My View...Independence of the Seas

[Sinppu]

Great photos!

Thanks for taking the time to write this;

Can't wait to experience Indy myself in June!! 😃

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 6 - San Juan

 

 

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

Entering port was beautiful with the sun just coming up. With this short stop, the Windjammer was very busy for both breakfast and lunch. At breakfast, an error was made during the announcement, saying that the "all aboard" is at 3:30 pm. The announcer came back about 1 minute later to make a correction, that "all aboard" is at 1:30 p.m. The ship ended up leaving only at 4:15 p.m. I don't know if it was due to this error, or because they were doing maintenance on the engine. Once again, this delay did not impact the rest of the ports.

 

Old San Juan

We headed out to explore old San Juan around 9:00 am. We thought we had a good idea of where to go, since we had 2 maps. It turns out neither of them was good. We had to ask for directions, since many small streets were not on the map. We were headed in the right general direction, but the small streets really throw you off. So, my tip here is to print out google directions before you leave home. The fort was beautiful and the cemetery had some unique gravestones.

 

 

 

 

El Morro

 

It was a very hot day and we were lucky to only wait about 3 minutes for the free trolley. Tip: The free trolley runs about every 30 minutes. Below are pictures of the trolley and the markers you should be looking for:

 

 

Edited March 26, 2014 by APDMOM
typo

[APDMOM]

The ride back on the trolley:

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are not in America, technically...

[APDMOM]

The beautiful ship from port:

 

 

Lunch in the Windjammer was great! They had my favorite soup - Roasted sweet potato...

 

Norwegian Gem came in at 2 pm and was the only other ship in port.

 

 

San Cristobal from the ship:

 

It looks like they are expanding another pier:

 

 

Leaving San Juan in our wake:

 

[APDMOM]

My view at the end of a beautiful day:

 

We ordered room service for dinner, I got the steak sandwich and was a bit disappointed, since I expected something like a Philly Cheese steak. It was not like that at all. The nachos with spinach dip are very good! The bistro/beef burger is also great.

 

After dinner, we went to the 7pm show of Blue Jupiter. At the risk of sounding like Simon Cowell, they should stick to commercial jingles. The harmonies were very empty and too bass heavy. This is okay for a short Oreo commercial jingle, but not for a whole show of failed imitation of great songs. In the words of DH, "They made good songs sound bad." (And he does not have a music background :D)

 

 

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 7 - Labadee

 

We woke up to a beautiful sunrise!

 

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

It will be hard to narrow down my favorite pictures of Labadee. It truly is a beautiful island. Although we shared the port with Grandeur of the Seas, we were always able to find loungers at the different beaches we visited:

 

 

We read many reviews about the rocky beaches. In order to give a better idea of the beaches and our favorite areas, I will post the map first. Unfortunately, it did not quite fit on my scanner, but you can get an idea:

 

 

The beach between number 7 and 16 is truly rocky, like noted on many CC reviews. We bought swim shoes for this island, and I am glad we did. Although you could make it with flip flops, it was easier to walk with the swim shoes. Here is the beach by the zipline that is very rocky:

 

 

We got a tip to go to the beach by the aqua park. The water is much more calm, and it is a sandy beach. It is number 39 on the map:

 

 

[APDMOM]

I found my favorite beach much later during the day. It is Adrenaline beach by the Dragon's Tail Coaster. It is number 35 on the map:

 

 

There is a man-made wall of rocks to break the surf so that the water on adrenaline beach is very calm. The beach was quite empty - probably since it is the farthest from the ship. It is worth walking or taking the tram to find a quiet spot on a sandy beach!

 

 

 

Look at all those loungers still available around noon:

 

[APDMOM]

There is a free tram that takes you around the island:

 

They also had these beach wheelchairs available:

 

The artisans market was much more quiet than I had expected. Nobody tried to sell me anything :) I did not see any of the 'pushy' vendors that CC members had reported.

Edited March 27, 2014 by APDMOM
typo

[APDMOM]

The best place to take pictures of the zipline is just before you get to dragon's lookout. It is not correctly marked on the map, but you can easily find it on this trail:

 

 

 

Further down the trail, you can get lost in the views of the rocks and surf:

 

 

 

[APDMOM]

The island is truly a tropical paradise:

 

 

 

 

 

The Labadoozie: I bought one on the island since it is frequently raved about on the CC boards. The drink was made with crushed ice that had not been crushed enough. The ice kept getting stuck in the straw, and the drink quickly became watery. Just say it with me: Lesson learned, I should stick to the peach long island iced tea.:D

 

 

When we got back to the cabin, I quickly double checked the price of the Labadoozie. I found that I was charged $2 more than what the Compass had stated. We went to guest services to ask why we were charged $2 more than the $8.50 listed in the Compass. Guest services called a supervisor and had to send an e-mail to get the charge adjusted. About 3 hours later, we got a phone call from guest services to let us know that they had corrected the price. I wonder how many people were over-charged...

[APDMOM]

Overall, we loved Labadee and look forward to returning in December. We will have babysitters then, so DH and I plan on doing some of the excursions.

 

Grandeur of the Seas sailed away first:

 

 

We opted for an afternoon nap, then watched the sail away from our balcony again.

 

 

 

 

Leaving Labadee in our wake:

 

 

Tonight's dinner in the Windjammer was my favorite of the week. Indranee had already set up our table with lemonade. I had lamb stew with Potato au gratin, followed by Pavlova (yummy meringue). DH also enjoyed the lamb stew and some caramel bread pudding. After all that rich food, we headed to the promenade cafe where I balanced out the sweet with some good coffee. Of course, after the coffee I had a taste for frozen yogurt, so we climbed the stairs back up to deck 11, just to find no more cones were left. It was probably a good thing because I saw a bad habit developing :)

[APDMOM]

My View: Night 7

 

 

Coming up: Our last day at sea...

[TheGaDawgFan]

All the pictures from your balcony have me so excited!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

And we'll go to Labadee on the Freedom. It looks beautiful!

[APDMOM]

My View: Day 8 - Sea day

Another beautiful sunrise from my lounger:

 

 

 

I woke up early and got some pictures of the ship, including the crown and anchor, all lit up:

 

We finally made it to the mini golf and to the Flowrider.

 

 

One of our CC members was quite the pro on the Flowrider!

 

[APDMOM]

We enjoyed our coffee in the quiet of Boleros and went to the fruit carving demo for a little while. It was quite entertaining!

 

 

 

We tried to get our last vanilla frozen yogurt from Sprinkles, but they were all out - only chocolate remained. I guess they did not budget for a full ship with spring breakers :D

 

It was soon time for our last peach long island iced tea on our balcony.

 

Nice and cold...

[APDMOM]

We went to the Farewell Show with the illusionist, Scott Alexander. He was hilarious!

 

 

The final song, with our housekeeping staff entering with their towel animals, had me near tears. They work incredibly hard, stay for months on the ship without seeing family, and always provide service with a smile. As long as I have a dollar in my pocket, I will pull it out and hand it over in gratitude for their hard work.

 

 

Center stage is Mike Hunnerup. He was entertaining enough and did a good job as CD. It is hard not to compare CD's, especially coming off our previous cruise with Richard Spacey. Face it, there is no one like the socks man! However, Cuddy was an excellent 'sidekick' to Mike, and they worked out well as a team.

[APDMOM]

I will close out tomorrow. My brain is a bit fried to come up with meaningful closing comments :D I think I need a cruise...

[missholly24]

There is a free tram that takes you around the island:

 

They also had these beach wheelchairs available:

 

The artisans market was much more quiet than I had expected. Nobody tried to sell me anything :) I did not see any of the 'pushy' vendors that CC members had reported.

 

The market is quiet, not much negotiating. The village further back by Columbus Cove is where the pushy folks are. Very nice review! Thanks.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

[Sunshine-lady]

Loved reading your review. GReat pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[APDMOM]

The market is quiet, not much negotiating. The village further back by Columbus Cove is where the pushy folks are. Very nice review! Thanks.

 

Sent from my SPH-L710 using Forums mobile app

 

Wow! How did I miss them? I will have to go back :D

[APDMOM]

Loved reading your review. GReat pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Thank you :) Your countdown looks about like ours did when we booked. It was a long wait, but well worth it!

[kuddles14]

I found my favorite beach much later during the day. It is Adrenaline beach by the Dragon's Tail Coaster. It is number 35 on the map:

 

 

There is a man-made wall of rocks to break the surf so that the water on adrenaline beach is very calm. The beach was quite empty - probably since it is the farthest from the ship. It is worth walking or taking the tram to find a quiet spot on a sandy beach!

 

 

 

Look at all those loungers still available around noon:

 

 

I have a quick question about Adrenaline Beach. I see all the loungers available which is great, but what are the other loungers with the curtains around them? D you have to rent them? If so, do you know what they are called? Thank you

[APDMOM]

I have a quick question about Adrenaline Beach. I see all the loungers available which is great, but what are the other loungers with the curtains around them? D you have to rent them? If so, do you know what they are called? Thank you

 

Surprisingly, they were called cabanas. Yes, they are for rent. I don't know what they cost, but if they are the same price as the regular cabanas, I don't think they are worth it. I will try to look on my FOS December booking to see if I can find out...