The best cruise ever!!
Empress of the Seas (RETIRED) 223 Cruise Review to Bermuda
7 Night Bermuda (Philadelphia Roundtrip)
Sail date: September 16, 2006
Ship: Empress of the Seas (RETIRED) 223
Cabin type: Oceanview
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 14 years ago
Review summary
We recently sailed on the Empress of the Seas for the second time, and all I can say is "Wow!". She had undergone some refurbishing so I wasn't sure what to expect. The Boleros lounge was new, and a really great addition to the ship. While I didn't spend much time there, it appeared that the fitness center has also been re-done, and it was truly state of the art. We really like Royal Caribbean's style and service. We ate in Portofino fo rthe first time, and will continue to do so on every future sailing. The food was exceptional, the service impeccable, and the wine list estraordinary. But restaurant is beautiful and cozy, the service was even better than the already great service the dining room staff usually delivers. I had a filet that rivaled the best steakhouses in the world, and my sister had the seafood skewer which I can only assume was equally exceptional since she never stopped chewing long enough to say anything. The Windjammer buffet really isn't a "buffet" anymore, now it's like a cool marketplace/food court with many more choices, stations you can approach from all sides (so no endless line!). Very wide-open and airy feeling, a huge step up from the typical ship buffet. We loved all the nightlife options. The shows were great but we really enjoyed the new latin club, Boleros, and the live music at Schooner's Pub. Felt like a totally different night out, every single night. The new Seattle's Best coffee shop and the new Ben and Jerry's looked to be very popular, but we didn't patronize them. Our stateroom was cozy and certainly served the purpose, but we really didn't spend any time there. It was easy to unpack and fell like there was a place for everything. Overall we have to say the ship was really impressive, the staff was wonderful as always, and even though I've sailed on the Empress before, I can't imagine going anywhere else.Ports of call
Pros: The staff and crew. They were all exceptional!
Cons: Getting off the ship at the end of the cruise.
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