Live on Independence of the Seas

[Plymouthmerlin67]

What's the black and white night? Haven't heard of that one.

 

Anxious to hear more about Indy too.

 

On day 4 of our Independence cruise, the dress code suggestion in Cruise Compass was "Smart Casual (Suggested Black & White)"

 

I was collar and tie, and wife was white dress. Many chose to ignore this and had open collars and different coloured dress.

 

Hope this helps

[lovelife]

On day 4 of our Independence cruise, the dress code suggestion in Cruise Compass was "Smart Casual (Suggested Black & White)"

 

I was collar and tie, and wife was white dress. Many chose to ignore this and had open collars and different coloured dress.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thanks! In 21 RCCL cruises I have never seen this. Maybe a European thing?

[Plymouthmerlin67]

Don't know about a European thing, but we enjoyed the night. Perhaps this may help:

 

Day 1 Casual

Day 2 Formal

Day 3 Casual

Day 4 Smart Casual (Suggested Black & White)

Day 5 Formal

Day 6 Casual

Day 7 Casual

Day 8 Casual

Day 9 Smart Casual

Day 10 Casual

Day 11 Casual

Day 12 Formal

Day 13 Smart Casual

Day 14 Casual

 

Personally I think we could have done with another formal night.

[lovelife]

Don't know about a European thing, but we enjoyed the night. Perhaps this may help:

 

Day 1 Casual

Day 2 Formal

Day 3 Casual

Day 4 Smart Casual (Suggested Black & White)

Day 5 Formal

Day 6 Casual

Day 7 Casual

Day 8 Casual

Day 9 Smart Casual

Day 10 Casual

Day 11 Casual

Day 12 Formal

Day 13 Smart Casual

Day 14 Casual

 

Personally I think we could have done with another formal night.

 

I'm going to look for this on my upcoming Explorer 14-nighter. Thanks.

[lostboys]

Loving your live review, we are on Indy for her last sail out of Southampton in October and can not wait to get onboard! Hope we get the Queen tribute band, that would be awesome!

[Plymouthmerlin67]

Sure Joff Eaton said something about them being signed up for the rest of the year. Definitely worth seeing.

[lostboys]

Im definately keeping my fingers crossed for that! When you said Biscay was a bit choppy is it really noticable onboard and how long does it take to get through it?

[Plymouthmerlin67]

Take about a day to get across, we went up to windjammer for lunch and sat at one of the tables where you look down the length of the outside of the ship. You could see the horizon going up and down. Wouldn't describe it as rough, just a pleasant soothing rolling sensation. I enjoyed it but the wife wasn't so sure. This was the only area on our cruise where it could have been described as "choppy".

[patl95]

On day 4 of our Independence cruise, the dress code suggestion in Cruise Compass was "Smart Casual (Suggested Black & White)"

 

I was collar and tie, and wife was white dress. Many chose to ignore this and had open collars and different coloured dress.

 

Hope this helps

 

Thank you!!! When I had read it before we had assumed it was a formal night - well that sure does change things :)

[Mar y Sol]

Captain is Henrik Low. Joff Eaton has put on some excellent shows.

 

Transfers, we took the private train into Rome. Cost £72 each. Bit miffed whilst waiting for the return journey, when I checked the price of a single from Rome S.Pietro to Civi was 4.80eu . Was a nice train though, but will know next time.

 

Lisbon transfer was 19eu each. The queue for the return bus was huge. many ended up jumping on tut'tuts, that caught on that some were getting impatient.The bus goes back via Bellen as well.

 

Gibralter, Cadiz,Vigo no need for transfer. Just a short walk into the town.

 

Hello and thank you so much for posting! We will be on the ship in early September and am curious about the Lisbon "transfer". Where did you transfer to?:confused:

[Dizzysailor]

We arrived in Gibraltar 1:30 ship time / 2:30 local time. We are asked to keep to the ship time until our next port of call. I am not sure why that is but it does get a little confusing when your phone automatically picks up the local time.

 

Our evening for day 4 was good. Though we did have some choppy seas again. It is not bad but you can feel it especially in closed areas like the theatre. While watching the comedian / magician I could see the stage curtains moving left to right. As his show was not my cup of tea I went out where I could see outside. Also having dinner at the windjammer was fine since I was able to look out.

 

They had the 70s party on the promenade last night. It was fun. Everyone singing along to the 70s tunes. We watched it from the English pub. The drink prices are expensive. We are not big drinkers so our drinks were $10 each. You can also get drink packages. Service at the pub is good. Again service at sorrentos still slow but the food is fine. As for the dress code it was casual but there were still some who were dressed formally.. I guess they were celebrating a special day or part of the wedding party that is on the ship..

 

In Gibraltar we did our own thing. At the dock we got a 90 min taxi tour for 23 euros per person. This included the taxi, entrance fees to St. Michael's Cave and the great Siege tunnels, stops to see the apes and the pillars of Hercules. Our driver/ guide Peter was great. The trip ends at the high street where you can do some shopping and walk back to the ship. There are also taxis that can take you back to the ship. Our guide said the taxi to the ship costs £1.50.

[Plymouthmerlin67]

Great fun at the street parties on the Royal Promenade

 

[Plymouthmerlin67]

Sorry, try again, great fun at the street parties

 

[Plymouthmerlin67]

to Dizzysailor. Have you met Lilliana yet?????

 

[jennywren46]

Aww happy memories she was lovely, always so cheerful.

[Plymouthmerlin67]

Mar y Sol

 

It was a transfer from the ship into the centre of Lisbon and return. The "Bus" dropped us off in the road behind the Arco de Rua Augusta. You'll know it when you get there. There was a tour rep waiting there, and trying to organise the huge queue for the return.

[Daghis]

I hope you're having a great cruise. I wish I were there with you! :D

 

Someone else to look for is Bojan.

 

 

He's a great bartender and makes some fantastic drinks! I've been on three cruises with him so far including Independence of the Seas when he started his current contract on her back in March.

[dleafy]

to Dizzysailor. Have you met Lilliana yet?????

 

 

Welcome...washy washy...yummy yummy...happy happy :D

[Dizzysailor]

Today we are at sea. It has been a sunny and relaxing day. Most were sunbathing on deck 11 and 12. It was busy but still enough places to sit. We enjoyed watching the kids surfing on the flowrider. There were also various other activities around the pool by the entertainment staff. Of course looking at the calm blue sea is also very relaxing. One thing we missed compared to our other cruises on the navigator and liberty is the ability to watch movies in our room. There is no TV channel for movies as was the case in the others. There is pay for view. They have BBC entertainment channel which for some odd reason has adverts in Polish and repeats the same old master chef/ top gear episodes from a few years ago.

 

For the first time, last night we found the dishes in windjammer not too great. We tried the Chinese and it just didn't taste great. Then I went and had fish and chips which was fine. The food is very British on this cruise compared to the cruises that leave from Italy and Barcelona.

 

Last night's entertainment was Zoe Tyler - UK voice coach/ singer. It was an ok performance. Tomorrow morning we will be in Ibiza! And yes we have seen Lillian at the windjammer :)

[Dizzysailor]

Today we were in Ibiza. We arrived at 8 in the morning and left at 6:15 as someone was late coming back. We watched him arrive from the balcony and people clapped when he arrived. :)

 

Ibiza is a very small town and if you have been here before there isn't much to see. A number of people went to the beach. You can either get on the RC excursion or cheaper take the taxi. They are waiting for passengers at the port gate. We chose to go to the town. If the weather wasn't too hot you can walk it in 20 minutes but today has been very warm. We took the Ibiza port bus. Like the taxis they are right outside the port gate. Return ticket costs 4.5 euros and leaves every 20 to 30 minutes. RC also had shuttles priced $10 per person. We walked around the town and visited the old part which is interesting to see. Then returned to the ship and enjoyed the empty whirlpool.

 

As for the entertainment update, yesterday was the second formal evening. Most we're dressed formally. The show was invitation to dance performed by the RC dancers, singers and a professional South African couple. Like me if you like ball room dancing and shows like strictly come dancing, you will enjoy the show. You could also see the ice show strings.

 

Tomorrow we are in Valencia. Tonight is black and white night with party on deck 11.

[Dizzysailor]

We arrived in Valencia at 8am. We ordered breakfast to be delivered to our room so we could leave the ship as early as possible. Our breakfast was brought on time and as we requested. After having our breakfast while watching the sailboats we left the ship. Valencia gets really hot so we wanted to see the city before it got too hot.

 

Please be aware the port is far away from the city. You can't just walk off to see the sights. In front of the ship when you get out you see the RC excursion buses, shuttle, taxis and at far end yellow port buses. The yellow port buses are free. They take you out of the port and leave you close to the public bus stop. You can take emi (name of the public buses) route 4 to get to the city centre. It costs 1.5 euro per person one way. At the centre you will find the hop on hop of tours. There are two companies one with green buses and the other with red. We chose the red company and paid 17 euros per person for full days ticket. We did both of their lines (red and blue lines) and saw the full city. As it was soo hot we decided to do as little walking as possible. At the end we got off at stop 9 of the blue line which was the closest stop to the yellow port bus. And came back to the ship with the port bus. It is a beautiful city and probably needs few days to really see everything but we got a good idea.

 

As for the life on the ship, it is great. The staff is excellent and the food is tasty. There is something for everyone.

[dleafy]

Glad you're enjoying it.

Thanks again for posting!

[hls22]

Thanks for posting all this info! We're on. Nay on the 9th August sailing...our first ever cruise...so excited, but a bit apprehensive! Can I ask if there is a shop that sells Clogau Gold on board...and if so is it likely to be more pricey than local shops or on special deal?

 

 

 

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[Dizzysailor]

Days are passing by very quickly and it is already day 9. Last night we watched the Argentina Belgium World Cup game on deck 11 big screen. Some were watching it in the pool. That was fun. The show was a violin player Gary Lovini who apparently won a talent show on British TV many many years ago. He definitely was talented and entertaining. For dinner I had a very tasty butter chicken and biryani.

 

Today we were in Palma. As this is the first time we have been to Palma we took the hop on hop of bus for 17 euros per person for a day ticket. This is an excellent way to get an idea and see the various points of interest. If you have been to Palma before or just want to see the historic centre you can take the public bus route 3 for 1.5 euros per person for one way. Both buses stop right outside of the port. You can also go to the beach which is within walking distance or take the public bus.

 

For the gold jewellery I haven't really seen any. They have lots of watches and seems to be selling well. I don't know how competitive the prices are but they do say they can't be beaten on price.

 

Tomorrow we are in Barcelona. The weather forecast is rain :( . We have been to Barcelona before so I guess we will go for some shopping instead of the beach.

[Dizzysailor]

We arrived in Barcelona at 8. It was a thundery and very wet day. Unusual for Barcelona. As we have been to Barcelona before our plan was always to go shopping or the beach. We took the port bus to the centre which costs 3 euros return per person. It takes you to the column where you can take hop on hop off buses for 18 euros if you want to visit the city. We directly walked to the shops from the column as it wasn't the day for the beach. If you like you can also walk to the centre from the ship but it is abit of a walk.

 

Last night's show was under the big top by ship's dancers and singers. It was good and kids seem to have really enjoyed the show. It's theme is the circus. Tonight the show was juggler / comedian Steve Rawlings. To me it might not be to everyone's taste. It is impressive to see him juggle two bottles of wine with 3 glasses on his head on a ship's stage. Then they had a game of charades between the entertainment team and captains team. Overall it was fun.

 

We also enjoyed a game of mini golf last night. My husband enjoys going to the quizzes at the schooner bar. He also took part in the golf simulation competition. As I mentioned before there are various things to keep you busy on the ship.