Independence of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,701 reviews

First cruise, definitely not the last

Review for the Western Mediterranean Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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moogiechompy
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Sail Date: Sep 2008
Cabin: Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

EMBARKATION This was myself and OH's first cruise, we don't know many people who have been on one before and we didn't really know what to expect (other than extensive reading of this site). We drove to Southampton and stayed in the DeVere the night before, nice hotel and excellent service (a bit about the food here later!) Being first timers and a bit keen we were up early on embarkation day and left the hotel at 10am (thinking we would need a bit of time to find the port...not realizing it was so close). By 10.10am we were in the very short (8 cars) queue for the ship (there was only a queue as it was so early they weren't letting cars through) Ten minutes later we were being guided to drop off the luggage, parked the car and then breezed through check in, all very well organized and seamless and we were on the ship before 11am. This worked out very well as it gave us newbies the chance to orient ourselves with the ship while it was still very quiet.

CABIN After a few hours pottering around the ship and having lunch in the Windjammer we headed to the cabin and we weren't disappointed. We were in 8668, D2 category. I have read reviews that there is not enough storage, but I managed to fit our clothes in, having severely over packed, with a little request to our room attendant Hendra (who was brilliant) for a few more hangars, which he dropped off later that afternoon. The bathroom was small but perfectly formed and the pressure from the shower was amazing. Everything was clean and immaculate and thanks to Hendra, despite our best efforts, remained so through the two weeks.

FOOD After unpacking we headed to the dining room (Macbeth) to find our table and were amazed that our request for a table for two (later seating) had been honored, we felt quite special as there were quite a few passengers requesting they be changed to a table for two. I was slightly concerned after reading some bad reviews about the food and about the quality & amount of food declining, I am no stranger to fine restaurants and I am not sure what people have had before or what expectations there are of what essentially is mass catering but in my opinion the food was outstanding. The night before leaving we had paid over £100 for a meal for two in the 5* hotel and I can honestly say that the food and service in the dining room of the ship was of a better quality and standard to the hotel every time. Our waiters (Ronilo and Cherryno) were outstanding and were not only knowledgeable about the food and wine, but also kept giving us tips about activities on the ship and where to go in the ports, which was all very useful.

Cabin Review

Superior Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin D2

Convenient location, great balcony

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