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Royal Caribbean's
Nordic Empress
August 3 - 10, 2003
Cruise Review
by
George
Date: Wed, 10 Sep 2003 08:32:15 -0400
From: "George" <bleuvw@msn.com>
Subject: Review
This was my 4th cruise, our son's 2nd, my wife's 7th and my Mother's
4th. All of us have except Mom has been to Bermuda 5 years ago on
Celebrity's Meridian.
We boarded the ship in NYC at 2pm (4:30 sailing) without delay other
than waiting on a brief line. Beverages kept us cool. Get ready for standard
group pictures boarding the gangplank. Digital cards are created for each
passenger for security puposes and charging all purchases on board. This
works very well. It is backed by a credit or debit card. Don't lose it!
The atruim is the first area you step into and it is impressive as
well as convienent to all that you do on board. Most staterooms are above
the 5th. floor, although some floors below have staterooms. Our staterooms,
2 insides were small like most ships, but well laid out. They are perfect
for two, but not much more. It helps if you are thin like us, especially
when using the showers. A hair dryer and tv were in each staterooms.
Our steward introduced herself and did a magnificent job of keeping
our rooms tidy. Never obtrusive allway there if you needed her. This was
unlike prior cruises taken; a big A in our book. Our bags arrived shortly
after we did. When leaving our bags were taken away swiftly, too - a process
past cruise lines had major problems with.
We had the 1st seating in the dining room. There is multiple configured
seating and should not be a problem if you wish to dine with your own group
or with others. We dined with another bigger family and shared experieces
and information. We recommend seating this way. The menu was excellent
and had all sorts of alternatives for children, special diets, tons of
substitutions and all the double orders you can eat. The food, preparation
and service was excellent. We never felt rushed and the atmosphere was
always friendly. No Maitre D'Hotel here, only a waiter's manager.
Dress codes - The 2 formal nights for men were optional Tuxedo's
and suits. Women wore nice dressy dress, never long,some women wore dress
suits and a fraction wore pant suits. Children wore what ever nice clothing
their parents chose. We saw no one turned away at the entrance and children
are very much dotted over by the staff. Don't sweat the dresscode - do
what you would normally do at home for a wedding on these nights. The casual
nights are slacks and polo for men, anything for the women.
Children: The kid connection is popular but suprisingly our son did
not want to participate - he found his own amusement - the video parlor.
There is sporadic internet access @ 50cents a minute.
Do buy soda cards for children and adults - this a great feature
and used everywhere. Tipping not neccessary with the cards. On the pool
deck and windjammer, coffee, lemonaide water and juices are selfserve 24
hours a day. Room service is also available 24 hours a day - food is free
just tip the person bringing it. The shows were superb, with many name
performers and also house ensemble.
The ship held 1,650 passengers plus staff and it never once felt
crowded. Service is quick and everywhere. The ship is constantly cleaned
and spiffy and very attractive. The public rooms are spacious. The windjammer
cafe is the alternative eating area in the event you do not wish to dress
up. We mostly ate breakfast and lunch there and the food was excellent
and varied. It is also spacious, beautiful and friendly. We ate there one
evening after a late shore excursion. Midnight buffets were fun. Most of
them were on the pool deck.
Kings Wharf is an attractive first stop, but far from the beaches.
Good shopping and easy transportation on public buses and ferries are at
the dock. We went to Whalebay - nice but little sand and a far walk - it
was an adventure but worth it. Not recommended for thw elderly. We took
a bus there. We went to Church bay, short ride - no walk - nice beach.
We like going off the beaten track and have already done the "Name beaches"
on our last cruise. Bring your own water, food etc - you will need it!
We always paid in US currency which duplicates Bermudan prices. In
Hamilton we found shopping along Front Street easy with a variety of souviner
shops as well as Luxury goods. Bermudian people are always polite and extra
friendly. We felt safe everywhere - but don't be foolish about it. We signed
up for Helmut diving (it got canceled) and a snorkling tripthat was typical
anywhere, except that Bermudian waters are nicer and cleaner than anywhere
else.
Our sea day going to Bermuda was unusally rough (40 mph winds) and
everyone was sick. We had dramine which did not help. We should have aken
it before the ship rocked. Get your doctor to proscribe a patch
before leaving. Bring reading material before leaving, there is few books
on the ship. The NYT digest is free at the pursers desk. There are no safes
in-room but free to open one at the pursers desk.
There are a variety of organised activities, such as pool games,
shuffleboar, ping pong, putting etc that you earn ship bucks for prizesat
the end of the cruise (nice prizes). All you need to do earn the bucks
is participating. The bucks can be combined. Bingo is very expensive and
the prizes are small. They really push this stuff. The casino is very nice,
spacious and varied. You can smoke here as well as other desiginated areas,
mostly outside (there is no smoking in the staterooms). There are public
bathrooms everywhere and very clean.
The disco is beautiful as are all the lounges.
My elderly Mom found everything to be fantastic. The elevators are
fast and fun. She found Bermuda's heat to be to much and was happy to stay
on board in the shady parts of the pool deck. We saw many people in wheel
chairs who navigated the ship very easily.
The end of the week tipping could placed on the sea-pass 67$ per
person which was split among all the waiters, room attendants etc. You
had the option to decrease or increase the amounts among the deserving.
You can also tip yourself with envelopes provided and change made near
the pursers for the singles needed. There are guideline recommendations
for tipping provided. This was very easy to accomplish - in past cruises
this was a nightmare (no envelopes or change available)
Conclusion: RCI has found a genuine formular to provide superb service
in a friendly way consistently. The food was excellent, the staterooms
and public rooms well maintained. The staff was always friendly and helpful.
The Nordic Empress was well sized and probably destined to be a classic
as the mega-ships become dominent. I would expect the same experience on
all RCI cruise and will go with RCI again. This was our best cruise all
around.
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