First, it's important to know that I'm a loyal Royal Caribbean cruiser so I can only compare this to other RCCL cruises. Second, I'm not a constant complainer and I really do try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I have every intention of continuing to sail on RCCL.

The good or great: The ship is beautiful, as are all the RCCL ships I've been on. Every venue is lovely, impeccably kept and there are plenty of them, from entertainment to shops. Loved my balcony stateroom, as it was spacious and appealing. Pretty decent food, better than I expected. Great Tandoori Chicken in the Windjammer - gotta love the Windjammer! Main dining room was also above average, as far as RCCL goes. I don't know why it was better than I remembered from my other cruises, but it was. I was fortunate to have a wonderful waiter and assistant so perhaps that was part of it. Chops Grille and Giovanni's Table were also decent. "Grease" was very well-done and I feel I can say this confidently, having seen this show at least a million times. The cast was absolutely terrific and so was the orchestra in the Alhambra. One more very important thing: the salon. I had the most wonderful hair stylist. I think her name was Zivi. She was from Serbia and I swear, I wish I could have taken her back to the US with me.

The bad: Cruisers, there's no other way to say it - the service could have been better. This is the one area Independence falls short on. From an awkward stateroom attendant to a slight here, a failed promise there, having to beg for something you're entitled to, etc., these things add up to affect a vacation that can otherwise be perfect. I paid $25 for my birthday cake prior to boarding and they completely screwed it up. Ruined my frigging birthday! Sheesh. OK, I eventually got the cake, though the order was still wrong. In addition, the music and entertainment could have been a lot better. It was boring! Harmony of the Seas had absolutely fantastic bands that played every night, no matter what your musical taste. On Independence, the operational thinking is elevator music. I confess, I did not go to the Labyrinth as I'm a little older than the crowd that goes there but I do have eclectic taste, and I couldn't seem to find anything other than mellow music. They had jazz one night for 45 min and I missed it because of a conflict. I wish there was more of it. Read more