A great three-night cruise

Item: Independence of the Seas
Rating: 4.8
Author: SeaNotes

Independence of the Seas Cruise Review

SeaNotes

Contributor Level: Second Mate

128 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 9

Helpful Votes: 107

Overall rating:

4.8 out of 5

3 Night Bahamas & Perfect Day (Port Canaveral Roundtrip)

Sail date: August 12, 2022

Ship: Independence of the Seas

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 9242

Traveled as: Singles/Friends

Reviewed: 2 years ago

Review summary

Overall our cruise on Independence of the Seas was fantastic. We had a few hiccups here and there but they weren't so bad that we couldn't overlook them and keep moving. The crew was helpful, polite, knowledgeable and friendly. The ship was very clean and well maintained and we had no issues with the service, the cabin or the experience.

Embarkation

4 out of 5

Embarkation itself was flawless but I take one star off because when we parked at the terminal the porter left one piece of luggage in the back of the SUV so one member of our group did not have some items they needed during the cruise.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

5 out of 5

The food in the main dining room was very good. We had outstanding servers and a great location in the main dining room. The Windjammer also had a better selection than I expected and we enjoyed the food there as well.

Main Dining Room

5 out of 5

Our dining room servers were some of the best we've ever had. The food was outstanding and the service could not have been better. We had one issue in the main dining room at breakfast where it took almost 45 minutes to get our food but that was just a one off that doesn't really undo all the good for the dinners in the main dining room.

Onboard Activities

4 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

We went to the ice skating show Freeze Frame and it was surprisingly entertaining. Some of the singers at the smaller bars did phenomenal as well.

Service and Staff

5 out of 5

Ronald was our room steward for cabin 9242 and he was always helpful, polite and had a great wealth of information about everything going on during the cruise. He kept our cabin spotless.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

The cabin had some wear and tear but not so much that it would take away from a five star rating. The beds were a little bit firmer than what I'm used to but they weren't horrible. We had no issues with the plumbing or anything else although we did have to call to get our in-cabin phone repair because it was not working on the first day.

Ship tip

I would never believe I would be saying this but I would recommend choosing a set dining time because we changed ours to the 5:30 p.m. dining and it made our lives much easier on the ship because we could plan things before and after a set dining time. It also meant that we were seated much more quickly because as they opened the dining room for Any-Time dining you could see that the lines were becoming much longer and the waits were becoming much longer as well.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Perfect Day At Coco Cay, Bahamas

5 out of 5

We had a great time at chill Island and enjoyed some very good drinks and some very nice views.

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Disembarkation

2 out of 5

Disembarkation was total and complete chaos. It seems that everyone rushed to leave the ship at the same time and Royal Caribbean had a hard time managing the crowds.

Traveler Photos

Seafood cake (like a crab cake) but with a variety of seafood

Chill Island view of Independence of the Sea

8 Comments

javawoody 2 years ago

Thanks for the review

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GSpringer 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing!

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Gwbigdog 2 years ago

Thanks for sharing your cruise.

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Dadm 2 years ago

Thank you for the information. Minor problems did not ruin the whole cruise. Fantastic! Debarkation seems to be a much bigger problem since the return of cruising. Everyone must be in a hurry.

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sunme 2 years ago

Count down 69 days and we'll be on Indy. Sounds like it was enjoyable despite the hiccups. I like to take my time and have breakfast before getting off the ship. Let everyone else fight to get off.

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kef2016 2 years ago

Thank you for sharing your cruise experience. Sounds like it was a nice cruise despite a couple hiccups.

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WhippetMum 2 years ago

Thanks for your feedback

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AuntPinkie 2 years ago

Appreciate your feedback. Glad you enjoyed your cruise in spite of the hiccups!

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