The All New Independence

2 weeks ago I boarded Independence of the seas for the first time with a group of friends, we had decided on a girls weekend away and what better way to spend it than onboard a newly refurbished cruise ship?

I had not been on Independence before so I didn’t have anything to compare the new multi million dollar refurbishment too but first impressions seemed good! I have however been on Allure Of The Seas so I had an idea on what to expect in general onboard a Royal Caribbean ship.

So here goes, my honest opinions on a few things ;

Cabins, we went for an inside cabin deck 6, we had 6 girls sharing so you can imagine it did get a little tight! We knew this before travel though and just went for the cheapest option. I found the cabin quite dated though, the decor just seemed ‘old’ and im surprised i this refurb they didn’t decide to maybe update the curtains at least, just another colour scheme perhaps , something slightly more modern.

The new pool areas really were amazing, and if you are sailing with children it would be a massive highlight! There is a smaller children splashpark with waterslides and then a larger area with the full on adult size waterslides too. If the weather was a tad warmer I would have gone on the waterslides but it was a little to chilly for my liking! But thumbs up, a really great area and addition to the ship.

Service seemed very slow unfortunately, long ques and waits at the bar, I had paid for the deluxe drinks package but felt I honestly couldn’t make best use out of this as I just gave up waiting for drinks on many occasions.

Food was hit and miss, from a beautiful fillet mijnon and lobster one evening in the main dining room which ok did carry a $35 supplement! But the next evening was a below average butter chicken dish, with extremely overdone rice and mushed up and brown coloured lower end pieces of chicken! Johnny Rockets was superb as always but again there was a $9.95 supplement, and something I was a little shocked over was there is no longer a complimentary grill around the pool area, nowhere to grab a burger or pizza whilst on your sunbed but instead Fish and Ships, a British inspired fish and chip shop located by the children pool area which OK sound’s great but you have to pay yet again, $9 for a portion of fish and chips?

Entertainment is something I massively opt for, I much prefer a nice glass of wine whilst sat at a bar but I did go along and watch Grease one afternoon which other than a technical fault half way through was very good! Another highlight was the promenade party on our last evening, this didnt start until 11pm so very late for families but the promenade was buzzing a really good atmosphere and music show!

All in all I did enjoy this 3 night sailing but I found to many little hiccups along the way which was a shame, however it was a mini cruise and it is difficult to get the full experience compared to a longer sailing, I am sure if I was sailing around the Mediterranean for 2 weeks with my family things may have been different , May being the key word there!