Independence - 4 night Bahamas Trip - July 25th

[blondcat]

56 minutes ago, sandebeach said:

Please do! We have enjoyed the Royal Suite on Enchantment and Mariner, would love to hear about your suite. 

My mother really wants to try those ships, they’re a little smaller arent they ! I think I prefer the drama of the big ships, I notice such a difference between brilliance and independence 

[blondcat]

19 minutes ago, perfect match said:

Another vote for more suite pictures please!

Looking forward to following along with you on Indy. We were on her in December and had a great cruise. Hope you do, too!

Ah I just don’t want to offend anyone but sounds like suite spam is back on the menu and I’ll end today with the most obnoxious of all! 

[blondcat]

I’ll update more later but we were just about to reboard the ship as excursion cancelled due to storm and all three gangways simultaneously collapsed - one of the metal panels flew onto the pier (the blue one in third pic)- it was a miracle no one was hurt. The port staff have no idea how they’re going to fix this! 
 

 

Edited July 26, 2022 by blondcat

[Jevsy]

Wow! Looks to be very lucky no-one injured! 😳

[Jevsy]

So is it the test on the right you organised? 

[F27TW]

On 7/26/2022 at 10:19 AM, blondcat said:

I’ll update more later but we were just about to reboard the ship as excursion cancelled due to storm and all three gangways simultaneously collapsed - one of the metal panels flew onto the pier (the blue one in third pic)- it was a miracle no one was hurt. The port staff have no idea how they’re going to fix this! 
 

 

 

Holy KRAP!   How scary.   How did everyone get back on board ?!

[blondcat]

So I’ve totally neglected this “blog”! Just been in Caribbean heaven! 
 

so back to the busted gangways - I’m genuinely amazed no one was hurt. It was a comedy watching the poor crew try and pull them back up whilst being watched by about 50 passangers in an apocalyptic rain storm stranded on the pier!  Anyway they fixed it after 2 hours - carl (concierge) msgd us to say we could get back on - I had sent him the photos! Engineering marvel what they achieved in 2 hours  🙂

the crew were waiting with hot towels for everyone - and carl was waiting for us- he’s a wonderful man, what a wild storm. Anyway, the day wasn’t a total write off - captain extended the stay in port until 1930 (from 1700) and the weather cleared up (first two pics were from the balcony before we left the ship for the second time that day).
 

 I’m a scaredy cat usually and only ever do the overpriced ship organised shore excursions. But in this case we didn’t really have a choice if we wanted to go back out. So around 1300 we disembarked again - it was very busy! I asked a policeman where to go for a proper cab and he went above and beyond! Found us a car, told us to scrap cable beach idea (which I’d found via Google) and keep it near and simple and  go to cabbage beach. Great suggestion! We didn’t pay for the loungers or anything and lots of beach sellers but what a beauty of a beach. Can was 5 bucks each and you share with other folks which is just fine and there’s a queue of them lined up to take you back. We left around 1630. 

Edited July 28, 2022 by blondcat

[blondcat]

So we went to the main dining room (MTD) for second night - thanks for earlier suggestion to book! We went for 1930. They’re a bit funny on the ship - when they find out what room you’re in they always try and send you back to concierge but we’d queued for 15 mins to make the reservations so thought might as well finish it! The food on this ship hasn’t been as good as brilliance in May. The prime rib in main dining room on first night was so tough we couldn’t actually eat it! Mia had a steak which was wonderful. It felt like we had about 10 people ask us if we wanted a replacement / apologies etc - we’re quite chill people and weren’t really that bothered. I mean they’re catering for thousands - was probably just an unlucky bit of beef! Wait staff are very attentive and we have a lovely table.

[blondcat]

Day 3 is everything you hope and dream of in a cruise (well for me anyway!). Arrive in port on time (0700 coco cay). Stunning weather and expected to stay that way. We had water park tickets and a daybed booked. I googled a bit on which area to head to for the day beds but there didn’t seem to be a clear winner. We went to chill island first but the water looked choppy so we risked the 30 min trek to south beach (you have to wait for the tram). The right decision! It was absolutely magical. The reefs are so healthy so much wildlife - pics below are from the shallows which are between 1-2 ft only. Incredible. They have a waiter that takes orders for drinks and food is just a 5 min walk along with a bar. Burger and fries free and no wait.

 

Per recommendation we rushed for the rides early to beat the queues - such a fun little park.  But we spent most of the day on the beach.  We didn’t leave until the end and boarded 15 mins before cut off time. 

 

 

[blondcat]

Before I forget some observations on this cruise and comparison to May where i had same state room but brilliance vs independence:

 

- wifi far superior on independence

- no flipping charging ports anywhere near the bed or sofa bed on independence, brilliance has both

- much better reserved suite loungers on independence - I’ll take a pic later. We are happy to sit anywhere but on first day a family was looking for 3 loungers and we had 3 in front of the pool. We moved to the suite bit so they could take ours. We arrived on deck at 10am on day 4 today (sea day) and they were the only loungers left on the ship I think! They have a brolly too which is perfect for this very fair English girl! 
- the cabin is way noisier on independence- I’m sure I could hear furniture and water moving on a really choppy overnight sailing section

- they are quick to fix things - (this has to be one of the most pretentious comments yet) but the chandelier over the piano came loose and was very loud! They fixed it in less 30 mins from when we reported it

- the hot tub on the balcony is unreal 

- the concierge lounge is much bigger than brilliance but no bar in the lounge - I like sitting at the bar and chatting to the barman and other guests but it’s no biggie. They must get less tips though I would think?

- I think the food in main dining room is better on brilliance. But the steak in giovannis is just as excellent (where we went last night). Service very slow though

- boarding was more of a faff on independence. Again I think this is unique to the stateroom we’re in but sharing for info - when we checked in they obviously had instructions to send us to some VIP area to meet concierge but they really struggled with the admin side I think because of all these notes. We are no fuss people and actually headed to the main check in area but got sent back to the suite bit when they saw our room number. They are very sensitive to it I think! 
- testing for kids took 30 mins end to end - we saw some families being escorted out as they had tested positive - I felt so sad for them. I feel very lucky my DD was negative !! It’s so stressful waiting guys -I’m not a pro or anti vaxxer type - you do you - but if you cruise all I’m saying is it’s bloody stressful getting your kids tested at the port!!

- we’ll do the carry own bags and disembark at the 0700 slot tomo as we want to get to Disney asap :)). Have a car booked but no idea where to find that tomo - sure we’ll figure it out

- like brilliance my app does not show my account spend - I’m sure they do that on purpose !! 
 

im sure I’ll think of more later but for now back to my Bloody Mary, and Dan brown book (I need that sarcastic / smirk emoji here - can’t help myself on holiday - just love his books for forgetting my job!) 

 

Edited July 28, 2022 by blondcat

[mpdog42]

We in the Midwest,usually see Funnel Cakes in the fall...You must try them!!!😋

[OCSC Mike]

Thanks for the updates, blondcat. Glad the gangway incident and storm didn't ruin that day and my minor bits of advice helped.

 

My wife saw a very similar shark on Cococay last Wednesday.

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip! I couldn't last more than a couple hours in a theme park in the heat we have here right now. Drink plenty of water.

 

Advice for next time... get a suite on Wonder if it fits your schedule and budget (it would be a 7-nighter of course). Since you mentioned some of the suite perks, I can safely say you would absolutely love them on that ship. YouTube if you're not familiar.

[Royally Ready to cruise]

with a 2 bedroom suite do we get the same concierge perks?  Ty!

[Royally Ready to cruise]

did you see any shows? or the ice skating

[rrraydon]

On 7/25/2022 at 8:08 PM, blondcat said:

I don’t want to come over all showy so will just post stuff on the main things not the fancy room ☺️

No, post everything! No worries! I've never seen the inside of a suite so I am happy you posted it...leave nothing out! 😃

[John&LaLa]

1 hour ago, Royally Ready to cruise said:

with a 2 bedroom suite do we get the same concierge perks?  Ty!

 

Not the concierge escort or bottle of Moet

[perfect match]

Wow! That was quite the situation with the gangways all crashing! Glad they were able to get everything all sorted out! 
 

I loved your shark pic from Coco Cay! I was hoping to see one the last couple of times we were there. Unfortunately for me, the sharks had other ideas. I’ll try again in September! 🦈

 

When you get to WDW be sure you stay hydrated and take breaks from the parks to go rest in air conditioning or perhaps hit the pool to cool off. We live in central Florida and have Disney AP’s, so we’re in Animal Kingdom on Thursday. We planned our day to spend a lot of our time indoors in air conditioned attractions timed our dinner break to get us out of the heat in the middle of our planned time in the park. Our strategy served us well as we were able to enjoy our day with no ill effects. Oh, don’t forget the sunscreen and breathable clothing! 

[Royally Ready to cruise]

On 7/28/2022 at 10:40 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Not the concierge escort or bottle of Moet

just got my concierge email,  not sure what can be asked for. can we ask for 6:30 pm time with window seating/private table with ocean view in main dining? 

also not sure how to arrange Covid testing for our 5 yo and arrive when we wish at the port.  I’d like to get there early for boarding and lunch! 😊

[F27TW]

On 7/28/2022 at 10:40 PM, John&LaLa said:

 

Not the concierge escort or bottle of Moet

 

Or the tiara. 

Edited July 30, 2022 by F27TW