This review is not intended for first-time Independence cruisers but for old hands that may be wondering what has happened during the recent refit.

Being both Diamond and a Suite passenger, I had a preferential queue prior to security screening, but there was no-one else there so it mattered not. Now there I was, pulling my trolley with one hand, holding paperwork in the other hand, a sunhat between my teeth and I am presented with a health questionnaire to complete all whilst sanitising my hands at the same time. Why cant this health form be included in the e-docs sent by RCI or incorporated into the SetSail pass so it can be presented already completed at check-in? Alternatively, I learn how to retract my ears.

Initial impression was that the ship was perfectly clean and tidy with no detritus from the recent refit to be seen, unlike my one and only trip on QM2. Read more