# Empress of the Seas

> Empress-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International, in service from 1990. 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.

- **Line:** Royal Caribbean International
- **Class:** Empress
- **Entered service:** 1990
- **Gross tonnage:** 48,563 GT
- **Passengers:** 1,640 at double occupancy
- **Crew:** 668
- **Decks:** 9
- **Status:** Sold to another operator
- **Home port(s):** Miami, Florida (ship time: Eastern Time (US))

## 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.

## About

Ordered as Future Seas and launched in 1989 as Nordic Empress, sponsored by Gloria Estefan. One of the smallest ships Royal Caribbean ever operated.

## Ship time

Empress of the Seas keeps "ship time" — normally the time zone of her departure port, which is Eastern Time (US) — for the whole voyage, and does not change clocks when docked in another zone. Passenger phones do switch to local time in port, which is the most common reason people miss all-aboard.

## Related

- Full Royal Caribbean International fleet: https://cruiseshiptime.app/ships/royal-caribbean
- What is ship time: https://cruiseshiptime.app/guides/what-is-ship-time.md
- Port currency guides: https://cruiseshiptime.app/ports

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Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Empress · Page: https://cruiseshiptime.app/ships/royal-caribbean/empress-of-the-seas
From ShipTime Companion (https://cruiseshiptime.app), the offline-first cruise app.