8 Night Eastern Caribbean & Perfect Day (Miami Roundtrip)
Sail date: October 25, 2019
Ship:
Empress of the Seas
Cabin type: Oceanview
Cabin number: 4108
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
Our cruise was absolute perfection!!! We had the best time and want to spend every Halloween with Royal Caribbean!!! So much fun and so many memories made!!!
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We literally walked on the ship! Quickest embarkation we’ve ever experienced!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
Windjammer was great, same as any other windjammer. It had a great selection and food was always fresh and delicious! I absolutely loved that there are sinks to wash your hands not just hand sanitizer! My time dining was superb as always! They had some new choices from our last cruise and everything we had was delicious! Also we did an 8 night cruise and the last night was lobster tail, I had read on another review that they didn’t offer the lobster tail on empress unless you went to chops, at least on our sailing this wasn’t true. And the drinks well who can say no to that drink package! They were great and so was the bar staff!!! Especially Eka, Juan, and Edward!!!
Pool Bar
5 out of 5
Juan was always so pleasant when we come up for a drink! Quick service and great drinks!
Main Dining Room
5 out of 5
We had dinner every night in the MDR and it was amazing! We had two amazing head waiters Reagan and Avishek; and two amazing assistant waiters Mingying and Godson!!!! Amazing service, food, smiles, and conversation!
Onboard Activities
4 out of 5
There was technically only one pool and then a kid play area but it never seemed too crowded. No busier than the main pool on allure or freedom. And we never couldn’t find a lounge chair by the pool even on sea days! Only down part in our opinion was no solarium. The fitness center was great, a little busy if you went at 8am but we only had trouble getting machines one day out of 8 so we’re not complaining.. that can happen some days at your local gym when every one goes to work out at the same time.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
DJ Lucian was a blast and the reggae band pool side mass effect were great! We loved Doug Cameron my favorite entertainer of the cruise! And the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers always had a great show! Orlando the cruise director was hilarious and the Halloween bash we attended has made me want to spend every Halloween on a cruise!!!
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
This is why I would sail empress every cruise! Royal Caribbean always has the best staff but the staff on the empress was phenomenal! We had the best cruise and the staff knew us by name! Such a personal experience you get on this ship! Our two amazing head waiters for Reagan and Avishek; our amazing assistant waiters were Mingying and Godson!!! So sweet they all came to see us whether we were in their section or not! The MDR hostess Maria was so friendly every night! The bar staff was great especially: Eka, Juan, and Edward! The cruise director Orlando was a blast and so was his assistant Elvis! We also loved Kacy and Micheal that did a lot of the activities! And then our stateroom attendant Elisangela.. saved the best for last! She was the absolute sweetest!!! I’ll miss her smile every morning and evening!!!
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Yes it’s an older ship but they have really put a lot of work into it! Every area was gorgeous and up to Royal Caribbean standards. We loved the Boleros area, Schooner bar looked just like any other Schooners, the Royal theater was nicer than some others we’ve seen gorgeous reds and we loved having a table to place our drinks! They decorated for Halloween and it was absolutely amazing!!! Every area had decorations the centrum, the theater the dining areas!!! And as for the odor that was in every review I read before we went and had me so nervous we smelled it once outside on deck 6 while they were cleaning areas.. not sure what it was but we simply walked back into the casino and the smell was gone..
Cabin / Stateroom
5 out of 5
Perfect outside view cabin, no smaller than on other ships when we chose this size room. I actually felt like they had more storage/shelves than other staterooms we’ve been in. And there is no mini fridge (didn’t bother us any but I know some people want one). And our cabin was always perfect thanks to Elisangela!!! She was amazing!!!
Ship tip
If you want a more intimate experience this is the ship for you!!! We made so many friends with fellow cruisers and with am the staff!!! Makes an amazing week when everyone is so friendly and nice!!! Read what you’re buying it’s a smaller ship but has all you need for a fun, relaxing, and unforgettable vacation!!!
We took a taxi to Magens Bay, absolutely gorgeous!!! Pretty busy beach but worth the trip! They had a nice bar and grill station there; get the rum punch and steak frys!!!
We had the perfect day at coco cay!!! We hung out on chill island, all lounge chairs there are free. The water was beautiful! It reminds of what coco cay looked like the first time we went. The bar service was great! Then we had lunch at the buffet and that was delicious my husband had a burger and I had a Cuban!!! They also have ice cream cones which seemed to be a big hit with every one (we had two)! We also hung out at the oasis lagoon!!! So much fun there; party music and a huge swim up bar!!! We had a blast and didn’t pay extra for a thing!!!
We did the snorkeling excursion to the baths!!! Absolutely amazing!!! Make sure to have a go pro or water proof camera cause you swim to the beach and will leave all your belongings on the catamaran. Saw lots of fish and coral and explored some little caves!!!
Was still a pretty quick disembarkation but felt like we waited a little longer cause they suddenly let numbers 6-11 all go at once.. but we still found our luggage very easily and had maybe a 10 minute wait in line through customs.
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