As a couple we have cruised 5 times in the past – once on OV2, once on P&O and 3 times on the Celebrity Silhouette – all during peak time in August. As a special treat for my 50th birthday my husband booked a 4 night mini cruise on the RCI Independence of the Seas. We approached the cruise with mixed feelings and came away pleasantly surprised. Ironically, it was the crew who seemed most interested in comparing the IOS and RCI with Celebrity and we got the feeling that they saw Celebrity as the ‘posher sister’. We came away thinking that they were probably right.

Our first impression of the ship was that she was a nice looking ship and once we had boarded we loved the atrium area with sweeping staircase and glass. As we were amongst the first people to board we had the chance to look around while she was very quiet and enjoyed strolling down the Royal Promenade of the ship where all of the shops are. To be honest we didn’t like this layout much though, though at night when there was any type of concert it made for a great atmosphere – though somewhat crowded! On our last day we discovered the wrap round promenade and we loved this – something we’d missed on the Silhouette.

The cabin was lovely – we had 1530 which is right at the front on deck 10 and is one of the cabins where the side of the balcony is transparent and offers amazing views to the Bridge. It was huge and we would certainly book this type of cabin again – especially if we were going on a cruise to somewhere hot! What an amazing place to sit and chill out. Read more