Last Thanksgiving I was on the inaugural sailing of what was then Royal Caribbean‘s newest ship, Quantum of the Seas. This year, I’ll be celebrating another Royal Thanksgiving on Independence of the Seas on quick four-night Western Caribbean cruise out of Fort Lauderdale.
Independence of the Seas is one of three Freedom-class cruise ships which once held the title of “world’s largest” only to be eclipsed by the Oasis-class ships from Royal Caribbean – Oasis of the Seas and Allure of the Seas.
Independence is joined by class-namesake, Freedom of the Seas and Liberty of the Seas in this group of ships that first took to ocean when Freedom was launched in 2006. They all weigh in at 160,000 gross tons and carry nearly 4,400 passengers and 1,300 crew.
This will be my first cruise on “Indy” – as she is called by her fans – and the journey makes one port call at Cozumel, Mexico.
Onboard Independence of the Seas, me and my fellow cruisers can expect to find staples of Royal Caribbean cruising – the rock climbing wall and FlowRider surf simulator. Unlike newer Royal Caribbean cruise ships, Independence and her sister-ships also have a boxing ring and ice skating rink. I’ve never been able to figure out who exactly would go on a cruise and hit up the boxing ring, but to each is own I guess.
While Independence of the Seas doesn’t have the selection of restaurants the Oasis and Quantum-class cruise ships have, she does have another Royal staple – Chops Grille – the line’s signature (for-a-fee) steakhouse. The only other specialty restaurant onboard is Giovanni’s Table, the ship’s Italian restaurant which replaced Portofino when the ship went into dry dock in April 2013. Of course, there’s Johnny Rockets for a quick burger and fries, the Windjammer Cafe buffet, Jade Sushi, Ben & Jerry’s and Sorrento’s for a slice of pizza.
I would be remiss if I didn’t mention there’s 22 bars, clubs and lounges on board.
Drink up.
Since I’ll be onboard for Thanksgiving, let’s talk turkey. Last year, I dined in the American Icon Grill on Quantum of the Seas where a full turkey dinner was served, complete with pumpkin pie. They were also offering a traditional Thanksgiving meal option in the main dining room as well along with other options for those who gave the bird, the bird.
When planning out my dining options for this quick cruise, I decided that Thanksgiving night we will have dinner in the main dining room with the hopes that there will be that traditional meal that only is served once a year.
Night two will be Chops Grille where I’m looking forward to seeing how the steak, seafood and other selections compare to Chops on Quantum. In my Day 3 review, I gave the food at Chops Grille mixed reviews.
Night three will be spent in Giovanni’s Table, the red sauce joint that didn’t quite live up to my expectations when I was on Allure of the Seas a few years ago. But they say time heals all wounds, so let’s hope that “Giovanni” has tweaked his recipes and kicked things up a notch. While I don’t expect it to be nearly as good as Jamie’s Italian on Quantum of the Seas, I am looking forward it.
Night four? Well, let’s just say that night four is going to be a repeat of whatever we felt the best dinner was the previous three nights and see if a return visit provides the same experience.
Once I return from Independence of the Seas on Monday, I’ll be getting ready to head to Miami to hop on the MSC Divina for a “revisited” series of reviews during a 7-day cruise to the Eastern Caribbean. The Divina recently returned to Miami to being year-round cruising from her new homeport. Previously she split her time between Miami and Europe, but now MSC has committed to keeping her year-round and made some tweaks to make her more appealing to the American audience. If you haven’t read my MSC Divina Eastern Caribbean cruise review from December 2014, be sure to check it out and follow along to see how things have changed in a year!
Stay tuned for my daily updates from both Independence of the Seas and MSC Divina, and be sure to follow me on Twitter at @scottsanfilippo and my cruising Instagram account at @scottscruisepix to see what life is like onboard these two beautiful cruise ships.