Independence of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,701 reviews

Apalling

Review for Canary Islands Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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arnhem12
First Time Cruiser • Age 50s

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Sail Date: May 2013
Cabin: Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Children under 14 noisily roaming the ship unsupervised at 2am, dreadful food, staff only interested in tips and the sort of accommodation usually found in a Travelodge - not a 'Stateroom', I was extraordinarily disappointed in this 'cruise'. I travel a lot for work and pleasure. I've stayed in everything from 2 star hotels to the 7 star Emirates Palace, and I know the Hospitality industry, even though I don't work in it. This was really poor. In the Dining Room we were greeted each night by a creepy and somewhat oily Eastern European 'Head Waiter' who frankly brought down the tone of his far more effective Philipino/ Asian staff. He had no people skills and was pretty ineffective at dealing with pretty much anything.

The entertainment was even worse - I do work in this industry and regularly hire performers - I wouldn't give this Entertainment Director a second audition, let alone a job. I'm not sure who this stuff was for. The constant muzak played everywhere else was awful and seemed stuck in the 1980s - again I'm not sure who that was for.

There were port stops at Viggo and La Coruna in Spain which were wholly unspectacular and pointless, and yet our stop in Madiera was woefully short. Often for ports RC advertised shuttles at the cost of $12, without telling passengers that there were other free options available once onshore.

Cabin Review

Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony

Nasty carpet. The sort of hairdryer I'd expect in a Backpackers hostel, no toiletries, no robe, no slippers. The in room tea/coffee facilities were also worthy of a Travelodge, rather than a 'Deluxe' room.

We were kindly left a note halfway through the holiday because we could smell that they were obviously having issues with the drainage. It asked us not to use too much toilet paper. How much is too much?:- after all there were no bidets.

The Shower was broken - water helpfully coming out of both ends.

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