Review of Independance of the Seas | Southampton 27th May | First Timers

[heathstockton4]

I asked many questions before we travelled so thought would be worthwhile giving our feedback, we travelled as a group of 9 made up of 2 couples, 4 teens and a grandparent. 2 were first time cruisers and us others have been on Thomson twice and Costa once.

 

Here goes:-

 

Embarkation - no complaints at all, we stayed in Southampton the night before so arrived at the port at 11am and despite having an invitation to check-in at 3pm (Deck 2) this was never even questioned and we were virtually straight on the ship. One thing to note though, we had a teenager with us (nephew) and because his parent/guardian was not with us we were made to contact his mother to give electronic authority for him to travel, never had this before with Costa or Thomson but apparently is a RC policy.

 

Staterooms - we booked Ocean View Guarantee and were allocated 2540/2584/2656/2658, access to rooms was 1pm and we had the first cases by 3pm and all of them by 6pm. Found the cabins spacious considering no suite upgrade and had no problems during the week with any of them.

 

Dining - i had already made a reservation for a table of 9 in My Cruise Planner (My Time Dining) and on the first night we had a great table at the window, kept this all week and perfectly looked after by our head waiter and his assistant. Our drinks order was remembered from Day 2 and the teens all asked for a pasta dish as a starter even though not on the menu, was no problem and they ordered this each night. We used a combination of Windjammer and Room Service for breakfast and lunch, breakfast can be served to your cabin free of charge if the continental is selected. We did find Windjammer a little too hectic at breakfast, one morning we struggled to find a table and then when we did no cutlery anywhere for about 15 minutes. As we have not been on any RCI before i am not going to go into much details on quality of food, we found it all good, maybe some improvements to be made but nothing to warrant a serious complaint or moan. For a late snack the Pizza place and Cafe Promenade were well utilised and good quality.

 

Drinks - Adults all paid for the Premium Drinks Package and Teens the Soda Package, i have read on here drinks up to $12 are included, this was actually $14 so covered all but a few options including any glass of wine and prosecco and all premium spirits including the likes of Grey Goose Vodka and Aviation Gin and most of the cocktails. No real problems getting served at any of the bars and lounges, bit busy on the Royal Promenade on parade nights but not too bad

 

Itinerary - we knew before we went the stops were not the most appealing and this proved to be the case, wouldn't really say any of them were memorable and the $10 shuttle bus fare was steep in Bilbao and Gijon. Happy to answer any questions on the stops (Le Havre, Cherbourg, Bilbao and Gijon)

 

Entertainment - impressed, some good shows especially Grease and the Promenade Parades and the Cruise Director and his team were excellent. We went in the Casino a couple of nights (even covered my tips) and the teens used the play court, golf

 

Disembarkment - very easy and quick, cases out by 11pm and we had an 8am slot but to be honest i don't think they enforce this if anyone wanted to get off earlier or later than their allocated time.

 

Overall as a family we enjoyed the week, my wife and i would like to try another ship and hopefully a Caribbean vacation, might even look at a late deal this year. Basic review but happy to answer any questions anyone has, particularly from first timers on RCI or Indy

 

One other thing to note, after breakfast at our hotel in Southampton before the cruise we rang for 3 taxis and despite trying 6 companies we could not get one so had to walk, not sure if just that weekend but would be worth booking in advance.

Edited June 6, 2017 by heathstockton4
Independence Of The Seas Review | Southampton 27th May | First Timers

[sgmn]

Thanks for the review, we have just booked Independence for Autumn - first time starting a cruise in UK. Nice to hear some positives. We won't be getting the drink package, can you remember if the 10 drink card was sold for set price as has been on some RC cruises?

[heathstockton4]

Thanks for the review, we have just booked Independence for Autumn - first time starting a cruise in UK. Nice to hear some positives. We won't be getting the drink package, can you remember if the 10 drink card was sold for set price as has been on some RC cruises?

 

Our first from the UK aswell, if i remember correctly i think there was a 10 drinks card for $89 but as we had the package didn't check it properly, sure other members will confirm this for you. Enjoy when you go.

[celticfc]

Can you tell me how much was the drinks package to buy on board?

[Roofire]

Thank you for your review. We're travelling later this month, so it's good to know that you had a good cruise.

[heathstockton4]

Can you tell me how much was the drinks package to buy on board?

 

Not 100% sure as we were told it will never be cheaper onboard than online before travel, we pre-paid and i added the Voom Internet as it was on offer

[heathstockton4]

just realised i spelt IndependEnce wrong in the title, apologies, can't seem to be able to edit it

[easyboy]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise!

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[immy619]

May I ask, are you local to the port? If you flew in, what method / vendor did you use to get to the port?

[heathstockton4]

May I ask, are you local to the port? If you flew in, what method / vendor did you use to get to the port?

 

We live in the UK so travelled by train the day before and stayed overnight in Southampton

[gillme]

Thank you for taking the time to post the review. We're on Independence in September for the first time having been on Freedom and Oasis.

[kctwinmommy]

Thanks for the quick review! We're sailing on her next month!!

 

A few questions -

 

* Where did you stay in Southampton? How far was your walk then? We're staying at the Holiday Inn, but it's 2 adults & a teenage boy, so I'm pretty sure walking won't really be a big deal for us anyway.

 

* What did you do in Le Havre?

 

* For the kids with the soda package, do you feel it was worth it? I drink soda every day, but with our 4 port days being so long (12-14 hours), I don't feel I'm going to get the best bang for my buck. And my son drinks little soda, more juice/water.

 

*Any complaints or recommendations about the ship itself? Anything you discovered? There was another recent review that was somewhat negative, but he/she hasn't really said what was wrong. A little dirty issues, but they saw staff cleaning it after they complained. So I'm waiting to hear more about what they thought was wrong.

 

This is our first time on RCI, and out of the UK, so it's great to hear from others who are doing this so recently. Thanks!

[heathstockton4]

Thanks for the quick review! We're sailing on her next month!!

 

A few questions -

 

* Where did you stay in Southampton? How far was your walk then? We're staying at the Holiday Inn, but it's 2 adults & a teenage boy, so I'm pretty sure walking won't really be a big deal for us anyway.

 

 

* What did you do in Le Havre?

 

 

* For the kids with the soda package, do you feel it was worth it? I drink soda every day, but with our 4 port days being so long (12-14 hours), I don't feel I'm going to get the best bang for my buck. And my son drinks little soda, more juice/water.

 

 

*Any complaints or recommendations about the ship itself? Anything you discovered? There was another recent review that was somewhat negative, but he/she hasn't really said what was wrong. A little dirty issues, but they saw staff cleaning it after they complained. So I'm waiting to hear more about what they thought was wrong.

 

This is our first time on RCI, and out of the UK, so it's great to hear from others who are doing this so recently. Thanks!

 

 

We stayed a The Flying Dutchman which was a 20 minutes walk from the cruise terminal, we had intended to get taxis but all were booked so we walked, wasn't too bad and got there in plenty of time

 

We decided against the long day trips to either Paris or Normandy Beaches, took the shuttle bus to the town centre but it was a Sunday so very little open other than a street market, if you are there other than a Sunday sure more would be open if not doing a longer trip

 

The soda package is literally just soda, can't order water but there are plenty of places you can get water throughout the day (Cafe Promenade also 24 hours). All ours got full use of it as drank soda.

 

Windjammer we did find was over crowded at times and when busy slow to clear plates and did appear dirty but the food was acceptable and i would not say worth a strong complaint. We are not extensive cruisers (this our 4th) but i would say the ship is maybe getting close to needing a refurb, nothing major but to experienced cruisers or previous guests of Indy i could see the slightly negative comments. No issue at all with the cabins and as a group of 9 we enjoyed the week on board and i'm sure you will have a great time.

[marchand28]

We were on the same cruise and flew into Heathrow from Washington DC 2 days earlier. We used Smiths for Airports. Price was great, service even better.

[regg1216]

What was the price of the drink package on board And was gratuity added or included?

[Sarah1974]

We are not extensive cruisers (this our 4th) but i would say the ship is maybe getting close to needing a refurb, nothing major but to experienced cruisers or previous guests of Indy i could see the slightly negative comments.

 

 

I believe Indy is due for some sort of refurbishment next year

[JDB14]

We are onboard Indy on the 29th July for our first ever cruise. Can I ask for the casino do you have to get some US dollars or can you just use Euros?