This was our second time on Independence and we had a great time. We are a family of 4 with 2 daughters aged 2 and 8.
Food
We found the food in the MDR just ok with the exception of the Chops Grill steak we ordered in there which was absolutely delicious (and not too pricey).
We felt more movement on this deck than previous cruises (on higher decks) but there was a storm one of the nights so that may account for that! Deck 2 is very handy for embarking/disembarking at ports and quite handy at night for going to the dining room and deck 5 bars/entertainment. The only aspect that was difficult about the location was that cabin 2540 is at the very front of the ship and if you have children you will regularly need to go to deck 11 and 12 at the back of the ship. Because level 3 is split this means you have to either go up to 11 or 12 and cross to the back which is fine - but if its bad weather this really isn't an option and we did it by going to 5 and walking the promenade to the back and another lift up.
This room does not have a sofa bed. We booked it thinking the sofa would pull out but its smaller than the ones we have had in outside rooms and it doesn't pull out. That said our cabin attendant Wendy and her supervisor on deck 2 were amazing and sorted us out with an alternative.