Independence Of The Seas – Behind The Scenes Tour

On the second day of the cruise, I was told we would be going on a behind the scenes tour. I must admit my eyes did roll a bit when I heard as I’ve been on many before, however it was more interesting than I had expected.

Along with seeing the Bridge and restaurant, we also did a galley tour and had the chance to meet Indy’s new executive Head head chef. We all found him hilarious and very honest. I was really surprised when he admitted they had made a lot of mistakes during the previous nights main dining and that the food was not up to scratch.

He did make me laugh when he was reeling off how many steaks and beef wellingtons they had got through the previous night and asked “why aren’t the Brits eating fish anymore” Simple answer from me “the only fish on the menu was the Surf & Turf and this was chargeable at $35 per person” Who wants to pay for their cruise then have to pay for a meal in the main dining room? His response was that Surf & Turf would be available on a longer cruise at no additional cost. So I would love to hear from anyone who’s sailed with them recently to confirm if this is, in fact, the case.

There’s one thing paying to eat in a speciality restaurant as a treat but I’ve never seen chargeable food items on a main dining room menu before. In my opinion, it shouldn’t matter if you are onboard for 2 nights or 20 we have all paid good money and should expect the same level of service and choice whilst onboard.

Next stop was the control room, another interesting first and then the recycling area. I found the recycling particularly interesting, it’s good to hear that Royal Caribbean are environmentally conscious and actually have inspectors who visit recycling plants all over the world. If they deem them not in line with their policies then ships are not allowed to dispose of waste in these ports.