Differences between US and UK departure ?!

[lee101224]

Hi all,

 

For both and upcoming trip and also general interest .....

 

Just wondering if anyone had any info on whether there is much difference to the independence of the seas when it sails from the US or the UK .

 

Do the shows , meals , activities stay the same or are they all changed .

 

I read somewhere that they change a lot of the merchandise , I understand that there are a lot more Europeans on the UK sailing .

 

Sailing on Indy in 20 days .

[Clarea]

They used to put tea kettles in all the staterooms when based in the UK. In the US, only the JS staterooms and above have tea kettles.

[lee101224]

:). Haha , us Brits do love our cups of tea ( he says while sipping on his cup of .... Tea ! )

 

I am interest in the entertainment / activities specifically on independence , but any little things like that would be great to know . They must 'adapt' to a certain degree . It certainly seems that way with the recent interview regarding how RCCL will adapt to the Asia market .

 

Does anyone know if the crew change depending on where the ship is based ?

 

Lee

[Spurschick]

I am originally from UK but now live in USA so I notice the differences and sail from both UK and USA a lot.

 

If it is a US sailing that is quite close to being one of the first sailings since being in Europe you may find some discounted UK merchandise for sale and some left over UK foods on board that they are using up like HP Sauce:D

 

Once you get to USA yes food especially WJ food changes. Most notable changes at breakfast, thin sausages, thin crispy bacon. What we call sausages tend to get rotated in every couple of days but you need to go looking;)

 

UK more sausages, beans, bacon, black pudding like proper UK breakfast.

Crew pretty similar to those you would get in UK market, although entertainment more geared toward US market if US sailing or geared toward European market if Southampton sailing. UK sailing will have some different alternatives to MDR menu some the same.

 

UK sailing so much easier getting off (you just walk out!!!!)

Embarkation was pretty smooth.

 

Are you traveling from uk or USA?

Edited May 5, 2014 by Spurschick

[lee101224]

Departing from Southampton , first time we have ever sailed from uk . I have left Miami 3 times , dom rep once and and Barcelona twice .... Not expecting the weather to be on par with the Miami ! Lol

 

I'm quite happy if they do keep an 'American' edge to the entertainment , when we sailed from Barcelona it was 95 % Europeans and the atmosphere was 'stiff' , sailed out of Miami with the us guests and the South American guest , it was party time !

[Clarea]

I did notice some hockey puck things offered for breakfast on Indy when she arrived in the US after being in England for a couple of years.;)

[Spurschick]

Departing from Southampton , first time we have ever sailed from uk . I have left Miami 3 times , dom rep once and and Barcelona twice .... Not expecting the weather to be on par with the Miami ! Lol

 

I'm quite happy if they do keep an 'American' edge to the entertainment , when we sailed from Barcelona it was 95 % Europeans and the atmosphere was 'stiff' , sailed out of Miami with the us guests and the South American guest , it was party time !

 

You are right on the weather, although I understand it is picking up a bit:)

 

This time of year out of Southampton expect a slightly older crowd, but you should find somewhere that's lively on board every evening. If your sailing coincides with UK half term then may be a more party type mood onboard as more likely to have families on board, and hence some younger demographics, but I can't remember the dates.

 

Either way I am sure you will have fun, make sure you go to quest if you haven't already seen it;) sounds like you would enjoy!

[villauk]

Went on Indy a couple of weeks ago from the US. Can honestly say she felt more British than any other ship we have cruised on. From the merchandise to the crew, we'd never previously seen or felt so many British influences on a Royal/X ship.

[relaxatsea]

We have sailed on RCCL many time from Miami and Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Last May, we sailed on AOS to Iceland and Norway, roundtrip from Southampton.

 

The majority of the passengers were British. There were only a few differences that we observed.

 

Some menu items were British (Yorkshire Pudding, for example), but there were always lots of the regular things to choose from. It was fun to try something different too.

 

I am a big time tea drinker (although American, I was raised drinking tea rather than coffee), so, for me, this cruise was wonderful tea-wise!

 

I have never seen so many different kinds of tea available in the Promenade Café. I had fun trying them all!

 

Also, the Promenade Café was packed at tea time. We enjoyed being part of the crowd.

 

Otherwise, I didn't notice anything very different.

 

Embarkation and debarkation were extremely easy, I would say easier than here in the U.S. We walked to the port from our hotel (the Ibis Southampton), were greeted by very pleasant staff, and boarded easily. I can't remember the exact time, but it was maybe around 11:00 A.M.

 

Based on our experience, I would be very happy to cruise out of Southampton again, everything was very well organized.