I booked this cruise to celebrate my mother's 80th birthday. We were a party of eight in two rooms on the 12th floor. The rooms were tight, but we only needed it to sleep. The rest of the ship was lovely. Michael in housekeeping and our wait staff were all wonderful. I received a bit of an attitude from individuals in the Spa and Bar (not sure which one since I don't drink, I was simply asking for directions.) I've never experienced staff like that on a cruise ship, ever.

I had two issues with this cruise. One was my treatment when I attempted to leave the ship. After being huddled up in a long line, my group made it to the end only to be told I couldn't leave until I settled my account. I couldn't believe it. I made it back to Guest Service to add a ccredit card to pay my Small balanc. I kept asking why they'd not notified me earlier. I could have easily taken care of the issue from my room using the app which I'd downloaded earlier. Once I paid my balance, I had to take that long walk again, with luggage in hand, to disembark. That left me fuming, but the worst of it all is 2-3 days after leaving Independence of the Seas, we all came down with COVID which included my 80 y.o. mum. I'm beating myself up for booking this cruise, although at the time proof of vaccination and COVID testing was required. I chose IOS because of their strict protocol. It wasn't until we all were in Florida from MD that we learned the requirements were lifted. I understand one can't avoid COVID forever, but it has been particularly painful to know I took my mother on what I thought was a "safer" cruise line. Thankfully, were all vaccinated and boosted so I hope she'll make a full recovery. I'm not fairing so well so fingers crossed.