Independence of the Seas

Independence of the Seas - Maiden Voyage

For some reason, first sitting was 6pm instead of 6.15pm meaning you couldn't spend as long on deck so it was a good job we hadn't time wasted. I was in MacBeth on Deck 4 which made it different from Navigator and table 426. Our waitress was Juliana from Romania who had been on Mariner and assistant waiter was Thomas from India who was fairly quiet. The menu had soup in starters rather than separately. My table companions were nice. A couple from Stratford and the husband delivered headstones for a living around the country and a couple from the Isle of Wight who had not long started up a kennels and the wife was a nurse in the children's intensive care unit of Southampton General. They had previously been on Freedom so knew what to expect. During dinner I could see we were being stalked.

After dinner I went to see if the ships were still with us as only Ventura was going our way. It was fairly windy and cold by now but they were and as you watched you could see Ventura turn to follow us.

After telling some people they could see QV and Ventura from the stern, I went shopping and was really disappointed to discover the souvenir tat was the same as P&O/Princess/Cunard! They had great bears and in various sizes but no hard candy, no fridge magnets in the shape of the ship, no tree decorations. Even the lanyards were the same whereas in the US you have a ring on the end rather than a clip. They had keyrings with the ship while the magnets were identical to my P&O collection. In fact the ship one is actually shorter than Aurora and Oceana! There were postcards in the General Store which, unlike Navigator, was actually open even though the duty free part was cordoned off. They had many British products right down to soaps and Anadin which was great. The postcards were of Freedom. They made me laugh as they'd removed the name at the front to try and make it a generic one of the class but left the sign. Prices, even in the photo shop, where displayed in dollars, pounds and Euros but there is no way they'd have charged half the dollar rate for us Brits when they go by current exhange rate so that's somewhat misleading. You could pre-order the cruise DVD so I did as not only was I surprised there'd be one on a short trip, but also I do like the Royal Caribbean ones as it shows the cruise unlike P&O's which really is a waste of money. Once I'd dumped the stuff in the cabin I went to the Alhambra Theatre for the show, Under The Big Top. I wish I'd taken the camera now because it was so good. A few circus-type acts plus a lot of singing, some of which really had nothing to do with the circus. The late show was too late but it was excellent despite me yawning throughout. I went to bed after that.

I was up at 7.30am the next day having slept remarkably well. It must have been the vibration on Navigator keeping me awake. I'd ordered room service, having got used to it on Vision. It was also more convenient as it meant not having to queue forever plus try and find somewhere to sit in the Windjammer and I didn't fancy going to the restaurant. I watched the naming ceremony which was on a loop. During the Steve Redgrave part, they ship shown in Southampton was actually Liberty. The bottle also didn't smash the first time so they pulled it back more and released it with more force. Then time for an explore before we arrived in Cobh, starting with the Connoiseur's Club for smokers, of which I was no longer one. It was a nice room though and I could have spent many hours there if I still lit up.

Normally the theatre is closed for rehearsals so I was delighted to discover it open. The doors on Deck 3 were shut but I told a couple sometimes the ones above are open and I was right. They hadn't followed however. It was being cleaned and there were a couple of other people looking around. The crew were busy preparing the set so the area was a bit messy, especially the carpet. They had no objections to me going on the stage to take a photo and were a really friendly bunch.

As I worked my way back up to the cabin, I got chatting to Jennie Gifford and her mum in Business Services on Deck 6. Jennie is an independent travel agent down in Cornwall and this was her mum's first cruise which had been an early birthday present. She was certainly enjoying it so far even though she was a little overawed at the enormity of the ship. Later I reached Royal Caribbean Online and the computers were all offline. From there you can see the library below.

Back in the cabin and a gift was waiting on the bed. This baseball cap, which didn't even say maiden voyage and you could buy in the shop, didn't go down well among women or those who had done Ventura's maiden.

Time to head on deck for our arrival into Cobh. The painters were now on the starboard side and one waved. Originally we were due to arrive in Cobh at 2pm and stay 24 hours. When they announced the ship would be early that changed. It would now be 3pm for 27 hours and Guernsey had been dropped from all four-night cruises. They sent out another letter a few months later and have the same itinerary during 2009. The weather was a bit chilly but dry and the bow fairly crowded as we neared the coast.

We blasted as we came into the harbour while the pilot boats were vying for the best position. One had a photographer on the bow as it went all around us while the crew would slip out onto the stern with their own cameras. The firetug moved forward along our portside and we all got soaked. Some of the Indy crew were making their own home video and giving a running commentary while there was someone filming for the DVD.

Turning was interesting as we were so huge. The Port of Cork were meant to have extended the landing stage but I saw no difference to when I'd been there in Constellation and Navigator. Hundreds lined the vantage points to see us arrive and before we made the final turn and approach, gave three loud blasts which pleased everyone on the bow with me.

The Brittany ferry Pont-Aven was in Ringaskiddy, sailing at 4pm, and parped to us as she departed. As it was getting a little misty I decided not to wait until the next day to get photos in dock in case it poured and get them while it was still dry.

I chatted a while with the photographers from Estonia and Bulgaria and had a quick photo taken since it was the first time in three trips I'd set foot off the ship. The one from Bulgaria told me these ships are known as homeless ships as people can't find their cabin. At least I didn't have that trouble. We also talked about the ice shows and said I should keep an eye out for the bald skater as he was marvellous. Then it began to rain so I joined the enormous queue to get back on and passed the time talking to a bloke from Totton wo hadn't received his baseball cap. The Royal Caribbean staff went around handing out ponchos to help keep everyone dry.

Ahead of me in the queue was a lady who was in Norwegian Jade and had booked for the £99 which has made Pam furious since we're paying the real prices. She said she hoped we got some money back. I tried to look at the medical centre, as P&O let you, but those on reception blocked it even though rooms weren't being used so these couple are all I managed to sneak.

They really need to do something about the menu at dinner. Several of the items from the day before were on it again. P&O at least have an 'Always Available' separately and I never came across this on Navigator or Vision. It really limits the choice when half the menu changes daily. They do an excellent Caesar salad though which I had every evening from that moment on. Their bread choice is also good. Afterwards I went back to the cabin and saw the Royal Promenade had been decked out for the Rock Britannia Street Party which was due to begin at 11.45pm.

When I got there I found another gift on the pillow. This box of pillow chocolates contained one white and one dark which I don't like but they were okay. I decided to take the opportunity, as the rain was on and off, to go back out and get the night shots. It had actually stopped though was quite windy, but then started spitting again within seconds of me getting on the gangway. My umbrella, already in its death throes, survived another day but I quickly went back inside and around the decks.

I went down early to get a good spot for the street party and was next to some Americans from California who were staying on for the next cruise. Apparently there were about 60 who were doing that. They turned out to be the family of Ken Rush, the cruise director, who posed for the photo in his shades below. They were nice people but I think all the non-UK residents felt a little out of place during songs like Oh I do Like To Be Beside The Seaside. A couple of the songs weren't British. One was definitely American (think it was Bon Jovi) while the other was Australian. They handed out Union Jacks for everyone to wave and it had a good atmosphere.

The whole thing lasted 45 minutes then time for bed.

I'd ordered room service again and had dozed back off only to be woken when they called to say breakfast was on the way. Then it was time to explore the rest of the ship. Annoyingly the Screening Room was locked.

The Royal Promenade was decked out for the Greek parade which would be on the last night and the entertainers rehearsed after posing for photos outside the Pyramid Lounge.

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