Live from Independence of the Seas

[Peeker28]

Currently on Independence of the Seas and will attempt my first review.

 

I am 46, DH is 49. This is our second Royal cruise, first one was the Oasis. We have 4 kids but we like to cruise by ourselves, we did invite my mom and her husband along.

 

We are in cabin 8620, a balcony cabin with the bed by the balcony! Sorry guys since I am new at all of this I probably won't be posting pictures but I will try to answer questions and give you as much info as possible.

 

This is a 5 night Belize, Cozumel cruise

 

We left Chicago on Friday March 25th at 3:00pm, well we were supposed to but there was bad weather in Ft lauderdale so we were delayed about an hour. Once finally in the air it was a smooth flight!

 

We stayed at the Hampton Inn on Andrews St and it was ok, I think it was priced too high for what you got. Our room seemed dirty and my moms had garbage behind the bedside table. My mom had purchased a package where she could stay, park her car (she drove down) and then get a shuttle to the pier. We weren't part of that package but it was no problem adding us on.

 

The shuttle was packed and they were dropping people off at different terminals. I think we were on the 12:00 shuttle and we were the last to be dropped off. There was a HUGE line to get into the terminal (25) for Indy. We had overheard someone saying that there was an issue and that is the reason for the delay.

 

Once on board we went right to our state rooms and then to the Windjammer to eat. I have no issues with the Windjammer and I always think their food is great. We had no problems finding a table for the 4 of us.

 

After eating we went back to the stateroom to meet our room attendant - Emerson Romero- LOVE HIM!! My mom is further down from us and I don't think her attendant is as nice as ours.

 

Then onto muster - the usual no issue with muster.

 

We had early dinner- 6:00pm - since my mom likes to eat early. We had only received 1 bag and still waiting on my husbands.

 

For dinner we are on deck 4 MacBeth table 422. Christian is our waiter and Martha the helper. Martha was not feeling good the first day so we were able to meet her on day 2. Christian is very nice, a little quiet but very attentative. The first night dinner, everyone seemed a little off. We all enjoyed our meal.

 

After dinner we were all so tired, my mom and her husband went to bed and we walked around. Oh gosh I have to back up here for a minute. So 2 days before I left I had come down with laryngitis, on the plane to Ft Lauderdale I had fallen asleep and my right ear had gotten stopped up and I was unable to get it to pop. I was taking a decongestant, chewing gum, yawning, you name it I was doing it. So on the first night my ear was still clogged I couldn't talk, I could barely hear and as we were walking around the ship it would cause my ear and my head to pound I litterally felt like my head was going to explode!! I had to sleep sitting up, what a way to start a vacation!!

 

Up next Day 2 - SEA DAY!!

[Clarea]

Following.

[Peeker28]

Day 2 was a day at sea and also a good day to explore the ship. I woke up and felt a little better but still couldn't hear very well and my ear still not popped. Still taking the decongestant, Advil, whatever I could find!!

 

DH and I had breakfast in the Windjammer and my mom and her husband had breakfast in the dining room.

 

We had a couples massage scheduled for 12:45 pm. It was nice, really enjoyed it. Both of the massage therapists were wonderful. After the massage comes the selling of the products. And I can't say no so I ended up buying something and honestly I have no idea what it is.

 

My mom went to the 10:45 am Intro to Acupuncture Herbs that Heal and she said it was just OK. They guy didn't talk about herbs at all.

 

My wonderful DH say that there was an introduction to wine tasting in Vintages and so we went to check that out. We got there and no one was there, the guy said that they have to have at least 10 people to do it. Shortly thereafter 2 ladies walked in, one was a party planner and she was out rounding people to come in and participate! She was great! And then we found out that they charge for this? It was $30/person!! My advice, when looking at the activities if there is a little $ that means they charge. My wonderful DH didn't notice it. We all still did the tasting and it was nice, not worth the $60 we paid but nice.

 

My mom saw the ice show - Strings and said that she didn't understand it. We saw Invitation to Dance and it was ok. Nothing like the shows on Oasis but still nothing to complain about.

 

Oh gosh I completely forgot to mention that night 2 was formal night. I know there is a lot of discussion on what everyone wears on formal night. We are not the ones that get super fancy, I'm on vacation and I really don't want to get all dolled up. There were a wide range of outfits, very formal, to nice dressed and dress shirts for men. I wore dress pants and a blouse, DH dress pants and a nice shirt, my mom a shirt and skirt and her husband pants and a shirt. We looked like we were going to church.

 

After dinner we went outside and noticed that we could see a city/land and had asked what was going on, apparently someone had gotten injured and we were stopping in Cozumel first last night dropping them off and then head to Belize. Around 5 pm the captain made an announcement that they were looking for blood and I guess they had quite a few people volunteer. I'm not really sure what happened to the man but when they took him off the ship on the stretcher he waved. Looked like he may have been ok which is great! They whole family got off in Cozumel. I feel bad, and wonder if the person is doing ok, could they get back on the ship tomorrow when we go to Cozumel?

 

DAY 3- Belize

[Keith1010]

Enjoy your cruise.

 

Keith

[bramwellanne]

awaiting next episode with bated breath;)

On this ship from Southampton (UK) in June and cannot wait to see the refurbishment changes.

 

Anne

[Hotel CA]

following too

[Peeker28]

Now that I am finally caught up with this review, it is day 3 of our short 5 day cruise. 5 days is way to short, I feel like the cruise is almost over.

 

This morning we had breakfast in the dining room, I had pancakes and bacon. Very good. I have had no issues with the food this whole trip so far.

 

I have never been to Belize and I have never been to a tender port. I told my husband I wanted to do a Royal excursion because I didn't want to get left behind. We chose to do the Barrier Reef snorkel and Starfish Island. We had to be in Studio B around 8:45 am. They made some announcements, we waited around and then finally time to go to deck 1. Once on deck 1 more waiting around, waiting around and then onto the boat for our excursion.

 

I do not get into the ocean, my husband does. I will say that no excursion will be perfect for everyone. People were complaining that they didn't get to snorkel as long as they liked, one person complained the water was too cold. Hey, I'm on a boat in the middle of the world life could be worse. My husband thought the snorkel time was just right. After everyone was on the boat it was time to head to starfish island. This is a really cute island, the weather was perfect, they had drinks and food. the bathrooms were modern and clean. Lots of chairs and a covered area to eat. They also had a nice play area for younger kids.

 

We walked around the island and saw a starfish in the ocean, pretty cool.

 

Once we got back on the boat we headed for the ship. Some people were going to go get on another tender and go into Belize but we were tired and hungry so Windjammer it was.

 

Currently still in our holding position in Belize. Everyone should be back on board by 4:30 pm. My DH is taking a nap as I type this and I am about to get cleaned up for dinner. Our plans tonight are to see the Headliner show staring Greg London. I will check in later and let you know how that is. Any questions, just ask and I will do my best to answer.

[Peeker28]

I will add that I purchased the one device internet. I have an iPhone 5C and for some reason I was having issues with my phone. I would try to connect and when I went to put in my access code, the keyboard on my phone would not pop up. We are using my husbands iPhone 6 and there are no issues connecting. The internet is good and fast in our room, I am able to use my computer and I was also able to facetime my kids back at home. There are a few areas of the ship where the signal isn't the best but overall I am very happy with it.

[Rocket3D]

Hi,

 

Greg London does a great show...wear a disco polyseter shirt and sit in the front row....always fun. Really terrific entertainer.

 

If you go to Schooner Bar, say hi to Sharonn and Lorenzo behind the bar....

 

Have fun,

Bob

[golfpi]

Is there any construction still going on up on deck 12 near the towel stand?

Edited March 28, 2016 by golfpi

[2BSailin]

Enjoying this live review! Thanks for taking the time to share!!

[bridedoll1026]

If you go to the Dog And Badger say hello to Kim from Paul, Mary & Jerry!

[Mark-Sheffield]

Enjoying the review, we are on Indy in May

[fyrfyterwife]

Enjoying the review, we are on Indy in May

 

Great review. We are on this same cruise the end of April. We also booked that same excursion in Belize. If there is any tips for this excursion please let me know.

 

Have they offered the drink punch card on this cruise?

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

[KirkNC]

Thanks for your report.

[celly]

Enjoying your review, we are on the Indy in a few weeks! Thanks for sharing.

[Summerknight]

Thanks for sharing!

[Peeker28]

Is there any construction still going on up on deck 12 near the towel stand?

 

Not by the towel stand, but there was someone working on one of those tower things with the ball on top

[Peeker28]

Great review. We are on this same cruise the end of April. We also booked that same excursion in Belize. If there is any tips for this excursion please let me know.

 

Have they offered the drink punch card on this cruise?

 

Sent from my KFTHWI using Forums mobile app

 

My tip is wear lots of sunscreen!! My husband looks like a lobster. No I have not seen the drink card offered

[Peeker28]

Greg London was great!! He was very entertaining and it was such a great show!!

 

We also saw the Love and Marriage show and that was fun. They had 4 couples, one that was married 3 days one 4 years another one 20 somehting years and then the last was married 48 years. We have never seen this show before and we really enjoyed it

[Peeker28]

For Cozumel we booked Nachi Concom. In port this day were Brillance, and 2 Carnival ships. Once off the ship we navigated around all the vendors to find the taxi's, the taxi's just charge a flat rate. The average is around $12-17 depending on where you were going. Nachi is a little further so we were charged $17 one way.

 

Nachi is beautiful!! I highly recommend if you want a relaxing beach day. They had plenty of chairs and umbrellas for us to sit under. They escort you to your spot and then you have a waiter for the whole day. This is an all inclusive resort so you pay one price and it includes drinks and lunch. There were a lot of things to choose from on the lunch menu and the portions were big. When you are ready to leave they will call a cab for you.

 

We had dinner in Chops and it was excellent!!! Went to the 70's Disco and Quest.

[cjs1957]

Thanks for your reviews, have enjoyed reading about your experiences.

We are on the next sailing (3/31) so I will be interested in the disembarkation process.

Anything to report on Internet or WiFi...Yay or Nay??

Hope you had a great time, as we are so looking forward to this cruise.

[Peeker28]

Thanks for your reviews, have enjoyed reading about your experiences.

We are on the next sailing (3/31) so I will be interested in the disembarkation process.

Anything to report on Internet or WiFi...Yay or Nay??

Hope you had a great time, as we are so looking forward to this cruise.

 

I had no real issue with the internet. I did not work everywhere on ship but it worked great in my stateroom. I feel that it was totally worth it. I was able to Facetime my kids at home and took them on a tour of the pool deck. This has been a great cruise and I know you will enjoy yours

[Peeker28]

Woke up this morning sad that it was the final day. Had breakfast in the dining room - I prefer the windjammer for breakfast. On the pool deck they had dancing so of course I joined in.

 

Lunch - they had a poolside barbecue and the food was delish!! The pool deck was full and finding a chair was hard.

 

After lunch took a quick dip in the hot tub and then back to change and get ready for the ice show. The Ice show was wonderful! Lots of talent!!

 

Had a quick bite in Johnny Rockets and got our buy one get one free shake.

 

I have not had any issues with any of my Crown & Anchor benefits not be honored.

[Peeker28]

The ice cream flavors that were at Ben & Jerry's are:

 

Mango/Mango

Lemonade Sorbet

Vanilla

Coffee

Strawberry

Strawberry Cheesecake

Cherry Garcia

Chunky Monkey

Phish Food

Butter Pecan