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Live from Independence of the Seas - bit of a blog


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Day One

Arrived in Southampton around 10am. Turning the corner and seeing IOS was some experience! Like the biggest block of flats you ever saw! Gleaming in the sun. Awesome. Dropped relatives at pier. Had a bit of an issue finding the hire car place to drop off car but managed that eventually. Climbed into back seat with DD and SIL and approached the car park. ‘You got your yellow ticket?’ ‘Excuse me?’ ‘You got your yellow car park ticket.... you paid to park here?’ ‘No we have a letter confirming car space’ Show letter. He points. Hmmmmm.

Parked up. Boarding has started. Very easy check in. Get pics taken prior to boarding in front of RCI sign. Straight up to Windjammers. 1130. Great selection of food. Drinks being served continually (water and some sort of cherry squash). Also came round with alcoholic drink of the day. Thanks to reading the forum I am aware that the ‘glasses’ are included in the price. SO, DD and SIL have one and declare them delicious. I go to dining room (Romeo and Juliet) to check out our table seating. It is near a window. Perfect. We have a table to ourselves. Book in for Chops and Portofinos.

1pm rooms are ready. Spotless. Have to say shower room tiny. 2 bars of soap provided and a canister of shampoo. Hmmmm. Adequate storage for our 2 weeks worth of clothing. Wonderful to have the balcony on such a glorious day.

Visit spa. Get manicure and pedicure before the rush. Heaven. A real treat and really relaxing.

Cases have been delivered. Our steward has cleared the fridge and (bless him) provided us with 2 towelling robes. Unpack.

Muster. Well. What can I say. 3600 people crammed into life jackets crammed onto decks in very warm weather. I start singing boating / sailing songs quietly and get funny looks. I get a call from a cousin in the US who has no idea where I am and why I am whispering (we have been told not to use mobiles..... oops).

Sailaway. On our balcony. Wonderful. Lots of boats trying to race us. Children waving from them. Wave back. Feel elated.

Early seating for dinner. Great service. Delicious if rather small portions but then I am offered a second load of my main course..... drool.

Welcome show. Great fun. Brilliant comic. Jeff Stevenson. Very very funny.

Little punt in casino.

Pop into Sorrento’s and have pizza and fruit salad and biscotti and biscuits.

Parade performed by representatives of all departments. Lively and colourful.

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very very jealous, as I was one of those being dragged off the ship this morning to let you on :p Just got back home and after two wonderful weeks on board Independence I am looking on the internet now for another trip :)

 

Hello;

How was the food and the service on your cruise?

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Day two

Internet access very expensive. $.55 per minute!! And slow. We have 2 coupons = $10.

Wangled robes by asking our lovely room steward....

Food is excellent. Enough said.

Egg crate mattress on bed. So comfortable!! Very slight movement & vibration noticed. Not unpleasant. Tom & Jerry Sweet on our floor..... would love to see the inside!!

Breakfast in MDR. Good choice of buffet and hot food served to table.

Went to Introduction to Yoga. $10 per session. Session each sea day. 45 mins. Not bad. Would have liked a bit more hands on support as I had to keep looking up to see what it was she was doing. Only one other participant. Gym itself is fabulous with awesome sea views.

Promenade packed for early lunch. Jewellery franchise down centre. Am guessing there will be a lot of alternate merchandising throughout the cruise.

Wii Tennis tournament. SO and SIL enter. SIL wins silver medal!!!

Head to Windjammer for lunch. Packed. Find a table aft. Stunning views. Really good selection of food. Long queues for pudding. The food is so good. Catering for so many people at such ahigh standard. Noticed a board advertising lunch in MDR..... shepherds pie.... yeap they are catering for Brits here. Selling gold chain by the inch (?) outside the dining room.... yet another opportunity to increase revenue.

Have seen the most of the ship now. Not seen a guest use the Flowmaster but witnessed a suitability clad employee demonstrating. Very windy up there. Quite a few people playing miniature golf. Scuba lessons in a pool. Wall not in use. There are some children on board. School age. Some are definitely English. Little ones enjoying the H2O. Found the library in good use. Lovely views over the promenade. There are a couple or rooms set aside for board games where there were tables of people playing cards. Interested to note there is disabled assistance to get up the stairs to the chapel by way of chair lift.

Go to play pub trivia. Did not do well.

DD suffering motion sickness. She is dosed up and napping in her room. SO snoring deeply here. Sun is shining and the world is slowly drifting by. Formal night tonight.

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Hello;

How was the food and the service on your cruise?

 

Will get round to doing a review but suffice to say it will be a very good one, Norbertsneice echos what I thought about the food, had read a few reviews criticising the food and was very surprised at the excellent standard once on board, given that they are catering for so many people. Not sure what other people have been used to (and I'm no stranger to fine restaurants) but as a comparison, we had a £100+ (for 2) meal in a certain 5* hotel in Southampton the night before we left and all that needs to be said is that the food and the service in the dining room on the ship surpassed what we got at the hotel every time :) In terms of the staff on board and service was excellent, look out for Ronilo and Cherryno in the dining room (Macbeth) they were fantastic.

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besides my question (a few posts up) i have another one.....

i noticed on DAY 1 of your post you mentioned that you went to chops and portofinos to book. i made a reservation online for portofinos and would like to add to that. at this moment there aren;t any time slots available that i like.....are there additional reservations available onboard if you don't do it online?:confused:

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Oh, WOW!!!! This is soooo exciting!!! We get on as you get off!!! Will wave to you!!! LOL!!!!

 

We are on Indy on 4 October, and really just cant wait!!!! Thank you so much for posting!!!! Please keep going!!!

 

Which deck are you on? What was the salon like? Was thinking of having an up-do for the formal night. How are you finding the tipping? How is your weather?

 

So many questions!!!

 

Have a fantastic time - dont want to wish your cruise away, but, hurry back, just so we can get on her!!!!! LOL!!!!

 

Judi :D

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Day 2 Contd:

I am sooooooo sorry!!! I forgot to mention went to the CC Meet & Mingle this morning. SIL won a RCI keyboard mouse! Canapes, cheese plate and fresh fruit. Tea, coffee, juice. Met others from the roll call which was lovely. Uncle Norbert didn’t make it. Aunt Alice not well but is dosed and recovering.

We all dressed up and went to dinner. 90% of those who attended, and I’m guessing 95% attendance for our sitting, wore full tux; suits and ties the others. The ladies glittered. Truly a lovely sight. The meal was outstanding; met the head waiter. Drop dead gorgeous.... didn’t catch his name as my eyes were focusing on this beautiful face and barely got what he was saying. Kind of how I would react if I met Richard Gere without the fainting.

Captains cocktail party on the Prom. Well..... thousands of people there I’m guessing..... bit like Oscar night for the dress code. Champagne. I don’t do crowds so headed for the Casino. Didn’t get to see Captain though there was a huge band playing and a couple of singers making the atmosphere convivial. Have to say there is music all over this ship in one form or another at all hours.

Show tonight, Beatles tribute band the Backbeat Beatles. Am ashamed to say I twisted the night away and fell over in the doing. Really had a good time. Their sound seemed pretty realistic to me as I remember it. The ‘Lennon’ even had a look about him. Brilliant.

Have asked SO to check out any sockets on the TV in the room. He says if you have HDMI DVD/Blueray/SVideo/composite players they can be plugged in but there’s no scart. He keeps muttering this is interesting. It’s a Samsung LCD 26” but he can’t see what particular model it is. He’s muttering that it’s really wierd and that it may specially altered. I haven’t a clue what he’s saying. Not a Samsung remote, it’s locked down and has a specific remote.

Know it’s called a Flowrider not Flowmaster as above. Sorry. Information overload. Clocks go forward an hour tonight. Have ordered tea and coffee and fruit plate as a wakeup call though I’ll probably be up already. Am eating way too much. On return to room discovered a tray outside DD and SIL door..... room service is alive and well!! The opportunity to overindulge is tantamount to torture.... will submit claim for compensation against the expense of gym membership and new clothing on my return! That is if they ever get me off. I want to be that woman who lives in a suite on a cruise ship and only goes home 3 months of the year. I’d settle for a balcony cabin.

Day 3

Slept well. Had left breakfast order for morning tea and coffee outside room. Phone rang at 7 am to advise it was on its way. Brilliant!! Had requested a fruit plate too and that was a lovely wake up. MDR for breakfast : eggs benedict this time; delicious. Yoga again. Only me there this time so 1:1. SO and SIL went to a digital photography seminar. Was beginners orientated, lasted 20 mins. They are very keen amateurs so this really wasn’t for them. Had a coffee on the 14th deck bar Olive or Twist. The view is spectacular up there.

Down to Deck 3 to play Wii Bowling. OK. I promise. I have never held a Wii controller in my hand before. I scored 2 strikes straight off!! Seriously embarrassing. Managed a spare in the 2nd round. That was me out but I can hold my head up!!

Lunch in MDR. We prefer this to Windjammer. Not crowded. Proper menu with daily specials. Excellent salad bar with chefs putting the salad together as you point for what you want, then toss dressing then you can add the extras. Dessert.... requested the profiteroles with extra chocolate. Yum.

Lifts do get very busy. We tend to use the stairs.

Midday captain gives a daily report over the tannoy.

Yesterday there was an ‘Alpha alpha alpha starboard’ somewhere..... have forgotten what that is and haven’t the time to hunt for that on the forum.

DD has been on Flowrider!!! Quite a few times. Got to kneeling.

It’s 1745 and it’s..... how do you say the word when the sun is shining and you begin to glow gently.... oh yes..... it’s hot!!!!

To answer questions :

They seemed to have plenty of reservation availability at both Chops & Portofinos on Day 1. Certainly booking for 1830 was no problem at either.

Not interested in onboard scuba. Pool not that deep. Have tried scuba once and failed miserably!!

There is a buffet in MDR where you can select fruit, cheeses, melons, berads, cereals etc as well as order from hot menu. Otherwise full buffet is in Windjammer.... not going to try that cos of crowds. If we need an early start will get room service.

The Tom & Jerry Sweet is right above the shop and has restricted views of the Promenade cos of the cows!! Free ice cream for guests in that room. We are on same deck..... 6.

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There is a buffet in MDR where you can select fruit, cheeses, melons, berads, cereals etc as well as order from hot menu. Otherwise full buffet is in Windjammer.... not going to try that cos of crowds. If we need an early start will get room service.

 

Hi

Just to clarify, this is for breakfast-the buffet in the MDR?

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Day 3 contd

MDR for dinner last night. Chose chefs signature menu of ham and prosciutto, lamb shanks and tiramisu. Seriously good. We go check out the pics taken so far by the official photographer. Seriously unimpressed. You can check your pics by using the Seapass in a machine which logs all your pics in the same place. Clever idea. Pop into Casino. Have a little play.

Decide to have an early night. Fall asleep in front of movie.

Day 4

We pull into Gibraltar. Grey, rainy day. Not cold. Early breakfast. I’ve brought a pack a mac thingy with me and it’s needed. Disembark. Approached by taxi company offering tour of Rock for €35 per head. We had planned to take the cable car up and walk down but it seems due to the extremely low cloud (can’t see the summit) the cable car is shut. We share minivan with a couple of others.

Tour guide chatty and does a lot of explaining. First stop Pillars of Hercules, then St Michael’s Cave and then an altogether hysterical stop to see the monkeys. DD is particular attractive to the monkeys as they jump onto and all over her. From being quite horrified she became equally attracted to them and had to be dissuaded from taking one of the babies back with us.

Finally the siege tunnel. It is only from here that we can actually see the sea..... the air appears to be clearing. By the time we have reached the bottom the sun is out. Strolled down main street which is hard to differentiate content wise from any UK high street with its M&S, BHS, ELC etc. Bargains to be had for smokers. I purchase perfume for myself, DD and SIL. Strike a bargain. Well pleased. Visit a chemist to stock up on arnica cream for DDs legs following her exertions on the Flowrider and some Glucosamine for me.... me joints are aching!

Catch a shuttle back to ship for €5 per head. Lunch in Windjammer as MDR closed. Not busy at all. Sun is now out in force so take position nice and early on deck 12 for sailaway. Catnap for half an hour. Suntan lotion needed. P&O ship Arcadia pulls in alongside. We tower over her!

Nip up to Windjammer to pick up some chocolate milk and cookies then back to room. I cannot believe the amount of food that people are piling on their plates! SO has just uploaded over 400 pics from today!!

Have picked up a fact sheet about IOS. So here’s one : in an average week 86,400 fresh eggs are consumed.

From previous posts that I can remember there was a lot of talk about cleanliness. Outside every dining room and restaurant or cafeteria there are sanitizing hand machines with staff on hand to ensure they are used before meals.

Have checked my account so far. OK. There’s a problem. When you don’t actually pass the money over it’s easy to forget how much you are spending. Makes a mental note to self .... do you really need that Ben & Jerry’s ice cream?

Chops tonight for dinner. Mmmmmmmmmmmmm steak! (FYI not noticed a steak option at a premium on the main menu at all as mentioned in other posts on other ships). SO very excited. Dolphins spotted from the balcony!!

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Your report is wonderul - we returned from the Indy on 6th September and from what you are describing, I think we did the same trip - 10 day Med.

 

All sounds brilliant - so glad you are having brilliant time.

 

Enjoy !

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Day 2 Contd:

I am sooooooo sorry!!! I forgot to mention went to the CC Meet & Mingle this morning. SIL won a RCI keyboard mouse! Canapes, cheese plate and fresh fruit. Tea, coffee, juice. Met others from the roll call which was lovely. Uncle Norbert didn’t make it. Aunt Alice not well but is dosed and recovering.

We all dressed up and went to dinner. 90% of those who attended, and I’m guessing 95% attendance for our sitting, wore full tux; suits and ties the others. The ladies glittered. Truly a lovely sight. The meal was outstanding; met the head waiter. Drop dead gorgeous.... didn’t catch his name as my eyes were focusing on this beautiful face and barely got what he was saying. Kind of how I would react if I met Richard Gere without the fainting.

Captains cocktail party on the Prom. Well..... thousands of people there I’m guessing..... bit like Oscar night for the dress code. Champagne. I don’t do crowds so headed for the Casino. Didn’t get to see Captain though there was a huge band playing and a couple of singers making the atmosphere convivial. Have to say there is music all over this ship in one form or another at all hours.

Show tonight, Beatles tribute band the Backbeat Beatles. Am ashamed to say I twisted the night away and fell over in the doing. Really had a good time. Their sound seemed pretty realistic to me as I remember it. The ‘Lennon’ even had a look about him. Brilliant.

Have asked SO to check out any sockets on the TV in the room. He says if you have HDMI DVD/Blueray/SVideo/composite players they can be plugged in but there’s no scart. He keeps muttering this is interesting. It’s a Samsung LCD 26” but he can’t see what particular model it is. He’s muttering that it’s really wierd and that it may specially altered. I haven’t a clue what he’s saying. Not a Samsung remote, it’s locked down and has a specific remote.

Know it’s called a Flowrider not Flowmaster as above. Sorry. Information overload. Clocks go forward an hour tonight. Have ordered tea and coffee and fruit plate as a wakeup call though I’ll probably be up already. Am eating way too much. On return to room discovered a tray outside DD and SIL door..... room service is alive and well!! The opportunity to overindulge is tantamount to torture.... will submit claim for compensation against the expense of gym membership and new clothing on my return! That is if they ever get me off. I want to be that woman who lives in a suite on a cruise ship and only goes home 3 months of the year. I’d settle for a balcony cabin.

Day 3

Slept well. Had left breakfast order for morning tea and coffee outside room. Phone rang at 7 am to advise it was on its way. Brilliant!! Had requested a fruit plate too and that was a lovely wake up. MDR for breakfast : eggs benedict this time; delicious. Yoga again. Only me there this time so 1:1. SO and SIL went to a digital photography seminar. Was beginners orientated, lasted 20 mins. They are very keen amateurs so this really wasn’t for them. Had a coffee on the 14th deck bar Olive or Twist. The view is spectacular up there.

Down to Deck 3 to play Wii Bowling. OK. I promise. I have never held a Wii controller in my hand before. I scored 2 strikes straight off!! Seriously embarrassing. Managed a spare in the 2nd round. That was me out but I can hold my head up!!

Lunch in MDR. We prefer this to Windjammer. Not crowded. Proper menu with daily specials. Excellent salad bar with chefs putting the salad together as you point for what you want, then toss dressing then you can add the extras. Dessert.... requested the profiteroles with extra chocolate. Yum.

Lifts do get very busy. We tend to use the stairs.

Midday captain gives a daily report over the tannoy.

Yesterday there was an ‘Alpha alpha alpha starboard’ somewhere..... have forgotten what that is and haven’t the time to hunt for that on the forum.

DD has been on Flowrider!!! Quite a few times. Got to kneeling.

It’s 1745 and it’s..... how do you say the word when the sun is shining and you begin to glow gently.... oh yes..... it’s hot!!!!

To answer questions :

They seemed to have plenty of reservation availability at both Chops & Portofinos on Day 1. Certainly booking for 1830 was no problem at either.

Not interested in onboard scuba. Pool not that deep. Have tried scuba once and failed miserably!!

There is a buffet in MDR where you can select fruit, cheeses, melons, berads, cereals etc as well as order from hot menu. Otherwise full buffet is in Windjammer.... not going to try that cos of crowds. If we need an early start will get room service.

The Tom & Jerry Sweet is right above the shop and has restricted views of the Promenade cos of the cows!! Free ice cream for guests in that room. We are on same deck..... 6.

 

We where on the IOS on its last cruise (6th Sept) we tried to get our laptop to work using its blue ray player connected to the HDMI port but couldn't get it to work. It appeared that they have locked the ports down.

 

Thanks

 

Simon

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