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Independence 12/21/17 9 Night Christmas


twangster

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Day -3

A wise @Traveler once asked:

"To blog or not to blog this is the question."

I choose to blog.

With my adult kids out of state having their own plans I was left with the decision of how to spend the holidays this year.  It didn't take long for a cruise to come to mind.  As I looked over potential candidates it didn't look like I could find anything to fit my budget given that this would be the 3rd cruise this month.  However when I was on Freedom last month I saw a "Going, going, gone" promotion on Independence.   The dangers of combining a drink package and the NextCruise desk weren't obvious to me at the time and with my inhibitions in an altered state I booked it.   I know Indy will soon enter dry dock and she will receive was looks to be some very exciting upgrades but the price was right for this pre-dry dock holiday sailing so why not?  So instead of Christmas Home Alone,  I'll spend it with 4,000 of my new best friends.

Nine nights leaving from terminal 29 in Port Everglades.  Sea day, Labadee, San Juan, St. Maarten, Antigua, St. Kitts and two sea days back to Fort Lauderdale.

I'm looking forward to returning to St. Maarten.  It's a been a while and with the impacts of recent hurricanes I want to contribute to the economy and help the island get back on its feet.  Doing the same in San Juan for the 2nd time this month will help San Juan as well.  

Using my $50 NextCruise OBC I've pre-booked some 'tour' excursions in San Juan, St. Maarten and Antigua.  Given 4 ports in a row I plan to use St. Kitts as a day to stay on the ship and relax.  After all I was just there last week and went scuba diving so a day to do nothing but hang out in an empty solarium sounds about right.  I'm not often a bus tour kind of guy but they are good way to explore an island and learn of potential things to do on another visit.

I'd been having some issues getting the C&A points from a recent cruise to post even more than two weeks after disembarking.  Without those points I would remain Emerald green and once you've tasted Diamond it isn't easy being green.  Despite numerous contacts with the C&A desk I wasn't making any progress but fortunately my agent made some calls and got it straightened out.  It seems somehow my booking number changed on my C&A account and it showed as being cancelled but she was able to prove to them I did in fact sail on that cruise.  Don't under estimate the value of a good travel agent even after your cruise is over.  Thank you Beth!

I'm really trying to pack light this trip.  I've often managed week long business trips using only a small carry on spinner but I've yet to cruise with the same efficiency.  Time to start packing and really cutting down on stuff I don't need.  As always I'm flying in the day before and spending a night in a Fort Lauderdale hotel.    Let the packing commence!

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

The dangers of combining a drink package and the NextCruise desk weren't obvious to me at the time and with my inhibitions in an altered state I booked it.   I know Indy will soon enter dry dock and she will receive was looks to be some very exciting upgrades but the price was right for this pre-dry dock holiday sailing so why not?  So instead of Christmas Home Alone,  I'll spend it with 4,000 of my new best friends.

It's like Santa came a week early! I get to read more live blogs and see more photos and cruise vicariously! Huzzah!!

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Day -2

One thing about a holiday cruise I've discovered is that they don't discount Voom before sailing.  Voom Surf and Stream has remained at $17.99 per day even over black Friday and more recents sale events.

Given no discounts I'm better to wait until I'm on board and hope they offer the normal C&A on-board discounts for Voom.  I plan to do this cruise with basic Voom Surf and I may wait a few days into the cruise to purchase it.  Day 1 I can tether my Mac to my phone and if I skip day 2 I can try to tether my phone in Labadee since my T-Mobile plan does provide data there.  By waiting until mid-cruise I'll save a bunch on Voom.

Consequently I may appear absent on the day 2 sea day and I'll be light on photos at first but will try to go back and add some back in as internet connectivity permits.

Logging in this morning I found my C&A account missing 8 points since yesterday.  Apparently when they fixed my missing 7 night Anthem cruise it wiped out the correction for my Freedom cruise in November.  A quick call to the C&A desk and all is well again.  

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15 minutes ago, twangster said:

Consequently I may appear absent on the day 2 sea day and I'll be light on photos at first but will try to go back and add some back in as internet connectivity permits.

This is completely unacceptable.  We need to start a GoFundMe page immediately.

 

:16_relieved:

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2 hours ago, twangster said:

Given no discounts I'm better to wait until I'm on board and hope they offer the normal C&A on-board discounts for Voom.

Historically, there has been higher pricing for premium sailings over holidays.  I'd still be surprised to see the full price charged, but it is what it is.

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Day -1

Live in the air from 29,000'!

Today I'm connecting through Atlanta.  For those that didn't see the news from a few days the Atlanta airport had an electrical fire which cut all power to the airport grounding flights and causing flight interuptions that rippled into the days following.  This is why I don't like to fly in the day of any cruise.  

The other reason for me to sneak in one more cruise this year was for the flights which will net me Platinum status on Delta next year instead of Gold.  Don't underestimate the value of airline loyalty - I'm flying free to at least 3 cruises next year including the Alaska Group Cruise and to Barcelona for Symphony.  With platinum this year I've always flown in comfort+ and about 25% of the time I was upgraded to first class for free.  Like with C&A loyalty pays even though benefits have changed over time on both.  Such is the way with loyalty programs.  .  

Another perk with TMobile (other than free international data in cruise ports) is free internet on domestic American & Delta flights.  Internet on planes makes Voom seem like a dream, even on the older ships.  

Trying a different hotel in Ft. Lauderdale this time.  Free airport shuttle and it's very close to the port so Lyft should be under $10 in the morning.  

So far I haven't received any communication about boarding delays so the plan is to check out of the hotel at 10am and head to the port.

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IT'S CRUISE DAY!!!!!!

I woke early in my hotel and plotted how to kill some time.  I've decided to give @Matt a two-fer blog on this sailing.  Since the next Royal Caribbean Blog group cruise is to Alaska I'm going to post a recap blog on my Celebrity cruise this past summer.  Some of the ports are the same so hopefully that can give folks an idea what to expect.

With five hours to kill I started writing that blog.  Look for it soon(ish).  

At 10am I repacked my 43 bags.  For some reason I do this every time.  Despite knowing I need to change clothes in the hotel I never remember to pack the next's days clothes separately.  So I unpacked so I could change and re-packed.

I headed down and hailed a Lyft 5 ton truck for my 43 bags.  $8.  By 10:32 I was pulling up to the terminal. 

Today we are using terminal 18, not 29 as I was expecting.  As we entered the port I saw it on the sign board overhead.  It's awfully lonely in port today, no other cruise ships (it's Thursday).  We were handed a letter explaining a delayed boarding due to continuing cleaning efforts.  No big deal, I was expecting this.  We did score a $25 OBC from it as compensation on a card taped to my Emerald card.  Apparently cards are printed a long time before sailing so my Diamond status wasn't available to the folks in the terminal.  My C&A account is correct so I'm not anticipating any issues once the Loyalty Ambassador starts at 4pm.  At the check in counter they have sanitizing people rush up and wipe down the counter between guests.

@rjac - I checked the onboard Diamond guidebook and apparently it is okay to talk to other members.  Merry Christmas buddy!

Voom on board is $15.99 for Surf and $19.99 for Surf and Stream (holiday pricing).  Since they tagged me as Emerald I used my 15% Emerald discount which is actually a few bucks cheaper than the one day Diamond discount I was offered on Anthem.  This also came out cheaper by a few bucks compared to the pre-cruise pricing in the cruise planner.  With the unexpected $25 OBC it makes it even cheaper.  

I continued writing my Alaska blog in the terminal.  I'm sure I look like I was in vacation mode banging away on my laptop.  I had 'snuck' into the Diamond area upstairs by tail-gating a family.  At 11:52am I looked up and saw the suite guests nearly all on board.  A minute later they called Diamond. Not bad, $25 extra OBC and I still was on before noon.   

They handed us a glass of sparkling wine as we boarded.  Nice touch!

Windjammer was lightly occupied so I started on my food coma 'diet'.   We were able to serve ourselves.  Despite being on Freedom in November my Anthem lobotomy erased all knowledge of a Freedom class WJ.  Thankfully my aging memory started coming back to me. 

Heading out to the pool deck I saw some contractors taking measurements around the main pool area outside.  I'm thinking they are preparing for the upcoming dry dock so look for some changes to the hot tubs and under the outdoor screen if not the whole outdoor pool area.

Somehow as I went through security in the terminal I ripped my Caribbean shirt.  I didn't shave this morning.  I'm looking quite the homeless blogger part sitting on the pool deck writing this post with my ripped shirt.  Cabins are ready at 3pm so until then maybe I'll put out a cup and hope for donations.  

  

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

 

Heading out to the pool deck I saw some contractors taking measurements around the main pool area outside.  I'm thinking they are preparing for the upcoming dry dock so look for some changes to the hot tubs and under the outdoor screen if not the whole outdoor pool area.

  

You are such a super sleuth !  I guess I must just be completely oblivious to my surroundings (no ninja here) b/c I never notice things like this but your blogs are loaded with these little insider tidbits.  BRILLIANT !

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1 hour ago, twangster said:

Somehow as I went through security in the terminal I ripped my Caribbean shirt.  I didn't shave this morning.  I'm looking quite the homeless blogger part sitting on the pool deck writing this post with my ripped shirt.  Cabins are ready at 3pm so until then maybe I'll put out a cup and hope for donations.    

Hey...how's that GoFundMe page coming along ?

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Quick post after dinner while I'm in the main theater waiting for the Welcome Aboard show.  

Right after muster I was walking past the Loyalty desk and spotted Justin taking her position.  I quickly jumped in a seat and explained.   No problem, sticker applied and invitations to super secret Diamond events slid across the table.  She suggested I drop by the Diamond lounge to get a card for lounge access.  

Next stop, deck 14.  With an extra key provided I'm now in with the cool crowd.  

Some pictures coming later, after the show.  

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Cabin Tour!

I booked an Inside Guarantee.  I was assigned 6397.  Deck 6, starboard, aft.

I had an inside cabin on Freedom and this is basically identical.

 

 

 

 

The Diamond lounge is different on Indy compared to Freedom.  While I never went in the lounge on Freedom I found it and the location differences were immediately obvious.  The port side cloud nine card room is still a card room on Freedom while on Indy that is Diamond lounge.  What is the starboard Diamond lounge on Freedom is the overflow lounge on Indy.  I overheard a couple express confusion to the food and beverages director and he replied Indy made the switch about a year ago.  Indy has gates on the stairs to the lounge outside areas,  Freedom did not.   Subtle differences between the sisters, but that's a good thing.  I wonder what Liberty is like?

As I sat there having a glass of wine before dinner I started to see the makings of a sunset so I grabbed my camera and headed out on deck.  Sure enough the sun was setting over Miami.

 

Tonight I ate dinner in the MDR.  

 

Thai Chicken Salad followed by the Pork Loin.  Very good.

Service was fine, no complaints.

I stopped by Vintages to grab a glass of wine then I made my way to the Welcome Aboard show as I mentioned in the previous post.  The Royal Orchestra played some seasonal music leading up to tonight's main act - comedian Heath Harminson.  He was funny and I enjoyed the show.  Our Cruise Director is Mark Walker from the UK.  So far he seems pretty good.

 

After the show I realized I hadn't visited the helipad yet and while it was dark out a passing cruise ship heading in the other direction looked like a great photo op.  I knew I couldn't get down to my cabin and grab my camera in time for this ship but it got me thinking. 

On Freedom they closed access to the helipad at night when I tried to go there but I wanted to see if Indy did as well.  It was open and there were hundreds of stars in the sky.

I was aware that on the helipad I shouldn't light a flashlight on the fore deck required to review settings on my camera and confirm level so I used this session just to try some various settings in manual mode in the dark figuring I could figure out later what works.  I was just goofing around, I didn't expect much.  I've always assumed a moving ship in the ocean wouldn't be a great platform for astrophotography.  I'm very encouraged by what I captured.  The heart of the Milky Way is most prevalent in the Southern hemisphere right now so I knew I couldn't capture the heart of it.  Our best Milky Way photo ops are in summer months up here.  Based on these results, a cruise next summer when the moon is new might just be on my horizon. 

 

 

I know it doesn't look like much but now I have a baseline to work from.  

Earlier at muster I met a couple from British Columbia.  Their son is a skater in the ice skating show.  He has done this on various ships for around 10 years.  Since he is working this Christmas the family all came to Indy.  Indy is using tickets for the ice shows on Day 2 and Day 3. 

 

 

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14 hours ago, twangster said:

As I sat there having a glass of wine before dinner I started to see the makings of a sunset so I grabbed my camera and headed out on deck.  Sure enough the sun was setting over Miami.

5a3c8b3370fe7_indyDay1fone-1.jpg.ba61949ce8d380106772e4c094bf152a.jpg

Really nice sunset shot!

 

14 hours ago, twangster said:

I was aware that on the helipad I shouldn't light a flashlight on the fore deck required to review settings on my camera and confirm level so I used this session just to try some various settings in manual mode in the dark figuring I could figure out later what works.  I was just goofing around, I didn't expect much.  I've always assumed a moving ship in the ocean wouldn't be a great platform for astrophotography.  I'm very encouraged by what I captured.  The heart of the Milky Way is most prevalent in the Southern hemisphere right now so I knew I couldn't capture the heart of it.  Our best Milky Way photo ops are in summer months up here.  Based on these results, a cruise next summer when the moon is new might just be on my horizon. 

5a3c9491bc178_indyDay1-10.jpg.0283e672d335378789e6e163d750a62b.jpg

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These photos are gorgeous! Hand-held, or did you have a tripod or monopod handy? How long an exposure?

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16 hours ago, JLMoran said:

These photos are gorgeous! Hand-held, or did you have a tripod or monopod handy? How long an exposure?

Thanks!

Tripod.  I had been to the Diamond lounge so no way I could be still without one!

The shot looking back at the ship was ISO 2500 for 2.5 seconds at f2.8

The shot looking forward was ISO 2500, 25 seconds at f2.8

 

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A couple of hours ago the Captain came on the PA to inform us that Harmony would be passing by on the port side in 20 minutes.  He said there would be a mile between us but it felt closer than that.  Optical illusion I suspect.  

It's very windy today but the seas are small.   When I was on Freedom we crossed paths with Harmony in the Caribbean Sea.  Today we are on the North side of Western Cuba.

 

Our bridge crew greated her with several varying blasts of the horn.  In the high wind it was hard but you could faintly hear Harmony reply.

 

 

 

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On 12/22/2017 at 2:44 PM, JLMoran said:

Really nice sunset shot!

Photo above was on my iPhone 7 Plus using the built in telephoto lens.

My Nikon had my 14mm lens on and it was just too wide - Miami is lost in the wide angle shot.

 

The very same photo cropped in Lightroom.  In a photo like this you can cheat quite a bit in post when using a UWA but it's not as clear as the iPhone photo above.

 

 

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2 minutes ago, twangster said:

Photo above was on my iPhone 7 Plus using the built in telephoto lens.

I'll still have my 6s Plus for this trip, too many medical bills and other things this year to allow an upgrade. But a Moment tele lens will hopefully let me approximate shots like that!

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Day 2 - Formal Night

On the way to dinner last night I was heading to Vintages and they had the A Capella group 'REVOICED' singing Christmas music in the promenade.  I'm not always into A Capella music but these guys were pretty good.

 

They even had a simulated snowfall effect while they sang.

 

Formal night dinner menu

 

My normal formal night choice was the caesar salad and prime rib.  The prime rib was very good, right up there in contention for best formal night food on an RCI ship.

After dinner as I was passing through the Promenade they were handing out sparkling wine.  I knew this meant the Captain would be addressing us soon.

 

Senior Officers were presented.

 

When I first boarded the Christmas tree wasn't lit so I've avoided taking photos.  Yesterday the ginger bread houses appeared in the Windjammer.  With that I plan to take some photos around the ship while in Labadee which we are approaching on the morning on day 3 as I write this.

The 10 drink card offer appeared in the day 3 Cruise Compass.  It's $85 plus gratuity.  This is the same price as Anthem charged for the drink card on my recent B2B.  Earlier this year it was $79 on other ships.  The 10 pint draft beer card also appeared which remains $49 plus gratuity.

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Day 3 - Labadee

I love Labadee.  Royal Caribbean has done a really good job creating a beautiful and fun private destination here.

 

They added some seasonal decorations such as the gift packages by the Labadee sign above.

 

 

 

 

On this trip I noticed many Dreamworks references.  Perhaps these were always here and I just noticed them now but once I started looking there are several photo ops for families in various places around Labadee.

 

 

 

 

 

As always they had local musicians playing island type music.  When ever I take a picture like this I leave a tip.

 

If you've never been Labadee is quite beautiful.

 

 

 

From the ship I noticed the over water cabanas at Barefoot Beach had been replaced so I stopped by and asked if I could take some pictures.  Roberto is a local Haitian who lives across the bay.  He is one of approximately 500 full time employees at Labadee and he generously allowed me access to the suite only beach so I could get some pictures of the new cabanas.  I've used this beach as a suite guest before and it's very nice.

 

 

 

Of course I had to stop by my favorite spot to take a picture of the ship.

 

Back to ship to drop off my camera and get changed for a swim. 

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