Empress of the Seas Review
Great trip experience on a smaller ship with an amazing crew.
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose the cruise for the destination and the ship. Many had said that the ship was "small" which it is when considering cruise ship sizes of today but despite the grand promenade not being absent the rooms were very spacious from previous cruises. The food was always great and a huge variety and the crew was absolutely amazing. Bartenders could be faster but they are trying to keep up with a large amount of people getting drinks and they were definitely short staffed. Especially on the pool deck which was hard to get a drink before your ordered one was finished. Costa Maya was pretty but the shop people are extremely pushy to buy things and asking for tips. The pool staff was very fun though and there is definitely plenty to see and do. Wish I had gone to the water park as that looked fun instead of staying in the village for the day. As far as the ship experience goes, I can not speak any higher of the attention to detail and personal catering that we received on this cruise. Personally I don't sleep well when away from home, no matter where. But I was able to sleep like a baby on this ship. It was amazing, even the rooms felt spacious compared to larger ships that I have been on prior to sailing on the Empress. From our room attendant up to the Maitre D', it was hands down the best cruise experience. The only negative rating I could give was bar service and the AC was not working in the Casino and in the main Theater. Even the room felt warm. I don't know if that was just an issue they were trying to work through or if something needs to be done to fix it but the casino had actual fans in there tying to keep it cooler in there.
Cabin Review
Felt very spacious, more so than the usual standard room I have stayed in with a small portal window which I was expecting. We actually had a large window that was about 3x4 or so which let in a good deal of light and gave us a good view for leaving and entering port. Even though the ship is "small" the room was one of the larger rooms I can remember staying in during previous cruises.
Port Reviews
Tampa
I'll rate this a 5 star because parking was easy and close. But we drove down and boarded, thats it.
Cozumel
We rented a Jeep and drove around on our own. Found a few local spots and had some awesome food and drinks and met some locals.
Costa Maya
The 3 Star is our fault, we stayed in the village which was standard. Should have gone to the water park or done another excursion. The pool was fun there and it was easy to get to. The only drawback was the distance of the bathrooms from the pool and the pushy sales people in each shop. To be expected I suppose.