PRebecca

I think the trick is to accidentally "forget" your book after you finish it reading in the library?.    Then by default it becomes a donation.....

I don't think I introduced myself.  Rebecca. My husband and I are taking our first RC Cruise September 13th, 2019 on NoTS for a quick weekender. We live in Florida so I'm scouring these threads to see how I can work cruising into our regular Vacation or Quick Getaway schedules. This is my first message board experience so I've lurked for a week or two in hopes of identifying any message board faux paux I can avoid while still trying to get all the answers I need. You've all been a fantastic source of really great info! I'm convinced I can make cruising a regular things for us ? 
I appreciate the time you all take answering newbies questions.  

Howdy Y’all. I joined this board less than a month ago and in 10 days I will be on Liberty of The Seas. I’ve been reading all the live-blogs and I decided today that I am going to live blog my cruise---or at least try.
So a little background on this cruise, it started out in late as a Father Son (me) cruise. At the time we were trying to decide between another western Caribbean (this would be my 4th of those) or to Cuba. After much deliberation we decided that we cared more about the ship than the destinations, so we booked the Western Caribbean (and boy did we get lucky with that decision…no more Cuba now)  in an interior stateroom. Early July rolls around and we start watching some videos of our room, my Dad who has only cruised junior suites or higher was a little alarmed with the size and upgraded us to a Junior Suite. Then we get to mid July- my Mom asks to join the cruise. So we start to price it out and decide that we need to get an additional cabin. Well when looking at the cost for who to solo cruise vs. adding a 4th person was so small that we decided to add my girlfriend. So we add her and my Mom to a Balcony. Great everything is set in stone 1 month prior to the cruise. WRONG. We had one more big change. July 10th my father decides he wants a Grand Suite with my Mom. He calls to upgrade and they don’t have availability, so we get on the wait list. On the 15th we get a grand suite 1 bedroom. That brings us to today.
Where we stand now.
When: August 11, 2019 + 1 day before
Where: Cozumel, Falmouth, George Town, a day at the Houston Space Center the day before
Rooms:
Junior Suite-with me (Kyle) and my girlfriend (Natalie)-we are still keeping our fingers crossed for a cancellation to upgrade to a grand suite or for the same to happen with our RoyalUp bid Grand Suite (1 bedroom)-with my Mom (Brenda) and Dad (Ross) Extras:
The Key Deluxe Drink Package Unlimited Dining Package All Access Tour Galley Brunch Excursions:
Atlantis Submarine Tour-Cozumel
Trolley Roger-Grand Cayman
About Us
Me (Kyle) - I’m  21, and a Diamond status for the first time this cruise The Girlfriend (Natalie)- 22, first time cruiser, never been out of the country, got lucky with C&A and they matched her to Diamond Mom (Brenda) – Suite Lover, Diamond Dad (Ross)-  Suite Lover, Diamond I am really excited for this vacation and can’t wait to share it with y’all. I’m very interested to see for myself how the Key works out for us and compare it to the suite perks and Diamond perks. Most of y’all have much more experience with cruising and live blogging but, if y’all have anything you would like me to look at/investigate/ ask I would be happy to! 
Thanks for reading.

I hope you don't expect a lot of sympathy from those of who cruise less frequently  ?

Try 108 days at sea in 2018 with 128 days at sea booked in 2019.  

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. 

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.

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.

Here is a picture of our sushi class.  It was very basic sushi.  Crab, shrimp and I can’t remember what was in the hand roll, maybe spicy tuna? 

 
Three of us did the class.  It was fun but I don’t know if I’d do it again.  This was the only time I’ve eaten sushi on a ship.  I’m a bit leery of the fish freshness.  Our local sushi place has fish flown in several times a week so I’m a bit spoiled with incredible sushi. 

We’ve done this class twice now (once on Grandeur and once on Anthem as a gift from our Genie).  Both classes were the same. They help you prepare a nigiri, a roll and one of those funnel-shaped things.
For the first class, I followed sensei and made the sushi as he instructed. I was pretty terrible. Stuff fell out the ends of the roll and my shrimp did not stay with the rice for the nigiri. I shudder at the thought of my funnel-thing. It was horrible.  It was at this point that I realized that I really just DO NOT like that nasty seaweed (forget the name of it) that they use in the rolls...and the funnel thing.
...so for my second class, I went rogue.  I shoved that seaweed right back at ‘em.  I made my roll without it !  Ha !  Of course, it was pitifully “flaccid” and you could only move it by pushing it along the plate, but by God I did not use that icky seaweed and it tasted GREAT !  The shrimp still did not stick to the rice like it’s supposed to. Haven't figured that one out yet.  I completely ignored the sensei when he started doing the funnel-thing and created another roll (I had to steal some rice from off the sensei’s table b/c I had used all of mine) so I had another limp roll to push around. 
So the moral of this incredibly long sushi-saga is....do what you want to and have fun with it.  If you don’t like the seaweed (and who would ?  Ick !) just tell them you have a seaweed allergy. 

Woah thanks all for the game suggestions.
We have tried Pandemic, Hanabi, The Mind. They're great games, but we might want to try a few new ones.
I hear there's a Pandemic The Cure which is more travel friendly, and Pandemic, Forbidden Island, they both have ipad version as well. 
We like Codenames (the full version) with lots of people, but we might try Codenames Duet as well.
Ok we'll try a bunch of these and update you guys. The idea is that we'd sit in the lounge during the game show, and if it's a thinking type of game (like Forbidden Island or Pandemic), it can be done quietly, and at the same time we might participate in a trivia game at Schooner's for example. 

I have never seen anyone playing a game be asked to move. AaMoF, when we first started cruising, we used to play gin rummy in the Viking Crown room (back when there was actually a Viking Crown statue there !).  We didn’t know about the Special Diamond event (we’d never even heard of a “Diamond” back then) and when they started setting up for the event, they told us just to stay put if we wanted to.  We attended our first ever Diamond event that night without even knowing what it was.  They were very kind.  We just kept playing cards and were astonished when the server came by and asked if we wanted a drink !  Heck yeah !  That was waaay back.

The majority of guests boarding Mariner have never been on a cruise before.  
Perfect Day is proving to be immensely popular for good reason.
Combine the two and I can understand why they are trying this.
If the feedback is positive they'll likely continue, if not they likely won't.
The idea of two stops is appealing.  That's taking me two cruises, one last week and another next week.  
 
Let's examine this concept that the new Perfect Day is a money grab compared to the old CocoCay. 
Thrill water park is a small section of the island.  Beyond the water park the same excursions are available that always have been at CocoCay, except...
Remember the old Aqua Park?  $37 for one hour.  That's it in the distance. Yep, that's what you got for one hour and $37 back in 2017.


Remember the old slides from 2017?  $26 for a day pass.  Not included in the Aqua Park.

Now for roughly the same price of the old aqua park and old slide you get an entire water park with wave pool and multiple slides that are incredible.
Thrill water park is $62 in most of my upcoming stops at CocoCay.  To me that represents pretty great value compared to the CocoCay of yesterday.
BTW - see all those loungers in the top picture?  Notice anything missing?  The $20 umbrellas!
Here is a Perfect Day picture from last week.  Now, umbrellas all over the place and they are free!

If you just want a relaxing beach day without spending a dime that describes 90% of Perfect Day including a free fresh water pool and now Perfect Day is so much nicer than the old CocoCay.  If you want a water park, the price today has so much more value compared to the old Aqua park and inflatable slide of yesterday's CocoCay at the same price.
Plus no more tendering!  Come and go from the ship as much as you want.  
What's not to love about Perfect Day?

First time Star Class and first time Royal Caribbean cruiser here as well.   I would also like to know some of the more hidden inclusions of Star Class.  For example, I was surprised the Escape Room and the Cupcake Class were included-anything else?  We are on the “new” Oasis of the Seas this spring-so I know my kids would love Laser Tag-is it included?   I also saw on a blog where you could get Cotten Candy from the sweet shop or other snacks.  
Also, how does the “priority” for things like the Abyss or the Flowrider work?  Or do you even have priority?
Sorry to be so clueless here-we are just so excited and do not want to miss out.  
 

Absolutely, and cruise planner prices will be better than on board prices 99% of the time.  
If you don't watch it closely you might not get the best price you could have, but it will be cheaper than on board.  If you didn't score the best price, that's your fault, not deceptive marketing.

Welcome @PRebecca !

Yes, as you probably figured I wasn't thinking WJ.  But a very good point by you.  Not trying to get you back up on your preaching box, but inconsiderate people exist.  There is enough garbage and waste in the world today, if we would all do our part...

Thanks for all your replies!
I promise to be nice to the wait staff, I always am anyway.  In fact, my waiter on the Majesty will also be on the Ovation when I sail at the end of the month. He promised he’d make arrangements for him to be my waiter again.
Food wastes should not be an issue for me. I belong to the “finish your plate” generation. In the days of my youth, my pastor trained us not to waste food because we need to be good stewards of blessings that come our way.
 

My feelings: Order as much as you want, try new things, multiples of any item you really like,  just try to keep waste to a minimum. 

Like the others have stated, your servers will not blink an eye if you order multiple items. One thing you have to remember as far as the MDR is concerned. Although there is a menu, most of the items are prepared in advance and served once they are ordered, more like a banquet. X number of each menu item is prepared based on historical data, specific cruise history, etc so there is usually always extra food left over, so order as much as you would like. I know on some cruises when they have had an abundance of something left over, I believe somebody mentioned a scallops appetizer once, they have walked around the MDR with plates of them, asking anybody if they wanted some. Another poster said on her cruise, one guest ate 12 lobster tails one night!
Eat what you want and as much as you want. If somebody is going to judge you, that says more about them than it says about you!
Happy cruising and don't forget the Tums.

I don't see why food quantity should be an issue.  My personal guess is if you stay within the normal 2 hour time-slot, are nice to the staff, order all of your items at the same time, and eat with reasonable manners - all the normal considerate stuff - you should be fine.  I have seen two main entrees many times in the past.  And I have seen groups split multiple entrees.  I don't ever recall anyone ordering three, but I bet if you ask up front and offer to skip the appetizer that they would be happy to make it work and squeeze in that appetizer too.  Again this is just my opinion as I have never seen it done.
The other thing I have seen quite often is if I have trouble making an entree decision between two items, they sometimes just go ahead and bring me both.  But that was a while ago and I think these days you actually have to ask the waiter.
I once ordered two escargot appetizers, two escargot appetizers for my meal, and two escargot appetizers for desert.  The staff laughed, but got the idea that I really like escargot.  They brought me an unlimited supply and did manage to fit in an actual entree which they picked for me.  It was actually pretty fun and my waiter made me feel like a king.  When he brought me the escargot as the entree he announced it as such, and then laughed a bit.  Then he actually brought them out as my desert and again announced them as desert, I think we both laughed.  It was probably the most memorable dinner I have ever had on a ship.  I will never forget it for sure.

I would say who cares! Eat to your heart’s content. Before you know it, you’ll be back at home dreaming of cruise food. Life is too short to worry about if others think you are eating or ordering too much. ?

https://www.floridatoday.com/story/news/2019/08/05/three-port-canaveral-employees-praised-helping-save-mans-life/1919668001/?fbclid=IwAR1x2rgWCeomXqpx_CjoL9DcmfPOEqq5XNuOS_dagNBJNnat39ly1JrhYjg
 

Just so everyone knows, I just used the makeup store as an example... because i remembered seeing that there was one... I will NOT go spend money in there..i PROMISE.... I am an ULTA junkie, and so I buy everything i need there! haha ?

I did the 3 day on Mariner several times this year, have to say the only thing i didnt care for was not having a sea day at all. Definitely missed having a day of shipboard activities, probably staying aboard in Nassau next time but as you noted they dont do the full slate of activities on board on a port day.
All in all, probably about as good of a "problem" as one can have ?