Periscoping & Live Review from independence of the sea's

[catwoman71]

Hi Catwoman, I would aim to get there around 20mins before the show starts. Maybe even before that. The shows can be hit and miss with regards to outside acts. The house shows are normally ok. To be honest to entertainment is average but not amazing [emoji4]

 

That's good to know, we are not drinkers so don't like to just sit in a bar on an evening so will be watching all the entertainment, good or bad, hopefully not too much of the latter :D Do you know if they show movies on the big screen on an evening and if so at roughly what time and do they ever show them in the theatre on a day time. Good tip about the beach in Malaga, that's one of the ports we are going to. Really appreciate all your replies :)

[Kynance103]

That's good to know, we are not drinkers so don't like to just sit in a bar on an evening so will be watching all the entertainment, good or bad, hopefully not too much of the latter :D Do you know if they show movies on the big screen on an evening and if so at roughly what time and do they ever show them in the theatre on a day time. Good tip about the beach in Malaga, that's one of the ports we are going to. Really appreciate all your replies :)

 

 

Hi Catwoman, yes they do show movies on the big screen normally mid afternoon and again at 8.00pm. Today the movie was the latest Star Wars movie. I am unsure if they show movies in the theatre.

[Kynance103]

Hi all, Indy is almost back in Southampton and our 2 week cruise is almost at an end [emoji22]. Sorry I have not reported everyday but you know what it is like on board (time just flys by) when I am home and over the next few days I will post more pics and try to give a run down on what was good and not so good about the cruise. To be honest pretty much everything was good. It is way to pick faults in life etc but I prefer to focus on the good stuff and on Indy there has been lots of good stuff [emoji4].

 

We got to know some crew members pretty well and they shared some interesting insights into their thoughts about auto tipping, their morale on board and how tipping differs from the USA to Europe. I will go into more detail when i get home.

 

There was a medical emergency today which required an helicopter (fingers crossed the passenger is ok)

 

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this and view my periscopes. I have had great fun doing both [emoji4]

 

I will write more soon. Have a great day all [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

[Clarea]

...Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this and view my periscopes. I have had great fun doing both [emoji4] ...

Thank-you for taking time out of your cruise to take us along!:)

[Britcruzer15]

Hi all, Indy is almost back in Southampton and our 2 week cruise is almost at an end [emoji22]. Sorry I have not reported everyday but you know what it is like on board (time just flys by) when I am home and over the next few days I will post more pics and try to give a run down on what was good and not so good about the cruise. To be honest pretty much everything was good. It is way to pick faults in life etc but I prefer to focus on the good stuff and on Indy there has been lots of good stuff [emoji4].

 

We got to know some crew members pretty well and they shared some interesting insights into their thoughts about auto tipping, their morale on board and how tipping differs from the USA to Europe. I will go into more detail when i get home.

 

There was a medical emergency today which required an helicopter (fingers crossed the passenger is ok)

 

Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to read this and view my periscopes. I have had great fun doing both [emoji4]

 

I will write more soon. Have a great day all [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

 

Thanks for your blog/scopes - we board her tomorrow:)

[masonpips]

Thanks for your blog/scopes - we board her tomorrow:)

 

 

 

Take care of her, we're on next Saturday!!

[Kynance103]

Masonpips & Britcruzer have a super time [emoji4][emoji4]

[Kynance103]

Back home now [emoji22] I hate a holiday ending especially one with Royal Caribbean.

 

We left the ship at 8.00am and was in our car for 8.10. Pretty good considering the 100's of people fighting to get their cases etc. What made the situation a little worse when trying to get our cases was the passengers who clearly didn't wait for their number to be called to leave the ship and just left early but what I found funny (sorry) was their luggage was all fenced in until the correct allotted time so all they could do was stand there and look at their luggage [emoji12].

 

I am always impressed how fast the excellent crew turn the ship around for the next batch of guests. There was a number of lorries at port filling up Indy with supplies for her next cruise.

 

I said in an earlier post we got to know and speak to a few crew members pretty well. A couple of them were from the Philippines and my wife is fluent in Filipino (she was born there) and they opened up a lot about pay, tipping, conditions etc. The two from the Philippines were chefs working in the windjammer they told us one earns $1200 per month and the other $900 per month they said a lot of the crew didn't like that the auto gratuities isn't shared between all crew (they don't get it) and said morale wasn't the best for the chefs.

 

Two more crew told us they were made aware a lot of passengers had cancelled the auto gratuities for our cruise and said a lot of crew in RC always want to be on cruises based in the USA because no one hardly ever cancels the auto gratuities, apparently us Brits are the worst and we are known for it. But I did say early in my review there was a huge que at guest services with pretty much everyone cancelling the auto gratuities

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kynance103

[Kynance103]

Oops pressed wrong button and posted lol.. I will continue [emoji4]

[Kynance103]

Even though clearly the crew know who cancels the auto gratuities and us Brits or cruises from the UK are know for it all I can say is from my point of view the crew were amazing and couldn't do enough for us. I was super impressed with the crew. We gave extra tips on the final day (yesterday) and one lady in the windjammer cried when we gave her extra tips.. It was a lovely moment. The good news is when talking to a lot of the crew they all seem, to love their job and a few see it as a long time career and want to work their way up.

 

We all had a super time on board Indy and that was in my opinion because we were well looked after and the crew always went that extra mile and nothing was to much trouble. They were even nice to the passengers who were rude to them.

 

It makes you wonder if the reason one of the new ships is not in the UK this year or next year is because of the poor tipping?

 

I will post a few more pics soon for you all to see. Thank you for taking the time to read this and watching all my periscopes.

 

Happy cruising all [emoji4][emoji4][emoji4][emoji4]

Edited May 28, 2016 by Kynance103

[Kynance103]

It's a monkey [emoji4]

 

A new part?

 

Yum yum

 

More yum yum

 

Lovely sunset

[Kynance103]

A nice touch [emoji4]

 

Me and my lovely family

[caroline135]

Thanks for your fab reporting & videos, really enjoyed catching up with you the last two weeks. It's given me something to pass the time til October! Glad you had a lovely holiday [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Kynance103]

Thanks for your fab reporting & videos, really enjoyed catching up with you the last two weeks. It's given me something to pass the time til October! Glad you had a lovely holiday [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

 

It was my first time trying to write a review and periscope [emoji51] Thank you for your kind words.

 

Have a wonderful holiday in October [emoji4]

[swimming with spaniels]

Enjoyed reading that! Thank you :) we were on the same cruise, had a wonderful time, we went with our two 20 something daughters - one of whom became a flow rider addict. We loved the main dining room so much that we cancelled Chopps! Will have to find the periscope app now :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

[XXPIPXX]

Just wondering about formal nights...what was the majority of passengers wearing?

We have only done P&O cruises before, Indy in September will be our first RC cruise.

We loved the dressing up on P&O, my DH hired a tuxedo and looked proper smart :D

 

Will a tuxedo be too overdressed for Indy??

 

Thanks :)

[andyecc]

Enjoyed reading that! Thank you :) we were on the same cruise, had a wonderful time, we went with our two 20 something daughters - one of whom became a flow rider addict. We loved the main dining room so much that we cancelled Chopps! Will have to find the periscope app now :)

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

 

Hi

Did you have drinks package and if so did they add the 10% Spanish tax to each drink while in Spanish ports?

[Melissa_Phillips]

Hi,

 

Does Periscoping use much data? I have 25GB to use using Three abroad, which I can use in port, contemplating the wifi but it's a tad extortionate.

 

Many thanks,

 

Melissa

[Kynance103]

Just wondering about formal nights...what was the majority of passengers wearing?

 

We have only done P&O cruises before, Indy in September will be our first RC cruise.

 

We loved the dressing up on P&O, my DH hired a tuxedo and looked proper smart :D

 

 

 

Will a tuxedo be too overdressed for Indy??

 

 

 

Thanks :)

 

 

I would say 95% of passengers all dressed up for formal maybe even more

[Kynance103]

Hi

 

Did you have drinks package and if so did they add the 10% Spanish tax to each drink while in Spanish ports?

 

 

Yes when the ship was within 12 miles of Spain they added 10% but not always for me.. I got on well with bar tender. But my dad did always get the 10% lol

[Kynance103]

Hi,

 

 

 

Does Periscoping use much data? I have 25GB to use using Three abroad, which I can use in port, contemplating the wifi but it's a tad extortionate.

 

 

 

Many thanks,

 

 

 

Melissa

 

 

Hi Melissa. I have no idea I was using the ships VOOM.

[Donnalizy]

Hope you had a lovely holiday

Do the men wear jackets and ties at night

Cheers

[swimming with spaniels]

Hope you had a lovely holiday

Do the men wear jackets and ties at night

Cheers

 

 

i think on the smart casual nights most men wore open neck shirts

 

i heard the announcement about the extra tax on drinks, but we had the ultimate package and never noticed if it was applied or not

[Kynance103]

Hope you had a lovely holiday

 

Do the men wear jackets and ties at night

 

Cheers

 

 

Hi Donnalizy.. I would say 97% of people were dressed smart for formal nights. Button other nights I guess people were dressed smart casual