My View...Independence of the Seas

We just returned from 8 days of bliss on "our" aft balcony. The only down side is that my countdown now says..."Sailed"

We had a great time overall! I will be sharing my view (both picture view and opinion) and try to share helpful tips for those lucky people who are still counting down the days to their Indy cruise :)

For those of you who are interested in the Compass and Adventure Ocean Planners, click on this link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2013731

Thanks for the info! I am sailing out on the Independence on Saturday, March 29.

I am looking forward to it. This week is going by so slow.

My View: Day 1 (Port Everglades)

Based upon CC recommendations, we booked parking online at Park 'n' Go. With the advanced online purchase, it cost us just shy of $70 for the 8 days. Although it was a convenient start to the cruise, the return was not as convenient. Some of this is due to the way the port organizes pick-ups for shuttles. Some of it was due to Park'n Go not sending enough shuttles for such a large ship disembarking. It took about 30 minutes for the first shuttle to arrive, then 3 arrived at the same time shortly after. I may or may not use them again - depending on research of other alternatives. A nice thing is that they did not charge us extra - even though we were an hour late returning to our car. They also gave us 2 free bottles of water for the road. The parking lot was packed, and some cars were even parked outside the gated area. I assume ad hope they move those cars into the gated area for night time security.

We saw monkeys when we arrived to park our car! We got to Park'n Go at 10:30 and we were on the Promenade deck at 11:30. :)

Thanks for the info! I am sailing out on the Independence on Saturday, March 29.

 

I am looking forward to it. This week is going by so slow.

I am sure you are ready to get out of Columbus! We used to live just north of there. After 2 years of not tolerating the cold winters, we moved back to Florida. Enjoy the last few days of the countdown :)

Views of other ships in port... Unfortunately, pier 29 is not in a good location for pictures of other ships. Here is an attempt though:

Watching Allure leave - the aft view from our balcony (7708):

Some sail away pictures:

We opted for a room service dinner, since we wanted to wave at the webcam. My parents were watching the sail away from Namibia. I ordered the honey stung chicken, which was very good. DH and DS ordered the burger, but we found out later that we had ordered the wrong one. I had read about the great Bistro burger here on CC. We ordered by phone, and I did not specify we wanted the bistro burger. When we later saw the ordering system on the TV, we noticed that there are 2 kinds of burgers - a regular hamburger (which DH and DS received) and the bistro burger (with bacon). So, take note to specify you want the bistro burger.

Nice start, looking forward to ship pics and hearing about the 8 day intinerary. I've finally got enough vacation to look at 8 day ones.

Nice start, looking forward to ship pics and hearing about the 8 day intinerary. I've finally got enough vacation to look at 8 day ones.

Columbus is active on CC this morning. :) Enjoy planning your vacation!

We were in cabin 7708 - one of those "secrets" we learned about here on CC. It is a corner aft, and one of the cheapest balcony cabins on Indy. I kept a close look on prices (daily!). We booked the cruise about 1 year out, and the price only dropped 1 time after final pay. We ended up paying only $160 more than the lowest price. To us, that was a GREAT deal, since these 2 corner aft cabins sell out early. It is absolutely worth the $160 risk we took this time. The views will tell the story...

The hallway is very spacious outside the cabin. It also has very little foot traffic (7708 is the one in the middle of the picture). We did not even see our neighbors until the last day at sea!

The inside is pretty standard. It sleeps up to 3 people:

Now, here is why we LOVE this cabin: The balcony is super large. We measured it with my DH's shoes and then came home to put it into square footage. A conservative measurement puts it at about 195 square feet. There are 2 loungers and 2 chairs:

Can wait to read and see more! :D had no idea monkeys live in Florida!!!

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I love Indy, she is my favourite ship and I am back on her in May so can't wait to hear about your trip and your photos are fabulous :)

This post is full of tips! Don't skip it :D

1. Put a rag in the tray for your shampoo, soap, and razor - that way they do not fall through the slats onto the shower floor...

2. Pack empty ziploc bags for those late night snacks - grab extra cookies from the Promenade Cafe or from the Windjammer...

3. Pack a flashlight with a magnet. Notice how the light switch for the bathroom is to the right of the door, outside the door, and how the door swings open to the right? Poor planning! Everyone wakes up to that bright light when you turn it on at night. So, bring a magnetic flashlight to put just inside the bathroom for easy access at night. It is also helpful to use inside the safe to find your iPod among all the other electronic devices, camera lenses, passports, and $1 bills...:eek:

We're enjoying the photos, we had never considered an aft balcony until reading CC. I'm curious though if the vibration from the propeller is worse back here? Also did you notice more ship movement in this location? We may consider an aft at some point. Thanks for any info

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Leaving on April 6 on the Independence. Our 28th cruise with Rccl. Reading all the reviews and can't wait. Thank you all for your detailed experiences.

Can wait to read and see more! :D had no idea monkeys live in Florida!!!

 

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Neither did we :) It was like our own personal preview of St. Kitts...

I love Indy, she is my favourite ship and I am back on her in May so can't wait to hear about your trip and your photos are fabulous :)

Thank you. Have you been on Freedom? We actually liked Freedom of the Seas better, but more about that later. Indy was also great though!

We're sailing her in November. I'm already glued to your review- can't wait to see more! And thanks for the Cruise Compass and Adventure Ocean postings. That is soooo helpful ;)

Neither did we :) It was like our own personal preview of St. Kitts...

 

 

 

Thank you. Have you been on Freedom? We actually liked Freedom of the Seas better, but more about that later. Indy was also great though!

No I haven't been on Freedom as yet - slowly working my way round all the ships ;)

We're enjoying the photos, we had never considered an aft balcony until reading CC. I'm curious though if the vibration from the propeller is worse back here? Also did you notice more ship movement in this location? We may consider an aft at some point. Thanks for any info

 

 

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We noticed it a lot more on Indy than on Freedom. We had some engine troubles on this trip, and I don't know if it was related. The only times it really vibrates is when we dock and leave port. It was still worth taking the large balcony for those short periods of time. The movement of the ship was not bad at all. DH is prone to getting sea sick. He never got sick on Freedom or Indy. Hope this helps :)

Leaving on April 6 on the Independence. Our 28th cruise with Rccl. Reading all the reviews and can't wait. Thank you all for your detailed experiences.

We're sailing her in November. I'm already glued to your review- can't wait to see more! And thanks for the Cruise Compass and Adventure Ocean postings. That is soooo helpful ;)

Glad you are enjoying it! Have fun planning :)

We're enjoying the photos, we had never considered an aft balcony until reading CC. I'm curious though if the vibration from the propeller is worse back here? Also did you notice more ship movement in this location? We may consider an aft at some point. Thanks for any info

 

 

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We had an aft balcony on IOS last March, RFS 8414. I didn't notice propeller vibration at all. I would always try to snag an aft balcony now if possible, we are in the same cabin March 2015!

We noticed it a lot more on Indy than on Freedom. We had some engine troubles on this trip, and I don't know if it was related. The only times it really vibrates is when we dock and leave port. It was still worth taking the large balcony for those short periods of time. The movement of the ship was not bad at all. DH is prone to getting sea sick. He never got sick on Freedom or Indy. Hope this helps :)

That's great, Thank You. We noticed quite a bit of vibration on Adventure last year, I have a great video of the little towel elephants ears just a wiggling! Of course now Adventure is stuck in SJU with a busted fixipod.

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More tips!

4. Bring one of those plugs that allows for multiple items to be charged at once:

Here is what you get in the cabin (including the European outlet for my friends on the other side of the Atlantic)

In the bathroom:

Here is what you get in the "cooler". It was definitely NOT a fridge. The water was even just a little cooler than room temperature in there.

Tips about your cabin

Did you know?

Behind those mirrors are cabinets :)

Here are the cabinets closed:

Here they are open:

In the bathroom:

Note the hinges on the right side mirror:

Voila! Space for our girlie makeup!

The tips keep coming :D

Pack your own shampoo and conditioner. You only get bar soap and a shampoo from a dispenser in the shower. The shampoo in the shower dries your hair out.

Bring some clothespins to dry your swimwear on the balcony chair:

Just because there is an extra picture of the cabin, here it is - the monkey:

I think we are ready to cruise:

A few notes regarding day 1:

Embarkation was EASY at about 11 a.m.

Embarkation lunch in the Windjammer for us included:

Grilled wahoo - excellent

Chicken Schnitzel - very good

Opera cake - dry, but okay

Nice for kids: Green beans and mashed potato

Muster Drill/Safety Briefing:

Easy and painless. They took roll, so everyone must attend and be accounted for. It started at 4:45 and was over around 5:05.

Room Service:

Sail away was on time. We ordered room service at 6:10 pm. They told us it would be 30-40 minutes. Our food was delivered after 25 minutes.

Noteworthy: The hot chocolate is just a carafe with hot water and a packet of chocolate powder. The iced tea is not sweetened, but they bring sugar with the order.

Ship

We were on Freedom of the Seas in June 2013, and hardly ever felt any movement in our aft cabin (7408). However, IOS was shaking on our side (7708). It seemed like engine vibration, rather than ocean conditions. Interesting that the two ships are so noticeably different. More regarding engine troubles later. :D