LittleMissMagic's ~INDEPENDENCE~ Christmas Cruise **Photo Review**

Hello, Cruise Critics! Welcome to my 2014 [independence of the Seas] Christmas Cruise Trip Report!

I'm Victoria (aka "LittleMissMagic", aka "LMM")! I'm an alumni of Clemson University, and I'm currently pursuing my Masters of Architecture at UCLA. In addition to architecture, I enjoy photography, traveling, and sharing my experiences with others. This is my ninth review on Cruise Critic, and a long overdue return to the Royal Caribbean board (find links to my past reviews in my signature below)! And if you enjoy my review, please check out my travel blog, Victoria on Vacation, or keep up with me on Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter.

WARNING: This review will contain a large quantity of photos. It may also contain a lot of bad jokes.

I have a strange sense of humor, and I probably make myself laugh more than anyone else. But I don't take myself too seriously, and you shouldn't, either. There will be a bit of fun-poking and perhaps some sarcasm, but you're all invited to join in on the fun! I encourage you to post comments to share your thoughts and experiences, or just to tell me who you are!

Once Loyal, Returning to Royal

A few years ago, I used to proudly proclaim to be a Loyal Royal. Royal Caribbean was the best cruise line, hands down - that's what I would tell people here on Cruise Critic. Royal did a few things to disappoint me, sure, but I would shrug it off. Then one day it hit me.... how do I know that Royal Caribbean is the best cruise line when I haven't even sailed other cruise lines recently?

So I said good-bye to brand loyalty and started choosing cruises based on the places I wanted to visit and the ships I wanted to sail. Not being loyal to a brand really gives you a lot more options. Sailing different cruise lines is also a great to mix up the nightly entertainment and the food offered... and I've started accumulating loyalty with other cruise lines, so my eggs aren't all in one basket.

And it was not loyalty that lead me back to Royal Caribbean, but the cruise itself. So I returned not as a Loyal Royal, but a cruising fanatic who enjoys sailing many different lines.

This review will be fun, but critical at times, and it's not because I either love or loathe Royal Caribbean, but because it is not helpful or productive to be on either end of the spectrum. I will point out what I found to be successful, as well as areas which I believe need improvement. And you are always welcome to agree or disagree with me!

Traveling Party

My dad, Boyd, is rather easygoing. One has to be when constantly surrounded by three females. Also, perhaps my strange humor comes from him because if you aren't laughing at his jokes, you're laughing at how bad they are.

My mom, Sharon, tries her best to create order in this group of crazies. Before leaving on vacation, she cleans the house "in case someone breaks in while we're gone." We wouldn't want the burglars to think we're slobs.

My sister, Rachel, has an incredibly warm and outgoing personality. Also, out of our entire family, she might be the only one who is actually funny.

Now what are we waiting for? Time to cruise the Caribbean (St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, and Labadee) on the Independence of the Seas!

Come sail away with me!

Welcome back!

I remember your reviews and I am looking forward to this one!

We are on the Indy this coming November for a b2b!

A more appropriate name for this trip report might be "The Shingleton's Most Shambly Cruise", as this may be the closest we've come to a National Lampoon-style vacation.

My dad and I booked this cruise in August. That's some real advanced planning for us. And that was also the only real advanced planning we would do. After I moved to Los Angeles, I didn't feel much motivation to research ports and plan excursions. St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, and Labadee are all ports we had been to before, and this wouldn't be the first time that we'd wing it once getting there. So I didn't book a thing. Had some ideas, sure, but no real plans.

A week prior to the cruise, I received the terrible news that my mother and sister had been in a terrible wreck. We were incredibly lucky that they survived with only minor injuries. But in the wreck, my sister hurt her left foot and was in a great amount of pain, so she was in a walking boot and on some wonderful pain medicine to begin our cruise.

And then I almost didn't even make it onto the ship for the cruise because I missed my red-eye flight from LAX (read more about my airport tragedy on the blog).

Due to me barely making the ship, I'm lacking some of the typically Embarkation Day photos I typically have for my trip reports. Thankfully, Rachel knew better than to mess up the bed before I could photograph the room. I've trained her well.

Deluxe Balcony Stateroom (D3)

Balcony Stateroom (D3) by vshingl, on Flickr

We had a D3 balcony stateroom on the sixth floor, room 6528. It really is a spacious balcony stateroom in comparison to the deluxe premium balcony staterooms on Royal Princess, and the wave balcony staterooms on Norwegian Epic, though certainly not as contemporary and plush in furnishings. I appreciated the large sofa which was so long that I'm certain it could convert into a twin-size bed.

Balcony Stateroom (D3) by vshingl, on Flickr

The room has a large vanity and a wonderful amount of storage space. And the flat-screen television has really opened up some counter space (check out the balcony staterooms with the old box tvs on our Adventure of the Seas cruise).

Balcony Stateroom (D3) by vshingl, on Flickr

The bathrooms are a fair size for a cruise ship stateroom. One of my complaints is that if you try to adjust the water temperature before you actually get in the shower, it's a little difficult to keep from getting water all over the bathroom floor.

Stateroom Bathroom by vshingl, on Flickr

And my other gripe is that they no longer stock the tissue containers with tissues. Apparently, people had been flushing tissues down the toilet which can clog them. Though I find it completely understandable that people were using tissues in place of toilet paper because the TP provided was nearly transparent and as soft as a fine-grain sandpaper. Is that too much bathroom talk for you?

Stateroom Bathroom by vshingl, on Flickr

Then we'll move outside to the balcony. Though you can't really tell in this photo, it was a good size balcony. Plenty of room for two chairs and a table.

Balcony by vshingl, on Flickr

Port Everglades by vshingl, on Flickr

Good-bye, Friends! by vshingl, on Flickr

Port Everglades by vshingl, on Flickr

As I'm sure you can imagine, there wasn't much time between me boarding the ship and our Muster drill. Rachel and I had a Muster location in the Pyramid Lounge, and it was ridiculously overcrowded and not enough chairs for everyone... or even half of everyone. And the people who got there early and had seats took no pity on poor Rachel limping along in her walking boot, as no healthy-bodied person offered her his seat.

I'm so excited for this! Independence is out next "big" vacation and the last Freedom class ship we haven't sailed on.

Sail-Away, Fort Lauderdale

After Muster, despite my rough appearance due to having slept in an airport (oh and I did a lot of running and crying, too), I went with my family to the Sailaway Party because I definitely needed a drink. I'm really glad that my view of the ship leaving was from the ship.

Port Everglades by vshingl, on Flickr

Pool Deck by vshingl, on Flickr

Fort Lauderdale by vshingl, on Flickr

Fort Lauderdale by vshingl, on Flickr

Fort Lauderdale by vshingl, on Flickr

Fort Lauderdale by vshingl, on Flickr

Sail Away by vshingl, on Flickr

Sail Away by vshingl, on Flickr

Sail Away by vshingl, on Flickr

Cheers to making this cruise!

Champagne Toast by vshingl, on Flickr

Romeo & Juliet Dining Room

Royal Caribbean has one grand multi-story dining room on their cruise ships, rather than multiple smaller dining rooms. However, each floor has its own dining room name. Romeo & Juliet Dining Room was actually just the third floor (lowest, main level). There are also dining rooms on the fourth and fifth floors, open to the third floor below.

We made a grand entrance by arriving 20 minutes late. Oops. By the time we made it to the Romeo & Juliet Dining Room on Deck 3, there was no host there to direct us to our table. We told someone who was main dining room staff, and he sent us in the completely wrong direction. So our entrance became even grander as we circled the entire dining room in search of our table. Hellooooo, everyone! Look at us!

For an appetizer, I ordered the Smoked Fish Rillettes. From what I can remember, it was pretty good, but nothing to write home about.

Smoked Fish Rillettes by vshingl, on Flickr

I snuck a photo of Rachel's Watermelon and Raspberry Soup.

Watermelon and Raspberry Soup by vshingl, on Flickr

Boyd by vshingl, on Flickr

Because my favorite cuisine might be Mexican food, I opted for the Soft Shell Tortillas. They were a little bland. I have too much good Mexican food to appreciate that.

Soft Shell Tortillas by vshingl, on Flickr

And for dessert, the Blueberry Peach Crumble. Pretty good. I liked the ice cream.

Blueberry-Peach Crumble by vshingl, on Flickr

Rachel had the Carrot Cake, which was listed on the menu as the Chef's choice.

Carrot Cake by vshingl, on Flickr

And because we were extremely exhausted, we spent the rest of the evening in bed.

I couldn't tell from your crazy airplane story on the blog what ship you were scurrying to.:D Until now.

What relief you must have felt to make the cruise in the nick of time! I hope you were able to properly unwind after that stressful day and enjoy the cruise 100%!

*following along*

Great start!!! Looking forward to the rest of your review!!:):)

Ah! Super excited! Can't wait to read this!!!!

Yay! So happy to log on and see a LMM review! What a horrible accident...so glad your mom and sister are okay. And so glad you made the ship!!!!

No Max on this trip???

Looking forward to the rest of the review! Thanks for the time and effort!

So excited for another Indy review!! I am not sailing until July. I will check out your blog, too!

I'm in! Loved your DCL TR. Glad you made the boat!

Victoria.

Nice to read another one of your reviews. It was unfortunate to read the news story about your mom and sisters accident, thankfully they are OK. Now for your review. I can't wait to read about the fun that you and your family have had.

Andrew

Very nice photos, I have been on the 8 day trip on the indy and a great photo shot is between St Martin and St Kitts at night when the ship drifts for awhile. Just go to the helicopter pad

Following!

We're cruising on the Indy in Oct so I'm looking forward to your review. :D

I'm really enjoying this and looking forward to the rest. We will be on Indy for the 4th time in February.

Welcome back!

I remember your reviews and I am looking forward to this one!

We are on the Indy this coming November for a b2b!

Those glasses make you look really intellegent. I'm not saying that you don't look intellegent without them. I'm just saying that they make you look REALLY intellegent.:):D

Glad to see another LMM review! Looking forward to it!

Cant wait to see more!!

Glad to have found your review. Love your pictures and writing style. We will be on IOS the end of February so I can't wait to read about your experiences on the ship as well as what you ended up doing in the ports. We are also going to do a lot of spur of the moment plans in port on this trip. We have not booked any excursions yet.

Love your reviews, can't wait to follow along! :)

 

Hello, Cruise Critics! Welcome to my 2014 [independence of the Seas] Christmas Cruise Trip Report!

 

WARNING: This review will contain a large quantity of photos. It may also contain a lot of bad jokes.

 

Two of my favorite things. I may never cruise at Christmas, but who knows, I'm sure I'll learn something I can use in the future. Thanks for doing so, I am sure I will enjoy, now off to reading.