J_Keeble 232 Report post Posted August 14 There are some great pricess on Empress at the moment. the size does concern me a little but having been on rhapsody twice I think I will be ok. I suppose the hot tubs get fairly full. @twangster How much is chops grille and do they offer any packages for it? I presume they wouldn't but didn't know if they give you money off if you go twice? Also what does Café Royal serve? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 I've been in cruise mode having a great time making new friends so I apologize for the lack of updates. This was our sail out from San Juan at midnight. The fountain on Paseo de la Princesa that I capture earlier. El Morro at night. 8 3 Deedeelynn, Jaymac Radio, JLMoran and 8 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 On 8/14/2019 at 8:10 AM, J_Keeble said: There are some great pricess on Empress at the moment. the size does concern me a little but having been on rhapsody twice I think I will be ok. I suppose the hot tubs get fairly full. @twangster How much is chops grille and do they offer any packages for it? I presume they wouldn't but didn't know if they give you money off if you go twice? Also what does Café Royal serve? Chops was $48 plus 18%. Since I'm D+ I used a C&A BOGO offer to get a second visit for free. The Café menu: 2 1 J_Keeble, Deedeelynn and Ala_Paul reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FManke 1,529 Report post Posted August 15 17 minutes ago, twangster said: Chops was $48 plus 18%. Since I'm D+ I used a C&A BOGO offer to get a second visit for free. The Café menu: I like Café Bustelo very much. Tasty. 1 twangster reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 Day 5 - Tortola, BVI We sailed through the Virgin Islands chain and eventually began approaching Tortola. Tortola has a pier. Our progress so far... Docked and ready to go. Excursion meeting point is right at the end of the pier where several people holding up signs were in place to greet us. 10 ellcee, Guy Gadwa, JLMoran and 7 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 My excursion today was Escape to Jost Van Dyke booked through Royal and later cheaper when it went on sale and I saved $19. Jost Van Dyke is one of the smaller islands in the BVI with a small permanent population. I've been to Jost Van Dyke before and booking this excursion was the very next thing I did after booking this cruise. Very close to the end of the pier is the staging area for excursion boats. The boat has both inside and outside seating fore and aft. The forward outdoor seating does some sea spray but it was very refreshing. Around 25 minutes later we were approaching this little slice of heaven right here on Jost Van Dyke. The water here is quite stunning. I wasn't quick enough to capture the decent size sea turtle that popped up close by in this general direction. On previous trips here the boat anchored and we swam to shore. This excursion comes with a barge that takes guests to shore where you can just walk onto the beach without getting wet. There are numerous bars that line the beach. Our designated section was at the end of the beach at Ocean 7 names after seven sisters that founded this bar. Loungers and umbrellas were reserved for us. We received tickets for one drink (beer/soda/water) and one meal each. It's such a beautiful beach. 9 4 Deedeelynn, Lovetocruise2002, spiralqueen and 10 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 There are several bars that we were free to visit. This beach is popular with the yachting and sailing crowd. 9 2 Ala_Paul, PRebecca, Deedeelynn and 8 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 The Ocean's 7 bar: At 11am our lunch was ready. Lunch was a hamburger or a hot dog. I wouldn't rave about the meal but it did the job. Fearful I might develop an ache somewhere in my body I thought it wise to take a local drink called a Painkiller. To be extra safe I thought it best to consume several. 4 7 JLMoran, ashonthesea, KristiZ and 8 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 The desired effect worked and full relaxation mode kicked in. 7 5 Skigoofy, Lovetocruise2002, Firefly and 9 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 Too soon it was 12:45pm and time to head back to the real world. The barge returned victims back to the excursion boat. With that we were off towards Tortola. 9 JLMoran, DDaley, Deedeelynn and 6 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FManke 1,529 Report post Posted August 15 4 minutes ago, twangster said: The desired effect worked and full relaxation mode kicked in. It looks better than any burger I'll have today! 2 1 Guy Gadwa, rjac and JLMoran reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 The port area is very nice with some shopping, a few waterfront bars and no pushy vendors. 10 1 spiralqueen, Firefly, Ala_Paul and 8 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Lovetocruise2002 7,407 Report post Posted August 15 2 hours ago, twangster said: Too soon it was 12:45pm and time to head back to the real world. Seems like a short excursion. How long was it in total? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 5 minutes ago, Lovetocruise2002 said: Seems like a short excursion. How long was it in total? We had three hours on the beach. Met at 8:45am, back to ship by 1:45pm. 3 1 Jaymac Radio, MotleyCruiser, Boston Babe and 1 other reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
FloridaCruiseGirl1210 124 Report post Posted August 15 Your photos have convinced me that I NEED to get to Tortola or one of the BVIs, whether by cruise ship, boat, plane, etc., i just need to get there. 1 1 Ala_Paul and twangster reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 15 On 8/14/2019 at 8:10 AM, J_Keeble said: How much is chops grille and do they offer any packages for it? 8 hours ago, twangster said: Chops was $48 plus 18%. Since I'm D+ I used a C&A BOGO offer to get a second visit for free. I lied. Chops on Empress was $39.99 plus 18% for a total of $47.19 on board using my BOGO. 1 J_Keeble reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
firebuck 333 Report post Posted August 15 4 hours ago, twangster said: Fearful I might develop an ache somewhere in my body I thought it wise to take a local drink called a Painkiller. Oh man that's one of my favorites! The Schooner bar usually does a pretty good one - they should have the nutmeg there. 1 ashonthesea reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rjac 1,925 Report post Posted August 15 28 minutes ago, firebuck said: Oh man that's one of my favorites! The Schooner bar usually does a pretty good one - they should have the nutmeg there. Has to be a nutmeg seed and a nutmeg grater. None of this already ground up crap in a glass/plastic shake bottle. It's all about the flavor. 1 2 ashonthesea, JLMoran and firebuck reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 16 Day 6 - St Thomas After a short overnight ride over from Tortola we arrived to a rain storm in St Thomas at Crown Bay. Fortunately it's the Caribbean. If you don't like the weather wait 15 minutes. This is a work day for me. Gotta pay for these cruises somehow. I stayed on the ship. #boring I was curious where we went last night since it's a very short distance. Looks like we just puddled around for a bit then made our way to St Thomas. 7 1 Firefly, Guy Gadwa, IslandBoundMama and 5 others reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 16 Dinner in Chops, the second of my D+ BOGO. This is the 8th times I've eaten in Chops on Empress and it was bound to happen, the odds were not in my favor. Finally a meal that was just okay. Service was great but the filet lacked in flavor just a bit. It's wasn't a bad steak but it was just average. Maybe the Diamond Happy Hour wine closed down my taste buds, a better wine might have enhanced the meal. Should have stuck with a paid glass of wine. 3 Lovetocruise2002, JLMoran and Guy Gadwa reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 16 Day 7 - Sea Day On our way back to Miami. Lot's going on around the ship but I'm on my office balcony working some more. Voom has worked better on this cruise. While in St Thomas my cell signal would drop randomly before coming back. I ended up going back on Voom and using wifi calling which was more stable compared to the local cell towers. 4 Guy Gadwa, JLMoran, Lovetocruise2002 and 1 other reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MotleyCruiser 298 Report post Posted August 16 WOW, that's scary enough to make your change your tighty whities!!! 1 IslandBoundMama reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
twangster 14,887 Report post Posted August 16 4 minutes ago, MotleyCruiser said: WOW, that's scary enough to make your change your tighty whities!!! Once the sea depth is over 10 feet what's the difference? :) 2 DDaley and JLMoran reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Pima1988 524 Report post Posted August 16 The crispy goat cheese salad is my all time favorite dish at Chops. 3 Ala_Paul, kadmgs and twangster reacted to this Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
MotleyCruiser 298 Report post Posted August 16 11 minutes ago, twangster said: Once the sea depth is over 10 feet what's the difference? :) 10 Ft or 4 MILES Hmmmm . I'll take 10 feet...lol. Enjoying the blog and the pics. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
