Deedeelynn

After lunch I wanted to see how busy it felt with two ships in port so I wandered around and jumped in the pool.  I found some loungers in the second row to throw my stuff on while I checked out the pool.
I had no issues swimming up to the bar and ordering a Margarita.

Around Chill Island it was easy to get loungers, some front row.




The floating bar was very popular.

Back at the Harbor there were loungers to be had.

Despite two ships at Perfect Day I never felt like I couldn't get anything such as food, drinks or a place to relax.  I think it handled the guest count quite well and Coco Beach Club isn't open yet.

A new addition to CocoCay is the Chill Island Snack Shack.


All CocoCay dining venues now have hand washing stations.

The Snack Shack menu is complimentary.

I came back later when they were open.  Note the two windows in the middle have a platform for kids to order.

The Shack Crispy Chicken Sandwich.  Yum.

I think I found my new default snack on CocoCay.  It was really good.

This sandwich was made in the kitchen within the building.  I had a two minute wait while they prepared it since it was a slow time.  It isn't something from the ship that was cooked hours earlier, it was quite good.

This area of Chill Island has some activities.

Continuing down the beach you'll find the floating bar.

One thing I noted was an abundance of umbrellas that are now complimentary.  In the past umbrellas had a $20 to $25 charge. 

Something I don't recall seeing at CocoCay are Beach Beds.  These have been a feature at Labadee but I don't recall seeing them at CocoCay before.



These are located at the end of the beach area just past the floating bar.  Past this area is closed while Coco Beach Club is being built.  

It also marks the end of the WiFi coverage area.

Beach Bungalows that used to be near South Beach have been relocated to the snorkel beach area.  You can see them in the distance at the end of the beach closest to the ships. 

Chill Island
For those who have been to CocoCay before Perfect Day, Chill Island will seem very familiar.  To a large degree this is the roots of CocoCay that have grown into Perfect Day.   

The large walkway leads to a bridge that covers the gap where tender boats used to arrive from visiting ships.

Looking back towards the pier.

Looking towards the lagoon where tender boats used to dock.

Not too far from the bridge there was a collection of beach wheelchairs for accessibility.  My understanding is that these are first come, first served.  Up to this point a scooter or wheelchair could have navigated the way here.

The straw market is not far from where it was in the past.

The dive shop remains where it was.


Largely unchanged in places.

Looks like they were set up for some sort of ceremony.

Up, Up and Away

Waiting area for busy days.



Unfortunately it was too windy today.
There is a Tram Station near the entrance to Up, Up and Away. 

My little tour is bringing me back towards Thrill Waterpark.

i didn't purchase a pass to the Thrill Waterpark this time.  I have bought a pass for a future visit at the end of August so for my next few visits to CocoCay I'm sticking to areas that are complementary until I can visit Thrill Waterpark as a participant.


And finally back to the Galleon and pier.

Now it's time to explore the left side of Perfect Day... Chill Island.

Oasis Lagoon Cabanas
Here's a quick look at some cabanas before they were occupied.

Oasis Lagoon is pretty massive and there are lots of loungers.  The umbrellas pictured are complimentary.





Showers to rinse off around the pool in various places.

No need to bring life jackets from the ship.

Assistive lift.

This end is like a beach that is walk in.  Mere inches deep at first with a gentle slope towards deeper areas.  The water fountains are begging to be played in and perfect for children.  

Oasis Lagoon
There are a couple of ways to reach Oasis Lagoon.  This way having come around through Skipper's Grill or through Chill Island.




It's a massive fresh water pool and it's complimentary.

When it doubt go straight... to a bar.
Captain Jacks


Captain Jacks overlooks part of the lagoon that used to be where tenders would dock.

Skipper's Grill also shares this side of the lagoon. 

Say hello to my little friends... on the side of the lagoon.


Zip line rides were already beginning.




More on Skipper's grill when lunch is being served later.

CocoCay
Finally on the new pier!
There were several shuttles running back and forth offering rides to guests.

Empress next to her much bigger sister.




Live music welcomed us to Perfect Day.


Oh boy, which way should I go? 

Thrill Waterpark to the right is an exclusive area for those who have purchased a waterpark pass.

Chill Island to the left.

The Galleon for kids is one of the first attractions that's sure to grab the attention of kids.  Since the Galleon is outside of the waterpark it's complimentary.

Walking past the Shore Excursion desk I noted this sign:

Since I had lots of time I chose Chops for another D+ breakfast.  It was empty today so I took the opportunity to grab some pictures.






Service was quick.

Back to my cabin to get ready to venture out to CocoCay I noted our position and track.

CocoCay Approach
Today we share CocoCay with Navigator.  She was in position as we approached.


Navigator guests weren't disembarking yet as our Captain slowly and gently brought us to the pier.  


The old tender lagoon has been repurposed.

Thrill Waterpark is pretty hard to miss.

Still well before our scheduled arrival so I went in to have some breakfast. 

Windjammer for dinner.  Tonight's theme: French. 
I ran into the Hotel Director Julie in the WJ again.  If the senior officers are eating in the WJ, I must be on to something.

Tonight's Headliner:  Kenny James.  


High energy and a lot of fun.  Kenny says he will be on numerous Royal ships over the coming months.

I know, I know.  I promised no more sunset pictures.
I lied.



What a way to end a wonderful day at sea.

Day 13 continued...
On our sea day towards a Perfect Day here are some pictures around the ship on a sea day.
Live music by Mass Effect on the pool deck.

Lots of sun, various pool deck activities by the CD staff I have neglected to capture but here is the pool deck situation.

I love ships with these outdoor covered decks.  A good book, a drink, good company, whatever...

This is day 7 of an 8 day cruise and the 10 drink card has appeared for $79 plus 18% gratuity.

What cruise is complete without a sale.  T-Shirts, jewelry, watches, booze - all the regular stuff on sale and equally popular as ever.  

Ah... wake views.

Plus forward views.  Smooth seas.

If you like a Main Dining Room with windows to the sea, the Empress dining room is waiting for you.
With generous windows on the sides and aft, this dining room is about seeing the sea.

They were setup for a sea day Brunch when I took these photos.

Located at the aft and down on deck 5 nearer the water there are fantastic wake views.


The area where the chef is waiting to serve slices of meat on the black table is where the Hotel Directors Table was held earlier in the cruise. 


It's one of the nicer MDR's in the fleet.

Meal with an officer lunch in Chops today.  
Unfortunately I left my memory card in the cabin so no pictures.
Very enjoyable meal with the IT Manager on one side and the Inventory Manager on the other.  Another Chop's steak in my belly. 
Our IT manager has requested an upgrade to O3b Voom but so far it hasn't come through.  He has increased the bandwidth commit for the ship's Voom.  Currently it is 80Mbps down and 50 Mbps up.  That is shared between guests and the ship's needs.  Individual guests are capped so no single guest will ever see those kinds of speeds.
Our Inventory Manager has promised there shall be Guinness waiting for me the week after next when I return.   Really nice guy who has been with Royal for 24 years.  His last ship was Freedom.  He has a wife and two teenage daughters at home.  They do get to come on board and spend time when schedules permit.  As a 3 stripe officer he has his own cabin.  On larger ships his family can stay with him in his cabin when they visit.  His cabin on Empress only allows 2 so when his family visits they need to use a guest cabin.  He volunteered that he makes a lot more money with Royal than he ever could back in Nicaragua.  Providing a good quality education for his daughters is a priority so that why he is here, he could never do so trying to get by at home.  It's all about providing a better life for his family.  
Loading and unloading the ship has it's challenges.  On Empress there is one door that everything goes through.  He has to wait until after luggage and some other items have been moved before it's "his" turn.  On larger ships there are usually separate doors dedicated to luggage vs food vs. waste offloading and other supplies.  Bayonne will be interesting due to tidal changes.  At times all supplies and luggage have to be hoisted by crane using a basket vs. forklifts directly.  The crane slows things down a lot.  Using one door and a crane will be a challenge.  
Come to think of it in Vancouver when Ovation did its inaugural call in May they were using cranes and baskets.  That is likely why that turn around went so slowly.  It happens at some ports when the tides don't put the doors at the right level and tides change dramatically so using forklifts isn't an option.  The things you never think of.
In hurricane season we carry extra supplies on board.  We might run out of some perishables but there shall be food. 
Food is inspected by himself and members of the galley staff.  If they reject something that vendor is responsible to ensure replacement items are sent to the ship at the next port of call.  Vendors are therefore motivated to make sure that doesn't happen as it could be very costly to do so.
He likes Empress because of the smaller ship size.  On this ship the crew and guests become family because every one gets to know everyone.  On larger ships there are so many crew and guests you can go a contract and not meet everyone.  With the sense of family on board the time goes faster and before you know it the contract is over.  I have certainly experience that here on Empress where several offices and crew have recognized me and stopped to talk.  You don't get that as often on larger ships.
Forgot to mention, we changed time last night.  Back on Eastern time today.

Day 12, Cruise 2 Day 6 - Cozumel
We were docked in Cozumel when I woke.  No plans today but I'm going to take advantage of my cellular plan including Mexico in my "home" area to make some calls and get some work done.  I like Cozumel so don't get me wrong but I've been a number of times this year with more stops booked.  With some overcast and rain clouds in the distance I'm going stay on the ship today.
#boring
From my office (balcony) I spotted the Carnival Paradise arriving. 

Carnival has modified some of these old ships to add balcony cabins.  Cool idea.


Voom has been pretty stable most of the day but towards the end my VPN was flapping occasionally so the on again off again Voom struck again for an hour or so.  I think it's a sign I need to stop working, like someone flipping the house lights on and off.  Time to move on.
With the work day done it's time to switch into cruise mode.  Happy hour is calling... and the bartenders are taking care of me.

A lot going on around the ship but I saw it last week and I'll be back the week after next so I took the time to enjoy a Crown & Anchor bottle of wine on my balcony.  Something about the sea air and sound of lapping water that recharges the soul.  The wine didn't hurt that effort either.

Day 11, Cruise 2 Day 5 - Belize
I awoke late after staying up late for the Milky Way and discovered we were at anchor in Belize.  Due to the great barrier reef system here and the lack of a pier or deep water harbor ships must anchor well away from shore (and the reefs) .  Guests use tenders to make it anywhere.
The tenders were queuing up getting ready to take guest ashore.

One of the many tenders in use today.

Today I booked Scuba Diving through Royal Caribbean in the Cruise Planner before sailing.  Catching a sale event and given the tender operations it's just easier booking through Royal especially in Belize since it's a tender port. 
Our meeting point is common on many Royal ships for ship excursions, the main theater.  Here all guests received a different sticker based on their excursion and we waited to be called.

When they were ready for us or excursion was called.  Our dive boat picked us up right at the ship.  We would never visit the Belize mainland today, we went straight to our dive boat and back.  A couple of Carnival guests were already on the dive boat since we shared anchorage with the Carnival Conquest today.

in the past sometimes these dive boats will take you their dive shop to get fitted.  In our case they came prepared with all of our gear and some extra stuff for size mismatches.  From here it was roughly a 45 minute ride to the reef we would dive today.

i had bought a new underwater housing for my RX100.  Yesterday as I was getting my stuff ready the inner gasket popped out of the track on the new housing.  I spent some time trying to get it back in but there was no way I could get it to stay.  Not willing to risk my favorite travel camera I went back to my old GoPro for underwater shots.
The reef is very beautiful here and the pictures don't do it justice.



A Green Moray eel wasn't very pleased with our presence.

Our dive master pointed out a resting stingray in the sand below.

Two Spotted Eagle Rays swam past at a safe distance to check us out.  Very majestic with their movement.

We enjoyed two dives with a surface interval in between.  This is all done with a plan to respect dive tables and how your body absorbs gases under pressure at depth.
Both were enjoyable dives but I was disappointed I couldn't use a better camera compared to my aging GoPro.
After the dive was over they served a box lunch and we headed back for the 45 minute ride to the ships.


We stopped first to drop off the Carnival guests at the Conquest.  The Conquest class was my first introduction to Carnival when I used to sail with them a number of years ago before switching to Royal.  It really struck me how badly the Conquest needed a paint job.

Finally we were off to our home around the corner.


Big difference that some routine maintenance can make.

L?ve that wine glass sunset shot too! ?

Stepping out from the Centrum onto deck 6 outside I discovered a sunset.  I've been pretty fortunate with sunsets and sunrises on these two cruises.

The Celebrity Equinox sailing away into the sunset.



A Celebrity silhouette of Equinox.

Cheers!

Did I mention Empress offers great views of the sea?




The bartenders rotate bars every two weeks.  Nicholae took great care of me at the Schooner Bar last week, now he's posted to the pool bar.  

Chill mode enabled.

Departure morning:
We had a quick breakfast in CK this morning and manage to make the 7:30 am departure with our suite concierges. Like the Genies, they have a card to request priority service on the elevator. From there, they walked us down to Deck 5 where the gangway is and that is as far as they go. This is different from Port Everglades where they actually walk you to customs.
Once you leave the bridge and enter back into Terminal A, you can go left or right. Suites go right, non-suites go left.  By going right, you now have access to a Suites only elevator which drops you off a little further down the baggage claim area, thereby getting you through customs faster if it was crowded. At least that is what Jennie and Jackie told me yesterday.  
Because it was still early, we ran into very few crowds. Once past customs and outside you make a right for ride share. The area is set up into zones for pick up and there are quite a few people there directing traffic. 

This is a view from Zone 9 where we waited.  The exit from Terminal A is approximately where the black van is.  As you can see, it is not a far walk at all.

Total time from ship (Deck 17) to being in a Lyft was 21 minutes, at least 7-8 of those minutes were waiting for a Lyft.  So very fast walk off. 
Now sitting at FLL waiting for our ride back to reality. 

Symphony Final Thoughts
What a perfect week this has been.  So different from our last few sailings with our kids, this one was the other extreme.  So relaxing, and an abundance of down time. It was just what we needed to recharge. 
This ship is amazing, it did not disappoint one bit!  However, is it my favourite now? I don’t know.  If there is a noticeable price difference between HM and SY, I would have a really hard to picking the more expensive one over the other.  I find both ships to be so similar to the point where there honestly were times that I forgot which one I was on.  
The entertainment was the same caliber as the rest of her sisters.  The one that stood out the most was Flight. Other than the drones, 1977 was quite comparable to 1887.  We enjoyed Hiro more than The Fine Line just slightly because we preferred the music and choreography of Hiro. I did miss the spinning guy though. The Broadway production is subjective. I still think We Will Rock You is best. YMMV.
As far as dining goes, I love El Loco Fresh. Way better than Mini Bites on HM but not enough to justify the cost difference of SY.  
Coastal Kitchen/Suite Lounge is identical to HM.  This was probably our least favourite CK experience though thus far.  There was nothing that went wrong but they did not do anything to exceed expectations either, like others have in the past. If I had to put my “teacher hat” on, I would say they were just average, both the crew in there and the quality of the food. Good, but did not go above and beyond what was expected.  Like I mentioned before, there was also some inconsistencies the earlier nights with the quality of the food itself. We still enjoyed our time here but if I were to rank it among our other times, this would not be ranked as high. In my opinion, that honour goes to Anthem’s CK.  Both times we were there, the crew and quality of the meals were spot on and outstanding. 
So to wrap it up, I loved Symphony because she’s OA class. My favourite? It’s whichever one that has the lower priced loft suite between HM and SY. ?
Please continue to ask any questions that I haven’t answered.  @tiny260 and his DW tell me that this is a good place to end it.  In the theme of seventeens, this is Page 17. ?