Our first Royal Caribbean cruise was very disappointing

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

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

GladWen

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 69

Overall rating:

2 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 06, 2017

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 7307

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

Prior to this, we've cruised Carnival a couple of times. This time, we figured we'd try out Royal Caribbean. The ship was very nice & had a lot more ship activities, however overall the experience was not good. We were scheduled to go to Ports - Labadee. Haiti & Falmouth, Jamaica. Due to "unforeseen circumstances", the captain chose to skip Haiti (which was one of the main reasons we chose this cruise). They claimed "bad weather" (too windy/ high waves to dock) but the wind wasn't tray bad. In fact, the sky cleared approximately a hour after the early morning announcement. I honestly think it had to do with them turning the boat around... The day before, the captain turned the boat around to take a passenger back to Miami (Medical emergency). I think that affected us being able to go to Haiti on Wednesday. I voiced my dissatisfaction to Guest Services hoping for a credit or at least Onboard spending. I was declined, told it is disclosed on the cruise contract. Aside from that, some of the staff was very rude, specifically in the casino and Sorrento's Pizza restaurant. It seems as though they didn't want to be at work. In speaking with other guests who normally cruise Royal Caribbean, they too experienced & had the same dissatisfaction overall. My husband and I enjoyed the shows but we don't think we will cruise Royal Caribbean again. Carnival is a smaller ship but at least the service was surperb and they care about their customers.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The staff in the Main Dining Room were excellent, however, throughout the rest of the ship, some of the staff were very rude when speaking to us & other customers.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin was a good size and very spacious for my family.

Ship tip

Long line during boarding process. Make sure you get there as early as possible. I recommend noon time. (We got there around 12:30pm and encountered a long wait to check in.)

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

1 out of 5

Very unorganized port... the worst out of all of the other ports we've been to

Thumbs Up 1

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

1 out of 5

We didn't go. The captain cancelled the port; ended up getting another Day At Sea

Thumbs Up 3

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5

Very beautiful, however, we encountered a long wait for shore excursion. Could have been a little more organized on getting the people together

Thumbs Up 0

Traveler Photos

3 Comments

Rhon2000 7 years ago

Unfortunately, the cruise line is right. They do not offer any compensation for a missed port. I've experienced this on RCCL and other cruise lines. It sucks but it the chance we all take when traveling with 3,000 other people and during the winter months. ð

Thumbs Up 0

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vcatt56 7 years ago

We had two separate helicopters take people off ship in Haiti that held us up and in Mexico we took off and had to turn around and come back emergency to let people off the ship so I guess it happens everywhere.......l did not like Labadee. I did not like the food that the cruise served, cold hamburgers and hotdogs and warm salads that I wouldn't touch but the fruit was good. The water was cloudy and not that nice blue and I took a floaty and found out later that I was charged $19.00. Just disappointed from what I thought it should be.

Thumbs Up 0

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capttrips 7 years ago

I respect your opinion. It's good there is a choice of cruise lines, as we feel Royal suits us where Carnival and Princess, not so much, although they were still good vacations. Find what makes you pay and stick with it. Enjoy your future cruises.

Thumbs Up 0

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