Independence of the seas 8 day Christmas review

[Charger2008]

When I got back from Indy last March one of the things I wrote about was my poor experience with the sports staff also. The first morning (sea day) that we went to do the rock wall there were only three of us climbing. As soon as we got down the staff immediately tried to get us out of the equipment. There was no asking if you wanted to do another climb, no good job, no conversation. Nothing. I always have a great time with the sports staffs on the ships but it didn't happen on that cruise. I wrote about it on my comment card too.

 

We were on the Indy March 16, 2013 and we thought the sports staff was outstanding. Nicest we have ever met. Dosh and Romy were so very very helpful on the Flowrider and even though Frank and I have ridden before, they gave us some wonderful tips and really helped us to improve our riding style. All of the staff was great and I wrote an "addendum" to my comment card listing them all by name and telling RCCL that they were lucky to have such great employees.

 

Every morning for advanced stand up, we had not only great staff members out there but also great guests. There were about five guys and me for about two hours and we never had to wait in line and the staff never gave us any grief about tricks or trying new things and actually encouraged us to try new tricks :D

 

I guess, just like the food and entertainment, everyone's experience is different.

Edited January 3, 2014 by Charger2008

[NYCrews]

I will agree with practically all of this. Entertainment on IOS was no where near the level of other ships. However, Motown was good as well as the juggler and comedian. I agree that the comedian should have been given more time on stage. The Ice show was not interesting until probably the last 15 minutes. Food was average for RC ships. My dining staff in the MDR was fantastic. The best team of waiter and assistant waiter I've ever had.

 

Things on a cruise ship are so subjective and some things just depend upon which employees you encounter. I was on the Christmas sailing too. While I agree that the ice show started a little slow, we met some other people who thought it was the best show in the fleet. I also thought that the Once Upon a Time production show was one of the best that I have seen on Royal Caribbean. We also had the worst waiter and assistant waiter that we have ever had, but I'm sure that's not representative of the whole ship. Overall, I thought the ship was great and it was one of my best cruises.

[wolfganghowell]

Would love some details on the Schooner Bar- is he high energy? music style? etc etc. Same with the Pub. It's my understanding the formal nights are Sunday and Thursday (San Juan).

[Ocean Boy]

We were on the Indy March 16, 2013 and we thought the sports staff was outstanding. Nicest we have ever met. Dosh and Romy were so very very helpful on the Flowrider and even though Frank and I have ridden before, they gave us some wonderful tips and really helped us to improve our riding style. All of the staff was great and I wrote an "addendum" to my comment card listing them all by name and telling RCCL that they were lucky to have such great employees.

 

Every morning for advanced stand up, we had not only great staff members out there but also great guests. There were about five guys and me for about two hours and we never had to wait in line and the staff never gave us any grief about tricks or trying new things and actually encouraged us to try new tricks :D

 

I guess, just like the food and entertainment, everyone's experience is different.

 

I am glad that you had a great experience. Maybe it was just the staff on the rock wall that morning. Maybe it was just a bad day for them. Maybe a few negative reviews on the comment cards gave them the kick in the butt that they needed to straighted out.

[bwest the man]

We were on the Indy March 16, 2013 and we thought the sports staff was outstanding. Nicest we have ever met. Dosh and Romy were so very very helpful on the Flowrider and even though Frank and I have ridden before, they gave us some wonderful tips and really helped us to improve our riding style. All of the staff was great and I wrote an "addendum" to my comment card listing them all by name and telling RCCL that they were lucky to have such great employees.

 

Every morning for advanced stand up, we had not only great staff members out there but also great guests. There were about five guys and me for about two hours and we never had to wait in line and the staff never gave us any grief about tricks or trying new things and actually encouraged us to try new tricks :D

 

I guess, just like the food and entertainment, everyone's experience is different.

 

I'm glad they were good for you. We have always had good experiences before. This was our first bad one. Hopefully they have some new staff by the time you board. Have a great cruise.

[bwest the man]

Would love some details on the Schooner Bar- is he high energy? music style? etc etc. Same with the Pub. It's my understanding the formal nights are Sunday and Thursday (San Juan).

 

Yes it was defiantly high energy with lots of crowd participation. They do change out the entertainers though, so no guarantee that you will have them. The formal night were different on this cruise due to it being a Christmas sailing. They were day 2 and Christmas eve with smart casual on Christmas day and a great menu. Lobster wasn't served until later in the cruise on a casual night.

[bwest the man]

Final Thoughts:

 

This was a very nice cruise and a nice get away from the horrible cold weather here. We had great weather after the first two days as those were very windy and had high seas. The Christmas activities were nice and we will probably look into another one in the future. Most people were dressed up very formal on formal night that went to the MDR as well. One very annoying thing from the MDR though is that they have the same bread every night and fewer choices. They also make a huge deal and make an announcement EVERY NIGHT, here comes your assistant waiters with warm bread, and played HOT HOT HOT extremely loud. This really should be done away with or one night per cruise.

Lots of families onboard. There were some negatives as stated earlier but it was still a nice cruise. It was probably the worst ship based we have been on in the Royal fleet though and we will not cruise on the Independence again.

Edited January 8, 2014 by bwest the man

[Sunnydayzs1]

How was the weather during December? I'm planning to go on a future

Christmas cruise also.

 

 

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[Clarea]

How was the weather during December? I'm planning to go on a future

Christmas cruise also.

The weather in the Caribbean in December is beautiful. Around 80F during the day.

[Sunnydayzs1]

That's great to hear! I'm looking forward to enjoying warm weather in the caribbean! :-)

 

 

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