Detailed review of Empress of the Seas inaugural Cuba cruise

Going to Cuba had been on my bucket list for quite awhile. When the announcement of a Royal Caribbean inaugural cruise came out I was quite excited and booked immediately. We had considered a land tour when it had first opened up to US travelers but my better half was not keen on the total immersion aspect of doing that so a cruise day was something she could live with.

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale a day early and stayed at the Holiday Inn Express in Dania Beach. I had acquired a room through Hotwire and only required a hotel shuttle so it didn't matter what area it was in. We saved $70 off the cheapest rate I had found on Orbitz. We landed around 7:00 P.M. on Tuesday evening, gathered our luggage, and called the hotel. The van was there in about 15 minutes. The hotel was very nice but there were not many things around it. We had dinner at Dockers seafood restaurant which was about a 5 minute walk away. Across the street was a Marathon gas station with a food mart where we bought wine and diet Pepsi to take aboard.

We had booked QLS transportation to pick us up at the hotel around 10:00 A.M. They called at 9:45 and told us the driver would be there in 10 minutes. By the time we made it to the lobby and checked out, the van was outside waiting. They had a comfortable van with a luggage trailer and a very nice driver who loaded our things. We waited on 2 other couples to make their way down and then we were off on the 40 minute ride to the Port of Miami. We arrived around 10:50 and there were porters waiting to grab our luggage. We went inside the terminal and the lines were pretty short at that time. As we passed through security they spotted my 12 pack of diet Pepsi in my backpack so they had me unzip it...the guy saw what it was and said ok...proceed into the terminal. Once we were called up things went smoothly...we filled out our "we are not sick forms" and received our visas for Cuba. You fill these out later on your own so we just placed them inside our passports and headed for the gangway. We were placed in a line against the wall and waited for about 10 minutes before they started boarding. We then rode the escalators up and went through the normal picture taking, which we sometimes skip but they had big backdrops of different Cuba pictures so we did both of them. We made our way into the ship where our Sea Pass cards were scanned and we were handed a Cuba Libre drink. The atrium is pretty small and it was quite crowded so we made our way up to the Windjammer café to have some lunch.

This was the smallest ship we had ever sailed on so it was a bit of an adjustment to the coziness of everything. There are a bunch of rails around the Windjammer so you have to find the openings to make your way away from the buffet to the tables. We were able to enter our cabins at 1:00 P.M. After dropping of our carryons and gathering our luggage which was already sitting at the beginning of our hallway, we proceeded to unpack and settle in. We were in room 7002 which was a forward facing ocean view cabin. It was quite handy as we could look out during the cruise to see how close we were to docking. It also afforded us about a 30 foot walk to go out a door at the end of the hallway which led to an open viewing deck. The only negative was people of the viewing deck could look into our window.

Muster was at 3:30 and was held outside on the promenade deck 5. It was a little warm and the whole thing lasted about 15-20 minutes. We had Dominique, one of the singers in the ships troupe, and she was fun. Afterwards we headed up to the top deck for 4:00 P.M. sail away. We were blessed with a beautiful day and Miami is one of the prettiest ports in the world to sail out of.

After sail away we walked around the ship to familiarize ourselves with everything...that didn't take long. We then headed to the cabin to get ready for our 6:00P.M. dinner seating in the Starlight dining room on deck 4. We had a table for 8 near the back of the ship with great views of the water. Our waiter was Suelen from Brazil and she was great. The food in the MDR was above average and much better then what we have had in the last few years. The assistant waiter, whose name I never could pronounce and can't even begin to spell, was a sweet young lady from China. She was on top of bread delivery and after learning we liked iced tea with dinner, never let our glasses get empty. Delivery of all courses were quick and we were usually done with dinner by 7:30 each evening. After dinner we went to the show which was a comedian and he was very funny. The Royal Theatre was small and filled up quickly. If there's a show you really want to see, I suggest you arrive at least 20-25 minutes before show time to get a decent seat. Below is a copy of all 4 pages of the Cruise Compass for Day 1...

Day 2 coming up soon.

So excited to read more. Thank you!

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Yay! Thanks for all the details! I can't wait to read more.

Day 2

This was a sea day on our way to Costa Maya, Mexico. Not being sun worshipers we slept in and then headed to the MDR for the brunch which was from 9:30 -12:30. It seemed as though the staff was unprepared for the amount of people wanting to do the brunch and seating was slow. However, once seated the spread was pretty impressive. There were the usual breakfast items...eggs, bacon, sausage, waffles...and several lunch type choices...salmon, rice, cold cuts, and a few Cuban dishes. There was a nice fruit station as well as a cheese station and a large dessert table. It's shared seating and we met a nice group of folks at our 10 top table where we spent the better part of 2 hours conversing. There were ample tables to seat everyone it just looked as though they were understaffed in the beginning but appeared to call in reinforcements.

After brunch we walked around on deck 10 and then went to the theatre for the 2:00 talk on Cuba. The lecture covered a short history of the island and was done by a professor from the University of Miami who had been born in Cuba. The crowd was overflowing so if they continue to do this get there very early to get a seat. It had started to rain so several people who may have been outside were now inside and looking for something to do....or maybe everyone wanted as much information as possible on Cuba. The whole ship had a buzz to it as even the crew was jacked about being the first ones there from RCI. The cruise director Carlos Torres had even stayed an extra 6 months just to be a part of this sailing. He was leaving after this cruise and I don't know who will replace him. There were also some of RCI's high ranking officials onboard but they kept a low profile.

After the presentation we headed to the cabin for our normal sea day nap. The rain had increased the ships motion and we were gently rocked to sleep. When booking we were aware that deck 7 forward might be an area of increased motion but we decided the view was worth it. The rain continued through dinner and the walk to the MDR was one of bouncing off a wall or two. We had brought Bonine for this and it did its job as we were never sea sick. Dinner was again good and the French onion soup amazing. This was their scaled down formal night as Captains photos were available to be taken but you couldn't tell it by peoples dress. Overall the dress in the MDR was very casual. I wore dockers and a golf shirt every night and felt over dressed. After dinner we went to the show which was done by the ships troupe. We usually skip these kinds of productions but after being entertained by one of the singers during muster, we felt we should give it a shot and we were glad we did. It's about showgirls past, present, and future. They also have an award winning ball room dance couple, Mark and Lizl Sasnovski, that were featured. It was one of the best musicals we had seen on a ship.

There was a deck party planned for that night but the rain brought it indoors. We did not attend but did stop by Schooners lounge for the piano player. Unfortunately it shut down soon after we arrived as there was something planned for the Centrum area next to it. This was to continue throughout the cruise and something we would like to see changed. I know there's not a lot of space onboard this ship for these activities, but I would like to see the piano moved to an area where you don't have to leave and come back later. We headed for our cabin to prep for our excursion in Costa Maya. We had someone waiting for us in the cabin!

Next up Day 3 Costa Maya

We awoke to a beautiful sunny day and headed to the MDR for breakfast. This day it was a la carte and not busy at all. We arrived in port around 9:30 which was earlier than the 10:00 scheduled time. Disembarking began shortly thereafter and we quickly finished our breakfast and grabbed our gear for our private excursion. The gangway was located on deck 2 and that was followed by a long walk to get to the shoreline. They run a little shuttle and it goes back and forth regularly. The walk is about 300 yards and the water is beautiful. We felt the Caribbean sun in full strength here and it felt great. The area you walk into is a made up shopping area that was built purely for cruise ship guests. There's also a pool and a dolphin pen that I assume was something you could pay to do. We were booked with Native Choice for a Mayan Experience that consisted of going to Chacchoben ruins and then lunch at a Mayan village. We were told to walk out of the shopping complex and go to the fountain then take a left and walk 2 blocks. Well the fountain is in very poor condition and my idea of blocks are a little different then theirs. It was basically a 200 yard walk along a dirt road that was mostly jungle lined. We found their office and proceeded inland to the ruins. The drive was about 50 minutes at around 75 MPH. The ruins area is smaller than Tulum if you have been there. There is a small shopping area and a place to buy water and snacks. The tour lasted about an hour and here are some pics...

We then drove about 10 minutes to the local Mayan village for lunch. We were shown how Mayan salsa was made and got to sample it. It was basically tomatoes, cilantro, and ground up roasted pumpkin seeds. I didn't much care for it but a few thought it was good. We then had a nice spread placed before us and overall lunch was good. After lunch we had a tortilla making class and then walked the gardens where I found a native willing to pose for me.

We then returned to the dock area where we walked around but didn't find anything interesting enough to buy. We returned to the ship and relaxed until dinner. Tonight's entertainment was a Sammy Davis Jr. type performer who was very energetic. He had actually just completed a stint in Vegas in a Rat Pack tribute show in which he played Sammy. After this show the first nights comedian returned at midnight with an adult show. Even though the next day was a sea day the 2 hours between the shows, with not much to do in between, was more than we could pass so we turned in around 11:00. Since there is a 6 picture limit per post the Cruise Compass will be in another post.

Day 3 Cruise Compass

Thank you for the detailed review! Going next month on the Empress to Cuba so your take on everything is very very much appreciated!

Following!:D

ukbballfan, is there an attachment ... I cannot view the "Cruise Compass". ... would appreciate it if you would send it to me . LVARDASE at BBANDT dot com or LVARDASE at Yahoo dot com.

I don't have a modern cell phone... I am still in the "dark ages" :)

Very interesting review. Following.

Thank you for your detailed review. I'd like to do this itinerary someday but on a little bigger ship if possible.

ukbballfan, is there an attachment ... I cannot view the "Cruise Compass". ... would appreciate it if you would send it to me . LVARDASE at BBANDT dot com or LVARDASE at Yahoo dot com.

I don't have a modern cell phone... I am still in the "dark ages" :)

Pictures sent...you should have received 23 files for the cruise compass and map of Havana

looking forward to reading more, what a great cruise so far

Thanks for the detailed report. Sounds like you had a good time. Heading on Empress this Sunday for the 7 night with a full day in Havana. I hope we have the brunch ( something different for a usual RCCL cruise) and also hope we have the lecturer.

M

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Day 4 Sea Day

Another morning to sleep in and then head to the brunch in the MDR. It seemed as though they didn't learn from the first sea day on the number of staff needed for this. When we arrived at the entrance to the MDR on deck 4 at around 11:15 the line was about 25 feet long. The seating process was extremely slow and when we reached the front of the line I heard the person seating everyone say that they had just passed 1000 guests in the brunch. The ship only had a little under 1500 onboard so word of the first sea day brunch must have gotten out. This brunch was similar to the first one with a lot of selections...some the same as the first one...some new. After brunch we went up and took a walk around the lap track around deck 5. Now it was time to head to the Royal Theatre to get a seat for today's Cuba talk.

This talk was more about what tours were offered through the ship but there were to be questions answered afterwards so we stuck around. We had already pre-booked a private all day tour with I Love Cuba tours who was rated number 1 on TripAdvisor. A lot of people on our roll call were worried about doing things on tour own but after having read the affidavit I knew it was not going to be a problem. Royal Caribbean's wording made it seem as though you needed to take one of their tours and they had done a good job of convincing people to do just that. As they went through the tours they were offering they said that over 500 people had signed up for their 8 hour bus tour. Dr. Gomez, who had done the previous lecture, had some slides with a map of the old town and that gave us a general idea of where the main attractions were. As usual there were the "how much rum and cigars" questions that we heard repeatedly. You are allowed 100 cigars and 1 litre of rum. You may purchase more rum but may have to pay tax on it when you return to the States...however there are no longer the little blue customs form to fill out and no one in Miami asked us if we had bought anything. Also, with our nightly Compass there was this map included...

After the presentation we went up to the pool area which is very small but were able to find a lounger for the wife while I headed back to the cabin for the mandatory sea day nap. While walking around the ship on the way back to our cabin I passed the rock climbing wall and the 2 attendants were just standing there waiting on someone to try it...always has been a line on other cruises. Also, in that area, but inside, is the gym...it is like they had a little bit of space at the top of the stairs and said hey...lets put all kinds of equipment around a staircase and call it the fitness area. It's a little cramped but the equipment was nice...not that I used any of it. After entering our room I glanced out the window and decided I needed to run out to the open viewing area for this shot...

The water was beautiful and the sea was very calm...much appreciated after the first sea day. Dinner was good as usual...well a little better as this was lobster night. There was another production show by the ships troupe that night but we skipped it to prep for the next morning. This included filling out our visas and going to the atm for extra cash...the atm shuts down at midnight the day you are going to Cuba and stays closed till you depart, so make sure you have the cash you need the day before Cuba. We always find things to buy that remind us of the places we have travelled and sometimes they are very unexpected and pricey...think reindeer pelt in Finland... so we like to carry a little extra cash into first time ports....especially where credit cards are not taken. We turned in early as we were getting up at 5:30 to have a front row position on the rail for the sail into Havana.

Here are a couple flyers that were in the Compass...

And some views approaching Havana...

Thank you for your posts - will be going on the 5/20 cruise and appreciate everything I can read.

I have an unusual question. I may be traveling with my elderly mother. Did you find that public restrooms were plentiful and, importantly, on the main floor (no stairs.) Thank you!!

Can't wait to read about your actual tour!

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We are also on 5/20..just want to confirm that you didn't have a formal night, correct?

Thanks for the great review!

Great review. Looking forward to reading more!! 1 question. Did you notice them selling a drink punch card near the end of the sailing?? We have read on other sailings that they offered the punch card for $55 or $65

Thanks for your review and answer to my question if you have one:D

Great review. Looking forward to reading more!! 1 question. Did you notice them selling a drink punch card near the end of the sailing?? We have read on other sailings that they offered the punch card for $55 or $65

 

Thanks for your review and answer to my question if you have one:D

Just found my answer on the cruise compass that they do sell the drink card. Thanks!!

Wow What beautiful pictures. My wife and I are booked on the 5 day cruise from Tampa Havana cruise in Oct. I'm kind of new at this Cruise Critic, would appreciate any advice on how to move around in this site

And some views approaching Havana...

Thank you for this review! I'd love to do this cruise, but don't think I could get hubby on such a small ship! He likes the big girls!! ;)

Looking forward to reading more and seeing more photos,