What You Need to Know about the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas, 2015

Summary

Although, the Independence of the Seas is a lovely ship, our first experience with Royal Caribbean was not a pleasant one. We were disappointed left and right; by the lack of interesting activities onboard, the food options, and weird layout of the buffet, we were just not pleased. I guess that we were just expecting more from Royal Caribbean as this was our first time cruising a different line other than Carnival.

This was a fun family cruise though, as we did enjoy the itinerary and enjoyed cruising with some of our extended family. This was kind of our “Kick-Off to the Summer”/Graduation Celebration/Family Vacation cruise all rolled into one. 

Ship

The Independence of the Seas, itself, is quite beautiful. Kept pristinely clean, the crew seemed to be quite proud of her. At the time of our sailing, her new big sister, Oasis of the Seas, dethroned her as the largest ship in the world. Even though she is a large class of ship, the Independence of the Seas does not feel ginormous when onboard. She’s quite easy to navigate around. Plus the cool “ship model” maps on each level help you find your way around. It's dang near impossible to get lost on this ship.

My boys loved Sorrento’s in the main Promenade. My husband and I loved the adults-only retreat, Solarium.

We, as a family, liked the idea of the Promenade. It made the ship feel more manageable for its size. We liked the central location and if we needed to meet up; this became the perfect spot for it.

Our staterooms were decent. We opted for two “Interior” cabins. I say that because although they were classified as interior, the room have windows that overlook the Promenade. This was both good and bad. Good because we could people watch and not feel so cooped up like you can with an interior room. And mind you, these were tight. Bad because we were on a lower floor so we could hear the people in the Promenade if they got a little loud or if there was a party in the Promenade.

Although, the rooms are not super big, our three teens felt ok in the room; not crowded at all. I did feel a bit sorry for the cabin steward as they were messy. They have this rule of swapping beds each night so that no one person gets stuck with the bunk bed/sofa bed. Fair but their stuff ends up ALL OVER THE ROOM.

Itinerary

This was the best thing about this cruise! We loved the itinerary because it was our first time going to some of these locations as a family and for some, our first time ever.

First, stop was Labadee, which is Royal Caribbean’s private beach in Haiti. This was our first time visiting Labadee. Here, we enjoyed the beach day and the adventurous ones in the family (me, hubs, and Karastyn) dared to do the longest zip line over water! It was absolutely AMAZING!!! We bought a few trinkets from the local shops and just enjoyed the beach day.

In Falmouth, we became true tourists. Here, we hired a taxi, with our cousins, to go to Ocho Rios. This was another first time visiting for us. We did not realize that although Falmouth is the cruise port, it is 45 minutes away from both Ocho Rios and Montego Bay. We just did a Ocho Rios city tour and had lunch. The lunch was delicious but probably the spiciest Jerk Shrimp I have ever had in MY LIFE.

Our next port was Georgetown, Grand Cayman. We love Georgetown and decided to just do a beach day at one of the resorts on Seven Mile Beach. And, my most favorite part of the trip was our day in Cozumel, where we actually didn’t stay in Cozumel. We took the ferry over to main land, Playa del Carmen, and got a tour to Tulum! I was thoroughly excited but the kids were not. The temperature's that day were scorchingly hot and we couldn’t even really enjoy the beach as it was covered in sargassum seaweed.

Tulum was beautiful but not what we were expecting. Our tour was rushed. We weren’t able to really see the sites because of the large group. Also, we couldn't hear the tour guide explain the sites because we were moved quickly like cattle. I feel like we need to go back on our own to really appreciate it. And, definitely not in the beginning of June when the temperatures are unbelievably HOT!

Highlights

Highlights of this trip was spending time as a family. Being able to see my kids truly appreciate everything that they have at home and see them able to relax is comforting. I also love that they indulge me on certain things with no complaints even though they are dying on the inside. Like letting me see and check off a bucket list item, like Tulum, regardless of the scorching hot temperatures and the time it took to get there.

We really enjoyed the ice skating rink (even though I fell and hit my head really hard!). We also really enjoyed the shows onboard (especially the ice show!) and our times in port. The zip line in Labadee is up there as one of the best experiences ever.

We did not get a chance to do the rock climbing wall but Karastyn and Terry did give the Flowrider, surfing simulator, a go. They both felt that the chance to learn to surf in a safe, “drowning-free” zone was both fun and exciting.

What’s Missing

Although the Independence of the Seas had plenty of activities going on throughout the day, many of the activities were not to our liking. Especially for our teens, our daughter was not to keen on the activities listed for her age group. She’s not too into scrapbooking! In fact, I'm not sure many 15 year old girls are??? And, our oldest couldn’t really find any activities to do at all as an 18 year old. He didn’t like the idea of hanging out with his parents or that he had restrictions and a curfew while on the ship. Although, he is 18 and an adult, the ships' security still made him go to his room at 1 am. And, if you were trying to do the Flowrider or the rock climbing wall, there was a really long line or you had to be there the moment they opened.

We also were not fans of the buffet and it’s lack of seating. There were plenty of food options, just no where to sit! Also, didn’t like the fact that 90% of the desserts were some sort of custard-based dessert. Like, no cookies or fruit-based desserts. Everything was some type of mousse or pudding; even the cakes and pies!

Main Takeaways

All in all, we had an enjoyable cruise on the Independence of the Seas. The itinerary is what saved this trip for us. I was ready to give up completely on Royal Caribbean after this cruise. I was just not happy with the activities and options available onboard to try sailing with this line again. Terry was willing to give them another shot. The kids said only on one of the bigger ships.

Other things that I did not like were the pushiness of the crew to purchase a beverage package while onboard. I also didn't like how they made you feel bad if you didn’t have a drink package. The majority of the movies shown on the screen poolside were older movies, not current or recent ones. I also did not like that a lot of the activities at night involved the casino. We are not that big into gambling so Bingo or tournaments are not appealing to us.