Independence of the Seas trip report with pictures

[CruisinCrow]

BTW, next time, DO try out the hot-tubs, particularly the cantilevered ones over the sides of the ship. Those are really nifty. Quite big, too...and mostly covered from the sun.

 

I think you were on the cruise a week before us. I remember the cruise after yours was delayed in boarding because they had to take everything back down. That must have been a huge amount of work!

 

I'll try the hot tubs next time. And maybe the FlowRider too. :)

[CruisinCrow]

A few thoughts and comments to summarize things:

 

Food

We ate in the main dining room every night. The service was really good and the food came out promptly. I liked that the waiters would change our utensils depending on what we'd ordered and used a crumb scraper before the dessert course. I haven't seen that lately, especially with My Time Dining. I like those touches that make cruise dining still seem special.

 

The Windjammer wasn't too crowded. Surprisingly, the only station that ever had a long line was the salad station. We must have had a lot of healthy eaters on our cruise. Either that or people would pick up one piece of lettuce at a time. :)

 

My husband didn't care for the pizza at Sorrento's but I thought it was decent, especially after a drink in the Champagne Bar. :)

 

Cabin

I wouldn't choose a Promenade Stateroom again unless, like this time, it was that or no cruise. The layout was fine and I liked the sofa in front of the window. But I need to be able to look out and see the sunshine and the water. I didn't find it pleasant being in the cabin. Also, the bed and pillows were pretty hard. We should have asked our steward for a mattress topper and more pillows. The location was good though. We were on deck 6 so we only had to go down one flight of stairs to get the Royal Promenade. The only time we had an issue with noise was during the 70's party.

 

Casino

I liked that they didn't usual automatic shufflers and it wasn't too heinously smoky. It would have been more fun if we'd won, of course. :)

 

Embarkation/Debarkation

Embarkation was a breeze. We walked right on. Debarkation was a different story. It took a full hour to get off the ship. I think this is a Fort Lauderdale thing. That port always seems unorganized to me. The ship crew seemed to have it under control but there weren't enough customs agents and we actually had to leave the terminal and walk to a different building to go through customs. The Mobile Passport app would have cut off some time but even then, it was a long wait just to get to the customs building. Plan accordingly!

 

Favorite Things about the Cruise

The ice show, the Champagne Bar, the Fury excursion in Cozumel

[Clarea]

...

Embarkation/Debarkation

Embarkation was a breeze. We walked right on. Debarkation was a different story. It took a full hour to get off the ship. I think this is a Fort Lauderdale thing. That port always seems unorganized to me. The ship crew seemed to have it under control but there weren't enough customs agents and we actually had to leave the terminal and walk to a different building to go through customs. The Mobile Passport app would have cut off some time but even then, it was a long wait just to get to the customs building. Plan accordingly!

...

Which terminal did you use to disembark at Port Everglades?

[CruisinCrow]

Which terminal did you use to disembark at Port Everglades?

 

We left out of and returned to terminal 25 but we exited the ship outside and then had to walk to the building next door for customs and luggage (which must have been terminal 24). Made a longer walk to the parking lot but at least we didn't have to take a shuttle.

[Clarea]

We left out of and returned to terminal 25 but we exited the ship outside and then had to walk to the building next door for customs and luggage (which must have been terminal 24). Made a longer walk to the parking lot but at least we didn't have to take a shuttle.

The disembarkation at terminal 24/25 always seems to be the worst we experience at Port Everglades.

[packer report]

Great review & pictures... we're sailing on the Indy this summer out of Southampton on an 8 day Northern Europe cruise. Can't wait😎

[CruisinCrow]

The disembarkation at terminal 24/25 always seems to be the worst we experience at Port Everglades.

 

Disembarkation is like the muster drill. It's never fun but you have to put up with it to go on a cruise. :)

[Pellaz]

I think you were on the cruise a week before us. I remember the cruise after yours was delayed in boarding because they had to take everything back down. That must have been a huge amount of work!

 

Yep, that sounds right; one sailing between ours.

They couldn't have refilled the pools until past the 12-mile limit anyway, so they weren't missing all that much on the pool deck. :halo:

 

 

I'll try the hot tubs next time. And maybe the FlowRider too. :)

 

Ahh, yes, the Flowrider that I looked at on embark day, once...and forgot to revisit the rest of the cruise. Again. Third year in a row. :(

 

BTW, the Promenade PR interiors are always the last category to sell out on our charter...I can see why, even though there is no late-night dance party on the Promenade during our cruise.

 

We left and came back to Berth 18 and embarked and disembarked using the elevated gangways...but Customs was still terrible at debark; 45 minute wait. And you can't bypass the line by engaging a porter like you can in Miami. :o

[sherrjo]

Great review so far! I'm sailing RCCL on Indy for the first time this summer...a 14 night Med cruise! I love reading reviews if the ship. I can't wait to hear more!

 

Loving this TR thanks for sharing your cruise.

 

We are also sailing this summer on the same cruise as ilovewdw 29th July for 14 nights.

 

 

So looking forward to our first cruise :D

[dpostman]

Thanks, I'm still working on ruling out cardiac issues. I have a stress echo-cardiogram on Monday and I've been wearing a monitor. The heart palpitations were happening when I was taking a nap or just writing emails so I don't know. I've cut out caffeine the past couple of weeks. Boy, do I miss coffee. :) Hopefully we'll get it all sorted out soon.

 

I'm glad you enjoyed the review!

 

This post will be off-topic:

 

Hi, I'm enjoying your review. I was on Liberty in 2015 with this Itinerary and we loved it and the ship. We did Anthem 2 weeks ago and liked it, but missed the promenade of Freedom class ships.

 

Anyway, I was reading and seen your issue with palpitations. I work in a hospital education dept, but I'm not DR or an RN. 4 or 5 years ago I spent about a year with palpitations waking me up a soon as I fell asleep at night and several instances during the day.I tried totally cutting out drinking for a whole year, stopped coffee for a week (More on this later) and many other things. I stopped exercising and any extraneous activities for fear of making things worse. Turns out, that in my case, it was the caffeine. Stopping coffee for a week was not long enough. I finally stopped coffee for a month and it took 3 or 4 weeks of quitting coffee for things to improve. Turns out,, at one point before my palpitations started, I had gotten a French Press coffee maker and fell in love with French press coffee. BUT, this type of coffee has way more caffeine in it than other types of coffee, because the coffee bean stays in contact with water for a longer period of time and extracts more caffeine. Espresso shot type coffee, has lots of flavor but is relatively low in caffeine, because flavor is extracted by the hot temp of water, but not in contact with water for very long. Anyway, since that discovery, I have been able to drink coffee again, within reason. I stick to only a few cups a day. I don't do French press coffee anymore, and I make coffee in a Bialetti for evening treats once in a while. I am very aware that this is not the same problem for everyone, but for me, it took me some time to figure out that it was caffeine and that it take time for it to get out of your system. But now I'm palpitation free. Best of luck.

 

And BTW, did you say late 40s??? Wow, you are doing something right.

 

dp

[Clarea]

... But now I'm palpitation free. Best of luck....

Very interesting story. I switched from coffee to tea for similar reasons.

[CruisinCrow]

it took me some time to figure out that it was caffeine and that it take time for it to get out of your system. But now I'm palpitation free. Best of luck.

 

And BTW, did you say late 40s??? Wow, you are doing something right.

 

Thank you for sharing your experience! I didn't realize that espresso drinks had less caffeine in them. That's good to know. I haven't had any coffee for a couple of weeks now, which I'm sure is helping. But I'm still having problems with dizziness and weird heart rate. The good news is that my stress echo came out normal. Hopefully I'll find the answer soon.

 

And yes, I am 49 and 3/4. Very, very late 40s. :) Thanks for the kind words.

[Ladysilver]

Loving your review and pictures! :D

[mrsroller180]

Thank you so much for the review, we are on Indy in 27 days for a two week cruise and you have given me loads of ideas. Did you have a drink package, we have and I was just wondering if those 'Spirited Coffees' that you pictured were included in our package. The Captains Call sounds amazing. I hope you are feeling better now.

[CruisinCrow]

Thank you so much for the review, we are on Indy in 27 days for a two week cruise and you have given me loads of ideas. Did you have a drink package, we have and I was just wondering if those 'Spirited Coffees' that you pictured were included in our package. The Captains Call sounds amazing. I hope you are feeling better now.

 

Thank you! They haven't figured out what's wrong with me yet and are still running tests. But I have been feeling better. Not 100% but good enough to go on another short cruise. We just got back today. :)

 

 

Yes, we had the drink package. We purchased it before the trip so it was 20% off. It wouldn't have been worth it at full price for me. I think I might have broken even. The spirited coffees are included in the package.

[Sammy1]

We'll be on the Indy in a few weeks, and really appreciate your review, and your excellent photos. Speaking of which, do you mind sharing the make/model of your camera?

 

Thanks very much!

 

Sam

[CruisinCrow]

We'll be on the Indy in a few weeks, and really appreciate your review, and your excellent photos. Speaking of which, do you mind sharing the make/model of your camera?

 

Thanks very much!

 

Sam

 

Thanks! For the pool and beach pictures, I used an Olympus Tough 8010 (waterproof). For the indoor pictures, I used a Nikon Coolpix 8200. They are both little point and shoot cameras but do a nice job.

 

Have a great cruise!

[Tonyjh]

great review and pictures!

looking forward to our 3rd June cruise even more now.

ps How did you get the areas cleared of people for your snaps lol

[CruisinCrow]

ps How did you get the areas cleared of people for your snaps lol

 

Ha ha, sometimes you have to be patient and wait a bit till people get out of the way. And then take the picture quick! :) It also helps if you take pictures when you first get on the ship before everyone else is aboard. Or walk around early in the morning.

 

Have a great cruise!