Great ship but MDR food needs some work

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review

Cruises: 1 cruise (first)
Reviews: 3
Helpful Votes: 128

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5
Independence of the Seas

5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 14, 2019

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin type: Suite

Cabin number: 1640

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 5 years ago

Review summary

Overall my family has an amazing cruise. We have Freedom booked for 2020 but hoping we can book a B2B on indy for dec 2021

Embarkation

5 out of 5
We were in the Royal Suite so embarkation was extremely fast because our concierge came to escort us into the ship

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
I was trying to add Giovanni’s but they didn’t want that as venue in the menu selection. This place was AMAZING we ate there two nights out of our 5 night cruise. I wish I ate there sooner we tried everything on the menu and it was just flavorful and delicious

Cafe Promenade

4 out of 5

Great option for fast sandwiches and lattes

Windjammer Marketplace

3 out of 5

Food was hit or miss. They have plenty of options but some foods needed more seasoning. The curry that we tasted there wasn’t good.

Main Dining Room

3 out of 5

MDR needs a lot of work. The food was ehh ok but not fabulous. We dined at MDR three out of the five nights.

Johnny Rockets

4 out of 5

Food was great but they need to be more quick with cleaning off tables so Others can dine

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5
Plenty to do. My kids enjoyed splash away bay and the diaper splash area. The main pools weren’t over crowded. The ice show freeze frame was really good. The game show battle of the sexes was funny as hell. Flow rider was always crowded so we never did it. The water slides were really fun. The solarium was truly a place to relax and unwind for some adult time. The fitness center was a little crappy hubs said. Rock wall climbing was truly fun. Sky pad was my daughter’s favorite in the afternoon and nighttime. Laser tag took a little time because line was long but we had fun. Loves the Reggae band playing almost every night

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

5 out of 5
The kid club and nursery were amazing. I’ve never left my 1yr old or 3yr old anywhere. They don’t go to daycare and the nursery on indy was amazing. They took very great care of my babies. My 9yr old enjoyed kids club that she went almost every evening/night of course it was a charge for after 10PM but we didn’t care as long as she was happy and having fun.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5
Ours room steward was just AMAZING he catered to us even when we said no you don’t have to we will take care of it, he still went above and beyond. Our waitstaff starts the MDR was good but one of them didn’t have proper hygiene and I couldn’t stand the smell. Our concierge staff was amazing as well they treated our babies like royalty.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5
The best accommodations I could ever as for. My kids and friends that went with us utilized the hot tub on the balcony. My kids had more than enough space to run around. The cabin was always clean and super comfy bed and sofa bed.

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida

5 out of 5
We didn’t do any excursions there just spent the night before at residence inn cruise port location easy to get to port everglades but it was a 15 min drive due to traffic.

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

4 out of 5
It was super amazing but sea water was extremely salty it burned my eyes and beachfront water entrance at Barefoot beach club was quite rocky so we needed water shoes which we brought. We brought our daughter’s service dog with us and he had an amazing trip as well.

Falmouth, Jamaica

5 out of 5
We hired a private tour guide and he took us to Chukka Excursion at the Hope estates. It was super fun and amazing. We did ziplining, river tubing, private pool with slides, and ate good jerk chicken with rice and beans and festival🥰

Disembarkation

5 out of 5
Super easy and fast especially if you had a grand suite and above. Was out of the suite lounge at 9:46AM was at curbside waiting on our private car at 10:07AM
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6 Comments

Fiesta83    4 years ago

GlamTrvlQueen    5 years ago

@geegeeme my hubs said he wasn’t too fond about the gym but everyone is different. Didn’t bother me one bit because we still had the most amazing time.

GlamTrvlQueen    5 years ago

Shee83 no we didn’t get to see grease because we just never had time😂😂... but we will next time if we do a back 2 back

Shh813    5 years ago

Did you not see Grease or are they not showing it now? It was the best show I ever saw.

geegeeme    5 years ago

We were on same cruise!! Wasnt it amazing? I'm suprized about the gym my hubby was pleased with it and he is picky about his equipment since he is a bodybuilder.

dragz    5 years ago

Glad you had a great time 🛳🚢⚓👍

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