Independence Review_March 1 - 5, 2018

[MrsKC08]

Lynn, that dress is FABULOUS! :D

 

Thank you.

[The sea calls my name]

Hi there. I will scan the cruise compasses tomorrow when I get to work. Of hand I can't remember all the show times.

 

You are awesome, thank you. :halo:

[MrsKC08]

NIGHT TWO IN THE MDR WAS BETTER:

Before dinner, we took some photos while we were all dressed up. Many people always ask how formal are the formal nights on a cruise. Granted, they aren't as formal as they used to be, but we still enjoy getting dressed up. I did notice that on the four night cruise on Indy, that there is less "dressing up" than on a longer cruise. My advise to people wondering how they should handle formal night is to do what YOU feel comfortable doing. If you want to get dressed up, then by all mean live it up and dress to the nines. If you prefer not to, then don't. However, if you are going to wear shorts, the Windjammer is better for you...not just for formal night, but every night. There, I said it.

Now, moving on...

If there is anything we have learned in all our years of cruising is that if you mention that you are not getting the level of service you expect and you make that known, Royal Caribbean is going to do anything they can to rectify the situation and make you happy. When we sat down to dinner the second night, the dining manager came to our table to get more details about what our issues were from the first night. I had explained to her everything that we had issues on, and number one about the fact that we were expecting to have lobster because of the information her employees gave us. She was gracious, and she explained about the change in menu at the beginning of the year, but also explained that was not an excuse. She offered us wine and asked if there was anything she could do for us, and we said that we were fine just being moved. The next thing I knew...she brought this to our table.

 

This my folks is the expensive up-charge lobster on the menu, in case you have never seen it before. It was completely unexpected and unnecessary but boy was it delicious!

OUR NIGHT TIME ENTERTAINMENT:

Tonight's show was Once Upon a Time. We had seen it before on the Freedom and it was a great show this time around as well.

[MrsKC08]

A DAY AT COZUMEL:

Hubby and I have been to Cozumel several times, and quite honestly we were not sure what to do with our day here. Had it just been the two of us we probably would have stayed on the ship, after all, we were just there in May of last year when we sailed on the Oasis. That time we did the dolphin swim excursion with Dolphinaris and loved it. We knew that dad was on a budget and although he had expressed interest in going to the ruins months ago, we explained to him that it was a FULL day and that it was something we thought ultimately he wouldn't enjoy as much as he thought it would. In past cruises, we have heard many people rave about Nachi Cocom and in the end, we decided to book our day there.

Our beautiful sunrise off our balcony as we came into Cozumel

We quickly got off the ship after breakfast in the Windjammer and made our way to the taxi station to get a cab. It will cost you $18 each way to Nachi and is a quick 15-minute ride. Once there, we were lead to our spot for the day and enjoyed the view of the beautiful turquoise water.

The beauty of Nachi is that they limit the number of people to only 130 per day. To be honest, I don't even think that they had those many people there that day. It was not crowded at all. Our server/bartender started coming around about 10:30 to get drink orders and he came by regularly. The drinks were not watered down and there was no limit to what they could make you.

At some point, someone came around with menus for us to view to choose what we wanted to eat.

The food was so good!

I highly recommend doing Nachi. For $55/person with all, you can eat and drink it is quite a value. Should we ever find ourselves back in Cozumel we would definitely go back to Nachi again.

[MrsKC08]

Before I forget, here are the Cruise Compasses from our 4 night cruise on Independence.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cyskausgso61wh2/Cruise%20Compass_March%202018.pdf?dl=0

[Clarea]

Before I forget, here are the Cruise Compasses from our 4 night cruise on Independence.

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/cyskausgso61wh2/Cruise%20Compass_March%202018.pdf?dl=0

Thank-you!

[tawaik]

Thank you for sharing your experience on the IOTS. I booked our first RCL cruise on this ship and your review is very helpful.

 

 

Having sailed other line I look forward to the RCL experience.

[JeniferO]

Heading on the Indy this Thursday! We considered Nachi but have 5 kids with us (ages 5-13). We were thinking this wouldn't be a great spot for kids (though the 5 adults would love it) Thoughts??

 

A DAY AT COZUMEL:

Hubby and I have been to Cozumel several times, and quite honestly we were not sure what to do with our day here. Had it just been the two of us we probably would have stayed on the ship, after all, we were just there in May of last year when we sailed on the Oasis. That time we did the dolphin swim excursion with Dolphinaris and loved it. We knew that dad was on a budget and although he had expressed interest in going to the ruins months ago, we explained to him that it was a FULL day and that it was something we thought ultimately he wouldn't enjoy as much as he thought it would. In past cruises, we have heard many people rave about Nachi Cocom and in the end, we decided to book our day there.

Our beautiful sunrise off our balcony as we came into Cozumel

We quickly got off the ship after breakfast in the Windjammer and made our way to the taxi station to get a cab. It will cost you $18 each way to Nachi and is a quick 15-minute ride. Once there, we were lead to our spot for the day and enjoyed the view of the beautiful turquoise water.

The beauty of Nachi is that they limit the number of people to only 130 per day. To be honest, I don't even think that they had those many people there that day. It was not crowded at all. Our server/bartender started coming around about 10:30 to get drink orders and he came by regularly. The drinks were not watered down and there was no limit to what they could make you.

At some point, someone came around with menus for us to view to choose what we wanted to eat.

The food was so good!

I highly recommend doing Nachi. For $55/person with all, you can eat and drink it is quite a value. Should we ever find ourselves back in Cozumel we would definitely go back to Nachi again.

[MrsKC08]

Heading on the Indy this Thursday! We considered Nachi but have 5 kids with us (ages 5-13). We were thinking this wouldn't be a great spot for kids (though the 5 adults would love it) Thoughts??

 

Sorry I'm just getting to this. I realize that you are leaving in a couple days. There were families with kids here who enjoyed the pool and the beach, however it is a more laid back kind of atmosphere. I have a friend that is on a cruise this week and stopping at Cozumel. They have 3 kids and decided on Playa Mia Grand Beach Park because it is more kid friendly and has some great options for the kids.

https://www.playamia.com/