Some general questions re Independence

[MeeskaMooskaMickey]

hello, we shouldn't really be considering this but we have seen a short 5 night trip on the Independence next October in Northern Europe and are very tempted! We can only justify it if we do it as cheaply as possible and there are no offers available on this trip. We don't want to waste our money though and are concerned about whether or not we will like it (it would be our first RCI). Main concerns are re the weather, i.e. If it is chilly or rainy each day, will they heat some of the pools and will we be able to do some of the deck activities or will we be stuck with crowds below deck? Also concerned about additional costs. Do you have to book the drinks package for each day of your trip because the disembarkation day we won't drink anything (but may get our monies worth on sea days!). Are the included restaurants ok or will we want to go to the upcharge ones? Would we be better off not going and saving our money towards a better trip another year? (Not sure if we can wait that long though)! Thanks x

 

[msjprincess]

I can't help with the weather or how warm the pools are since I've only sailed on IOS in the Caribbean. Once August of last year and again this upcoming February. The Solarium (adult only pool) is partially covered.

The drink package can only be purchased for the entire trip. For a 5 night cruise it would be 5 days worth, so the day you disembark doesn't really count. Food is very subjective. I think the MDR and Windjammer are fine. I've never received a meal that I thought was inedible. We did book Chops and Giovanni's for our next cruise back when they were having a 20% off sale.

 

[bumbershoot]

Do you have to book the drinks package for each day of your trip because the disembarkation day we won't drink anything (but may get our monies worth on sea days!).

You pay per night of the cruise. You aren't charged on disembarkation day. You CAN buy the drinks package later on, as long as there are 3 or 4 (it's one of those but I can't recall which) nights left on the cruise, but you can't pick and choose the days. Look at what's included, think about what you will WANT to drink, and go from there.

Look at the posts on this board to see who was on a European cruise (also on the DCL side, because weather and pools aren't just an issue on one cruise line) and maybe even ask on the appropriate Ports of Call board on cruisecritic.com. I personally doubt they would heat the pools, but then again, on our first/only-so-far late-season Alaska cruise we swam in the Solarium and I don't remember freezing.

Being "below-decks" isn't a punishment on the Freedom class, though; it's a LOT of fun with many things to do.