Trans Atlantic cruise

Overall more plusses than minuses.

Plusses    Good ship, great staff, brilliant food, real drinks, top class entertainment. etc. I could go on with the complements.

Impressed with the Captain turning the ship around after leaving Puerto Rico to enable  a very ill guest to get hospital treatment.

Also after an immigration check fiasco before getting off at St Thomas the Captain informed us all that he would delay sailing so that we could have longer on the Island.

Minuses   Taking the kettles out of the cabins before leaving Southampton, We are very British, although we used room service  it wasn't as good as making your own  when you wake up.

Work going on around the deck ( I know it has to be done some time )

Weather did not improve until the 5th day not allowing people to sun bathe on the open decks.   No ones fault unless RCI hadn't paid the sunshine tax.

Biggest moan which probably isn't RCI direct fault but they could have some future input.

Disembarking at Fort Lauderdale was a complete shambles. After collecting our luggage we  had to catch a coach to Fort Lauderdale Airport. What a nightmare. There was a nice well organised queue for people going to Miami but for us going to FL we were crammed in to a small area with everybody trying to book in with a girl who had not got a clue what to do, then after that we had to try to get our luggage on to the coach. The drivers were getting no help from the girl, tempers were getting short. If only there had been some one there to organise  a proper queue and informing us that there was no panic as there would be other coaches, I know it didn't help because we were all delayed by about an hour disembarking because of customs.  The flight from FL to Atlanta, great ,a very nice Delta plane plenty of leg room and good comfortable seats.  But the flight from Atlanta to Manchester on a Virgin Airbus 330, a different story. Boarded ok Captain was very cheerful telling us there was a good tail wind and should arrive in Manchester early , fine, then every 10 minutes or so the Captain kept apologising for a delay in taking off because the " paper work was wrong" One hour later we were in the air. After the Delta flight the Virgin Airbus seemed so cramped, ( not as much room as a budget airline plane to Greece ). After eight hours tired, back ache, shoulder ache through trying to use the touch screen, we landed in Manchester. Home to our own beds for a few hours sleep.

Just on a personal note the high light of the holiday was the cabana we booked on Labadee   what a fab day. This we booked direct with RCI  costing £175  ( four of us sharing )  as we arrived one and a half hours late we did not have the full time there. It would have been a nice touch if RCI offered us some form of compensation. We realised the Captain did every thing possible to make up the lost time and I hope the guest is ok and making a good recovery who had to taken off.

I would not hesitate in cruising again with RCI and in particular the Independence of the Seas which I think is a great ship.

On a final note I have been very please with the service of Cruise 118 keeping us updated and flagging up when we should be doing certain things as it was 18 months from booking it to actually going.