Review of Empress of the Seas and comparison to NCL

[smeyer418]

First of all this was a very enjoyable trip and the differences, which I will note as I go along and mostly personal preferences so feel free to disagree. Overall I was very pleased with RCI and would go again for the right destination and amount.

Embarkation: Bayonne was a breeze. We arrived just before 12 and were aboard by 1. Our son was with us and had a bad week and had two stitches in his head and was out until 7 am. They let him go to the room and collapse even though officially you can't get into the room until 3. Bayonne was much easier then the passenger terminal on the west side of Manhattan and parking much cheaper...

Cabin: both my son's cabin and our cabin were small but adequate, the room we were in had considerable dust on the wood and the a/c didn't work properly, it was way too warm. They came three times to fix it and finally took the baffle off and left it off the entire trip. The thermostat fell off the wall. Bathroom small but adequate. My son who is taller complained about the shower The steward was good and unobtrusive--he said he didn't see us much and I asked him if he really wanted too... he laughed and agreed that it wasn't necessary... room was kept clean (except for the dust) well supplied...the pool towels are in your room and they will bring you more if you ask. They do warn you about losing them but I didn't see them keep that close count. The advantage here depends on the ship and the room you are in. One note three in the room would have been tough, 4 even worse. We had the same size room as many 3 and 4’s. We had an outside room that was about 30 feet larger than the inside my son had. I can’t imagine 3 or 4 in those but I am told that people did have them. I can understand why they are sending the Empress to Florida for shorter cruises. They had good closet space and good number of hangers(we always bring some of our own) but draw space was lacking, Bathroom storage space was actually quite good.

Pool area was small and some chair problems and a lot of kids around…

 

Room service. Here RCI has it way over NCL. You can order much more from the RCI menu and during dinner you can order from almost the whole dinner menu if you want. Occasional we had communication issues(like when I wanted a pitcher of ice tea) but we worked them out and they were uniformly there in 30 minutes or less.

 

Dining and food. Let me say I like freestyle so all you traditionalists know that I don't need the same waiter or same table mates every night. Actually I like the adventure of different table mates every night. You meet more people that way. Also the tables are mostly eights oblongs which aren't conducive to long range discussions any way. The waiter and assistant were very good and appeared to be genuinely interested in pleasing us. Remember that really only dinner is at the same table as breakfast and lunch if you eat in the dining room was freestyle anyway. The dining room was closed for two lunches so you either ate off the ship, room service or the dreaded buffet. Those of you who have read my previous reviews know I rarely do the buffet, but I did it this time and found they had an ok buffet. The dinner food was good with a good selection. I still have had a more memorial dinner on NCL (the presidents chef dinner) so I would give the advantage on food to NCL, service was very close with the advantage to RCI. The midnight buffets were not worth the calories. The grand buffet was pretty, but I refuse to be there first to stand in line with 500 people and when I went about 1/2 hour after it had opened,(there was still another 1/2 hour to go) there was both almost no line and almost no food. The locust had descended but I blame the lack of restocking on the RCI. There was little non-desert left and no chocolate covered strawberries-the only reason I went back :). Overall Food no clear advantage here to either line, I rate this neutral. I did like not having to wait when it opened to be seated but I would rather wait a few minutes then see the same people each night. Actually they didn't mind if you were up to 1/2 hour late or so it was pretty close to freestyle. What I could have done without was two dress up nights on a 6 day cruise. I am sorry but what someone wears to dinner doesn't bother me(they could come nude -which would be very interesting for all I care) and I don't mind telling the waiter what I want to drink every night. it sometime varies anyhow. Also NCL has dine around the island that allows you take one meal off the ship for a small service charge ($5.00 for lunch and $10.00 for dinner) advantage NCL (I know this alone will set off a firestorm remember this is my opinion and I am not comparing it to the pay extra restaurants). Like NCL cappuccino/espresso was available at dinner only for no charge. The coffee bar had very good ice lattes. I know some people feel this should be included. The breakfast buffet was open most days until 11:30 and sometimes lunch buffet was served until 5.

 

 

Shore excursions and Ports

 

We went on the Bermuda triangle and ship wreck snorkel (my son and I) and found it great. Two easily seen ship wrecks. RCI was much less expensive for the same tours than NCL. Example is the bell helmet diving is $95.00 on NCL and $64.00 on RCI.

 

Ports- On the six day you spend most of your time at the dockyards. I don’t like the dockyards but we taxied to Horseshoe Bay that is great and ferried to St. George and Fort St Catherine’s Beach(we drove past Tobacco Bay and it was crowded) Fort St Catherine’s beach was much less crowded. We took the Ferry to St. George, taxied to the Beach and Back and had a late lunch in St. George(one of the restaurants that is on NCL Dine around see below). The lunch was fine(NY Hotel prices) Bermuda has great beaches and its one of the reasons to go there. We didn’t go to the Harbour night in Hamilton as we had been there in June but they have added a 7:15 ferry back to the dockyard that allows you to see harbour night and not have to take the slow boat at 9:40 ferry which stops in every Middlesex village and farm on the way back. The 7:15 ferry gets you back at 7:40(enough time for late night dinner). The 9:40 ferry doesn’t make it back until after 11 pm.

The taxis went up 20% on September 1. You can take the bus which we did in June but because everything is compressed on the six day cruise it was much more crowded. I like the cabs and it was easier even if it cost more. Personally I would get 4 unit tickets which are $25.00 for 15 of these trips, less expensive than the all day passes which are $12.00 per day. Unless you are really going back and forth the tickets are a better value.

You spend from 8:30 am until 4 the last day at Hamilton, shopping is across the street and is ok. Not great but OK. My wife really likes AS Cooper an old fashioned department store.

One of the passengers broke a leg on a scooter- which they warn you against for good reason IMO and someone was relieved of their valuables at Horseshoe Bay.

 

Ship shops—ok alcohol prices were good but no champagne and no port---typical for cruise ships. No big bargains no big rip offs.

 

Ship activities – well planned and a lot of them. My son really liked the rock climbing wall. He was second in the rock climbing contest.

 

Art Sales- yep they have them too Park West. We went to one haven’t bought anything yet and didn’t even drink their champagne 

 

 

The ship and entertainment and slots:

 

The entertainment was pretty standard good (not great) shows. Production numbers were well staged and a really funny comedian. The argentine dancers were ok. The one named singer I never heard of and was ok. The piano players were ok. The funniest game was the not so newlywed or what ever it was called game. The best answer to you know what question was in the showroom(in the balcony) by the newlywed couple…They didn’t have enough karaoke in my opinion and cut it short…Casino was small and the slot machines were very tight. A little too much selling of bingo. Advantage NCL.

 

Spa my wife had a pedicure and we did the couples message. It was very clean well lit and didn’t smell from acetone (my wife got to watch as the captain got a haircut). Prices were ok- no clear advantage.

 

 

 

 

General comments about the ship

 

The staff was extraordinary friendly. The drinks were about 20% more than NCL, with confusing menus with prices that didn’t match what was charged (invariable more) but the drinks were generously poured. They had less drink specials than NCL. But since I don’t drink that much, it is not that significant. The public areas were recently redone and look very nice. The rooms could use some more work. The trip down was somewhat rocky the first full sea day and a fair number of passengers got sea sick, coming back was uneventful and less rocky. Some passengers disembarked in Bermuda and flew back instead of taking a chance with a rocky boat. No Jones Act violation they got off in a foreign country.

 

Disembarkation-having to leave your room before they call you to get off sucks. Crowding and waiting for clearance is annoying (on NCL you can wait in your room until called). Once off it went well except we couldn’t find one piece of luggage- what had happened was that someone took it as theirs and when they found out it wasn’t they didn’t bother to return it to its line. RCI staff was very helpful in finding it. I hope the inconsiderate ignoramus that took it got what they deserved. I would have walked it back. In any case we were home by just about noon….

 

 

So I think you can see that there is no clear cut winner here between RCI and NCL. We have taken five cruises since last September 4 NCL and one RCI. I would I travel either again—not for a while I need a rest but for the right itinerary and right price, I’ll take either…..

 

My email is in my signature if you have any questions/comments  Thanks for reading….

[hcat]

Appreciated the comparison but do not sail the other line--just Celeb & Royal. On Royal & Celeb however coming 1/2 hr late to dinnner would not be appreciated by most tablemates..it is not really freestyle on those lines. Tablemates would be obliged to wait for awhile or if they go ahead everyone is having different courses. For times one is late perhaps the buffet upstairs would be a better alt. Other info in the review was very helpful. We hope to do a short Bermuda cruse on the larger ship-- Thank you.

[smeyer418]

FYI-It wasn't us who was late and the waiter did well to compensate. Wasn't a problem for me and the waiter just served them different courses at different times. I don't necessarily follow the menu on courses any way. So I could be eating my second appetizer when you are getting your main course. I sometimes eat three appetizer and skip the main course, or skip the salad etc.

[Deb K.]

Thanks for the review on Empress. We are sailing on her in March 2005 on an 11 night cruise to the southern Caribbean and I haven't seen too many reviews on the Empress.

This is our second cruise. We sailed on NCL Sky two years ago and we also liked the "Freestyle" dining but are interested in seeing what traditional dining is like. My husband and I enjoy meeting new people also.

What level were you on? We have an oceanview room and was wondering how much room you have.

 

DebK

[smeyer418]

we had an oceanview room. Except for the suites/balcony and certain closet sized rooms(108 sq feet), they are all the same.

[*katie*]

Loved your review--there were quite a few things I didn't know--for example, the broken leg and passengers flying back early. I was definitely worried about the trip back with Frances coming in and the expectation that we'd see some of the outer bands--I had no problems Monday, but my kids and the rest of our party were sick, with 3 of the 9 throwing up. Fortunately, it was very smooth.

 

I agree with a lot of your points about the Empress and about this sailing.

 

Embarkation--very smooth. We arrived early (Number 5 boarding pass) because our friends were hoping to upgrade from their Deck 3 interior cabin. There was a sign up already saying no upgrades were available.

 

It was the opposite set-up as in Miami. First you go through the check-in lines, then sit in the waiting area until your boarding group is called to get on the bus to the ship. I think we were in the second group called. There was a clown making balloon animals, free drinks, a backdrop for an embarkation picture, and a crew member from Adventure Ocean to give kids wrist bands for their muster station.

 

We had the opposite problem with temperature--our cabins were very cold. But I'll take that over being hot. We had 8686, the odd-shaped JS that doesn't have the fold-out sofa, but has the double-size balcony. It was perfect because the entire group was able to fit out there easily. There were two regular chairs, a table, and two lounge chairs. I spent tons of time there and my husband finally understood why I'd been looking forward to it so much.

 

Our kids and our friends' son were in the cabin immediately to the right and my husband's parents right next to them. I wish the ship had more connecting rooms, would have preferred that, but we had our doors open most of the time so it was fine. I was concerned that they might make too much noise for the couple across the hall (you may have seen them if you saw "The Twist" contest, the older Australian couple), but they stopped us several times to tell us how well-behaved the kids were, so I felt better that they weren't disturbing anyone with the door open most of the time. Because of the lay-out and location of the cabin, there was rarely any thru-traffic and we could lay on the bed and watch tv without anyone seeing into the room if they did walk by.

 

The Grand Gala Buffet--what a fiasco! We went when we thought the masses would be through the line, but still ended up waiting in a huge line once we walked in. There was hardly anything left. Every time I turned around, I was further behind my friend, my husband and the kids--I never even saw it happen. Definitely not worth it.

 

Shops--I only went through once, in search of the elusive purple bear being sought by another poster. We aren't big souvenir buyers, so did cursory shopping in Hamilton and grabbed cheap t-shirts for nieces and nephews at Hodge Podge. One thing I noticed about the shops in Hamilton--everyone moves so slow! It took a half hour to ring up a crystal cat my daughter bought at Trimmingham's--the guy was so nice, very sweet, but I just wanted to get going, same story at Hodge Podge. My daughter enjoyed the attention, though.

 

We ate lunch at Portofino--very good. I would have loved the Dining Ashore program--that was one of the negatives about this cruise when we were comparing. We definitely would have liked to try more local restaurants. Had coffee in Rocklands? Rock Island--something like that. Per recommendation of the taxi driver my husband and his parents had for an island tour.

 

Shows--I didn't go to any, but my husband, his parents and our friends went to most. They especially enjoyed the Backstage tour the last day--it did sound interesting, lots of info on the life of a cruise ship entertainer.

 

My in-laws ate lunch with the youngest couple from the Not-So-Newlywed Game, they of "in the theatre" fame. They said she's a pediatrician, he owns his own construction company, and they'd had many people asking them about the show. Very nice people.

 

We went to Karaoke one of the nights--also thought it was a little short.

 

Agree about the staff--very friendly. I noticed that they brought the drinks in the souvenir glass, even if it wasn't the special--that costs more and many people don't know you get to keep the glass. I learned to ask for the "short glass". But they were definitely not short on the liquor. We thought Edwina, the asst. Cruise Director, was hilarious. We talked to her after Quest because she was saying "ya'll" and we thought there might be someone from south of New York or New Jersey (we're from the D.C. area), but she was from Canada. But you saw the cruise director staff everywhere, which we've never noticed in the past, and they were very accessible and friendly.

 

Our waiter, Gary, and asst. waiter, Negi, were the best. They were just right for us--you didn't feel like they were trying too hard to please to get a good tip. Very professional with a particular sweetness with the kids.

 

My in-laws enjoyed seeing the Crown in port--they sailed her last year to Canada. I haven't had a chance to ask them for a comparison. They ate lunch with a couple whose daughter was working on the Crown and had gotten to see her while they were in Bermuda.

 

But I will say that I'm glad we decided on the Empress for this cruise--my friend and I were leaning towards the Atlantic Coast sailing of the NCL Dawn and the guys wanted Bermuda--thank goodness! I wanted to try the Dawn and freestyling and liked the excursions being offered. But we were definitely glad to have gone with Bermuda this week.

[NitaBcruising]

I asked this on the NCL board, as read this over there first. When did Empress get a rock climbing wall??? :eek: Was it when they refurbished, and changed the name? I'm really surprised! :eek: :eek: I'm on the Jan. 17th sailing, 11 night S. Caribbean. I'm hoping there won't be too many kids! I like kids, but not noisy, unruly ones. I just think with the added attraction, more kids are apt to be onboard! :D

Thanks again for your review! Have done both lines, as well as others, so enjoyed the comparisons.

[judyzoo]

Katie,

 

We'll be in the same cabin -- 8686 -- on the Sept 18th sailing. I'm so glad to hear that it was cold rather than hot. The balcony sounds as large as I had thought that it was; I am most definitely looking forward to spending a lot of time on it.

 

Does the cabin have any sitting area at all? RC agents told me that that it does, the same as other JS, but from the layouts I've seen I don't believe them. Is there much drawer space? Closet space?

[vlnovak]

I too was intrested in this room. Can you tell me if the two beds can make a queen? On one site it said that these beds do not convert? How are these rooms compaired to the JS on deck 9.

[vlnovak]

If you have any pictures of the suite please post them> thanks vlnovak

[*katie*]

Unfortunately, I didn't take any stateroom pictures on my digital, so I don't have any to post. Before I went, though, I found these pictures:

 

http://community.webshots.com/album/59412592QFcRnE

 

where you can get an idea about what the room looks like. In that first picture, the door is to the left and the balcony to the right. The glass table in the right of the picture was in the middle of the floor in front of our bed, and we used it to put trays on when we ordered room service for breakfast. You can see the dresser to the left and vanity to the right. The dresser gave lots of storage space and there was also plenty in the closet, as well as a safe. You can also see in the fourth picture that the twin beds convert to a queen. I'd wondered before we left if it would be comfortable with the separation in the middle, but it was very comfortable.

 

You can see a little of the balcony in one picture--to the right of that door was a table and two chairs, to the left two lounge chairs. I put the lounge chairs at an angle to the glass and the view seemed like there was nothing between the chair and the water.

 

I'd read about problems with soot on the aft balconies--in the mornings on days we sailed, there was soot here and there on the chairs--I made sure to watch for it and clean it up before sitting down or touching the railings. They were spots here and there, not a problem. If you looked up from the chairs, you could see the flag hanging over, but nothing else--you had to be standing at the railing to see the rock wall. You had to be leaning over the railing to see the balconies below. We only once saw anyone on the balconies next to us--the morning we sailed from the dockyards to Hamilton. That was great--everything is so close to you, and all of us on the aft were chatting and having a great time. I noticed that the cabin below me had their balcony door open 24/7. We loved to leave the door open, but sometimes had to close it when we were out there because the cold air blasting from the room made us too cold. The thermostat is adjustable, and we would turn it up, but the stateroom attendant would turn it way down in the mornings when she made up the room--I appreciated that, though, and loved coming back to a nice cool room.

 

Here's a good picture:

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/164151074/164154413Wrumpw

 

You can see the size of the room--the room extends to the doorway of the balcony next door. The balcony itself extends behind those exterior dividers.

 

There's no sitting area--this room will only accommodate 2. It's wide, not long. Maybe the agent is thinking of the vanity area? There are only two of these styles I think--8686 and 9686.

 

I've seen some variation on whether or not these cabins are considered suites--I think it's a little in between. We had luggage tags marked "Suite" and could have checked in through that line, but went through the Deck 8 line since we were also checking in the kids. We also found a large plate of chocolate covered strawberries in our room on two nights, no note or explanation and I could only assume it was because it was a JS. Drank one of the sodas in the room to see if it would be charged, since I'd read they don't charge for them in the suites, and we were charged.

 

Another good thing--our muster station was station 11--we were sitting in comfy chairs in Boleros instead of standing out on the hot deck waiting for everyone to come to their stations.

 

We loved this room and would probably choose a sail date around trying to get it again. Hope that helps.

[judyzoo]

Katie,

 

Thanks so much for all that information! I'm now picturing myself and DH in 8686 and on the balcony. Interesting layout. I'm sure it will work for us. I'll keep an eye out for that little bit of soot. Just eleven days to go!

[bermudashorts]

Sounds like a great trip.

We will be sailing on the 18th in cabin 7690, which is right below your cabin to the middle.

It appears from all the pictures Ive seen that the middle cabin has more room out there.

Do you remember or were you able to see how big those balconies are from your cabin?