This was our second cruise, the previous one being 8 years ago on Ocean Village which we enjoyed except for lack of formality - mainly that all meals were buffet and there was no dress code.

We chose Independence of the Seas as we wanted to avoid flying and baggage limitations and could park next to the ship in Southampton. We were also led to believe that the ship was large enough to comfortably accomodate 4,000 passengers whilst still catering for different expectations.

The cabin was comfortable and the staff were very pleasant but overall, it was like a floating holiday camp designed to extract every last penny from its passengers. Deck 5 is a promenade deck full of shops selling jewellery, shoes, sun glasses, handbags, Ben & Gerry's ice cream, pies, pub and wine/champagne bars, duty free shops etc. etc., and very often trestle tables would appear down the centre selling cheap watches, trinkets and chains all of which would be actively promoted over thier public address systems. During the 2 day cruise to the Med from Southampton deck 5 was a continual rush hour. Deck 4 contained a massive gaming area which seemed to be little used and there was an art gallery with regular art auctions held where little was sold. All of these facilities came at the expense of passengers by not having any sizeable and quiet lounge areas for relaxation with a coffee and a drink. There was always music being played whether inside or around the pool areas. Sun loungers were so closely packed together that you had to crawl onto them from the front which proved very difficult if not impossible for older people. Read more