Spanish Mediterranean Cruise on Indy

[lancashire_cruisers]

Still the plastic strips. The ones in the solarium have cushions

 

Thanks for the quick response :)

[lorrdean]

No problem, I was on the same cruise as op

[grabbit97]

I think it was around $220 for 7 days.

 

 

Thank you, this cruise is 13 days, so $229??

 

 

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[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

The wifi for 14 days was $259 or $279 and that gave you unlimited usage for 14 days for two devices. You can actually sign up for this while you're on the ship using your portable device, or at Royal Online on 8, it's very easy. You just need your portfolio number on your card and then you create a user name and passoword. A few warnings I will give you on this, and again as you saw in my review the thing I was most dissatisfied with was the WIFI. I do have to add that I know all ships have issues with wifi, so this is far from a Royal issue. But here are the things to keep in mind:

 

1) There is a special website you need to go to in order to be sure you are properly logged off. We had more than 2 people sharing each account and it was literally a nightmare as one of the kids would swear they were logged off and we tried to log on and were told already had two users so we couldn't do so

 

2) Wifi does not work well throughout the ship. We were in the back of the ship and it was pretty pathetic. I had work I HAD to do and I found going to Royal online and using their computers was infinitely faster and that's what I did. I had things I had to do for business, I couldn't imagine doing them on the wifi, it was that slow and that inconsistent.

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

To continue my review, I wanted to speak a bit about the guests in general. My entire group was american, and while we have all travelled, this was our first time on a 14 day cruise where the majority of the guests were clearly not american. THere were definitely some things very different about this cruise because of this, but honestly nothing I would say was bad, just different:

 

1) The dining rooms were never crowded. I have not yet fully figured out why that was. I can tell you that the dining times were 6 and 8 30 pm. It was very clear the later dining time was more popular(unlike american cruises with families) and apparently the windjammer was very popular later on as well. I'm not sure if that's a european thing, or honestly because the food was pretty good for dinner in windjammer and the MDR was more hit and miss. But I was very surprised on a full ship that so many tables were empty in the MDR all the time. Getting pictures on formal nights before the early seating was no issue. Getting them done prior to the late seating, the usual lines

 

2) Dress for formal nights is VERY different on european cruises. Specifically, almost every one actually DRESSES for formal nights. On the american cruises you constantly see people pushing the envelopes in casual clothing. Not so on this cruise. I have not seen so many tuxedos on men on a cruise ship in over 10 years at least. There was also a selection of kilts believe it or not, and the women were dressed to the nines. Personally I actually kind of liked this. There were three formal nights, if you didn't want to participate in one(and we didn't) we just went to Windjammer or had dinner in one of the specialty restaurants instead

 

3) This nonsense I've read about English people being rudder than americans, in my opinion, is just that..nonsense. There are some differences of course, but they are very pleasant. Our cruise had a very large scottish contingency and I would tell you they are a bit louder and more boisterous than the english, but not in any excess and you find people behaving like that on american cruises. Frankly the scots were a lot of fun for the most part, and my kids made friends with many others from scotland and thought they were fun and funny.

 

4) Casino. Apparently, not as popular in europe. They had MANY roulette tables open, apparently the favorite. Additionally, minimum bets were significantly reduced. They were $3 the ENTIRE cruise at every table. I kid you not. The craps table was empty almost the entire cruise.

 

5) Windjammer snacks from 3 to 5 pm including a multitude of puddings and scones, some of which were incredibly good. We only went once(just cause we weren't hungry) but man that was GOOD. Some of the food throughout the cruise was more english oriented, but never where you didn't have american options too(eg....they don't put cocktail sauce on shrimp cocktail, something else, but you were offered the option)

 

Everything else I found the same for the most part. I have heard that some humor american's wont get and I did not find that with the cruise director or his staff, but one of the comedians brought on board I did, but none of the other actors so not as big of an issue. Were there times the scots in particular were hard to understand if they had heavy accents? Sure....but not annoyingly so. I'm sure I'm forgetting something, so if others on the cruise have something to add please do so!

Edited July 23, 2014 by Cruiseswithfamilyornot

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

Florida, I agree with you about the food in my time, and also as I wrote before I found the same specialty restaurants to have much better food on the Allure two months prior. The service in both specialty restaurants made up for that to a large extent for us... but we didn't have anything as bad as you apparently did. We actually had an incredible waiter and assitant waiter in my time, and we did give any extra tip due to that. They literally found out I loved the mud slide cookies and made sure they had fresh ones to give me every night we were there which was very nice. But we had the same table, with the same staff every night we were there which isn't always the case.

[lorrdean]

Haha. I guess us scots did kinda out number all other nationalities, it was the start of scottish schools holidays...but in the main we do like to have fun and I hope that showed.xx

[lorrdean]

In regards to the meals our table of eight (all friends who previously met on a cruise )had two big birthdays to celebrate a 60th and a 50th. These were a day apart. We decided for both that we would start with breakfast in mdr. Lynn's bday being first (60th). We did decorate the table with some balloons, confetti and streamers, all of which we took away with us. The service that morning was dismal, no greeting, no birthday wishes, no smiles in fact they were downright miserable. That evening at our normal table in the mdr , or waitress asked how our breakfast went. She knew we were celebrating the 60th. Lets just say she was not happy when we told what occurred. The day of the 50th arrived (mine) and again mdr for breakfast. What a complete differance. Again the table was decorated (all of which we removed) the head waiter appeared with an extra serving of my pancakes covered in chocolate sauce, fruit ,syrup and a candle. They all sang happy birthday , the waiter made me an oragami tulip and a rose from the napkin. I was totally made to feel special. It turned out our waitress had spoken to the head waiter about the 60th and informed that there was another big bday coming up and she felt that we hadn't received the best treatment from royal's staff on the first bday. Now I am aware that the first waiters on the 60th breakfast morning probably thought "oh my god we have to clean that up" when they saw the table, but I can assure anyone still reading this it was never our intention to leave it for them....besides we needed them for dinner.:) It didn't spoil our cruise tho. If you were on deck 9 you may have seen the balloons and banners on lynn's stateroom door. Sorry I kinda hijacked your thread with my tale x

Edited July 23, 2014 by lorrdean

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

Please hijack away! When I was looking through threads before our cruise, I always found it very helpful to get many different people's thoughts/opinions so to the extent we can establish that all in this one thread here I am happy for it and would bet that others reading this review are looking for as many people's thoughts/opinions as possible. I would say that one thing is very true which you did here...speak up and tell them what you want. Although I've been on over 25 Royal cruises, never once did I tell a waiter I love the mudslide cookies and would like them for dessert in the MDR. Someone in my group told our waiter this time, and voila, there they were. I was thrilled, and that showed in my additional tip to the head waiter, waiter and assistant waiter, so a real win/win/win. I think many times we forget that we should just speak up and ask for what we want. One of the kids just wanted a caesar salad with chicken every night for dinner, and mashed potatoes for an appetizer every night(picky eater). Guess what he got? He was thrilled, which made us thrilled, and had he tried to look through and figure out what he wanted from the menu every night it would have been a disaster. In chops grille for breakfast, my son asked if they had chocolate chip pancakes. We were told no, but if they know that's what we want, they will make it, and sure enough the next day there it was. It's stories like these that make me scratch me head about the "lack of service" on Indy that others complained about. Let them know what you are looking for and they will do their best to accomodate from your state room attendant to the wait staff. Quick side story....one of the people I travel with has a list of things they would like in all of our rooms(the big one being extra towels, list is very short) and he goes over with the state room attendants when we get there. Never an issue as a result of this. There are language and cultural differences, but communicating what you want specifically will cut through all of that.

[lorrdean]

Yes I agree ask for it. If it can be done they will do it. I asked for ice in our cabin on the first day and our room attendent asked if I would like it everyday and at what time. Nothing seemed a problem. We did have a few issues at dinner tho with meals not being warm enough, everytime we said something, the meal was taken away and a fresh hot one appeared. I also seem to have issues with my seapass card, it always deactivates( its nowhere near my phone) anyway first port of call vigo, no problem in getting off the ship, big trouble getting back on. My photo hadn't been reasigned to new card. So they wouldnt let me back on, "step aside please ma'm you cant come on" while staring at me as if I had two heads or something. at first i thought he was joking but no he was serious. Unknown to me at the same time one of our party was having the same problem. My hubby had to go to our room and bring photographic evidence of me. It was very humliating and embarassing standing there while everyone else was coming back on..made to feel I was a criminal trying to sneak onboard. My friend and I asked them why had we been let of the ship they knew then when we 'pinged' out our picture wasnt there, that was there chance to fix it. Security guy actually said they should have stopped us then. Went to Customer services to complain about it . When told them security response he wasnt happy we had been told what we had. Secruity probably told to tighten up their act. hopefully its an issue that shouldnt happen again. But as a warning to others if u need to change ur card ask them to make sure ur photo has been transfered. My goodness reading my last two posts it feels like we did a lot of complaing but we didnt really. We had a great cruise and can't wait to do it again :)

Edited July 23, 2014 by lorrdean

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

Curious Lorrdean, did you keep your sea pass in your wallet? One thing I was always told is not to do that as the credit card will "de-magnetize" your sea pass. Unfortunately, one person in our party kept putting their sea pass in their wallet, and sure enough, they have to go get a new one as theirs stopped working. No one else's stopped, but that's because I collected everyone's sea pass and put in a separate pocket in my backpack the minute we got off the ship to avoid that issue.

 

We are on the exact same page about fixing issues. Sure there are things that happen, in 14 days realistically who won't have things happen, but it's not what happens but how they handle it that matters. I thought overall the crew did an excellent job of handling things as you did. I had my one issue I wish would have been handled better too(it had to do with the internet, surprise, surprise), but overall I was very pleased with how all was handled.

 

One other aside. I booked a massage in advance on the site. As a diamond plus member, I received no discounts and couldn't use them on the ship towards that massage. I booked additional treatments so it was ok, but honestly, I was surprised about that. I would also add I was SHOCKED how available massage appointments were, including sea days. I don't know that I've experienced that on a Royal ship before. But it's not always that way so waiting to book until you're on the ship many times will result in you not getting the dates and times you wanted. We used Ace and Joy, two massage therapists on board for all 10 of us and every one was extremely happy including two very fussy teenage girls who don't like to be touched! That was a real accolade! I would say if you have a multiple week cruise in Europe you can wait and book on board to save yourself some money. There are also daily spa specials that run $99 or $119 for an hour of 4'ish different treatments usually later on a port day, and sometimes on sea days depending on bookings. Btw, you can ask for just one of the treatments(eg...one of the treatments was a facial, I'm a guy and don't want that, so just had more of a massage which they were fine with)

Edited July 23, 2014 by Cruiseswithfamilyornot

[lorrdean]

no my seapass card was kept in a separate pocket in my bag, nowhere near or in my purse(wallet). I always have this problem everytime I cruise, it must be my magnetic personality :D

[grabbit97]

Thank you for the input about the WIFI

 

Our room is mid ship inside, so Inam hoping that we will be able to use the Wifi while on the ship.....

 

 

LAUNDRY

 

I know there is no laundry facilities on RCCL, so do they have those special days where they give you a BAG and it's a certain price for whatever you can stuff in the bag???

 

 

 

 

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[Clarea]

Thank you for the input about the WIFI

 

Our room is mid ship inside, so Inam hoping that we will be able to use the Wifi while on the ship.....

 

 

LAUNDRY

 

I know there is no laundry facilities on RCCL, so do they have those special days where they give you a BAG and it's a certain price for whatever you can stuff in the bag???

The special wash and fold bag is $30 and is offered at least once on a 7 day cruise. The bag will take things like socks, shorts, underwear, and t-shirts.

[grabbit97]

Thank you

 

After reading further I found it was $25

 

 

Guess they raised their prices!!!!

 

 

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[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

If you're in the middle of the ship, wifi should be fine. We were able to use the wash and fold multiple times. I also tried Downy wrinkle releaser for the first time based on comments I heard on here, and it worked pretty well on items that aren't very thick as things do come back wrinkled from the wash and fold. Learned the hard way that larger items like jeans, while you can stick in the wash and fold, take up a good portion of the bag so you are better sending them separately.

[grabbit97]

What is downy wrinkle release?

 

 

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[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

Here is my first shot at uploading the cruise compass from day 2. It literally only takes one page at a time, so I just uploaded the today's activity section. This was from Sunday, June 29th.

 

A few comments on the schedule:

 

1) Went to the gym this morning. Very nice facility. FLoor to ceiling windows looking out at the water on deck 11 in the front of the ship. There are classes taught early in the morning in yoga and cycling...and the instructors are top notch. While I didn't take a class I heard them(you couldn't help but to lol). THey also had a boxing ring when you first walked in. I never saw it in use, but it was cool to see, though honestly would have been nicer to have a small cafe like on the oasis class there as it took up a lot of space

 

2) Breakfast in Chops grill section for suite guests. Was amazed at the personal attention. We went out and got most of our food in the windjammer. One small thing....which was a very pleasant surprise. Since Royal introduced pay for fresh squeezed orange juice, my experience has been that the oj is watered down and not so hot on every ship. I guess they didn't get that memo on Indy as it was delicious. I picked up a glass in windjammer as I was thirsty took a sip and literally said wow lol! Nice little extra. Typical breakfast fare...TONS of choices. If you can't find something you like on a royal ship for breakfast, there is something wrong with you! They have sliced meats, tons of fruit(for some reason the pineapple is always delicious on royal ships, don't know why that is), bagels, eggs every which way included cooked to order and omelettes, pastries, hash browns and breakfast potatoes(yes both), pancakes, french toast AND waffles, I can't possibly list them all. These are every morning including some interesting options as well. I love breakfast foods and while not everything is great, I am always happy. Oh yes, should mention they have something they call "raisin bread" which is essentially challah bread with raisins and some sugar on top. It is AMAZING.

 

3) Went to progressive trivia. You separate into a team and they will have trivia for 5 days and total your score. Joff Eaton, the cruise director, hosts and he is hilarious. There were many teams, it was in the pyramid lounge and it was pretty much full(but not over full). ALot of fun really.

 

4) For lunch we went to Brasserie 30 on deck 3 which opened at 12(closed at 1). They have the nice Tutti salad....which is essentially a salad bar that the Royal staff puts in what you want and tosses it for you. Lots of choices. Think of it like the park avenue cafe on oasis with a lot more options. Really very nice, plus you can order lunch off of the menu too. It is the most amazing thing ever? No. But one in party doesn't like buffets with many people hovering over food and here it's behind glass and they serve you. It was nice, and food in dining room was pretty good, I'd recommend if for lunch at least a few times which is just what we did.

 

5) As you can see from the schedule, there was a TON to do today. Some of our group went to the battle of the sexes trivia where we learned how crowded all of the trivia would be in the schooner bar the entire trip(packed). My son went up to the sports deck and joined in some pick up basketball games and had a blast. All the FIFA stuff for the entire cruise was pretty entertaining and fun.

 

6) Saw Rock the Boat for the first time in the pyramid lounge. They were very good as promised. Totally enjoyable. Made a point to hear all the musical groups/people and aside from them only Bamboleo was good. The lead singer had a VERY good voice which unfortunately every one realized and hence there wasn't a seat to be had every time they sang for virtually the entire cruise in Bolero's which isn't very large. The rest were typical cruise fare, unmemorable(except one not in a good way).

 

7) Production show not so hot....I think we are all spoiled with the America's GOt Talent and the Britain's got talent shows. They had some woman with hoola hoops, I saw the same act on tv done better. Didn't stay long. But went to the casino, which was very empty, and had $3 tables which was a very nice surprise. Casino staff was very nice...two great married couples as dealers, really almost all in casino were top notch. The quiz in the pyramid showed why we need to continue to go there at night if we weren't too tired.

 

More to follow...

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Edited July 24, 2014 by Cruiseswithfamilyornot

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

Downy wrinkle release is a spray you buy in the supermarket where you spray it on clothes and use your hands to smooth out. You need to give it a little while to dry and it literally removes the wrinkles on most shirts. It wouldn't work on something like jeans as they are too thick.

[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

I believe I attached 2 pages here, one showing the schedule for the day, and one with the date and showing what was open and when. One thing that was interesting is ice skating times were announced on the first page where it shows the times for things like the flowrider and rock climbing wall. There is nothing listed for this date as there was an ice show twice during the day. As you have undoubtedly seen in other reviews, there are two ice shows on longer cruises. One has a violinist which is an interesting twist, the second does not but frankly I liked the second one even better due to the music, story and some stunts. But the ice shows are very good.

 

We had a group of 10, 4 adults and 6 kids...though 5 of the kids were ages 17 to 21(one was 13). One of the things I really agonized over on this trip was how many tours to book. I spoke with the kids in advance and they agreed on more full day excursions. Hindsight being 20/20 that was a mistake as the teenagers/young adults just don't want to tour that much. I'll get more specific by the day

 

After much deliberation and research I chose Top Day tours to give us full day excursions in many of our ports. They were an excellent choice and deserve the great reviews they receive on trip advisor. They offer smaller groups and at lower prices than the cruise ships, so really a no brainer. For Vigo, we chose a full day tour to Santiago De Compostela. This one was very interesting for the adults, not so much for the kids. Unfortunately, this was the one day of the cruise where the weather did not cooperate with us...it was cold and a bit rainy. We all had sweatshirts and umbrellas and the rain was relatively brief. We had a very good tour guide from Top Day and she kept it very interesting. Santiago De Compostela has a lot of history and it was interesting to visit...for the adults. The kids were ok because the guide was young, fun and funny(as well as knowledgeable, but not sure they focused on that part). It was a very full day as it is a drive to get there from Vigo. Vigo itself just seemed like a regular city, not much to see or do, though there was a mall right when you got off the ship as well as segways right there to rent to get around if you like. We had no line getting off nor getting back on the ship, very uneventful

 

Dinner in the MDR, and then we went to the Bohemians show which was a queen tribute band. As someone who was a teenager when Queen was popular, I was thrilled at this choice. Let me tell you this was a CONCERT not a show. Joff warned everyone the night before, the day of, etc that it was going to be loud and it was a concert. I guess that bothered some. I thought it was the best entertainment of the whole cruise easily. Judging by the crowd reaction and how packed the theater was, others agreed. Now I know Adam Lambert who is currently touring with the original queen has a better voice, but this guy was very good, looked and sounded a lot like Freddie Mercury and it was just incredible to attend a concert on a cruise ship. Simply brilliant to quote the english.

 

That night I went to Rock a Rockie in the pyramid lounge for about 20 minutes. This is where the ROck the Boat band allows people from the cruise to essentially do karoake with a live band, and they sing back up. Wow. Awesome. The singers were pretty good and it was a lot of fun. They only did that 2 times during the cruise, should have done it more IMO.

 

Great day, great night.

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[Alohaaloha]

Just to say how much I'm enjoying your review-

 

 

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[Clarea]

What is downy wrinkle release?

 

http://www.downy.com/en-US/product/downy-wrinkle-releaser.jspx

[grabbit97]

Ahhhhh

Thank you for the explanation!!!!!!

 

 

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[Cruiseswithfamilyornot]

Thanks for posting that link clarea. One thing I should add about Downy is you can't just spray it and walk out the door seconds later. It goes on wet and will take about 30 minutes to dry

[Noodle2202]

I'm going on the Indy in 4 weeks for the 2 week med cruise. Reading this information for any tips and it's great reading so far. I'm getting really excited.

One question regarding the wash n fold. Can you request a bag to be washed outside the specials period and if so what's the price?

 

 

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Edited July 24, 2014 by Noodle2202