Independence of the Seas Review
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I have never been on a cruise when service was so lacking. Our head and assistance waiter got into a lengthy argument on formal night; the head waiter was belligerent and clearly being a jerk. The assistant waiter went out of his way to find us later and apologize. Two other nights we had waitstaff that never introduced themselves or asked if we'd like a drink. Service was slow on all but one night. Tables for two were so close we might as well have joined the others. The food choices were average at best. My daughter was hard pressed every night to find anything she would like. My ratings for some of the things we had: escargot 3*, prime rib 4*, chicken marsala 3*, fish platter 1*, creme brulee 2*, beef sliders 2*, lamb shank 4*, stuffed chicken 3*. No chocolate molten cake was disappointing. No grill by the pool. No eggs benedict. No outdoor dining/seating anywhere. Order a shirley temple: $4.95 plus 18%. OMG.
We only used the ship excursions one day: Dune buggy and snorkel. Lots of standing around waiting for the group. Supposed to start out at 8:30, left the pier close to 9:00, had to walk 10 minutes to the dune buggies. Several would not start but they got them going eventually. Started out around 9:30 to a very crowded snorkel spot. Snorkel equipment was not good, I had a broken fin and a mask that would not seal (but I seemed to be the only person having an issue so...) Lots of standing around waiting for equipment, waiting for others to "circle around". Quick snorkel and then a 30 minute drive or so to beachside restaurant, tequila tasting, shopping tent. Lunch was $12 buffet so we passed. Beach was across the street but too rough for swimming. We were asked to not go past our midriff. What????
Worst of all though was we were told we would be leaving at 12:30 (one hour stop) and to meet back at the buggies. Okay, only a few of us were at the beach, everyone else stayed at the restaurant/bar/shopping. We come across at 12:30 and didn't leave the parking lot for an hour. An hour! An hour that we could have been sitting on the beach, not standing at our buggie once again waiting for the group. Poor planning. Ten minute lecture on tipping.
Cabin Review
Deluxe Oceanview Stateroom with Balcony
Loved our corner aft balcony cabin. Balcony was very large with a side porthole window as well as aft view. Two loungers, two chairs, and a small table. Some shade, some sun.
Port Reviews
Costa Maya
Took a cab to Blue Kay, a nice malecon with shops and restaurants. If you don't buy AI, you have access to wooden loungers. The beach was nice, we were the only ship there so not crowded at all. We had lunch at the Maya Bar which was excellent and fairly priced. Everything else about the port was manufactured for cruise ships, non-authentic.