Sail along with us - Indy 8-day Caribbean Report (Picture heavy)

[Bimmer09]

Independence of the Seas

January 3, 2015

8-day Eastern Caribbean Cruise

 

I have a habit of writing wordy reviews, which no one reads. I know everyone wants to skim and look at pictures (including me). So I’ll save the blah and add some extra pics.

 

If you are in the habit of writing wordy reviews then I would encourage you to have at it and write freely and don't assume that everyone who clicks on the post has no attention span. I know "a picture's worth a thousand words" but a picture PLUS 1,000 words is even more helpful to those vicariously traveling with you.

 

The photos are great. I hope you change your mind about the text so that the people who are already loving your review can get even more from it.

 

Nice job!

 

P.S There is nothing as stylish on a man as a tux....good thinking!

 

Norris

[samzgirl84]

I am THRILLED to read your review. DH and I will be boarding the IOS in exactly 4 days--same itinerary. So excited! Thank you so much.

[Folk Singer]

This is great.

[Folk Singer]

Thanks for all the positive comments. I will do my best to post as quickly as possible. I have a long day at work ahead of me.

 

 

 

Hi Jess. I'm pretty sure I have a photo of the beer list from the pub somewhere. I will look for it. Most of the other bars stock Bud light, Miller Light, Corona and have Heineken and Boddingtons on draft. Some had Stella in place of Boddingtons. Not much in the way of selection. The Dog and Badger had by far the best selection of beer.

 

 

Enjoyed ourtime in the dog and badger. We had a red and white party in the pub last May on the IOS. It is on youtube as well. Under Red and White.

 

Edited January 13, 2015 by Folk Singer

[OttoCal]

Love the pictures, keep 'em coming!

[yogimax]

This is EXCELLENT!

 

The photos are wonderful!

[clochette]

Great review so far, we were on the New Year sailing right before you.

[BillOh]

We landed in Fort Lauderdale just before midnight. Our hotel was the Sheraton Fort Lauderdale Hotel and Cruiseport. Hotel rates that night were off the charts so I burned some points for the night. The hotel was disappointing. Rooms were outdated, elevators were scary.

 

Thanks for your thoughts on that, I've stayed at two other places so far in the area, I will probably avoid it next year. As long as it's not Fleet week (End of April usually) there are plenty of choices.

[js]

This is cruisecritic! We live for wordy AND pictures LOL

 

Going on Indy December 28 for NYE. Can't wait to read more.

Thank you.

[jb0913]

Your photos are amazing!

 

 

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[micmacmissy]

Fun! Great review so far. Agree with the folks who have said they enjoy reading the blah, blah, blah along with the photos!

 

We went on the 6-day Indy and would love to do the 8-day itinerary too.

[mickev99]

Thanks for the info on the hotel. We still haven't decided on one, but will definitely knock this one off of the list!

[JessyCruises]

Live the review so far! We are sailing in Feb 28th and can't wait!!

 

 

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[luvixtapa]

 

I had a little surprise in store for Mrs. M&JfromSDL. While she was getting ready in the bathroom I put on the mysterious new "black suit" I purchased before the cruise. She was pretty surprised to walk into the cabin and see me there in a full tuxedo.

 

We love Vintages. I repeat, we LOVE Vintages. So after we dressed we went upstairs sat at the bar, introduced ourselves to Jayesh and enjoyed a couple glasses of Moet.

 

 

The Promenade was packed and the crowed looked great. There were quite a few guys in tuxedos.

 

 

 

What a fantastic surprise with tux. Men look great in tuxedos.

[coach_anne]

Thanks so much for this review. Words welcome! Great pix so far.

Thanks too for drink menu. Our favorite cruise drink - long island iced tea - in on there, along with a few others I'll try. Can't wait!

[Cruiser21]

Keep it coming.

[perfect match]

Great review! I am enjoying both the words and the pictures. Loved the sailaway pictures! Such a different view of PE than we had from the Princess ships we have sailed on. Can't wait to see it ourselves.

 

Since we're RCI novices, I'm wondering how to access the bow. What deck did you walk out there from? I think that is where we will want to be for sailaway, especially since we will have friends watching us on the webcams.

 

I showed some of your pics of the promenade to DH. He thought it looked beautiful, and we are both very excited about being able to explore a new ship!

 

I'll bet your new tux was a great surprise. You did look great in it.

 

 

[nfmst2]

Enjoying the review, sailing in September!

[M&JfromSDL]

Sunday, January 4th (Cont.)

After a couple glasses of wine at Vintages we took a walk over to the Main Dining room. We didn't make a dining room reservation the entire week and never waited for a table.

 

We were seated with a nice family from Southern VA and a mom and her son from NY. Nice people. Great conversation.

 

Tonight's menu was Saffron. Not a favorite of mine but it's formal night and we love the main dining room experience on formal nights.

 

We started out with Escargot and the Bay Scallop Gratin.

 

 

 

For main courses I had the Beef tenderloin and my wife had the Shrimp Ravioli. Sorry no pics.

 

Carved Filet of Beef Tenderloin

Morel-crimini mushroom sauce and creamy

whipped potatoes

 

Shrimp Ravioli

Wilted spinach, creamy thyme and corn with

a lobster sauce

 

Both items were pretty lackluster. I was a little disappointed with the food on this cruise. I'm not sure if our palates have matured since our first cruise when we were 25, the food quality has gone down or it's the same repeated menus time-after-time. Probably a combination of the 3.

 

My desert was good though.

 

Bittersweet Chocolate Soufflé

Light, bittersweet chocolate dessert with

espresso sauce

 

After dinner we headed over to the Champagne Bar for another glass of Moet and Chandon.

 

 

At this point in the night, we had tons of energy but I was tired of being in my tux. I was cognizant of it picking up a smoky smell if we spent time in the casino so we returned to our cabin to change.

 

Edited January 14, 2015 by M&JfromSDL

[M&JfromSDL]

 

It's time I introduce you to our travelmate, Stuffed Porter.

 

You see... my wife is bit of a cat lady and gets homesick for our fur babies when we travel.

 

Meet Porter, our 15lb. fat Black Cat.

 

A few years ago someone found a Beenie Baby version of a pudgy black cat that reminded us of our fat hairy black cat. So now we carry this beenie baby with us whenever we travel. We've lovingly nicknamed him Stuffed Porter.

 

When we returned to our cabin to change, our cabin attendant created a really cool towel animal and introduced Stuffed Porter to him.

 

 

After changing we were off to explore the nightlife on the ship.

 

We really aren't into the shows. We're more into the casino and for my cat loving wife, Kitty Glitter is our pick.

 

 

I got bored of the slots and decided to drag the Mrs. over a video BlackJack machine.

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

After a cocktail or 3 it was off the Sorrento's for a late night snack. On a sober night the pizza at Sorrento's is pretty iffy. But after a few drinks, on a boat, on vacation, after midnight it's probably the best pizza in the world.

 

Stuffed Porter died and went to heaven as does his in-real-life version whenever there's food around.

 

He's a good boy and knows he's not supposed to drink. ;)

 

After Sorrento's we retired to our cabin and slept the night away. We both agreed it was one of our best nights of sleep.

 

Edited January 14, 2015 by M&JfromSDL

[M&JfromSDL]

DAY 3

Monday, January 5, 2015

At Sea

 

As I said in my earlier post we got a great night's sleep. With a little wind at our sails we headed up to the gym for a quick workout to help burn off yesterday's calories.

 

Our original plan for Sunday was to do our typical Sunday morning brunch but at sea. The Meet and Mingle sort of threw a wrench in our plans. So we rescheduled for Monday. Brunching is a sport for us. And anyone can brunch on a Sunday morning, but few can savor the awesome combination of breakfast, lunch and a sweet cocktail before noon on a Monday.

 

So after our workout we jumped over to the Windjammer.

 

And of course, I forgot the camera in the room. So no photos of our lovely breakfast, fresh orange juice from the Jumex juice machine and the glass of Domaine Chandon we used to try and make mimosas with.

 

We intended to sit by the pool after brunch but the cool air and wind got in the way. My wife is sensitive to temperature extremes and changes so we ended up down at Vintages for a card game.

 

So we sat and Vintages, enjoyed some great wine and played a couple rounds of Phase 10.

 

We proclaimed this bench at Vintages ours.

 

View of the Promenade interior staterooms. We can confirm from the outside looking in that they lack an element of privacy when the curtains are open. Ahem.

 

The Mrs. kicked my butt.

 

Jayesh fixed us up a neat little tapas plate. It was clear after eating this though, that we needed something more substantial in our bellies.

 

AWESOME spot for people watching on the Promenade!

 

Edited January 14, 2015 by M&JfromSDL

[M&JfromSDL]

 

At some point in the day we checked the flat screen monitors for tonight's dinner menu. NOTHING jumped out at us. So we decided tonight would be the perfect night to check out Giovanni's Table.

 

We easily scored an 8pm reservation. We arrived a few minutes early and took a walk through the Windjammer before being seated. Everyone talks about the Sushi bar but I have to say, it all looked like Costco sushi. All of it appeared to be made with Krab.

 

Deserts and other menu items looked nice!

 

 

Soon enough our table at Giovanni's as ready and we sat down.

 

Despite being a room off set from the Windjammer the room is beautiful.

 

 

We sat down and were quickly offered a wonderful bread basket as well as as olive oil and balsamic.

 

 

[M&JfromSDL]

 

My wife started off with the Carpaccio and I enjoyed the Scallop appetizer.

 

The restaurant was empty so there was no shame in my game when it came to food photos.

 

We split a 2nd course of Risotto. It was very good!

 

My wife ordered a Lemon Drop Martini which she absolutely loved! I stuck to wine.

 

Our main courses were on complete opposite ends of the spectrum. I ordered the lamb, my wife ordered the veal. My lamb was so good! I don't think I've ever had a bad lamb dish on a Royal Caribbean cruise. Her entree just wasn't that good. It lacked flavor, the veal was tough. The menu had a great description of the entree. It sounded so exciting. Stuffed veal, truffle sauce, etc. But in the end it was flat.

 

 

 

With all of that food we barely had room for desert. I saw someone order a cannoli with orange zest on it. I wanted to try a bite so I convinced my wife that we should order one and split it. We requested 2 double espresso's as well.

 

The cannoli was everything and more. I'm from North Jersey. I've had cannoli from all over NY and from my favorite Mike's Pastries in Boston. This was pretty darn good.

 

 

Edited January 14, 2015 by M&JfromSDL

[jes Scott]

Thanks for all the positive comments. I will do my best to post as quickly as possible. I have a long day at work ahead of me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Jess. I'm pretty sure I have a photo of the beer list from the pub somewhere. I will look for it. Most of the other bars stock Bud light, Miller Light, Corona and have Heineken and Boddingtons on draft. Some had Stella in place of Boddingtons. Not much in the way of selection. The Dog and Badger had by far the best selection of beer.

 

 

Thanks! It's a big help! I hope there are some coors products or other domestics/imports as I think you just named the few beers my DH dislikes [emoji33] he may have to mix it up!

 

 

Jess