My overall experience of the refurbished Independence Of The Seas.

I though I’d add here of my experience of my recent cruise onboard the new renovated Independence of the Seas between the 2-16th June. I’ll start off by saying it was the sixth cruise with RCI, once onboard the Voyager and the fifth on the Indy. Each time I’ve been I’d recommend RCI to everyone, but not anymore the Independence I’m afraid, the refurbishment with the additional rooms which brings another 500 passengers onboard to 4150 is just too much. So many places were overcrowded, most people are aware what mayhem the Windjammer is at peak times, but the whole ship seemed like that this cruise. One problem is the main dining rooms, with the additional tables added it’s difficult to manoeuvre between the chairs and tables, something a lot of waiting staff were telling passengers.

The usual problem with sun beds was just made more problematic on sunny days, and on a day at sea when it was windy and overcast (sailing between Madeira and La Coruña) with everyone being inside queuing for a speciality coffee took 40 minutes. We also found the main dining room experience slightly tarnished as the wait between courses was some days up to 30 mins, I don’t think the waiters can deal with the additional tables when it’s full. One place we never see anywhere near busy was Fish n Ships, infact I only saw a few people eating there. I can’t see that staying to be honest, when you take into account how much a simple fish and chip dinner costs.

Additional problems on board we encountered were a galley brunch we had ordered before cruising on the last day was changed to two days earlier, not a problem you’d think. Trouble being our stateroom attendant put the notification in our room the evening AFTER the event. A refund was issued and a complimentary Chops Grille was given, but we’d missed the brunch which we had done before on previous cruises and enjoyed.

The last problem onboard I found was our main dining room waiter, a week into the cruise he mentioned the guest satisfaction survey we’d receive after our cruise and how vital it was to him that we scored him well. Now, I don’t mind him telling us that once, but that evening he spent each course asking if he’d score a 10 from us which slightly annoyed me. The following evening and the one thereafter was the same, with him even telling my daughter to make sure we give him a 10 score, that was enough for me and we only dined again there on the last formal night, he really did sour the whole evening experiences for us. I will add the other waiter was an absolute pleasure to know, polite, funny and a credit to RCI.

Now on to the plus points. The new additions, the water slides, laser tag and skypad are superb. Great fun for us all and really do add to the cruise, we spent many hours enjoying these activities. The escape room was also a great hour spent, I’d never done one before and really enjoyed it and got to make some new friends while playing it. Managed to escape with 9 minutes left.

We also dined at Izumi, and what a superb night that was. Atmosphere, food and the whole experience was one of the best, chef Elvis was a pleasure to meet, definitely worth the additional cost for the meal. We also tried Johnny Rockets, a good time with some nice food, although the additional cost doesn’t seem warranted in my opinion.

The tours we did with RCI were handles well and ran very well as usual, booked four but one trip was cancelled which was disappointing, other days at port we did our thing which we find more enjoyable. If you ever go to Madeira go on a catamaran dolphin and whale watching, a three trip and a reasonable price and a fantastic experience seeing turtles, whales and dolphins up close. It was the highlight of the cruise, as was Lanzarote, albeit an exhausting one, hired bicycles just outside the port and followed the path 8 miles to the next town. Beautiful weather and scenery, and stopped for a lovely lunch by the beach and tried out the jet skis, another great experience.

Overall we had a great holiday again with RCI, but it’s the first time I've finished a cruise and not wanted to go back immediately, certainly not on the Independence. I’ll have to overcome my fear of flying and cruise on another ship, or consider the Navigator which sails from Southampton, I’d love to see Norway some time. I’ve waffled on far too long now, so if you’ve got this far thank you for reading. Take care and happy cruising to you all.

Thanks for sharing your experiences.

Totally agree and it’s what I said in my review. They have overcrowded the ship and it just doesn’t feel an experience I want to repeat soon!

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What is the difference between crowded and overcrowded?

Crowded was the Indy before refit designed as intended. Overcrowded is Indy post refit with extra passengers for profit but no extra spare public space or staff. Of course it’s subjective but it’s how I perceive things

We're looking forward to Indy next spring. Don't eat dinner in MDR so none of those problems will exist for us :)

Thanks for the input OP. We love the Indy and all Freedom class ships (our favorites so far). I'm pretty sure we'll be cruising on them again, and will have to see the crowd issues firsthand.

We'll be on the Navigator again in March 2019 so we'll report back after that. It's getting a pretty extensive refurb in Jan/Feb I believe so I'm guessing many of these issues on the Indy will occur with the Navigator as well. I am looking forward to the new venues to try out.

Dan

Now, I don’t mind him telling us that once, but that evening he spent each course asking if he’d score a 10 from us which slightly annoyed me. The following evening and the one thereafter was the same, with him even telling my daughter to make sure we give him a 10 score, that was enough for me and we only dined again there on the last formal night, he really did sour the whole evening experiences for us.

You have to remind them (early) that that (them asking for a 10) is also on the survey.;)

Thank you for the review.

I have been thinking about a late summer cruise on Independence from Southampton but nearly every review mentions the crowding which is making me nervous about booking.

Is this refit happening on all Freedom Class ships? If so, what is the schedule? Thinking of sailing on Freedom summer 2019. Thanks!

Is this refit happening on all Freedom Class ships? If so, what is the schedule? Thinking of sailing on Freedom summer 2019. Thanks!

Probably, but the company has not publicly released their plans for changes.

Freedom's next dry dock looks to be in 2020.

Crowded was the Indy before refit designed as intended. Overcrowded is Indy post refit with extra passengers for profit but no extra spare public space or staff. Of course it’s subjective but it’s how I perceive things

Ok. I guess I have always said, crowded, or very crowded.

Websters - Crowded

(of a space) full of people, leaving little or no room for movement; packed.

Overcrowded

fill (accommodations or a space) beyond what is usual or comfortable.

Too me, they are the same thing???

Is it really 500 more people? How many staterooms were added, and what is the capacity of those staterooms?

Has the Liberty already had this done?

Dan

Is it really 500 more people? How many staterooms were added, and what is the capacity of those staterooms?

About 110 cabins were added, so figure maybe 250 people.

About 110 cabins were added, so figure maybe 250 people.

Thanks, I was interested because we were on the sister ship the Liberty 5 months ago and it didn't seem overly crowded. I know the Liberty had some of the latest updates (slides, etc...), so I looked at the deck plans between the current Indy and the Liberty and could only find about 6 more staterooms additional on the Indy (deck 11 forward). If I was o.k. with the Liberty I assume I'll be just fine with the Indy.

Dan

About 110 cabins were added, so figure maybe 250 people.

Would that be Crowded cabins or Overcrowded cabins?

If I was o.k. with the Liberty I assume I'll be just fine with the Indy.

The dates of the sailing probably matter as much as the ship, since the demographics and overall passenger count varies.

The dates of the sailing probably matter as much as the ship, since the demographics and overall passenger count varies.

True. Makes sense. Our Liberty cruise was a New Year's holiday cruise so I assume the passenger count was pretty high.

One of our best cruises ever was on the Indy in 2014, the 8 night Eastern that it used to do. (Labadee, St. Maarten, St. Kitts, Puerto Rico) Love that itinerary, and our group of adults was a riot. I wouldn't hesitate to go on any of the Freedom class ships.

Dan

Is it really 500 more people? How many staterooms were added, and what is the capacity of those staterooms?

 

Has the Liberty already had this done?

 

Dan

Liberty was the first from Freedom class to receive the additional cabins, Freedom was second and Indy was last. However, with every dry dock they „“improved“ the total number of additional cabins...

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Would that be Crowded cabins or Overcrowded cabins?

I have never felt crowded on Freedom Class. Does that mean I will now feel overnotcrowded? ;)

Probably, but the company has not publicly released their plans for changes.

 

Freedom's next dry dock looks to be in 2020.

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Looks like cruise lines are following the airlines....adding more and more passengers...and making everyone less comfortable.

I have never felt crowded on Freedom Class. Does that mean I will now feel overnotcrowded? ;)

I’ll need to remember that one.

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Hi,

Thanks for your review. I also think the level of crowding varies greatly depending on the time of the year and the number of upper berths that are filled. I cruised aboard the Independence of the Seas twice before the recent refurbishment. In February 2014, I took a six-day Caribbean cruise on the ship and crowding was not a problem. I also cruised aboard the Liberty of Seas (sister of the Independence) to the Caribbean in early December 2011 and February 2013 and did not notice any crowding. Because this was during the school year, the passenger base was older and there were not many families. However, I cruised aboard the Independence of the Seas in August 2017 to Spain and France and the ship felt very crowded. Because this was during the summer, there were many families aboard and I'm sure that many of the upper berths were full. It seemed like an entirely different ship.

Chuck

Is it really 500 more people? How many staterooms were added, and what is the capacity of those staterooms?

 

 

 

Dan

Capacity is at 4150, according to what the Captain said when addressing the Top Tier event, and I’m certain capacity before refit was 3650.