dolita22

Nothing to ask, but just wanted to say have an awesome cruise! We will be getting on the ship the day you depart. :-)

Thanks. Enjoy your honeymoon cruise!!!!

Thank you! We will! So ready to escape the negative temperatures and snow!!

Awesome review!! Your pictures of Trunk Bay were fantastic! We were on the Epic last January and your review made me excited to sail again next January! Want to sail once more before the ship heads to Europe full time.

Glad you and your family (and sock monkey) had such a great second cruise on the Epic!

We sailed on the 8-night itinerary last January and loved it so much we are booked on her again - heading out in 11 days!! No complaints from our party of 5. Found her a really easy ship to navigate and was worried we might be overwhelmed with 4300 passengers but it never felt crowded! Book, go and enjoy:D

Us too! We can't wait! Ready to get out of the cold, snowy Midwest!!

Also, OP, check out post #10 in this thread for a link to the Compasses for the 8-night itinerary: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1956034&highlight=independence.

Happy cruising!

Congrats! We got married in November and are going on our honeymoon on the Indy and leave next week! Can't wait! I'm thinking cruising may be the best way to honeymoon...less stress after wedding planning! :-)

Great info. I think we may purchase one BUT if there is already one on the windshield can we put duct tape over it on the outside so it does not communicate with the toll booths? Hate to end up paying twice.

 

I think Illinois uses the EZ pass and we don't use their toll ways that much but plan to purchase one next summer so we have it if we decided to take a road trip.

Illinois uses the EZ Pass or the I-Pass. My parents have an I-Pass we use frequently and we pay half of what we would if we had to pull over and pay in cash, plus we just keep cruising through the tolls! Worth the 40 bucks (or whatever it is these days).

Independence has an open to the public helipad that is a nice place to watch the sunset if you are headed in the right direction. Promenade Deck 4, head to front of ship, when you get to the stairs go up, continue forward and a few more stairs and you are there. Reasonably quiet as most people don't find it, but not private. Helipad open 24/7 except during rescue operations and severe weather. We get on Independence tomorrow (our 4th week aboard Indy). We promise to leave it in good shape for you - on 26 Jan as you board Indy we meander over to Terminal 18 and board the Allure .

 

enjoy

Thom

Thanks for the directions, Thom! I was wondering how to get to the helipad!

DaytonCruisers87, have a great time on the Indy! As you disembark, we will be getting on the ship!

So you can probably gather we were very impressed indeed. Unfortunately the Getaway is now bound for a life in Florida, and the ships in Europe are either the horrid looking Epic or one of the older ships, so I’m not sure if we will sail with NCL in the near future. But if we were in Florida and Getaway and Indie offered the same itinerary I do honestly think we would chose Getaway. Sorry RCI. However, our next RCI cruise is on Oasis. It will be interesting to see how she compares.

Nice comparison! Sounds like you went in with an open mind. Glad you had a nice Getaway. :-)

I was on the Epic last year and really enjoyed it. It may not be the prettiest ship, but it's a very nice ship! We're sailing the Indy in a few weeks and have plans to sail the Epic again next January. :-)

Email rcldining@rccl.com about three weeks before your cruise to request a table for two. When I've done that in the past I got an email back from the restaurant coordinator on the ship confirming my table size and number about a week before the cruise.

Thank you so much for the email address! I searched for this on this forum, because I thought someone has previously posted, but for whatever reason, could not find it. My husband and I are going on our honeymoon on the Indy in a couple weeks and I wanted to request a table for two. Much appreciated!

We had our honeymoon last June on the Mariner and we loved it. On the first night we went back to our cabin to find an invitation to a special honeymooners lunch for the following day.

Another couple and ourselves were given a private table and private waiters for lunch, free bottomless mimosas for the whole time we were dining and at the end the waiters brought us out a gorgeous cake and sang to us.

I have never sailed Carnival but loved everything about our RCI cruise :)

Really? That's great! I hope the Indy does that as well, because we will be celebrating our honeymoon on board in just a couple weeks and bottomless mimosas sound awesome! :-)

Spoke to our TA...

 

**YEAH!!! we got 2 rooms. So now we are in 1 balcony and 1 promanade room ..... (above guest services) ...hubby with one son in first room and me with other son in second room........ so happy.

 

It is an extra room for sleeping, showering and bathroom use for only $58 more than what we would have paid for just 4 of us in just the balcony!!!!!...very happy newbie cruiser!!!.

 

.....do I sound excited!! ;-)

 

Thanks for the help :)

Woohoo! So happy to read this. Glad it all worked out so well for you, and for only $58 more. Awesome.

Have a wonderful time with your family on your first cruise!! :-)

Have a great first cruise! First cruises are always memorable. Relax and enjoy!

I really enjoyed the Epic and will likely sail the Epic next year because we have a future cruise certificate - but for your options, I like the itinerary on the Freedom better. My husband LOVES Maho Beach on St. Maarten (see big planes take off and land!) and St. Thomas is beautiful. Never been to San Juan, but we're stopping there in a couple weeks and everyone seems to have good things to say about it. Plus, it's a day longer. My choice would be the Freedom.

Thanks so much, dolitta22!

 

I will check out the Freedom reviews.

I hope y'all have a wonderful honeymoon as well!!!

You are welcome! Happy honeymooning and congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

Um, I'm 33 and considering signing up for that! Seriously! My husband and I travel a lot, so getting the AARP hotel discounts would be pretty great as well, if that applies.

Thanks for the info about this, cruisecritiquer!

I just read some of those negative reviews of the Breakaway last night...yikes! As much as I like NCL, it's probably a good call to avoid the Getaway, especially with it being so new - there will likely be some kinks to iron out.

Ohh, yep, you can do MTD on Royal and it's I've heard similar to NCL's Freestyle. My apologies for not mentioning that.

I know you didn't ask me, but I am frequently reading the RCCL boards with our upcoming Indy cruise and there have been many great reviews of the Freedom lately. Here's a link to the RCCL board in case you haven't seen it: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=83. Seems like many people enjoy the Freedom! Lots of reviews and pictures.

Good idea on the early flight. I'm sure either Oasis or Freedom will be excellent choices for your honeymoon!

We were in 11039 on the Epic, and while it was forward and I was concerned about it after being in a VERY forward cabin on an RCCL cruise a few years ago in rough seas, we felt very little motion even one evening when the seas were a little choppier. I had SeaBands, ginger, Bonine, etc., and didn't need anything, but it was in my suitcase just in case. It's such a large ship, and if she has the SeaBands or anything, hopefully all will be well. :-)

Enjoy your cruise!

You really can't go wrong with either ship. Although I've only cruised with them twice, I am a big fan of NCL, simply because of the Freestyle aspect - that being, eating dinner (generally in the MDR) at a table for two, when we want in a fairly casual environment. From a romantic standpoint, you can also dine in specialty restaurants for an additional cover. We got engaged on the Epic and there always something going on, yet we were able to get away from it all and hang on our balcony with a glass of wine each evening (more romance). If the Breakaway is anything like the Epic, there is a good balance of activity and being alone with just the two of you.

That said, I've sailed with RCCL once and we will be sailing with them for our honeymoon in a couple weeks! Seems like there is just as much to see and do/not do on RCCL ships, and there are lots and lots of good reviews of the Oasis. Based on what I remember from RCCL and what I've read here, though, we suspect we will end up back with NCL, mainly for the Freestyle concept. However, we loved the Indy's itinerary and the fact that it was 8 nights, so are excited to try it out! We will have a great time.

Again, you really can't go wrong with either cruise. You could choose the cruise with the destinations you'd most like to see or the least expensive option, if you're on a budget. You will have a fantastic time either way!

One word of caution: If you're getting married on Friday and departing on a cruise on Saturday, ensure you have a very, very early morning (direct, if possible) flight or you are within driving distance of the port. Many people on this board recommend flying in the day before a cruise in case of any flight delays. You do need to be on board approximately 90 minutes before the sailing time and do not want to cut that close. My husband and I were EXHAUSTED after our wedding in November and could have slept for a few more hours the morning after, but had to be up for a brunch we hosted. I would have feared missing a flight and the cruise if we had sailed the day after the wedding. Perhaps considering sailing that departs on Sunday instead if you are concerned. Or do what we did and wait a couple months after the wedding. :-) We were on such a high after the wedding and were able to enjoy that. And now we're on a high waiting for our honeymoon cruise in a couple weeks.

Congratulations and happy cruise planning!

We're in a forward-facing hump cabin on the 6th deck on Indy in February. Picked it for the convenient location, mainly, and the price was not bad at all when we booked back in August. Hope it's not too windy! Either way, I'm sure we will enjoy it. A cruise to celebrate our honeymoon and escape from the bitter cold we're experiencing in Wisconsin this winter...can't go wrong with that! :)

I am going with my fiancé who has been on 18 cruises already and I have heard all his suggestions' date=' which were not bad, but I would not mind hearing from others...[/quote']

 

Go and have fun! Order room service coffee/breakfast each morning, and if you have a balcony cabin, enjoy it while sitting out there. My husband loves drinking his coffee each morning on the balcony, especially on sea days. Really relaxing.

 

Do as much as you feel like doing each day. If that's sitting on deck, reading a book, by all means, enjoy. You can do as much as or as little as you want.

 

Congrats to you and your fiance! :)

Excellent review! Thank you so much for all the wonderful pictures. Sailing for our honeymoon on the Indy in February and your pictures have us ready to go now! :)

And don't knock the Epic, guys! As "fuggly" as it may be, it's a great ship, IMO. Lots to see and do and, after all, it is a cruise. :) Then again, my new husband and I got engaged on the Epic, so it holds a special place in our hearts - so much so that we're considering a second cruise on her next January.

For now, though, we're excited to sail the Indy in about a month!

Thanks again for your stellar review. Much appreciated!

Yay! Thank you so much for your awesome review and pictures. My new husband and I will be on the Indy for our honeymoon in February, so we're soaking up all the information we can now. Glad you had a great vacation!

Congratulations!!

This is a great ship and you should have a wonderful cruise.

It is a production and a different show on each ship.

Lasts about 50 min. in the ice rink.

There is public time for skating listed in the Compass if you wish to skate.

I think they are very well done with great costumes.

 

I can't think if Jan. on our cruises this year on IOS, if we needed tickets. If you are in a suite, the Concierge can get you tickets though. It is very popular yes!

Thank you, CVU! Sounds like a good show! The public skating time sounds fun, too, although we are in Wisconsin and can do that often now that our lakes are frozen over. :-) We in a balcony, so looks like we may be standing in line for tickets.

What is the ice show all about? How long is it? My husband and I are sailing the Indy in February for our honeymoon and are just starting to plan what we'd like to do on the ship. I don't know much about the ice show, but everyone wants tickets so I take it it is quite popular! So, what's the draw and is it worth it to stand in line for tickets?

Thanks! :-)

Congrats on your engagement! A cruise ship wedding sounds awesome.

I don't have much else to add besides what PPs have said, but in regards to your question regarding etiquette, check out the Etiquette board on The Knot's website (http://forums.theknot.com/categories/wedding-boards_etiquette). It's super helpful for many etiquette-related questions!

Happy planning!