Empress Of The Seas

We've just returned from a lovely cruise aboard Royal Caribbean's smallest and oldest ship, Empress of the Seas.  We're veteran cruises, as you know, so we were curious about this ship, which Royal Caribbean sold and bought back in order to go to Cuba.

We did not go to Cuba.  We went to Mexico!  And the ship was very nice.  It had everything that makes us happy - shade outside and quiet places with windows inside.  It boasts the largest Schooner Bar in the fleet.  The other bar, Bolero's, was gorgeously unique: I loved the colors - yellow, white, and black - and the Cuban theme.

The pool was small - but it's a small ship.  The three hot tubs were very nice and many people seemed to enjoy them.  The quality of the TV screen outside far surpassed that of Royal Princess' screen.  And the full length promenade deck was awesome - except for the smokers who rarely stayed on the smoking side. 

The food was outstanding!  They had shrimp in the buffet at least twice and ceviche once.  They also had sushi in there, crepes, fish burgers...  All were delicious (that I tried!).  

Alll ships have character and charm.  Never be afraid to try a small one!