Empress of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
This is our second Royal Caribbean cruise, and they never fail to deliver - amazing food, service and entertainment. The way they put effort into every detail is what makes their cruises so memorable.
The cruise ship itself is one of the smallest of the Royal Caribbean fleet - it has only one very small pool that you can barely fit in when crowded. The staterooms are also very small, with the toilet facing at an odd angle so you need to position yourself in a weird way to prevent your leg from getting squashed (I am smaller than average in stature). Besides this they have a very usable fitness centre, and more than big enough casino, dining room, buffet, theatre and bars. Besides when in the pool or rooms, you never really feel 'squashed'. One advantage of being on a small ship however is that it is easy to get to know people and you will see them several times around the ship (but not so much that you struggle to get away from them, if that is your concern).
As for the ports, I am a young male in his late 20s and travelled with my two brothers. I found Key West to be a little boring with not much to do. Once you have walked to the southernmost point, you have probably seen all there is (unless you choose to visit the acquarium, hemmingway house or butterfly museum). They also have a free shuttle bus on the island, so a tour is unnecessary in my opinion.
Cabin Review
Interior Stateroom
The stateroom was very small (we have 3 people), with the toilet facing at an odd angle so you need to position yourself in a weird way to prevent your leg from getting squashed (I am smaller than average in stature). We also struggled to find room for our luggage and ended up bringing down an extra bunk bed and placing two suitcases on top of it (we just had to remind the stateroom attendants to leave the additional bunk out, because they kept putting it away thinking we only needed 3 beds). I can't imagine where we'd put a fourth suitcase if we had an additional person. However the beds were fine to sleep in and cosy enough to sleep / rest - although hopefully you won't be spending much time in the room anyway!