All things Independence of the Seas

[OPSoccermom]

To answer the Flowrider question.....

 

Just got off Indy.

 

A parental release is required before a child under 18 can use flowrider. You only have to sign once - it is good for the entire cruise. All riders regardless of age are required to sign in at the Wipe-out desk on a daily basis before they can ride. They are given a wristband that indicates to the Flowrider staff that they have signed in. After you have your wirstsband, you are good to go.

 

The Daily Compass prints the hours of operation for Flowrider and states which hours are designated as boogeyboarding vs. surfing. During boogeyboarding hours, they divide the Flowrider into 2 sections so 2 riders can go at a time.

 

I did not ride as several of our sea days were on the chilly side but DH and DD did and theye say it was not that hard. For females, do take head of the advice to wear a tee short. Would also recommend a one piece swim suit. We saw a few riders loose their pants!

 

Enjoy!!

[OPSoccermom]

We just got back to the US from our June 14 to 28 Independence cruise.

 

What a beautiful ship and great itinerary!! We had a fabulous time! We found the staff to be helpful and fun, and are fellow pax to be friendly and outgoing.

 

We had great shore excursions, many arranaged outside of RCCL so that we could maximize what we could do in one day. It's hard to believe we got to do and see as much as we did. I am happy to provide that information to anyone who is interested. We found every port had something special to offer and can honesty say that we were pleasantly surprised in some of the ports that we didn't have high expectations for.

 

Not to stir up the food discussion again, but I do have to say that we were dissapointed in some of the meals in the main dining room. We found the luncheon menu in the main dining room to be disappointing, and at dinner the quality of the food seemed to fall as the cruise progressed. There were several exceptions, such as the lamb dishes, but there were also days in the second week when nothing on the menu seemed appealing. This observation was in the main dining room only - the specialty restaurants were nothing but very good. We had breakfast twice in the main dining room. On one day, it took 45 minutes for our breakfast to be served. On this very shore intensive cruise, there always were crowds at breakfast as everyone prepared to leave the ship at once.

 

The service everywhere on board was some of the best we've ever had on a cruise. Adrienne in the Squeeze Bar has to be the best bartender ever!

 

We were fortunate to spend five days in Paris and 3 days in London pre-cruise and an extra day enjoying Stonehenge and Windsor after we disembarked.

 

All-in-all, a great time for all of us. Would go again in a heartbeat (anyone need a cabinmate?).

[SF]

Does anyone have a cruise compass they could share? We aren't interested in the flowrider or rock climbling so would like to know what type of activities are available for those that do not wish to par take in the "sports" aspect.

[OPSoccermom]

Does anyone have a cruise compass they could share? We aren't interested in the flowrider or rock climbling so would like to know what type of activities are available for those that do not wish to par take in the "sports" aspect.

Don't know which itinerary you are on, but I have most if not all of my compasses from the Italian Med itinerary. It was pretty much the standard stuff, but if you get me contact info, I can either share copies or a listing of the daily activities. Because of the port intensive itinerary, there were few activities on the days of the big (Rome, Florence, French Riviera, etc) ports of call, and more on sea days.

 

FYI - skip the "port talks". We found them extremely lacking. They were done by the shopping "expert" who, as expected , glanced over the major attractions in the port and spent 90% of the time talking about shopping. For Florence, she actually recommended skipping Michaelangelo's David in lieu of shopping. She said that you can always tell the folks back home the you saw it, and they "wouldn't know the difference anyway". I know the shopping folks are paid to promote their sponsors, but to recommend skipping Michaelangelo???

[SF]

We will be on the Caribbean Itinerary so I'm sure it will be a lot different. We just returned from Europe and yes, it's very port intensive and all we wanted to do on the few sea days was relax.

[SPARKLE10]

Hi OPSoccermom:

 

We'll be on the IOS for their September 6th, Italian Med. cruise in just about two months from now. We're Diamond members wtih RCCL, but this will be our first time to Europe.

 

I've got kind of a silly question....but were you able to find bathrooms and did you have to pay for them? :rolleyes: We've booked mostly ship tours, and I've heard that the buses do not have bathrooms on them; I just wondered about other places.

 

By the way; I'm a "soccer grandma". My three granddaughters have all played and we've attended many many soccer games and have had the best time ever. Now with the oldest two in college, it's just the youngest one still in high school who plays. I never knew how much fun it could be to be a "soccer grandma".

 

Any tips or suggestions you can give me for our upcoming cruise will be appreciated. Are you Diamond Members? Did you go to the C.L.?

 

Thanks in advance.

Happy Cruising....Sparkle 10 (Anita):)

[Lisa-UK]

Hi all

 

Just checking in as I have not CC'd for a bit due to working lots :(

 

So glad to hear the positive reviews from those who have just cruised recently - I can't wait to go now!

 

Thanks for all of the updates.

 

Lisa

[momof2ky]

Can you tell us anything about the ports? What did you do in Viog, Cadiz, Cannes, Lisbon, and Cagliari? We are travelling with 4 teenage boys next week on Indy. Any suggestions?

[Merion_Mom]

Don't know which itinerary you are on, but I have most if not all of my compasses from the Italian Med itinerary. It was pretty much the standard stuff, but if you get me contact info, I can either share copies or a listing of the daily activities. Because of the port intensive itinerary, there were few activities on the days of the big (Rome, Florence, French Riviera, etc) ports of call, and more on sea days.

 

FYI - skip the "port talks". We found them extremely lacking. They were done by the shopping "expert" who, as expected , glanced over the major attractions in the port and spent 90% of the time talking about shopping. For Florence, she actually recommended skipping Michaelangelo's David in lieu of shopping. She said that you can always tell the folks back home the you saw it, and they "wouldn't know the difference anyway". I know the shopping folks are paid to promote their sponsors, but to recommend skipping Michaelangelo???

 

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

[lansingisland]

We took our teenage boys on the Ship excursion white water rafting in Vigo. It was great. One word about the food,,,,they had several Indian selections every lunch in the Windjammer...very good. We overall liked the food very much, though by the end of the second week we were a little "ho-hum", nothing very interesting. But decent quality and selection

[momof2ky]

I tried to get on the raft trip but it is full! So we will try when we get on board. Were there any other things the teenage kids really liked in any of the ports?

[suziehmkr]

Something to think about with food on a longer cruise... On our 15 day cruise, at first I thought food trailing off a bit in the 2nd week. Then I realized that I just wasn't hungry and it didn't look as interesting. :D

[L&J]

OK, this is a silly question. I've only sailed Carnival thus far, but we are booked for Indy in January. Are the walls magnetic (like Carnival) so I can stick photos of my babies on the wall??

[OPSoccermom]

Sparkle and Mom of 2:

 

I'll recap our ports of all - do have to say that we eonly did one RCCL tour the entire trip as I enjoy making these types of arrangements and we have always had success doing so. Agree with the statement about restrooms - we checked tour buses waiting on the pier as we diembarked and it appeared that they had non. On the longer shore excursions, though, our driver and/or tour guides were always helpful in finding them and we tried to make a point of stopping at a cafe, etc for lunch and a "pit stop" each day.

 

Here goes:

Gibraltar - everyone does the "Rock" and there is no need to spend the money on the ships tours. We recommend what we did - walk to the cable car and pay (get the all-inclusive ticket) to take it to the top. There you will receive audioguides to provide you with an overview of the Rock and its history. The views are great. then you can proceed to walk down the hill. It was probably a mile and a half, but all down hill. Along the way, you can stop at all the points of interest and tour on your own. Admission to the points of interest (St Michaels Cave, the tunnels, etc.) is included in the cable ticket. An interesting and easy walk, esp. nice after 2 sea days of lazing around. After finishing up, we enjoyed beers and food at one of the several outdoor cafes in the main square of town.

 

Cannes - we hired our own driver who showed us some of Cannes , Cap-Ferrat, and Nice before heading to Monaco to see the changing of the guard and cathedral, ate lunch at a nice cafe in Monte Carlo, and then DH, 18 yo DS, and I spent some time gambling at the Grand Casino. Saw Eze on the way home, and our driver showed us some homes of celebrities such as Bill Gates, Tina Turner, etc.

 

Florence- Again private driver who had credentials for admission to the Academie without waiting (very key). Started at Michaelangelo Square, then did the Academie to see David, the Duomo, and Uffizi. Had a great lunch at a cafe owned by a friend of our guide. We then crossed the Ponte Vecchio to see some of the smaller shops and craftsmen.

 

Rome - Private driver to Rome. I had made advance reservations for a private guide at the Vatican museum. Spent 3 hours at the museum, Sistine Chapel, and St Peters. Thanks to reservations and the private guide, we had no lines (again, necessary if you want to see everything we did). Afterwards, we grabbed lunch and met a second tour guide at Piazza de Venezia to do a walking tour of the archeological area (Roman insula, Trajan forum, Sts Peter and Paul site, Colisseum, Roman Forum). Met back up with our driver, grabbed a gelato, and did a short driving tour to see what sites we hadn't before heading back to the ship for departure.

 

Cagliari - explored the town a little, and then hit Poetto beach (20 minute cab ride). They had several private beach club/restaurants where you could grab a bite eand a drink and call a cab for the trip back to port. Once we returned, we hit a cafe for gelato before going back on board.

 

Cadiz - we opted to skip Seville after several days of touring archeological sites and cathedrals, and explored Cadiz. A great little town. They have a walk all along the waterfront and saw a nice botanical park, explored their open air market, then hit the cathedral square and enjoyed sangria and tapas at a nice outdoor cafe. They also have a nice beach within walking distance of the port for the kids - there is a nice cafe with good sangria there. After siesta, we explored some of the shops before heading back onboard.

 

Lisbon - our one RCCL tour. We did the "walking tour of Lisbon" A nice tour with some time to explore on your own. We did some independent shopping afterward here.

 

Vigo - they have some of the best beaches in the world here. We went to Samil beach in the morning. Plenty of restroom facilities and places to grab food and non-alcoholic drinks. Beach was definitely nicer than the one at Cagliari. Leave enough time to do some shopping in Vigo before departure. Everyone we talked to was pleasantly surprised with the quality and prices. The downtown area many major name shops, and there is a mall right next to the port. We shopped and then grabbed a cappuccino right on the pier before heading on board.

 

We were very happy with all the ports of call, but I do have to say that you need to really plan ahead to avoid being overwhelmed. We especially loved our day in Rome, but I really don't think there's any way we would have seen all we did without hiring private guides and drivers.

 

If you are travelling with kids or teens, make sure to consider what they want. Prior to boarding, we had been to Paris and London for several days, so we didn't want the kids to get burned out on cathedrals and museums. They deserved some serious beach time. The rafting in Vigo was a consideration, but they wanted the sand and sun.

 

Hope I got everything - I'll be happy to answer any questions.

[OPSoccermom]

:eek: :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Yeah - go figure. Sure there's lots of jewelry and the leather factory they push in Florence, but to skip David??? That was the last shore talk i went to.

[OPSoccermom]

Something to think about with food on a longer cruise... On our 15 day cruise, at first I thought food trailing off a bit in the 2nd week. Then I realized that I just wasn't hungry and it didn't look as interesting. :D

We considered that, but honestly, with all the long port days, we usually were hungry by dinner time (9 PM in some of the major points).

 

Not saying that we hated the food, it just seemed that the selections got less creative and the quality dropped off as the cruise progressed.

 

We discussed with our head waiter who hinted that it also had to do with the "immersion" cruising concept. He said they actually train the dining staff to respond differently to European guests (there were about 500 Americans on board) and that the menu would definitiely change once they crossed the Atlantic. That was good news to us as we are now considering a Christmas cruise on IOTS.

[OPSoccermom]

Hi OPSoccermom:

 

We'll be on the IOS for their September 6th, Italian Med. cruise in just about two months from now. We're Diamond members wtih RCCL, but this will be our first time to Europe.

 

I've got kind of a silly question....but were you able to find bathrooms and did you have to pay for them? :rolleyes: We've booked mostly ship tours, and I've heard that the buses do not have bathrooms on them; I just wondered about other places.

 

By the way; I'm a "soccer grandma". My three granddaughters have all played and we've attended many many soccer games and have had the best time ever. Now with the oldest two in college, it's just the youngest one still in high school who plays. I never knew how much fun it could be to be a "soccer grandma".

 

Any tips or suggestions you can give me for our upcoming cruise will be appreciated. Are you Diamond Members? Did you go to the C.L.?

 

Thanks in advance.

Happy Cruising....Sparkle 10 (Anita):)

Anita,

 

We're not Diamond till our next cruise, but we did peek into the Diamond lounge up on top. It looked nice. We were in JS's so we did not have access to the CL on deck 10.

 

Back to the restroom thing - although we didn't have a problem in most places, take a few travel size packs of Kleenex with you as some of the restrooms did not have tissue. In all honesty, I can't think of any place where finding a restroom was an issue, especially if you are willing to buy a drink, etc. at a cafe, etc.

 

Make sure to keep everyone hydrated. It was 107 degrees in Seville the day after we where there.

 

Funny thing about the soccer - neither of my kids play much anymore. DS switched to football and DD golfs (soccer and golf fall in the same high school season in OH), although we still enjoy watching. It was fun to be in Europe during Euro 2008. The Spaniards sure were excited!

[OPSoccermom]

One thing i forgot...

 

We had three adjoining balconies (2 JS and 1 D1), and the cabin attendant was able to get the balcony partitions opened up for us before we left Southampton, resulting in a huge balcony.

 

If you have adjoining balcony cabins, I would recommend looking into this

[lansingisland]

To the mom of two: I don't know if you are on the same itinerary as we were, but for my teen boys and the teens we traveled with (ages 15-17...5 of them) the big hits were Gibralter...cable car up, walk down, see monkeys. We took the ship excursion in Livorno to the Cinque Terre. Very scenic and enjoyable..low key. My kids have already been to florence and seen the David and Pisa. I think you need to do that if you haven't before. My kids veto all cathedrals, chuches, palaces etc, but they were impressed with the David. They loved the Vigo raft trip. We got a private bike tour in Sardinia..nice. We just walked around on our own in the other ports. Normally I'm much more type A about planning and maximizing our time, but my husband and kids were stressed from work/school and needed to "chill". My kids had just finished AP exams etc. Although I don't allow any alcohol at home, my 17 year old enjoyed trying Ale in London, and in Malaga we went to one of the Sherry bars and let him order on...part of the culture and interesting. Oh, and in Barcelona the big market place off La Rambla was a hit. Lots of interesting things for sale. We enjoyed all the Gaudi sights.

[SPARKLE10]

Thanks OPSoccermom:

 

I guess I'm stressing about this cruise, more than the others we've been on, because it will be so new to us; which also makes it a lot more exciting than the other cruises we've taken, but also a lot more to learn...

 

I've read where you have to take Euro coins for the bathrooms? I plan on getting some Euros ahead of time, but I wasn't sure if I needed to get the coins ahead of time or not? I never worried about bathroom facilities when I was younger:confused: ; but I'm not going to give up cruising just because I'm aging....:eek: I was 61 last month in June.

 

Anyway; did you have any problems with pickpockets there? I realize you have to be careful no matter where you travel, but I've read where it is really a big problem where we're going.

 

Also, did you have any experience with Heathrow Airport? We're flying from Des Moines, Iowa; to Chicago and then to Heathrow in two months. We've never been to that airport before. I've read a lot about the problems they've been having at Heathrow and I just wondered if you've ever traveled there? We were even thinking about shipping our luggage ahead by Fed Ex, because there have been a lot of luggage lost at that airport. Have you ever done that?

 

I'm the one in the family who plans and researches everything when we travel, so I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can be.

 

Thanks again....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

[Hope2havefun]

Thanks OPSoccermom:

 

I guess I'm stressing about this cruise, more than the others we've been on, because it will be so new to us; which also makes it a lot more exciting than the other cruises we've taken, but also a lot more to learn...

 

I've read where you have to take Euro coins for the bathrooms? I plan on getting some Euros ahead of time, but I wasn't sure if I needed to get the coins ahead of time or not? I never worried about bathroom facilities when I was younger:confused: ; but I'm not going to give up cruising just because I'm aging....:eek: I was 61 last month in June.

 

Anyway; did you have any problems with pickpockets there? I realize you have to be careful no matter where you travel, but I've read where it is really a big problem where we're going.

 

Also, did you have any experience with Heathrow Airport? We're flying from Des Moines, Iowa; to Chicago and then to Heathrow in two months. We've never been to that airport before. I've read a lot about the problems they've been having at Heathrow and I just wondered if you've ever traveled there? We were even thinking about shipping our luggage ahead by Fed Ex, because there have been a lot of luggage lost at that airport. Have you ever done that?

 

I'm the one in the family who plans and researches everything when we travel, so I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can be.

 

Thanks again....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

 

Hi Anita

 

Just to let you know I am cabin crew based in the Uk and fly into/out of Heathrow (and just recently terminal 5). Want to reassure you that to my knowledge everything is going really well and smoothly and the baggage issue is all running very smoothly. However, one thing I would advise is to split your luggage and put a some items in everyones luggage. Just in case....... Have a fantastic cruise (we were on her in May and have 2 booked for next year as it was sooooo fabulous!)

[atlaturne]

We are booked into Junior Suite 9344.Is it a good location,etc.Thanks for the help.

[OPSoccermom]

Thanks OPSoccermom:

 

I guess I'm stressing about this cruise, more than the others we've been on, because it will be so new to us; which also makes it a lot more exciting than the other cruises we've taken, but also a lot more to learn...

 

I've read where you have to take Euro coins for the bathrooms? I plan on getting some Euros ahead of time, but I wasn't sure if I needed to get the coins ahead of time or not? I never worried about bathroom facilities when I was younger:confused: ; but I'm not going to give up cruising just because I'm aging....:eek: I was 61 last month in June.

 

Anyway; did you have any problems with pickpockets there? I realize you have to be careful no matter where you travel, but I've read where it is really a big problem where we're going.

 

Also, did you have any experience with Heathrow Airport? We're flying from Des Moines, Iowa; to Chicago and then to Heathrow in two months. We've never been to that airport before. I've read a lot about the problems they've been having at Heathrow and I just wondered if you've ever traveled there? We were even thinking about shipping our luggage ahead by Fed Ex, because there have been a lot of luggage lost at that airport. Have you ever done that?

 

I'm the one in the family who plans and researches everything when we travel, so I'm just trying to be as prepared as I can be.

 

Thanks again....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

Don't feel you're unusual - I was more than a little stressed over this trip.

 

First of all, we flew into Paris and spen t 5 days there before taking the Eurostar (chunnel train) to London. We flew home from Gatwick - no problems, but heed other threads re: carry-on requirements. From what I read, the Brits are more strict about size of carry-ons. We had no problems at all.

 

You will probably get some Euro coins when you exchange as the dollar to Euro exchange rate is not 1 to 1. And you will be getting change if you purchase anything small in port. Again, there are small cafes and shops in just about every port you go and as long as you purchase something (gelato, water, etc.) you can use the restroom. One pastry shop in Lisbon did tell us it would be 50 cent Euro to use te restroom if you weren't buying anything.

 

We heard of issues with pickpockets, and did have have a few times were strangers would come up to us and ask us if we spoke English (usually a sign of trouble). Interestingly enough, that happened in Paris and London, not Italy, although on the ship, others were talking of similar things in Italy. We were somewaht fortunate to be in small group with a private guide, but if you are in large close groups (St Peters, trains, etc.), do be careful. There are many good money belts and secure shoulder-type bags that you could look into before you leave.

[OPSoccermom]

We are booked into Junior Suite 9344.Is it a good location,etc.Thanks for the help.

We had junior suites portside on Deck 10 Highly recommend decks 9 and 10 as the "up" elevators always seemed filled on sea days.

 

On the port side, we faced shore as we cruised the med until Rome/ Sardinia. Best views are in Gibralter and Vigo IMO. We were somewhat midship, but closer to the aft stairs - perfect for getting everywhere we needed.

[cruzcat]

Thanks OPSoccermom:

 

I've read where you have to take Euro coins for the bathrooms? I plan on getting some Euros ahead of time, but I wasn't sure if I needed to get the coins ahead of time or not? I never worried about bathroom facilities when I was younger:confused: ; but I'm not going to give up cruising just because I'm aging....:eek: I was 61 last month in June.

 

Anyway; did you have any problems with pickpockets there? I realize you have to be careful no matter where you travel, but I've read where it is really a big problem where we're going.

 

Thanks again....Sparkle 10 (Anita)

 

 

Hi Anita,

 

We will be on the Independence September 20th flying from Cedar Rapids to Heathrow. Last year we were on a Med cruise on the Brilliance of the Seas. In pretty much all the ports we had no trouble finding restrooms in cafes and as long as you buy a coffee, espresso, water or something you can use it. I did need my own kleenex, however, in some of them. The tour guides helped remind us about using the restrooms before we departed a town or after lunch. Only one place in France did I find a facility that charged .50 euros but when I saw the hole in the ground under the stall, I changed my mind and found a cafe!

 

As for pickpockets, we didn't have any problems but heard stories from others. I took a money pouch you wear under your clothing for my money and cards, and also had a purse with a strap I wore across my chest so I could keep hold of it in front of me. I ordered them both from one of the online retailers--travelsmiths. Don't worry, as long as you are aware of the people around you (too close or too friendly) you will be fine.

 

Have a great time!