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.