Independence of the Seas Review

Independence January 2015

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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njm5378
First Time Cruiser • Age 40s

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Value for Money
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Sail Date: Jan 2015
Cabin: Grand Suite

Great cruise overall. Mostly positive but some negatives as well. Embarkation was easy and fast. We sailed with friends and though we normally take a taxi from the airport this trip we opted for the shuttle from the airport. Big mistake. By the time we got to the ship we had been on the shuttle over an hour. Never again. Moving on, our cabin was ready when we boarded, Grand Suite 1560. Cabin was spacious with plenty of storage. It was nice to have loungers on the balcony. Our room attendant, Marie, was pleasant and kept our needs met. It was great having the suite loungers on the pool deck in a central location. Pool bartenders Jorge and Vivian were the highlight of our trip. They were very personable and attentive to our needs. The delivered the WOW, seemingly harder to find these days. Raj the suite concierge was the best we've experienced. Food in the MDR was my negative. The selection was not to my taste and many of the dishes were just ok. I felt the food was poor compared to other RCL ships. Our wait staff was terrific. One evening we needed to rush through dinner and the head Waiter jumped in a served us. This was amazing to us. He saw that his waiter was busy and didn't want us or others to suffer. This kind of foresight is why he is becoming the restaurant manager on Anthem. Shows were good, cruise directors staff was good. We missed Grand Cayman due to weather, didn't bother me at all as it was a beautiful day at sea. Jamaica was nice. For the first time ever we did an RCL excursion. We were very pleased with the value. River tubing, lunch and Dunn's River Falls. Labadee was Labadee. High pressure sales with every shop selling the same thing. We had a cabana which was great as we some shelter as it rained off and on. Also it came with rafts and snorkel gear. Buffet was good, food was hot, drinks were cold. I didn't expect much else.

Debarkation was painless. We have really come to like Port Everglades as a start/end point.

Cabin Review

Grand Suite

Cabin GS

GS 1560 is spacious. Balcony has a little extra room on the aft end being near the whirlpools. The convenience to elevators, fitness center, and pool deck was nice. Two sinks, bathtub, dry bar and lots of storage.

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