Independence of the Seas Review

4.5 / 5.0
1,703 reviews

Just OK

Review for Europe Cruise on Independence of the Seas
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2ndhoney
10+ Cruises • Age 50s

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Sail Date: Oct 2019
Cabin: Ocean View Balcony

I've sailed on other cruise lines and Royal was not my favorite, but they were going to a port that I really wanted to go to and not many other cruiselines went there. This was a family trip so that my dad and the rest of the family could visit the fishing town in Spain where my grandfather came from.

Overall the ship was fine, but there were a few things that irked me. They closed the Windjammer after each meal - not getting a cup of coffee, sitting at a table and playing games, chatting, etc. They had Cafe Promenade to get drinks, but they never had lemonade and it was always crowded. They had no card room and trying to find a table in a bar area that fit 8 people in semi-quiet was impossible. Another odd thing to me was when we go off in port there was never a sign telling you when to come back on board, unless you had your Cruise Compass with you no one said anything. Maps for port were at Guest Services, but it was never mentioned anywhere, I just happened to see them there one day. Our room steward was ok, not bad, but after 1 day I never got my ice bucket which I asked for every day. I gave up after a while. Also, on embarkation day I bought 2 bottles of sparkling wine with strawberries and one bottle of red wine with cheese plate - never got the cheese plate and they only gave me on plate of the strawberries. I mentioned it to guest services but they never did anything about it. The ice show - you can't reserve seats so you have to get there almost an hour early to wait & then be told "sorry no more seats, but wait here and some Suites & up people may not show up". We gave up and never say the show.

Overall the people on board were very nice, being Americans we were in the minority, but that was fine. The ship could use a sprucing up - mainly the rooms and public bathrooms.

Cabin Review

Ocean View Balcony

Cabin 5D

Aft cabin - actual cabin was a bit shorter than other balcony cabins (my sister had one down the hall and had a couch, we just had a loveseat). Balcony is great, that's what you get this cabin for. It had 3 lounge chairs, small table and two regular chairs and table for that). Some thought the walk to the stairs was long, but it was fine. Very quiet area for traffic, but if seas get a little rough, you may feel a shuddering and some noise, not enough to bother us though.

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