Great cruise except one thing
Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Eastern
8 Night Eastern Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: March 16, 2013
Ship: Independence of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 11 years ago
Review summary
the ship is great,entertainment was great, we got to see a new show for the first time on this ship.Casey the entertainment director was awesome.the rooms and ship were very clean.food was decent nothing too spectacular.now the bad.the service in general was not great but the worst was the bartenders and bar staff.we bought the premier drink package so we could drink at our leisure and not worry about signing a receipt every time.the pool lacked service badly only a few cocktail people around and when you were lucky to find one they were borderline rude because they didn't act like they were happy to help you at all.sometimes they would take your order and your sail pass card and not say a single word.then show up about 20 min later with drinks.in the Dog and Badger pub,the bartenders were very unfriendly,i even made a comment on how none of the bartenders smile and he just snickered.there was a woman from Chili waiting on us and the couple we were with were ordering a drink and my friend was trying to decide on a drink.she rolled her eyes and said " i have other orders to take" and walked away then i saw her say the same thing to the people behind us.Our friends with us have been on 8 Royal Caribbean cruises and told us they have never seen it like this and they agreed the bar service was horrible.there are a couple decent bar tenders in the Boleros lounge but that's about it.i also saw a woman server at the pool dancing with her tray under her arm and people waiving their sea pass card for a drink and looking at each other like is this for real? i was always told Royal has the best service in the industry but im not real sure anymore.also be very Leary with the drink package its a little pricey but its OK if you don't mind going to the bar to get your own drinks 80% of the time and risk someone stealing your pool chair.Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Children's Programs
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ship tip
Find a favorite bar tender and bar on the ship and stick to it
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)