whenismynextcruise

I am sure that you will enjoy your balcony. We never sail without one now. Even with everything that you have read here it is still a great space to be able to go outside and get fresh air or look at the views and normally noise etc are not a problem at all. most people are pretty respectful. We especially love the balcony because we keep the door open some at night. The ocean waves sounds and the breeze are fantastic for sleeping :)
Enjoy!!!

I think with the premium for fee options available at coco cay it would not be in their best interest to offer an area specific to suite guests. I think at best it’s a discounted day pass to the beach club. 

As a non_American, the way you guys say this phrase really grinds my gears. RCIfan1912 got it correct.
Sorry CruiseGus, the Grammar Police will let you off with a warning this time ?

It's not enforced but they did say in the Cruise Compass that shorts are welcome in the Main Dining Room at breakfast and lunch.  Then they had a description of what the evening dress code was which was either resort casual, formal, or Caribbean depending on the day.  This was on my most recent sailing on Oasis.
My Allure sailing, on the other hand, didn't have any dress code information in the Cruise Compass.

I always thought the general rule is that they allow shorts in the MDR on regular nights but not on formal nights.  I have witnessed them not allowing entry to people in shorts on formal nights.  I suppose that is a loose policy that is getting even looser.  Specialties I have seen plenty of people in shorts.  I don't ever wear shorts to dinner in the MDR or in specialty restaurants when cruising, but obviously plenty of people do.  I know it takes away from the ambiance of the room a little, but it doesn't bother me as long as they are dressier shorts, a button down or collared shirt, etc.  I wish they would steadfastly enforce a rule of no casual shorts, bathing suits, t shirts, flip flops, etc.  The market dictates these things I guess.     

I was on Anthem last week and i can say that the dress code is pretty much dead. At least it is not enforced in any way. Personally when we get ready for dinner that means a shower and a change into nicer clothes. Long pants, SHOES!, and a shirt with buttons at the very least. We are frequenters of Chops and even on Thanksgiving Day there were many in shorts, flip flops and t shirts. 
If they are not going to enforce it then I say wear whatever you are comfortable in. It is clearly the trend. There are other cruise lines with much stricter dress codes and if that is your thing then go for it. Its your vacation. Enjoy it. Be comfortable in whatever you feel right in.

Many people, including me have purchased these tag holders off Amazon. They are designed specifically for the cruise luggage tags.
https://www.amazon.com/Cruise-Luggage-Holder-Seal-Steel/dp/B01E4SQNLS/ref=mp_s_a_1_2_sspa?keywords=luggage+tags+for+cruise+ships&qid=1575432917&sprefix=luggage+tags&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUFQSklFVkw0RUo1UDUmZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTA5NzQ3NjlRRDczRFJDVkNRM1QmZW5jcnlwdGVkQWRJZD1BMDM0Mzg1NTFXNzdSSE85UUhFN0wmd2lkZ2V0TmFtZT1zcF9waG9uZV9zZWFyY2hfYXRmJmFjdGlvbj1jbGlja1JlZGlyZWN0JmRvTm90TG9nQ2xpY2s9dHJ1ZQ==

Not sure what the hotel package offers or how convenient it is but just parking at the port for our cruise for thanksgiving week (Sat-Sun) was $176USD or $22 per day

Something like this... 

I work in jeans and steel toe boots, so while I may complain a bit, I really enjoy having a reason to get dressed up with my wife.
 
The last formal night we were at I wore a pair of dress pants, a long sleeve button up shirt, fancy shoes (that I bought for the cruise), and a tie.  I had to look on YouTube while we were getting dressed to remember how to tie the tie.
I clean up good.  ? 

While we are no Anthem experts we sailed during spring break this year.  We stayed in a JS and had no issues whatsoever getting reservations.  We ate in the MDR the first and third nights and in CK all the others.  We prefer to eat earlier than later and the place was WELL over halfway empty when we ate around 5:30-6. We also had no issues making reservations for the rest of the week once we realized how much nicer CK was over the MDR.  

Outside of CK on Anthem is a kiosk where a host or hostess will stand during open hours.  Talk to them.  They may not be there upon boarding but they should be after muster as you approach dinner time.

Leaving on Anthem in the morning. Staying in a JS. Looking forward to trying CK for the first time. What is our best bet for a reservation there? How does it work? Can we go there first day and make a reservation or do we have to wait and try each day. I realize other full suite guests get priority over JS but if we make a reservation are we "wait listed"? Or is that reservation guaranteed? Any tips are appreciated. - Thanks!

I agree, but I also appreciate that we have a royal port in the northeast. We’ve taken our last 4 cruises out of cape liberty and it just makes it much more affordable for us. We choose to go in April and May so we don’t really have to deal the rough northeast weather. Those that leave in the winter just have to accept that they might have a day or two of frigid temps. 

I only cruise from NJ/NY and you just take the good with the bad. In the end we are on a big, beautiful and incredible cruise ship so its good no matter what. I typically don't care where we end but next May we on Oasis and REALLY don't want to miss Coco Cay. I mean this is one cruise we don't want to miss Coco Cay and to lesser extent Cape Canaveral either. Really looking forward to this cruise. Oasis from NJ to the new awesome Coco Cay is a big deal to us.

I am also a Marriott fan and I would recommend the Marriott Long Warf to anyone. Its only a short ride to the terminal by taxi or uber. It is also very close to downtown attractions like fanuel hall, the north end, its on the warf so water views and a nice area to walk around. I lived and worked in Boston for many years so this is from someone who knows Boston well here. If you are able Boston is a great walking city.Depending on what your needs and pleasures are you can walk to just about everything you might want to see in 15 minutes in that area.  If you are willing to spend a little more $$$ the Marriot Fairmont is in Copley Square (also another amazing Boston destination) https://www.accorhotels.com/gb/hotel-A554-fairmont-copley-plaza/index.shtml?utm_term=mafm&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2ITuBRDkARIsAMK9Q7MvrJ8Rp9xGr0659ejmOD_HJyBoEbCj69MzxVLMxOR-w-oqwFcD1zgaAnvDEALw_wcB&utm_campaign=ppc-ach-mafm-goo-us-en-us-bro-sear-a&utm_medium=cpc&utm_content=us-en-all-all&utm_source=google and has my favorite restaurant in the city in the lobby. The Oak Bar. The cheeseburgers are literally not to be missed.

...and I thought we might have been friends....
??

Thank you @eaglesfaninfl  for posting this question!! I was looking at the same cruise and had the same thoughts. We have sailed to Bermuda many times on larger ships (Bayonne and NYC on RCL and Norwegian) )and have really enjoyed the trip. What caught my eye was the Hamilton & St Georges docking as well and I wondered about the how small the ship seems. The Navy Dockyard is great but can get a little crowed and not having to take ferry's to the islands is a plus. I know this is an RCL blog but I thought this tidbit was worth posting -  I didn't realize until 2 years ago that Norwegian has free ferrys to both ports.My heart is always with RCL though.  I think from the always knowledgeable @twangster's post and blogs it may have turned the tide on this for me. Bermuda is a great trip to experience a new ship on I think because most of the time it is docked and we will be out and about in the ports. I LOVE ST. GEORGE's!!!! SO I am now going to book it.

Thanks to all of you for your comments and especially to Twangster for his blog referrals, they were both informative and enjoyable. Again, thanks to all!

The docking at St George is HUGE for Empress.  St George in my opinion is the best part of Bermuda.    That alone would drive my decision even if Summit and Empress were the same, which they're not.
That said Summit is a very nice ship.  
So I think it really depends to me what you want out of this vacation.  Is your trip about the ship?  Or is it about the destination?  Both?  
If its more than 50% about the destination, I'd go with Empress.  If its more than 50% about the ship, I'd go with Summit.  

The ship is great with a great crew but the cabins are the smallest in the fleet.  A JS is roughly the size of a balcony on the newest ships.  No tubs in the JS, even they have a small shower with shower curtain.  
I plan on returning to Empress for a 5th time.  I wouldn't go back if I didn't enjoy the ship but the cabins are small.  
She is the only one in the fleet that can dock at St Georges and Hamilton which is very distinct from the other ships using the former Naval base. 
Live blogs from her:
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/8865-empress-73018-5-nights-inc-cuba/
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14213-empress-b2b-14-nights-on-the-biggest-little-ship-july-2019/
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/boards/index.php?/topic/14700-empress-8-night-eastern-caribbean-?-oops-i-booked-it-again-?/
 
 

I'm sailing on the Empress on November 15th.  If there's any reconnaissance mission you would like me to do, I'd gladly do it.  I can take pictures for you too.
 

Hi, all! We are considering a cruise this summer out of Bayonne on Empress of the Seas to Bermuda (two nights in Bermuda, porting in both Hamilton and King George, where we have vacationed many times and love being there). However, we are a somewhat leery of such an older and smaller ship. Usually we sail on Brilliance out of Tampa (or larger ships out of Miami or FLL), so we are looking for advice and counsel on a such a (smaller than Vision class) ship, if anyone has sailed on Empress recently (i.e. is there a walk-in shower, etc.).  We would really appreciate your thoughts and comments as we will be celebrating our respective 75th bdays and over 50 years of married life together!

We are also considering a Celebrity cruise to  Newport and Bermuda on board the Celebrity Summit, any comments on that would also be most appreciated.

Thank you in advance for your comments and suggestions.

As am I !!! 

Me too !