The only choice if you want to cruise to Cuba. Empress is very old and shows it. The staff and entertainment makes up for the shortcoming of the ship. I am not a late night person but made it past midnight many nights because of the entertainment on the ship.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
Check in was fast but we had to wait longer than expected to board.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The dining room and buffet food was adequate. RCCL completed ignored my profile for seating in the dining room and we had to change tables after the first night. Some people assigned to our 2nd table never did show up. ????
Pool Bar
5 out of 5
The bar was well staffed and you were immediately recognized as you walked toward the bar. The drinks were professionally prepared.
Onboard Activities
3 out of 5
The activities were fairly general and nothing different. They had napkin folding and towel animal demonstrations in the Centrum and belly flop completition at the pool.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
This is where this cruise topped my expectations. Great shows in the theatre and good entertainment in the bars.
Royal Theater
5 out of 5
The Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers did great performances. Elisa Furr did a great tribute to Celine Dion. Mike Pace and El Gaucho both had great comedian shows.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff is great and quick to make everything right for you if something was wrong. Waiters would know you by name anywhere on the ship. Not just at your dining table.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
Our room was always kept clean by a great attendant but the room was small. We had to crawl into bed from the end because there was no room on the sides. The shower was approximately 1 1/2 by 2 feet wide. The room was very small. There were no balcony rooms.
Ship tip
If you want to visit Cuba on a cruise, this is your only choice. Now that I have been to Cuba, this will be my last time on this ship because of the age and size. The good thing was the entertainment and the staff.
We viisited the Mayan Ruins. It was a great tour. We had a tour booke in advance that was discounted but cancelled. We had to rebook this tour at full price. Poor service on Royal Caribeeans part.
We did a tour of Havana. We stopped at the Colon cemetary and were there longer than needed, We had a special guide there that was boring and talked to much. Sounded like a preacher. We went to a mosaic display that I would not have ever visited on my own. We had an excellent lunch at a Cuban resturant. The coach was comfortable and we had a good guide on the bus. We did see much of Havana. The best part of the tour was a stop at Ernest Heminways home. We also made a stop at the flea market where you really had to watch there prices. Much like a Mexican flea market. If I had it to do over again I would have chosen a different tour.
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