5 Night Key West & Havana Overnight (Tampa Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 16, 2017
Ship:
Empress of the Seas
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 3034
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
I would really try to go on this cruise before our current administration decides to stop US citizens from going. If you have a choice I would choose a cruise that has an overnight in Havana. I think 1 day would be too short and you would not have enough time to enjoy meeting the people of Cuba, exploring old town or tasting the local cuisine. We ate in both a private and government run restaurants and they were both excellent. Spanish is not required but if you can learn a few words it will be very helpful, although most in old town spoke some english.
Embarkation
2 out of 5
Agent was less than friendly for us. Our friends experience was far better.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food for dinner was excellent, never went to the windjammer to eat. If your on the unlimited drink package why is it the measure every drink exactly? Most drinks were very weak as a result.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Pool was very nice and the staff worked hard to keep you involved. The Cruise Director was not my favorite at all. He came across very curt and cocky.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
I have to say our experience with the Pianist Greg was spectacular, he was an excellent keyboardist, singer and entertainer.
Service and Staff
4 out of 5
Bar staff in the Schooner was exceptional with great attitudes and made it fun. Dining room at night with our regular waiters was great. Service at brunch was slow at best. We never visited the Windjammer.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Older ship did not disappoint. Definitely recommend this ship if your going to Cuba. The ship is made by it's crew and all their hard work. This ship maybe old, but they have done a great job keeping her nicely appointed. My one complaint was the public areas tended to run warm especially if there was a large gathering. The show lounge is not very good especially if your in the back.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
Older sip so the cabins will be smaller. That was to be expected and it did not take away from the cruise as we did not spend much time in the room. The rooms are showing their age, especially in the bathroom where caulking is coming loose and shower curtains too short and toilets missing parts. Rooms were very clean.
Ship tip
Make sure you think about which dinner seating you want . The early sitting is very early at 5:30 which interfered with out port times. They do have open seating but don't like that because the waitstaff does not get to know you.
The pre arrival briefing was excellent, We felt really safe and the Cuban people are very nice to the tourist. Even if you were approached by a pan handler they would easily give up if you said no. I highly recommend a tour via a local taxi driver in a convertible, it was the most informative of the trip as well as fun. It truly was great to interact with the local Cuban people. Once you clear Cuban customs for the 1st time, the rest is easy. Just follow the guidance of the ships crew and you will love Havana. The one big negative was the cruise excursion for "old Havana" we had a terrible tour guide and from what we heard is if you had a good tour guide the tour was great. We were falling asleep because she was not telling us anything.
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