The lift says it’s Tuesday so it must be Naples. It took us a couple of days into the voyage on Independence of the Seas to notice that the small panel, fitted into the carpet of all the lifts, announced the day.

I can only guess that around midnight a member of the crew has the job of changing the carpet tiles in all of the ship’s 16 lifts, but we never saw him.

This small task amply illustrates the attention to detail the crew lavish on the ship and passengers alike.

We had boarded the Independence a few days before in Barcelona. Arriving on the quayside nothing prepared us for the size of the ship. She is huge, longer than three-and-a-half football pitches or a whole bus depot of double deckers (the standard measure, I understand, for ships).

Our cabin was luxurious with plenty of storage space and patio-style doors led to our own balcony where, each evening, we could watch the sunset. After unpacking it was time to explore.

The ship is spotless, it sparkles. The décor is spectacular, with more than 6,000 works of art including paintings, sculptures, photographs and mosaics.

The most impressive feature of the ship is the 136m-long, four-deck high, Royal Promenade complete with pubs, shops, a restaurant, café, barbers, champagne bar, disco and ice-cream parlour. You could be forgiven for forgetting you are on a ship.

The main dining room is actually three restaurants on three different decks. The Romeo and Juliet, the MacBeth and King Lear each has two sittings for dinner.

Passengers can also book a table at either the Chops Grille or Portofino, where reservations are required and a per person fee. We tried Portofinos one evening and both the meal and service were superb. Well worth the extra few bucks. Oh, the currency on board is in dollars but don’t worry you don’t need to carry around a fat wallet, all purchases are transacted using your “ship pass” which also doubles as your cabin key.

After dinner you can watch West End-style entertainment in the main 1,350-seat theatre. We dropped in for the last half of a very funny set from comedian Kev Orkian.

There are also fabulous ice-shows, and for the more energetic, there’s dancing in the Labyrinth Disco or Pyramid Lounge and karaoke nights at the On Air Club.

But our favorite late-night venue was the Olive or Twist Martini Bar right up on deck 14, all soft lights and smoochy music.

From Barcelona we sailed for Livorno and had a whole day at sea to sample the onboard activities.

There is no excuse for not knowing what’s going on as the daily newspaper Cruise Compass lists the day’s events and provides loads of useful information.

It was a bit too cool to try out all three swimming areas but we did have a soak in one of the six whirlpools, two of which jut out 12 feet from the side of the ship, great for relaxing after a tiring day ashore.

For the more energetic there’s loads of things to try. Up the “sharp end” is the fitness suite with free weights, resistance machines, treadmills, stationary bikes, stair steppers and a full-size boxing ring.

The young people onboard have their own area called Adventure Ocean which caters for ages three to 11.

The teens have The Living Room to chill out in and their own disco. On deck 13 you’ll find the rock-climbing wall where instructors will help you conquer the 43ft stern face of Independence.

Just aft, beyond the nine-hole miniature golf course and the basketball court is the Flow-Rider where you can try your hand at surfing a perfect wave. Great fun but my surfing days are long past!

Independence of the Seas gets a ten out of ten from us for things to do, it is not so much about what to do but rather how to fit it all in.