I loved the Indy!

[canuckcruiselover]

I was on the Feb 22-27 sailing to Falmouth and Labadee. DH was “cruised out” so I went with my 16 year old “virgin” cruiser grandson.

 

Embarkation and Debarkation

Given all the reports on delayed embarkation, we arrived at the terminal earlier than usual at 10:15 am. I was surprised to find around 200 people already in line. I am diamond so did have some priority. By 11:45 we were onboard and in the Windjammer. Debarkation was not nearly as bad as I anticipated. I don’t know why anyone had to lug their suitcases down two flights of stairs. We had no problem getting the elevator to deck 1.

 

Stateroom

We were on deck 10, forward (1236). It would not have been my first choice but the price was right for a guarantee balcony room. We were very lucky with the weather and there was very little motion that I felt even that high and forward. It’s actually a great location if you can use the stairs and it’s very quiet. I think this was the first time I didn’t gain any weight on a cruise! The room also seemed bigger than usual but it’s been a while since I’ve had a balcony so I’ve probably forgotten.

 

Food

I’m not usually a fan of the critically-acclaimed honey stung chicken served on embarkation day but I thought it was really good this time – crispy and tastier than usual. My 6’2” (very slim) GS has an enormous appetite and he loved the food in the WJ and the MDR. He had entrées as appetizers, including the lobster tails! For me, the MDR menu is too heavy on seafood. I was hard pressed sometimes to find something appealing but it’s impossible to go hungry. I prefer the variety in the WJ for dinner but wanted my GS to experience the MDR.

 

Pool Deck

The pools were freezing. Even GS, who is a swimming instructor and lifeguard, didn’t swim. We did enjoy the hot tubs, though.

The “scanning” of the sea pass for the towels is a joke. I asked the towel attendant why they bother to pretend to scan the sea pass. He just smiled.

 

Entertainment

I thought the production shows were pretty good although I don’t know why the orchestra has to drown out the singers. Way too loud. Ricky Matthews, the CD, has lots of energy and is a great dancer but was by far the worst Love and Marriage host. It had to be the most boring show I’ve ever seen and he stretched it out way too long. The ice show was also not as professional as usual. I can't comment on any of the entertainment in the bars/lounges.

 

Ports

In Falmouth we just got off the ship and walked around for a bit in the port area. It was very hot and we were happy to get back on the ship and relax on the pool deck.

IMO, Labadee is so much prettier than Cocoa Cay and Columbus Cove is gorgeous. No rocks and beautiful clear, warm water. GS did the zipline which he thought was “awesome”.

 

Teen Club

Thank you to all those on CC who gave such useful advice on the Teen Club. The cruise compasses for the club were on the bottom shelf at Guest Relations and unless you knew they existed, you could easily miss them and not realize that there were any activities for teens – only teen karaoke was mentioned in the regular compass. So, based on everyone’s advice, GS went the first night to the “Living Room” where the teens met. The first night, he said there were about 30 teenagers (12-17). By the end of the cruise, there were twice as many as others found out about the activities. It’s too bad that it’s not advertised well. GS was a little reluctant at first to go to the club at first thinking it would be “cheesy” but he loved it and made some great friends. He was even voted Prom King! They had scavenger hunts, dances, their own version of Quest, some free arcade time and much more.

 

The Bottom Line

Unlike others, I preferred the Indy to the Liberty but I can’t explain why. Or maybe it was just because I really enjoyed the time I spent with my GS.

[Clarea]

Thanks for the report, nice to hear Indy is still doing a great job.:)

[molsonschooner]

We were on Indy back in September. We really enjoyed the ship.

[FSUNole]

Thanks for the report, we sail Indy in about 5 weeks. I hope the pools warm up... having grown up in the keys, I have an aversion to cold water. Regarding debarkation, were you the only ship in that day so as to get the Oasis birth?

[canuckcruiselover]

Thanks for the report, we sail Indy in about 5 weeks. I hope the pools warm up... having grown up in the keys, I have an aversion to cold water. Regarding debarkation, were you the only ship in that day so as to get the Oasis birth?

 

No, I think there were 3 ships in port. We were in berth 25/26.

[dcgrumpy]

Glad to hear, we'll be on the same cruise next year.

 

I'm surprised the stateroom attendant didn't leave a Teen Compass along with the regular Compass. Ours left one for our kids when we were on Indy last Aug/Sept.

[livinginyellow]

thanks for the review! I was also on this cruise and (hope) to do a photo review later this week.

 

I wanted to chime in because I COMPLETELY agree with the Love & Marriage assessment. I remember it being probably the funniest thing of my first cruise. I was beyond disappointed with this one. My fiance said that he thought it was the couples but thinking further about it, I really do think it was Ricky. Something to note.

[mak5]

Agreed about the Love and Marriage Show. We usually find this to be hilarious, and we actually walked out.

Enjoyed the cruise immensely. Would love to go on this one again!