Independence of the Seas Couples Cruise SMOKING ALLOWED EVERYWHERE ON POOL DECK!!!!

My husband and I wanted an adult only vacation, we signed up for a couples cruise on Independence of the Seas Nov 15th - 22nd 2014. It was classified as a lifestyle cruise, which is mostly swingers, even though we are non swingers we decided to go.

I want everyone to know and understand that my last cruise was on Serenade of the Seas and was very very nice, from the food to the service, which was not so on the independence of the seas.

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff. I say nasty because nothing was prepared by chefs, it all seemed like boxed stuff you buy at frozen food dept.

Second thing that was awful was the SMOKING. People were allowed to smoked All Day and All NIGHT on the Deck 11 pool area, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. I never even sat out by the pool or hot tub because I am allergic to smoke. Nobody advised us that this was a smoking cruise when we booked.

The people that went on the cruise after us will without a doubt smell smoke when they board. I feel very sorry for them!

Royal has really gone down hill, and the food alone was NASTY, but add the SMOKING and this cruise was filthy. I will NEVER CRUISE ROYAL AGAIN!

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

Ugh! If you are positive there was nothing in the marketing materials or special terms and conditions of this charter, I would lodge a strong complaint about the lack of notice that smoking rules would not be enforced. That is unconscionable. So sorry for you!

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That is unfortunate that you experienced that. Booking on a full ship charter is nothing like booking a cruise through RCI I as the group that chartered the ship basically controls everything and all Royals standards are off the table. Again this is unfortunate but it is not Royals fault and certainly not typical of any of their regularly scheduled cruises.

Been on IOS for many B2Bs! and never found the food that bad!

Serenade definitely has the best food but IOS was just fine for us.:)

Ugh! If you are positive there was nothing in the marketing materials or special terms and conditions of this charter, I would lodge a strong complaint about the lack of notice that smoking rules would not be enforced. That is unconscionable. So sorry for you!

 

 

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Thanks for your advice and I will take it. I am going to contact the charter company and complain, my whole trip was spent on my balcony because of smoke. It did not help to have the excursions rained out with high winds either. I will say this, my cabin was wonderful and my husband and I spent most of the cruise there. Thanks for the advice.

That is unfortunate that you experienced that. Booking on a full ship charter is nothing like booking a cruise through RCI I as the group that chartered the ship basically controls everything and all Royals standards are off the table. Again this is unfortunate but it is not Royals fault and certainly not typical of any of their regularly scheduled cruises.

I guess I did not know that RCI rules did not apply here. I was never told that at all. I am glad you told me this, because frankly I was blaming RCI for this and really thought to myself how bad they have fallen.

My husband and I wanted an adult only vacation, we signed up for a couples cruise on Independence of the Seas Nov 15th - 22nd 2014. It was classified as a lifestyle cruise, which is mostly swingers, even though we are non swingers we decided to go.

 

I want everyone to know and understand that my last cruise was on Serenade of the Seas and was very very nice, from the food to the service, which was not so on the independence of the seas.

 

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff. I say nasty because nothing was prepared by chefs, it all seemed like boxed stuff you buy at frozen food dept.

 

Second thing that was awful was the SMOKING. People were allowed to smoked All Day and All NIGHT on the Deck 11 pool area, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. I never even sat out by the pool or hot tub because I am allergic to smoke. Nobody advised us that this was a smoking cruise when we booked.

 

The people that went on the cruise after us will without a doubt smell smoke when they board. I feel very sorry for them!

 

Royal has really gone down hill, and the food alone was NASTY, but add the SMOKING and this cruise was filthy. I will NEVER CRUISE ROYAL AGAIN!

 

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

I'm sorry for the awful experience you encountered. Please know that chartered cruises have different practices according to the contract that the company signs. For the lifestyle cruises, I believe the crew is given the option to opt out if they don't like to be exposed to the elements. Therefore the crew may not have been the usual independence crew.

The independence is one of my favorite ships there is one dedicated area by the pool on 11 and the cigar bar where people are allowed to smoke. Don't judge Royal by a chartered cruise.

........

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

What date in dec 2015 ? I would not want to experience the same .

Did you book with RCI or the charter group ?

I'm about to board indy. I'm hoping for good for

Just wondering if you booked the cruise through Royal Caribbean or through the couples website?

Rules and expectations change on charter cruises when it is Adult only for way Swingers or Nudist. So like other posts say not even some of the regular staff want to be part of if the atomsphere. RCCL also allows for Gay cruises and same thing happens.

We have been on several RCCL cruises and even though we are familiar with the LS, we would probably never book a Adult cruise because we understand we would it would not be the same as going on a regular booking. You can have fun on vanilla cruises without all the, you know...

Don't give up on RCCL, just go on regular cruise and see the difference! :)

My husband and I wanted an adult only vacation, we signed up for a couples cruise on Independence of the Seas Nov 15th - 22nd 2014. It was classified as a lifestyle cruise, which is mostly swingers, even though we are non swingers we decided to go.

 

I want everyone to know and understand that my last cruise was on Serenade of the Seas and was very very nice, from the food to the service, which was not so on the independence of the seas.

 

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff. I say nasty because nothing was prepared by chefs, it all seemed like boxed stuff you buy at frozen food dept.

 

Second thing that was awful was the SMOKING. People were allowed to smoked All Day and All NIGHT on the Deck 11 pool area, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. I never even sat out by the pool or hot tub because I am allergic to smoke. Nobody advised us that this was a smoking cruise when we booked.

 

The people that went on the cruise after us will without a doubt smell smoke when they board. I feel very sorry for them!

 

Royal has really gone down hill, and the food alone was NASTY, but add the SMOKING and this cruise was filthy. I will NEVER CRUISE ROYAL AGAIN!

 

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff.

That is really hard to believe. Unless the charter people requested nothing but hotdogs and nasty food.......

I'm sorry for the awful experience you encountered. Please know that chartered cruises have different practices according to the contract that the company signs. For the lifestyle cruises, I believe the crew is given the option to opt out if they don't like to be exposed to the elements. Therefore the crew may not have been the usual independence crew.

 

The independence is one of my favorite ships there is one dedicated area by the pool on 11 and the cigar bar where people are allowed to smoke. Don't judge Royal by a chartered cruise.

Interesting. If the usual crew (or even some significant part of the usual crew) chose not to participate in this cruise, where would they have stayed during this cruise, and who would have taken their place?

That is really hard to believe. Unless the charter people requested nothing but hotdogs and nasty food.......

We are doing back to back on the Independence and the food this week is the same as last week on the couples cruise. Typical Royal selections.

My husband and I wanted an adult only vacation, we signed up for a couples cruise on Independence of the Seas Nov 15th - 22nd 2014. It was classified as a lifestyle cruise, which is mostly swingers, even though we are non swingers we decided to go.

 

I want everyone to know and understand that my last cruise was on Serenade of the Seas and was very very nice, from the food to the service, which was not so on the independence of the seas.

 

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff. I say nasty because nothing was prepared by chefs, it all seemed like boxed stuff you buy at frozen food dept.

 

Second thing that was awful was the SMOKING. People were allowed to smoked All Day and All NIGHT on the Deck 11 pool area, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. I never even sat out by the pool or hot tub because I am allergic to smoke. Nobody advised us that this was a smoking cruise when we booked.

 

The people that went on the cruise after us will without a doubt smell smoke when they board. I feel very sorry for them!

 

Royal has really gone down hill, and the food alone was NASTY, but add the SMOKING and this cruise was filthy. I will NEVER CRUISE ROYAL AGAIN!

 

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

That is really hard to believe. Unless the charter people requested nothing but hotdogs and nasty food.......

We are doing back to back on the Independence and the food this week is the same as last week on the couples cruise. Typical Royal selections.

First of all, everyone's entitled to their own opinions, and if you (OP) thought the food was "nasty", then that's your opinion, but it most certainly was NOT "mostly hotdogs and hamburgers" unless of course you ate all your meals out around the pool.

Secondly, you're just flat wrong about it being "a smoking cruise" with smoking allowed everywhere. We sat out around the pool almost every day - on the starboard (non-smoking) side. One time a french woman took a lounger near ours and immediately lit up a cigarette, and within a minute or less a Royal employee was there making her put it out and telling her that it was non-smoking on that side and she needed to move to the other side of the deck to smoke.

Both the food AND the smoking policies on the Couples Cruise were Royal's normal/usual. We enjoyed most of the food - from lobster to prime rib to duck to lamp chops and lots of other things. And we enjoyed our time out around the pool during the day - on the non-smoking side which we saw well-enforced. Smoking was allowed on the port side of the pool decks and in the casino, period.

My husband and I wanted an adult only vacation, we signed up for a couples cruise on Independence of the Seas Nov 15th - 22nd 2014. It was classified as a lifestyle cruise, which is mostly swingers, even though we are non swingers we decided to go.

 

I want everyone to know and understand that my last cruise was on Serenade of the Seas and was very very nice, from the food to the service, which was not so on the independence of the seas.

 

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff. I say nasty because nothing was prepared by chefs, it all seemed like boxed stuff you buy at frozen food dept.

 

Second thing that was awful was the SMOKING. People were allowed to smoked All Day and All NIGHT on the Deck 11 pool area, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. I never even sat out by the pool or hot tub because I am allergic to smoke. Nobody advised us that this was a smoking cruise when we booked.

 

The people that went on the cruise after us will without a doubt smell smoke when they board. I feel very sorry for them!

 

Royal has really gone down hill, and the food alone was NASTY, but add the SMOKING and this cruise was filthy. I will NEVER CRUISE ROYAL AGAIN!

 

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

For the record, cigarette smoke is not an allergen. It is an irritant. You may have an intolerance to it and it may bother you but you're not allergic to it.

Regarding the food. We've been on the IOS twice and the food has been very good so all I can guess is that food on full charter ships must be different. Are you saying that there was no food in the buffet other than hotdogs and hamburgers? What were the dining room menus like?

I'm sorry for the awful experience you encountered. Please know that chartered cruises have different practices according to the contract that the company signs. For the lifestyle cruises, I believe the crew is given the option to opt out if they don't like to be exposed to the elements. Therefore the crew may not have been the usual independence crew.

 

The independence is one of my favorite ships there is one dedicated area by the pool on 11 and the cigar bar where people are allowed to smoke. Don't judge Royal by a chartered cruise.

Agreed Charter (full ship) cruises are nothing like a regular cruise!:)

For the record, cigarette smoke is not an allergen. It is an irritant. You may have an intolerance to it and it may bother you but you're not allergic to it.

 

Regarding the food. We've been on the IOS twice and the food has been very good so all I can guess is that food on full charter ships must be different. Are you saying that there was no food in the buffet other than hotdogs and hamburgers? What were the dining room menus like?

Actually second hand smoke has been proven to cause many illnesses far worse then and allergy!:eek:

First of all, everyone's entitled to their own opinions, and if you (OP) thought the food was "nasty", then that's your opinion, but it most certainly was NOT "mostly hotdogs and hamburgers" unless of course you ate all your meals out around the pool.

 

Secondly, you're just flat wrong about it being "a smoking cruise" with smoking allowed everywhere. We sat out around the pool almost every day - on the starboard (non-smoking) side. One time a french woman took a lounger near ours and immediately lit up a cigarette, and within a minute or less a Royal employee was there making her put it out and telling her that it was non-smoking on that side and she needed to move to the other side of the deck to smoke.

 

Both the food AND the smoking policies on the Couples Cruise were Royal's normal/usual. We enjoyed most of the food - from lobster to prime rib to duck to lamp chops and lots of other things. And we enjoyed our time out around the pool during the day - on the non-smoking side which we saw well-enforced. Smoking was allowed on the port side of the pool decks and in the casino, period.

Maybe the smokers weren't allowed on the starboard side, but who says the smoke didn't reach that side!

RCL's smoking policies are tightening up to come in line with other cruise lines, soon the casino will be smoke free!:D

And yes I am a former smoker who hates the smell of smoke now!

Actually second hand smoke has been proven to cause many illnesses far worse then and allergy!:eek:

Absolutely and I agree. Its just not an allergen as so many people like to claim that it is.

RCL's smoking policies are tightening up to come in line with other cruise lines, soon the casino will be smoke free!:D

And yes I am a former smoker who hates the smell of smoke now!

I too am an ex-smoker but don't hold your breath waiting for a smoke free casino. Its all about the $$$ and there's too much being made in the casinos to ban it there. All you need to do is think about the change in smoking policy. Why was it done? Using common sense, if you were to ban smoking somewhere where would you start? Of course you'd start in the Casino. You have workers in there working 8-12 hours a day breathing in second hand smoke. But the cruiselines didn't start there and in fact, it will be the last place they go. It was about banning it on balconies to avoid fires so I wouldn't read too much into these new policies. Until the day comes that they figure they're losing money by allowing smoking in the casinos it will be status quo. Perhaps the next logical step would be glassed off areas in the casino, well ventilated for smokers so they can go and enjoy themselves without worrying about what people have to say about them. Accommodations can be made for everyone on most cruise ships and it doesn't have to be all or nothing.

Actually second hand smoke has been proven to cause many illnesses far worse then and allergy!:eek:

You mean a worse illness than Anaphylaxis? Then that must really be bad:D. But like already stated. You can be legitimately Irritated by cigarette smoke but not Allergic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaphylaxis

Maybe the smokers weren't allowed on the starboard side, but who says the smoke didn't reach that side!

Well... I say! As earlier noted, we were out on the pool deck on the non-smoking side for the better part of several afternoons. It definitely was not smoky there - I would have noticed, I don't like to be around smoke either.

smoking policies are tightening up to come in line with other cruise lines, soon the casino will be smoke free!:D

And yes I am a former smoker who hates the smell of smoke now!

I hope you're right about that!

Am I the only one wondering why someone who just got back from a swingers cruise is only talking about the smoking? :D

I was researching different cabin types and ran across a couple on youtube doing a review of a Freedom Class Ship and a swingers cruise. I really wanted to know more about the cabin type, but they spent most of the review talking about the open atmosphere on the ship. It was an eye opener for me. :cool:

I think I'd steer clear of the hot tubs that week.

Am I the only one wondering why someone who just got back from a swingers cruise is only talking about the smoking? :D

 

I was researching different cabin types and ran across a couple on youtube doing a review of a Freedom Class Ship and a swingers cruise. I really wanted to know more about the cabin type, but they spent most of the review talking about the open atmosphere on the ship. It was an eye opener for me. :cool:

 

I think I'd steer clear of the hot tubs that week.

Haha, yes, it is a bit strange that all they could do is bitch about smoking and "nasty" food! :D This was our second Couples Cruise, and we love them - and we're definitely not swingers! Estimates are that somewhere around half, give or take, are probably swingers. Some are nudists, and some like us just love the all-adult, no-kids, all couples atmosphere with more evening parties and dancing.

Because they're trying to appeal to a wide range of couples, not just swingers - they're really pretty strict about NO sexual activity beyond french-kissing anywhere in public - including of course the hot tubs! Now, what goes on behind closed doors, that's a WHOLE different thing! :D

Now, what goes on behind closed doors, that's a WHOLE different thing! :D

Secrets to Advanced Hand Holding - ($)

My husband and I wanted an adult only vacation, we signed up for a couples cruise on Independence of the Seas Nov 15th - 22nd 2014. It was classified as a lifestyle cruise, which is mostly swingers, even though we are non swingers we decided to go.

 

I want everyone to know and understand that my last cruise was on Serenade of the Seas and was very very nice, from the food to the service, which was not so on the independence of the seas.

 

Our food on this boat was almost not edible. It mostly consisted of hotdogs, hamburgers and other nasty stuff. I say nasty because nothing was prepared by chefs, it all seemed like boxed stuff you buy at frozen food dept.

 

Second thing that was awful was the SMOKING. People were allowed to smoked All Day and All NIGHT on the Deck 11 pool area, and I do mean EVERYWHERE. I never even sat out by the pool or hot tub because I am allergic to smoke. Nobody advised us that this was a smoking cruise when we booked.

 

The people that went on the cruise after us will without a doubt smell smoke when they board. I feel very sorry for them!

 

Royal has really gone down hill, and the food alone was NASTY, but add the SMOKING and this cruise was filthy. I will NEVER CRUISE ROYAL AGAIN!

 

Heads up, the next couples only cruise is on Celebrity Silouette in Dec 2015.:mad:

We are doing back to back on the Independence and the food this week is the same as last week on the couples cruise. Typical Royal selections.

If these two people quoted above were on the same cruise (the first week of Karters' B2B), there is a wide disagreement on the food.....and as is usually the case, there always is a wide array of opinions about the food on a cruise.

So I take the OP's point of view with a grain of salt. Every other person who was on an Indy cruise had positive comments about the food.