Take a Little Cruise with Me... Part 1 Ship-Shape

​On October 4th I set sail from Miami on The Empress of the Sea. The voyage took me to Grand Cayman and to Cuba. The Empress is a small cruise ship with only 10 decks, but she looks pretty big to me. Come aboard. I'll give you a quick tour.

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​Guess who I found beside the theater on Deck 6? Gloria Estefan! She’s a famous singer AND the ship’s godmother.

You can watch movies and live shows in the theater without buying a single ticket. Gloria wasn’t on-board, but a troupe of singers, dancers, and musicians were. I saw 3 different musical shows, plus a ventriloquist. A cruise ship keeps you entertained!

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 ​Welcome to the Pool! Deck 10 features a hot tub, a kiddie pool, plus another pool big enough for 10 people. Don’t worry! The cruse ship keeps a lifeguard on duty during pool hours.
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One of my favorite things about cruising was the critters. They snuck into my stateroom most nights. (Our steward Ian made/left them when he did his evening room clean-up.) They were all made with the same white towels, but the elephant looked brighter than the others. Why? I took him into the bathroom to get a brighter light. I used the room lights for the other 3. Isn’t it amazing how light affects color?
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Do you recognize the other animals? I think there are 2 rabbits up above. One’s stretched out, and the other’s all cuddled up. I think down below is a cat, but what do you think? If you have different ideas, please post a comment or message me. I’d love to hear what you think…and why!

​This is my stateroom. My favorite part was the port hole where we could look out at the ocean.

​My room wasn’t very big. I had a double bed that my husband thought could be pulled apart to make two twin beds.

Do you see the white square in the top corners? Those are wall beds that fold down at night, and up in the morning. Would you want to have a slumber party with 3 guests in here It might be be tight, but I bet it would still be fun!

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​​I took this picture sitting on the bed. Straight ahead is the door. Thank goodness…with a full-length mirror! I love to see how I look from head to  toe. To the right are 2 small closet doors, then a desk with another mirror. Beside it are the end of the wall beds. Like I said, this is a small room!

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What’s this? It’s the inside of the first closet. There were 2 bare rods, and we used one to hang clothes. Down at the bottom you see something orange, and it’s the most important thing in the room…6 life jackets. We never had to use them, but I’m glad they were there.
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The other closet had 2 rods for our clothes. Whoever designed this room knew how to make space for the things we brought along.
 

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​The bathroom is across from the 2 closets. It’s pretty small with only enough room for 1 person. There’s not much counter space, but it worked. My favorite part, the nice big mirror!

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​To the left of the sink is  the shower. It reminds me of a triangular prism, and it’s just big enough room for 1 person.

Do you see the white dispenser? That’s the special shampoo/conditioner I used on-board. Why? Because their products are easier on the ocean. I used the ship’s soap too. It’s one small drop in the ocean, but imagine that drop times 1600 people a day, times 7 days. Using the right kind of soap is a good thing for the environment.
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The second picture is the shelf above the toilet. It was just enough room to store all my bathroom products. My husband even got to have a shelf!

The TV was on the other side of the shower wall. That was my storage area. I used the drawers to store the things that didn’t fit in the bathroom. Beside the drawers was a a small table, perfect for my suitcase. I didn’t bother to unpack. I pulled out clothes when needed, and I used the top to throw the things I used everyday.
A desk and mirror are on the other side of the room. My husband used the drawers, and he hung his clothes in the closet. We stored 5 other suitcases under the bed. The stuff on the desktop, it’s mine. When you’re on vacation, I believe it’s better to bring too much, than too little.