Cuba - Empress of the Seas

[MOSusan]

48 Days to go!  I Know that Empress of the Seas is one of the oldest, smallest of Royal Caribbean's ships.  For those of you that have sailed on her, did you miss all the whistles and bells?  What did you like about the ship?  Is there anything that is a must see?

 

I'm glad we are doing this cruise before our March Allure of the Seas.

 

Any insights are welcome.  Thanks.

[twangster]

Despite being small she feels big inside, at least in the public spaces.

 

I've pretty much given up on Chops across the fleet except Empress.  Best Chops in the fleet.  

 

If you are higher in the C&A department don't miss the sail away party on the aft decks behind Boleros.  

 

There is no helipad but there are forward decks that are public and overlook the bow of the ship. 

 

For a small ship she has a big heart.

Edited November 19, 2018 by twangster

[voyager70]

We sailed on Empress shortly after she returned to the fleet in 2016.  While we did miss some of the bells and whistles of the bigger ships (mainly dining options and entertainment) we thought she was a great little ship.  They did a great job on the refurb and she looked like new.  Very easy to get around.  I would definitely do a Cuba cruise on Empress - that one is all about the destination.  I'm sure you'll have a fab time!

 

[tybeelucy2]

We head out next month for our first RC cruise on the Empress. 

 

This review has tons of great information. 

 

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/topic/2602232-empress-of-the-seas-2018-review-cuba-more/?page=5

[MOSusan]

Thanks for the responses.  Our kids are both in College now so we don't have to worry about entertaining them.  I'm fine to have dinner and a show each night.

 

Whistles and Bells or not, a bad day cruising is better than a good day at work. 

 

[cmh]

On 11/19/2018 at 6:26 AM, MOSusan said:

48 Days to go!  I Know that Empress of the Seas is one of the oldest, smallest of Royal Caribbean's ships.  For those of you that have sailed on her, did you miss all the whistles and bells?  What did you like about the ship?  Is there anything that is a must see?

 

I'm glad we are doing this cruise before our March Allure of the Seas.

 

Any insights are welcome.  Thanks.

We will be on the Empress in April.  I understand it is a small ship, but wondering if there is an internet cafe on the ship?

[sjb317]

We sailed on Empress two weeks after doing a B2B on Allure.😂  Empress is teeny tiny but I prefer to think of it as intimate and quaint. The ship reminds me of our early days of cruising, reminding me of why I fell in love with cruising in the first place.  

 

Sherri🙂

[sjb317]

16 hours ago, cmh said:

We will be on the Empress in April.  I understand it is a small ship, but wondering if there is an internet cafe on the ship?

There is a small Internet cafe on either deck 7 or 8? 😀

 

Sherri🙂

[RickinStl]

1 hour ago, sjb317 said:

There is a small Internet cafe on either deck 7 or 8? 😀

 

Sherri🙂

 

Its on Deck 7..  

 

Do yourself one favor.. when leaving Havana go to the aft deck behind Boleros and watch Havana fade into the night.. It was one of the highlights of our trip. .

 

[cruisegirl1]

As long as you understand what Empress has, or does not have, you should be fine.

 

  If I recall, there is no  specific  seated  lunch in the dining room  on  sea days but rather a large breakfast/lunch buffet.  (At least this as the case in 2017).  At that time, they asked of we wanted a drink such as a  Bloody Mary or Mimosa.  We had learned on CC, that these two   drinks were complimentary ( again at least this was the case in 2017) . 

 

Love the open area behind Boleros, but be aware that  it is also a smoking area.

 

It was nice to be able to walk from  one area of the ship to the farthest in about 2 minutes. Great of you left something in the cabin!

 

enjoy

M

[EatonDoolittle]

24 minutes ago, cruisegirl1 said:

Love the open area behind Boleros, but be aware that  it is also a smoking area.

 

This.

On my trip to Cuba last year, the smokers got bolder and more spread out as the week went on, and by the last day, it was impossible to sit anywhere out there without being adversely affected by the clouds of smoke, even tho is is outside.

 

Not trying to deny smokers their space, but please be aware of others trying to use the space and try to stay to one side, so all can enjoy

[Bookish Angel]

There is a fair amount of info about Empress on You Tube.

Edited November 25, 2018 by Bookish Angel

[Joseph2017China]

Many ships are destination ships.  But other ships are used for taking you to a destination.  Cuba is awesome place to visit.  But it needs a small ship to dock.  I would never pick Empress for a cruise but if I am going to Cuba again, I would have no problem using Empress again.  It's not always about the bells and whistles, but rather the destination.

[sjb317]

8 hours ago, EatonDoolittle said:

This.

On my trip to Cuba last year, the smokers got bolder and more spread out as the week went on, and by the last day, it was impossible to sit anywhere out there without being adversely affected by the clouds of smoke, even tho is is outside.

 

Not trying to deny smokers their space, but please be aware of others trying to use the space and try to stay to one side, so all can enjoy

We thought  this area was very nice, too, but it was always full of people smoking so we did not stay very long.  Even in the afternoon when I would do laps around the deck, the air was heavy with smoke.

 

Sherri🙂

[BekkaW]

I cruised on Empress last week to Grand Cayman, Cienfuegos and Havana. Our cruise before that was on Symphony so we noticed the difference! We did enjoy it though. Of course like most we were there for the destination.

 

We found the food in MDR and windjammer ok (not wow but fine) and the shows quite good. The featured ballroom dance couple are amazing! Some venues like schooner bar are a bit over used - you can’t hear anything if they do trivia in there - but Boleros is under utilised. Ship was overall in good condition. 

 

We did truly love Cuba and I hope you do too 

 

 

[Paulette3028]

On 11/25/2018 at 8:57 PM, BekkaW said:

I cruised on Empress last week to Grand Cayman, Cienfuegos and Havana. Our cruise before that was on Symphony so we noticed the difference! We did enjoy it though. Of course like most we were there for the destination.

 

We found the food in MDR and windjammer ok (not wow but fine) and the shows quite good. The featured ballroom dance couple are amazing! Some venues like schooner bar are a bit over used - you can’t hear anything if they do trivia in there - but Boleros is under utilised. Ship was overall in good condition. 

 

We did truly love Cuba and I hope you do too 

 

 

When you sailed on Empress, do you remember who the Activity Manager was onboard?  We sailed on Empress a few months after she returned to the fleet....we had a wonderful time, even though the ship had none of the bells and whistles of her bigger sisters.....and that was fine.  The Entertainment staff did a wonderful job.

[molole]

Is Empress docking or tendering in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba?   I know it's docking in Havana.  

[BekkaW]

On 11/28/2018 at 12:52 AM, Paulette3028 said:

When you sailed on Empress, do you remember who the Activity Manager was onboard?  We sailed on Empress a few months after she returned to the fleet....we had a wonderful time, even though the ship had none of the bells and whistles of her bigger sisters.....and that was fine.  The Entertainment staff did a wonderful job.

 

Activites manager was Mickey (sorry don’t know last name, he was from Peru if that helps) 

[BekkaW]

On 11/28/2018 at 2:22 AM, molole said:

Is Empress docking or tendering in Cienfuegos and Santiago de Cuba?   I know it's docking in Havana.  

 

We tendered in Cienfuegos

[auie2]

Can you get off early if you don't have a ship booked tour

 

David

[Tapi]

Empress is great for what she’s being used; short cruises to Cuba. We had a fantastic time and she was ideal for our quick 4 night getaway to Cuba. We only had half a day at sea. The rest of the time we were in port.

 

But as much as we loved that cruise, I would not choose to sail on her for a longer cruise with more time onboard. The limited venues and activities would’ve definitely been more noticeable, specially for people like us used to sailing on larger, newer ships. One example is the Adventure Ocean facilities. It’s basically one small room. My kids, who normally love to go to the kids club and we can’t pry them away from there,  went once and begged not to return. They said that it was awful (and it did look that way). But once again, for a short itinerary where the time onboard will be limited, she’s a fantastic little ship. 

[BekkaW]

7 hours ago, auie2 said:

Can you get off early if you don't have a ship booked tour

 

David

Yes, we were off and through immigration etc by 850am in Havana. Tender ports are more tedious, make sure you get tickets early so you’re in group 1 

[sjb317]

Tendering in Cienfuegos was a slow, painful process as we were using the ship’s tender boats.  The cruise director said at the show the night before that the key word for the next day was “patience”.   We were number 13 and boarded our tender at 1115.

 

Tickets were hand out in the Viking Crown and I went as soon as they announced the start. I encountered a long, long line. 😳 It took about 20 min to get my two tickets. 😂

 

Sherri🙂

 

 

[tybeelucy2]

41 minutes ago, sjb317 said:

Tendering in Cienfuegos was a slow, painful process as we were using the ship’s tender boats.  The cruise director said at the show the night before that the key word for the next day was “patience”.   We were number 13 and boarded our tender at 1115.

 

Tickets were hand out in the Viking Crown and I went as soon as they announced the start. I encountered a long, long line. 😳 It took about 20 min to get my two tickets. 😂

 

Sherri🙂

 

 

 

We are doing a ship tour in Cienfuegos, we should be able to skip this, correct??

[sjb317]

Yes, you should tender with your excursion group.  

 

Sherri🙂