Just Back! Indy of the Seas 2/15-2/21

[cot427]

Hello everyone. We're just back from the Indy, the 6 night Western Caribbean.

 

We had at least 1200+ kids onboard. Apparently its a vacation week for some, which I didn't kno. I'm 16 and i took a couple days off, but I didn't kno schools had the week off. Many of the kids were under 10 or 12. I just wanted to start this thread with an overall of my impression and for questions. I'll write the review tomorrow or later on in the week. I'm not sure if i wanna write a day by day or categories yet.

 

The cruise was fantastic, I've been on all 3 Freedom class ships so far. I would have to say Liberty would be the best, although each ship had + and - that the others were opposite. Indy's staff was ok, but it didnt seem they were willing to go above and beyond like the liberty. Indy's food was great and dining room service was great. Entertainment was awesome, although I do remember the second show, Once Upon a Time, from another ship but I can't remember which. Ship was extremely clean and looked as it is, brand new. The decor was ok as well.

 

**Differences between other two ships**

Doors in the stateroom have peep holes.

Staterooms have tea maker

Sorrentos has a coffee maker where the other was just a trash area.

 

Oh, and dinner was 6:00-6:30 or 8:30-9:00, they gave that whole half an hour to get there, which was unusual. IMO i thought it threw waiters off, because our table would get there at 6:00, and then the other table our waiter had at 6:20, so he was running every night.

 

I think that was it, they were very minor.

 

Also, as I read before I sailed, lobster night was said to have been friday, but no, it was on THURSDAY, the second formal night in Cozumel.

Sunday - Welcome Dinner - Casual

Monday - Captains Dinner - Formal - Had yummy Grand Mariner Souffle

Tuesday - don't remember, ill look on compass

Wednesday - don't remember, ill look on compass

Thursday - Chefs Dinner - Formal - LOBSTER (we could get more than one)

Friday - Farewell Dinner - (Blah worst menu)

 

So any questions?

 

I'm gonna write review and post later and well as upload compassses and pics!

 

Also, Captain - Teo Straz....... (lol)

CD - Graham Seymour (Hilarious)

Stateroom Attendant - Maximo - Deck 6

Waiter - Edy - Deck 5 (King Lear was our dining room, very nice and open, light colors)

Assisstant waiter - Dika - Deck 5

[MouseGirl]

Thanks so much for posting - really appreciate all the detail you provided about your cruise! We'll be on the IOS for the 6-nights starting March 15 and are so looking forward to it.

 

Just one question for you if you don't mind. I see that you are 16 years old. Our children will be ages 12 and 13 at the time of the cruise. Did they separate the 12-14 and 15-17 year olds for all activities or were you combined for some? I have read differing accounts on this...

 

Glad you had such a great time:)

[cot427]

Um, most of the time, they were separated for the activities, but I do remember once or twice when it was combined because the same activity was scheduled for both groups. Since we had many kids, it was rarely combined though. I do remember on Freedom or Liberty, there were more activities combined, because we went in October where they were less kids.

 

Have a great time in March!

[cot427]

So I looked back at my old Freedom Compasses from 07 and yes, I knew it. Once Upon a Time, the Comedy Musical about the fairy tales was one of the production shows. I knew I had seen it before after I was sitting there on the Indy watching it for a while. It was a good show regardless.

 

Any more questions?

[jakenashleysmom]

about the dining times? How was it listed in the compass? That seems like it would be odd, what if your dining companions (if you were seated at a large table) came in 1/2 hour later than you? Would the waiter start serving you even so others were late?

 

Maybe its something they do on a particularly busy week, such as the Presidents day holiday. We are cruising that week next year so now I'm curious.

 

thanks for the quick review.

[katie_1234]

Was the curfew enforced?!

[cot427]

Yes, it was listed on the Compasses everyday, 6:00-6:30, or 8:30-9:00. It was a bit odd, because I never noticed this before on any other ship.

 

We were lucky because our dining mates came about 6:05 every night and we came about 6:00, so that was great. As I said above though, the table next to us came about 6:20 or 6:30, and we had the same waiter, so I think that threw him off a bit, because he was constantly running around.

 

I'll post a link to the pics and compasses later, they are loading to Webshots as I type!

[wolfcathorse]

Thank you for confirming for me who the captain was.

[caribbeanboy]

Cot427: Very good observation about Sorrentos. When I asked the guy who was working in Sorrentos, he told me that I had to go to where they sell Seattle's best coffee (can't remember the name) I aslo noticed that on the Liberty they just used the clear plastic cups (with Royal Caribbean on it) you can throw away and on the Indy they use the Yellow plastic cups that they use in Windjammer too.

[cot427]

Thank you for confirming for me who the captain was.

 

Your welcome. To get the last name right, Captain Teo Strazicic. He is one of the better captains of the fleet I think.

 

Cot427: Very good observation about Sorrentos. When I asked the guy who was working in Sorrentos, he told me that I had to go to where they sell Seattle's best coffee (can't remember the name) I aslo noticed that on the Liberty they just used the clear plastic cups (with Royal Caribbean on it) you can throw away and on the Indy they use the Yellow plastic cups that they use in Windjammer too.

 

Yeah, we used to always sit in Sorrentos, and have to go get coffee in Cafe Promenade, all the way on the other side of the Promenade. This was a really good idea.

[crusinmama06]

Welcome back. :D You should have been on OUR sailing for the SuperBowl. Never saw so many people who were steelers fans in Florida. ;) (yes I see your listed location)

 

As a comparison, there were only 250 kids on my sailing.

 

Did you happen to take any pictures of the menus? That was the one thing everyone kept asking me for. :)

[cot427]

Welcome back. :D You should have been on OUR sailing for the SuperBowl. Never saw so many people who were steelers fans in Florida. ;) (yes I see your listed location)

 

As a comparison, there were only 250 kids on my sailing.

 

Did you happen to take any pictures of the menus? That was the one thing everyone kept asking me for. :)

 

Wow, that sounds like super fun lol. That would have been a good sailing. The reason we picked this week was I had a day off school, well it was suppose to be presidents day, so I would only miss 4, but then we had a snow make up, so i missed 5 anyways. And I didn't know a lot of schools had a mid winter break, never heard of it, which explains in hourds of kids on the ship. 250 is tiny compared to 1200+.

 

As far as the menus go, you know I usually do take pictures of the menus, but this time I didn't. Sorry :( The only things I have are pics and compasses I will post in a bit.

[crusinmama06]

Wow, that sounds like super fun lol. That would have been a good sailing. The reason we picked this week was I had a day off school, well it was suppose to be presidents day, so I would only miss 4, but then we had a snow make up, so i missed 5 anyways. And I didn't know a lot of schools had a mid winter break, never heard of it, which explains in hourds of kids on the ship. 250 is tiny compared to 1200+.

 

As far as the menus go, you know I usually do take pictures of the menus, but this time I didn't. Sorry :( The only things I have are pics and compasses I will post in a bit.

 

Yep, same here. My kids lost their break due to snow make up days. ;)

 

What did you do in Belize?

[cot427]

HERE IS MY REVIEW

Day 1 - Fort Lauderdale - Weather was 82 (as per compass)

 

Embarkation: I’d have to say this was the easiest embarkation EVER. We got off the plane in Fort Lauderdale at around 10:00, and we were in Port Everglades at 10:30, and checkin was a breeze. We got out of the cab and a guy came to take our luggage, and then we walked right into security, which was no line at all. Then to checkin, which was no line, and finally to the waiting area. My grandma is a diamond so we got to go upstairs and wait with a smaller crowd who got to go on first. We waited til about 11:30 or a little after and they let everybody on. Windjammer for lunch, then we walked around and the muster drill. After that we watched sail away and dinner.

 

Dining: Windjammer for lunch was as usual. They had the usual welcome aboard lunch with Honey Stung Chicken, French Fries, etc. And the same usual desserts. Service though was good, the food was hot and they were constantly taking our plates. Dinner was a little leery at first. First we wanted a small table, but it worked out. We had a table for 7, with another family from Canada, they had to small kids, both under 6. But they were very well behaved, for the most part. We did ask to switch, but they didn’t have any more tables. It ended up being a good thing at the end. Our service though was a little leery on the first night. They didn’t introduce themselves and it took a while for the food. But they improved 100% later.

 

Activities/Highlights: Indy Expo 1:45-3:15; Olympus rocks parade 11:00 (we missed it) and then Karaoke stars at 11:15-12:30. The welcome aboard show was Comedy Impressions of Mike Wilson, 7:45 for all guests, and he was great.

 

Day 2 - At Sea - Weather was 80

 

Morning/Afternoon Activities/Highlights: After breakfast we went by the pool and man, were there chair hogs galore. Every chair in the solarium was full. So we asked the solarium pool attendant if he could get us 3 chairs to use, and he said yes, and took a bag and two towels of chairs. It was nice until the ladies who had it came over and had a fit, as I thought, and they ended up sitting in the rest of the chairs they reserved. Now they were there for about an hour and a half, but he didn’t do anything to the rest of the chairs. **They are more strict with the chairs on the Indy. They do the stickers and right down the time, either a half an hour after u left, or the time starting when you had a half hour to get back. We left the chairs before lunch, because it did rain for about 20 minutes, only lightly.

 

After lunch I went to the gym, then stayed on the deck 12 and read til dinner. There was the sexy legs contest and bingo as well as art show and tons of other stuff during this time. Also, there was 2 ice shows, one at 2:00 and one at 4:00 during this sea day.

 

Dining: We ate breakfast & lunch in the dining room, and it seemed like service lacked a little. I mean yes they did get the job done, but there wasn’t that wow factor from the Liberty. We did ask for a small table each time we went to the dining room and got it every time, because we didn’t wanna eat in day care like dinner. Dinner was formal, the Captain’s Gala dinner, and as I said, dinner was 6:00-6:30 for main or 8:30-9:00 for second, which was strange. I think I had some sort of beef this night, and then we had Grand Mariner Soufflé tonight, which was awesome, my favorite dessert ever.

Night Activities/Highlights: After dinner, there was the Captains Reception in the promenade, when he spoke for a couple minutes, and there was also pictures. The main show was at 9:00 for early seating (11:00 for late) and it was invitation to dance, the production show, which was very good. After the show they had the millionaire game show (just like tv show who wants to be a millionaire)in the pyramid lounge. They had to contestants and they got every question right. They did give small prices for each question and worked their way up to big prizes. After that was adult karaoke and the late night stuff.

 

Day 3 - Belize - Weather was 83

*Captain Teo did not change the ships time to central, he stayed eastern all cruise.**

 

We arrived in Belize at 7:00, and the tender was 20 minutes, as they said, but it was more like 10 or 15. After breakfast, we got off at around 9:00 ship which was 8:00 local, because we had a tour for 9:15 local, and we wanted to shop around the dock area a few minutes. We walked around the dock area, DI, local shops, etc and the tour started early around 9:00 (local). We booked the Altun Ha tour through Belizeshoreexcurions.com (Xtreme tours) and our tour guide was Gus Heredia. He was by far one of the best tour guides ever. As a tour companion said, he is a great ambassador to his country. He knew everything there is to know about Belize. We drove in his van, there were 3 of us, another family of 4, then him in his van which was pretty big. The ride to altun ha was interesting, on very bumpy roads, and it took about an hour to an hour and a half. Altun Ha was very interesting, they are ruins, and they are beautiful. I will post the pictures after the review. He also gave us the city tour of the north part of belize city before the ruins, then drove back through the south side of belize city on the way back to the ship. (I thought lunch was to be included, but it was not, but have been a typo on the website. It was such a great tour, we did not argue)

 

Dining: Breakfast was in the dining room and got better than the day before, better food and service. Since we missed lunch, we went to the Windjammer at about 3:30 for afternoon snacks (3:00-5:00) and it was good. They had a large variety of food and desserts and it was empty when we got there, but more and more people we coming in as the ship left at 4:00. Dinner was Casual/70s, and I can’t remember what was for dinner, I never do. But It was good lol.

 

Night Activities/Highlights: (Bingo at 4:30, just to mention) After dinner was the headliner show featuring the ultimate entertainer, Finis Henderson at 9:00 (second seating was 7:00). He did many impressions of song artists and preformed that way, and he was extremely awesome. After the show there was the British invasion, at 10:45 where everything was british obviously. This is compared to the 70s dancing the streets on Liberty. Then there was karaoke again 11:30 - 12:00.

 

Day 4 - Costa Maya - Weather was 82

 

As I said in Costa Maya (arrived at 10:30), you could do a few select ship tours, go into downtown ‘Majuhal’ (sp) which I heard is a nice beach, but only a sort of board walk and then a few restaurants with chairs and lounge chairs. We stayed by the ship. From the ship they have a tram to the dock area with the shops. There were a lot of shops selling the same things over and over, and then DI, a few jewelry stores, liquor, and that was it. In that area, they had a few shows that the mayans preformed, music and dancing in costumes. There was also 2 pools and a beach area with a rocky beach that nobody could go into. We got lounge chairs and ordered drinks from the restaurant. I ordered a yard drink or something like that, which was 10 dollars and some chips and salsa. This is also where I got most of my sun. We got back to the ship around 4:00, and I went to the gym and then dinner. (leaving CM at 6:30ish)

 

Dining: Breakfast was again in the dining room, and then we missed lunch again, and we ate chip and salsa on the ’beach’ so we stopped in the café and got a few snacks. Dinner was casual/Caribbean, and again I forget what I had, actually I think it was the garlic tiger shrimp. It was great.

 

Night Activities/Highlights: After dinner was the Ice show at 9:00, (7:00 or second seating) and it was called Freeze Frame. It went through the decades 40s, 50s, 60s, and 70s, and they did a great job with the music and the costumes corresponding to the decade. It was a great show, but it didn’t have any of the special flying in the air or the WOW. After the ice show, there was the Love and Marriage Game Show. It was hosted by the CD Graham Seymour, and I have to say it was hiiiiilarious. Probably the best funniest one ever. He did it differently though. He did not ask the guys or the girls to leave, but had them write answers on the note pad. After that was the Mad Hatters Parade, the second of two, and it was actually a good parade. Very fun. Then there was dancing under the stars deck party and the surfs up buffet. The buffet was a lot smaller than the libertys last year. I;m not sure if this is fleet wide now, but there was little to no fruits or extras, only a breads/salads table, meat, tacos, that sort of stuff, then desserts. On the Liberty they had chocolate strawberry dip and more carvings, etc.

 

Day 5 - Cozumel - Weather was 79

Arriving in Cozumel at 7:30, we waited to get off for a while. There were 6 ships in port, 3 carnivals, NCL Pearl, and the Grandeur and Indy. We got the free taxi ride to the Istambul place because my grandma wanted to look at the rugs, and they said they would pay the taxi fare if you looked. They also gave us drinks. After that we walked around the town and went to DI. Now the ship reccommends the forum shops, but we didn’t make it all the way down there. We got rooked by the Wyndham people and well I guess it was a good deal. First we said beach, but he talked us into the timeshare thing. We thought it was 30 minutes, but it ended up being 90, then finally 60. We only wanted to pay 10 dollars pp, instead of the 30pp at the Wyndham so the taxi took us to El Cid,right by the ship, but a guy there said, I talked to Jorge, and he wants you to go to Wyndham for the same price. So we drove up another 10 minutes to there and it was ok. The initial Wyndham area was ok ,but then there were other areas like Sabores where it was 18+ we toured and it was beautiful. There were slides from the initial condo to the main pool and the swim up bar. After the timeshare talk was lunch, either bbq grill or buffet, and I could never stay here. I would take cruise any day because the food was nasty. Beach again was rocky but we did lay on the beach and I walked to me knees in the water, and we went back to the port area around 3:00. We shopped til about 3:45 around the dock area and went back on the ship. All aboard was 4:30, but we didn’t’ leave til about 5:00 or a little after because there were a couple late people that can’t tell time. They even pulled the gangway up once then put it back for them. It was formal night so I got ready at 5:00 and then dinner was LOBSTER tonight. The service tonight went downhill as I think our assistant waiter was covering for another person and our waiter because he was running all over the place.

 

Night Activities/Highlights: The ship was extra rocky tonight. I usually don’t feel it as I go every year once or twice, but tonight I did. I think that’s when I started not feel well too. I went to bed early that night, after the Once upon a time production show which we saw on the Freedom. I thought it looked familiar but I knew when I saw the Pinocchio part that we saw it already. There was also Studio 84 dance party in the pyramid lounge at 10:00, then the famous quest after that at 11:00, then adult late night comedy with the CRUISE DIRECTOR GRAHAM SEYMOUR at 12:00.

 

Day 6 - At Sea - Weather was the coldest, at 72, but it felt like 60s because it was WINDY (Very) ALL DAY

 

Morning/Afternoon Activities/Highlights: Before breakfast I went to climb the rock wall and did it twice. Once I ate lunch and the others came back to the solarium, I went to watch the belly flop contest and then the flowrider after finishing my 700 page book YAY. The flowrider was not busy at all because it was extremely windy and cold. I waited for like 5 minutes and did it twice. They do not want you to lay there, they want you to try something to keep the line moving. After the thawed out, I went ice skating, lol. It was actually pretty busy, the busiest session I ever saw on a ship. Then we went to Bingo, but did not win : (. ALL of the winners had the electronic games, which were 80 dollars. After bingo was dinner.

 

Dining: Breakfast was good, I ate in the Windjammer for lunch and brought it over to the solarium to save our seats while the others ate in the dining room. It was sort of shifts. We had lunch in the dining room., but lunch service was horrible. It was very slow and I didn’t even get asked about drink or dessert or anything, so I left early. Dinner was the farewell night and it’s the worst menu all the time. They have turkey, or what I ordered the Salmon Vodka pasta, and it was horrible. I tried someones mahi mahi and it was pretty good actually, next time I will order it.

 

Night Activities/Highlights: After dinner was the farewell show of Max Oliveira, who was the acrobat who climbs and hangs on ropes etc. Then we had rock star juggler Mike Price, who was extremely strange, but he did an awesome show. Truly amazing. Then the CD Graham sang Chasing Cars but Snow Patrol and he did a great job. That was unexpected. They also showed the DVD. After the show we shopped and packed and then I saw the last karaoke. (there was also finish that lyric at 10:15) Then it was time for sleep, last night on Indy.

 

Day 7 - Fort Lauderdale - Don’t know weather, but it was probably 60s or 70s.

 

Dining: Last breakfast in the dining room, and it seemed they were preoccupied because service was bad and food was cold. Once we had breakfast we went back to the room to get backs and went to the theater. Since we had a flight at 6:30, we waited to get off the ship til 9:30, which was orange. They did it differently where the new program is they don’t announce the colors out loud, but only in the area where you color meets. (SEE COMPASS) Once orange was called at 9:15, we were off and went to deck 4,all the way to the back of the ship, then down to one. Exited the ship, then get your backs all the way in a building across from the front of the ship, and it was crowded. They had barely any porters because I even heard them complain about the process. The bags were laid in areas, not conveyor belts, but we did find the bags easily but getting them out is the hard part because you have to get around other bags and people looking for their bags. Then you go through a zig zagged line to customs, and all they do is look at your paper and passports. All in all it took about 30 minutes from when we were called til we got a taxi, and we were in the taxi about 9:50ish and airport by 10:00. We then decided to change our flight til 1:00, which incurred a 50 dollar charge pp but it was worth it not to wait. It was Delta btw. Fort Lauderdale airport was busy, but the security the delta terminal was about 5-10 minutes, not bad at all. Our flight from FLL-ATL was one time, and then ATL-PIT was on time and we even got home early!

 

All in all it was a fantastic trip onboard indy, and now I can say I have been on all 3 Freedom class ships!

[EYESPORTS]

Cot427 did an excellent review of the sailing. My family was on the same cruise IOS - 2/15/09. The only thing I would add is:

 

1) Chair Hogs: On the first day at sea (Monday), I was out there by 8 a.m., and was stunned to see nearly every chair with a towel, book or other thing reserving it (and not people). I asked the attendants at the pool about a "30 minute rule" and was told that they tried to enforce it, but it lead to too many arguments with passengers, so they let it go (at least these 2 particular attendants do that). We did find chairs, but . . . On the last sea day, I was out there at 7:15 a.m. and the same thing with everyone have towels on the chairs. A very windy day.

 

2) Departing the ship was not organized well. We were carrying our own luggage off, so they had us meet in Studio B at 8:15 a.m. (or after). Well, once you got to the studio, it was a bit messy. Passengers saying they need to get off right away to catch a flight, etc. We were in the second group (blue) - and had to sit in the theater for about 30-40 minutes. We were then called and we rolled our luggage out of the studio to the elevators (stairs) down to deck one. The only thing is that ANYONE could have departed when we did (carrying their luggage). Being in the studio for 40ish minutes did nothing. They gave you a blue tag when you arrived, but took it back when you left the studio. In essence, being in the studio did nothing. Anyone could have left without going to the studio at all. We did make it to airport by 10 a.m., but that's with being one of the first groups to leave the ship.

 

3) The shows and entertainment - along with the CD (Graham) were excellent.

 

4) We did My Time dining - so we went in whenever we wanted to for dinner. Since we went in at different times each evening, we never had the same table. The waiters also varied (as we had different tables). They were all outstanding and only have good things to say about all of them (waiters, asst. waiters, head waiter). Never had to wait for a table.

 

5) This ship is gorgeous. Being new doesn't hurt. When we docked in one port, the Gradeur of the Seas was next to us. The IOS is quite a bit larger (Grandeur looked like a child compared to poppa). We were walking next to 2 ladies (30ish) on the dock and overheard one saying to the other "aren't you jealous of their ship - - maybe we can board their boat when we leave". When we were in Cozumel, again, the IOS towers over the others.

 

6) The sailing was completely full. Being Presidents Week, alot of kids had off from school - thus many kids aboard.

 

7) FlowRider - we chose to use it on the last day at sea which was windy. Not a big line at all (we were there late morning). Kids pick it up rather quickly while us middle aged folks are a bit more cautious about breaking any bones. However, tried the surfing and it was fun. Did not see anyone get injured (on the flowrider). Other days, it's fun to watch -- especially the newbies.

[crusinmama06]

1) Chair Hogs: On the first day at sea (Monday), I was out there by 8 a.m., and was stunned to see nearly every chair with a towel, book or other thing reserving it (and not people). I asked the attendants at the pool about a "30 minute rule" and was told that they tried to enforce it, but it lead to too many arguments with passengers, so they let it go (at least these 2 particular attendants do that). We did find chairs, but . . . On the last sea day, I was out there at 7:15 a.m. and the same thing with everyone have towels on the chairs. A very windy day.

 

Same experience on our sailing. They should do something about this. :rolleyes: The deck patrols are there for what reason?????

 

Cot and Eyesports - thanks for taking the time to write that all out. :)

[cot427]

Cot427 did an excellent review of the sailing. My family was on the same cruise IOS - 2/15/09. The only thing I would add is:

 

1) Chair Hogs: On the first day at sea (Monday), I was out there by 8 a.m., and was stunned to see nearly every chair with a towel, book or other thing reserving it (and not people). I asked the attendants at the pool about a "30 minute rule" and was told that they tried to enforce it, but it lead to too many arguments with passengers, so they let it go (at least these 2 particular attendants do that). We did find chairs, but . . . On the last sea day, I was out there at 7:15 a.m. and the same thing with everyone have towels on the chairs. A very windy day.

 

2) Departing the ship was not organized well. We were carrying our own luggage off, so they had us meet in Studio B at 8:15 a.m. (or after). Well, once you got to the studio, it was a bit messy. Passengers saying they need to get off right away to catch a flight, etc. We were in the second group (blue) - and had to sit in the theater for about 30-40 minutes. We were then called and we rolled our luggage out of the studio to the elevators (stairs) down to deck one. The only thing is that ANYONE could have departed when we did (carrying their luggage). Being in the studio for 40ish minutes did nothing. They gave you a blue tag when you arrived, but took it back when you left the studio. In essence, being in the studio did nothing. Anyone could have left without going to the studio at all. We did make it to airport by 10 a.m., but that's with being one of the first groups to leave the ship.

 

3) The shows and entertainment - along with the CD (Graham) were excellent.

 

4) We did My Time dining - so we went in whenever we wanted to for dinner. Since we went in at different times each evening, we never had the same table. The waiters also varied (as we had different tables). They were all outstanding and only have good things to say about all of them (waiters, asst. waiters, head waiter). Never had to wait for a table.

 

5) This ship is gorgeous. Being new doesn't hurt. When we docked in one port, the Gradeur of the Seas was next to us. The IOS is quite a bit larger (Grandeur looked like a child compared to poppa). We were walking next to 2 ladies (30ish) on the dock and overheard one saying to the other "aren't you jealous of their ship - - maybe we can board their boat when we leave". When we were in Cozumel, again, the IOS towers over the others.

 

6) The sailing was completely full. Being Presidents Week, alot of kids had off from school - thus many kids aboard.

 

7) FlowRider - we chose to use it on the last day at sea which was windy. Not a big line at all (we were there late morning). Kids pick it up rather quickly while us middle aged folks are a bit more cautious about breaking any bones. However, tried the surfing and it was fun. Did not see anyone get injured (on the flowrider). Other days, it's fun to watch -- especially the newbies.

 

1. Yep we had the exact same experience. But as I said before, we asked the solarium attendant and he did do something about it, and it did cause trouble. I guess that try to avoid it, but we did the same thing on friday like every other person, but were afraid to leave it so long.

 

2. I agree that it was totally disorganized. How did u get to the airport at 10:00 when we got off at 9:15 with orange and got there around the same time? (P.S. My aunt did push her way through on deck 1 and in line in customs) lol

 

3. Yes, agree Graham is hilarious and the shows were awesome.

 

4. We were right on the other side of the my time dining area on the 5th floor.

 

5. Yes it is, ship is gorgeous and so clean. They kept it up very well. And yes it does tower over all the other ships, especially grandeur both day in mexico. I loved it.

 

6. I didn't know there was a whole week for kids to get off, I thought winter, not many kids, but man were we wrong.

 

7. I did the flowrider the last day to as I said. You were right, not much people because of the wind. I didn't stop me but I think i turned into an icicle right after it walking to the solarium to get my towel.

[cot427]

Link to the pictures: http://travel.webshots.com/album/570217424ipdoJN

 

Link the the compasses: http://travel.webshots.com/album/570224668kVpvUr

 

 

ENJOY

[Spicester]

Thanks for such a detailed review. We will be on the Independence in 3 weeks and I can't wait! I will be travelling with my 16 year old daughter so it was great to read about your cruise from your perspective :) Sounds like you had a great time.

[maggieq]

Great review....what's with the weather though....79 degrees in cozumel...that's crazy.

 

Wanted to ask you about the cabin....we are thinking of bringing my mom on the next cruise and wonder about how comfortable the pullout (from the wall) bed is...

 

Thanks.

[cot427]

Great review....what's with the weather though....79 degrees in cozumel...that's crazy.

 

Wanted to ask you about the cabin....we are thinking of bringing my mom on the next cruise and wonder about how comfortable the pullout (from the wall) bed is...

 

Thanks.

 

I slept in the pullout from the wall and it was comfortable. Not as comfy as the main beds, because since the upgrade they r very comfy. But yeah they are comfy, I never had any trouble falling asleep. But are you putting your mother up there? She might have trouble getting up there, but if my 75 yr old aunt could do it last yr, anyone can lol.

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

We just got off this cruise too. I'll also be doing a detailed review when I get a chance.

We had a great time.

79 in Cozumel??? We were really hot that day. I never would have thought it was only 79. The only day we were the least bit chilly was the last sea day when it was really windy.

[crusinmama06]

We just got off this cruise too. I'll also be doing a detailed review when I get a chance.

We had a great time.

79 in Cozumel??? We were really hot that day. I never would have thought it was only 79. The only day we were the least bit chilly was the last sea day when it was really windy.

 

Heyyy Sue, welcome back! :D

 

I'll be looking for your review too.

[cot427]

We just got off this cruise too. I'll also be doing a detailed review when I get a chance.

We had a great time.

79 in Cozumel??? We were really hot that day. I never would have thought it was only 79. The only day we were the least bit chilly was the last sea day when it was really windy.

 

Yes it was really really hot that day, I would have thought it was hotter. All 3 port days were very hot. You are right, the last day was really windy and it was chilly. I was frozen after the flowrider around 1:00.

 

I'll be looking forward to your review too.

[cot427]

Not sure if I mentioned this above, but the second production show is Once Upon a Time, which was the same one we say on Freedom in Oct. 2007. I was wondering if it was still on the Freedom, or they moved it to Indy? I sounded like a little different music but same play.