Independence of the Seas is a Freedom-class cruise ship operated by Royal Caribbean International. Independence of the Seas is the third of the Freedom-class vessels and when launched in 2008 joined Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas as the largest cruise ship in the world at a length of 1,112 ft and weighing 155,889 Gross Tonnage.

Royal Caribbean is, in my opinion, the best family-friendly cruise line and as a young family of four it’s one of the main reasons we always end up sailing with them again and again.

This is our second time sailing on Independence of the Seas and our third time on a Freedom-class ship. This time we sailed on a 3-night itinerary visiting Nassau and Royal Caribbean’s private island, Perfect Day at Coco Cay.

Embarkation

We hopped on the ship at Port Canaveral in Florida after a 1-hour transfer from Universal Orlando’s Dockside Inn & Suites. Once inside the terminal building it took no longer than 20-30 minutes to get through security, get checked-in and board the ship. All the port staff were friendly and helpful.

Boarding onto deck 5, you are immediately greeted by the large promenade deck that runs the length of the ship. This deck is home to the Ale & Anchor pub, Sorrento’s Pizzeria, Vintages Wine Bar, the Champagne Bar, The Star Lounge, Guest Services and much more. Once aboard, this deck really does give you a sense of size and scale of this massive ship. It still blows my mind that this is on a cruise ship! After a busy morning it wasn’t long until the boys wanted to go for a swim, so it was up towards the top deck to check out the pool deck.

Facilities

Despite the ships age, the facilities on this ship are still outstanding especially for young families. On the top deck you have the kids aqua park, Splashaway Bay. It features a shallow kids pool, slides, water cannons and waterfalls along with two huge Jacuzzi’s for the big kids!

Further along you have two large main pools complete with a huge outdoor cinema screen. Our kids loved both areas. There is always live music and entertainment around the main pools, the highlight of which is the traditional belly flop competition.

If you were after something a little more relaxed, the adult-only solarium also had its own pool and two huge cantilevered hot tubs that hang over the side of the ship. On our sailing there was always plenty of chairs around the pool areas and with three poolside bars and plenty of waiters taking orders poolside, it was always easy to grab a drink.

Along with the pools there are two large water slides called the Perfect Storm, a virtual reality bungee trampoline experience called the Sky Pad, miniature golf, a sports court, a rock climbing wall and a surfing simulator called the Flowrider. On top of all that the ship also boasts a huge theatre, a casino, a kids arcade and a spa and fitness centre.

One of the other amazing facilities on the ship was the award-winning Adventure Ocean kids club. Adventure Ocean is for children aged 3-5. Our boys were 4 and 5 when we sailed, which meant that they could both visit the same kids club if they wished. Our first full day onboard was a sea day so just before dinner we asked the boys if they wanted to visit the kids club for 30 minutes as a little taster session to see if they enjoyed it, and they loved it!

Adventure Ocean is typically open 9am-noon, 2pm-5pm and 7pm-10pm. All the kids’ clubs are complimentary during those hours, but they do offer an out of hours service between 10pm-2am at an additional hourly cost. It’s also worth noting that they operate on a drop and go system, so the kids can stay for as long or as little as they want.

Our boys would visit the kids club after dinner during the 7pm-10pm slot allowing us to enjoy a few quiet drinks or take in a show the kids may not of enjoyed.

Perfect Day at Coco Cay

Perfect Day at CocoCay is a private destination exclusively for Royal Caribbean guests, located in the Bahamas. It’s been a bucket list destination for me since it opened, and we booked this cruise solely to visit the island.

It lived up to the hype. On one side of the island is a thrill waterpark that is an additional cost to enter. It is home to the tallest waterslide in North America called Daredevil’s Tower. We chose not to visit the waterpark as many of the slides were to big for our boys and to be honest, there is so much to do outside of the waterpark it really isn’t necessary.

The kid-friendly Splashaway Bay and Captain Jill’s Galleon are free to visit as is the giant oasis lagoon pool. We spent most of our day around the pool, which was the perfect depth for the boys.

The food on the island was amazing! The taco station at Skippers Grill was fantastic and the chicken sandwich from the chill grill is a must!

Overall

We loved this cruise and are big fans of Royal Caribbean. Adding a 3-day cruise to a trip to Florida is a great way to switch up the pace and have a good few chilled days away from the parks.

It wasn’t all plain sailing. Excuse the pun! The staterooms, whilst spacious and well appointed are in desperate need of a refurb. One of the shelves were missing in a cupboard, a few small stains on the carpet and just a general feeling of wear and tear. The food in the main dining room was also not as good as we have had on previous cruises, but the staff and the service were still top notch.

I would still 100% recommend sailing with Royal Caribbean especially if you have a young family like us. The boys loved it and haven’t stopped asking when they can go again.