Disappointed with Royal Caribbean

Item: Independence of the Seas
Rating: 2
Author: dkoeppel

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

dkoeppel

Contributor Level: Second Mate

66 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 31

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

7 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: October 18, 2015

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 8572

Traveled as: Large Group

Reviewed: 9 years ago

Review summary

We have been on 5 other cruises with Carnival and this was our first experience with RCI. We had heard that they were a step higher than Carnival and expected excellence and sophistication. What we found was mediocre food in the main dining room and the same items every single night with the exception of 1 or 2 items of the day. We were given the choice of ordering lobster or a filet each night for an additional price. You have to pay extra to have a hamburger at Johnny Rockets, on Carnival Guy Fieri's gourmet burgers joint was included. Everything costs extra on RCI and the photos and souvenirs are extremely over priced. There were only 4 exceptional staff members that stood out, the rest simply did their job every day and didn't seem happy to be doing it. The Broadway shows were just okay, had two comedians one the first night and one the last night (Carnival has a comedy club with entertainment twice a day every day), however I did enjoy the cruise director and his staff, they were very entertaining by the pool and on the promenade deck. We loved the excursions and the group we went with, they made the entire experience enjoyable. Not sure I would recommend or go on Royal Caribbean again.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

1 out of 5

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

1 out of 5

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5

George Town, Grand Cayman

5 out of 5

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

16 Comments

scottyflyboy 9 years ago

Your review was spot on!!!

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

PS...how can one cruise line have a better view of the ocean than another Duh?

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

carnivals reputation of ships breaking down at sea did a lot of harm for them. they have been trying to rebuild their reputation. I noticed on Pride they nowe have a huge bakup generator strapped down on the top deck where everyone can see it. Costa Concordia didn't help them in the media, nor did CNN reporting on every aspect. Some may think rather than buying little shampoos they should have been doing routine maintenance.

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Aceman 9 years ago

I'm done this can go on all day the choice is yours

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bmac614 9 years ago

You spend more for RC because the ships are more contemporary and lavish. But the food and entertainment was about equal. We actually prefer the magic for the fact of more ocean views outside of balcony cabin.

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bmac614 9 years ago

I agree with you dkoeppel. RC may be more sophisticated but that does not mean better. We have been on both RC and Carnival. With Royal we took Allure of the seas and Carnival Magic. Both were terrific and would do carnival any day.

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bmac614 9 years ago

Those are just ignorant people who feel good about themselves when trashing someone or something.

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

cruising Tim, you'd be shocked to know how many peoples first words out of their mouths are "I don't want to go Carnival"....

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Aceman 9 years ago

Not to down size you Tim but if you looking for little perks like what you stated then go for it but my over all experience and the way that I was treat on carnival vs Rc was totally different plus all cruise lines have really cut back on their amenities unless you are one who cruises every three months with any particular cruise line and then your perks will always be available to u.

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CrusinTim 9 years ago

Sorry you had a disappointing cruise. We have sailed Carnival five times and always had a great cruise. We have also sailed with RCCL twice, Our cruise on the Jewel was OK (Didn't WOW me). Our cruise later that year on the Brilliance was outstanding. The rule here as you seem to already understand is that no matter WHICH cruise line you choose, you may have a great time or a less than good time. In comparison between Carnival and the two cruises on RCCL, except for the higher prices, RCCL didn't differ. As a matter of fact, we got LESS from RCCL than we did from Carnival. Little things like cabin amenities (that little basket in the bathroom with the different soaps and lotions, razors etc.) do make a difference and we didn't get that with RCCL. We also felt the cabins and balconies on Carnival are a bit larger than RCCL's. We have sailed NCL, Celebrity, Carnival, RCCL & Princess. We have always come across what deboftheseas calls "Drunks" on each cruise but shrug it off. It's THEIR cruise as well and they can do whatever they wish as long as it doesn't encroach on your safety or wellbeing. I find it amusing that someone that touts themselves as a cruise consultant would make a negative comment like that about any cruise line as it should be their business to promote which ever cruise line their customer wants!

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

I actually work as a Cruise Consultant, so I m glad to see you agree. if you read enough stuff on here, you see for everything bad someone says, 10 people were happy

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Aceman 9 years ago

I like what you said debofthesea we have traveled on carnival and most of the people who like carnival ship we met can only afford carnival ships and you pay for what you get. I gave carnival a second look and I still do not like their brand and here's the education carnival owns princess and those ships are much better again u get what you paid for.

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

you also won't find a bunch of drunks on Princess

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

may I suggest you try Princess next, they are more sophisticated than the other 2, try The Royal Princess, beautiful ship, clientele is 50 and upwards, professional types as opposed to Carnival.

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deboftheseas 9 years ago

every cruise line has its die hards, we hate Carnival, but love rc and Princess. The lobster and Steak come from Chops Grill as a special order to you in a main dining room...same as you would have paid at David's on Carnival. Johnny Rockets has been on Rc longer than Guys has on C. You pay a very modest fee at JR for the amount of food you get... borders on gluttony. Although there are several comedy shows per day on Carnival, the one late one we went to was crudely offensive to women, I'm not a prude, I love adult humour, but the guy we saw must have crawled out of a gutter. Looks like you've done 2 cruises, I wouldn't put all my eggs in basket yrt

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Junebum 9 years ago

used to go on Carnival but now it's RCL or Celebrity a class above.

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