Independence of the Seas Review

A great family cruise!

Review for the Western Caribbean Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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gthrb4
2-5 Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Mar 2019
Cabin: Ocean View Panoramic Suite
Traveled with children

Our family of five really enjoyed this cruise. We have sailed on three Disney ships but this was our first with Royal Caribbean. We were very impressed with the professionalism and friendliness of the crew. Our youngest son's food allergies were handled well by our servers and he had a safe and yummy dining experience.

I only had two complaints. First, the weird hours of the teen and children's clubs. The clubs would close at dinner and sometimes open at 7 or sometimes 8. My teen checked into his club on 2 occasions and the staff said that activities would be starting later even though the club was supposed to be open. Everyone was very nice but it was confusing. We were used to Disney and the clubs being open for the whole day continuously. My middle and youngest son enjoyed going into Adventure Ocean but they only did it once. They did say that they enjoyed themselves just as much, and maybe even more, in Adventure Ocean than on Disney because of the attention from the staff. I am a big Disney fan but on some cruises, there was very little interaction with the staff and children in the clubs. It was more of a baby sitting while the kids were on video screens. We don't use the clubs a whole lot as we tend to do activities as a family, but they are nice options for the kids.

My second complaint had to do with the amount of smoking areas on the ship. There were 4 areas and one was right next to the main pool. (Port side). This was a big problem with crowd control because most families (like us) would try and make our way through the starboard side of the pool area to avoid the smoking. I am not trying to "shame" people who smoke, I just feel in this day and age with all we know about the dangers of smoking, the smoking sections should be in less public places.

Cabin Review

Ocean View Panoramic Suite

Cabin VP

Wonderful room! Newly added in the last refurbishment. It was a lovely room for the 5 of us. I would highly recommend.

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