Independence of the Seas

[cruisin under the sun]

Does anyone how the ice skating show works?

What are the restaurants / food venues included in the cruise fare?

What are the menus like in the main dining rooms and buffets?

 

What are the entertainment choices available?

Are the ice skating and main theater shows available every night?

I heard that Johnny Rockets served free breakfast. Is this correct?

How much is it outside of breakfast? Is it all you can eat for one price with the exception of specialty drinks & milkshakes?

What are the surcharge restaurants and what is the amount of that charge?

What are the hours of the food venues?

How many late night buffets do you offer on a 6 night cruise?

What free food choices are available after midnight?

What pay food choices are available after midnight?

What are the hours for the pools, casinos, surf zone, h2o, hot tubs, golf, shopping, fitness center, and skating rink?

Do they offer self service departure (take your own luggage) if so how does that work?

What are the shopping choices available on the ship?

Are mini refrigerators in the room, can you put your own stuff in there?

What size tv is in the stateroom? Is there a dvd player there as well?

[pcutrone]

Does anyone how the ice skating show works?

Yes, they hand out tickets on the second day in front of Sorrento's at 9am. They are given out on a first come/first serve basis. Only one person in your party has to be there. My Mom went for us and got 6 tickets.

 

What are the restaurants / food venues included in the cruise fare?

Everything EXCEPT Johnny Rockets, Portofino, Chops, Ben and Jerry and specialty drinks from Cafe Promenade.

 

What are the menus like in the main dining rooms and buffets?

I found the main dining room menus to be good, the buffets had a little bit of everything. The main dining room had lobster one night, prime rib twice, good cuts of beef, an italian night, etc.

 

What are the entertainment choices available?

What isn't available. Production shows, game shows, ice shows, trivia, bingo, etc. The list goes on and on. You could NEVER be bored.

 

Are the ice skating and main theater shows available every night?

No, there are only four ice skating shows. Two on Monday and two on Wednesday. There are two production shows. One on either Sunday or Monday night and one on Friday night.

 

I heard that Johnny Rockets served free breakfast. Is this correct?

Johnny Rockets does not serve breakfast. It opens at noon and closes at midnight.

 

How much is it outside of breakfast? Is it all you can eat for one price with the exception of specialty drinks & milkshakes?

The surcharge is $4.95 for all you can eat, but you have to also pay for milkshakes.

 

What are the surcharge restaurants and what is the amount of that charge?

The surcharge for Chops is $25 per person and $20 for Portofino.

 

What are the hours of the food venues?

Johnny Rockets closes at midnight, Sorrento's around 2am, maybe a little later. Cafe Promenade and room service are open 24/7. Room service charges a $3.95 surcharge between midnight and 5am.

 

How many late night buffets do you offer on a 6 night cruise?

One.

 

What free food choices are available after midnight?

Pizza, cafe promenade

 

What pay food choices are available after midnight?

Room service

 

What are the hours for the pools, casinos, surf zone, h2o, hot tubs, golf, shopping, fitness center, and skating rink?

The skating rink has very specific hours, shopping closes down at midnight, the casino between 2-3am, the pool, hot tubs, golf, fitness center, etc. are 24/7.

 

Do they offer self service departure (take your own luggage) if so how does that work?

Yes, they have three times you can get off. 8:30, 9:30 and 10:15 and you depart from Studio B.

 

What are the shopping choices available on the ship?

Many shops available on the Royal Promenade. Not much you can't find there.

 

Are mini refrigerators in the room, can you put your own stuff in there?

Yes, they have mini refrigerators in the room, but you cannot put your own stuff in them.

 

What size tv is in the stateroom? Is there a dvd player there as well?

It's small, maybe 20-24" and there is no dvd player.

[cb at sea]

Unless you're in a suite, the TV is ample for the size of the cabin...none are large, so a 19 inch tv is fine. (there's little programming...not sure why folks are concerned about the size and type of tv!)

[pcutrone]

Very, very true about the tv. I never even turned mine on except to look at my seapass account once.

[mrstay]

Are mini refrigerators in the room, can you put your own stuff in there?

Yes, they have mini refrigerators in the room, but you cannot put your own stuff in them.

 

I will have to argue this point. We just got off the ship this Sunday. We had an interior cabin with a frig and we took out the items and put them on the top shelf and used it for our stuff. I have a REALLY long review posted on this site if you are interested.

[pcutrone]

I never thought about doing that! I guess I'm so used to the motion operated mini bars in hotels that I assumed we needed to leave everything alone. Good idea! I stand corrected.

[NorbertsNiece]

We asked our room steward to empty the 'fridge' and remove the contents entirely. Have read of people being charged for things they've not used then having probs getting that amount removed from their account. We could then use the 'fridge' to keep our own drinks cool. Review in link below.

[cruisin under the sun]

I will have to argue this point. We just got off the ship this Sunday. We had an interior cabin with a frig and we took out the items and put them on the top shelf and used it for our stuff. I have a REALLY long review posted on this site if you are interested.

I'd love to see you're review can you send a link?

[cruisin under the sun]

Does anyone how the ice skating show works?

Yes, they hand out tickets on the second day in front of Sorrento's at 9am. They are given out on a first come/first serve basis. Only one person in your party has to be there. My Mom went for us and got 6 tickets.

 

What are the restaurants / food venues included in the cruise fare?

Everything EXCEPT Johnny Rockets, Portofino, Chops, Ben and Jerry and specialty drinks from Cafe Promenade.

 

What are the menus like in the main dining rooms and buffets?

I found the main dining room menus to be good, the buffets had a little bit of everything. The main dining room had lobster one night, prime rib twice, good cuts of beef, an italian night, etc.

 

What are the entertainment choices available?

What isn't available. Production shows, game shows, ice shows, trivia, bingo, etc. The list goes on and on. You could NEVER be bored.

 

Are the ice skating and main theater shows available every night?

No, there are only four ice skating shows. Two on Monday and two on Wednesday. There are two production shows. One on either Sunday or Monday night and one on Friday night.

 

I heard that Johnny Rockets served free breakfast. Is this correct?

Johnny Rockets does not serve breakfast. It opens at noon and closes at midnight.

 

How much is it outside of breakfast? Is it all you can eat for one price with the exception of specialty drinks & milkshakes?

The surcharge is $4.95 for all you can eat, but you have to also pay for milkshakes.

 

What are the surcharge restaurants and what is the amount of that charge?

The surcharge for Chops is $25 per person and $20 for Portofino.

 

What are the hours of the food venues?

Johnny Rockets closes at midnight, Sorrento's around 2am, maybe a little later. Cafe Promenade and room service are open 24/7. Room service charges a $3.95 surcharge between midnight and 5am.

 

How many late night buffets do you offer on a 6 night cruise?

One.

 

What free food choices are available after midnight?

Pizza, cafe promenade

 

What pay food choices are available after midnight?

Room service

 

What are the hours for the pools, casinos, surf zone, h2o, hot tubs, golf, shopping, fitness center, and skating rink?

The skating rink has very specific hours, shopping closes down at midnight, the casino between 2-3am, the pool, hot tubs, golf, fitness center, etc. are 24/7.

 

Do they offer self service departure (take your own luggage) if so how does that work?

Yes, they have three times you can get off. 8:30, 9:30 and 10:15 and you depart from Studio B.

 

What are the shopping choices available on the ship?

Many shops available on the Royal Promenade. Not much you can't find there.

 

Are mini refrigerators in the room, can you put your own stuff in there?

Yes, they have mini refrigerators in the room, but you cannot put your own stuff in them.

 

What size tv is in the stateroom? Is there a dvd player there as well?

It's small, maybe 20-24" and there is no dvd player.

Do you know what time the port normally opens for you to get in line to give the Cruise Line your paperwork? Is it true that Sorrentos also has panini sandwiches? What types of items does cafe promenade offer?

Thanks for all the info

[Silvery Seas Cruiser]

A further explanation about the ice shows. There are four performances but it is the SAME show each time. We enjoy them so much we often go to more than one performance. Even if you don't have a ticket, you can sometimes be allowed to enter the show once all the ticketed guests are seated.

 

For the theater shows, there are usually two different production shows during the week of a cruise. By production, I mean the shows with singers, dancers and often the orchestra. The night of the production shows there are usaully two performances. You won't need tickets for Independence theater shows.

 

Other nights, a variety of theater acts usually include a comedian one night, a magician or juggling act or other similar acts on other nights. The first night of the cruise is a welcome aboard show. That one often is the one with the comedian. The last night, the show is usually an act combined with some sort of good bye show with such things as the cruise CD being shown and many crew members from each department parading to wave good bye.

 

It is smart to get to the theater early on nights of popular shows because the seats can fill up sometimes. If you want a good choice of seats get there early.

[pcutrone]

Do you know what time the port normally opens for you to get in line to give the Cruise Line your paperwork? Is it true that Sorrentos also has panini sandwiches? What types of items does cafe promenade offer?

Thanks for all the info

 

We were at the Port at 10am and it was open with no lines.

 

Sorrento's offers a lot of other stuff other than pizza, but I didn't have any of it so I can't comment.

 

Cafe Promenade has sandwiches, pastries, muffins, etc. It's actually pretty good.

[matj2000]

Thats an awful lot of questions to ask on one thread and most of them do not have any relevance that needs to be known way ahead of your cruise. You are better off boarding the ship and learning these things as you go. Overplanning is not always beneficial.

[msbptg]

I,ve been looking everyday for this cruise date to lower its prices, and so far they have been going up..I guess with all this snow where having the prices might never go down. I sure hope they do as I,ll use the savings to pay for my time dining..lol

[roysmith99]

Thats an awful lot of questions to ask on one thread and most of them do not have any relevance that needs to be known way ahead of your cruise. You are better off boarding the ship and learning these things as you go. Overplanning is not always beneficial.

 

As a control freak, a project manager and someone who just has to be over-organised I love all these questions....... Anyone who woudl like a copy of my 1,000 task project plan for planning, booking and sailing on a cruise just let me know. :D

 

 

Actually - I have sailed on Independence and some of those things I did not know.

 

.

.

[klg94msn]

Overplanners, Unite!

[amybeth4]

I agree with Matj. When I read the post, I was like, "WOW!!!!!!"

 

It's actually really nice to discover things onboard. Almost all of your questions will become very clear, probably on day one. They're really good about letting you know things over and over... :)

[matj2000]

As a control freak, a project manager and someone who just has to be over-organised I love all these questions....... Anyone who woudl like a copy of my 1,000 task project plan for planning, booking and sailing on a cruise just let me know. :D

 

 

Actually - I have sailed on Independence and some of those things I did not know.

 

.

.

 

Control freak, cruise planning project? I am sure you are a gem to vacation with. You probably only have fun "On paper".... I bet your future exwife or wives will vouch for that

[mrstay]

I'd love to see you're review can you send a link?

 

You can click on my name and then it will take you to all my posts. I hope to finish the review this weekend with more pictures. My suggestion is to chill alittle, remember it is a vacation. The element of surprise can sometimes bring the best results.

[cruisin under the sun]

Can you go to the show theaters early?

I know on carnival we went about 45 minutes before the show and they usually had bingo. Are they strict with the dress code?

Can you wear shorts in the dining room in the evenings?

[pcutrone]

We only went to one show and we didn't get there early, so I can't answer that one for you. Our waiter told us no shorts in the dining room after the first night (some people didn't have their luggage), but I saw plenty of people in the dining room wearing shorts every night, including formal night. I personally didn't and wouldn't wear them, but to each his own.

[NorbertsNiece]

Control freak, cruise planning project? I am sure you are a gem to vacation with. You probably only have fun "On paper".... I bet your future exwife or wives will vouch for that

 

Harsh.

 

Some of us have questions and some of us have answers, That's what this forum is about. Is there a limit to the number of questions someone can ask? Of course not. I'm impressed that the OP had created this list so efficiently. If the OP or anyone else finds having some concerns allayed helps them to prepare for their cruise and helps THEM enjoy it so be it. Horses for courses.

[cruisin under the sun]

Can you make reservations for excursions on the interactive tv?

I know last time I went on a cruise the travel desk lines were very long.

 

Also, do you have to have your royal caribbean cup with you everytime you need a soda with the soda pass?

The last cruise we went on royal required this.

Thanks

[lowestar]

Our friends book their Belize excursion on the tv, and said it was simple! I think this is a great way to do it (if you don't do it before you leave!).

 

I don't think you need your cup. You just need to show them your card with the sticker. I am sure someone will correct me if I am wrong!

[mjldvlks]

You absolutely do not have to use the cup. I sometimes do because it holds more than the normal bar glassware, but you do not have to. I have purchased a soda package on all of our cruises and have never been required to use it.

[pcutrone]

I purchased the soda card and the cup I got with it is still brand new. I never used it. I just showed my card. Conversely, my mother just brought her cup with her and they never asked for the card. Go figure.