Deedeelynn

Welcome to the message boards!
First of all, a great place to start is a tab at the top of this page "Getting Started":
https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/getting-started
Adventure is part of the Voyager class series of ship and Independence is part of the Freedom class series of ships.  Freedom class is a stretched version of Voyager class.  Same basic ship, just a little longer.  When first introduced, each was the largest class of cruise ship in it's day. 
Both are excellent ships and both have been updated recently.  I've sailed both over the past six months.  
Itineraries are two ports (Indy) versus three ports (Adventure).  In my opinion Adventure's itinerary does look more appealing, especially for a first time cruiser while Indy's extra length does allow it to have a few more features. 
So it comes down to choosing the cruise leaning towards either itinerary or the ship.  That is the real choice.  
Both are family friendly ships.  Both have ice skating shows, water slides and plenty of things to do.  For seasoned cruisers that know exactly what they want or seek, it would be easier for them to decide.  In the case of a first time cruiser, both ships are going to seem incredible upon first sight, as they should because both are incredible in their own way.  
George Town is a tender port meaning the ship anchors offshore and tender boats are used to ferry passengers to and from shore.  Once ashore the Cayman Islands are beautiful with many excursions and activities to choose from.  
Labadee is Royal's private destination.  Beautiful and a favorite of mine but it's a beach day at a private area versus visiting a port where you can explore another country beyond the port area.  
As far as excursions, being a new cruiser the easiest thing to do is book your excursions through Royal Caribbean.  There is some safety in this approach too since its your first cruise and you can get the swing of things on this cruise.  If you enjoy cruising as mush as most of us do, on future cruises you can venture further out on your own.  
As more people respond you may see answers where the itinerary is more important to that user and answers where the ship is more important to that user.  We all cruise differently and what each of us prefers is different but that's okay, and that is the nice thing about having so many choices.
Indy does have a few more features as you have noted.  However as a first time cruiser are you likely to notice or use them all?    My first cruise was on a ship much smaller than either and with none of the features they have.  I was still blown away by the overall experience.  
I'm not going to tell you what I'd do because you are not me.  What is important to you may not be what is important to me and that is perfectly okay.  I will say you will have an awesome experience on either cruise.

perfect, thanks for the reply!  I'll probably just save the money for booze instead.  

Speaking of @twangster I learned one important photography lesson, which is the best time for photos is the hour or so around dusk. Great contrast in the sky and the ship. 

Another beautiful sunset this evening. 

Everyone knows @twangster photoshops all his photos 

I love the Solarium on Brilliance 

As someone who loves Elephants, I LOVE Brilliance's solarium. 

Good morning from the Gulf of Mexico

I decided to buy Voom onboard and with Diamond Plus discount, I found the price quite low 

Fabulous meal at Izumi.  With the ultimate dining package, you get $35 per person stipend.  In short, that’s a lot of food. 

Pictures speak a thousand words... Allure.

In case anyone was wondering, here’s boarding day spa specials

we enjoyed a spectacular sunset as we passed under Sunshine Skyway Bridge.

Absolutely perfect sailaway weather!
For dinner, we headed to Izumi on deck 12. 

Scientific proof the weather is absolutely perfect today in Tampa

I'm so going to be following this since we're 65 Days from our first Brilliance Cruise ...... Easter on a Cruise ship... That should be fun. I wonder if there will be an adult Easter Egg Hunt...... perhaps hide miniatures all around the ship. 

Cruise day is here!

"Plan is to hit the road around 9am tomorrow morning. Should take us a little over an hour to get there. I already informed my wife I'd prefer to be in Tampa by 9am, but I got "the look"."
Perhaps you can convince your wife its gator season and traffic could be snarled because of Gator Crossings on the across the state trip

One more day!!!!



My parents arrive today to watch the kids and we briefly considered staying in Tampa tonight just to start our vacation a bit early, but ultimately decided against it. Staying here would allow some extra time to get ready....and time to actually spend with my folks.
One mistake I've already made is neither my wife nor I remembered to print out our SetSail Pass.

This has occurred in the past, and it just means some extra time during check-in.  So let this be a reminder for everyone to print out your SetSail pass before it's too late.
Plan is to hit the road around 9am tomorrow morning. Should take us a little over an hour to get there. I already informed my wife I'd prefer to be in Tampa by 9am, but I got "the look".

Did they finish that wall barrier early?

As an update, here's what I've pre-booked for this sailing. I usually wait to pre-book most purchases until the particular sailing I'm going on is my next sailing.  Call me crazy, but most pre-cruise purchases don't usually sell out and for budgetary reasons, I prefer to give myself more time to split up my purchases.
Here's what I've got so far:
Voom internet package
Do I need to explain this purchase?

Deluxe Beverage Package
I'm the world's biggest flip-flopper on deciding if a drink package makes sense for me.  I seem to buy it every other sailing.
Ultimately I purchased it because no kids with us on this sailing and pre-purchasing means being able to budget my drinks far more effectively.

Cozumel
We've looked at a few different options for what to do here but have not settled on anything. Since Brilliance will be one of two ships in port (along with the Carnival Valor), I'm not too worried about anything booking up.
My wife reminds me that since we have the drink package, we would be better off visiting a spot like Paradise Beach rather than investing in an all-inclusive.

October 2020 for the group cruise???????

I’ve never sailed on Brilliance.  Can’t wait for the group cruise !

There’s a 7 night on NCL that leaves the same day. From Miami. Worth a look, a cruise is a cruise after all. 

RCCL feels since the "unaware" cruiser would pay $20.00/per day to get onboard 5 minutes earlier, that the same cruiser will even pay more at $31.99/per day to get onboard those same 5 minutes earlier.  As I always said, there is a sucker born every 5 seconds!!