hayley_bopp

I'll try and scope from there at some point but for now, here's a photo taken during the World Cup Final to keep you going:

Mainly US but there is one European socket by the dressing table. No - our assigned time was 2pm but we were at the terminal at 10:55 and were straight on. I think you've chosen a great ship for your first cruise. Have fun!

There were separate queues for platinum and above - they were even taken out of the line that was outside the terminal building and taken straight to the front of that queue. Think suites were also a part of that. There is a fairly sizeable waiting area once you're checked in with a kiosk to get drinks but we were straight on to the ship after check-in so can't confirm if there was a separate lounge for higher tiers/suites.

Embarkation Day - We're on board!? After a short queue getting through the terminal, we were onboard and in the Schooner bar with a drink in hand by 11:36 - Tom Collins for me and a Heineken for The Captain. There's no 'drink package' sticker on our sea pass cards and when I asked at check-in the lady there said the 'DX' code printrd on them 'might' mean drinks package and to check at a bar on-board. We duly headed straight for the first bar and weren't asked to sign for anything so hopefully that means our packages are loaded correctly but I'll double-check when we can get into the cabins which today will be at 2pm. We're just in Playmakers where we're pleased to see they're showingthe England vs Belgium play-off and the Wimbledon finals. They've also just made an announcement that the deck 3 MDR will be open for buffet lunch until 12:30 today. Cruise is sold out so I'm wondering if that's why to help control the crowds.

Embarkation Day - Morning Woke up to an awesome view this morning! Well, I say 'woke up to' but I doubt she was there when I actually awoke at 5:13am (too excited to get back to sleep!) but when I finally allowed myself to get up at 7, she was there and I could see the poor unfortunates who were having to disembark! Have just been for a quick 30min session in the hotel's gym - my strategy for helping to balance the cruise calories. Time to get ready for breakfast then our taxi for the long trek to the port is booked for 10:30

All 3 are great ports in terms of where you can visit but Villefranche is beautiful! We'd like to spend some time just sitting next to the harbour there but our tour time didn't allow for that last time. Fingers crossed for this time... If you have any questions about the ports let me know and I'll do my best too answer them.

It is. We'll still.be getting a taxi to the port in the morning though because a) it's included in the cost of our deal and b) husband says there's no way he's hauling 'all my luggage' on foot! ?

I noticed that as I was looking at the forecast for some of our ports - it's only 23 degrees in Barcelona - that's been feeling like a cool day lately! ?

Pre-Embarkation Day So today we travelled down to Southampton from our home in the Midlands. Blogging will now be done via my phone so please excuse any typos! Although it's only a 2.5hr drive, we decided to book a 'stay and park' with Holiday Inn for a more relaxed start to our cruise than driving down on embarkation day - we're doubly glad we did as there were a couple of accidents and very heavy traffic that made our journey over 3.5 hrs long today! At one point Waze diverted us around a gridlocked motorway down an unclassified road. Cleary we weren't the only ones making use of this diversion and we ended up in a traffic jam on a single track road! When we finally arrived, I was extremely excited about the view from our room as Cunard's Queen Elizabeth was there to greet us. After unloading the car, we went to get a drink and some food as we were famished after our drive. My husband enjoys craft beer and I'd found a brewery near to the hotel called 'The Dancing Man' . Unfortunately they weren't serving food so we just had a drink and some bar snacks - IPA for him, lager for me. As we were leaving in search of more substantial food, we noticed that QE was just pulling away so I took the opportunity to do my first periscope! Thanks to @Lovetocruise2002 for tuning in. After watching her sail away, we found a lovely traditional pub for food, The Duke of Wellington. The prices were good, the portions were huge and the service was friendly. It really hit the spot. Feeling stuffed, we took a stroll down to the Ocean Village Marina to walk off dinner and have a look at some not-too-shabby yachts. I've yet to spot the newly launched super-yacht Elandess which has been in the area today but I'll keep an eye out tomorrow. We're now back at the hotel bar having a quick drink before getting an early night and hoping that excitement doesn't keep us from sleeping! Hopefully, when we wake up in the morning, we'll be able to see Independence from our window...

On-board Activities Despite having the drinks package, we’ve booked a wine tasting for our first sea day as we both enjoy wines and have participated in several wine tastings before and found them to be informative. There were a few dates available, all sea days, but we decided to go for the first day so that we’re more educated about the wines on offer on board and can then take full advantage of the Vintages wine list throughout the rest of the cruise! We’ve also booked a ‘behind the scenes tour’. This is more for my husband than me due to his nautical background. I had the idea of buying the experience as a gift for his birthday but I foolishly told my mother about the idea. She then hijacked it and bought it as her gift to him so I had to go back to the drawing board! Oh well, he’s very excited about it. I’ve also booked chef’s table for us on what I think will be our final formal night. Husband doesn’t know about this – it’s my thank you to him for paying for the cruise. I hope to also try Giovanni’s Table as we didn’t try this restaurant on Navigator. We may well try it for lunch on a sea day as lasagne is possibly my favourite food (if it’s possible to choose just one!) and I’ve heard so many good things about it from Matt that I’m keen to try it. I think that’s enough for the pre-amble. Time to go to bed now ready to drive down to Southampton tomorrow before sailing on Saturday. I’ll post again tomorrow and will attempt to periscope the ships leaving port (weather permitting – our 50 day heatwave is threatening rain for tomorrow afternoon) but I don’t have a fancy mic and have never scoped before so please bear with me…

Ship & Itinerary Husband was adamant he wanted to go from Southampton as it’s so much less hassle than flying, and that he wanted to go somewhere hot. We also wanted a good balance of sea days and port days so that we’ve got time to relax and enjoy the ship as well as to explore the ports. We also wanted to try a different ship and needed to sail during my holiday from school (I’m a teacher) so Independence fits the bill. We booked it before we knew about the refurb it was getting so it was a bonus to hear about the new added features. The ports we’ll visit are: Gibraltar – having done the tour of ‘The Rock’ last time, we’re planning on visiting the siege tunnels Ville Franche – our only tender port. Last time we visited Monaco, this time we’re heading for Nice and have booked a transfer with RC Civitavecchia – we don’t plan to visit Rome as we’d like to go for a weekend to see all the sites. Last time we went on a wine tasting tour which was ok but not something we’d want to repeat so we’ll be staying on board to make the most of the slides with no queues, although we might take a stroll to the nearby beach. Livorno – last time we visited Pisa so this time we’re heading for Florence and again have booked a transfer with RC. Toulon – We don’t have any firm plans, we’re just going to get off the ship and explore the port. Barcelona – I’ve been to Barcelona twice before and my Husband once but not as a cruise port. It’s a beautiful city and we’re looking forward to going back. Again we don’t really have any firm plans, although I’m keen to explore the gothic quarter as I didn’t see much of this when I visited before. We may or may not book a bike or Segway tour. Lisbon – We visited this port on our first cruise and loved it so we’re looking forward to returning. We did a tuk-tuk tour last time which was great fun so we’ve booked another but this time it’s a food tour with stops to try different local delicacies! Vigo – our final port and again we plan just to explore the town. We booked a GTY Balcony as it was quite a bit cheaper than choosing a balcony and our room was allocated a week or so after final payment – we got 6666: apparently lots of people are reluctant to book the 666 cabins but it doesn’t bother us and we’re happy with the overall location. It’s above the top floor of the MDR so I don’t anticipate there being much noise when we’re sleeping. On our previous 2 cruises, we had MTD with the same waiters each evening which we enjoyed. This time, as it’s just the two of us, we’ve opted to try the traditional dining so that we’ve got other people to talk to! We’ve gone for the late sitting as we usually eat quite late and wanted to have enough time to get ready for dinner after days in port. We have both bought the Ultimate Drinks Package. We definitely got value out of it before – it will interesting to see if we still do with it just being the two of us. We’ll certainly give it our best shot!

C minus 1 day One day before we embark upon our second RC cruise on Independence of the Seas. Packing’s all done, documents are good to go, so I thought I’d kick off my first Live Blog with a bit of a pre-amble: Our History I’ll be sailing with my husband, we’re both in our 30s (just about for one of us!), from England and this will be our third cruise in total. My husband used to be in the Royal Navy and loves being at sea, but since leaving the Navy, had always fancied sailing in a bit more luxury than on a warship. My mum had always wanted to try a cruise so we booked a family one – me, husband, mum, step-dad – for her 60th in 2016 on Navigator of the Seas doing a 14 Night Western Med from Southampton. Long and short of it, we all loved it! Husband and I loved it so much we went on another family cruise in 2017, this time with my dad, his wife, my sister and my auntie. It was a 7 night Scandinavian itinerary on Crown Princess from Southampton. It too was a great cruise and whilst there were some things we felt were better on Princess (pool deck layout, rooms ready on arrival at 11am, more large lounges), overall, my husband and I preferred the experience on RC. We have this cruise booked on IoS and then we have another family cruise, this time with mother-in-law booked for next year on P&O’s Azura.

Is this part of a package? If so I believe they allocate the restaurant for you. Just go toany specialty restaurant as soon as you board and they'll be able to make sure you get in to Chops

Even when in plastic 'glasses' from the pool bar, we weren't allowed drinks in the Solarium pool. And when I say 'in' , I mean sat on the side of the pool with our feet dangling in. Maybe we just got a fussy pool attendant though.

When I drank 'normal' tea, I would always bring my own. But I gave up caffeine a couple of years ago and now drink red bush instead but I'm not bothered about the brand. Wanted to avoid taking my own if they already have it on-board.

Independence. I would imagine they probably offer the same across the fleet.

I know there are a variety of different teas available onboard but does anyone know if rooibos (red bush tea) is available? TIA

Don't know the answers to all of your questions but: You can, or you can just turn up and wait to be seated. There might be a wait of about 20mins at peak times. If you want to make reservations, you can do so before your cruise via the cruise planner on RC's website or you can do it when you're on-board. Yes, you can pretty much take your drinks anywhere. Only place we weren't allowed them was when we were in the pool on Navigator in 2016.

Have a great cruise. Looking forward to reading your blog

Yes unless you're doing self-disembarkation where you carryyour own bags off

A couple of years ago, to get MTD you had to prepay gratuities ie pay them for entire cruise before sailing. However, it is my understanding they have done away with this (in the UK at least) . The way MTD works is you can either make reservations before you cruise via the cruise planner on RC's website, make reservations day-to-day when onboard or simply turn up to the dining room at any time during the dinner service hours and wait to be seated. You don't have to pay gratuities for any of these options. You may still opt to prepay gratuities before sailing to help spread the cost of your cruise or wait and pay them on-board. The daily amount per person will be charged to your account each day amd you pay your bill at the end of the cruise. Hope this helps.

Thanks for your responses. What you've all said echoes my original thoughts and it's nice to have reassurance from people whose reviews I know I can trust so thnk you all. I'm going with an open mind and I'm sure we'll have a fantastic cruise ?

With just 13 days until my cruise on Independence of the Seas, I must admit I'm starting to get slightly concerned about the number of reviews I'm seeing saying that she is overcrowded since her refit. My question is, does anyone have experience of being on either Indy or another ship post-refit with extra cabins? Am I unlikely to find anywhere to sit on sea days other than my balcony or to get value out of my drink package due to overly long queues at bars (as some reviews have stated)? Initially I tried to ignore them and thought "some people just love to moan" "I'll make up my own mind" etc, But it's difficult not to give credit to this point of view when so many of the reviews I'm seeing state it is a problem. I've never been on Indy before so unable to compare to crowd levels before refit. I've been on Navigator in 2016 in UK summer holidays when it was pretty much full capacity - it was tricky to get table in WJ/bars at peak times or loungers around the pool if arriving late in the day, but this didn't bother us as we knew we were sailing at peak time and always managed to find a seat somewhere eventually. Sorry for the long post but I'm sure you all appreciate how much I've been looking forward to my 2nd cruise - I want to enjoy the final countdown not be worrying that we're going to have spent a lot of money on a mediocre cruise.

If you're live blogging, that will either help/exacerbate my post-cruise blues then!

Thanks for another amazing live blog. How long until your next one? ⏱