(Slightly less so) Cheapo dad's trip report on Independence of the Seas

[fletch1027]

Oh, wow. Fletch, it's you!

 

How you have been? I was worried about you as you stopped posting awhile back in the middle of your Freedom report. Happy to see you back at CC.

 

As for the beach chairs, I didn't rent them as we were only there for 90 minutes so it wasn't worth it for us. But here is what trip advisor said, sounds like $10?

 

https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g147374-d148268-Reviews-South_Friars_Beach-St_Kitts_St_Kitts_and_Nevis.html

 

 

Been great - although i feel really crappy about not YET finishing my last report! Life got in the way (as in WAY too busy), but I do plan on finishing it. I took and uploaded too many pictures not to finish it! I was about to start on the St. Maarten section when the hurricane hit. I felt weird talking about how great a time we had when they had just gotten obliterated.

 

We're leaving on Allure tomorrow, and since I was bad and didn't finish my 2017 Freedom one yet, I think will pass on doing another Allure report this time... :)

[Moz]

Hi,

 

Thanks for the compliment. Glad to hear that you had a great cruise on the Indy.

 

Now it’s hard for me to compare the two ships/cruises as these are my personal preferences. They may not be what you like. I think the whole world knows my personal bias by now with my Sir Mix A Lot song reference.

 

In case you haven’t noticed in all my trip reports, I try my best to stick to the facts with occasional personal bias thrown in. But I really dislike people that has the attitude of “This is what I think is the best and if you disagree with me, you must be an idiot”.

 

My Allure trip report is pretty outdated by now. I’m sure most of the stuff I talked about is no longer true. Look at the pictures for the eye candy on the size of the ship. That won’t change. You will have different neighborhoods to explore. The Royal Promenade will be much wider and bigger. For someone like me that has the Texas mentality of bigger is better, I like it the extra width space of the mega ships but I’m sure there are people that will say the Oasis class ships are too big/crowded.

 

But bigger ships offer you more entertainment choices like the water show and parades. If being entertained is high on your requirement, then Oasis class ships provide plenty of that.

 

I think it’s worth a try at least once to see if that’s what you want from a cruise. Have a great time. Somewhere down the road, we will go back on another Oasis class ship since I like them big and round…

 

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. You answered my questions so we will be anxiously looking forward to our Allure adventure. Thanks again.

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry! I just got caught up after coming back. I saw the pics of the menu and reminded me that you had mentioned before that they were going to change the menu.... well apparently ours was the first. I feel bad because I have no photos of it (don't usually carry a camera or my phone around the ship now a days). I would say that there are no longer themes or explanations just a menu. It is landscape now instead of portrait and doesn't have a section for the classics. The classics are just written in the menu and you notice from night to night which ones stay on the menu regularly. There is also the paying options on the bottom of the menu. I would hazard to guess there may be less selections but still enough. Oh and the dessert menu is one the main menu too. Sorry I don't have pics....

 

Happy Chinese New Year! Woof woof 🐶

 

Welcome back. Thanks for sending the picture while you were in Costa Maya.

 

I trust you had a good cruise?

 

Interesting info on the dinner menu. I guess now I have the "classic/vintage" menu photos.

 

Did you like the food options listed on the menu? Did they have the good old stand by of lobsters/duck/prime rib/lamb shank?

[luv1cruise]

I have not heard of the Quest game before. What did the people in the winning section receive?

[harryfat1]

Hi Harry, happy Chinese New Year. Was just able to catch up on your day 7 pictures now, as it has been madness here with the recent school shooting, which happened just down the road from our house at the high school here. Just a crazy situation here. But fortunately, everyone we know, including my brother, is okay.

 

Regarding St. Kitts, it's interesting because we also went with Grey but somehow we ended up on a different type of tour. Originally we requested to do the tour you did, only with the rainforest hike and Black Rocks on the Atlantic side as well. When we got there, however, we discovered it was a private tour with just us, which was pretty nice! Our driver was great as well. Brimstone Fort was our favorite stop of the cruise. Looking forward to the sea days ahead!

 

Wow. Didn't know the shooting was that close to you guys. Glad to know everyone in your family is doing OK. Just so horrible to hear about these shooting every few months.

 

I knew you guys were with Thenford as well as we all walked up to the Arch area together on where the tour started.

 

Day 8 will be very short (by my standards) as we didn't do anything worthwhile since they cancelled couple of the events due to wind and ocean turbulence.

[harryfat1]

Been great - although i feel really crappy about not YET finishing my last report! Life got in the way (as in WAY too busy), but I do plan on finishing it. I took and uploaded too many pictures not to finish it! I was about to start on the St. Maarten section when the hurricane hit. I felt weird talking about how great a time we had when they had just gotten obliterated.

 

We're leaving on Allure tomorrow, and since I was bad and didn't finish my 2017 Freedom one yet, I think will pass on doing another Allure report this time... :)

 

Well, as long as you are OK, that's what important. I was worried something bad happened to you as you just stopped posting in CC overall for months so good to hear it was only busy real life getting in the way.

 

Oh, nice, Allure cruise tomorrow. I have always liked your trip reports when you were going to Orlando pre cruise as I get to see Disneyworld pre cruise.

 

My dream vacation would be 7 days Disneyworld and then 7 days cruise on an Oasis class ship. 14 days back to back cruise is a bit too much for me but Disney + big and round buns is my dream vacation. My trip report would be huge if I spend the first 7 days at Disneyworld with me talking about all the rides and the apps I use. And then I start my 7 day cruise rip report...

 

Have a great cruise tomorrow.

[seaair100]

Yes,Harry.I have an Iphone 8 ,in a case.The phones are heavy.Though I keep my iring on always, the ring is easy to take off.But you do want a good quality one.I stopped taking my ipad, out on ship deck,as I almost dropped the ipad while leaning over the rail,while videoing a “ hot” bag piper,at the Halifax pier ,last year.You got to love a guy wearing a kilt .Bagpipe music,it depends.

Anyway, off topic.I do not take my phone with me everywhere on ship,as heavy and bulky, but always off ship,since there is always something to see.

But I have hooked a small carabiner on my lanyard and hooked the phone ring thru that,while taking deck pics ,etc.As you said the phone takes such great pics,and so easy to transfer between devices,the ipad can stay home,all good..A whole new world.

[harryfat1]

Thank you so much for your prompt reply. You answered my questions so we will be anxiously looking forward to our Allure adventure. Thanks again.

 

You are welcome.

 

Couple thoughts off the top as we are talking about comparing the 2 ships/style of cruising.

 

Keep in mind that even though they made the Oasis class ship to be roughly 50% more in passenger capacity compared to the Freedom class (using simple round numbers of 4,000 versus 6,000), they didn't make all the places 50% larger. Meaning the windjammer on Oasis is not 50% bigger in capacity than the Freedom so many people complains about seating on the bigger ships.

 

Another thing you want to do on the Allure is book your shows as soon as possible when they become available online for your sailings. Similar logic as above, they didn't build the seats to fit ALL the people. For example, my fuzzy old man memory says there is only around 600 people and they only do 6 water shows. Simple math means only 3,600 can be seated out of 6,000. So be sure to book the shows early or else you have to deal with standby.

[harryfat1]

I have not heard of the Quest game before. What did the people in the winning section receive?

 

The classic version of Quest is for adults only. I have seen pictures from it but have never attended one. Other people can chime in on what they do but I have heard that if you are easily offended, then it's not for you.

 

The one we attended is the family version, no rated R content of women lingerie involved.

 

Winning section gets the same prize as the losing section - nada. The winning captains get 1 bottle of wine each. It's the competition that matters...

[harryfat1]

Yes,Harry.I have an Iphone 8 ,in a case.The phones are heavy.Though I keep my iring on always, the ring is easy to take off.But you do want a good quality one.I stopped taking my ipad, out on ship deck,as I almost dropped the ipad while leaning over the rail,while videoing a “ hot” bag piper,at the Halifax pier ,last year.You got to love a guy wearing a kilt .Bagpipe music,it depends.

Anyway, off topic.I do not take my phone with me everywhere on ship,as heavy and bulky, but always off ship,since there is always something to see.

But I have hooked a small carabiner on my lanyard and hooked the phone ring thru that,while taking deck pics ,etc.As you said the phone takes such great pics,and so easy to transfer between devices,the ipad can stay home,all good..A whole new world.

 

Thanks for the info. I am ok without the ring on most day to day things, just when it comes to over the railing shots like the ship's wake or top down that makes my hands start to tingle when I lean over. I added the ring to my Amazon shopping cart so it will be there for the next cruise.

[lbjen]

Am I the only person that reads the menus and decides what I would have picked for each night? Harry that’s quite an adventure that went down at St. Kitts. I wonder if it was coincidence that they went back for the missing passenger and another needed to be evacuated, or vice verse, or if they just made the call based on both situations. Now I’m also wondering whether I should take my meds with me if I ever go off ship now.

[harryfat1]

(OK, continue onto the story line)

 

Day 8 – December 28, 2017

 

Sea Day

 

After 5 consecutive days of port stops, everyone is happy to be just sleeping in for the day.

 

Oh, by the way, my brother in law swears up and down that at 3 AM of day 8, the ship made a second emergency stop at St. Thomas that morning. According to him, he woke up at 3 AM when he noticed the ship stopped moving again and he looked outside (he has same oceanview as us) and he said he saw the shopping mall at St. Thomas and the ambulance by the pier.

 

Of course he has no pictures to prove his claim. We think he was dreaming but he said he was awake. So I don't know. If anyone from our sailing can collaborate his story, that would be great.

 

Anyway, here is the daily compass that nobody reads

 

 

 

 

[harryfat1]

Am I the only person that reads the menus and decides what I would have picked for each night? Harry that’s quite an adventure that went down at St. Kitts. I wonder if it was coincidence that they went back for the missing passenger and another needed to be evacuated, or vice verse, or if they just made the call based on both situations. Now I’m also wondering whether I should take my meds with me if I ever go off ship now.

 

Yeah, I think you are the only menu reader. Especially now that the menu is no longer active. You should have posted what you would have selected to eat. I enjoy that type of conversation.

 

If you have critical/special type of meds, I would bring extras and have couple extra days worth on your person all the time, just in case. Especially if you do independent tours on your own that takes you out in middle of nowhere. Not as critical if you are just getting off the ship to walk around downtown.

 

My best guess is they went back for the guy out on the gurney as it seems he can't even walk off on his own or well enough to sit up on wheel chair to be pushed off so it must be pretty serious. I think the ship has less tolerance for people that missed the boarding time so not sure they would double back for that.

[harryfat1]

Being old, my body clock woke myself up at 7 and I took a quick picture of the outside. Looks somewhat gloomy.

 

 

Somehow my eye felt different. Seems to be less irritated, Went to the bathroom and saw the grain of sand falling to the bottom of the eye lid.

 

Hallelujah! Quickly wiping off with the washcloth before it goes back to the eye ball again. The eye would get redder the next day or so but without the sand in there, it eventually got better. Very happy didn’t get infected or had to seek medical help.

 

I went over to shore excursion desk to book the Miami tour as we had a late 6 PM flight on day 10 so we had time to kill. The gal at the shore excursion told us to cart our own luggage off that morning instead of retrieving them from the luggage area. That sounds like a bad idea to me so I ignored her advice. Why would I want to create more work for myself when they can do it for me?

 

By 10 AM, everyone else is up and we made it to WJ for breakfast.

 

Dirty windows. I never saw anyone from Indy clean the windows like other ships.

 

 

 

My usual breakfast of salmon/pancake/tomato/mushroom/eggs (next pic). Added a pastry this morning

 

 

Ocean view at WJ

 

[harryfat1]

 

 

[dr_truth]

Fun to play the spot my family game with all your pics. Found us in the Grease crowd! I agree with you re: the show. I thought the choreography was wonderful, but the condensed/altered plot was very strange for those used to the movie and the singing wasn't the best--some of the cast had great voices, but they weren't playing Sandy and Danny.

[harryfat1]

Today is probably the cloudiest day on the whole cruise as we walked around pool deck after breakfast.

 

Somewhere in the morning, they made an announcement that due to ocean waves and wind experienced outside, they postponed the belly flop contest and the ice show to day 9 instead. So there go our two big events for the day. We literally have nothing planned for the day.

 

So with nothing much else to do, it’s time to head out to RP and visit the uncle in prison he is well fed (aka shopping).

Typically from our cruises we have been on, the last couple days you see a major push for sales items like $10 t shirts or watches. There weren’t any $10 t- shirts anywhere. My younger one was disappointed as he wanted to add another RCI shirt to his collection. They only had 2 choices of the 2 for $30 t-shirts that he wasn’t that interested in the designs (more on Indy the name instead of RCI) as we discussed previously that the ownership of the shops are different on the Indy as well as their product selection.

 

That brings me to my next topic, the overall mood/vibe of Indy is very laid back. Maybe it’s more European influence but the Indy has zero, I mean ZERO hard sell at the RP compared to Freedom. When we were at the Freedom the year before, you cannot walk the gauntlet from one end of RP to another end without someone in your face trying to sell you drinks package or specialty dining.

 

We were even approached by waiters while eating at WJ asking us to book specialty dining – in 2 languages as matter of fact as they thought we were Chinese only speaking family and they specifically brought out a Chinese speaking waiter to sell to us. That was the Freedom. Nothing at all on the Indy. We can walk up and down RP and not one person approach us to sell us anything.

 

Also on the Freedom, I complained about the really loud singers at the bridge of the RP during day time while we shopped. Saw none of that on the Indy. Very quiet.

 

The only selling we got on the Indy was the special brunch they had on day 9(?) where they charged $29 for unlimited mimosa at the MDR. I passed as I don't drink $29 worth of alcohol and whatever else they want to feed me. This was mentioned by our MDR waiter and the head waiter as he walked around one night (maybe day 7).

 

Anyway, here is the ice cream machine. We passed on getting anything from here this cruise. With the Noro virus scare for this sailing, not touching anything so public

 

 

Not as much sun today as other days

 

[harryfat1]

Fun to play the spot my family game with all your pics. Found us in the Grease crowd! I agree with you re: the show. I thought the choreography was wonderful, but the condensed/altered plot was very strange for those used to the movie and the singing wasn't the best--some of the cast had great voices, but they weren't playing Sandy and Danny.

 

Good thing I didn't catch you and the fam in compromising situations or poses where I complain about you...;p

 

Oh, good to know someone else agrees with me on the Grease thing. It wasn't bad per se. People should still go and see for themselves but just know it's more hyped up than what RCI can deliver. Also note that there are some adult contents so if you bring younger crowd to the show, be prepared to have some explanation afterward if they ask about the punch lines.

 

The official RCI wording is "recommended for mature audiences" - maybe that is why I didn't enjoy the show as I'm as immature as they come...

[cyclone1414]

Oh, by the way, my brother in law swears up and down that at 3 AM of day 8, the ship made a second emergency stop at St. Thomas that morning. According to him, he woke up at 3 AM when he noticed the ship stopped moving again and he looked outside (he has same oceanview as us) and he said he saw the shopping mall at St. Thomas and the ambulance by the pier.

 

Of course he has no pictures to prove his claim. We think he was dreaming but he said he was awake. So I don't know. If anyone from our sailing can collaborate his story, that would be great.

 

Confirmed- I actually was awoken by the captain's announcement before the stop- it wasn't broadcasted into the rooms, but I could hear it from the hall. It was indeed a medical evac/unplanned stop at St. Thomas...even more time to make up between this and the St. Kitts return now!

[harryfat1]

OK, time to walk down to RP to see the uncle in prison.

 

So with the C&A discount for the gold level people (aka lowly peasant level plus one), we had a minor saving by bundling up what we wanted to buy and the discount. At the beginning of the cruise, they had a sale where if you spent $40 or more, you can get a free ornament. By day 8, there weren’t too many of those left and by day 9, they were all gone. So shop early if you see any special sales as they may not be around forever.

 

 

 

 

Oh, here is the picture of the fanny pack I bought that I mentioned way back on day 1 of the trip report (can anybody even remember what I said way back then? It was like a month plus ago). As this was already day 8 of the cruise and we are not getting off on anymore island excursion, I didn’t want to open it and rather be saving it until next vacation or whenever I felt I want to look like a waiter that can give change.

 

 

 

[DebbieMo]

 

 

What are these?

[harryfat1]

Confirmed- I actually was awoken by the captain's announcement before the stop- it wasn't broadcasted into the rooms, but I could hear it from the hall. It was indeed a medical evac/unplanned stop at St. Thomas...even more time to make up between this and the St. Kitts return now!

 

Ahhh, very nice. Thanks for the info. Good to know he wasn't dreaming or too drunk to be imagining this on his own. All of us were giving him a hard time on that as he didn't take any pictures and he himself questioned if he was dreaming or not.

 

You all know if I was awake, I would take a picture of it.

 

So this also answers an earlier question that they do drop people off at unplanned stops in case of medical emergency

[harryfat1]

What are these?

 

Kinda like yogurt/jello/pudding thing. Looks better than it tastes.

 

Also the spoons they have are too fat and wide for the narrow openings/bottom.

[harryfat1]

So after shopping, we just went back to the cabin and veg. This being a low energy day after running around the past 5 port days.

 

 

 

[harryfat1]