would miss our connection so we went to the American check in and the agent went to the back, found our luggage, and changed us to an earlier, more direct flight that got us home 2 ½ hours ahead of the scheduled one. Great service. The airport was not near as bad since this was on Friday rather than the mess that happens there on the weekend when many ships are changing over.

 

Recommendations. If you are the type that must be entertained every minute and want a floating amusement park instead of a cruise ship, I do not recommend this ship. But if you are the type that enjoys a real cruise experience, a great crew that does their best to give you that experience and want to come away feeling relaxed, enjoy food that rates from very good to excellent for a main line cruise line, and on a ship that is beautiful and well maintained, then this is the ship for you. I will tell you that my wife and I are great lovers of Freestyle cruising. We prefer it very much over traditional dining. But that didn’t stop us from having a wonderful experience on this great little jewel that RCI has. We would do this one again in a heartbeat and hope to experience it again in the future.

 

I will try to add more in the future about this cruise and will answer any questions I can. There’s more I want to add when the rest of me returns from this cruise. Room service didn’t deliver coffee this morning. It took a bit to remember the recipe for coffee is coffee grounds and water. When I walked out on our deck this morning, the 25 degree temperature was a bit un-nerving. There was no food or service in the dining room this morning. As the shock of reality wears off, more thoughts will come to mind. I just wanted to get some thoughts out now for those getting ready for this cruise.

[curlyd]

Thank you Retired for a great review. We will be on the Empress in less than a month. This is our first cruise and we picked it for the itinerary but I also think I prefer the smaller ships. I don't need all of the family things since it is just Bill and I.

 

I will enjoy anything else you think of especially regarding the ports.

 

Thanks again

Dawn

[froggie Q]

Do you remember which nights were formal, semi formal etc?

[curlyd]

Froggie, according to an earlier Jan 06 sailing the two formal nights were at St. Maarten and the first sea day. I don't remember when the semi formal night(s) were.

[Retired not Expired]

Froggie, according to an earlier Jan 06 sailing the two formal nights were at St. Maarten and the first sea day. I don't remember when the semi formal night(s) were.

 

Yes, the formal nights are Tuesday when leaving St Maartens and Sunday the sea day. Our second formal was held on Monday since that Sunday was Super Bowl Sunday.

 

I'll have to get the Compasses out of the suitcases to help me remember when the smart casual was.

 

Although there was some variances, most on this cruise did comply with the suggested dress codes. It was an older and almost child free cruise.

[Swedish Chef]

Thanks for the Review - Retired Not Expired - We are on the Empress Feb.27,2006 as well as staying at the Coral Princess Pre-Cruise for Two Nights, sounds like a nice place..hopefully we'll get one of those rooms 22-26, we reserved a room with a King..so maybe we'll be lucky:D

[Retired not Expired]

I got out the compass for the cruise. The smart casual was on the first Thursday after Antigua and the second Wednesday after Aruba was a casual Caribbean.

 

Remember, this ship does a three day to St Thomas between the eleven day cruises so the eleven day always starts on a Monday and ends on a Friday.

 

An aside note for those of you who got to the ship by taxi, if you decide you would rather do a bus transfer back to the airport, you can purchase one on-board for $10 a person as long as you do so by noon of the second Wednesday of the cruise. I used the taxi but this is another option for you.

[Laoghaire]

Hi R not E....Great report, am waiting with baited breath for the follow-ups. Lots of questions, but will wait for the next installments of your trip. Glad we were of some help...Helen

[terri23]

Thanks for the review! Would like to know your favorite ports of call and what you did where.

[margaritasalt]

Thanks for bringing back some Empress memories. She's a lovely little ship. I sailed on her back in 2000 before she was stretched. As "small" as the ship was, I remember she dwarfed the "skyline" in Bermuda.

 

I'd sail on her again in a second.

 

:)

[froggie Q]

Thank you for the dining information!

[w&k]

Retired-

 

We're going on 3/27. Were the ship and the islands on the same time?

 

Thanks so much for your review - we'll definitely do the AA transfer! ;)

 

Wendy

[Retired not Expired]

Retired-

 

We're going on 3/27. Were the ship and the islands on the same time?

 

Thanks so much for your review - we'll definitely do the AA transfer! ;)

 

Wendy

 

Yes, the ship and all the islands were on Atlantic Time which is one hour ahead of Eastern Time during the winter. We are on Central Time so when we arrived in San Juan at 4 PM, we set our watches ahead to 6 PM and left them there for the cruise until we got back to Dallas, TX for our connecting flight home.

 

I'm going to try to have an addition to my review done tomorrow sometime. This should deal with the ports and more on the ship about dining, dress, and the cruisers that were on this cruise. We had our traditional after cruise meal of beans, cornbread and fried potatoes today to help us get back to reality. We enjoy this after all the excesses of cruise dining. As the old saying goes, if you are what you eat, I'm fast, easy, and cheap.:D

[NancyChgo]

Thanks Retired for the great review. I too look forward to hearing more :D

 

Particularly, can you tell me more about "the On-board Luggage Valet available to American Airlines flyers"? I'm on the 4/21 repo cruise from San Juan to Philly and flying AA, so I'm curious about this service. I've flown AA before, but never heard of this.

 

Thanks!

Nancy

[kenandlaura06]

Thank you for the detailed review.

[Retired not Expired]

Thanks Retired for the great review. I too look forward to hearing more :D

 

Particularly, can you tell me more about "the On-board Luggage Valet available to American Airlines flyers"? I'm on the 4/21 repo cruise from San Juan to Philly and flying AA, so I'm curious about this service. I've flown AA before, but never heard of this.

 

Thanks!

Nancy

 

I'll try to answer this one now. About midway through the cruise, a form for this service will be in the Cruise Compass or you can go to Guest Relations and ask for one at any time of the cruise. There are three main requirements. 1. All segments of your flight must be on American. You can not have a connecting flight on another airlines. 2. Your flight from San Juan must be between 11 AM and 11 PM on the day you disembark the ship. 3. No more than 2 pieces of luggage per person.

 

If you meet these requirements, fill out the form with names and flight numbers and check the boxes asking the above requirements. There is a fourth box that asks if you have an RCI transfer to the airport. Check it also as another place on the form says all the boxes must be checked to participate. I checked it even though I didn't have the transfers and used a taxi. Turn the form into Guest Relations. The cost is ten dollars per person and will be added to your on-board account.

 

On the last full day of the cruise in the late afternoon, an envelope will be delivered to your cabin. In it will be boarding passes for all legs of your flight with your seat assignments. It will also contain luggage tags much like what the airlines use for checked baggage. It will also have an instruction page on what to do the next morning.

 

Pack your check luggage, put on the white tags provided, and place out in the hall as you would for any disembarking. Throw away any other color coded tags that may have been placed in your cabin as they are for people not using this program.

 

The instruction sheet will tell you where and what time to meet the next morning. Do not be late. Custom will not allow anyone to use this program if they do not present themselves with the main group. Miss it and you will have to check in at the airport. You will be the first group off the ship and it will not be announced. You will be escorted to immigrations where the officer will check your customs form and your passports or whatever documents your are using. You will then go to luggage claim to claim your luggage. Porters are available and I recommend you use one. Point your luggage out to the porter and he will load them on his dolly and ask for your checked customs form. You will then go to the custom officer and they will take your form and pass you through. If you didn't use a porter, turn to the right and get in line for the American airlines rep. He will take your luggage. If you used the porter, he will take your luggage in without waiting in line and the rep will tell him where to put the luggage for your flight. Tip the porter and you are free to go. The whole process took less than ten minutes.

 

If you have an airport transfer, get on the bus. If not, go to the taxi stand and tell them you are going to the airport. At the airport go straight to security and your gate bypassing the check in.

 

If you have a late afternoon or evening flight and since you no longer have your check in luggage, you can catch a taxi and head to town instead of the airport and go out there later.

[FOXTROT]

Great job Retired, looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. We will be doing this cruise with W & K. One question for you, in the evening did they have a band playing? thank you

[groovy gran]

We are doing the trip on 03 27 along with foxtrot and w&k.

It is always great when people take the time to write a review.It helps those of us who have not been yet so much.Cant wait to read the rest of it.

Thank you again.:D

One question was the library well stocked as i like a good read on holiday.If not i will bring a couple of books with me.:confused:

groovygran

[Retired not Expired]

Empress of the Sea 1-30-06 Part 2.

 

Since this is an 11 day cruise during the school year, this is very much an adult cruise. We saw a very happy 6 month old baby and 2 girls and a boy between 6 and 12 who were well behaved but very bored. Please, if you take the children on this cruise, spend some time with them and do things they will enjoy as they will probably not have many of their age to bond with.

 

Although there were enough adults of all ages for people to find others with common interests, it is mostly an older crowd. It was also a very much international crowd, U.S., Canada, Europe, South America, Mid-East and Far East. Good blend and lots of smiles, mingling, and very few complaints heard. I believe I heard three complaints the whole trip. My wife overheard one man complaining about a man going into the dining room in jeans on a casual night. No comment. And two of our tablemates complained that the dining service is not what it use to be. Well, no it’s not. But back in the 70’s, I could buy five or six pounds of ground beef for what I pay for one now. I could get several gallons of gas for the price of one now. Inflation has not been kind to most products. I believe the main line cruise lines has done a remarkable job in keeping the service to even the level they have now while keeping the cost of cruising down for many to afford. I would love to see the service return to the old level but not if the cost of cruising is increased to the inflated cost of other products. Too many, including a lot of the complainers, would be left out if it happened.

 

Since this was an older, more international, crowd, the dress was probably more in line with the suggested dress code of RCI but there were some variances. Almost all men did wear a jacket and ladies a dress on formal nights and probably 70 % of the men wore a jacket on Smart Casual night with the ladies in dresses or pant suits. Maybe 20 % of the men did not wear a tie but rather a dress shirt and pullover sweater. This is something I normally would not even pay attention to but all the threads about it on this site made me look this time.

 

It’s easy to meet and get to know others on this cruise. Since everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves, they were easy to talk and start up conversations. One good way to meet others is to go to breakfast and lunch in the main dining room instead of the Windjammer on the days they are open. You will be seated with others who arrive about the same time as you and receive good service in a quieter atmosphere. Introduce your self and ask the others to do the same and conversation will flow.

 

We were at table 29 on the second level port side at the rail overlooking the piano and the Captains table. The Captains table was empty the whole trip but the pianist was good with a wide range of music, although you would not expect to hear Turkey in the Straw on a Caribbean cruise. Food ranged from good to excellent. Maybe not five star but ahead of what most of us eat every day. My wife loved the cold soups and I sampled them all and they were quite good. The steak is a top sirloin and though not the best in the world is good and has a good flavor. A tip here is to ask for it rarer than you would normally like it as they do overcook it some. If you like it medium rare, ask for rare. If you like it rare, ask them to hit it in the head, wipe its butt, and slid it across the grill. We finally got the Key Lime Pie the last night in both regular and sugar-free and it was wonderful. Don’t get the strawberry shortcake. Mine was a biscuit with sugar topped with whipped cream, two slices of strawberry and some strawberry juice.

 

Two negatives. First, the pizza. In a word, terrible. The 89 cent frozen Tony’s pizza you can buy would be a step up. Second was every day, they would block off a section of the promenade deck for cleaning, painting, crew training, or some other reason during times many would want to walk or run. This would cause people to turn around and go the other way until they hit the blocked area again. Having people going both ways would cause some bottlenecks and throw people off their strides. They need to time these blocked off sessions at a better time when the deck is not used so much.

 

We saw one of those orange ships that started in Europe at two ports. I believe it is Easy Cruise. So there is a cheap cruise in the Caribbean. Just pack a cooler with beer and baloney and you’re all set.

 

I will say the people who give massages in the spa are well trained. We did two sessions. The first was on Saturday where we had a combo of a back, shoulder, and neck massage coupled with a foot and ankle massage. It was one hour for $89. The lady who did mine started with deep tissue as that was what I wanted. It was painful at first as she found several knots in my back that needed some work but at the end, I fell asleep. The second was a full body done on the last sea day. It was one hour for $99. The deep tissue was not near as painful this time as the other one had done its job. I have trouble sitting in airplane seats but having this done the day before we flew home helped me a lot.

 

We did not go to any of the shows so I can’t comment of those. We live in Branson, MO and I worked for a time in that industry and see a lot of shows so that is not what we cruise for. We did hear some comments from others but it was not a big enough cross section for me to comment here as it may not be an accurate portrait. I also did not visit the library so can’t comment on it.

 

Tours. There are several reasons we picked the tours we did so these type tours are probably what many are not looking for. First, I have a problem with my back making it impossible for me to stand for long periods or walk long distances. Second, my wife is not into water sports. And lastly, my wife’s brother had been fighting cancer for the last two years and for the last couple of months, we knew what the outcome would be. He died two weeks before the cruise. We needed this type cruise and this type of tours. All of these tours were spend sightseeing in busses and vans. You will find the temperature climbs and the islands become more desert like as you go south. The last three islands are only about ten degrees north of the equator.

 

St Maarten A 3 hour tour called the St Maarten Island Tour circling the island on both the Dutch and French side with a few stops for photos and shopping. Very hilly island with lots of beauty. Nice.

 

St Kitts. A two hour tour called Panoramic St Kitts. Although the island is beautiful and I may have enjoyed it under better circumstances, this one was the worst tour for me. This and a couple other islands use 8 passenger vans that they cram in 12 seats and try to fill. I happen to get one on this one where I couldn’t move my legs and was in too much pain to enjoy it. I learned to try to be the last to get in and you may get the front seat with the driver and a jump seat which gives much more room. Beware and be warned when you see these vans.

 

Antigua. A three hour tour called Antigua Highlights that included Nelson’s Dockyard and Shirley Heights. A wonderful tour with some great photo ops.

 

St Lucia. A three and a half hour tour called Historical Island Splendour (And that‘s the way they spell it). A short our of Castries and then up the hill over the town to a mansion, an old fort, and a silk screening place in a beautiful setting before heading out the road towards the Pitons through the banana plantation for some shopping and photo ops. Nice little tour.

 

Barbados. About a four hour tour called Beautiful Barbados & Colonial Plantation House. I did not enjoy Barbados the last time I was there but loved it this time. Saw it in a whole different light. Some beautiful properties but VERY expensive to stay on this island in the better properties. Probably my second favorite island with Aruba being first.

 

Margarita Island. About a five hour tour by bus that covered a lot of ground and stops. The tour guide reminded me in action and speech of Charo. Take that for what it is worth. She did a lot of talking but gave a lot of good information. One of her best lines was when the bus hit a tree limb with a loud bang. Without breaking stride in her speech, she said, “Don’t worry. Not a revolution. Just a tree”. Gasoline was 42 cents a gallon. Makes you sick, doesn’t it? These last three islands have had a lot more rain than normal so they were a lot more green than you would expect.

 

Caracao. We just did about a one hour tram ride in town called the Willemstad Trolley Tour. This is a picture postcard town, beautifully painted and decorated. Lots of shopping if you want to stay in town. By the way, the venders become a whole lot less pushy the farther south you come on the islands. These last three, you can actually shop in peace. Wish the others would take a lesson from them.

 

Aruba. My favorite island. We did a three hour tour across the island with some great photo ops. It was called Aruba Town and Countryside Drive. Beautiful Island with some great shopping and dining right near the ship. Even I could walk it. The island has three very distinct areas. One side, the tourist area is lush and green. The middle Arizona like with large cactus and plants with homes that would remind you of the southwest. The other side is very stark and barren.

 

That’s about all I can think of right now but will still try to answer any questions. Again, this cruise is not for everyone. It does lack a lot of the entertainment and whistles and bells of the larger ships. But it was just what we needed and for us a gem. I just hope I helped some of you prepare as others helped me.

[Retired not Expired]

One more thing I wanted to add. On the last night of the cruise, the main dining room had very few empty seats. I hope this means most were satisfied with the cruise and service and very few, if any, stiffed the crew on tips. IMO, this crew earned our thanks.

[curlyd]

Retired, thank you very much for the tour info. As yet Bill and I have not decided on Aruba or Curacao. So your info might be of help.

 

Both parts of your review were great and much appreciated by a new cruiser like me.

[kruisinkris]

Thanks to Retired Not Expired for a great, thorough review. :)

 

I have a few questions which you may or may not be able to answer (if someone else has been on the 11 day Empress recently feel free to chime in). I haven't seen these answered in any of the threads or reviews.

 

1) HOT TUBS/POOLS:

Were they (hot tubs esp) open Embarkation Day?

How late were they open on other days?

Were any of the pools/hot tubs salt water?

 

2) Were there Regular Dinner Seatings on Embarkation Day?

(since the ship leaves so late)

 

3) Was there a retractable clothes line in the shower?

(like Princess has)

 

4) Was any of your CC group or others you met staying in outside rooms

on deck 4? And did they have in-room safes?

(I've seen conflicting info on the boards)

 

Thanks in advance for your answers. I realize you said your wife doesn't like water sports so you may not have the answers on the hot tubs/pools. And no problem if you don't have the answers to the other questions. We're booked on the 4/10/06 Empress cruise w/a bunch of other fun people AND we're staying at the Coral Princess pre-cruise so your review was REALLY helpful. I think if someone says they liked their cruise or didn't like their cruise & doesn't say why, it's a waste of space. You had a lot of detail in your review, which I like. THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to give such a GREAT REVIEW!! :)

 

Kris

[Retired not Expired]

Thanks to Retired Not Expired for a great, thorough review. :)

 

I have a few questions which you may or may not be able to answer (if someone else has been on the 11 day Empress recently feel free to chime in). I haven't seen these answered in any of the threads or reviews.

 

1) HOT TUBS/POOLS:

Were they (hot tubs esp) open Embarkation Day?

How late were they open on other days?

Were any of the pools/hot tubs salt water?

 

2) Were there Regular Dinner Seatings on Embarkation Day?

(since the ship leaves so late)

 

3) Was there a retractable clothes line in the shower?

(like Princess has)

 

4) Was any of your CC group or others you met staying in outside rooms

on deck 4? And did they have in-room safes?

(I've seen conflicting info on the boards)

 

Thanks in advance for your answers. I realize you said your wife doesn't like water sports so you may not have the answers on the hot tubs/pools. And no problem if you don't have the answers to the other questions. We're booked on the 4/10/06 Empress cruise w/a bunch of other fun people AND we're staying at the Coral Princess pre-cruise so your review was REALLY helpful. I think if someone says they liked their cruise or didn't like their cruise & doesn't say why, it's a waste of space. You had a lot of detail in your review, which I like. THANKS AGAIN for taking the time to give such a GREAT REVIEW!! :)

 

Kris

 

I can't answer your first question but can the other three.

 

Yes, regular seating in the main dining room on embarkation day, just 1/2 hour later than normal.

 

Yes, there is a retractable clothesline in the shower.

 

And part of the group I was touring with had cabins on the third and forth deck and had safes. Therefore I believe all cabins have them now.

[Retired not Expired]

Great job Retired, looking forward to hearing more about your cruise. We will be doing this cruise with W & K. One question for you, in the evening did they have a band playing? thank you

 

Sorry, I missed answering your question. But yes, there are bands playing in various places in the afternoon and evening from poolside to Lounges. Just check the back page of your Cruise Compass each day to see where and what time. Boleros, deck 6 aft has quite a bit.

[Mortie]

Just wanted to say a big THANK YOU from the UK for your informative review. Certainly given us lots of ideas for our 04/10 sailing. Can you suggest a suitable area for our pre Meet and Mingle meeting - we don't really want to wait till day 3 to meet up so thought about a sailaway party instead. There's about 25-30 of us so would need a largeish area.

 

Cheers!

 

Gillian