Cruising to Retirement!

Have so much fun climbing tomorrow at 4:45!  I can't wait to hear all about it.  Your pictures are even more breath-taking than your last cruises!  You really have the gift with the camera!
 
Michelle

I totally agree!  Thanks for sharing your wonderful vaca with all of us!  P.S.  All of your "Gals" are very lucky to have you!!!  
Please blog again on your next cruise!
Michelle 

Have so much fun climbing tomorrow at 4:45!  I can't wait to hear all about it.  Your pictures are even more breath-taking than your last cruises!  You really have the gift with the camera!
 
Michelle

Have so much fun climbing tomorrow at 4:45!  I can't wait to hear all about it.  Your pictures are even more breath-taking than your last cruises!  You really have the gift with the camera!
 
Michelle

Thank you so much for clearing that up for us!  It sounds like a great idea for us since I especially like to play the slots.  It will be a nice added perk to enjoy playing in a smoke free casino, too!  Your blog has been so helpful in navigating this great newly renovated ship!  We are looking forward to doing our first 10 day cruise ever on Equinox going back to the ABC's for 3rd year in a row and Key West and Grand Cayman in September.  It was an itinerary that was definitely calling our names!  Ha!
Thanks again for the awesome blog!  Please blog again on your next cruise!!!
Michelle

Thank you so much for clearing that up for us!  It sounds like a great idea for us since I especially like to play the slots.  It will be a nice added perk to enjoy playing in a smoke free casino, too!  Your blog has been so helpful in navigating this great newly renovated ship!  We are looking forward to doing our first 10 day cruise ever on Equinox going back to the ABC's for 3rd year in a row and Key West and Grand Cayman in September.  It was an itinerary that was definitely calling our names!  Ha!
Thanks again for the awesome blog!  Please blog again on your next cruise!!!
Michelle

Thanks for such an awesome blog!  I'm so happy you both were able to take advantage of the Oct/Nov sale.  We are also sailing from this awesome same sale on the Edge in March ( it was cheaper than our Harmony in March) so we cancelled and booked the Edge with all 4 perks including the premium bev package.  That will be our actual first Celebrity cruise too!  We are Diamond Plus on Royal too.  We are thinking of adding on the beverages and more onto our premium pkg onto both of our cruises that you both did especially the Equinox.  So did you both use all your $50 casino cash before you cashed out or can you cash out and get $25 dollars back of the original $50?  A little confusing to say the least.
Any additional information would be gratefully appreciated!
 
Michelle

Thank you so very much Twangster for another great blog.  Your blogs are so wonderful like a good book you don't ever want to put down!
I love the Anthem too!  We were on a second 9 night which I wish was longer like yours last May in a Jr. Suite and that Coastal Kitchen was a definite favorite of ours!
All your beautiful pictures I feel should be in books too!
Michelle

Thank you so very much Twangster for another great blog.  Your blogs are so wonderful like a good book you don't ever want to put down!
I love the Anthem too!  We were on a second 9 night which I wish was longer like yours last May in a Jr. Suite and that Coastal Kitchen was a definite favorite of ours!
All your beautiful pictures I feel should be in books too!
Michelle

I totally agree with Sweety!  We're all looking forward to your pictures from this new camera!  Take it easy and pace yourself and just live in the moment!  I love, love the Anthem also!  Michelle

? Only THREE days till you go!! 
Definitely following. I hope your foot plays nicely and allows you to go for the iFly! 

? Seven more days 'til we go on the cruise!
Seven more days 'til we gooooo!!! ?
I was going to wait until the day before we left, just to avoid joining the @Matt and @Lovetocruise2002 bandwagon, but work is nuts and nights aren't looking to be much better this week, so...
The Ship
As the title says, this is our second trip on Anthem of the Seas, having sailed her just over a year ago! I've been looking forward to this since the day we booked it, which was (amusingly) at my wife's strong request a mere two weeks after we got back from that last sailing. ?
Itinerary
Day 1 - Depart Cape Liberty at 4:00 PM Day 2 - Sea Day Day 3 - Arrive in Bermuda at 8:00 AM, stay overnight Day 4 - Depart Bermuda at 5:00 PM Day 5 - Sea Day Day 6 - Return to Cape Liberty and non-cruising life Why We Booked It
Our trip last year to Bermuda left us loving this little island that's nice and close to our home state of NJ, and we knew before the first day was even over that we had to come back here. Lots of places we didn't explore last time and want to get a look at, and not enough time at Horseshoe Bay beach. I didn't think we'd be coming back just a year later, but Cathy said she really wanted to go back right away and not wait. Well, who am I to argue against a "YOLO Book It!!!" request?
 
I'm guessing I'll be a bit more live this time around, for reasons I'll get into in another post or two...

Ok I guess I'll jinx myself like @Matt and start the live-ish blog early.  
So this cruise was many things to my husband and I.  First, it was a yolo black friday sale and I had been eyeballing cruises to take my husband on for a while.  He's not really the vacation-y type and I adore exploring and vacationing.  I've been very comfortable travelling solo but I really wanted him to experience a cruise.  He's a Marine so his idea of a cruise is hot bunking, doing fire fighting training onboard a carrier and being miserable while the Navy got him where he needed to go.  Vacationing to me is at least 4 star hotels, gourmet meals, relaxation, spa visits, etc.  We're like night and day when it comes to travelling.  His last experience with "Thyri Style" travel was our honeymoon in the Poconos doing the whole champagne glass whirlpool thing.  He needs to get out more.
I adore cruising, I adore the water.  I'm not married to any cruise line in particular but Royal does give us the option to sail out of Baltimore, which is a 20 minute drive from our house.  
So when the price was right on black friday, I asked hub, "can I book this PLEASE?  I need a vacation, WE need a vacation"  mega SWMBO guilt trip pouring on and he allowed it.
5 nights to Bermuda.  But it has to be "Thyri style".  So I debated for about 20 minutes between the Grand Suite and the Owners Suite.  I knew I didnt want or need the Royal Suite because well, my logic is I dont play piano.  The price difference wasnt too much, and the larger balcony just sealed the deal for me.  So I booked it.  
Then I found this blog and these forums and learned about MEI travel.  I was considering being my own travel agent for this but Pam Richter at MEI really has been a godsend.  She sorted me out on a name discrepancy on our tickets and our travel documents.  Hub's last name has a III at the end.  That wasnt on our tickets.  Pam to the rescue!  She also helped us sort out travel insurance.
I kind of was excited, relieved, and nervous at the same time.  I've wanted to go on a cruise with hub for a very long time.  I also must be the only woman on the planet who cant remember her anniversary to save her life.  I realized at the time of this cruise, it would be 15 years of putting up with each other.  
 
Fast forward to tax time.  I had expected my work bonus as well as my tax refund (YAY), and I just said the heck with it and paid off the cruise.  I wanted it done, I wanted it to be "complete".  I wasnt planning on changing cabins or ships.  I knew I could get the time off of work because I always book my time off so far in advance before anyone else can take it.  So now what else.
I decided to completely splurge and do the "as close to all inclusive as you can get on a cruise" method.  So there was a WOW sale that happened with a deal of $52 for the deluxe beverage package and the voom internet.  Ok that was a no brainer, I wanted a beverage package anyways.  I'm not a huge drinker, but I do like the convenience of being able to have that extra drink after dinner, or at a show, or a latte with breakfast.  I also wanted that convenience of knowing that was all taken care of before the cruise.  And the price was nice for both the drink package and the voom.  Then I started looking at specialty dining.  I knew I wanted to do that.  I kind of like doing a "pre dinner" at a place like Izumi and then go to Chops or Giovanni's for the real dinner.  Or have the option to go to the windjammer for pregame, go to Chops for the main course, and then maybe have dessert by room service.  Again this was more about the flexibility than it was "getting the most" out of specialty dining.  I'm sure my hub and I wont come close to making the ultimate dining package worth it, but its the flexibility for us.  Also I can devour a lot of sushi.
Ok with drinks and food taken care of.  I pivoted to excursions.  I really wanted to show hub the beauty of Bermuda, the history.  And about 24 hours to do it in, it would be challenging but I'd use this as a teaser to go on more cruises.  So I booked a snorkeling excursion and a glass bottom boat ride for our first day, and a history bus tour on the 2nd.  Well unfortunately the history bus tour got cancelled, so our 2nd day has become a free day.  Personally I want to explore more of the Dockyard this visit.  I really REALLY wanted to go to St George but with all of the activities booked on day 1, it just wasnt going to happen.  I figured that the first day it would give us something fun, and then something relaxing while really taking in the sights of Bermuda.  
I also decided to "treat yo self" and get a few things for the room as well.  I got the anniversary decorations gift thing, I got a bottle of champagne, 2 beach towels, a tote bag, rum and coke, and some sodas.  Since hub is a bit of a homebody, I didnt want him missing out if he didnt feel up to going out and about with me.  I wanted things to be as absolutely smooth as possible for his first cruise.  Excessive?  Possibly.  But that's just my kind of style.  
And that was it for the planning phase.  Then it was 10 months of waiting.  Stalking the cruise planner for better deals (except on the intern mistake day of course).  Reading the blog, chatting with other cruisers.  I was in full cruise planning mode and 10 months felt like forever.
 
Now its 10 days and I'm starting a blog.  I'll do my best depending on the Voom to post as many photos and details as I can.
At 10 days out I have not heard from my concierge yet.  But I'm expecting to hear from them in the next week to book dining reservations.  I do tend to be a little cavalier with my dining on a ship though.  So I just want to book Chops on the first day because hub desperately wants the seafood tower and I promised I'd get him one.  We even say to each other now "seafood tower?" and give a thumbs up.  I fear our little inside joke will happen onboard when we actually get it.  
But I'll do my best to share the suite life on a Vision class ship.  

I totally agree with Sweety!  We're all looking forward to your pictures from this new camera!  Take it easy and pace yourself and just live in the moment!  I love, love the Anthem also!  Michelle

I totally agree with Sweety!  We're all looking forward to your pictures from this new camera!  Take it easy and pace yourself and just live in the moment!  I love, love the Anthem also!  Michelle

My sentiments exactly!  Somehow your magnificent pics make me feel like a tiny part of me is there with you.  Thanks again Twangster!  Michelle

Thanks Twangster for another awesome blog and of course those gorgeous pics on the Empress, the ship with the biggest Heart!  Also I especially enjoyed the pics from BVI including the nice pier.  Seeing that they have come back from the hurricanes was nice to see (and I definitely want to go to Jost Van Dyke someday for sure)  Michelle

You have had such amazing experiences at these "special dinners" and learned an abundance of interesting RC knowledge!  I'm so happy for you!  A huge thanks for sharing "all" of this with us!  As my Grandma would say that you, Twangster, have a kind heart for taking so much of your time to share with us!  And your pics are definitely one of a kind, too!   Michelle

You have had such amazing experiences at these "special dinners" and learned an abundance of interesting RC knowledge!  I'm so happy for you!  A huge thanks for sharing "all" of this with us!  As my Grandma would say that you, Twangster, have a kind heart for taking so much of your time to share with us!  And your pics are definitely one of a kind, too!   Michelle

You have had such amazing experiences at these "special dinners" and learned an abundance of interesting RC knowledge!  I'm so happy for you!  A huge thanks for sharing "all" of this with us!  As my Grandma would say that you, Twangster, have a kind heart for taking so much of your time to share with us!  And your pics are definitely one of a kind, too!   Michelle

You have had such amazing experiences at these "special dinners" and learned an abundance of interesting RC knowledge!  I'm so happy for you!  A huge thanks for sharing "all" of this with us!  As my Grandma would say that you, Twangster, have a kind heart for taking so much of your time to share with us!  And your pics are definitely one of a kind, too!   Michelle

You have had such amazing experiences at these "special dinners" and learned an abundance of interesting RC knowledge!  I'm so happy for you!  A huge thanks for sharing "all" of this with us!  As my Grandma would say that you, Twangster, have a kind heart for taking so much of your time to share with us!  And your pics are definitely one of a kind, too!   Michelle

You have had such amazing experiences at these "special dinners" and learned an abundance of interesting RC knowledge!  I'm so happy for you!  A huge thanks for sharing "all" of this with us!  As my Grandma would say that you, Twangster, have a kind heart for taking so much of your time to share with us!  And your pics are definitely one of a kind, too!   Michelle

I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed reading your blog, Jane!!!  Your pics, your information, your comments make me feel a little part of your journey!  We hope to someday soon go on a cruise that covers this exact same itinerary!!!  I was hoping to get the name of your awesome Royal ship/shore excursion that your family did in Rome!  It sure seemed very in depth and covered so very much in just one day.  Could you please let me know the name and # of that shore excursion for future reference!  I'm so glad that a Pope/showing did not slow you down with such a limited about of time including the travel back and forth to the port.  Thanks again for the awesome "blog journey" sort of....  Michelle

Cruise Summary
Don't let the pictures fool you, Empress is not a large ship.  Cabins from interior to suites are not as generous as they are on newer and larger ships. 
In some cases the pullman beds for 3rd and 4th guests that are flush into the ceiling on other ships are mounted externally to the walls.  This is what cruising was like in the mid-80's when she was originally ordered by Admiral Cruises.  Incidentally that is also how Royal Caribbean found themselves in possession of CocoCay - through the acquisition of Admiral Cruises.  It is fitting to visit CocoCay while sailing Empress.
On Empress you'll find a Royal Caribbean ship with all the core cruising essentials and more - a pool, hot tubs, kids splash area, a pool bar, a Viking Crown Lounge, a Windjammer, a Main Dining Room, Chops Grille, Schooner Bar, Boleros, Main Theater entertainment, Casino, game shows, trivia, rock climbing wall, pool deck activities, live music and dancing.
When I booked these cruises I wasn't hesitant about booking B2B or 14 nights on Empress because I know and love this ship.  What I should have done is booked B3B or B4B as some of others that I ran into daily had done.  
Did I miss a Diamond Lounge?  Not really.  The regular top Crown and Anchor members had our regular spot and we would see each other there nightly.  We enjoyed our three free Diamond Happy Hour drinks.  The bartenders took care of us.  
I still maintain that Chops Grille on Empress is the best Chops in the fleet.  Large windows to the sea with great service and great food.  
Without question Boleros on Empress is the best in the fleet.
There is no inherent motion simply because she is a small ship.  Some nights I accidentally left my bathroom door open and it was never swinging or creaking in the night.   
With only 1,840 guests maximum it never feels crowded.  Certain events were popular and well attended but not overly packed.  
Voom.  Like any ship that uses the older satellite technology there are times when Voom struggles on Empress just like it does on other ships that use the old technology.  I hope the IT Manager's request for an O3b upgrade comes through, that would make Empress the perfect ship.  
The new Empress itineraries that include small ship ports look outstanding.   St George's and Hamilton?  Montreal?  Wow!
Perfect Day - just wow!   I'm glad to see the classic CocoCay beach experience remains with Chill Island but with new food and beverage additions.  Oasis Lagoon is massive and really nice. 
The complimentary choices mean you don't have to spend a dime to have a Perfect Day but when you want to AMP up your vacation there are choices like Thrill Waterpark to do so.   Captain Jack's and Skipper's Grill with their patios overlooking the Harbor Lagoon are places where you just want to hang out.  The large paved pathway that circles CocoCay is friendly to accessible needs, much more so than CocoCay ever was before.  
Louis the Loyalty Ambassador once again took great care of me.  With no Diamond Concierge Louis helped to fill that void.  
Julie our Hotel Director put it best.  She is a small ship but she has the biggest heart plus you can get anywhere in 5 minutes or less.  This is a huge benefit of small ship cruising.  The majority of the crew report up through the Hotel Director and If these crew and the great service are a reflection of the Hotel Director then Julie has done an outstanding job on Empress. 
There is a part of me that wants to perpetuate a myth that everyone should avoid this ship.  Only then will prices remain low and I can have her all to myself but that wouldn't be fair to the ship or her crew that make Empress not only the biggest little ship but the Royal ship with the biggest heart.
I hoped you enjoyed following along and I thank you for viewing.