Independence Cruise Review (1/7/2022)

[shelbz0225]

I was just on Independence of the Seas for a 3 night cruise from 1/7/22 - 1/10/22. Like many here I was so worried about COVID limitations so wanted to share my experience. 
 

We had a FANTASTIC time. It was a great way to dip our toes back in the cruise world. My last cruise was to Alaska in September 2019 right before everything shut down so we had been dying to get back on a ship. We came so close to canceling but I’m so happy we didn’t. This might be long so I’ll break down my review into different sections (COVID section at bottom). 
 

Boarding 

We arrived to Port Canaveral around 12:30 and were on the ship probably by 1. Check in was a breeze. I’ve never gotten on a ship so quickly before. Received wrist bands that showed we were fully vaccinated and were told to keep them on the duration of the cruise (venues were checking for these. We saw one lady get turned away from Schooner bar for not having a band and she threw a fit about it because she left in her room. Even though we were specifically told to keep them on.) 

 

Entertainment 

As far as I know, all shows went ahead as planned. We saw the ice show Freeze Frame on night one and it was fabulous. We didn’t go to the show on night 2 but I believe it still happened. On day 3 we saw Grease and the late night comedy show. Both were fantastic. 
 

They reserved deck 3 of the theater for vaccinated guests and deck 4 for anyone. The front row was blocked for social distancing from the cast but on deck 3 nothing else was. On deck 4, every other row was completely blocked off. They asked that you maintain some distance between other traveling parties but nothing was being enforced. They also asked that you keep your mask on the entire time but tons of people didn’t and staff wasn’t checking. 
 

Also saw tons of trivia during the day and dancing at night taking place though we didn’t participate. 
 

CocoCay

The highlight of our trip. After hearing about other ships being delayed I was worried about that with ours but we didn’t have a problem. We were docked around 7 and off the ship by 8. My family reserved one of the overwater cabanas in the Coco Beach Club and if you can ever spring for it, I highly recommend it. The service and food was absolutely fantastic. We all had the deluxe drink package so the cabana attendant had drinks in hand for us every time he came by. It was amazing. For appetizers, they bring out one of everything. We had shrimp cocktail, ceviche, hummus, tzatziki, and baba ghanoush. For lunch, two of us got the fried lobster sandwich and two of us got surf and turf (filet mignon and half a lobster). Later we were also brought one of each of their desserts. This lunch was our favorite meal of the trip. 

Nassau

We didn’t make it to Nassau because of high winds. Two other ships had to turn around as well. Not a big deal as we’ve all been multiple times and weren’t planning to get off the ship anyways. So this didn’t change our plans at all. 
 

Food on the ship 

For dinners we ate at Chops and Giovanni’s. All amazing meals and amazing service. We had one lunch at Fish and Ships and one lunch in the main dining room. Both were okay. Not fabulous but no complaints either. We only ate at the Windjammer for breakfast which was all okay. Exactly what I’d expect. Food was all being served by staff except for cold stuff for some reason. Thought that was a little weird. 
 

COVID 

1715 passengers on board. Didn’t hear of any COVID cases on board but someone did tell us they saw some crew being transferred to Vision when we got to CocoCay. 
 

Shops were limited capacity with a staff member letting people in as others left. Lines were never more than a few people long though. 
 

Masking was obviously required indoors and it seemed like 98% of people were following it. Saw a few people not wearing them occasionally, not sure if staff said anything to them or not. 
 

Everyone adhered to the 5 people per elevator rule almost the whole time. We had 4 people in my group and we had the elevator to ourselves almost every time. There was rarely a line either. The only time it was a problem was debarkation. We started with the elevator to ourselves but people kept shoving themselves in. 
 

Final Thoughts 
All in all I felt this was a successful trip. We had so much fun and I can’t wait to get on more cruises. I didn’t feel we missed out on anything due to COVID protocols but we’re all the kinda people who enjoy just sitting on our balcony and reading so I wasn’t really bothered by masks since I was outside most of the time. I enjoy the occasional show so I’m happy we got those but I would have been just as without them. 
 

Having such a low passenger count was honestly amazing. No lines, always available tables and loungers, empty elevators, etc. I think it’ll be hard to get back on a ship with full capacity 😂

 

Always happy to answer any questions! 
 

Edit: wanted to add we all feel fine so far but work from home and will self quarantine for the next two weeks just in case. 
 

 

Edited January 11, 2022 by shelbz0225

[Gemina]

Thank you for the review! We just switched to the Feb 28th sailing on Independence as we figured there was less time for things to go awry compared to a 7 day. Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.

[SECdawg]

Thank you for the review. We board Indy on Feb 4th and were wondering how things were on the ship. Glad you enjoyed it!

[Surfguyxxx]

I too was on Independence just after Thanksgiving and we had the very same experience.  Check-in was a breeze, room and attendants were wonderful and the venues were outstanding.  

[pstone1]

Great review!  We were also on the 1/7 Indy sailing and also had a great cruise! 

 

We agree there were no hiccups with the entertainment and all shows went on as scheduled with plenty of other activities offered.  The food and service were excellent, and all areas were well staffed.  In fact, morale seemed great - we did not see one unhappy crew member.  
 

We will be back on Indy again in February and can’t wait!

[shelbz0225]

5 hours ago, Gemina said:

Thank you for the review! We just switched to the Feb 28th sailing on Independence as we figured there was less time for things to go awry compared to a 7 day. Glad to hear you enjoyed it so much.

 

That’s part of why we booked a 3 day as well. I was less concerned about getting COVID and more concerned about being quarantined if we were close contact. Figured not a lot of people would even start feeling symptoms until maybe the last day. 
 

Enjoy your cruise!! 

Edited January 11, 2022 by shelbz0225

[long4acruise]

Glad you had an enjoyable time!  We love Indy and it was one of the last ships we sailed on before the pandemic shutdown.

I was wondering if e'thing was ok on this week's sailings as I'd heard two chartered sailings were canceled; unsure if mutual decision or RC's. One was a fully chartered 8N cruise that would have departed this Fri 14th; patrons notified last Fri. The other canceled sailing was either the following week or soon thereafter, but unsure if it was a full charter.