Independence of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,701 reviews

TOO Big by far Independance Of the Seas

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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stevengjames
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Jun 2009
Cabin: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Right - lets beginFirst impressions were that it was great - huge - well crewed and spacious the truth - its actually not much bigger than say Legend if you add the extra passengers and crew - so no real time increase is actual free space If anything we found it to be far more crowded than previous smaller shipsThe crew were great and very helpful but there were so many it was difficult to actually get the 'personal service' provided on previous cruises - this wasn't a major problem but did make it difficult to relax like other cruisesWe found the bars to be very crowded most fo the time during the evenings and almost impossible to walk in and get a seat most of the time The shows were great but seating was again an issue - rather than have more shows you were issued tickets to each show - queueing is the great British pastime and yes we queued for tickets each time for the Ice ShowGetting there early was the only way to get good seats Unless >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>You had a suite - Gold members - not the loyalty kind but the Suite kind had seats reserved for them at every show - the pool side , sun beds , ice shows etc - It seems RCCI has introduced the two tire system them and us !!!!! and i have say that some of them were pains in the butt - moving around in their front seats during the shows getting the way - just because they couldThe prices for soft drinks were not too bad - still way over the odds but just liveable - obviously the soda package was available but way over priced for what you got - The cost of beer was out of this world - $6.50 for a 24oz glass (pint) - how in the world do RCCI get away with it - the cost was disgusting - as was the beer alot of the time - canned was $8 for a large Fosters WOWAgain the prices of the cocktails were massive - and the cocktails are not made from totally fresh ingredients - they use a cocktail mix and ice - so no where near as nice as freshly mixed onesThe excursions were OK but not as nice as last time and again well over priced for what you get - shorter and less interesting than last cruise - cost cutting big timeThe dining room we didn't use so cannot commentThe Wind Jammer food was cold and disgusting - when the manager was asked why the food was of such a low temperature - 'to stop people namely children burning their hands' was the answerI suggest getting your food directly from the chef and not taking the food on hold - the meals we had hot we had to ask for - holding temperature was 50 degrees celcius - UK spec is 65 degrees minimum !!!!! proven by a temp probe by the Soux Chef when asked to - his answer was the probe was getting there lolOur room was no bigger then a smaller ships room as previously used - the balcony was great - we only had one soft chair - we asked for another and in this massive ship they had no spares - so we endured the cruise with one sofa chair and the bed to sit on !!! don't have an ajoining room unless you need it - we didn't and suffered from the door being there and no second chairThe room wasn't hoovered everyday - neither did our room guy dust or provide ice even after being asked - The towel animals don't start until day 8 either - they really weren't very good either Overall value for money - very poor - Overall enjoyment - poorOverall relaxation - medium poorOverall excursions - medium poorOverall cruise - medium poorwill i cruise with RCCI again - yes - but it will be on a smaller ship quote from my wife - 'its like a floating Butlins' - there was fighting on the dance floor too lol

Cabin Review

Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Cabin E2
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