Independence Of The Seas review! March 6th-11th. Pros and Cons!

Good morning!

We got back from our IOS cruise yesterday! A little background... We are in our 30's and this is my 7th cruise. I love Royal the best but have cruised with Norwegian and Carnival as well. We have a 4-year-old and this was his first cruise, so this will give you perspective from both sides of the coin!

Embarkation- We arrived at the port around 10:40 which is the earliest we have ever arrived! I started in the line and checked in from 10:50-11:10ish. It took a total of 50 minutes until we officially boarded. It normally doesn't take that long and usually aren't waiting in a wrap around line to board so not sure what the hold up was. We avoided the picture line too. :) I take enough pictures!!

Food- We ate at the Windjammer shortly after exploring the ship and taking lots of pictures. The food was good and all of the staff was friendly. There wasn't a lot of people in the dining area yet since it was early on which was nice! The staff really cleaned up all the tables rather quickly during this cruise. The MDR had a good selection. My favorite was the filet mignon. It was perfection. The blueberry crumble was delicious as well. Our waiter was fine and he was pleasant but the service seemed a tad slow. Not major but slower than it should have been. He had a huge party (3 tables all related) behind us so pretty sure that was the hold up. When they were not there one evening we received much quicker service. The other table near us would laugh and tells us " oh look at us we already have our appetizer, entrée, etc" Their waiter even brought extra items the majority of the time and they passed onto us! Ha! That's how you earn the extra tip! Don't get me wrong our waiter did his job and brought our food but..... The head waiter for MDR was wonderful with our son. He made sure to talk to our son and go get yogurt for our son every evening and extra goodies. These little things are so special! The Windjammer does get old after a while. I felt like all I ate was pasta dishes, carbs, and bread... LOL Yes, there are many options but it is pretty much the same thing for lunch everyday....The carved ham is good!!! Sorento's pizza is good but I am definitely good with pizza for a while!! We didn't do any speciality dining this time. I bought a cupcake from the cupcake place.... Definitely homemade and the icing was like eating chunks of butter! LOL True buttercream icing!

Room- We had a family OV stateroom on the 8th deck! It was wonderful. Our biggest stateroom ever. We've done inside, OV, and balcony. There was a master/living room/bunk bed room and bathroom. Loved all the space especially with a child. We were literally all the way forward. Did feel some rocking but it was nothing terrible. There was a lot more walking involved since we were all the way forward! Our room steward was pleasant and our room was always clean. Nothing above and beyond but he did his job.

Entertainment- We tag teamed in the evenings when our son was sleeping. The Invitation to Dance was a great show. Las Vegas type of show. My husband thoroughly enjoyed Grease. The Welcome Aboard show was the typical welcome aboard show. Our cruise director was a husband and wife. That was interesting. He was good. The comedians were okay. First time watching Quest...wanted to see what all the hype was! That was entertaining.

Spring Breakers/pool area- Apparently this was Florida's colleges spring break!! We thought it would be early for spring breakers. On Day 1 we noticed there sure was a lot of "kids" poolside. A FL professor enlightened us during the boat drill. LOL They never causes any problems with us; however, they overtook the main pools and hot tubs. Standing room only in hot tubs. We were mainly at the H2O zone. If we had no child with us or teens then it would be a different story. The cruise hired 25 extra security guys this cruise!! Crazy!! The H20 Zone was awesome. Perfect for our 4 year old. I guess one of the pools was 5 foot at one point and now it is only 2 feet. Perfect! There is also a couple of hot tubs as well. The adult only section (Solarium) seemed to have adults only and seemed like plenty of space for everyone. We just passed through...Obviously never just sat down and relaxed their with a little one!!

Camp- The 3-5 year old camps was awesome!! All of the staff holds a degree. They did activities every day and there was a theme. He loved it! It wasn't just a free for all and that was very much appreciated. All of the kids had to take off their shoes and wash hands as soon as they arrived. We just did one session a day to break up the day. 9-12am. 2-5pm. 7-10pm was the hours. After 10pm you had to pay. You could call in advance by 3 and your child could have dinner with the staff any day. Lunch was never offered. We registered our child right after eating lunch on Day 1.

Missed port- There was a medical emergency on board. A poor gentleman had a stroke not long after boarding. He wanted to surprise his daughters whom were with a corporate convention. Due to the high winds a helicopter couldn't land on the ship. We ended up being rerouted to Miami. He is going to be okay. The captain couldn't make up the time difference due to the high winds and being re-routed. First we were told 11am, then 1pm, and then Labadee was called off completely and had another sea day. It was a major bummer. Many folks could careless about Jamaica (including us) but what can you do. Things happen and it could of been one of us needing help..... It's the risk you take.

Debarkation- It took us 30 minutes from our first line to getting off the ship. We did self assist. Also used the mobile passport app. That saved time as well.

Side notes---Parking garage is $15 a day.

Overall it was a wonderful cruise and looking forward to the next cruise!!

I was on this cruise as well! I agree with most of your assessment. I was there with my two kids, 3&6, and loved the Adventure Ocean! We did have problems in the windjammer with the staff not clearing our plates, maybe we went at busier times?! The big two Florida universities had spring break our week (UF) and this current week (FSU)...Like you I spent most of my time in the H2O zone so it didn't bother me too much... However if I was there without kids might have been annoying. I noticed bar service sucked, probably because of spring breakers. Missing Labadee was really disappointing but I get it. Overall this wasn't my favorite cruise but my kids had a blast! I did not care for the cruise director and his wife...I thought some of the activity schedule was poorly done...Not enough in the first half of day and conflicting (timing) of events in afternoon, forcing us to choose between family friendly options. I did find the food in MDR to be pretty good and ice show/singers/dancers to be excellent.

I am sure we ran into you all at the H20 zone!! Hmm...maybe it was at busier times at The Windjammer?? That is quite annoying!! We said the same thing... Bar service was not the best and definitely due to spring breakers. Although, I think over the years you don't have as many servers coming around asking you for drinks. It has seemed to be either way over the top or not enough. Happy medium would be great! Yes, our cruise directors was not our favorite either but definitely not the worst. They can make or break your cruise!!

Thanks for the feedback.

You mentioned filet mignon in the MDR. Did you pay extra for this?

You are welcome. FREE one evening!!

You are welcome. FREE one evening!!

Interesting, first time I've heard of filet mignon for no extra chanrge in the MDR on RC. Nice touch.:)

We've stayed in 8500 on Indy twice. I love that cabin, so much space.

The menu is listed as beef tenderloin but it is filet! "Beef tenderloin is the name of the large cut of beefbefore it is sliced into steak. Once it is cut into steaks, those steaks are known by the French name,"filet mignon." I've seen steaks labeled as "beef tenderloin" steaks in the market, and they are the same as filet mignon steaks " LOL!

Interesting, first time I've heard of filet mignon for no extra chanrge in the MDR on RC. Nice touch.:)

Glad you had a great cruise!

I'm sailing on Independence the beginning of April, would you have the menus for the dinning room and which night they were for. We would like to book specialty dinning and are trying to decide which nights.

Thanks,

Lillian

Glad you had a great cruise!

 

 

I'm sailing on Independence the beginning of April, would you have the menus for the dinning room and which night they were for. We would like to book specialty dinning and are trying to decide which nights.

 

Thanks,

Lillian

We were on the same cruise last month. We only at in the MDR twice. Night 2 was the Saffron menu and night 4 was Jasmine.

We were on the same cruise last month. We only at in the MDR twice. Night 2 was the Saffron menu and night 4 was Jasmine.

Thanks!!! One of the people in our group loves the Poblano and corn soup on the Jasmine menu :)

Lillian

We booked this same for next Spring Break with our two college aged kids and our college graduate and his friend. I hope we aren't going to regret it. Was the solarium area "party zone" free?

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

This is the third time I am attempting to post on this thread, I keep getting booted off.

Our 22y/o DD sailed with you as part of the Bowling Green College Experience (4 girls).

Likes:

Cabin and attendant.....there were 4 girls in an outside closet on deck 3.

He took nice care of them and cleaned their messy room.

They asked for towels, he brought them shampoo, they asked for cups he brought them wash clothes.

By the end of the cruise they had everything they wanted, but loved this guy dearly.

Loved that the drink package was embossed on sea pass card, not a sticker.

Enjoyed being Diamond with the perks, she earned this right by all her previous cruises on RCI traveling with parental units.

Went to diamond lounge and it was empty.

Ate in the MDR every night, got 3 appetizers and 2 main courses, rolls, salad....yea she is a size 4:o, but has the metabolism of a marathon runner.

Love the band at the pool.

In Jamaica went to and stayed at Margarittaville, hamburger fries and all the drinks all day 50ish dollars.

They got their moneys worth, last group to get back on the ship

Love the dancing at night.

Noticed the extra security on board.

Cons:

Thought some of the bartenders were stuffy, and rude.

Missing Labadee due to the rough weather conditions.

Before they left we as parents asked them to stay together when off the ship.

Did they listen.........................No.

So, one of the girls had to go to the bathroom at Margaritaville, so she took off on her own, on her way back to the pool a worker came up to her and asked her if she wanted to buy cocaine or ecstasy. She said no leave me alone.

He did.

That was the only thing that as a parent bothered us.

Guess when you travel out of the country you have to be prepared for anything.

Did luggage express walk off.

Entertained those waiting in line.

Abby was feeling no pain.

At airport drinking coffee by 8 ish.

Safely home.

Thanks for letting me share.

A mom.

I am sorry I do not! I do have all the Compasses if you need anything else.

Glad you had a great cruise!

 

 

I'm sailing on Independence the beginning of April, would you have the menus for the dinning room and which night they were for. We would like to book specialty dinning and are trying to decide which nights.

 

Thanks,

Lillian

Yes!!

We booked this same for next Spring Break with our two college aged kids and our college graduate and his friend. I hope we aren't going to regret it. Was the solarium area "party zone" free?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Thanks for sharing!! As a mom too that would scare me...going off alone in Jamaica but what can you do....Glad they are all home safe and sound!!

This is the third time I am attempting to post on this thread, I keep getting booted off.

 

Our 22y/o DD sailed with you as part of the Bowling Green College Experience (4 girls).

 

Likes:

Cabin and attendant.....there were 4 girls in an outside closet on deck 3.

He took nice care of them and cleaned their messy room.

They asked for towels, he brought them shampoo, they asked for cups he brought them wash clothes.

By the end of the cruise they had everything they wanted, but loved this guy dearly.

 

Loved that the drink package was embossed on sea pass card, not a sticker.

 

Enjoyed being Diamond with the perks, she earned this right by all her previous cruises on RCI traveling with parental units.

Went to diamond lounge and it was empty.

 

Ate in the MDR every night, got 3 appetizers and 2 main courses, rolls, salad....yea she is a size 4:o, but has the metabolism of a marathon runner.

 

 

Love the band at the pool.

 

 

In Jamaica went to and stayed at Margarittaville, hamburger fries and all the drinks all day 50ish dollars.

They got their moneys worth, last group to get back on the ship

 

 

Love the dancing at night.

 

 

Noticed the extra security on board.

 

 

Cons:

Thought some of the bartenders were stuffy, and rude.

 

 

Missing Labadee due to the rough weather conditions.

 

 

 

 

Before they left we as parents asked them to stay together when off the ship.

Did they listen.........................No.

 

So, one of the girls had to go to the bathroom at Margaritaville, so she took off on her own, on her way back to the pool a worker came up to her and asked her if she wanted to buy cocaine or ecstasy. She said no leave me alone.

He did.

 

That was the only thing that as a parent bothered us.

Guess when you travel out of the country you have to be prepared for anything.

 

 

Did luggage express walk off.

Entertained those waiting in line.

Abby was feeling no pain.

 

At airport drinking coffee by 8 ish.

 

Safely home.

 

Thanks for letting me share.

 

A mom.

I am sorry I do not! I do have all the Compasses if you need anything else.

Would love to see the compasses! Do you mind posting them|?

Lillian

Thanks for the review.

Glad you had great cruise. Thanks for sharing your experience.

I sure will in the next day or so! :)

Would love to see the compasses! Do you mind posting them|?

 

Lillian