Independence of the Seas Revisited

This week, we've updated and expanded our section on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas.

Independence was the third and final ship in Royal Caribbean's Freedom class. Until Oasis of the Seas entered service, she was the largest cruise ship in the world. She remains in the upper part of the top ten largest cruise ships.

Because she is big, Independence offers a lot to do. Her glamorous interior is geared to those with an active life style.

Since she entered service in 2008, Independence has been Royal Caribbean's primary entry in the British cruising market. Indeed, before she entered service the crew were schooled to understand some of the language differences between British cruise passengers and American cruisers, which most of the crew were more familiar. Independence has sailed each summer since she entered service from Southampton and has developed a considerable British following.

Although Royal Caribbean experimented with having Independence do winter cruises from Southampton, the ship has spent most winters cruising the Caribbean from Florida. As a result, she also has an American following.

After Allure of the Seas entered service in late 2010, Royal Caribbean embarked on a revitalization program for the rest of its fleet. The idea was to give the rest of the fleet some of the popular features from the Oasis class ships. Because Independence was the last ship built before Oasis, her refit, which took place earlier this year, was less extensive than some of the earlier ships.

Still, there were some significant changes. A giant LED television screen was added to the pool deck. A Cupcake Cupboard took the place of the barber shop on the Royal Promenade and the line up of the shops along the Promenade was changed including the addition of a Michael Kors shop. Family cruising was further facilitated by the addition of a Royal Babies center where the youngest passengers can spend some supervised time away from mom and dad. These and other changes ensure that Independence remains a first tier cruise ship.

We have updated our photo tour of the interior and public areas of Independence to reflect the changes made in the 2013 revitalization. It begins at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-tour.html

We have also added a new menus page presenting a collection of menus from Independence's main dining room and specialty restaurants. http://www.beyondships2.com/independence-of-the-seas-menus.html

Similarly, we have a new daily programs and informationals page. http://www.beyondships2.com/independence-of-the-seas-daily-programs.html I find that a good way of getting a feel for what cruising on a particular ship is like is to browse through the daily programs to see the types of activities and entertainment the ship offers. The informational leaflets distributed aboard can also be helpful in getting a feel for the way the ship operates.

Finally, we have added a slideshow showing Independence docked in Falmouth, Jamaica. http://www.beyondships2.com/independence-in-jamaica.html Independence has good lines for a modern cruise ship and so is a good subject. This slideshow augments our previous photo essays and slideshows of Independence in Southampton, Fort Lauderdale and St. Maarten.

Photos of Cruise Port Southampton and Independence of the Seas

This week we are going beyond the ships themselves and looking at the cruise port of Southampton, England. Now, few people set out with the goal of spending their vacation/holiday in Southampton. However, it is Britain’s primary cruise port and so cruisers often spend time there before or after a cruise.

While Southampton is not a tourist destination, it is tourist friendly. There are a variety of hotels and places to eat. In addition since Southampton is the large shopping center for southern England, it has lots of stores ranging from traditional high street stores to vast modern shopping malls.

Due to the fact that Southampton was - - and still is - - an import seaport, it was heavily bombed during World War II. Consequently, much of the city dates from the post-war period. However, I was surprised to find how many historic properties still exist. Indeed, Southampton reportedly has the most amount of medieval city walls in England.

Southampton is also not far from a number of places of interest including Stonehenge, the Isle of Wight, the naval museums at Portsmouth, Salisbury cathedral, and Winchester. A little further away but still within day trip range is the metropolis of London and all it has to offer.

My photo tour of Southampton begins at http://beyondships.com/Ports-Southampton-1.html

One of the ships that sails out of Southampton is Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Now the world’s second largest cruise ship, Independence has modern lines but with a hint of the style of traditional ships, especially in the bow area. This lends itself to photographs and I have now added a page of photos of her taken in Florida and in Southampton to the Independence of the Seas section of Beyondships. It appears at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-Photos1.html

Inside Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas

Independence of the Seas has a lot going for it. She is currently the largest cruise ship in the world, a title she holds along with her sister ships Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas. She is full of entertainment and dining venues and has both traditional and innovative outdoor facilities such as a surfing simulator. Just as importantly, the crew is engaged in a near constant effort to entertain the passengers with parades, singing and dancing waiters as well as the usual set of shipboard activities such as trivia contests and bingo.

The ship follows Royal Caribbean’s style of cruising. This style was developed serving the American market. Consequently, the décor, the informality and the emphasis on activity all reflect the country where Royal Caribbean first achieved success.

Recently, however, Royal Caribbean announced that Independence of the Seas’ first summer season sailing out of Southampton, England had been so successful that the ship would be homeported there all year in 2010. What makes this so surprising is that the vast majority of passengers traveling on Independence have not been vacationing Americans but rather British.

When I was onboard Independence, I had the opportunity to talk with Captain Arnolf Remo, Hotel Director Darren Budden and Cruise Director Allan Brooks about Independence and her success in Britain. The resulting article appears at: http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-article-UK.html Also, to see what Independence of the Seas looks like, there is the photo tour beginning at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-tour.html

Independence of the Seas Photo Tour and Commentary

I found Independence of the Seas to be an exciting ship. She is packed with things to do and the entertainment and activities are non-stop. Thus, even for a person like me who is not particular oriented toward sports and physical activity, I found that there was a lot to do.

Independence is Royal Caribbean’s newest ship. Royal Caribbean likes to build them big and reap the benefits of economies of scale. For the moment, Independence is the world’s largest cruise ship, a title she will hold along with her two sister ships until Royal Caribbean brings out Oasis of the Seas later this year.

Although she is big and carries a lot of people, I never felt over crowded. Yes, there are parts of the ship that can get busy - - the buffet, for example - - but there are also parts where one can be by oneself. This is probably due to the fact that there are so many amenities on the ship that the passengers are well-distributed. It is also a credit to management for planning the activities with good passenger flow in mind.

Independence is based most of the year in Southampton, England although she spends the colder months in the Caribbean. As a result, for most of the year, most of her passengers are British. While the overall experience remains the American-style cruise that Royal Caribbean is famous for, there have been a few alterations to the menu and to the entertainment to make the British guests feel more at home.

In the final analysis, the reason Independence appeals to different cultures is because it provides an entertaining cruise experience. With rock climbing walls, a skating rink and an indoor shopping/dining/entertainment boulevard (complete with a parked car), it is not a traditional cruise experience. However, it is fun.

My profile of Independence is at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-Profile.html and the photo tour and commentary starts at http://beyondships.com/RCI-IOS-tour.html.