Independence of the seas 13th April Live Report

[BourkeBlogs]

Yesterday (Monday) we were in St Thomas although we had a lie in and decided not to get off the ship.

 

After having some lunch in the WindJammer we headed downstairs for a coffee at Cafe Promenade and while we were there went into the Bext cruise office while it was quiet. We had previously looked at the Transatlantic for this in October 2018 and a good price was available so we booked it. The deposit was only £65 in total and that gives us $100 onboard credit for this cruise. Unusually for a cruise booked for the UK market we also have an option to price match once, should the price come down before the sail date.

 

Yesterday afternoon was a quiet one and soon it was back to the dining room for dinner. We again were seated at the same table and waiters despite being on MTD.

 

I forgot to take pictures of the starters last night but we had the shrimp cocktail, which is always good and beer battered cod fingers which were slightly on the greasy side.

 

The mains of beef wellington and chicken kiev were both very tasty.

 

 

 

The desserts of banana and blueberry cake and ice cream were nothing particularly special.

 

 

 

After dinner we headed back to the cabin as we wanted to be up early today in St Kitts.

 

As mentioned earlier, the internet was down for most of yesterday which is why this got slightly behind. Today I did receive a voicemail on the cabin phone to say a days internet cost had been credited to our account which was good.

[dougyfresh]

Likely Explorer, leaving Sydney for Seattle on April 22nd.

 

 

Correct! I saw your post that you will also be on that sailing in the roll call. Should be an exciting sailing, can't wait to get it started. I don't know that I will be doing a live blog like this but I'll try to remember to get some pictures of menus etc. And do a post cruise report.

 

Thanks for the updates CruisenovicesUK, sounds like you both had an excellent night even if you had to pay for it a bit the next day

[BourkeBlogs]

This morning we had a relatively early start and went for breakfast in the MDR which was buffet style although you are seated and served drinks so a lot less manic than the WindJammer.

 

The buffet section is in the middle of the restaurant with a wide choice. I've added some pictures below to give you an idea of how this works.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although the choices are slightly less than the WJ, there is loads to choose from and a much more relaxed pace of breakfast

[BourkeBlogs]

Before heading of the ship we had a coffee from Cafe Promenade, where Illy is the brand served and the speciality coffees are included in drinks packages. For reference I've added the menu prices below.

 

 

 

 

After our drinks we then headed off the ship.

 

In port their we also the Celebrity Equinox, so 2 pretty big ships.

 

 

[BourkeBlogs]

We hadn't pre-booked any excursions but there were a lot of people promoting these as you walked into the heavily tourist based port. The prices varied and from what we heard you could get to the beach for $4, an island tour for $15 or what we ultimately did was a $25 open top truck type 2 hour tour. (This wasn't our exact truck as we took this while on ours, although they same type but with plain painting)

 

 

Our driver and tour guide Veronica was really good and gave plenty of information about the history of the island as we drove through Basseterre the capital and where the port is located, along the coastal route, up to old sugar cane workings, around the island and then a view over where the Atlantic Ocean meets the Caribbean Sea. We also had a drink included with the tour. By the time we got back to the port, we had been out around 2 1/2 hours. She would have also have been happy to do longer had people have wanted to visit the botanical gardens or go to the beach.

 

 

 

 

Once back in the port area which had a number of tourist shops. There were some great prices on duty free alcohol and tobacco if you wanted to buy any and also some good value tshirts, dresses etc. Ultimately we didn't buy anything as there is nothing we needed and already have drawers and cupboards full of stuff we have bought in the past whilst on holiday and never used.

 

We got back on the ship around 2pm which was straight forward with no queuing and had a light lunch in Cafe Promenade before an afternoon sleep.

[BourkeBlogs]

Dinner tonight was at Giovanni's table which was part of the dining package we had booked.

 

The waiter suggested a number of starters to share between the 4 of us, although when it came there was way too much as the portions were huge.

 

 

 

Our favourites were the Caprese salad and the scallops.

 

For main course we had the beef tenderloin and chicken and the waiter had suggested a side for the table which we had the mushroom risotto.

 

 

 

[BourkeBlogs]

There was no menu for dessert and this was brought round on a trolley with a number of options to choose from.

 

 

Only 2 of us had desserts which we opted for the tiramisu and the mixed fruit pudding with biscotti.

 

 

 

The food and the service was fantastic. The quality was equal or even exceeding what we would pay £50 each for at home for a meal so I would definitely recommend it. We have got another booking as part of our package next week although next time will know the limit the number of starters.

[BourkeBlogs]

One thing I have just noticed while at the bar was a sign up offering the 10 drink card for $69 plus 18% gratuity. It's the first time I've seen this whilst on this cruise.

[Clarea]

One thing I have just noticed while at the bar was a sign up offering the 10 drink card for $69 plus 18% gratuity. It's the first time I've seen this whilst on this cruise.

So 5 days into the cruise, right?

[BourkeBlogs]

It's day 6 today, but in effect the 5th full day.

[Clarea]

It's day 6 today, but in effect the 5th full day.

That's pretty early in the cruise considering it's a 15-day cruise. Good deal.:)

[BourkeBlogs]

That's pretty early in the cruise considering it's a 15-day cruise. Good deal.:)

 

 

 

I would agree it's a good deal as potentially you could save $5 plus service charge per drink. There would also be plenty of time to use it for the rest of the cruise especially as most will now be sea days after tomorrow.

 

I've also noticed it was published in the daily offer sheet, although you have to pick these up each day and are not delivered with the Cruise Compass.

 

http://www.bourkeblogs.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/IOTS-Offers-Day-6.pdf

[dougyfresh]

Good to hear about the drink punch cards, I was hoping they'd push these more on the longer sailings. A nice alternative to the unlimited package.

[JDB14]

This morning we had a relatively early start and went for breakfast in the MDR which was buffet style although you are seated and served drinks so a lot less manic than the WindJammer.

 

Is breakfast in the MDR buffet style every day, or is it sometimes full table service?

[Clarea]

Is breakfast in the MDR buffet style every day, or is it sometimes full table service?

That's odd that MDR breakfast would be buffet only. Every ship we've been on has had both buffet and menu service.

[Sarah1974]

When I've had breakfast in the MDR one floor is buffet style and one floor is a la carte where you can order from a menu

[Clarea]

When I've had breakfast in the MDR one floor is buffet style and one floor is a la carte where you can order from a menu

What ship was that? Curious because ever ship we've been on has had breakfast on one deck only.

[AlibearNS]

Great review, thank you :) We're on the Indy in a few weeks, and haven't sailed RCCL since 2010 so really enjoying the posts, very informative. I'd also like to know if there's a served menu breakfast offered (same deck or not) as DH really enjoys a leisurely served breakfast on sea days.

[BourkeBlogs]

Is breakfast in the MDR buffet style every day, or is it sometimes full table service?

 

 

 

It's only been buffet every morning so far. This surprised us and previously on Anthem and Harmony A La Carte breakfast was offered. The only breakfast options are buffet in the WJ or buffet in the MDR.

[BourkeBlogs]

Great review, thank you :) We're on the Indy in a few weeks, and haven't sailed RCCL since 2010 so really enjoying the posts, very informative. I'd also like to know if there's a served menu breakfast offered (same deck or not) as DH really enjoys a leisurely served breakfast on sea days.

 

 

 

No not yet, we also like a served leisurely breakfast so are hoping they will offer this at some point.

[BourkeBlogs]

Today was our final port day before the 8 sea days across the Atlantic.

 

Out of all the ports we visited this was the one I had been looking forward to the most as St Maarten has been a place I have wanted to visit for quite some time, for the reason of one particularly famous beach.

 

We had an early start, were up around 7 am then went to the MDR for breakfast. As mentioned in a previous post it was buffet again but it's so much calmer in there than the WindJammer so a much better experience.

 

After breakfast we had a walk around deck 11 to see the other ships in port. There were 5 ships in total, 3 RCI with the others being Harmony and Freedom and there was the MSC Divina and the TUI Discovery.

 

 

 

We disembarked the ship around 08:30 and in line with the other days, this was done via deck one where pool towels were available to collect along with bottles of water.

 

We hadn't booked an organised excursion but as we knew where we wanted to go to, we went to the taxi stand in the port which was clearly marked up with all the various destinations available. We wanted Maho beach and the cost was $16 per person for a return trip. You were given a wristband for the return and loaded into minibuses which held around 14 people as a fairly tight squeeze. Once the bus was full we set off for the trip which was around 30 minutes.

 

We arrived at the beach arrived 09:15 and at this point it was fairly quiet with plenty of places on the sand, in the Sunset Bar or you could hire one of the beach loungers with parasols next to the bar for $10 each. We opted to pay for the loungers as these were right at the front of the beach and more importantly offered shade on what was a very hot sunny day.

 

After a very short time all the loungers were full and the beach was packed, so if you do head down here, do so early.

 

For anyone not familiar with this beach, it is fairly famous for the planes flying over the beach to land and for the aircraft taking off, and their jet blast from Princess Juliana Airport.

 

The majority of jets arrive and depart in the afternoon which wasn't ideal for us but there were a few jets and lots of small aircraft during the morning. Unfortunately the KLM 747 no longer flies into here since last year, as this would have been amazing to see.

 

I've added some pictures below.

 

 

 

[sky0000547]

What ship was that? Curious because ever ship we've been on has had breakfast on one deck only.

 

 

Bob, here is an example from Explorer with different floors for breakfast. Deck 3 buffet and deck 5 ala carte.

 

[Clarea]

Bob, here is an example from Explorer with different floors for breakfast. Deck 3 buffet and deck 5 ala carte.

Thanks, I've never seen that before. I wonder if it had something to do with the unique itinerary.

[BourkeBlogs]

 

 

Although you're not supposed to you can stand on the barrier and hold onto the railing as some people did on take off, where you will get the full jet blast from the accelerating aircraft. I didn't and stood at the edge of the beach like most, but even from this distance and from the small Caribbean Airway 737, the force of the jet blast was an experience.

 

 

We would have happily stayed here all day, as without doubt it's the best beach experience we have ever had, although from researching in advance and also the taxi driver on the way there had said traffic on the way back can be really bad and become grid locked, especially with so many cruise ships and passengers on the island. Although we would miss a number of the larger jet arrivals and departures, more importantly for us was getting back to the ship without worrying about times, traffic or queues. We left the beach around 1 pm and even with an increase in traffic it took less than an hour to get back to the ship, there was no queue for taxis at this time and our mini bus filled up quickly. We probably could have risked longer but it wasn't worth the risk for us.

 

It's a shame RCI don't do an all day trip to this beach, which I'm sure would be popular based on the number of people there, which would then guarantee you get back to the ship.

 

If we ever visit St Martin again, which I'm sure we will on another cruise, this would definitely be a beach to go back to.

 

On a side note, drinks prices at the bar weren't bad either.

 

 

On arriving back at ship, we headed for lunch in the WJ which was fairly quiet and offered great views of the other ships in port.

[kevinyork]

We did Maho last month off Oasis. We walked to town and got the public minibus @ $2pp. On our return we waited across the road and got the bus back to town. Very easy and inexpensive.

 

 

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