Empress of the Seas Questions

[luvmypoodle]

Has anyone sailed on this ship to Bermuda?

 

My husband and I are first time cruisers. I hear that it's smaller than most ships. We're not into rock climbing walls or the other more sports oriented activities, but do want to enjoy ourselves while sailing and at night. What does it have to offer? Would you recommend this ship?

 

Also, I heard from someone that the ship had been refurbished in October '06. Is this true? How does it look? How are the Oceanview rooms? If we choose this cruise we'll be sailing on May 19, 2007. Also, what is "the quest?" I read about it in another post.

 

Any thoughts and suggestions would be great. Thanks!

[maxs mom]

Hello, poodle!

 

The Empress is a great choice for your first cruise. We have sailed on her 5 times and had a wonderful cruise everyt time. We've done the Bermuda run three times.

 

Yes.....she is small compared to the other RCI ships, but you won't notice it all that much since you have not been on the others. You will notice how small the cabins are, however, but if you know that going in, you won't be disappointed. We've had an oceanview cabin before and it was fine. She was refurbished and they did a nice job.

 

The Quest is an adult scavenger hunt that most people seem to really enjoy. It is really special on the small ships. Much more enjoyable in my opinion. We've been on the winning team a few times. So go ....and have fun. Get there early and sit down front!

 

There is a Portofino's on board, so take advantage of that. If you like the beach....be sure to go to Horseshoe Bay.....very easy to take a taxi there.....also get there early.

 

I hope you will enjoy cruising. We love it! And we love the Empress!

[luvmypoodle]

Max'smom,

 

Thanks so much for all of the information.

 

So the rooms aren't uncomfortably small?

 

What do you look for on the Quest? Sounds interesting. What other activities were on the ship?

 

This will be our second time in Bermuda. We went there on our honeymoon. We loved Horseshoe Bay beach too and Elbow Beach as well. Did you book excursions through RCL or did you do that on your own? What exercions do your recommend or suggest we stay away from?

 

Sorry if I'm bombarding you with questions! I'm excited about the idea of taking this cruise and scared too. We don't go away much and don't want to make any decisions we might regret!

 

Thanks again.

[careywv]

I love reading these posts. It helps me out with planning our cruise.

 

My husband and I are newbies to cruising. We are taking a cruise to Bermuda to celebrate our 5th Wedding Anniversary (leaving from Norfolk on May 26!!). I'm just soaking up all the information I can get.

[luvmypoodle]

Carey,

 

I feel the same way! We've reserved a spot on the ship leaving the 19th from Norfolk and I think we're going to go ahead and book it!

 

We're celebrating our 15th anniversary!

[cyscopup]

If you ask me I think the only rooms that are uncomfortably small are the inside cabins down low. We have seen those and I don't see how one person could spend a week in there let alone two or more people.;)

We have satyed in oceanviews on deck 4 for two of our cruises on her and a junior suite on another and those were perfect sizes for two people.

 

Empress is probably our favorite ship, she has a wonderful crew and the ship is in good shape. Say hello to Debbie on the activity staff for us, she is very friendly and helpful and full of energy. We were originally going to do Empress to Bermuda on the 26th ( actually we started a roll call for it) but somethings came up and we got a better deal to go to Alaska and had to switch.

 

Enjoy your cruise on Empress!!!!:cool:

[doublemm16]

Cyscopup:

 

I will let you know if one person can survive in an inside cabin for a week on the Empress. I booked one for a week in August on Deck 4 for me, me, me!!!! :)

 

This is actually an "add on" vacation. I am going to Aruba in July with my family, and am in a wedding in August, so this is what fit my budget. My friend and her 12 year old daughter are in the cabin next door. I shared a cabin with them in Europe last summer on the Celebrity Galaxy, and while we had a deluxe oceanview, lets just say I learned my lesson!!;)

 

Now I am headed back to Bermuda for the 3rd time. I will provide survival details when I return! :)

[Laurie12820]

I love the Empress. I have sailed on her twice to Bermuda. We had an oceanview cabin on our honeymoon and I had an inside cabin on her before. I recommend going with the oceanview as it is larger. We were in cabin 7666 and we found no problems with it. It is small, but it is a small ship and you really don't spend all that much time in there.

 

This past July when we were on the Empress there were a lot of things to do. There are the bars, the nightclub, the centrum shops, the shows, the demonstraitons, the casinos, bingo.....We wanted to do so many things but we just didn't have the time.

 

Lastly, Bermuda is a beautiful place and you will definitely enjoy yourself!