My wife and I recently enjoyed a marvelous 5 night January cruise on Independence of the Seas, with stops in Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica. This was our second annual pre-Anniversary cruise. Last year we had done a Bahamas cruise aboard Enchantment. We wanted to try a different ship this year. I was a little apprehensive about moving to a much larger ship as my wife and I both enjoyed the intimate and cozy atmosphere of the smaller Enchantment, however I can safely say we were more than satisfied and impressed with our experience aboard Independence.

I decided to splurge a bit and go for a Grand Suite, 1278, to be precise. As Suite guests, we very much enjoyed the perk of being able to fast-forward and sail through the embarkation lines at security and check-in. Once we were at the port, we probably spent no more than 20 minutes from entering the terminal and being aboard the ship. A great embarkation experience. We had flown in that morning and so by the time we were aboard the ship rooms were already open. We loved, loved, loved the Grand Suite which of course offers much more room compared to the outside view we had on Enchantment. The room was quite clean when we arrived. The only minor quibble is that the balcony seemed like it could've used an extra mop of the floor as it was slightly dirty. Also the outside table still had some fingerprint smudges, but again, very minor quibbles. We were greeted by a nice glass bottle of Evian. The bed was a bit firm for my wife who has some back pain, but our attendant Mikhail was quite attentive and put an extra layer of padding under the sheets which made it quite a bit better.

Independence is a marvelous cruise ship. Quite a bit bigger than Enchantment but easy enough to get around. Our Suite was located towards the front of the ship, which gave us quick access to the pool deck, but also the elevators, which gave us some quick access down to Deck 5 and the promenade. The ship looked very well maintained. Read more