First Family Cruise Review - Independence of the Seas

[graham29a]

Our first cruise for all four of the family was mostly sensational, often wonderful and on a couple of isolated occasions somewhat frustrating and a little irritating. I really hope to get across our experiences in the proportions mentioned above and would be delighted to answer any questions anyone may have whilst this cruise is fresh in my mind.

 

The Cruise

14 night Med Beaches – Independence of the Seas – Departure 30th July 2016 from Southampton

This was one of the cruises that originally included Sardinia and Corsica that were dropped for the less appealing Toulon and Barcelona. More about the ports later.

 

Embarkation

Despite this being a first cruise I had done lots of research and a combination of various forums (including this one), social media groups (including one specifically for this cruise) and other websites led me to arrive as early as possible. After a hassle free overnight stay near the port we arrived around 11am to hand over baggage, handed over car to valet parking and into the terminal. Signposting and process at the terminal were outstanding and we were onboard within 30 minutes of handing over our baggage. Fabulous effort from all concerned at Southampton and so much more pleasurable than any airport I have ever been through.

 

On Board – First Impressions

Boarding via an air bridge to deck for brings you one deck below the real wow factor of this beautiful ship. We walked up stairs to deck 5 to be met by the view of the Royal Promenade. First sight left us open mouthed which was to be the feeling we experienced time and time again on the ship. We explored all areas and eventually made our way to the pool deck. It is incomprehensible that a smoking section is placed immediately beside the young children focused H2O zone but for some reason it is! We are not smokers nor have we H2O zone aged kids but my observation of this led me to be a little astonished!

After checking out our cabins we made our way to the Windjammer at around 1.30. Food outstanding, service amazing and getting a table was no issue whatsoever.

 

Cabin

The cabin stunned me. Our D3 linked cabins on deck 8 were bigger than I expected, better planned and the balconies were absolutely fine. The cabin was spotless which was a theme that was kept throughout the cruise. A tick box sheet of paper allowed us to communicate with our cabin steward on his busiest day. We asked for one of the doubles to be separated into singles and for balcony divider to be opened. Both were done by the time we returned from lunch.

On Board – Overall Experience

Despite being completely full the ship never really felt crowded other than on the two party nights (70’s and Rock Britannia) which overcrowded the Promenade but were both good fun. We obtained seats every time we wanted them wherever we went. Our favourite bars in order of preference were Vintages (get to know the bar staff because the wine list is so out of date), Olive and Twist (great staff, cocktails, music and views) and the Pyramid Lounge which hosts most of the game shows (some better than others).

 

Pool and Sun Deck – Unnecessary reserving of sunbeds and no enforcement of 30 minute rule led to frustration and overcrowding with people dragging sunbeds to strange places on the sun deck. We are not sun worshippers so it never caused us a problem. RCI could fix this easily by having a little manual clock on the bottom of sunbeds which you set to the time you leave the sun bed and if half an hour passes your items are removed.

 

Children – We were advised there were 1400 children on board. It really didn’t matter how many because the majority were well behaved, polite and friendly. However as the cruise progressed it became noticeable some of the kids formed bigger and bigger groups which became feral, rude and lacking any form of courtesy. The only time on this cruise I was embarrassed to be British was seeing groups of kids with no parental supervision being incredibly rude to waiting staff in the Windjammer. Security on the ship were impotent!

 

Shows – These were a mixed bag. Most of the theatre shows were what I would call holiday camp acts although the ventriloquist was fantastic. Two of the comedians and the Juggler were very very poor. The production shows were ok and the Grease show whilst being enjoyable and well performed was over hyped and left me wanting more audience participation. Getting people into theatre 1 hour before show was a little strange……..another performance or ticketing would be more sensible. I have however saved the best until last – The two ice shows were beyond belief. To perform two different shows on a moving ship and a small ice rink with that level of quality was just awesome. I also bumped into the violinist in Vintages one evening and she was adorable.

 

Activities – Our family made use of all activities and really enjoyed the flowrider (great staff), rock climbing wall (same staff as flowrider), Mini Golf was great fun and the pools were ideal for cooling off in. I really can’t fault the activities available or the way in which staff manage them.

 

Ports

 

Gibraltar – Been a few times before so just went for a shopping street stroll and free wifi! Others went on a dolphin watching trip independently which I believe was wonderful.

 

Toulon – A Naval Port, Ship docks across bay from Toulon and RCI offer a rip off $18 shuttle across bay. However a large group of us tried to source local transport and gave up after an hour of waiting because of poor info from the terminal tourist people. Enjoy another ship day and didn’t see Toulon

 

Villefranche – Tendered from the bay and this operation was efficient and well organised. We did an RCI excursion to Monaco and Monte Carlo which was enjoyable but a little too long. The casino visit was optional but worthwhile. Before 2pm there is no dress code and children can go in!

 

Barcelona – A stunning city. We got port shuttle (5 euros) and then joined hop on hop off bus which was great and good value. Three different routes all covered by a single ticket taking in all the main sights.

 

Palma, Majorca – Overnight in this lovely place. We did a caves of drach RCI tour in the morning which was great but included a ridiculous 30 min stop at a pearl shop. During the afternoon we go a taxi to a local beach (around 20 euros each way) which was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.

 

Malaga – Another beach day and this time walkable from the ship. Very hot but lovely beach.

 

Cadiz – Lovely small town that felt very rural. Easy to walk from the ship although some did hop on hop off tour from dock gates.

 

Food – Faultless in the Windjammer, Main Dining Room and Café Promenade. Also had room service which was good as well. High quality mass catering is hard to achieve but I am astonished at how well RCI manage it.

 

People – Oh the people. As previously mentioned I did a lot of research and became an active member of relevant forums (including this one) and social media groups (both cruise and ship specific). I also registered for the Meet and Mingle which proved to be the best decision ever. A combination of all of these led us to meet some truly wonderful like minded people who truly enriched our holiday experience. Particularly for your first cruise I would highly recommend all of the above.

 

Overall – I struggle to articulate how much we enjoyed this cruise. The whole experience gave us a real life experience and whilst I went with high expectations RCI delivered above this expectation on almost every level. We had no intention of booking again next year as this was a “one off” dream holiday………needless to say the “next cruise office” came up with an astonishing price and we will be sailing our 2nd cruise next year on Navigator of the Seas!

 

Very happy to answer any questions you may have if I can.

[sky0000547]

Thanks for the review.

 

Getting people into the theatre 1hr prior to show I presume this is only for Grease?

 

I noticed when the ship is full of kids, the theatre tends to be emptier as the kids don't tend to go to the shows and there normally be plenty of seats available 5-10mins prior to show start.

[Tin can]

Great review thank you, its good to read a positive experience as the Independence has had some shocking review on the reviews section of this site.

 

.

[Cruise_Christy]

Thanks for your review and the details. 10 days until I'll be on the Independence of the Seas and it's nice to see such a positive report!

[Jaimel134]

Great review, also on Indy in 10 days.

Thanks

[Aidy2009]

Good review, thanks :)

 

There really is a Wow factor the first time you board as ship like Indy! Done Indy 3 times and Navigator last month and it still feels special as soon as you board. Boarding at Southampton certainly beats airport check-in! Likewise, although depressing, disembarkation is equally as seamless and you are in your car before you know it :(

 

We did the Mediterranean Beaches on the Navigator a week earlier than you - interesting that Corsica / Sardinia were dropped from yours as the itineraries were originally the same - it was only the departure date that led us to the Navigator cruise. Do RCCL say why the itineraries changed; I assume it was before departure rather than midway through?

[Clarea]

Appreciate the report.

 

Did you notice if they allowed smoking in the casino?

[graham29a]

Appreciate the report.

 

Did you notice if they allowed smoking in the casino?

 

Definitely no smoking in casino. 3 smoking areas on ship. Pool deck next to H2O Zone, Deck 4 (On one side) and the Con Club.

[Clarea]

Definitely no smoking in casino. 3 smoking areas on ship. Pool deck next to H2O Zone, Deck 4 (On one side) and the Con Club.

Thanks.

[graham29a]

Good review, thanks :)

 

There really is a Wow factor the first time you board as ship like Indy! Done Indy 3 times and Navigator last month and it still feels special as soon as you board. Boarding at Southampton certainly beats airport check-in! Likewise, although depressing, disembarkation is equally as seamless and you are in your car before you know it :(

 

We did the Mediterranean Beaches on the Navigator a week earlier than you - interesting that Corsica / Sardinia were dropped from yours as the itineraries were originally the same - it was only the departure date that led us to the Navigator cruise. Do RCCL say why the itineraries changed; I assume it was before departure rather than midway through?

 

We were bumped from Corsica and Sardinia a few months back due to "port issues" :-(

[Ocean Boy]

I have been on Indy several times. I very much agree with most everything that the OP wrote. we have not been aboard since "Grease" was added. I have never cared for the production shows on the ship. We just skip them. There are plenty of other things to do.

[Georgina1505]

Fab review, glad you & your family had a good time and sounds like you've caught the cruising bug - easily done!! :)

 

I'll be sailing on Indy on the 27th and the recent "Benidorm/ Butlins at sea" and fat/ tattooed people (I am one of those!) seem to be cropping up a lot. :mad:

 

This will be my 4th cruise, second with RCI and first on Indy and I can't wait now, we've had the WOW factor on all 3 previous ships we've sailed, I don't know when I'll get to cruise again as we plan to start a family very soon - all being well. But one things for sure I will pick a cruise over any other holiday now! :)

[Terre]

Thanks for your review. There's nothing like your first time and it is addictive!:D

[graham29a]

Fab review, glad you & your family had a good time and sounds like you've caught the cruising bug - easily done!! :)

 

I'll be sailing on Indy on the 27th and the recent "Benidorm/ Butlins at sea" and fat/ tattooed people (I am one of those!) seem to be cropping up a lot. :mad:

 

This will be my 4th cruise, second with RCI and first on Indy and I can't wait now, we've had the WOW factor on all 3 previous ships we've sailed, I don't know when I'll get to cruise again as we plan to start a family very soon - all being well. But one things for sure I will pick a cruise over any other holiday now! :)

 

Definitely got the cruising bug. There were elements of Benidorm / Butlins at Sea but you are on a cruise. You don't have to take part in the Belly Flop Competition or the Quest. There are quiet places. There wasn't a single adult who I came across who was anything other than polite and friendly. Some of the kids were allowed to be feral which was poor parenting but thats the parents call!

[mandylennon]

Thanks for the great review, which is very similar to our views on Indy a couple of years ago. I did not know that they had banned smoking in the casino, that is one of the reasons we have not booked on her again, as my husband likes the casino. The ventriloquest I believe is Gareth Oliver and he is seriously funny, we saw him on Ventura last year and understand he is mainly doing RCI this year.

 

And, yes cruising is addictive.

[graham29a]

Thanks for the great review, which is very similar to our views on Indy a couple of years ago. I did not know that they had banned smoking in the casino, that is one of the reasons we have not booked on her again, as my husband likes the casino. The ventriloquest I believe is Gareth Oliver and he is seriously funny, we saw him on Ventura last year and understand he is mainly doing RCI this year.

 

And, yes cruising is addictive.

 

It was indeed Gareth Oliver and he was a different class to all other shows. The only thing that could compete with his quality was the two ice shows :-)

[Gradelady]

Shows – These were a mixed bag. Most of the theatre shows were what I would call holiday camp acts although the ventriloquist was fantastic. Two of the comedians and the Juggler were very very poor. The production shows were ok and the Grease show whilst being enjoyable and well performed was over hyped and left me wanting more audience participation. Getting people into theatre 1 hour before show was a little strange……..another performance or ticketing would be more sensible. I have however saved the best until last – The two ice shows were beyond belief. To perform two different shows on a moving ship and a small ice rink with that level of quality was just awesome. I also bumped into the violinist in Vintages one evening and she was adorable.

 

 

Thank you for your excellent review! I will be sailing on the Independence of the Seas in March on a 5 night out of Ft. Lauderdale. We are interested in the "grease" production. Hoping that there will be more audience participation! The group of ladies I'm going with would enjoy that!

[champagnebarfly]

Thank you for your great review.

 

I too have been worried about all of the negative reviews recently, so it's good to read one that is so possitive. We sail in September and this will be our second cruise on Indy and we are on countdown now. We usually book as soon as the itineraries are released, but this year we didn't and because of all the negative reviews we were thinking that maybe we would take a break from Royal, but your review gives me hope. We haven't had a bad cruise yet.

[graham29a]

Thank you for your great review.

 

I too have been worried about all of the negative reviews recently, so it's good to read one that is so possitive. We sail in September and this will be our second cruise on Indy and we are on countdown now. We usually book as soon as the itineraries are released, but this year we didn't and because of all the negative reviews we were thinking that maybe we would take a break from Royal, but your review gives me hope. We haven't had a bad cruise yet.

 

I think my only negatives were feral teenagers with parents who devolved all resposnsiblity because they were "safe on the ship" - This shouldn't be an issue in September as kids are back at school

 

and Sun Bed savers - Again less of an issue if you don't have families of four saving four and using one or two.

 

It was a wonderful cruise, you will have a wonderful cruise and I can't wait to be in a position to cruise outside the school holidays :-)

[cloud_nine]

Great review! Disappointing that Corsica and Sardinia were dropped from the cruise. We are looking at the Med Beaches cruise on Navigator for next year mostly for these two ports so we'd have been gutted to miss them. Glad you had a good first cruise regardless.

[dd0yl3]

Great review. My family and I will be on the Independence this spring for our first family cruise. We can't wait.

[champagnebarfly]

I think my only negatives were feral teenagers with parents who devolved all resposnsiblity because they were "safe on the ship" - This shouldn't be an issue in September as kids are back at school

 

and Sun Bed savers - Again less of an issue if you don't have families of four saving four and using one or two.

 

It was a wonderful cruise, you will have a wonderful cruise and I can't wait to be in a position to cruise outside the school holidays :-)

 

We have always cruised outside the school holidays,because we are able to, all but one in September, the other in June as it was to the Baltics and I thought the weather would be better. it wasn't, but apparently the following week it was glorious.It does make a difference not having gangs of teenagers roaming around, that's not to say there aren't any at all, but obviously not as many as in the school holidays.

The Sun Bed savers are rife everywhere, wherever you go on holiday, we Brits have got it down to a fine art. ( I know it's not just Brits) My husband manages to find himself a bed, I have given up sitting in the sun.

We haven't found many things to be negative about on our previous cruises, and have enjoyed them all, but when reading the reviews and almost all of them are negative it has started to worry me a little, that's why it was such a relief to read yours.

[easyboy]

Thanks for the review.

[IsanTom]

Thanks for the review!

[bensondog]

I was beginning to feel a little bit upset at some of the reveiws (as quoted in previous reviews Butlins on Tour..) I am on Indi on 27th so only 6 sleeps to go..... Thank you for instilling that cruising has not changed since we got the bug many moons ago 10 yrs exact. Now with children in tow 9yrs, 6yrs (who will be well behaved I promise ) I was so horrified to hear that some parents would allow their children to be so brass and rude.....::mad:

Fingers crossed I will as you say get that WOW factor when we all step on borard again... let the packing begin......xx:)