This was a last minute weekend getaway, and was an awesome time!! We would have had a stormy weekend at home in central FL... but instead we had a perfect day in CocoCay on Sat, and a great sea day on Sun! 🙂 The crew was friendly and provided great service... Our cabin steward did a good job making the bed softer, and keeping our cabin clean. The Windjammer was MUCH improved from a month ago.... they are opening up some self service to some stations... which speeds things up, and frees up crew to provide better service. It will great to see the Windjammer return to self serve more and more. Our cruise was at 95% capacity... but it didnt feel crowded.. just not empty like many cruises have felt since the restart. All in all it was a great weekend getaway!! 👍👍
Embarkation
5 out of 5
We had an 11:30am boarding time. We got to the terminal at 1050am, dropped luggage, parked in the garage, and walked right through security and checking. No lines what so ever. We sat for 2 mins and they started boarding at 1115am. We were sitting and eating at 1130am at the Windjammer. 👍
At 12:24 we were out on the upper deck to watch the scheduled SpaceX Falcon-9 rocket launch... Which is always cool from the ship!
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
4 out of 5
The food and service was WAY better this time on the Indy vs a month ago. I talked to the Windjammer manager, (a different one than a month ago), and he said they had been short handed before, but were now fully staffed. Also they had started to allow self serve at several stations such as bread, add-ons, and dressings. The result was more crew clearing tables and providing better service.. offering drinks, helping families, etc. The crew seemed much more friendly and willing to help. 👍👍
Specific food shortages are still a HUGE issue, so it hurts things like variety, and they couldnt do the Mongolian Stirfry this cruise. Understand, but still sucks.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
Plenty to do this cruise... It was a weekend getaway and could never do everything offered in such a short trip.
Entertainment
4 out of 5
The entertainment was better this time. They actually play grease.. which the performers were good... but the condensed "just singing" version was disjointed. If you hadnt see the movie or other plays, you would be lost. The commedian and bands were good.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The staff were much improved this time vs a month ago! Some leadership changes and additional crew seemed to make the difference! Everyone seemed cheerful, and helpful in every area of the ship. The bar service had crew out and about taking drink orders at every venue, as well as all the hottubs and pool areas. My only complaint is just with the Indy design itself. Not enough bars to handle the number of passengers... so they were always 10+ people deep lines.
Ship Quality
5 out of 5
Except for the size of the bars, the Independence is in my 2nd favorite class of ships. Oasis class is by far my #1. 😁 But its a big ship, lots to do, rides the waves smooth, and has lots of areas to explore and be with people, or find quiet places to just enjoy the quiet.
Cabin / Stateroom
4 out of 5
The balcony cabin was a nice size. Being an older ship, the storage is a bit tight compared to the Oasis class.... but it was plenty good for a weekend or week cruise. Bed was comfee after two comforters for padding. Lol
Disembarkation
4 out of 5
The Indy always only has 1 brow/jetbridge set on the ship... this bottlenecks people getting off the ship creating long lines to disembark. It makes zero sense as they could easily do 2 the same as the Harmony, which would greatly reduce the lines.
Its great to hear things are improving. Over thanksgiving the food was mediocre at best on independence. Glad u had a good time. Oasis in 29 days. Cant wait
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