Mediocre experience going back to NCL

Item: Independence of the Seas
Rating: 2.5
Author: cruise2019IoS

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review to Caribbean - Western

cruise2019IoS

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 59

Overall rating:

2.5 out of 5

Verified Review

5 Night Western Caribbean (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 28, 2019

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin number: 1328

Traveled as: Family (young children)

Reviewed: 4 years ago

Review summary

We gave RC a try after taking 6 cruises on NCL and 1 on Disney with our family. Both NCL and Disney have superior food, ships, and quality. The only category where RC was better is entertainment. The shows on RC were great (Grease the musical, ice show, comedian, musicians generally). I recommend the Bliss and Escape on NCL and the Fantasy on Disney.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

My 10 year old son was very disappointed in the kids club. My 14 year old went to the teen club twice only to find it empty with toddler toys inside.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

Ship Quality

2 out of 5

Many areas of the ship are dated and need upgrading.

Cabin / Stateroom

1 out of 5

Very disappointed in the junior suite. It was dated, had a huge crack in the sink, moldy tiles in the shower. This was not worth the extra money, you got nothing for being in a junior suite other than extra square footage in the room and larger lanai. The ladder to the bunk beds was rusted. We found garbage and cereal boxes from prior guests in the cabinets. The bed was clean and comfortable though.

Ship tip

We recommend NCL instead.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Ft. Lauderdale (Port Everglades), Florida Did not visit port

Just got on the ship and off there

Thumbs Up 0

Labadee (Cruise Line Private Island)

3 out of 5

We did the Aqua Park and mountain coaster. It was okay. The mountain coaster broke down when I was riding it and made me nervous it wasnt safe.

Thumbs Up 2

Falmouth, Jamaica

1 out of 5

We did the horseback ride and swim. I had done this same excursion at Chukka in 2015 and it was great. This time it was awful. They jammed way too many people on it and you spent HOURS standing around waiting for a horse. It took 45 minutes for them to put people on the horses for the trail ride and this was after we waited nearly and hour to be put in line to get on a horse. By the time we all got on a horse to do the swim part, the poor horses were grunting and moaning in distress. It was awful and completely the opposite of the time we did it in 2015. That time, we had a reasonably sized group and we were in and out of there in 3 hours. This took nearly 6 hours to complete. Also we were there from 10-4 and no food or beverages were included. You could only purchase peanut m&ms and snickers bars at the snack bar.

Thumbs Up 0

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

Very easy

8 Comments

wgammon1 4 years ago

Glad you had a good cruise. Thanks for the great review.

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LTsCrznVentures 4 years ago

Did you ever mentioned your dis comfort to Guest Relations? They are pretty good at resolving a situation/opportunity immediately. 14 cruises, 13 with Royal, never had a moment where they didn't try correcting a "wrong" .

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NuggetsCruising 4 years ago

I Like RCCL A Lot, But For Some People The Staff Don't Know What There Doing.

Thumbs Up 1

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Gheemaster38 4 years ago

Understood. I have multiple preferences myself. Fun it will always be Carnival. Relaxation and good shows RCL. I have been looking at Celebrity for 2021 or 22 if the powers that be do not blow is all up by then.. Good honest review...

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CruzeFan 4 years ago

Thanks. We love Royal Caribbean.

Thumbs Up 2

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4Goodtimes 4 years ago

Interesting review.

Thumbs Up 1

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mattward 4 years ago

No other cruise history???? Hmmmmmm

Thumbs Up 3

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GospelCruiser 4 years ago

Bye Bye

Thumbs Up 1

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Other reviews of this sailing

Great relaxing cruise!!!

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It was awesome