Independence of the Seas Review

pretty good cruise

Review for the Eastern Caribbean Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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paulthecruiser
10+ Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jan 2014

We are a couple , late 50,s diamond plus . Been on 37 cruises ,most with Royal. All in all, we enjoyed it , great weather , younger crowd ( we enjoy the young people more than they enjoy us I am sure!!).It was nice to see the captain interacting with the passengers , he seemed like the real deal. Food was so so ..We are not real foodies ,so I am happy.. Someone said the tomato bisque tasted like Campbells soup..made me want some ..I love campbells soup! I will say ,there were a lot of people sneezing and coughing ..mild influenza sweeping the ship. No one, I mean nobody wiping ,cleaning handrails,etc .. The usual precautions ships take with 4500 people in close proximity to one another.. Cleaning staff for the washrooms were really non evident. I walk around deck 12 a lot , and use the washroom just aft of Johnny rockets. Day 2,the soap dispenser empty ..day 3 ..no soap yet ..day 4..I wrote on the sheet the cleaner ,and supervisor both initial " the soap dispenser is empy!!" believe it or not ...no soap ....the next day ...I did it again...it was never filled ...my nose was running like a faucet ..I will do my best to prevent my fellow passenger from getting a cold , but I could use a little help!! I even saw the staff member emerging from the washroom , whose duty was to service it , and told him there was no soap...he looked at me like I was nuts!! Please remember all the Johnny Rockets staff use this washroom as well!!! The 2 people stationed outside the Windjammer with sanitary gel dispensers are all that stand between you and viruses! By the way , only a good soaping will kill viruses ..also will say, the indoor outdoor carpet around the pool is foul, moldy ..We watched the 5 stooges do 90 seconds of cleaning around the kids area when We were in San Juan..It was quite comical,since they didn't work for Me!! They had a huge vacuum contraption they attempted to hook up , at least one guy tried, with 3 guys watching, plus a supervisor leaning on the rail..finally got the hose unwound, plugged in , and started to vacuum. You could see the grey sludge flowing into the vac ..the water was unbelievably filthy!! Only did a patch about 5 by 10 feet , and spent 20 minutes wrasslin the hose back around the vac!! Boy ,I never saw such a slack crew !! I know I am going on about a few things , but hey ..no one likes to get ill on holiday !! We sat by the kids pool in the morning, because the music was really cranked up in the center pool till about noon...not sure why..I like music , but it was earachingly loud till the pool staff came out for games , then the band starts to play ..then it was just plain loud and fun!! We are going on this same ship in 3 weeks for the 6 nite ..it was such a good deal..600 bucks for a balcony.! I would like to see a little more cleaning , but other than that , cant wait to get onboard! We had the best waiter ever , Alner.. and our cabin steward did everything and more!!

Cabin Review

liked the cabin,a little tight ,,needs more electric outlets!

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