Eating all the delicious food is one of my favorite parts of cruising, and I was excited to get on Independence of the Seas to try it all out.
Independence of the Seas has a variety of quick casual and specialty restaurants onboard for guests to enjoy. While there aren't as many options as the larger Oasis and Icon Class ships, I thought this Freedom Class ship offered a solid selection.
After Independence of the Seas was revamped in 2018, newer features were added, like The Perfect Storm waterslides, FlowRider, an escape room, and more. In addition, new restaurants were added, including Playmakers, Izumi, and Fish and Ships.
Below is a summary of the dining venues on Independence of the Seas.
Complimentary dining:
- Windjammer buffet
- Main Dining Room
- Cafe Promenade
- Sorrento’s
- Fish and Ships
- Sprinkles
Specialty restaurants and for-charge options:
- Chops Grille
- Giovanni’s Table
- Izumi Hibachi
- Johnny Rockets
- Playmakers Sports Bar
- Sugar Beach
- Scoops by Sugar Beach
Here’s everything my mom and I ate while on our five-day cruise onboard Independence of the Seas, along with our thoughts on each dish.
Main Dining Room
Night one: Welcome Aboard
The “Welcome Aboard” menu features mainly American cuisine. The chef’s recommendations include the crispy crab cake, southern fried chicken, and key lime pie.
For the starter, I ordered the spinach and artichoke dip while my mom got the escargot and crispy crab cake. The crab cake is her favorite Royal Caribbean appetizer, and it did not disappoint.
My mom commented that she wished there was more garlic in the escargot and she would've liked it to be served warmer. I also found that the spinach and artichoke dip wasn't as warm as I would've liked.
For the main course, I got the Southern fried chicken while my mom got the slow-roasted prime rib. The chicken came with mashed potatoes and corn on the cob. The chicken was moist, and the honey dipping sauce complemented the flavor.
My mom liked her medium-well prime rib, which came with mashed potatoes and vegetables.
For dessert, I got the key lime pie while my mom got the Boston cream pie.
We also shared the no-sugar-added dark chocolate custard. My mom is diabetic, so she felt obligated to try the no-sugar-added desserts.
I always enjoy the key lime pie; it was delicious on Independence. My mom thought the Boston cream pie was OK but nothing to get excited about. We thought the custard was pretty good, especially for being a no-sugar-added dessert, but it would've been even better with some more whipped cream on top.
Night two: A Taste of Italy
Italian night is one of my favorite menus on a Royal Caribbean cruise. The chef’s recommendations for this menu included minestrone, lasagna, and tiramisu.
I ordered the parmesan arancini for a starter while my mom got the garden salad and minestrone. I liked the arancini, but I wished it had more romesco (tomato) sauce.
My mom was surprised at how much flavor the minestrone soup had, so she was happy. She also thought the salad was light and crispy.
Since we had eaten a lot of great food while at Perfect Day at CocoCay, we decided to share the chicken parmesan for our main course. We agreed that the crispy chicken parmesan was good but the spaghetti was not outstanding.
I loved the dessert selections on this menu, so I got the tiramisu and lemon curd tartlet.
My mom also got the lemon curd tartlet as well as the no-sugar-added coffee pot de creme.
They were all very good, but the lemon tartlet was the winner for us!
Night four: A Taste of Mexico
The chef's recommendations for this menu were the roasted poblano soup, chili-lime-crusted salmon, and tres leches.
For our starters, we got the grilled sweet corn cakes, tortilla soup, and escargot. The corn cakes are something I would never think to eat while on land, so I liked trying something new.
My mom thought the tomato-based soup had a nice flavor. She also thought the escargot was better because it had more of a garlic flavor, but it still wasn't as hot as she would've preferred.
I was boring (because I am not a Mexican food fan) and got the grilled chicken breast. This was served with roasted potatoes and vegetables. I was afraid the food would be lackluster, but I was pleasantly surprised with how much I liked it.
I also ordered the mac n cheese from the kid's menu because it sounded too good not to try! Yum!
Mom got the pulled pork enchilada based on our waiter’s recommendation. She thought it was very good and just spicy enough without being too overpowering.
I enjoyed my dessert selection, which was the tres leches with layers of creamy sponge cake.
Mom got the no-sugar-added coconut layer cake. This came with whipped cream and a raspberry sauce, but she was glad she also ordered the no-sugar-added vanilla ice cream to eat with it since the cake was a little dry. She wished the cake had more raspberry sauce.
Every night in the Main Dining Room, we were served a bread basket before the starter. I always had a cheese bun - my favorite!
Day five: Breakfast
On our last sea day, my mom and I had breakfast in the Main Dining Room. Like dinners, this is a sit-down service. On our cruise, breakfast in the Main Dining Room was offered every day, but they served later on sea days. We prioritized coming here for breakfast because it was something different than the Windjammer.
I ordered the ham and cheese omelet along with a fruit cup. My omelet also came with a hashbrown potato and white toast. I thought the omelet tasted the same as the one I would've got in the Windjammer, but I still thought it tasted good.
Mom ordered the market vegetable breakfast bowl, which had two eggs served on top of a bowl of vegetables, cheese, and potatoes.
The whole meal was great, in my opinion. Mom really enjoyed her breakfast bowl and was glad to try something new. In addition to the nice breakfast, we had great conversations with the two tables on both sides of us.
Day five: Lunch
The last meal we had in the Main Dining Room was lunch. On this cruise, lunch in the Main Dining Room was only served on sea days from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
I ordered the mozzarella sticks as an appetizer. I loved these mozzarella sticks, and I think they're better than the ones at Perfect Day at CocoCay!
For the main course, I got the grilled beef quesadilla while my mom got the seafood sandwich. I wasn't sure if I was going to like the quesadilla, but I was happy with how good it tasted. I was impressed!
Mom enjoyed her seafood sandwich, which included fried shrimp, cod, calamari, coleslaw, tartar sauce, and pickles.
For dessert, we both got the white chocolate mousse, which was garnished with raspberry coulis and ladyfingers. This dessert was amazing and one of our favorites from the entire cruise. I wish they served this at dinner too!
I highly recommend trying the Main Dining Room for lunch at least once during your cruise.
Windjammer
Breakfasts
What we got at the Windjammer for breakfast was similar each morning we ate there.
I would usually order a custom omelet and then grab a hashbrown round along with some cranberry bread.
Mom would usually get bacon, eggs (either scrambled or overhard), fruit, and cranberry bread. She also gets lots of coffee!
One morning, she tried the avocado toast and bran muffin. She really liked the bran muffins but she found that the avocado toast was bland.
Night three: Dinner
This night was formal night. We normally eat in the Main Dining Room for formal night, but since we wanted to go to Grease (it was showing during our regular dining time), we decided to go to the Windjammer.
The theme in the Windjammer was “Savor La France” and was described as having, “croque madame, coq au vin, chicken cordon bleu, and french desserts.” Most of the food offered in the Windjammer was also served in the Main Dining Room since it was “A Taste of France” night.
The Windjammer was not super busy, so we were happy to grab a table near the window and watch the sunset while we ate dinner.
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I definitely wanted to try the chicken cordon blue, so I got that along with some potatoes, green beans, and quiche Lorraine.
My mom also got chicken cordon bleu, as well as green beans, pineapple, quiche, and a Caesar salad. We agreed that everything tasted fine but not exceptional, which is to be expected at a buffet.
A fun dessert option this night was a crepe bar! I got a crepe with chocolate and strawberries while my mom got one with just strawberries. She also noticed there were no-sugar-added desserts in the Windjammer like there are in the Main Dining Room.
In addition to the crepe, I tried the apple cobbler which I thought was OK. It just tastes better in the dining room, in my opinion!
Giovanni's Table
We were only planning on eating at Giovanni’s Table once, but it was so good that we came twice! Lunch was $22.99 per person while dinner was $54.99 per person.
Day three: Lunch
We started the meal with a bread basket along with oil and cheese for dipping.
For the "primi," I selected the minestrone while mom had the Caprese salad and crispy calamari. I thought the minestrone was delicious and much better than the Main Dining Room minestrone.
The Caprese salad, which included heirloom tomatoes, creamy truffled burrata, pesto, and basil, was very good, but we wished there was more pesto.
As for the calamari, my mom loved it! The calamari was huge, probably five times the size of what you’d find in the Main Dining Room. The huge, meaty chunks had a light and crispy coating and were served with tomato sauce, lemon, and garlic aioli. The calamari was out of this world and she couldn't stop talking about how good it was (even to this day)!
Both of us got the seared filet mignon for an entree. This was served with a wine sauce, creamy mashed potatoes, and broccolini. Our waiter challenged us to compare this filet to the one at Chops Grille. He guaranteed it would be better, and we certainly agreed.
The filet was cooked to perfection and was so tender. The mashed potatoes were beautifully presented and tasted great. I thought the broccolini was fine, so I ate more of the meat and potatoes.
In addition to the filet, we selected two pastas to share: tagliatelle carbonara and gnocchi gorgonzola. We both agreed the gnocchi was better than the carbonara. The carbonara was satisfactory but it needed more flavor.
The gnocchi was tossed in a creamy sauce and had spinach and parmesan cheese. It was the best gnocchi I’ve had in a long time!
Now for the best part of the meal. I was excited to get the tiramisu, which had layers of espresso, Kahlua-soaked ladyfingers, and sweet mascarpone cream. It was so much better than the Main Dining Room tiramisu, and it was huge!
Mom wasn't sure what to order, so she tried the lemon and tutti frutti ricotta cream cannoli. She thought it was dull and would never order it again.
She wanted to try something else so she ordered the "Assorted Italian Ice Cream." We both loved this dessert, as it had layers of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry Italian ice cream with delicious toppings, including chocolate chunks, strawberries, and pistachios.
Night five: Dinner
Our waiter convinced us to come back to Giovanni’s Table for dinner on the last night of the cruise. He offered us a BOGO offer, so we couldn't say no!
The dinner menu is extremely similar to the lunch menu with only a few small changes. The eggplant parmesan was an appetizer during dinner while it was a main course option on the lunch menu. Also, the beef carpaccio was a new appetizer option during dinner, and the Ossobucco (veal) was a new main entree option during dinner.
I ended up having almost the same meal at dinner as I had for lunch, but I tried a new pasta and main course.
Read more: 7 reasons to eat at specialty restaurants instead of the Main Dining Room on your cruise
For the appetizer, I had the minestrone soup again while my mom got the calamari again (it was still amazing).
She did try the beef carpaccio too. This thinly-sliced beef tenderloin was tender and flavorful, so she really enjoyed it.
Mom got the filet mignon once again while I tried the chicken piccata. The chicken was served with gnocchi, spinach, and cherry tomatoes. I would recommend it, but I think the filet mignon was better.
We were happy we tried a new pasta this time, the wild mushroom risotto. We also got the gnocchi gorgonzola again because it was that tasty! Comparing the two, the gnocchi was still our favorite.
I got the tiramisu for dessert again and I absolutely loved it. Mom also got the tiramisu and she could hardly eat it after our big meal. Nonetheless, it was still so delectable!
Fish and Ships
This complimentary dining venue is available only on Independence of the Seas and Ovation of the Seas. I had never eaten here before, so I was excited to see what it was like!
Everything here is included, except for the $12 “Fried Lobster Tail Basket and Chips.” There is a selection of:
- Fish and chips
- Chicken fingers and chips
- Fried shrimp and chips
- Crispy fish sandwich
We chose to eat here once we got onboard during embarkation day because we wanted to avoid the busy Windjammer. There was no line at Fish and Ships, so we made the right decision. I ordered the chicken tenders while my mom got the fish sandwich and shrimp. We also shared a creme brulee dessert.
The tenders were so tiny that they shouldn't been called chicken nuggets! They were served with honey mustard and fries. Overall, I thought it was a yummy snack, but definitely not filling unless I went back for more.
Mom’s fish was breaded, fried, and tasty when dipped in the tartar sauce. The coasting was very thick.
I wish more Royal Caribbean ships had this dining venue because having more quick casual, complimentary dining options is ideal, especially on the pool deck.
Sorrento’s
I usually like Sorrento's on a Royal Caribbean cruise. On this cruise, however, I wasn't impressed. Every time I stopped by, there weren't many pizza options and if there were any available slices, they looked dry like they had been sitting out for a long time.
I tried a slice of pepperoni and cheese pizza when I wanted a snack. I thought the pizza was mediocre so I didn’t go out of my way to get it again.
Johnny Rockets
While we didn't have an actual meal at Johnny Rockets, I went there twice to get a milkshake.
I appreciate that I can use my Diamond Plus drink vouchers on these milkshakes. The first time I got the Oreo milkshake and the second time I got the strawberry one. I loved both of them, but if I had to pick one, I would pick the Oreo shake as being the best.
Mom tried the vanilla shake, which she found to be refreshing.
Crown Lounge
Since my mom and I are Diamond Plus cruisers, we would sometimes stop by the Crown Lounge for a snack. This lounge was never busy because there were only about 125 Diamond cruisers on our sailing.
For breakfast one morning, we wanted to see what the options were. I had a fruit bowl and chocolate croissant while mom tried the bran muffin, fruit plate, and yogurt parfait. She also got a latte at the coffee machine.
We stopped by the Crown Lounge before dinner one night so we could try some appetizers, like chocolate-covered strawberries and chicken wings.
The Diamond Lounge on the Independence of the Seas has such a beautiful view, making anything you eat there just a little better.
Room Service
On the last sea day, my mom wanted to order room service. Room service continental breakfast is free every day of the cruise. She selected an arrival time of 9-9:30 a.m. At 8:50 a.m., she got a call to our stateroom to verify that she was awake and ready to receive her food. Within five minutes, the food was delivered.
She ordered an English muffin, fruit, two pots of coffee, and chocolate milk (for me). She expected the English muffin to be cold but to her surprise, it was still warm because it was wrapped in a napkin. The coffee also arrived hot, which she appreciated.
Bonus: Hideaway Beach at Perfect Day at CocoCay
During our time at Perfect Day at CocoCay, we had some great food!
We spent our day at the adults-only Hideaway Beach. This new area of the island features a pizza venue called Slice of Paradise as well as a Snack Shack that offers unique dishes.
Mom and I got lunch at Snack Shack, which consisted of the crispy chicken sandwich for me while mom got the coconut shrimp. I made sure to order my chicken sandwich with the secret ingredient: mozzarella sticks! It was quite tasty.
Mom loved the coconut shrimp because they were large, hot, and crispy. She definitely got her money’s worth because she got 18 of them throughout the day! She had been looking forward to the Hideaway Beach coconut shrimp the entire cruise.
Mom also decided to try ceviche for the first time since this is only offered at Hideaway Beach. She found it to be spicy and sour. After one bite, she knew she didn't want anymore!
We split a funnel cake for our dessert. We loved the crispy texture with the powdered sugar dusting on top. Every visit to CocoCay, we look forward to having a funnel cake.
Before we left to go back to the ship, I wanted to try a slice of pizza. I got the barbeque chicken pizza and thought it was OK. I felt that it tasted similar to the pizza you would find at Sorrento’s, which is nothing to rave about.
More Royal Caribbean dining information:
