I made the mistake of reading reviews a couple of nights prior to our cruise and started to have second thoughts. Just like anything else in life, your experiences cannot be compared to anyone else's and it's all about what you make of it. Here are the facts:
- The ship is small and the pool is especially small but there's plenty to do from eating to the shows to the casino to the shops and health/workout facilities. If your aim is to visit the beautiful Bahamas and have a good time along the way, the empress will not disappoint.
- The cabin that we were in had pull down bunk beds and was a bit cramped for a family of 4 but not much different than what we had experienced on other cruises. The window however was nice and large. Our friends had interior cabins, which they preferred to minimize sea sickness, and said they enjoyed their cabins. The kids all got together on numerous nights and made forts of the sheets and bunk beds. The showers, one comedian joked (spoiler alert) said that if you slip in the shower, you will fall nowhere! Again not much different than other showers on other cruises we have been on of comparable sized cruise ships. Some of our friends had minor plumbing issues when we tested the toilets but it was promptly addressed and was a result of pressure issues.
Small but adequate. To be expected.
The hustle and bustle of Nassau. It is recommended that you travel in groups if not doing ship excursions. To save money on the water parks, some have booked rooms at local hotels in order to get free passes. Cabbage beach was a bit rough albeit beautiful. Other reviews mentioned Cable beach being calmer.