Last Minute Indy 4 Day Report & Review!

[Mommabear2Five]

We just got back this morning and as I wait for the last load of laundry to dry, I figured I would write a quick report and review of our 4 days.

 

We booked this cruise last minute - only 36 hours before boarding! We choose this cruise only because it was the only cabin available on a ship leaving a Florida port this weekend. We had an interior room on deck 7, midship. Not a bad spot for last minute.

 

We live about 3.5 hours from Port Everglades and left the house around 8am. We were on track to be at the port by 11:30, but about an hour outside Fort Lauderdale, we had a tire blow. We were lucky to be right by a rest area and DH changed the tire in just a few minutes, but our spare, nearly 10 years old and never used was flat. Thanks to the Florida Road Rangers, we were back on the road in just under an hour.

 

Boarding was easy by the time we got there and our room was already ready. The only issue we enountered was on the long (hot!) walk up the gangway. It took nearly 15 minutes to work our way up as they had what seemed like a full middle school's worth of children on a day trip bounding down the opposite way, full of sugar, as we all tried boarding. :eek:

 

Debarkation this morning, however, was terrible. I didn't know exactly what to expect as this was by far the largest ship we've sailed. We choose express (or self assist as other lines call it) and we were prepard to debark at 6:45, the time we were told by our room attendant we could leave. We waiting until 7:15, and after hearing no announcements made at all, we headed toward deck 1, which was listed as our waiting area. After making it all the way down, we were told we (and our luggage) would have to walk back up to deck 4 and get on the line to leave. From there, it took us nearly an hour to get through customs. We didn't get on the road until 9! I was really shocked at the complete disorganization of the whole process. And the mood of staff and crew, but I'll get to that in my next post...

[Mommabear2Five]

Independence of the Seas is a beautiful, well maintained ship. We loved the decor, the amenties and promenade. Our stateroom was small, but well laid out and kept tidy by our room attendant.

 

The food at the Windjammer was very good. The food in the dining room was not. We went to dinner the first night and while I think our headwaiter was trying to help us, I didn't find his warnings on each on my intial selections comforting. I settled on the lasagna and while it was barely room tempeture, it was very tasty. We tried breakfast in the dining room the next morning (I'm totally addicted to Carnival's sea day brunch and was hoping to find something similar) but the food was not good at all. We didn't go back to the dining room for the rest of the cruise, instead, we enjoyed the Windjammer for all meals with some snacks at the pizzaria and cafe on the promenade. We even at buffet on formal night - we pretty much had the place to ourselves and the food was AMAZING!

[Mommabear2Five]

If you're on one of RCI's ships that has an ice show DO NOT MISS IT! I am extremely picky when it comes to live entertainment; after all, I'm an entertainment manager for the biggest entertainment company in the world, but this show really blew me away.

 

The skaters are very talented - you'll be amazed by what they can do on this small rink! The music is great and while the story does'nt make sense at first, you're not really going to care :) Between the stunts and the live violin, the story doesn't matter.

 

Invitation to Dance was ok, but Once Upon a Time was fantastic! The singers were very impressive and the costumes and set design were broadway quality.

 

We missed the 70s dance party on the promenade, due to too much fun in Cozumel, which I was very disappointed about since I heard it was a great time from others we had met on the ship.

 

Coming up...Where are all the activities?

[Mommabear2Five]

If you're anything like me, once you return to your cabin at the end of the night, you fight to be the first to look at the Cruise Compass for the next day. I love planning out my next day, highlighting the not-to-be-missed activites. I was so excited that this cruise had TWO SEA DAYS on a 4 day cruise because I love wandering the ship, going from a dance class to trivia to towel folding to whatever the next wonderful and new thing there is to try.

 

I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed in what was offered on this cruise. Yes, there was trivia - but not much. The was towel animal folding, but it was just a 10 minute demonstration, no participation. Dance classes were either for the teens or for couples (DH does NOT dance) and anthing else that was remotely interesting was for a fee. Now, if I wanted to watch a seminar about back pain, reducing wrinkles or have my footprint read, there was about 20 of these types of activies offered each day. If I had any interest in Thomas Kindade, or any art shopping for that matter, I would have been very busy each day, but this isn't the case.

 

Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to do on IofS - you can rock climb, you can ice skate, you can catch a movie (you can also catch the same movie over and over and over...) you can try special brews at the pub or a wine flight at Vintages, but I like the activies that are lead by the entertainment staff the best and there weren't many that suited me in particular.

 

Up next, Why is everyone so grumpy?

[Mommabear2Five]

From our headwaiter to the bartenders on the pool deck, everyone seemed to me to be in a bad mood - except for one - Atilla, who had fun with every Guest he came in contact with.

 

I was called by name exactly 2 times in 4 days. Once on my 4 trip in one day to Guest Services (I was double charged for our drink package and you wouldn't believe what a pain that was to get taken care of) and once by my room attendant, after he called my Janice first. I guess I always took this practice for granted, but I really missed it from this crew.

 

There were very few smiles from the crew and a general feeling of grumpiness. No one went out of their way to speak to us or even offer a "hello" and I've never seen so many security out patroling the pool deck with their arms folded across their chests and a "just go ahead and try me" look on their faces.

 

One of my biggest pet peeves is not being acknowledged by staff. I'll wait forever, no problems, but at least acknowledge me; a look, a smile, anything. Also, why do the bartenders get so exasperated because there's a lot of people at the bar? More then once, on the bar crew threw there hands up and exclaimed "I don't know who's next!" Dude, it's your job. But even if you happened not to know, don't be mad about it. I've worked in the service industy for 25 years, it takes so little effort to be nice. Don't make me feel back because I want a drink I've actually already paid for. And don't argue with me when a send a drink back that is clearly not what I asked for. (Trust me, I can tell the difference between Grey Goose vodka and house vodka, stop arguing with me)

 

And my final thoughts....

[Mommabear2Five]

After rereading my posts, I sound pretty negative. I don't mean to be; we had a great cruise overall, loved the ship and the itinerary and meet some really cool people. Also, our Cruise Director, Casey, was great. I guess after a few cruises, you learn what you like and what you don't like in a cruise and I'm not exactly sure RCI makes the cut for me. And I'm pretty sure I don't care for the larger ships. That's for sure.

 

We will give Royal one more shot this May. It's already booked and we're bringing 4 of the 5 kids, ages 18 - 23. My oldest is over in the UAEs for the next 6 months, and won't be able to make it, but I'm looking forward to time with my family on a cruise. It will be the first for 2 of my kids and its on the first sailing out of drydock on the Majesty.

 

Thanks for reading! Let me know if you have any questions about the ship.

[Krypti]

Thanks for the review! My husband and I are booked on Indy for a four-night cruise next March, because I'm going to a convention on the ship. Thanks especially for the tip on food. We're probably going to end up eating at the Windjammer, Sorento's, or the other place that's open all the time (Cafe something?) because our schedules are going to be crazy.

 

And I have a question! Where are quiet, kind of isolated places where a small group of friends can go hang out and talk or play Cards Against Humanity in the evenings? At other conventions, we've just claimed a few couches/chairs in hotel lobbies or the outskirts of the bar. Our CAH games can get kind of raunchy sometimes, with lots of laughter, so we wouldn't want to be anywhere we could disrupt people who are sleeping.

[Mommabear2Five]

Thanks for the review! My husband and I are booked on Indy for a four-night cruise next March, because I'm going to a convention on the ship. Thanks especially for the tip on food. We're probably going to end up eating at the Windjammer, Sorento's, or the other place that's open all the time (Cafe something?) because our schedules are going to be crazy.

 

And I have a question! Where are quiet, kind of isolated places where a small group of friends can go hang out and talk or play Cards Against Humanity in the evenings? At other conventions, we've just claimed a few couches/chairs in hotel lobbies or the outskirts of the bar. Our CAH games can get kind of raunchy sometimes, with lots of laughter, so we wouldn't want to be anywhere we could disrupt people who are sleeping.

 

I'm not exactly sure. At night, all of the common areas except for the pool deck were very crowded. At least you won't be waking anyone up, but it might be hard to find a spot. Have fun!

[Toobubbly]

Thanks for the review! We will be on the Indy 3/31 cruising the same itinerary.

If you have the cruise compasses would you be able to post them please :) I like to plan :) Thank you!

[Mommabear2Five]

Thanks for the review! We will be on the Indy 3/31 cruising the same itinerary.

If you have the cruise compasses would you be able to post them please :) I like to plan :) Thank you!

 

I have them all, but im not sure the best way to share them. I guess take a picture? Ill give it a try and post in a separate thread.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report.

[Toobubbly]

I have them all, but im not sure the best way to share them. I guess take a picture? Ill give it a try and post in a separate thread.

 

Thank you! I have never posted anything like that so I'm not sure how it is done but I appreciate you trying :)

[cjmx]

You are not being overly negative, but I have to say it was the worst cruise for us as well. But don't give up on Royal. Sometimes that happen with every cruise lines. I, especially liked how the beverage staff all how that far away look Sometimes, my Dh had to get literally in front of them to get their attention.

Nonetheless , I had great service from many of Royal other ships!!! Large and small

[TPCRUISER2]

You are going from a big ship to a small ship, but the crew on the Majesty should be what you are looking for. They might not know your name bit will do as much as they can to make you feel welcome! The Majesty has been a great little ship!

[riclop]

Thanks for the report.

[vickiw0318]

This isn't really making an excuse, but there were a strange set of circumstances. Casey was actually the fourth cruise director in four consecutive cruises. The regular cruise director and the activities director were let go as of the day I boarded (2/22). There were a couple of fill-ins til Casey could get on board. Yours was his first cruise. If there was a lack of activities, that could be the reason.

 

Disembarkation was pretty messed up when I got off. Having seen the absolute best on my last Navigator cruise where you signed up ahead of time and were given a departure group (A, B, C, etc) and the number of participants was limited, I know it can be done efficiently and effortlessly. Each group was called separately and your registration slip was checked. Those who had not registered were not allowed to cut into line. I cannot understand why the system isn't applied fleet wide. By the way, this was in Galveston where there are many, many cruisers who drive to the port so the situation is similar.

 

Another thing that puzzles me is the staff attitude. I was able to gather that many are unhappy about the ship going back to the U.K. because of the lack of tips abroad. That being said, I don't know why they aren't capitalizing on the opportunity to make them while they can. There must be something else going on. The bulk of people I encountered were upbeat. I did run into several gloomy Guses though.

[Mommabear2Five]

Thank you! I have never posted anything like that so I'm not sure how it is done but I appreciate you trying :)

 

Ok, I tried. Here is the link:

 

Independence Cruise Compass 4 Day

[Mommabear2Five]

This isn't really making an excuse, but there were a strange set of circumstances. Casey was actually the fourth cruise director in four consecutive cruises. The regular cruise director and the activities director were let go as of the day I boarded (2/22). There were a couple of fill-ins til Casey could get on board. Yours was his first cruise. If there was a lack of activities, that could be the reason.

 

Disembarkation was pretty messed up when I got off. Having seen the absolute best on my last Navigator cruise where you signed up ahead of time and were given a departure group (A, B, C, etc) and the number of participants was limited, I know it can be done efficiently and effortlessly. Each group was called separately and your registration slip was checked. Those who had not registered were not allowed to cut into line. I cannot understand why the system isn't applied fleet wide. By the way, this was in Galveston where there are many, many cruisers who drive to the port so the situation is similar.

 

Another thing that puzzles me is the staff attitude. I was able to gather that many are unhappy about the ship going back to the U.K. because of the lack of tips abroad. That being said, I don't know why they aren't capitalizing on the opportunity to make them while they can. There must be something else going on. The bulk of people I encountered were upbeat. I did run into several gloomy Guses though.

 

Thanks for the info on the strange circumstances with the CD - that actually makes sense. Casey was great, though. We really enjoyed his humor and we got to talk to him a little bit, too.

[Mommabear2Five]

You are going from a big ship to a small ship, but the crew on the Majesty should be what you are looking for. They might not know your name bit will do as much as they can to make you feel welcome! The Majesty has been a great little ship!

 

 

I hope so! As you can see from my signature, I do love the smaller ships :)

[vickiw0318]

As for playing Cards against Humanity, I would think you could play at the tables around the pool area during the day or in one of the lounges on Deck 14.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[GeorgeMac]

Thank you for the review.

Do you remember the menu names and the order in which they were offered?

 

Thank you

George

[Mommabear2Five]

Thank you for the review.

Do you remember the menu names and the order in which they were offered?

 

Thank you

George

 

I'm sorry, George, I do not. We had dinner I the MDR the first night and breakfast the first morning, but did not return for the rest of the cruise because we preferred the food at the Windjammer.