twangster

Day 2 - Key West continued...
I had to get some work done so today was about exploring KW close to the ship.  I did manage to get off the ship though...
The view from my 'office' today:

Day Two - Key West
After my red eye flight the night before it felt so good to sleep in a real bed.  I awoke to find us in Key West.
When I was at Chops the night before I noticed that Chops serve breakfast to Diamond Plus, Pinnacle and Gold Card Suites (GS and above, not JS).  On other ships I've sailed D+ is excluded from this list.  Naturally I had to check this out!
If anyone has experienced Coastal Kitchen before this reminded me of that breakfast experience including some of the menu choices.

I'm starting to really like this ship ? 
No 'slumming' it in the WJ for breakfast for me!
No pictures this morning, too early.

On a side, note, I had lunch in the Windjammer.   They've installed hand washing sinks at some point.

Day 2 - Key West continued...
I had to get some work done so today was about exploring KW close to the ship.  I did manage to get off the ship though...
The view from my 'office' today:

Day Two - Key West
After my red eye flight the night before it felt so good to sleep in a real bed.  I awoke to find us in Key West.
When I was at Chops the night before I noticed that Chops serve breakfast to Diamond Plus, Pinnacle and Gold Card Suites (GS and above, not JS).  On other ships I've sailed D+ is excluded from this list.  Naturally I had to check this out!
If anyone has experienced Coastal Kitchen before this reminded me of that breakfast experience including some of the menu choices.

I'm starting to really like this ship ? 
No 'slumming' it in the WJ for breakfast for me!
No pictures this morning, too early.

After dinner I wandered around and took some pictures.  First I checked out the Schooner Bar and found a singer / piano player at work.  I still have a song in my head from this. 





From here I ventured into the main theater.



The welcome aboard was about to start so I sat down for a while.  The comedian was good but family friendly tonight.  He has an adult show later in the week.
He pointed out this is the smallest ship in the fleet.  You can tell it's the smallest he explained, when it will fit inside the Royal Promenade of a newer ship.
The Viking Crown Lounge is very different compared to the rest of the fleet.  Note the folks on treadmills one level up.  That's the gym.  I guess you can go for a run while watching the late night dancing.

"A Wrinkle in Time" was playing on the outdoor TV by the pool.




Some of the drink specials.



My glass block for reaching another milestone in the Crown and Anchor Society.  I plan these things and it seemed fitting getting one on this ship, one of the oldies but goodies.

I was getting ready for bed when I caught some flashes in the sky outside.  In the distance was another ship.  I am sure they were far from the storm but from this angle it made it look very dramatic with a ship on the horizon.

I dropped by the MDR to look at the menu.  Here it was for day 1:

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.

I have to wash my feet somewhere.  Like my pink flip flops?

After dinner I wandered around and took some pictures.  First I checked out the Schooner Bar and found a singer / piano player at work.  I still have a song in my head from this. 





From here I ventured into the main theater.



The welcome aboard was about to start so I sat down for a while.  The comedian was good but family friendly tonight.  He has an adult show later in the week.
He pointed out this is the smallest ship in the fleet.  You can tell it's the smallest he explained, when it will fit inside the Royal Promenade of a newer ship.
The Viking Crown Lounge is very different compared to the rest of the fleet.  Note the folks on treadmills one level up.  That's the gym.  I guess you can go for a run while watching the late night dancing.

"A Wrinkle in Time" was playing on the outdoor TV by the pool.




Some of the drink specials.



My glass block for reaching another milestone in the Crown and Anchor Society.  I plan these things and it seemed fitting getting one on this ship, one of the oldies but goodies.

I was getting ready for bed when I caught some flashes in the sky outside.  In the distance was another ship.  I am sure they were far from the storm but from this angle it made it look very dramatic with a ship on the horizon.

Welcome to the message boards!
The ability to use iMessage for free is an unpublished feature that guests have discovered.  It's not an official offer from Royal.  I've seen it work myself but since its a side effect the loophole could be closed by Royal at anytime.  No one knows if that is coming or not, or when it might end.  If it still works for your cruise that's great but don't be upset if you board and discover they've fixed it.  
My understanding is that the $7.95 charge for the chat feature in RoyalIQ is per person, not per cabin.  I believe your device is assigned a unique phone number on board and two devices can't share a phone number at the same time.  Having said that I've only cruised solo on Anthem and have no direct experience trying to use multiple devices per cabin to prove my supposition.  
On this cruise I was in cabin 11300.  Note how my extension became 88113001.   The last digit is 1 for the first device.  I believe additional users in the cabin would have a last digit of 2 and so on.  

The section in the app where you purchase the chat options doesn't really address it:

After dinner I wandered around and took some pictures.  First I checked out the Schooner Bar and found a singer / piano player at work.  I still have a song in my head from this. 





From here I ventured into the main theater.



The welcome aboard was about to start so I sat down for a while.  The comedian was good but family friendly tonight.  He has an adult show later in the week.
He pointed out this is the smallest ship in the fleet.  You can tell it's the smallest he explained, when it will fit inside the Royal Promenade of a newer ship.
The Viking Crown Lounge is very different compared to the rest of the fleet.  Note the folks on treadmills one level up.  That's the gym.  I guess you can go for a run while watching the late night dancing.

"A Wrinkle in Time" was playing on the outdoor TV by the pool.




Some of the drink specials.



My glass block for reaching another milestone in the Crown and Anchor Society.  I plan these things and it seemed fitting getting one on this ship, one of the oldies but goodies.

I was getting ready for bed when I caught some flashes in the sky outside.  In the distance was another ship.  I am sure they were far from the storm but from this angle it made it look very dramatic with a ship on the horizon.

Day 2 - Key West continued...
I had to get some work done so today was about exploring KW close to the ship.  I did manage to get off the ship though...
The view from my 'office' today:

Day Two - Key West
After my red eye flight the night before it felt so good to sleep in a real bed.  I awoke to find us in Key West.
When I was at Chops the night before I noticed that Chops serve breakfast to Diamond Plus, Pinnacle and Gold Card Suites (GS and above, not JS).  On other ships I've sailed D+ is excluded from this list.  Naturally I had to check this out!
If anyone has experienced Coastal Kitchen before this reminded me of that breakfast experience including some of the menu choices.

I'm starting to really like this ship ? 
No 'slumming' it in the WJ for breakfast for me!
No pictures this morning, too early.

After dinner I wandered around and took some pictures.  First I checked out the Schooner Bar and found a singer / piano player at work.  I still have a song in my head from this. 





From here I ventured into the main theater.



The welcome aboard was about to start so I sat down for a while.  The comedian was good but family friendly tonight.  He has an adult show later in the week.
He pointed out this is the smallest ship in the fleet.  You can tell it's the smallest he explained, when it will fit inside the Royal Promenade of a newer ship.
The Viking Crown Lounge is very different compared to the rest of the fleet.  Note the folks on treadmills one level up.  That's the gym.  I guess you can go for a run while watching the late night dancing.

"A Wrinkle in Time" was playing on the outdoor TV by the pool.




Some of the drink specials.



My glass block for reaching another milestone in the Crown and Anchor Society.  I plan these things and it seemed fitting getting one on this ship, one of the oldies but goodies.

I was getting ready for bed when I caught some flashes in the sky outside.  In the distance was another ship.  I am sure they were far from the storm but from this angle it made it look very dramatic with a ship on the horizon.

I dropped by the MDR to look at the menu.  Here it was for day 1:

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.

Day 1 - Departing Miami
Muster was outdoors on deck 6.  At least it was covered.  Pretty quick and efficient muster, pretty typical.  There are a couple of muster stations in the theater.
Since we were pointing bow towards the West we would have to sail to the end of the channel where there is a turning basin to complete a 180° turn to head out of Port.  To my surprise we left before Mariner.
The bridge wings are not part of the interior bridge area on Empress.  Captain and crew get to experience it outdoors just like we do.

We headed past Mariner and made our turn before passing Mariner once again as we headed out of port.


The new Skypad has become a defining element to the ship visible from a distance.

As we continued towards the exit of the harbor we approached the new terminal being constructed to house Oasis class ships including Symphony.

There is a significant parking structure behind the new terminal.  That should make for a super convenient experience for anyone driving to the ship.






A few sprinkles broke up the sail away party but it didn't stop people from enjoying the pool.

The pool deck features these covered areas but are open to the sea which provides nice shelter from rain or sun but keeps you connected to the sea.

Deck 6 aft behind Boleros there is a sail away party for the top members of the C&A Society.  I wanted to capture sail away and the new terminal from deck 11 so I only dropped by late to the party as it was winding down. 
  


With that the cruise was officially underway.

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.

Day 2 - Key West continued...
I had to get some work done so today was about exploring KW close to the ship.  I did manage to get off the ship though...
The view from my 'office' today:

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.

Day 2 - Key West continued...
I had to get some work done so today was about exploring KW close to the ship.  I did manage to get off the ship though...
The view from my 'office' today:

Day Two - Key West
After my red eye flight the night before it felt so good to sleep in a real bed.  I awoke to find us in Key West.
When I was at Chops the night before I noticed that Chops serve breakfast to Diamond Plus, Pinnacle and Gold Card Suites (GS and above, not JS).  On other ships I've sailed D+ is excluded from this list.  Naturally I had to check this out!
If anyone has experienced Coastal Kitchen before this reminded me of that breakfast experience including some of the menu choices.

I'm starting to really like this ship ? 
No 'slumming' it in the WJ for breakfast for me!
No pictures this morning, too early.

Empress has become my 2nd favorite ship. Hopefully I will be on her again 2020.