Photo Review:Carnival Cruiser Sails Independence of the Seas:Southampton, Le Havre

Carnival Cruiser Sails the Independence of the Seas from Southampton to Le Havre (Honfleur) and Brugge.

Review coming now!

I won't bore everyone with the details, but this cruise was part of a 3-week trip I took my mom on for her 60th birthday. We were also traveling along with my 4-year old son, who loves cruising. Unfortunately, my husband wasn't able to join us for this sailing...

If you've read my other reviews, you might remember that this kid loves escargot like no one else I've ever met! (ewww!)

I used to live in England, so we flew in a week before our cruise was set to sail, and visited with old friends before driving down to Southampton on 10/28 - one night before the Independence was set to sail.

We stayed the night at the Holiday Inn at the Pier, and the cost for all 3 of us, including breakfast was 128 pounds Sterling. In the morning, we could see that our ship had come in!

Staying at the Holiday Inn at the port proved very easy, and made our morning of embarkation go quite smoothly.

After a filling breakfast, we called a taxi to drive us into the port. It's a secure port, so I believe this was the only way we could enter through the port gate where we entered. Although it would have only been a brief walk from our hotel, the amount of luggage we took with us was embarrassing! The taxi cost 4 pounds from the Holiday Inn to the embarkation entrance.

Embarkation was a breeze! Very easy, except when we went to get our sail passes, so a word of advice:

I found the check-in people extremely strict on adhering to guidelines and security procedures. This is not a negative thing at all - they were all friendly and delightful. However, make sure you have your paperwork in order, and have read your ticket contract carefully. The family next to us had a woman traveling with them that was 22-weeks pregnant. And, although she would only be entering her 23rd week when the cruise was finished (perfectly acceptable), she had not had her doctor fill out the paperwork and they refused her boarding.

My son and I have a different last name. Despite being married for over 7 years, I haven't ever legally added my husband's name as my last name. One reason is that I had a job which required me to travel internationally a lot, and I needed my tickets (which were always booked way in advance) to match my passport. At the last minute before this trip, I copied my son's birth certificate, my husband's passport, and had my husband write a signed letter for me to take stating I had his full permission to travel across international borders with my son. They requested this paperwork and reviewed it for a full 20-minutes before moving forward. I was told that without it, we would have been denied boarding because they are taking extra precautions due to the child trafficking incidents in Europe. So keep this in mind.

Now, we have our passes and are ready to board this gorgeous ship...The fun starts now!

YAY!! I'm a loyal Royal who is considering Carnival for my next cruise. I'd love to hear your thoughts comparing the two lines. Are you posting this in Carnival forum, as well?

We boarded the ship around 11:30am and headed up to the Windjammer for lunch, along with our carry-on bags. I honestly couldn't get over how gorgeous this ship was! The only previous Royal Caribbean cruises I've done were on the Majesty and Monarch, which I believe the oldest ships in the fleet. It was nothing like this! This is truly a beautiful ship, with the most amazing dining room I've ever seen!

A few pics:

A few more ship pics:

We just had a standard oceanview cabin, mainly because I used my Royal Points from my Royal Caribbean Visa card, and was able to get the cruise for free (just paying taxes/port charges/gratuities). I didn't have enough points for a suite. :-)

The cabin was fine, although, both of the iron barriers on the upper beds were slightly broken, and I did NOT feel comfortable allowing my 4-year old to sleep up there. Unlike Carnival where you can freely request a trundle bed on any cruise from your cabin steward, those are not allowed on Royal (or that's what I was told the 4 times I asked)...They do have some mobile cots, but they aren't allowed in the standard oceanview class of cabin. I was told they're only for the family rooms/suites.

So...the first night I attempted to sleep up there. I do have claustrophobia, but honestly, the main issue I had was that it was boiling! Like major heat coming down from the tin ceiling and I was dying.

After that, we asked the cabin steward to make up one upper each day, and we requested an additional duvet. Then at night, we'd move it down on the floor for my son, and put the coffee table/trash can/ladder up on top of the bed. That worked out great! We just didn't let them see it...

I shall be interested to read your review as we were on the same sailing - one or two things you have said already do not square with our experience - but let us see how this pans out.

I shall be interested to read your review as we were on the same sailing - one or two things you have said already do not square with our experience - but let us see how this pans out.

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SteveH2508,

You've made me curious! I'm guessing embarkation didn't go smoothly for you, since I haven't covered much just yet! Did you have a good experience onboard the ship, or not so much???

YAY!! I'm a loyal Royal who is considering Carnival for my next cruise. I'd love to hear your thoughts comparing the two lines. Are you posting this in Carnival forum, as well?

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Hi maureencruiser,

I am going to write a few posts comparing the two cruise lines! I wondered if I should post this over on the Carnival site as well...not sure the guidelines on that...

After getting on board, we realized we made the critical mistake of heading to the Windjammer for lunch. On every previous cruise I've done, I've always been under the impression that the "buffet" at the top is the only area serving lunch!

However, they were also serving food at the Cafe Promenade & Sorrento's Pizzeria. So something to keep in mind if you don't want to face the crowds at the buffet.

We don't typically eat in the buffets on cruises, instead opting for the proper dining room as well as room service. This buffet area was very lovely, with a wide variety of food, and beautiful sweeping views.

I couldn't quite figure room service out during this cruise...I requested a room service menu, but my cabin steward said they didn't have them for the room, and I needed to call and asked for what I wanted. Hmm...He was pretty new, and there wasn't really a time I couldn't meander down to the promenade, so I never quite worked that out...

Next up...sail away.

I couldn't quite figure room service out during this cruise...I requested a room service menu, but my cabin steward said they didn't have them for the room, and I needed to call and asked for what I wanted. Hmm...He was pretty new, and there wasn't really a time I couldn't meander down to the promenade, so I never quite worked that out...

 

Next up...sail away.

The room service menu is on the interactive TV... you select what you want then hit submit

Usually they call you within a few minutes to let you know the wait time

The room service menu is on the interactive TV... you select what you want then hit submit

Usually they call you within a few minutes to let you know the wait time

Thanks dappleddumpling! We didn't have success with the tv working - nothing major - I'm quite sure we just needed new remote batteries. But we usually don't watch tv while cruising, so we never bothered to request them...

Happy to know that little tip though, as I'm getting ready to book another RCCL cruise in April!

SteveH2508,

 

You've made me curious! I'm guessing embarkation didn't go smoothly for you, since I haven't covered much just yet! Did you have a good experience onboard the ship, or not so much???

Embarkation was a total nightmare - finally made it on board after over an hour queueing and then got the loud bang-bang music in the Boardwalk - not a good start from our point of view.

On-board experience was patchy with a couple of issues.

Some staff were excellent and tried to fix the problems - I suspect the problems were more system problems (e.g. mytime dining on the last night was a clusterf**k) they had to keep the buffet open later to feed us.

Getting a drink was difficult - waiters were as rare as rocking horse sh*t - and the bars were badly understaffed. The poor girl on her own in the casino bar was going mental a lot of the time. Individual staff were great - the system and staffing levels seemed to be lacking.

We neither of us like huge ships and felt that the focus on the boardwalk (basically a shopping mall) lost the point of being on a cruise (the ocean). I live 100 yards from the Kings Road - I do not need a shopping mall on a ship (just my personal preference).

Getting on and off the ship was not good - they need more than 1 gangway in port for 4000+pax. (Definitely NOT disabled-friendly either).

There were some good points - I found the cigar bar straight away which was a great place to chill out with a drink, smoke and a chat. Cabin was fine (except for no coffee machine - we neither of us drink tea) but no biggy - room service covered that. (Anything other than coffee seemed a bit complicated for them though).

Trivia was good, varied and stimulating. The shows were very good.

The staff coped as best they could given the circumstances (RCCL take note - you have good staff - don't let the bean-counters abuse them with their cuts).

From a commercial point of view - we are regular cruisers whose on-board spend is high. RCCL had a golden opportunity to win us over - they failed. Regular RCCL cruisers (and those who have cruised IoTS) were whingeing about the service; atmosphere and standards, so our experience is not an isolated one.

Sorry for hi-jacking your review with mine but I got on a roll...

Thanks for this review - I am enjoying it much and looking forward to more.

We will be on the Indy out of Southampton next season.

I saw the link to your review on the Inspiration and also had to read that as well - We went the first week of April and also had some pretty crummy weather! Enjoyed that review, and am jealous that you got to stay on the Queen Mary. I really want to do that some day.

Thanks for this review - I am enjoying it much and looking forward to more.

We will be on the Indy out of Southampton next season.

 

I saw the link to your review on the Inspiration and also had to read that as well - We went the first week of April and also had some pretty crummy weather! Enjoyed that review, and am jealous that you got to stay on the Queen Mary. I really want to do that some day.

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Hi DandDM,

Oh good, I've been away for the afternoon, but hope to continue tomorrow...

Such a bummer you also had bad weather on the Inspiration! We live in SoCal, and have great weather almost 330 days of the year - we were so unlucky! We're boarding again in January for a 3-day, so hopefully we'll be more lucky.

Thanks so much for this review! I've sailed freedom-class, & lower, and recently did Carnival, so I'm looking forward to your comparisons. Currently I say freedom-class is hands-down THE BEST, because of the excellent entertainment.

Enjoying your review have sailed on Independence quite a few times now and have enjoyed all cruises very much , will be on her again in May on cruise to Norwegian Fjords.

Looking forward to reading the rest of your review.

Enjoying your review.

Keith

Thanks everyone for reading along! I love hearing everyone's impressions of this cruise (good and bad)!

It's been such a busy holiday weekend here for us, I'm realizing this may take me a bit longer than my other reviews to put together..

More to come...

We had lovely weather for the sail away out of Southampton on 10/29!

Everyone was due on board at 3:30pm, and the safety drill was scheduled for 3:45pm. We were out on the deck, and fortunately, it was a crisp, sunny day and around 55 degrees! It was the typical safety drill/finding your muster stations routine, and was very quick and efficient. I appreciated that I was excused to leave early (with a young child), before everyone started trampling for the doors.

We decided to head up to the Olive or Twist Bar to watch the sail away. It seems everyone had the same idea and it was extremely crowded, and as another reviewed mentioned, hard to get a drink! But, I guess it's kind of to be expected - I feel the first couple of hours into a new cruise are always the most chaotic/crowded as everyone finds their place...

We actually didn't succeed in getting a drink, but we did watch the sunset as we pulled out of Southampton...

After that, we wandered around before heading to dinner!

Looking forward to more! Hope I have the chance to sail out of Southampton on the Anthem of the Seas in the future!

Great pictures so far!

Your son is adorable:D Thanks for writing this!

Your son is adorable:D Thanks for writing this!

I was thinking that about Mom :D

I was thinking that about Mom :D

Yes, us DOM think that Mom is just as cute as son. :D

We did a TA on Indy in 2008, her first season, from Southampton to Miami. Love that ship, hope to take her again now that we have relocated from NY to Fl.

We were also on this cruise and have/am enjoying your views of the ship and Royal Caribbean, it looks like, overall you enjoyed yourselves or at least are pragmatic about issues you had.

Whoever the other poster is with their list of problems, I agree that it is easy to find problems and we too had our share and recognise some of the issues they mentioned. I guess that they will stick with NCL in future, which is a a cruise line we would like to try sometime.

I am not going to hi-jack your thread with my issues, I took those up onbaord the ship and they we dealt with.

I hope you enjoyed yourselves enough to try Royal Caribbean again.