Review (LONG): Empress OTS 11 nt Southern Caribbean

Here's some info about my cruise.

Info about me:

10th cruise, 1st RCI cruise, 1st cruise in Southern Caribbean and 1st cruise
longer than 7 days (although I've done B2B a couple times)

Getting there.

I had what seemed like the flight from hell that would make my trip NUTS! I
flew from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Phoenix, AZ.
Then from Phoenix to Las Vegas, NV. After a short delay in Vegas I then flew
to Philadelphia, PA. THEN finally boarded my
flight to San Juan. There was some mechanical problems on the plane so we
sat there for about 1 1/2 hours before taking off.

Upon arrival in San Juan, due to the plane delays, a friend and I shared a
cab straight to the ship. What I got to see of
San Juan was really great. I've made a mental note to be sure to return for
a few days so I can enjoy it a little more.

Once onboard the ship, our staterooms were ready. We boarded between 2 and 3
pm local time. There were no lines at check in so
all went very smooth.

The ship and my stateroom were what I expected, so I wasn't disappointed in
the least. Now, I'm not saying that I was impressed
or surprised in any way. I had no initial feeling one way or the other about
the ship or my stateroom.

I'll stop here and give a little information about my experience on the ship
and with the crew. As well as the other passengers.

For starters. IF the ship has stabilizers, they were never used. I've never
been docked on a ship where they had to assist you
off because the ship was rocking so badly WHILE DOCKED in calm waters. The
gangway literally moved 3 to 4 feet back and forth
So if you were a slow walker, injured in any way, or elderly, you had to
have some assistance WALKING off the ship. If I had
to compare the experience with anything, I'd say it was worse than entering
a tender when the boat isn't docked.
(This was only a problem in St. Maarten)

The crew were fantastic! For that matter so were the rest of the guests. I
won't say that I met and talked to everyone, but
I came close! I only ran into 2 problems at all, and that was with 2 crew
members that cleaned the area near the Windjammer.
That was nothing more than dirty looks every time they saw me. (I have
bright pink hair and tend to talk a lot and generally
stand out in any crowd, so I can understand dirty looks)

On the second day at 9am was our scheduled Meet & Mingle. Since RCI (Or
Cruise Critic) scheduled it so early and only an hour
before docking in St. Maarten, I was surprised that about 45 people showed
up! It was a great chance to meet those I'd been
talking to online.

I'm a late night person. On most of my cruises, I stay up until sunrise.
This was hard to do with so many ports, but since the
guests were a bit older and the disco very slow, I had no problem sleeping.
I did manage to meet quite a few other people around
my age that liked to hang out and talk. So that was nice.

I participated in The Quest. If you've never gone to or seen the Quest, you
MUST participate! There were 14 teams,
and we came in 3rd. I was very surprised how involved the crowd got! And it
was crowded! I was also surprised at some of
the "quests" we were sent on! Several of which the CD had to tell the camera
man to turn off the video camera!

My thoughts on the ports:

St. Maarten - I was not impressed at all. To give the island some credit, I
did have a terrible headache before even
leaving the ship. Once I grabbed the water taxi to the town proper (or
whatever) I was feeling horrible. But it was the first
port on the itinerary and I'd never been to any of the ports before. So the
lady I had met on Cruise Critic and I walked
around a bit. We each put a $5 bill in a quarter slot machine at the casino
right at the water taxi pier (neither of us even
won 2 quarters lol) We then walked down the first street there (sorry, I
didn't get the name) It was really dirty and crowded.
I normally love crowds, but because of my headache, I was miserable. I was
annoyed at how narrow the streets and sidewalks were.
We walked a couple blocked until we say a small market area (between the
boardwalk and the first street). I walked through it for
about 10 minutes. I bought a shot glass (I collect those at every place I
visit) and some bottled sodas for the ship. After about
45 minutes to an hour after leaving the ship I told my friend that I was
going back to the ship. I would have liked to have
checked out Orient beach and some other things, but my headache was getting
worse. Although I disliked my first trip to St. Maarten,
I'm more than willing to give it a second chance. If for no other reason
than a chance to check out a beach and some local beer.

St. Kitts - Again, I wasn't very impressed. No headache this time, but I
just couldn't find anything to do near the pier
except shop. And once you've seen 1 Diamonds International, you've seen them
all. So I grabbed a shot glass and headed
back to the ship after browsing for about an hour.

Antigua - I really loved Antigua. But then I didn't do anything. I walked
around the pier area, shopped a bit and walked
into a cute little bar. I sat down and ordered a beer. (I love trying local
beers when I travel) I started talking to the man
next to me and it turned out he was a local. We sat and chatted for about 3
hours. He bought all the rest of my drinks for me, and
it was a really great day. (He was a straight man, so no, don't think that!
I talk to everyone!)

St. Lucia - Another port I liked a lot. And another that I did nothing in. I
walked around, bought a shot glass and some
Sheridan's, then was headed to a bar for a beer. (I ordered 2 lol) The lady
working there fell in love with 3 of my rings. So
we talked about them for a bit, then she offered me some money. Now I won't
say how much, but I got four times what I paid
for them about about half what they are appraised at. (I sold her 3) So I
started back to the ship when 2 English ladies called
me over to yet another bar (they were on the ship) We sat and talked for
hours! We had more local beer and had a great time!

Are you seeing a trend? Drinking and talking in port? LOL

Barbados - Ok, I felt great, and had not been to a beach yet! So I marched
my butt up to the Information Desk and asked a cute
gay purser where the crew liked to go. He said the "Boat Yard". So I went to
my stateroom and changed. Before leaving I ran into another
English lady and invited her to go to the beach with me. We grabbed a cab
(about $15 total) and headed out. Upon arrival at the
Boat Yard I was very worried. First, all you see is a shack surrounded by
other businesses. ABD it costs $15 per person to go in!
This was the best $15 I'd spent the entire cruise! The cover charge included
chairs, 1 drink, non motorized water toys and a free
shuttle back to the ship. This place is a blast! If you want to party, go
there! If you just want to lounge in the sun quietly
go there! It had everything you'd want. The crew member I had asked where to
go was there as well as about 20 others. We had
a lot of fun together!

FINALLY there was a day at sea. I was really looking forward to that as I
left Barbados. But I ran into a couple that are my
age at the disco that night. So we ended up talking, drinking, and generally
having a great time! We got the boyfriend into bed
and the girl and I spent most of that day at sea together )without ever
sleeping from the night before) It was a blast!

Needless to say that after the sea day, I was even more exhausted!

Isla De Margarita - Another place that I LOVED! I only walked around the
pier area, ran into a cruise critic pal and she and I walked on
the beach collecting shells, talking and just getting some sun. It was the
most relaxing day! The beach and water were beautiful!
There was a cute little sandbar. We had to wade (about thigh deep) about 10
foot to get across to it, but it was worth it. SO
many shells and coral and not many people.

Curacao - Well, it was beautiful. I found it was way too expensive for most
things. But the couple that are my age and I walked around, grabbed
a bite of Dutch food (Bitterballin'... just for the name LOL but I liked it)
The little alley ways, streets and nooks were a great
time to explore. Not that there was much I wanted to buy... especially at
some of the prices they wanted. I'm sure had I looked
I could have found some great deals on more useless crap to clutter our home
with.

Aruba - Nowhere near as beautiful as Curacao, but the people were
friendlier, the prices better, and the port time GREAT! I walked
around for about 3 hours by myself in the late morning and late afternoon.
Bought a few things for me and finished my entire
Christmas shopping list! I then returned to the ship to find my friends. We
made plans to meet at my stateroom at 5pm so we could go
to Carlos & Charlie's for drinks. A lot of the crew was there so we partied
with them until about 9 then all stumbled back to the ship
together lol.

All in all, it was a nice cruise. Although I prefer a ship with more
nightlife, the chance to see so many ports at such a low
price (I paid just over $1000 including my airfare including the single
supplement) made up for the lack of nightlife.

I'm mostly neutral about RCI, so I'll be giving them another chance just on
a lather ship. I would, however, do this same
itinerary again if I have the chance before she leaves the fleet in March.
(I'm considering the Feb 25th sailing for my birthday)

On 12/20/2007 3:24 AM Babie plucked Senior Frog's Magic Twanger and said:
Here's some info about my cruise.

Info about me:

10th cruise, 1st RCI cruise, 1st cruise in Southern Caribbean and 1st
cruise longer than 7 days (although I've done B2B a couple times)

Getting there.

I had what seemed like the flight from hell that would make my trip
NUTS! I flew from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Phoenix, AZ.
Then from Phoenix to Las Vegas, NV. After a short delay in Vegas I
then flew to Philadelphia, PA. THEN finally boarded my
flight to San Juan. There was some mechanical problems on the plane so
we sat there for about 1 1/2 hours before taking off.

Upon arrival in San Juan, due to the plane delays, a friend and I
shared a cab straight to the ship. What I got to see of
San Juan was really great. I've made a mental note to be sure to
return for a few days so I can enjoy it a little more.

Once onboard the ship, our staterooms were ready. We boarded between 2
and 3 pm local time. There were no lines at check in so
all went very smooth.

The ship and my stateroom were what I expected, so I wasn't
disappointed in the least. Now, I'm not saying that I was impressed
or surprised in any way. I had no initial feeling one way or the other
about the ship or my stateroom.

I'll stop here and give a little information about my experience on
the ship and with the crew. As well as the other passengers.

For starters. IF the ship has stabilizers, they were never used. I've
never been docked on a ship where they had to assist you
off because the ship was rocking so badly WHILE DOCKED in calm waters.
The gangway literally moved 3 to 4 feet back and forth
So if you were a slow walker, injured in any way, or elderly, you had
to have some assistance WALKING off the ship. If I had
to compare the experience with anything, I'd say it was worse than
entering a tender when the boat isn't docked.
(This was only a problem in St. Maarten)

The crew were fantastic! For that matter so were the rest of the
guests. I won't say that I met and talked to everyone, but
I came close! I only ran into 2 problems at all, and that was with 2
crew members that cleaned the area near the Windjammer.
That was nothing more than dirty looks every time they saw me. (I have
bright pink hair and tend to talk a lot and generally
stand out in any crowd, so I can understand dirty looks)

On the second day at 9am was our scheduled Meet & Mingle. Since RCI
(Or Cruise Critic) scheduled it so early and only an hour
before docking in St. Maarten, I was surprised that about 45 people
showed up! It was a great chance to meet those I'd been
talking to online.

I'm a late night person. On most of my cruises, I stay up until
sunrise. This was hard to do with so many ports, but since the
guests were a bit older and the disco very slow, I had no problem
sleeping. I did manage to meet quite a few other people around
my age that liked to hang out and talk. So that was nice.

I participated in The Quest. If you've never gone to or seen the
Quest, you MUST participate! There were 14 teams,
and we came in 3rd. I was very surprised how involved the crowd got!
And it was crowded! I was also surprised at some of
the "quests" we were sent on! Several of which the CD had to tell the
camera man to turn off the video camera!

My thoughts on the ports:

St. Maarten - I was not impressed at all. To give the island some
credit, I did have a terrible headache before even
leaving the ship. Once I grabbed the water taxi to the town proper (or
whatever) I was feeling horrible. But it was the first
port on the itinerary and I'd never been to any of the ports before.
So the lady I had met on Cruise Critic and I walked
around a bit. We each put a $5 bill in a quarter slot machine at the
casino right at the water taxi pier (neither of us even
won 2 quarters lol) We then walked down the first street there (sorry,
I didn't get the name) It was really dirty and crowded.
I normally love crowds, but because of my headache, I was miserable. I
was annoyed at how narrow the streets and sidewalks were.
We walked a couple blocked until we say a small market area (between
the boardwalk and the first street). I walked through it for
about 10 minutes. I bought a shot glass (I collect those at every
place I visit) and some bottled sodas for the ship. After about
45 minutes to an hour after leaving the ship I told my friend that I
was going back to the ship. I would have liked to have
checked out Orient beach and some other things, but my headache was
getting worse. Although I disliked my first trip to St. Maarten,
I'm more than willing to give it a second chance. If for no other
reason than a chance to check out a beach and some local beer.

St. Kitts - Again, I wasn't very impressed. No headache this time, but
I just couldn't find anything to do near the pier
except shop. And once you've seen 1 Diamonds International, you've
seen them all. So I grabbed a shot glass and headed
back to the ship after browsing for about an hour.

Antigua - I really loved Antigua. But then I didn't do anything. I
walked around the pier area, shopped a bit and walked
into a cute little bar. I sat down and ordered a beer. (I love trying
local beers when I travel) I started talking to the man
next to me and it turned out he was a local. We sat and chatted for
about 3 hours. He bought all the rest of my drinks for me, and
it was a really great day. (He was a straight man, so no, don't think
that! I talk to everyone!)

St. Lucia - Another port I liked a lot. And another that I did nothing
in. I walked around, bought a shot glass and some
Sheridan's, then was headed to a bar for a beer. (I ordered 2 lol) The
lady working there fell in love with 3 of my rings. So
we talked about them for a bit, then she offered me some money. Now I
won't say how much, but I got four times what I paid
for them about about half what they are appraised at. (I sold her 3)
So I started back to the ship when 2 English ladies called
me over to yet another bar (they were on the ship) We sat and talked
for hours! We had more local beer and had a great time!

Are you seeing a trend? Drinking and talking in port? LOL

Barbados - Ok, I felt great, and had not been to a beach yet! So I
marched my butt up to the Information Desk and asked a cute
gay purser where the crew liked to go. He said the "Boat Yard". So I
went to my stateroom and changed. Before leaving I ran into another
English lady and invited her to go to the beach with me. We grabbed a
cab (about $15 total) and headed out. Upon arrival at the
Boat Yard I was very worried. First, all you see is a shack surrounded
by other businesses. ABD it costs $15 per person to go in!
This was the best $15 I'd spent the entire cruise! The cover charge
included chairs, 1 drink, non motorized water toys and a free
shuttle back to the ship. This place is a blast! If you want to party,
go there! If you just want to lounge in the sun quietly
go there! It had everything you'd want. The crew member I had asked
where to go was there as well as about 20 others. We had
a lot of fun together!

FINALLY there was a day at sea. I was really looking forward to that
as I left Barbados. But I ran into a couple that are my
age at the disco that night. So we ended up talking, drinking, and
generally having a great time! We got the boyfriend into bed
and the girl and I spent most of that day at sea together )without
ever sleeping from the night before) It was a blast!

Needless to say that after the sea day, I was even more exhausted!

Isla De Margarita - Another place that I LOVED! I only walked around
the pier area, ran into a cruise critic pal and she and I walked on
the beach collecting shells, talking and just getting some sun. It was
the most relaxing day! The beach and water were beautiful!
There was a cute little sandbar. We had to wade (about thigh deep)
about 10 foot to get across to it, but it was worth it. SO
many shells and coral and not many people.

Curacao - Well, it was beautiful. I found it was way too expensive for
most things. But the couple that are my age and I walked around, grabbed
a bite of Dutch food (Bitterballin'... just for the name LOL but I
liked it) The little alley ways, streets and nooks were a great
time to explore. Not that there was much I wanted to buy... especially
at some of the prices they wanted. I'm sure had I looked
I could have found some great deals on more useless crap to clutter
our home with.

Aruba - Nowhere near as beautiful as Curacao, but the people were
friendlier, the prices better, and the port time GREAT! I walked
around for about 3 hours by myself in the late morning and late
afternoon. Bought a few things for me and finished my entire
Christmas shopping list! I then returned to the ship to find my
friends. We made plans to meet at my stateroom at 5pm so we could go
to Carlos & Charlie's for drinks. A lot of the crew was there so we
partied with them until about 9 then all stumbled back to the ship
together lol.

All in all, it was a nice cruise. Although I prefer a ship with more
nightlife, the chance to see so many ports at such a low
price (I paid just over $1000 including my airfare including the
single supplement) made up for the lack of nightlife.

I'm mostly neutral about RCI, so I'll be giving them another chance
just on a lather ship. I would, however, do this same
itinerary again if I have the chance before she leaves the fleet in
March. (I'm considering the Feb 25th sailing for my birthday)



Thank you for your informative review. I find it helpful to read up a
little on each port, it's history and things to see. Armed with a
places history, you can do your own walking tour. I collect T-shirts
the way you collect shot glasses. Some tropical plants can be quite
beautiful and are worth a few photos. This is true for the architecture.

Here's a hint. Chamomile tea works better then some over the counter
headache remedies. Next time you find yourself so disabled, head for a
tea room or similar. Have some Chamomile tea or whatever herbal the
locals suggest and you'll be as good as new!

--
________
To email me, Edit "blog" from my email address.
Brian M. Kochera
"Some mistakes are too much fun to only make once!"
View My Web Page: http://home.earthlink.net/~brian1951

Thanks. I enjoyed reading your review. Would like to run into you some
day on a future cruise. We love outgoing friendly folks.


~~DORY~~
**________*/*/___/*/___/*/_________
*\::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::/
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

****

Babie wrote:

All in all, it was a nice cruise. Although I prefer a ship with more
nightlife, the chance to see so many ports at such a low
price (I paid just over $1000 including my airfare including the single
supplement) made up for the lack of nightlife.

I'm mostly neutral about RCI, so I'll be giving them another chance just
on a lather ship. I would, however, do this same
itinerary again if I have the chance before she leaves the fleet in
March. (I'm considering the Feb 25th sailing for my birthday)

What a wonderful cruise review, thanks for posting it. You made me feel
like I was there.

You would love RCI's Voyager class or Freedom class ships. One of these
days, we will have to cruise on the same ship together.

Becca

If you go back to St. Maarten, take a taxi to Cul de Sac, and then take the
little boat across to Pinel Island. You won't be disappointed. The Vikings
were just there... we had a great day. Next time Charles wants us to go to
Orient Beach, so we'll do that and see how it compares.

--Tom

"Babie" wrote in message
. ..
Here's some info about my cruise.

Info about me:

10th cruise, 1st RCI cruise, 1st cruise in Southern Caribbean and 1st
cruise longer than 7 days (although I've done B2B a couple times)

Getting there.

I had what seemed like the flight from hell that would make my trip NUTS!
I flew from Albuquerque, New Mexico to Phoenix, AZ.
Then from Phoenix to Las Vegas, NV. After a short delay in Vegas I then
flew to Philadelphia, PA. THEN finally boarded my
flight to San Juan. There was some mechanical problems on the plane so we
sat there for about 1 1/2 hours before taking off.

Upon arrival in San Juan, due to the plane delays, a friend and I shared a
cab straight to the ship. What I got to see of
San Juan was really great. I've made a mental note to be sure to return
for a few days so I can enjoy it a little more.

Once onboard the ship, our staterooms were ready. We boarded between 2 and
3 pm local time. There were no lines at check in so
all went very smooth.

The ship and my stateroom were what I expected, so I wasn't disappointed
in the least. Now, I'm not saying that I was impressed
or surprised in any way. I had no initial feeling one way or the other
about the ship or my stateroom.

I'll stop here and give a little information about my experience on the
ship and with the crew. As well as the other passengers.

For starters. IF the ship has stabilizers, they were never used. I've
never been docked on a ship where they had to assist you
off because the ship was rocking so badly WHILE DOCKED in calm waters. The
gangway literally moved 3 to 4 feet back and forth
So if you were a slow walker, injured in any way, or elderly, you had to
have some assistance WALKING off the ship. If I had
to compare the experience with anything, I'd say it was worse than
entering a tender when the boat isn't docked.
(This was only a problem in St. Maarten)

The crew were fantastic! For that matter so were the rest of the guests. I
won't say that I met and talked to everyone, but
I came close! I only ran into 2 problems at all, and that was with 2 crew
members that cleaned the area near the Windjammer.
That was nothing more than dirty looks every time they saw me. (I have
bright pink hair and tend to talk a lot and generally
stand out in any crowd, so I can understand dirty looks)

On the second day at 9am was our scheduled Meet & Mingle. Since RCI (Or
Cruise Critic) scheduled it so early and only an hour
before docking in St. Maarten, I was surprised that about 45 people showed
up! It was a great chance to meet those I'd been
talking to online.

I'm a late night person. On most of my cruises, I stay up until sunrise.
This was hard to do with so many ports, but since the
guests were a bit older and the disco very slow, I had no problem
sleeping. I did manage to meet quite a few other people around
my age that liked to hang out and talk. So that was nice.

I participated in The Quest. If you've never gone to or seen the Quest,
you MUST participate! There were 14 teams,
and we came in 3rd. I was very surprised how involved the crowd got! And
it was crowded! I was also surprised at some of
the "quests" we were sent on! Several of which the CD had to tell the
camera man to turn off the video camera!

My thoughts on the ports:

St. Maarten - I was not impressed at all. To give the island some credit,
I did have a terrible headache before even
leaving the ship. Once I grabbed the water taxi to the town proper (or
whatever) I was feeling horrible. But it was the first
port on the itinerary and I'd never been to any of the ports before. So
the lady I had met on Cruise Critic and I walked
around a bit. We each put a $5 bill in a quarter slot machine at the
casino right at the water taxi pier (neither of us even
won 2 quarters lol) We then walked down the first street there (sorry, I
didn't get the name) It was really dirty and crowded.
I normally love crowds, but because of my headache, I was miserable. I was
annoyed at how narrow the streets and sidewalks were.
We walked a couple blocked until we say a small market area (between the
boardwalk and the first street). I walked through it for
about 10 minutes. I bought a shot glass (I collect those at every place I
visit) and some bottled sodas for the ship. After about
45 minutes to an hour after leaving the ship I told my friend that I was
going back to the ship. I would have liked to have
checked out Orient beach and some other things, but my headache was
getting worse. Although I disliked my first trip to St. Maarten,
I'm more than willing to give it a second chance. If for no other reason
than a chance to check out a beach and some local beer.

St. Kitts - Again, I wasn't very impressed. No headache this time, but I
just couldn't find anything to do near the pier
except shop. And once you've seen 1 Diamonds International, you've seen
them all. So I grabbed a shot glass and headed
back to the ship after browsing for about an hour.

Antigua - I really loved Antigua. But then I didn't do anything. I walked
around the pier area, shopped a bit and walked
into a cute little bar. I sat down and ordered a beer. (I love trying
local beers when I travel) I started talking to the man
next to me and it turned out he was a local. We sat and chatted for about
3 hours. He bought all the rest of my drinks for me, and
it was a really great day. (He was a straight man, so no, don't think
that! I talk to everyone!)

St. Lucia - Another port I liked a lot. And another that I did nothing in.
I walked around, bought a shot glass and some
Sheridan's, then was headed to a bar for a beer. (I ordered 2 lol) The
lady working there fell in love with 3 of my rings. So
we talked about them for a bit, then she offered me some money. Now I
won't say how much, but I got four times what I paid
for them about about half what they are appraised at. (I sold her 3) So I
started back to the ship when 2 English ladies called
me over to yet another bar (they were on the ship) We sat and talked for
hours! We had more local beer and had a great time!

Are you seeing a trend? Drinking and talking in port? LOL

Barbados - Ok, I felt great, and had not been to a beach yet! So I marched
my butt up to the Information Desk and asked a cute
gay purser where the crew liked to go. He said the "Boat Yard". So I went
to my stateroom and changed. Before leaving I ran into another
English lady and invited her to go to the beach with me. We grabbed a cab
(about $15 total) and headed out. Upon arrival at the
Boat Yard I was very worried. First, all you see is a shack surrounded by
other businesses. ABD it costs $15 per person to go in!
This was the best $15 I'd spent the entire cruise! The cover charge
included chairs, 1 drink, non motorized water toys and a free
shuttle back to the ship. This place is a blast! If you want to party, go
there! If you just want to lounge in the sun quietly
go there! It had everything you'd want. The crew member I had asked where
to go was there as well as about 20 others. We had
a lot of fun together!

FINALLY there was a day at sea. I was really looking forward to that as I
left Barbados. But I ran into a couple that are my
age at the disco that night. So we ended up talking, drinking, and
generally having a great time! We got the boyfriend into bed
and the girl and I spent most of that day at sea together )without ever
sleeping from the night before) It was a blast!

Needless to say that after the sea day, I was even more exhausted!

Isla De Margarita - Another place that I LOVED! I only walked around the
pier area, ran into a cruise critic pal and she and I walked on
the beach collecting shells, talking and just getting some sun. It was the
most relaxing day! The beach and water were beautiful!
There was a cute little sandbar. We had to wade (about thigh deep) about
10 foot to get across to it, but it was worth it. SO
many shells and coral and not many people.

Curacao - Well, it was beautiful. I found it was way too expensive for
most things. But the couple that are my age and I walked around, grabbed
a bite of Dutch food (Bitterballin'... just for the name LOL but I liked
it) The little alley ways, streets and nooks were a great
time to explore. Not that there was much I wanted to buy... especially at
some of the prices they wanted. I'm sure had I looked
I could have found some great deals on more useless crap to clutter our
home with.

Aruba - Nowhere near as beautiful as Curacao, but the people were
friendlier, the prices better, and the port time GREAT! I walked
around for about 3 hours by myself in the late morning and late afternoon.
Bought a few things for me and finished my entire
Christmas shopping list! I then returned to the ship to find my friends.
We made plans to meet at my stateroom at 5pm so we could go
to Carlos & Charlie's for drinks. A lot of the crew was there so we
partied with them until about 9 then all stumbled back to the ship
together lol.

All in all, it was a nice cruise. Although I prefer a ship with more
nightlife, the chance to see so many ports at such a low
price (I paid just over $1000 including my airfare including the single
supplement) made up for the lack of nightlife.

I'm mostly neutral about RCI, so I'll be giving them another chance just
on a lather ship. I would, however, do this same
itinerary again if I have the chance before she leaves the fleet in March.
(I'm considering the Feb 25th sailing for my birthday)

Hi Les,

I am so glad that your crazy flights worked out ok. Delays in
Philadelphia seem to be very normal these days.

We cruised on the Empress OTS back when it was the Nordic Empress and we
loved the size of the ship, very easy to find your way.

We also enjoyed Curacao and sat at a table by the water, watching all
the ships go by. I had some Bitterballins also and they were very good,
loved the name.lol

Thanks for a great review and I am glad you had a good cruise!!

sue

What a wonderful, refreshing review.

Seriously thinking of dying my hair pink and meeting more young people.
Now if I could just disguise the wrinkles.

~~DORIS~~
**________*/*/___/*/___/*/_________
*\::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::/
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carnival Inspiation 1-10-2008
Princess Star 3-30-2008
Princess Star 4-11-2008
Carnival Legend 9-7-2008
RCCL Grandeur 12-8-2008

Cruise Crazy wrote:
What a wonderful, refreshing review.

Seriously thinking of dying my hair pink and meeting more young people.
Now if I could just disguise the wrinkles.

~~DORIS~~
________ / /___/ /___/ /_________
\::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Carnival Inspiation 1-10-2008
Princess Star 3-30-2008
Princess Star 4-11-2008
Carnival Legend 9-7-2008
RCCL Grandeur 12-8-2008

Doris, back in the last century (around the late 60's) I had pink hair.
Then green, and finally blond. I'm now wearing my own natural color,
but graying at the temples and a few other streaks of gray.
I have a cousin (much younger) who has changed from pink, to a dark
metallic blue. Looks beautiful.
One of our grandsons went through every color and style when he was in
his teens. I think I liked the bright orange and bright green the best.
He is now 28 and a very successful business man.
http://www.hiddenobjects.com/team.aspx

Ermalee ---will go back to blond if it gets any grayer :-)

Ermalee wrote:

Cruise Crazy wrote:

What a wonderful, refreshing review.

Seriously thinking of dying my hair pink and meeting more young people.
Now if I could just disguise the wrinkles.

~~DORIS~~ ________ / /___/ /___/ /_________
\::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::/
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Carnival Inspiation 1-10-2008
Princess Star 3-30-2008
Princess Star 4-11-2008
Carnival Legend 9-7-2008
RCCL Grandeur 12-8-2008

Doris, back in the last century (around the late 60's) I had pink hair.
Then green, and finally blond. I'm now wearing my own natural color,
but graying at the temples and a few other streaks of gray.
I have a cousin (much younger) who has changed from pink, to a dark
metallic blue. Looks beautiful.
One of our grandsons went through every color and style when he was in
his teens. I think I liked the bright orange and bright green the best.
He is now 28 and a very successful business man.
http://www.hiddenobjects.com/team.aspx

Ermalee ---will go back to blond if it gets any grayer :-)

Dear Ermalee
Our charter forbids advertising.

In article , Ermalee
wrote:

Doris, back in the last century (around the late 60's) I had pink hair.
Then green, and finally blond.

That must have been a sight! Any pictures Erm :-)

--
Charles