Great Trip, Beautiful Ports & Lovely Ship

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Europe - Western Mediterranean

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 47

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Independence of the Seas

14 Night Italian Mediterranean (Southampton Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 15, 2019

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin number: 1868

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Beautiful ship and itinerary - we recommend it highly. The staff and food and ports were lovely.

Embarkation

5 out of 5
Smoothest ever, pre-registered and uploaded photos -- just ran the credit card and basically walked on board -- never stopped for more than a minute after arriving at the port

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5
The food was really good. The breakfasts in the Windjammer were outstanding. Maybe because they were catering to British tastes, but the breakfasts were very well done.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Really enjoyed flowrider, trampolines, gym, and Bingo!

Entertainment

5 out of 5
Oh the skating shows and Grease were great! Murder Mystery Dinner was outstanding!

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
The service on the ship was great, but I would say I found the spa staff a little too aggressive with sales pushes and whilst I was having a service I witnessed poor unprofessional arguing amongst the staff. I know the spa staff is a contracted organization but they need to be counseled.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5
Always like this ship's type layout.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
This was our first experience with a panoramic view cabin on deck 12. It was awesome -- great unobstructed views and since the cabin was newish, the furnishings were still in good condition.

Ship tip

Consider a panoramic cabin in lieu of a balcony to save dollars!

Ports of call

Southampton (London), England Did not visit port

We only drove thru to arrive at the ship and to leave

Gibraltar (U.K.)

5 out of 5
We did an independent tour of the rock, then shopped and ate a lovely fish and chips lunch. Good savings on shopping.

Villefranche-Sur-Mer, France

5 out of 5
Probably our most favorite port. The town of Villefranche itself is very lovely, and it was a great jumping off point for our visits to Eze and Nice.

La Spezia, Italy

5 out of 5
Loved this port. Wish that RCCL would make a deal with the Italian train authorities to allow cruisers to pre-purchase train tickets -- the line for the Cinque Terre tickets was over a 1/2 hour wait. Same for Rome (arrange for tickets to be bought from shore excursion desk).

Civitavecchia (Rome), Italy

5 out of 5
Easy enough place to catch a train into Rome. The port itself was a nice city. RCCL might consider extending stay to 15 or ever overnight. 12 hours was still not enough.

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5
Took an independent tour to Positano, Sorrento, and Pompeii -- absolutely unbelievably beautiful -- but we didn't have enough time in port. RCCL should schedule at least 12 hours versus 8 at this port.

Cagliari, Sardinia

4 out of 5
Not too much to do in the short time we're in this port. Would prefer more time to explore some of the more scenic portions of the island.

Cadiz (Seville), Spain

5 out of 5
Really enjoyed RCCL tour to a Sherry Celler and then independent walk about the town and lunch. Nice city. was really surprised at the beauty and cleanliness.

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Super smooth, then took transfer to Stonehenge and then to airport.

Traveler Photos

Amazon Delivery! Trevi Fountain Shopping Arcade View of Positano Positano Beach Pompeii Mosaic
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