So, the cruise …part 1 of 4

 Five days on Royal Caribbean’s Independence of the Seas. Sailing out of Port Liberty in Bayonne, New Jersey, with a two day visit to Bermuda.  It’s one of the older, smaller ships, sister ship to Freedom of the Seas, which we sailed to the Caribbean in 2016.

This was the first time we drove to a port rather than flying in.  We know how bad the traffic can be through Brooklyn, so made certain to leave the house very early in the morning.  Through Brooklyn, over the Verrazano Bridge, across Staten Island to the Bayonne Bridge, then a short ride to Port Liberty.  Parked the car, went through the pre boarding process, and finally we were on the ship! 

Welcome to New York Harbor.

I had heard that the best place to be when the ship sails is the helipad.  It’s an open area on deck 5, right at the front of the ship.  The view was gear, but I wish I’d brought my hoodie — it was very windy and a little cold.

The Staten Island Ferry

 

And the Verrazano Bridge

I’ve driven over the bridge many time times but this was the first time I went under the bridge.

We even saw the Coney Island Parachute Jump.

Our vacation had begun!  

Time to explore the ship.its a relatively small ship, holds about 4,500 passengers and 1,400 crew members.  The ship has all sorts of sports activities, food, entertainment, a casino, swimming pools … so I’ll just focus on things we did.

We had a balcony cabin on Deck 6.  That meant we were conveniently located to much of what we wanted to do aboard the ship.

We ate our meals in either the main dining room or the Windjammer buffet.  We didn’t try the specialty restaurants or any of the other food options.  In part this was because of my gluten issues (more about that in a minute.) We never felt the need for a snack, and we didn’t want to spend the extra money when we were happy with the menu in the main dining room.

As for gluten … all of the food staff are very cognizant of allergies and food issues.  As soon as I said I was gluten free, the dining room staff took special care  with all of my meals.  I was able to order almost anything on the menu and get a gluten free version of it — I especially liked the coconut shrimp, the chicken Parmesan, and the butternut squash risotto. Upstairs at the buffet there was a small section of foods labeled “gluten free” — usually two entrees, some sides and a dessert.  They bake their own gluten free bread. 

The food in the main dining room is significantly better than the buffet.

We had the soda package (free souvenir cups!) but paid for alcoholic drinks separately — we don’t drink enough to justify a drink package that includes alcohol.

We didn’t spend much time in the bars and shops, though I did buy a t shirt and a ring.  And a lanyard to hold my Sea Pass.  Your Sea Pass is your room key, your credit card, and your ID when leaving or coming back to the ship, so hold onto it.  We did play a few rounds of trivia in the Schooner Bar and the Star lounge, and Drew won a key chain,

The fitness center is fully equipped, has all the same machines as my Planet Fitness.  I managed one workout.  I wanted to do a yoga class, but it was canceled. 

We did make use of the pool.  We prefer the Solarium — the adults only area — to the main pool.  Quieter, less rowdy.  The pool is very small, but the hot tubs are nice.

And the highlight of shipboard activities — the Escape Room.

Fourteen of us had to figure out clues that solve five puzzles within a specific time frame.  The puzzles aren’t easy, but they’re not horrible either.

We’re planning to get a group of friends together to go to an Escape Room.  So I guess you can say we enjoyed it.

Cute stuff on the ship.