Needed more time on shore in Havana and Cozumel

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review to Cuba

Cruises: 4-6 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 29

Overall rating:

3.4 out of 5
Verified Review
Empress of the Seas

6 Night Havana Overnight & Cozumel (Tampa Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 04, 2017

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 4050

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

This was a bucket list item that we can now check off. We do want to go back and spend more time in Cuba. All the tours we took were worth doing. All the guides were excellent.

Embarkation

2 out of 5
Had to stand several hours in line. This was a problem for those of us with back and knee problems.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5
Dining room experiences were better than Windjammer as far as food and service.

Onboard Activities

1 out of 5
There was not a lot that appealed to me or my friends, esp on ship days.

Entertainment

3 out of 5
I only saw three. They were good but not as good as other cruises.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
The staff that I dealt with daily such as dinning room, Jesus and Sang were fabulous. My room attendant was excellent also. Guest Services also excellent. The busboys, waiter, food service people that were not assigned to me were another story. I was constantly being moved out of their way and asked to move aside or made to make way for them. Other guests commented on this also. I have never been treated this way on other cruises.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
The ship is old so, it was ok but worn.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
I was ok but the sheets were scratchy, probably polyester and old and pilled. We had no shampoo until we asked for it.

Ship tip

Bring all the toiletries you need as they are not ready provided. Expect to be ignored by half the staff and pampered by the other half.

Ports of call

Tampa, Florida

5 out of 5
We spent 3 days before the cruise exploring Tampa, it was great.

HAVANA, CUBA

4 out of 5
We were immediately scammed when we got off the ship even though we were with a tour. Watch out for that. Our tour leader often left behind the slower clients and I would have to try to watch them and the guide to make sure we did not get separated. We need a slower pace. All the guides were very knowledgeable, entertaining and spoke English well enough.

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5
The ruins and chocolate tour was worth doing. There is not much to the ruins but the guide made it interesting. The Mayan chocolate tour was excellent and very interesting. There was not enough time there though. Loved the stop at the beach also.

Disembarkation

4 out of 5
Luckily we got a porter and there is a porter line which made going through customs very fast. I highly recommend that if you do not want to spend an hour or two standing in line.
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1 Comment

floridapoppy    6 years ago

My daughter and I really enjoyed Havana and I would go back in the future

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