WannaCruise

Loving your review. Empress has some really nice views. You certainly help Royal by promoting their ships. ? Hope you're having a great time...and so wonderful you are doing B2B.

Happy cruising! Looks great so far!

We've managed fine in one room with our two kids (who are 14 and 10). So for us, we would save the $1000. But we are just trying 2 connecting rooms in our upcoming cruise so maybe my opinion will change once we try it. ?

The background makes the drink look even so much better. ?

Sorry you were disappointed with Hairspray. I'm a theatre fan and really enjoyed it when we saw it in March. And wow...people left? Wonder if you saw the same cast? I can see though it not being for everyone. And your comment makes me that much more excited for WWRY when we go on Anthem in March. Hiro is amazing...and so if Flight. DD loved Flight so much we went a second time on standby. Also, the ice show is impressive (the non-bookable one is OK...but 1977 is really good with neat effects).

Happy Anniversary! And Happy Cruise day! Things are good for you!!!

Wonderful family shots and scenery. Looks amazing so far! Gotta get to that part of the world someday.

Thanks for explaining. Sounds like a nice area with looking down over MDR. Meal does sound long...mostly because I have back issues and can't sit too long..but does sound lovely...and extra bonus if you get a great group of people. Glad you had such a wonderful experience (and helps with your TA too)

I agree with this. It's a horrible tragedy that none of them will get over. If the window was at a kids eye level, then you can blame Royal. But the grandfather lifted her up and wasn't holding on. How was that Royal's fault?

Great review. Where do they hold Chef's table on Adventure? Great to hear you loved it so much. It seems to get not as great reviews as on other ships (but overall sounds like a wonderful experience). We were planning on trying it, but then upgraded to JS so not sure it's in the budget...but...they had The World on there too? Hmmmm. The meal sounds delicious, and that doesn't even count the wines.

Simeon was our cruise director for our week on Symphony , filling in for regular CD. He was quite funny.

Ditto. We had him on Mariner last summer and he's hilarious. Too bad we'll miss him. Hopefully the other guy is just as good.

Haven't tried CP room so can't compare but we stayed in Boardwalk Balcony on Symphony and loved it. To me, it's a perfect mix. You can see the water in the background plus you can watch a movie and aqua show from your room. We were deck 10 mid way down so I wouldn't recommend watching the Aqua show for the first time from up there, but it's a neat way to catch parts again (or preview or them practicing). It's also fun to step outside and people watch and see what's going on on the Boardwalk. For noise, we did hear muffled noise at night, mostly with a movie, but I just put in ear plugs and problem solved. Wouldn't hesitate too book one again. (And if cost isn't an issue, it's always nice to have a balcony to be able to get some fresh air - comparing this to virtual balcony). AS for the perks...DH gets soda package so that was nice for him. I never get it as I don't drink pop but did have some flavored water. And we didn't even use our free Johnny Rockets meal since with all our other eating, we didn't feel like a greasy meal. Our view.

Definitely following along! Happy 17th anniversary all around. Excited for you that you are going on Symphony (and not a bad upgrade either!). You are going to love her! Beautiful ship, amazing entertainment, great food options, and all the rest from other Oasis class.

We had the opportunity to meet him when on Independence. He's a super nice guy..very down to earth and friendly. Found his blog very interesting.

Noticed your periscope and so then popped over here and saw your live blog. Always excited to follow along. So glad you arrived ok despite the weather (and drunk person!). Looks like it'll be a great cruise. As you state, there isn't much about Empress so thanks for the review. Enjoy!

Great photos. Can't wait to see it for ourselves next month.

That's what we're hoping for on our Adventure cruise later this year (kids aren't with us on that one). We had the 10 drink card on Symphony on night 4 (I think) which worked out great. Adventure is a 6 nigher though so not sure whether they'll offer the drink card, and sounds unlikely they'll sell the drink package mid cruise from your comment.

Got it. So you can't just say I'll buy it on day 6. They will set that final day when you can purchase it. Thanks for explaining.

Great video and example above as well. One thing from the video I didn't realize....you can purchase it on say, day 4? I assume you just pay for the # of days you'll be using it and not charged as if you purchased it on day 1? If so, this is a nice alternative if you want to just try it on the last day (if even an option)

No...chocolate...it's a rich chocolate...so depends if you like that

4 words: chocolate dulce de leche

Not a ton tbh. I do not eat chicken or beef and so had cheese quesadilla. They had made up burritos but these were both meat. But they also had nachos and I think if remembering correctly , make your own tacos so those could be veggie too. What I had though, was really good, and excited that Navigator include an El Loco Fresh (which we'll be on next month)

Happy cruise day! Your photos are beautiful!

El Loco Fresh is a great place for lunch. Even their plan quesadillas were really yummy....and that chocolate dessert . It's nice too since it's not far from the Windjammer so for one of our days, there was nothing that interested our DS so he grabbed food from Windjammer and the rest of us grabbed from El Loco.