Live from the Independence 6 night March 22, 2015

[Paulette3028]

haha well basically we were doing mask making with Amy one of the other cruise directors staff and Tom came to join in and decided to start a little competition with Amy to see who could make the best mask. He came over and sat on our table and we managed to use a whole load of glitter and it got every where so he then told us as we were on his 'team' we would be 'team sparkle' (this ended up being are name we used for all the quizzes and stuff around the ship!)

And then I think it was Gemma another cruise director staff who was telling people that Tom had told his parents that he was captain of the ship... or something like that (I think Tom had told some other people something about her that wasn't true so she was getting her own back!) anyway, I then told him I was going to tell the children I babysat that he was the captain of the ship and that his name was Captain Sparkle, which he seemed quite impressed with and it just kind of stuck!

 

Good story.....and a fun example of how the entertainment staff gets involved and does have a great impact on what we as cruisers do.

 

Amy is another fun member of the Entertainment staff, along with Debbie.

[GiggleBee]

Good story.....and a fun example of how the entertainment staff gets involved and does have a great impact on what we as cruisers do.

 

Amy is another fun member of the Entertainment staff, along with Debbie.

 

Amy is lovely, we didn't have Debbie, we had Gemma, Amy, Lorne, Tom, Mike and Dan I think that was all of them :)

[Tripledouble]

Thank you so much for taking the time to post all of this. I am a seasoned cruise traveler with RCCL and Celebrity, and we will be on the Indy April 11th. We are traveling with our best friends who have a son - age 7 and daughter 9, so your reviews are perfect. I can't wait to share your posts with them as they have been a little worried the kids would not have enough to do. Haha, right. Enjoy the rest of your vacation. 15 more sleeps!!!!

[Paulette3028]

Amy is lovely, we didn't have Debbie, we had Gemma, Amy, Lorne, Tom, Mike and Dan I think that was all of them :)

 

Was Ricky Matthews the CD and Gordon Travis the Activity Manager?

 

Yes, Amy is terrific....on our sailing she was the Activity Manager and Gordon Travis was the Cruise Director. Many of the regular cruise directors were at a conference at Royal Corp offices, so others from the entertainment staff filled it....and all was fine. Then on the following sailing, everyone went back to their normal roles and Ricky joined the staff.

[GiggleBee]

Was Ricky Matthews the CD and Gordon Travis the Activity Manager?

 

Yes, Amy is terrific....on our sailing she was the Activity Manager and Gordon Travis was the Cruise Director. Many of the regular cruise directors were at a conference at Royal Corp offices, so others from the entertainment staff filled it....and all was fine. Then on the following sailing, everyone went back to their normal roles and Ricky joined the staff.

 

we had Tim Connor as are cruise director and Jamie Fentimen as are activities manager until we reached are first port of call and then Tim had to leave due to his wife being ill so Jamie took over as cruise director and Gemma because the activities manager, they worked really well together and were hilarious on the morning show.

[Paulette3028]

we had Tim Connor as are cruise director and Jamie Fentimen as are activities manager until we reached are first port of call and then Tim had to leave due to his wife being ill so Jamie took over as cruise director and Gemma because the activities manager, they worked really well together and were hilarious on the morning show.

 

That was a few months ago, when Jamie became the CD. Jamie Fentiman was the Cruise Director on Indy, until early February 2015, when he went on vacation and got married -- then Gordon was CD, then Ricky was due to come on board and remain as CD until early May when Leigh Xuereb is expected to be the CD.

 

He currently is on vacation and honeymoon, and no idea when or to what ship he will be returning.

[GiggleBee]

That was a few months ago, when Jamie became the CD. Jamie Fentiman was the Cruise Director on Indy, until early February 2015, when he went on vacation and got married -- then Gordon was CD, then Ricky was due to come on board and remain as CD until early May when Leigh Xuereb is expected to be the CD.

 

He currently is on vacation and honeymoon, and no idea when or to what ship he will be returning.

 

Yes it was in November, Jamie was meant to be leaving the Indy after our cruise to go to another ship to be cruise director but then with Tim leaving he became the Indy cruise director.

 

Jamie actually got married in my hometown and lives just around the corner from me, we never knew this until we got on the cruise and overheard Gemma telling another passenger where the wedding was being held.

[noodle]

Sorry for the delay. I have had trouble posting on Tapatalk and lost one post.

 

Dinner day 4

 

Dinner was a bit slower and we didn't make it to the kids club pick up so we had to take them there after our mains. Not a problem as it is a quick elevator ride up and back.

 

I ordered the fish but sweet Stacy brought me the roast chicken. I didn't have the heart to tell her so I kept it. She seemed so busy tonight. Dh had the fish so I tasted his and I preferred the roast chicken. It was very good. Dessert was a cherry trifle and roasted peaches. The kids had chicken strips again and beanie had her special order Fettuccini Alfredo which was very good.

 

We had after dinner drinks with the wonderful Lorenzo tending bar at Schooners. He is sweet and funny. Sat on our balcony before retrieving the kids. Beanie requested to stay past the 10 pm pick so we paid the late night fee ($7 per hour) for one hour and she was still disappointed to see us arrive to get her. She would like to be the last kid to leave.

[noodle]

Just lost another post. :( I'll try again later.

[Ocean Boy]

Was Ricky Matthews the CD and Gordon Travis the Activity Manager?

 

Yes, Amy is terrific....on our sailing she was the Activity Manager and Gordon Travis was the Cruise Director. Many of the regular cruise directors were at a conference at Royal Corp offices, so others from the entertainment staff filled it....and all was fine. Then on the following sailing, everyone went back to their normal roles and Ricky joined the staff.

 

Rickly Matthews didn't make much of an impression on my one way or the other when we sailed after you. Gordon did trivia one day on the Schooner Bar. He was weaker at it than some of the other folks on the CD staff that did it on other days.

[GonnaSailtoo]

Did you have a lot of spring breakers on your cruise? Lots of drunk kids doing stupid things? Just wondering, as I was considering the Indy tomorrow for eight days, but don't want to spend the $$$ (single cruiser=high price) if there are still spring breakers out there on the ships.

[noodle]

There are a few but not a lot. Certainly an 8 nighter would have less. Haven't been bothered by any, just notice one or two groups of 6-8 that had taken advantage of their drinks package. But far less of that than I anticipated. Majority is family groups sailing for spring break. Many young children.

[hkinfl]

We get on tomorrow when you get off, loving the live review!

 

To the previous poster, we do spring break every year at this time with smaller kids and don't seem to ever have problems with the rowdy ones. They tend to still to the shorter cruise I've found, even for spring break. 8 nights is not the cheap, and that's what they are usually looking for.

[Paulette3028]

Rickly Matthews didn't make much of an impression on my one way or the other when we sailed after you. Gordon did trivia one day on the Schooner Bar. He was weaker at it than some of the other folks on the CD staff that did it on other days.

 

The things that Gordon did as Cruise Director for the cruise we were on, he did well. He did a great job with the Quest. During the cruise itself, he was not as visible around the ship as other cruise directors that I have cruised with in the past. I believe we cruised with Ricky Matthews when he was an Activity Manager years ago.

 

I was surprised that Gordon did not participate in the Crew vs Cruiser Volleyball game on our sailing....I guess not his thing....but it would have given him a chance to do a lot of 'mingling with cruisers'.

 

Entertainment staff can have a positive impact on my cruise....but rarely has a negative impact -- at least my opinion.

 

We had a great time with Amy (who was acting as Activity Manager), Debbie, Sara and Tom -- during the week we sailed.

[perfect match]

Enjoying your review. :D

 

Thanks for sharing.

[noodle]

We are enjoying our last night with drinks at schooners. I will post a full report for the last two days later but we have loved this ship and its crew. Food has been good and at times very good to great. Kids program outstanding. First rc cruise and safe to say it is a good fit for our family.

[kruzerci]

Enjoy the last night! What cruise did you book?

[JamesEM]

Following along, hopefully you will be able to post some photos.

[mcatmcat]

I'm glad you had a great time

Edited March 28, 2015 by mcatmcat

[sierra821]

Sounds fun, we almost booked A cruise on this ship but the eastern Caribbean route for May 24. We ended up on Carnival because our 9 year old daughter wants to go to Grand turk and my oldest son wanted St Maarten, so Carnival won. We want to try royal Caribbean on our next cruise

 

 

 

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[noodle]

We are at the airport waiting for our 5pm flight to phoenix. Debarkation was a bit of a nightmare and it was chaos getting our bags. We werent through customs until 11:30 and in the rental car by 12:15. Las Bolas was closed off due to some event so we went to the beach and had lunch at beach bunnies. Overall, next time I would choose the luggage service the ship offers and just get a taxi to lunch and a taxi to the airport. Would have been much easier.

 

I still owe you all days 5 and 6 but will do those tomorrow as I am wiped. Will add photos then too.

 

It was a great week and we enjoyed the ship. Not everything went perfectly but a good time was had and memories made.

[noodle]

Can't see it but loving your review anyway! We sail Indy in August. Have you heard if they a allowing people to open their balcony partitions? We have 3 balconies next to each other and are hoping to have one giant balcony for happy hours and night caps!

Thanks everyone for all the kind comments. Glad someone is reading. :)

 

Lissa77 the cabin next to us had their partition opened to the next one past them as they are all family. So it appears it is being done.

 

Enjoy the last night! What cruise did you book?

The Navigator for next march. 8 night eastern. [emoji1]

[noodle]

Sounds fun, we almost booked A cruise on this ship but the eastern Caribbean route for May 24. We ended up on Carnival because our 9 year old daughter wants to go to Grand turk and my oldest son wanted St Maarten, so Carnival won. We want to try royal Caribbean on our next cruise

 

 

 

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I have enjoyed every carnival cruise I have taken. You will have a blast.

[Reallife]

Noodle,

 

I had a couple of questions and hope you could answer them.

First I'll say that I haven't been on a RCL in many, many years.

I have only been on a couple of cruises. I'm going with my son and a friend and her two boys.

 

Was there any drink specials on the boat?? Like a happy hour type thing? If so where ? or do they put it in the compass?

 

Do you have any idea about the Ultimate beverage package, does it include the coffee shop? the Starbucks coffee? (maybe someone else will know this)

 

We have a MDR time of 8:30pm which is so late, can we just go and wait for a table anytime? Like 6 or 7pm? I don't want to do the anytime dinning because I hear a lot of people saying it's not worth it.

 

Did the ship change their clocks to Jamaica time? we were thinking of taking an excursion but unless the cruise ship has the same time as Jamaica it won't be worth it.

 

Was the Pool area packed and hard to get chairs? do we need to save a chair.

and was the pool too crowded to go into?

 

We are going Easter week so I'm assuming much more crowded than any other week.

 

ANy other little tips that we should know about ?? things not to miss? shows? bars? foods or deserts?

 

Also the Ben and Jerry's isn't included and neither s the cupcake place, just wondering are there a lot of extra charges ?? it seems to me , maybe?

 

Thanks and thanks too for the posting. Awesome!!

[noodle]

Noodle,

 

Was there any drink specials on the boat?? Like a happy hour type thing? If so where ? or do they put it in the compass?

 

Do you have any idea about the Ultimate beverage package, does it include the coffee shop? the Starbucks coffee? (maybe someone else will know this)

 

We have a MDR time of 8:30pm which is so late, can we just go and wait for a table anytime? Like 6 or 7pm? I don't want to do the anytime dinning because I hear a lot of people saying it's not worth it.

 

Did the ship change their clocks to Jamaica time? we were thinking of taking an excursion but unless the cruise ship has the same time as Jamaica it won't be worth it.

 

Was the Pool area packed and hard to get chairs? do we need to save a chair.

and was the pool too crowded to go into?

 

We are going Easter week so I'm assuming much more crowded than any other week.

 

ANy other little tips that we should know about ?? things not to miss? shows? bars? foods or deserts?

 

Also the Ben and Jerry's isn't included and neither s the cupcake place, just wondering are there a lot of extra charges ?? it seems to me , maybe?

 

Thanks and thanks too for the posting. Awesome!!

 

There were drinks specials listed like 2 for 1 in certain bars. We had the premium package so we never took advantage of these. I don't know about the ultimate drinks package since we don't even drink coffee. Sorry.

 

With the late seating you have an assigned table at that time so you can't go and wait for a table earlier. The MTD is in one dining room and you can only go there if you signed up for MTD. Otherwise it is Windjammer.

 

The ship stayed on ship time (Florida time) the entire cruise. Jamaica was a pretty short day and we were contemplating doing one of the resorts through resort for a day and in the end were really glad we didn't. We really enjoyed red stripe beach offered through the ship. Lovely beach and find Lenny the life guard. He will show you where the colorful fish are and is very entertaining.

 

Pool area was crowded but we were able to find seats. Also can remove towels that have been there. The pools themselves never felt packed but for the sea days. Even then, the adult pool didn't seem really packed but kids pool area was packed. Kids still had fun.

 

Ben and Jerrys and cupcake place did cost extra but we never bought any. There were plenty of desserts with meals and available in the windjammer. Kids got the cupcake they decorated in the purchased decorating class and I just reminded them of all the sweets they were getting with their meals and they never asked for more. Free icecream soft serve on the pool deck by the kids splash zone. Plenty of food options included so we never felt the need. Honestly, our bill was about $300 and that was only because we bought internet, did an extra wine tasting event, played bingo, bought the aqua park at coco cay for two, and several other purchases in the shops and tips for drinks (we did tip on our drinks on top the gratuity added to the package but didn't feel pressured to).

 

Enjoy, you will have a blast.