ChrisLashley

Wonderful little cruise. One thing to keep in mind is The Empress is a relaxation ship. Not a "Fun Ship". Although, you can have quite a bit of fun despite her size. Kid's clubs are small, and there was a youth group! They got the chance to tour the bridge, and I thought that was amazing. The dining room was fantastic, and brunch is still the best. I have been on many cruises since, and The Empress is still the best when it comes to brunch. There are so many little nooks you can find to park a chair and stare into the ocean. Several times, we fell asleep! The staterooms are very small, and the food isn't served every moment of the day. Shows are pretty good, and there always seems to be a movie playing somewhere. Everyone who reads this review owes it to themselves to sail on the Empress. She is just a sweet little ship that does her best to entertain her guests. She is definitely at the top of my favorites, and I have sailed with Disney. Now, would I compare them to each other? No.

Ok. Now talk about a cruise. This ship is crazy! The staff is very helpful, and there is always a party somewhere. I am serious, something is going on every minute of the day, and night. The Piano Man bar is probably one of the best getaway locations and still have a great time. The steakhouse is crazy good! The main dining room, well, it is what it is. You wait a while. And if you ask for something, you wait some more. I did find however, this ship's crew did seem upset quite often over other cruises I have taken. The entertainment is just fantastic. There is as guy that goes by "Donkey" and he is out of this world hilarious. The casino is always blanketed by smoke, and the smell of alcohol fools the air. The staterooms are very large considering it is a cruise ship. Former cruisers would agree. I just wish you could get food other than pizza at night. That is all they did you can get at night. Seriously. A hamburger or a wrap, even a salad would be great as options. And the line to get it ALWAYS 12-14 people long, or longer. Sailed this ship twice, and yes, I would sail again. First was an ocean view, and second was a balcony. Both were great!

Five stars, with a catch. This was a fantastic ship, with a wonderful crew. The decorations were amazing and the ship was never dirty, ever. I swear I saw workers painting at port. The first day however, was not a great start. We were rushed at dinner, and there just wasn't enough time to really do anything. Night 2, was Pirate Night....and a port....and dinner....and a show. We rushed from our port to change into our dinner attire, then rushed to change into our Pirate costumes, just to see a horrible Jack Sparrow impersonation and freaking fireworks. Fireworks at Sea!!! That was crazy, and we loved it. The show however, was terrible! The show didn't last long and we all had this feeling of "Is that it?" We looked forward to Pirate Night for months and felt disappointed. The buffet was insane! Crab legs on the buffet, unlimited Coke products for the taking, and some of the best hamburgers and chicken on the Open Sea. The down-side, it was cramped! I have been on smaller ships (Empress of the Seas) that has more room around the tables. There was really no room to walk. We had to wait for people to move so we could get past the tables, and the same for them. Look point I'm making is this, keep your expectations in check when you do a 3 day voyage on the Dream. You can't do the Midship Detective Agency, and explore every nook of the ship while at port, while trying to catch a movie. Pick what really matters and do that. The shows were simply amazing!! "Beauty and the Beast" was phenomenal. We still talk about "Believe". Again, CRAMPED! Elbows on elbows in the theatre. Up-side, no weird poles anywhere. Every seat was a good seat. The food was cruise average, but crazy loud. Animators' Pallette was not what we hoped. We still hear "DUDE" in our sleep. The noise level was very, very loud. Royal Palace was amazing, and we still love it to this day. Our room was adjoining with another family we did not know and we were awoken at 6:00am every morning from a kid screaming. I wrote a review and posted pictures about our stateroom if you are interested. We had a few drinks in Nassau and came back to the ship. No nap for us. There were kids and parents running up and down the hall all hours of the day. Oh well. By the way, the ship pretty much shuts down at 10:00pm. I can't help but love this ship. I love Disney. I am a Annual Passholder, but I think once on the Dream is enough for me. I still recommend the Dream, but remember to keep your expectations in check, and if possible stay out for 4-5 days. This is my review, and I hope it helped.