Independence of the Seas, Royal Caribbean

Our first cruise and what a wonderful experiance !!! The food ,entertainment,cabins and ship generally were first class. The cabin staff and restaurant staff were all very very efficient and friendly.Even the ships crew going about their duties on deck always said a polite good morning . Even when we were in a force 8 in the Bay of Biscay the ship did not roll at all. We enjoyed the cruise so much that we booked for the next cruise while we were on board as did the couple who went with us. The only way to describe the cruise is "the holiday of a lifetime.

We have cruised with Thomson and enjoyed 7 cruises with them, but sorry there will be no going back after this ship. Absolutely fab and because of the shopping avenue and glass lifts I didn’t get lost once. We had great seats in the Romeo and Juliet restaurant just in front of the stairs which meant we could see all the entertainment even the buffet restaurant was fab. The ice shows are well worth getting up early for the ticket and the evening entertainment was great. I thought being such a large ship the service would suffer but how wrong could I be very attentive nothing too much trouble. I did think the recommended tips were a bit much but being English I paid them, I think they worked out about £70 each for cabin steward and main waiter and £35 for wine waiter but did not realise that paying the full tips entitled you to anytime dinning which meant you could dine anytime and even request a table for two. Free room service is available to any cabin and it is great having breakfast on balcony.