My Independence of The Seas Thoughts

[Griswolds]

We returned last weekend from our 6 night cruise on IOS. After reading some mixed reviews and comments on this ship, I thought I would throw in my two cents.

 

We arrived at the pier around 10:30am via hotel shuttle. This was our first cruise as platinum members so we were able to use the priority line. We were in the building and checking in at the desk within 5 minutes of arriving and were able to immediately walk on the ship after checking in.

 

Windjammer was not yet open (by the time we made it up there it was past 11am).

 

There were announcements stating they were running behind and rooms would not be ready until 2pm, however they were ready closer to 1:30.

 

We had a promenade room on the 8th floor. We typically have inside cabins (because we are budget travelers) so having the window/window seat did make the room feel much bigger.

 

Our room was clean and everything seemed perfect. We even had our robes hanging in the bathroom. Our room attendant introduced himself at the first opportunity. I requested ice and it was in our room every night. We had 2 towel animals for the 6 nights. I did miss having a pen/paper in the room. You dont really realize this until you need to use it.

 

Every single staff member that crossed our path on this ship, officer, waiters, room attendants, even maintenance staff smiled and said hello. Every single one. Probably the most friendly staff we have seen yet. Especially in the Windjammer. We found all our servers seemed very willing and happy to have a conversation with us.

 

Speaking of those conversations with the servers in WJ, we learned that most feel they work too many long hours, and most miss their families very much. On an interesting note, I was feeling a little sea sick one evening (ship was rocking for a couple hours that night, most people didnt notice as much as me but Im prone to all sorts of motion sickness) so I was asking our server what they consider to be rough seas and she stated the worst she experienced was on a transatlantic cruise. However, she also pointed out that we switched captains while in port the day before and she wasnt surprised that after the switch passengers were noticing more ship movement. She said the previous captain is more conscience about ship movement and uses the stabilizers more, where the replacement captain just forges ahead without much concern about minor ship movement. I know she probably doesnt actually know when stabilizers are being used or what decisions the captain is making, however she has been working on the ship for 5 years and has apparently noted a clear difference between the different styles of captains. I guess now I know why some people might care who the captain is on a particular ship at a given time!

 

We ate all meals in the WJ as we didnt want to bring dress clothes this trip. We felt the food was fine. It was not gourmet but it was not awful either. My complaint here is with the beverages. They really only offer water, ice tea, milk and "sugar free lemon flavored water" for dinner. They had "lemonade" for lunch but never at dinner (I even asked for it at dinner and was told they didnt have any). Occasionally they had mango flavored water and in the morning they also had orange juice and coffee of course. And after normal dining hours, you can only get tea, coffee, milk and ice water in the other food venues, unless you want to purchase a drink. I dont want to spend extra for a beverage package, but I would appreciate more beverage options, especially after dining hours. 24 hour lemonade and/or fruit juice would be great!

 

Oh, also the self serve ice cream closing at like 6:30pm. What? I want an ice cream after dinner,while taking a evening stroll around 9-10pm! Oh thats right, I can PURCHASE ice cream at Ben & Jerrys. Im not loving this pattern of extra cost for things.

 

We ate at Johnny Rockets one day for lunch. Loved the onion rings! Servers were friendly and entertaining. We attempted to eat here again for a late lunch (3:30) on a sea day and there was 40 minute wait.

 

Ordered chips/spinach and cheese cake from room service one evening around 9:00pm. It was delivered within about 20 minutes and everything was very good.

 

Our remote for the television stopped working on the last sea day. We informed our room attendant and it was promptly replaced by one that works.

 

We are non-smokers and we did notice the smokers were out on almost all outside decks of the port side. This did not bother us much as we just walk on by or stay to the starboard side. However, on the pool deck it was a bit more "annoying" (for lack of better word).

 

Chair hogs were in full effect. Many towels on chairs. I found it a little hard to tell if someone was actually saving a chair or just didnt return their used towel. And I wasnt going to stand around babysitting a chair for 30 minutes to see if they were coming back. We just went up to higher decks and found plenty of chairs. Where it bothered me most was in the Solarium. People were actually trying to save those wooden benches and swings! Umm arent those just there for people strolling around to stop and take a brief seat or have a conversation? I dont think the intention is that your supposed to have them for yourself all day. That perplexes me as much as people that wear the robes to the pool.

 

Entertainment in the main theater was OK but still probably the worst in comparison to other ships we have been on. The ice show is probably the most entertaining followed by The Quest. The Farewell show was awful. We saw many people walk out. The 70's dance party is getting dated and I wish they would change that up. We didnt make it to the dance club, we are light weights and go to bed too early.

 

We did buy a next cruise certificate so we're really excited about that !

 

Debarkation was a breeze for us. We self-carry our luggage and just walked off the ship around 7:00am. No lines, no hassle. We sorta wished we had booked an earlier flight but we were chickens and didnt want to take a risk.

 

This got longer than I planned and Im sure Im still forgetting things, but I just wanted to pass along some of my observations/experiences.

[KMagz]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a good time overall!

 

If you were off the ship by 7:00 am, curious what time was your flight?

Edited February 8, 2014 by KMagz

[Griswolds]

I almost forgot, we attended the C&A Welcome Back party and they were recognizing guests with the most cruises, Super Mario was in attendance and they presented him with a bottle of champagne. Our first "celebrity sighting" on a cruise! lol

[LuvWilliam]

We were on Indy in November for the 8 night and will be going on the 6 night late this year... What time was your flight? We want to carry off and haven't carried off of Indy (only oasis with their larger terminal) and want to take the earliest (but not running for your flight early lol) flight!

[Marie51]

Thanks for the review. Where was the muster drill held? I'm hoping it will be in the dining room instead of outside.

By the way speaking of bathrobes I have seen people wearing them to the breakfast buffet!

[LuvWilliam]

Thanks for the review. Where was the muster drill held? I'm hoping it will be in the dining room instead of outside.

By the way speaking of bathrobes I have seen people wearing them to the breakfast buffet!

 

Sorry to hijack this answer OP, but I wanted to give my two cents! We were the lifeboat allllll the way past the dining room outside on the deck, so we had to walk outside on the deck to get to it. ;There was no other way to get to it!) Wouldn't have been a problem except it was POURING rain. (I'm talking everyone was soaked head to toe by walking in this area!) and people were running and slipping on the deck. Crazy! I wish they would do it like on Oasis where you meet in different rooms!

[Griswolds]

Thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a good time overall!

 

If you were off the ship by 7:00 am, curious what time was your flight?

 

Our flight was not until 8:20pm. The only other non-stop flight options were before 9am, and like I said we didnt want to risk it. Now that we know how easy it was to walk off the ship, I would probably be ok taking a 8:30am flight. We walked off at 7am with no issues so Im sure we could have walked off even earlier. Im sure there is always a chance the ship is late docking, or the airport lines are backed up, but we only travel with carry on bags so the only line we go through is security. We like to make things easy peasy.

 

We actually rented a car for the day since our flight was so late. We took a taxi to the airport to pick up our car and while we were there we used a kiosk to check in for our flight. We noted there was no security line at that time either.

[Griswolds]

Sorry to hijack this answer OP, but I wanted to give my two cents! We were the lifeboat allllll the way past the dining room outside on the deck, so we had to walk outside on the deck to get to it. ;There was no other way to get to it!) Wouldn't have been a problem except it was POURING rain. (I'm talking everyone was soaked head to toe by walking in this area!) and people were running and slipping on the deck. Crazy! I wish they would do it like on Oasis where you meet in different rooms!

 

Yikes!! That doesnt sound fun at all. Our drill was on deck 4, outside by the life boats. And this was probably the longest one we have had. Not sure what the delay was (assume people that are not bothering to get there in time and everyone has to wait for them).

[TOM CRUIZES]

We returned last weekend from our 6 night cruise on IOS. After reading some mixed reviews and comments on this ship, I thought I would throw in my two cents.

 

We arrived at the pier around 10:30am via hotel shuttle. This was our first cruise as platinum members so we were able to use the priority line. We were in the building and checking in at the desk within 5 minutes of arriving and were able to immediately walk on the ship after checking in.

 

Windjammer was not yet open (by the time we made it up there it was past 11am).

 

There were announcements stating they were running behind and rooms would not be ready until 2pm, however they were ready closer to 1:30.

 

We had a promenade room on the 8th floor. We typically have inside cabins (because we are budget travelers) so having the window/window seat did make the room feel much bigger.

 

Our room was clean and everything seemed perfect. We even had our robes hanging in the bathroom. Our room attendant introduced himself at the first opportunity. I requested ice and it was in our room every night. We had 2 towel animals for the 6 nights. I did miss having a pen/paper in the room. You dont really realize this until you need to use it.

 

Every single staff member that crossed our path on this ship, officer, waiters, room attendants, even maintenance staff smiled and said hello. Every single one. Probably the most friendly staff we have seen yet. Especially in the Windjammer. We found all our servers seemed very willing and happy to have a conversation with us.

 

Speaking of those conversations with the servers in WJ, we learned that most feel they work too many long hours, and most miss their families very much. On an interesting note, I was feeling a little sea sick one evening (ship was rocking for a couple hours that night, most people didnt notice as much as me but Im prone to all sorts of motion sickness) so I was asking our server what they consider to be rough seas and she stated the worst she experienced was on a transatlantic cruise. However, she also pointed out that we switched captains while in port the day before and she wasnt surprised that after the switch passengers were noticing more ship movement. She said the previous captain is more conscience about ship movement and uses the stabilizers more, where the replacement captain just forges ahead without much concern about minor ship movement. I know she probably doesnt actually know when stabilizers are being used or what decisions the captain is making, however she has been working on the ship for 5 years and has apparently noted a clear difference between the different styles of captains. I guess now I know why some people might care who the captain is on a particular ship at a given time!

 

We ate all meals in the WJ as we didnt want to bring dress clothes this trip. We felt the food was fine. It was not gourmet but it was not awful either. My complaint here is with the beverages. They really only offer water, ice tea, milk and "sugar free lemon flavored water" for dinner. They had "lemonade" for lunch but never at dinner (I even asked for it at dinner and was told they didnt have any). Occasionally they had mango flavored water and in the morning they also had orange juice and coffee of course. And after normal dining hours, you can only get tea, coffee, milk and ice water in the other food venues, unless you want to purchase a drink. I dont want to spend extra for a beverage package, but I would appreciate more beverage options, especially after dining hours. 24 hour lemonade and/or fruit juice would be great!

 

Oh, also the self serve ice cream closing at like 6:30pm. What? I want an ice cream after dinner,while taking a evening stroll around 9-10pm! Oh thats right, I can PURCHASE ice cream at Ben & Jerrys. Im not loving this pattern of extra cost for things.

 

We ate at Johnny Rockets one day for lunch. Loved the onion rings! Servers were friendly and entertaining. We attempted to eat here again for a late lunch (3:30) on a sea day and there was 40 minute wait.

 

Ordered chips/spinach and cheese cake from room service one evening around 9:00pm. It was delivered within about 20 minutes and everything was very good.

 

Our remote for the television stopped working on the last sea day. We informed our room attendant and it was promptly replaced by one that works.

 

We are non-smokers and we did notice the smokers were out on almost all outside decks of the port side. This did not bother us much as we just walk on by or stay to the starboard side. However, on the pool deck it was a bit more "annoying" (for lack of better word).

 

Chair hogs were in full effect. Many towels on chairs. I found it a little hard to tell if someone was actually saving a chair or just didnt return their used towel. And I wasnt going to stand around babysitting a chair for 30 minutes to see if they were coming back. We just went up to higher decks and found plenty of chairs. Where it bothered me most was in the Solarium. People were actually trying to save those wooden benches and swings! Umm arent those just there for people strolling around to stop and take a brief seat or have a conversation? I dont think the intention is that your supposed to have them for yourself all day. That perplexes me as much as people that wear the robes to the pool.

 

Entertainment in the main theater was OK but still probably the worst in comparison to other ships we have been on. The ice show is probably the most entertaining followed by The Quest. The Farewell show was awful. We saw many people walk out. The 70's dance party is getting dated and I wish they would change that up. We didnt make it to the dance club, we are light weights and go to bed too early.

 

We did buy a next cruise certificate so we're really excited about that !

 

Debarkation was a breeze for us. We self-carry our luggage and just walked off the ship around 7:00am. No lines, no hassle. We sorta wished we had booked an earlier flight but we were chickens and didnt want to take a risk.

 

This got longer than I planned and Im sure Im still forgetting things, but I just wanted to pass along some of my observations/experiences.

 

 

Great review do you know who the Captain was on your cruise.

[Topo Gigio]

Thanks for your review. Will be boarding the Indy in exactly 3 weeks.

[Retiredprofessor]

Thanks for the review. We are excited about our upcoming Indy cruise in just 29 days. (But whose counting, lol) Do you happen to remember what time you departed Falmouth? Also did you go to the beach on Grand Caymen? Thanks for the additional info.

[pumpkin21]

but we only travel with carry on bags so the only line we go through is security. We like to make things easy peasy.

.

 

Glad to hear this is possible! We are planning to use carry on only in March, any tips?

[Griswolds]

Great review do you know who the Captain was on your cruise.

 

I know Captain Remo was the captain for one of the legs of the trip. Unfortunately, I dont recall who the other one was or what leg they did. We have never paid attention or cared who the captain was so this isnt something I would typically know. I might have to start paying more attention now!

[Griswolds]

Thanks for the review. We are excited about our upcoming Indy cruise in just 29 days. (But whose counting, lol) Do you happen to remember what time you departed Falmouth? Also did you go to the beach on Grand Caymen? Thanks for the additional info.

 

I believe we left Falmouth at 4pm. All aboard is generally 30mins to an hour before you actually pull out of port. In Grand Cayman we walked around town for a bit looking in the shops and then paid $20 per person for a tour around the island that made a few stops. We did not go to the beach. Our tour stopped at "Hell", Dolphin Discovery/Turtle Farm, a rum cake place (free samples) and did make drop offs at the beach.

Edited February 8, 2014 by Griswolds

[Griswolds]

Glad to hear this is possible! We are planning to use carry on only in March, any tips?

 

We fly Spirit so we bought suitcases that fit the specifications of a "personal bag" because there is no charge for these bags. I have learned not to over pack, no sense bringing 10 different outfit choices when I dont wear half of it. We did not bring dress clothes this time. I had 4 pair of shorts, 2 capris, 1 yoga pant, 7 shirts, 2 bathing suits, 2 pajamas, socks/undies and one extra pair of shoes. I rolled my shirts or folded them into tiny squares. I wore jeans, my flip flops and light zip up hoodie to the airport (even though it was -10 when we left!) I only packed a few key make-up items instead of my whole arsenal, a hair brush, razor, travel toothpaste and hairspray, deoderant and travel shampoo/conditioner. I put these in zip lock bags, then after everything was packed in there real tight I laid the bags on top and closed the suitcase.

 

We love not having luggage to check in, not having to go to baggage claim and wait to pick it up and being able to walk off the ship. Since the suitcase is small its no big deal to wheel it around. We did get several comments along the lines of "Wow, thats all you have?!?" lol

[pumpkin21]

Thanks for the info! I will use your list as a packing guideline. We are flying Spirit too!

[VillaHappy]

I think I met my long lost twin :-)

We did the 8 nighter on Indy Jan 18-26th. Maybe we passed you as we were leaving? Nah, we too were up early with self debarkation, and we left the ship at 6:45am on Sun, Jan 26th so I know that did not happen:D

 

And we had a promenade cabin, but on the 7th floor.

I agree with all of your observations!

We did not make it to any shows except Once Upon a Time; we took the kids to that one.

[VillaHappy]

We were on Indy in November for the 8 night and will be going on the 6 night late this year... What time was your flight? We want to carry off and haven't carried off of Indy (only oasis with their larger terminal) and want to take the earliest (but not running for your flight early lol) flight!

 

I hope this helps you:

We did the self carry off and left Indy at 6:45 am.

We got in line for a taxi (took about 20 min) and were at FLL at 7:45am.

The line to check in with Southwest took a full 30 minutes!! :eek:

Our flight left at 9:40am and we made it in plenty of time.

[countess5]

Glad to see the review and thank you.

We just came off Oasis January 25th for the second time and have sailed Allure once. We are Diamond on RCL.

Looking for a cruise for January 2015 and considering IOS since we've sailed the large ships and she is next best. Have done AOS twice, so IOS is the third in line for size. We are about specialty restaurants and entertainment normally staying in suites.

Was looking at possible NCL Breakaway as an option but would like to stay with RCL. :confused:

We love RCL but the options are getting limited until Anthum or Oasis 3 comes out. Not sailing Quantum out of Jersay! :D

 

Would like to hear from others on which way to go. Never have sailed NCL and have heard mixed reviews. Didn't want to start a new thread. Going to visit reviews.

 

Thanks to all! :)

[FTLcruisers]

thanks for your review. We will be sailing on the Indy on Saturday! Hope we get the captain who cares about the ship's movement since I'm prone to seasickness LOL

 

Marianne

[CVU]

I know Captain Remo was the captain for one of the legs of the trip. Unfortunately, I dont recall who the other one was or what leg they did. We have never paid attention or cared who the captain was so this isnt something I would typically know. I might have to start paying more attention now!

 

We had Capt. Teo the cruises before Capt. Remo came on.

 

Muster is dependent on where your cabin is.

Mid ship tend to be in the dining room on the upper decks we have been in. Aft area cabins were far back from the dining room outside on deck 4. Don't know other muster stations and cabin assignment areas.

 

There was one looong muster wait while more passengers arrived on board I was told.

 

We love this Class ship out of all the ones we have tried. Great ship and crew, you should have a wonderful cruise!!!:)

[squadron]

Thanks for the review. Where was the muster drill held? I'm hoping it will be in the dining room instead of outside.

By the way speaking of bathrobes I have seen people wearing them to the breakfast buffet!

 

I don't think anyone would have the lack of couth to wear robes at a hotel buffet so why on the ship????? If it is the attitude that it is my holiday and I spent money and it - so did everyone else and it is their holiday also!