Independence of the Seas Review
Good weekend cruise - Cococay is the highlight
Rating by category
Additional details
This was our second sailing on this ship. The first was May 2022. We had a good time the first time around and knew what to expect the second time.
Embarkation was a breeze. RC has it down to a science. Our port arrival time was 11am. We arrived and didn't wait in any lines. After checking in, we sat in the large area to await embarkation. While there, you can start on your muster drill. Once you get on the ship, you'll just need to go to your station and check in. Don't be the group that waits until the very last minute. You're subjecting everyone else to endless announcements about people still needing to complete the muster drill.
We didn't wait long to board. We were on the ship by 11:30. We wanted to book speciality dining. We were led all over the place for this (our first time trying to do this) and finally found out you just need to go to the restaurant to do it. If you want to eat at Izumi for the sushi (not hibachi), you need to make a reservation early. You can't do it online; you have to do it once on the ship. There are less than 10 seats for the sushi side of the restaurant.
Cabin Review
Interior Accessible
Cabin located on deck 10 midship. It was close to the elevators. It was fairly quiet, with a little noise from above during the middle of the night. Room was clean and functional. Shampoo and body wash combo and no lotion is in the room.
Bring USB ports with you. There are none in the room.
Port Reviews
Perfect Day at CocoCay
This was the best part of the cruise. Cococay is quite amazing. The beach is very nice and there are a lot of chairs with shade. The food is great and the pork tacos are so good! There's a Snack Shack with a chicken sandwich. It's also very good and is real chicken, not processed. The same spot has fresh funnel cakes as well. This island blows away Disney's Castaway Cay. The only thing missing at Cococay is an adults-only beach.