I have had the opportunity to sail on a few cruse ships and with other companies. The Empress of the Sea is by far the loveliest and most relaxing ship ever. We took my 89 year old mother to Cuba along with my two sisters. The size of the ship, the lack of children running everywhere was beyond perfect for us. On previous ships when we went to the pool, we could never find a seat - no matter the time, on this ship we founds places to sit every time. The food was excellent and the service was the absoulte best. The only negative was we would have liked two entertainers at night such as comedy and the main show. Havana was really interesting to us but be prepared for the old Havana and the poverty you will see. I plan to sail to n this ship again in the future.