Empress of the Seas Review

3.0 / 5.0
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The Empress of the Seas not ready to sail

Review for Cuba Cruise on Empress of the Seas
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sherrylrclark
10+ Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Mar 2019
Cabin: Ocean View Stateroom

We chose this particular cruise in order to go to Cuba, one of only 2 that do so for Royal Caribbean. However, we were very disappointed at the condition of the ship in general. It had just come out of a 30 day drydock for repairs but was definitely still not ready to provide a comfortable cruising experience. It had multiple plumbing leaks/issues often causing a strong smell of sewage in the common areas as well as stairwells on many levels being entirely closed as they tore out walls to fix these problems. There was also often a strong diesel or fuel odor in casino and other common areas. The hot tubs never worked the entire cruise and even the pools were closed the first few days. Many times deck areas were closed as they were painting decks/railings in frequently used areas that should have been done in drydock so as not to inconvenience customers. Many passengers suffered with lack of hot water or AC in their cabins, several even in the higher end junior suites. No AC also happened in common areas that became so uncomfortable you had to leave a function to find relief. Royal also did not provide a Diamond club on this particular trip and limited their loyal customers with only 3 drinks during the usual Diamond club hours--that was it!! However, Royal used to provide the Viking Lounge as the Diamond club on previous cruises on this very same ship, an area which never seems to be used much in general anyway and would have worked well again as a Diamond Club---is Royal starting to cheap out??!! Wouldn't recommend taking this particular ship and never will sail on it again myself.

Cabin Review

Ocean View Stateroom

The cabin, though very small was adequate though poorly configured. Organization of storage space is poor and had much wasted space that could have provided more drawer space/closet space.

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