Empress of the Seas 2018 Review (Cuba & More)

[tweetylori]

3 hours ago, cmh said:

Thanks for a great review.  We will be on the Empress in April.  Is there an internet cafe on the ship?

 

Excited for you!  And yes, there is.  Just like everything else on the ship, it's small.  🙂

[tweetylori]

20 hours ago, accio_7 said:

Lori, this has been such a pleasure to read that I don’t want it to end! 😭

 

Thank you, that means a lot to me to hear!  And sorry for the delay finishing this, but my laptop crashed, and I just had to buy a new one.

[cpayne]

22 minutes ago, tweetylori said:

 

Excited for you!  And yes, there is.  Just like everything else on the ship, it's small.  🙂

If there is an internet café do you know if they were selling internet usage by the minutes?  All I've heard of them offering now is $10-12/day for one device.  We are needing internet access for 5-10 min for our sea days only.  Hate to spend $80+ to have internet access for the entire 8 day cruise for this little bit of usage.  Thanks.

[tweetylori]

22 hours ago, cpayne said:

If there is an internet café do you know if they were selling internet usage by the minutes?  All I've heard of them offering now is $10-12/day for one device.  We are needing internet access for 5-10 min for our sea days only.  Hate to spend $80+ to have internet access for the entire 8 day cruise for this little bit of usage.  Thanks.

 

I did not automatically know the answer to this because that is one thing we love about cruising...the ability to truly get away from it all...so I looked through the compasses I brought home.  The only day I see anything mentioned other than the daily fee, is on the last day at sea.  There is a "one hour internet special $9.99" listed.   Otherwise, the mentions in the compasses that I see were all for rates "starting at $11.99 per day".  So, no, I don't believe you can get a deal for just a few minutes.

[tweetylori]

So where were we before Thanksgiving and a dead laptop got in the way?  Sailing the high seas for our last night on this voyage.  After another last dinner and emotional goodbye (sorry, but I get that way),  we went for the last time to the Royal Theater to see their production called "Sequins and Feathers".   It was as the Compass described:  "Welcome to our studding celebrations of showgirls from yesterday, today and tomorrow.  Visit all Three in this vocal and visual spectacular that will stimulate the senses.  Starring:  The Royal Caribbean Singers and Dancers with the Empress of the Seas Orchestra and the High C's Horns".

 

It was indeed a stunning show.  

 

 

[tweetylori]

The singers, dancers and musicians were all spectacular.   You could tell they had worked hard on this performance.  We thoroughly enjoyed it.   Then it was time for the grand introduction of staff.  This is something we have only seen done like this on Royal Caribbean, and to me, it's truly special to see the hard-working staff showcased.  It's a reminder to never take any of this for granted.

 

 

[tweetylori]

[tweetylori]

Before you know it, the last show on board is over, just the way the last dinner was.  It's as emotional as that feeling of stepping on board a ship for the first time, only in a completely opposite way.   As high as the former is, the trick is to try to keep the latter from being too much of a downer.  Luckily for us, we didn't have an early flight, so our departure time was as late as could be.  So we headed to the Schooner to enjoy Paul and his music for the last time.

[tweetylori]

Also had to say goodbye to sweet Marita who (along with the other fine bar staff) had taken such good care of us.

 

 

[tweetylori]

Note:  I only included that pic because Marita is such a beauty.  I'm aware it is not a flattering pic of myself, but Marita deserves to be remembered.  I know I had some last good times in the casino at a friendly blackjack table, where (as usual) it was up then down (sometimes it's vice versa).   Before turning in, it was one last time to step out on the deck.

 

 

 

 

Edited November 26, 2018 by tweetylori

[tweetylori]

Now, the rest of you might book early flights, but that's not our style.  We had an afternoon nonstop booked from MIA, so we were not in any hurry to get off the ship.  That being said, of course we still had to get up and get going.  We had put our bags out the night before, just like everyone else.  I always screw up leaving out everything that I think I'll need for the next day, and inevitably pack something that I could have used, but who the heck really cares?  As long as we have clothes on, and identification, we're good to go, right?

 

Last "where in the world are we"  look

 

[tweetylori]

So our total cruise distance sailed was just 1615 nm.  Way different from our previous Transatlantic.  Perfectly okay for a nice small ship like Empress.   I hate good-byes...but I will say they are more comical when one is informed of nearby trailer parks.

 

 

[tweetylori]

Time for a last breakfast in Windjammer and last usage of the deluxe drink package.

 

 

[tweetylori]

Oops, almost forgot about our last ladder view from our cabin before we departed it for the last time.

 

 

 

 

[tweetylori]

Followed by our last walk-around of the ship.  

 

 

[tweetylori]

The Royal Theater is where we were told to go to wait for our turn to get off the ship.  It didn't take long.  According to a crew member I ran into on the way out, we docked at a good spot.  One that enabled folks to get off easily.  Which is what we did.  We had no trouble finding our luggage, and we were on our way to hire a Lyft to get us to the airport.

[tweetylori]

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 11:29 PM, accio_7 said:

Lori, this has been such a pleasure to read that I don’t want it to end! 😭

 

Thank you so much...don't you hate it when cruises end???  😞

[tweetylori]

On ‎11‎/‎23‎/‎2018 at 11:55 PM, crmc said:

Thanks for the wonderful preview! We'll be on board the Empress in less than 3 days!

 

I sure hope this means you are on it right now!!!  JEALOUS!

[sdteacher]

Thanks for the wonderful review! We are booked for this summer and in all honesty I wasn’t terribly excited about this cruise, but my husband really wanted to go to Cuba. I was leery of the small, older ship with no balconies but after reading your review, I can’t wait! Thanks for taking the time to do this. 

[tweetylori]

13 minutes ago, sdteacher said:

Thanks for the wonderful review! We are booked for this summer and in all honesty I wasn’t terribly excited about this cruise, but my husband really wanted to go to Cuba. I was leery of the small, older ship with no balconies but after reading your review, I can’t wait! Thanks for taking the time to do this. 

 

Thank you, I really appreciate it!  I will say that I would have loved it better with a balcony, but it's worth it to get to experience Cuba and you really can't beat the crew on this ship.  Just keep your expectations on the right level and I'm sure you will enjoy it also!

[cgncruiser]

Excellent read -Thanks for your effort

 

[Teechur]

Aloha Lori.  Loved your review!  We were right down the hall in 8648 on the same cruise.  I looked for myself in your photos but it was not to be.  How I wished that there was a great review (like yours) to read  BEFORE the cruise.  We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and remember seeing you both a number of times.  Thanks for sharing wonderful memories.

Alex

[tweetylori]

On 11/26/2018 at 7:04 AM, cgncruiser said:

Excellent read -Thanks for your effort

 

 

Thank you, and my pleasure!

[tweetylori]

On 11/27/2018 at 12:13 AM, Teechur said:

Aloha Lori.  Loved your review!  We were right down the hall in 8648 on the same cruise.  I looked for myself in your photos but it was not to be.  How I wished that there was a great review (like yours) to read  BEFORE the cruise.  We thoroughly enjoyed the trip and remember seeing you both a number of times.  Thanks for sharing wonderful memories.

Alex

Aloha!  Boy you must have had some long flights!  Sorry I didn't catch you in any of the pics I posted.   Hopefully we were somewhat behaving ourselves when you saw us.  🙂

[tweetylori]

In conclusion, I have to mention one thing about this ship that I was not only not a fan of, but flat-out detested most of the time... The restrooms.  Especially the women's room outside of Windjammer.  I hated that one.  Had two small stalls, neither of which worked properly most of the time.  Lots of clogged toilets on our cruise. By that, I mean the public ones, because the one in our cabin did not default. Really felt sorry for the cleaning crew for all of the public ones.  They were all small and fairly dysfunctional.   I felt like the plumbing on this ship could use a major overhaul.  Just sayin'.

 

Otherwise, it's a small, old ship with a huge heart.  Crew is friendly and so hard-working.  The ship's entertainers and musicians were excellent.  We were treated kindly, respectfully and with regard throughout our cruise by almost every staff member that we encountered.  

 

Would we have liked more "things to do" options?  At certain times (especially sea days), YES.   Would it have been nice to have more dining venue options?  Yes, especially on sea days.  Would it have been nice to have a balcony?  Certainly, if it wasn't too expensive!

 

But would we have been able to see Cuba?  Probably not.

 

Speaking of Cuba...what about that?  Does it live up to the hype?  I wish I could say it did for us, but I have to be honest that while it was really really cool to experience it, I don't know that anything could live up to the hype we had read about before going.  Which is why I'm stating this suggestion now...to maybe lower your expectations just enough to not be disappointed.   Because it is relatively expensive to visit Cuba.  Cruising there is not bargain cruising, especially when you factor in the $75 per person visa fee.  And cruise accommodations are not plush as we all know.  While you're there, touring options are all a bit pricey, but probably worth it.  The one we took certainly was.  We thought it was a fantastic tour...we loved Ana and learned so much about the culture.  Truly fascinating.

 

  But there were times when we were on our own in Old Havana that we were uncomfortable and felt out of place.  We were ready to get back on the ship when we did, and glad that we hadn't booked anything for nighttime.  Just being honest.

 

To anyone who has taken the time to read my ramblings and view my photo shenanigans...thank you!  Would love to hear your opinions and feedback, and am happy to answer any questions.