8 Day Independence Review with Pictures

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

Really enjoyed the review and photos. We were considering an 8-night Indy cruise in late January. I am having second thoughts about it now. We really like Liberty. It might be better to do a B2B on Liberty instead.

 

Gotta confess, however, my shoulder still aches from dragging luggage the seemingly five mile stretch from Liberty to the Immigartion and then to the parking garage after our last cruise.

[Kcjarvis]

Is Sunshines near where the ferries drop you off? Was thinking of doing Nevis instead of St Kitss again/

 

any info appreciated

 

About a 10 min taxi ride from the ferry pier.

[will773]

Great review and pics!

[monkeyinhat]

thank you KCjarvis

[emmacruises00]

Enjoyed a sea day walking around taking pics of the ship and packing :-(

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

@ 6:15am - we did express departure. Although the line was fairly long on deck 4, it moved very quickly. Grabbed a quick $12 taxi ride, a huge $20 tip to the curb side check in guy for Paulette's overweight bag :-) and we were on our way home @ 7am...

 

Let me just say, WOW!!!!!!! That review was absolutely FANTASTIC! Your pics are perfect, you captured every moment that anyone could possibly have wanted to see (without being annoying like "oh great, another picture") it was so very well put together, and a great marketing tool for RCI is your reviews! LOL. Anyways, thanks so much, and keep writing reviews like this!

[jimp1266]

Thanks for the review. I was on the Indie Dec 5-8 3-day and had a very similar feeling about her. She is not my favorite of the fleet. Just little things - the decorations were not as nice, the staff seemed overworked and understaffed. Raj was a nice man, but he couldn't do much to help with reservations or anything else. We also couldn't have a lime for our Coronas at the Schooner bar while in port . .. we were told it had to do with having just come back from Europe. In fact EVERYTHING was blamed on the "transition" from Europe to US . . . but I do agree . ... any day on a ship beats anyother day at work.

 

But my next cruise will not be on the Indie.

 

My wife and I were also on the December 5th cruise. I agree completely with your assessment of the ship. We had fun but this ship seemed to lack something. I find it hard to express exactly what that was but my wife and I both felt the same way. We have done three day cruises before so this was not the issue. On a side note, Indy had no clue how to do a short cruise (no love and marriage show, no quest, etc...)

[jimp1266]

Really enjoyed the review and photos. We were considering an 8-night Indy cruise in late January. I am having second thoughts about it now. We really like Liberty. It might be better to do a B2B on Liberty instead.

 

Gotta confess, however, my shoulder still aches from dragging luggage the seemingly five mile stretch from Liberty to the Immigartion and then to the parking garage after our last cruise.

 

We did Liberty over the last two Decembers but this year we did Indy. If I were you I would choose the B2B on Liberty. IMHO Liberty is a much better ship. We had fun on Indy but enjoyed Liberty much better.

[Ocean Boy]

We did Liberty over the last two Decembers but this year we did Indy. If I were you I would choose the B2B on Liberty. IMHO Liberty is a much better ship. We had fun on Indy but enjoyed Liberty much better.

 

However, I think that Indy has a much better itinerary that Liberty. If you were to do a B2B on Liberty you would get three ports.... Cozumel (twice) and Belize City. I don't find that appealing at all.

[Daghis]

Thank you for your pictures and review. I'm looking forward to sailing on the Independence of the Seas in just a few months and your review is starting to whet my appetite for the cruise! :D

[LABCHICK]

Thanks for your review with the wonderful pics. We will be doing a B2B on her in Dec. 2013.

 

We were just on the Allure 12/1-16. Johnny Rockets has breakfast that is included in the fare. On the Inndy dose Johnny Rockets do the same thing?

[Clarea]

Thanks for your review with the wonderful pics. We will be doing a B2B on her in Dec. 2013.

 

We were just on the Allure 12/1-16. Johnny Rockets has breakfast that is included in the fare. On the Inndy dose Johnny Rockets do the same thing?

No, unfortunately only on Oasis and Allure does Johnny Rockets have breakfast.

[LABCHICK]

No, unfortunately only on Oasis and Allure does Johnny Rockets have breakfast.

Thanks Oh well there are other places to get something for breakfast. Maybe this trip we will go to the diningroom. We did room service quite abit on the Allure and really liked that.

[TerriDHair]

Great review, Ken! And thanks for the pics of the rescue, Jeff and I went to our port balcony but about that time the announcement was made that they were now starboard. We went to deck 11 starboard but couldn't see anything so finally gave up and hit the shower so as not to be late for the lounge at 5:00. ;)

We also had nightmare embarkation, and while waiting in line for security I was getting overheated and was miserable. While in line for immigration the same thing happened and Jeff had to run to the restroom to grab me some paper towels for all my "dripping"! We had some service issues as well, namely our dining room team, which is unusual. Our attendant was awesome and Raj actually helped us, he confirmed we were due a crystal block and personally delivered it to our cabin. Agree about the Olive or Twist guys, Mario got one of our "WOW" cards, in fact. Oh, and the band, "Rock the Boat" what played in the Pyramid Lounge most nights...BEST BAND EVER! :)

It was great meeting you and Paulette and I hope we cruise together again. :)

[bilyclub]

Thank you for your pictures and review. I'm looking forward to sailing on the Independence of the Seas in just a few months and your review is starting to whet my appetite for the cruise! :D

 

I know you like your data onboard. I could not get any data off the cell phone tower for 11 days onboard Indy. 8 of those were after they put in the new dishes.

[Kcjarvis]

Great review, Ken! And thanks for the pics of the rescue, Jeff and I went to our port balcony but about that time the announcement was made that they were now starboard. We went to deck 11 starboard but couldn't see anything so finally gave up and hit the shower so as not to be late for the lounge at 5:00. ;)

We also had nightmare embarkation, and while waiting in line for security I was getting overheated and was miserable. While in line for immigration the same thing happened and Jeff had to run to the restroom to grab me some paper towels for all my "dripping"! We had some service issues as well, namely our dining room team, which is unusual. Our attendant was awesome and Raj actually helped us, he confirmed we were due a crystal block and personally delivered it to our cabin. Agree about the Olive or Twist guys, Mario got one of our "WOW" cards, in fact. Oh, and the band, "Rock the Boat" what played in the Pyramid Lounge most nights...BEST BAND EVER! :)

It was great meeting you and Paulette and I hope we cruise together again. :)

 

It was great meeting you also - All the best to Jeff and tell him NY is waiting for him...

[dlawrence]

We are sailing on Indy March 10, your review has been wonderful. Sur

prised our kids for their college spring break.

 

Anyone doing a cabin crawl this cruise? Would love to join in.

 

Happy Holidays to All

[Clarea]

We are sailing on Indy March 10, your review has been wonderful. Sur

prised our kids for their college spring break.

 

Anyone doing a cabin crawl this cruise? Would love to join in.

 

Happy Holidays to All

There may very well be a cabin crawl. However, the best place to check is in your Roll Call, which is a forum for your specific cruise date. Here's your roll call:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1573756

[ellyg1824]

At the end of the day, any day on an RCCL ship is a great day.

 

We did have a few issues:

 

1) The Cabana – On Thanksgiving Day, which was the day the Transatlantic started, I emailed the Concierge requesting an over the water Cabana. I received no response. On Dec 5th, I emailed the Concierge requesting an over the water Cabana. No response. On Thursday, Dec 6th, I received the Welcome Aboard email from the Concierge, which I promptly responded too asking for… guess what??? an over the water Cabana. No response. When we boarded, the first thing I did was call the Concierge, who indicated he received my email and that he had put us on the list, and that we would have the cabana. That evening in the lounge (Olive or Twist), Raj confirmed once again that we had the cabana. When we arrived at Barefoot Beach, we were informed we were not on the cabana list. Luckily, Roberto, the Barefoot Beach Manager, who we have known for many years, thanks to a number of trips to Labadee, took control of the situation and got us a beach side cabana. We counted 4 other groups, including one woman, who had some very choice words for Raj, having the same issue and not receiving cabanas. If Raj or any other Concierge cannot manage the Cabanas, please move to the Nellie beach model and have the Barefoot Beach cabana reservations added to the shore excursion website.

 

2) Our suite attendant – Aly was a very nice guy, however his service was hit or miss. There were a number of times he didn’t empty the garbage in the bathroom, we ran out of toilet paper 3 times, he never swept the balcony, so you couldn’t walk outside without shoes on, he never removed and replaced used glasses, we ran out of water in our fridge 3 times, he would never replace the laundry bags, our toilet had a strong urine smell, and finally he neglected to clean our room one morning claiming he had a meeting ???? (We reduced his tip by 25%)

 

3) Bar service – Sadly, the ship had no Guava mix, which is my favorite cruise ship drink. The Windjammer Bar and The Olive or Twist guys were great. Overall, the drinks were either very good or no so good. (Examples: hot wine & battery acid margaritas) Interestingly enough, when we boarded, we were told at Bolero’s, we could not have a caipirinha, because they can’t serve lime while docked in Florida. We had never heard that before. We went to the Sky Bar and ordered a drink that came garnished with…….LIME.

 

4) Room Service – messed up our order 3 times and had to continually go back and get the missing entrée.

 

5) Diamond / Concierge Lounges – With 1100 Diamond and above on board, the events were packed. (Not the ships fault.) We prefer the smaller intimate venues where you can really connect with people. I also noticed a lot of people being obnoxious about the number of cruise points they had and the fact they were doing back to backs. Please don’t let Crown and Anchor status define who you are!!!!!

 

6) Cruise Critic events were great!!!!! Slot pull / Cabin Crawl / M&M

 

Overall – In my opinion, it is not fair to judge Indy against Oasis and Allure, however if we compare Indy to its Freedom Class sisters, Indy loses by a mile!!!!!! Liberty and Freedom are managed to a higher standard with a greater attention to detail and their crews make things happen, don’t make up excuses and don’t lie to customers. That was not my experience on Indy.

 

Scoring – Liberty 100, Freedom 98, Indy 75

 

Shout out to our cruise buddies Kevin and Randy, Capt. Remo & the Safety Team and the wonderful Adventure Ocean Team.

 

 

We remain Loyal to Royal, but will not go on Independence again (until things improve)

 

This is Ken Jarvis and I approve this review….

 

I think your point about the difference in standards is true! Imagine as the Indy is based a lot of time in Europe with a mainly uk clientele that as us Brits are reserved in many ways we are useless at complaining so I imagine the staff take it easier! I've been on the Indy twice (oct 2011 and June 2012) and loved it for its friendliness (especially nena who now works in olive and twist) and in September we did the celebrity eclipse and although a higher standard than the Indy I found it very sedate for a pushing forty mancunian. Was thinking of taking another in feb maybe but I'm dreading your immigration and the boarding at pier 29 !! Great review !! Thanks

[berylde]

Totally agree with your comments on the Independence. We were on the 12/16/2012 sailing

I could add a few more "stories" but, suffice to say, we will not sail her again

 

We sail in about 2 1/2 weeks on the Liberty and I know we will have a totally different experience

[TerriDHair]

It was great meeting you also - All the best to Jeff and tell him NY is waiting for him...

 

I will tell him. :)

[Daghis]

I know you like your data onboard. I could not get any data off the cell phone tower for 11 days onboard Indy. 8 of those were after they put in the new dishes.

Hopefully they'll have the kinks worked out of the system by then. I'm still waffling over whether I'd sign up for an unlimited package. Just for the convenience of being able to use it whenever and for however long I wanted, without having to watch the clock, would be nice.

[travelgoddess1]

At the end of the day, any day on an RCCL ship is a great day.

 

We did have a few issues:

 

1) The Cabana – On Thanksgiving Day, which was the day the Transatlantic started, I emailed the Concierge requesting an over the water Cabana. I received no response. On Dec 5th, I emailed the Concierge requesting an over the water Cabana. No response. On Thursday, Dec 6th, I received the Welcome Aboard email from the Concierge, which I promptly responded too asking for… guess what??? an over the water Cabana. No response. When we boarded, the first thing I did was call the Concierge, who indicated he received my email and that he had put us on the list, and that we would have the cabana. That evening in the lounge (Olive or Twist), Raj confirmed once again that we had the cabana. When we arrived at Barefoot Beach, we were informed we were not on the cabana list. Luckily, Roberto, the Barefoot Beach Manager, who we have known for many years, thanks to a number of trips to Labadee, took control of the situation and got us a beach side cabana. We counted 4 other groups, including one woman, who had some very choice words for Raj, having the same issue and not receiving cabanas. If Raj or any other Concierge cannot manage the Cabanas, please move to the Nellie beach model and have the Barefoot Beach cabana reservations added to the shore excursion website.

 

2) Our suite attendant – Aly was a very nice guy, however his service was hit or miss. There were a number of times he didn’t empty the garbage in the bathroom, we ran out of toilet paper 3 times, he never swept the balcony, so you couldn’t walk outside without shoes on, he never removed and replaced used glasses, we ran out of water in our fridge 3 times, he would never replace the laundry bags, our toilet had a strong urine smell, and finally he neglected to clean our room one morning claiming he had a meeting ???? (We reduced his tip by 25%)

 

3) Bar service – Sadly, the ship had no Guava mix, which is my favorite cruise ship drink. The Windjammer Bar and The Olive or Twist guys were great. Overall, the drinks were either very good or no so good. (Examples: hot wine & battery acid margaritas) Interestingly enough, when we boarded, we were told at Bolero’s, we could not have a caipirinha, because they can’t serve lime while docked in Florida. We had never heard that before. We went to the Sky Bar and ordered a drink that came garnished with…….LIME.

 

4) Room Service – messed up our order 3 times and had to continually go back and get the missing entrée.

 

5) Diamond / Concierge Lounges – With 1100 Diamond and above on board, the events were packed. (Not the ships fault.) We prefer the smaller intimate venues where you can really connect with people. I also noticed a lot of people being obnoxious about the number of cruise points they had and the fact they were doing back to backs. Please don’t let Crown and Anchor status define who you are!!!!!

 

6) Cruise Critic events were great!!!!! Slot pull / Cabin Crawl / M&M

 

Overall – In my opinion, it is not fair to judge Indy against Oasis and Allure, however if we compare Indy to its Freedom Class sisters, Indy loses by a mile!!!!!! Liberty and Freedom are managed to a higher standard with a greater attention to detail and their crews make things happen, don’t make up excuses and don’t lie to customers. That was not my experience on Indy.

 

Scoring – Liberty 100, Freedom 98, Indy 75

 

Shout out to our cruise buddies Kevin and Randy, Capt. Remo & the Safety Team and the wonderful Adventure Ocean Team.

 

 

We remain Loyal to Royal, but will not go on Independence again (until things improve)

 

This is Ken Jarvis and I approve this review….

 

Ken, your thoughtful and informative review helped me more than you know. We have been wrestling with next December -- Independence or Freedom. We heard several negative comments from friends after their IN cruises in December, but your objectivity put everything into proper perspective.

 

Freedom it is!:)

[Peanutbaby]

:)

We are sailing on Indy March 10, your review has been wonderful. Sur

prised our kids for their college spring break.

 

Anyone doing a cabin crawl this cruise? Would love to join in.

 

Happy Holidays to All

 

There is a cabin crawl for our cruise. It sounds like fun, they've planned a poker draw with it if you want to do that as well. Hope to see you there...the more the merrier!

[Peanutbaby]

Thank you for your wonderful review and all the pics. The added bonus is all I've learned from your review. This is fabulous information for our upcoming cruise on the Indy. We are in the RFS and this is our first time experiencing cabanas. I've sent two emails without a response, my husband sent one today so we shall see. I know it's early but I have a child that's autistic (mild) and a birthday boy so this would be a great help and a special treat for both. Thanks again!:D

[am07]

What is a cabin crawl?