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Independence of the Seas?

LivetoCruise412
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LivetoCruise412

LivetoCruise412

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We have booked a group/family cruise of 8 cabins and growing going on Independence of the Seas in August. I keep reading not good reviews about the ship all of a sudden, I don't understand because it is the sister ship and newest in the freedom class. Can anyone give me some more insight on the ship, we are looking forward to it but wondering if I should try to move us all to another ship. Also do they have freestyle coke soda machines or plans on them soon. Thanks for the help

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NICruisers

NICruisers

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Independence is a fantastic ship with some of the best staff in the fleet. It's possible the reviews you've read are from people who've cruised with other lines and are making comparisons between the different styles of ship/cruise line; perhaps it may have been their first cruise with RCCL and they're unused to the format/style of cruising with Royal. My advice would be to enjoy your cruise and make up your own mind.

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depplep

depplep

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It's been 5yrs since we were on Indy, but it was my favorite ship hands down. So much to offer, never a dull moment. The ship was beautiful, service was great and never felt crowded. I almost wish we hadn't booked Oasis this fall and did Indy for the 8nt again instead.

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Spaniel Lover

Spaniel Lover

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I'm currently onboard Independence of the Seas... my second Royal Caribbean cruise after many with Carnival and a few with Princess and Norwegian.

 

I'm one of those weird people that eats all meals in the buffet restaurant and never sets foot in the main dining room of a cruise ship anymore. I have to say that lunch and dinner in the Independence Of The Seas buffet restaurant is the best cruise ship food I've had in all 29 of my cruises. There's lots of choices, and plenty that fits my particular taste in food. I can't honestly say I like their breakfast options... but lunch and dinner have been fantastic.

 

Here's the thing that's a disappointment to me, though: the entertainment. It hasn't been good, and it's also been sparse. A lot of the music acts don't even get going until after 9:30 PM. Comedy has been almost non-existent. Carnival just completely blows Royal Caribbean out of the water when it comes to comedy. Also, no waterslides, and no self-service laundry facilities.

 

It's weird how their is little to no entertainment until later in the evening. When you have a 8 AM call for a shore excursion the next day, you really can't attend an 11 PM musical performance.

 

Not to imply we're having a bad time... we love to cruise and can have a good time on just about any cruise. But this is weird how little entertainment there is at night here!

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KMagz

KMagz

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We've sailed on Oasis, Allure, Freedom, Independence, several Voyager-class ships, etc... Last year's Independence cruise was our best cruise ever. Period. I scratch my head when I read those bad reviews.

 

We've booked Indy again.

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KMagz

KMagz

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do the dividers open between cabin balconies on Indy? THANKS!

 

They do. I've heard they sometimes won't open them (for safety reasons) but we've been like 5 for 5 on our cruises on RCCL. They've always opened them for us. (Including Indy.)

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nednrom

nednrom

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We have booked a group/family cruise of 8 cabins and growing going on Independence of the Seas in August. I keep reading not good reviews about the ship all of a sudden, I don't understand because it is the sister ship and newest in the freedom class. Can anyone give me some more insight on the ship, we are looking forward to it but wondering if I should try to move us all to another ship. Also do they have freestyle coke soda machines or plans on them soon. Thanks for the help

 

We've also been on the Indy 3 times and will be on her again in November. I can't really comment on the entertainment since we dont go to the shows, but we like the staff and the openness of the deck plans of the Freedom class

. This time cruise director will be different but I still like Quest and other games onboard. As someone said, a cruise or a vacation is what you make of it. I hope you have an awesome time!

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cruisinlife

cruisinlife

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Sailed last month on Indy and had some of the best service ever on RC and we are almost D+. Our stateroom attendant Asep was tremendous and he opened our balcony divider for us as well. Go see Matica and Owens in Olive or Twist, they are a BLAST!!! The Ice Show was the best we have seen on RC. We were fortunate that Beatlemania was one of our Headliner Shows, what a Fantastic show. We are booked again in October on Indy and cannot wait. Go and have a wonderful time!!!

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takevtr1

takevtr1

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We have booked a group/family cruise of 8 cabins and growing going on Independence of the Seas in August. I keep reading not good reviews about the ship all of a sudden, I don't understand because it is the sister ship and newest in the freedom class. Can anyone give me some more insight on the ship, we are looking forward to it but wondering if I should try to move us all to another ship. Also do they have freestyle coke soda machines or plans on them soon. Thanks for the help

What date are you sailing on the Indy?

My group will be on the Aug. 9th. sailing.

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Allezbob

Allezbob

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I too, just sailed on the Indy (4/5). Service and the staff were great. MDR food was overall good. A couple of spotty things, but it was fine. Specialty restaurants were excellent! Can't say enough about those meals. The ship was clean and I thought the ice show was the bomb. Very entertaining. Trivia was fun with Kevin from Canada. Labadee was wonderful as was Jamaica. Don't worry, you will have a great time.

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Paulette3028

Paulette3028

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I too, just sailed on the Indy (4/5). Service and the staff were great. MDR food was overall good. A couple of spotty things, but it was fine. Specialty restaurants were excellent! Can't say enough about those meals. The ship was clean and I thought the ice show was the bomb. Very entertaining. Trivia was fun with Kevin from Canada. Labadee was wonderful as was Jamaica. Don't worry, you will have a great time.

 

We enjoyed trivia with Kevin from Canada when we sailed on Indy back in February. You had Gordon Travis as Activity Manager -- for the cruise we were on Gordon was filling in as the CD that week, with Ricky Matthews as CD -- Ricky should have been great, we had him as CD on a different ship on a previous sailing.

 

Tom (from Croatia) was another member of the Indy entertainment staff that did a terrific job.

 

We love the Freedom class of ships and had a fabulous time on Indy when we sailed on her!

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