7 Night Key West Mexico & Havana Overnight (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 18, 2018
Ship:
Empress of the Seas
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 8509
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 6 years ago
Review summary
This is the perfect mom vacation. The pampering is complete, from food preparation to cleaning to entertainment. After our day in hot, sultry Havana, we were greeted on the ship ramp by a steward with wet, frozen cloths to cool down as we returned to the ship. There is plenty of space at the rails for sea gazing at all hours and hammocks big enough for two. In short, the perfect vacation to escape from reality for a little while. Very rejuvenating.
Embarkation
5 out of 5
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Don't miss dinner in the main dining room. Such a wonderful variety of foods and dishes, sometimes themed to the ports, i.e. Ropa Vieja for Cuba. This is a great time to try foods you hesitate to pay to try--escargot, anyone? The desserts were oh-so-good!
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I do not go on a cruise to exercise. Taking the stairs instead of the elevator is good enough for vacation. However, there were many fun activities to choose from. I loved the outdoor movies at the pool, disco night, and juggling class.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
Wow! I enjoyed every show. We skipped the adult entertainment comedy night, but every other headliner and show was wonderful! I appreciated that if there was to be adult themed shows or comedy, it was announced as such.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
Every staff member was well trained and cheerful. Not all of them understand English well, but all of them appreciate and will return a smile. I felt well taken care of from the moment we entered the ship to the moment we had to reluctantly leave it.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
We had an inside stateroom, which of course is not a luxury room. However, it was perfect for us! We didn't spend a lot of time in our room but we found it to be comfortable, clean, and well taken care of. The beds were comfortable. I appreciated the in-room safe. The room had everything we needed and was quite comfy for two.
Ship tip
The hammocks on the sun deck are the best place to be after the evening entertainment. So relaxing and perfect!
Key West is a crazy sort of place with its own mentality. Where else do they celebrate their "wild" chickens and have a "hangover hotline" where a medic will bring you an IV to cure your hangover? We did the Reef and Ritas excursion offered through Priceline. It was amazing in every aspect that they could control--the boat ride, the ambience, the snorkel and safety training, the atmosphere on the boat. Unfortunately, they can't control the weather and it was windy. That means 2-3 foot waves and cloudy water. We saw nothing of the reef because of conditions.
Beautiful, untamed jungle. We went inland from the port to visit the Chacchoben ruins. Our tour was called Chacchoben Extreme tour and ended at a private resort at the seven-color lagoon. The guides were very knowledgeable and fun. They were very careful to keep us safe at all times, whether climbing up slippery stone steps or advising us not to approach the venomous red-tailed tarantula because they jump.
Cozumel is an island, so we took a ferry to Playa del Carmen and then rode inland through the jungle to the cenotes. Our excursion was called Amazing Underground Rivers. We were the only people on the tour that day, so we had a private tour. Our guide, Paco, helped map the cenotes and underground rivers and was very knowledgeable and passionate about the caves and his heritage. It was an amazing adventure!
We loved Havana! We had an evening excursion through Royal Caribbean to the Tropicana Cabaret, so we had the day to explore by ourselves. We found a wonderful guide named Barbaro, who for 30 CUC gave us a great tour of old Havana. From his horse drawn buggy, we were able to see so much more than we could have seen on our own. Barbaro also shared with us some of his opinions and personal insights into his city that were invaluable. The second day in Havana we took the history tour. Our guide, Talia, was excellent and even made an unscheduled stop for us at the Museum of the Cuban Missile Crisis because we were interested. She also recommended a restaurant for us and then met us there for lunch after the tour.
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