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On 6/20/2019 at 1:05 PM, jaz33 said:

Hi all

 

We’ve been on the Independence of the Seas now for 6 days of a 14 night Western Mediterranean cruise.  I thought that I would offer my impression of the cruise so far.

 

We have cruised RCCL and Celebrity many time before but unfortunately, due to illness, we have not been able to cruise for the last three years. 

 

Ok, so embarkation was a breeze.  I was concerned about this because we had about 70kg of medical supplies as well as luggage to get onto the ship.  After much liaising with RCCL Special Services we were met outside the terminal in Southampton by a porter who unloaded the luggage from the car and took it straight to our stateroom.  The time was 10.10am.  I then parked the car and went to check in.  I had completed our set sail passes online and had expedited check in which was a breeze.  A quick scan of the Royal app on our phones, a few questions and straight through security and into the lounge to wait for boarding to commence. By 10.35am we were in the Schooner Bar.  Well done to all involved for such a smooth boarding process. 

 

After a quick drink in Schooner we went to Guest Relations to ask if we could make sure our medical supplies had arrived in the room.  Usually you can’t go to the stateroom until 1pm but they allowed us to go early to check everything. All had been delivered so now time to relax and enjoy the next 14 nights and days.

 

Neither Tracy or myself are big drinkers but the drink package was included in our cruise fare, I won’t say it was free because we all know that you get nothing for free.  The first evening of the cruise was crowded. Two things stood out, after the late seating dinner had finished you could not get a seat in any of the bars, and there was a distinct lack of bar servers.  This may be because there is the impression that the Brits will go to the bar if they want a drink, which I suppose is not wrong, but if you are trying to encourage people to go to the bar for there drinks it might be a good idea to remove the seating from around the bar so people can get to it.  Personally, I prefer to be served my drink when I am on a cruise so maybe I’m not a ‘typical Brit’.

 

The other thing that we discovered was that our stateroom was directly over the Pub!!!!  This is by no means a criticism of Royal Caribbean, I should have done my research first.  Let’s just say that if you don’t anticipate being out until around 12.30am then try to avoid the rooms over the Pub.

 

The second day was the first sea day and as the ship was crossing the Bay of Biscay it wasn’t really outside pool/Sunbathing weather.  Everyone was inside.  Once again the bars were full and finding a seat was difficult.  Not only that but there was a distinct lack of drink menus in any of the bars.   There are now drinks men’s on most tables but the bar servers are still missing. Perhaps they abandoned ship before the started its season in Southampton knowing what some Brits are like with tipping!!!

 

We’re going to dinner now, I’ll update tomorrow. Any questions? Ask away.

I have been looking into the independence,does the independence do the welcome balloon drop on day 1?

We paid 88.00 for our 4 nt cruise out of terminal A port miami. They only take debit or credit cards no cash and you pay when you leave .

On 6/6/2019 at 11:09 AM, CruiseyMcBoatFace said:

Hi, all. My mother is taking my ten-year-old son on a cruise in a couple of weeks, and I'm wondering about the spending money situation.

 

I would like to send him with some pocket money for ice cream, arcade games, etc., plus treating his grandma to a latte -- say, $10 a day.

 

 

What are my options for making this happen? Ideally the money would be put on his shipboard account for him to draw on as needed. (IDEALLY-ideally, there would be a daily limit that prevented him from overspending on one day or another, but that seems unlikely, and it's a fine opportunity for him to practice managing his money.)

 

Thanks.

 

We took a 12 year on the symphony and the only thing they really need money for is the arcade, he spent a lot of time in the arcade, we purchased arcade credit on cruise planner the price to purchase in advance was different increments. And we purchased the $80.00 for $100.00 in credit.

2 hours ago, SCruiseFam said:

Thanks everyone!

 

I plan to get to the port about 1, and just stay put until the rooms open. I’m always nervous about being that 1 in whatever that gets their luggage lost. I’d just prefer to have my luggage with me. 

I just got off the symphony and I too was afraid my luggage would get lost but everything was very smooth at the miami terminal we even had our luggage at exactly 1o clock.

6 minutes ago, karena1 said:

not to be negative or anything, but did you not have to sign a waiver before you went on the slide?  Just curious.

No 

Many of you read my post about how I was burned pretty severe on the abyss on the symphony of the seas about 1 1/2 week ago. After I returned home I was still in pain and running a fever so I ended up being treated by my personal md who told me It will take weeks if not months for my burn wound to heal completely and I will definitely have a large scar on my arm.... i know many of you may say this sounds crazy and I slid down the abyss slide at my own risk but honestly I feel like there is something royal Caribbean should do regarding this. Because they admitted to me when I filed my accident report that they are aware that many people have gotten hurt on the abyss.... but why have they not taken any precautions to prevent this if they are aware? I'm not asking for a free cruise or anything but this incident ruined my cruise and I will have a scar on my arm to forever remind me of what happened it seems something can  be done to compensate for what happened? Who do I call or contact that will effectively take my matter serious and at least look into it to see if they can do something or do you think contacting royal would be a waste of my time?

3 minutes ago, reallyitsmema said:

We were just on Harmony a few weeks ago and we were listening to the crew member give safety instructions on how you have to hold the bag underhanded so your elbows will not stick out.  He was also turning away people who were not in long sleeves and was also recommending longer shorts or pants.  We didn't end up riding Abyss but I really didn't like the look of the bag/mat that you ride on.  What were they saying about long sleeves on Symphony?

They said nothing about long sleeves.. I held on like instructed and leaned back and my mat still shifted....

I just got off my cruise on Symphony, I will start off by saying the ship is beautiful and it is massive!! I just want to share my story for anyone that will be cruising on symphony or any other oasis class ship that has the Abyss slide....my daughter and I decided to do the abyss and the staff gave us instructions and I followed them directly but as I begin to slide and the slide turned angles my mat shifted and It caused me to slide down the slide all the way down going 10 mph on my right arm, all I felt was burning pain the whole way down, when I got off the slide the skin was gone all the way to my elbow on my arm. My family even told me who was waiting at the bottom of the slide they actually heard the squealing sound when I was coming down which was my arm screeching down the slide.

I got to my stateroom in excruciating pain, had to go down to the medical facility and file a injury report and the dr seen me cleaned the wound, bandaged it  with gauze and I had to get a tetanus shot and antibiotics , I was told I could not get in any water, not the pool and especially not  the ocean because of bacteria, so my dreams of enjoying perfect day at Cococay the next day were ruined... I had to go back to the medical facility the next day to have it re bandaged because it was oozing and I started running a fever.... I faced so many obstacles prior to this trip and I was so excited for this cruise then this happened.. I spent the remainder of trip in pain and I cant even touch my arm and I'm sure I will have a scar when it heals....when the staff came in to talk to me after the accident report they told me these burns happen alot.... if this is happening alot there is obviously a design flaw on the abyss and royal needs to  fix it....I don't know if I need to contact the corporate office to address my concern or just let it go but I just want to warn everyone especially children wear a jacket or a long sleeve shirt and hopefully you wont experience what I experienced....

On 3/24/2019 at 9:59 AM, er345 said:

For future riders, yes they tell you how to hold in your elbows and knees. But if you don’t have long sleeves it is still possible to get burned even with your arms straight. When my mat slid up one side I ended up sliding on my left side and got a terrible burn on the back of my left arm.  It was very painful for about two weeks and needed medical attention. Now I have a large scar. I was wearing short sleeves so if you have anything long sleeved think about wearing it on the slide.

I just got off the symphony and I rode the abyss, I followed directions like they told me to, but while sliding my mat shifted and i slid the remainder of the slide on my right arm, burning it so bad taking off the skin to the white meat on my arm. I was in alot of pain had to get medical attention on the ship. I think the abyss has a flaw and royal needs to fix it. When you got burnt on the abyss did you file an accident  report or did you contact royal Caribbean corporate office? 

1 minute ago, Cru1s1ng2009 said:

do you drink or gamble?

No, my spouse may go to the casino once or twice but it wont be nothing g excessive. We've already prepaid gratuities so that is not an issue.

Okay so we are about a week out before I cruise and unfortunately we had a unexpected Financial issue and we had to make adjustments to our spending money amounts that we were going to take on the cruise as far as cash is concerned. I'm really starting to stress out because I'm not sure if we're going to have enough spending money when we get on the islands to buy souvenirs Etc. Our cruise is only four nights and I was hoping some of you can give me some advice to kind of gauge what should be okay as far as cash to take on the cruise we would not be doing any excursions nothing extra just Cruising  we might buy a couple of souvenirs but that's about it just trying to get some advice

I seen several you tube videos that the symphony does a balloon drop on day 1...maybe part of their sail away party? It seems it is done on all seven day cruises, but what about four day cruises? Do they do the balloon drop as well? 

I am coming down to the final weeks till our cruise, our cruise is 4 nights and I am trying to get a budget together for our spending money.... we have budgeted 800.00  on our credit card for our family of four for the onboard ship purchases. We are only visiting Bahamas, and we want to use cash in the ports, we wont be making any major purchases in port or doing any excursions , I know it is up to me on how much to budget but im trying to get an idea for those that don't mind to give me advice, how much cash is ideal for this length of cruise and is there any expenses that I might need cash for that I may not have listed? 

42 minutes ago, leisuretraveler223 said:

I still can't believe a supposed LEO has his spouse asking what to do with his gun on a cruise message board.  This is NOT an encouraging reflection of the caliber of some LEOs.....

I asked the question about my spouse carrying their firearm because I was seeking advice from this group because I thought this is what these boards are for....I never said my spouse  was asking....I was the one  seeking advice from other cruisers....how does my question reflect the caliber of some LEO's? My spouse is a great LEO and puts their their life on the line everyday for people, this is rather offensive to judge their caliber because I just wanted insight from other cruisers....

Our cruise leaves out of port Miami and we decided we are driving to the port, it will take about 12 hours and I am trying to organize this trip to be as fun as possible especially with 2 teens. I just have a few questions....

1. I thought about packing food & drinks to minimize spending tons of money at gas stations, would that be wise or it that too much?

2. I thought that we should leave at least 2 days prior to cruise so we can stopover and rest and not try to drive 12 hrs straight. Would that be a waste of money getting hotels?

3. So my spouse is licensed to carry guns and even though we know we cant take it on the ship, my spouse is in law enforcement and thinks we need to bring a gun to keep In  the car for safety reasons, but that means we would have to leave it in the car at the port for a week and risk someone breaking in our car and possibly stealing it, should we even bring it?

4. Packing ..... I think Im packing too much ..... Our cruise is in may is it extremely hot in the bahamas like it is in July or august? 

17 minutes ago, cb at sea said:

What you "carry on" will depend on how much you want to lug around with you.  Of course, anything of VALUE, and any Rx's should be in your carry-on..the rest is up to you!

 

I know whatever we bring on board we have to carry around with us until our rooms are ready so do most people use backpacks for carry ons or rollaway luggage?  will a small rollaway fit in the scanners at the symphony terminal?

9 minutes ago, brillohead said:

Depends if you're talking about your carry-on for the plane, or your carry-on for the ship.  

 

I should've clarified this is for the carryon on the ship we are driving to port 

I should've clarified this is for the carry on to take on the ship... we are driving to port.

Ok so I've been reading about what to carry in your carry on and I have some questions, I plan to put my first aid bag I made with all the  otc meds I think we might need , our toiletry bag and I wanted to pack our bathing suits, extra pair of clothes and dinner clothes. Is this too much for my carry on? I feel like this is too much for a carry on but I also feel like I'm forgetting  something . Any thoughts??

I just downloaded the Royal app and it says wifi is free using the app so no need to purchase internet package, but I've heard this is not true for all ships, does anyone know if symphony has this feature ? Also what do we need to do to make sure we are not accidentally roaming on the cruise and come to a outrageous cell phone bill?

We prepaid our gratuity when we booked our cruise... so there shouldn't be any auto pay set up on our account right? As far as gruituity, isn't that taken care of upfront when you prepay so we don't have to worry about tipping unless we wanted to do extra?

Hello, I'm back with another question. We are looking into excursions while in port in Nassau. I've read many people say it is cheaper to book through Independent companies but since we are new cruisers I would prefer to book through royal.

So the excursion I'm interested in is a tour of nassau that includes a stop at Atlantis. My question is how does it work once you purchase the excursion? Do you get to port and someone will direct us to where we need to go? Do the tour people make sure we get back to the boat in time? Are tours even safe in nassau? I dont want to get lost, robbed  or left behind.

Thanks everyone for the encouragement. I will start looking into things to do while in port in nassau. This will be our childrens very 1st cruise and we are determined to make this vacation special.  Thanks again.

Ok.... I just need a little encouragement from the fellow cruisers.... my family and I are going on the symphony of the seas Bahamas cruise in may. We have been so excited and have been in great  anticipation.  After having a conversation with a friend that cruises often they said to me that we are wasting our money going on a cruise to the Bahamas and that Bahamas is only 50 miles from Florida and it is not worth the 12 hour drive to get to the port and cruise to a place that only takes a hr to get to by plane. Honestly I felt a little discouraged and they made me feel sorta stupid and a little embarrassed that I've been so excited  because I never thought of how close the Bahamas was. We are definitely still going but it kinda hurt my feelings that someone would say we are basically throwing our money away.... just curious does anyone else think Bahamas cruises are a waste of money?

I think we have decided it would be cheaper to do a one way car rental from national car rental in Tennessee to Miami airport for our cruise on symphony because letting a rental car sit in a parking garage for a week while were on a cruise is a waste of money.... our only dilemma is we cannot get national car at Miami airport to answer their phone so I can find out if they offer shuttle to and from the port. Does anyone know if National car rental at Miami airport offers shuttle??