Cmessier

The big yellow ball? It was just empty when we were on it. My wife and kids walked right into it. Still a magnificent experience overall. You'll enjoy it!

Sailed on Indy over Easter. Can't compare to before the change because it was my first cruise in forever. But I feel its only fair to RCL to say I really enjoyed a lot of the food in the MDR. My prime rib was good. My daughter's steak was good. The escargot was good. The shrimp cocktail was good. Sides were ...OK. not great. My other daughters fish was bland and mushy. Edible but not enjoyable. If it were served to me I would've sent it back and asked for something else. Dessert was very bland all the way around the entire sailing. I found plenty outside of the MDR I really liked. Fish N Ships was delicious. Sorrento's was pretty good. WJ was hit and miss but everytime I went there i was able to find something I really liked. Even the steaks were edible. Not the best I've ever had but they tasted good. No complaints. The roast turkey was friggin delicious. (I always get fatty dark meat, cant speak to the white meat). The butter chicken was great. There was plenty more that I really enjoyed. SO, all that to say, not everything was amazing, and I feel like bread and desserts are the big weakness. Thankfully I dont much care about either of those things. But there was an absolute TON of food I enjoyed, more than I could possibly eat even without spending anything extra. I didnt eat as much sorrentos as I would've liked because I was too full from other stuff. Same with fish n ships. OH! The shaved ribeyes on Coco Cay were GREAT! I know it's not on board but my whole family thought the food overall on Coco cay was fantastic and there again we didn't spend an extra dime. And I think cafe promenade is underrated actually. I thought the quality of the random little snacks there was high and they were very enjoyable. Come to think of it the fruit Danish from there was absolutely fantastic, so that's one bready-dessert type they really nailed. The little sandwiches were always good from there as well. I cant claim to have 30 cruises under my belt but I do love to eat and I cant wait to get on my next RC cruise (9 night on Liberty!)

Oh. Hah. Sorry. October 10th 2024.

We were on the April 7th sailing. Disembarked on Monday.

Well....we did make it in plenty of time. They let us board at approximately 12:30. We whisked right through. I cant say enough good things about the ship, the staff and Royal Caribbean in general. We booked our next one on the third night. 9 night Canadian on her sister ship set for next year 😁

Yep. We would lose out on our reservation. If there's an accident or some other major event then it will certainly be unpleasant but I guess thats a small risk we have to take. If we reaaaaalllllyyyyy feel like we can keep going after Savannah ....I suppose we could try and find a closer hotel but its doubtful. After that long on the road we are going to want to find somewhere for dinner, relax, and crash. My wife is pretty adamant that after last time, he limit in the car for the day is right near that Florida state line. She was toast after that.

Nah, 13, 17 and 24. We are staying in Charlotte overnight on the way home. We can do 6 or 7 hours in the car no problem but longer than that and everyone starts getting pretty burned.

We drove straight to Orlando once a few years ago. Definitely do NOT want to do that again especially with the kids, we were all getting awfully cranky right about when we crossed the state line into Florida lol

Can't wait!!! I think because the chaos at the WJ is talked about so much and most just kind of chuckle about it being the first place they go for food I was hoping for that experience. But if we don't make it I will most certainly be checking out the rest of the places - I did see that Fish and Ships is now included and looking forward to trying it! Thank you!

Thank you for all of this!!! Unfortunately we cannot be in Port Canaveral any sooner. We are driving from Pittsburgh to Savanah the day before. (We live in Pittsburgh). So we plan to drive to Savannah, sleep, then get up and head to the ship. With it being Good Friday Im hopeful traffic will be light and based on the posts here my wife and I agreed we will get moving from Savannah super early, hopefully on the road by 6. Glad to hear about the shows!! The more I hear from you guys here the happier I am that we are on a Freedom class. It sounds like the crowds aren't as bad as on the bigger ones and it still has a ton to do on board. We decided we need the internet package just so people can get a hold of us if they need to, we will put it on my phone or hers and share. I will triple check on her birth certificate. Now I'm nervous about it. But it should be OK as I KNOW it is not the one from the hospital (long story that isn't relevant lol) I asked my wife about parking and she did NOT prepay as she confirmed it was not an option. But we will aim to get there as early as possible. We all do have the app and have all done as much of the check in as we can We all have the appand have done as much check in as we can already, my app says they will see me at 2pm April 7th for a wellness check. Everything else is green. We have NOT printed luggage tags yet. Will do. Thank you SO MUCH for taking the time to be so helpful!!

Ah. Ok. As long as I dont have to worry about finding a space, no problem. If its a bit of a longer walk I'm not bothered by that, we are all in reasonably good shape. Thanks!

Playmakers is where I will likely spend extra on food if I do at all. From what I can see the prices are reasonable and those nachos look fantastic!

When you say "issue ", how serious of an issue do you mean? I hadn't considered that parking would be an issue at ALL, I believe my wife has pre-paid for it. Thanks!

Good to know! There IS a launch potentially scheduled for our embarkation day (April 7th), but looks like the window is at 1:30 a.m

We do have MTD, but I have no issue with that as I like to eat dinner late anyway. First thing we intend to do on board is go to the MDR anyway to double check that they're aware of my wife's gluten I tolerance (we did email but I've read to do this to make sure).

Ive been to some of the biggest names in NYC, loved them (Joe and Pat's is my favorite), I regularly eat at local places to me that make real Margheritas with imported ingredients, and yet sometimes on the weekends a frozen Tombstone is on the menu. I had target frozen pizza for the first time last week and really liked it. So....yeah....as long as Sorrento's is better than Papa John's (can't stand the stuff) Im gonna be a pretty content customer lol. And we will need to be ordering whole pizzas for my wife who will get sick if she eats gluten....good to know they can also throw other toppings on!!!

I mean, you're not wrong. Can't argue with that. Im not super familiar with that area so yeah, I dont know what to expect.

Great to know! We are a bit after, bit not all the way. And I know the buffet closes but it looks like at least Sorrento's is open very late, and I do love pizza lol

Ok, you have my attention lol Should we plan for it to take a lot longer?

Thank you! Very helpful! I really appreciate you reading all of that amd taking the time to respond!

Thanks! Really appreciate you taking the time!

Hello all! My family and I are sailing on the Independence next week. I was on a cruise when I was a kid almost 40 years ago, remember loving it. My wife and 3 kids have never cruised. We can't wait! I would REALLY appreciate any insight from you experienced cruisers! My first question is - we will be driving in from Savanah the day of departure (an unfortunate necessity given work schedules and PTO). We selected a 2pm check-in time at Port Canaveral, that was the latest available and we wanted to give ourselves as much time as possible just in case, especially since we don't know what to expect with getting there, parking, etc. If we get there early, should we wait until 2 to walk into the terminal? Savanah is about a 4.5 hour drive and barring any delays that puts us there around 12:30 if we leave at 8. Ive seen conflicting info regarding check in times. Next question would be - if we check in at 2, will we be too late to book shows? I'm already a little disappointed that it looks like the Windjammer closes at 3 so we probably can't make it there for lunch when we get on board as most people seem to like to do. (Ive been watching a lot of vids and this seems to he kind of a rite of passage- the chaotic Windjammer lunch for the first on board food). Yet another question - if my wife gets the surf and stream package under my name (we are all under the same reservation but in 2 connecting rooms) we CAN both use it, just not at the same time, correct? We don't all need to be online at once but it would be great if we could each use it as needed. Annnd yet ANOTHER question. We all have passports EXCEPT my adult daughter, whose passport is supposedly on the way but has not yet arrived. She has her driver's license and birth certificate, will this cause a delay in boarding? And finally - Ive read back through the forums for about 50 pages and hardly see the Independence mentioned. Is this bad??? Lol it seems to be an amazing ship but the lack of feedback about it has me wondering what I'm missing. From what I can see the food quality varies from ship to ship. I LOVE to eat. I dont drink alcohol so having endless pizza and butter chicken and smoked salmon and ice cream and whatever other random goodies available at all hours is going to be my vice. Im not a food snob, if its tasty Im happy. Is the food quality decent on Independence? Is there anything to be aware of about it in general? OH! Sorry, one LAST question - we are on deck 2. My wife booked as low as she could get as she was told that the motion is not as noticeable lower down. We've got 2 Oceanview rooms down there. One of my daughters is a little concerned its going to feel like the bowels of the ship down there (looks great to me from what I can find online). Is this a bad choice?? From what I can see it looks nice and quiet down there. Thank you to anyone who actually reads all this and offers some feedback! Appreciate it!