After booking 2 weeks on the IOFS as a last minute option, we almost immediatly regreted it after reading some of these reviews.....In fact I almost became review obsessed looking for really enthusiatic reviews and was disappointed further....HOWEVER....I am delighted to say that we have just returned from 2 amazing weeks on board a really well run, fun filled ship.

The Ship was extremely clean and our room attendent was wonderful, she took great care of us and our 5 year old.

All communal areas were always clean and the staff were more than happy to stay on top of things at the busy times to make sure that tables were cleared and I never saw anyone left waiting....especially bearing in mind the ship was filled to capacity.

The food in the Winjammer was really good and, yes, may not always be to your taste but the quality was always exeptional. We were allocated the Macbeth for all other meals and ate breakfast, lunch and dinner there most days as the food was of such a high standard....if its wasn't to your taste, you simply asked for somethinge else....never a problem!! The Johnny Rockets was good fun and a great one off treat for kids and adults alike. For our anniversary we had a lovely quiet table in the Chops Grill.....an absolute treat and worth every extra dollar!

Because we had a 5 year old we were unable to participate in many evening activities but that didn't stop us having a super family holiday and making the most of the facilities we could enjoy. Kids club was great and next year when our son is a little older, we will use it more and have a completely different holiday again, then we will be to partipate in the nighly parade, street parties, late nigh quizzes, casino's, disco's, wine bars.................need I go on?

The pool area could get busy on Sea days but this is no different to any hotel and as long as you chose the right pool area for your tatses then a good time should be had by all.
security was always on hand and no diving or "horse play" was allowed so it never got out of hand.

As the weeks went on the teenagers did become a little wild but security was soon on to it and the ships rumours were that some families were put off the ship at different ports if they didn't adhere to the ships firm but fair rules.

Joff the Ents Director was hillarious and had a great British sense of humour.....Some evening shows were amazing and some were good, again, its was just a case of taste. The staff made a great job of the kids and adults talent show too!

We are already talking acout where and when to go next year, and that is extremely rare for our family.

If you are first time cruisers, go into it with an open mind, take advantage of the drinks packages, try everything once and enjoy!!

We decided to make a last minute booking and travel for the first time on a cruise ship with our 11 year old daughter. We were very wary about a cruise incase we were sea sick, did not like the food, etc, etc. We wondered if we had done the right thing after checking website customner reviews and reading bad reports. We were recommended Independence of the Seas as this would be the best for keeping our daughter entertained and had the most to do. All our worries were dismissed as we settled in to the Med Cruise and it just got better and better. Having now returned we can recommend this holiday to everyone, and especially this ship. The ship is so large and steady that in the calm summer seas you do not feel you are moving.

Boarding was simplicity in itself, much better than taking your car to the airport, putting it the long term car park, being transferred to the airport, clearing customs and making your way to the departure gate. The long term parking is next to the boarding, if you are lucky enough to get dropped off or arrive by taxi, the porter takes your bags from the drop off point and you walk through the customs and board the ship. We boarded at noon, went to the Windjammer for lunch, then to our room by 4pm where our bags were waiting for us and we had the rest of the day to enjoy.

The whole ship as well as our stateroom was spotless.
Each stateroom has its own attendant who meticulously clean every part of the room twice per day. The room was small, but then there is so much to do on the ship, who wants to stay in their room ? It was though more than adequate for what was needed, and if you have a room with a window or balcony what more can you want than wake up in the morning with a view of Cannes, Lisbon, Barcelona, Ibiza, Gibralter, Malaga, Ajaccio, etc.

We went for My Time Dining which was extremely convenient as we could choose what time to dine and this was usefull especially after coming back from excursions and preferring to eat earlier or later.
Gratuities have to be pre-paid if you take My Time Dining, but then if you dont want to tip the wonderful staff, then you should not go on a cruise and let someone else who will tip the staff take your place. The food was really first class. We varied breakfast either in the silver service restaurant, the dining room buffet, or the Windjammer Cafe. Lunch in Romeo & Juliet between 12.30 and 2.00 was wonderful. The salads which were freshly prepared infront of you were a meal in themselves. If you did not fancy that there was a great selection of starters mains and desserts. You could take one drinks package each, or just for whoever fancies fizzy drinks, but at least one is needed as the weather is hot and they are great value. A wonderful lemon drink is available all day in Windjammer as well as water at all the bars. In the evening the dining room served food worthy of a 5 Star hotel. If you did not like it, you could just change it. The selection was terrific as well.

If you wish to eat early in the evening the after dinner show at about 9pm was perfect, if you wish to eat late you can attend the pre dinner show at 7pm. Although we had read reviews of acts being so bad everyone left, this is not true. Bearing in mind everything is included in the price you are not going to get top name expensive celebrity stars entertaining you each evening, but the shows were good enough to pack 1400 people in to the more popular 9pm evening show. If Samantha Jay who performs for Prince Charles private parties is good enough for him, she is good enough for us. The comedy juggler and comedy magician were great too. Other entertainment included who wants to be a millionaire, music quizes, etc, etc so there was plenty to keep you occupied until gone midnight.

The ports of call were all very interesting, the woman who said there was nothing in Vigo probably only made it to the local shops just outside where the ship anchors, she obviously did not take any of the tours avaialble from the tour desk. A great variety were offered and something to suit everyone
at each port of call. Other entertainment included lectures, daily movies in the cinema, ice skating shows (whoever said they were fully booked did not listen to Joff who said even without tickets a space would be found for you). Which other ship has an ice skating ring, rock climbing wall, flow rider, putting, table tennis, etc, etc. For about one hour on one of the cruise days we passed through seals, which could easily be seen on the port side of the ship, unlike those rip off supposed "Seal Tours" on the coast off Norfolk ).

The cruise Director Joff Eaton was hilarious (does he remind anyone of Basil Faulty ??), and all the staff could not do enough to help. I would certainly highly recommend Royal Carribean. The cruise was full to capacity as you would expect in early August, yet with over 4,000 guests it did not feel over crowded.
The Royal Promenade is a nice central point and you often pass through there on the way to events or dining. That reminds me I forgot to mention the Italian cafe where you can get wonderful pizza all day, along with the 24 hour coffee shop where you can get all types of teas, coffee, hot chocolate, etc, along with sandwiches, cakes, scones, in the unlikely event you are hungry.

So all in all a wonderful, superb value for money, five star holiday. Thank you Royal Carribean.

Having read reviews before we travelled I was worried about our holiday experience. We have cruised twice before but never with Royal Caribbean.

We had been given free parking but this involved a shuttle bus and man-handling our luggage at both ends would have been awful in wet weather as we had to wait outside for quite a while, much prefer Princess which gave us valet parking so luggage was taken from your car at the boat. Once at the terminal we were dealt with very quickly and efficiently and our stateroom was ready by the time we arrived.

Had booked a Grand Suite as with two teenagers we opted for the extra space. It was lovely, beds amazingly comfortable but we had asked it to be made up as a twin but we ended up with a double bed and a double sofa bed, no way would our teens sleep together but out cabin attendent managed to get us a fold up bed as well which sorted the problem brilliantly and there was still loads of space.

We had My Time dining which was perfect as the dining times were too early and too late for my liking. Gratutities have to be pre-paid to use this option but I liked it as the staff were helpful but without trying to make sure they got your tips as it is shared for these tables. We ate in King Lear every night except one and the food was lovely and the staff were always willing to accomodate you if you wanted something different. Our children were always treated well too. We don't drink wine and the staff never made us feel bad for not wanting wine (other cruises they have been pushy!)

We had breakfast in the Windjammer every morning as it was a long walk to our dining room. There was lots of choice but it could be a bit of a bunfight to get a table and some people are so greedy! We usually ate lunch in the Windjammer as well, food was alright but a bigger selection of salads and fruit would have been nice. Staff very attentive and cleared tables very quickly.

Entertainment was very variable. The cruise companies shows were entertaining but didn't have the polish of the Princess shows. The ice-shows however were fantastic, I believe getting tickets requires an early morning queue but the advantage of a suite was immediate entry and front row seats! Had a violin player who won new faces in 1986, the theatre emptied as from the description in the cruise compass an entertaining family show was promised and kids were bored, he was ok but not exciting.

The progressive quiz was great fun and the cruise director Joff had a great sense of humour.

We found that there was a lull in things to do between about 7.30 and 9.00 with dull music in the bars. Everything got going very late and with early starts for some ports I can't stay up that late!

There is a teen club but the groups of teenagers got more rowdy as the cruise continued and my two prefered to stay with us or just go off together as they found the groups quite intimidating.

The facilities such as the ice-skating, rock-clibing and flow-rider were all excellent. They were not all open all the time but check the cruise compass for times and we managed to use them all a lot. The staff on the climbing and the flowrider were really helpful and none of us were made to feel stupid when we weren't too good!

The whole ship has a WOW factor due to its size and layout. We travlled in the middle of the school holidays so it was very full and there were many children whos parents should have been keeping better control but we would certainly consider travelling on this ship again.

We have just returned from a 14 day cruise in the Med on Independence of the Seas.

I'm not going to write a blow by blow account of our cruise experience as there is wayhay too much to fit in!

All i will say ( primarily for future passengers as i also read reviews on this cruise) is that we had a brilliant time.

The crew, food, staterooms, entertainment, cleanliness, facilities and experience is great.

Yep, there are some who write and groan about the food? They must usually live with Gordon Ramsay!

Yep, there are those who will groan about the cost of drinks? OK, they are more expensive but so are drinks in any good quality hotel!

Yep, thyere are those who will complain about the entertainment? We found everything we attended to be very entertaining! There is no account for taste.

And there are those who will complain about anything!

Forget all the groans you read about and gear yourself up for a briliant time on board this ship.

We are booking up again and already looking forward to having Daniel (legendary barman and maker of cocktails) serve us 'Filipino' wine at Boleros!

BIG thankyou's to the crew of INDY for making our holiday so enjoyable and to our dining buddies from Yorkshire, Dudley and New York......You know who you are!

And as for the person i heard bleating about paying for the cruise only to be served cold chips in Windjammers...............Butlins is better for you my friend!

C&J

We sailed on IOS and got back on the 28th Aug We have been on 2 previous cruises and this was by far the worst!In respect of the ship this was excellent however in respect of cleanliness the rooms were cleaned late also Royal Carribean are so insisent on sanitising you hands before you eat that one day they ran out no wonder so many people had coughs and colds!

The ships overall food was average in respect of taste selection the best food was in Chops Grille for an additional $25pp.Same old every day.

The staff looked and dealt with passengers with great stress and not very smiley faces its a case of too few staff for too mant people.

Entertainment was average it really tells you something when the main attraction is Keith Deller Darts,Bingo,and Kareoke!

I personly would NEVER travel withRoyal Carribean again as since my last experience 5 yeasr ago they have gone downhill.They are a MONEY SPINNING organisation without the concerns of their guests

WATCH OUT FOR THE KIDS CURFEW AFTER 1PM WHICH THEY DONT TELL ABOUT PRIOR TO BOOKING!

WATCH OUT FOR THE CHARGES ON THEIR BUSES INTO TOWN CENTERS .WHAT A RIP OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hi guy i hope who every read this will not travel on this ship i went from southampton to cork on the independence of the sea and from the check in to check out the cruise was s...t.
Its a pitty they couldnt put as much time into customer services as the do entertainment.
Make sure you take lots of cash as from the first minute you get on the ship you have to pay for something.If you would like to know more please email me rm@rmmail.co.ik

We travelled as a family with a 15 year old and a 13 year old. We went around the med.

The children mainly wanted to do their own thing and we mainly only saw them for meals (and sometimes not even lunch!) They clearly had a great time, going to the arcade, ice-skating, climbing the rock-wall, basketball and mini-golf. There was plenty to keep them entertained. In the evenings they could also go to parties and hang out with other kids, and they easily made friends.

We however spent a lot of time in the fitness suite, and there were many excellent classes and seminars there. There are not enough sunloungers, if you want the best spots (especially on days when you're at sea) you need to get in there early.

The food was excellent. Loads and loads of choice. I recommend chops grille to go once, it was excellent. Winjammer was brilliant for quick small (or big) lunches.

A few issues:
Excursions are very expensive
Not many quiet areas for relaxation (the adults only pool is right next to the children's one!)
When we tried to get our 15 year old in the fitness suite they were really petty and wouldn't let us, even though she was 16 a month after the cruise!
There isn't a really big pool to swim in (only a few medium-sized ones)

Overall though a brilliant holiday, perfect for kids of all ages and we have already booked a cruise to florida next year.

If you long for the old holiday camp holiday or want to dump the kids to their own amusement so you can drink unhindered all night in the bar it's great

Just returned fron 14 night med cruise on Independence of the Seas, I cannot beleive how much RCCL has dumbed down in pusuit of making more money, since we last cruised on it in 2008. Booked this cruise in July 2009, filled in on line Seapass registratation in good time, on arrival at terminal had to wait while they printed the Seapass,s as they did not have ours, they also did not reflect our Crown & Anchor membership (not that it means anything)
Signs around every pool stated that any sun beds not occupied for more than 30 minutes would have the towel and items removed and placed with deck attendant, first day (and every sea day) went to adult pool to find every sun bed had a towel on it but only four people in attendance, returned a half hour later same but now six people in attendance, half hour later now ten, half hour alter fourteen people, I raised the matter with a pool attendent who responded by saying " Oh we bother with that rule now" (All pools were the same)every sunbed with a towel on it first thing in the morning but no bodies on them till about midday. What is the point of displaying the sign?
Do not expect a sunbed near a pool unless you get up at about 5am.
No diving or jumping into pools another joke could not swim in pool due to people jumping in, so don't get a sun bed near the pool unless you want to constantly showered.
No running round the decks (yeh)every night we would sit in the Olive & Twist and watch children have races along the top of sunbeds laid out by the hand rail, I,m no namby pamby but it did strike me a tad dangerous, side hand rail 3ft 6 high sunbed foot off ground, also acts as a trampoline, 120 ft drop into sea
No playing in the lifts or on stairs, I thought liitle groups in a lift having fun taking it from deck 1 to deck 14 stopping at every floor then vice versa or getting them all to 1 deck and holding our fingers on door open button was playing, fed up with that we will all sit on stairs so pelple have to climb over us
Drinks well over priced (bacardi & coke (splash coke)
£4.50) Cheapest bottle of Wine in Dining Room £30.00.
Remembering that there is no Duty, Tax or VAT on them.
I know that RCCL is there to make money, but they don't have to be so baltant in excerising their monopoly.
The standard of food has declined in two years obviously don't employ so many chefs and buy in prepared food, (also I think they have shares in a Broccoli Farm)
On Board Security are a joke only concerned with alchol being brought on to the ship not with ensuring that ship rules are observed and EVERYONE can enjoy themselves.
It is obvious that RCCL policy is now you can do what you want as long as your spending in the bars or casino
As a closing note we were booked onto Celebrity Eclipse next year (RCCL sister company) but have cancelled, as they will more than likely go the same way, OK I lost £300 for cancelling but after this experience it is a price worth paying.

Butlins at Sea

but a butlins you could not affoard to have fun in because it all costs extra

$32 dollars for a game of bingo with 4 sheets but only 1 line at a time took 30 minutes and top prize was 132 dollars

no cinema just small tv room with heads in way showing very very old films

New films you had to pay for

was told to queue for ice tickets at 8.30am then evil persons put clocks forward so it was 7.30am really

Children were not signed in and out were just free to roam around leaving drinks and plates everywhere especially in lifs

my 11 year old was pushed and kicked on the football pitch by a seventeen year old but we didn't know his name scarred

ship so big if you saw somebody once you would probably never see them again staff complained of this also

I kept loosing my children and it took me 3 hours to find them one day

teenage big boys were menace pushing charging around
knocking my glass of wine out of my hand Also they were a problem in skating rink which is very small staff kept looking at them but didn't do anything and mums with little ones were trying to skate they did All skate as well as teen skate

I OVERHEARD A BIG BOY SAY TO HIS MATE LEAVE HER ALONE SHES ONLY ELEVEN BUT HE DID NOT LEAVE HER ALONE

SCOTTISH HOLIDAYS FULL OF ROUGH TATOO BRIGADE

TOLD OUR HEAD WAITER THAT I WAS WORRIED WHAT OUR CHILDREN WERE GETTING UP TO AS WE HAD NEVER SEEN THEM
hE SAID "We have a saying "WHAT HAPPENS ON THE SHIP STAYS ON THE SHIP" AND HE LAUGHED A LOT.

I WAS DISGUSTED BY THIS FOR EXAMPLE MANY 5 POTS ON ARMS AND LEGS WERE SEEN ON PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS ETC
DISEMBARKING WHEN WE GOT THERE ON BOARD WE SAW EVEN MORE SHIPS STAFF ALL DENIED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF FLOWRIDER OR ICE SKATING YET ALL POTS WERE BLUE AND NEW!!!!!!

I SPENT MUCHTIME WORRYING THAT MY BOYS WOULD COME TO HARM BY PAEDOPHILES ETC AND SINCE I CAME BACK I HAVE READ ALL ABOUT THIS HAPPENING ON R C SHIPS AND THEY ALWAYS DENY AND COVER IT UP THEY NEVER SACK STAFF LET ALONE REPORT THIS BECAUSE CRUISE SHIPS DO NOT HAVE TO BY LAW READ CRUISE LAW SITES

FOOD DANGEROUSLY WARM NO HOT EVER NO 24 HOUR NO 16 HOUR DINING

NO WHERE TO GO COS ALL SEATS TAKEN SUNBEDS ARE SARDINES YOU GET OFF AND ON AT ENDS!!

COFFEESHOP TINY NO SEATS OVER RUN BY KIDS SAW 3 BOYS HAVING A LEGGS IN AIR FARTING CONTEST!WHILST SITTING IN SOFAS ONE NIGHT ANOTHER NIGHT SAW THEM PICKING THEIR NOSES AND BRAZENLY WIPING THEM ON SOFAS

No place very young children were taken Disos wine bars

PIZZAS ARE CHEAP PROCESSED CHEESE YEUK THEY ARE FROZEN AS ARE ALL DESERTS JUST THAWED OUT AND TASTELESS NO fLAMES ON BOARD ALL FOOD STEAMED

Butlins at Sea

but a butlins you could not affoard to have fun in because it all costs extra

$32 dollars for a game of bingo with 4 sheets but only 1 line at a time took 30 minutes and top prize was 132 dollars

no cinema just small tv room with heads in way showing very very old films

New films you had to pay for

was told to queue for ice tickets at 8.30am then evil persons put clocks forward so it was 7.30am really

Children were not signed in and out were just free to roam around leaving drinks and plates everywhere especially in lifs

my 11 year old was pushed and kicked on the football pitch by a seventeen year old but we didn't know his name scarred

ship so big if you saw somebody once you would probably never see them again staff complained of this also

I kept loosing my children and it took me 3 hours to find them one day

teenage big boys were menace pushing charging around
knocking my glass of wine out of my hand Also they were a problem in skating rink which is very small staff kept looking at them but didn't do anything and mums with little ones were trying to skate they did All skate as well as teen skate

I OVERHEARD A BIG BOY SAY TO HIS MATE LEAVE HER ALONE SHES ONLY ELEVEN BUT HE DID NOT LEAVE HER ALONE

SCOTTISH HOLIDAYS FULL OF ROUGH TATOO BRIGADE

TOLD OUR HEAD WAITER THAT I WAS WORRIED WHAT OUR CHILDREN WERE GETTING UP TO AS WE HAD NEVER SEEN THEM
hE SAID "We have a saying "WHAT HAPPENS ON THE SHIP STAYS ON THE SHIP" AND HE LAUGHED A LOT.

I WAS DISGUSTED BY THIS FOR EXAMPLE MANY 5 POTS ON ARMS AND LEGS WERE SEEN ON PEOPLE IN WHEELCHAIRS ETC
DISEMBARKING WHEN WE GOT THERE ON BOARD WE SAW EVEN MORE SHIPS STAFF ALL DENIED THAT IT WAS BECAUSE OF FLOWRIDER OR ICE SKATING YET ALL POTS WERE BLUE AND NEW!!!!!!

I SPENT MUCHTIME WORRYING THAT MY BOYS WOULD COME TO HARM BY PAEDOPHILES ETC AND SINCE I CAME BACK I HAVE READ ALL ABOUT THIS HAPPENING ON R C SHIPS AND THEY ALWAYS DENY AND COVER IT UP THEY NEVER SACK STAFF LET ALONE REPORT THIS BECAUSE CRUISE SHIPS DO NOT HAVE TO BY LAW READ CRUISE LAW SITES

FOOD DANGEROUSLY WARM NO HOT EVER NO 24 HOUR NO 16 HOUR DINING

NO WHERE TO GO COS ALL SEATS TAKEN SUNBEDS ARE SARDINES YOU GET OFF AND ON AT ENDS!!

COFFEESHOP TINY NO SEATS OVER RUN BY KIDS SAW 3 BOYS HAVING A LEGGS IN AIR FARTING CONTEST!WHILST SITTING IN SOFAS ONE NIGHT ANOTHER NIGHT SAW THEM PICKING THEIR NOSES AND BRAZENLY WIPING THEM ON SOFAS

No place very young children were taken Disos wine bars

PIZZAS ARE CHEAP PROCESSED CHEESE YEUK THEY ARE FROZEN AS ARE ALL DESERTS JUST THAWED OUT AND TASTELESS NO fLAMES ON BOARD ALL FOOD STEAMED