I was quite disappointed with this cruise.  I’d been on 2 cruises prior to this one,both on IOS also I was with my wife.

Checked in at Southampton was quite normal for us slow but considering there was over 4,000 passengers, we were all on-board in pretty good time. We had 1 inside stateroom . Just big enough and all very clean and modern.(Bring back the Milk,creamer is no good in tea.

The Independence of the Seas is an impressive ship to be sure. The organisation was pretty much flawless and the Cruise Director Joff Eaton does a pretty good job. The staff were very attentive and mostly friendly, no complaints there. There is a huge central area called the Royal Promenade with lots of shops and a few places to eat and drink. Unfortunately it felt more like a shopping arcade than anything else. Sometimes they held street parties in this area but because there were so many shops most people had to stand. Read more