Decided to take a VERY last minute cruise at the end of January, and had a great time. The Independence is beautiful, and I really like the "royal promenade." Everything was very clean and in excellent repair. We had a balcony cabin, and it was very spacious with lots of storage space. This is a BIG ship,and we discovered two bars that we didn't even have a chance to visit! Definitely not a lack of things to do with all the bars, entertainment options, ice rink, flow rider, climbing wall etc. The belly flop, sexiest man contests and pool-side Zumba were fun.

The evening headliner shows were really excellent - comedians, magicians, and dance reviews. The best was seeing a Broadway-caliber production of Grease. It was amazing!

Now the concerns. The food on this ship just wasn't as good as what I experienced on the Freedom and the Jewel. Especially in the main dining area for the evening meal, we had some real hiccups. Completely flavorless beef, rubbery escargot (ugh), extremely dried out mashed potatoes, an incredibly odd brown sauce that ruined the flavor of the pork steak, and deserts that were very pretty but remarkably unremarkable! The wait staff were OK but not as friendly as I've had before. The Windjammer can be a nightmare during busy times. Read more