Awesome Cruise

Item: Independence of the Seas
Rating: 4.6
Author: Birb

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

Birb

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 2-3 cruises

Reviews: 2

Helpful Votes: 45

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: March 12, 2016

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Overall good cruise, good ports and a fun ship for people of all ages.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Embarkation is never fun, but Port Everglades is a much better port to leave from than Tampa.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Main Dining Room had great food and service. I was satisfied with every meal I ate. Windjammer had decent food, nothing special but not bad. I didn't try any of the specialty restaurants.

Ben and Jerry's

5 out of 5

Great ice cream! Usually pretty busy but the employees keep the line moving.

Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Great food, great service, never disappoints me.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Pools were great, rock climbing wasn't too hard, I managed to complete it. FlowRider was loads of fun, and mini golf was relaxing and fun.

Center Ice Rink

4 out of 5

Fun ice skating, pretty small but that was expected.

Whirlpools

4 out of 5

Great place to relax, but often they get too crowded

Rock Climbing Wall

4 out of 5

Good instructors, it's not too hard for young kids and not-so-active adults.

H20 Zone

5 out of 5

Fun for kids to splash around

Flowrider

4 out of 5

Fun while you're doing it, but it caused quite a few skinned knees and cut fingers.

Dunes Mini Golf

5 out of 5

Fun mini golf course for a family activity

Entertainment

3 out of 5

Entertainment was decent, probably would have been better if I had made reservations ahead of time and gotten better seats.

Library

5 out of 5

Great place if you want to escape the crowds for a bit, free sudoko

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Waiters at MDR never got an order wrong, dealt perfectly with dietary restrictions, and everything was quick. Room stewards were great, plenty of good bartenders.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

It's not a new ship, but it was still clean. Probably even better now that it's been renovated. I had no problems finding where I wanted to go.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Balcony was a great way to relax by the ocean at times when I couldn't get a chair on the top decks.

Ship tip

Arcade is great for a rainy day and bored kids

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

4 out of 5

Didn't do anything here except board and leave.

Thumbs Up 3

Cozumel, Mexico

5 out of 5

Went to Playa Mia, tons of fun.

Thumbs Up 7

Costa Maya (Mahahual), Mexico

5 out of 5

Wasn't planning on leaving the ship but ended up getting off for some fresh air and walked around. Decided to do a "swim with the dolphins" excursion, nice and cheap because it wasn't booked through the cruise line.

Thumbs Up 5