Independence of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

we have sailed with R.C. Before and have had good experiences, but not as good this time.  After paying top dollar for this cruise, we could not even get the cruise line to press a suit without a fee.  We had no perks added onto our original cruise price, so we paid extra for everything, including water and sodas. They offered a tour of the galley and ship bottom, but of course this was extra also. Really, we were not paying to see the ship workings. The food at the buffet was generally mediocre...not hot..lukewarm!  I must give credit to housekeeping...very excellent and the servers in the main dining room worked very hard and tried very hard to please us.

Ports of call were scheduled just right 1.5 days at sea before and after island; gave our families a chance to relax and unwind. Plenty of spots to enjoy amenities from lounge , wooden bench swings to hammocks! pools & Jacuzzi were readily available on ship. Buffet breakfast & lunch and dinners were great. Sit down dinner for the most part adequate, seasoning could be better, after 3rd day seemed like same choices of dinner menus to choose from. Some of our party 16! needed to change chooses after tasting them. Portions were small; needed to eat during day to make sure you will get full. pre & after dinner shows weren't spread apart ; seemed to have to rush after dinner to catch last 20 minute of 9pm show. We chose late dinning so early show was never an option to see; would taken our party too long to get ready to return from port and see show prior to our 8:30pm sit-down. Rock wall, surf rider a big hit ! the free ice-cream & variety of fruits given on the upper deck was on-point especially on hot days. outdoor family games not available daily like pool table,darts corn hole, chess or checkers. Promenade was wonderfull prices on promotion days were great buys. but felt there should have been more free eating options after hours; kids had only pizza to choose from. Johnny rockets should be included in price package. For the most part had a great time ports of call were great especially Grand Cayman, Jamaica, Cozumel. In Labadee felt water bounce park and zip-lines were very over priced. Will recommend other family members on taking this trip. 7 of 10.

Thank You

Cruise was fun and very relaxing. I spent most of the time relaxing on deck in the sunshine. At night, I enjoyed the entertainment and especially dining every night with the same waitstaff. My only real negative is having two mattresses pushed together instead of one. I could not sleep close to my fiance' because the mattresses would split and I would fall down in between them. If I ever cruise again, I will be sure to specify a single mattress.

I

Charles Rogtao was an awesome waiter he meet our needs and went above and beyond to assure we were happy and content with his service which was superb 

I had an Great time on this cruise both Leigh and Frankie kept us very entertained and are extremely funny you'll love those guys 

Not what we expected from Royal Caribbean. Our celebration went unnoticed. They didn't make it special and quality of food, room and amenities were average for a Royal Caribbean experience.

Excellent service, shows and overall experiance. Would recommend RC to my family and friends. Better shows and entertainment than the Disney cruises we have been on.

We had a good time with this ship the independence of the seas. We took all the three Island tour and all of them are excellent. We have a very informative tour guide and driver. The food of the regular restaurant ship are very good.   

The ship was pretty nice.  The best part of the service was the dining and stateroom staff.  We booked 3 balcony cabins for our family.  The dining room food was okay.  The buffet food was not good at all. And, the extra fee dining was not worth it. The casino staff was not very friendly.  The Spa was nice.    The flow rider, rock wall, and sports court were really good.  THe Piano player (Dave) was world class.  Although, the flow rider was the number one attraction on the ship and should have stayed open 12 hours a day.  St Kitts was like a slum - would never go back.  In all, the trip wasnt worth the $10k we spent before all of the extra fees.    

Everything was great. From the shows, to the dinning room, ice skate show, flow rider, battle of the sexes. Leigh is amazing! Very funny and entertaining, watch out for Enrique, he's got some smooth dance moves.

I had a wonderful time on the ship, Independence of the Seas. A thank you to the entire staff. The men and women of the independence is a hardworking and dedicated crew who make you feel like a member of their family. I was welcomed aboard with smiles, and left with memories, new dance moves and over 300 pics. "Wonderful" does not even come close to describing my vacation and I highly recommend sailing with the Independence. I'll see you all next time.

Cheers

Nerman

Cruise on this ship definately not up to par with previous RC cruises. The food and service in both the dining room and Windjammer fell well below expectations.  Food selections and preparations in both were only fair; slow to serve in dining room; noticed dishes piled up on tables in Windjammer while waiters were at stations laughing and fooling around.  Overall ship staff on decks appeared to be grumpy, "blah" and inattentive. Entertainment at night only fair; lots of "dead" time on this ship. Ship upkeep could have been better, dishes/glasses by elevators /in lobbies and food on floor in lots of places. Public restrooms esp on pool deck were yucky.  Smell of sewage by FlowRIder last day at sea. Excursions were nice and our cabin attendant was wonderful however!  So it wasn't a total loss.  Hoping that our next cruise on Allure is much better!

My daughter (age 10) and I enjoyed our July 12 trip aboard Independence of the Seas.  Quick summary:

Boat - we found the boat clean and easy to navigate.  The electronic compasses located at each elevator with ability to select and map each item were great.  No need to carry around the compass.  The promenade was also a welcome addition that we did not experience on Disney Magic.

Cabin - Were were in 7552.  Balcony was larger than Disney cruise last year and we found we used it much more.  Cabin itself seemed smaller, but we did not spend much time in there other than sleeping.  Plenty of room for storage under bed.  We had plenty of empty drawers and cupboards with just 2.  I think storage would also be fine for 3 or 4.

Food - Tried Chops the first night.  Service and view were outstanding.  Steak was better than average but not outstanding.  My daughter had spicy shrimp and it was neither spicy hot or spicy seasoned, disappointing.  Used my time dining and made reservation for 5:45 every night on first day.  This worked out really well for us.  We had the same waiters who were great and we were in and out in an hour every night instead of 2.  Ate dinner one night in Windjammer.  It was fine but quality better in MDR.  Breakfast each morning in Windjammer was the same but the choices were vast - pretty much all standard breakfast items.  Made to order omellettes each morning.  Lunch on island or Windjammer was our least favorite meal.  Food was edible but not great.

Johnny Rockets for lunch one day was great.

Excursions - we did not book through RCI.  We booked stingray city, snorkeling and starfish point at Grand Cayman.  Wow!  Highly recommend.  We used Eco Adventures. Captain Kevin met us and one other family of 5 at the dock.  We took a short ride to a marina and got on a large boat - around 40 feet. We were allowed to sit up front with our feet hanging off.  We made it to the sandbar before all the barges with 50+ people and we had the sting rays to ourselves.  We were done just as the crowd arrived.  We then snorkelled on the reef which was amazing and then we went to startfish point where the big boats can't even go.  It was absolutely amazing and the best day.  Fresh fruit and waters also included.  Soda available for $2.

In Jamaica we went to the Blue Hole, tubing and lunch at Schotchies.  A day we will never forget.  Private van and driver for the day from Marvyns Paradise Tours.  Marvyn also made sure to introduce himself in person and make sure we were well taken care of.  Best tour ever.

In Cozumel we went to Chankanaab to swim with the dolphins, interact with the manatees and sea lions.  My daughter said this day was tied with the Blue Hole.  We booked online and just took at $15 cab to/from the pier.  We had an hour before the crowds arrived and thoroughly enjoyed our day leaving when we wanted.

Overall, a great trip.  Sea days were our least favorite  This is one area when RCI falls down seriously compared to Disney.  Options for kids were limited.  Although they had activities scheduled at all times, there were many times when nothing for kids other than standard swimming, etc...  Mini golf and rock climbing were great but once you did it the first day no need to do again.  Kids programs :sounded: great but if they had more than a few kids or any allergies, science activities or advertised activities were not done.  My only other complaint is they are constantly trying to upsell and putting their hand out for additional fees.  I think many cruise lines are moving in that direction but it was really annoying by end of the week.

Cruise was really good.  This is our third cruise and first with Royal.  The ship was well maintained and provided enough options to keep everyone busy.  Would recommend it.

The trip was very relaxing.  However, my family and I wish there was more for the families to do together.  There were couple things and teen things to do but nothing really for the entire family to do together.  Also,  we thought that the drink packages were expensive. We understand the alcohol can be expensive but non alcoholic drinks should be included in the cruise.  For a family of four to drink it almost costs $1000.  That's a bit extreme after all the money spent to go on the cruise ship.

Other than that, the ship was beautiful, the staff was friendly and the islands where incredible. We would definitely cruise again but maybe on another cruise line.

The staff was very nice, the food was good. They had different activities to do on the ship. Has a child program for the kids.very nice,me and my husband really enjoyed ourselves.

This was my first cruise. I absolutely enjoyed my time. I would want to do this again, I do not have to worry about parking or finding a hotel. 

But the price of the wifi was too high, and I wish the library would have had books on constellations and astronomy since I wanted to explore the starry sky at night and could not use my phone. 

This was a very good cruise.  The food was very good. The stateroom was very clean and the service was very good. The only problem was the toilet over flowed 3 times. However, the cabin did not flood with water due to the excellent design of the bathroom. Repairs and cleaning of the bathroom was done in a timely manner.  We did not care for the shows. Over all everything was very good. And we would use this cruise line again.

I was a little wary about sailing on such a large ship, but I was pleasantly surprised.  It was very easy to navigate the ship, even for my 90 year old mother.  Service aboard was very friendly and personalized.  We had a great time. I recommend the Schooner Bar's piano man, Dan Davies, who plays in the evenings.  The ice show was surprisingly good.   

My overall rating is very good and I will recommend this cruise line. My family also said that they had a great time. I love all the entertainment especially the The magic show it was awesome..love it. That crazy guy, Leigh, is a mess...lol. I totally enjoyed his antics.

Enjoyable cruise. Cruise director and his staff were terrific. Captain appeared and spoke several times. Crown and Anchor events were great- had an extra ice skating demonstration with questions and answers as well as free cocktails.    Dining room service was disappointing as was dinner at specialty restaurant (Chops). Buffet was fine but shortage of service there. Hours end at (:30 which is too early. Ports are OK except for private island at Labadee which is great especially since they now dock and you do not have to tender.