My mini break on the Indy..

Its always nice to have a little break with friends and I had persuaded some of my pals to try a cruise for the very first time. This was a lot of pressure because I had obviously told them how amazing cruising is , so I had a lot of pressure making sure it all lived up to expectation.

There was six of us on board the Independence Of The Seas with Royal Caribbean and we had booked to go on board the three night mini cruise that took in Bruges and Le Harve.

We arrived midday and the check in process was very smooth and within 20 minutes we found ourselves on board.

The Indy had a massive refurbishment back in May so I was looking forward to seeing the new features.

I had been on the ship before but along time ago when it was first launched. As most cruisers do when you board , we headed straight for the buffett restaurant which was the windjammer café. The décor in here was lovely , very modern in beige’s and greens and they had some really funky seating areas, like big booths for family’s and Cabana style huts dotted around as well. I have to say it was extremely busy in here and if you go up at peak times between 12-2 ,then it really is every man for himself to try and find somewhere to sit. We did always get somewhere but be prepared to do a couple of laps first of all until something becomes available.

We had lunch in here most days and the food is just fantastic. The choice is really quite amazing and you can pretty much have everything from cold sandwiches , hamburgers and hot dogs , Chillies , hot foods from around the world and not to mention an array of puddings.

You can get serious food envy In here so beware.I had gone and helped myself to some lovely fresh prawns and salad and then by the time I came back to the table my other half and got a lovely cut of roast beef with all the trimmings so I very jealous !! Expect to maybe have two or three plates of everything you like.

While im getting carried away with the food I may as well give you my reviews about the main dining experience. We dined on the anytime dining option , meaning we could go to the main dining room at anytime of our choice basically. Now ,  you can call down to guest relations earlier in the day and actually pre book a particular time if you want to. We did this one evening but to be honest there isn’t really much difference in waiting time. We usually went down at 09:00 and it took about fifteen minutes to be seated so that was fine.

The dining room is very grand and we were seated on the bottom tier. I found the menu to be very varied and there was some really nice choices on there. A good selection for everyone and it allowed us to have a choice from fish , steaks and specials. My favourite dish was the beef wellington that I had. It was perfectly cooked and melted in your mouth.

I must be honest and say that my partner had a pie one evening that was very dry and the next night he had a piece of steak that wasn’t really cooked to his preference. I think that this goes to show that people dining experiences can be so varied , and where I would say the food was very good I think he would of probably said it was OK but not brilliant.

The point is I think it really can depend sometimes what you order off the menu.

The service was really good in here and are waiter, Steven from India, went above and beyond to interact with us and offer us a personal service. I was particularity impressed that when my partner popped out to go to the toilet, Steven came over and put a cover over his meal to keep it warm in his absence.

Most mini breaks tend to go to the same places and Bruges is one of the firm favorites. I had been to this port quite a few times In the past but usually on a Christmas party with work so had a rather sore head the day after and hadn’t manged to get off. This time around I was determined to visit this little port as I had been told some good things and it didn’t disappoint.

It’s a beautiful city and famed for its little cobbled streets with all the chocolate shops and Christmas shops. We purchased some choccy and it was absolutely gorgeous so well worth taking some euros with you if you go their in the future. The Christmas shops were lovely and magical and my friends and I all purchased a little decoration to put on the tree to remind us of our lovely trip.

Onto the ship itself and what can I say,  I loved it. Its such a great ship for couples , friends and families alike. The best feature for me is the Royal promenade which runs down the middle of the strip. Its such a vibrant place with lots of shops , cafes and pizzeria and a lively pub. It has a little bridge that runs past the guest relations and it just looks really pretty.

Royal also hold promenade party’s down here and silent discos so it has a great, fun atmosphere on here. The new features on the ship were really good like the slides and the virtual trampoling , the kids would never be bored if you took them on this ship,  that’s for sure.

We did try and do the escape room but it was fully booked so I would recommend to try and prebook things like that before you go.

We went to the ice Skating show on the first evening and what a bunch of talented people they were. The theme was music from the ages and it was a real fun and upbeat show. The ice skating rink isn’t particular that big, so for them to put on such a great show is amazing. The shows finale was the main couple performing the nail biting head banger move, where the male skater spins the lady skater round by her  feet and her head is just inches from the ice. Lets just say, there was a few gasps in the audience on that one.

The main show on the Independence is Greece ,  the musical. I really loved it and the singers were just brilliant. Everyone in the theater was clapping and singing along ,  and it I would really recommend to go and watch it if you go onboard.

Entertainment is always really good with Royal and when you get a daily planner in your room each morning it details all activities going on and in which lounge and there is so much to do. We thought we would go and have a go at the bingo for a laugh and my friend actually won the jackpot at $500. Lets just say it certainly helped with the bar bill.

Royal Caribbean had pulled the drinks package on sailings of six nights or less so I was a bit worried about the expense of the drinks, especially going on with friends as you tend to get a bit carried away . What we did do ,  was purchase a cocktail card. This was a card purchased for $85 which aloud us to purchase any cocktail up to the value of $14 but in effect was only costing $8.50. This was really good for us and we sampled some lovely cocktails ,  I can say all in the name of work of course !!

My overall review of this ship is that if you are looking for a really fun ship , that has lots going on then you wont be disappointed. Royal always have the upper hand when it comes to being the first at sea like the rock climbing walls , flo ryder and virtual trampoling  , so you will definitely get the wow factor onboard this ship.

Its perfect for family’s,  but I would make people aware that if you go on in the school holidays expect it to be busy and you may have to que a bit longer and search a bit harder for places to sit.

This definitely wont be my last time on the Indy and I look forward to returning again on her soon.