DAVE(Darkcabbie)

In a previous post i suggested that RC should maybe have there own version on their ships maybe called RCs Burger Shack or similar and having now tried Johnny Rockets and read your comments i really think this would be cool. RC could still charge the $5.00 or even more and produce a venue with the same old style theme but with high quality handmade steak burgers, hand cut fries and very high quality sundaes and shakes etc and if on top of that they gave you the same service and dinning experience as the other specialty restaurants it would be a sure winner :) .

Not sure if anyone has seen this article http://blog.cruisecritic.co.uk/index.php/2013/11/08/cruise-critic-readers-respond-venice-bans-cruise-ships/blog The days of huge cruise ships sailing up the central Giudecca Canal into St. Mark’s Basin in Venice are numbered. From January 2014 the number of vessels weighing more than 40,000 tons authorised to cross the Giudecca canal — in front of St Mark’s Square, in the heart of the city – will be cut by up to 20% from 2012 levels. And in November 2014, ships weighing over 96,000 tons will be banned from the route completely. More info in the link above. This is one of the things on my bucket list so i better move quickly as it may not stop at the ships weighing the above and could possibly see them stopping all Cruise ships sailing up the Giudecca Canal in the next few years. I understand why they are doing this but it will be a shame to loose such a magnificent sail in view :( . Has anyone sailed into Venice and what are your thoughts on the possibility of this happening.

Now that is handy to know. Chops Grill as soon as you get on board mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm :D Although i would miss the Honey Stung Chicken but luckily room service has it on their menu. So if any of the RC ships we go on has Chops available on the first day this will definatley become our 1st RC tradition :)

LISBON Portugal :D what a great city.

The Independence was our first experience of Johnny Rockets and it was good fun but the food was a little disappointing mainly because you could tell that they were using cheaper ingredients especialy in the Sundaes it really was a very low quality ice cream. the burgers were good but not out of this world and i had to send mine back as it was not cooked. We did go back once more and it was slightly better. Would we go again ?? yes we would as it's fun but COME ON JOHNNY ROCKETS SPEND A LITTLE MORE ON GREAT INGREDIENTS

As i mentioned in a previous post i am hoping that both will stay and that one of them will do a regular Transatlantic crossing to rival QM2. It would be a clever move by RC if they did this as it is a very popular route and Cunard have dominated it to long.

I'm so excited :D :lol: :D and can't wait. We will book asap if it happens but saddly does this mean the Independence will go to another port :( .

We are not sure yet but it will be either the Independence or the Adventure as we want to go to the Mediterranean and we won't book till maybe January or February as that's when we seem to get the best book ahead deals. Did I read in one of your posts that you love the Adventure of the Seas and if so what is she like compared to the Indy. Does she have a Chops Grill :) . We are also wondering if RC are about to announce another ship for Southampton as they are holding a invitation only event with a big announcement 21st November this month in London. Have you or Matt heard anything about this.

One thing that is useful to know is that if you leave a credit card for charges and go to the Casino they charge you 5% each time you get cash to use in the Casino which I think is a liberty considering you going to give it back to them. That's one reason why we always leave a cash deposit at guest services once we get on board as they don't charge if your account is cash funded.

Thought this would be a good place to tell us about all the need to knows while on board

Hey Tyler how you doin. I love magic shows :) , unfortunately we missed the one on the independence. We are hoping that the ship we sail on next year has a Broadway show like Saturday Night Fever or The Bodyguard as the Independence only had a ships production which was ok but not as good as watching something from the big stage.

We have been on a 3 night cruise and would probably consider it again but in the UK we are a bit limited as the cruise lines only do them at the end of the year and only go to France & Belgium for the Christmas Market. RC normally do it as their final trip before heading across the Atlantic to the Caribbean for your Summer Season. 99% of the time though we would not go under 7 nights however if we had more short cruises available we would probably do 1 or 2 as well as our main cruise.

You are gonna have so much fun, which ship are you sailing on ?. Shawn is right about going to the maitre d they always have spots available but you must do it as soon as you get on board :) . I'm with Don about Chops Grill we spent both our formal nights there and it was fantastic, probably the best Steaks you will ever have.

Yep I played it on the independence Matt it's fun but difficult. You have to be so accurate as there is probably a paper width top & bottom. I surrendered after $10.00 :) .

We love Key West , part of our honeymoon was spent at the Ocean Key Resort at the bottom of Duval Street :) .

Hi Chadnipp, We just came back from the Canaries and our Cruise was from the 14th October till 26th October and the weather was superb. The Canaries was in the high 80s and you will be going further into the Mediterranean so you will have no problem with the water being warm and the sun being hot we were swimming in the pool most days at around 17:00 and it was fine. Just make sure you take plenty of sun cream you will need it as i think it will be close to 90s :)

Actually we have to say that that the ice show on the Independence was good but what impressed us the most was how the performers managed to spin , jump and even backflip on ice while the boat was rolling... AWESOME SKILL :D

While in Gran Canaria we opted for the Southwestern and Yellow Submarine Tour which took us to the other side of the island to a place known as LIttle Venice which is called Puerto De Mogan. It is absolutely gorgeous with a small Harbour and Marina, quaint shops and Mountains behind and a few little bridges which look like the ones in Venice.

While on the Indy we saw a show called the Bohemians which was a Queen tribute act and they were really good. :D If you like Queen and they are ever on your ship ship go see them as they are as close to the real thing as it gets, vocals are spot on and the show is non stop music.

I know what you mean the sides are fantabulicious and you could eat them all day but I miss the Steaks already as they have to be some of the best Steaks we have ever had. We are already counting down the days till our next Chops meal and the amazing Giovanni's desserts, you were so right about the Tiramisu :) :) .

We decided to skip both formal nights in the MDR in favor of Chops Grill and what a good decision it was. The food was amazing on both occasions as was the service and it felt really intimate and romantic. If it helps our cruise was 12 nights and the formal nights were the first sea day(Tuesday) and the first sea day of the second week(Wednesday). Day 2 & Day 10

Always the day before that way there is no stress about traffic on the way to the port :) .

Now I'm jealous Don it's probably going to be 10 months before I get my next Chops fix.

We had the best time ever thanks. Deck 9 is a good level to be on and we were near the back in room 9680 which is close to the junior suites. We had a quick peak while passing one and they look lovely, they have bigger bathrooms with a tub and a shower plus they are considerably wider. You are going to have a great time and as you can see by our blogs there is loads to do and see both on the ship and ashore and you may have the same problem as us with not having enough time in the day to do everything. IT WAS AWESOME :D :D :D

Thanks we are glad you liked them