7 Nights Spain & France Cruise

Back on the Indy after 6 years away from UK

Booked the 12 night Canaries cruise on the Indy for several reasons. My wife did not want a long flight this year, so sailing out of Southampton was a no-brainer. It was also her birthday during the cruise and lastly, we ere going to be going back onto the Indy after 6 years away from the UK as this is still our favourite ship and was our first back in 2008, so we were looking very forward to being back on board. Got our embarkation time as 12 noon and planned to walk to the cruise terminal from our hotel as it only takes about 30 minutes, but the wife didn't fancy the walk so took a taxi instead which cost £12 from the town centre. Arrived at 1115 and the queue had already began to form so we joined it. No-one from the staff checked the times on the sea pass and we were on board for 1145. First thing to do was to get the muster out of the way as out station was right where were boarded. Next we went down to the My Time Dinning desk to enquire if we could have a seating earlier than 1930 (which was the start time on the app) and was told we could have the same table for 2 by the window every night if we arrived for 1900. BTW other than one night where a couple of men decided to just move to our table before we arrived, we got the same table and staff every night. I had decided to book a promenade view room on deck 6 above guest services for better stability (as we would have several days in the bay of biscay which can get rough). Also the room I chose was next to the lifts for easy access to the aft area of the ship and these lifts were in a area away from the cabins, so no noisy/drunk people at night waking us up! The stateroom was of a good size with the bed sideways on for more room and all was clean and tidy and all outlets worked. The toilet did whistle from time to time, but other people mentioned the same thing elsewhere around the ship. There were plenty of quizzes and some reasonable RCI prizes too. Won 3 out 5 quizzes I entered, but partly because RCI haven't changed the questions in years. Had a few games of Golf too - the wife won overall. Didn't go skating as last time I fell over and it hurts - but did go to the ice show a few times - there was only one show but it was good and some of the skating was perfect! Went to See Grease (for the 6th time) and again, the cast this time were the best I have seen and heard! The main acts were good too - but my favourite act of all time was on board which is Pete Mathews which his Juggling - sorry, but no other act came close to this. First port of call was Bilbao - another reason for this cruise, not been before, so was looking forward to it. Didn't book a tour, so had to do our own thing. Found out that the city centre is about 10 miles inland, so just had a walk along the sea front for an hour. Came to a strange bridge that took cars and people across a river for E0.55 via a gondola on wires - never seen anything like it so did it. Then heard a train so found the station and took the train into the city centre for E2.20 each way per person. Got out of the station and the wife got sucked into a Primark store across the road. After escaping, we walked along a busy street and found the Guggenheim Museum. After a couple of hours we took the train back to the port and walked back to the ship. The wife was knackered after this, but the next day was a sea day so time to rest. Next port was Lisbon. Been here several times and the ship docked at the new port close to the city centre (which saved a short train journey from the old port near the big bridge). Just got off for a few hours and had a walk around the shops etc. There seemed to be a strike but some trams were running. Glad I went on them last year! After another day at sea we arrived at Lanzarote (which was swapped from Gran Caneria), but it was Sunday so most of the shops were shut. Got off and had a walk around the town for a few hours. Next was Tenerife. Got off and caught the 910 bus for E1.25 each way per person for the 5 mile or so trip to a nice beach just east of the port called Terestistas or something like that, you can't go wrong, the beach is the last stop. It has free toilets, changing rooms and showers. It costs E6 for 2 people to rent a deck chair and parasole on the beach. It also costs E3 for a small cup of coffee. I have been to this beach many times and it is so nice that it it is still kept in good shape and costs so little while other places charge the earth and are a tip. Went for a swim in the sea. Very cold at first, but after a few minutes it feels warmer. I was in it for over an hour. The next Day was Madiera and also the wife's birthday. For this reason, and due to time limits at port, I booked the only shore excursion that was needed - the cable car and tobogan ride. We arrived at Studio B at 0800 to join our group and were quickly taken to a coach and went up to the toboggan ride area first - did the ride 2km down Monte and then were taken by coach back up Monte and then did the cable car ride down. It sounds odd, but by doing this we actually did not have to wait in any queue at all, yet saw other tours with a 2 hour wait. This was well worth the money as although it would have been around £30 cheaper to do it yourself, I doubt you would have had time. I have been here before for longer and still worried about getting back to the ship as if 2 or more ships are in that day then over 10,000 people may try to do the same thing. After the next day at sea, the final stop was A Curuna. It's a nice port with a few shops, but being where it is, it is hit and miss as to whether it will rain or not. Luckily it was still very nice, so we had a walk this time round a old fort which takes about 20 minutes and costs just over a euro to enter. BTW there are free toilets in there! After final sea day, we arrived back in Southampton. As usual, we opted to take our own cases off and had a time of 0845 to disembark. Went up to Windjammer at 0700 for breakfast and said goodbye to a few friends we had made. Got the 1030 train to Waterloo and then after 2 tubes, 2 more trains back to Nottingham. Glad to have been back on the Indy. She is still in very good condition. All the staff seemed very nice and pleasant and we could not find any fault with anything at all. One odd thing was that there seemed to be a lot of families with school aged kids on board whilst not a school holiday. Spoke to a few and they said the kids went for £99 and so it was cheaper to pay the school fine than take them away during the actual school holiday. Its a shame the Indy is only back in the UK for this year. I have my next holiday booked fore July 2026 on the Liberty for 1 week up to Norway as that seems to be the longest cruise she will be doing next year. Not sure what RCI is planning for 2027 but I went to Next Cruise on day one and booked a 12 night Caribbean cruise from Cape Liberty for January 2027 as I don't expect any long cruises from the UK that year- I may be wrong - we will find out in November/December.

Impressive crowd-handling and crowd-pleasing

This ship gets it right. Food, drinks, service, music, entertainment, activities, and crew. Ship was very full, but always found a calmer space. Crew everywhere to help with anything. Very few complaints...chicken parmesan barely warm, sent it back and next one was the same...and I was charged $50 for pool towels, the attendant who scanned my sea pass card assured me that the scanner worked. The towel system is unnecessary, no one wants to own a light blue towel that's been used 150 times! Why give your customers the aggravation of having the charged removed, after an otherwise positive experience? Just be prepared for the crowds....The Key was a good value for a single cruiser, it includes internet, dedicated theater seating, dedicated welcome lunch and farewell breakfast, and most importantly, skip-the line boarding and disembarkation. Cozumel is a literal tourist trap. On this sailing, people who took excursions which required a 45-minute ferry, 95% got very seasick.

Wonderful Experience From Experienced Cruisers

We are cruisers and usually cruise Celebrity. We cruised RC for my 18 year-old son to have the water slides. If you have a good attitude, this is an amazing experience. I was worried about the comments about the food, so I booked specialty restaurants to ensure we had good food. After the first main dining room experience, I canceled all the specialty reservations. The food was great! My prime rib was delish! And frankly, I could use the smaller portions, if you know what I mean... Service was pretty good throughout. Oceanview balcony cabin was well-appointed. Yes the bed is really, really firm, so bring a mattress pad or something if you are worried about your back. The inside cabin facing the promenade was such fun for the kids. Facilities were clean, not worn. Activities were varied and fun. DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT book the spa. For anything. I can't be specific, because they ultimately credited me, just please save yourself... Overall, I'm not rating it less than 5 stars. It was a wonderful experience for sure!