Wonderful Cuba experience

Item: Empress of the Seas
Rating: 4.3
Author: drbrad

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review to Cuba

drbrad

Contributor Level: Second Mate

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 4

Helpful Votes: 149

Overall rating:

4.3 out of 5

5 Night Havana Overnight & Cozumel (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 24, 2017

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Oceanview

Cabin number: 9180

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Overall, very pleased with the cruise. While the ship was small, it had a great staff and was very clean. Since an older ship, the cabins are VERY small compared to other ships. Storage is a big challenge in the cabin and very small bathrooms. The itinerary makes up for the cabin size and well worth experiencing to see Cuba.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

There was some confusion during embarkation as special forms needed to be filled out for Cuba. We had forms sent to us in advance that were completed and sent to Royal ahead of time but we had to fill out new forms at the port slowing the process down. In fairness to Royal, I think this had to do with changes in the government policy on travel to Cuba.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

We were very pleased with the food. We had members of our party with very restrictive dietary needs and the Royal staff was fantastic accommodating them. Every night the head waiter came over to create a special menu for them for the following day. Not only did the meet their needs, the food was delicious. The main course menu was very good. Better than we anticipated, as the last few Royal cruises, main dining room food was only average. The staff was very friendly and attentive.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

This was smaller ship, not a lot of onboard activities as the focus of the trip is Cuba. Still hadf traditional cruise activities onboard as well as lectures on Cuba.

Entertainment

4 out of 5

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

I enjoyed being on a small ship again. It was easy to navigate and never felt crowded. The ship was in good shape and very clean.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Just boarded ship.

Thumbs Up 0

HAVANA, CUBA

5 out of 5

Loved seeingg Cuba, the main focus of the trip. We did a walking tour of Old Havana that was really interesting. The guides were very knowledgeable and the Rum and Cigar tasting was a lot of fun. We felt very safe walking around Havana, even alone and at night.

Thumbs Up 17

Cozumel, Mexico

4 out of 5

We did a 5 hr private tour of the island that was interesting and was able to customize to meet our needs and desires. We saw a vareity of places on the island, stopping at the Mayan ruins, the chocolate factory, and a tequila tasting to name a few of the highlights.

Thumbs Up 10

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

2 Comments

JennieParra 6 years ago

How did you manage at breakfast and lunch with only windjammer as your option?

Thumbs Up 0

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marilyn27 6 years ago

Nice review

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