Independence 5 night Western Caribbean Cruise semi-live review 1/23-1/28

[GrayMaineCruiser]

My wife and I are on Indy this week in (early) celebration of our 3 year anniversary. Not a seasoned cruiser by any stretch, but we're working on fixing that, this is my first on a cruise ship that isn't Enchantment. :) Anyhow, with a little down time before dinner, thought I'd start sharing our experience. VOOM is somewhat spotty, so the photos may have to wait until we are back home. :)

 

Little background, my wife and I are on the early side of 40's with 3 kids. I run a non-profit, she runs a business, so adult-only vacations are exceedingly rare. We're also kind of introverted, so our goal is fun in the sun, but as much as possible, avoiding the throngs (that's with an 'r').

 

First off, I made a rookie mistake, deciding to roll the dice and fly into Fort Lauderdale the morning of our cruise, from Maine, where today an ice-storm is bearing down. Our flight was from Portland to Baltimore to Fort Lauderdale. Couldn't sleep the night before because I was stressing out about a possible delay in Baltimore due to some heavy rains. Luckily, everything went off without a hitch, but next time, definitely flying in the night before.

 

Some initial thoughts/impressions from the 1st day and a half:

 

-The embarkation process was a breeze thanks to suite status. Seriously, long lines at security and at the check-in desk but we sailed right through. One of a few "worth-its" of booking a Suite.

 

-Rooms were ready at 1:30, but we had our cards, and they worked, and our room looked made, so we went ahead in at 1:00 :)

 

- Overall very happy with the room. I guess only minor critiques are the balcony floor could've used a scrub. Otherwise it was what I was expecting. A good size room with plenty of storage. Beds are a little stiff, but we have a nice foam mattress at home so pretty much anywhere we sleep is going to be a slight downgrade, but our attendant was nice to add some softness with an egg-crate type thing under the fitted sheet.

 

- Concierge, Alex, is great! Extremely friendly and always says hello and remembers our names when we see him around the ship. An extra special touch was he had a bottle of champaign sent to our room on the house for our Anniversary (which I think we mentioned in passing just once, so it shows they pay attention.)

 

- Concierge club is probably my favorite spot! Love the club, nice, quiet little room tucked away, which is good for introverts like us. We're also coffee-fanatics so another "worth-it" to have 24/7 access to the specialty coffee machine (and Ranger cookies)

 

- File under easily amused by small things: love having the smooth jazz-type overhead music that you can pipe into your stateroom.

 

- Enjoying the Solarium. Would be nice if it was completely covered like it is on Enchantment, but then again, Enchantment didn't have cantilevered hot tubs which we love very much!

 

- Food: So far we've only hit Sorrentos (embarkation day lunch) and Windjammer. Sorrentos isn't gourmet pizza or anything but it hit the spot and we avoided the embarkation day madhouse in Windjammer. WJ food has been fine so far. It's buffet food. It provides the needed sustenance for activities. We'll be doing MyTime Dining tonight.

 

- Was looking forward to doing the Mojito seminar but no one showed up so they cancelled. Bummer. Who doesn't want to learn how to make a better Mojito?

 

- We'll see if we can do better at Trivia tonight. 5 out of 20 last night. Here's to improvement!

 

That's all for now...more to come...

Edited January 24, 2017 by GrayMaineCruiser

[twinmommy08]

Thanks for this. I will be on her very soon and looking forward to your review.

 

 

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[berylde]

We were on the Independence in December in a suite. We agree with you about Alex. A very outstanding young man. An excellent Concierge. He is very visable, can't do enough for you and always with a smile.

[PghSunny]

Very happy to log on tonight and see a semi-live review of Independence! I'm sailing on her in a few weeks. My first cruise! Looking forward to your future installments! :)

[jzad]

We are on in less than a month! Thank you for your review!

 

 

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[fhp123]

Thanks for the review. I will be sailing Feb 11th too. What ports are you going to?

[aliciam]

Thanks so much for taking the time to review! We are sailing on Indy Saturday and looking forward to reading about your experience!

[GrayMaineCruiser]

Thanks for the review. I will be sailing Feb 11th too. What ports are you going to?

 

Tomorrow Labadee, and then Falmouth, Jamaica Thursday

[easyboy]

Great start on your review. Will be following along.

[mcchane1]

9.5 weeks till we sail this shi yayyy Do you know how long Alex will be the concierge?

[goneclear]

Thanks For sharing your experience with us.

As a suite guest are you still aloud to take your breakfast from the windjammer and eat it in chops where seating is readily available and a bit more quiet?

[GrayMaineCruiser]

Whoops not sure why I keep wanting to call him Alex, Concierge is Felix.

 

 

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[GrayMaineCruiser]

Thanks For sharing your experience with us.

As a suite guest are you still aloud to take your breakfast from the windjammer and eat it in chops where seating is readily available and a bit more quiet?

 

 

I know they serve a breakfast for Suite guests in Chops, which we haven't taken advantage of yet. Not sure about taking WJ food into Chops. I'll check that out.

 

 

 

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[GrayMaineCruiser]

We did MyTimeDining last night in the MD which we thought was quite good. Had a nice small table next to one of the windows. My wife had a Ceaser salad and I had the double-boiled chicken consomme. Both were quite good. We both had the Linguini with Pomodoro sauce which was also very good. I had strawberry cheesecake and she the mile high lemon meringue to finish out dinner. Great dining experience. We did an early time at 6:15 which allowed plenty of time to enjoy the evening activities.

 

We enjoyed some piano tunes in Schooner with Oliver. He is very talented and was very entertaining. They also had a great Salsa/Latin band in Boleros.

 

Tonight is the Beatles tribute show in the theater. But first, we are going to enjoy our beach level cabana at Barefoot Beach in Labadee. More to come...

 

 

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[Glad Trimble]

Thank you for posting your reviews whilst still on board. Very jealous!!

Can you tell me what deck MTD is on? I've experienced both 3 & 5 on Indy, so just curious.

 

Thank you, Sally

 

 

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[GrayMaineCruiser]

We were on deck 3 last night. They set us up with a very nice table near the window. Tonight is Italian night so we're going back for more. Also last night was formal night. Tonight is casual/tropical

 

 

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[GrayMaineCruiser]

A few photos from embarkation day:

 

 

Loving the room in the Grand Suite

 

 

 

Sunset over Miami

 

 

Enjoying a nice glass of Evian on the balcony on sail away

 

 

 

 

 

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Edited January 25, 2017 by GrayMaineCruiser

[GrayMaineCruiser]

One of my favorite spots on the ship, the Concierge Club. Lost track of how many Latte Machiattos (and Ranger cookies) we've had from the coffee machine.

 

 

 

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[GrayMaineCruiser]

Day 3 - Labadee, Haiti

 

 

Nice angle on Independence

 

 

The view from our beachfront cabana in Barefoot Beach Club

 

 

 

Sailaway from Labadee. A great beach day, perfect weather

 

 

 

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[GrayMaineCruiser]

So a few thoughts in our little downtime before dinner:

 

- Labadee was great, though I feel the Cabana isn't as "worth it" as it is in Coco Cay. For one, upkeep

of Coco Cay cabanas seems to be better. Also, since all Suite guests have access to Barefoot Beach (including the BBQ lunch, and plenty of beach seats, the only real upshot of the cabana was the shade, but not sure that was worth $395. But still, very lovely beach day.

- Other minor criticism is it would be nice to have an extra hour at this port. If you aren't an early riser (and who should be on vacation?) it can make for a rather short excursion. Would've liked a 4 pm onboard vs 3 pm. But a minor critique.

-Great, friendly staff at Barefoot Beach. Would give service an A+

 

So upcoming is dinner at MDR, then the Beatles tribute show. Scored a 15 out of 21 in Science Trivia. Pro-Tip: always go with your gut!

 

 

 

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[crzndeb]

Thanks for the review. My friends are also on the Indy right now, and she sent me a quick thumbs up this morning, so they must be having fun also.

[Eileen G]

Thanks for doing a live from thread. We will be getting on the Indy on Saturday when you get off. I wonder if the Beatles Tribute will be on next week. I'd love to see it.

[riclop]

Thanks for sharing.

[glituner32]

What time did you guys get to the port? I'm trying to beat the lines this weekend

[Eileenstar]

I get on this ship on the 28th, same day you get off..I cant wait