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Independence of the Seas Review - Feb 1, 2014

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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

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Day 8 - At Sea

 

Our last day and not too excited about that. It’s cloudy but warm. Breakfast in the windjammer at 7:30 am then out on deck to find chairs for the day. Found a nice area aft by Adventure Ocean where there is an overhang and shade. Sun eventually came out and it got much warmer. Wife took off for Jade at lunch time again. Thought it was really good again. Deserts, not so much. I grabbed pizza at Sorrento’s again. By 1:45 pm it was getting to be too hot as the sun was shining in on us so we decided to move. Decided to sit in on the art auction featuring Colleen Black. She was on the ship painting away.

 

Collen_Black_JPG.JPG

 

Nothing too exciting there as we didn’t see any deals to be had. Wife decided it was time to order her last Love Connection of the cruise. They don’t make them as well as they used to. Years ago the mixers had more authentic fruit flavor and were a bit more colorful in her opinion. That doesn’t stop her from getting them though. Back to the cabin to begin packing. sigh

 

At 5 pm we headed for the Diamond Lounge for the last time. Dinner is casual as almost always on the last night. Many of our table mates ate in either Giovanni’s or windjammer as the menu in the MDR wasn’t that appetizing tonight. Only 4 of us at the huge table now and our waiter still screwed up orders. Won’t miss him in the least. We both had the onion soup and agreed we’ve had much better in the past. For main, I had the steak and wife had the pasta, both off the classics part of the menu. Neither was very good. One of our table mates got the Chops steak. Came over done and dry. He gave me a piece and it was bad. He should have sent it back, but didn’t want to delay dinner. For desert wife had the key lime pie which she liked, and I the banana crème brulee which I didn’t like.

 

After diner we finished packing and then to see “Rock The Boat” one last time in the Pyramid Lounge. Had to leave there way too soon to get to the farewell show downstairs in the Alhambra Theater. Started out with about 10 minutes of the cruise video that you can buy. The orchestra did their thing as well as the singers and dancers. Then CD Joff did stand up for about 15 minutes. He was very entertaining IMO. Then came a comedian juggler who was pretty good. After the show we went to the Karaoke Idle final. Several singers went for the big prize. All excellent, but some more so than others. Time is now 11:15 pm and we’re tired. Luggage out in the hall and off to bed for the final time on the Independence.

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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

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Day 9 - Debarkation Ft Lauderdale

 

We docked by around 5AM, we had tag #16 which we traded for #37 at customer service the previous day. Tags were out and you can take any number you want. Ate breakfast in the windjammer and then to the theater for the short wait. Number was called at 8 am and off to find our luggage which was not difficult. Taxi back to the airport was $18 including tip. We always go inside to check luggage. Often the lines are shorter. You can check luggage as much as 4 hrs ahead on Southwest. Check in complete we headed for security and have never seen the line so long. I estimated over 200 people in the line. Through and sitting at our gate at 9:45 am. For our 12:20 pm flight.

 

The bad begins now. Our flight is late leaving. Very late. We didn’t board until well after 1PM and no way we were going to make our connection in Baltimore. We arrived about 20 minutes after the flight would have taken off. And then to boot when we arrived at the gate, everyone stands up getting their stuff out of the bins and pilot comes on and says everyone must put all their belongings back, sit down and belts latched. We need to move to another gate. Oh fun!!!! Another 10 minutes pass until all this is done. Finally off and to a counter where we are rebooked to a 9:35 pm flight. Fun, only 5 more hours till we take off. And now it’s starting to snow too. Glad Baltimore has reasonably fast, free internet and was able to pass time on my netbook. Lots of places to walk, shop, and eat as this airport is huge. 5 hrs actually passed pretty quickly. Home at 11:30 pm and tired.

 

In closing I can only tell you what a great time we had cruising on the Independence. It’s a beautiful ship. The 8 night itinerary is great. We’d go again in an instant. I know I’ve done lots of complaining (tough to please), mostly about the food, but it’s the same on all the lines and should not detour anyone from going on this ship, or any other.

 

Positives:

 

Great entertainment and lots of it

Diamond lounge extended into Royal Crown Lounge

Great incentives for being loyal

Hot Tubs comfortably hot

More and better bands

Live music in dining room

Grab as many towels as you want. No more swiping card

 

Negatives:

 

Repeaters party pales in comparison to Carnival’s

Food still declining in quality

Didn’t like not being able to get some drinks in Diamond Lounge

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londongal796

londongal796

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Thanks so much for this review, I really enjoyed it!

 

I have quite a random question -- did you happen to take any photos while in the Windjammer? I wanted to see what type of seats they have there. I have had some Windjammer experiences where the chairs were super uncomfortable so I wanted to see what I had in store for me as I will be on Indy in June :D

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cruisinfanatic

cruisinfanatic

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Thanks so much for this review, I really enjoyed it!

 

I have quite a random question -- did you happen to take any photos while in the Windjammer? I wanted to see what type of seats they have there. I have had some Windjammer experiences where the chairs were super uncomfortable so I wanted to see what I had in store for me as I will be on Indy in June :D

Sorry, no pictures. The booths have cushions I know, but not the table chairs. Found a really poor

that I think you can make out what you're looking for
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krewzin

krewzin

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Day 5 - St Kitts

 

 

 

 

 

 

Walking toward the right side of the beach, you could spot pelicans diving for fish and goats on the hillside.

 

k.

 

 

Hopefully none of the goats were taken airborne...unless these were unusually large pelicans? :)

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londongal796

londongal796

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Sorry, no pictures. The booths have cushions I know, but not the table chairs. Found a really poor
that I think you can make out what you're looking for

 

That video is surprisingly helpful, thanks very much! I'm also quite excited about Jade -- I experienced it for the first time on my last cruise and didn't realise I'd have the pleasure of it again!

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marcyjane

marcyjane

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Did you happen to notice the airlines listed that is in the luggage program out of Ft. Lauderdale that are listed for the luggage express or what ever RCI calls it. Where they print you boarding pass and you don't have to worry about your luggage until you arrive at you home airport.

Also is it still $20.00 per person.

Thanks

Marcy

Edited by marcyjane
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ahecht

ahecht

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Did you happen to notice the airlines listed that is in the luggage program out of Ft. Lauderdale that are listed for the luggage express or what ever RCI calls it. Where they print you boarding pass and you don't have to worry about your luggage until you arrive at you home airport.

Also is it still $20.00 per person.

Thanks

Marcy

 

This is the list from last year:

IoS%20Departure_zpsofepw9cc.gif

Edited by ahecht
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marcyjane

marcyjane

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This is the list from last year:

IoS%20Departure_zpsofepw9cc.gif

 

Thanks:):D

So from reading this all you do is when you get to the airport just go straight to the secuity check in line is that correct? No stopping at Southwest counter for check in.

Edited by marcyjane
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Ocean Boy

Ocean Boy

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Thanks:):D

So from reading this all you do is when you get to the airport just go straight to the secuity check in line is that correct? No stopping at Southwest counter for check in.

 

That is correct. You get your boarding pass on the ship. When you get to the airport you go right to the security check point.

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