Awesome staff on the Empress!

Item: Empress of the Seas
Rating: 3.8
Author: MtyMini

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas

MtyMini

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 62

Overall rating:

3.8 out of 5

3 Night Bahamas (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 01, 2018

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 6 years ago

Review summary

Staff and service on the Empress is fantastic. From embarkation to debarkation we had a great experience except for the Jr Suite size. The food was good (excellent in chops) the service in all dining venues was excellent. The drink package is worth it if you like the specialty coffee, bottled water and adult beverages.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Food and service in Chops is excellent. As a suite holder we were able to eat breakfast in Chops and ate dinner two out of three nights in there as well.

Chops Grille

5 out of 5

Food and service are well worth the extra cost.

Pool Bar

5 out of 5

Service on deck and at the pool bar was quick and the drinks were always terrific.

Main Dining Room

4 out of 5

The staff was fantastic. The quality of food on all RCI ships seems to be declining.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Focus Photo Gallery

5 out of 5

Photographers were not pushy and very willing to accommodate and please.

Pool Deck

5 out of 5

Seating was easy to find. The deck was kept clean. Drink service was easy to get.

Pool

5 out of 5

Pool was clean and lifeguards were on duty when the pool was open.

Guest Services

5 out of 5

The staff at guest services were accommodating and great to work with.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Comedian was fantastic!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ship Quality

3 out of 5

This old girl (Empress) is showing her age. She is a very small ship with lots of personality. The staff was always cleaning and painting however it’s time to go to dry dock for a refurb.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

This was sold as a Junior Suite. We were aware when we booked that the cabins on the Empress are the smallest in the fleet. The photos that I found of the Junior suites in the Empress were not of this cabin. The cabin and bathroom were clean. This “Jr Suite” is AFT with a bigger balcony. There was a small table with two chairs. Two loungers were also squeezed in. This Jr Suite does not have a mini fridge. It has ONE, very small, two drawer dresser. No couch. No table. There is a Small desk with chair. The closet wasn’t big enough to store even one of our carry on suitcases and could only hold 1 backpack. We were able to store (and live out of) our luggage under the bed. The cabin and bathroom felt smaller than the ocean view cabin we had in the Empress the fall of 2017. The bathroom is extremely small. My husband & I bumped elbows while he was in the VERY tiny shower stall and I was attempting to brush my teeth at the same time. This cabin should be marketed as an extended balcony rather than a Junior suite. I would rather spend the money on a six night cruise in a normal size room for the money spend on this Junior Suite.

Ship tip

Check with a travel agent to confirm room size and amenities are what you are expecting.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Miami, Florida

5 out of 5

Nassau, Bahamas

3 out of 5

Cococay (Cruise Line's Private Island)

5 out of 5

The cabanas are well with the money!

Thumbs Up 6

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

2 Comments

MtyMini 5 years ago

Hi Patrick-the review I posted was for Jr Suite 8686. It is the smallest Jr Suite of all Royal Caribbean ships. This ship is very old and very small. We do actually love the ship. We were on her Nov 2017 to Havana. It is a very small ship but Charming with amazing crew. The two perks of that cabin are Double C&A points if that is important to you & The balcony is holds two lounge chairs & a small table with 2 chairs overseeing the best view on the ship. Be sure to have a towel to wipe the furniture down as it gets a slight coating from the smoke stacks. Keep in mind in cabin 8686...There is: No couch, no chairs, no refrigerator. There is a small desk with a desk chair, one small ottoman and a bed. It has a VERY Tiny bathroom. Your legs will be under the sink while sitting on the toilet (I am just under 5’3”). 1 small dresser with 3 small dresser drawers. Only 1 backpack fit in the closet. Carry on sized Luggage went under the bed (we spent 5 additional days in the keys & Miami). If you track me down on social media, I can share some photos with you Kari-Lee DeAvila Williams.

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Patrick4 6 years ago

thank you for this. I just booked her for our 18th anniversary in July. I did book a junior suite for the 1st time. What was it like and how about the square footage number? our room is 8686. Thank u!!

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