Semi-Live Review Independence of the Seas March 7th-12th. It's my 40th Birthday!!!

[manders175]

Last night we stayed at the Four Points by Sheraton cruise port. We had a nice king size bed, and the room was nice and clean. 

 

Also, if anyone is thinking of staying here, there is a chicken place, taco bell, and Burger King in main walking distance. 

 

Also there is a CVS right beside the hotel. The picture I took of the hotel is from the CVS parking lot. 

 

The only negative I would give is that the breakfast in the morning is NOT free. It is $13.95 a person 

 

They will shuttle you to the cruise port for $9 per person. They run 3 shuttles with the first at 10:15. We are going to uber it and I will let you know how much. 

 

The hotel is about a 10 min right to the airport and also to the cruise port 

[Ukigirl]

18 hours ago, manders175 said:

So...theres been an itinerary change! Before boarding my connecting flight to Atlanta my app was showing instead of Labadee, Haiti and Falmouth, Jamaica we are now getting switched to Nassau and Cococay.

 

Royal sent an email while we were in flight stating rough weather conditions but I have to believe this is why..

 

Someone posted that they were in Labadee yesterday, forgot which ship.

[danoconnl]

I would be surprised if it was because of the travel advisory since labadee is walled off from the rest of the island.

[Ukigirl]

Oasis was at Labadee yesterday, wonder if it’s due to some kind of weather disturbance? We stop at Labadee in a few weeks and wouldn’t mind if it was switched to Coco Cay, so far we are 0-3 getting there there due to high winds.

[b&s4cruisin]

Happy Birthday!🎂🍷  Hope you have great weather.   Can you possibly post the menu for Giovanni's and compasses, will be on her in 4 weeks, same itinerary.

[manders175]

We got an uber to the port from our hotel, with the cost being $7.10. It was a 15 minute drive. We arrived at 10:30ish with expedited arrival and were onboard by 11! 

 

The shore excursions line was ridiculous thanks to the ship changing itineraries 1 day before. 

 

As stated before, our stateroom is balcony 9640, which is on the hump. Average sized room and perfect for us!

 

Muster drill was at 3:45pm and we were done by 4! Nothing left to do but Bon Voyage!!

[manders175]

We ate dinner in the main dining room tonight. My husband had the escargot, the battered fish and seafood with the apple blossom a la mode. I had the Maryland crab cake, the spaghetti bolognese, and the key lime pie. 

 

Everything was fantastic! 

[dreadpirate3]

I am so excited for your review! I just booked a weekend at the end of May on Indy. I have sailed Freedom, but I know there are differences. 

 

Enjoy your birthday cruise. Coco Cay is awesome!

[Lindypops]

11 hours ago, manders175 said:

We got an uber to the port from our hotel, with the cost being $7.10. It was a 15 minute drive. We arrived at 10:30ish with expedited arrival and were onboard by 11

Were there any additional health checks on boarding?

[rolloman]

2 hours ago, Lindypops said:

Were there any additional health checks on boarding?

Good question...I was wondering as well if there was any additional delay with getting your temperature taken? Can you shed some light with the process you observed? 

[manders175]

2 hours ago, Lindypops said:

Were there any additional health checks on boarding?

The only additional health check we had was they scanned everyone's temp prior to going thru the check in process. They held a temp scanner a few inches from your forehead to take your temp. 

 

If your temp is greater than 100.4, there was a secondary screening where they checked your pulse oximetry. Then medical would decide if you could board. The process to screen your temp literally took 2 seconds then you were on your way. 🙂

Edited March 8, 2020 by manders175

[manders175]

Cruise Compass from Day 1. We did attend the Welcome Aboard show last night which was a Comedian, Jeffrey Neff. He was pretty funny. He is doing adult late night comedy tonight after Grease which should be great! 

[Lindypops]

23 minutes ago, manders175 said:

The only additional health check we had was they scanned everyone's temp prior to going thru the check in process. They held a temp scanner a few inches from your forehead to take your temp. 

 

If your temp is greater than 100.4, there was a secondary screening where they checked your pulse oximetry. Then medical would decide if you could board. The process to screen your temp literally took 2 seconds then you were on your way. 🙂

Thanks for that .

The big question , which you probably dont know the answer to, is what happens if you are denied boarding ?

Do you just go away or are you put into quarantine ?

[manders175]

5 hours ago, Lindypops said:

Thanks for that .

The big question , which you probably dont know the answer to, is what happens if you are denied boarding ?

Do you just go away or are you put into quarantine ?

Lindypops, I'm sorry I dont know the answer to that question. 

[manders175]

Today, day 2 is a sea day. I was hoping for sun and the pool but the weather is 70 degrees, cloudy, and 20mph winds so not happening. The boat is rocking a little but definitely tolerable for us, with no meds taken or sea bands put on. 

 

After quickly losing $60 in the casino, we decided to drown our sorrows in Playmakers for lunch.  This is a bar like atmosphere with TVs, pool tables, ski ball, and a few other games. It is an upcharge, but thankfully we had lots of onboard credit due to refunds for Jamaica and Labadee excursions. 

 

Here is the menu as well as what we ate. It was really good!! We got the Pile On Nachos, the chicken sandwich, and the classic cheeseburger. 

[dreadpirate3]

Food looks good! 

[manders175]

Here are a few more pics of Playmakers. Found on Deck 4, beside the Casino. 

[manders175]

At noon today, there was a Welcome Onboard Parade in the Promenade called Olympus Rocks.

 

To be honest it was pretty confusing. There were people dressed up as Gods and Goddesses, but then also had random crew members walking through this parade as well. The parade announcer was asking us to applaud the crew, then telling us the people dressed up were the Royal Caribbean dancers and this was just a warm up for shows this week. 

 

Was just an odd combination. 

[Weber Prof]

Thanks for posting.  We are scheduled for Indy March 30. 

[Weber Prof]

On 3/3/2020 at 9:11 AM, thjeepster said:

We will be on Indy next month and will be doing a B2B and also getting married on board the ship!

Happy Wedding and double cruising!

[manders175]

Night 2 on the 5 day itinerary is formal night! This is my husband's FAVORITE night in the main dining room. We are big fans of the duck. My husband stuck with the escargot again while I had the Calamari. We both had the duck of course. Dessert was the Royal Chocolate Cake and I had the Grand Marnier Souffle. Everything was amazing!

[manders175]

Formal night also means Grease night! 3 words for you: GO SEE IT! These singers and dancers were phenomenal! Probably the best production show I've seen yet. This is a real Broadway show that you dont want to miss. A little tip, get there early. Every seat will fill up. 

 

After the show, we hit the Promenade for 70's night (I'll include some of those photos) and then adult late comedy with comedian Jeff Norris. He is the same guy who did the welcome aboard show last night. We really thought he was funny. 

[manders175]

Cruise Compass from Day 2! 

[manders175]

Day 3 brought us to Nassau, Bahamas for the day. We stayed on the ship and enjoyed it with fewer people! 

 

Here are a few pics of Nassau. You can really tell how windy it was! We were in port with 2 Carnival ships. 

[manders175]

We decided on Johnny Rockets for lunch. It is on deck 12 aft. It is a flat 9.95 charge that includes choice of starter, sandwich, and dessert. 

 

Beverages are extra, minus water. We had the deluxe beverage package so our shakes were no charge.