Empress of the Seas Review
Rating by category
Additional details
I prefer to do my reviews as bullet points in the form of pros/cons in the hopes it is easier to read. Bit of background on us as what one traveler prefers another may not. 47/58 yr old couple married 22 yrs and no kids. 21 cruises and have sailed 6 different cruise lines to compare to. We are active and not ones to sit in a lounge chair during the day.
POSITIVES
We always book balcony cabins, but on this ship the only balconies were jr suite/suites for a lot more $$. Booked an OV room and was apprehensive based on how much smaller they are than typical OV rooms. Pleasantly surprised. Of course, would have preferred more space and a balcony, but the smaller size was not as much of a concern as I anticipated. We were in Cabin 7518 and no issues with noise above or below us. Bathrooms seemed to be standard size ship bathrooms.
Cabin Review
Ocean View Stateroom
Small, but workable. Was not as challenging as had expected. Missed not having shelves in the closet and the few drawers in the cabin were very small.
Port Reviews
Miami
Easy embarkation and debarkation. Stayed at Intercontinental Doral for 1 day pre cruise. Expensive, but got a GREAT deal on hotwire.com + extra savings when booked on Black Friday. Walmart a few blocks away on the same street so easy last minute shopping. Ran the Miami Half Marathon the morning of embarkation so was a fun and energetic way to start the cruise. Ran along the Causeway and watched all the ships at the dock.
Cienfuegos
Took a pedi-cab tour of Cienfuegos to Punta Gorda with stops along the way. Ended the tour at Jose Marti Park for walking and shopping.
Havana
Booked independent tours. 3 hr walking tour of Old Havana, 4 hr classic car tour, drinking and dancing along Obispo for the 1st evening, Coco Cab to Hotel Nacional for sunset drinks and convertible ride back along the Malecon by moonlight the 2nd night. Spent time at the Art Market.