Unbiased & Honest Review, Royal Caribbean Cruise Independence of the Seas 2024 Pros & Cons

[@Magnumdnice]

I was just on Independence of the Sea and the dinning food was great and the service was top notch. Also the Winjammer buffet was not bad at all

[@magicalmomlaura]

I'm so glad you had a great experience! It's a great price.

[@brittanykerkhoven8531]

Disney is just next level. You can't compare anything with disney.

[@magicalmomlaura]

Well, it's what I'm used to so that's what I compare it to.

[@elise4230]

Pro tips: Ditch the kiddo & when you're drinking the food and beds aren't too bad! 💙

[@magicalmomlaura]

Great tip! Yes I can see how this would be a fun booze cruise!

[@MrEllis2007]

I mean you complained a awful lot to be on vacation 😂

[@magicalmomlaura]

Well, I like to be honest. If you watched my pros we had a lot of fun with the areas of the ship we enjoyed. Thanks for watching!

[@tyoung3982]

It was her review. She actually had more pros. Do you own RC or something?

[@highlander69usa]

You knew this wasn’t a Disney cruise and you knew it’s not a new ship. Seems like your expectations were out of kilter with reality. FYI Odyssey is an awesome ship, much more modern and more likely to appeal to you

[@magicalmomlaura]

True. I did know these things and had the right expectations. So this is my honest review. I’m so glad to hear that about Odyssey.

[@TravelsofaHeadbanger]

Thanks.. I will be on Independence next month for a Metal cruise. Wont have the kid issues but I will tamper my expectations on the main dining and skip the dining package. Sadly we can't get drink packages on my cruise so Im saving up for sure. Thank for the info

[@magicalmomlaura]

Have fun! It's a fun ship for adults!

[@shannon492]

I’m surprised you couldn’t see the shows! They always let us drop our daughter off a little early so we could catch the shows or you can set up my time dining and have the kids club staff pick up your children in the dining room at 6:45 so you can finish dinner or catch a show. They also do a late night show and the kids club is open until 2am if you pay per hour but I find the last night shows to be a little too late but you can watch a 9pm show and pick up your kids up by 10pm to avoid paying per hour if you don’t mind missing the ending of the shows!

[@magicalmomlaura]

The kids club wasn't open to drop her off and make it to the first show. We could have done the later show but that is too late for all of us. Seems like the kids club should be open for the beginning of the show.

[@robbyrocksoo]

We just sailed on the Independence a few weeks ago. We loved the ship. The only thing that my wife didn't like was the ability to dine outside. We did go on another cruise years ago on the Norwegian Jade. On that ship we used to love having breakfast outside at the back of the ship. It was great just sipping coffee and watching the wake of the ship.

[@magicalmomlaura]

I do wish cruise ships had more restaurants and bars overlooking the wake. That's my favorite spot. Disney Dream has the best bar, The Meridan like that. Thanks for watching!

[@autobotdiva9268]

I like eating outside lunch

[@DCLayclerk]

Thank you for your review! We’re sailing on the same ship next week. Can’t wait to try the drinks! 🍹

[@magicalmomlaura]

I'm sure you will find some good drinks! Have fun!

[@LJLMETAL]

I'll be sailing on the Independence Of The Seas Ship during late January for the 2025 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise. This year, I had an AWESOME time. This year, it was on the Freedom Of The Seas Ship. Did you go to Johnny Rockets? Their burgers are great!

[@magicalmomlaura]

We did not go to Johnny Rockets. Maybe next time!

[@LJLMETAL]

@@magicalmomlaura You won't be disappointed. It is an additional charge.

[@saunjaym]

Loved this review, I’ve felt this way about Royal for awhile. I’ll be sailing on Independence in December and now I know what and what not to do. I recommend the hibachi for specialty dining and skipping out on the drink package unless you’re a heavy drinker.

[@magicalmomlaura]

Have fun! It's a fun ship just not for us!

[@anitapryer]

@@magicalmomlauraI'm going in December also my first time ever on a ship I'm so scared

[@anitapryer]

Dec 14th

[@magicalmomlaura]

@@anitapryer Don't be scared. It's so much fun and relaxing! Make sure to relax up on the deck and watch the sea!

[@TheTiffyb54]

I just sailed it last week, and the beds were soft. The main dining room was amazing. Windjammer was so gross

[@jasmineacle5502]

Did you see the show grease cause I am trying to look for the cast names?

[@magicalmomlaura]

I did not because the kids club was not open. It's a bit inappropriate for a 6 year old.

[@Mrree1078]

What was the age limit for Grease?

[@alexgonzalez-kc5lp]

No age limit, I guess they would rather their daughter not watch Grease as it might be a little inappropriate

[@magicalmomlaura]

I don’t think there’s an age limit but there’s a lot of sexual references so it’s not appropriate for a 6 yr old.

[@JCBelfat]

Disney would have more kids and therefore a longer kids club surely?

[@magicalmomlaura]

There were alot of kids on our sailing on Royal Caribbean so there may be more on Disney but I would guess not by much. Especially on a holiday weekend.

[@MrTwotone1966]

There is so much comparison to Disney.... Independence of the Seas was built in 2008. You cannot compare this ship to Disney. You need to cruise on an Oasis Class RC. You cannot make that decision based on one of older RC ships.... need to research a bit more before you completely ditch RC. We cruised a NYE 8 night cruise with RC last week on Oasis of the seas for the same price as a 4 day cruise on Disney. Don't get me wrong me and our 3 year old Granddaughter had a blast on our Disney cruise last year, but for the bang for the buck, I will go with RC. We are looking for a older ship to head to Bermuda out of NY. Always check out my cruise line deck site to research rooms of all ships as well as look for these you tubes so I do so respect your opinion.... as a young couple who definitely loves their family and child, seeing you guys travel is lovely but don't give up on RC. You can find a better ship to fit your needs. I can see you loving the Oasis classes or even the Icon class (a bit more expensive).

[@magicalmomlaura]

Well we are a Disney family. I think I can compare it to Disney. We recently went to on the Disney Dream that was built the same year and then we sailed the Disney Magic a month later and it’s much older built in 1998. Good news! We did try a newer ship and really enjoyed it. Stayed tuned for those!

[@rollsorferrari]

I was just on Independence a few weeks ago - on the contrary, I thought the food was excellent! Can't speak to the kids club, but the main dining room was fantastic, Chops Grill was great, room service was great, only area that was ok-ish was Windjammer, but otherwise was definitely impressed!

[@magicalmomlaura]

Thanks for sharing! It’s crazy how different people’s tastes are. I’m glad you had a great time!

[@s-l4260]

Just got off this one and the ship was beautiful! But I had a couple of disappointments. The soda drink package was a bust. They only had 2 locations! for the Coca-Cola machine and the second one was not refilled pass the 3 day. 2-The buffet had very specific times and also closed by 10 or 11 so that means if your coming out of a show your forced to pay for food at the specialty bars and restaurants. 3- Not enough information for activities. I signed up for iceskating but got turned away because Ihad shorts. (There was no indicación on the app) Everyone had to leave and come back. 4- The comedian wasn't funny,ppl actually started to walk out. I stayed out of respect the magician was funier! 5- my bed was hard 6-seating for couple at the dining hall suck. They seated couples right next to the waiters station. Could not have a intimate conversation. Oh and this was our mistake my husband and I booked a trip during Thanksgiving. Don't do it! Too many kids cutting lines and ppl in scooters.

[@magicalmomlaura]

Thanks for sharing your experience. I agree on the hard beds. Terrible. Hopefully the newer ships are better.

[@venustan8288]

Odyssey of the Sea is pretty good

[@magicalmomlaura]

That’s good to hear! I’m a bit nervous because we didn’t like independence too much.

[@vicki8042]

Sounds like you wanted Disney and a Royal Caribbean price. Want Disney pay for Disney. Totally agree that the food is terrible and the beds hard.

[@magicalmomlaura]

Nope! I realized it wouldn't be disney but Disney is what I'm used to so that's what I have to compare it to.

[@Cuban_miami]

I cant beleive you said the food was awful

[@magicalmomlaura]

🫤🤷🏻‍♀️

[@Cuban_miami]

@magicalmomlaura Indian street food that is horrible; they cook it without any type of hygiene or in the middle of Africa they cook it outside practically with sand. I don't think that the food you ate in Royal is very different from what you eat at home. 28 royal 17 carnival 1 disney 1 norwegian 1 celebrity

[@michellesissung6689]

She is not wrong.

[@magicalmomlaura]

@@michellesissung6689 We just went on Odyssey and the food was good so independence needs to work on it!

[@ChicoAndTheMan2]

Yenta

[@magicalmomlaura]

🤷🏻‍♀️

[@tyoung3982]

The food looks really bad. 😢😢😢

[@magicalmomlaura]

It was not good. Hopefully they can improve it!

[@jmj9170]

Too many comparisons to Disney. Can't really take your review into consideration. When traveling with a small child, everything may not work in your favor.

[@strawberry972c]

She wanted to dump her kid off at kid club

[@magicalmomlaura]

Yes, what a monster.

[@tyoung3982]

That’s literally what the club is for. You know that, right?