Empress of the Seas: Key West

My alarm woke me at 6 am this morning. All the rocking the Empress of the Seas is known for contributed to a great night’s sleep! After getting ready I visited the coffee ship in Boleros for a mocha latte. They offer soy milk, almond milk and lactose free milk as alternatives to milk.

Then it was off to the main dining room where we were all going to meet at 7 am for breakfast. It ended up being three of us; Sister M and my nephew T. We called Sister T’s cabin and found they had forgotten to set the alarm. With the weekend’s travel and time change, they overslept. Sister M’s grandson was also sleeping in.

While enjoying my ham and cheese omelette, the Empress docked at the Navy Pier in Key West. The ship that was supposed to be at Mallory square (Celebrity Equoinox) ended up canceling the call supposedly due to high winds.

Key West Tour

We left the ship at 8:30 and once off, checked in for our trolley tour. We had pre booked them during a cruise planner sale and they were cheaper than what we could get buying the tickets directly from the trolley company. My sisters each had photo packages so I joined in on photos with them whenever possible. Sister M and I posed for a few photos after getting off the ship.

I’m not sure what the costumed staff member is representing but here we are. 🙂

We got stickers and hopped on the trolley which took us to stop 1 where we got off and then boarded a touring trolley. Stop 1 is on the side of the old Coast Guard building.

It was built in 1856 as barracks for the Navy before becoming the Key West Coast Guard Headquarters in 1932. Now it’s full of little shops AND about the only free public restrooms for tourists. The Key West Sculpture Garden is right in this area as well.

I would have loved to get a closer look at the 36 sculptures of historic Key West figures but it was closed.

We stayed on the trolley until we got the stop for the Southernmost point. We took fun photos along the block or so walk to the buoy. I became a lobster.

I recreated half of this photo with Mom that we took when my sisters and us were on a port stop here in 2009.

Here I am now.

They had switched out the cutout but it was at the same spot with the same theme.

I wonder how many people have photos of this mailbox?

While waiting in line for our photo turn at the Southernmost point buoy, a lady driving a rented scooter lost control and ran into a SUV. She feel over with the scooter on top of her and ended up being taken to the hospital.

We did get our photos. Here we are in 2009.

And again in 2020.

Once back on the trolley we rode it all the way back to stop 1. It was a cold ride in the open spaces! This old truck was at the marina stop I believe.

When we got off back at stop 1, we walked to Duval street (about a block away) and started looking for a lunch spot.

Key West Lunch

Since it was Sunday many of the restaurants were serving brunch and their kids menus didn’t meet the tastes of our two kids in the group. The Loose Cannon had something for everyone! We were seated at a very nice table in the courtyard away from the street.

I ordered a lobster BLT; others other burgers and the two kids got chicken strips.

My newphew ordered crab queso dip that he generously shared. We all loved our food and thought it was a good pick.

We then walked back to CVS for a couple of forgotten items. Sister M and her grandson stopped for this photo opp.

On the way to the trolley pick up stop we chatted with one of the karaoke singers from the previous evening outside Kermit’s Key Lime Pie Shop. He recommended we go in for hte free samples and we also made a couple of purchases.

The trolley stop in front of the old Custom House had a short line. This impressive building was built in 1891 and is now a museum.

Once onboard it was a quick ride back to the ship. We all were ready for naps.

Evening on Board

I was up in time to get a couple of cocktails before dinner.

The lavender dacquiris (which are really martinis in my book) from the Schooner Bar were delicious.

My nephew and his son didn’t make it to dinner. The younger one had a headache (which started the day before) and they just grabbed something from the buffet.