Independence of the Seas Full Cruise Ship Tour

let's take a virtual tour around royal caribbean's independence of the seas and show you all around this freedom class ship what there is to do where there is to eat where there is to drink and all the cool things in between here we go [Music] hey everyone it's matt from royal caringblog.com and today we're taking a look at royal caribbean's independence of the seas this is a freedom class cruise ship and it offers a variety of sales depending on when you happen to go and you might be wondering what is there to do on independence disease what does it look like well we have a full tour of it starting off with the pool deck on independence so independence was the first royal green cruise ship to be amplified during the rail amplified program this is a series of ships that got upgrades and enhancements and we'll see some of these as we go throughout the ship so if you went on independence of the seas prior to 2018 it's gonna look different to you and if you've never been on the ship well it's all great and certainly the pool deck is a hub of activities lots of pools to check out as well there's hot tubs and it's basically your go-to place i think for most folks when they're on a cruise ship especially independence of the seas they're up in the pool and if you have younger children splashaway bay is where you're going to be hanging out splashaway bay is a kids aqua park there are places to get wet in so many different ways you've got water slides you've got a giant dunk tank geysers sprayers buckets other things if your kid it comes out of this not soaking wet they're not doing it right there's also a little bit of a pool in the back it's kind of un hidden area but there is actually a swimming pool for them but this is the kids area and they're seating all around so yes you as the parents can sit there and relax tied in trails we can pick up some gear if you're going to go snorkeling or do some adventures maybe uh you know on shore and what's that an ice cream station next to titan trail that's right it's time for an ice cream break and on real quick independence disease there is complimentary ice cream and sprinkles available throughout the day and you just stop here get as much ice cream as you like to and they hand it to you so this is complimentary great for the kids conveniently looking in here the splash away bay and after the kids have that ice cream or maybe before they have that ice cream then you promise let me ask you later you're gonna want to go to fish and ships fish and chips is a combination of complimentary and especially restaurant there are some food here that's included in some food that cost extra as the name implies there is well fish and chips available at fish and ships it's hard to say both words very very quickly but this is a great poolside eatery this is only available on a couple of ships this and ovation of the seas but something kind of different to check out and fish and chips offers uh some you know grab-and-go kind of food if you're interested in that and what's convenient about is that it's right by the pool deck so you don't have to go out it's great if you're already at the pool you don't want to go inside get wet you know all that kind of stuff so it's very very convenient walking down the pool deck on independence of the seas there are chairs and seats all around not only do you can you sit by the pool there's also covered seating available throughout the deck on the lower pool deck for you to take up so if you just want to maybe be out of the shade or less competitive for your seats they're available there also swim fest available that are complimentary to take you don't have to worry about paying for them just take them put them on your kids and that way they're not strong swimmers they can enjoy that and really the pool deck is your place to hang out and have a good time while you're out at sea or in port the pool is usually pretty popular area especially during the warmer months and you get a chance to kind of hang out it's really just a place for people to go obviously cool down but i think a lot of folks really look forward to that pool deck let's head upstairs and in between the two pool decks is a lounge area seating area usually this area is reserved for sweet guests maybe available to other guests as well but usually it's reserved just for sweet folks if you're in a grand suite or higher here we have the sky lounge which is the upper pool deck bar and the sky lounge just like the lower pool deck bar is just a bar with a different view you get all your drinks here your drink package works here in fact if you have a drink package uh on independence of the seas it works at all the bars restaurant and lounges on board the ship you have to worry too much about that and you get your pool drink here in fact a lot of people who get on board the ship on the first day will head to the sky bar to get their embarkation first drink of the cruise drink and this great sitting i love these adirondack chairs that overlook the pool deck so if you want a bit of more of a breeze that's really the appeal of deck 12 which has that upper pool deck area you get kind of more of an ocean breeze or just a breeze in general and it's a little more comfortable especially during the warm months when they can be a little more stagnant out there but there is less shade on deck 12. so kind of depends what you're looking for what the weather conditions are and you know what you feel like at the time there's also the jogging track on deck 12 it encompasses the top part of deck 12 around the pool and i don't know how many laps there are to do a mile but this is where you want to go if you want to jog run or in something in between there walk perhaps there's options for you to do that with the jogging track and slice you can do a little bit of people watching in addition to the jogging track there's also a lot more seating on deck 12. i think most people come up here to do sunbathing because there's no shade really up here but if you're also looking for something a little further away from everything else you want a little quieter a little less crowded this can be a great spot especially as you move away from the pool decks you're going to find some ample opportunities for seating and then you have this mid deck you know back in the day this is called the saint tropez deck i don't know if they really call it that you know fun fact trivia way back in the day i'm talking back in the early 2000s the st tropstech was the topless deck for sunbathing that is in europe i don't think they really do that anymore but anyway this is another area you can go to to sunbathe we're looking at the solarium this is the adults pool only area it's available on all royal caribbean cruise ships we'll talk a little bit about that as we move into the solarium a little bit later first up though time for some mini golf how about independence dunes this is the mini golf course that is complimentary to enjoy on independence of the seas getting here you got to walk up to the front part of well you go to deck 12 and you walk up so i guess this is deck 13 technically this stargate looking thing is actually a mister which allows you to cool down basically walk through it and it sprays you with a little bit of misting water and then of course you have the mini golf course itself complimentary go as you want you can go in here anytime it's actually a really good idea maybe after dinner at night in the evening when it's a little less hot out but if you're like my kids they don't care what the temperature is they just want to play golfing but i play golf i really mean cheat at golf they kind of drag the ball around and pretend they got a hole in one even though they dragged it the entire way but you know it's fun whether you want to keep score or not mini golf is a classic cruise ship experience and you know during the refurbishment the course got a little bit of an upgrade so it's a nice colorful course here's another view of that solarium the solarium is for guests 16 and above don't worry your kids can walk through here if they're not 16 they just can't hang out here this pool and the hot tubs are reserved for guests that are 16 and older [Music] and it's basically an adult enclave otherwise it's open air solarium and what i like about the solarium in general is it's a little more chill vibe i also like the seating in this layer there's a little more padding to their lounge chairs makes a little more comfortable great for napping by the way also if you're looking to get some work done i do like the seating in the solarium not the lounge chairs but these chairs that you see near the water it's a great view they're comfortable and it's just for me it's a little more conducive to do work you get a little bit of a view and you get those comfortable chairs so it's not bad there's also a solarium bar in the solarium this is where you'll go to get a drink while you're in the slure there are waiters that will come and take your drinks as well but if you like you can go to the celerium bar and order your drinks over there you're also going to find some cantilevered hot tubs in the solarium on the independence of the sea so they're cantilever which means they actually overhang the side of the ship so if you go over to the glass and look down you're going to see the ocean this freaks my mother-in-law out she will not do them but for everybody else if you don't mind that it's actually a really cool view and on sea days it almost resembles that kind of infinity pool if you will all right let's head back down deck 12 a little faster there we go yeah put some pep in that step as we go to the other end of deck 12 and check out some of the activities starting with ping pong there are ping pong tables you can use throughout the day in addition there can also be ping pong tournaments during your cruise look for that in the cruise compass off the back of the ship we've got the aft view which is always relaxing nice view of the back of the ship see where you've been and there's also more single people don't know about the seating back here on deck 12 you're looking for really like you just want somewhere to sit outside and everyone else is crowded this might be a good spot for you but of course the aft part of deck 12 is really we're gonna find all the fun activities on board starting with the flowrider surf simulator these surf simulators where you can try to stand up surf or boogie board or bodyboarding or just try to stay on board without wiping out completely it's a complimentary activity there are lessons that can cost extra but most of the time most people just line up and go on the flowrider of course there are also two water slides on independence of the seas the perfect storm water slides these are eraser slides and there's complimentary as well go up to the top race down see if you beat the person who came out the other slide it's a lot of fun it's not nearly as fast as it might look what's cool about the water slides is there's a translucent part to it you can actually see out the ocean as you pass through assuming your eyes are actually open for it you know the lines for the flowrider and the water slides can get a little longer during the daytime especially on sea days but on the first day of the cruise might be a good opportunity to try that out and also try out the sky pad the sky pad is a virtual reality bungee experience basically you are strapped in with bungee cords and then put on a virtual reality headset although it's optional if you want to put the headset on if you have the headset on you're basically jumping along to a video game and what you do with the trampoline pad is what you experience in the vr headset basically as you jump in real life you jump in the video game but you don't have to do that and it's also complimentary these little chip climber things are a lot of fun for the younger kids my kids love doing them as well it's just a it's like a piece of art that is actually functional and gets to climb all the way around it it's safe they got that netting around there so they can't likely possibly fall off and it's kind of a fun way for the kids to get some energy out my kids just like doing it and they just go up and down constantly there's also a basketball court on independence of the season now it also doubles for other things like pickleball dodgeball soccer volleyball so it's a multi-purpose venue but it also of course is a basketball court and complimentary during the course of your cruise you may see special events that are organized through the ship's activities team in the basketball court so if you're interested in trying those things out or just going for a pickup game that's available as well and like any royal caribbean cruise ship there's also a rock climbing wall on independence of the seas rock climbing also complimentary and a way for you to try your talents out at going up there i also love the seating that you've got outside on deck 12. some interesting ones the swings or some of the there's some different places to kind of just hang out and chill out which i really like after all that activities i might be a little hungry and there is johnny rockets the specialty restaurant on independence of the season this is a specialty restaurant it means it costs extra you pay a cover charge and all the food is included although drinks including milkshakes are extra if you have a drink package then the milkshakes are included with that if you have a dining package well then shiny rockets is included with this as well there's indoor and outdoor seating at johnny rockets and just like the land-based versions of johnny rockets if you don't know johnny rockets is a chain restaurant that's based on the 50s diners of america and you're gonna have burgers hot dogs chili fries and everything else in between and you know it's great comfort food for anybody who enjoys burgers and hot dogs quite frankly and it's fun for the kids fun for adults and there's always oldies music playing so get out your bus at your aretha franklin sing the four tops or maybe some elvis johnny rockets is the place for that and it's great for seed activities a lot of people like going here for lunch because it's a something different and the quality of the burgers can be a little bit better maybe than you might get in the complimentary players all right back inside we're gonna head check out the arcade which is right next to adventure ocean the arcade is well it's an arcade i don't think i have to explain this but there's video games to play it does cost extra money to go here you buy credits on your cpas card and then you tell your kids that they can only play a certain amount of games then you relent and buy more games for them and then you tell them that's it and then it's like one more time and then maybe you'll finally be done playing video games with the kids on there but the arcade can be a fun spot or reward for the kids during the cruise but of course adventure ocean is nearby and adventure ocean is the complimentary kids programming available on independence of the seas there's kids programming for three to five six to eight and nine to 11 years old and then we've got the teens club beyond that and the nursery we'll talk about that a little bit later but of course you've got aquanauts which is for three to five explorers which is for six to eight and voyagers from nine to eleven and basically when you get onboard the ship you're gonna register your kids for this there's no cost to going to adventure ocean uh during the daytime anyway for a late night there is an extra charge if your kids say past 10 o'clock which in my opinion is the best money you could ever spend on a cruise somebody else watching your kids while you get to stay out late at a bar or restaurant or lounge yes please but my kids love adventure ocean it's a lot of fun because it's just something to do that on their level and it's organized the living room is the teen area on board independence of the seas so this is the teen club if you will there's also activities for them unlike a regular adventure ocean the activities here are less structured it's more of really a hangout place they do offer activities and things to do but a lot of the teens come in and out and kind of do their own thing or just kind of socialize which is kind of what teenagers do right and there is the royal babies in tots nursery if you have children under the age of three years old this is where you can bring them the nursery does cost extra but again having taken both my children in the nursery many many times when they were that age it's some of the best money you can spend on board a cruise ship because again they take care of the kids these are wonderful program and whether your kids are in the nursery or older i really love what adventure ocean offers for them probably you'll be eating a lot of food here in the windjammer the windjammer this is the buffet on board independence of the seas of course when you walk in you're gonna have to wash your washi and that's gonna be wash your hands it's mandatory for everybody that walks in there there's the hand washing stations for you to go and then once you're inside well then the world is your oyster or lobster or steak or hot dog because there is a lot of great food in the windjammer it's open for breakfast lunch dinner it is complimentary and it is your go-to spot for most cases i think for a quick meal and what's the great about the buffet of course is that the sheer variety of food available here there's a lot of food tons of food and whether you're interested in salads or meats or hot dogs or sandwiches or omelettes they've got it all it's available throughout the day and you're gonna find a pretty healthy selection maybe not healthy but a good selection of food some of it healthy maybe some of it not so healthy and you know good variety in between and the nice thing it does change every day for lunch and dinner breakfast is pretty much the same all the time but hello and you know for most people i think this is just a good everybody's going to find something that they want to eat in the windjammer you're going to find a lot of seating in the windjammer they're seating on the sides and in the back i like the aft seating a little bit more because you get more of a view but they can also be more popular because everyone else has the exact same thoughts but there's table sizes of two all the way up to you know about 10 or so so you're going to find tables seating all around for you to enjoy you can't take the food by the way out of the windshield you want to bring it back to your room go out to the pool deck or something like that that's totally fine as well but i think most people end up just taking the food and sitting down wherever they can find a spot uh the windjammer can be pretty busy in the morning for breakfast it's still busy for lunch especially on sea days but you know your your mileage may vary and especially if you hit it during different times of the morning or afternoon you may find it more or less crowded but usually you're gonna be able to find a table and if you can't find a table ask one of the helpful crew members they can help find and direct you and clean one off no problem at all you're also going to find giovanni's table on independence of the seas giovanni sable is the classic real caribbean italian specialty restaurant there's a cover charge to eat at giovanni's and you're going to find well a lot of italian food this is again royal caribbean's take on italian food classic italian food basically the red checker tablecloth without actually the tablecloth here but you're gonna find pastas and other specialty italian dishes also the steak here at giovanni's might be some of the best egg you have on independence of the seas even better than chops grill which we'll see in a little bit a lot of people swear by the giovanni's steak it's available for lunch and dinner dinner on every night lunches can be varying depending on the days check the schedule for it but again give out a table a specialty restaurant that has an up charge to dine here and as i mentioned there's also chops grow right across from giovanni's table shops grill is the specialty steak restaurant on the independence of these this is a staple every royal german ship has a chops grill because well people do love their steak and there's a great variety of them you've got filet mignon new york strip a couple other varieties as well but chops grill is really the place to go to to enjoy you know a classic steak it's got that steak house look to it if you've been on a roller coming cruise then you've probably seen a chops grill and this is a special restaurant with an upcharge to it as well i think besides the steaks which i think most people come here for the sides are really good as well different choices of mushrooms and mashed potatoes and asparagus and i think it's vastly underneath the mac and cheese so order a bunch of sides even if you're not going to eat them all just sample them put them on the side of your plate it really does enhance the meal quite a bit and chop's grill is open for dinner every night it can be open for lunch on some days so again check the schedule for what days they're open for lunch well we're gonna say goodbye to the windjammer i'm sorry we gotta go goodbye goodbye and we're gonna head over to the spa yeah after all that food you need somebody to make you feel a little bit better with a massage the vitality spa is open on the independence of the seas the vitality spa is a combination of salon and spa this obviously all costs extra if you'd like to you can take a tour of the spa on the first day of the cruise i actually recommend it whether you're actually going to do anything or not because a lot of folks don't realize what is available in the spa it's there's a lot that's available for you to check on out i do recommend booking a lot of these appointments before the cruise view the cruise planner website because time slots are limited but you should feel confident that if you get on board the ship and feel like a massage all of a sudden you can definitely do that there are specials available during the course of your cruise ask the spa staff about it every day there is a different special that goes on usually they're combo deals like spend x amount of money and you'll get this this and that or you know this amount of money off this and that anyway the deal of the day if you will changes daily so talk to the staff about that once you get on board the ship but again even if you pre-pay it before the cruise you'll probably still get a good price also on board independence is a full gym the vitality fitness center offers you i think quite frankly what you'd look for in any gym that would be of course the free weights machines ellipticals treadmills it's a pretty big gym and equipment's pretty darn good this is not your hotel gym that they somebody stuck a free weights in the corner and this is a pretty big area so enough room for you to spread on out and get your workout in if you'd like to i think a lot of people always talk about the gym and they hit it up maybe on day one and then they think about it day two and then they just give up on the rest of the cruise but there are some dedicated folks who definitely want to get their fitness in and that's what the fitness center is all about and it is complimentary to enjoy the fitness center there's also changing rooms and sawed and steam rooms although keep in mind the sauna and steam rooms were closed because of covet 19 but that may change by the time you get on board the ship but they are theoretically there for you to possibly enjoy as time moves forward a little tip about the changing rooms and the showers available here this is a good tip if you have families and you're sharing a room and hypothetically your teenage daughter is taking up the shower you can go to the showers in the gym and use them and they can oftentimes be available for you to use so some people like going there just to mix it up all right heading up to deck 14 we've got the top deck area this is the viking crown lounge which has a bar a dance floor it's a multi-purpose venue most time it's actually just a great place to hang out it's a great lounge area with fantastic views of the ship and the ocean around you but in addition to that they can also have different events like trivia up there as well as perhaps other events i've seen the dance party usually the late night dance party oops that party yeah it's up here usually but i think most people come out here grab a drink and just stare you know just enjoy the views because it's really pretty when you can sit up here and just see everything around you it's a great vantage point and the the viking crown lounge has been a favor for a long long time because of these views just hard to go wrong with it you know so if you're kind of if you want to read a book if you want to enjoy a drink with a view this is a great spot and also a great day one place if it's too hot outside if it's you know you're going in the summertime and it's really warm out the viking crown lounge allows you to enjoy your first day drink get a view of everything but still hang out you're also going to find the diamond lounge on the independence of the season the diamond lounge is a reserved area just for people who are diamond or higher in royal caribbean's crown and anchor society so this is a place where you can just hang out all you do swipe your card if you're a diamond member or higher it'll allow you to come through the door and in the evening there's complimentary drinks there's also hors d'oeuvres served but really it's more like a social club it's a hangout area where you can sit down during the daytime it's pretty quiet in the evening it's more of a social hangout where you see a lot of diamond members coming in chit chatting shooting the breeze talking about their crews and meeting friends you're also going to find on the other side of the viking crown lodge on deck 14 the sweet lounge so it's just like the diamond lounge but this is for sweet guests only one of the major perks you get out of staying in a suite which is a grand sweeter higher is access to the sweet lounge the sweet lounge offers complimentary drinks in the evening and also offers hors d'oeuvres in the evening and the daytime they can offer different things sometimes they have little light snacks as well and the concierge is available in the sweet lounge the concierge is basically the guest services for sweet guests they can solve many of the problems billing or logistical issues they may have and the concierge is available they have set hours they're pretty much there all day long and can assist sweet guests with any issues i also like that they have an outdoor area in the suite lounge so if weather permitting you want to go out there and have some fresh air or just a different view there is seating available as well and up top i guess this is deck 15 technically is the puzzle brake center this is the escape room the escape room on independence of the seas offers well an escape room experience where you have a certain amount of time to solve a series of clues to figure out a solution to the puzzle of escaping the room basically you and a bunch of other guests work together to solve all these little puzzles and clues and codes and break it all out and yeah it's kind of a great challenge something very different from what you usually find on a cruise ship and you have a set amount of time to do it and if you figure out all the clues before time runs out then you win if not well they'll tell you what happened and how to solve it but it's kind of a neat challenge something different to you know experience so it's available to you you can pre-book this the escape room does have an additional cost to it something to consider if you're going on the independence of the seas and one more thing about the escape routes by the way if you've done an escape run on another royal caribbean ship they are different so each game is different depending on which ship you happen to go on all right let's head in the elevator and go down we've i think we've covered the top decks here we're gonna head down to eight seven six ah yes we're down in the dining room now the main dining room on independence of the seas the dining room is one of the major hubs of dining on the cruise ship as the name implies it is the well main dining room is where you'll go for dinner every night the main dining room is also open for breakfast every morning and it can be open for lunch on sea days the main dining room is complimentary although there are a couple of things here that do cost extra there's a lobster steak option but most people come here they just eat off the railroad menu the menu changes every day in the dining room for dinner for lunch it does change every day as well but the breakfast menu is the same every day when you go to the main dining room you're going to be seated in either my time or traditional seating my time seeding is when you go and you pick the time you can dine different times of the day you know whether you want to have early dinner like at 5 30 or a later dinner one another evening at seven o'clock it's up to you you have different tables different table mates and different waiters every night in my time dining alternatively you can do traditional dining traditional dining is when you have the same table the same time every night and the same wait staff for your meals which one is better which should you choose up to you i like traditional dining because i like having well the same weight staff and the same table assignment but the there's a downfall to traditional dining it's only either early like 5 30 or late 8 o'clock and you can probably already draw your own conclusions as to the drawbacks of both those times so there's not as much flexibility in it but regardless you'll probably go to the main dining room for dinner now we're down on the royal promenade now the royal promenade is the main thoroughfare on independence of the seas is a classic royal caribbean area of any cruise ship and you're gonna find shopping dining drinks shopping lots to do on the real promenade and not only is it a way to get from point a to point b but there's usually a lot of activities starting off with the r bar on the independence of the season the our bar is kind of just a you know hangout place to enjoy there's a lounge which has different drinks to consume and uh you know it's another place for you but i like about it it's a little more chic a little more hip i guess if you want to call it that but you got some good drink options there and across from the r bar is guest services guest services where you can go for any problems you might have on board billing something doesn't work you've got a question odds are you're going to guest services to get that remedy do you guess services available 24 hours a day and can help you with all the problems you may have also next door to the guest services is the shore excursions desk if you want to book a short excursion have a question about shore excursion change your shore excursion anything in between anything related to the tours you book the royal caribbean this is the place you can go for that i do recommend when it comes to shore excursions to book it before the cruise via the cruise planner website something else kind of neat about the royal promenade are these promenade view cabins [Music] you're gonna find the next cruise office where you can book another royal caribbean cruise and this is the place to go if you want to well book another cruise while you're on a cruise if you're on board the ship and think of yourself fine i'd love to book a cruise then go to next cruise if you're watching this video at home thank you and you're thinking man it's time to book cruise don't wait to book it on board book it now the price can go up by the time you go to next cruise but the benefit of booking your cruise while on board the ship well you're gonna get reduced deposit and extra onboard credit but again if you wait weeks or months until you get on the ship to book to get that extra onboard credit or reduce deposit the price may have already gone up and would have you know undone any benefits that you would have had by booking on board so book now but if you're on the cruise having a great time want to book another one that can be the place for you independence disease also has a couple different places to enjoy some suites you've got ben and jerry's you've got the sugar beach area also the collection which is a shop of wealth souvenirs and different clothing apparel that you can get and this can be a combination of either oops i forgot to pack these things or hey those things look nice i'd like to have in my collection and you can purchase them on board you're also going to find royal caribbean themed apparel here as well so that way you can represent royal caribbean when you're back at home and let everybody know that you're a big royal caribbean cruiser or you went on one ship [Music] next door to the collection is sugar beet sugar beach is a candy store yeah uh if you go in with your kids good luck getting out without buying anything but here you're gonna find well a lot of candy choices for you sugar beach offers a variety of candies and chocolates you can buy them by the pound you can buy them packaged and no doubt it will be the fuel your kids need to run up and down the halls like crazy even though they just have a lot of energy for it but sometimes people like to bring you know some of these treats home and otherwise it's just a reward for the kids or the adults let's face it there's nothing wrong with buying your own chocolate and candy and having it in the room for you you can find them here at the sugar beach [Music] across from sugar beach is cafe promenade where the adults can get their kicks that of course is where you're going to get coffee teas this is complimentary a cafe from and i should have mentioned sugar beach does cost extra whereas cafe promenade is complementary although there are some drinks that do cost extra like if you want to get a latte or an espresso you can get that here it's included with the drink package but will cost you actually if you don't have a drink package but they have regular coffee regular tea and also snacks available that's kind of the nice thing about cafe promenade a good variety of food whether you're talking about sandwiches or fruit or grabbing of course a cup of coffee you can do that here as well most of the food is included i'm actually not even sure if there's any food that does cost extra but the coffees the lattes the espressos those are available here at cafe promenade and that is included with a royal caribbean drink package and then you have ben and jerry's ice cream yeah while there is complimentary ice cream on board ben and jerry's as well it's ben and jerry's it's a higher quality ice cream and different flavors and this does cost extra to get ice cream here but sometimes you just want a different flavor maybe you want fish food or chunky monkey or any of the other you know very very popular ben and jerry's ice cream flavors they're available here all right let's walk down the royal promenade there's more to see and more to do here starting with of course you've got some more shopping the michael kors store on your left you've got the jewelry store on your right so plenty of shopping opportunities and you know again for most people you might be wondering why would i ever go here buy things well it's you're on vacation you want to splurge a little bit and have something to remember the trip there's you know usually there's not much impetus for for buying souvenirs but if you'd like to they have those options for you if you enjoy that shopping next up we have vintages which is the royal caribbean wine bar on the royal promenade vintage just serves well as you might imagine a lot of wine if you're a wine fan red white or otherwise this is the place to go because the greatest variety of wine will be found here there's also the comfiest chairs you're going to find in vintages and it's also pretty quiet vintages is not usually a very busy venue so if you're looking for somewhere quieter to sit especially in the evening times when other bars are a little more rowdy or lively vintages can be a great spot for you and i love those couches at the back man those are borderline good for napping if it wasn't a little weird that someone's napping while everyone else is enjoying wine but vintages of course wine costs extraordinarily increase but if you have a drink package it does include some but not all of the wines on a per glass basis also you'll notice there's a shortcut to casino royale right there so if you need to go down to the casino quickly you can get it from the royal promenade also the trend store again more shopping more jewelry options for you and the solara beauty store which offers yes you guessed it more souvenirs more shopping experiences you know independence has a lot of shopping i've got to admit on the real promenade my favorite place to hang out the ale and anchor yes this is the pub on board the independence of the season it's an english style pub and what's great about the pub is now first of all they have a wonderful selection of beers if you're a big beer drinker this is your best option for you but in the evening there is a pub singer who plays live music most nights i think it's usually they have one night off but it's a great spot to kind of hang out and sing along to songs you know about you know the bar songs right low places and kenny chesney and everything else in between you've got some great music to sing along to as you drink and chat and it's a great social place and i just love the pub because i just like the music that they sing here it's pretty large area and unlike other roller coaster ships this seating is a little more eclectic there's a little more variety of seating's what i'm really trying to say there's also seating outside the allen anchor on the promenade and you can still hear the music from inside but it's more of a people-watching experience out on the royal promenade the port and shopping desk is where you can go if you have any questions about the ports you're gonna be visiting and well going shopping real quick does offer some shopping guides some stores that you know you can go to also you've got sorrentos on the independence of the sea sorrentos of course is the classic royal crabbing complimentary pizza spot where you can get pizza throughout the day and late night emphasis on late nights i think a lot of people get me for a late night but it's great pizza actually real quick improved it a couple years ago and i think it's really good quality now and you get different varieties usually every day you're going to have cheese and pepperoni and then a rotating variety of pizzas you know you your name does not have to be earl to enjoy great pizza here or slices by the dozen because there's lots of pizza options and you know what it's just a crowd pleaser who doesn't like pizza right it's great you're also going to find the coca-cola freestyle machines at sorrento's they're also available in other places on the ship but the freestyle machines are available if you have a drink package you get those special cups to use you put them in there and you get all sorts of combinations of weird coca-cola drinks that your kids can come up with so good luck with that you're also going to have one more place to go shopping on the road promenade it's the market the market is kind of the general store if you will we're gonna find well you're gonna find liquors you're going to find souvenirs cigarettes other things to bring home so if you're looking to pick up some different duty-free liquors this might be the good spot for you they also have other things besides just liquor of course you want to pick up some again this is more like a general store they have knickknacks and medicines and all sorts of things so maybe worth a stop and just see what they got and by the way if you buy any liquor on board through this store they will hold it for you and deliver to your room on the last day of the cruise and here are some of the royal caribbean merchandise so this is really where you're going to go for a logo apparel you want to have a royal caribbean branded shirt or sweatshirt or backpack this is the place to go i really like the coffee mugs you're also going to find the ship models here which have a scale model of independence of the seas also some toys and things and and don't bring your kids in here it just never ends well it's always like why can't i get it well camille got it yeah well i'm not camille's dad but you know we've been through this many many times all right heading down the row promenade we're going to check out the centrum area this is the other also the forward elevator banks which can take you up to the different decks and whatnot there's two elevator banks independence of the seas we saw previously the aft elevator bank this is the forward elevator bank and they can take you up there's also stairs to take which probably not a bad idea because it's good for exercise or at least anyway i think about it this way that if i walk up three decks of stairs i totally offset all the suites i ate here is the library conference room area where you can kind of check out and it's usually i think most people have no idea this place exists but despite the name you're not seeing a lot of books here obviously this is a coveted thing as when we recorded this video but it's really just kind of this place where you can go and relax and read quietly essentially more than anything next to the library is the star lounge this is a multi-purpose venue where you'll have bingo where you'll have live music and a variety of other events throughout the day there is a bar in the back of it and basically royal caribbean uses this venue for different activities a little bit of a bigger facility so when they want to have you know live music you can dance to the star lounge is the place for it they can also do karaoke here if memory serves me correctly [Music] all right let's head downstairs from deck five down to deck four and a couple of new things here first we've got isumi hibachi and sushi if you like izumi if you like japanese food this is the place to go this is actually one of the larger hibachi restaurants the teppanyaki style dining where they cook in front of you it's really good this obviously does cost extra there's also sushi available if you'd like to get sushi that can be either ordered at the sushi bar or at the hibachi table but there's a lot of food here and it's really good i love hibachi because it's just satisfying it's it's like the best japanese comfort food there is if you ask me you know you get different chicken and shrimp and lobster and steak and it's a fun experience they're not just cooking in front of you there's a show component to it and it can be a lot of fun if you want to do hibachi i would recommend getting reservations as soon as you can because this place does sell out it's very popular and they have limited seating to it so check that out but i think it's a must if you're going to eat at one especially restaurant on independence of the seas i think izumi hibachi is the place to go next door to azumi hibachi is the schooner bar the classic piano bar on any royal korean cruise ship so in the day time scooter bar is a bar and they use it usually for trivia some other special events but at night it is the piano bar where they sing along to all the songs that can play on the piano a lot of billy joel a lot of elton john a lot of adele and a lot of other songs that are traditionally piano songs so where the pub is guitar songs this is piano songs and man there's a lot of them so you can expect to hear some favorites and some classics the royal theater on the independence of the seas where you'll find the different shows and performances throughout your cruise independence of the seas does have grease the broadway musical on board for you to check out there's also gonna be other events like comedians and maybe some featured performers but you know this is something that's actually very unique in that it's very there are very few cruise ships that have a broadway musical that are not oasis or quantum class ships independence is one of them so greece the broader musical is performed here on independence and it's complementary you're heard right that's pretty darn impressive when it comes to getting tickets by the way for greece i mentioned they're complimentary but you're going to want to get reservations as soon as you get on board my best advice as soon as you get on board the ship connect to the wi-fi make reservations for those shows there's also a conference center on independence of the seas the conference center is where you go only probably if you're here with a group basically if no one tells you to go here then you probably are never gonna go here but it's where you could go to for a conference also the loyalty ambassador is buried down there we're gonna go back up to the scooter bar on deck four and check out the casino of course because we missed that part so the casino's right in the middle of deck four you can walk to it from either the scooter bar side or play movers which we'll see in a second but the casino is where you go too oh yeah gamble playmakers is actually really impressive so playmakers is a sports bar on independence and it's located on the other side of the casino what the heck this place was before because this was added in 2018 this used to be the photo area if you can believe it or not because it's massive and there's a lot of tvs and some video games as well pool tables but this is really your go-to bar sports bar place and i love it there's also food available at playmakers there's a special restaurant where you can order food as you go so instead of having a cupboard charge you pay for each item individually if you order one dish then you only pay for one just order eight dishes you order eight dishes right and there's a lot of tvs a lot of seating certainly on days in which there are major sporting events they usually have coverage of it remember this is a cruise ship in the caribbean or somewhere else so you know satellite coverage can differ but they usually carry like nfl games and playoff games things of that nature so you should be able to watch most of them while on board and it's a massive space and i love playmakers it can get very busy down here but you know it's i i love it i think it's really really nice to have this space and it's just a really cool vibe to it quite frankly and i'd be remiss if i didn't talk about the food because the nachos and all the appetizers are really good they have appetizers they have chicken sandwiches they have chicken wings a couple other dishes well burgers i think playmakers is underrated and if you're going on board now i mentioned earlier zumi abachi is probably the place to go playmakers might be a close second it's really great i think for most meals you know maybe like a lunch or something like that or late afternoon snack boleros is next to playmakers but on deck 4 boleros is the latin themed bar where you're going to be able to find a lot of drinks mojito is definitely the drink to get here in the evening time this is the stowaway piano player who just happened to be performing here not necessarily part of the bolero scene but the stowaway piano player is somebody who performs different songs and they just show up randomly it's kind of a fun thing about it this time they're in belarus but he could be almost anywhere but boleros is really known for the latin music at night if you walk in the real promenade you're going to hear it because there is going to be some salsa merengue and other latin music being played with a live band not djs live band down here but i think if you want to have a great mojito or any caribbean drink this might be one of the best places to go they really make it fresh and it's really nice also check out the seating on the other side of boleros there's some great it's usually a little less crowded we're gonna go out to the promenade deck on deck four this is the outdoor deck that wraps all the way around deck four i love this area just kind of hang out we like going here after dinner and taking a walk or if you're on a seat i just don't have an ocean breeze there's no music over here it's quiet it's serene it's also smoking on one side of the deck but uh i actually enjoy it because great views of the ocean it's just you can read a book out here you can just stare you can take a nap it's it's a great outdoor space to check on out if your cruise ship is pulling into port or sailing away this can be a great spot and it leads us to one of my favorite secrets about independence of the seas and that is the helipad yes you can go on the helipad anytime you want on independence just go out on deck 4 walk all the way forward and you will literally run into the helipad and the helipad well it's a helipad obviously but most of the times you go out there there's benches to sit on you can do the i'm the king of the world pose in the front of the ship as if you weren't the eight thousandth person to do that on this cruise but it's still a good photo op right sunsets sail aways this is the spot for you no doubt about it now as i mentioned the promenade deck goes all the way around so you can be on the front we run the helipad in the front you're going to walk all the way to the back as well so it's great views and if you want to get like this isn't the jogging track but this is just kind of a relaxing area and i really like it it's really pretty sunsets again you're pulling out a port you're pulling into port it's a great view not usually very crowded and if you are smoker by the way the port side there are smoking facilities for you back inside we're going down to deck three now starting with the art gallery and the art gallery is down at the bottom of the centrum of deck three it's right below the rainbow bridge and some other things that we saw earlier on deck four and five but this is where you can go if you'd like to preview the art they'll be part of an auction later on probably in the star lounge as you walk through deck 3 from the art gallery you're going to walk into the photo area this is where you go to preview the photos that you may have taken on board the ship there'll be complimentary photo stations for you to take photos every evening of the cruise and when you want to see what the photo actually looks like and possibly order a print or a download this is where you can go again to take the photos is complimentary but to buy the photos costs money you can buy individual photos you can buy photo package and there's also a portrait studio the portrait studio usually has a sitting fee for it but if you're interested in more formal prints you want to get everybody and get all the theme to it that's an option you can inquire in for as well but the photos are usually taken on the rail promenade and some other places around the ship so if you see a photographer and they take your photo this is where you can go on deck three to get it and of course you have studio b studio b is the ice skating rink on independence of the seas and the studio b area is for two purposes one for the ice skating shows and two for free skate the free skate is well complimentary you can actually go here they provide the equipment for you just to sign up and you can try your luck at skating some people are really good at it some people are not so good at it people are like me and they just kind of shuffle their feet around for about 20 minutes but that's a nice fun activity and it's complimentary you need long pants and socks make sure you pack those because in the summertime most people do not think about that but in addition to the free skating there's also an ice skating show that's performed in studio b and it is complimentary as well what's cool about the ice skating show is these are actually really good performance these are former olympians or national competitors who put on a great show in studio b and i think it's worth seeing because they can do some really incredible stunts and tricks and double and triple axels i think triple x is the only move i actually know by name because i think that's like the big move the to do move but there's other things they do as well and it's really a fun show so check that out complimentary just like the grease show or anything else you should probably get reservations for it via the cruise planner as soon as you get on board the ship we're gonna head up the stairs and check out a couple more areas before we end this video i know we've seen so much of independence of the seas of course you're gonna find the state rooms all throughout the middle part of the ship kind of jumped around there so what happened to deck 8 9 10 eleven yeah that's where really where you're gonna find the state rooms right odds are you're seriously somewhere between gosh you know deck 11 all the way down to deck two potentially different serum configurations balcony inside ocean view there's a lot of different configurations that are out there which cabin's right for you depends on your budget quite frankly and how many people are going with you there's arguably made we have other youtube videos where we talk about what you should do in terms of what rooms to get check out our youtube channel for more videos on picking the right stateroom for you [Music] well there you go there's our look at royal caribbean's independence of the seas i hope you found this video helpful and this tour helpful to get you an idea of where everything is what there is to do on board the ship i love the freedom class ships i think they're vastly underrated and a great value especially for families there's a lot to do you're not compromising on the onboard experience if you like this video hit the like button below make sure you also subscribe to our channel and turn on your notifications that's that little bell icon so that way youtube lets you know we have a brand new video to share this has been matt from brokeringblog.com and we'll talk again real soon

Channel: Royal Caribbean Blog

Views: 641,772

Keywords: Independence of the Seas, Royal Caribbean, Ship Tour, Independence, Freedom of the Seas, Liberty of the Seas, Cruise ships, Tourism, 4k, 2022, amplified, walkthrough, cruising, Freedom Class, full ship tour, sky pad, perfect storm, royal promenade, RCCL

Id: H7CmB8ziAXY

Length: 44min 29sec (2669 seconds)

Published: Thu Feb 10 2022