Independence of the Seas review December 7-13, 2008
What follows is my review of my family's incredible first time experience with Royal Caribbean onboard the new Independence of the Seas. Months before our cruise I spend many hours reading the Cruise Critic boards and the 50 or so Independence reviews posted there. I have to say that I am amazed at what people complain about and the many examples of disinformation therein. I'll explain below. Each year I like to treat my nieces (11 and 13) and their parents to a week long vacation. Last year we sailed the Disney Wonder and had a blast. The Wonder was a great ship and we were wondering how Royal Caribbean would compare. I have also sailed with Celebrity before, so this was my third cruise. We stayed in Fort Lauderdale for two nights before embarkation at the Lago Mar hotel and resort. The Lago Mar is a family run non-corporate paradise from days gone by, right on the sea at Harbor Beach. We were given a lovely room on the fifth floor overlooking the ocean where we were able to watch the ships come and go right from our balcony. I requested a rollaway bed and slept on the balcony under the warm Florida breeze and the girls slept on the comfy double pullout couch in the living area, while their parents slept in the bedroom. This worked out well for the five of us. The Lago Mar is just beautiful with lots of things like tennis, great pools, mini golf, good food etc. It was around $300 a night and worth every penny. Way better than the corporate vibe of the Marriott and their like at $400 plus.... If you can afford it this is the place to stay prior to sailing.
We took the 10 minute taxi ride to the pier and arrived at 11 am. Embarkation was a breeze and we were onboard before noon. At first sight the Independence is enormous and the Royal Promenade majestic. The whole ship was decked out for Christmas with a huge tree in front of Sorrentos pizza. We had a bite to eat at the Cafe Promenade and headed up to our cabins on the seventh deck which were ready at exactly 1pm. I choose the seventh deck forward close to the elevators and stairs and this proved to be a perfect location for the week. We had two adjoining balcony cabins and the girls were across the hall in a promenade room. The rooms are just gorgeous, comfy and well laid out. Our cabin attendant Maria from Nicaragua was amazing, unobtrusive and efficient. When I'm on vacation I like to tip people who work hard and make our vacation so enjoyable. I gave Maria ten dollars a day. On the first day I asked her if she could bring two robes for the girls and within minutes she brought two beautiful terry-cloth robes with Royal Caribbean logos on them for the girls. Normally they are provided to suite quests only. We were off to a good start. Maria made the most beautiful towel animals for us every night. One evening I came back to my cabin and Maria left two baseball caps with the Royal logo on my bed for me. So treat you attendant well and they will do the same for you. Contrary to what has been posted here, chocolate is placed on your pillow every night.