Indy - Ben & Jerry's Sweet Cruise review - Jan 3, 2015 (Cruise Compass link included)

[Rewind]

M&JfromSDL is doing a great review on the same cruise we just got back from, but I thought I would share my view from the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" as I haven't seen one in a while.

 

Independence of the Seas Cruise Compass - 8 night, Jan 3rd 2015

 

Going into booking the Ben & Jerry's "Sweet" I had read the reviews of what to expect, I saw pictures, videos, etc and the only part I ever read that might have concerned me was that it could be noisy at night. This is due to either the crew access door below from Ben & Jerry's into the staff area or due to the staff access from the movable bridge on the promenade. For the entire 8 night cruise, I only heard the door close once at night. The rest of the cruise it was peacefully quiet.

 

As for the perks, of course there is the ice cream. We counted 14 coupons and even after 8 nights, we still had about 6 left over. There is just so much food on the ship that after a while you don't want any more sweets.

 

But the one thing we expected but didn't know what to make of it in advance was the access to the Concierge Lounge. First off, our stateroom cards did not work to get in and there was no extra card with the info in the stateroom. You can go down to guest services and they will fix it (but as we would later find out from the concierge, they didn't fix it correctly). But that didn't stop us anyway - we tailgated in behind another couple the first night. We introduced ourselves to the concierge Raj and he is the happiest crew member I have ever met on a ship. He fixed both of our cards at his desk, gave us some info, told us he had a surprise for us later in the week, and told us to relax and have a drink.

 

So let's see if I can remember the perks we got for the week:

Ice Cream coupons.

Upgraded bathroom amenities (you get lotion, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and a tiny box with cotton balls, q-tips, and a shower cap).

Terry Robes to use on board.

There is complementary bar service inside the lounge every night between 5:00-8:30 (and they pour liberally).

There is continental breakfast in the lounge every morning (we still did Windjammer for the extra selection).

A cheese plate arrived on day 2, complements of the Captain.

We didn't have to wait in a line for 30 minutes to get ice show tickets ("Hi Raj, can we get ice show tickets for today at 3:00pm" - "Sure, here you go").

We were invited to suite event lunch hosted by the Ship's Senior Officers inside of Chops Grille on day 2. I can't describe the food in words and I didn't take pics, but let's just say it's fancy extra large appetizers and drinks are complementary.

A bowl of fruit arrived on day 3, complements of the Hotel Director.

Our surprise for later in the week was that we got access to Barefoot Beach at Labadee (normally reserved for Gold Card members only).

On the last sea day, we asked if Raj could check us into our return flight (Southwest - check in 24 hours before boarding) which he did and even printed our boarding passes.

And the thing I think made the trip extra special, by asking nicely if there were any behind the scenes tours, Raj got us added to his group for the bridge tour.

 

Capt Manolis:

 

Again, Raj is the nicest guy and is always giving the ladies a hug. Jokingly we have said that now we are spoiled and can't go back to not having access to a concierge. I can't say enough nice things about Raj - he took a great vacation and made it amazing! I'm sorry to say though that looking through my pictures, we never grabbed one of us with him.

 

 

As for the full cruise review - here are my raw notes as written each day (bold added for some nice emphasis):

 

Jan 3rd (sat):

First time flying in the day of the cruise - didn't have to worry about packing dirty laundry to take on board.

Woke up at the crack of 3:45, hopped in the shower, packed up the last few things, and was taken to the airport. Airport is still under construction but we went through security fairly fast. Only waited a short time to board the plane.

Flight was good, watched Despicable Me 2 on the tablet on the flight down, battery at 58% after. Grabbed a cab, short ride to the cruise pier for $18. Waited a bit to get inside but we were 20th in line at 9:30am. Checked in, sat down, and are waiting to board, 10:30am now.

Boarded around 10:45am, ate a quick bite at the Cafe before exploring the ship. Rooms became available just after 1pm and all of our bags were already waiting. The cow room is nice and we will check out the lounge this evening. Read a bit in the Solarium, back to the room to change before muster / sialaway / dinner. Muster went fairly quick, watched 3 princess ships sail, then Oasis, Liberty, a Holland ship and finally us (one Holland ship left). We did hear that as of Jan 1st that Royal will no longer be doing shipwide announcements unless it is for ship safety. No more bingo announcements, no more spa announcements, no more port shopping announcements.

We then headed back to the Concierege Lounge where our cards did not work but we were able to tailgate in. Very crowded so we just grabbed a chocolate and headed out to dinner. I stopped at guest services to get my card fixed before hopping in the dinner reservation line. We made the welcome aboard show which was funny. Wandered a bit more, went back to the Concierge were it was much less crowded, met Raj, got both of our cards fixed, and have some good info for the rest of the cruise. To kill some time before the parade, we used one of our Ben & Jerry's coupons for Chunky Monkey and waited through a jewelry raffle. When the parade happened, we were both more impressed with the bridge lift than anything else.

Finally it was time for bed.

 

Jan 4th (sun):

Woke up at 6:45 and decided to finish off some notes from yesterday. Went to breakfast at the Windjammer to find out they did not have white chocolate dipped donuts bit instead mini white chocolate dipped cruller sticks. Not a bad substitute.

After breakfast we stopped by the Concierge Lounge to grab our ice show tickets then down to the room to grab our e-readers, walked past the enormous line for the "regular people" ice show tickets, and then up to the Solarium to relax before the Meet n Mingle.

The Meet n Mingle was pretty standard and then went into our small cabin crawl. The balcony did not show so we only had our "Sweet" and a Jr. Suite but the tour-ers were happy. After our crawl, we went to the Suite reception in Chops Grill. I met a nice family with a daughter who is attending Ohio State (I work at OSU so it is always fun to meet people from your area).

We killed an hour or so sitting on the pool deck with the intentions of swimming. After doing some reading, we headed back to the room with a quick Ben Jerry's stop. At 2:45 just before the ice show, we received a cheese plate from the Captain (I believe these are standard and go to all suites each cruise, but I could be incorrect).

The Ice Show had a theme of "Strings" and while I thought the story line was rough, the skating was great. Back to the room again to relax before formal night dinner. Went to the lounge before dinner and found out about the complementary beverages. Dinner was excellent and then after some indecisiveness we decided to relax in one of the cantilevered hot tubs.

 

Jan 5th (mon): Spring forward an hour.

Problem with vacation is that I don't want to stay asleep. Woke up at 6:45 (7:45 with the time change). Did notice even after one day how nice it is without announcements on board.

Headed to Windjammer for breakfast, concierge lounge for fancy coffee and fresh OJ. Went to check out the watch sale, listened to the Tanzanite schpeel, then change into swimsuits for the top deck. I hopped on the flowrider a couple of times (almost like riding a bike). Then it was off to the pool where we sharked two chairs. We got in the solarium pool for a few minutes, a quick dip in the hot tub, then some relaxing reading.

After a while, we headed to the buffet for lunch, back to the room for dry clothes, and then out for the napkin folding demo. We learned four different folds and got a instruction paper for others. We walked a bit, found a good spot outside to read near the aft on deck 4, I ran back to the room to grab our readers and found we had a fruit plate, and then back out to read and relax for a while. After reading, a quick stop for a drink and sweets at the Cafe Promenade and then to the room to relax before the welcome back reception.

Not so quick nap and then hustled to the reception. The captain was funny, then off to dinner, back to the room to change into casual wear for the evening. We headed down to the jewelry store to wait for the raffle. I was one of three people who guessed 13.5 carats so was entered in the bag. Too bad for John as he didn't show up, so then it was a 50/50 shot. The next name out of the bag was mine! I won a 5 carat loose sapphire which I now have to figure out what to do with it. Back to the room to drop off the winnings and then out to the evening show.

We saw Resurrection, A Journey Tribute. They were good, lead guitarist plays with Keith Urban and the drummer was a drum tech / backup drummer for Journey. After the show we ran down to the casino, I won $40 at craps fairly quickly, and then we watched the 70s night dance party. Once the show wrapped up, we grabbed desserts and Ice Cream and then back to the room for the night.

 

Jan 6th (tues): St. Maarten

Woke up, breakfast in Windjammer, watched island approach, got our stuff and was just about first off ship. Found Bernard's tours (with DJ Dave) without too much difficulty, had a group of 21. Got to see a lot of the island, crossed over to the French side, a stop in Marigot, got some French pastries, back to Dutch side, saw a giant plane land at Maho Beach, back to port. A bit of sight shopping, back aboard, quick lunch at Sorentos, hop in pool, hot tub, deck sitting, reading books. Back to room to shower, change, and go watch for runners.

We met a nice older gentleman from Chicago who was also watching for runners. He gave us his glass from the his drink which he did not want. Went to dinner, had chicken and steak split between us, then went to the concierge lounge and met a nice couple from Norway. Went wandering some more, saw some people we met before, went to the casino and came out even. Wandered outside where the winds were calm and sat on the Helipad for a moment.

 

Jan 7th (wed): St Kitts

Woke, breakfast, filled ice water at windjammer, went down to pier, didn't find open wifi. Found our Thenford Grey tour fairly easily, waited 40 minutes to start. We went around quite a bit of the island, got to see Romney Manor and the Batik cloth artwork made by waxing the cloth and then dying it over and over. Drove around some more, went to Brimstone Hill Fortress, saw amazing views of the island and a neighboring island (Sint Eustatius I believe). Drove some more to the other side of the island with other great scenic views, and went down to the beach. We stuck our toes in the water but figured that with a full beach day in two more days, we didn't need an hour today. Rode back to the ship and found more people from Ohio.

Once back to port, we walked around the shops a bit, I got my bamboo necklace at Cariloha, we got a slight pressure sales pitch at a jewelry store without buying anything, and headed back aboard. Lunch at the windjammer and then to our cabin to relax.

Took a nap, woke up to watch runners, watched us pull out of port, went to dinner, quick stop in lounge, saw the production show with singers and dancers, went to battle of the sexes where the men won. Time for bed for a big walking day in San Juan.

 

Jan 8th (thur): San Juan

Woke up, quick breakfast, off the ship to re-explore old San Juan. Got to El Morro at 8 and the opened at 9. Was able to jump on wifi, clear out some messages, taunt coworkers, etc. Went in at 9am, walked around for about 45 minutes and right as we were leaving was a tram to San Cristobal. After the 5 minute ride, we explored the fort, saw the tunnels, and took many pictures.

After the forts we roamed the streets and stopped at Barichina's for an original Pina Coloda. We wandered some more, saw the local market craft stands, went to CVS to buy ground coffee and some bottled water, then back on the ship.

Lunch at Windjammer, down to watch us pull out but the gang plank was still down. Runners were 40 minutes late. Quick change and then some flowriding, a dip in the pool, and some reading in the sun. Back to the room at 3:45 to prep for the second formal night.

Went to lounge, Raj gave us a pass for the Barefoot Beach at Labadee, off to dinner (on the acoustic guitar we heard Metallica's "Nothing Else Matters" and found it humorous), back to lounge to ask about behind the scenes ship tours, sat in room for a while, went to casino and won another $40, back to room to chill out for the night.

 

Jan 9th (fri): Labadee

Woke up, breakfast, watched ship pull in, saw Granduer of the Seas. Got off ship, got a bit lost on the way to Barefoot Beach, found it and was escorted to two excellent lounges in the shade. Hopped in the refreshing water, floated around for a while, then went to check out the shops.

The building had six vendors who were very polite but the "street" vendors were quite pushy. "Hey boss man/lady" was heard multiple times. Went back to our slice of beach for lunch, rested for a while, got back in the water for some more floating, wandered to find Labadoozies, then back to the chairs to chill out for a good while.

We went back to the polite vendor building to pickup a few local items, then back to the ship to clean up.

Showered, went out to see us pulling out of Labadee, went to dinner, checked the sales, went to the casino, lost a bit, went to the production show "Once upon a time" (I think most of the singers are better than the "Vocal Captain"). Then we relaxed a bit with some gingerale and then to the Quest. Our team took first place! Time for a cookie and bed.

 

Jan 10th (sat):

Windjammer breakfast, grabbed ereaders and sat on the pool deck until a bit after 10am. Back to room to pack a bit and get ready for the bridge tour.

Raj met us for the bridge tour, and after a security wanding and verification of cameras, we entered the bridge. We had a junior officer show us around, explain the controls, and answer many questions. One of the first officers showed up to say hi, and then the Captain arrived at the end and we got a picture with him on the bridge.

Off to lunch, down to see the shop sales, then picked up a couple of photos. Back to the room to change for an afternoon on the pool deck. Checked out the belly flop competition, caught one more ride on the flowrider, hopped in the solarium pool and then a hot tub. After tubbing, we watched a bit of the best of Flowrider surfers and were un-impressed.

Went down to use ice cream coupons, checked out the un-impressive sales, then back to the room to clean up and start packing. Went to dinner a bit early, swung by the room to grab a Wow card for Raj and then headed to the lounge. We thanked Raj for all the extras this week, and he helped us check in for Southwest (even printed our boarding passes). Final packing, then a run to the casino to cash out our extra stateroom credit. Took $60 stateroom credit up to $80 and called it quits. Back to room to relax and get one more sleep.

 

Jan 11th (sun):

Woke up, showered, and before we even headed to breakfast the ship was cleared for disembarking. Went to breakfast at the Windjammer, up to the Concierge Lounge to say goodbye to Raj, grabbed our books and headed to the pool deck to read for a while. After an hour or so, we grabbed our items from the room and just as we were ready, they released the last half of the ship.

We headed down and started the massive day of waiting in lines. The customs area for luggage was so disorganized and did not have the luggage in numerical order. We finally found ours and slowly made our way through the maze. Grabbed a taxi to our rental car, drove over to the beach, walked a bit, the walked 1.5 miles to Las Olas and ate at Rocco's Tacos for lunch. Walked up and down and then decided to walk back to the car. Once at the car, we grabbed gas and drove to the airport. Checkin was fairly smooth, got through security, and then had a 3 hour wait for our flight. Got back home and the temperature was at least 50 degrees cooler.

[Toddcan]

Really enjoyed the condensed format! We are doing the exact same itinerary on the Indy in March.

 

I was interested to see that Quest was not on the last night.

[mickev99]

3 Indy Eastern reviews at the same time???? I am in Heaven!

 

Thank you so much for taking the time to do this, and the time to post the compasses! My cruise is a 7 day Eastern in July, so it's a little different, but this gives me a great idea of what is available on the ship.

 

Michelle

[cdscooby1]

Did the Indy have the Roast beef sandwiches

[Rewind]

Did the Indy have the Roast beef sandwiches

 

I did get a roast beef sandwich at Cafe Promenade one day. I think the roll it was on was a bit too tough, but it was still fairly good. They also had a roast turkey sandwich another day.

[Clarea]

Did the Indy have the Roast beef sandwiches

If you mean the beef on the Kummelweck rolls that other ships have in Park Cafe, then Indy does not have those.

[help04me]

thanks for the ben and jerrys suite update we sail her in that cabin end of march . you answered all the questions I had about the cabin .

[chellecruise12]

Thanks for posting the compasses!! We go on the same 8 night in March. 1st time on Indy. :)

[Spa girl nana]

thanks for the ben and jerrys suite update we sail her in that cabin end of march . you answered all the questions I had about the cabin .

 

My sister & brother-in-law are in this cabin on the March 22, 2015 cruise, and I'm in the connecting cabin. I hope they share their goodies with me. :D

[chellecruise12]

Do you have any photos of the dinner menus by chance?

[perfect match]

Thanks for your review, the info on the Ben & Jerry's, and for posting the Compasses.

[JasonTehGreat]

Awesome, my cousin and I are booked for the "Sweet" for a b2b in September! It will be awesome if we get the same perks!

[beach.sunlover]

Thank you for the awesome detailed review and the 8 night cruise compass in PDF format! Both are VERY much appreciated! Sailing on March 28th. It is a very special trip with one person in a party grateful for a second chance at life by having a heart transplant over a year ago.

Thank you so much!

[cruiseclues]

Thanks for your review & your cruise compass link. :):):):)