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

[kpauley]

Yes, he would have been on there for that sailing. He said he's on Indy for ten weeks. I don't recall him wearing a key chain vest, he's kinda low key and very humble about his status. The most I saw him wearing was a RCI t-shirt. I didn't even see him wearing his Pinnacle badge.

 

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Thanks. I guess my key chain vest man will remain a mystery.

[PaulInPGH]

Thanks so much for this review! It's allowing me to relive my first ever cruise, which was on Indy only this December. Indy started what is bound to be a life-long, money-burning addiction to cruising.

[39august]

I was on the Jan. 12 sailing. Your key chain guy was part of a group of four couples. The four men irritated most of us in the Diamond overflow lounge in Olive or Twist by singing every night. They were pretty rowdy as well. Sorry I didn't see Mario, as I met him several years ago.

[FTLcruisers]

We'll be sailing on Feb 15th. My husband is curious as to whether they showed movies up on the pool deck while the ship was in port. We have been to all of these ports so many times so I guess he's hoping to have the pool deck to himself with a drink and a movie!

 

thanks - and thanks for your review/photos. We were on the Indy in Dec 2012 and are looking forward to enjoying it again.

 

Marianne

[Ceblake]

Thanks so much for all your information. I'm going on my first cruise in April!

[Gail77]

Thanks for the posting. I am enjoying remembering my first cruise on Indy and looking forward to my next one while the wind howls outside:eek:

[DarthGrady]

We'll be sailing on Feb 15th. My husband is curious as to whether they showed movies up on the pool deck while the ship was in port. We have been to all of these ports so many times so I guess he's hoping to have the pool deck to himself with a drink and a movie!

 

thanks - and thanks for your review/photos. We were on the Indy in Dec 2012 and are looking forward to enjoying it again.

 

Marianne

 

The only time I recall them doing movies up there was at night. In the daytime it was just music videos that went along with the background music, or random tropical scenes.

[sns101098]

The new Cupcake Cupboard which replaced the old barber shop on the RP. The treats available are not included in your fare.

 

 

 

Yum! We love cupcakes. Do you happen to recall what the charge was for these?

[juiceman]

Great review so far!! It's making us get really excited about getting on the Indy in 10 days!! Can't wait to get away from this crazy cold and snow!

 

Can you confirm whether or not the Indy had the luggage valet service?

 

Thanks much!

 

Yes, the Indy has the luggage valet service. We used it and loved it as always!:D

 

Great review & pics Grady!! I was on the Indy back in December & it did not have the luggage valet then. Did they change it recently?

[TigerLady]

Thanks for the review, great so far!! We have a B2B in December. Your review is making me anxious to go ..

[kpauley]

I was on the Jan. 12 sailing. Your key chain guy was part of a group of four couples. The four men irritated most of us in the Diamond overflow lounge in Olive or Twist by singing every night. They were pretty rowdy as well. Sorry I didn't see Mario, as I met him several years ago.

Thanks for clearing up the mystery key chain man. I didn't see him in the DL but I was only there one night and it was not in the overflow area.

[DarthGrady]

 

Yum! We love cupcakes. Do you happen to recall what the charge was for these?

 

I don't, but I can't imagine they're very much, maybe a couple bucks each.

 

 

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[oldplayer532]

I can only assume the "Indy vibe" is referring to her being partially setup for her six months cruising out of the UK.

 

Her shops are different and have a lot of merchandise tailored to Europeans like loose tobacco for hand rolling (first time I've ever seen that on a ship), European food and candies, and odd cigarette brands we don't have in the US.

 

There are about three dozen types of tea available next to the coffee pots. Many of the officers and CD staff are British. The ice show (Strings) features a lot of classical music and has a Euro feel to it.

 

Oh, and one other odd thing: NO MUDLSIDE COOKIES in the Promenade Cafe! I don't know if that is poor planning or because they aren't popular across the pond, but we were very disappointed about it.

And that is why I loved it! I hope they still rock "the British Invasion" show in RP.

[wolfcathorse]

 

 

 

Not really a part of my review, but the St. Tropez area above the Solarium (basically the roof of the spa) seems like it would be a quiet place to sit in the sun or read. It didn't seem like many people knew it was there.

 

 

would this be the area were topless sunbathing is allowed when the ship is in Europe?

[Danem7683]

WOW what a review and stunning pics- massive thanks x

[LBumb]

ready for more

[tinkercat]

ready for more

 

Brilliant review love your photos, we are on her at the end of May our only second cruise can't wait.

[smeck]

A quick dip in one of the cantilevered hot tubs in the Solarium suddenly became a problem when I got back to the cabin only to find that I had no Seapass. Oops. I went back upstairs and the nice folks in the hot tub said they found it and gave it to the pool attendant. The pool attendants were of little help though, as they managed to re-lose it in those five minutes. Fortunately Raj, the amazingly awesome concierge, was able to print me a new one in just a few seconds.

The hot tub that ate my Seapass

An overview of the Solarium

Not really a part of my review, but the St. Tropez area above the Solarium (basically the roof of the spa) seems like it would be a quiet place to sit in the sun or read. It didn't seem like many people knew it was there.

 

Indy being based in Europe half the year I'm willing to bet the St Tropez deck is topless.

[submariner755]

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

 

Let's go Lady Huskies ( Geno's Girls)

[99florida]

Embarkation went very fast and we were aboard in about twenty minutes. It was already after 1 p.m. so we dropped off the luggage in the room and walked around the ship for awhile. Having been on Freedom of the Seas before, Independence seemed nearly identical. The ship was in great shape with very little signs of wear and tear.

Our cabin was also very clean and has the sliding doors in the shower. After two cruises on ships with the attack shower curtains, I couldn't have been happier to see those doors. The bed had an "egg crate" foam pad on top of the mattress. I don't know who requested that be added, but I thank them as it made the bed much more comfortable.

Our cabin, #2671

The little table went into the closet following this picture

Crown and Anchor gifts

 

 

 

Did you and your better half both get a beverage being Diamond Plus? Looks like a beer and a small bottle of wine (one glass) along with a bottle of choice? We are both Diamond Plus and was told only one beverage and a bottle of wine for stateroom or dining room. thanks for any info.

[99florida]

Day 1, Fort Lauderdale:

The drive to Port Everglades from the hotel only took about a half hour. Independence was parked at Pier 29, which is way over on the southeast side of the port. After leaving the car at Park n Go, it was just a quick shuttle ride to the ship.

We were greeted at Park N Go by the monkeys, they are always there

Indy at Pier 29

Lots of ships at Port Everglades, the port load was over 25,000 people. That's 50,000 coming and going in one day!

Woohoo! My first D+ card!

 

 

 

How far of a shuttle ride was it from the Park and Go to the pier for the IOS?

Thanks :)

[ARCruisinNana]

Did you and your better half both get a beverage being Diamond Plus? Looks like a beer and a small bottle of wine (one glass) along with a bottle of choice? We are both Diamond Plus and was told only one beverage and a bottle of wine for stateroom or dining room. thanks for any info.

 

Each D+ member gets the welcome beverage of their choice along with the basket (one per cabin). The bonus gift (large bottle of wine) is one per relationship.

Edited January 31, 2014 by ARCruisinNana

[DarthGrady]

How far of a shuttle ride was it from the Park and Go to the pier for the IOS?

Thanks :)

 

It's very short, less then ten minutes. The Park-N-Go is right outside the port.

 

Did you and your better half both get a beverage being Diamond Plus? Looks like a beer and a small bottle of wine (one glass) along with a bottle of choice? We are both Diamond Plus and was told only one beverage and a bottle of wine for stateroom or dining room. thanks for any info.

 

The mini-bottle of wine and the beer are the gifts that they give out per-person. The big bottle of wine is the one they give per-cabin. I think we're going to get the beach towel next time, the wine wasn't very good.

[DarthGrady]

Day 6, St. Kitts:

On our previous visit to St Kitts we took an excellent island tour from Gray’s Island Tours. For this visit we wanted to try something new, so we booked a catamaran cruise via Blue Water Safaris. Our group consisted of several folks from the Cruise Critic roll call, as well as some folks that we didn’t know from the Celebrity ship.

Their catamaran was very nice. It had seating for a lot more people than we actually had. There were full sized restrooms, a sunning deck on the roof and trampoline nets at the bow. They also have an open bar with beers, soda and liquor beverages.

After we were well away from shore they put the sails up and shut down the engines for a nice quiet cruise. We moored near the shoreline and they gave everyone time to swim or snorkel. They also served a light lunch consisting of some local dishes.

By the time we began heading back toward the ship the open bar was beginning to work its magic. Most everyone seemed to be having a good time, lots of dancing and drinking. It was an excellent excursion; I wished it had been longer!

 

 

 

Time to set sail

 

 

 

[DarthGrady]

Cruisin' on the catamaran