Just come back from holiday on Independence of the seas (Jul 10) FANTASTIC holiday. Was wowed as soon as we boarded. Embarkation at Southampton easy and very professional. Were onboard and having lunch in Windjammer by 12.30. Stateroom was ready by 1.00pm and luggage arrived soon after. All areas of ship very clean and use of handwash maticulously kept.

Food fabulous. Ate every night in the main dining room as getting dressed up was part of the holiday. Food always hot (was a bit worried about that after reading some reviews)and plenty of choice. Waitress and assistant waiter could not do enough for you. If you didn't like something you had ordered they would have gladly changed it. Everybody made lots of effort on formal nights (It was lovely to see all the children and young adults on board getting dressed up). Ate breakfast mostly in the main dining room (one was buffet style and one was silver service). However also found no problem with getting tables in windjammer. Yes it was busy on some occassions but we just chose quieter times to go. If you did go at busier times there were staff available to help you find a table.

We pre-bought a wine package which was considerably cheaper than buying a bottle of wine everynight in the dining room. Yes OK drink prices (especially wine) were more expensive than your local pub, but no more so than in a 5 star hotel in the middle of a city.

All staff were very helpful especially stateroom attendants and dining room staff. Everybody very polite and acknowledged you if you passed them.

OnBoard entertainment was fabulous. Been on 4 cruises and this was the best so far! Cruise Director Joff Eaton was superb! He and Steve (activities manager made a great double act!) In fact he made our holiday! Very funny and professional. Do not miss his Music Quiz in the pyramid lounge it was hilarious! Also progressive quiz was superb! All shows and parades great. Two fabulous tribute bands (The Beatles and Elton John). Lots of other bars with something for everyone (although these can get busy especialy if you are looking for a seat after second sitting).

Pool areas superb and adults only pool well thought out at opposite end to H2O zone if you did not want to be next to young children. However in my experience most children on board were well behaved. In fact my 77 year old parents commented on how polite the majority of the teenagers were.

My one complaint would be that a shore excursion we had pre-booked was cancelled due to lack of interest. This was disappointing.

I and the rest of my party would definitely sail on this ship again! Its amazing!

Can not believe some of the negative comments I have read on this website about Independence of the Seas really what do people want and more to the point what food do they eat in their own homes we sailed on the 17th July and found the service very good, the ship pristine and our cabins very comfortable, roomy and kept very clean and tidy by the stateroom attendant. the staff could not do enough for us and had the patience of a saint as some families on board were demanding. If you go on a cruise ship with all the facilities that children would want then you are going to get families on board with over excited children. The cruise was in my opinion was good value for money and the entertainment with the exception of kelly Montieth the so called comedian was good, as for kelly he very quickly evacuated the theatre. All in all a good holiday and we would cruise again but as our children are older may try a smaller ship that is less child orientated.

This was our seventh cruise and fourth from Southampton. This was our second time on Independence, we previously cruised on her in May 2008. We once again had booked a D2 Balcony cabin on Deck 9 Midships.

We arrived at the terminal a little after 10am.

People were already unloading luggage and so we joined the queue. Once our baggage was unloaded we proceeded to the car park and walked over to the terminal. We had to wait around until check in opened for a while and then they did not start boarding until 11:15am - we were told cabins would not be ready till 3pm.

We ate lunch at Windjammer and then relaxed around the ship until 2pm when we went to see if our cabin was ready - it was. As expected our room was identical to our previous one and despite it being two years on was in excellent condition and very clean.

Safety drill at 4pm (No Life Jackets required).

Our cases did not arrive until well after sail away and so it was a rush to unpack and shower for dinner, although we had My Time dining we had reserved a table for the first evening for 7.30pm, however we had no problem with them accommodating us, despite turning up 15 minutes late (which is not something we would normally do - however it was unexpected given the speedy delivery of luggage on our previous cruise).

Our cabin steward looked after our cabin well, and was always asking if everything was ok, he would actually stop what he was doing to come and speak to you, we felt out all of the ships we have been on - he was the best so far.

Food

We understand some of the reviews we had read before we went away about how the food was just not quite as good, we found the food to be inconsistent and several times we opted to eat at Windjammer in the evening as the menu was not to our taste, and we did not want the alternative choices.

In the dining room being on My Time dining, and booking tables for different times - we did not get assigned the same table each time, this demonstrated to us the difference in how you are looked after by certain waiting staff better than others.
Windjammer does get very busy at times and whilst they do open two floors of the dining room for breakfast (a la carte on the middle floor and buffet on deck 3) it does not resolve the problem of everyone trying to eat at similar times on Port days etc.

Drinks

We found the drinks prices to be similar to those two years ago, it is just the exchange rate that has altered.
Good service at all the bars and from all the staff.
On two occasions we did get charged for drinks we had not had, once it was rectified before we realised the other we had to go to guest relations, to have resolved. So check your account carefully.

Shows / Entertainment

The production and ice shows were exactly the same as two years ago, so a third season. The magician they had was also on our last cruise - there was no "top name" act and some of the others left a lot to be desired, I have never seen so many people get up and walk out of a show on a ship before - you would expect someone to be outside from the entertainment staff to find out why - but not here.

Joff Eaton was Cruise Director - did not find him as good as Graham Seymour - he gave the impression of being far too important to get involved in things, I think the Captain had better jokes and one liners. Entertainment Staff I'm sure some are ones who did not make it as holiday reps. (More on this later).

Ports

With the exception of Ibiza and Ajaccio we had visited all of the ports before. Ajaccio was a nice place to visit and very easy to see on your own. Due to the problems with the Center Azipod our arrival and departure in Ibiza was brought forward by two hours, which meant the arrangements we had made had to be cancelled - so we just walked around Ibiza town.

Due to the removal of the centre Azipod blades, we made an unscheduled overnight stop in Malaga until midday on the Tuesday - but the ship was berthed so far out it was impractical to have a night out in Malaga, although we know some people did do it, there was also so little time to do anything on the Tuesday morning with a 11:15 am all aboard time.

We took tours in Malaga (Marbella & Puerto Banus - we got an hour free time in each - which was fine) & Lisbon (Cascais and Sintra - we got 45 mins and 60 mins in these). The collection process for the tickets was still not as slick as it could be (Why the tickets cannot be given out as you go into the theater is beyond me) and to be told (quite rudely)by a member of staff we could not sit in a particular place was unbelievable, but minutes later when other people sat in exactly the same seats they said nothing (It was not special seats or anything) I was going to take the persons name - but why have the stress and aggravation, when on holiday.

As ever some very rude and inconsiderate passengers on board, who would charge into the lifts when others had been waiting, and pushing into buffet lines etc, but this appears to be the same on every ship.

Despite it being term time in the uk, number of children on board, including number of teenagers, whilst some were well behaved there was an element who wanted to cause problems. We did wonder at times if we had gone to a holiday camp, there was no curfew in place for these kids and if up late they would be still charging around at 2am, ships security seemed to do nothing about it. Maybe the parents were spending so much in the bars - they did not want to upset them and get them to take control of their kids.

We had requested an early disembarkation, and had a 6.30am scheduled time. We were on the Royal Promenade from 6.25am, two of the Cruise Directors staff were present, one was so busy telling these people how he had overslept after a heavy night on the booze and missed two alarm calls, he missed the radio message for the batches to be called, the other once he found the microphone, and clarified three times what colours to announce started telling everyone to exit the ship via the gangway on Deck 1 - despite the gangway actually being on Deck 4 - you expect better than this from ships staff, responsible for passing on information to "help" passengers.

We were off the ship at 6.40am delayed a little by the two clowns, long queue on the gangway, due to the number of people carrying off their own cases and waiting for lifts, as we only had hand luggage, we were able to use the escalators. Luggage located quickly in the terminal and back at the car by 6.55 and on our way out at 7am.

Cruise was good, and we met some really nice people, but we did feel that Royal Caribbean have let things go a little in certain areas as part of cost cutting measures, yet waste money in other areas. We will cruise again but will maybe do a fly cruise or sail with another company out of Southampton.

This was my first cruise expreience and travelled with my parents and brother (both in our twenties) on the Independence of the Seas leaving Southampton on the 19th June for two weeks.

I had read some of the reviews of the ship before we left, but have to say I do not have a negative thing to say about this ship!! Embarkation was quick and easy, and even though they say you can get on the ship at 1.30pm we were eating lunch in the Windjammer by 12.30pm. Our bags and rooms were available before we had even left Southampton.

Rooms
We had two interior room with an interconnecting door which made it feel like we had a suite! Plenty of room for our clothes and the room attendant was ecxellent.

Entertainment
The entertainment on board was very good and the cruise director Joff made everyone feel welcome, standing outside the theatre every night to thank everyone for watching! The shows by the RC staff were of a high standard and the ice shows were very good. Plenty of activities for all ages throughout the day!

Yes there were quite a lot of families on board, but we had no problem with the children as the majority spend their holiday in the kids clubs!

Food
We ate in the Main Dining room each evening as we like to get dressed up. We chose 'mytime' dining so we could go anytime between 6-9pm depending on what shows we wanted to watch. We found the service did vary depending on your waiter for that evening, so we requested to sit with our favourite waiters when possible. Food was lovely with the standard steak, chicken and pasta dish each night with a selection of approx 6 other dishes which changed everynight!

Lunch and breakfast in the Windjammer can get busy, but we always got a table for 4 people. If you go to the waiter at the top of the stairs they find you the next available table, saves you walking round in circles!! The cafes in the Promenade (deck 5)also do light snacks so we often had lunch in there.

We did make a complaint due to a mistake by the reception staff, however this was quickly resolved to our satisfaction, with a complimentary meal at Chops Grille (equivallent to $100 for all four people).

Drinks
Yes the drinks are a bit pricey, but they are no more expensive than staying in a decent hotel! Cocktails of the day are $6.95 (which is less than I have paid in most bars in England)and most beers were about the same price. But the measures of spirits are at least a double (I had a vodka and coke for $6.50 which had at least a triple shot of vodka, if not more!)


Having returned from this holiday I have to disagree with a number of the negative reviews I have read. I noticed throughout this holiday a number of people seemed to expect the unnecessary and moan about things that were not Royal Carribean's fault. Yes Windjammer gets busy but it only took us a day to work out the waiters will happily find you a table if you just ask!

I would definatley travel on this ship again and need to start saving for the next holiday!!

This was our first experience of cruising so we didn't know quite what to expect. We sailed from Fort Lauderdale to Southampton via The Azores, Madeira, Lisbon and Vigo.

The ship was very impressive, with facilities to suit just about anyone. Always kept clean. Plenty of 'you are here' notices to aid getting about. The carpets are colour coded to distinguish port from starboard.

There are inset panels in the floor of each lift to remind you which day of the week it is!.

The staff are very helpful and polite and clearly have been well trained.

The ice shows were excellent with international standard skaters. The theatre shows were less impressive and some had been put together at the last minute. However the standard was good.

If you are interested in how the ship works, there is a guided tour of the bridge, which is well worth doing.

On boarding at Fort Lauderdale, there was a predicted thunderstorm. Many bags, left on the quayside to be loaded by the staff, got soaked, ours included. We were given a cheap bottle of white wine in compensation. Really quite inadequate and easily avoidable.

The main, waiter service restaurant was very good. Wide choice of food and portions were just right.

The self service restaurant was always more or less packed and it felt like eating in Picadilly Circus with people rushing around getting food and trying to find a table. The food here was always tepid, though quality was quite good.

Each drink has an automatic 15% service charge, and the basic cost is on the high side. Watch out for waiters trying to sell you drinks and the ever present photographers wanting to charge you $20 for a photo.

Tours, and we took one at each stop, were a bit on the expensive side, but well organised. We had not seen any of the places we stopped at so we were generally satisfied with them. We would go back to the Azores and Vigo for longer holidays.

We were on 'Our Time' dining which meant we could have our evening meal at a time of our choosing. We did not have a set table either and usually chose to share with others. We met many interesting people and the conversations we had were one of the more memorable aspects of the trip. We shared email addresses with some and hopefully will meet up with them some time.

If you are an internet junkie, be prepared to pay 65c (around 40p) per minute. RCI call this a 'nominal charge'. The response is much more narrow band than broadband, so even the quickest session to check emails costs aroung $6-7.

It is possible, usually, to use your mobile phone on board, though some days we could get no signal at all.

Overall we did enjoy the experience, though were glad to get back on dry land!.

We would cruise again, though probably with a different line and from Boston to the UK, which is a shorter trip.

The experienced cruisers we met on board - and some were on their 40th/50th/60th cruise, told us that the standard was not as good as other cruise lines. Food and entertainment were generally felt not to be as good as others.

This was cruise number 20, 4 of which with RCI. We did the same cruise on the Independance just about the same time last year. As we were disappointed with the restaurant last year we decided to be very laid back and use the Buffet on this trip.We have to say the Buffet was superb a dining experience each night, we mostly used the Jade section which really was outstanding.
The first night entertainment was the Four Tops or rather a look alike group this was one of the best shows we have ever seen. Two other shows not to be missed was a ventriloquist we had tears of laughter. Also the Elton John tribute was excellent.Drinks were a tad expensive but they have dropped the 15% service charge and the lovely surroundings made it well worth it.The Bay of Biscay going out was the worst we have known but no problem coming back. Weather Sunny and warm around the Canaries, cool and wet elsewhere. The staff could not have been better or friendlier, many Phlippino's you can get a great response by learning just a few words they really love the effort.
In conclusion possibly the best cruise we have had, no long flights, airports or jet lag. Getting on was easy and we did the self carry off at the end which was great. We will be on this ship again.

Due to really bad weather we were the last ship allowed to leave Southampton at 5pm on 12th November.In the bay of Biscay we faced storm force 10 winds and the journey was rough to say the least.However the ship handled it wonderfully well but due to having to cut its speed for safety, we lost time and had to miss out Madeira which was highly disappointing, but safety had to prevail as they were expecting a severe storm there that day anyway.So it was onwards to Tenerife for our first stop and four days onboard mainly closed in due to the poor weather.We were on deck 9 at the rear of the ship and just could not sleep at all due to the pitching and tossing experienced. As a result we ended up knapping in a chair in one of the lounges on Deck 4 on the first two nights.This was our first cruise and I found the weather experience ok but my wife was petrified.Speaking to staff and other long time cruisers, this was the worst any had experienced.
Personally, I would never do this journey again especially at this time of year.
The ship is absolutely fantastic and wow what an experience.I am sick and tired of seeing reviews from whinning sado's on here complaining over the food etc. Yes you meet them onboard too. One complaint at breakfast the other day was, "Can you take this tea away it is too milky" Now please bear in mind, the waiters serve a pot of tea with accompanying milk so whose fault that it is too milky? The person who poured it ! Some people thrive on it !

All the staff are excellent and very polite even the maintenance crew hands speak to you as they relentlessly work power washing salty waters from the decks in high winds etc.

The food choices are unbelievable and the dining rooms 5 star. Drinks averaged between $10 & $12 for a pint of beer or strongbow and a short bearing in mind that they dont use measures so you get about a triple measure when ordering shorts. Wine is expensive by the bottle but only $5.50 by the good glass full.They use all of the top brands which will be familiar to you.

No matter where you went to eat, the choices and quality were superb. They even put a poolside under the stars party buffet on on the fourth night and I could not even begin to describe the food and presentation. There were even ice sculptures too!

We could not fault this ship at all and take our hats off to RCI. The weather could not be helped or avoided.

My only critisism was there was not long enough at any of the ports of call and every time you got off the ship photographers of the ship were there trying to get you to have a photo with a pirate, a spanish lady, the spanish flag a ships wheel or a dolphin etc.

I would love to do this ship again but I would do it in summer and just stick to eastern med area.I would also insist on a mid deck and mid ship cabin as the rear is way too uncomfortable unless you're in calm waters.

We will cruise again but will try a different firm and a smaller ship before we decide whether or not cruising is for us.

Feeling sorry for the crew right now who left Southampton again at 5pm Thursday 23rd November who have to experience the Bay of Biscay again to Madeira then six days at sea crossing the Atlantic to Florida where she'll be doing the Carribean untill next year.

As it was our 1st cruise we were unsure in what to expect. Our first reaction was WOW we couldn't believe the size of the ship.
We were very impressed with the 'Rock the Boat' in the Pyramid Lounge. The guys in the band were not just great entertainers but also lovely guys and great company.
We will certainly be looking at going back again hopefully next year.

1st cruise so apprehensive. sailed to Canaries and was really worried about the reports i had heard about crossing the Bay of Biscay. Hardly felt a thing. Looking to book again now i am hooked on cruisiing. Personal and friendly service. Plenty of choice of good food, even the pickiest of eaters will find something good to eat at anytime during the day. A bit cool leaving and approachiing southampton for a couple of days so need woolies as well as shorts and swimsuits in October. We had a promenade view cabin and couldn't hear a thing and slept soundly every night. Plenty of bars and entertainment in the evening from disco to jazz. Smoking allowed on one side of the ship and in 2 bars, cigars however are only allowed in the cigar club. good prices too.

Absolutely outstanding!!

The interior design of the ship is beautiful.
From the moment we stepped onto the ship I felt like we were on holiday.

Checking onto the ship was completed within 30 minutes of arrival and our holiday begun.

The ship was extremely clean and every member of staff was extremely polite and courteous at all times.

Every member of staff that saw our children would make a fuss of them and that made our childrens holiday very special.

You were spoilt for choice for food. The food was to a very high standard.

On board entertainment was excellent. Every night there was a different show to see which were to a very high standard. Different entertainment every day and night, no day was the same. Particularly enjoyed the pool party night that we had, live bands singing on the top deck, the pool area was turned into a dance floor and guests and waiters were singing and dancing with their flashing cocktail glasses.

Childrens entertainment was brilliant, our 8 year old daughter had an amazing holiday and doesn't stop talking about it!! Our 2 year old daughter really enjoyed aswell due to them having Fisher Price playgroup on there that I attended with her.

Best family holiday we have ever had!! It was our first time cruising as a family and we had an amazing time. We have booked again for this year.

Thank you to all the staff on the Independence of the seas for making our last holiday so perfect.