GoNCruisnFamily

We were on the Independence 3/29-4/6 and had MTD. We had made reservations and had either a 6:15 or 6:30 reservation each night and were seated at the same table each night. We did not ask for the same table/servers, but would have done so if necessary. Our servers were among the best we have ever had, and we made sure we gave them an extra gratuity on the last night for the superb service. The second-to-last night, the maitre d' came to us while we were eating and asked if we could come 15 minutes earlier the next night to ensure that we would get 'our' table, which was not a problem.

On our last cruise, we were 7 hours into our 11 hour drive to the port, when my husband asked me if I packed his khaki pants by chance. I pack for myself and oversee the kids, but not him. So, we had to make a stop at the mall for a few pairs of pants because we weren't skipping the MDR all week.

My advice is the put outfits together to make sure all the parts are there!

RCL wouldn't help me; said that the menu might change, so they couldn't supply the Portobello menu. Ok, whatever.

However, another cruiser was able to get it and posted it. So, I have uploaded it here.

PortobelloMenu.pdf

Thanks so much for succeeding in getting that! We are on the Indy the end of the month and I emailed RCL to ask for it. Just got a reply today that they can't send it to me as 'the menus might change'. Yeah, sure.

You made my day!

Menus:

 

http://www.royalcaribbeanpresscenter.com/press-kit/9/culinary-press-kit/

Portobello menu is not listed. I have emailed C&A to ask for a pdf of that menu. If/when I get it, I will post it.

I'm confused about the name for Day 7.

Never mind. Figured it out. :)

I noticed that your embarkation terminal was 29 did you also get off at that terminal? We are driving to the port and it seems like there is no parking near 29.

You might want to consider parking at Park N Go. It is just outside the port and offers door to door shuttle service. It is cheaper than parking at the port.

We are doing that for our upcoming cruise.

Had to repost this question; realized it had gone into the ether when CC was down the other day.

Internet rates below, less your c & a discount of course...

What kind of C&A dissent is available? I have only sailed on RCCL once before, so I do have a C&A number. Is it progressive, so the discount gets bigger after more sailings?

Just want to have a firm idea of internet costs beforehand. My teens will want internet, so they need to know beforehand how much they can budget to buy.

Thanks.

Here is a link to another thread started by someone currently on the same ship/itinerary. You can ask her to post the menus so you can see for yourself and decide.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1986449

If you can, will you please get an updated price list for internet service i.e.: different package prices?

We are sailing in 2 months and would like to have an idea of choices.

Thanks and have a great cruise!

Many people, including myself, have been posting and requesting these menus over the past few months but no one has come back and posted the actual day to day menus. Myself and others have been requesting them so that specialty restaurant reservations could be made on the days that the MDR has our least favorite menus. It has been frustrating that they have not been available.

 

I am sailing next Friday and I will take pictures of each day and post them when I get back. Hopefully this will still be helpful to some of those that have been asking.

Thanks in advance for doing that. I am sailing with my family in March and had planned to do the same to help those on future sailings. Would love to be able to decide in advance which days to pick at the specialty restaurants.

Can/will you also do the menus for Chops and Giovanni's? I understand those change daily as well.

Thanks!

Haven't run into anyone onboard, but we ran into a neighbor a few years ago in Grand Turk. We were each on different ships and did not know they were cruising. Momentarily disconcerting to run into someone from home several thousand miles away!

Did you by chance take any Menu pictures?? Interested in the 8th day menu. Thanks again for the review, So excited to be on her in December

We are taking this cruise in March and I plan to take pictures of the menus as that has been requested a number of times.

As long as I don't forget to take them, I will post them after we are back.

how long of a drive is it

Looks like it is 20-30 minutes, depending upon traffic.

Having parents who have been avid cruisers, but are now reaching the stage in life where things are more difficult to manage, I can understand your trepidation. My father has early-stage Parkinson's and had surgery last fall to remove part of his lung due to cancer. He has recovered from the surgery, but is very unsteady on his feet.

They had a river cruise in France scheduled for this spring. Mom had broached it a few times that maybe he wasn't ready to go, but he kept shooting down her concerns. We talked to her over Christmas and told her that she needed to just come out and tell him that she knows he isn't ready and give examples of why (he has fallen a few times) and that she is concerned of what could happen, etc.

I talked to them yesterday and they have cancelled the cruise. Dad is disappointed, but isn't taking it as being his fault.

So, my advice: you and your spouse need to sit down with your MIL and talk frankly to her. Explain that you have concerns about her ability to walk on the ship and in port (using the Disney trip as a reference), her desire to use a manual wheelchair, etc.

Give her options if she goes: renting a motorized scooter, staying onboard/in her cabin, doing shore excursions that are bus tours. She may want to go and be happy to spend all her time in her cabin, but it would be good for all of you to talk about it before hand.

I hope it works out for you and that you have a great time. Best of luck.

We took advantage of our new BOGO specialty restaurant coupon and got a reservation at Giovanni's Table. I had eaten at Chops and Samba Grill before, but never Giovanni’s. I had the steak, and we got the family style linguini, gnocchi and ravioli. The meal and desserts were all very good.

We are sailing on the Indy in 2 months and can't wait! It has been a while since we sailed RCCL, so I have a question about the BOGO special coupon you reference above. Is that only for Diamond+ members? We plan to eat at Giovanni's and would love to get a coupon.

Thanks and looking forward to more of your review.

If all you want is to go to the Bacardi factory, you can do it much cheaper on your own. We are going to be in San Juan in April and are looking at going to the Bacardi factory. Through the cruise line, you get a city tour and transportation to the Bacardi factory for $45 per person.

On your own, there is no cost to do the tour and you get 2 drink tickets per person. You can take the ferry across the harbor for .50 cents pp, then take a taxi for about $3 pp.

Here are a few links to read up on it.

http://www.casabacardi.org/content.aspx?section=welcome

http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/bacardi-factory-tour/ http://www.puertoricodaytrips.com/catano-ferry/

Just to confirm: are you and your husband both listed on the same reservation? I am surprised that they would book a cabin with only the children listed. When we book and get a separate cabin for the kids, I am on one cabin reservation and my husband the other.

If that is the case, you could each bring 2 bottles.

When in doubt, trust fellow cruisers on CC before you trust the website. They do not update things like this in a timely fashion!

 

There are even incorrect pictures for staterooms, etc.

That is why I posted here! I knew I could get the correct information.

Now, if I could just get ahold of the 8 day menus for the Independence....

Yay! I had looked at RCCL's website and it still says no alcohol of any type can be brought on board. And since my husband and I each have our own booking numbers (with 1 teen each per reservation, then do the onboard cabin shuffle), we can each bring 2.

Of course, I will still purchase mixed drinks onboard. Royal will make money from us that week.

I know this has been discussed before, but want clarification as we have not sailed Royal in a number of years.

I want to know if I can bring wine on board with me. I have seen it stated that I can bring 2 bottles with me in my carry-on bag, but also have read that Royal does not allow wine brought on at all.

I don't want to go to the trouble of bringing wine with me if it will be confiscated at check in. So, if you have recently been on a RCCL cruise and have the answer, I would appreciate your guidance.

Thanks!

Merion Mom - We are doing the 8 day in March. Will you please tell me which days are formal? Which day was the menu you photographed served?

Does anyone have a link to the other menus? We plan to make reservations in the steakhouse and want to decide which night to book, based on the dining room menu.

Thanks for the help!

Float plane to Taku Lodge and glacier on our Alaska cruise, out of Juneau. It included a delicious salmon lunch, an after lunch hike, beautiful views of the glaciers and a live bear up a tree. It was a great experience and most memorable.

We have done that excursion as well. It is great. The day we were there, the bears were trying to get the salmon off the grill.

We just booked a cruise for March on the Independence and our 2 teens are going. They want to get some internet time and I wanted to see if someone has been onboard this ship recently and knows package prices. I have done a search and it seems that pricing is ship-dependent. Some have a flat rate for the whole cruise and some have packages by the minutes.

I would love to know my options before we go. Thanks in advance for your help!