My wife and I have taken many cruises over many different cruise lines. We hadn't given Royal Caribbean a try yet. Royal Caribbean was supposed to be one of the best, so my expectations were high, and the results were well below expectations. The Independence of the Seas is a very pretty boat with interesting artwork all about. For whatever reason, they decided to clutter it all up with these ugly fake plants everywhere.

The spa was our first impression of what else the ship had to offer. The acupuncturist could not tell me what school he learned his craft from (needless to say, we opted out of that fiasco). The barber was a very attractive blonde who promised special attention for the men who needed a shave, haircut, back rub, what-have-you. When I went to my appointment, I was placed in the care of some guy to give me promised back rub and what-have-yous... classic bait-n-switch. The close trim he gave my mustache caused a rash when he followed it up with the chemicals he used on my face. Thank goodness it was mostly hidden from sight by the mustache.

The buffet food was sort of sub-par, but the dining room food was excellent. We had a very entertaining waiter staff in the diner, so that was one good thing going for them. Read more