We normally cruise with Celebrity so this was our first cruise on the Independence of the Seas.
The ship was beautiful, in top condition and spotless throughout.
Embarkation at Southampton was quick and we were ushered up to the deck 11 buffet which unfortunately was overcrowded with little spare seating capacity.
Our deck 8 aft balcony stateroom was spacious and equally spotless, with a comfortable bed and no intrusive noise from other staterooms.
Our first port of call was to a bright and sunny Cobh in Southern Ireland before we spent a couple of sea days passing east of Ireland and up to our first Norwegian port Olden.
Unfortunately the weather was not that kind to us, being cool and rainy, which continued for most of the cruise.
It then became apparent that Independence of the Seas is a warm weather ship, best suited to the Med or Carribean, since it’s pools, hot tubs, climbing wall, Waverider etc are all up on deck.
With a vast area of inside space being taken up with the Royal Promenade there was not too much to occupy over 3000 passengers.
We found theatre space and ice show space at a premium, and staff made no attempt to close up spaces between seats to release spare seats.
Many people were queuing/ taking their seats anything up to an hour before a performance.
The entertainment was however first class.
Food in the restaurant was ‘average’, not particularly hot and service was generally slow.
We spent the second week eating in the buffet where the food choice was excellent, and the chefs were all too willing to please, cooking a steak in front of you, or even preparing a curry to your liking.
The itinerary was good but the end could have been better.
Our return journey from Oslo to Zeebrugge was slow but even slower getting back to Southampton – in fact a whole sea day and two nights! In summing up, we enjoyed the cruise but it could either have been shorter or an additional port could have been added to the itinerary.
We found staff throughout the ship were always polite, cheerful and helpful but this ship is not however for us, and is most definitely a warm weather ship best suited to families.
