First Cruise On Independence Of The Seas Help?

[smagni]

Hello Everyone

 

We (Two Adults and Two Kids Girl 14, Boy 12) have booked to travel on the Independence Of The Seas 15th May 2010 from Southampton around the Med.

 

Our cabin is a balcony one on deck 6 and we are all in the same one, overcrowding being a worry. Good job we are all friends too

 

Please forgive my naivety as we have never been on a cruise before and can't wait, but want to make the most of the time and the enormous ship.

 

I have a couple of questions, which will probably be added to as we think of more and more info required the more and more excited we get as we get closer to the holiday.

• We have decided to book without prepaid gratuities because the cost at £91 per person including the kids (£364) seemed excessive to me. I don't mind giving tips for good service and know that it is part and parcel of the custom of cruising. Have I made the right decision and can someone give me an idea of the process of giving tips (heard something about envelopes) to the different staff, Bar, Waiter, Room staff?
  

 

• Visiting Gibraltar, Provence (Toulon), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Cagliari Sardinia, Seville (Cadiz), Lisbon, Vigo ….any advice as to the locality of the ship’s berth and the tourist attractions and best way of getting there would be a real help. We are not really intending going on the organised excursions.
  

 

• Booked our evening dining on the early seating time (8.30) and understand that your table is allocated on arrival. Some of the nights we may not want to dine at that time and that particular restaurant is it ok to dine elsewhere on board and do you have to inform them that you are intending not to dine?
  

 

• The kids are so excited about all the activities onboard especially the climbing wall and flowrider. I have been challenged to master both these too (goes and checks medical insurance) I suppose that these activities are especially busy, is there a good time to use them? Any advice on the entire activities onboard appreciated.
  

 

• I believe that the tickets for theatre and skating shows are particularly hard to come by, allocated on a first come first served basis?
  

 

• Is the movement of the ship anything to be worried about as my son suffers a little from travel sickness when we are on a long car journey and has been a little green around the gills when we have been on catamaran boat trips when on holiday before?
  

I honestly can’t wait to join the cruise fraternity and hope that it will be the first of many. Anyone else going on this cruise please say hi. You will recognise us, our mouths will be agape in amazement!

 

 

Steven

[cb at sea]

Tips: I can't help you with exchange rates (if that was your reason for not doing the pre-paid route...) The suggested tip amount is really the minimum you should tip, per person, per night....you need to consider it part of the price of cruising.....unless someone gives you HORRIBLE service, the standard tip amount is what you should give, whether you tip in cash (in envelopes on the last night of the cruise) or whether you pre-pay in advance....it all works out to the same thing!

 

Your drink purchases will have 15% gratuity added---no need to tip additionally for drink purchases (either soda or alcohol).

 

An E catagory room will feel tighter than a D catagory.....it's doable, but tight!

 

8:30 is the late seating time....early (main) seating is usually at 6:15 or so.... if you have tablemates, it's nice to let them know (if you know) that you won't be joining them one night. You don't HAVE to inform anyone, tho....it's just polite to do so, if you know in advance!

 

Tickets for the shows (ice show)--not all ships use them, and they are NOT "hard to come by"---if you need a ticket, they'll tell you where and when to pick them up--they are free.

 

The motion you may feel will really depend on the seas....if it's calm, you most likely won't feel much at all....if it's rough, there's no escaping the fact that you WILL feel it.

Many folks who suffer motion sickness on land, don't on a large ship. Bring something for your son, just in case....it's miserable being sea sick!

 

Enjoy!

[NorbertsNiece]

Hi there,

Welcome to the boards. You are going to have an awesome time.

We had deck 6 on Indy last year and there is a link to my blog of a similar itinerary in my sig below.

I highly recommend pre paying your tips. You will get a lot of opinion based around this subject. If you do prepay, at the end of your holiday you will receive envelopes in your cabin along with slips which you give to the individuals concerned. You also need to consider having $ bills to tip the room service staff. If you DO prepay your tips that will also mean you can opt for My Time Dining. This is served in the Main Dining Room but you get to decide when you eat.

You are NOT tied to eat in the MDR each night though it is considered polite to advise your server the night before if you aren't going to make it. Sometimes it just happens that you don't go to eat there due to being being delayed or not ready. That's absolutely fine.

Tickets for shows are ample and there is more than one performance so don't fret.

Suggest visiting your GP for some sickness rememdies prior to going and start him off a few days before.

I am very jealous. This is one fabulous ship, crew and itinerary.

[smagni]

Hi and thanks

 

The blogs are great!

 

Making me even more excited at the thought of our holiday aboard

 

Steven

[printingchick]

Hello Everyone

 

We (Two Adults and Two Kids Girl 14, Boy 12) have booked to travel on the Independence Of The Seas 15th May 2010 from Southampton around the Med.

 

Our cabin is a balcony one on deck 6 and we are all in the same one, overcrowding being a worry. Good job we are all friends too

 

Please forgive my naivety as we have never been on a cruise before and can't wait, but want to make the most of the time and the enormous ship.

 

 

I have a couple of questions, which will probably be added to as we think of more and more info required the more and more excited we get as we get closer to the holiday.

• We have decided to book without prepaid gratuities because the cost at £91 per person including the kids (£364) seemed excessive to me. I don't mind giving tips for good service and know that it is part and parcel of the custom of cruising. Have I made the right decision and can someone give me an idea of the process of giving tips (heard something about envelopes) to the different staff, Bar, Waiter, Room staff? I like to either prepay my gratuities (it allows me to choose the MyTime Dining option, which we prefer) or I have also added them automatically to my on-board account. I don't want to have to hunt people down with envelopes and I don't want to forget anyone. Your cruise paperwork will explain how the gratuities are divided. They cover your room steward, your waitstaff and your Maitre D - I believe. As someone else said, they will add the tip automatically to every drink purchase, more or less including it in the price.
  

• Visiting Gibraltar, Provence (Toulon), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Cagliari Sardinia, Seville (Cadiz), Lisbon, Vigo ….any advice as to the locality of the ship’s berth and the tourist attractions and best way of getting there would be a real help. We are not really intending going on the organised excursions. Can't help you here. Have not cruised this itinerary.
  

• Booked our evening dining on the early seating time (8.30) and understand that your table is allocated on arrival. Some of the nights we may not want to dine at that time and that particular restaurant is it ok to dine elsewhere on board and do you have to inform them that you are intending not to dine? Early seating, at least on cruises departing out of the US, is around 6:00. 8:30 would typically be considered the late seating. Yes, you can dine at other times in other eating establishments on the ship. You don't HAVE to inform your waitstaff, but it's probably a polite thing to do if you know in advance.
  

• The kids are so excited about all the activities onboard especially the climbing wall and flowrider. I have been challenged to master both these too (goes and checks medical insurance) I suppose that these activities are especially busy, is there a good time to use them? Any advice on the entire activities onboard appreciated. The 70s party in the Promenade is hugely fun, even for your kids who wouldn't remember the disco era. The parades are also not to be missed. The ice show is great. Contests by the pool, such as the belly flop contest and sexy legs contest are great for a laugh. You'll all enjoy.
  

• I believe that the tickets for theatre and skating shows are particularly hard to come by, allocated on a first come first served basis? Regular shows don't have tickets. The ice show does because its very popular. It will be presented on more than one day/time. To insure enough seating for each show, they ask you to get tickets in advance. No, they are not hard to come by. They will announce when to get them in advance. If your choice of day/time is the most popular and you're way back in the line, you may have to settle for your second choice.
  

• Is the movement of the ship anything to be worried about as my son suffers a little from travel sickness when we are on a long car journey and has been a little green around the gills when we have been on catamaran boat trips when on holiday before? I am someone who can get motion sickness from a swing-set! I don't have a problem on a ship. You'll be amazed at how large the ship is. If you have rocky seas, your son may have issues. I'd suggest bringing along some motion sickness medication just in case. I was a little queezy on my very first cruise on the very first day. Was fine after that. Even if he does get sick, it is unlikely to be for the entire cruise. His body will adjust.
  

I honestly can’t wait to join the cruise fraternity and hope that it will be the first of many. Anyone else going on this cruise please say hi. You will recognise us, our mouths will be agape in amazement!

 

 

Steven

 

You're going to be hooked! There is no better way to travel. It's nice for families because it's a contained environment. While you should always take precautions, you're not going to misplace the kids. They can't leave the ship while you're at sea. With my kids, as they got older, we had check-in times, but I gave them some freedom to do stuff without my ever-present eyes. They enjoyed the freedom.

You and the kids are going to have a great time!

[Albert Ross]

We have decided to book without prepaid gratuities because the cost at £91 per person including the kids (£364) seemed excessive to me. I don't mind giving tips for good service and know that it is part and parcel of the custom of cruising. Have I made the right decision and can someone give me an idea of the process of giving tips (heard something about envelopes) to the different staff, Bar, Waiter, Room staff?

Steven, your agent should have explained that the giving of gratuities are an integral part of cruising and you should budget for this accordingly.

On board the grats are $9.75pp pd x14 = $136.50 x4 of you = $546.

At today's exchange rate this works out at £352.

Either way there isn't much in it and you should allow for this sort of sum

 

I am another advocate of paying in advance, because it gets it out of the way,and as Norbert says, it opens up the chance of doing the flexible My time dining option. Prepaying also makes your onboard account look smaller ;)

 

And welcome to the ever growing number of Brits on CC!

[scubapuss]

You will be very uncomfortable with 4 people in one balcony cabin.

[BMT]

Tell the kids to shower in the spa - this will help with the bathroom before dinner.

 

There are free seasickness meds at Guest Relations.

[smagni]

Again Thanks to you all for the great advice!

 

 

 

:)

[motocat]

Hi

we have just sailed last month around the med and we had a fab time..we were first timers too and had two teenagers

I know you have a lot of answers but I will give you some feedback from first timers/teenagers view.

Our cabin was an ocean view on deck 3 - ideal for first time - a little busy when we were all trying to get ready for a formal night and i just couldn't keep it tidy !! but we made do and the beds are so comfy !!

Like you, we didn't pay tips up front and paid in cash - we paid all the suggested amounts, so its worth paying before you go as you dont have the extra expense out of your spending money - we didn't eat much in the main dinning room and when we did, the kids never really joined us (we never saw them !!) i think we ended paying a lot more in tips as we felt that you wanted to tip everyone who served you as they were fab !!

as for ports we did our own thing apart from two we went on the florence and Pisa on your own and Monaco/ Monte Carlo( a bit costly - but I am glad we did those two )

 

your kids are going to love it - we went after school had gone back - not many kids, but just enough for them all to be a real close bunch. ( there were plenty of tears at the end - and have made some friends for life !! and not just cruisers -they really got attached to certain members of staff too !)

 

We ventured on the flowrider when we were at port in Vigo - we chose to get off later and the flowrider was empty !:D the kids actually stayed on the ship whilst me and other half had a look round Vigo later on.

I was worried about the movement so took traveleeze, ginger candy and bands !!! took traveleeze for the first 2 days and then forgot to take it, realising I didn't need it !! I did feel it on the last full day sailing - I took a ship tablet at about 12 (which knocked me out !! )- went to bed had a snooze - woke up feeling great and ordered room service !! I get sea sick on ferries - but this ship is absolutely fine - some days sunbathing when in port - I would look up and say 'oh we have left port' !! - didn't feel a thing.

You will have a fab time - please feel free to ask any q's if you want.

 

As for us - would we go again.......already booked ! Canaries 1st sept 2010, taking my mum and...... booked the royal family suite..OMG I can't wait !! And we have paid our tips upfront this time !

 

Debbie

 

Hello Everyone

 

We (Two Adults and Two Kids Girl 14, Boy 12) have booked to travel on the Independence Of The Seas 15th May 2010 from Southampton around the Med.

 

Our cabin is a balcony one on deck 6 and we are all in the same one, overcrowding being a worry. Good job we are all friends too

 

Please forgive my naivety as we have never been on a cruise before and can't wait, but want to make the most of the time and the enormous ship.

 

I have a couple of questions, which will probably be added to as we think of more and more info required the more and more excited we get as we get closer to the holiday.

• We have decided to book without prepaid gratuities because the cost at £91 per person including the kids (£364) seemed excessive to me. I don't mind giving tips for good service and know that it is part and parcel of the custom of cruising. Have I made the right decision and can someone give me an idea of the process of giving tips (heard something about envelopes) to the different staff, Bar, Waiter, Room staff?
  

 

• Visiting Gibraltar, Provence (Toulon), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Cagliari Sardinia, Seville (Cadiz), Lisbon, Vigo ….any advice as to the locality of the ship’s berth and the tourist attractions and best way of getting there would be a real help. We are not really intending going on the organised excursions.
  

 

• Booked our evening dining on the early seating time (8.30) and understand that your table is allocated on arrival. Some of the nights we may not want to dine at that time and that particular restaurant is it ok to dine elsewhere on board and do you have to inform them that you are intending not to dine?
  

 

• The kids are so excited about all the activities onboard especially the climbing wall and flowrider. I have been challenged to master both these too (goes and checks medical insurance) I suppose that these activities are especially busy, is there a good time to use them? Any advice on the entire activities onboard appreciated.
  

 

• I believe that the tickets for theatre and skating shows are particularly hard to come by, allocated on a first come first served basis?
  

 

• Is the movement of the ship anything to be worried about as my son suffers a little from travel sickness when we are on a long car journey and has been a little green around the gills when we have been on catamaran boat trips when on holiday before?
  

I honestly can’t wait to join the cruise fraternity and hope that it will be the first of many. Anyone else going on this cruise please say hi. You will recognise us, our mouths will be agape in amazement!

 

 

Steven

[tomko2]

Hello Everyone

 

We (Two Adults and Two Kids Girl 14, Boy 12) have booked to travel on the Independence Of The Seas 15th May 2010 from Southampton around the Med.

 

Our cabin is a balcony one on deck 6 and we are all in the same one, overcrowding being a worry. Good job we are all friends too

 

Please forgive my naivety as we have never been on a cruise before and can't wait, but want to make the most of the time and the enormous ship.

 

 

I have a couple of questions, which will probably be added to as we think of more and more info required the more and more excited we get as we get closer to the holiday.

• We have decided to book without prepaid gratuities because the cost at £91 per person including the kids (£364) seemed excessive to me. I don't mind giving tips for good service and know that it is part and parcel of the custom of cruising. Have I made the right decision and can someone give me an idea of the process of giving tips (heard something about envelopes) to the different staff, Bar, Waiter, Room staff?
  

• Visiting Gibraltar, Provence (Toulon), Florence/Pisa (Livorno), Rome (Civitavecchia), Cagliari Sardinia, Seville (Cadiz), Lisbon, Vigo ….any advice as to the locality of the ship’s berth and the tourist attractions and best way of getting there would be a real help. We are not really intending going on the organised excursions.
  

• Booked our evening dining on the early seating time (8.30) and understand that your table is allocated on arrival. Some of the nights we may not want to dine at that time and that particular restaurant is it ok to dine elsewhere on board and do you have to inform them that you are intending not to dine?
  

• The kids are so excited about all the activities onboard especially the climbing wall and flowrider. I have been challenged to master both these too (goes and checks medical insurance) I suppose that these activities are especially busy, is there a good time to use them? Any advice on the entire activities onboard appreciated.
  

• I believe that the tickets for theatre and skating shows are particularly hard to come by, allocated on a first come first served basis?
  

• Is the movement of the ship anything to be worried about as my son suffers a little from travel sickness when we are on a long car journey and has been a little green around the gills when we have been on catamaran boat trips when on holiday before?
  

I honestly can’t wait to join the cruise fraternity and hope that it will be the first of many. Anyone else going on this cruise please say hi. You will recognise us, our mouths will be agape in amazement!

 

 

Steven

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Welcome to Cruising -- both are addictive!:D

 

The Independence is a beautiful ship (see photos in the link below). I didn't check your cabin number to see what category it was but if it is a D category you might want to look into getting a D1 aft cabin; they are longer and hence would not be as crowded. We had D1 aft 1702.

 

There is a section on these boards called Roll Calls where you can follow the links to your particular sailing and meet up with fellow passengers which is a great way to get information and perhaps join up on excursions to cut costs.

 

Have a wonderful time!

Kathy:)

[tomko2]

Not sure if D1 Aft 1702 is listed for 4 passengers; didn't think of that when I recommended it. :o

Kathy

[smagni]

Welcome to Cruise Critic and Welcome to Cruising -- both are addictive!:D

 

The Independence is a beautiful ship (see photos in the link below). I didn't check your cabin number to see what category it was but if it is a D category you might want to look into getting a D1 aft cabin; they are longer and hence would not be as crowded. We had D1 aft 1702.

 

There is a section on these boards called Roll Calls where you can follow the links to your particular sailing and meet up with fellow passengers which is a great way to get information and perhaps join up on excursions to cut costs.

 

Have a wonderful time!

Kathy:)

 

Hi Kathy

 

Our cabin is a D1 Superior Ocean View With Balcony On Deck Six thanks for the information.

 

Had a look at the roll call page.... seems to be everything but our cruise listed LOL

 

Steven

[dleafy]

tomko2.............great pics, thanks.

We are on the Indy in January.

 

Norberts niece...........Hi Linda, great DVD, still watching it, thanks.

 

cheers

 

davy!!! :)

[Wilda]

Not sure if My Time Dining is available on your ship (pretty sure it is). that might be an option since it seems that you are hesitant to be tied down to a specific time!

 

Have a great trip:)

[smagni]

Not sure if My Time Dining is available on your ship (pretty sure it is). that might be an option since it seems that you are hesitant to be tied down to a specific time!

 

Have a great trip:)

 

Hi

 

My Time Dining is available but not for me as I have opted to not prepay gratuities.

 

Steven

[English_in_Spain]

Hi

 

My Time Dining is available but not for me as I have opted to not prepay gratuities.

 

Steven

 

Hi Steven and welcome to Cruise Critic.

 

I just want to explain that tips/gratuities on a cruise are not how we think of them in the UK. They are more of a 'Service Charge'.

 

The people who will be looking after you (Cabin Steward, Waiters etc) only get a very minimum wage. They make their money from what the cruise lines call 'tips'. RCI is one of the few cruise lines where this charge is optional. Most cruise lines now automatically deduct it from your onboard account.

 

All passengers pay this charge whether they are adults or children as the cabin steward has to make the bed and clean up just as much after a child as an adult and a waiter has to do as much work serving a child.

 

As someone else said, your travel agent should have explained this to you when you were setting your budget.

 

With regard to what to do in your ports of call, I would suggest going to the 'Ports of Call' threads. There is lots of information there on places you are visiting.

 

I know you will have a great time.

[MAZANDSTEVE]

It was our first cruise this year, we sailed the Med but went from Barcelona. Just want to say, you wont be dissappointed, it was the best holiday we have ever had and we have travelled quite a lot. We had a balcony room too and I would not cruise without one now, it was amazing to sit out there at night in the warm air and on sea days we saw dolphins and beautiful islands. Welcome to CC, it has great information on here for first time cruisers, there is always someone who can help (and some you want to ignore);).

[Albert Ross]

Hi

 

My Time Dining is available but not for me as I have opted to not prepay gratuities.

 

Steven

Bite the bullet and pay them up front!

MTD is the only way to go, especially with children. Trying to get four people washed and dressed for dinner with one bathroom (and two females in your party) will be a logisitical nightmare!

[smagni]

Bite the bullet and pay them up front!

MTD is the only way to go, especially with children. Trying to get four people washed and dressed for dinner with one bathroom (and two females in your party) will be a logisitical nightmare!

 

I am beginning to realise this now and will have a word with my travel agent to rearrange things, hopefully it is do-able.

 

As ever thanks for the great advice from everyone.

 

Just as a footnote - I have tried to get a cruise countdown on my signature, cut and pasted the html code as directed and previewed but nothing comes up... any suggestions? Also is there a way to send private messages on this site? I want to thank you personally for the great advice but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to do this.

 

Can you tell I am new to this site? :confused:

 

Steven

[MAZANDSTEVE]

I am beginning to realise this now and will have a word with my travel agent to rearrange things, hopefully it is do-able.

 

As ever thanks for the great advice from everyone.

 

Just as a footnote - I have tried to get a cruise countdown on my signature, cut and pasted the html code as directed and previewed but nothing comes up... any suggestions? Also is there a way to send private messages on this site? I want to thank you personally for the great advice but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to do this.

 

Can you tell I am new to this site? :confused:

 

Steven

 

 

No private messaging on this site.

[NorbertsNiece]

tomko2.............great pics, thanks.

We are on the Indy in January.

 

Norberts niece...........Hi Linda, great DVD, still watching it, thanks.

 

cheers

 

davy!!! :)

 

Hi!!!! LTNS :D

 

I am beginning to realise this now and will have a word with my travel agent to rearrange things, hopefully it is do-able.

 

As ever thanks for the great advice from everyone.

 

Just as a footnote - I have tried to get a cruise countdown on my signature, cut and pasted the html code as directed and previewed but nothing comes up... any suggestions? Also is there a way to send private messages on this site? I want to thank you personally for the great advice but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to do this.

 

Can you tell I am new to this site? :confused:

 

Steven

 

I've found that C&P issues are more successful if using Internet Explorer as opposed to Firefox... don't know if that helps. I also don't know why it works that way....

No private messaging on this site.

 

Hey again M&S..... soooo frustrating not being allowed to PM:eek:

[smagni]

No Private Messaging....

 

How quaint.

 

My MSN is on my profile and shows up as a tiny icon on posts so i suppose people can message through there.

 

Tried going through the IE route to put on the countdown clock and I don't think it has worked ..oh well

 

Steven

[motocat]

Hi again

You will get lots of advice on here....we had some really good helpful tips...one bit of advice from me, please dont take advice as gospel as people are only stating their opinion and trying to help. I got to the stage where I was worrying if I had got the wrong room / worrying about not paying grats up front etc... and then when you read some of the reviews !! Good grief I nearly cancelled! Just go with the flow and have a fab time..we did !! Yes when you go the 2nd time you might do things a little different but your cruise will be what you make of it as a family. Just enjoy !!

Debbie

 

I am beginning to realise this now and will have a word with my travel agent to rearrange things, hopefully it is do-able.

 

As ever thanks for the great advice from everyone.

 

Just as a footnote - I have tried to get a cruise countdown on my signature, cut and pasted the html code as directed and previewed but nothing comes up... any suggestions? Also is there a way to send private messages on this site? I want to thank you personally for the great advice but there doesn't seem to be a mechanism to do this.

 

Can you tell I am new to this site? :confused:

 

Steven

[smagni]

Hi again

You will get lots of advice on here....we had some really good helpful tips...one bit of advice from me, please dont take advice as gospel as people are only stating their opinion and trying to help. I got to the stage where I was worrying if I had got the wrong room / worrying about not paying grats up front etc... and then when you read some of the reviews !! Good grief I nearly cancelled! Just go with the flow and have a fab time..we did !! Yes when you go the 2nd time you might do things a little different but your cruise will be what you make of it as a family. Just enjoy !!

Debbie

 

Thanks For the advice Debbie ;)

 

Just what I needed to bring me back down to earth. I am grateful to everyone who have taken the time to pass on their experience and tips.

 

"Just Go With The Flow" possibly the best bit of advice so far!

 

Steven