Independence of the Seas

The Independence of the Seas is one of Royal Caribbean’s Freedom Class of ships. It was first launched in 2008, and underwent a refurbishment in 2018. Even though it is one of Royal Caribbean’s smaller ships (in comparison to their new Oasis class ships), it still has a huge range of dining and activities, and a really vibrant atmosphere. It may not have all the bells and whistles, but it is still a stunning ship!

Other ships in the Freedom class are the Freedom of the Seas, and the Harmony of the Seas.

The Independence of the Seas is usually home ported on the East Coast of the US, but this year it is headed over to sail out of Southampton!

Staterooms

The Indepence has 1,929 staterooms which cater to a wide range of preferences from budget-conscious travellers to those wanting the suite life! It is a super budget friendly ship, with some great last-minute deals.

Inside Stateroom x 620: Inside rooms will be your best bet if you are budget conscious, we stayed in this type of cabin as a family of 4 and it was fine. The 2 kids beds drop down from the ceiling over the main double bed, so if you get claustrophobic this may not be the best option, although it was nowhere near as restrictive as we expected.

Oceanview Staterooms x 289: This is the option for guests who want daylight and ocean views without the price of a balcony. The rooms have portholes.
Balcony Staterooms x 724: There are the traditional cruise balcony cabins which overlook the sea and offers the classic cruising experience. Or you can have a balcony which overlooks the interior of the ship (the promenade) although soundproofed, these may be a little noisier at night.
Suites x 126: With multiple options including 1 bedroom, 2 bedroom and the royal suite, this option is for if you are really splashing (no pun intended) out! Suite bookings include priority boarding, concierge service, complimentary internet access, and priority dining reservations. They also get amenities like a bathrobe, pillowtop mattress, and access to the Coastal Kitchen for all-day dining. Suite passengers also benefit from priority tendering, VIP pool deck seating, and a complimentary pressing on the first formal night.

Dining

There are so many options available on board, whether you want upmarket dining or a casual dinner. The Main Dining Room operates a rotational themed menu every night, we really enjoyed all of our meals here and had a set dinner time so our servers remained the same throughout. You can opt for more flexible dining but you may encounter a wait for a table this way. The Windjammer Café is your traditional cruise buffet, open for breakfast, lunch and dinner it has an array of options to suit everyone.

Other complimentary options include Sorrento’s Pizza and Café Promenade both on the main promenade. Room Service is also complimentary although gratuities would be expected.

There are also multiple restaurants that require booking and come at an additional charge. These include Chop’s Grille, Chef’s Table, Izumi Hibachi & Sushi, Giovanni’s Table, Johnny Rockets, Playmakers Bar & Grill and Fish & Ships. We were lucky enough to dine at Giovanni’s Table and the food, service and atmosphere were stunning.

Bars & Lounges

As with restaurants, you have an array of bars to choose from, including Vintages, Schooner Bar where a lot of the daytime activities such as quizzes take place, Boleros, Viking Crown Lounge and the Champagne Bar plus many more! The cocktails were delicious, but of course come with that cruise line price tag!

Pools

Along with 3 pools and whirlpools on board, the Independence of the Seas also features the Perfect Storm waterslides, Splashaway Bay for kids, and the FlowRider surf simulator (this has a minimum height requirement of 1.5m to surf). Sessions on the FlowRider can be pre-booked on the app for free, or you can pay for special one to one teaching sessions for a more in depth experience.

Family Fun

As mentioned before, even though this is a smaller ship than others in the fleet, there us still so much to do on board!

Royal Theatre: This two-storey theatre currently hosts the Broadway-style production of Grease. Unfortunately the timings of this just didn’t work out as they were during our dinner seating, and the later show was around 9:30pm which was just too late for the kids, we have heard that it is an incredible production though!
Studio B: This multi-purpose space features an ice risk for shows and free ice-skating sessions. It also covers this over and then becomes a laser-quest arena which is also free but both require reservations.
Rock Climbing Walls: This ship has a 40 foot rock climbing wall, with open sessions for kids and adults.
You can also find sports courts with basketball and pickleball sessions, plus a really good sized arcade.

As part of the refurbishment if the ship the Sky Pad, a trampolining experience where guests wore a VR headset, however despite being super popular this has sadly been removed.

Kids Clubs

The kids clubs on Royal Caribbean are called Adventure Ocean and offers the Aquanauts for children aged 3-5, Explorers for 6-8, Voyagers 9-12 and Tweens for 12-14. There is also the Royal Babies & Tots Nursery for infants aged 6-36 months (paid extra). Due to the age of the ship, this wasn’t the most well-equipped kids club we have seen on a cruise, although it was super big.

Adult-Only Activities

Casino Royale: A full service casino with various games.

Star Lounge: An adults only venue.
Vitality Spa & Fitness Center, and The Solarium: This peaceful space features a pool, a bar, and 2 whirlpools.

Adventures x Paradise Review

This was our first experience of a Royal Caribbean ship and we did really enjoy our time on board. We couldn’t fault the staff, the cabin or the food, and there was always something to be doing and seeing. We visited Coco Cay on our cruise, which we will cover in another post, and this was a definite highlight for us. Our kids didn’t fancy the kids club as it wasn’t the most inviting, but the size of it was really impressive.

The Independence currently does short cruises from Port Canaveral, and I think due to us being on a cheap weekend cruise it was a bit of a booze cruise that wasn’t always suitable for the kids! The pool entertainment was very geared towards adults which was a shame, as we didn’t get to use the pool too much. The Oasis class ships are much more family friendly, but our timing just wasn’t great with the sailing we chose! We would be interested to try it again doing one of the sailings from Southampton to see if it would be a different experience, but we would love to try some of the other ships too!

TOP TIP - Make sure you take advantage of all of the free activities and dining, something we were really surprised at the amount of! Rock Climbing, Ice Skating, Laser Quest, FlowRider and Sorrento’s Pizza are all really fun (and really tasty!)