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Independence of the Seas will be a nightmare 2018

sinbad22uk

By sinbad22uk,
in Royal Caribbean International

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mcatmcat Great Review Rare

mcatmcat

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You know how it is Marci.... if it doesn't affect me then I don't care.....

 

 

 

Not always the case, we love to dance and was upset when they got rid of the nightclub but it was always empty so now the nightclub is gone. It was a waste of space and payroll

 

 

 

 

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golfpccc

golfpccc

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The Liberty of the Seas has had most of these changes and yes, it is now a great family ship. But, the Suite Lounge is really nice, no longer has a Concierge Lounge.

 

The biggest problem I would have with the Independence deck plan is the Sports Bar and Arcade right next to the Casino—the smoke will be terrible in these venues!! Also noticed no card room. The card room on the Liberty is in the old Concerige Lounge on deck 10. Also did not see an Internet cafe or area for the LA. They have removed the cigar room on deck 5, no great loss for me there.

 

Think I prefer the deck plan on the Liberty!

 

Carla

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sinbad22uk

sinbad22uk

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There might be less chaos if you weren't fighting for seats and loungers so much. :)

 

But seriously, I agree it's disappointing their priorities seem to be packing more people onboard and reducing public space. I wonder if they have to add more life boats at some point? Assume when originally built the # of cabins/beds and lifeboats were all coordinated to meet requirements.

 

Firstly I am 55 years of age so I do not fight over chairs and sunbeds, I just think it reasonable that when you have saved after a year of hard work and paid almost £5000 for two people the least you should reasonably expect is a place to sit and have a drink after dinner and to be able to have a nice lie in then have a lounger available to relax during the day.

 

Unfortunately everytime I have travelled on this ship these 2 things were getting gradually worse until last year there was a significant increase in the availability of loungers. After all if you are booking a cruise in the sun is it reallyto much to ask to be able to sit or lie in the sun.

 

I dotake your point on fighting for loungers because fights have almost happened the last couple of years however I say this year will be a nightmare because there will be the same number of seats in the bars, there will be at least 300 less sun loungers and at least 200-300 more passengers.

 

The ship was already overcrowded with a poor staff to passenger ratio so imagine now, also someone suggested I walk away irrespective of the money I will lose. How many people would be prepared to lose almost £5000 , I just need to try to make the best of it.

 

Taking public space and replacing it with different activities I can accept even if I don't personally like those activities, replacing it with cabins and not publicising it is criminal in my mind and false and misleading advertising.

 

As for the young people they probably already have the best entertainment and activities on the ship, why do they need more. Problem is kids are spoiled these days and a lot of parents do nothing to stop them becoming even more spoiled.

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John&LaLa "Live from...." Rare

John&LaLa

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Firstly I am 55 years of age so I do not fight over chairs and sunbeds, I just think it reasonable that when you have saved after a year of hard work and paid almost £5000 for two people the least you should reasonably expect is a place to sit and have a drink after dinner and to be able to have a nice lie in then have a lounger available to relax during the day.

 

Unfortunately everytime I have travelled on this ship these 2 things were getting gradually worse until last year there was a significant increase in the availability of loungers. After all if you are booking a cruise in the sun is it reallyto much to ask to be able to sit or lie in the sun.

 

I dotake your point on fighting for loungers because fights have almost happened the last couple of years however I say this year will be a nightmare because there will be the same number of seats in the bars, there will be at least 300 less sun loungers and at least 200-300 more passengers.

 

The ship was already overcrowded with a poor staff to passenger ratio so imagine now, also someone suggested I walk away irrespective of the money I will lose. How many people would be prepared to lose almost £5000 , I just need to try to make the best of it.

 

Taking public space and replacing it with different activities I can accept even if I don't personally like those activities, replacing it with cabins and not publicising it is criminal in my mind and false and misleading advertising.

 

As for the young people they probably already have the best entertainment and activities on the ship, why do they need more. Problem is kids are spoiled these days and a lot of parents do nothing to stop them becoming even more spoiled.

Trying not to be belligerent, but there are no guarantees.

 

In her current configuration I can guarantee you that there are not 2,000 bar seats on the Indy, so you are currently not guaranteed a place to sit and enjoy an afternoon dinner drink.

 

Same with loungers and pool space.

 

Will it be more crowded than now? Hard to tell, many of the folks on the slides, trampolines, and laser tag used to be in the pool.

 

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sinbad22uk

sinbad22uk

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The problem with the sunbeds is that families of 4 for example come and take 4 beds then the youngsters just dump their overclothes and bags on the beds then disappear for the day around the ship popping back every hour or two but not actually using them.

 

Irrespective of my thoughts on chairs and loungers taking public space and changing or improving it is great, taking it and making more cabins is just downright wrong in my opinion. it is all take and no give

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sinbad22uk

sinbad22uk

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I tend to stay away from "family" style ships for this reason....There are many ships geared to the older crowd.

 

I don't consider myself old and I loved the Indy because it had a young and vibrant atmosphere but these latest "improvements" have just upset what was a very fine balance.

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CP3o

CP3o

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The library was sort of a nice place to wait before get into room or to meet others before going somewhere. I’d see occasional card games going on there. I’d rather see it used for about anything except extra cabins. Oh well. Maybe there will be good last minute deals on cabins If have trouble selling out.

 

 

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mcatmcat Great Review Rare

mcatmcat

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Might rather see the nightclub turn into a cool bar for another place to get drinks as capacity increasss

 

 

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No no, with those unlimited packages it won’t benefits the stockholders [emoji50]

 

 

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Rocket3D

Rocket3D

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I love the way RCI pretended they were improving the ship for 2018 when in fact it is just a big cover up tpo make more money.

 

Having been on this ship for 5 of the last 6 years I have already booked and paid for this years cruise, however I would not have done this had I been fully aware of the new deck plans.

 

The adults pay for these cruises yet all so called improvements are aimed at the youths and younger. This ship was struggling with getting seats in public venues in the evening and getting somewhere to lounge in the sun during the day, yet the most important upgrade that RCI has failed to mention in any of its media and advertising campaign is the fact that we are losing public spaces fir the addition of almost 100 new cabins

 

1. On decks 6, 7 and 8 all public spaces , library etc havegone due to the addition of new cabins, $$$$$

 

2 We are losing the Labyrinth nightclub for the addition of more cabins in the lower section of the club, and a new pay Japanese restaurant on the top level opposite the Schooner Bar $$$$$$ again.

 

3. We are losing 30% of the running track and sunbathing area and the spa and gym are being reduced in size for the addition of more cabins.even more $$$$$$$$

 

There are other floors around the ice rink where public space has gone and more rooms added.

 

The on-air Karaoke bar area has disappeared and is substituted on the next floor up with a sports and arcade bar , arcade being the operative word $$$$$$$$

 

There was always a fight to get a seat after dinner at night in the bars, and always a fight to find a sunbed, I think this year will be chaos as Royal Carribean to not give a toss about the paying passenger.

 

And what have we gained, a waterslide , a laser tag game and a trampoline park, all for the kids again.

 

Wish I could cancel my cruise without losing money but hey its RCI we are talking about here $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$

 

I am very angry and feel very deceived by them

 

Yup...stock prices doing good...that is what it is all about. Still enjoy Royal but only

plan on cruising when schools are in session, between holidays and spring breaks,

and never in summer...

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Yup...stock prices doing good...that is what it is all about. Still enjoy Royal but only

plan on cruising when schools are in session, between holidays and spring breaks,

and never in summer...

Stock prices are what it is all about to people who own stock. For customers it is all about their vacation experience.

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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On all cruises from Southampton the casino is completely non smoking

Wow, that is really surprising. And considering how much smoking I tend to see when I am in London I am even more surprised that they run a non-smoking casino out of the U.K. Maybe it works since the British are used to not being able to smoke indoors. That is why I love London pubs! :)

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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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If the unlimited drink packages were not a major boost in profits they would not push them..

I think the post you quoted was being a bit sarcastic toward the idea that it is "all about the stockholders". Remember, the harder it is to get a drink the more profitable the drink packages become.:)

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