American Independence (formerly Independence) Review
Independence in the Chesapeake
Rating by category
Additional details
Background Information: I picked this cruise because I had a hip replacement and I wanted to test out whether I could travel independently. I use a mobility scooter or alternately a heavy duty walker which enables me to sit on it when I am tired, because I still cannot walk very far. There were single cabins available so I would not have to pay a supplement. I also wanted to revisit some of the places in the Chesapeake where we had gone on our own sailboat.
I am more than 80 years old (as were some of the other people cruising on this ship – this is not a cruise for children) and I had been on over 30 cruises including two riverboat cruises in Europe. But unlike many others, this was my first American Cruise Lines. One lady was on her 49th cruise with them. Their passengers are very loyal
I made the reservation over a year in advance hoping that maybe by May 2021, we could travel again. I was so excited to cruise again, that I was all packed two weeks early.
Cabin Review
Originally I was in single cabin with an opening window, but I was upgraded a double cabin with a balcony. The cabin was as large as my bedroom at home. It had a desk with three drawers on each side of the chair, and a mirror over it. There was a coffee maker and an ice bucket on the desk. (But I had no way to ask for ice if I had wanted it.) There was a closet with plenty of hangers and a folding rack for a suitcase. The bed was originally made up as a king, but had it switched to two singles. They were very comfortable. There were two night stands with two drawers and a cubby and a light on each one. On one there was also an alarm clock (which was easy to set and it worked), and on top were two USB charging ports and two plugs. There was nice art on the walls. Opposite the bed was a three drawer chest with a flat screen TV and two chairs on either side. There was no list of TV channels and apparently rooms which had this list, it was incorrect . In my experience the list of TV channels in most hotels is almost always wrong, so this was not surprising. The balcony had two chairs and a little table. I could select heat or A/C for the cabin, and since the weather was quite cold for May, I had the heat on most of the time. The fan was very noisy.
The bathroom had a nice counter and two drawers (one of which had a hair dryer). The shower was large enough. I asked for a shower chair so I could sit in the shower. They could not find one on board, so they went out and bought one for me and it was very satisfactory. The water was hot.
The bed was made, trash emptied and the bathroom spiffed up in the morning, and the bed was turned down and the trash emptied in the evening. We didn't get clean towels unless we asked for them. The towels were white, but not sparkling.
If the internet was working, I could get it in my cabin provided I left the door open. So I would open my door and turn off all the lights and sit on the bed and get my email.