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Trip Bacon
What This Creator Said
Creator RecommendsFull Ship Review🥉Knowledgeable Creator
❤️ Best for CoupleFrom SouthamptonVeteran Cruiser

Source: Our analysis of the creator's lived experience, based on what they said in this video.

Creator's Key Takeaways

This ship is nearly 20 years old and still looking great for its age.

The service has been probably the best I've ever had or one of the best I've ever had on a cruise ship.

This was probably the most disappointing cabin we've had.

The cabanas are, I think, in my opinion, a complete ripoff.

Creator's Tips & Advice

Book the hibachi restaurant far in advance on the cruise planner to save money.
Avoid the buffet at peak times to avoid long lines.
Use the Crown Lounge if you have Diamond status to avoid queues at guest services.

🆕New to Cruising? This Creator Addresses:

Ship age and conditionDespite being 20 years old, the ship is well-maintained in public areas due to recent amplification.
Buffet crowdsGo during off-peak hours to avoid lines.
Hidden costsBook specialty dining and excursions in advance via the planner to save money.

Questions This Creator Answers

QIs Independence of the Seas outdated?
QIs it worth the money?
QWhat are the pros and cons of sailing on this ship?

Topics Covered

Dining Specialty2½ Happy BaconLoyalty Program4½ Happy BaconValue Pricing2½ Sad BaconShip Condition3 Happy BaconService Crew4½ Happy BaconCabin Interior3½ Sad BaconDining Main3 Happy BaconDining Buffet2½ Happy Bacon
How to read the Trip Bacon Score
Happy Bacon — creators loved this aspect
Sad Bacon — creators took issue with this
Meh — no strong opinion either way

Scale: 0–5 strips in half-step increments. 0 = “meh”, 5 = “bacon bliss”. Aggregated from creator-review sentiment, weighted by channel expertise.

About our Bacon Score methodology
YouTube Video Description

Is Independence of the Seas worth your hard-earned money? We sailed Royal Caribbean’s legendary ship and uncovered some surprises—both awesome and not-so-great! Watch before you book so you know exactly what to expect. What You’ll Discover in This Video: ✅ The GOOD: What genuinely blew us away about Independence of the Seas ❌ The BAD: Hidden costs and disappointments we wish we’d known about 🛏️ Cabin review: Including that infamous leak moment 🍽️ Food breakdown: What’s worth your calories (and what isn’t) 💰 Our honest verdict: Is it really great value for money? ⏰ Timestamps for Easy Viewing: Time Topic 00:00 - 00:24 - Intro 00:24 - 01:36 - Cabin Review 01:41 - 05:26 - The Food 05:26 - 06:42 - The Outdoor Spaces 06:42 - 08:15 - The Bars 08:15 - 08:53 - Promenade and the Artwork 08:53 - 09:14 - Nightlife 09:14 - 09:47 - Shops 09:47 - 10:10 - Handy Loyalty Benefits 10:10 - 11:51 - The GOOD 11:51 - 13:35 - The BAD 13:35 - 14:46 - Conclusion and Pricing! Join the Conversation! What’s your biggest concern about booking Independence of the Seas? Drop your questions in the comments—I answer every single one! Got a cruise horror story or a must-try tip? Share it below! Who Are We? We’re John and Austin, a British-American couple obsessed with honest cruise reviews and amazing adventures. No sugar-coating, no sponsored fluff—just real talk to help you cruise smarter (and cheaper!). 🎬 *WATCH MORE / PLAYLISTS* 🆕 *LATEST VIDEO* If you’re new here, start with my main content below: Royal Caribbean: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMTesTjbbSX7rSLsD9ruNn7S Celebrity Cruises: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMR2O9vlFfGIWx0Dur4VFfu9 MSC Cruises: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMTeM1e4ESPLxjObtVl-qP2r Cunard: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMQ9WYHkpHLMrGm0XspduSut Hotels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMQYq6ASoesNgp9aAtbuqmQV Flights: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMR0k9pWbof7TLUOufNNXfIb Hacks: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMRwM_9BIiPxbzKjuNwPVlCk Experiences: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhHbXMnxyLMTqo9_CpybPnKHJ-DCGULHc 👍 *LIKE • COMMENT • SUBSCRIBE* Enjoyed this video? Hit that 👍 and drop a comment below! 🔔 Click the bell to get notified every time I go live or drop a new vid. ┏━ 📱 *FOLLOW ME ON SOCIALS* ━━━━━━━━━━━━ ┃ • Instagram: * / john.and.austin ┗━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ Affiliate Li5nks: My Travel Kit - https://amzn.to/44mA08p