Nearly A year now since I visited Sunny Southampton for the Cruise convention. After visiting a few of the ships I had my mind made up that I would love to take my family on a cruise.
going to the convention not only showed me that cruising is great value for money but also that its not only about the itinerary, but also the ship itself.
The Ship I decided on was The Independence of the Seas one of the Royal Caribbean fleet. I chose this ship because of the facilities that they offer for families and couples alike.
Within a couple of weeks I had persuaded my husband that we as a family would really love a cruise. Even though in the back of my mind I had a small niggling feeling that maybe we hadn’t done the right thing !!!! ……. but I didn’t let on. It was to late we were booked.
So after a long and exciting wait (266 sleeps ) We were on our way to Southampton, still feeling a little apprehensive ! We approached the docks and my three children saw the ship for the first time,I KNEW we had done the right thing . The WOWS coming from three very excited children in the back of the car.
So here we are about to board the Independence of the Seas ?????????
I had a very strange feeling as we boarded the ship, was it nerves or excitement ?
The first thing we did was visit the Windjammer cafe. We had our supper whilst sailing out of Southampton. The choice of food was amazing and although the ship had 3500 passengers, we never once had to search for a table even though we are five.
Throughout our cruise we had breakfast and lunch at the windjammer. there was always plenty of choice and lovely panoramic views.
We spend a lot of time in the Gym and whilst I was running on treadmill I was watching a pod of dolphins swimming and jumping at the front of the ship. What an amazing experience .
The kids spent a lot of time in the kids club where they received first class supervision. They had pirate parties, group lunches , football, disco’s did experiments in the science lab , had a pj party to name just a few. To be honest the only issue we had with club was trying to get them out ! Each time sporting a new bag or had from Royal Caribbean.
This gave myself and my husband free time to explore the ship and make use of the adult only areas such as the whirlpools that over hang 12 foot over the side of the ship. We also felt very comfortable leaving the children in club whilst we went on shore to have a little explore of the different ports that we docked at.
Our evening were spent dining at the Romeo & Juliet restaurant were our waiters catered to our every need. They bought Pizza out for the children when they didn’t like what was being served. Asfor ourselves there was always a great Varity of food to chose from. On the first evening I couldn’t decide weather to have cake or a cheese board but the cake won the battle , as I sat feeling my clothes shrink i thought maybe I had eaten a little too much, then out came coffee and the cheese board . This happened every evening !!!! hence my gaining a few pounds !!!
After our evening meal we either went to the Theatre to see a show or to the promenade were we could just sit and have a quiet drink.
The shows really were great like watching a real Broadway show.
One evening we watched a show on Ice. I have to admit it was difficult enough to skate let alone when the ship was rocking !!! they really are amazing performers with wonderful voices and super dancers.
All in all we had an amazing time . I could talk to you forever about our most amazing holiday to date. Fantastic aspects to this holiday. I now truly understand why people say that once you have cruised you will be converted. I believe this is because of the standard of service, the excellent entertainment team, the quality of the food…………… again I could go on and on about our amazing experience of cruising.
Thank you Royal Caribbean
Ahoy me hearties !
