twangster

I'm sorry a family member got sick but didn't you read what you purchased?  With respect it's not shameful.  
I had to walk away from a cruise when my daughter graduated from the military.  I got zero back after paying in full.  I had zero expectations that they would bend the rules for me.  I knew the cancellation policy so when it applied it wasn't a surprise or shameful.
If I book a non-refundable plane ticket I don't expect the airlines to refund me if I don't need to fly anymore.  
If you buy a brand new car and wreck it on the first day you still have to pay for it.  That's the way contracts and life works.  
It's not easy to sell cruise cabins with just a few months to go before sailing.  Most people make bookings many months or years in advance.  They'll likely lose money now that they'll have to drop the price hoping to find someone who can sail in your cabin.  Why should they lose money when you back out of the contract?  

Exactly.  Vision and Radiance don't have adult slides, zip lines,  bumper cars, skating rinks, laser tag, skypads, etc.  So in that sense they are already more Celebrity-like in terms of activities.  If you are willing to go without all that, Celebrity should be in anyone's search criteria now.    
Just as Royal may transition to a bigger ship line, Celebrity can also expand it's target audience to pick up the RCI small ship market.  

Exactly.  Vision and Radiance don't have adult slides, zip lines,  bumper cars, skating rinks, laser tag, skypads, etc.  So in that sense they are already more Celebrity-like in terms of activities.  If you are willing to go without all that, Celebrity should be in anyone's search criteria now.    
Just as Royal may transition to a bigger ship line, Celebrity can also expand it's target audience to pick up the RCI small ship market.  

Pro tip - The beverage coolers (not fridges) are usually contained within a cabinet.  In many cases that cabinet traps the warm air coming off the cooler and prevents the cooling appliance from actually doing much cooling.  .  Propping the door to the cabinet open allows the warm air to escape and the cooler maintains a much cooler temperature as a result.  I use a wash cloth from the bathroom, double over and hung over the cabinet door to keep it from closing but also to keep it from swinging should there be any motion due to waves..
Sadly on newer ships the cooler door is sometimes fixed to the cabinet door so the cooler opens when the cabinet door is opened.  This technique doesn't work on these ships since holding the cooler door open defats the potential advantages.  On older ships though this technique will yield a much cooler beverage cooler.  

My money is on RCCL better aligning the loyalty programs between Royal and Celebrity.  Perhaps even earning points in a combined program when sailing either line.  Then Royal can focus on the mass family market with big ships while Celebrity can service routes with their smaller fleet.  With tighter integration between loyalty programs there will be less incentive to leave the family.  

My money is on RCCL better aligning the loyalty programs between Royal and Celebrity.  Perhaps even earning points in a combined program when sailing either line.  Then Royal can focus on the mass family market with big ships while Celebrity can service routes with their smaller fleet.  With tighter integration between loyalty programs there will be less incentive to leave the family.  

Cruise Summary
I had a very enjoyable cruise overall.  As a Diamond Plus I was treated very good on Empress.  It's not that other ships don't treat the top elite well because they do, but on Empress they took that level of service up a notch.
At 48,563 gross tons Empress is small by today's standards.  That makes her almost 5 times smaller than Symphony.  With a capacity of 1840, our sailing at 1808 guests was near capacity (98.2%).  At times like at muster or at certain times in the Windjammer it felt just as crowded as any other ship but it never felt crowded for the majority of the time.
In considering a cruise on Empress (or any ship) research the ship.  Empress has only one main pool, no flow riders or water slides.  I was amazed though that it didn't feel like a small ship.  I knew what I booked and my expectations were set appropriately and because of that my expectations were achieved.  The cabin bathroom did feel a little dated and if you are the type that will see a spot of rust or chipped paint and focus on that then maybe this isn't the ship for you.  
I wasn't sure how I'd feel on Empress so I didn't booked any more cruises on her but now having experienced her I won't hesitate to sail her again.
The 10 drink card was offered for $75 on day 4.  A beer bucket special was $29 for 5 beer (buy 4 get 1 free).  I didn't purchase either.  
My total bar bill was $116 or ~$23 per day including gratuity.  The drink package on board was $63.  My 30% Diamond Plus discount would have dropped that to $44 or $52 per day with gratuity.  Granted I had 3 complimentary Diamond happy hour drinks each evening but I couldn't have consumed very much more and certainly not an additional $29 worth each day.
The bad dining experience on one night in the MDR goes to show that any wait staff can have a bad day on any ship.  
Cuba was an amazing port.  The people of Cuba were awesome and like the OFAC program that we travel under it is there to benefit the Cuban people (not their government so much).  That's exactly what I'll plan to do on my next visit. The 7 night sailing that visits more Cuban ports look very appealing at this point.
It was great to make CocoCay after having two missed calls on previous cruises.  I was very happy to see that construction had minimal impact on the island as I've experienced it before.  I'm not sure the pier will be ready for November.  It seems like they have a lot more to do but I'm not a construction expert.

Day 4 - Sea Day, continued...
Bridge Tour!
Fair warning, bridge tours are addictive - can't get enough.


The Master's chair:
(we all got a chance to sit in it)





One of the exterior bridge wings.

The view from the bridge wing:

This is Louis, our Loyalty Ambassador.  Don't push that button Louis!  Just kidding as I can't say enough good things about Louis. 
They call this station of instruments "The Barbecue" because of how it lifts open just like a grill at home.  From here the ship can be controlled just like it could be from the center helm position.  This is where they control the ship when approaching a pier.

 
One of the senior officers patiently talked to us and answered all of our questions.


I need more meeting space like this:

This tour was complimentary for Diamond Plus and Gold Suite Card.  
Every time you do one of these tours you learn a little bit more that you store away for later recall.
#royalwow
Loyalty does pay.

With a 6pm dinner I still had time to venture outside before we departed Havana. 
By this time the surface of the sun was no longer 250' from us and it had 'cooled' down.  I use that terminology loosely.  The humidity had dropped from 3,000% to 2,999%.  The Captain no longer used Kelvin to measure the outside temperature.  With my core temperature down and with an acceptable margin from boiling point I went up top to catch sail away.

Four names were announced over the PA system.  Yep... pier runners!  This is not the port I'd pick to be late back to the ship.  Looking down from deck 11 I watched as they walked back onto the ship at least 15 minutes late.  Ok, they haven't benefited from a shower and time in A/C to cool down so I'll cut them some slack for walking.
Soon enough the sun was beginning to set.


In better light compared to this morning here once again is the Christ of Havana.

Fully backed out we started making our way forward out of the harbor. Some locals fishing on the pier to right waved and wished us bon voyage.

One last look at Del Morro basking in golden hour this time.



The upper decks were quite busy.  Everyone wanted to capture one last look at Cuba as we sailed away from her.




It was a beautiful evening and everyone was enjoying it.





With the sun getting lower the Pool Bar caught my eye.

It's time.  I had the perfect drink in mind.
A Kraken Lava Flow.  No drink package but it was worth every penny. 

What a day.
After this it was time to head down to my balcony to do some blogging...

Day 1 - Dinner
I had made up my mind to stick with the MDR on this trip but walking past Chops Grille I talked with the host. 
My Chops Grille experiences on other ships has left something to be desired.  I had written Chops off and vowed to not eat there for a while.  However this is the only specialty restaurant on Empress.  As a Diamond Plus I get a BOGO offer on my SeaPass card so I opted to give them another try.  I'm glad I did.


Fairly standard Chops Grille menu:

Wedge salad to start.

16 oz Prime Bone In Ribeye.  Cooked perfectly and good flavors.

Dessert menu.

For dessert Key Lime Meringue Pie.

Bonus - I was able to use my Diamond Happy Hour drinks loaded on my SeaPass in Chops plus they served me a nicer Pinot Noir compared to the normal happy hour wines I have experienced on other ships.  
I really enjoyed this meal and for the first time in a Chops Grille both service and the meal were excellent.
My BOGO 'free' dinner is on day 2 in Chops.  That Goat Cheese Salad and the Rack of Lamb are calling my name.

Cabin Tour!
Junior Suite 9144
Empress is an older ship displacing just 48,563 GT (to put that in perspective, Mariner who was in port with us in Miami is 138,279 GT, nearly 3 times).  Being from an earlier generation of cruising, balcony cabins were a engineering challenge in those days and there aren't very many balcony cabins on Empress.  The best way to snag one is to book a Junior Suite.  
At the time the price difference was reasonable so I opted to pay the upgrade and score double C&A points.  
Opening the door to the cabin and you are presented with a small hallway.  closet on the left (mirror doors) , bathroom on the right.

Nicely appointed and refreshed in 2016 she has the carpet similar to other ships that have been recently refreshed.

Looking back towards the cabin door there is a small makeup area that doubles as a desk.

Bathroom features a shower with plastic shower curtain (behind the door).  

The closet is a walk in closet in the sense that you can walk in and there is enough room to close the doors behind you.  More than enough space for a couple.

Lots of storage space but the only drawers are under the TV by the balcony.



With the pool deck above me, there is cover from the elements.  I looked out while in Miami and it raining very hard at one point yet my balcony was dry.  I waited until we were at sea to take some balcony pictures.




I've yet to be disturbed by noise on the pool deck above me.

For the record, Terminal Two has a Starbucks

I often see asking questions about after the cruise and what to do with their luggage when they have later flights but want to explore the city or a beach.  
There is a luggage storage service here in the FLL airport.  

It depends.  I have a couple and a new back pack that I like.  
On this 5 night cruise I'm not checking bags so I needed a bigger pack for all my lens and a few things that overflowed from my bag went into my backpack.

Full mirrorless camera kit including 5 lens.  I missed my 'real' camera on Adventure.  A phone camera is fine outdoors in the day, but not so much in low light.  I had too many "if I had my real camera that would be a really great shot"  on Adventure.  I won't make that mistake again.   
New lens for this cruise, a 500mm f6.3  mirror lens (1000mm with a 2x teleconverter).  I'm not expecting great things from this lens, it was $99 new including the 2x converter, but a short and light 500mm lens for a full frame camera may be fun to play around with.  The Sony A7 III has good low light performance so I can push the ISO and use dark glass more.  With the in-body sensor stabilization a lens like this can be used handheld under the right conditions.
    

Even Anthem tenders at CocoCay.
Besides, whose to say Royal will always offer itineraries that require small ships?  If they can make more money or be more profitable on big ship itineraries why do small ship ones?
Sure, as long as they have small ships in the fleet, they'll operate those itineraries, but they are not going to keep or add small ships just to do small ship routes.  When the time comes in the future to lose Vision and later Radiance, they'll stop doing small routes.  
Look in the future.  Far into the future.  Twenty years from now.  Thirty years from now. Now build a timeline from present to that future time.  At some point on that time line Vision no longer exists.  At some point on that time line Radiance doesn't exist.  At some point on that time line Voyager doesn't exist.  At some point along that time line they'll stop offering the routes they offer today that require small ships. 

If in doubt, try it at home tonight.  Put your phone in airplane mode, connect to home wifi.  Try making a call and sending text.  
The big US cell companies all support it except on pre-paid plans then it varies.  If in doubt call or drop by a store for your cell company and ask them.  

I see.  It's true, I didn't factor in the 0.001% I'd earn in my bank account...  ? 

The pier tends to be the long walk, the taxi stand is 5 minutes through the port area.  From the ship maybe a 10-15 minute walk to the taxis.  

Most Mariner cabins have two 110v outlets (North American style) and one 220v power port (European style).
They can't add extra outlets in a room.
I bring a plug adapter that allows me to use the 220v power port as well as the 110v outlets.  

https://shop.cruisehabit.com/products/2-to-1-eu-to-us-power-adapter-gain-extra-outlets-in-your-stateroom?variant=37171684299
Note this doesn't change the voltage from 220v down to 110v it just makes the 220v appear on a North American style outlet.  Consequently anything you plug into it must be capable of accepting 220v.  Many but not all modern devices are ready to accept 220v.  Phone charges, CPAP machines, laptop chargers, etc.  Many (but not all) of them can be plugged into 220v outlets.  This can free up the remaining two North American outlets for other things.   
Before using an adapter like this, make sure your devices can accept 220v.

Good point, the Québécois are probably part of that percentage, too.  In the RP, a younger person walking behind an ox in a rice paddy probably learned 3 languages.  English, Tagalog (2 official languages) and his local tongue.  Ferdinand Marcos was a pretty brutal guy, but his legacy actually did a lot to help the average Filipino 40 years later,

That sure beats Canada where only 17.5% claim to be able to hold a conservation in two different languages.  

Hmmm.  Need option 4.  Lowest effective final price of cruise regardless how its derived.
To me I don't care if how it's presented, what is the final price?
Fare $3,000, OBC $100 = final cost of $2,900
Fare $2,900, OBC $0 = final cost of $2,900
Fare $3,500, OBC $500 = final cost of $3,000 <- bad deal and this is often what I get at NextCruise (a bad deal with lots of OBC).

Hmmm.  Need option 4.  Lowest effective final price of cruise regardless how its derived.
To me I don't care if how it's presented, what is the final price?
Fare $3,000, OBC $100 = final cost of $2,900
Fare $2,900, OBC $0 = final cost of $2,900
Fare $3,500, OBC $500 = final cost of $3,000 <- bad deal and this is often what I get at NextCruise (a bad deal with lots of OBC).

I see.  It's true, I didn't factor in the 0.001% I'd earn in my bank account...  ? 

They gather people in the theater to be ready to disembark as soon as possible. If they try to gather people at the published arrival time some people are always late.  By ‘starting’ an excursion before the publushed arrival time it better ensures everyone is there and they can stream groups off as soon as the ship is cleared without waiting for the inevitable stragglers   
In some cases where tenders are involved at some ports the ship might have an 8 am ‘published’ arrival time, excursion tenders can run before those open to other non-excursion guests. 

Hmmm.  Need option 4.  Lowest effective final price of cruise regardless how its derived.
To me I don't care if how it's presented, what is the final price?
Fare $3,000, OBC $100 = final cost of $2,900
Fare $2,900, OBC $0 = final cost of $2,900
Fare $3,500, OBC $500 = final cost of $3,000 <- bad deal and this is often what I get at NextCruise (a bad deal with lots of OBC).