Many time cruiser but first on the Royal mega-size. Exceeded expectations, yes there are 6000 people but they're spread out and there are some nice places to hang out without crowds like the Central Park.
Had five grandchildren along (ages 3 to 14) and they all found fun things to do. Coco Cay day was impacted by cold rain but I'm sure when the weather is nice it's even better.
Liked the ...
Avoid***
Everything has dropped in quality since our cruise on the same ship, same itinerary in 2022. We later found out the trained staff was moved to Icon of the Seas, and Wonder has a new untrained staff. Same for all the bells , whistles, and budgets.
It took over 45 minutes in a long line to get on the ship boarding at 12:00 pm, later on we found longer lines for elevators, bars, ...
Everything is a lot more crowded than you expect. You stand in line a lot. Lines for the buffet, lines for getting on and off the boat, lines for ELEVATOR, lines for any and all food or snacks. I would rather pay a bit more and travel with fewer people.
Kids are everywhere unsupervised. People let their children run around by themselves. You can't get near a hot tub or pool. Even in the ...
Cruise #6 with RCI since 2012. Cost cutting to pay the $11B in pandemic bond debt has really hurt the experience. Food quality and options have declined. Service is hit or miss, with MDR and Windjammer service noticeably worse. Nickel and Diming ($20-ing and $40-ing) for things that aren't worth paying for (e.g. $35 for the escape room, $2 to play skee ball for 30 seconds) -- even the teenagers ...
We love this class of ship. So many great venues. We’ve sailed on Ovation before and were really excited as Odyssey is even larger and has a couple additional places to dine or drink. We are a bit disappointed in the overall lack of appealing entertainment with some terrific venues being underutilized. Two70 sits eerily quiet during the day on sea days whereas Ovation had some live music. The ...
Unbelievable experience on this ship! Where to start... The first day I found that all of the reservations that I had made for dinner were gone from the RCCL app so my husband and I went to the Main Dining Room directly to find out our dining time. It was a bit crowded, so I sought out a member of the wait staff that was outside of the dining room to explain our situation and seek guidance. ...
After exclusively sailing on Oasis Class ships for the previous 10 years I was concerned about going down to Freedom Class with a sailing on Independence. A quick look at the recent reviews here further confirmed that this would be the worst vacation of my life…
I’m very pleased to say that we thoroughly enjoyed our cruise and would absolutely sail on the Independence of the Seas again! Perhaps ...
We have been on over 20 cruises, and Allure of the Seas was wonderful. We found the employees to be super friendly, and also the food was very good. We enjoyed the variety of music and entertainment. Even without the shows, there was always something going on with contests, trivia, games, dance moves, multiple pools, and shopping. We booked four cabins in different areas, and they were all ...
Enjoyed our Mother-Daughter cruise. Our goal was a beach-focused cruise for 22 year old and 56 year old. We’re both experienced cruisers and have sailed Royal before as it was our family’s choice for family cruising when daughter was younger. Recently husband and I have moved back to Celebrity so i couldn’t help but view this cruise through that lens.
The good:
Staff was enthusiastic and ...
Worst vacation of my life. Felt like a prisoner packed like sardines on that ship with way too many people. It was spring break and sold out. Loud obnoxious music and noise everywhere. Bands blasting music on every pool deck and immediately when you walk off the boat at Coco Cay. So loud it hurt. No where on the ship to relax in quiet except the gym, and sometimes in your room or balcony. Mediocre ...