I'll temper my remarks by saying that this was a great value for a warm-weather vacation in the cold winter months. Whatever complaints I might have, are mitigated when I reflect on what I was paying. That said, the Empress of the Seas was OK - nothing particularly bad, but nothing particularly special. Having cruised a few times before, this all seemed very familiar - same food, same activities, same jokes. Staff are always smiling and available to help - but you don't sense a lot of genuine interest. What would you expect - they work their tails off and don't make a lot of money. Their friendliness seems, at times, to be an artifice. But I won't blame them for that.

The ship was nice enough. It's not huge, but big enough. Lots of people, but maybe fewer and smaller lines than I recall on other cruises. Some of the ship's spaces seemed very underutilized (the Viking Lounge - never went there). Boleros lounge was nice. Places like the game room or library are really just small open sitting areas near the stairwells - not distinct rooms. Our goal with a cruise is to find a quiet relaxing place, ideally out of doors, with some shade in the hot sun. There were not an overabundance of these spaces, but we did OK. The pool, hot tub and sundeck were the focal point for most people and were generally very crowded.

Food in the dining room was good and about what one would expect for a cruise. We enjoyed eating there, but 6-7 nights in a row it gets to be a bit dull. The one specialty restaurant, Chops, was a notch above. But you'd only go there for a good steak. We would have liked a little more variety. The buffet is what you'd expect - lots of food, nothing spectacular, big crowds. But it's always available. I was disappointed that the only breakfast available outside the buffet was on days-at-sea in the dining room - and that was another buffet service as well. Some ships will have a breakfast to order. Same is true for lunch. The only option was the buffet. Bar service was plentiful, but overpriced as always. Read more