Our first Royal Caribbean cruise was very disappointing

Item: Independence of the Seas
Rating: 2
Author: wjweems323

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

wjweems323

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 60

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 0

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 1

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

18 Comments

Tamlynne2 7 years ago

Love RCCL. Yes, we have had some hiccups in the past and have had to miss ports die to winds or rain. The benefits far outweigh the little inconveniences! There are times the food is fabulous and then times it is just okay. But I dont think there is a real problem since I gain close to 10 pounds each time I go. Just relax. Enjoy your trip. Take everything in stride and just go with the flow.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

elainer01 7 years ago

Well said Sarah

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

canalview 7 years ago

They also show CNN and football was broadcast in the room,but not run of the mill matches,happy cruising xxx

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Sarahs58 7 years ago

News channel in the cabin is BBC world news. And yes they do show the football on the big screen over the pool on deck 11 and in other locations inside.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

sailorahoy 7 years ago

This is my first with RC sailing to the Canaries on 15 May. A few questions I would like to ask. Do they show live football on the ship? What news channel do you get in your cabin? Thanks

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

canalview 7 years ago

well said Sarah,I know your an INDY lover,have a blast,happy cruising xxx

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Sarahs58 7 years ago

So if there are 3600 people on board, on average there will be ten people each day celebrating birthdays, not to mention anniversaries, how many cakes do you want them to cook. I stopped worrying about birthdays when I was about 12. Just get on board, chill out and enjoy your cruise. To be honest as long as the weather was hot I would be happy for the ship to sail about half an hour from Southampton, drop anchor and just stay there for the next two weeks. Just love having all meals provided, someone to make the bed and clean the bathroom each day and having nothing to worry about other than catching the wine waiters eye each time he walks past. As I have said before millions of people on this planet would love to have the opportunity to have such a wonderful holiday.

Thumbs Up 12

Flag

canalview 7 years ago

well said,and grandmarnnurse,grow up and stop living in the past,the first contributor,offers no evidence of having cruised,and it was my Birthday last week,but RCCL never sent me a cake,happy Cruising xxx

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

JoWilliamson 7 years ago

Sorry, 150 THOUSAND tonne!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

JoWilliamson 7 years ago

Here we go again with yet another person wanting compensation for something beyond the control of RC! Whether it was poor weather conditions or the medical emergency which caused the port cancellation is irrelevant - unless of course, you'd expect to have a passenger die or you are better educated than the captain regarding the effects of wind over tide etc (which I seriously doubt!) it's not as simple as saying "oh it's sunny so the sea will be flat calm". Maybe wjweems323 should have taken the responsibility of docking a 150 tonne plus boat with over 4000 passengers?

Thumbs Up 6

Flag

grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

Also, canalview--what difference does it make what year I sailed the Indy? Whether it was 2014 or 2017, they still ignored my birthday, as Ozbod1983 stated happened to them. If all you can do is harass people on cruise sites, you best find another hobby. We are here to give advice and make constructive comments.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

Also--I checked my cruise listings, and they are all there. Except I had to list the Spirit twice, as it wouldn't accept the Destiny,maps it is now the Sunshine. I d see both my RCCL cruises listed, so what do you mean that I had none listed??

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

canalview--I have sailed the Carnival Ecstasy, Destiny (now Sunshine), Spirit, Victory, Triumph, RCCL Indy and Oasis, and the NCL Getaway. I also cruised the Regent Sun in 1995, which is no longer in service. So what is your problem? I simply stated a response to one other poster that RCCL did nothing for a friend's birthday. I told her they ignored mine also.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

canalview 7 years ago

Why NO RCCL CRUISES LISTED,it appears the last contributor sailed on Indy in 2014 ?

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

My above comment was directed to Ozbod1983. Sorry I didn't state that before.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

grandmarnnurse 7 years ago

I cruised RCCL one year on my birthday, notified them of this, and nothing ever done. NOTHING! Sailed this past January for my birthday on NCL Getaway, and my room steward left a birthday cupcake in my room that day, and then at dinner, I was served a WHOLE birthday cake and sung Happy Birthday to me! Fabulous customer service! For what you pay for a RCCL cruise, they should have done something other than to suggest you purchase something!

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

Ozbod1983 7 years ago

whilst on our up and coming cruise it is my girlfriends 30th birthday. I have rung royal Caribbean to see if they can do something nice all I got was you can buy something. After all the money we have paid that's what they said and they didn't seem bothered either.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

cupofjoe18 7 years ago

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience, but I think you should give RC another chance. Your circumstances with the ship turning around obviously aren't normal, and I think that may have negatively impacted things. In my experience, the quality of RC far surpasses Carnival, as I have been on both. Don't let one sub-par experience turn you away!

Thumbs Up 5

Flag

Other reviews of this sailing

BEST FIRST CRUISE!!!

some disappointments

Missed a Port - nothing to show for it