It’s the final day of this four-day Thanksgiving cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. We left Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on Thanksgiving day and visited one port-of-call, Cozumel in Mexico.
Before heading to bed last night, we both agreed that we were not going to set foot anywhere near the Windjammer at breakfast time. On the previous sea day, finding a table required making multiple laps around the room and having the prowess of a hawk to swoop in on one before two dozen people with the same goal snatched it from under you.
Then there’s the long line and congestion surrounding the buffet stations. Not to mention people who just decide to stop in the middle of the walkway and have a conversation with their entire family of nine with no regard to the congested walkway they now have completely blocked.
Sea days at the breakfast buffet… not exactly a good experience on any ship. Shipbuilders and cruise lines need to do a better job at making these highly trafficked areas larger and easier to navigate.
We opted to fill out our “Breakfast in Bed” card and hang it on our door before we hit the sheets to enjoy our final breakfast onboard in the peace and serenity of our stateroom. On Independence of the Seas, hot breakfast items are available (scrambled eggs, sausage, bacon) as well as cereal, pastries, and a selection of juices. We selected delivery between 9:30am – 10:00am and it arrived on time.
Since it was sunny and warm outside, we ate out on our balcony but quickly discovered that the tiny little table was not sufficient for such a task, so we used our chaise loungers as our dining table. Keep that in mind as it’s not too convenient to eat out there without a sufficiently sized table and one that is not at a height to eat off of.
The food arrived as ordered, as did the Bloody Mary and Mimosa (additional charge for those), and hot food was hot and cold was cold, except the toast which was cold, but toast doesn’t stay warm long anyway. My only complaint, I would have liked to have seen a bagel as a bread option on the menu. Also, pancakes or french toast were not options. There was no charge for room service breakfast, other than the bar beverages we ordered which are priced at prevailing rates and are not included as part of your beverage package.
On a side note, when we were finished with breakfast, we were NOT one of those people who feel the need to dump the tray of dishes and half-eaten food out in the hallway for the rest of us to navigate around. Sweet mother of all things good and holy, I can’t stand people who do that. Throwing those things out in the narrow passageways on a moving ship is a hazard in itself, let alone who wants to look at the remnants of your gluttonous cravings?
After breakfast, we discussed just what we would do on our last day onboard? Will we go to trivia? Will we go buy some bingo cards and try to win the jackpot? Shall we take the napkin folding seminar? What about the towel animal lesson? How about doing absolutely nothing at all?
We chose the last one.
After a hot, steamy shower in the shower tube with amazing water pressure and equally amazing hot water, we took a stroll along the Royal Promenade where some folks were taking cupcake decorating lessons in the Cupcake Cupboard ($), others were already enjoying a pint in the Dog & Badger Pub, and many were scooping up last minute “bargains” in the tax and duty-free shops on board.
We headed up to the top decks to check out the pool area, where still… even with the ship sailing at full occupancy, there were plenty of loungers available. This has been the case every day of the cruise. On some ships, this is not the case. “Chair hogs” get up early in the morning and do their tricks to save chairs around the pool before the rest of us stumble out later in the day after a long night in Olive or Twist and curse the world because there are no chairs available.
Not so here. Well done Royal Caribbean. Well done.
The next stop was up to the Sports Deck… not to partake, but to watch.
The basketball tourney was in progress and many people were hanging around watching the guys play. While a long line formed for the rock climbing wall right behind the court. Right next to the rock climbing wall, workers continued to bang away on the ship’s funnel where a new “scrubber” to minimize exhaust emissions is being installed while the ship is in service as opposed to while in dry dock.
We stopped over at the FlowRider where lines were long and tempers amongst parents started to boil over a bit. As we watched person after person make their best attempt at catching a wave, two fathers got into a shouting match over who’s kid is going to go before who’s. Fingers were pointing, words were flowing. As if it were to be meant as some type of threat, “Father of the Year” said to the other “remember, I’ve got five boys here with me!”
Be afraid. Very afraid.
One of the FlowRider staff came over and attempted to calm down these two “gentlemen” who didn’t realize that something as stupid over who goes next on the FlowRider isn’t worth an argument. We stood there taking it all in, thanking whatever superior being made me never want to have kids. The episode of the fighting fathers prompted a Facebook post where I said, “Watching two fathers fight at the FlowRider over whose kid goes next is more entertaining than watching the little bastards wipe out.”
Enough of all that we said, and we headed up to that nice secluded area called San Tropez on the very tippy-top of the ship, where all we could take was about ten minutes of laying out. It was very, very windy (according to the navigational information on the ship’s televisions we had 43 mph winds), but despite the sun, it was chilly. The wind made it less than enjoyable to be that high up.
So in an attempt to warm up, we set out on a journey to find soup.
Yes, soup.
Off to the Windjammer, where it wasn’t too busy. With a warm bowl of soup in one hand and a plate full of greens in another, finding a table was not a problem – neither was getting table service! Finally! As we finished a cold glass of lemonade, a server came over and actually asked if we wanted refills. She quickly returned with two more glasses, took our dirty dishes, asked if we needed anything else, and wished us a good day.
Totally different experience than at breakfast.
We then headed back to our stateroom where luggage tags and disembarkation information were laid out for us. At no point during the cruise were we given any option to select self-disembark, so I took our luggage tags down to Guest Services, stood in line for about 20 minutes, and spoke with a representative who made the switch for me. We would now be part of the group that would hand carry all our luggage off the ship as early as 7:30am.
Our final night’s dinner is set to be our second visit to Chop’s Grille, the ship’s $ 35-per-person steakhouse. As I mentioned in our Day 1 review, Chop’s didn’t quite live up to our expectations 100%, so let’s see if they redeem themselves tonight.
But before that, it’s showtime. The evening’s production show in the Alhambra Theatre is “Once Upon a Time” a song and dance show that takes the audience through classic fairy tails such as Cinderella, Pinocchio, Little Red Riding Hood, and more and sets them to music from yesterday to today.
The theatre was nearly filled to capacity during the 7pm show. We grabbed a cocktail before sitting down and took our seats on “the wings.” The cruise director made his usual intro, told a few (old) jokes that are part of every cruise director’s instruction manual, and reminded us to stay after the performance for a special send-off by some of the ship’s crew.
The lights went down, the orchestra (a real live one, not recorded!), began to play and the show began. Photography was not allowed, but I snuck one picture for blogging purposes only. Please don’t report me to whatever agency punishes people for doing this by going deck by deck and picking up food trays that people left outside their stateroom doors.
The show was much better than the “Invitation to Dance” show the other night. “One Upon a Time” had sets that changed, storylines that we all could relate to no matter how old we were, songs all of us could recognize, again no matter how old we were, and overall it was a great performance. Not exactly “great” as in other shows I’ve seen on Royal Caribbean, but it was “gratefully entertaining.” If that makes sense.
When it was over, the cruise director came out along with a cast of the ship’s crew from galley workers, to bar staff, to room stewards along with the ship’s Captain and senior officers to bid us farewell, while the entertainment staff sang the John Lennon classic, “Imagine.”
As we filed out of the theatre, we still had time before dinner so a quick stop up one deck to the Royal Promenade was in order where I needed to grab a “size medium” for a friend of mine who has successfully twisted my arms time and time again to get her a shirt from every ship I’ve sailed on. (This mention also serves as a test to see if she actually reads these things.) Shirt in hand, I couldn’t leave without grabbing a hat and a windbreaker. I was looking for a few non-ship-specific Royal Caribbean t-shirts, but alas, there were none. Just shirts emblazoned with Independence of the Seas.
Request: Royal, how about some RCCL gear for those that don’t want shirts with ship names on them?
Off to Chops Grille where we were ten minutes early for our 8:30pm reservation, but were seated immediately. Our menus were presented, water was poured, and drink orders were taken and delivered all within 10 minutes. A big change from Thursday night where we waited for 30 – yes I time this stuff – 30 minutes from the time we ordered our drinks (a dirty martini and a Cosmo, nothing that would require special assembly that would take that long) to the time they were delivered.
Bread was brought over which was still warm and our server took our order.
My cruise mate, who ordered the 6oz filet medium well the other night, opted for the 9oz medium well tonight to which our server said “that will be butterflied.” UGH! I wanted to shout. In my mind, a filet, no matter what temperature you order it at should never be butterflied. Then again, in my mind, a filet should never be ordered at a temperature higher than medium rare! For an appetizer, he chose the Grilled Black Pepper Bacon which was very good the other night.
The filet was cooked to temperature, and despite how it looked on the plate, which I found to be less than appealing, had a very good flavor and he enjoyed it.
I started off again with the French Onion Soup, which had a slightly different taste than it did on Thursday. Tonight it seemed to be a little less “beefy” in flavor, and more of a sweet “oniony” taste. But nonetheless, it was good, it was also lighter in color.
I ordered the Shrimp Cocktail, which consisted of three shrimp and was served with a spicy cocktail sauce and sliced cucumbers (??). No complaints about this appetizer.
Next up was my main. I went for the 9oz filet cooked medium-rare. It came out not medium-rare, but more like medium, as there was no pink. It was flavorful and combined with the Chops Steak sauce, was very good. Despite it being cooked above medium rare, it was still tender and easy to cut.
We ordered a baked potato, creamed corn, and fries for the sides. The fries were limp and not crispy, with no complaints about the others.
Once again we were too full for dessert, so there would be no sampling the Red Velvet Cake that I had my eye on both times we ate at Chops! Our server did tell us we could take dessert “to go,” but opted not to. Calories you know.
Service tonight in Chops was 10 times better than it was the first time. There seems to be a bit of an issue with cooking food to the requested temperature, as this has been an issue both times we dined there.
Also, something to note. The bread served is very crusty, which leads to lots of crumbs on the table. Not once during the entire dining experience on both nights was the table ever “crumbled.” For a white-tablecloth steakhouse, “crumbing” should be done between courses. This never happened at all.
After dinner, we were going to take a walk around outside, but we were sailing through a rainstorm, so instead of getting wet, we retreated back to our stateroom where we debated on packing or going to bed. We decided that packing could wait till morning, and we headed off into dreamland.
The Independence of the Seas made its way into the Port Everglades Channel around 6:15am and was alongside around 6:50am. After a quick shower and throwing clothes into our suitcases, we filled out our customs forms and made our way down to Deck 3 at 7:15am where self-disembarkation was already in progress. When we made it to Deck 3, staff told us we needed to carry our luggage down the steps to Deck 1 rather than use the elevator.
Why?
Who knows.
So all of us started lugging suitcases, one banging off the staircase after another, adding unwarranted wear to the carpet. Once a Deck 1, SeaPass after SeaPass was scanned and we were off the ship by 7:30am. Once off, we walked the entire length of the ship on the pier under a covered walkway (it was raining) to the terminal building where we would go through customs.
The customs wait was not long and we were outside waiting for our ride home by 7:50am.
Interesting note… in the customs area signs are plastered all over reminding passengers: “No Cameras, No Cell Phones, No Video Taping.” However, signs put up by Homeland Security had QR codes on them which you would need to use your cell phone to scan to get more information on what the sign was promoting.
The “no” rule wasn’t enforced, as people talked on their phones, sent text messages, etc. and nobody seemed to care.
The self-disembarkation was a quick and easy way to get off the ship and is highly recommended if you have one suitcase and a carry-on and are physically able to carry them without any assistance. There’s also no porter assistance in the terminal for those who choose this option. So if you can do it, and don’t mind getting up early to be the first off the ship, go for it. On longer cruises where luggage is a-plenty, it’s not really an option.
So here we go with the final wrap-up of this four-day western Caribbean cruise on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas:
Embarkation: Very quick and easy and being Platinum, we did not have to wait for general boarding, we went right from the car to ship in a very quick amount of time. No complaints at all and the shoreside staff were very friendly.
Stateroom: Our stateroom was a bit small in size, but the balcony was huge. We had an aft-facing balcony (6412) on Deck 6. Storage was limited to a few small drawers and a small closet. On a longer cruise with more clothes, I know the two of us would have trouble finding enough room to store all our clothes. Mine alone took up most of the closet space and drawers and shelves in the closet. My cruise mate lived out of his suitcase. If he didn’t we would be fighting over who gets the last hanger.
More stateroom pics are available in the Day 1 review.
The stateroom was clean with no visible signs of wear and tear and our steward kept it clean. Same for the bathroom. The toilet was functional the entire cruise, the shower was the best yet for water pressure. We did not have facial tissues on embarkation day and I didn’t want to say anything to our steward to see if he would notice and replace… the tissues never made it to our bathroom at all during the cruise. Not sure if they just don’t provide them anymore, or this was an oversight by our stateroom attendant, but whatever the reason… no tissues.
We were supposed to receive our Crown & Anchor Society coupon book in our room on Day 1. This never arrived and my fault for not asking for it, but it should have been delivered to our stateroom on the first day. We also had the issue with the medical refrigerator being promised by 4pm on Day 1 which I mentioned in that day’s cruise review.
The Ship: The ship, built in 2003 and overhauled in 2013, is very well maintained and not showing signs of wear that are visible to passengers. There were no areas or equipment that was not functioning during this cruise, although the scrubber installation at the ship’s funnel causes loud banging inside Johnny Rockets that some may find annoying. The carpet is not in bad shape, except in the Centrum staircases where it is in need of replacement. The ship itself is not dated other than the salmon and teal colors of the stateroom corridors and room doors, and the Champagne bar and Centrum area which has that late 90’s or early 00’s look that is easy to pick out.
I still bring up the issue with the self-service ice cream machine and the dirty condition it was in so many evenings on board. One look at the picture below is enough. Yuck. It was like this each night of the cruise. It seems oversight of this machine ends when the sun goes down.
The Crew: All crew members we had interactions with were friendly and helpful. No issues with them at all. The Captain made a noon-time announcement with navigation and weather information each day. The Cruise Director made minimal announcements which is a good thing! Nobody wants to be bombarded with multiple announcements about gold by the inch and drinks of the day. For this I am thankful.
Entertainment: Compared to Quantum- and Oasis-class ships, the entertainment on Independence of the Seas was not up to par. “Invitation to Dance” was something I would expect on Holland America Line. The “headliner” acapella show was something I didn’t attend because a “headlining” show like that isn’t my cup of tea and frankly, should have been something that would appeal to a wider audience. “Once Upon a Time” was the best show we did see, but it lacked that “WOW” that other Royal shows leave you with. The bands stationed around the ship’s venues were all very good and entertaining.
Food: I’ve been critical of Royal’s food in the past, and I have to continue here as well. Breakfast food in the buffet is good, but choices are limited, with all stations pretty much having the same offerings. Same for lunch. Salads, a few Asian dishes, hamburgers and hot dogs, a pasta and pizza station, and a carvery. There isn’t much variety in the Windjammer and it doesn’t change daily. Chicken nuggets or tenders are nowhere to be found, much to my cruise mate’s dismay.
Chops Grille was somewhat disappointing as I have high expectations for steakhouses at sea. They should model themselves after the top steakhouses from Chicago and New York – they try, but oftentimes fail. When you’re paying a surcharge of $35 per person for the steakhouse experience, you expect to have your food cooked to the temperature requested and you expect service to be top-notch. We found it to be hit or miss. While the food wasn’t “bad” it was just “average” in Chops. There is definitely room for improvement here as you can see in Day 1 and today’s review.
Giovanni’s Table gets one star above Chops mainly because the service was better. We still had issues with food being well overcooked at Giovanni’s as you can read about in the Day 2 review, but they redeemed themselves with good service and good pasta. The surcharge here is $25 per head and for pasta, some may find that to be excessive, but overall the food was “good” and worth the added cost. Overall, it’s worth checking out for dinner, but stick with the pasta choices and I think you won’t be disappointed.
Johnny Rockets is one of those places where you have to wonder why there’s a $6.95 per person surcharge, plus a charge for select items including milkshakes. It’s probably not the best choice for dinner, we did do dinner here and you can read about it in the Day 3 review, and we were not disappointed. But, if you’re crafty enough and willing to fight the lines in the Windjammer for lunch, you can craft a similar burger there without the surcharge. I would recommend Rockets for lunch, if you’re willing to pay the surcharge, or going there for a milkshake and a slice of apple pie for dessert after dinner. It seems to be the place the teens hang out at, especially during this cruise, so take note of that. We had a minor service issue with my milkshake, but other than that, no issues at Rockets. Keep in mind, it’s not open for lunch on embarkation day.
We did not eat in the main dining room since I was not given a table for two as requested. I will not dine at a table with strangers, as that’s not something I do on land and will not do it at sea. Not my thing. Sorry. Cruise lines need to ditch the large tables and replace them with more four and two tops.
Sorrento’s Pizza is edible when you want a quick snack to hold you over. By no means does it live up to its “New York Style” billing? Slices are small, variety is limited, and it’s more a cousin to a frozen grocery store pizza than “New York Style.” In a fix, it’s ok. But not somewhere I would go and grab a pie and sit down for dinner. One or two slices a cruise is enough. The best pizza on a cruise ship has to go to MSC Divina – but I would expect that from an Italian line. In fact, if they didn’t have the best pizza, I would be very, very disappointed. Sorrento’s is there to keep the kids happy, after all, nothing shuts up a kid quicker than ice cream or pizza.
Ben & Jerry’s we didn’t try, as calorie counting had to come into play at some point. Same thing with the Cupcake Cupboard. Both charge for their wares. We also didn’t try any of the sandwiches at Cafe Promenade.
One side note, the pub on board, the Dog & Badger, would be a great place to order fish and chips, but alas, food is not served here… just beers from around the world.
Fellow Passengers: Most of the people on board were families with children – 900 of them. Yes, 900 children were on board this cruise and they were well represented. They could be seen running around, playing in the elevators, making a mess of the ice cream machine, doing what some would call “being a kid” I simply call it “being annoying.” But I’m not a kid person.
The average age was way across the board, considering this was a holiday cruise, that’s to be expected. One thing we did note was there was not much of the 70+ crowd here.
Elevators were an issue and that was mainly caused by families with mom and dad both having strollers the size of a minivan take up an entire elevator. While we took the stairs when elevator usage was at a premium, those in wheelchairs or who just could not walk the steps were getting upset with elevator capacity.
Overall impressions: Not a bad cruise. The ship is worth checking out, but it’s one of those ships where you need to be open-minded knowing it holds 4,000+ people and you’re not on a ship with 2,000 people. There are lines, there is congestion, and there are people! It’s a ship designed for families, as all Royal Caribbean ships are.
Personal Day-By-Day Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas Cruise Review:
Photo Tour of Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas:
During my cruise on Independence of the Seas, I took many photos of the ship’s impressive features and amenities. From the stateroom to the dining options and entertainment, there was always something to see and do on board. You can see what it’s like onboard by checking out my photo tour.