Empress class · Royal Caribbean International
Empress of the Seas
No longer with this line
Empress of the Seas was an Empress-class ship operated by Royal Caribbean International from 1990, measuring 48,563 gross tons and carrying 1,640 passengers at double occupancy.
Gross tonnage
48,563
GT
Passengers
1,640
double occupancy
Entered service
1990
Empress class
Decks
9
Crew
668
What happened to Empress of the Seas?
Royal Caribbean retired her in 2020 and sold her to Cordelia Cruises, who operate her today simply as Empress. She sailed under Royal Caribbean from 1990 to 2008 and again from 2016 to 2020, with a Pullmantur Cruises stint in between.
⚓ Ship time on Empress of the Seas
She sails from Miami, Florida, so her clocks run on Eastern Time (US) for the whole voyage. That does not change when she docks somewhere in another time zone — but your phone will, the moment it finds a local cell tower.
That mismatch is the single most common reason passengers miss all-aboard. Read how ship time works, or let ShipTime track both clocks for you — it works with no signal at all.
About Empress of the Seas
Ordered as Future Seas and launched in 1989 as Nordic Empress, sponsored by Gloria Estefan. One of the smallest ships Royal Caribbean ever operated.
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More Royal Caribbean International ships
Specifications sourced from Wikipedia. Ships are refitted and reconfigured over time — confirm current details with the cruise line.