What a wonderful surprise. This was our first cruise on the Empress of the Seas and were pleasantly surprised how wonderful this 5 day cruise was. I had in my mind this is an old ship, but once aboard we saw that the ship had been completely refurbished and it was lovely. True it is a smaller ship but sometimes that is better. Less walking and you were always close to everything. We met so many nice people, cruisers as well as staff members. Hardly heard a complaint from anyone. The ship was so smooth that you did not feel as though you ever left port.
We started off with embarkation that went so smoothly in the Port of Miami. We were aboard by 11:30 AM. There was no sit down lunch so we headed for the buffet on the pool deck. There was a buffet set up outside and inside. The food was outstanding. We always found many taste treats in the buffet. Our favorites were breaded pork chops, broiled salmon, brisket and the spaghetti with bolognese sauce. They had a omelette bar at breakfast and the most delicious crispy hash browns to go with it. At night they had a crepe bar. So many helpful waiters to assist you. Comfortable chairs and a beautiful panoramic view. By the pool (salt water) there was a coffee bar and and a soft serve ice cream bar. There was a kiddy pool and an adult pool (Had a power lift for those who needed assistance getting in and out of the pool).
At 1 PM we were allowed to go to our cabins and settle in. The elevators were very small but never found them to be crowded. Our cabin was small, so we separated the beds to give us more walking space. There was a nice size color flat screen TV with a sleep timer. Many channels to choose from (Sports, News, cartoons, movies and Royal Caribbean channels). Our luggage arrived immediately after the Muster Drill. We had a little trouble with our thermostat but after reporting the problem to maintenance they were able to fix it. We had the best room steward, (Juan), who gave us his card with his phone number so we could call him if there was anything that we needed. There was a safe in the closet for your valuables.