We normally cross the pond on Celebrity but thought we would go on the Royal Caribbean (RC) Independence of the Seas as the itinerary went through the Caribbean. A big mistake! First the pluses: It is a lovely ship. The cabin was excellent - plenty of space and a large balcony. The staff were great. Very friendly and worked hard. The dining room staff were superb so much so that we stayed on Table 240 every night even though we were on Any Time dining. The other people who joined us on the first night also continued to dine with us at the same time. We particularly liked the Centrum with its shops, pub and various eating places. Outside there were plenty of sun-beds for every one. Mini golf, surf simulator and climbing wall for the sporting types. Great promenade on deck 4 lets you walk right around the sip. (600m laps). The entertainment was not bad. Grease was excellent and the pianist Brooks Aehron was incredible. He gave two concerts and then he accompanied a young flautist from The Royal College of Music. Fantastic performances. There was also a Spanish singing quartette who were also excellent. They were on the ship for 8 days but only gave one 50 minute performance. We asked that they be allowed to give another performance but were told that it was not in their contract!!

Now for the minuses: As Elite members on Celebrity we expected the same benefits as Diamond members on RC. Not to be. Instead of 90 minutes free wi-fi each RC now charge $12.99 a day! We did get one day free but on a 15 day cruise you cannot check on e-mails etc. The wi-fi reception was awful. Instead of free laundry we got $10 off a $35 small bag of undies washing. No where to get your shirts, dresses washed at all. No coupon booklet with free casino chips etc. No RC bag in the cabin. We have so many at home that we didn't bother to bring one as we expected another! Luckily Diamond International were distributing theirs as we came of the ship at St Thomas. No pencil pen or paper in the cabin anymore. No daily paper or puzzles any more. So no way to find out what was happening in the world as the news channel on the TV was blanked out by poor satellite reception for the 8 sea days. There was only one lecturer on board. Normally you expect at least three. Unfortunately he was very boring and so we only went to his first two lectures.

The food generally was pretty poor. In the Windjammer it was the same food every day. There was no egg station and at lunch the Asian section was the same each day. The dining room menu was also poor. Very basic but we did have a surprise when the large prawns on the menu turned out to be lobster! We had to eat our soup with desert spoons as soup spoons are now non-existant. Finally we come to our pet hate. Why do cruise lines bother to have Formal Nights when they know that any Tom, Dick or Harry can go into a dining room on a Formal Night dressed how they want? I am sorry but an open necked shirt and jeans is not formal dress. When the ladies and gentlemen wear their long dresses and dinner jackets why should these scruffs be allowed to spoil the occasion? We are so disappointed that RC has cut everything to the bone. Needless to say we will be back on Celebrity in future. Perhaps RC should rename the ship The Nickel and Dime of the Seas!