Empress of the Seas Cruise Ship

First of all you may wonder why I gave this 9 out of 10 ..only because we have sailed with celebrity and they are 5 star and this was 4 and a few extra touches were not included, but it was a fantastic holiday.
We flew out from Glasgow to Miami and transferred to our hotel in Fort Lauderdale we decided to stay there as on our last cruise we stayed in Miami only 20mins away .there are connecting shuttle busses you can arrange at the airport or go outside and there are large mini busses that travel all over both very, very cheap and you don’t need to pre book.
Our hotel Sheraton Yankee trader was on the beach easy to find and with a 24hr dele shop.. Coffee fantastic and hotel staff excellent. We had the buffet breakfast ask the price because we only paid half the advertised price. A 5min drive in a taxi takes you to a huge shopping mall you could walk but it was very hot with no shelter. If you are a true shopper and have a car there is a massive retail outlet largest in Florida or you can take a taxi but its not cheap and not on the bus route.
The hotel have a luxury car you can get with a driver we booked it on our trip to the pier to meet our ship it was lovely and the driver was ever so nice he has a limo as well and wasn’t any dearer than a taxi fare.
Back to the hotel and Fort Lauderdale…what can I say Fort Lauderdale was fantastic and once you find your way about even better. Here is the easiest way come out the hotel turn right and first right again down the side of the hotel and continue down to the bottom of the road until you get to the water (5mins) THERE YOU CAN CATCH THE WATER TAXI IT COSTS ABOUT £1.00 FOR ALL DAY AND YOU CAN GET ON AND OFF AS OFTEN AS YOU LIKE. It takes you to the mall I mentioned also to a pier with shops and restaurants.
I hope you are as lucky as we were, the driver we had was really funny and told us all he knew about the area and all the discount tickets to ask for in the mall if you are not a USA resident. But the best part was going past all the fantastic houses dotted along the water with their boats moored outside, most owned by celebrities etc. He told you who was who in this place. They call Fort Lauderdale Venice of USA now we know why. Well after 2 relaxing days at the hotel it was off to meet out ship.
From getting out the taxi at 11am to entering the boat it was less than an hour, very speedy and well organised. Remember to fill out your sea pass before you arrive it saves so much time. Onto the ship and the party begins right away with a reggae music band on the pool deck.. The first staff we met needless to say were at the bar and I can assure you the next day or even a few days later they will remember your name and where you are from especially if you are Scottish they love us.
We had an ocean view room second top deck it was a good size and plenty of hanging and drawer space. At 1pm our cases were there ready to unpack, but there is so much going on up deck before you set sail so don't miss out. Plenty time later to unpack. Our ports of call were Costa Maya... Cozumel and key west. It was a five day cruise but seemed so much longer and was so relaxing and stress free. Key west is so lovely and laid back does not even begin to describe it.
There are many trips you can book but I suggest take your own tour its much cheaper and you won't miss a thing. Cozumel is also nice the first time we went we did the beach break with free bar and water sports, very nice. This time we arrived and went through the duty free shop to where the taxis sit an took a taxi downtown. It was great hundreds of shops and Mexican restaurants and all very cheap.
Costa Maya has several shops and there is a live band and show in the open arena and a thatched open air bar that does the best cocktails around. So all in all a lovely time was had, the ships passengers were really mixed but I would say the average age was 35 and also children are well catered for. This was our second cruise and can't wait till the next one this year, our last cruise our ship was rerouted due to a hurricane and we never got to visit. Speaking about hurricanes don't let it put you off going if needed the ship re routes and you would never know there was one out there.