Old Boat, Great Destination

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review to Cuba

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5
Verified Review
Empress of the Seas

Key West & Havana Overnight

Sail date: August 07, 2017

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

This is a great destination but not the best ship. It is small and old and it shows. Not a lot to do onboard. 3 days spent in port so not too much down time. Experienced cruisers will want more.

Embarkation

4 out of 5
Well organized. Great staff. Long lines but moved fast.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Excellent staff and amazing food in the main dining room. The buffet was average and the specialty restaurants did not entice us but honestly the main dining room was so good you wouldn't need to go any where else.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Less activities than other cruises we have been on. A lot of dead space during the day and limited activities.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
The ship performers were okay. A couple of performers were significantly more talented than the other 2 but these things are always divided equally no matter how talented anyone is. Magician was lame. Would have been nice to have better entertainment options.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The staff was amazing. They did their best to address any problems that we had and anticipated all of our needs.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Even though the boat was recently refurbished it is obvious that this is a very old boat. Bad plumbing, small rooms and showers.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Smaller than other inside state rooms. Very tight fit for 2 adults.

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida Did not visit port

Key West, Florida

4 out of 5
Easy to get around on your own. Lots to see and eat. Very hot! Lots of construction going on so be careful walking around.

HAVANA, CUBA

4 out of 5
Amazing architecture, food and people. Hope this is a destination for years to come. Aggressive locals will try to get you to book tours through them. Just walk past them and book through a reputable agency before hand.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Always great to do the self disembarkation and leave lazy people behind on the boat.
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1 Comment

agfstamps    7 years ago

Some people prefer smaller ships over the mega ships, even us experienced cruisers! I just like cruise vacations of all kinds.

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