ā¦had. I mean, gone. Finger lickinā good. (Apologies to KFC.) Nothing that has called itself a cannoli in my previous experience has any right to that name.
3 Likes
There was a Cruise Critic thread a while back asking if you could bring cannolis back onboard the ship. Consensus was mixed. I guess you will never find out!
3 Likes
Kind of like finding out how many licks to the center of a tootsie pop?
Butā¦there was a lady in ahead of us boarding a ship with a bag that had a sandwich from a sandwich shop in it. They just had her send it through the X-ray machine. So I am supposing that HAD a cannoli made it back to the ship somehow, they would have allowed it on board.
4 Likes
You guys are departing already??
How are you liking the Independence? I know you arenāt a drinker but check out Olive or Twist for some cool views as the ship leaves town.
3 Likes
All aboard time is 5:30, but we were getting exhausted, and giviev how long the hop on hop off trolley takes to go all the way around, we just decided to not risk it. But we were off the ship at 8 am, so 7 1/2 hours total.
Independence is nice enough. But it is no Allure. It feels much more crowdedā¦although not nearly as much as the Fantasy did. And it is shocking how few places there are to grab food. Four to be exact, other than places you pay extra for. I wasnāt expecting that. On Allure there were so many more places to grab āfreeā food. On Allure, we never once went in Windjammer. But here, on day three, I have had to eat there twice already.
I kind of like the way the shows are done here though. We loved having a Broadway style show to go to on Allure, but the fight to get a seat was annoying. Here you can just drop in about 30 minutes before any show (or even fifteen) without too much concern. Still, having a Broadway style show would be nice.
The wait staff and service in general, though, has been amazingā¦ Definitely better than what we had on DCL, and on par with our experience on Allure. We like this waiter better than Allure. She is personable and funny without coming across as pandering for tips as we felt was the case on Allure and Fantasy.
I do wish they could do this same itinerary but with an Oasis class ship, or else convert a couple of the umpteen million bars into additional food options.
3 Likes
We upgraded to the Unlimited dining on Independence, for some personal reasons but I never even considered the free options. Thanks for mentioning that. My DIL loves the pizza and fish and chips but you are right (although it āfeltā like there were better choices than Liberty).
One of the reasons we are not doing unlimited again on Utopia is that there are so many free options we want to try.
2 Likes
8 Likes
Both are good, but particularly on a longer cruise, or later at night when you want a snack, it is nice to have options. On Allure, we would hop into Park Cafe, or The Dog House, plus a couple other places the names of which escape me.
1 Like
Cafe Promenade closes?
1 Like
It is openā¦but quite limited in food options.
I did grab a bran muffin from there this morning as we headed to our cruise excursion..but the excursion left so early we couldnāt get food in Kennebunkport. So now we will be getting lunch in Portland proper, but probably not until after 1 pm.
1 Like
I gotta say, the entertainment on this cruise has been amazing. Even though they are shorter, 45 minute-long shows, the variety and talent has been the best of the three cruises I have been on to date. Each night has been something different to see, and never bored. (Although the night I took Meclizine I may have looked bored since I was definitely experiencing the drowsiness!)
Even though, as I mentioned before, it would have been nice to have a Broadway style show, honestly, I am not missing it.
Now, I am not sure how much kids would like it. It isnāt the same as watching a Disney show. But one night was a song and dance show, there was an ice skating show themed to the music of the 40s through the 70s, a couple comedians, and tonight was an absolute incredible pianist who played with a very unique flare.
All of it excellent.
5 Likes
My kids favorite show so far is āShowgirls!ā on the Odyssey of the Seas. 
TBD how they feel about Cats next week.
Ship is really rockinā today. And not in the musical sense. Hard to walk straight. Water is quite choppy. Not sure this picture does it justice.
3 Likes
CruiseMapper says you have āmoderateā seas of 2.1 m (6.9 ft). Thatās the second level of the four levels their website uses.
You might have fun watching people walk down the hall ahead of you - itās like a conga line that all steps to the side. 
1 Like
Do they have the vomit bags at the stairs? When we went to Halifax on Independence the bags came out day one and stayed there the whole cruise.
1 Like
Seems about right. It could definitely be worse. But it makes walking around a bit of a sobriety test! 
1 Like
No. I donāt think we are there yet. But I will be glad to get on land (in about thirty minutes) so I can avoid the Meclizine. I am starting to get a headache, which is what I had on our first sea day until I took Meclizine. Meclizine makes me want to take a nap. (Of course, so does seasickness!)
3 Likes
Ship motion can be a bit of fun, as long as it is not too rough. DH and I were recently on Star of the Seas, and we felt almost no rocking of the ship. We had commented on how unusually smooth the water was that whole week. The seas were only about 1 meter. But that was also in the Caribbean, not the north Atlantic.
1 Like
I am learning that booking excursions is a double edged sword. I mean the tour guide has lots of interesting history and facts, and you stop to look at some beautiful things. But by the time you get back to the ship, you are overly tired or there isnāt time to actually enjoy the actual port city.
Case in point, today we got to Halifax and could get off at noon. Had a 3 1/2 hour tour which basically took you to Peggyās Cove (which to be fair was really cool to seeā¦almost apocalyptic landscape!), but when we finally go back, it is a 1/2 mile walk to the boardwalk, and with the rain, I just wasnāt feeling it.
All aboard is at 7:30, and if I had the energy, I could have done more in Halifax, though. Just trade-offs.
1 Like