twangster

Upload to the cloud may be slow depending on what you are used to, but overnight it should catch up. Typical Voom upload speed is ~2Mbps which is actually better than family get on Bell Sympatico DSL in a rural part of Ontario.

July and August are blacked out for the reduced single supplement once you are over 340 points. Combined with it being the summer peak season that makes it very expensive for us solo cruisers. I'm only cruising this July and August because Empress and Majesty had reduced single supplement in the wake of the Cuba changes. The summer is normally dry dock season for me.

It's easy for MB to comment on unification but keep in mind he only represents one brand. I haven't heard his counterparts speak to it who have their own loyal customer base who probably don't want MB's gang invading their turf.

Anthem tendered at CocoCay in the past. They use a ticket system Not ideal by any stretch. New cruisers don't know what tendering is. Experienced cruisers know how to work the system. However going back to the ship from land everyone gets to experience misery waiting in long lines in the hot sun, or rain, or wind.

There is a very big difference in the clientele that tends to book the two lines. Celebrity doesn't require scanning your card to get a pool towel. Towels are all over the place. One is a mass market cruise line, one tends to be booked by a more mature & refined audience. Open towels wouldn't work on Royal.

I'm guessing too the advent of social media has impacted special event recognition. All it takes is for one to person to mention something they received as recognition and soon everyone learns to have several anniversaries every year, and several birthdays every year, and ...

Cruise Summary What really made these three recent Empress cruises stand out as cruises I'll remember are not only the places we visited but the people I met. I've met not only great crew and management employees but also many frequent cruisers with conversations I've enjoyed every night. Almost every one of them has overlapping future cruises where we'll meet again. You don't get to meet great people like this on big ships. I've met some great bartenders but the ones on Empress really stand out. I remember certain bartenders from this cruise or that cruise but on Empress I've added three stand out bartenders to my list. I'm hoping I'll see them at some CocoCay bar when we share the pier with Empress on an upcoming cruise. Going to Jost Van Dyke has been on my mind for some time now and it was great to finally make it back plus see it return to 100% after the hurricanes. I'm still in love with Empress despite her small size. It's probably her big heart that attracts me to her. While she is an old ship she was refreshed quite extensively when she came back for Cuba, granted cabins were not made any bigger. Small ship cruising isn't for everyone. That's okay, there will be more room for me on the small ships. I still love big ships too and there is always room on big ships for everyone. My favorite remains Voyager class but I'm glad Empress is there when I really want to experience the sea even more. It's going to be interesting moving up to Majesty. It's kind of funny when moving to Majesty is stepping up to a bigger ship! I'm still trying to figure out if I can squeeze Empress onto my cruise dance card over the next few months. I'll definitely go on Empress again. All cruises will create memories you won't forget. Some of my best memories come from this, the smallest ship with the biggest heart. I hope you enjoyed following along and I thank you for viewing. PS - look for Cruise Compasses soon, once I get home from Majesty and can scan them in properly.

La Bamba was okay. We have better Mexican in Colorado. Can we still be friends?

Some people like to give a tip at the end of a cruise. I prefer to tip $1 a drink as I order them. Guest services can change larger bills into singles. This is pretty universal for me. When flying in a first class lounge I throw a buck on the bar. It's a free drink so it's the least I can do.

It's in my GPS, 3 miles away.

Keep an eye out for @CruisingKat(Kathy) she is also on board Allure this cruise (she co-runs the RC Periscopers Group).

Upgrades upon boarding are a thing of the past and even then for several years they only went to the highest members of the Crown & Anchor loyalty program. Now, the RoyalUp upgrade program pretty much consumes all unused cabin space for paid upgrades. https://www.royalcaribbean.com/booked/cruise-room-upgrade

Debark I was in no hurry today so I took my time, enjoyed a last WJ breakfast and finished packing the last few items in my cabin. I'm renting a car today which I'll return in the morning but I wanted to keep it to a 24 hour rental to avoid hourly charges for going past 24 hours. My desired time to turn it in tomorrow drove my required pickup time today which I targeted 9:30am to 10am for. My JS came with luggage tag #1 but I planned to carry off my own bags. I wanted to be get out of my cabin so James my cabin attendant could sanitize and ready it for the next guests so I planned to sit around the Schooner Bar area until 9am-ish. Consequently I was out of my cabin well before 8am. Early to the pier they called self-assist starting at 7:30am a full 30 minutes early. I stayed in the Schooner Bar to kill some time. The self-assist line eventually made it through the theater, through the Centrum and into the Schooner Bar where I was working on my morning pictures I posted above. Several management team greeted me as they passed by doing their morning turn-around day thing. Talking with Jorge our GSM the day before he had stated they typically have to wait until all guests are off before departing crew leaving the ship at contract end can leave. Not wanting to extend that for them I headed off just before 9am. Carrying my own luggage I left somewhere around luggage tag 14 being called. That's normally 9:15am on the departure letter so they were still running ahead of schedule. Still routing through the theater and out onto the terminal bridge from deck 5 I followed the line a little but further than self-assist normally go since I was in the luggage tag crowd who had to reach the carousels to retrieve their bags. Past luggage and onto customs there were none today, we simply walked outside. Apparently CBP had really cleared the ship when they cleared the ship to debark. I had a short wait for the Hertz car rental shuttle. While waiting I saw car rental shuttles for Payless, Avis and Budget (sharing one shuttle bus) and National, Alamo and Enterprise (sharing a different shuttle bus). My pickup location was the 2nd Street HLE office for Hertz downtown Miami. Some of the other rental bus customers go to the Miami airport to get their cars. I'm using weekend points from my Hertz loyalty program so my rental is costing me a whopping $2.16. My rental only had a 1/2 tank of gas so I had to go back in and get my contract fixed to reflect that but even with that I was on my way and at my Fort Lauderdale hotel by 10am. My luck continued, they had a room ready despite being very early for check in. No real plans today, maybe some pool time at my hotel. Maybe I'll run out and buy two bottles of wine although I not sure I really need it with a nightly Diamond event on Majesty starting tomorrow night.

Day 9 - Miami Miami is a nice city to sail into in the darkness and I always enjoy sailing from here. The bridge engaged the warp drive and our approach grew faster. Not really, just playing around with a long exposure picture. It has the makings of a beautiful day. The Crown of Miami Royal Caribbean Terminal A. Our Staff Captain is handling our arrival today under the watchful eye of the Captain. Terminal G With an ever so gentle touch to the pier we are there. Total cruise distance 2,135 nautical miles.

Not yet.

Tonight in the theater was the Royal Caribbean production called on board simply "Three". That's short for Three Sequins and Feathers. It's not to be missed especially on this night when it's the last performance of the current cast before they leave the ship tomorrow. Next cruise "Three" will continue but it will be performed by a new cast who have been on board for several weeks getting ready. I have some photos in my last Empress thread. It's a really good show, quite high on my list of ship shows. At the end CC our Cruise Director brought out many of the crew who have made this cruise such a great experience.

Tonight as we make our way through the Bahamas we are sailing away into the sunset. The very spot I took a Milky Way photo from on my last Empress cruise. In the distance on the hazy horizon I saw an outline of a ship coming our way but several miles off. That's Navigator of the Seas on her way to Nassau tomorrow.

Day 8 Evening The last night... sigh. I spotted an alligator chasing a sea turtle. Fortunately it was a bread alligator in the Windjammer which have proven to be quite harmless. The last night on Empress is not a formal night but on these cruises it has consistently been "lobster" night in the MDR. No lobster in the WJ but there were a few other seafood goodies to be found in the WJ this evening.

Three Diamond drinks nightly 5-8:30pm. Although in my experience if you take care of bar staff, they take care of you. My total bar bill for this 8 night cruise is ~$60. Granted I’ve spent beyond this in cash tips. I’m not sure I could drink very much more. The bartenders I took care of took care of me. While short of being hungover, I’ve had a few slow mornings.

I was just in San Juan a few days ago. No unrest. We were there until midnight and I was walking around after dark. No problems, very normal.

Generally speaking any photo with you or your wife in it should be available to you in your package.

Everyone gets points based on every night they spend on board. It's possible they didn't link your pre-cruise CAS# and assigned you a new one like they did your wife. Simply call the C&A team or email them, they straighten it out. [email protected] ‭(800) 526-9723‬ Having your confirmation # will help. Your wife's account will have that in the "Past Cruises" section.

Meal with an Officer Today there we so many attending MWAO today that they had to use the MDR and five large tables. Our officer was from Shore Excursions. Typically around 60% of shore excursions are booked in the cruise planner versus on board. Still, that's 40% that book on board usually at full price. On the Western Caribbean itineraries Costa Maya will often see the highest shore excursion sales. It's very popular for excursions. Cuba excursions were a lot of work for the ShoreEx team. There was a lot of record keeping and paperwork that went along with meeting the US OFAC regulations. Our officer was on vacation when Cuba became off limits. Coming back to this ship after the itineraries changed she doesn't miss the paperwork aspect of Cuban excursions. Sometimes crew can participate in an excursion but the vendor that operates the excursion has to agree. Someone at my table used a dirty word at lunch. PACKING. Something I should start thinking about.

Day 8 - Sea Day Miami tomorrow and the dreaded debark. With a layer of cloud on the horizon this morning I could look at the full sun without burning my retinas. Our progress... Crystal block cruise! With my own little Empress sailing on the Seas I have another memento of this fabulous cruise.

Day 7 Night I did a lot of work today and had to deal with some stressed clients that were dwelling on an issue. Wifi calling over Voom at sea worked quite well for several hour long calls. With that said I was really looking forward to Diamond happy hour and the bartenders took great care of me. Flag on Nations in the Centrum. A bit of a sea mist tonight as we approach a full moon. Not great conditions for night sky photography. Another item I really appreciate about a small ship and Diamond happy hour are the great friends I've met night after night. On a ship this size you have great crew interaction but also an opportunity for great interaction with fellow guests. I am going to miss seeing these same friendly faces night after night. Tipping is always a good idea for Diamond happy drinks as the bartenders get nothing for serving one. A benefit of good tipping is great service and the bar staff have taken care of us night after night. I'm going to miss that too.