We booked an interior room a month in advance for the 8-day Eastern Caribbean cruise (1/17/2015). We were located Deck 10 Aft on the ship. The first two nights were a bit rocky, surprising for a vessel the size of Independence Of The Seas. The remainder of the cruise was calm, except for the last day back to port.

Having been on Brilliance Of The Seas last year, the food was just as good in the Windjammer and Jade Cafe (They are side-by-side). I found nothing to be horrible. Breakfast and Lunch had similar offerings, albeit slight differences such as a different pasta sauce or soup of the day. The most lacking item one could find there to eat was probably the burgers (Although I may have been spoiled by Guy Burger on Carnival). They are your standard "cafeteria burger" with typical toppings. Everything else was pretty good and there is a LOT of variety. Each night for dinner in the Windjammer has a theme (Greek, German, English, Etc.) so there is always something new to try. The pizza place (Sorrento's Pizza) on board was okay, but for claiming a "rich italian heritage" I also felt the pizza could be better. We went to dining twice and both nights our waiter seemed to rush us when ordering, but this may be indicative of just a bad waiter. We went on lobster night, and the lobster was out of this world! The food at dining was excellent.

We decided to splurge on a night at Chops Grille. The cover charge is $35 per person including gratuities (Note ironically the bill does not tell you this, but the daily dining guide does). In paying a premium, I really expected a FINE dining experience akin to a fancy steakhouse. When we got there, even after the cover charge, you still have to pay another $20 for a porterhouse steak or lobster, I found that kind of absurd. Ordering and receiving the food was very fast-paced, I would say we completed our meal within 35 or so minutes; I expected dinner to be at least an hour if not an hour and a half. Perhaps I had been spoiled from dining, but I thought the food was only slightly better than what is offered complimentary and is not worlds apart. The steak that comes with the cover charge was a cut nicer and larger than what is offered at dining, but not worth the premium paid. I feel it is a far better value to order a nice steak at complimentary dining. I would not do this again. Read more