28th July 2012 Independence of the Seas Review, followed by pics/video

[littlesteelo]

DS found this guy in his bed that night:

 

And this was what he was doing the next day:

 

A few more views of the ship. The prom deck outside on deck 4. One of my favourite places to have a stroll after dinner:

 

This is actually the first view you get when you board the ship. Independence definitely has the wow factor:

 

The centrum, looking down into the art gallery and the entrance to On Air and Studio B:

 

One of my favourite places. Strange, I know, but you can really feel and hear the power of the azipods here, and you can look over the side and see the water rushing out from under the ducktail:

 

Here is a video of the wash from the back of the ship, and some large bow waves:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXzdBMXvFLE

[littlesteelo]

That night was the Madhatters Ball parade. Pretty boring, and we wasted time there when we could have got a seat at The Quest:

 

The Quest however was fantastic, and a must-see. However, you must get there very early to have any hope of getting a seat. There is hardly any standing room as well.

[littlesteelo]

Day 11 was Lisbon. We had no tour booked, but had shuttle tickets, and intended to have a good look around, and I took a few good photos.

 

The ship docked in Lisbon:

 

 

 

There are lots of places like this, with cafes and shops surrounding them:

 

 

[littlesteelo]

 

I decided to catch a few rays before we left Lisbon:

 

I then went to the helipad to catch us sailing under the bridge. The captain gave the motorists and trains on the bridge a greeting on the very loud horn which Independence has.

See the video of the sail away here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bME3AgctfiY

[littlesteelo]

So Day 12 is Vigo, Spain. I have been to Vigo twice now, and didn't really find it all that interesting. There are lots of areas to shop, and some nice gardens further up the hill, but I decided against going into town this time, and so made the most of my day on the ship. We ate at Johnny Rockets for the second time for lunch as well, and I took a few photos.

 

The beautiful misty view of the area around Vigo:

 

 

A quiet, hot and sunny pool deck:

 

I think one of the things that makes cruise ships seem so impressively big is that you don't expect something that huge to have smooth lines:

 

Battle scars - Independence sails through the Bay of Biscay frequently, and this damage was done in a storm back in April. I guess they might wait until dry dock to replace it:

 

I love the rock climbing wall on the Royal Caribbean ships:

[littlesteelo]

Where deck chairs go to die:

 

A view of Vigo from the ship:

[littlesteelo]

The infinite regression optical effect in the entrance to the theater, with mirrors on either side:

 

A tangled flag:

 

Leaving Vigo it got really windy up on the helipad, and the temperature cooled quite a bit, so I moved somewhere a little more sheltered:

 

That night was the Rock Britannia street party, of which I took a lot of footage which you can all see here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AMchYLxqhTI

[JPattz]

A Great review! Can I ask what your 18 y/o did now that he is too old for the teen club? Did he manage to make many friends :) Going on the independence this Saturday!

[littlesteelo]

The last day was at sea, and was warm, but very windy outside. The captain said it was some of the best weather he had seen in the Bay of Biscay for a long time.

 

Not a sun lounger to be found:

 

A view of the theater before the talent show during the afternoon:

 

After dinner was the Farewell Show. There was a fairly mediocre comedian/magician, but that was followed by a fantastic speech by Joff, and of course the bit which everyone loves, the crew coming down to say farewell:

 

Thankfully Independence still has 'Until We Meet Again' as the farewell song. Some hate it, but I love it, and it always makes me sad when I hear it. I hope they don't change it during the refit.

 

Always a sad sight:

[littlesteelo]

And so that brings us to the end of the cruise. Disembarkation went smoothly, but we couldn't find our sons suitcase in the luggage hall. Turns out it was on a cart, and they couldn't be bothered to put it with the rest of the bags! The tag was clearly visible too, so they had no excuse.

 

We were greeted with our final view of Independence of the Seas in the car park:

 

And with that, I am finished! I hope everyone has enjoyed this, and please do not hesitate to ask any questions about Independence or the cruise/ports.

[littlesteelo]

Just a reminder - if you click on the photos, you can see higher resolution versions on Flickr, just right click on the photo when you get to the page on Flickr.

[littlesteelo]

I forgot something- If anyone is interested, here is a short video of part of captain Remo's formal night speech, done on the first formal night: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y4SiLWRBgEk

[Coolcruise02]

Great pictures! Thanks for sharing. :)

[Ocean Boy]

It was really nice to see your pictures and hear your thoughts on Indy. It has been three years since I have been on the ship but we will be returning to Indy this coming March. I'm very much looking forward to it.

[littlesteelo]

A Great review! Can I ask what your 18 y/o did now that he is too old for the teen club? Did he manage to make many friends :) Going on the independence this Saturday!

 

He went to the 18-20 meet up, which they had on the second day of the cruise, and I think he made some friends there. He also met others his age in the Labyrinth. Have a fantastic cruise!

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Thanks for taking the time to review your cruise and share the pictures and videos. I will be sailing on Indy for the first time in February, so I enjoyed it very much.

[sleeky]

Excellent review. thanks for posting.

I'm shocked that the damage from April hasn't been repaired yet! I was on that sailing and it was v v rough. I'm hopeful that the weather will be kinder to us in October.

We found the ABP parking very easy and efficient but we did arrive early. It made a difference that we had printed our luggage tags and had already fixed them to our cases. Those that hadn't done this were sent to a little tent area to queue (for ages) to get them done before they could park and board.

[ollienbertsmum]

Thanks for your review. I have always wondered what the Indy is like inside - I have been on the Liberty and loved it. I think I would love the Indy too - but not on this itinerary :D

 

I was looking forward to hearing what you did when you came to Gibraltar, maybe you stayed on board. Even if you don't want to go into town, it is easy to get to the beach on the bus (the stops are all at the entrance to town). In summer the beaches on the eastern side are all nice - especially Catalan Bay in the morning.

 

My daughter is starting an MA at Leeds Uni in September so hopefully I will be visiting you next autumn for her graduation :D

[garyb(uk)]

Excellent review. thanks for posting.

I'm shocked that the damage from April hasn't been repaired yet! I was on that sailing and it was v v rough. I'm hopeful that the weather will be kinder to us in October.

We found the ABP parking very easy and efficient but we did arrive early. It made a difference that we had printed our luggage tags and had already fixed them to our cases. Those that hadn't done this were sent to a little tent area to queue (for ages) to get them done before they could park and board.

thanks sleeky - I'll remember that one. ;)

[littlesteelo]

Thanks for your review. I have always wondered what the Indy is like inside - I have been on the Liberty and loved it. I think I would love the Indy too - but not on this itinerary :D

 

I was looking forward to hearing what you did when you came to Gibraltar, maybe you stayed on board. Even if you don't want to go into town, it is easy to get to the beach on the bus (the stops are all at the entrance to town). In summer the beaches on the eastern side are all nice - especially Catalan Bay in the morning.

 

Yes, sorry about that. We got off the ship, went to look around the shops, and then went up to the botanical gardens and spent a bit of time there. I didn't realise there was a beach- I will remember that if I go to Gibraltar again.

[littlesteelo]

thanks sleeky - I'll remember that one. ;)

 

You should aim to get to the terminal either early or much later. If you are staying in Southampton the night before, aim to get to the terminal at 10:15, perhaps slightly earlier.

 

If you are driving there on the day, you should be fine coming later on. Once you get to the area when you drop the luggage off it is smooth sailing.

[louhun88]

Hi

 

I noticed you said you managed to skip the long queues at check-in since you are a Gold member, i think this is what we are too but the only other lines i remember seeing were for Diamond or Suite guests?

 

Louise

[littlesteelo]

Hi

 

I noticed you said you managed to skip the long queues at check-in since you are a Gold member, i think this is what we are too but the only other lines i remember seeing were for Diamond or Suite guests?

 

Louise

 

I think it is a new thing, but there was a sign up in the check-in hall directing Gold members and above into a separate queue. There was nobody in that queue when we got there, so we went straight to check-in.

 

There is probably a separate check-in area for Diamond and above as well.

[garyb(uk)]

You should aim to get to the terminal either early or much later. If you are staying in Southampton the night before, aim to get to the terminal at 10:15, perhaps slightly earlier.

 

If you are driving there on the day, you should be fine coming later on. Once you get to the area when you drop the luggage off it is smooth sailing.

I was planning on leaving home about 12ish. I live an hour's drive away from Southampton.

[motif]

Great commentary and piccies. Makes me want to go *now* :D YouTube vids are also great. Hope there's more to come :)