Royal Caribbean – Independence of the Sea

(3 Nights – 4 Days)

This was my first time on a cruise ship. My boyfriend’s sister-in-law was celebrating her 51st birthday and wanted the whole family to go. If it wasn’t for this event, idk if I would have intentionally planned a cruise trip. I like my space; I don’t like people near me, and I knew there was a possibility of getting seasick. These things popped into my head before I contemplated a cruise.

Since this was for the sister-in-law, we decided to go. It was a fun time with the fam, for sure. That was probably my only favorite part of the cruise, lol. I did hate being around strangers and having my space invaded. We generally would avoid where the bigger crowds would be, which wasn’t too hard to do. Certain areas would get crowded at different times of the day, so it was easy to work around that. I would go on a cruise again but not this one. This cruise ship, in my opinion, is old and basic. Two things of which I’m not…. Lol… So next time, we are sailing differently.

Overall Experience: 7/10

 

 

Arrival:

• We arrived at the hotel 30 mins from the port a night prior. I am not the type of person that likes to be rushing, so I always plan accordingly. We had to be at Port Canaveral, Florida at noon the next day, so we figured it would be less stressful for me to already be in Florida. It was less stressful for me, lol. It made our Friday morning flow.
• Arriving at the port we drove into the parking deck and paid $78 for parking (not 100% sure but it wasn’t more than that). The dynamic of coming onto the cruise ship was interesting. Everything seemed to flow flawlessly, with not much waiting. I thought it would be bad and packed with people, but it wasn’t.
• Once we went through our check-in and dropped our bags, it took us about 25 minutes. We started walking towards the boat entrance. One of the employees decided that we looked friendly enough and went off with yelling out loud…” THE QUEEN HAS ARRIVED EVERYONE; WE CAN FINALLY BOARD THE SHIP”… I’m never trying to stand out, so this was out of range for me, lol. I told my bf we probably look too nice and should look meaner, so people don’t talk to us. Lol….. never works.

Room:6/10

• We arrived on the boat by 12:45ish, so we still had to wait for our rooms.
• By 2 pm, we could enter our rooms where our luggage awaited us. That’s the type of efficiency I love. Lol.
• We had an Ocean View room on Deck 3. Lucky for us, it was at the end of the hallway, so we only had one room next to us, and on the other side was the entrance for the crew members. Unfortunately, when we booked, there were no more balcony rooms, so this was our only option. There is no way I would get a center room. If I don’t see a window, it makes me claustrophobic, so that’s a no-go.

Food: 5/10

• Both my boyfriend and I were done with the food by day 2. The only decent thing that boat had going for it was the pizza.
• We dined in the buffet area the first night. It did have a variety of options. Although as the days went by, it seemed like only %10 of the menu would change.
• On the second day, we ate at Johnny Rockets. It was $15, all you can eat. Honestly, I felt like it was just like the hamburgers from the buffet.
• Dinner on day two, we went to the dining area to celebrate my bf’s sister in laws birthday. I think they take first place on the worst lasagna ever. It was pale and dry, with little to no sauce (I’m not a huge fan of a lot of sauce, soooo. I would never order that again.
• On the last day there, we ate pizza and a few things from the buffet, which were okay.
• They seemed to have a lot of different curries if you’re into that. As much as I have tried to like curries, I don’t. The flavor is not for me.
• All in all, I don’t think it matters where you eat on the boat. If you eat at the buffet, dining area, or even the specialty restaurants (extra fee). You cannot convince me that they don’t use the same food… the only difference is that they prepare it in different kitchens, but the same hamburger you get at the buffet is the same as you’ll get anywhere else on that boat.

Entertainment:

• I feel the boat does have entertainment for all ages.
• We did attend one comedy show at night. It was an okay show; we had some good laughs.
• We didn’t attend any of the game shows. We honestly don’t care for those types of shows. Family members told me that the show was slightly out of control in a negative way. It seems some cannot act appropriately in public when drinking; I guess that’s expected….. Certain things don’t entertain me in any way, shape, or form, so I’m happy we didn’t have to experience that.
• The casino looked fun, but I wasn’t in my gambling spirit, lol. I played with the slot machine for the first time, which was addicting lol. I also played with one of those coin pusher machines, which I enjoyed the most. I can understand why people get addicted. 45 mins and $25 later, we were done, lol.
• The sunsets are always beautiful 🌅.

Stops

Coco Cay:

• We got off the boat around 9:30ish am. It looked like a fun place, but unfortunately, we had to leave early. After being in the pool for maybe 1hr, it started to rain with lighting and everything, so we rushed out and called it a day.
• We aren’t the type of people that like to lay out on the beach all day or even be in a public pool, so it was good enough for us, lol. They did have tours available, but all the good ones were taken when I looked. So, plan ahead of time!
• There’s defiantly a lot of entertainment for your kids, especially if you get them a ticket to the water park.
• It was a nice once-in-a-lifetime kind of place, lol. I don’t see us intentionally going back here again. There are so many more beautiful places to visit.

Nassau, Bahamas:

• For some reason, we got off the boat at 7:30 am, lol. This was unnecessary, considering it was Sunday and most stores were closed. I would have waited until after 9:30 am to get off the boat.
• If you have the opportunity to book a tour, I would highly recommend it.
• If you’re going to walk around, there’s not much to see. There are numerous souvenir stores for shopping.
• I also had an overpriced pineapple with some lemonade drink (w/alcohol) inside for $25. It wasn’t great, lol. The boat later had them that day for $15. Unfortunately, the seller only took cash at his shop (he mentioned this after he prepared the pineapple). It was fun to run around in the heat looking for an atm…. It was strange, considering it was one of the stores at the port.
• It was 9:30 am, and my light gray shirt became dark gray, lol; my baby’s head was sweating. These were all signs that we wanted to call it a day and go back on the boat. That’s precisely what we did. It got cloudy quickly after. It was supposed to rain at midday, and we didn’t want to be caught up in it anyway.

Me with my overpriced Pineapple.

 

 

 The Safety Gear

• I had no idea what to expect from the safety gear on the boat. I’ve honestly never thought about it. The only boat of reference I have to a cruise ship is the Titanic, and we all know how that ended. On top of that, this was shortly after the OceanGate submarine fiasco, along with the sinking of the ship filled with immigrants.
• This was really an expectation vs. reality moment for me. I’m glad to see how technology has advanced, lol.

Expectation:

Reality:

*I have a video where I’m laughing so hard, I couldn’t take myself seriously.😂 *

Quick Tips:

• In case you didn’t know, guests of drinking age are allowed to bring one 750 ml bottle of wine or champagne for each individual sailing. Alcoholic beverages such as (beer, seltzer, or hard liquor) will be taken away and thrown in the trash.
• You can bring non-alcoholic beverages as carry-on items on boarding day. Non-alcoholic beverages may not exceed 12 standard (17 oz.) cans, bottles, or cartons per stateroom. Milk and distilled water for infant, medical, or dietary use are permitted.

All in all, the best part of the trip was the memories created! I want to go on another cruise, but I will look for a newer boat or even a different cruise line. If you have any recommendations, please drop them in the comments!!

The Fam with the Birthday Girl ♥️