plasticmaster

My cruise on Independence was supposed to have been last month. I requested and received the full refund for my canceled cruise. However, I had a couple of excursions booked through Royal Caribbean for this cruise. Any idea when that money will be refunded?

My family and I are scheduled to sail on Independence April 13th. If things go as planned, this will be Indy's first sailing once operations resume. Here's my question. Should I expect strong chemical/disinfectant smells on the ship? My wife has asthma and is severely allergic to chemical smells and fragrances. To those who have recently sailed, what has it been like the last couple of weeks in regards to this? Has there been a strong smell all over the ship because of the extra cleaning? We're trying to decide whether to cancel or not because of this.

My wife has asthma and is severely allergic to fragrant products including the hand sanitizer that Royal Caribbean uses. In fact, neither I nor our kids can use it, because if we then sit down to dinner with her, she could have an asthma attack. On our cruise on Harmony last summer, I had to constantly block the "washy washy" lady from chasing after my wife with the hand sanitizer. We had to constantly explain that we had just thoroughly washed our hands before coming into the dining room and that we could not use the sanitizer. In fact, we even had to explain it to a few guests who took it upon themselves to lecture us on the importance of using hand sanitizer. We are sailing on Independence next month. With this Coronavirus situation, I expect the crew will be full throttle with the hand sanitizer. Any tips for us? Could we bring our own sanitizer that she can handle so the crew can see us use it? Maybe a note from her allergy doctor?

I used the chat feature on the app on Harmony last summer. Does Independence have the chat feature to communicate with fellow passengers? I'll be sailing on Independence in April. Thanks.

In all honesty, I could drop my family and luggage at the terminal, park car at Park n Go, and walk back to terminal. It's only a 1 mile walk and I walk further than this for exercise before work every morning anyway. Anyone else done this?

Thanks Matt. What's the benefit? Does it save time? Less hassle?

I drove my own car from South Carolina to the Hampton Inn near Orlando airport. I chose this option because it was cheaper and had better reviews than the hotels near Port Canaveral/Cocoa Beach. I used the Go Port Canaveral parking package through the hotel and drove my car the next morning to their parking lot about 3 miles from the ship. This was a very pleasant experience all around and I would do it again. Hampton Inn was nice and clean. I believe they offered a shuttle service to the port as well for those who flew into Orlando and stayed at the hotel.

I'll be sailing on Independence in April from Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale. I'll be leaving my car at Park N Go. Is it better to drop off my family and all luggage at the terminal before parking at Park n Go and have them wait for me while I park and ride the shuttle bus back, or better to go straight to Park n Go with whole family and all luggage? It will be me, my wife, and 2 teenage kids. Thanks.

Can someone tell me about the general times of the teen activities on Independence OTS? We're scheduled to sail on her in April and I'd like to book our My Time Dining reservations for dinner so as not to conflict with my kids planned activities. We did this last month for our cruise on Harmony and it worked great. There seemed to be a break in teen activities from 6-8pm, so that's when we went to dinner. This time worked perfectly also for activities that my wife and I had planned. Can I expect the same on Independence? I can't find a Teen Compass for Independence like I was able to find for Harmony. Thanks.

I sailed on Harmony a few weeks ago to eastern Caribbean and will be sailing on Independence next April to western Caribbean. Will the MDR menu on Independence have mostly the same items that I had on Harmony?

I've decided to stay overnight in Fort Lauderdale area the night before my cruise. I'll be driving in from SC. I'm looking for recommendations for a hotel that offers parking and shuttle to and from Port Everglades. Nothing fancy, just safe and clean and affordable package deal. Thanks.

I'll probably end up staying overnight near Ft. Pierce and then drive remainder on morning of sailing. I found some park and shuttle deals near the port.

I have family obligations the day before cruise and don't want to make the entire drive from SC to Fort lauderdale after leaving home later in the day. If I could save a couple hours of driving for morning of cruise, that would be better.

I'm looking into a cruise sailing from Ft. Lauderdale. I'll be driving down from SC the day before I sail and looking for hotel about 2 hours north of the port. I'm looking for parking and shuttle to cruise port also. Any recommendations? Last cruise, I stayed at Hampton Inn near Orlando airport and used their park and shuttle package through Go Port Canaveral/beach line parking and was very pleased. Is 2 hours north of Ft. Lauderdale too far to find a combo package like this?

I sailed on Harmony last week. This was my first cruise in 15 years. I remember midnight buffets with beautiful ice sculptures from cruises 15 and 20 years ago (Majesty and Explorer). They did not have the midnight buffet on Harmony. Is this something that cruises don't do anymore? Just wondering.