All things Independence of the Seas

[cruzkitty]

Hello Fellow Cruisers. We are cruising the Indy next Sept, 2015 from Ft Lauderdale. Is it still TRUE they do not have Luggage Valet? Say it ain't SO! This has always been one of our favorite perks. Thanks in advance!

[essgee_ca]

I'm a CPAP user. Were there electrical outlets near the bed or should I contact special services to get an extension cord?

 

Are there freestyle coke machines on Independence? I thought that there were, but another thread I read suggested that it might not have the freestyle machines.

 

Thanks in advance!

[WWbytheSEA]

Definitely contact special services..

 

And unfortunately no Freestyle Coke machines on Indy.

[Paulette3028]

Hello Fellow Cruisers. We are cruising the Indy next Sept, 2015 from Ft Lauderdale. Is it still TRUE they do not have Luggage Valet? Say it ain't SO! This has always been one of our favorite perks. Thanks in advance!

 

I have been on 15 cruises and have our 16th booked for Indy departing on Valentines Day, February 14, 2015 and have never heard the phrase "luggage valet"......so what exactly is it that Indy, may not have....that I may not even have missed on my past cruises.

[misty57]

I have been on 15 cruises and have our 16th booked for Indy departing on Valentines Day, February 14, 2015 and have never heard the phrase "luggage valet"......so what exactly is it that Indy, may not have....that I may not even have missed on my past cruises.

 

The luggage valet is where you pay about $20 pp and surrender your luggage at the port after going through customs. It goes to the airport and you see it when you get to your destination. That is the process we followed when we did it one time. It may be a little different now and may differ depending on the port, I don't know. The nice thing is that you don't have to lug it around before your flight.. which frees you up if you want to do some shopping or sightseeing before you fly home. There is a cut off for the time of your flight. They have to have time to get it to the plane before you take off:D!

[Paulette3028]

The luggage valet is where you pay about $20 pp and surrender your luggage at the port after going through customs. It goes to the airport and you see it when you get to your destination. That is the process we followed when we did it one time. It may be a little different now and may differ depending on the port, I don't know. The nice thing is that you don't have to lug it around before your flight.. which frees you up if you want to do some shopping or sightseeing before you fly home. There is a cut off for the time of your flight. They have to have time to get it to the plane before you take off:D!

 

 

Thanks. We cruise mostly from S. Florida, which is where we live so this would not be a big issue for us most of the time. When we cruised the southern Caribbean we did a day trip immediately following disembarking from the ship and out luggage met us at the airport. What you describe for many would probably be very valuable. The price is surely reasonable.

[Paulette3028]

We are cruising Indy in February 2015. We very much enjoyed when we sailed on Liberty a few years ago, and thought we would also enjoy Indy, and this cruise gives us one extra day. We are easy to please when it comes to cruising since we like the 'cruising concept'......but why did you choose Indy?

[misty57]

:)

Thanks. We cruise mostly from S. Florida, which is where we live so this would not be a big issue for us most of the time. When we cruised the southern Caribbean we did a day trip immediately following disembarking from the ship and out luggage met us at the airport. What you describe for many would probably be very valuable. The price is surely reasonable.

 

Yes I believe we did this in San Juan.

We chose Indy because of the extra night, departure port FLL is so easy to navigate and we have not been to St Kitts. I really prefer the Southern Caribbean but DH dislikes the longer flight to SJ. We have been on Liberty once and Freedom twice. Its nice that it has the perks of the larger ships and being a little larger than the voyager class. After this we will have sailed on all the ships in this class.:)

[Paulette3028]

:)

 

Yes I believe we did this in San Juan.

We chose Indy because of the extra night, departure port FLL is so easy to navigate and we have not been to St Kitts. I really prefer the Southern Caribbean but DH dislikes the longer flight to SJ. We have been on Liberty once and Freedom twice. Its nice that it has the perks of the larger ships and being a little larger than the voyager class. After this we will have sailed on all the ships in this class.:)

 

If we had known about this luggage service and the logistics at the SJ Airport when we did the S. Caribbean itinerary on Jewel in summer of 2013, we probably would have used it even though we had an excursion booked that took us to the airport for our flight home.

 

After the excursion we were reunited with our luggage in the airport, but then had to take it to our terminal ourselves and it was a very long walk through several other terminals. Our luggage all has wheels, but it was still a nuisance.

 

It all turned out OK in the end.

 

Looking forward to a Valentines Day celebration for Sail Away in February!!!

[DaBoilerz]

We are cruising Indy in February 2015. We very much enjoyed when we sailed on Liberty a few years ago, and thought we would also enjoy Indy, and this cruise gives us one extra day. We are easy to please when it comes to cruising since we like the 'cruising concept'......but why did you choose Indy?

 

I was on Indy in February 2014 out of FLL, and they had the luggage valet. I think your flight had to leave after 11 or 11:30 to be able to use it? I can't remember details.

 

I'll be on Indy again in 19 days, and plan to use it if they still have it!!!

[Clarea]

I was on Indy in February 2014 out of FLL, and they had the luggage valet. I think your flight had to leave after 11 or 11:30 to be able to use it? I can't remember details.

 

I'll be on Indy again in 19 days, and plan to use it if they still have it!!!

I believe the earliest flight time is 11:30am at FLL.

[Paulette3028]

I was on Indy in February 2014 out of FLL, and they had the luggage valet. I think your flight had to leave after 11 or 11:30 to be able to use it? I can't remember details.

 

I'll be on Indy again in 19 days, and plan to use it if they still have it!!!

 

Because we live in S. Florida, most of the cruises we take do not require flights. When we cruised out of San Juan, we did not know about the luggage valet. On those cruises when we do fly, which we have some on our 'cruise bucket list' it will definitely be something we will look into.

[SilkySal]

We are cruising on Indy next year over Halloween!:cool: Since Halloween falls on the night before we debark the ship, was wondering if the CD, Tim Connor, might think about changing the celebration to the previous night to avoid the packing dilemma after a night of partying!:rolleyes: Can anyone give me an email address for him so I can ask that question or might someone have insight?;)

[Paulette3028]

We are cruising on Indy next year over Halloween!:cool: Since Halloween falls on the night before we debark the ship, was wondering if the CD, Tim Connor, might think about changing the celebration to the previous night to avoid the packing dilemma after a night of partying!:rolleyes: Can anyone give me an email address for him so I can ask that question or might someone have insight?;)

 

You don't know if Tim Connor will even be the CD on the ship next Halloween when you are sailing.

[Ocean Boy]

If we had known about this luggage service and the logistics at the SJ Airport when we did the S. Caribbean itinerary on Jewel in summer of 2013, we probably would have used it even though we had an excursion booked that took us to the airport for our flight home.

 

After the excursion we were reunited with our luggage in the airport, but then had to take it to our terminal ourselves and it was a very long walk through several other terminals. Our luggage all has wheels, but it was still a nuisance.

 

It all turned out OK in the end.

 

Looking forward to a Valentines Day celebration for Sail Away in February!!!

 

They got rid of luggage valet in San Juan several years ago for a reason no one seems to know. We used to use it when we sail on Adveture and it was a very convenient service.

[Ocean Boy]

We are cruising Indy in February 2015. We very much enjoyed when we sailed on Liberty a few years ago, and thought we would also enjoy Indy, and this cruise gives us one extra day. We are easy to please when it comes to cruising since we like the 'cruising concept'......but why did you choose Indy?

 

We have done this 8 night itinerary several times on Indy and the one year that Navigator was doing it in Indy's place. We chose it because we really enjoy Freedom and Voyager class ships and because I think this 8 night itinerary is one of the best leaving from Ft. Lauderdale. The extra day seems to make such a difference from a seven night itinerary and the ports of call are very nice. We have booked it one more time this coming February as after that Indy will be converting to seven night itineraries and I am not sure if any other ship will be picking up the 8 nighters. And if one does I don't know if it will be a class of ship that we like to sail on.

 

I really like the southern Caribbean sailing from San Juan but this ship and itinerary keep drawing us back to Ft. Lauderdale.

Edited November 11, 2014 by Ocean Boy

[Ocean Boy]

It is sort of interesting how this thread was started when Indy was about to begin its yearly summer seasons over in the UK and now it is brought back as Indy is ending its UK service.

[CRUISEBOY305]

Does anybody know if Indy offers Chef's Table?

[dep]

Does anyone know if the Indy has a hotdog cart similar to what is on the Allure

[Clarea]

Does anyone know if the Indy has a hotdog cart similar to what is on the Allure

No hotdog cart on Indy.

[Paulette3028]

We have done this 8 night itinerary several times on Indy and the one year that Navigator was doing it in Indy's place. We chose it because we really enjoy Freedom and Voyager class ships and because I think this 8 night itinerary is one of the best leaving from Ft. Lauderdale. The extra day seems to make such a difference from a seven night itinerary and the ports of call are very nice. We have booked it one more time this coming February as after that Indy will be converting to seven night itineraries and I am not sure if any other ship will be picking up the 8 nighters. And if one does I don't know if it will be a class of ship that we like to sail on.

 

I really like the southern Caribbean sailing from San Juan but this ship and itinerary keep drawing us back to Ft. Lauderdale.

 

Sorry to hear that there may not be another ship to do the 8 night cruises. We picked it, because we got the extra day on board for the same price we could have booked a 7 night cruise. It was on a week that has Presidents Day, so DH only actually has to account for 4 vacation days -- to make the most out of his vacation time. The first cruise we ever went on, was on Navigator -- and we loved it. We enjoyed Liberty, when we sailed on her several years ago....and expect to love Indy.

 

We have never been to St. Kitts before -- so let me ask you....what excursions have you done there.....nothing is grabbing our interest from the blurbs we have read, so far.

[Ocean Boy]

Sorry to hear that there may not be another ship to do the 8 night cruises. We picked it, because we got the extra day on board for the same price we could have booked a 7 night cruise. It was on a week that has Presidents Day, so DH only actually has to account for 4 vacation days -- to make the most out of his vacation time. The first cruise we ever went on, was on Navigator -- and we loved it. We enjoyed Liberty, when we sailed on her several years ago....and expect to love Indy.

 

We have never been to St. Kitts before -- so let me ask you....what excursions have you done there.....nothing is grabbing our interest from the blurbs we have read, so far.

 

The first time we go to an island we try to get a good overview and we booked with Thenford Grey. You can google his website. He is a great guy and provides a very nice tour in large, comfortable, air conditioned vans. He narrates the tour well and makes several stops including the Brimstone Fortress which is great to explore and has amazing views. Entrance fee to the fortress is included in his tour price.

 

The next time that we went to the island we did the Sugar Train Tour which you can also google. It has to be booked through the cruise line as they have an agreement with the company and they will not sell directly to cruise passengers. It is a nice way to see some of the countryside but it makes no stops and you will not get to visit the fortress. It is also rather pricey at approx. $100.00 per person. It is fun to do once but I feel it is over priced for what you get and I would not do it a second time.

 

For a first time visit I think a land tour would be much better than the train tour. If I can help any more feel free to ask and I'll try!

[DaBoilerz]

Does anyone know if the Indy has a hotdog cart similar to what is on the Allure

 

I don't know of any hot dog cart, but during certain hours you can get some good hot dogs and sausages/brats on DELICIOUS BREAD at the SQUEEZE bar that is down by the kid's H2O zone! I found it by accident halfway through my February cruise and was thrilled!

 

Make sure you note the hours. It is only a couple of hours a day, if I remember right!

[Paulette3028]

The first time we go to an island we try to get a good overview and we booked with Thenford Grey. You can google his website. He is a great guy and provides a very nice tour in large, comfortable, air conditioned vans. He narrates the tour well and makes several stops including the Brimstone Fortress which is great to explore and has amazing views. Entrance fee to the fortress is included in his tour price.

 

The next time that we went to the island we did the Sugar Train Tour which you can also google. It has to be booked through the cruise line as they have an agreement with the company and they will not sell directly to cruise passengers. It is a nice way to see some of the countryside but it makes no stops and you will not get to visit the fortress. It is also rather pricey at approx. $100.00 per person. It is fun to do once but I feel it is over priced for what you get and I would not do it a second time.

 

For a first time visit I think a land tour would be much better than the train tour. If I can help any more feel free to ask and I'll try!

 

The Thenford Grey tour looks very nice. I like that it has some nice beach time on it. Every land tour visits a fortress, part of their history. I thought it was cute that on the listing for the places the tour goes it says that you can "Relax on a Tranquil Beach or Shop till you Drop" for the last stop. Is that true? I don't like to be forced to visit the retail worlds on these excursions, and would rather enjoy the beach and then return to the ship.

[tessaluvsjesse]

It is sort of interesting how this thread was started when Indy was about to begin its yearly summer seasons over in the UK and now it is brought back as Indy is ending its UK service.

 

 

It's been fun to read because after our cruise almost 2 yrs ago, which I believe you were on too, we fell in love with this ship! We are about to go b2b in December on Indy so these threads are getting me all excited! But it's amazing how things have changes since she was the biggest ship in the world.:)

 

 

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