Don't expect much

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review to Cuba

NolaBabi

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 30

Overall rating:

3.7 out of 5

Verified Review

Empress of the Seas

Key West & Havana

Sail date: August 26, 2017

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 4530

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Besides the ports, there was nothing spectacular about the EotS. The food and staff were the best parts of the ship. I can see why this ship was retired. They may have updated some things, but it's still outdated.

Embarkation

3 out of 5

We chose this cruise because Cuba was one of the ports. The info we received at from reading on the site was that we would need to book an excursion with the ship in order to tour Cuba. Well that wasn't true at all we later found out after paying $69 a person for a 4 hour excursion. The ship isn't impressive at all. I can see why it was retired. There wasn't much to do and with one small pool, there was no way that everyone would get to enjoy it.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

The food was good in both the Windjammer cafeteria and the main dining area.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5

There wasn't much to do. The pool was too small to accommodate the guests and the very few things they offered to do were boring.

Entertainment

3 out of 5

There was a nice comedy and magic show.

Children's Programs

2 out of 5

The kids basically only had the arcade, which was small.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Everyone was friendly, accommodating and welcoming.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

The ship was clean, but it is also dated. There was no WOW factor about the EotS.

Cabin / Stateroom

4 out of 5

It's a comfortable room for two people. The shower is really small, but functional. The bed and bedding were very comfortable.

Ship tip

The deck behind the Bavero's is a hidden gem. If you don't mind smokers.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

4 out of 5

Didn't do an excursion. We were only there for a few hours.

Key West, Florida

4 out of 5

Key West was nice. We did a hop-on/hop-off trolley tour which was very informative.

HAVANA, CUBA

4 out of 5

Havana was nice and we did a 4-hour tour which highlighted the popular areas.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5

The process was smooth and didn't take a long time.

1 Comment

jaganravi 7 years ago

Kindly post some pics.. I am travelling in December and would like to know how it looks

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Other reviews of this sailing

Very nice service and food in dinning room better then expected

Worst cruise ever

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