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Short getaway

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review to Cuba

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 6
Helpful Votes: 137

Overall rating:

4.5 out of 5
Empress of the Seas

5 Night Key West/Havana/Cozumel (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: September 27, 2017

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9610

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Was a short getaway cruise to see if Cuba would be worth a longer stay. Enjoyed our time on board with the friendly staff, and the tours that we did take, Cozamel is s gun port and can be visited multiple times with out repeating activities.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
10 minutes from arrival at terminal to getting on board, excellent process.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
Enjoyed all the food venues, main dinning room, chops grill and windgammer.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5
Limited activities due to size of ship, was fine for me but many people found it limited

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Shows in theater we're good, lounge music was good, and entertainment in the centrum was fun

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Not one complaint about staff, great service from everyone

Ship Quality

4 out of 5
Considering the age of this ship it was in very good shape. This is the oldest and smallest ship in the RCL fleet. Not going to nit pick everyday ware and tear that happens.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
Was very clean and comfortable. Small but useable bathroom, very large closet for hanging clothes. No refigerator in room, flat screen TV,

Ship tip

The balcony rooms are on deck 9, deck 10 is the pool area and is very noisy and you can hear the banging of deck chairs starting at 7am Music on deck 10 lasted past 1am and could be heard, If you are a light early sleeper try to get a room towards the back part of deck 9 or get an ocean view on one of the lower decks

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Key West, Florida

4 out of 5
Was still recovering from hurricane Irma, must things were operational, it's just a fun town
Thumbs Up

HAVANA, CUBA

3 out of 5
Exchange rate is a rip off at 13% for US dollar, get some Canadian dollars from bank as the exchange 1 for 1 City is old, buildings in disrepair and a lot of mildew on them. The amount of old cars is highly over expressed from what we saw It is cheaper. To get a ride in a old car out side the terminal than going through the ship tours. Rum and cigars are cheaper in Cozemel
Thumbs Up

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5
Did no tours, went shopping and enjoyed the downtown area. Shop around and the Cuban Rum and cigars will cost you less because of the exchange rate difference $8 for taxi to town for 4 people
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Was well organized and went quickly. Being x smaller ship that only had 1200 passengers on this trip helped

Traveler Photos

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2 Comments

dck43    7 years ago

Would be an interesting venue for a longer stay and indulging in some of the local cafes and sites that are not on a 4 hour tour and to ,"selected" shops. Finding a good safe & clean place to stay would be number 1 priority. A lot of history in Havana. Join the Canadian and European visiters that frequent Havana. Would go back but have other things to do first
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picalo    7 years ago

Well? Is Cuba worth a longer stay? Thanks for a great review
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