Our First Cruise - Royal Caribbean Indy Thanksgiving 2016

Independence of the Seas and Brilliance of the Seas docked at a pier under a clear blue sky.

If you don't know by now, I am a planner. So when Mr and I decided that we would take a Thanksgiving cruise, the search was on! I wanted the perfect, cruise experience.

I thought it would be a quick "Thanksgiving cruise" search, pay & move on. Ummm..not even. Who knew there were so many options?
Which cruise line? Which ship? How many days? What kind of stateroom? So many questions to answer before the search got underway. Thankfully, there is Cruise Critic, a wonderful forum-like website that offered answers to all of my questions. And CruiseSheet, is a cruise search engine that shows the total price, which I used to stalk cruise prices because I am all about a deal. Side note: why do cruise websites only show you the base price and not the total price? I think this needs to be updated to match flight searches, so the price I see is the total price [base + tax + gratuities].

I'll spare you the details, but after weeks of searching, we decided on a Promenade [Interior] Stateroom on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas aka 'Indy'. This is an interior room, with a window that overlooks the 'Royal Promenade', the hub of action on the ship. It is listed as 160 sq feet, which seemed small on paper, but was a great size. That closet was huge, that was where I was hiding when Mr took these photos:

Interior Promenade stateroom on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas with a bed, wood desk, TV and a window over the Royal Promenade. — Our Promenade interior stateroom. It's listed at 160 sq feet, which looked small on paper but felt like a great size.

Small cruise stateroom bathroom on Independence of the Seas with a curved sink, white towels, toilet and tiled floor. — The bathroom was compact, but it had everything we needed for the week.

Hanging organizer with clear pockets holding brochures and papers on the stateroom door of a Royal Caribbean cruise. — A pocket organizer on the stateroom door holding papers and brochures. It kept the little stuff off the desk.

We arrived at Port Everglades [minutes from FLL airport] around 1 pm, and were in our stateroom by 2 pm. We dropped off our bags and started walking around since Muster was at 3:45 pm.

I read online that since the ship was all metal, it was perfect for magnets. So we grabbed some of our magnets and used them to hold up the Daily Compass:

Daily Compass for Independence of the Seas and a Shore Excursions flyer held to a metal wall with round magnets. — I read the ship is all metal, so we used our magnets to hold up the Daily Compass.

There were maps everywhere, so if you got lost, you only had yourself to blame:

Deck 3 map plaque on Independence of the Seas listing the venues on each deck, with a ship diagram at the top. — There were maps everywhere on the ship, so if you got lost, you only had yourself to blame.

There was a library!

Library sign with a stack of colorful books on a wood-paneled wall aboard Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas. — There was a library! We weren't expecting that on a cruise ship.

And an outdoor track:

Outdoor jogging track on Independence of the Seas marked 4.5 laps is 1 mile and 3 laps is 1 km, beside a glass railing. — The outdoor track. The markings tell you how many laps make a mile.

There are three main dining rooms: Romeo & Juliet, Macbeth & King Lear (get it?). We signed up for My Time Dining at 6 pm for a table for two and were assigned Macbeth but were asked to move to King Lear after the first night, which was fine as the new seating was near a window.

Directional sign for the King Lear, Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet dining rooms on Independence of the Seas. — The three main dining rooms are Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth and King Lear. Get it?

Main dining room on Independence of the Seas with a chandelier, gold columns, round tables and holiday garland on the balconies. — The main dining room. We had My Time Dining at 6 pm and were moved to King Lear after the first night.

There are three specialties ($) dining options: Chops (steak), Giovanni's (Italian), and Johnny Rocket's, which based on reviews, we decided not to pay for.

We ate at the Windjammer (Buffet) for breakfast & lunch & after-dinner snacks and had dinner in the Main Dining Room. The food is the same as the Windjammer, but it's a sit-down service. We always ordered a soup, salad, entree & dessert:

Sliced ham with green beans, carrots and sweet potato in gravy on a white plate in the Independence of the Seas dining room. — One of our dinner entrees in the main dining room. We always ordered a soup, salad, entree and dessert.

Arugula salad with sliced pear and pecans in a wide white bowl on a table in the Independence of the Seas dining room. — Salad course at dinner. The main dining room food is the same as the Windjammer, but with sit-down service.

Slice of cheesecake with strawberry sauce, whipped cream and a mint leaf on a white plate on Royal Caribbean's Independence of the Seas. — Dessert was part of every dinner for us, and this cheesecake with strawberry sauce was one of them.

Grilled steak with a baked potato, broccoli and carrots on a white plate at dinner on Independence of the Seas. — A steak dinner in the main dining room. No need to pay extra for Chops to eat well.

Cup of yellow soup with chives on a saucer beside silverware and a water glass in the Independence of the Seas dining room. — Soup was our starter at dinner every night.

We visited one port, Cozumel, on day 3. Mr & I got off, roamed the streets, ate some tacos & came back on the ship. We purposely did not plan any shore excursions. One thing I notice about cruises is that the ports are 'touristy' areas. I was very disappointed that the shops were not playing local music, nor offering any local flair. I went to Mexico, to see Mexico, not to see America in Mexico. I get why they do it, but personally, I want to see the nitty-gritty. This just means I need to travel to Mexico on my own and venture out.

Street in Cozumel, Mexico, seen from above, with palm trees, parked scooters, a hotel and a cruise ship in the distance. — Cozumel was our one port, on day 3. We roamed the streets with no shore excursions planned.

Two tortillas topped with grilled chicken strips on a foam plate with salsa bowls behind it in Cozumel, Mexico. — We ate some tacos in Cozumel, then headed back to the ship.

Once you get past the 'If I fall off the ship, I will drown/die of hypothermia before any finds me', it was a great experience, and we have become cruise converts!

Have you been on a cruise? What's your favorite ship?

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