This ship is VERY small - colloquially dubbed the "Runt of the Seas" on Cruise Critic. Unlike Holland America's Ryndam, the stabilizer on Empress of the Seas is insufficient for Western Caribbean routes in January resulting in horrible motion sickness for the vast majority of guests (i.e. taking turns vomiting in onboard garbage cans, dishes flying off tables in the dining room, etc.). We were unable to dock in port so we had an additional time at sea which exasperated this problem.
The ship itself is unimpressive. Food in the buffet is adequate but unremarkable albeit food in the dining room was quite good and service was exceptional. Entertainment was amateur and there were very few amenities and/or onboard activities in comparison to other cruise lines. On a positive note, on board customer service was excellent - really the only redeeming aspect of the experience. We have thoroughly enjoyed cruises on other lines (Costa, Holland America, Carnival, etc.), but this is likely our first and last time booking with Royal Caribbean.
We did not receive the room category we had booked and when we called prior to departure I waited on the phone for TWO HOURS before being offered a $50 onboard credit (less than the difference in price for the room upgrade) as consolation. Onboard, we received an upgrade but only because guests missed flights due to the FLL shootings.
We did not book an excursion in this port - we barely made it to the ship after flying into Fort Myers (redirected due to the FLL shootings).