My View...Independence of the Seas

[petesweet]

This is where FOS stands out head and shoulders above Indy.

Just curious - do you have any plans to cruise on the Oasis or Allure? I love those ships, but I also enjoyed the Freedom. Haven't tried Indy.

 

Kathy

[petesweet]

The new, layered hairstyle (I feel 30 again):

Both before and after are adorable!

 

I love the stuff you are telling us in your review. Unique.

 

Kathy

[APDMOM]

Ships sailing off into the sunset... leaving us behind. Our sail off was delayed due to engine problems. An announcement was made to let us know they had trouble to get one engine started. We left 2 hours late, but it did not impact the arrival in St. Kitts. DH and I shared the DOD on our balcony (we are frugal :D).

 

 

 

 

 

[nbsjcruiser]

We just returned from 8 days of bliss on "our" aft balcony. The only down side is that my countdown now says..."Sailed"

 

 

We had a great time overall! I will be sharing my view (both picture view and opinion) and try to share helpful tips for those lucky people who are still counting down the days to their Indy cruise :)

 

For those of you who are interested in the Compass and Adventure Ocean Planners, click on this link:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2013731

 

Looking forward to your review. We had an aft in 2013 on the Indy. I found it noisy when docking (woke me up every morning) and quite a bit of soot deposited on the balcony every day. I'd be interested to see if you had any of those issues.

[APDMOM]

Dinner was in the Windjammer again - a very busy night in the Windjammer. Ironically, we chose the Windjammer since it is usually so quiet there at night... but not tonight. I guess people did not want to bother cleaning up after their excursions - just hit the jammer for dinner.

 

We had tickets for the 8:30 ice skating show, "Strings". Note, we were at the doors 40 minutes before the show, and the line was already to the end of On Air. People started cutting in, which is just really inconsiderate. We still got great seats, but it seems the entitlement and "the rules are not for me" attitudes are just growing among people from all walks of life. (Sorry, the undercover teacher in me will go to rest now!)

 

The Ice show was spectacular! It was not quite as great and creative as the one on FOS, but still one of the best shows at sea and on land!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View: The end of Day 4

 

 

Later today, I will start on St. Kitts. Time for some house duties :D

[APDMOM]

Looking forward to your review. We had an aft in 2013 on the Indy. I found it noisy when docking (woke me up every morning) and quite a bit of soot deposited on the balcony every day. I'd be interested to see if you had any of those issues.

 

We had very little soot, since 7708 is well covered. They thoroughly cleaned our balcony twice on this trip of 8 days.

 

:)

[APDMOM]

Just curious - do you have any plans to cruise on the Oasis or Allure? I love those ships, but I also enjoyed the Freedom. Haven't tried Indy.

 

Kathy

 

I would love to try one of them! I hope the rumors of Oasis coming to Port Canaveral are true. I am checking every day to see if they will be there next summer :)

[APDMOM]

Both before and after are adorable!

 

I love the stuff you are telling us in your review. Unique.

 

Kathy

 

Thank you :)

[Folk Singer]

More tips!

 

4. Bring one of those plugs that allows for multiple items to be charged at once:

 

 

Here is what you get in the cabin (including the European outlet for my friends on the other side of the Atlantic)

 

 

In the bathroom:

 

Here is what you get in the "cooler". It was definitely NOT a fridge. The water was even just a little cooler than room temperature in there.

 

 

good idea about the plug.:)

[Folk Singer]

We had very little soot, since 7708 is well covered. They thoroughly cleaned our balcony twice on this trip of 8 days.

 

:)

 

 

We are in 7712 on the IOS TA in May. Hopefully no engine problems.:)

[wolfganghowell]

We were onboard 2 weeks before you - enjoying reliving Indy.

[joand452]

Our first time on Indy is coming up very soon, so I'm devouring all these recent reviews! Thank you for sharing your trip with us!!

 

Looking forward to the rest...

[TigerLady]

Do you happen to remember the menu schedule?? Trying to decide which night for specialty dining

[TheGaDawgFan]

We aren't going on the Indy, but have your cabin on the Freedom this Sunday. Thanks for the cabin pictures!!!!

[marcyjane]

Thank you so much for posting your review and tips. Will be on IOS Saturday can't wait!!!:D

[APDMOM]

Our first time on Indy is coming up very soon, so I'm devouring all these recent reviews! Thank you for sharing your trip with us!!

 

Looking forward to the rest...

 

Thank you so much for posting your review and tips. Will be on IOS Saturday can't wait!!!:D

 

I hope to get this done by Friday. Enjoy your final countdown! :)

[APDMOM]

Do you happen to remember the menu schedule?? Trying to decide which night for specialty dining

 

Unfortunately, I did not pay attention to that. We only ate one dinner in the MDR, because the scheduling of the shows was so much different than Carnival. The 9 pm show is too late for our family, so we opted for the Windjammer and the 7 pm show.

 

I do know the first formal night (second cruise night) was Saffron.

[APDMOM]

We aren't going on the Indy, but have your cabin on the Freedom this Sunday. Thanks for the cabin pictures!!!!

 

You chose well! Although we enjoyed Indy, FOS is much more fun for families - considering the shows, 3D movie and the Move it! parade.

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 5 - St. Kitts

 

 

 

 

Nevis:

 

[APDMOM]

Spa

During the hair demo on the second sea day (the one where I got my free haircut), they gave away a special to receive the whole spa sampler for $99. So, in stead of 3 services, you get 8 or 9 services for $99. It was a great deal, so I took advantage of it this morning. Gemma did a fantastic job on the mini fascial, eye treatments, foot massage, neck & shoulder massage, hand & arm massage, head massage, and hair treatments. It took just over an hour and was well worth the $99! This was only my second spa experience - first at sea & first in 12 years. So, I will not venture to compare/review. I just know I enjoyed it. Tip: I noticed just in time that they recommend wearing a swimsuit, since this is just the sampler, so remember to do that.

 

St Kitts:

I already did an island tour on a previous cruise to St. Kitts, so we just walked around in the port, bought another hat (this time for DS) and got back onto the ship. Celebrity Silhouette and Aida Luna shared this port with us. The port area was very crowded again. The shops are already hard to navigate due to the abundance of merchandise crammed into a small space. Add a bunch of people, and you find yourself doing the two-step with strangers, backing up in order to get through the aisles! :D

 

Based upon my previous experience, I definitely recommend an island tour. It is a beautiful island with interesting history.

 

 

 

Edited March 26, 2014 by APDMOM
typo

[APDMOM]

Back on the ship, I tried the roast beef sandwiches in the promenade cafe. Unfortunately, it was not the kümmelweck that everyone raved about on Oasis. So, it is still not available on IOS. The ones on Indy are just a regular roast beef on a poppy seed roll. Nothing to write home about.

 

For our sail away, we got a peach long island iced tea from the sky bar. Oh, my! It is a good thing DH and I are frugal and share the drinks. I have a new favorite! We enjoyed sail away on our balcony with the beautiful sunset to follow. We ordered 1 serving of the nachos and spinach dip from room service. Out the door go my good intentions to only taste what is good and to not over-indulge. :)

 

 

Leaving St. Kitts in our wake...

 

 

My View at sunset:

 

[APDMOM]

Dinner in the Windjammer was not as busy today. They served the Rosemary Lamb Shank, just like in the MDR. It was excellent - tender and very well prepared! It makes my mouth water even now! We found we really enjoyed eating in the Windjammer. We can be more flexible in our schedule, and I can be much more relaxed - not worrying about spills (by DS and DH - LOL!). Oh, wait! I was the only one who spilled a glass of water on our previous cruise :eek:

 

In the Windjammer, we sat in Indranee's area every night. She is from Mauritius and she is great! She was very attentive to our 9 year old and always friendly.

 

After dinner, we headed down to Pharaoh's palace to enjoy the sounds of Rock the Boat again. We broke our rule of sharing one drink a day! We got a Passion Guava Lava. It looked better than it tasted. Lesson learned: Stick to peach long island iced tea :)

 

 

[APDMOM]

Well, it is homework time. Coming up later tonight: San Juan :)

[tinkercat]

Loving your review your pictures are brilliant, sailing on the Indy in May can't wait to see her

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums