My family and I are avid cruisers. We live across the country from each other and this Christmas decided to meet up by doing a big family cruise trip. My husband and I primarily cruise with NCL while my parents are prone to RCL. For this particular trip we choose to sail on RCL's Empress of the Seas. We were aware it was a small older ship but as we were travelling with small children this fact did not initially bother us.

The ship itself is small and simple. I enjoyed the fact that it was elegant and well laid out. Unlike larger vessels you could easily maneuver in between floors and venues. The cabins were the smallest I've seen (barely enough room to set up a portable crib) but they utilized the space with shelves as well as possible. I also noticed staff frequently cleaning around the vessel which was reassuring.

After 20+ cruises, we were quick to find out the downside of such a small ship. The weather was rough and by day two much of the ship was experiencing seasickness. I myself have never been seasick but due to the extreme conditions I found myself going to the sick bay to get medicine. While making my way to the medical area I saw many passengers vomiting in the hall, seasick bags were being distributed at each stairwell and adults were curled up on the floor too helpless to move. Despite being fairly miserable, the other downside to these conditions on a small ship is most of the amenities close due to safety reasons (I.E. The pools, rock wall, ect). Although this is understandable, it is also hard to explain to children who have been excited to partake. There seemed to be no real back up plan for bad weather. I was surprised that additional activities were not scheduled. We spent this day mostly confined to our cabins. Read more