Back today off Independence of the Seas - any questions?

[Brunswick]

Arrived back today from the Canaries cruise. What a fantastic ship. Any questions please ask and I will hopefully be able to answer them.

[vmom]

How did the ship handle the number of passengers? Did it feel crowded?

 

Finding seats in the theater or buffet?

 

The size of the ship seems so large, just wondered how it felt being on a ship that big.

 

The pictures I've seen look beautiful.

[paul and Yas]

what an opportunity thankyou. (1) do they have any dried fruit available esp at breakfast ? (2) are the meals in the dining room of a good standard ? (3) any new menus? and finaly but most importantly ( 4 ) any traditional hot puddings and custard ? thank you so much we sail on independence in 4 weeks time and am counting the days ! warm regards, Yasmina.

[Brunswick]

Yes there is dried fruit for breakfast and the meals in dining room were of a good standard, desserts were lovely. I was a bit dissappointed there was no lobster night as I have had on other ships. The coffee was the best I have tasted on a ship, hot and strong as other ships I have been on the coffee was very weak. Kettles in room to make a cup of tea/coffee first thing which I like to wake me up. They also catered for the Brits at breakfast with british sausage, bacon and heinz beans but you could still have the American alternative. They did do fruit crumbles but no custard, there was a lovely vanilla sauce.

[Brunswick]

Went to the Ice Show which is fantastic, make sure you get your tickets early as they run out but they will let you in just before the start without a ticket but you might have to stand at the back. I only went to one show in the theatre which was Soul Sensation, if you like Motown and blues this is for you. I was told that David Copperfield (the comedian) ws very good. I didn't have a problem getting a seat.

 

No it didn't feel crowded as it is so big there are plenty of different activities for everyone. I did hear that the ship was not sailing to full capacity but even so there are plenty of sun loungers eveywhere, unfortunately we didn't use much as the weather was not that good towards the end of the cruise.

[newbie cruiser77]

Hi hope you had a great trip ,we are on the canaries cruise on wednesday and can't wait ,i heard from another post that the weather wasn't great (hope it improves) We don't plan on doing any of the excursions, how did you find the ports of call??? any problems???

thanks

lee

[newbie cruiser77]

Did you feel much movement onboard ?? where the seas rough???

[nerysj]

Is the dining room menu the same as it is fleetwide?

Was there any mention of Any Time dining?

[sparkymarky]

I hope you don't mind if i answer some of these questions as i was also on this cruise.

 

The only place i found very busy was the windjammer at peak periods which to say was like a cattle market is putting it mildly. However i got around this by mainly eating in the main dining room where for breakfast and lunch you were allocated a table on arrival and for evening you had the same table every night. I did not see anything mentioned about anytime dining. We went to jonny rockets and that was a fantastic time great food and lots of fun!

The food was of average quality nothing to knock your socks off but nothing horrible either.

 

We didn't have any problems finding seats in the theatres as long as you arrived at a sensible time and not 5 mins prior to the start.

The shows are a good standard and David Copperfiled was very good indeed and the only show i wasn't keen on for the entire cruise was under the big top show was seemed to be dancers dressed as circus acts but not alot of circus type acts actaully in it.

 

There was maybe a couple of days when the ship swayed which was noticeable but nothing that was alarming or to be worried about

[tomko2]

Love the idea of tea/coffee maker in the cabin. Is decaf coffee provided in the cabin?

Really looking forward to being on the IOTS in December. Looking forward as well to see any pictures of cabins; we have booked 1702.

Thank You.

Kathy:)

[newbie cruiser77]

On the first night did your suitcases arrive in time for dinner (we are on first sitting) or was it a case of wear what you arrived in???

[tomko2]

On the first night did your suitcases arrive in time for dinner (we are on first sitting) or was it a case of wear what you arrived in???

 

So far our bag has always made it on time for dinner and we have main/early seating. But they do make allowances for the fact that some people will not get their luggage until after dining so the first night is a more relaxed casual.

Kathy:)

[debt]

Arrived back today from the Canaries cruise. What a fantastic ship. Any questions please ask and I will hopefully be able to answer them.

 

Can you get a black and tan in the pub?? I'm tired of going into "english pubs" and having to tell the bartender how to make a decent black and tan!

 

If you can give a quick overview of the ship/service, i'm sure it would be much appriciated.

[newbie cruiser77]

So far our bag has always made it on time for dinner and we have main/early seating. But they do make allowances for the fact that some people will not get their luggage until after dining so the first night is a more relaxed casual.

Kathy:)

Thanks for that i hope the bags arrive on time but i'm now not so worried:)

[Floss UK]

How was embarkation at Southampton, were you allowed to board the ship once you had checked in or have they adopted the UK system where they make everyone wait in the lounge and board passengers in allocated groups?

 

We are booked on the 26th July 2008 sailing.

 

Can't wait for my first Martini - UK cruise lines bartenders just dont seem to be able to make them just how I like.

[sparkymarky]

The embarkation was very good and wasn't long at all as we only queued for 10 mins got set sail pass then pretty much walked on the ship.

In all the holidays i have ever taken i have never had so easy a time of getting on or off the ship.

The luggage arrived a couple of hours later at the most and was left outside the cabin door

[Bowring]

Couple of questions:

 

What beer do they have on draught ?

What Channels do they show on the TV ?

Do they have any films on either on TV or in a Cinema and what are they ?

[Sue (mom of 3 boys!)]

What type of cabin were you in? How was it?

[HobsonDD464]

Do you have any comments on the kid's programs, particularly for ages 12-14? Also, what times tended to be the peak times in the Windjammer? Thanks -

[hazeleyez3]

Did they ever have a true high tea, not just something in the Windjammer.

[coxswain]

On the Indy at the end of the month - was there many kids ? any nice quiet places lol ? how was room service ?

 

 

 

 

jj....

[Sancho_proudfoot]

I was on the Canaries cruise 6th/17th May,so I'll try to answer some of the unanswered questions:

 

There were - we were told 170 kids on board. We saw very few of them, no intrusion, and the kids entertainers kept them well-amused.

 

The library is always quiet! (lol) There are a few other quiet corners, here and there.

 

No high tea as far as I was aware.

 

The windjammer seemed to be always busy.

 

The TV channels varied; they usually had BBC World news, CNN, BBC Prime and two or three film channels, as well as the usual mix of RCCL channels. Films were also shown daily in the screening room.

 

We checked in at 1.30 pm at the pier; we went straight on board, and had our luggage - and unpacked it all by 2.50!

 

I doubt the pub will know what a black and tan is. Ask the Dog and Badger barman called John to do some of his magic tricks for you - he's good!

 

You do get decaf sachets in your room.

 

Finding seats in the theater is no problem at all.

 

No mnetion of anytime dining was made.

[Brunswick]

One of the smoothest cruises I have been on. Only had one slightly rock night when we were coming back from Vigo.

[Brunswick]

Our cases arrived about an hour after boarding. Embarkation was really quick (I did check in online though) and we were on the ship in about 15 minutes.

[Brunswick]

We were on deck 7 room 7274 balcony. The one thing that really stood our for me was the comfort of the bed and pillows. I don't sleep very well at home and the pillows were the most comfortable I have ever laid my head on. Tried to find out where they get them from but was only told "from Finland". Pillow top bed with egyptian cotton linen.