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Independence Of The Seas B2B with over 100 pictures

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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You can see that it's a fairly small area, without a whole lot of loungers. These fill up early in the day, and it becomes impossible to get a lounger until close to dinner time. The way I ended up working around this was to just toss my towel and any other personal belongings on the deck by the base of those three copper-colored poles. It was a good place to safely stash my stuff, without hogging a lounger, while I spent time in the pool.

 

I'm just starting reading your review and you are doing an excellent job so far. This paragraph warmed my heart though. I'm notorious for starting and participating in chair hog threads. What you outlined above is exactly what I do. I have been suggesting to RC they just need a cubby hole type shelf in this area. IT would help keep things dry. Like you I spend a lot of time here, in the pool and don't need a chair. Back to reading more, very impressed so far.

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BillOh Holiday Sharing Rare

BillOh

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These two Jacuzzis, one on the port side of the ship and one on the starboard side, had fantastic views...

 

Ok, one very minor gripe, and I will admit this is petty. These are hot tubs and they aren't built by Jacuzzi (I checked). Jacuzzi is a brand named many people use for the whole type of product, like Kleenex, for facial tissues.

 

Your'e doing a great job, I'll wait now to get flamed from the readers for my petty remark. (Its on obsession with me, I run a hot tub forum)

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  • 2 weeks later...
love2cruise56

love2cruise56

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Posted

Downloads



 

If you're researching the idea of taking a cruise on the Independence Of The Seas,

here are a few documents you might want to download:

 

Independence Of The Seas Deck Plans

Cruise Compass daily newsletter - 1st 8 days

Cruise Compass daily newsletter - Final 6 days

Information for consecutive cruisers (B2B)

Departure information for the last day of the cruise

 

 

A word of caution about the deck plans:

Even though the deck plans included here were the latest version available from Royal Caribbean as of May, 2015... I still noticed that they are out of date! For example, they labeled the disco on decks three and four as "The Raven" when in fact the name of the disco was changed some time ago to "The Labyrinth". Also, I don't think the deck plans for deck 14 are correct. They show a "Viking Crown Lounge" which I don't believe exists anymore. Correct me if I'm wrong!

 

 

 

Thanl You for taking the time to write this review. You did a great Job.:D

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  • 4 weeks later...
Lowcountrygal

Lowcountrygal

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JimZim,

My husband & I sat together & went through each of your pages carefully. The photos look very professional & the accompanying text really helped us to understand! We really appreciate how you often compared & contrasted a particular venue or service to another ship / cruise line. That really put things into perspective & was quite informative. We learned so much! You have us wanting to try NCL again - haven't been since the Norway!

 

We will sail the Indy for our first time in about 6 weeks. We will stop in Labadee & Falmouth. Your tips are quite timely for us.

 

It goes without say that you put much time & effort into creating a thorough & well organized review. Thank you so very much! (Standing ovation!)

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jplewis

jplewis

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One of the best reviews I have read on this site! Thanks so much.

One think I noticed that I would not have thought about was valet luggage so will check on price of it. Also, transfers to airport. I had nearly forgotten my binoculars till I saw your list.

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vikielynne

vikielynne

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Excellent pictures! I am one of those people that just booked a room over the Promenade. I guess I will find out how loud it is - good thing I always travel with earplugs.

 

 

I've had Promenade cabins many times and have hardly noticed anything from the parades. I love people watching from the window seat that looks down over it all.

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jes Scott

jes Scott

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St Kitts

 

 

 

I was excited about visiting St Kitts because it was the one port of call we'd be visiting during this cruise that was new to me. I'd been to all of our other destinations before, except St. Kitts.

 

 

 

Something that you probably don't know about me is that I'm a bit of a rail fan. One of the things I really liked about a vacation in Alaska last year was that we got to spend several days on the Alaska railroad. Just recently, I took my interest in railroads to a new level and spent several thousand dollars on a bunch of G-scale model railroad equipment that I sometimes set up around the house. (For short periods of time, until Kellyn and I get tired of having to step over them. We've got a very small house!)

 

 

 

So, when I saw a railroad excursion on the shore excursion list for St Kitts, it seemed like a fun idea to me! In fact, it turned out to be a pretty good way to see the island, as the tour literally takes you in a big loop all the way around the island... full circle. The train only makes it about 3/4 of the way around the island, and then you take a bus the rest of the way. But it's a pretty great way to see St Kitts, since you end up going all the way around.

 

 

 

I failed to capture a decent picture of the train, but I snagged this next photo off of their web site... so you could see it.

 

 

 

451871_orig.jpg

 

Picture courtesy of the St Kitts Scenic Railway

 

 

 

It's a double-decker car with an open-air section up on top with great views, and an air-conditioned lower section... in case it gets too hot on the top deck for you. There are also bathrooms in the lower section. There's a seat for each passenger both up above and down below.... so you do not have to choose either/or... you can sit in either place any time you want. It wasn't uncomfortably hot when we were there, so Kellyn and I ended up staying up on the top for the entire ride.

 

 

 

Like I said, it gave us a good look around St Kitts... and what I learned about St Kitts is that there's not much there for me! It's not one of those places like Jamaica where there's mile after mile of beautiful sandy beaches. It was quite mountainous, and where the land met the ocean tended to be quite rocky. I didn't actually see one beautiful beach on the entire loop around the island.

 

 

 

Out of all the ports I've visited in 30 cruises, and all the shore excursions I've gone on, St Kitts and the railroad tour would probably rank in the lower 20% of my list.

 

 

 

Upon returning to the ship, however, I did see something that was pretty cool! Celebrity Silhouette was docked next to us in St Kitts, and that gave me a chance to really look her over well.

 

 

 

CelebritySilhouette-IMG_8217.JPG

 

 

 

I've never been on a Celebrity cruise, so I really don't know anything about them. But after taking a close look at the Silhouette, I discovered something that was really interesting to me! They offer a few special staterooms, called Royal Suites, which not only have a big comfy day bed out on the balcony... but a Jacuzzi, too!

 

 

 

CelebritySuite-IMG_8193.JPG

 

 

 

Except for financially, I can totally imagine myself in a Royal Suite... enjoying that day bed and especially the whirlpool Jacuzzi out on the balcony. At least I can imagine myself using the Jacuzzi when we're out at sea! But if that was your suite, and you were docked next to another cruise ship, would you be out there on your balcony filling the tub in your bath robe? While a guy with a big zoom lens was shooting pictures from the other ship?!? I didn't stick around long enough to see if she got in that Jacuzzi... but I have to assume she did. Perhaps she was just showing off... trying to make all of us Royal Caribbean people jealous!

 

 

 

By the way, if you're wondering what it would cost to cruise in the Royal Suite on Celebrity Silhouette... I looked it up. A 7-day Eastern Caribbean cruise for two people next April in the Royal Suite will set you back $11,000. Or, in other words, you could do four different 7-day cruises on Independence Of The Seas for less than the cost of one 7-day cruise in the Royal Suite on Celebrity Silhouette. But I have to admit... I like the idea of my own private Jacuzzi on the balcony!

 

 

 

 

Loving the review. We really enjoyed our first RCCI cruise on Indy last Feb. we went on a Thenford Grey tour that a dropped us off at Carambola and it was the loveliest of beaches ever!! Check it out if you ever go back to St Kitts. Very very nice!! ImageUploadedByForums1444709474.565548.jpg.9de60cf7f68e5b6552416c28681f2346.jpg

ImageUploadedByForums1444709329.104262.jpg.b45dc247331ea055b246705ab2a937e0.jpg

ImageUploadedByForums1444709398.233654.jpg.845c8fe159578a157c704a561fc97877.jpg

ImageUploadedByForums1444709447.364175.jpg.d65924303e15ec7a5775380cdbd085a4.jpg

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js

js

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Posted
Loving the review. We really enjoyed our first RCCI cruise on Indy last Feb. we went on a Thenford Grey tour that a dropped us off at Carambola and it was the loveliest of beaches ever!! Check it out if you ever go back to St Kitts. Very very nice!! [ATTACH]365167[/ATTACH][ATTACH]365168[/ATTACH][ATTACH]365169[/ATTACH][ATTACH]365170[/ATTACH]

 

Thank you for the quick mention of Carambola. I have sent them an e-mail and received confirmation from the Beach Club for loungers and umbrellas. Loved seeing your pictures.

 

Thank you very much.

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jes Scott

jes Scott

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Posted (edited)
Thank you for the quick mention of Carambola. I have sent them an e-mail and received confirmation from the Beach Club for loungers and umbrellas. Loved seeing your pictures.

 

 

 

Thank you very much.

 

 

 

You are very welcome. It was a suggestions from a cc member before we went. The beach beds were only $40 per day and can be reserved ahead. Also had a wonderful sushi roll lunch, my DH had a delicious chicken sandwich.

Edited by jes Scott
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