Great little ship with a big heart!

Empress of the Seas Cruise Review

ZGlennon

Contributor Level: Purser

237 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 12

Overall rating:

4.4 out of 5

8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Miami Roundtrip)

Sail date: November 07, 2019

Ship: Empress of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 7506

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 8 months ago

Review summary

Great cruise on a small ship with superior service.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Quick! From curb to ship was less than 10 minutes.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Dining room had great food and was by far better than we’ve had in the past 5 years. Chops was magnificent as always for dinner though I don’t recommend breakfast as it was full and service lacked accordingly. Windjammer had the same selection each day and was consistently high quality.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Lots of interactive activities like bingo and trivia. Lot of fun. Onboard sports activities are very limited. Pool was very crowded every day due to small size.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Production shows were enjoyable. Headliners were worth seeing. Sight lines in theater are pretty bad if you are in the upper level or balconies. Stick to lower level. Mobility was easy due to wide aisles.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Staff really made a point to go above and beyond. I was floored with the personal level of service our group consistently received from all levels of staff. Head waiters were engaging and helpful. Guest Services staff were incredibly efficient and pleasant to work with.

Ship Quality

4 out of 5

The ship is nearing 30 years old and in surprisingly good shape. The recent refurbishment had Empress looking wonderfully up-to-date. The only bad thing I could really see is the windows were in dire need of cleaning. With the ship being so small it made getting around the ship quick and easy. We didn’t use elevators much since only having to go up or down a few floors at a time.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

This forward starboard Owner’s Suite was a smart upgrade for us on this ship. It had ample side for both of our luggage and plenty of room to spread out. The balcony alone was about the size of most interior rooms which nice. It was a private balcony and very quiet. You could watch dolphins swimming next to the ship at night during calm seas! The bathroom was good size though the angle of the toilet made my knee hit the side of the tub. There is a private hallway to the suite so you get very little outside noise. This is a great suite with a huge balcony and sitting room.

Ship tip

Be prepared for a smaller more intimate ship. There are no bells and whistles on Empress but the service is by far the best we have had on RCCL in 25 years of cruising with them.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Key West, Florida

4 out of 5

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

4 out of 5

Belize City, Belize

4 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

4 out of 5

Miami, Florida

4 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

I couldn’t believe we were off the ship and curbside in less than 15 minutes. The baggage claim process is a bit chaotic but better than most ships experience I’ve had in Miami.