(Slightly less so) Cheapo dad's trip report on Independence of the Seas

[harryfat1]

Day 2 – December 22, 2017

Sea Day

 

OK, woke up at the crack of dawn and went to close the crack and curse to myself (more of the cabin steward) for not closing the window curtain more tightly over the ocean view window hole.

 

For those that read my first trip report, that was my old joke from the Allure. But in this case, it’s especially true with port side cabin and the ship sailing south, you get blasted with the morning sunshine over the Atlantic in the morning. So make sure you have clamp or a big overlap of the window curtain unless you enjoy waking up early. Not me.

 

Per the floor picture, today was Friday. Back at home, Friday is typically the best day of the week as you are gearing up for the weekend off. On the cruise, Friday is less important compared to cruise itinerary day, which is day 2.

 

Little things like this make cruise vacation different than land vacation.

 

(Tempted to just stop here with only 1 picture on this post...but I won't be a dork)

 

As I couldn’t sleep on the night of day 0, last night was the makeup sleep. Guess now that we finally made it to the ship, the pressure is now off as the OCD in me always have that paranoia that something might go wrong and we can’t board the ship for whatever reason. Now that we finally made it, time to stop worrying. Or just worry the next port. OCD people always have something to worry. We worry about not worrying there might be something we are missing…

 

We woke up late and didn’t get to windjammer until around 10 AM. Whatever. Not like we going anywhere today as it’s a sea day. Just a quiet day on vacation as we start to get into the flow of things.

 

As expected, lots of people at windjammer at 10 something in the morning. No big deal. Didn’t take long to find a table for 4 by the front entrance.

 

 

Hey, kids, check this out. It’s Santa! And his big red behind. Time to queue up another Baby Got Back from Sir Mix A Lot, “I like big…” WHOA, WHOA, STOP. STOP. Not going there with Santa…

 

[harryfat1]

For those that read my Freedom report, you know I like salmon for breakfast. Back in late 2016, Royal had a big cutback in food budget and salmon was on a “request” basis from the worker where they give you a handful on a plate – you only get that if you are “in the know” from CC posts to ask someone for it else you get ZIP. NADA.

 

Well, I’m happy to report things have improved such that salmon is now plentiful on both sides of WJ on the Indy (think on all Royal sailings now). So you get to see that on my breakfast plate daily.

 

 

2 fried eggs

 

 

One thing you won’t find on my plate is bacon on this cruise. I love bacon but my heart - not so much. Getting old enough to need to start watching what I eat if I want to be around to do more cruises. Not that I am going healthy on all my selection – still many other things on the plate that will likely kill me more than it helps me but we all must start somewhere.

 

OK, that’s enough about my diet and food preference that nobody cares about.

 

They have these fried tomatoes daily and beans that my older one gets daily

 

 

I loved all the fresh fruits for breakfast. Always get a plate daily. Fresh pineapples. Yum.

 

[seaair100]

+1005.

Going with the cheapo theme:

I use bag clips from the dollar store, good for holding window curtains closed,clipping beach towels to loungers,and also clipped to bottom of clinging shower curtains, on ships thst still have the plastic curtains.

Thanks Harry, for answering fan mail and being you.

Dee

[harryfat1]

After breakfast, it was time to check out the Royal Promenade as that’s our central hangout. Other people like solarium. We like RP. While the family looked at the stores, took few of these pictures to amuse myself as I toy with my new phone/camera while the wife visits the uncle in prison (aka shopping).

 

 

For those who wondered about my photo count, I took 4 versions of this picture just playing around. I didn't delete other others so in that sense, it inflates my photo count. Just killing time taking these odd shots that nobody else likes except me.

 

Oh, remember that tree from last night that had everybody and his cousin pushing each other to get a good shot but can't as there were like 50 cell phones in front of you? Well, that same tree now has nobody in front of it.

 

 

 

My younger one took this picture from a perspective I really like

 

 

 

[undercat]

 

Especially disappointing since we have been collecting ship shaped Christmas ornaments from previous cruises with the thought of starting our own fleet but Indy doesn’t have that. Only a big round ornament for 9 dollars.

 

 

 

 

 

I like collecting ship shaped key chains and/or ornaments. I too was disappointed at the lack of a ship shaped ornament or key chain. I bought the pricey pewter toned Indy magnet because I collect those too, I think it was $9 or something outrageous and it didn’t have ship facts stamped on it like occupancy, length etc but it was the closest thing they had to what I was seeking.

 

Husband collects the model ships, so we added model Indy to our collection.

 

I read someplace on CC that her UK-home-port audience isn’t as interested in buying Royal logo items as the Florida audience, which might explain the limited and basic (IMO) logo item assortment. Somehow a smattering of neon rubber and plastic Dollar Tree items printed with Independence of the Seas isn’t that special and “cruise-y” especially at 5x the Dollar Tree price.

 

 

(ETA: Nothing against Dollar Tree. I love Dollar Tree. I know how much things will cost in Dollar Tree. Just don’t tell Dollar Tree how much more they could mark up the items if they printed a ship’s name on them.)

Edited January 10, 2018 by undercat

[harryfat1]

+1005.

Going with the cheapo theme:

I use bag clips from the dollar store, good for holding window curtains closed,clipping beach towels to loungers,and also clipped to bottom of clinging shower curtains, on ships thst still have the plastic curtains.

Thanks Harry, for answering fan mail and being you.

Dee

 

Hi, Dee,

 

Thanks again for the very nice comments in your email. Much appreciated. There should no surprises in that I would reply to anyone that email me. That's what I do here on the boards daily, no?

 

Harry

[harryfat1]

I like collecting ship shaped key chains and/or ornaments. I too was disappointed at the lack of a ship shaped ornament or key chain. I bought the pricey pewter toned Indy magnet because I collect those too, I think it was $9 or something outrageous and it didn’t have ship facts stamped on it like occupancy, length etc but it was the closest thing they had to what I was seeking.

 

Husband collects the model ships, so we added model Indy to our collection.

 

I read someplace on CC that her UK-home-port audience isn’t as interested in buying Royal logo items as the Florida audience, which might explain the limited and basic (IMO) logo item assortment. Somehow a smattering of neon rubber and plastic Dollar Tree items printed with Independence of the Seas isn’t that special and “cruise-y” especially at 5x the Dollar Tree price.

 

 

(ETA: Nothing against Dollar Tree. I love Dollar Tree. I know how much things will cost in Dollar Tree. Just don’t tell Dollar Tree how much more they could mark up the items if they printed a ship’s name on them.)

 

I guess I rather buy logo that supports the company rather than the ship itself. Overall, I would rate the shopping on the ship to be the most "meh" experience compared to other Royal ships.

 

Although I did find a new fanny pack that I will use for next cruise. There were some heated discussions awhile back about wearing fanny packs. I like them as they are functional. And ask me if I care what others think of me wearing it...

[harryfat1]

So some more pictures under the category of "So how drunk was the guy to actually think this is picture worthy?"

 

Hey, you folks enjoy your solarium and outdoor pools and massages, I like to take weird pictures. Whatever floats your boat, right?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Looking up at the RP cabins to see if anyone took their pants off to moon me from above:

 

[harryfat1]

Then we walked around the ship on deck 4 looking to play shuffle board. I think in my 15 or so cruises, I have never played shuffle board and neither has the rest of the family. We came close on the Allure but they closed they are due to DreamWorks performance and ran out of time on the Freedom to do so as it was a shorter cruise. This time, we are determined to give it a shot.

 

This was surprisingly popular as we had to walk all around the ship to find one open court. Good thing they had the rules printed on the holder box as we didn’t really know how to play per se. But I have played bocce before so I figure the concept is more or less the same.

 

The game was surprisingly fun for all of us. We sucked in the beginning in even trying to get the puck (I assume that’s what it’s called as in hockey) inside the lane but later on, we got better.

 

One thing bad about the Oasis class ship is their outside promenade walk way is narrow compared to how wide open the Freedom class is:

 

 

Looking out at the deep blue sea reminds me of the old classic song, Sailing. So that's the song for these pictures. Take a look at the pictures from this video and you will be wowed:

 

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Finally found an available court after walking around the ship:

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

 

 

My son recording the game for the vacation video

 

[Jasonmom]

Just wanted to say I am enjoying your review and really loving your pictures 😊.

 

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[Biker19]

And ask me if I care what others think of me wearing it...

Well, then, where's the pic of you wearing it?

[harryfat1]

Well, then, where's the pic of you wearing it?

 

I was trying to have less pictures of my personal ugly mug in this trip report so I haven't been showing many pictures of myself. But since you ask, here are few I found. The first two at terminal 18 & boarding the ship. The third is right after we finished playing shuffle board, which I will get to later.

 

As with anyone that works for corporate America, we all have to wear badges at work. Can't enter the building and bypass security without it. Even inside the building, you are required to wear it all the time per company policy. They have security people roaming around making sure there are no break ins from intruders and they look for your lanyard and company ID.

 

Heck, you can't even make a photocopy without your company ID badge. It's just becomes a part of you so it's not an issue to have them on during the cruise. The lanyard is especially functional as on the ship, I don't carry my wallet.

 

 

All 4 of us with it

 

 

 

 

 

[Biker19]

^ I was talking about the fanny pack - I only see one on your son, I think.

[RMH]

Then we walked around the ship on deck 4 looking to play shuffle board. This was surprisingly popular as we had to walk all around the ship to find one open court. Finally found an available court after walking around the ship:

 

We found "secret" shuffle board courts on Deck 4 behind the King Lear restaurant on both port and starboard sides that were rarely being used. We liked the port side better, despite the possibility of smokers, because we noticed that the starboard side smelled like sewage on a few occasions.

 

Really enjoying the report. We were on this sailing too and it is fun to relive our vacation through your photos. Still have not found one with us in the background, but I will keep looking!

[berjdrberjdr]

Harry, your pictures are just awesome. I just realized that was my brother who took the pictures of you guys on the helipad on day 1 haha- what a coincidence. He is the photographer in the family who we rely on for all our vacation photos so I can't take any credit, but here are some of his better ones:

 

 

Great job so far on the report. I look forward to reading the rest of it!

 

 

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[berjdrberjdr]

Here are some more :

 

 

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[lele100]

"

 

 

 

 

Actually I love these pics, lots of detail, I see what seems to be a bar area at the bottom of the stairs, Which bar is that?

[harryfat1]

^ I was talking about the fanny pack - I only see one on your son, I think.

Oh, that. Yeah, my son's fanny was mine. I really like that one as my wife got it at Ross. Made by Swiss Gear. Really functional. I gave it to him to store the camcorder when be outgrew his baby carnival one.

 

Then my wife got another one for me from amazon, which wasn't very good. I brought it with me in the suit case but never used it. That's why I splurge and bought the royal Caribbean logo one at the store.

 

We didn't buy it until day 8 as we wanted to lump all purchases to be above 40 dollars to get the free ornament and the 10% discount for being the lowly gold member.

Didnt want to wear it at end of vacation so will save it for next vacation.

 

Thus you will have to wait until next trip report to see it. Can't miss it. It's two tone and my kids say I look like a waiter with it when we tried it at the store. Looks like I can give change from it as one of those people that sells beer sporting events would wear to give change.

 

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[AmyJA]

Big butts, check. Ship ropes, check. Salmon, check!

Thanks for the entertainment Harry.

[dreadpirate3]

Challenge accepted.

 

Few from Freedom in December

 

 

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[harryfat1]

Oh, that. Yeah, my son's fanny was mine. I really like that one as my wife got it at Ross. Made by Swiss Gear. Really functional. I gave it to him to store the camcorder when be outgrew his baby carnival one.

 

Then my wife got another one for me from amazon, which wasn't very good. I brought it with me in the suit case but never used it. That's why I splurge and bought the royal Caribbean logo one at the store.

 

We didn't buy it until day 8 as we wanted to lump all purchases to be above 40 dollars to get the free ornament and the 10% discount for being the lowly gold member.

Didnt want to wear it at end of vacation so will save it for next vacation.

 

Thus you will have to wait until next trip report to see it. Can't miss it. It's two tone and my kids say I look like a waiter with it when we tried it at the store. Looks like I can give change from it as one of those people that sells beer sporting events would wear to give change.

 

Sent from my Samsung Note 8 using Tapatalk

 

 

As the work place blocks all access to Shutterfly and Flickr type of photo sites, I can’t upload any pictures from the previous cruise to show my fanny pack at this moment.

 

But if anyone wants to check – go back to my Freedom trip report on post #189 – you will see it on my boarding picture from last cruise. Not happy with the compartments and length (too long and shallow to hold stuff).

[dr_truth]

Actually I love these pics, lots of detail, I see what seems to be a bar area at the bottom of the stairs, Which bar is that?

That looks like the Schooner Bar. I believe they have one of these on every Royal Caribbean ship. On this cruise, they had trivia there during the day and often had a piano-bar type singer there in the evenings. She had a good repertoire, although it was a bit bawdy.

[harryfat1]

We found "secret" shuffle board courts on Deck 4 behind the King Lear restaurant on both port and starboard sides that were rarely being used. We liked the port side better, despite the possibility of smokers, because we noticed that the starboard side smelled like sewage on a few occasions.

 

Really enjoying the report. We were on this sailing too and it is fun to relive our vacation through your photos. Still have not found one with us in the background, but I will keep looking!

 

Great to have you along. It's wonderful to relive the vacation, isn't it? The second time you don't even have to pack or deal with lines and it's totally free.

 

Hope I don't catch you in some compromising position in my photos and publicly complain about your behavior...;p

[harryfat1]

Harry, your pictures are just awesome. I just realized that was my brother who took the pictures of you guys on the helipad on day 1 haha- what a coincidence. He is the photographer in the family who we rely on for all our vacation photos so I can't take any credit, but here are some of his better ones:

 

Great job so far on the report. I look forward to reading the rest of it!

 

 

Sent from my Moto G (5) Plus using Forums mobile app

 

Hi, Brandon,

 

Thanks for sharing the great pictures from your brother. Very nice. I remembered you mentioned at the photo gallery when we were talking that your brother was the photographer of the family.

 

I knew that was your brother at the helipad but don't think he remembered us but he did inquired about our equipment so I knew he was into it.. In looking at some of our pictures, I spotted you and your family in couple of them in the background. I will point them out when I get to them.

 

Appreciate you sharing the pictures for everyone to see. I was REALLY tempted to quote ALL of your pictures in my response just to see if the thousand + club folks will chime in when they had to scroll through all the pictures.

 

Next time when you post more pictures, post ALL of the portrait mode pictures as they are LONG and takes a lot more time to scroll through 12 portrait pictures than landscape cell phone pictures. We'll see how many people's fingers lock up as they flip through their phones...;p