dolita22

Tap water is perfectly fine, however you will need ice....the water from the tap never "runs cold".

There is a chilled water dispenser in the WJ.

This was our experience on the Indy a couple weeks ago. Tap water in our room was never cold. Although, we didn't see water dispensers in the WJ -- only glasses of water filled by staff. We took a couple of those to fill our water bottles. We also bought a gallon of water at one of the ports and sucked that down in a day.

We also brought a case of Diet Coke on board with no problems. We just taped the room label to the case and our room steward brought it for us. We're fairly certain it was the last piece of luggage to arrive to anyone's room on the ship, but it made it!

This was our 6th cruise, and we did a few things differently this time. I didn't book ANY excursions in advance, and we only did one paid excursion the whole time. We didn't see a single show or parade of any kind. We spent most of our time on the balcony. We didn't pack clothes for formal nights (Still got lobster though! more on that later). We smuggled a TON of booze, so you can tell me all about how I'm a cheap alcoholic with no moral compass if you'd like.

 

Sounds like my husband and me on our cruise on the Indy in early February! We did all of this, with the exception of the show thing -- we did see the ice show. That was it. And the making-of-your-own-drink-on-the-balcony...excellent! :D

 

Thanks for your review! I still haven't uploaded our pictures from our Indy cruise from 2/1-2/9, so you're a step ahead.

We were just on the RCCL Independence a few weeks ago and have been on a couple NCL cruises. Food is subjective, but we enjoyed the MDR food on NCL much more than the MDR food on RCCL. We only eat in the MDR for dinner. NCL's MDR menu seemed to have more new options each night, and the standard options were all consistent and tasty. We loved the desserts, especially the chocolate truffle cake and the lemon sorbet! In contrast, we had one good meal in the RCCL MDR a few weeks ago, but otherwise, really disliked the food and the options...and we're not picky eaters. Many of the desserts on RCCL seemed to be gelatin based, and we weren't fans.

When comparing food on both lines, my husband gave RCCL a 4 out of 10. NCL was an 8 out of 10.

Again, food is subjective, but hopefully that helps some!

You could also use some if it in the spa, if you're into that! Just giving other ideas. :-)

This will be my girlfriend and I's first cruise, and really our first true vacation together.

-I've read all the "what to bring/pack" guidelines on the NCL website, but does anyone have any tips on any extras to bring, what type of clothes to bring for Western Caribbean cruise in late March, and what dollar amount we need to have for our OBA? (neither have a credit card)

-What are the best shore excursions for Cozumel, Costa Maya, and Ocho Rios? And also is there a port where we can just enjoy the beach for a nominal charge?

-We are driving 15 hours to Miami, and stopping the night before Embarkation in Orlando, then driving the 3 1/2 hours to Miami that morning. What time is the earliest you can arrive at POM, and board the ship?

-What type of beverages can be brought on-board? (i.e. beer, cokes, bottled water)

And any advice or tips in general that may allow us to further enjoy our first cruise....?

 

Thanks to all.

We did the Epic Eastern cruise last year in January and were just on a cruise in February, but took the same type of clothing for both -- swimming suits, shorts, t-shirts, dresses/shorts/nicer shirts/pants for dinner. We were in our swimming suits most of the daytime and in the more dressy clothing at dinner.

Not sure of the rest of the ports as we've only done Cozumel, but you should be able to take a taxi right from the pier to a beach for a nominal charge. Check the Ports of Call board for beach options; people will probably have lots of recommendations over there.

When we checked in at the POM last year around 11 a.m., we sat for about an hour before boarding. I would suggest getting to the POM around noon or a bit after. That avoids some of the crowds that embark really early, but still gets you on the ship early enough to explore and have a beverage!

Tape a room label to any soda/water you want to bring on and give it to a porter. No beer or alcohol allowed to be carried on.

Honestly, my best advice is to not try to do everything in the Freestyle daily and instead just relax and plan each day as it happens. Have fun, kick back...and maybe buy a future cruise certificate for your next one! ;-)

We were also on the Epic last year and loved it! So much so that we're going back again next year. Everything was well maintained, crew was friendly, loved our balcony. No cruise is perfect, but we had a very enjoyable time on the Epic and can't wait to go back!

We just did the Indy 8-day in early February and the seas were pretty calm. We noticed very little movement, except near the front of the ship every once in a while. Noticed you are from MN -- we are from WI and, honestly, getting out of the state for over a week at this time if year was perfect. It really helped split up the winter.

Although I can't answer from the kids' perspective (we were on Indy for our honeymoon), I would go on Indy for the 8 days in January. The itinerary is excellent and there is lots to do for all age ranges. Plus, an extra day of sailing is really great. 7 days goes by too quickly!

Welcome back! Glad you had a wonderful time! The Sky was my first NCL cruise and I loved it. Trying to convince my husband we need to sail the Sky sometime this year in preparation for our Epic cruise next year. :D

New news to me! We loved O'Sheehan's on the Epic, so yay! Thanks for sharing!

I loved the Sky! Sailed the 4-day itinerary to celebrate my mom's retirement in 2011. It was my first NCL cruise and my parents' first-ever cruise. Would love to take my husband on it, because it was a nice, relaxing cruise.

Just wanted to say have a great time!

We just honeymooned on the Indy last week. Aside from recognizing us as honeymooners one night when we arrived at the MDR and our room steward congratulating us (because she had just decorated our room with "Just Married!" stuff), nothing else was really done to recognize us as honeymooners. Never were invited to a newlywed reception and didn't see mention of it in the Cruise Compass, although I read about it on here beforehand. Maybe the Indy doesn't do one?

Besides having our stateroom decorated, I ordered a bottle of champagne and my parents sent a bottle of wine to our room. We still had a wonderful honeymoon!

Just got off the Indy this past Sunday (2/9). We did the 8-day cruise, so can't help with Falmouth.

Labadee was nice! Much bigger than we expected and the beaches were nice. We planned on a beach day and did not do any excursions. Would recommend Columbus Cove for more space. We'd read good things about Nellie's Beach, but it was really packed and busy and we were there in the late afternoon on the day we stopped. Snorkeling isn't good on Labadee, unless you do an excursion, at least from what my husband found. He'd hoped to see more fish, but he snorkeled from shore and didn't have much luck. Others did not either. We considered doing the zip line, but at $95 per person and a one-time ride, we opted out of that. Looked fun, though!

As for the ship, it's a nice ship and kept up well. Workers always seemed to be cleaning something. There were lots of bars and lounges and we never had a problem getting deck chairs. Public spaces were generally comfortable and never packed where you couldn't find a spot to sit.

And although it's a very subjective subject, we did not like the food at all on Indy. My husband gave food a 4 out of 10, and he is not a picky eater. We enjoyed Johnny Rockets and Sorrento's pizza, though.

Glad you enjoyed the Sky! Thanks for posting your review. We are also Sky fans here. :-) The Sky was the first NCL ship I sailed on and my parents' first-ever cruise! Needless to say, we all loved it, and my parents have been on 6 NCL cruises since (just getting off the Sun today!). My husband I and just disembarked from a Royal Caribbean cruise on Sunday. It was a fun cruise with great ports and wonderful weather, but we missed NCL and the freestyle concept. Excited to sail again on the Epic next year!

Thanks again for your review. Brought back memories of the Sky!

Love the pic's.

Does the Indy have Pets at Sea store? My little one loves this store!

Thanks.

We sailed Indy last week, and I believe that they had a Pets at Sea. It was listed in the Cruise Compass, but I can't recall where it was. Never heard of it before the cruise, but it's a cute idea for little ones!

Good post!

We just got off the Indy on Sunday - our honeymoon cruise. As we were waiting to disembark, I went on Facebook to see what happened while we were gone and noticed that a local TV station is offering $250 to cover people's heating bills for this winter. It's been a rough winter here, as it has been everywhere. So, so many people were saying how much that money would help them cover that expense, with some barely making ends meet. One woman even said she was using her oven every once in awhile to heat her apartment. That's when I realized how lucky and blessed we are to be able to cruise. It was a good "reality check" that helped my new husband and I be grateful not only for cruising, but also for those small moments in life.

Me too! Me too! Not going until next year, but we're hoping to convince two friends who've never cruised but are interested in coming to join! A good review might help that. ;-)

so what is with all the negative Norwegian reviews... okay be honest?? how does Norwegian compare to royal Caribbean? how is the food on Norwegian compare??

 

hmmm thinking of doing the mediterrean on Norwegian.. will I regret it.. prices are muchhhhh lower for Europe on ncl vs princess or Norwegian??:confused:

My husband and I just got off an 8-day Royal Caribbean cruise on the Indy two days ago. We sailed the NCL Epic last January and loved it, and went on our Indy cruise with an open mind. We had a fun cruise, but did not like the food on RC at all. Compared much of it to the food we enjoyed on the Epic. ≈ My husband, who will eat anything except pickles and mayo, had a hard time finding things he liked on the Indy. Food is subjective, though! You may enjoy RC's food more than NCL's.

Don't get me wrong - we enjoyed our RC cruise. It was our honeymoon, we loved the ports, the ship was nice, etc. But the food broke it for us! We'd considering sailing RC again in a couple years if they revamp their menus.

If the price is much lower, why not give NCL a shot? You won't have a bad cruise!

Glad you made it, despite the crazy travel troubles. Thanks for your review and pictures! I really enjoy reviews with the pictures for some reason. Helps me live vicariously, since we sailed the Epic in January 2013. :-)

We just got off a Royal Caribbean cruise yesterday and, while it was fun and we loved the itinerary, we compared a lot of it to the Epic and NCL. We went in with open minds, knowing the two lines have similarities and differences, but we definitely missed NCL. Thankfully, before that cruise, we used our FCC to reserve another NCL Epic cruise for next January and we're already excited to go back!

Can't wait for more!

Just got off Indy yesterday. We were in a balcony on deck 6 and our neighbor parked her mobility scooter in the hallway for the last 3 days of the cruise. Seemed like she was able to manuever it into her balcony cabin the first couple days, though. I would definitely call to see if an accessible cabin is available, but if not, you should be able to fit the scooter in the cabin, park it in front of the couch and still have a walking path - albeit somewhat narrow.

I hope you and your husband have a great cruise!

If you do manage to stop by the Logo Shop again, would you be so kind as to see if they have X-Mas ornaments? I would love to complete my set of the Freedom Class when I sail her in March!

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but they did not have Christmas ornaments on the Indy. We searched and searched this last week, and my husband asked two different people and no ornaments. The person we asked in Seasons said something about being able to order them online through the RC Logo shop, so we may have to investigate that.

Not a good embarkation. Apparently we have stowaways that are preventing boarding. Been in line quite awhile. First Elvis sighting...

 

 

 

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So you guys were the one staring us down as we disembarked the Indy yesterday! ;-) We saw the line of people waiting for the doors to open as we exited the building. It was a SLOW process getting off. Sat in the Pyramid Lounge from 8:30 a.m. - 10:30 a.m. yesterday (with about 100 B2Bers, excitedly talking about this cruise!) waiting to disembark. All we could figure was that the slow disembarkation had something to do with the Harleys or the service dogs that were on our sailing. We were some of the last ones off -- saw the workers setting up the Coke cups and wine packages for your cruise! Talk about depressing. My husband saw all the Elvis's (Elvi?) waiting to embark, though!

The countdown is already on to our next cruise. :-)

Hope you have a great time on the Indy!

We'll be joining you on Saturday.

 

It would be cool if they showed the Olympics on the movie screen out by the pool! Someone on board now should suggest that so it'll be all set up for us! LOL

 

Marianne

That was our hope, but we just got off the Indy yesterday and sadly, no Olympics - not even Opening Ceremonies! And we couldn't find them on our room TV either. :( We're watching as much of them as we can now that we're home, though!

If you're on the 8-day cruise this Saturday, have a great time! We loved it!

Perfect timing for your review! Thank you. We sail the Indy for our honeymoon on Saturday. :-) Thanks for getting us even more ready to get out of the cold here!

We'll be on the lovely Gem for the 6th time in just 16 days, 3 hours....

 

but who's counting???

 

Me!!! I can't wait to get away from this cold for a while.

Awesome sauce!! I feel your excitement! So ready to escape the cold, snowy winter weather here in the Midwest.

We will be on the RCCL Indy in 8 days, 9 hours, 25 minutes and 31 seconds (okay, 30 seconds)...and then back on the Epic in 359 days, 9 hours...Yep, not counting for either of those! ;-)

Hmm...guess I should start packing for the Indy cruise one of these days. We fly out a week from today!

Have a great cruise on the Gem!

11065 is near the front (forward) of the ship. We were in 11039 just down the hall from 11065 last year. Nice location, quiet and it is close to stairs, which we used a lot! We never felt much motion in that location either. I think you're in a good location!