Royal Caribbean Presents Its Newest Mega-Liner At Southampton
The marvelous Independence of the Seas is the Wow! ship of the cruise line that
claims to put the “Wow!” into anyone’s cruising holiday. And, yes, the designers of
Royal Caribbean International have done it very successfully indeed.
My short visit, with an overnight stay, to the 160,000 ton superliner was an
opportunity to tour the vessel from stem to stern, while the ship was paused in
Southampton, UK for its inauguration ceremonies.
While it is the third in its class of megaships designed and built for Royal
Caribbean, Independence can still be classified as the biggest passenger ship in
the world. But, the size is not driven by competitive corporate ambition. According to company CEO Richard Fain at the onboard presentation of the ship to
the travel industry, it is the size required to contain all the features and diversions
that the line wanted to offer its customers in this new class of ship. Mr. Fain is the Chairman and CEO of Royal Caribbean Cruises and participated in
an onboard theatre presentation headlined WOW!, adding his interpretation of
the RCI marketing and advertising programs.
My tour of the ship with its many “Wow!” moments demonstrated the
commitment of the Royal Caribbean organization to create a vacation environment
(more than a handsome ship, that goes places). The goal is to serve a guest who is
thoroughly entertained—and very importantly, a satisfied long-term Royal
Caribbean customer.
Height,/ Length,/ Breadth: Independence of the Seas is huge and remarkable in
many ways. The ship is filled with spaces, facilities and vistas that leave the
passenger with the clear impression that the management wanted them to have a
really good time! The ship is designed to absorb its passenger capacity (3,634 at
a-two-per-cabin calculation) into cafes, bars, lounges and dining rooms in a way
that reduces the apparent crowds, or visible crowding to, at most, “just busy” if
even that. With a length of 1,112 feet and a width of 185 feet the Independence
gave the designers the space to deliver what Richard Fain and his team were
looking for the Royal Caribbean Wow! holiday. The ship is an engineering
masterpiece, with its soaring open spaces and apparently effortless
accommodation of the daring internal designs. She is a diesel-electric ship with the
newest, efficient externally mounted motive power units. In spite of her size, the
Independence is able to maneuver very accurately and even travel sideways at four
knots.
Vertical Vistas / Horizontal Spaces: At each end of the remarkable Royal
Promenade—the ship’s activity hub—two atrium spaces, called Centrum in Royal
Caribbean-speak, soar through 12 decks, bringing daylight down through the
dizzying balconied levels past the windows of the library, the business center and
the Concierge Club to the lobbies of the Alhambra Theatre at the bow and the
dining room at the stern. Running between the fore and aft, Centrum is the ship’s
four-deck-high indoor street called Royal Promenade. A marvelous solution to
onboard circulation and the answer to the problem of delivering accessible choices
upon choices to the passengers throughout the day and night. The Promenade is
368 feet long and 30 feet wide. It is lined with all kinds of facilities ranging from
Champagne Bar, sidewalk cafes, cocktail bars, a pub, shops, ice cream stand and
pizza parlor. The Royal Promenade is also equipped to become an entertainment
venue with events created to take advantage of the lively space. The location of the
huge casino—Casino Royale—one deck below the promenade makes it possible to
walk between the ship’s major facilities without exposure to this typically gaudy
space.
Rooms with a View: Decks 6, 7, and 8 provide the unusual offering of inside cabins— but with a view—overlooking the Royal Promenade’s events and activities. There are
172 of these Promenade View Cabins (included in the total of 733 insiders). On the other of the corridor the outside stateroom total of 1,084, includes 842 with balconies. The staterooms are sized to the industry standard for their price point but the overall impression is one notch above pay grade in fittings and the large flat panel TV, minibar and a couple of extra inches on the bathroom size. The coat hangers have real hooks, not those irritating toggles. A hanger-type designed to prevent theft! The shower is equipped with a shampoo dispenser and bathroom amenity packs, provided on cruise trips, were not in place during my visit.
Dinner Party People: The Royal Caribbean people have an attitude on the dining
scene, that is rather more traditional that some of the other big names in the
cruise industry. They like (it seems to me) to stage a party at dinnertime and
therefore want to attract their guests to one big, beautiful dining room, to put on a
dining show.
With this in mind, I see the sensibility of retaining the traditional two-seating (at
assigned tables). The Dining Room is as grand you can get, with its three-deck
Three-deck dining room
height and a chandelier that would make Vienna proud. Another of the
Independence’s Wow!-spaces!
Independence offers two alternative dining locations—the Portofino and the Chops Grill—for reservations-required dining. These Deck 11 (supplementary charge) dining spots, share the Plaza Bar amidships, as does the Jade restaurant which extends to the stern in this area. The Portofino Restaurant to Port, seats 100 diners, while Chops Grill to Starboard seats 104 diners. The Jade Restaurant seats 224 and further aft, the many-windowed Windjammer Café restaurant extends across the stern. This airy space is the multiple-station buffet service that offers round the clock food-with-a view. It seats 774 guests.
How Cool Can You Get?: The Ice Rink with an audience capacity of 760 guests is another of the Wow! features served up from the Independence of the Seas bag of goodies. The show I saw was delightful and very well “staged” on an ice area that seem unpinched by the constraints of a ship. The ten skaters were handsomely costumed and the show fast moving and certainly one of the best I have ever seen on a ship.
And, speaking of shows, the main theater also puts on a nifty show that matches the massive capacity of the auditorium—no less that 1320 places—and the advanced technical production facilities which I saw in action. Even the number of cast
members is scaled up to match the “think big” nature of the ship. The handsome decor of the theater has little touches that emulate a movie palace of the twenties from which it takes name—The Alhambra.
Diversions from the Diversions: With the opportunity to please their guests with so
many diversions it is highly improbable that anyone will experience any full-to-capacity
situation. The choice of dancing. eating and drinking as diversions in optional locations all over the huge ship means that “birds of a feather” can flock to the venue that suits
Royal Promenade
their tastes (and noise tolerance)—be it champagne or beer (along the Royal Promenade) or cocktails (Olive or Twist Lounge on Deck 14) or dancing vibes (in the Pyramid Lounge) or disco twirling (in The Labyrinth) – the list goes on and on.
Five Stars for politeness: No matter how many stars the ship wins, the Royal
Caribbean staff of the Independence gets my five-star smile-rating, all over the ship.
The level of customer recognition and politeness with which the staff function is a
great credit to the line. Based on my day aboard I believe the staff training and
motivation program is working very well, and bodes well for the success of the ship.
Sports Ahoy! No generation is overlooked on the Independence of the Seas.
Fulfilling the promise of activities for all ages, the ship range of sporting pursuits is
wide and imaginative. The latest of the RCI features is the Flowrider surfing
simulator, which is a great idea for the young male population as well as a great
source of entertainment for those enjoying the sunshine of the surrounding
bleachers. An outdoor bar (called Wipe Out!) overlooks the action to further
“socialize” this high-on-the-stern area. Flowrider is rather more entertaining for
spectators than the rock climbing wall nearby on Deck 13, another RCI sports innovation,
Flowrider
which, again, does wonders for the active engagement of the more vigorous passengers.
The sports complex also includes a mini-golf course, a golf simulator and the net-enclosed sports court for ball games. The staffing of these specialist sporting activities is an interesting achievement. The Flowrider alone requires a devoted staff of ten young aquatic high-achievers.
Fit and Wet: The Independence of the Seas follows through on pools (two outdoor)
and its huge Fitness and Spa facility (which spreads over two levels). There’s even a
boxing ring in the gym. The Deck 11 water features include a great kids area (of
any age) that is called the H2O Zone. This is a brightly colored mini-water-park on
the pool level. This will obviously attract the youngsters away from the main pool
and the Solarium pool—good thinking!
Another Wow!-feature from Independence is the two semi-circular whirlpools (port and starboard in this Solarium area). They are cantilevered away from the ship to give a sweeping view (fore and aft) while stewing in the swirling waters!
Looking back for the gangway- With a short, but impressive, visit I left the ship
with many untested features. There’s so much to explore, but the Independence
is clearly the showpiece of a cruise company that wants to attract—and keep—new
patrons of all ages and inclinations. The Royal Caribbean International
management has “put its money where its mouth is” in this vigorous pursuit of new
markets, with its entertaining style and imagination.... and this very big ship!
-- Roger J. Ritchie, Contributing Editor
Ship Statistics
Shipyard: Aker Yards/Turku, Finland
Entered Service: May 2008
Gross Tonnage: 160,000
Length: 1,112 feet
Max Beam: 185 feet
Draft: 28 feet
Cruising Speed: 21.6 knots
Registry: The Bahamas
Passenger Decks: 15
Crew: 1,360 (Norwegian/International)
Passenger Capacity: 3,634 double occupancy
Staterooms: 1,817 (Ocean View 1,084 (842 with balconies)
Pools: 3
