Big ship, small service
Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western
5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: January 23, 2017
Ship: Independence of the Seas
Cabin type: Balcony
Cabin number: 7530
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 7 years ago
Review summary
The good --
The ship was a great value for a balcony stateroom with the Massachusetts resident discount. The shows were very entertaining. Lots of hot tubs that had plenty of room.
The bad --
The service was very lacking across the board. I suspect this is mostly from overworked, underpaid staff, but also stemming from the leadership, Captain and his officers. The promenade was filled with a sour odor coming from the pizza eatery. The casino had so many slot machines, most unused, and only one Texas Hold'em table in the smoking section. Only two $5 blackjack tables, one of which was in the smoking section, both of which were almost always full. The balcony was dirty, especially the glass, and the doors that separate the neighbor balconies was VERY loud at night when it was windy out.
The worst by far, was the food -- very cold and bland tasting. The four of us left the main dining hall very disappointed the first night. We ended up purchasing a package for speciality dinning. Unfortunately, the food there wasn't much better, with the same lackluster service. Very few if none at all vegetarian main courses was a letdown. Only two speciality restaurants available for the nominal price, both accessible only from the Windjammer buffet, which is not very appetizing when you walk in.
Bottom line --
If you get a good deal on the stateroom, or traveling with your family with kids, go for it! Otherwise, you'd find better service on the smaller ships.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Onboard Activities
Entertainment
Service and Staff
Ship Quality
Cabin / Stateroom
Ports of call
Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida
Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)
2 Comments
helenbeb 7 years ago
dsctravel 7 years ago