Independence of the Seas Review
Great cruise with great ports
Rating by category
Additional details
We chose this cruise because we wanted to see a lot of ports in Europe. I had never been to Europe and my husband was last there 30 years ago. Probably the easiest embarkation and disembarkation we've ever had. We got to the pier at Southamptom a little after 11 a.m on embarkation day and we were sitting pool side before 11:30. We had an inside cabin this trip, which was fine, since we didn't spend much time there. We had super service in the Main Dining Room and the food was good. I have Celiac disease, which Royal Caribbean accommodated with relative ease. We got great service everywhere we went. We had an issue with one of our cameras and one of the staff from the photo shop helped us out with it. We really enjoyed the ice shows and Grease was fabulous. We loved the ports that we saw. Rome was VERY busy and hot, but we loved seeing the Coliseum and Forum. So much we didn't see - if we go back it will be when it's cooler and not so busy. Loved Lisbon and Malaga - which we didn't know that much about until this cruise. The ship was beautiful as always. We keep cruising with Royal Caribbean - we have no reason not to.
Cabin Review
Interior Stateroom
It was what we expected for an inside cabin - it was fine!
Port Reviews
Gibraltar
We were on a group tour with some other folks from our Roll Call with Gibraltar Inside Out Rock Tours. It was great and Carl was a great tour guide. Saw all of the sites and learned about the history of Gibraltar.
Florence (Livorno)
We took the Tucany Bus from Livorno to Florence and had about 4 hours on our own to explore. The guide on the bus gave us a map and some directions to the various sites. We loved Florence and the ability to wander on our own.
Toulon
We did a shore excursion through Royal Caribbean - "Discover Provence". It was great. We went to Sanary-sur-Mer, Le Castillet and Marseilles. We were on our own in each town. The scenery was beautiful and we had a great lunch in Le Castillet. Also bought some calissons (sort of like cookies) which are local to the area.
Malaga
We tried the Hop-on-Hop-Off bus, which was not a huge success (long story). However, we did get to Alcazaba (the Moorish fortress), which was beautiful. Hard to believe it's so old. Once we finished touring at Alcazaba, we went to the beach and had lunch at Chringuito Sicsu - this little restaurant that is on the beach. They cook a lot of their food on an open fire, so it's interesting to watch the whole process. We had grilled squid and sardines, fried anchovies and a large pitcher of sangria. So, so good!!!! We also a large, large pan of paella, but we didn't have any. Beautiful town that we would love to go back to.
Lisbon
Another beautiful port. We walked around Barrio Alto, which is quite hilly. We stopped at a street side vendor for tapas and sangria. Tapas was a plate of cold cuts (prosciutto and salami) and bread. We watched them carve/cut the meat for us - nice and thinly cut. Lisbon is less "touristy" than some places and had that old world feel to it. It also has a very interesting history, which we didn't know much about.