Independence of the Seas 8 Day Eastern Caribbean Review with Pictures!

[TNCruiser30]

Independence of the Seas 8 Day Eastern Caribbean - January 23-31, 2010

 

Who we are: My group consisted of my mother (65) and me (31). This is my mother’s 2nd cruise and my 4th (3 with RCCL and 1 with Carnival). We previously traveled on the IOS last March for the 6 day Western Caribbean and we loved the ship so much we decided to do the Eastern Caribbean before she moved overseas. We requested the same stateroom we had last time (1700 – a corner aft balcony). After having a corner aft balcony I don’t think I could ever go back to a regular balcony again! The two lounge chairs were a real plus!

 

Day 1: Embarkation

We flew to Ft. Lauderdale from Knoxville, TN. Our flight left at 6:20am so we had to get up at the ungodly hour of 3 am to drive to the airport (which is about an hour away). This was after packing most of Friday night and making an unexpected trip to Walmart at 9pm for another suitcase because somebody (I won’t name any names because this is my review and I refuse to incriminate myself) broke the zipper on my mother’s suitcase. It was an accident, I promise! So finally, with the packing all done I got to bed around 11pm and had a good 4 hours sleep before having to get up again. But that didn’t matter since I was so excited to go on a cruise again!

 

We had a short layover in Atlanta and the flight to Ft. Lauderdale went smoothly. We got there around 10:45am and met the representative at baggage claim for our transfer to the pier. We ended up sitting next to the same people we sat next to on the plane so we got to know them a little. As it turned out, they worked for the same company I do, just in a different state. We would see them periodically throughout the cruise.

 

We left the airport around 11:15 and headed to the pier. The representatives were really nice and considerate to my mother, who walks with a cane. It was a quick ride to the pier and the bus driver pointed out the Oasis of the Seas, which was docked there that day. After a quick embarkation process, we boarded the IOS around noon and immediately went to the Windjammer for lunch. It was crowded, as was to be expected, but the waiters were quick in clearing tables and we had no problem finding a seat. We ate lunch then went to explore the ship. In the meantime, we discovered that Elvis was on the ship with us! (Actually there were 3 tribute artists.) My mother is a huge Elvis fan and the representative from the “Cruising with the King” group talked her into joining the group for the week. So she wouldn’t have to go to the shows by herself, I joined with her. By being part of the group, we were able to attend shows every day (which did not conflict with any other activities on the ship) plus go to a few meet and mingles.

 

After signing up for that, it was time for our cabin to be ready. My mother opted to rest for a while, so I went up on the pool deck and sports deck to take some pictures and checked out the rock wall and flowrider (which I didn’t do, but it was fun to watch other people do it!) I also had my first drink of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

By the time I went back to the cabin, our luggage had arrived and we unpacked. Muster drill was at 4:15 (no lifejackets required) and we stayed out on deck to take some pictures of the Oasis.

 

 

 

We stopped in at the sailaway party on the pool deck and had another drink, then went to the first Elvis show, which was a lot of fun.

 

We had requested 6:00pm dinner seating so after the show it was time to head to the dining room. We had debated about the seating time when we first booked the cruise. I had always done the late seating, but the last time we did it we were always absolutely starving by dinnertime and after we ate we were always too tired to go to the shows or participate in any of the activities. So we decided the early seating might be better. We requested a large table because we like to get to know other people. We were at a table for 10 and everyone got along really well. The first night I had the caesar salad and the prime rib, which was excellent. I think my mother had the same (sorry, I can only remember what I ate!) Our waiter, Ashu, was from India and she was very professional. Her assistant, Angel from the Philippines, was also very good.

 

After dinner, we went back to the Pyramid Lounge for the Elvis meet and greet, then walked around a bit more before calling it an early night.

[TNCruiser30]

Some more pictures of the ship....

 

The Promenade Deck

 

 

Our Stateroom

 

Our Balcony

[TNCruiser30]

Day 2: At Sea

 

We woke up early and I went downstairs to the promenade café to get some coffee for both of us and a muffin for me. The coffee is not too bad on the ship, just stronger than what I’m used to. I had to use 6 containers of half and half to get it to the point where I could drink it!

 

 

We sat on our balcony with our coffee then I read for a little while. We went to the WJ for a late breakfast then it was time for day one of progressive trivia in the Schooner Bar. My mother was going to join me, but decided at the last minute to go to bingo instead. So I went alone and joined up with three other people. Our cruise director, Joff Eaton, lead the progressive trivia and he was a riot. On the first day he told us that by the end of the 4 days, one of the answers would be Sri Lanka, so if we didn’t know an answer we could put that down as a backup. He also told us there were no trick questions…yeah right! (If you have 6 apples, and take 2 away…)

 

After trivia, I joined my mother for the Port and Shopping show, which is basically one big sales presentation. Since we had such a late breakfast, I wasn’t hungry for lunch. Plus I had a 1:30 appointment at the spa for a hot stone massage. My mother decided to go back to the room and order room service for lunch while I had my massage.

 

The massage was great! I had had one on the last cruise and was dying to have another one. It was 75 minutes and it went by way too fast. I think I fell asleep the last 20 minutes since I was so totally relaxed. She had to ring a little bell to wake me up and tell me it was over!

 

There was another Elvis show scheduled at 3:00, but I didn’t go since I wanted to shower and rinse off all the massage oils. So my mother and I planned to meet for 2 for 1 bingo at 4:00.

 

After bingo, we got a slice of pizza at Sorrento’s (delicious!) then got ready for our first formal night of the cruise.

 

 

Before dinner, I was able to watch the sunset from our balcony and got a few pictures.

 

 

Dinner tonight was seafood brochette (sp?) for me, and the filet for the rest of the table. I guess I like to be different! After dinner, we went to the Captain’s Reception and had a glass of champagne and took some pictures. Then back to the room to change into comfy clothes! My mother called it a night, but I went back to the Pyramid Lounge to watch the Millionaire Game. The football game they were showing beforehand had gone into overtime so I watched the last 15 minutes of that before the game show started. It was pretty funny. After that, I went to karaoke and watched that for an hour or so before going back to the room. Each night before going to bed, I would sit on the balcony and read. It was so relaxing to listen to the ocean!

[TNCruiser30]

Day 3: At Sea

Got up early (again) and we went to breakfast at the WJ. Afterwards, I sat by the pool for a few hours before going to trivia. I have to admit the pool area is really nice first thing in the morning since you have your choice of deck chairs!

After trivia, we met for an early lunch in the dining room. We sat with a really nice couple and the husband was actually on the ship to give lectures on different subjects of literature. It was a very pleasant lunch and I was able to get the salad bar which is my favorite (plus a BBQ pulled pork sandwich, but hey, I’m on vacation, right?)

After lunch, I took a nap (again, I’m on vacation!) then we went to “Win a Cruise” bingo at 3:00. Unfortunately, we didn’t win L. After bingo, we went to the Elvis show then got ready for dinner. It was Italian night in the dining room. I think I had a salad for an appetizer, then the eggplant tower and of course tiramisu for dessert! After dinner my mother and I had a drink at the Schooner bar then went into the casino to try our luck. I actually won $31 at the slot machines so I was pretty happy. I wanted to leave a winner, so I cashed out early. We went up to the promenade and I got a mojito and we sat with some of our table mates and talked for a while. I have to admit, I don’t really know what’s in a mojito, but boy did it hit me hard. I almost wonder if the bartender maybe put a little too much alcohol in it since I normally have a better tolerance than that. So there went my plans for the night (including the Quest) since I barely got back to the room! Oh well, it was probably best I went to bed early since I had to be up early the next morning….St. Maarten!

[TNCruiser30]

Day 4: St. Maarten

 

An early wake up call this morning. We had ordered breakfast room service the night before and it arrived promptly. We sat out on the balcony while we ate.

 

 

Pulling into port

 

 

My mother and I had signed up for the Magical Highlights Sightseeing Tour, which started with a catamaran ride to Marigot, on the French side of the island. Unfortunately, it was very windy and the tour representative informed us that they had to cancel the catamaran ride since it would be too dangerous. They gave us the option to cancel the tour completely or just receive a partial refund for the catamaran. We opted to continue with the tour and took a bus over to Marigot. We first found a restroom in a nearby mall and were charged the ridiculous amount of $1 each just to use the toilet! I was used to having to pay for toilets in Europe, but $1? Seriously!? Well, we had to go, so we paid up. Afterwards, we walked around the harbor then shopped at the stands the local vendors had set up. Bargaining is such fun!

 

 

 

[TNCruiser30]

Day 4: St. Maarten continued

 

The hour passed very quickly and before we knew it, it was time to get back on the bus and head back over to Phillipsburg. We stopped at a few scenic points to take pictures then were let off downtown. We had the option to meet back in an hour to go back to the ship, but we had already decided we wanted to take our time in Phillipsburg and we would just take the water taxi back to the ship.

 

 

So off we went…jewelry shopping! There were TONS of jewelry stores and they had some pretty fantastic jewelry (most well out of our price range!) Although I was talked into buying a blue diamond pendent and I have to admit I got a pretty good deal J.

 

After we were jewelry shopped out, we took the water taxi back to the ship ($6 round trip but $8 one way).

 

 

 

We had a late lunch at the WJ then…nap time! We had booked the Mystery Dinner Theater at Portofinos that night so we wanted to make sure we were well rested.

 

The Mystery Dinner was great! I had heard mixed reviews here on CC but we really had a good time. It was a lot of fun, in a campy sort of way. We met at the Olive or Twist bar for champagne and appetizers and the characters were introduced and the first few acts were performed. We then moved down to Portofino’s and were served the first course of antipasti, then caesar salad. We had a choice between jumbo tiger shrimp or a filet for the main course and I got the shrimp and my mother got the filet so we could share. The performance continued between courses and we had a chance to “interrogate” the suspects. After dessert (the best tiramisu I have ever had!) we each submitted our guess on who the murderer was and the theory behind our guess. Nobody at our table ended up getting it right but I believe that the person who did guess right got some sort of a gift at the end of the show. All in all, a great evening!

 

The Cast of the Mystery Dinner

[TNCruiser30]

I just realized how funny the cast members eyes looked in that picture! There were several of us taking pictures at once so I guess they didn't know which direction to look!

[TNCruiser30]

Day 5: St. Thomas

 

We ordered room service again this morning then got ready for our Panoramic Drive tour in St. Thomas.

 

 

 

 

The tour was great and our guide was really informative. We also got some really good pictures.

 

 

Megan's Bay

[TNCruiser30]

Day 5: St. Thomas continued

 

St. Peter’s Great House had a really pretty botanical garden and we each sampled their “world famous” banana daiquiri.

 

 

 

 

After the tour, my mother wanted to go back to the ship, so I went with her then walked back to the tram to Paradise Point. It had some fantastic views, but I’m not sure it was really worth the $21 it cost. But I did buy some really pretty larimar jewelry at one of the shops there.

 

 

 

After Paradise Point, I went to the shops by the pier and looked at some more jewelry, finally deciding to buy some tanzanite, which I thought was really pretty.

[TNCruiser30]

More St. Thomas pictures....

 

 

 

 

[TNCruiser30]

I went back to the ship and had lunch at the WJ. After lunch, I took a nap (this was becoming a theme!) We went to the Elvis show at 4:00 then took some pictures of the sunset from our balcony before heading to dinner.

 

 

 

Tonight I had fried mushrooms as an appetizer, the sirloin steak, and a pear tart for dessert. After dinner we shopped for a while on the promenade deck and I bought some beautiful amber jewelry that I had been eyeing for a while. We also went and looked at our formal night pictures and ended up buying a few.

 

Later that evening we had a nice surprise delivered to our cabin…a bottle of champagne and chocolate covered strawberries! My mother tried to tell the room service waiter that it must be a mistake but she said no, it wasn’t. So we ate the delicious strawberries and saved the champagne for later. It still remains a mystery who it was from!

 

[asubbq]

Thank You!

[depplep]

Okay, you're killing me with the pictures!!!! We leave in a few weeks and I can't wait!

[dleafy]

Great report so far. We were also on this trip and did all of the quizes. (toon army).

So far, most of my pictures look exactly the same as yours. Apart from the ones with you in obviously.

Had a great trip on a fantastic ship. Sounds like you did too.

 

Cheers

 

Davy!!!

[dleafy]

Great report so far. We were also on this trip and did all of the quizes. (toon army).

So far, most of my pictures look exactly the same as yours. Apart from the ones with you in obviously.

Had a great trip on a fantastic ship. Sounds like you did too.

 

Cheers

 

Davy!!!

[eldolko]

...but the last time we did it we were always absolutely starving by dinnertime...

Starving? On a cruise? :D

[timespliters]

Nice photos

We just came back in Jan from Caribbean

and had a great cruise over 4 weeks.

We go on IOTS in June forsecond time.

 

some photos on link

 

 

 

 

 

.

[Bigmama2n1]

I'm really enjoying your review! We're going on FOS next month on their Eastern Carib. route. Fantastic pictures!!! I can't wait to see it all myself!

[PhillyDad]

Wow...great pictures! You are an amazing photographer. Thanks for posting. I am glad you and your mom had such a great time. My kids and I are scheduled to sail on the IOS on March 28 and your pictures are phenomenal (even better than those on the RCCL website). I can't wait to show my kids. They are gonna be so psyched.

[soccrguy]

We just got back from our cruise on the Freedom of the Seas and I'm missing "your" cruise more than mine!!!:confused: Go figure... great review!!!

[I love cruising!]

Love your pics and thanks for the review. I am so excited we go in 3 weeks!! :D - Western itinerary though. However, looking at your pics, I just might have to book an Eastern intinerary for later this year...I forgot how much I loved St. Maarten and St. Thomas the last time we were there. :rolleyes:

[SandraLee]

Thank you for posting! Great review. I'm looking forward to hearing what you did in San Juan.

[BeancounterUSA]

Great report so far. We were also on this trip and did all of the quizes. (toon army).

So far, most of my pictures look exactly the same as yours. Apart from the ones with you in obviously.

Had a great trip on a fantastic ship. Sounds like you did too.

 

Cheers

 

Davy!!!

 

 

Wondering what you mean by "toon army"? Newcastle fan?

[TNCruiser30]

Day 6: San Juan

 

We got up early and watched the ship pull into port at San Juan. I was the only one scheduled for a tour this morning, so I grabbed some coffee and a doughnut from the promenade café and sat out on the balcony while I ate.

 

Coming into port

 

 

 

I was doing the Fortresses of San Juan Tour today. My mother decided it was too strenuous for her so she was just going to take her time and visit Old San Juan that morning. There was also an Elvis show scheduled at Senor Frogs that day while we were in port, so we thought it would be fun to go to that as well.

 

Castillo del Morro

 

[MAZANDSTEVE]

Great review and pics. Thanks:)