My first Royal Caribbean cruise
My first ever Royal Caribbean cruise was onboard the Independence of the Seas.
I had booked the cruise to try Royal as I had heard really good things and wanted to experience them for myself.
There was plenty to do onboard the ship, it was difficult to explore everything in 5 days.
We visited Bruges, Rotterdam, Le Havre, and Cherbourg on our little adventure. We departed from our local port, Southampton.
First impressions
It was freezing cold and drizzling when I first saw the Independence of the sea in Southampton.
The photo below was taken when we reached Le Havre in France where we saw a little patch of blue sky!
I like the look of Indy with her little yellow lifeboats, I do wonder though why Royal Caribbean never have any hull art like other cruise lines?
Inside cabin
I stayed in an inside cabin, no surprise there! I had read reviews before cruising that the ship was looking run down and in need of a refit.
I’m happy to say I didn’t find this to be the case at all. The cabin wasn’t particularly exciting, it had a little bit of a caravan-ey vibe, but it was perfectly clean, tidy and comfortable.
We had a small sofa in our inside cabin. It was really nice to be able to sit down there rather than always perching on the bed as I am used to.
My parents and brother also cruised with me during this particular holiday. They were in another inside cabin which meant I got to have a look at how 3 (or 4) people can fit in an inside cabin.
The 3rd and 4th beds in their cabin were Pullman beds, that fold down from the ceiling.
Watch my full video review of the inside cabins here:
Main promenade
The promenade is one of the most iconic things about Royal Caribbean ships.
I was absolutely blown away when I walked down the street for the first time. I’m not sure if I would want one of the inside cabins that look out on to the main promenade, it would be strange to have people peering into your bedroom at all hours of the day and night!
I imagine it might be loud too when the street parties are happening – although they don’t last for long.
Check out the video below to see the promenade preparing for the dancing in the street party.
Street Parties
The street parties were really fun to walk through, but it was strange though as they don’t really have anywhere for people to stop and watch. I always felt a little in the way.
I did, however, find my favourite lookout spot on deck 8. I like how there was a big red dog on one of the little balconies, it was strange as you walk down the corridor behind him as you just see a couple of red legs sticking out!
Shops
The promenade was filled with shops and other things to do. They had a cupcake store and a Ben and Jerry’s Shop, but I was disappointed though to find out that you had to pay extra for these.
There was a gift shop where I bought an inflatable independence of the seas (because why not?!)
A pub and wine bar are also located on the street and people often sat out on the tables in front of the pub, watching the world go by.
Royal Caribbean’s inspiration for designing ships with a central promenade believe it or not, came from a ground breaking ferry – the Silja Symphony
Find out all about that interesting story in the video below:
Sorrento’s and Promenade Café
One of the best things about the promenade is Sorrentos, a 24-hour pizza restaurant!
There is also a café which has a little selections of cakes and sandwiches.
Top decks
Pools
I never ventured into any of the pools because we were cruising the English channel in October, I appreciated the hot tubs though.
The top decks did look like they could do with a bit of updating, there were a few areas which were being worked on when we onboard. I’m sure it all would have looked better in the sunshine (not that any of it looked bad!)
The splash zone part for kids was huge and looked like so much fun, almost makes me wish I was a child!
Sports court
I loved the Flowrider, it was SO much fun, even on a cold October day.
If you want to see how I got on, check out the video below….
There was also a rock climbing wall and basketball/football court. We did see different groups of people playing basketball and football at the same time which was confusing!
The walls around the court were also a lot shorter than what I am used to meaning that the odd ball did come flying over.
It was always too busy to give the golf course a go, I did travel in half term though so the ship was full to maximum capacity.
Restaurants
Main dining room
I thought that the main dining room was gorgeous, it was spacious and tastefully decorated. We were always seated on the ground floor as we opted for ‘my time’ dining.
The main dining room was open in the middle, which made the room feel a lot more spacious, I cannot comment on the other levels of the restaurant as I never managed to get up there.
They did have a buffet breakfast in the main restaurant which I enjoyed.
I am not really a fan of breakfast so don’t like to sit down and have a formal meal, the buffet can get crazy at peak times though so I was glad to find this go-between.
The only thing that would have made the restaurant better for me would have been some more windows. I love ships like the Norwegian Spirit that has huge windows at the back.
Windjammer (Buffet)
The Windjammer was a good buffet, much better than you’d ever find in an all-inclusive hotel.
It had two parts down the side called ‘Jade’ and I never really understood what made these different from the main Windjammer.
The Windjammer had a lot of variety but I found myself just going for the same things over and over again (lemon cookies!)
It wasn’t my favourite buffet, I would say that I prefer those on the newer NCL ships. Mostly just because The Windjammer was often closed.
I am not used to buffets closing for any considerable amount of time. The Windjammer was closed between 4pm and 6pm in the afternoon – and it closed completely at 9pm at night.
This was a big problem for me as I like to come out of the theatre or whatever I am doing in the evening for a snack before bedtime. I could go to Sorrento’s or the Promenade Café but because I can’t eat too much dairy there were few food choices for me.
Johnny Rockets
Johnny Rockets was fun! I’m glad that I went. We sat outside and had the full ‘song and dance’ routine by the waiters. The food was very good.
Bars/Clubs
Labyrinth Club
I really loved the labyrinth club onboard Indy. It is a club designed with a ‘Tower of London’ theme.
Lots of crows and gothic chairs and doorways! They are able to ID people on the door which I found a little strange, who carries their ID around with them when on a cruise?
I definitely don’t. Onboard NCL they cut off the corner of your cruise card if you are under 18 so the staff easily know.
Deck 14 bar/Olive or Twist
We spent a lot of time in this bar, watching the world go by. From the top, you have the best view of the rest of the ship, a fantastic place to watch a sail away.
They also had some really comfy chairs which we would make use of after a long day exploring the port.
The bar had a place set up for a band to play although we only saw a band here on the last day.
Pyramid Lounge
We took part in a couple of quizzes at the Pyramid lounge. It was a strange lounge because it didn’t really have a lot of light (due to lifeboats outside the windows.)
For some reason it always seemed quieter in here than around the rest of the ship, which made it an easy place to grab a drink.
On Air
We watched karaoke here a couple of times, above the entrance it says ’15 minutes of fame or 15 minutes of shame’ we didn’t really see any shameful performances which was a bit rubbish.
I like to see people who are bad not good…
The bar is pretty small so it can be hard to get a seat when something is going on. I particularly like the quotes around the walls, this is one of my favourites…
Other bars
There were plenty of other bars around the ship and of course a few poolside bars.
I think I’ll be here forever if I write about them all…
Ice Skating Rink
I was totally wowed by finding an ice skating rink on a ship! Since then, I have been lucky enough to go on newer Royal Caribbean ships and MSC ships who also have large rinks.
I was amazed when we watched the ice skating show. There were so many ice skaters all skating so close to each other, it was a little bit terrifying, but really good fun.
They also use the ice skating rink for other events, we watched a game of ‘quest’ here late one evening.
During the game the team captains have to get things from their side of the audience, an example might be ‘find me a pair of sunglasses’.
The game escalated quickly and the teams were soon looking for bras, trousers and even dirty dancing.
It was at this moment I realised that this cruise would be pretty different from my last – onboard Cunard’s Queen Victoria!
There were a couple of posts around which massively got in the way, I would hate to be sat behind one of these during the shows!
Theatre
The theatre was huge and we enjoyed a lot of shows here. We watched Grease the musical, the Take That experience and various comedians/magicians.
We didn’t have to book to see the shows but that meant that you do have to arrive early to make sure that you get a seat.
We were on a 5 day cruise and they had tried to squeeze as much entertainment into the 5 days possible, one some days they had more than one show.
Overall impressions
I loved the Independence of the seas! She has so much to offer but I don’t think I really had enough time to try everything on the five-day cruise, though I gave it my best shot.
I would definitely consider cruising with Royal Caribbean again and would wholeheartedly recommend the Independence of the seas if you don’t mind a smaller, older ship.
To find how independence compares to the newer Royal Caribbean Mega ships, watch this video about Symphony of the Seas next:
Before You Go
Find about about my cruise to Norway onboard Royal Caribbean’s Anthem of the Seas here:
7 Days Onboard The Anthem of the Seas To Norway
Find out what the British cruise line Marella did with old Royal Caribbean ships when they bought them here:
How Marella Cruises Transformed Ex-Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Ships
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Fab review! She looks nice though you can see she’s a bit dated, esp the cabins… interesting to see what the refurb will bring. Doing up the cabins would be so worth it but they rarely touch cabins in any great detail it seems, just upgrade the public areas… Fingers crossed!
Hmm yeah! People keep saying that about the cabins but it didn’t feel like it was old or gross or anything. Perfectly clean tidy and nice 🙂 If a little caravan-y…
Great write up Emma, and I’m glad to hear you had a fun cruise as I’ve so many good memories onboard Independence.
The shows are fab and The Quest is a good laugh! Like Sanna said, I’m looking forward to seeing the ship refurbished, the proposed changes are very welcome from my pov.
Very nice. Thanks for writing. I echo your thoughts on the Windjammer closing! That’s always seemed absurd to me. I remember discovering same on the Explorer of the Seas in 2006. Very irritating indeed.
Great review Emma, the kids areas look brilliant!
Thank you! It did look like lots of fun. The kid’s zones inside looked cool too, the arcade was huge!
We love the Indy and hope to sail on her again particularly after the refurb to see what they will do! The pub and the wine bar were good viewing points for parades etc when we were last on her. Great review!
Oh yes! You have to get there SOOO very early to get a seat there for a party though.
Just went, here are my thoughts:
I think it’s important to note that a cruise can be perfect for some demographics and not for others. Overall, I’d say that the Independence of the Seas is a good fit for families with kids, or groups of binge drinkers, but maybe not the best fit for single, gay vegetarians. Pluses: The ship is really lovely, rooms are incredibly spacious, there are not stop varied activities, plenty of places and times to eat, and you don’t need to reserve in advance for any of the on-board activities or shows, some of which were very impressive. The staff are unflinchingly helpful and friendly. A lot of online cruise reviewers said it wasn’t worth paying for a balcony; for me it was one of the best parts of the trip, as there are very few places on the ship you can go to really be alone with the sea view.
That said, there were a lot of aspects to the cruise that I didn’t personally love.
1) Embarkation and disembarkation. Embarkation at Miami port was surprisingly fast time-wise, but was chaotic and claustrophobic. I would’ve gladly paid an extra fee to enter through a lesser-used doorway to not feel like a sardine in a pinball machine. Disembarkation was a very, very long process, with 4,500 people competing for a limited number of taxis and Ubers.
2) Food at the buffet was neither bad nor memorable; everything was fine, but seemed aimed at the lowest common denominator: being non-offensive rather than enjoyable. The one exception was the Indian food, which was well done, except that they didn’t use any chili pepper at all, which made it very strange. Given that they’re clearly better at Indian food than anything else, it was odd that they didn’t have an Indian food theme night. The exception was their Indian breads, which did not do well under the heat lamps, ending up dry and hard. I didn’t eat at the pay specialty restaurants, but did at the (price included) main dining room one night, on Mexican night, and left with the impression that they honestly have no idea what Mexican food is. The vegetarian option was tofu tacos, which in reality was a hard-as-a-rock tortilla bowl filled with breaded tofu and a Thai-style peanut sauce on the side. The soup tasted like hot salsa, and the corn fritters were more reminiscent of deep fried creamed corn. The rest of the menu included such Mexican classics as spaghetti, escargot, and butter chicken. Bizarre.
3) Smoking. Disgusting. You could hardly walk through the casino or on the pool decks without coming out smelling like an ashtray.
4) They really, really want you to buy the incredibly overpriced drink package, but this encourages way too much binge drinking, or leaves you paying $15-$20 per cocktail. Would be way, way better to offer something like a discounted 10-pack of drink coupons for $10/drink if you purchase in advance.
5) For the incredible price hike needed to get a balcony, you would think the balcony glass would be cleaned before you arrive. Or that they would provide the stateroom attendants with glass cleaner so it could actually get clean when you ask for it to be taken care of.
6) The shows were pretty average. The comic and magician were maybe a 5/10, and the game shows were pretty similar. The ice show was genuinely impressive.
7) The arcade games were frequently broken or only partially functioning, like Ms Pacman having only three of four directions working well, bowling machines not give you balls, or bizarrely only having three instead of ten frames. Miniputt was ok, but way too few putters and balls for the number of people trying to play.
8) Excursions: I did the manta ray/turtle tour on Grand Cayman. Given the tender, you probably waste about 2 hours of your day just getting to and from the excursion itself. Touching the manta rays was pretty magical, but was marred by sharing it with 200 other people at the same time, and further cheapened by the fact that it’s mostly an opportunity to sell insanely overpriced digital photos ($100!!!!!!!!!!!) of you touching manta rays. Insulting. Then you find out en route that the turtle portion doesn’t actually include the swim-with-turtles activity, for which you need to pay extra. Again, deceptive/duplicitous. I was glad I didn’t pay for a ship excursion in Cozumel – genuinely enjoyed just going out, finding my own places to eat and beach resort to hang out at for the day.
9) Bingo was ridiculous. It’s a $40 buy in for /three/ total games, and it’s rigged so that if you buy the $70 package you have a 40x greater chance of winning, because they give you an electronic tablet that automatically plays an additional 40 games for you without any effort on your part. I would never pay for this scam again.
10) The free just-ok pizza was nice to have, but the hot pepper, oregano and parmesan shakers had holes so small that nothing would come out. Very annoying. The free soft serve ice cream wasn’t really worth the price (!) and the paid ice cream was hit or miss, some flavors (salted caramel) were delicious, others (fudgy peanut butter) were like fat-free ice milk.
11) Most coffee shops in the U.S. now default to oat milk as their non-dairy alternative, due to its better mouthfeel and lack of an off-putting taste. For whatever reason, if you want non-dairy milk, you have to proactively ask, and then it’s a complete crapshoot as to whether they offer you lactose-free, soy or almond milk – there was never any consistency as to what any given place had in stock. Similar stocking issues with cucumber for cocktails, almost every bar ran out of cucumber by day three, despite us having two ports of call where they could have restocked.