Independence on August 29th - Chartered?

[steilkurve]

Closing the loop as we just got off IOTS earlier today:

 

-We could see no sign of partial charter or large group. There were definitely noticeable groups on board, but by all appearances they were friends, family or colleagues traveling together and looking to party. More on that later.

 

-There were two fixed times published as 5 to 5:15 and 7:30 to 7:45 meaning you arrive within those windows. We had the latter as mentioned above and quite liked it. On previous cruises, we always thought 8 was too late. 7:30 was perfect for us. And I did ask and apparently MTD was available and offered on Deck 3 which also had early sitting. Not sure if it is a formula they are testing for possible expansion fleetwide but I’d be back to fixed sitting if 7:30 was the new late sitting. So pleasant to have recurring staff.

 

Now, about those groups of family members, friends, colleagues or whatever. Some of them were quite intense! Granted it was a shorter cruise during a long weekend on an older ship with good rates. We were expecting more of a party scene. But loud singing in the pool in the solarium, taking over entire hot tubs, guys roaming around stiff drunk unable to find their way? We did short cruises years ago and yes there was more folks partying but this just felt more unhinged then we remembered. Is it the new norm on shorter voyages? Or maybe we’re just getting older. 😉 

 

On a more positive note, we were impressed by the state of the ship. At 13 years old, it’s holding out pretty good we thought. Sure the decor is not as current as the latest ships and there is some wear and tear (MDR chairs, cabin curtains and sofas for instance) but it’s still comfortable and enjoyable.