I would like to express my gratitude and pleasure following recently returning from a cruise onboard Independence of the Seas 11.04.12 with my family. Being a first Cruise for most of us, it was with some anticipation that we boarded on Saturday 31st March 2012. What an unexpected suprise, the ship is truly splendid. All of the crew that we had the pleasure of meeting were very helpful, friendly, polite, smart and professional. I had my fears allayed, following my interrogation of several crew members regarding the safety of the ship on more than one occasion, due to my anxiety surrounding modes of transport. I am sure they had more important things to deal with rather than counselling sessions, but were most understanding and reassured me. We did not have the treat of meeting Captain Teo, but found his daily announcements both humorous and informative, i can only look upon him with gratitude and admiration.
The service that we received on board can only be described as 5*, the selection and quality of food was wonderful in whichever venue we chose to use. The Windjammer cafe furnished us all with a wonderful breakfast every morning and King Lear Restaurant was a treat for our evening meals. The self service ice cream machine on deck 11 was a novelty. Clean pool towels were always available for the braver among us (The Atlantic Ocean can get a bit breezy at times.) The organisation of all aspects of the cruise were very impressive and well thought through, considering the amount of guests. The ship was clean to a very high standard. Our room attendant was very thorough and attentive.The wonderful 'creatures' made from towels by our room attendant, were a lovely touch when we returned to our cabins in the evening.
We wanted a family cruise and that is exactly what we got, having a 21, 16 and 3 year old with us we wondered whether it would suit all of our offspring, and indeed it did. Our eldest sons managed to keep themselves suitably occupied in the pools, hot tubs, bars, amusement arcade, playing golf and regularly using room service. It would appear that the ability to obtain ones' own food frequently escaped them!! Our little one was soon recognised and remembered by lots of crew members, which once again, considering the amount of guests, was impressive. The entertainment was varied and of a good standard. We watched a performance on the ice rink, a show in the theatre and used the casino and bars, all of which were much to our satisfaction. The daily Morning Show with Joff and Sophie frequently made us laugh. There were lots of little extra touches that made this cruise special and the first time cruisers among us have been spoilt for possible future cruises, in our opinion, this would be a 'hard act to follow'.