Great Times on Indy! ~ A Big Review With Lots of Pics!

[Sunshine-lady]

Thanks so much for taking the time to let us share in your cruise. It is helping us get through the winter.

[DarthGrady]

I have found on previous cruise that you have to get the mudslide cookies first thing in the morning or they are gone.

Enjoying your review. Even seen a picture of my Mother, which for a quick moment was strange.

Sue

 

Oh how I wish that were the case. But sadly they just didn't have them. We stopped by there at various times both early and late. No mudslides to be found. It was coconut ranger, oatmeal raisin and chocolate chip all week. Not only that, but what they did have was usually rock-hard. I like my cookies chewy. Oh well, there's always next time.

[racnwdow]

I never did find a single cookie in any venue that wasn't hard. I didn't do any pay per venues but I don't know if they had cookies.

[racnwdow]

Sadly parents weren't respecting the diapers only in the littlest pool that was marked for diapers. One of our group even complained to the staff that was near there and nothing was done to remove the diapered little ones out of the bigger pools.

[LBumb]

amazing review

thanks for posting

[DarthGrady]

Sadly parents weren't respecting the diapers only in the littlest pool that was marked for diapers. One of our group even complained to the staff that was near there and nothing was done to remove the diapered little ones out of the bigger pools.

 

That's why I usually only swim in the Solarium, they usually do a halfway decent job at bouncing the kids out.

 

amazing review

thanks for posting

 

Thanks!

[wolfganghowell]

GREATNESS! I have 30 days and your pic of the Pool Bar is going to be my new screensaver!!! Darth you are the best! Would love to hear about the entertainment in the Schooner Bar and Pub.

 

Escargot? Is it alive and well every night? Well, ok not alive... Which formal night has lobster? We may only do one, haven't decided yet.

[Folk Singer]

Independence of the Seas: January 18, 2014

My wife and I booked this cruise to celebrate our five year anniversary. We were originally booked on the Oasis of the Seas for the 1/18/14 sailing. But we decided to switch when we saw a longer and cheaper cruise on Indy for the same week. The ports of call were also more attractive, so it was an easy decision.

Two friends that cruise with us occasionally decided to come along. We drove down together to Boca Raton the night before our cruise and stayed at the Fairfield Inn right off I-95. The hotel was fairly new and in good shape.

 

thank you we are on the Indy in may for the TA.

Edited January 29, 2014 by Folk Singer

[racnwdow]

I had escargot every night. Occasionally two. Didn't seem to be a shortage. Lobster night was the second formal night (San Juan night on the 8 day).

[DarthGrady]

GREATNESS! I have 30 days and your pic of the Pool Bar is going to be my new screensaver!!! Darth you are the best! Would love to hear about the entertainment in the Schooner Bar and Pub.

 

Escargot? Is it alive and well every night? Well, ok not alive... Which formal night has lobster? We may only do one, haven't decided yet.

 

There was a piano player in the Schooner Bar some nights, although I never hung out in there. Royal's piano bar doesn't hold the same appeal to me the Carnival's does. He seemed to be doing a good job though, the place looked to be fairly busy. I only drank at the Dog and Badger once, and it wasn't when they had anything going on.

 

Theu had escargots every night, and I had an order all 8 evenings. They were very good. The second formal night (#6) had the lobster and prime rib.

Edited January 29, 2014 by DarthGrady

[UCONN Women Rule]

Grady I will be on the Indy in March and I am really enjoying your pictures and review. I really looks wonderful. Wilda posted about the Indy "vibe", do you know what that is referring to?

 

We habe an active thread for the March 9th Indy cruise - come join us.

[cruiserdudebobby8]

Indy is such a beautiful ship!

[bilyclub]

Grady I will be on the Indy in March and I am really enjoying your pictures and review. I really looks wonderful. Wilda posted about the Indy "vibe", do you know what that is referring to?

 

 

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1976125&highlight=vibe

[DarthGrady]

Day 4, St. Maarten:

 

Over eighteen thousand people. That was St. Maarten's port load for this day according to one of the major cruise ship calendar websites. That is a tremendous amount of humans all descending on one area in a matter of a few hours.

 

After a nice breakfast in the Diamond area of the dining room we headed ashore. We did a bit of shopping then caught the public bus over to Maho Beach. The experience of riding the bus was very positive, only two dollars per person (one way) and no issues to speak of.

 

 

Some of the other ships in port with us that day:

 

 

The Celebrity Eclipse

 

And coincidentally, Mein Schiff 2, formerly the Celebrity Mercury

 

But of course our ship was the most impressive

 

The shopping area at the pier, a horrid experience with that many ships in port

 

The beach on Great Bay in Philipsburg

 

 

Maho Beach, on the other hand, was a total nightmare. It was basically just one big mass of bodies. We hung out for awhile and got some pictures of the arriving planes, as well as a few beers. Due to the rampant overcrowding we went back into Philipsburg. At least we didn't pay much for the ride to and from.

 

This is what Maho Beach looks like with 18,000+ cruise ship guests in port. Unless this is your idea of a good time, I'd advise avoiding at all costs. We were there back in May when we were the only ship in port and the experience was much nicer.

Edited January 30, 2014 by DarthGrady

[kruzerci]

There were 7 ships when we were there in December on Oasis. It was a nightmare getting a cab to and from Orient!

[DarthGrady]

Some plane pics from Maho

[traceyleigh15]

I'm loving the review. Great pics. We sail in March

[DarthGrady]

Here comes the big boy

 

 

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Back in Phillipsburg I decided to purchase a Nikon Speedlight (a detachable flash) for my camera. The Nikon SB-400s were on sale for $120, which is about fifty bucks cheaper than what Amazon wanted. I'm normally leery about buying electronics in ports, but the store I went to was an actual Nikon dealer. For those in the market for an entry-level flash, Nikon just discontinued the SB-400. The remaining stock is being marked down, so now would be a good time to buy. The SB-300 that they're replacing it with is less powerful, takes longer to recycle and runs on AAAs (the 400 runs on AAs).

More Philipsburg pics

This is only about a quarter of the line for the water taxi, it stretched all the way down the dock. The walk from the pier into town is only about a mile, if you're able bodied it is the way to go.

Beer of the day: Presidente

We returned to the room to find more C&A gifts

The MSC Divina and NCL Epic parked at the new pier

[DarthGrady]

Back on the ship we had lunch at Sorrentos. The Sorrentos on Indy doesn't seem to function as well as the ones I've been to on Freedom and Allure. In addition to the fiasco from the second night, they don't have the little salad bar found in the same venue on Freedom. This is a shame because I enjoyed getting the mozzarella and balsamic vinegar. They also didn't have parmesan cheese. What kind of pizzeria doesn't have mozzarella cheese? The pizza still tasted good, but the experience wasn't up to the standard I’ve enjoyed on Allure and Freedom.

 

After getting back on board, I headed up to the heli-pad

 

 

I also got a few pics of some lesser visited areas like the old Crown and Anchor Study, now "Business Services"

 

 

Edited January 30, 2014 by DarthGrady

[DarthGrady]

 

 

The Library

 

 

 

[fish6]

 

Thankfully the ship's name plaque survived the addition of the big acreen, they just moved it back to the H20 Zone

 

 

The Sprinkles ice cream kiosk. Don't get your hopes up, there are no sprinkles (or toppings of any kind) to be found.

 

I have a silly question.....what flavours do they have on Indy? I like strawberry and I noticed that some ships only have the chocolate and vanilla.

[DarthGrady]

After an afternoon workout we all attended the "Strings" ice show. The skaters did a great job as usual. It really is amazing how much they can do in so little space. I didn’t really get the whole magic violin storyline, but the skating was excellent.

Studio B, ready for the ice show

[DarthGrady]

I have a silly question.....what flavours do they have on Indy? I like strawberry and I noticed that some ships only have the chocolate and vanilla.

 

Only chocolate, vanilla and a mixture of the two. Both sides were labeled "frozen yogurt", but it tasted like regular ice cream to me.