Travel Review: Royal Caribbean Bahamas Cruise

In July 2023, my (Peggy) and my husband took a 4-night cruise to the Bahamas on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Here is my detailed review of the cruise and why I started planning my next Royal Caribbean cruise halfway through the trip. The itinerary was early afternoon boarding the ship, a day at sea, a day at Nassau Bahamas, a day at Perfect Day at Coco Cay, and then back to Port Canaveral Florida.

Stepping onto the ship on embarkation day, the bright lights in the Royal Promenade hallway of shops and restaurants welcome all the guests onto the ship. The first thought that came to mind after stepping onto the ship was where to get lunch. As a huge fan of diners, it was quite a maze trying to find the Johnny Rockets. This restaurant is a childhood staple, growing up with that classic diner feel in the mall and now on a big cruise ship. On one of the higher decks of the ship, lunch was served at Johnny Rockets for a flat rate of $6.95 per person for anything on the menu.

And of course the mermaid in me was in the main pool most of the afternoon after lunch on day 1 of the cruise. One fact about cruise ship pools that I quickly learned on the first day was you can NOT jump into the pools, which was very disappointing. One thing to note about the main dining hall is that it is one of the highlights of a Royal Caribbean Cruise. It was HUGE! Very ornate design, majestic in decor, and lots of windows to see outside. Each night of the cruise, the main dining room has a different theme to the dinner menu.

Pictured above is the view of the sunset over the ocean from the Main Dining Hall. Great view while waiting for the food to come and sipping on cocktails.

Before I share details about the fun day at sea, I need to talk about the mini arcade games. Every time I go to an arcade or anywhere with arcade games, I always look for Skee Ball machines. In the sports’ bar restaurant on the ship, located right next to the onboard casino, is the Playmaker’s Sports Bar & Arcade. The only “arcade” part of this sports’ bar is the two Skee Ball machines. For $2 per game charged to your room card, you can play games of Skee Ball and it was so much fun. For each day of the cruise, I snuck over the Playmaker’s Bar at least once a day to play some Skee Ball.

Looks like next to the Skee Ball machines, there was also a small basketball game.

Day 2 was a day at sea, which is a free for all with no set schedule. Some ideas on things to do on the Day at Sea for a young couple: spend time in the Solarium (adults’ only pool area with bar attendants who bring drinks to the pool), make frequent trips to the main pool deck for the complimentary soft serve ice cream, play a few slot machines at the casino, try some surfing on the Flow Rider surf simulator (next time I will as this trip I just watched in awe), dinner in the Main Dining Room, and an evening performance in the Royal Theater (a wonderful production with excellent dancing).

Soft serve ice cream was always accessible from the Solarium, as I just walked across to the main pool deck and stood in the not-too-long line to help myself to complimentary ice cream. On a Royal Caribbean cruise, soft serve ice cream is a must AT LEAST once a day.

Day 3 of the cruise was a stop at Nassau, Bahamas. Sometimes unexpected things happen, as originally I signed up for two excursions but due to overlapping times I only did one excursion. Looking back only choosing one big activity to do while at port is the best strategy, as it ensures that the group of travelers is not rushed. The tour group was a bit late getting off the ship, but throughout the day I visited quite a few different stops on a food tour of Nassau. It was a great opportunity to try the regional cuisine, learn about the history of Nassau, and see a Nassau area distillery.

Pictured above is The Queen’s Staircase, a historical landmark in Nassau. If you enjoy learning about local history when seeing new places, this is a must see attraction in Nassau. And yes, that is 66 steps up and down so quite some exercise!

To end off day 3, we spent our time at the Schooner Bar both before dinner and after our big meal. The Schooner Bar is a lively nautical themed lounge with unique mixed cocktails that make you want to keep coming back. One thing that made the Schooner Bar fun onboard was it was the main piano bar lounge on the ship, so there was always some entertainment.

Before dinner, after that long day of trying new foods ashore in Nassau, trivia hour was a great way to relax before dinner. My team came in 2nd or 3rd in trivia, so close to winning! After a wonderful meal in the Main Dining Hall (where the servers were always accommodating to my dairy free diet restriction), it was back to the Schooner Bar for some live music as the cast Grease took requests from the audience by the piano bar. Two of the lead performers from Royal Caribbean’s production of Grease were at the piano bar singing songs requested by those sitting in the lounge area of Schooner Bar. Overall, Day 3 was so much fun.

Pictured above is one of the lead actors from the Grease production performing songs at the Schooner Bar, so much fun giving out requests and hearing the lovely music.

Day 4 of the cruise was a stop at Royal Caribbean’s private island in the Bahamas, Perfect Day at Coco Cay. This island was upgraded with all new upgrades in 2019, catered to all ages. This cruise was in peak summer season, and it is hard to avoid rainstorms in the heat of the summer. Right after getting off the ship and getting to the Coco Beach Club, which does cost extra for admittance, the thunder started. Getting under the cover of the Coco Beach Club restaurant, it was hard to stay dry. Luckily, watching the storm was fun and the storm passed in little less than an hour.

After settling down by the infinity pool, it was easy to quickly go up to the bar and order drinks using the drinks package from onboard the ship. Between swimming in the infinity pool facing the ocean waves, lounging in the in-water (pool) loungers, or venturing in the ocean there was always something to do at the Coco Beach Club. Although it cost a bit extra, that fried lobster sandwich and access to a beach AND a pool is worth it.

After a long day of being out in the sun in Coco Cay, I went back on the ship to try out the waterslides. There are two waterslides on Independence of the Seas, and right before dinner time there was barely any line. Although it barely made a difference, I would alternate each slide to see which one was faster. When I got too tired of the water slides, it was off to dinner in the Main Dining Hall. The last night of the cruise ended with seeing the live production of Grease the Musical at the Royal Theater. As one who is all for family-friendly entertainment, I was thoroughly unimpressed with the show although the dancing was well-done.

The first picture above is taken from when I was sitting in the pool looking out towards the beach, where you can see both the pool and beach in one photo. The second picture is of the water slides and Flow Rider on the ship, hoping to try the Flow Rider on my next cruise.

10 Reasons to Go Back on a Royal Caribbean Cruise:

1. The food was amazing, lots of complimentary options
2. So many more activities to try from the ice skating rink to dancing classes to the Flow Rider and the shops that are exclusively on Royal Caribbean
3. Each of the wait staff both at Coco Cay and at the Main Dining Room got to know you by name in a personable way
4. At least once on the sailing, there is a formal night where the entire party of guests traveling together can get dressed up in dress pants (or a suit) and the woman in a dress for a fun night at dinner. A great chance to get professional family photos
5. That soft serve ice cream by the pool deck… I don’t care about any dairy restrictions, it is GOOD ice cream!
6. Seeing each of the ports is like the best of both worlds, you can spend time by the pool at Coco Cay and do a historical sightseeing tour in Nassau – great for those who like to be busy AND those who just want to do nothing.
7. The main buffet on the ship, Windjammer, has such a great menu for every meal. From mixing Bailey’s cream in your coffee to helping yourself to fruit with waffles, there is always something new or different to try in the Windjammer. I especially love how the cuisine is from all around the world.
8. Unlike most trivia nights back home, the trivia on board the ship was only pencil and paper (still a timer for each question). This old-school vibe for trivia was more fun and exciting.
9. The customer service on this vacation was above par to most other vacations, on level if not better than the level of excellent customer service you see at Disney World.
10. This may not be exclusively to Royal Caribbean, but still super cool. When housekeeping comes to your room during the day, they create animal shapes with your towels. Some cruise itineraries even have a workshop on how to make those animal shapes with towels!

Young and old, these animal shaped towels will bring a smile to anyone’s face!

Contact Peggy using the Contact Us page to get a quote for your next Royal Caribbean cruise vacation. Travel with your large family, immediate family, group of friends, or just a couple looking for a getaway.