Royal Caribbean — Local services in Hollywood

TLDR: We had fun and enjoyed some aspects, but aren't sure if we would take another.

Edited to add that Internet is an extra expense also that we didn't buy. It was too expensive for our liking

Our room was larger than we had anticipated. We've heard that Royal Caribbean has larger rooms, and we were pleasantly surprised. King sized bed, plenty of room for storage, and a decent sized shower. Our bed was uncomfortable, which isn't unusual for me. Rarely do I find my bed comfortable when traveling.

Our room porter, Darron was amazing. Anything we needed, he was there. He was the one who cleaned our room every day and was extremely accommodating. If we could take him home with us, we would! We prepaid gratuity before our trip, but tipped him extra separately because he was amazing.

All the staff we encountered were great. We feel, having not been on any sort of cruise prior, that Royal Caribbean employs great people. Maybe all cruise lines are this way. They certainly work hard for their 💰.

Sea days are not fun days to be at the pools. We're early risers and were usually at the pool by 8:30 and were guaranteed a spot. By noon, forget it. There are lots of chairs, but a lot of them reserved even though the cruise line says no saving seats. It isn't something that is enforced. Trying to find a spot in the pool is another story. It is packed like sardines, and we would usually retreat to our room after lunch because there are so many people. I can't imagine what spring break would look like. They did have an adults only pool area inside a solarium, but it was extremely humid and not fun to sit in. We didn't sit in there, which meant we dealt with kids. A lot of kids. For the most part, parents were good at policing their kids, but there was no escaping them and that was irritating at times.

As far as all inclusive goes with food and drinks, Royal Caribbean nickel and dime you to death. Yes, you can get iced tea, lemonade or water with your meals, but anything else is an extra charge unless you buy beverage packages. We bought a punch card with 15 specialty coffee drinks as well as 2 cases of water. We thought we were getting 16 oz bottles but received 1 liter bottles of Evian. It was a nice surprise, but it's the last day and we still have 5 bottles left and won't be able to take them all with us on the plane home. That is 💰 wasted. The coffee card was $31 and the water $25 per case and we bought two. $81 for just coffee and water seems expensive to us. They have complimentary restaurants on the ship, but most restaurants were an extra charge. There is also a Starbucks on board, but the coffee card couldn't be used there, which was stupid considering the specialty coffees were made with Starbucks espresso and syrups. 🤔 I put extra 💰💰 on my Starbucks card in case the 15 coffees weren't enough, but they were. We each had 2 coffees per day.

Dinner every night was included, plus there are a couple of other spots open for dining as well. The buffet was actually pretty good, and we're generally not buffet people. We usually had breakfast there.

There was also a place for slices of pizza and desserts (the pizza was terrible, the coconut cookies were delicious) coffee, sandwhiches and wraps, as well as a Mexican place that offered nachos, tacos and quesadillas. All of this was complimentary with the exception of the specialty coffees.

I pre booked a 75 minute swedish massage for our first day on the boat. The cruise offers specials for excursions, spa, beverage packages - just about anything for months leading up to the cruise. The trick is knowing when to buy. My massage was 55% off, but they don't offer that right out of the gate. It usually starts anywhere from 15-20%, then fluctuates. We bought our water at 40% off, which was a better deal than their "Black Friday" sales. It's a waiting game, to be honest. I'm glad my husband enjoyed watching the sales.

There are plenty of things to do on the ship too. We played Bingo, saw a comedian, went to 3 shows that were...

Sailed Independence of the Seas Nov 22 through Nov 26 to Cozumel Mexico out of Ft. Lauderdale.

PROS: What a beautiful ship. Staff was lovely and went out of their way to make us feel comfortable. They had a great sense of humor and took the time to get to know you individually. They learned your names which is amazing. Activities were great and they had tons to do. Food was delicious and they had A LOT of variety. The sushi at Izumi (extra fee) was AMAZING. We did the sushi making class on board (extra fee). Not only did they teach us step by step how to make sushi and roll it; they also gave us recipe cards for all the sushi we made and we got to eat ALL of it. The Bottomless mimosa and galley brunch tour on board (extra fee) was AMAZING and the brunch items included lobster, shrimp, sushi from Izumi, and other things. The night club in the sky lounge on the 14th floor was Booming with great music. Awesome atmosphere and the DJ played various songs to meet a variety of cultural backgrounds. The casino was clean and had a variety of slot machines. The restrooms were ALWAYS clean. Do yourself a favor and spend the few extra bucks and GET THE DRINK PACKAGE!!! If you plan on getting alcohol it is well worth the money and it will pay for itself in a day or two considering the prices of individual drinks range from $9.50 to $14. The beverage package gives you access to sodas and specialty coffees also and you get a cup to take home.The meals on Deck 5 at the main dining room were delicious. The Windjammer on deck 11 was delicious and offered a ton of variety. Remember to wash your hands before Mr. Washy Washy sings you to death and beats you with the handsoap LOL. He was also AMAZING. So I guess it all depends on whether you want to sit down or have a variety of choices. Our room attendant Ava was also AMAZING. We had a leak in our toilet when it flushed on day 1. Called maintenance and within 3 minutes they were knocking on our door. They came in and in a matter of 5 minutes had it fixed. The maintenance staff was AMAZING. We stayed in room 7252. The balcony was spacious and the view was amazing. There is a seating couch that is not a sofa bed. There is ample storage in the room. There is a digital safe that is easy to set up and use. Closet is spacious. Queen size bed and both mattress and pillows were SO COMFORTABLE. Go to the art gallery and for a great laugh go to the comedy shows and The Quest games how on the last night of cruising.

CONS: We went on the all day Tulum Ruins and beach break. Pass on this tour. It was wonderful and the tour guides were friendly. However, we barely had any time to shop at Tulum as the tour ran all day. There were so many great shops I missed out on sadly. Lesson learned for me. Bathrooms in the staterooms are TINY. Very very tiny. The shower is micro sized. You couldn't bend over to pick up the soap if you tried and you couldn't shave your legs without having the shower door open. The bartenders are BUSY ALL THE TIME. They seem to be short staffed in that area and could benefit for hiring a few more. They are however very friendly and if you treat them the same and have patience they hook you up with great service.😉 Take advantage of the servers that are walking around pool side with premade drinks. Thy carry both alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. Watch the temperature of the jerk chicken on Caribbean night at the Windjammer on deck 11.🤢🤢 My fiance got a really bloody piece of chicken which he started to eat. We notified the chef and they pulled a bunch of the chicken off the line. His stomach is currently upset but hopefully he won't get sick.🤢🤢 pictures attached The room could use a little updating on some minor things like the plastic cover behind the curtain. It was worn out and beginning to tear and the furniture was a little scratched up. But that's just me being overly picky. The functionality of the room was not affected by...

We booked the Voyager of the sea for our family vacation with our friends. There was 10 of us in total. We didn't purchase the fanciest tickets because we weren't in our room is very often.

I liked how they provided shampoo and body wash for you so you didn't have to pack it. I also really enjoyed having all of our food be free on the ship unless we went to certain restaurants where you had to pay. Breakfast and lunch in the non-main dining hall was okay. It was a little more upskilled than a buffet that you could go to on land and it was unlimited.

The main dining hall is where the ship really shines when it comes to food. It is also unlimited and sometimes the waiters and waitresses dance for you guys. I like how there was free space painting and balloon animals on multiple nights.

Ice skating was free and they provided ice skating shoes for you but you must bring your own socks. Rock climbing is also free but I suggest you buy your own climbing gloves because they don't provide those but they do provide shoes for you. You cannot rock climb if you don't bring your socks.

The surf riding lessons was where I ran into some problems. The man who was running the surf Rider was oggling the women and giving some people more time than others usually the more well endowed women. I got him in trouble and he was removed from the surf riding experience and we were reimbursed. He was assigned to the rock climbing wall where he was only allowed to help chack people in for it. Surf riding lessons are not free. They cost around $100.

Occasionally the Flo Rida will be open to do for free. The slides and the pools are always free too. There is an adult section and a kids section. Yes kids are allowed to use the hot tub. Around the pool they provide free salsa dancing lessons

One night they held a murder mystery where no one solved the mystery.

They also did a family feud game show type of game where my daughter was chosen she had fun.

Everyday they provide free ice cream for the kids which all the kids in our party took advantage of. Free pizza wraps and eggs salad sandwiches are provided around the clock day and night. If you have any allergies they will help you find something that you can eat and make modifications to your meal.

We went to We visited Coco Cay where they had reasonable prices and we found some wonderful clothing. You can use your boarding pass key card to purchase things at Coco Cay.

We also went to Mexico but if you go to Mexico make sure you bring around $300 in cash or more. Your boarding card key pass will not work here only cash. The prices if you stay on the dock are fair and reasonable. My son found a few statues made out of fishbone from the restaurant that were painted with acrylic paint that he ended up purchasing. If you leave the docs for the Wild Tour experience that's where you're going to have to haggle on prices.

If you have cash they will always lower the price to something more reasonable. We got some guy to lower the price from $100.00 to $40.00.

Every night they have a movie either on the main deck by the pool or if it's rated r they do it in their big theater.

They have performances throughout the ship where people sing, dance, play piano and what not. These performances are usually held in the promenade or in the bars.

They clean your room once daily and they usually do napkin and towel art for you on day three and four. We got a monkey and a mouse that the kids loved. They also provide a class to make these animals out of napkins and towels that you can take.

My favorite bar on the ship was the one on the 14th floor that's where they also held a silent disco where both adults and children were invited. 90% of the people dancing at the silent headphone disco or children. they played Taylor Swift and Katy Perry and country music. All the kids loved what did...