Independence of the Seas (July 18th - August 1st, 2009) This was our first ever Cruise and it proved to be a fantastic experience! We loved it!
Boarding at Southampton was really smooth and quick. Arrived at the docks around 12 Midday and our suitcases were taken straight from the car and onto the boat on arrival. We then went and parked up the car and had a 3 minute walk back to board the ship with our hand luggage. We then went through security, which was very efficient , issued our boarding cards and we were on the ship within 20 minutes of arriving at the Port.
Once on ship our 8 year old daughter was given a wrist band which was given to all children in case of emergencies and we were told we could look around the ship until our cabin was ready at 13:00. We were in awe of the size and beautiful surroundings we found ourselves in. It surpassed anything we were expecting. The ship was very clean and remained so for the entirety of the cruise.
Our stateroom was on the second floor and was very comfortable.Our cabin was 2282. It was quite near the end of the corridor and opposite the crew's entrance to the Ice dancing rink.As a result it was very quiet. Hardly anybody had the need to walk past and we were not disturbed once by any noise at all.
We had two queen sized beds pushed together and our Daughter had a bunk bed which came out of the ceiling above us.
There was also a sofa and flat screen television. The Bathroom had a good deal of storage space and the Shower was just right.
Our stateroom attendant was great. The room was always kept tidy and my daughter got great delight in discovering what animal he had created out of a towel each evening!