Just off Independence of the Seas ....

[mkrr1123]

This was our 3rd cruise and the longest at 5 days.  We have previously done a 3 day and a 4 day on Mariner of the Seas.  We had an absolute blast.  We are a family of 6 (4 adult children between the ages of 21 to 26) and we traveled with 2 other families.  Dining services did an incredible job of sitting all of us at 2 tables.  We all loved the food and the service was incredible. Our wait staff was so accommodating.  I have 1 rule on board - you must be at dinner.  I don't care what you do all day but be at dinner on time and be presentable.  The kids all followed this rule.  My daughter has an allergy to pineapple and the bar staff was very good at letting her know what she could and could not have.  We love Coco Cay.  I think we may have been one of the last families off the island at 4:10.  My children definitely made use of the drink package with between alcohol, coffee, and water.   

 

My only complaint which is not really Royal's problem was disembarking in Miami.  Once we cleared customs there was no signage or direction other than people screaming in our faces and blowing whistles.  My daughter with Autism almost had a complete meltdown.  She needed decompression which is something that she had not needed in over 10 years.  We just needed some guidance and signage to direct us to the ride share area.  Since our uber ride to the hotel would be 15 versus taxis that wanted to charge us 50.    This would make me think twice about booking out of Miami again if she is traveling with us.   

 

We are planning for Alaska in 2026 so I am waiting for the release of those iternaries.  And will be following along for all the guidance that I gain from these boards. 

 

Kathe

[SilkySal]

Thanks for your comments! However, I feel so sorry for your daughter's distress! You might think about letting the folks at Royal know about what happened (mbayley@rccl.com). No ranting, just facts, as they need to be aware of your circumstances to, hopefully, correct future ones. Hope you continue to enjoy cruising!

[leaveitallbehind]

16 minutes ago, SilkySal said:

Thanks for your comments! However, I feel so sorry for your daughter's distress! You might think about letting the folks at Royal know about what happened (mbayley@rccl.com). No ranting, just facts, as they need to be aware of your circumstances to, hopefully, correct future ones. Hope you continue to enjoy cruising!

I don't disagree with the thoughts of contacting RCCL with this issue.  However the OP needs to understand, as I believe they do from their comments, that none of this is controlled by RCCL as all employees and activities in and outside the terminal are 3rd party associated.  All RCCL can do is pass on the concerns to those parties.  And unfortunately IMO Miami is the least effective terminal in managing and directing activities once outside of the terminal.  

[FamilyCruiserUK]

Totally understand about Miami, wow what a complete cluster of organised (maybe) chaos......the Whistles i was still hearing a few days later i swear lol. 

I honestly do not think Royal can do anything except maybe highlight to people about the noise outside of the terminal. 🤷

[PhillyFan33579]

3 hours ago, mkrr1123 said:

My only complaint which is not really Royal's problem was disembarking in Miami.  Once we cleared customs there was no signage or direction other than people screaming in our faces and blowing whistles.  My daughter with Autism almost had a complete meltdown.  She needed decompression which is something that she had not needed in over 10 years.  We just needed some guidance and signage to direct us to the ride share area.  Since our uber ride to the hotel would be 15 versus taxis that wanted to charge us 50.    This would make me think twice about booking out of Miami again if she is traveling with us.   

 

We are planning for Alaska in 2026 so I am waiting for the release of those iternaries.  And will be following along for all the guidance that I gain from these boards. 

 

Kathe

Like you stated, this issue is really out of RCI’s control. Unfortunately from my experience every port is similar to this on debarkation day, including when we cruised in Alaska last month. 

[Jasukkie]

Yes, I too have experienced that in Miami. It really stands alone in "thanks for coming, now get the EFF out of here, right NOW, I said NOW, LEAVE, MOVE!" once you exit the building. You also go from an air-conditioned, inside space, to bright light and a blast of heat and humidity, all multiplying the effect for someone with sensory issues. It can't hurt to share your feelings about having had such a wonderful onboard experience and how things could be better on the return.

[ONECRUISER]

3 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Like you stated, this issue is really out of RCI’s control. Unfortunately from my experience every port is similar to this on debarkation day, including when we cruised in Alaska last month. 

Another Reason I prefer Radiance Class, doing longer 10+ niters usually about 1750-2050 passengers, few families and even fewer Kids(10-25) Easy on easy off and no masses of people

[Mum2Mercury]

9 hours ago, mkrr1123 said:

My only complaint which is not really Royal's problem was disembarking in Miami. 

I think I see your problem:  Miami.  

 

Seriously, Miami is our least favorite port.  The traffic and the lack of organization are bad -- and at least one of the terminals has no chairs /makes you stand while waiting to board.  We'll go to Miami, but it has to be a really, really good price.  

 

If you want the absolute easiest, calmest terminal, look into Tampa; however, that also means smaller ships (because they have to be able to fit under the bridge).  

 

I'm sorry your daughter had difficulty. 

[leaveitallbehind]

4 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

Yes, I too have experienced that in Miami. It really stands alone in "thanks for coming, now get the EFF out of here, right NOW, I said NOW, LEAVE, MOVE!" once you exit the building. You also go from an air-conditioned, inside space, to bright light and a blast of heat and humidity, all multiplying the effect for someone with sensory issues. It can't hurt to share your feelings about having had such a wonderful onboard experience and how things could be better on the return.

That may in fact be the case in the Miami cruise terminal, but as you clearly realize, none of that has anything to do with the cruse line. Their disembarkation times and procedures for the most part, and with some itinerary exceptions, are typically uniform throughout the fleet regardless of cruise terminal. Unfortunately, how you are treated once off the ship is not within their direct control.

 

Again, I endorse commenting to the cruise line about negative terminal experiences as they clearly have a direct voice to the terminal.  Just what gets done about it is another story.

Edited July 9 by leaveitallbehind

[mkrr1123]

Glad to know that we were not alone with feeling this way about disembarkation.  On my survey I praised the cruise experience and did let them know about the nightmare that was disembarkation.  I did mention that it would make me think twice about booking a cruise out of Miami in the future.  When asking my daughter what sent her over the edge it was the whistles being blown in all directions that caused her to become so distressed.   I mean she is able to go to Disney and deal with crowds but she just felt this was so disconcerting.   We attended the Marlins Red Sox game that afternoon and ride share was so easy with a designated lot.  I really just want to let others know how crazy it was getting off the boat.  

[mkrr1123]

7 hours ago, PhillyFan33579 said:

Like you stated, this issue is really out of RCI’s control. Unfortunately from my experience every port is similar to this on debarkation day, including when we cruised in Alaska last month. 

Thank you for letting me know this so I can prepare my daughter when we go in 2026.  Our other 2 cruises were out of Port Canaveral and the process was simple and direct so this was a whole new thing for our family.  

[PhillyFan33579]

17 minutes ago, mkrr1123 said:

Thank you for letting me know this so I can prepare my daughter when we go in 2026.  Our other 2 cruises were out of Port Canaveral and the process was simple and direct so this was a whole new thing for our family.  

Someone else commented on this, but maybe try to book a smaller ship when you go to Alaska. I never really thought about it before, but a smaller ship should lead to less congestion at the port on debarkation day. 

[Mum2Mercury]

10 hours ago, mkrr1123 said:

When asking my daughter what sent her over the edge it was the whistles being blown in all directions that caused her to become so distressed.    

What if she wore noise-cancelling ear phones during Disembarkation?  Would that make a difference?  She'd need a family member to walk with her, of course, since not being able to hear could be a danger -- traffic, you know.  

 

 

Edited July 9 by Mum2Mercury

[TeeRick]

Hi @mkrr1123 and thank for your review and comments on INDY.  We will be on her again next year but out of the UK.  Not Miami.  In general I don't like to fly into Miami or cruise from Miami as you and others have stated.

[mkrr1123]

3 hours ago, Mum2Mercury said:

What if she wore noise-cancelling ear phones during Disembarkation?  Would that make a difference?  She'd need a family member to walk with her, of course, since not being able to hear could be a danger -- traffic, you know.  

 

 

The funny thing is she did have her ear phones on but they did not block out the whistles.  She does so well compared to when she was young that it was surprising.  We will look into a smaller boat for Alaska but the kids, well really young adults, love all the options on a larger ship.  If she is prepared ahead of time she is able to make concessions.  We were just not prepared for the mass chaos since both departures at Port Canaveral were relatively simple and easy.  

[RedJessi]

3 minutes ago, mkrr1123 said:

The funny thing is she did have her ear phones on but they did not block out the whistles.  She does so well compared to when she was young that it was surprising.  We will look into a smaller boat for Alaska but the kids, well really young adults, love all the options on a larger ship.  If she is prepared ahead of time she is able to make concessions.  We were just not prepared for the mass chaos since both departures at Port Canaveral were relatively simple and easy.  

Keep in mind that a larger ship will likely not be allowed into areas like Glacier Bay. There are size restrictions and only 2 boats allowed per day. This is why we opted to cruise on Sapphire Princess for our Alaska experience - that plus Princess offers land and sea itineraries - we stayed several nights in their Denali lodge. That experience, plus the breath taking train ride on the McKinley Explorer from the lodge to the cruise port were the highlights of that (2 week) trip!

[mkrr1123]

2 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Hi @mkrr1123 and thank for your review and comments on INDY.  We will be on her again next year but out of the UK.  Not Miami.  In general I don't like to fly into Miami or cruise from Miami as you and others have stated.

We loved this boat and since we had sailed on Mariner it was easy to know our way around.  We had 2 cabins next to each other on deck 10 right below the wind jammer.   We loved that location easy to get up to deck 11 and 12 and not bad to go down to 4 and 5.  I did so many stairs during the 5 days that I averaged 16,000 steps a day.  My kids absolutely loved the wine bar and playmakers and my one son drank every kind of beer at the pub over the 5 days.  I am a huge Wimbledon fan (on my bucket list to attend one day) and the bar tenders in the pub put it on for me and even turned up the volume.  I sat and watched for quite a while and the bar tender chatted with me about the matches.  The kids also said the night club was better on Indy than on Mariner.  The show Grease was incredible.  We also had no problem getting a seating area in the adult section.  It became our cental location for the day.  My oldest son had to do some work and he was able to do stuff no problem.  Overall we had an absolute blast.  

[mkrr1123]

3 minutes ago, RedJessi said:

Keep in mind that a larger ship will likely not be allowed into areas like Glacier Bay. There are size restrictions and only 2 boats allowed per day. This is why we opted to cruise on Sapphire Princess for our Alaska experience - that plus Princess offers land and sea itineraries - we stayed several nights in their Denali lodge. That experience, plus the breath taking train ride on the McKinley Explorer from the lodge to the cruise port were the highlights of that (2 week) trip!

Thank you so much for your reply.  My oldest son wants to somehow fit in Denali with this trip.  I know that there are size restrictions on certain areas so that will play a decision in our choices, but the kids are dead set against Princess. My 82 year old father only sails on Princess so they are of the idea that it would be like when I drag them to church - they would be the youngest people by decades.  I don't think even with me paying for their cabins they would be willing to take a Princess cruise.  Have a great day.

[RedJessi]

6 minutes ago, mkrr1123 said:

Thank you so much for your reply.  My oldest son wants to somehow fit in Denali with this trip.  I know that there are size restrictions on certain areas so that will play a decision in our choices, but the kids are dead set against Princess. My 82 year old father only sails on Princess so they are of the idea that it would be like when I drag them to church - they would be the youngest people by decades.  I don't think even with me paying for their cabins they would be willing to take a Princess cruise.  Have a great day.

 If you can fit Denali in, I HIGHLY recommend it - definitely worth the extra time/expense for our family. Also, is there was anytime to have a balcony, this is it. We all stayed in mini-suites and I wouldn't;t do it any other way for an Alaskan itinerary. Also, We traveled multigenerationally - eldest was 77, youngest was 6. 

[The Fun Researcher]

Happy that you all had such a great cruise!

 

We'll be back on the Indy in about a month, same 5 nighter.  Can't wait.  Love the Freedom class

[edrussell]

Thanks so much for this info.  We are taking our daughter and our granddaughter on Indy in Dec on their first cruise.  In fact it will our first cruise out of Miami.  Our granddaughter is so incredibly shy in crowds.  We will make sure she has a comfortable safe space to be in on debark.

[FamilyCruiserUK]

5 hours ago, TeeRick said:

Hi @mkrr1123 and thank for your review and comments on INDY.  We will be on her again next year but out of the UK.  Not Miami.  In general I don't like to fly into Miami or cruise from Miami as you and others have stated.

We are back on indy after 8 years away next summer as well from Southampton. Such a nice quiet easy port to sail from. Never had any issues with royal, msc or p&o out of southampton. No whistles, no horn beeping and no need to tip the porter mafia. Cant wait to see how indy is now post her amplification 👍

[The Fun Researcher]

FWIW I don't find Miami much worse than the other ports we've sailed from.  LOVE the sail away from Miami and I consider that the positive.  At least it's not like pulling up to a shipping container yard (I'm looking at you Fort Lauderdale)

 

It is busy when entering and leaving the port, but they all are. OP, sorry all that noise and chaos had a negative impact on your loved one.  At least you are prepared for next time

[Mum2Mercury]

2 hours ago, mkrr1123 said:

The funny thing is she did have her ear phones on but they did not block out the whistles ... If she is prepared ahead of time she is able to make concessions ... 

I'm no ear phone expert, but that's surprising.  Maybe investigate another brand?  

Yes, knowing something's coming always makes it easier to deal with.  

2 hours ago, mkrr1123 said:

My oldest son wants to somehow fit in Denali with this trip.  

Denali is why I decided I don't want to cruise to Alaska ... and I put significant time into researching that decision.  Denali is something like 3-4 hours inland, and it's huge.  If I fly across the country, then travel to Alaska, I want more than a day in Denali.  Even if we do a land trip to Denali after a cruise, it'll be difficult to arrange because it'd have to start from our cruise exit port.  

 

We've decided that if we do Alaska (it's not super high on our list), it'll be a land-based trip.  We're also somewhat interested in a train trip across Alaska.  

6 minutes ago, The Fun Researcher said:

LOVE the sail away from Miami and I consider that the positive.

Now that's true. 

Also, with so many cruises sailing out of Miami, good prices can sometimes be found -- though, for us, it means driving 11 1/2 hours instead of 8 hours, and that's a real difference.  

 

Nothing's entirely bad.  

[SUgwoz]

22 hours ago, Jasukkie said:

Yes, I too have experienced that in Miami. It really stands alone in "thanks for coming, now get the EFF out of here, right NOW, I said NOW, LEAVE, MOVE!" once you exit the building. You also go from an air-conditioned, inside space, to bright light and a blast of heat and humidity, all multiplying the effect for someone with sensory issues. It can't hurt to share your feelings about having had such a wonderful onboard experience and how things could be better on the return.

The flipside is how people having glowing comments about getting on a ship at 10:30 or even sooner on embarkation day, and the only reason that happens is because they are getting people out quickly.