Fuzzywuzzy Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 I have mentioned before that I was interested in "small ship cruising". With Empress sailings out of Bayonne now we've booked a July 2021 New England/Canada cruise on her. Since there is not a balcony stateroom class on this ship, which we prefer, we booked an aft JS so we could have a balcony. We have done a similar cruise on Adventure so we are familiar with the ports, excursions offered, etc. Anybody have anything I should know about sailing the Empress? I know it's a ways off but any tips or secrets would be appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
twangster Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 Don't miss Three Sequins and a Feather in the main theater. It's a small ship with a big heart. The crew like the ship because they become one big happy family. If you let them they'll welcome you into their family. The crew parade of flags is usually a lot of fun. It's great to all the nations that come together and function as a team, a lesson the rest of us could use to learn. The Schooner Bar is central to a lot of activities like trivia. Chops Grille is one of the best in the fleet if you like specialty dining. The casino is smoke free so that's a huge plus. The only one in the fleet and it means the casino bar is a great alternative when the Schooner Bar is busy or has trivia going on if you are not into trivia. Fuzzywuzzy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srp431 Posted January 12, 2020 Report Share Posted January 12, 2020 16 minutes ago, twangster said: Don't miss Three Sequins and a Feather in the main theater. It's a small ship with a big heart. The crew like the ship because they become one big happy family. If you let them they'll welcome you into their family. The crew parade of flags is usually a lot of fun. It's great to all the nations that come together and function as a team, a lesson the rest of us could use to learn. The Schooner Bar is central to a lot of activities like trivia. Chops Grille is one of the best in the fleet if you like specialty dining. The casino is smoke free so that's a huge plus. The only one in the fleet and it means the casino bar is a great alternative when the Schooner Bar is busy or has trivia going on if you are not into trivia. Did not know that the casino is smoke-free. May need to reconsider Empress for a future cruise Baked Alaska, Zeashore and WAAAYTOOO 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
klc317 Posted January 13, 2020 Report Share Posted January 13, 2020 We went on Empress for the first time in October. Just the wife and I, I'm 42 she's 37. My biggest observation was there was never any lines or crowds. You can easily get a seat in the Windjammer for breakfast and even on sea days we found ourselves asking "where is everyone?" It was very refreshing. I mean when theres events or things happening on the pool deck (like belly flop contest) there is a crowd but not overwhelming. You definitely get to know the crew members like the bartenders and wait staff and come across the same other cruise passengers often and it was nice to make friends. Theres not alot going on during sea days so I'm not sure its a good kid friendly cruise, they might get bored but we loved it. Very relaxing and stress free. I liked the smoke free casino area. One of the highlights was we stopped at Coco Cay, it was our first time back there since the renovations and Empress was the only ship there that day so it was great, wide open spaces and no big crowds in the pool on the island. KristiZ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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