Independence of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

THE HOLE CRUISE WENT GREAT. GETTING ON AND OFF SHIP WAS VERY QUICK AND EASY. OUR JEEP EXPERIENCE IN MEXICO WAS BETTER THAN I COULD HAVE EXPECTED PARTLY BECAUSE OUR GUIDE MIGUEL WAS SO GOOD.AND ENTERTAINMENT ON SHIP WAS BEST OF ANY CRUISE I HAVE BEEN ON.

there were too many people everywhere...for the amount of people there wasn't enough space to sit and eat, no available equipment in the gym, no place by the pool, 40 min wait to get to see the show...etc. Kinda like in Disney parks when kids are out of school. Food was ok.. We all got bit by  bed bugs. my husband and I had to take pepto bismol for 2 days out of 4 because the food wasn't that good....on the bright side shows were really good and the rooms are big. I would not recommend this cruise though, I wouldn't go again.

Staff very helpful. not too many vegetarian options for us. disembarkation process very chaotic. on last day elevator does not go to 1st floor. they did not inform us about same. that should have been clarified. we did not send luggage previous night. but then had to carry down 3 floors. not good

We had a wonderful experience on Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas 5 day cruise to Belize and Cozumel Mexico. We booked our trip on . It was a great experience. Our flight from Washington Dc was uneventful.We arrived mid morning then we were able to get a bite to eat before heading on to the ship. Checking and board were great, no lines at all we walked right through the process. We had the afternoon to explore the ship and enjoy the amenities.

Our first day was at sea. We enjoyed all the ship had to offer. Royal Caribbean had a friendly and inviting staff. We were greeted by name from the moment we entered our cabin. Our first day was awesome.

Our second day was in Belize. We booked a shore excursion through , which books to a third party vendor, which then subcontracts to other groups. We planned for a day of exploring Mayan Ruins while tubing through caves. We took shuttle boats from the ship to Belize. This was not well organized. But we got there fast. Our shore excursion guide was great. The caves were flooded due to unusual high amount of rain, so that got cancelled. Our guide still took us to see the Mayan ruins. We had an amazing lunch at a small local place. Then we went to see monkeys.

Our third day was in Cozumel. The shore excursion we booked was an afternoon catamaran trip with two places to go snorkeling. The cruise ship docked right at a pier. There were 7 ships in port that day so the city had 21,000 extra people in town with us. However it was not crowded and there were no problems with transportation. We explored the city in the morning and did some shopping then went back to ship to eat lunch. We headed over to the catamaran which was just a few minutes to walk over to from the ship. The captain and crew were very good. They covered much more than any other crew we had been with. Safety of everyone was their concern and  priority. The snorkeling was not too good, neither was the reef. Both were a disappointment. We were expecting an incredible time. However the catamaran crew was awesome. It was all of the tequilla and margaritas we could drink with homemade guacamole and salsa. We ate and drank as much as we could handle.

We had our 9 year and 15 year old girls with us. They both took advantage of the kids club activities. Both made immediate friends. They both enjoyed having separate time and separate friends to go hang out with and to do things with. It gave us time to enjoy things together as well. We came together as a family for every meal and some activities. Then they always had the option of going backt o kids club with friends they made on board the first day.

Our last day was at sea. Again we enjoyed the ship and all it had to offer. We had such a great time we planned another trip with Royal Caribbean. The ship had everything we wanted and needed. The crew was friendly. The food on the ship was great. We enjoyed every meal. We enjoyed all of the shows we saw. There was an ice skating show, a variety show, a comedy show, a game show, a few bingo events, lots of trivia contests, a belly flop contest, hottest man competition, and a few others. They had an art gallery auction. they offered lots of health and wellness seminars too. There were so many things to do we only could take part in a small sample.  We would recommend the cruise to others.

The Independence was a great ship for our family of 4 (2 adults, 2 teens 16yrs old).  Service was outstanding in all of the dining areas, bars, poolside and spa.  Entertainment in the lounges and nightclubs was top notch.  We would highly recommend this ship and this itinerary.

We choose my time dining because we traveled with our children. We were  told that we should schedule a time for our diner so that they could guarantee a table. I was very disappointed. If i knew this before hand i would have selected another option. This should not be considered my time dining. Also we had a different server every night. One night in particular the service was horrible. We requested other servers go ok ng forward. 

It takes a very bad experience to be a bad cruise!  Afterall, you're not cooking, cleaning, and everyone is there to serve you during your time aboard.  The entertainment was the best we had ever experienced, and the variety was appreciated!  Finis was amazing, the comedian was a great way to start That said, this cruise was lacking a bit compared to others we have been on.  The tendering process at Belize was not acceptable, and it was not appropriate to emphasize that the self-carry/early disembarkation process would not include elevator service, only to have large groups exit the elevator was irritating.  The ice rink was only available during one of the two "at sea" days, and it would have been nice if they had let you know in a cruise compass that the second day of the cruise would be the "last chance" for the ice rink!  The cruise director was the best we'd experienced yet though. 

My husband and I have cruised several times in the past (most recently on this same ship - different itinerary) and while we had a good time overall, we were not blown away by the quality on this particular cruise.  Generally speaking, the service fine was everyone was welcoming and friendly.  We had one bad experience the first night in the dining room when NO ONE came to our table for about 15 minutes after being seated.  The explanation: it was the first night and they had a lot of special requests at that moment to deal with.  Since a cruise has a first night every week, we found that to be a pretty weak excuse.  They turned it around as the next night, upon request, we were moved to another section of the dining room and only had the kind of wonderful interactions with the wait staff we'd become familiar with on previous cruises.  Our room attendant was nice, staff we encountered at the other eateries and around the ship were friendly, and a particular shout out to the nursery staff who made us feel very comfortable leaving our 17-month-old.  They were wonderful.

Our biggest issue was with the perceived quality, particularly with the food and entertainment.  The food was not good (with a few bright moments here and there, most of it was uninspired, and in some cases, not worth eating).  The entertainment was the definition of "bad cruise" entertainment.  We also experienced a very disorganized, and quite frankly odd, disembarkation at the conclusion of the cruise.  We were placed in the theatre where no announcements were made as to which groups were being called to leave and there were no staff members present to answer questions.  When we finally got the signal to leave the elevators and stairways were clogged with people and the lines to get off the ship and then through baggage and customs were nothing we had seen before.  The whole process took about 2 hours which was longer than we've experience in the past.  As I mentioned earlier, we were on this same ship just a couple of years ago and had a much different experience.  It left us wondering if perhaps RC is focusing it's efforts just on it's biggest fleet since Independence of the Seas is now a third-stringer.

This was a our toddler's first cruise and she had a great time, so we had a great time.  But in the future I think we'll be looking to other cruise lines who are upping the ante on the experience.

This is my second cruise with Royal Caribbean and they continue to impress me on all levels. The food, entertainment and overall experience on the ship is truly a pleasure for all. The staff is fun and friendly and the ship was immaculate. I've heard other things from other carriers that seems to pale in comparison to The Royal Caribbean. I will continue book cruises with them and look forward to the next experience.

Everyone should experience the thrill of going on a cruise! Other than the small hustle & bustle of embarking & disembarking, the in between makes it worthwhile. We call it the floating hotel. It is welcoming to take a break to not have to worry about what to cook for breakfast, lunch and dinner and the food is always good and great varieties to chose from (of course this could be a problem too as we usually tack on a few more pounds when we leave). Also nice not to have to worry about doing any household chores too! No stress, no worries - so nice!!!

The staff do a great job in making you feel special as they are always friendly, helpful, funny, entertaining, courteous and much more. Our stateroom attendant & dinner waiters were a great bunch of men!

The days on board are filled with so many activities, entertainment, movies & shows to keep us busy. The ports of call are interesting and colourful places to see,  explore and shop.

Overall experience & atmosphere is relaxing, carefree, fun, entertaining, and being pamper. Already planning our next one! 

Just returned from a 5 Night Cruise with Royal Caribbean on Independence of the Seas.  What a great, relaxing vacation.   I just wish I had booked a longer trip!

The ship is great for families as there were activities for all of us.  While the main areas (pool / dining) were crowed during peak times (expected on a full ship), simply scheduling time around peak meant plenty of time around the pool, in the hot-tubs and seaside table in the main dining room (My Time). 

The ship was clean, modern and the staff was amazing.  Food was delicious and there was so much variety that we had dinner in the main dining room every night and I never had the same thing twice.  

Flow-Rider and Rock Wall Climbing were big hits with the kids.  The wife and I thoroughly enjoyed the entertainment both on the skating rink and in the main theater.  

Labadee and Falmouth were great ports (be sure to take a shore excursion at Falmouth or it's just souvenir shopping).  I saw some of the most beautiful sunrises, on the top deck while enjoying a cup of coffee.

This was our first cruise so I don't have much to compare it against, but overall a very fun vacation and a must-do-again! The ship had all sorts of activities to always keep us busy. The service was good. The Windjammer cafe's food was much better than we expected. We selected a junior suite and it was perfect for us. The people onboard are super friendly. There were enough bars everywhere, but a little disappointed there was only 1 nightclub. The casino was a lot of fun and I'm not much of a gambler. There were also enough smoking areas throughout the ship to be sufficient. The pools were all shallow really which was a little disappointing but I guess for them to be on a ship in the first place is pretty cool - there's probably a size limitation due to the floors below. Overall, I would definitely recommend cruising period and cruising with Royal Caribbean.

Much more than I could have hoped for.  The staff were incredible, and the food was AMAZING!  Made friends for life, and will rant and rave about this cruise until the end of my days!!

This was our "pre busy (tax) season" treat/early Christmas present to ourselves. This was our first time on this ship and our first time sailing out of Ft. Lauderdale.  Pre Cruise  We booked a park and cruise package at the Holiday Inn Express on SR 84/Marina Mile.  The rate, including taxes, was $210 (Sunday night stay). When we arrived, we were told we'd been upgraded to a suite with a king-size bed. This was nice, but we didn't really require the extra space. Plus, the room (3rd floor) was right over the entry way to the hotel so the light from the neon signs shined into the window. Luckily, I'd brought my sleep mask ;-)  There are no restaurants/bars at this hotel but there are several places within walking distance (although I wouldn't say this seems to be the safest area to be out walking).  The hotel provides a list of these places. Also, right across the street is a grocery store and a McDonald's.  We opted to eat at a restaurant I'd found via Trip Advisor, Hardy Park Bistro, which was a 5 or so minute drive away. It was very good, I'll review that on Trip Advisor.  The complimentary breakfast was well stocked. DH and I eat low carb; we were pleased to see eggs and breakfast meat in addition to all the usual cereals, pastries, pancakes, breads, yogurt, etc. The coffee was good!  There was no separate place for cruise parking. We just had to fill out an info sheet on the car so they could "keep an eye on it".  Transportation to the Port  The hotel uses All Star and offers a 10 or an 11 pick up. We opted for 10.  The driver arrived and was very friendly. There were a total of six of us going; our party of four and another couple.  The port is only a 10-15 minute drive from the hotel. While en route, the driver told us we could arrange for a ride back, so we did. $10 pp; we got a sticker each to wear that day and a RSVP slip.  We were dropped off at the porter area and then proceeded into the terminal (a bit of a walk). We got through security and checked in with Royal Caribbean very quickly. We were in the priority lounge by 10:30 and on the ship by 10:50.  Ship  Same layout as Freedom (which we are very familiar with) other than the fact Indy has not been refurbished to eliminate the two story "disco" on Decks 4 and 5 so thus does not have a Sabor restaurant.  Generally speaking, she seemed to be in good shape. Maybe a bit of wear and tear here and there but nothing really obvious.  Although we were told the ship was full, it was odd in that there were several times i seemed no one was around (in particular The Diamond Lounge and Olive or Twist every night). Of course, all you had to do was go to The Windjammer (AKA The People Jammer) to find everyone; or by the pools on sea days.  Stateroom  We were in Junior Suite 9568 port side forward. It's slightly to the left and below one of the hot tubs in the Solarium. If you look at the deck plans and also the ship from the outside, it does appear that the balcony on this one is slightly larger, a mini hump, if you will. In reality, it was likely more of an optical illusion. In any case, the balcony was roomy. The room itself was fine; all the typical benefits of a JS. It was a decent location; close to the forward stairs/elevators and not too far of a walk to the mid ship stairs/elevators. It was quite for the most part and we did not notice any significant amount of movement in the room (the seas were REALLY calm this cruise).  Our SRA, Savi, was good despite a rocky start. She did not tidy up the room the first evening so we were not very happy about that but it turns out there was not a Do Not Disturb card to put in the door so she didn't know if we were in there or not. We got that worked out and she was excellent the rest of the cruise. She even did THREE towel animals!  Food  We ate in the MDR 2nd seating four of the five nights. We had table 318 for 10 with only 7 at it (one being a small boy of four traveling with his parents who actually turned out to be one of the best dinner companions we'd ever had!) The service was ok (our waiter was sick two nights and so another guy filled in who turned out to be pretty funny) and the food was typical. Nothing really great but a lot of variety. We typically find the appetizers to be the best quality wise and so order two or three each and then sort of pick at the entree.  Desserts are ok but I think many of us are hoping the menu will change again soon.  We ate our breakfasts and lunches in The Windjammer. Others have noted selections seem sparse in the salad bar, to which I'd agree. No spinach! But, for the most part, the food was fine and plenty of low carb options. We did eat breakfast in the MDR on disembarkation day and it was served promptly.  We had room service once; blech. Again, I wish they'd change the menu options. However, it is nice to get coffee delivered!  We also picked up coffee/snacks several time from Promenade Cafe. We love those chicken curry rolls; too bad they only had them two days.  We had my birthday dinner in Giovanni's. The food was good but the portions seems a lot smaller than I remembered. Come to think of it, this seemed true in the MDR as well.  Also, we had to remind them it was my birthday.  Bevos  We got the Premium Drink Package (PP on your Seapass!) For the first time ever, we were charged extra for a Lemon Drop (95 cents) because it was over the $12 limit. Frankly, I think most bartenders don't bother with this but the ladies in The Champagne Bar were unfriendly and uninspiring, which is too bad as this is typically our favorite hang out.  Generally speaking though, we were pleased with the package and were able to order whatever we wanted (that Lemon Drop not withstanding!) For the first time ever, we were not required to sign a slip every time we got a drink! This was nice!  BTW, no Freestyle Soda machines on this ship yet so if you have the soda cup, you have to get a server or a bartender to fill it up.  Crew  Mostly friendly; a few (such as the bartender in The Champagne Bar) were not very friendly or helpful. As mentioned, our SRA was good, as were our servers in the MDR.  There were one or two pool servers who took good care of us. I wasn't overly impressed with the lady in The Diamond Lounge. She didn't say anything to us until the 4th night.  The servers in The Diamond Lounge as well as two at Olive or Twist were very good and attentive. No separate line at Guest Services for Diamond/Diamond Plus, either.  Ports  We only got off the ship in Jamaica and went to Margaritaville, which was fine. We met up with our daughter (who was on a Celebrity ship in port the same day) so that's the only reason we got off. We typically enjoy staying on the ship when everyone else is off!  Fellow PAX  The typical chair hogs, especially in The Solarium. On Freedom in October the pool attendants were actually removing towels/belongings on chairs where nobody had been there longer than 30 minutes. Not so this time so people were taking advantage of that.  Typical rude PAX treating the crew badly and/or barging in and out of lines at The Windjammer and not following proper elevator etiquette. However, most PAX friendly and happy.  Entertainment  We only heard one band up in Olive or Twist. They were pretty good. We didn't go to any headliner shows or even The Quest this time (this also needs to be switched up a bit).  Disembarkation  Here's where it got ugly. We were in our designated waiting area forward Deck 5 lounge for Diamond/Diamond Plus early. Many others came in and it was obvious they were not Diamond/Diamond Plus since there were not that many on board. Not that this really matters but it was just an indication that the crew was not paying attention.  When they called our number, they told us to go down to Deck 1 (a first for us!) They failed to tell us a) the elevators were not working and b) you were supposed to go to the mid ship stairs to go down to Deck 1. So, we got down to Deck 1 only to be told we were in the wrong area of Deck 1 and had to go all the way back up to Deck 4, go over to mid ship, and go back down to Deck 1. This cause a huge jam of people in the stair area; we were stuck between Deck 3 and Deck 2 for over 1/2 hour. People were really getting rude and testy.  Once we finally got out, there was a long walk to the terminal to pick up baggage and go through customs. Thankfully, this went relatively quickly for us but I heard others had long delays here, too.  Trip Back to Hotel  Another disappointment. When All Star finally showed up, they loaded up a party of 14 before those of us who had been waiting much longer. This almost cause one man to swing at the driver. They eventually got us all loaded in. But, despite the fact our hotel was ten minutes away, they dropped us off last, which took about an hour. So, word to wise, probably better just to take a cab if your destination is relatively close to the port.  Summary  We had a great cruise despite some of these nits, great mostly because of our travel companions and the fact we really enjoy cruising. We really didn't have any WOW moments on this cruise, sad to say. It is also sad to see Royal cutting back here and there so much and their prices keep going up up up. Case in point. We paid about $600 pp for a JS on Explorer December 2014. This cruise was about $700 pp. We booked a cruise on board for next December, a five night on Brilliance out of Tampa, its fare is $1030 pp (all prices before taxes/port charges, etc.), and this a much smaller ship.  They gave us $300 OBC for that cruise and $100 OBC for the current cruise, so that brings the price down to about $830 pp, but, you can't combine it with C&A discounts or much else. So, you've got to learn to play the game!   

everything was great minus two things: 

1. the dj for nightclub. Music was not good, songs he played each lasted ten seconds except for old songs they lasted a lifetime, flow was poor..if music isnt good then club is not fun and pointless.

2. when getting to jamaica there is no sanded beach. you have to take a cab/bus for 45 min to get to sanded beach and im not doing that in no problem everywhere a problem in Jamaica

I HAD A GREAT TIME, THEY TREAT ME LIKE ROYALTY. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. ENTERTAINMENT WAS FUN. THE WORKERS WERE REALLY FRIENDLY. I HAD A GOOD TIME. THE SHOW WERE ALRIGHT, I THINK THEY CAN DO BETTER.

When I booked my cruise through Cheap Cruises I requested a table for 4 for dinning room seating, they did not pass this information on to Royal Caribbean, we had to straighten it out on the ship. Also the agent with Cheap Cruises asked if there were birthday or anniversary celebrations, I stated 1 birthday and 1 anniversary. She said she would set up for us to received cakes for each occasion. The agent even picked the best nights to have the cake, on sea days which were the 15th and 18th. Again they did not forward this information onto Royal Caribbean. I had to ask where my brother in laws birthday cake was on the 15th, in front of him and ask again for my anniversary cake on the 18th. We were told by Royal Caribbean these requests were not in their system but they quickly fixed it. I will rethink booking through Cheap Cruises next time. But Royal Caribbean stepped up and made the corrections.

This was my first cruise and I have to say its was the most wonderful experience I had love the shows and activities.  I am looking forward to cruise again on the Independence of the Seas Ship.  Leigh was a awesome cruise director.

Thank you all for a great experience.

Lots to do onboard.  Description of destinations, Stay Onboard.

Entertainment was top shelf.  Food was superb.  Ship was clean and activities onboard were fun and well planned. 

Would do a similar cruise again in a heartbeat, with different stops, that is.

The Independence of the Seas was very impressive.  I have been on 4 cruises so far with different companies and like most cruises the food, entertainment, and overall experience is the very similar.  This trip impressed me because the boat had some amenities other previous boats did not have.  The 5th floor promenade is full of shops, coffee, and pizza which was fun to walk through once the sun went down.  The boat also had a rock climbing wall, surf simulator, ice skating, gym, and running track.  If you check the daily planner there are always activities, live music, shows, entertainment of some sort to check out.  I would cruise on the independence again next year.