Full Ship Tour of Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas with Advice You Should Know!

[Music] hey everybody it's Brandon the weekend Cruiser where I go on to weekend Cruise just about every weekend and I came up to Port Canaveral this weekend to get on the Royal Caribbean Independence of the Seas a ship that I've been on many times preco for its four nights that it used to do Thursday to Monday but now it is currently doing I think this is its last weekend cruise out of port canav before it heads down to Miami next week so if you're getting ready to come on the Independence of the Seas she is my second favorite ship in Royal caran Fleet directly behind the Freedom of the Seas but they are like almost identical they are sister ships in the same exact class so the Independence of the Seas was launched in 2008 and was reformed and went through her amplification right before Co I think around 2018 2019 so she's going to feel very new and very similar to Freedom of the Seas but let me show you why I really like Independence of the Seas so as always I'm going to start here on Deck three at the lowest level of ship and then we're going to work our way up today so you see they've got Studio B directly in front of us this on is on Deck three aft and it does not connect to the forward section of the ship you're going to have the quest game show you're going to have the ice skaters in there and you're also going to have Planet Z or battle for Planet Z which is what's going on now which is their um laser attack so if you want to sign up for that I think there's only four people in there we're at CoCo K today you can certainly do that you're also going to have one of the newer setups for the focus Gallery so I love this because you simply just slide your card into one of these machines you see the pictures and you are able to get the ones that you want right there on the screen which is pretty neat you're also going to have Park West Art Gallery so if you're into art this is a place that you can come and they will gladly accept your money just to research on Park West know what you're buying because this is probably one of the biggest areas where people um will have a complaint if they're not familiar with what the process is there are bathrooms on this floor but as you can see they here beside the elevator so they're a little bit hidden compared to where they are in other situations or on other floors I should say coming over here to the dining room show you the hours real quick they've got their first seating starts at 5:30 and then they go to 6:4 we'll walk in and give you a quick view of the dining room here the main dining room I am a big fan of this ship and its main dining room because it is just beautiful to me it is very elegant it is very nice it is three floors so the bottom floor is on the entire thing but then you've got balconies of the other dining rooms up above plenty of Windows and it just looks really really cool especially I don't know if you can see the way up there is your Captain's Table up at the top where the round section is so if you do chef's table or something like that that's where that could be served for you so from here let's head on up by the way this is the main uh my time dining floor so if you are doing my time dining first of all on a weekend sailing or short sailings don't do it change into one of the regular ones take my best advice there best practice and switch out of my time dining into a regular dining it'll just it'll be easier but you need to go there make those reservations with the matd that you just saw and he'll hook you up with a time to come cuz you still need to book an actual time we'll come this way so you've got the fourth floor entrance to the dining room here one thing I'll go ahead and mention Ro kban does a really good job about showing you where you are on the ship so you see the Green Dot or Green Dot the Red Dot on the ship there that is where you're located on Deck number four and you can easily figure out where it is you are going or need to go you're also going to have outdoor space here so quickly going to pop out here this is where a lot of people will come to walk to get some exercise and there's also a smoking section on one side here you see we are in perfect day Coco K today but this is a good spot to walk you go all the way up to the front it will take you to the helipad as well coming back around so we are on Deck four now again more maps which I love this is the AFT section of the ship so anytime you see food on a ship know that you're probably in the back section of it you are not in the Ford section the Ford section is where all your entertainment is going to be but in the AFT that's where the food is you've got boleros over here which is the Latin bar I hear the band that is on here is fantastic this place has been packed like every single night and if you want to just hang out you've got some great seating over there too coming into Playmakers I think here is one of the best kept secrets for good food on the ship it is at an additional cost but it is good food the games are complimentary they've got a little section here that you can sit eat and watch your games on good siiz TVs and they've got the same setup on the other side just on the other side of those pool tables you see over there I say these are free actually you may have to pay for those seeing on be aside of the slot machines here and pretty sure you're going to have to pay for that all right so this is Casino Royale I'm going to cut the video off and bounce back in on the other side all right so we are now outside of the casino and we walking into Schooner bar this is also another great place to come hang out they're going to have a Piano Man piano woman that will play in the evenings you'll also have some trivia here as well there's some seating over there in the left hand side if you want to really squirrel away and find a private section over here on the left you're going to have a Zumi so if you like sushi or Habachi this is going to be the place that you're going to come for the show so I'll quickly show you what is in here if you have a celebration or friends groups that are coming with you this is a great place to come and be able to celebrate that occasion coming a little bit further over we'll now jump upstairs to the fifth floor actually let me go and show you the theater while we're here on the fourth floor let's see if I can get into the theater so far so good as long as they're not practicing doing anything we'll be really quiet when we walk in there looks like they are practicing Greece i w talk too much right now all right so they were practicing in there so I didn't talk too much so the cast that is here for Greece has been on here for a good little while I think they've been here for nine months so they are probably heading off in a couple of weeks if not before so it looks like what they're doing is inall calling a new cast and so what I mean by that is they are you got two casts on board right now you got the old cast who's still performing for Us guest and you've got the new cast who's been working in the studio learning their steps where they need to be from a studio on land so they have now transferred to the ship where they're actually use the actual stage they're going to be performing in and so they are getting all their moves down coming into the Star Lounge actually before we go to the Star Lounge you've got your library over here so I'm going to peek in here see if there's anybody in here hopefully not all right this is also going to be your business center library books and for the internet here just know you still have to purchase it in order to log in but if you have an account and you need a computer for some reason you can always do that coming over to the Star Lounge so this this place isn't really used as much as I think it should be probably they'll do the art auctions in here you're going to have some game shows that they do in here um like majority rules finish the lyric those things but it is a neat little spot but they to me don't do Terri much in the evenings the most popular thing is they'll bring a band in here and this makes turns into a really cool venue it does have its own bar as well so this is deck five in the Ford section of the ship again we're looking at entertainment not at food so that is the Ford section coming back into the Royal prominade this is going to be where all your shops and stores are and it's laid out a little bit different here but you're going to have your logo store and your um liquor and cigarette store kind of combined here in the market you're also going to have Ros a place a lot of people love and that pizza has saved a ton of folks I hope they have the Caribbean pizza that is always my personal favorite you've got your freestyle Coca-Cola machines and the options here are endless if you are getting the refreshment package that's going to come with it in addition to any coffee that you're going to want great signage once again if you know where about where you need to go that's going to tell you and you've got the L and anchor this is the British up here this is where your magician not magician your musician will be performing here on the left and if you want some good beers um that are different you can find more Unique International ones in this location but a really cool hangout spot you're then going to have vintages so if you're also looking for not beer if you're looking for unique wines this is also the one place that I can find my non-alcoholic wine Frey free f um that I like getting on board the ships it's one of the few plac that will have it or even know what I am talking about when I say that I want the non-alcoholic wine so Laria if you're looking for beauty products you can certainly get those here as well the bags if you want bags The Collection here is your bag Stop Shop onetop bag shop with Christen Dior Louis Vuitton and Chanel on the other side you've got regalia so if you're looking for Effie expensive watches they're going to have all that in there and it looks like they just got a new shipment of stuff that you might want to check out you've got Ben and Jerry's ice cream when they are making the waffle cones in here like you smell it all throughout this area and it is wonderful Cafe prominade those are my people that's where I go most of the time not drinking alcohol that's where I go uh to get the most expensive drink that I'm going to get here which is a uh espresso drink of some kind if you look back there in the corner you're going to see the American style so if you want just normal drip coffee you can go there to pick that up coming over here I'm going to show you sugar Beach real quick this is the candy store on board the independence if you want to come in and pay for candy bu the pound or buy one of the massive lollipops you can do that you've got this shop they actually will have some really good sales in here so I go in there every time that I come on board the cruise and I can sometimes find some really good discounts when they put things on sale it is on sale next Cruise if you want to book your next cruise and get some of those onboard book looking bonuses with onboard credit you're going to have short excursions over here though not too terribly much for this short Cruise your guest services team hello everybody and coming towards the back you see they're doing a little bit of work we are in Coco K today so if you're curious where everybody is they are off the ship and at the beach all right so that is the backside of deck number five you see that the dining room does continue here as well um but we're going to jump all the way up to deck 11 now and I'm going to show you what all is in the Wind Jammer the buffet here in addition to the outdoor spaces all right so welcome to deck 11 once again in the AFT section of the ship this is the Wind Jammer where you're also going to find giovan's table as well as chops Grill these are the hours of operation though I know many of you are not coming on a weekend Cru since Independence of the Seas is not going to be doing weekends after this sailing plenty of handwashing stations so if you're coming on board board make sure that you are washing and cleaning your hands with soap sanitizing they're going to have sanitizer as well if you want to use that they're doing some deep cleaning in here today they've got the big things out cleaning up it is currently lunchtime and you'll find most of the same items that are going to be over on the island so it's going to be barbecue chicken you're going to have a little bit of vegetables some desserts looks like a good time with the officers in here as well coming to grab some food but when you're here at um Coca K the food's all the way in the back because there's not that many of us on the ship that are eating here you see most people my favorite place to sit is behind that wall over there kind of out of the way show you some of that food that I was talking about you've got the rice some chicken some sandwiches their soup here is actually normally really good I don't eat it too much but people consistently talk about how good the soup is hamburgers and hot dogs I eat more desserts than I should and then you're going to have some of the Indian offerings over on this side this section is going to be your most popular with where everybody is going to be sitting so if you want to spread out a little bit don't head towards the very ass section of the ship you can certainly um find a good spot somewhere else now the food here is going to be the exact same on the opposite side when it is open so for breakfast or lunch on a SE day they're going to have both sides open and it is identical food so what I recommend people do is always head to the back do not stop at the very first food option that you come to because it's going to be repeated once again in the back and often you'll find they keep the more expensive high dollar food in the back of the ship so that your plates already full by the time you get there and you're you know filling up on cheaper items for them to offer you so don't be fooled oops about to forget let's come into giovan's table real quick if you want some Italian food this is going to be the spot for you see that it is beautifully decorated on this ship nice light and Airy and it does go into that second room looks a little bit like a mirror back there but it does go all the way back in there I can't get into chops right now because of the work that they're doing but I did have breakfast there this morning and it is also traditional chops it looks very similar to the other chops that you may have seen in other videos um I'll try to link to one here if I remember when we come back so now heading outside so on the left hand side of the ship here the port side is going to be your smoking side on the right hand side is going to be the no smoking side so you're going to find you know not that much of a difference I think more people congregate on the left hand side because of that but I'm going to do a multi one see where these guys are that's where your ice cream's going to be so ice cream is right there on that corner but I want to come over here and show you fish and chips this is a unique offering of Independence of the Seas I don't know of another ship that has fish and ships see what they did there with the naming um if it is on another ship let me know but this is definitely going to be somewhere you may want to check out if you like fish and chips I like fish and chips though I don't necessarily like fried stuff anymore but they're going to have clearly fish and chips chicken fingers all that good stuff they also operate as one of the pool bars hey everybody a little bit different than ELO fresh I think I personally prefer Al loo fresh on the ships but you have options this is going to be your kids area on Independence of the Seas you have hot tubs out here as well again we're in Coco so you're not going to see that many people in there though every time we come to Coco I feel like there are more people people here you see they've got one of the life rafts out over there survival crafts that's where they've been practicing their drill first thing this morning so there's three different hot tubs right in this section they do stay busy my favorite one is the one there in the middle and you're going to have a pool bar over there and a table that you can use as well chairs in the Pinnacle and suweet section there have cushions which I really appreciate being a pinnacle member I like having my chairs there now we're going to come into the valarium which is the 18 and up they just changed that 2 weeks ago from 16 to 18 this is an 18 and up space you have two different hot tubs you're can to have one here on the left and another one on the right hand side as you can hear there's no music in here so this is going to be your quieter more calm area the salarium bar is normally open looks like it's closed right now since we're in COC K and you're always going to have lifeguards even when you're in Coco K you're going to have some life lifeguards good seating over here though I think I like having additional lounge chairs over here this seating is good if you know you're not a lounge chair kind of person it gives you some options coming back inside going give you a quick sneak peek of the fitness center though I know that that is not everybody's favorite spot to go here is the fitness center and the gym again it's going to be on deck 11 All the Way Forward plenty of machines that you can lift with cardio equipment and they're going to have personal trainers here as well that you can chat with see what you need to be doing they are glad to help you out tons of equipment here that you're going to find lots of machines two different Smith machines which is impressive to me but it is a little bit of a cramped when you look over here this is a a cramped area but overall it has plenty of stuff that you're going to be able to use to modify whatever workout you have to say on your routine even while on a cruise vacation so we're going to come back out of the fitness center Vitality fitness center and Spa is what it's called and we're going to head upstairs to the spa section so the spa is directly above the gym here it's always interesting when they put the gym above the spa because people are dropping weights up there and being kind of loud and you're directly below trying to have a massage it does not always work out as well as you think it will deck 12 forward you're going to have your friendly Spa people always willing to help you make a appointment but this is where you're going to come for all of their services you've got Nails here on the left massage rooms in the back coming back out I'll walk on let's see I'll go on this side I'll go on the starboard side so that I can show you what this looks like did not bring my sunglasses I've got to where I keep forgetting to bring those I do recommend sunglasses when you come on acre jip so you're going to have an upstairs section here too so above the spa you see the stairs here we'll take you upstairs that is like an overflow section I would call it it's also where you're going to find Freedom not Freedom wrong ship Independence Dunes so you can head over there you've got an upstairs section here so if you want absolute direct sun to be as close to the Sun as you can that's where you're gonna head to if I am watching a movie up here so especially those movies that they offer in the evening the seats right there in the middle are fantastic make sure you get here a little bit early to check that out to get the seat that you want that is buy a speaker I've been up here before and have not been able to hear the actual movie that was playing because I wasn't close to a speak speaker cuz there can be other people talking and things of that you just want to make sure that you're going to be close to a speaker we are now walking towards the AFT section of the ship you see that there's a few more floors up here that we're going to very quickly cover so we're going to go up there if you want to stay inside stay cool but still do some amazing people watching you can sit in the Viking Crown Lounge which is the glass that you see right up there we'll do a tour of it in a second but that is one of my favorite places to hang out because it's normally quiet there's not a lot of people up there unless they're doing karaoke or there's a private event going on um there's not too terribly much going on up there and it's easy to just sit read a book it's like not the library it's like the library with better views um especially during the day coming back here to the back this is going to take us to the sports deck the living room as well as the video arcade and Johnny Rocket which I don't know why Johnny Rockets is still on cruise ships to be honest with you I think they're in a contract they can't get out of um but I don't know many people that are huge Johnny Rockets fans um that's just me personally I can't tell you the last time I came here and when I do it's normally just for a milkshake like I'm not a huge fan of what they actually serve I would say go to Playmakers their food's 10 times better coming in here to the arcade I'll show you what this has so you've got the living room on this side this is going to be for your teenagers so ages 12 to 17 and then you're going to have some arcade games in here if you want to play an arcade game make sure that you are loading up your card you can use your set s pass to put money on it and then you're just going to use it at the machine to be able to purchase the game that you want to play parents make sure that you have limits on your children's cards because they don't don't always understand that value of money um and how much they're actually charging up so if you let them go to the arcade without a limit on their account that could end poorly so you want to make sure that you do that the back section of the ship this is where fuel is this is also one of the hangout spots for the younger folks some good tables over here let me spin around beautiful views of Coco K here I don't normally see many people back in this section even on a c day there's always going to be some chairs back here normally but people don't always do that if you want to have beautiful views of Perfect Day Coco K here's where you're going to come and you can get some wonderful pictures as well with Coco K in the background as you see we are here with Mariner of the sea so let me turn around and I'm going to give you what this looks like from here there's tons of stuff that you can do here and take advantage of Mariner of the Seas is going to look and feel a little bit different they were both updated about the same time but you'll find that they are slightly different we've got the guys practicing for the Flow Rider but you're going to have I don't know what these areas over here on the ride it's called like a jungle gym kind of situation and you're also going to have a few different slides that you can choose from to get on those slides make sure you're heading to this booth here and you're going to get a bracelet saying that you have signed the waiver or your parents have consented to you coming onto the slides and the Flow Rider so you got to make sure you've got the right sign off in order to do that you've also got a Sports Court here and this is like a multiplex so it can be many different things it can be basketball it can be bad mitt not bad mitt basketball it can be um soccer um those kind of sports but a lot of it fits out here without a problem the back entrance to the Diamond Lounge we're going walk inside to see it cuz I wanted to show you all the rock climbing wall here it is a little bit different than some of the other ships it's got a different design that if you want a challenge you'll be able to find that here and again you're going to need to make sure you have the bracelet and signed off correctly in order to um get onto the rock climbing wall coming back back into the ship so we are on Deck 13 now you have a electric door funny story this used to be a normal door the jet to pull and open it but when this ship is under sale and that door opens there is a huge wind tunnel in vacuum that's created the door used to slam all the time and when it slammed it would break and I think unfortunately it probably injured a few people at the rate that I saw it um closing a few times that would not surprise Ur me at all all right coming back up to the Viking and Crown we're going to swing over here to the Sweet Lounge first I don't know why they have wedding flowers here some ships do that I'm not a huge fan but make sure that you're also looking up they've got this beautiful chandelier that is 100% completely hidden this says Exit Only so I'll come to this store then I thought that was the entrance on the other side put my card in not working there let's try it on this side oh thought about ate my card so maybe we're not going to make it in here I thought this was an automatic door but apparently I am not able to get in maybe they're changing up some of the Pinnacle benefits on me already and I didn't know about it so we'll come through here and show you Viking Crown Lounge again this was the spot I was talking about earlier with great views to to look out over the ship so if you wanted to sit on one of these couches lots of good spots to mingle get to know people but you see that the view is fantastic and all the light that comes up here if you want good pictures have that Lighting in the background you're also going to have a mini stage over here so you may have um evening parties up here you may have it may be a nightclub it may be karaoke they can do a lot of different things up here it is a pretty versatile area and you're going to have the olive or twist as your bar coming back around to the crown Lounge I think this is the first time I've seen it actually call that on the wall let's take a look see if my card works here and the card is going to work coming into the lounge I come this way just to get the light behind me a little bit it's actually decorated well it is in a um or organized in a fashion that you can meet and greet people very easily here so you're probably going to wind up sitting close to somebody beside of somebody I like the blue a lot it looks like they've reupholstered the chairs and the carpet recently you're also going to have your diamond concierge on this side over here um that is going to be able to help you out you can see there hours here it's really around when the lounge is open in the morning and then in the afternoon or the evening I should say you've got your coffee machine that is most people's favorite thing about the Diamond Lounge you're going to have some cookies over there that I might come back for after lunchtime and then you're going to have the outdoor space here so if you wanted to sit outside I've see I don't normally see a lot of people playing games out there but I think that right there is Prime real estate to be able to play Canasta cards whatever it is you want to play I think that'd be a good spot for it so I'm going to swing back in here to the Sweet Lounge because apparently I just couldn't operate the camera and get my card into the socket at the same time to show you this sweet lounge if you were in a grand sweet or up you will have access to this sweet lounge and it is beautiful you see that it is designed a little bit different it doesn't hold as many people but it is a beautiful layout you have um my favorite personal section is this middle section here this is where me and my friends traditionally will hang out cuz we're when we come on a cruise we're probably 10 to 15 most times and we'll sit here or maybe we'll sit here and just meet some other people that sit with us but they've got very comfortable chairs over here as well and you're going to have a coner so this person can really make or break your cruise if you need something ask them they cannot um solve world problems but they can certainly go above and beyond to be able to help you out you're then going to have a coffee machine as well so you don't have to um buy a coffee package you will be able to get a cappuccino uh a latte from the machine there and they'll have during the day cookies out over here and then in the evening they're going to have some ordes for you that you can pick up you're also going to have a seating section outside which has nicer seats than what you're going to find over on the crownland side I don't see many people over here but I do love the big cushions and the chairs I think that the sweet Lounge on the ship is very well done so there you have the walking tour of Independence of the Seas with Royal Caribbean she is an absolutely beautiful ship one of my favorites and has some interesting features on her that you're not going to find on other cruise ships all right everybody this is Brandon the weekend Cruiser hoping to see you on a weekend Cruise soon

Channel: The Weekend Cruiser

Views: 33,268

Keywords: royal caribbean, royal caribbean cruise, cruise ship tour, cruise tips and tricks, cruise advice, cruise tips for first timers, independence of the seas, independence of the seas tour, independence tour, royal caribbean independence of the seas, royal caribbean independence of the seas tour, independence of the seas ship tour, independence of the seas 2023, independence of the seas royal caribbean, independence of the seas royal caribbean tour

Id: cWcgHeIfEi4

Length: 30min 26sec (1826 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 12 2023