|
I travelled on the Indy with my husband, 14yr old son, and 70yr old mother round the Canaries in Oct. I have never written a review before but here goes.
Embarkation: We flew into Southampton from Glasgow and mum from Manchester and we all had paid for transfers. Mum is in a wheelchair and we were informed that she would not be going on the coach as she had a private taxi booked courtesy of RCI. This was a pleasant surprise and we were all allowed to share the taxi with her. We had organised our set sail pass on line and embarkation was very quick and smooth. My husband pushed mum in her wheelchair and it was no problem. A youth worker introduced himself to my son as we boarded and he was given info on the meet time. We had lunch in the Windjammer and went to our room at 1pm where our suitcases quickly followed. So far we were very excited and impressed.
Room: We had an outside room which was originally intended for just my husband and i. Anyway it quickly ended with my son and mother joining us too. The room had 2 single beds with pullman beds over the top so it looked like bunk beds. there was a curtain which helped with privacy, a sofa and the best thing was the large porthole window. There was adequate wardrobe and drawer space and i kept finding new hidden cupboards there was also a safe in the wardrobe. There was a flat screen telly and i could check our on board account on it. I would have no qualms about booking same room again for all of us.
Food: The MDR was great and staff were always helpful. Portions were not big but plenty adequate you could never get hungry on this ship. We had first sitting and sat on a table for 12 and our table companions were great. My son did his own thing most days but he did say one night i am tired of steak!!!
We ate in the Windjammer sometimes and the choice was great we also had some fantastic puds in there. However as previously reported the food was lukewarm to cold sometimes especially at breakfast. We discovered the MDR for breakfast later in the cruise and found it much more relaxing. We also had dinner in the 2 speciality restaurants and they were definitely worth the cover charge. When we dined in Portofino's my husband and son had to leave before the sweet course and the restaurant sent chocolate dipped strawberries and biscuits to our stateroom for them. There is also Sorrento's a pizza cafe on board which also has salads and lovely biscuits and sweets. Cafe Promenade is open 24hrs and has cookies, sandwiches and cakes. You can pick up tea and coffee here to either sit in or take away. We did try an ice cream at Ben and Jerry's which was disappointing as i did not feel they had enough choices though to be fair we did not have the time or room to visit a second time.
Kids: My son was very reluctant to visit the teens club but reluctantly took himself along for the meet on the first night. Well we hardly seen him all week he had a brilliant time lots of activities (and medals) and their own bar to hang out in. He made lots of friends and even got back to the room later than us most nights. He has informed me that he is going cruising with his friends when he is 18.
Meet and Mingle: Thank you to RCI for hosting our meet and mingle on day 2 it was lovely to meet everyone. RCI provided a room ,gifts, raffle prizes, nibbles and refreshments.
Staff: Most staff were lovely and very helpful. Be very wary though of the lady offering fresh orange at breakfast in the windjammer as you will be charged extra for it. I spoke to loads of people caught out by this member of staff one morning. Our room attendant was great and we loved the towel animals in our room every night.
Shops: The shops on the promenade were ok and plenty good enough. However hated the stalls in the middle of a busy promenade which only made space even more limited. The Promenade in my opinion is far too small for the size of the ship, hence the reason we never attended any of the street party's.
Entertainment:
We saw some of the shows ,we really enjoyed some and not others. We saw both ice shows which we really enjoyed. All the bars were great but again in my opinion they are all too small for the amount of guests on board. There is always something great to do every evening and lots of bars to try.
Bingo: Mum and i went to the bingo every day it was on but with after sight would not advise this. The wins were not good for the amount of people playing. Next time we will go to two sessions, the one for the Presidential suite and the one for the accumulated snowball.He ho we were on holiday and probably wont go to bingo again until the next cruise.
Miscellaneous: Plenty of opportunities for photos and the large ones cost nearly 20 dollars however you don't have to buy. We used the opportunity for a professional family photo while we were all dressed up. Mum and i went to the cinema one day and enjoyed it though some nibbles would of been nice. Sprinkles youghurt ice cream at the children's pool area was lovely and we did not feel guilty as it was only youghurt! Wheelchair access was great though could be a little problem at busy periods. The lifts were great but it could take forever to get one at meal times. We often took the lift up when we wanted to go down just so we could get in there. We are not big drinkers so found prices ok, vodka hand poured and there is defo more than 1 measure in a single drink. Son had soda package which was well worth it for him.
Disembarkation: This was smooth also though beware you do go through customs (as the lady with a bag full of cigarettes found out). There was no private taxi to the airport and mum had to struggle onto a coach this made you feel that they didnt care once the holiday was over. We also had a 4 hr wait at the airport so it was a long day.
I could write loads and believe me this is the condensed version , we had a fantastic holiday and would definitely do it again. I would love to sail on the Oasis, maybe next year?.
Mum and i didn't visit any of the ports as we went on this holiday for
a rest. My husband and son got off at most ports and visited the local
towns and shops. They did the trip to Benfica in Lisbon and had a great
time though they did say it was 85 euros for a football top (hence they
did not buy one). Some of our own table companions went to Fatima which
they said was unforgettable.
|
