Independence of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,701 reviews

Paid for 1st Class, Treated Like 3rd Class

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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rbolgrihn
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Mar 2015
Cabin: Grand Suite

We were suite guests. We were pleased with the size of the suite but we felt that the service was very much lacking. Our suite attendant--Larisa--was wonderful, but we did not feel the personal service that we are accustom to when paying the premium price for a suite. The balcony was disappointing as it was so dirty from the salt spray that you could not sit at the table or lay in the deck chairs without feeling the grit from the salt. On our other cruises with another cruise line, the boat was washed down while we were in ports. We felt that the crew was short staffed and did not have the time to spend to give that personal service. We did have a few crew members who were very helpful and gave that personal service, but that were few. On other cruise lines, we noticed the ship being cleaned all the time; trash being picked up, ashtrays emptied, plenty of hand sanitizing stations, and the crew constantly wiping down hand rails and surfaces. On our entire trip we saw one person wiping down a hand rail. We encountered crew members with a really bad attitude: one of our party had walked into the cafe and asked where the coffee was. The crew member she had asked said: "Are you blind?!" We were all very upset by this comment.

There was a small group of crew members who made our trip very memorable, but the majority of the crew were not friendly and accommodating. We were impressed with the Main Dining room food and service. Our waiter--Allan--was awesome and the food in the Main Dining room was wonderful. We were not pleased with the overall service on the ship as a whole. We were pleased with our suite: the size of the suite was wonderful, roomy and decorated in a simple elegance. We were not pleased with the Cruise line policy that we could not smoke on our private balcony and that we had to leave our room to go to the pool deck to enjoy a cigarette (the advantage, however, to having to go to the smoking section was that we socialized with other guests).

If RCI wants to improve increase your staff, Suite guests expect a more personalized service. I saw our room attendant having to take care of interior rooms as well as the suites. In my opinion she should have been assigned to only suites instead of have to be spread so thin that she could not give us the personal service that a "butler" should have given. I give Larisa a 10 out of 10 for her personality and her trying to give us first class service but she was too over burdened to do that. We paid for a suite because was wanted that first class service. It was not Larisa's fault that Royal Caribbean is shorting their staff. I talked with other guests and that was a command theme. Hire more staff if you want to be competitive with the other Cruise lines. Make you crew happy because they are the first line to your paying customers. RCI advertised that their guest would be WOWed by their newly renovated ship. We were not WOWed by Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas. WOW your passengers by treating them with 1st class service, the ship is just a machine, the cruise is all about the people.

Cabin Review

Grand Suite

Cabin GS

Roomy, Elegant, quiet and comfortable.

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