Independence of the Seas Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Food ok Chops resturant very good.  The attendant for our room was great his name was June.  The ship lost our custom engraved bottle of Johny Walker Blue.  It was a wedding gift for our new son in law.  They need to have a better way to hold your purchases for when you exit the ship.

We were very pleasantly surprised at the beauty, size and comfort of the Independence. The ship was beautifully appointed as were the staterooms. The Promenade was fantastic with the pubs, shops and cafes as well as the entertainment performed there. The Showroom had great shows by the singers and dancers as well as comedians and other performers. The crew was wonderful and very helpful and pleasant. BEST OF ALL, THE SHIP RODE FANTASTICALLY. We had to look out our window to see if the ship was moving. We felt NO MOVEMENT about 95% of the time. It was the best riding ship on which we have cruised out of our 70+ cruises. Surprisingly, the food at the buffet was so good, that we only ate dinner in the dining room only 2 times  during both our 6 day and our 8 day cruises. Hot foods were hot and cold foods were cold. We will DEFINATELY go on this ship again.

There is plenty to do and the staft was wonderful. Also liked their island. It was fantastic. I like being able to go sit relax and have a cookie or a sandwich anytime I want to. Had fun gambling. Everyone has a smile and makes you feel welcome. Played shaffleboard and putt putt golf. Laid out in the sun. The shows were good. The ice show was really nice. But I like the Freedom better. The food is better.

As always, the food is delicious and very well prepared.  The staff is always friendly and helpful, no matter how many times I asked if I was walking to the front or the back of the ship.  The entertainment was the best of any other cruise line - including singers, dancers, ice skating and even The Unexpected Boys who did the songs of The Four Seasons.  All in all, it was a terrifically fantastic vacation.

This was one of the best cruises I have been on and my first with Royal Caribbean. Loved the Ship! Everyone was so nice and helpful. Great Service, Wonderful Shows and the Cruise Director was the best of all!  Since Grand Cayman closed the port we were not able to go there, but had a great day on the ship!  Our balcony room was awesome!  

We traveled with 2 other families (total group size of 16) and it was an even better experience than we anticipated. The ship is amazing!  There is never a dull moment and something for every age. Our kids ranged in age from 6 to 15. The ship is beautiful, the staff is fantastic, the food is top-notch, the entertainment is great (don't miss the ice show!), and the only downside was the weather (but that is something completely out of anyone's control). It was the best family vacation ever. We had a connecting ocean view room so it was easy to have access to our kids, yet able to shut the door and have quiet time without them as well. I would definitely recommend this cruise to anyone!

En général, ce fut une superbe croisière à tous les  points de vue, sauf la nourriture au Windjammer, au 11ième étage. Les buffets  voisinaient le Fast Food, ce dont on ne s'attend pas dans cette qualité de bateaux. Mais tout le reste de la croisière a été extraordinaire. Le personnel est très accueillant, poli, dévoué aux passagers et à leur employeur. Le décor du bâteau, absolument génial, c'est le plus beau jusqu'ici. Le menu de la salle à dîner, excellent et varié Nous avons pris tout nos repas dans cette salle à dîner. En résume, très belle croisière. On la recommande sans hésiter.

After having completed a wonderful Alaskan cruise with Royal in July 2014, this cruise left something to be desired. I found the several theatrical productions to be much smaller (boat size?); although, the ice show was a nice addition. We found that things scheduled for kids did not run on schedule most of the time (movies poolside, activities in the kid's/teen areas, etc...), which was frustrating for parents and kids.  Members of our group had a near-death experience on the SNUBA tour offered by Royal. If my son-in-law had not been a certified diver and known what to do in the situation presented, both my 11- and 13-year-old grandsons and son-in-law would have been killed by the extremely unprofessional SNUBA attendant assigned to their group (since fired). This is not an exaggeration. Fortunately, after being able to save his sons from disaster, he himself recovered after several hours in the ship's emergency department. This impacted all of our party, of course, as we were shaken and concerned for all involved. Many statements taken by ship, port authorities, insurance, etc., and some compensation given (more expected to come).  

On a lighter note, our room attendant, waiter, and dining room assistant were great! The food was great some nights and less so other nights, but overall satisfying. The gym was superb! Clean, up-to-date equipment! The FlowRider was a hit with our teenage grandchildren. There was plenty to do on-board during sea days. The food in the cafes around the boat that was included in the price of the ticket was good, plentiful, and easily accessed. The variety in the Windjammer buffet was excellent. There were plentiful deck chairs available if only the enforcement of not saving seats with towels had been enforced. I guess that's just a common courtesy thing people should police on their own out of respect for taking turns, especially when not really using them. Overall, I enjoyed the cruise and will probably book another with Royal at some point in the future. 

Royal Caribbean is the top of the line cruise. dining room food, entertainment , friendly staff , extra clean ship. Took my sister & brother in law with us (their 1st cruise) & they loved it. They said they would do it again in a heart beat. We had great vacation with easy boarding & port everglades was very easy to get in & out. Not a fan of free style dining on Norwegian. Will consider drink package on next cruise. getting a little expensive with that gratuity added on every time.

A very nice length of cruise with time to relax.  Good shore excursions that were reasonable.

Great dining with excellent food choices and great waiter service.

Entertainment shows were great and so was the day time trivia programs. Nice daily events for all family and adult interest.

This was no comparison to Disney. Shows were unorganized, poolside movies didn't start on time and than it was difficult to find the right to help. Staff not helpful for some things.Other activities were in rooms to small to accommodate. Children activities were limited or cancelled due to census. I could go on but bottom line will never cruise with them again. even the shore excursions were a problem.

Nice, clean ship.  Mostly friendly crew.  Family-oriented entertainment and programs lacking.  I have a teen and pre-teen, and I myself am not interested in spa or shopping seminars, which made up most of the daily activities. The activities seemed to cater to older adults or adults with no children, and there were a LOT of older adults onboard.  Kids' Adventure Ocean was not open all day, and charged after 10pm.  If adults with children want to go to after-dinner entertainment they have to pay for child care.  My 11 year-old son didn't really need it (he was willing and able to walk about the ship alone) but there was nothing for him to do that late because Adventure Ocean was closed and nothing else planned for people his age.  Many scheduled activities, including kids' activities, did not start on time, and some kids' activities were cancelled because "there was no one here 15 minutes early so we cancelled it".  My 14 year-old son seemed to really enjoy the teen program, especially at night.  There seemed to be plenty to do for him.  The best part for my 11 year-old son was the FlowRider; he enjoyed learning to boogie board.

Without a doubt, Royal Caribbean is the best cruise line by far.  The ship is beautiful (as are all the Freedom class ships), and we loved our time on it.  Food in the dining room was better than our previous cruise, but the Windjammer was the same old stuff (not so good).  Shows were excellent, especially the ice show, but other than the orchestra the bands on the ship were definitely sub-par.  There was no band that played good dance music, and this was the first cruise on which we didn't dance even once.  Since that is usually one of the high points of a cruise, we were very disappointed in that.  The cruise director seemed far more interested in showing off his own entertaining than in providing overall entertainment on the ship!  Georgetown, Grand Cayman, is a disappointing port unless you go on one of the tours.  There is nothing to do in town, not even good shopping or restaurants.  Falmouth, Jamaica, is interesting if you get out of Royal Caribbean's new port area.  The craft market there is a real blast if you don't mind being pestered by the many merchants.  Other than that there is not a lot in town.

The service and the food was excellent. The only thing that could use more improvement is the temperature in the cabin. Just couldn't get it cool enough. Compared to other cruise lines Royal Caribbean is the best and I have been with numerous cruise lines    

DEAR SIR;

THE STANDARDS OF ROYAL CARIBBEAN ARE BEING LOWERED BY THE CUSTOMERS NOT ABIDING BY THE RULES AND THE RULES NOT BEING ENFORCED...

EVERY NITE MOST EVERY ONE WAS IN SHORTS AND T. TOPS EVEN ON A FORMAL NITE

BABIES IN CARRIAGES EVERY NITE LATE AND EVEN BABIES HELD IN PEOPLES ARMS AT AN ADULT SHOW....

THERE IS NO BAR FOR DIAMOND OR HIGHER TO MEET AND HAVE A DRINK AND GET TO MEET PEOPLE LIKE THE LIBERTY OF THE SEAS ....IF I DID NOT SPEAK TO PEOPLE THEY WOULD NOT HAVE SPOKEN TO ME...VERY VERY SAD..

ALSO WE ARE USED TO GOING TO A MOVIE IN THE THEATER  EVERY DAY AND MANY MANY CUSTOMERS COMPLAINED TO ME ABOUT THAT...

ALSO THE FACT THAT PEOPLE SHOULD BE TOLD OR SHOWN HOW TO DRESS ON A CRUISE SHIP OR GO INTO A PORT AS THEY ARE A REP OF THE COUNTRY THAT THEY CAME FROM TOO...........

ITS SAD THAT I HAVE TO REPORT THIS TO YOU  AS I HAVE ALWAYS LOVED R.C.C.L AND WILL HAVE TO RETHINK MY NEW YEAR PLANS IN THE FUTURE......MAY BERGERON

Although, I did notice a few things that didn't seem to be the norm in our past experience.  There seemed to be a lot of training of staff going on during our stay and that may account for the lack of beverage service availability.  When by the pool, I rarely saw a server and a couple of times at venues, we would have to wait a while before someone would approach us.  That isn't to say that we won't book our next cruise with Royal Carribbean.  We like what they offer onboard and enjoy the Promenade area.  Looking forward to our next one!

Everything from the King Lear Dining Room Service to the Lovely Spa was top notch.  We have been on more than 15 cruises from all different cruise lines and Royal Caribbean is by far the best we've been on.  They treat you like Royalty.

Middle of the road experience on this cruise. I know it was full but it doesn't excuse some of the things. Food was just OK. Unless you drank in the Champagne bar the drinks were terrible. Entertainment was sub standard. Pool bar and waiters moved like glaciers. 

The customer supporting teams - stateroom, restaurant, cafeteria and refreshments were always courteous, helpful and thoughtfull.

The themes and activities were very well done, and had the guests lively involved.

The dining waiter team - second seating (08:30 PM), table 436 was expecially good.  He provided expert service, entertainment and we felt that he was only service the one table, although knowing her had several under his watch.

The time in Port for San Juan could have been longer, it seemed that the time was just barely enough to walk through old San Juan, and nothing more.

The BBQ lunch at Labadee did not really account for the sports/excursions that were starting around 12:00 (Noon) - we were on the Wave Runner excursion and by the time we reached the BBQ it was closed.

This was the first cruise for myself and my two daughters ages 15 and 17.  Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas provided a terrific platform for creating lasting memories and allowing the 3 of us to relax and bond.  We enjoyed a stateroom with a balcony; a feature that I am glad that we had.   The crew was so accommodating, the other guests were so friendly.  Overall, it was a great time.