TetonPost

I just came off 11 days on that ship and I loved it. They kept it fanatically clean, the crew were friendly and amazing, it was fun, she purrs like a kitten, the food was good, (wasn't particularity fond of the dinners but loved the buffet) and I've got four years on you, so just go have a great time!

18 minutes ago, rjac said:

Well, yes. But if you do you'll knock over the pot of gold, scatter them all over the place and REALLY piss off the leprechauns! 

Maybe flying through a rainbow is what we seek to achieve when we cruise?

17 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

It would appear so, at least based on this photo my wife shared on Facebook the other day...

 

EDIT -- Or not. Seems this is actually polarization at work when taking the photo. http://atmospherical.blogspot.com/2008/04/polarization-colours-in-airplane-window.html?m=1

Yep, I buy the polarization theory completely.

Thanks teacher, you made me smile broadly!

5 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Can you actually fly through a rainbow ?

Sure, why not! I captured Dorian lightning in a cloud coming into Miami...

11 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

Thanks so much for sharing these! Still have a lot to view since I can only look during breaks at work or after, but what I've seen from the first couple days of your trip is great! Was that one Day 1 shot taken while flying through a rainbow? The color bands in it were so vivid and surprising!

Hmmm, I don't know! They are vivid but might be due to distortion from the thick airplane window. Thank you for checking out my blog!

30 minutes ago, Fuzzywuzzy said:

I spent most of this morning going through your pictures. Fantastic. Well done. Great eye! Thanks.

Wow, thanks! It sounds like your time spent there was enjoyable and that makes my day!

I've got more pictures from the cruise on my blog if anyone is interested: https://www.oldmanjim.com/

8 hours ago, fonemanbob said:

We thought our first ever cruise on Enchantment was a big ship.  HA HA   We have been fortunate to have sailed on all of the different classes of ships.  And in between our son spent 10 years in the Navy.  Now those are some really big ships.  In all honesty we like the mid class size ships.    Then again they all are nice as each has its own characteristics.    The picture is beautiful.  Welcome to the blog and Royal Caribbean.  

Thanks! I've been looking over that Fleet Guide pdf, very informative. My next cruises will be based on price of course, itinerary, time of year (although hurricane season worked out really well for me :-) and then work my way up the fleet classes with an eye on the amped ships. Thanks for the advice everyone!

8 minutes ago, brycemo said:

Even a Voyager Class, Freedom Class, or Quantum Class would be an awesome step up from Empress. Each has just a little bit more to do than the previous. A "Royal Amplified" ship would be a perfect next cruise:  http://www.royalcaribbeanincentives.com/content/uploads/2018-2019-Fleet_Guide.pdf

You're right, I can't just book future cruises on nothing but the Empress. I will expand my horizons...

15 minutes ago, PRebecca said:

My favorite post I've seen all weekend and I've seen a lot of great ones! Thanks for sharing

That's very nice, thank you!

5 minutes ago, bhageerah said:

My friend if you thought that was huge please do yourself a favor and PLEASE book one on an Oasis class ship! 

Huge is a relative term for an old guy in a small Tennessee town. I saw lots of bigger boats along the way on that cruise and I imagined what it would be like on one and concluded that the Empress was huge enough. I don't need a water slide or a city within a city, I just want a limber little boat that I can walk from one end to the other easily.

2 minutes ago, Fuzzywuzzy said:

You're gonna need a bigger boat

I thought the Empress was huge!

16 minutes ago, KathyC said:

Absolutely appropriate!!  Great photo! 

Thank you!

34 minutes ago, bhageerah said:

Great pic thank you for sharing!  And I am extra glad that you had a great time, just know that I am officially jealous since I am at work!  And as we all know, even the worst day at sea is better than the best day at work!!!

Thanks!  I have never had a bad day at sea so I can't compare.

I was on the recent extended Empress cruise (due to Dorian), it was my first cruise, and I just wanted to say that was the best consecutive eleven days I've ever experienced, and I'm an old guy that's seen a lot. I'm a huge Royal Caribbean fan now, can't imagine riding with anyone else from here on out. I don't know if it's appropriate but I'm posting a sunset photo taken the night before arriving back in Miami.

8 minutes ago, Fuzzywuzzy said:

It's all a ploy to get you to book another cruise. Don't fall for it

P.S.: Somewhat jealous.

Ploy, worked!

3 minutes ago, klc317 said:

Awesome!   We are going on empress in about a month, Oct 5th sailing.   Have been on alot of cruises with RC but not on Empress yet.   Hopefully things are calm when we go...just a 5 night with myself and wife.   Looking forward to it.

I love this little ship.Granted, my first cruise so I have nothing to compare, but it feels kind of like I'm on a private yacht and the owner is a guy with a thick Norwegian accent who comes over the intercom occasionally telling us to enjoy everything on him!

4 minutes ago, leesam82 said:

I'm on the allure we saw you guys at roatan and Cozumel. They extended us as well. Currently at Costa Maya with the navigator and will be making the two sea day journey back to ft Lauderdale. I'm happy they extended all the prebooked package s at no cost. Allure also had many people leave at Cozumel and a few at roatan. Stay safe out there!

I had an amazing adventure in Roatan with a cab and an all day drive around the island for $40, which would not have happened but for this!

3 minutes ago, WAAAYTOOO said:

Enjoy your extended vacation and remember that you are now enjoying what should be someone else’s great vacation (through no fault of your own).  Your good fortune is their disappointment.

I’m so glad to hear that Royal is doing the right thing for you !

I'm very aware of that. I can imagine my disappointment if this cruise had been shortened or canceled.

3 minutes ago, SpeedNoodles said:

Enjoy your extra time!!!!

I'll drink a Mudslide to that!

I'm sure most of you R/C followers are aware of what's going down on this ship right now, but just in case: They canceled CocoCay because of the hurricane and then decided it was not safe to return to Miami today so they extended the cruise by three days. A lot of folks bailed in Cozumel and then we sailed to Roatan for the day. We're now at sea heading to George Town for tomorrow, then back in Miami (maybe) on Wednesday.

The three days are totally free! They extended my drink and internet packages at no charge and even the gratuities stopped at 8 days. Instead of getting off the boat in Miami this morning I'm on a whole new adventure, compliments of Royal Caribbean. This is my first cruise ever and man am I a brand new fan of this cruise line!

20 minutes ago, JLMoran said:

That's the nice thing about the package. Unless you're ordering a straight shot of some top-top-shelf whiskey or cognac, or a glass of said spirit neat or on the rocks, you're really not likely to go over the limit. And I've seen repeatedly here that all the bartenders will give you a heads-up if your order will put you over the package limit, provided you let them know when you hand over your Sea Pass card that you have the package.

Thanks again, JL, just the information I needed. One of these days I'll have a couple cruises under my belt and I'll be able to give advice.

1 minute ago, tzb said:

ask them to make you a caipirinha (pronounced kaee-pee-reen-yuh)...typically referenced as the "national drink of brazil". it is a wonderful, very refreshing drink with muddled limes and made with leblon, which is a specific type of white "rum" called cachaca and simple syrup. we order them on cruises a lot because they are labor intensive to make at home...make sure the bartender muddles enough lime in there, the more the better.

Sounds terrific, thanks!

One thought, perhaps a bit off-topic, but what's the proper way to order these drinks to imply that you don't want to exceed the package cap (what, about $13). It's great to request a top shelf label, but do you say "only if it's covered under the package"? That just seems kind of uncool.