Independence of the Seas

We were a party of 4, similar age and have cruised RCCL and Celebrity.
It was the price, sea days and the ship which attracted us. We booked as we have previously done with Cruise 1st and found them to be excellent in delivering tickets on time and answering queries we had. We felt we had a personal service.
I was worried that I may feel isolated or sea sick at sea for so many days but I need not have been . By the time we get off at Fort Lauderdale the concensus of the party was that we could have continued to the Caribbean.

We sailed from Southampton and boarding was smooth.We had had lunch and unpacked by 2pm. The weather wasnt good until we passed Vigo but the ports of Le Havre,Cherbourg and Vigo were dry and we didnt take trips but had a good walk around the areasand enjoyed them particulary Vigo.
There were force 10 to 12 gales at this point but apart from the night we left Vigo we didnt feel sick and even then a Stergeon put paid to any illness.
Madeira was a first trip for us and we thoroughly enjoyed it. It was warm and we took the cable car to the tobogganing and queued for about 20 mins before going downin the tobogan. We then walked into Funchal. It was a very pleasant 30 minute walk . We thenhad a walk around town. Unfortunately because it was Sunday many shops were closed but we managec to get a "feel" for the plae and were very impressed.
We then sailed for 6 nights and we thoroughly enjoyed it . About 4 days were warm enough to sunbathe.
Day time activities we found limited for our interests, but this is subjective.. We went along to a bowling session and enjoyed it and it was well attended, but it was the only session offered.
We tried to go to the cinema but couldnt get into it. This is a definite design flaw on the ship. The cinema held about 200 people at the most and many people like us left because of lack of seats. We entertained ourselves playing shuffleboard, golf, cards etc. We took part in the quizzes at 4pm and 8pm.
Entertainment is a very subjective matter but as far as I was concerned I saw the best performance I have seen on a ship in the group Teatro. They looked as good as they sounded as well.
We loved the the chinese piano player Tian I think he was called. We have seen him Celebrity and we think he is excellent. The Beatles tribute band were excellent and I dont like the Beatles. We went because one of the party really likes them. It just goes to show you you should try everything.!!
We tried!!!!!!! Sean O Shea and found him awful. He was so bad he was embarassing,. We thought it was that American humour doesnt translate but the Americans we spoke to were of the same opinion. The danceshows were standard cruise fair no worse or better than we have seen before. We enjoyed the ice shows.
We sampled all the bars. We found drink prices pretty standard. We live in the North West so we are not talking London prices and we found them similar to home. We bought a wine package each which covered the restaurant drinking . We always had drinks in every bar and wre amazed that people went and sat in bars and didnt drink.!! The Champagne bar was a particular favourite and the waiter sorry cant remember his name was great.

Restaurants : The Windjammer was fine we had some lunches and breakfasts there. We did try to eat there one evening we went in at 8.30 ordered a bottle of wine and it took 20 mins to arrive. We then got starters and a waiter came to say if we wanted anything else to get it because the restaurant food was being removed. This is not right in my opinion if a restaurant gives its closing time as 9pm then that is last admittance not service. We went then to the main dining we didnt expect to eat a meal in 10 mins or felt comfortable making the workers hang on.
We tried both Portofino AND Chops and enjoyed both. They were worth the supplement. We had a lunch in Johnny Rockets and this was enjoyable. Albeit very fast.
We chose MTD because we like to eat later. It didnt really work for our needs. We tended to book 9pm every evening but felt very rushed. We enjoy a relaxing meal and a glass or 2 of wine with our meal but often it was so fast we had to try to slow the waiters down . We have tried it but will go back to second dining for our next cruise. Food was fine in the main dining room.although a little inconsistant.
The sae days flew by in calm waters. Disembarkation was terrible. 3 hours to clear immigration. We had one night in Fort Lauderdale which was a beautiful placeBefore flying home.
In conclusion. It was an excellent cruise. The ship though large is easy to navigate. Sea days were fantastic every stress ans strain seems to disappear. We even used the Gym. We dont at home but it was very enjoyable walking on the treadmill looking out to sea. People do hog the machines though!!
I was very nervous about doing a transatlantic cruise but would jump at going on one again. I thoroughly recommend them and the Cruise1st company.