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Independence of the Seas New Year's Eve Cruise Review

QTBabyNurse
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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

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We just returned from the Independence of the Seas for the New Year's Eve cruise and so I will jot down some of my thoughts and if you have any questions, I will be glad to answer what I can.

 

Here were the Pros---

Entertainment by far! There was a Journey tribute band onboard called Resurrection. They are not to be missed if you ever get a chance to see them perform onboard or on land. They are based out of Nashville. If you closed your eyes, you would think you were listening to the "real" Journey.

 

There was also an Elton John impersonator, Craig A. Meyer. Again, tremendous performer! He had all the crazy costumes, glasses and shoes going on! The band that played with him were wonderful musicians also.

 

Well, you would think that would be plenty....but that's not all! Every night there was a classic rock band perform called Rock the Boat. These guys I cannot say enough about. They were incredible musicians and a bunch of really nice guys also. The lead singer was originally from the UK and the rest of the band hails from Canada. I saw every set they played and I don't believe over the course of the week they ever repeated a song! Everything from Dire Straits to The Beatles to The Rolling Stones! They have apparently been playing on the Indy since 2008! Not to be missed! :)

 

New Year's Eve onboard a cruise ship is just crazy nuts! So many people...so loud...a great party atmosphere! I would not have missed it for the world and I certainly plan to do it again!!

 

Okay...now for the "So-So's"--

Food---I don't think the food was a good as on previous cruises we've taken on RCI. The food choices for the new menu are not very appealing in my opinion....but I understand that is just MY opinion. I wish RCI would stop using gelatin in their desserts...it really is not that appetizing! The breads are great however!

 

And lastly the Cons--

Odor-----The minute I walked into our cabin on Day One, I smelled an unpleasant odor. I checked the bathroom and it wasn't coming from there and I really couldn't tell what the source was......until I went to bed that night and realized our bedding had a mildewy odor to it. ICK..... :(

 

Dining Room-----I had requested a large table for our Main Dining Room early seating. When we boarded the ship, I checked in the dining room for our table assignment and saw that we had a table for 4. So I followed the process with the Head Waiter right then to change our assignment to a table for 8, which he gladly did. That evening we had a lovely dinner with another couple and their college aged daughter. The rest of the table was empty. The next morning I received a notice in our cabin that our dining table was changed AGAIN. I go back into the dining room to see where our new table was and we were yet again placed at a table for 4. I ran into our original table mates at the pool that day and she was just as upset that her table assignment was also changed. She went to the dining room and was told that there was a large party onboard who all wanted to sit together, so they decided to separate all of us into other arrangements. I had requested a large table one year ago when I booked this cruise and was not happy with being shuffled around to accommodate other people who did not plan appropriately. Not a happy camper! :mad:

 

Casino-----You pay a premium to sail on a holiday cruise to begin with. Be aware that the casino also gouges you with raising the minimum bets on the tables...specifically Roulette. I have sailed with RCI many times and have never seen a $10 minimum bet on Roulette. I asked the casino staff why the minimum was so high and was told that it was raised during the holiday cruises. Needless to say, I did not play the one game I had waited all year to enjoy. :(

 

Hot Water----We did not get hot water in our shower until day 3. I called maintenance after my first shower and was informed it would be taken care of. Well, the next morning it was still cold. So I went to Guest Services and the next day it was fixed. THAT'LL wake you up quick in the morning, let me tell ya!! :eek:

 

I have seen numerous comments on Cruise Critic about the Cruise Director Jamie. I thought he was good! Kinda silly...but that's what I like! I would've liked to have seen him host The Quest, but I missed it (for the first time ever I might add!). I totally forgot about it! :cool:

 

Just for your information...my husband rented a tux for this cruise for the first time and everything was perfect! We were a little nervous about doing this but it worked out very well and it was nice to not have to pack (and later dry clean) his own suits.

 

All in all, it was one of the best cruises we have had....and I would say mostly because of the entertainment onboard and the super fun New Year's Eve celebration! I will definitely do another New Year's Eve cruise!

Edited by QTBabyNurse
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bigeck

bigeck

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Best rock band we've ever seen on a cruise ship!

 

We were on the Ta in November and they said they were leaving Indy to go to Anthem.

They were good. Don't know why they stopped the show at 10.30 for trivia and started up again at 11.15.

The band didn't know either as they wanted to play on

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Clarea

Clarea

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We were on the Ta in November and they said they were leaving Indy to go to Anthem.

They were good. Don't know why they stopped the show at 10.30 for trivia and started up again at 11.15.

The band didn't know either as they wanted to play on

They did that on our cruise too. Sometimes that venue has some sort of game scheduled right in the midde of their set.

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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

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Glad to hear Rock The Boat is still aboard. Hope they still are next month. Didn't get to see enough of them a year ago on Indy

 

I believe I heard they will be on for a couple more months. There is a chance they will be moving to the Anthem in spring, although they commented that wasn't a 'for sure' thing yet.

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39august

39august

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Happy to hear about Rock the Boat as they were not on Indy on our Jan. cruise last year. Going Jan. 11 on b2b and looking forward to hearing them. Did they play in various venues on differnt nights or only in the large lounge? How was the pub and Schooner bar entertainment?

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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

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Happy to hear about Rock the Boat as they were not on Indy on our Jan. cruise last year. Going Jan. 11 on b2b and looking forward to hearing them. Did they play in various venues on differnt nights or only in the large lounge? How was the pub and Schooner bar entertainment?

 

Rock the Boat played in the Pyramid Lounge every night. They played each night for about an hour, then took a 45 minute break and then came back for about another hour. They said they cannot play later than around 12:30am as the ship tries to keep all the loud music confined to The Labryinth at that time because of the cabins nearby.

 

Sorry, I cannot comment on the entertainment at the Schooner or the pub. Didn't spend much time there.

Edited by QTBabyNurse
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Paulette3028

Paulette3028

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I seem to remember them saying that they will be getting off February 22nd.

 

If this band is that good I'm glad they will be on our Indy cruise, which coincides with the last week that they may be on the ship. We sail on Indy from 2/14 to 2/22.

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Tyron

Tyron

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I was on this cruise as well and rate it as one of my best cruises ever!

The crew were fantastic.

 

Joe Hollywood is the piano player in the Schooner Bar and was fantastic!! He'll be leaving the Indy within another week or so and heading to the Quantum in March.

 

I found the ship to be spotless and in excellent condition.

I was in cabin 8544 and it was spotless! I had hot water issues day 1 only and it worked fine afterwards.

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QTBabyNurse

QTBabyNurse

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I forgot to mention one more thing! When we showed up at muster drill, none of the crew members were calling off cabin numbers to make sure that everyone was present. Later that same evening, we received a nasty-gram in our cabin saying that we didn't show up to our muster drill! :eek:

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Retired LEO

Retired LEO

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New Year's Eve onboard a cruise ship is just crazy nuts! So many people...so loud...a great party atmosphere! I would not have missed it for the world and I certainly plan to do it again!!

 

Great review. And because of your review I went ahead today and booked Indy for next New Years. :D

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js

js

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Great review. And because of your review I went ahead today and booked Indy for next New Years. :D

 

 

Hi! We are booked too! There are 10 of us total, my family, my mom and my sister's family.

 

We just returned from Disney Dream on Friday from their NYE cruise and had such a great time being together as a family, we wanted to cruise over NYE again.

 

We cant do a full week due to baseball for my ds who is a junior in HS and needs to be around the weekend after Christmas so this ship works well. Usually the shorter cruises have the smaller older ships and love the Indy is doing the 5 nights.

 

We are three E1 cabins and 1 PR cabin on deck 8. See you in December lol

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js

js

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QTbabynurse, thanks so much for all the information you are giving us. So happy to read you had a great time. Any information and ideas you can give us would be great. Did RCCL give or do anything special for the NYE cruisers? Disney gave out free champagne in plastic commemorative glasses, a good size box of chocolates with Disney Dream 2015 NYE on it and a picture as well as party hats.

 

Thanks so much.

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