LittleMissMagic's ~INDEPENDENCE~ Christmas Cruise **Photo Review**

[LittleMissMagic]

Romeo & Juliet Dining Room

 

Rachel and I both ordered the Aged Hand-Cut Manhattan Strip Steak. Except she ordered hers medium rare, and I ordered my medium well. And they accidentally gave us each other's steaks... so obviously I got the better end of the deal here. My bad.

 

VIC_4711 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Mom ordered the Lasagna al Forno. Kind of weird for lasagna.

 

VIC_4713 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

And for dessert, Rachel had the Creme Brulee. She was not impressed. It was cold, and the consistency was all wrong. Rachel loves creme brulee. She did not love this.

 

VIC_4714 by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I had a dessert trio. Much better. Except I didn't like the little red thing on the left.

 

Dessert Trio by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Christmas Caroling

 

Royal Caribbean coordinated Christmas Caroling on Christmas Eve.

 

Christmas Caroling by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

 

And Rachel and I received an early Christmas present from a new friend...

 

Wine Time by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Check out Mrs. Claus -

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

 

The caroling was nice, but the staff got a little silly (I'm guessing they had some sort of big staff party immediately following). And while the goofiness was fine for Rudolph the Rednose Reindeer and Frosty the Snowman, it wasn't as appropriate for Away in the Manger or Silent Night.

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Royal Promenade by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

[Day 6] San Juan, Puerto Rico

 

We woke up Christmas morning in San Juan, Puerto Rico. San Juan is perhaps the worst port to be in on Christmas Day because Puerto Rico is very religious and traditional, so most stores were closed, and very few tours were operating. We were also in port for a very short period of time, departing at 2PM, so it wasn't really long enough to justify a trip to the beach.

 

We were joined in port by the Carnival Conquest.

 

Carnival Conquest by vshingl, on Flickr

 

No plans, but we decided to leave the ship to walk around. We needed to visit a drug store to pick up some medicine, as Rachel and I were both coming down with something.

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Old San Juan

 

We stocked up on drugs at CVS, and I learned that you can share a Coke in Spanish. I looked through the case in search of my friends' names, but with no luck, I settled for something more generic...

 

Diet Coke to Share by vshingl, on Flickr

 

We went on a walk through Old San Juan in search of some open stores. The only stores that were open, however, were jewelry stores. We ran into our shopping guide, Paige, twice, and she wasn't very good at her job. At one store she stood propped up against a jewelry case, completely blocking anyone from being able to view inside. Also, she was so consumed in conversation with her friends that she didn't bother to notice that we had been at two stores with her, and maybe she should talk to us to see what we were looking for and if she could help.

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Who needs the World's Best cup of coffee when you can have this?

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Los Reyes, the Three Kings, are a very important part of Puerto Rican culture, having the present-giving role of Santa Claus.

 

Old San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

San Juan Parking Garage by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Old San Juan Cruise Port

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

 

So it's a bit of a joke for us to take family selfies. They turn out really funny because Dad never smiles. So we decided to take a Shingleton Family Selfie in front of the ship. Of course, when people saw dad struggling to take a selfie, they'd offer to take a family photo. "Oh, no thanks - we want a selfie. It's funny."

 

Ship Selfie by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

 

While we were busy taking selfies, the Holland America Noodam joined us in port.

 

Cruise Ships in San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

[LTC loves to cruise]

Loving the review!

Edited February 2, 2015 by LTC loves to cruise

[micmacmissy]

Great review, looking forward to more!

[tigger-ttfn]

great review so far. love your pictures.

[CamaCama]

Awesome can't wait to read more!!

[js]

Great review!

Can't wait to read more!

We are on the Indy over NYE this year and cannot wait!

[LittleMissMagic]

I realized I accidentally posted my last few photos thumbnail-size, so I'm going to post them again.

 

Ship Selfie by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

 

While we were busy taking selfies, the Holland America Noodam joined us in port.

 

Cruise Ships in San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Independence of the Seas by vshingl, on Flickr

 

San Juan Cruise Port by vshingl, on Flickr

Edited February 4, 2015 by LittleMissMagic

[LittleMissMagic]

All Aboard!

 

San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Rachel and I decided to get a little sun on the top deck as we were leaving San Juan.

 

Sun Deck by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Sun Deck by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Castillo de San Cristobal by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Cruise Ships in San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

St. Tropez, on the 13th (14th?) deck forward is a great, quiet spot for catching some rays.

 

St. Tropez Sun deck by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Sail Away

 

Cruise Ships in San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

I was lying in my chaise, taking advantage of the Verizon coverage available in San Juan to Snapchat my friends when I heard someone say, "Well, it looks like Victoria is on Vacation."

 

At first, I thought I must have misheard or imagined it... but then I realized that there was no way. I turned around with a goofy grin on my face and met Don, who reads my reviews on Cruise Critic and recognized me!

 

This is the first time I have ever been recognized while on vacation, and it felt really awesome to know that I had reached so many people through my reviews that I had finally met the odds of randomly meeting one of my readers. Rachel thought it was pretty cool, too, and even bragged on me to Mom and Dad.

 

So thank you, Don, for speaking to me - you made my day!

 

Cruise Ships in San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Sailing out of San Juan was scenic and beautiful. We slowly cruised out, passing Castillo San Felipe. It was a great opportunity for photographs.

 

San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

San Juan by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Castillo San Felipe del Morro by vshingl, on Flickr

[LittleMissMagic]

Castillo San Felipe del Morro by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Castillo San Felipe del Morro by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Castillo San Felipe del Morro by vshingl, on Flickr

 

Sailing by vshingl, on Flickr

[mj]

Great review. Always enjoying reading your review.

[jes Scott]

Love it!! Just a few more weeks before we go!

 

 

Jess

[MM4M]

17 days!!! My countdown is ON!!!

[SunshineCruiser24]

Love it, keep it coming.

[Canadian Mom Cruiser]

Could you tell me if the ship time changed at all during the cruise? Or did you stay of Ft Lauderdale time? We have booked some private tours and want to ensure we don't get mixed up between local and ship time? Thanks in advance

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[essgee_ca]

Could you tell me if the ship time changed at all during the cruise? Or did you stay of Ft Lauderdale time? We have booked some private tours and want to ensure we don't get mixed up between local and ship time? Thanks in advance

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

 

I was on this sailing and can answer that question. We did change ship times. On the way down, we moved our clocks one hour and then moved them back on the way home. Each time our stateroom attendant left a note the night before we were to change reminding us.

[jes Scott]

Thanks! I never thought of that! Do you use your phones for time? I worry about that since my phone changes to match local time. I quit wearing a watch years ago!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Edited February 8, 2015 by jessica.g.studer

[essgee_ca]

Thanks! I never thought of that! Do you use your phones for time? I worry about that since my phone changes to match local time. I quit wearing a watch years ago!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I'm old fashioned and still wear my watch. I don't carry my phone with me on cruises because of roaming charges. I did have it on the ship though and it did not change to match local time. (It was on airport mode to avoid accidentally accessing data and incoming phone calls - not sure if that is why it didn't change or not. It's an iphone.)

Edited February 8, 2015 by essgee_ca