Independence of the Seas review

[crusinpeg]

Well, based on this logic, you should cancel all buffets (breakfast, lunch and dinner) and leave only the dining room.

 

The midnight buffet with all ice sculptures and the food arrangements was one of our best memories from Costa and Carnival.

 

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are standard dining times....another meal at midnight (especially if one had late dining) just never seemed necessary IMO....this is my logic.

[Toddcan]

Maybe.. however, based on price, it is more expensive than "budget" lines. We could do Carnival, Costa or MSC for around $700 at the same period, while RCI was $1,200. You would expect better quality for almost double price.

 

Really? Believe me, I have looked. Can you really find a 7-8 day holiday cruise for the same cabin type for $700? I dont care what cruise line - please show me. I'm not saying I don't believe you - I am excited that I might be able to take a Dec holiday cruise for a decent price - so I am looking for some information please.

 

Thanks!

[redwings1958]

Yes, it was an inside cabin. Even considering it was a holiday season (Christmas), this is VERY expensive. Like I mentioned, I could get Costa, MSC or Carnival for ~$700 for the same period. Unfortunately, this is the only time we could travel, but I still consider it a complete rip-off. The difference in the price is simply not justified.

 

XMAS and New Years cruises are the MOST EXPENSIVE cruises they have. They know this and have U over a barrel. If U found a cruise for $700, that is REALLY a GOOD deal and U should have grabbed it. Otherwise, don't bash RCI; it is still WAY better than Carnival or Princess. Happy sailing!!!:eek:

[Toddcan]

...

 

 

wow...

 

 

I must have been blind. I can book a balcony on the Epic (yes, it's ugly, but it's NCL's newest and biggest), starting on Dec 21 2013 for 7 days.. for $899. Or, I can do the Pearl for $799 balcony 7 days.

 

There are a few 7 day Carnival cruises over Christmas on balcony for under $1,000 too.

 

hmmm...

[littlesteelo]

On the 14 night cruises they have one of the midnight buffets in the solarium with the lit up ice sculptures. There was a selection of sandwiches and other small items.

 

What I do not agree with is your opinion that all buffets are equally a waste. You find there is not a huge amount of food wastage in the buffet since they know generally how many people will eat there, and if they run out of one item it can be easily refilled depending on demand.

 

At a midnight buffet there is no way of telling who will turn up to it, and so they have to make an educated guess. There were a lot of people at the one on my last Indy cruise, so there wasn't much wastage. I still don't really see the point in it seeing as you can get free food 24/7 on the ship.

 

I also don't get your comments about the Windjammer food. You say 30% was 'junk food' but that leaves quite a lot left. There is a huge salad bar, and areas for pasta and other types of food. I thought the choice was good compared to some ships.

[Ocean Boy]

$1,200 seems extremely reasonable for a week long cruise, unless you were in an inside cabin?

 

If the cabin was only 153 sq. ft., as the OP said, then it would have had to be an inside.

[ak1004]

I got the impression that RCI was much more than Carnival in terms of price when I decided to give RCI a try after having only sailed Carnival. But, honestly...When I finally picked my cabin( mid ship, up one deck, etc.) The cabin prices seemed to inflate quickly on Carnival and stay pretty close to the base advertised price on RCI.

 

I think Carnival's price advertising is a little on the misleading side personally. If you are just looking price of an interior room... you are looking at an interior guarantee or cabin with bunk beds and the price of an actual room you may want is typically much much higher. I know all of the lines show the starting at... $$$ ads but I think for the most part RCI doesn't have this crazy seperation between lowest cabin price and a cabin most people will book.

 

RCI does seem to have slightly higher prices for similar sailings in similar cabins when comparing to Carnival. However, it is not a huge difference in my experience.

 

I honestly think RCI far exceeded the experiences I had on Carnival. Carnival was still fun, but if it's a difference of less than maybe...25-30%... I think RCI is absolutely worth it.

I agree that RCI is way better than Carnival. I was comparing to Costa and still think they are similar quality (at least when comparing to my Costa cruise in 2006, cannot say how Costa looks today).

[ak1004]

Breakfast, lunch and dinner are standard dining times....another meal at midnight (especially if one had late dining) just never seemed necessary IMO....this is my logic.

The midnight buffet is a one time event, I definitely don't suggest they do it every night. It is not supposed to be for eating only - the whole thing just looks beautiful, with all ice sculptures and the ceremony.

[ak1004]

XMAS and New Years cruises are the MOST EXPENSIVE cruises they have. They know this and have U over a barrel. If U found a cruise for $700, that is REALLY a GOOD deal and U should have grabbed it. Otherwise, don't bash RCI; it is still WAY better than Carnival or Princess. Happy sailing!!!:eek:

We met a couple on our way back who sailed with Costa for $700 at balcony. My agent gave me options to go with MSC Poesia at $714 or Zuiderdam at $655. I have seen some Carnival deals around $700-800.

 

Just to be clear: I didn't bash RCI. I'm just saying I expected more for the price, and after sailing with them, I still consider them an excellent line, but not upscale. Maybe my expectations were just too high..

[Canadian Tyler]

Thanks for posting your review.

[will773]

No, actually it was my first Royal Caribbean cruise - I sailed with Costa twice and with Carnival once. And again, I didn't say that the service was bad, I just said that based on the price, I expected it to be MUCH better than Costa, but in fact, it was a similar level. I was with Costa in 2006 and 2008, maybe things have changed since then and Costa is also not what it used to be.

 

Oops, my bad! I was reading it from the person who pasted your review into their post (post #1) Sorry!

 

I hope you did enjoy your cruise and I can ensure you that most of the time, RCCL is a great cruise line!

[ak1004]

Oops, my bad! I was reading it from the person who pasted your review into their post (post #1) Sorry!

 

I hope you did enjoy your cruise and I can ensure you that most of the time, RCCL is a great cruise line!

Cruise by definition cannot be bad, and yes, we had a great time. We had a great time on Carnival too which I think is very average. It is just when you have experience with several lines, you start comparing things, and I agree that it IS a great cruise line.

[ak1004]

I also don't get your comments about the Windjammer food. You say 30% was 'junk food' but that leaves quite a lot left. There is a huge salad bar, and areas for pasta and other types of food. I thought the choice was good compared to some ships.

I agree that the selection was pretty good, but the quality was very average, in some cases below average. The fact is that the longest lines were at the junk food stations (hamburgers, sausages etc.) which clearly tells you that people didn't find many quality alternatives. Maybe I expected too much from a mass production kitchen, but the fact remains.