Independence seems to be poor reviews- will we enjoy it?

[Fastback89]

We sailed on Independence back in mid July and it was our best cruise ever! Ship was in great shape and had fun at all of the ports you should be stopping at. You will have a great time.

[FLACRUISER99]

As one that says "Independence is not my favorite Freedom class ship" I would definitely sail on her again and highly recommend her for you. She is a absolutely fantastic vessel and one of the worlds best cruise ships. You will definitely enjoy her.

[dcgrumpy]

We just got off of Independence yesterday. We had a wonderful time. We had My Time Dining. Service was a bit slow. We had planned on eating in the MDR every night but ended up eating there only 3 nights. We had a 45 minute wait the second formal night.

 

The ship was inn excellent shape and service was great.

[CRUISEFAN0001]

She's a fine ship and you'll enjoy your time aboard.

 

Sometime you just have to consider that there will be whiners and complainers for almost any ship review at some point. They tend to post...while others (like us and the others above) tend not to post proportionally in numbers as to how nice things really are...

[nbsjcruiser]

You could hardly pick a better ship for a first cruise. We've sailed on the Indy 3 times and have enjoyed all 3. Don't worry about reviews, they are so subjective at times. I've seen one person say the cruise was 10 out of 10 and another on the same cruise say it was terrible.

 

If you're interested, you can have a look at my reviews with tons of pictures I posted of the Indy here.

 

March 2013

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1810273

 

March 2015:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2182411

 

 

We had a great time, and so will you.

[bigque]

If you follow Cruise Critic for a while, the question becomes....... Which RCI ship doesn't have negative reviews! you can fill in any ship in the fleet ________ Of The Seas and there will be negative reviews from the oldest to the newest! If you pay attention to all of them you would never cruise any RCI ship!

[Paulette3028]

We are planning our first cruise! Right now price-wise, for the amount of days we want/our budget - Independence towards the end of Feb. looks like the ship we will need to be on. It is going to Haiti and Jamaica. Right now we plan on shopping at the ports as we don't have a lot of money (for excursions). (this cruise is a gift from family and friends)

But I seem to be reading a lot of- I look other ships in this class better; I can't put my finger on it, but Independence is not my favorite; etc.

 

Will we enjoy Independence? Or should I look elsewhere?

 

We are not heavy drinkers, not huge swimmers,etc.

 

If Independence will give you the best value for the dollar that your family and friends are going to be giving you.....have NO FEAR you WILL have a great cruise.

 

We have cruised on many ships, and this past February went on Indy. We had been on Liberty (same class a few years ago) and knew we like this size ship. The Promenade is wonderful. Don't worry about the specialty dining venues. No need to spend extra. Make sure that you let the wait staff know that you are on your first cruise and don't know what to expect, they will make sure you have a great dining room experience.

 

We LOVED Indy. The staff, crew and the entertainment staff were wonderful. You will be the final judge of whether you have a great cruise. Take the advice of many on here....pay little attention to the negative reviews, usually those people go with a 'preconceived' idea (for whatever reason) that they will have a poor time, and viola -- they do.

 

Go, enjoy....come back and tell us ALL about it. I will relive my Indy cruise through YOU.

[CaribSailor]

We just got off Indy yesterday. All is good. Very clean, decent food and service. No complaints. This was our second time on Indy in the last 2 years.

[thjeepster]

we will be on Indy in least than 3 weeks and i don't even listen to the bad reviews!! If you did you would never go on any ship!

 

 

Just go and have a great time. Better than being home and working!

 

 

I can't wait to go!!!.....The Count Down has Started!!!!!

[sylveve]

Just returned from the Independence.

It is a beautiful ship, spotlessly clean and very obliging staff with well appointed bars and public rooms.

Food is Mediocre (my personal opinion) Chops is not great. I have had better fillet mignon in our local "Ale House". However we enjoyed Giovanni's.

The entertainment was really good. The ice shows and production shows were first class. The bar entertainment was excellent particularly in "Schooners".

I'm sure you will enjoy the cruise and the ports and the music.

[SRT8_Paratrooper]

In all honesty Indy was my most disappointing experience. Main dining room staff was slow. On one night I ordered a beer when we placed our food order and I didn't get it until dessert came. That was only after I asked a third person. Another night it took 17 mins for a beer, we timed it. After that I would go to the pub and grab beers and bring them with me to dinner. My wife had a huge hassle with the Internet, being double charged and not having access. Personally I enjoy not having internet while on vacation.

 

Other than that though, it wasn't bad. I would go on Indy again, after all any time on a cruise is better than going to work. For a first cruise, you'll be fine and I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. As others have said, every ship has negative reviews. It's hard to please 3-5000 people every time.

[sylveve]

Just the opposite for me. We had MY TIME dining and never waited more than five minutes for a table and was usually put at the same station. The service was excellent in fact I don't think any restaurant could have been much better. It just goes to show, everyone doesn't get the same service. I would have certainly complained to the Head Waiter if I had waited all that time for a beer.

[mcatmcat]

In all honesty Indy was my most disappointing experience. Main dining room staff was slow. On one night I ordered a beer when we placed our food order and I didn't get it until dessert came. That was only after I asked a third person. Another night it took 17 mins for a beer, we timed it. After that I would go to the pub and grab beers and bring them with me to dinner. My wife had a huge hassle with the Internet, being double charged and not having access. Personally I enjoy not having internet while on vacation.

 

Other than that though, it wasn't bad. I would go on Indy again, after all any time on a cruise is better than going to work. For a first cruise, you'll be fine and I'm sure you'll enjoy yourself. As others have said, every ship has negative reviews. It's hard to please 3-5000 people every time.

 

 

For me the biggest complaint was the slow service at MDR, it wasn't for just one day instead slow service the whole week. Captain night was a disaster, I have a picture that my partner took me at the table and there was a clock on the wall the salad came 45 minutes after seating in our talks, we had late dining

[jes Scott]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2182411

Check out this review! I read it before out Indy cruise

I LOVED Indy!! [emoji177][emoji178]

Remember it is your cruise And it's what you make it!! [emoji5]️

[gazza999]

Our first cruise was also on the Independence, last year.

 

We loved it so much it completely hooked us on cruising, to the point of having 4 cruises booked over the next year.

 

We had no problems with the MDR, as we never went there :)

 

You will have a great time :)

Edited September 11, 2015 by gazza999