Independence- March 2 sailing- Some thoughts

[Ocean Boy]

Well, I am back from the March 2, 2013 sailing of Independence. This was our second time on this ship. The last time we sailed on Indy was 3 years ago. I am not going to write a review but I thought I would cover some topics that have been discussed on the boards and make some general observations about the cruise. Comments and questions are very welcome.

 

First, the port and terminal 29: The port really seemed to have its act together on Saturday March 2. The line of cars to get through the gate moved very quickly. The porter that met us on getting out of the cab could not have been more pleasant and helpful. I told him that I didn’t have luggage tags. His reply was… No problem just let me see your set sail pass so I get all of the information correct. At the end he said that if we would like to help out the porters by leaving a tip that would be fine and if we did not care to that was just as fine. So I gave him a tip. Terminal 29, though not pretty, was very efficient at least if you were at a C&A level that got you into the priority line. The regular line was quite long and winding around. We were in the Windjammer within 45 minutes of getting out of the cab. When we disembarked the ship at the end of the cruise we walked off of the ship at 7:15 AM doing self assist and we were at the gate in FLL at 8:15 AM waiting for a 10:15 AM. Things could not have been any smoother going in both directions.

 

The Ship: Independence is in excellent shape. I don’t go around looking for issues and I never noticed any issues all week. One thing that I do tend to notice is when elevator buttons are missing or not working. There was none of this on this ship. If it were not for the fact that the ship is being dry docked for upgrades I would say that a dry docking is not needed at all.

 

I really dislike and was disappointed what they have done with the on board shops. I huge amount of space has been devoted to the selling of alcohol, tobacco, and perfume. How many cartons of cigarettes do they have to have on display? The Logo Shop, which I always love walking around in, is gone. There is a gift shop that sells almost nothing related to RCI or Indy and a clothing store that sells a few Indy related items. This is the first cruise that I bought nothing related to RCI or the ship. I couldn’t even use my C&A Logo coupon discount. Bring back the LOGO Shop RCI!

 

The Crew: I thought the crew was excellent for the most part. They seemed happy and energetic. Our cabin steward was awesome. He kept the cabin in perfect shape even with our odd dining and showering times. He was very friendly but not in my face either. After unpacking I realized that I had forgotten the case for my contacts. The ship’s store had none. So I asked him if he could get me two small classes to keep them in. He was back at the cabin within 5 minutes with two shot classes. He said he got me two different shaped ones so that I would not mix up the right and left lens. How cool was that? That was the beginning of a great week with him. Even though I had prepaid the tips I gave him extra at the end of the week even though I had decided before the cruise that I had paid the tips and was done with it. He was just too good to let it go. He got a WOW card also.

 

Every bar tender that I encountered was very friendly and did their jobs well. I found the Windjammer staff to be very friendly and efficient. They often would clear a dish off the table as soon as I finished emptying it. They were good at offering drinks. Though often I would decline and then get up and get one myself. I just prefer to get up and walk around. The man at the dessert station quickly learned my likes. Every night I’d walk up and he would grab a bowel and say “two scoops of vanilla, right?”

 

My only issue with the crew was on the sports deck on the rock wall. I went to the first session of the cruise on Sunday morning. The staff was neither friendly nor engaging. They seemed to want to get people up, down, and out. And there were only 3 people climbing at this session. As soon as I got down the staff guy tried to start taking off my helmet. There was no asking if I wanted to climb again. I have never encountered this on any other ship. I have always enjoyed the sports staff and have listed them on my comment cards. This staff got listed but not in a good way. I never went back to another session during the week. They just left me with a bad taste.

 

Entertainment: I thought Joff Eaton was a good CD. He is not the best but he is also far from the worst that I have encountered. The ice show was great as usual. The production shows were ok at best and maybe closer to poor except for “Invitation to Dance” which I disliked the first time that I saw it on Adventure and I have disliked it every time that I have seen it since. I did get in a short nap during the show which was a benefit. The guest performers were entertaining except for the last guy who did some sort of juggling and laughed a lot. He was horrible. They did have a ventriloquist who was quite good and funny. There was no parade on the Royal Promenade all week and this is the first ship that I have been on with a Promenade that had no parade. There was also no late night pool side buffet this week. I offer that as an observation. I really could not care whether they had one or not.

 

Food: I am not going to get into it. Food is just too much of a subjective issue. We eat mostly in the Windjammer and I did not go hungry. I thought the food was quite good.

 

The Ports: St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, and Labadee. It is a very good itinerary. I do wish the ship could spend a full day in San Juan instead on leaving at 1:30 PM. But it is what it is. Explorer was supposed to be in Labadee with us but they never made it due to the storm slowing them down. I feel badly for them as I am sure many were disappointed. But I truly think the compound would have been over crowded with two large ships. Columbus Cove was packed with people. Another 3200 guest would have been too much in my opinion. If RCI wants to market this stop as a relaxing peaceful place then they really need to rethink scheduling two big ships together. Indy and Explorer together bring more people to the area than either Oasis or Allure.

 

I guess this turned into a bit more of a review than I was planning. But I will just say that we had a great week aboard Indy which is a very well maintained ship with a very good crew. I really like the ship’s eight night itinerary. The extra day seems to make such a difference. I finished the week with a sense of peace that I always seem to find down in the Caribbean. And we encountered none of the terminal 29 horrors that I have read about in the past. I’ll be interested in reading other people’s thoughts, comments, and questions.

 

O.B.

[Langley Cruisers]

Nice. :) A good review from someone I trust. Thank you. Glad you had fun.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Thanks for your thoughts, I was looking forward to them.

 

Really glad you had a nice time and enjoyed the ship for the most part. I liked your comments on your cabin steward, glad you had a good one! And your "two scoops of vanilla" made me smile. I like things like that.

 

You lucked out with Explorer not making it into Labadee. Much better atmosphere.

 

Did you happen to notice if they ever got a real Caribbean band onboard? I'm assuming not, but just wondering if you noticed.

 

I would also be very disappointed about the shops. I enjoy buying a couple of things from every ship I sail. This has me baffled.

 

Thanks again, when's the next one??

[maxs mom]

Great to hear that you had a good time and to read your comments about the ship! We have three cruises booked on the Indy this year and one of them is in a couple of weeks. Be sure and look for my review when we get back! Thanks for sharing!

[Clarea]

Just curious if you made it to any caves?

[rednancy1]

Great revie. Thanks for sharing.:)

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[swan1234]

We were also on this sailing and agree with Ocean Boy. The ship appeared to me to be in very good shape. All of the crew that we encountered were very pleasant and helpful. Had no problem getting on or off of the ship at Terminal 29. Entertainment was not great but OK. I am not a food critic and am easy to please and found the food to be good both in the Main Dining Room and Windjammers. We had My Time Dining and never had to wait for a table for two.

 

Just a note that we did have the new menu. I was told this was the first sailing with the new menu.

 

I did notice how much care the crew took trying to avoid the nerovirus. A crew was constantly wiping down handrail throughout the ship. There was a crew member at the entrance to all of the dining area making sure passengers used the hand cleaner when they entered. Also noticed in the Windjammer the serving utensils were replaced with clean utensils every forty-five minutes to an hour.

 

As far as chair hogs. I did see crew members walking around the pool area placing signs on empty chairs with towels left on them stating the time policy with a time written on the note. They them came back around at the time stated and took the towels and all belonging that were left there to the towel check out area leaving the chairs open for use.

 

Overall enjoyed the ship and the cruise very much and would not hesitate to cruise on The Independence again in the future.

[addicted2]

We too were on this sailing. I definitely agree with the comments about the missing logo shop. I collect ship refrigerator magnets and this is the first ship out of 12 that didn't have any, they didn't carry any of the usual collectables. Overall it was another great cruise, but the shops were set up different than on any of their other ships.

We were glad that the Explorer was unable to make it to Labadee (sorry Explorer). I did notice that the Explorer was not in San Juan with us and checked CC to find out that they were also going to miss Labadee, we hustled to the Concierge and was able to get a cabana (since half of them were now available).

[violetunderground]

Great to hear that you had a good time and to read your comments about the ship! We have three cruises booked on the Indy this year and one of them is in a couple of weeks. Be sure and look for my review when we get back! Thanks for sharing!

 

Ohh I was hoping we were cruising together again but it looks like our time on the indy is the week before yours! Bummer!

[Wilda]

Thanks for the review...we may find ourselves on this ship again in the not too distant future:)

[Merion_Mom]

Well, I am back from the March 2, 2013 sailing of Independence. This was our second time on this ship. The last time we sailed on Indy was 3 years ago. I am not going to write a review but I thought I would cover some topics that have been discussed on the boards and make some general observations about the cruise. Comments and questions are very welcome.

 

First, the port and terminal 29: The port really seemed to have its act together on Saturday March 2. The line of cars to get through the gate moved very quickly. The porter that met us on getting out of the cab could not have been more pleasant and helpful. I told him that I didn’t have luggage tags. His reply was… No problem just let me see your set sail pass so I get all of the information correct. At the end he said that if we would like to help out the porters by leaving a tip that would be fine and if we did not care to that was just as fine. So I gave him a tip. Terminal 29, though not pretty, was very efficient at least if you were at a C&A level that got you into the priority line. The regular line was quite long and winding around. We were in the Windjammer within 45 minutes of getting out of the cab. When we disembarked the ship at the end of the cruise we walked off of the ship at 7:15 AM doing self assist and we were at the gate in FLL at 8:15 AM waiting for a 10:15 AM. Things could not have been any smoother going in both directions.

 

The Ship: Independence is in excellent shape. I don’t go around looking for issues and I never noticed any issues all week. One thing that I do tend to notice is when elevator buttons are missing or not working. There was none of this on this ship. If it were not for the fact that the ship is being dry docked for upgrades I would say that a dry docking is not needed at all.

 

I really dislike and was disappointed what they have done with the on board shops. I huge amount of space has been devoted to the selling of alcohol, tobacco, and perfume. How many cartons of cigarettes do they have to have on display? The Logo Shop, which I always love walking around in, is gone. There is a gift shop that sells almost nothing related to RCI or Indy and a clothing store that sells a few Indy related items. This is the first cruise that I bought nothing related to RCI or the ship. I couldn’t even use my C&A Logo coupon discount. Bring back the LOGO Shop RCI!

 

The Crew: I thought the crew was excellent for the most part. They seemed happy and energetic. Our cabin steward was awesome. He kept the cabin in perfect shape even with our odd dining and showering times. He was very friendly but not in my face either. After unpacking I realized that I had forgotten the case for my contacts. The ship’s store had none. So I asked him if he could get me two small classes to keep them in. He was back at the cabin within 5 minutes with two shot classes. He said he got me two different shaped ones so that I would not mix up the right and left lens. How cool was that? That was the beginning of a great week with him. Even though I had prepaid the tips I gave him extra at the end of the week even though I had decided before the cruise that I had paid the tips and was done with it. He was just too good to let it go. He got a WOW card also.

 

Every bar tender that I encountered was very friendly and did their jobs well. I found the Windjammer staff to be very friendly and efficient. They often would clear a dish off the table as soon as I finished emptying it. They were good at offering drinks. Though often I would decline and then get up and get one myself. I just prefer to get up and walk around. The man at the dessert station quickly learned my likes. Every night I’d walk up and he would grab a bowel and say “two scoops of vanilla, right?”

 

My only issue with the crew was on the sports deck on the rock wall. I went to the first session of the cruise on Sunday morning. The staff was neither friendly nor engaging. They seemed to want to get people up, down, and out. And there were only 3 people climbing at this session. As soon as I got down the staff guy tried to start taking off my helmet. There was no asking if I wanted to climb again. I have never encountered this on any other ship. I have always enjoyed the sports staff and have listed them on my comment cards. This staff got listed but not in a good way. I never went back to another session during the week. They just left me with a bad taste.

 

Entertainment: I thought Joff Eaton was a good CD. He is not the best but he is also far from the worst that I have encountered. The ice show was great as usual. The production shows were ok at best and maybe closer to poor except for “Invitation to Dance” which I disliked the first time that I saw it on Adventure and I have disliked it every time that I have seen it since. I did get in a short nap during the show which was a benefit. The guest performers were entertaining except for the last guy who did some sort of juggling and laughed a lot. He was horrible. They did have a ventriloquist who was quite good and funny. There was no parade on the Royal Promenade all week and this is the first ship that I have been on with a Promenade that had no parade. There was also no late night pool side buffet this week. I offer that as an observation. I really could not care whether they had one or not.

 

Food: I am not going to get into it. Food is just too much of a subjective issue. We eat mostly in the Windjammer and I did not go hungry. I thought the food was quite good.

 

The Ports: St. Maarten, St. Kitts, San Juan, and Labadee. It is a very good itinerary. I do wish the ship could spend a full day in San Juan instead on leaving at 1:30 PM. But it is what it is. Explorer was supposed to be in Labadee with us but they never made it due to the storm slowing them down. I feel badly for them as I am sure many were disappointed. But I truly think the compound would have been over crowded with two large ships. Columbus Cove was packed with people. Another 3200 guest would have been too much in my opinion. If RCI wants to market this stop as a relaxing peaceful place then they really need to rethink scheduling two big ships together. Indy and Explorer together bring more people to the area than either Oasis or Allure.

 

I guess this turned into a bit more of a review than I was planning. But I will just say that we had a great week aboard Indy which is a very well maintained ship with a very good crew. I really like the ship’s eight night itinerary. The extra day seems to make such a difference. I finished the week with a sense of peace that I always seem to find down in the Caribbean. And we encountered none of the terminal 29 horrors that I have read about in the past. I’ll be interested in reading other people’s thoughts, comments, and questions.

 

O.B.

 

 

So, you like your ice cream "resected"? ;)

[Merion_Mom]

We were also on this sailing and agree with Ocean Boy. The ship appeared to me to be in very good shape. All of the crew that we encountered were very pleasant and helpful. Had no problem getting on or off of the ship at Terminal 29. Entertainment was not great but OK. I am not a food critic and am easy to please and found the food to be good both in the Main Dining Room and Windjammers. We had My Time Dining and never had to wait for a table for two.

 

Just a note that we did have the new menu. I was told this was the first sailing with the new menu.

 

I did notice how much care the crew took trying to avoid the nerovirus. A crew was constantly wiping down handrail throughout the ship. There was a crew member at the entrance to all of the dining area making sure passengers used the hand cleaner when they entered. Also noticed in the Windjammer the serving utensils were replaced with clean utensils every forty-five minutes to an hour.

 

As far as chair hogs. I did see crew members walking around the pool area placing signs on empty chairs with towels left on them stating the time policy with a time written on the note. They them came back around at the time stated and took the towels and all belonging that were left there to the towel check out area leaving the chairs open for use.

 

Overall enjoyed the ship and the cruise very much and would not hesitate to cruise on The Independence again in the future.

 

And I don't think that a Roman emperor ever caught Norwalk. :D

 

 

Oh, I am on a roll this morning!!! :D

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Just curious if you made it to any caves?

 

 

HAHAHA - I was thinking the same thing ;)

 

Thanks so much, OB for sharing your thoughts - we are thinking of taking this same cruise next year - mostly because of the extra day :D.

 

Barb

[Just The 3 Of Us]

Great to hear that you had a good time and to read your comments about the ship! We have three cruises booked on the Indy this year and one of them is in a couple of weeks. Be sure and look for my review when we get back! Thanks for sharing!

 

 

YAY - love reading your reviews - can't wait!! ;)

 

Barb

[micmacmissy]

I really dislike and was disappointed what they have done with the on board shops. I huge amount of space has been devoted to the selling of alcohol, tobacco, and perfume. How many cartons of cigarettes do they have to have on display? The Logo Shop, which I always love walking around in, is gone. There is a gift shop that sells almost nothing related to RCI or Indy and a clothing store that sells a few Indy related items. This is the first cruise that I bought nothing related to RCI or the ship. I couldn’t even use my C&A Logo coupon discount. Bring back the LOGO Shop RCIO!

 

Having never been on an RCI ship before Independence, I had no idea what to expect in terms of the onboard shop...I was shocked that I could not even find a tshirt for the kids or a xmas ornament! Seems like this is a missed revenue opportunity...where were the tshirts, tote bags, keychains, etc? How about a photo book of the ship? Maybe some small stuffed animals with RCI logos on them? I gave my kids $25 to spend in the gift shop and they came out empty handed. What a bummer!

 

Side note:

I did ask the guy in the cigarette shop why the Surgeon General warnings were so large on the boxes (took up half the carton) and he said those are packaged for European sale, where the warnings need to be bigger. Interesting! Still: do they really need to have 5,000 cartons on display?

[fergusonvt]

Thanks for the review. This will be our first time on RCI and I'm looking forward to seeing to being on this ship.

[Ocean Boy]

Just curious if you made it to any caves?

 

This is the wrong itinerary for caves.;):p

[Ocean Boy]

Thanks for your thoughts, I was looking forward to them.

 

Really glad you had a nice time and enjoyed the ship for the most part. I liked your comments on your cabin steward, glad you had a good one! And your "two scoops of vanilla" made me smile. I like things like that.

 

You lucked out with Explorer not making it into Labadee. Much better atmosphere.

 

Did you happen to notice if they ever got a real Caribbean band onboard? I'm assuming not, but just wondering if you noticed.

 

I would also be very disappointed about the shops. I enjoy buying a couple of things from every ship I sail. This has me baffled.

 

Thanks again, when's the next one??

 

I don't know if the band that they had playing on the pool deck was a "real" Caribbean band but they were playing good Caribbean music. I enjoyed listening to them when I was by the pool, which isn't that often.

 

I am thinking that the next may be on Allure. I love the 8 nighters but having done this same itinerary last year on Navigator I am not sure that I want to do it three years in a row. If flights look good to San Juan then I might do Adventure again. I love those southern islands.

[Ocean Boy]

Having never been on an RCI ship before Independence, I had no idea what to expect in terms of the onboard shop...I was shocked that I could not even find a tshirt for the kids or a xmas ornament! Seems like this is a missed revenue opportunity...where were the tshirts, tote bags, keychains, etc? How about a photo book of the ship? Maybe some small stuffed animals with RCI logos on them? I gave my kids $25 to spend in the gift shop and they came out empty handed. What a bummer!

 

Side note:

I did ask the guy in the cigarette shop why the Surgeon General warnings were so large on the boxes (took up half the carton) and he said those are packaged for European sale, where the warnings need to be bigger. Interesting! Still: do they really need to have 5,000 cartons on display?

 

The shop where they are selling perfume used to be to Logo shop on Indy. That is where they sell all kinds of ship and RCI related items. I have no idea what they were thinking in getting rid of it. Every other ship has a Logo shop and Indy used to.

 

And yes, how many cartons of cigarettes have to be on display? Why not display one or two of each brand and then just keep the rest in the back. One carton of Marlboro looks just the same as another. There is no need to rumage through 20 of them.:rolleyes:

[tasbm1]

Thank you for the review. I am disappointed that there is not a logo shop. Every cruise I come home with my ship xmas ornament, a few ship pens and a pin for the pin collection. :( I am looking forward to the new menu. Any favorites that you found on the new menu?

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

I don't know if the band that they had playing on the pool deck was a "real" Caribbean band but they were playing good Caribbean music. I enjoyed listening to them when I was by the pool, which isn't that often.

 

I am thinking that the next may be on Allure. I love the 8 nighters but having done this same itinerary last year on Navigator I am not sure that I want to do it three years in a row. If flights look good to San Juan then I might do Adventure again. I love those southern islands.

 

Sounds good. My dad really wants to do the Southern, I'd like to take him sometime. Airfare to SJU always puts me off though. What's the best Southern Carib. island for beaches?

[OHCruisinDad]

O.B. - Thanks for the review. Sad to hear about the logo shop. We will be on the Indy in a couple of weeks for the last 8 day prior to the TA and drydock.

 

Can someone confirm that the formal nights were 2 (Sunday) and 6 (Thursday) ? Or something else? Thanks.

[Ocean Boy]

Sounds good. My dad really wants to do the Southern, I'd like to take him sometime. Airfare to SJU always puts me off though. What's the best Southern Carib. island for beaches?

 

I don't think that there is any island without great beaches. Since we don't typically go to the beach I can't really pick a favorite other than to say that Cinnamon Bay on St. John is probably one of the most beautiful beaches that I have ever been on.

[ckrobyn]

Thanks for your thoughts on the Indy :) Glad to see that overall you had a great cruise. I especially liked that you had a sense of peace at the end of your vacation - isn't that what it's all about?

 

I too wondered if you had a cave experience on this cruise, but apparently you did not. Perhaps you will consider a cruise that visits cave laden destinations when you are planning your next vacation :rolleyes::rolleyes: