Weekend Getaway...

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

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review

CVCruiser

Contributor Level: Cruise Director

53 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 14

Helpful Votes: 307

Overall rating:

4.6 out of 5

3 Night Perfect Day Getaway (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: December 10, 2021

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 6302

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

This was our first RCL cruise on other than an Oasis class ship. It was a weekend getaway, and it was a great weekend! The weather was perfect, the food was good, the entertainment was good, and we enjoyed the ship. I had to NOT compare this to the Oasis class ships.... but instead compared it to the Carnival and NCL ships we've been on... and we enjoyed it a lot. I can easily say its our 2nd favorite ship class! 🙂 Great for a weekend getaway!!

Embarkation

5 out of 5

RCL out of Port Canaveral is always smooth and easy. We parked in the terminal parking garage, and we were walking on the ship 10 minutes later... We were eating at the Windjammer before noon!! 👍

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5

Overall the Food quality was good. But I was NOT impressed with the Windjammer. The layout was terrible, the management team was not paying attention to clear issues, and the staff seemed to be going through the motions but setvice was seriously lacking. On multiple occassions there was only one person manning a two sided food station, and lines would be 10 people deep on that station, and the station next to it had a staff just standing around with no one to serve. AND a manager was standing 20ft away BSing vs watching what is going on!! This was my first time cruising with RCL on other than an Oasis clads ship.... and Ive NEVER seen such disorganized lax service in the Windjammer.

Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

MDR was fantastic service and good food!!

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Activities were fine... a bit random, and all were busy.

Entertainment

5 out of 5

All the shows were good.

Service and Staff

4 out of 5

Overall the service and staff were fine. Our experience with RCL has been traditionally 99% 5-star service and staff. But this cruise was maybe 10% 5-star, 80% 4-star, and 10% 3-star. Room steward was awesome and kept the room perfect.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Out of all the ships weve been on between Carnival, NCL, and RCL.... this is our 2nd fav class. You can NOT compare this to the Oasis class, BUT... compared to other ships, its great! 🙂 Hince still a 5 star.

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

Cabin was roomy, quiet, bed was comfee, and AC worked. The shower had crazy pressure!!! If you turned it all the way up it was like a pressure washer!! 😳🤯 lol