independence 2615 or 6531 four berth

[I'll give it a go]

Hi, 1st time cruiser booked on independence. Should I stick with inside stateroom 2615 (low & midship) but has adjoining door ( understand these have noise issues & chair instead of sofa) or switch to 6531 (higher & forward)

4 guests two of which teenagers (going to be cosy) so thought sofa would be handy when pullmans away in day.

I've been advised on newbee thread that six is better than two but don't want to swap if were all going to be seasick. Any thoughts from you kind people in the know, any other issues with these cabin locations I should know about?

[I'll give it a go]

Any advice out there? pritty please. Really need to make my mind up quickly these are the last two 4 berth insides available, I'm booked in one and have hold on other, should I swap to the higher deck even though it's forward or stick with the mid & low?

[fubarsbabe]

midship is said to be better for seasickness but they have pills at the dr station :) Which Ship are you going on , will help other critics advise you, search by stateroom number also and you may find what you need. Good luck and sure you'll have a great time either way.

[I'll give it a go]

hi, thanks for the reply ( I was begining to think I was all alone )

I'm on Independence of the seas southampton to Canary Islands crossing bay of Biscay in October:eek: hense my worries. As metioned I'm 1st time cruiser so not sure if I have sea legs. I'd much prefer to be higher up the ship if motion isn't a problem and would quite like to loose the adjoining door. Also was just wondering if I was missing something else re deck plans and cabin locations, wonder whats under 2615 apart from sea.

[Modena]

Hi,

 

Personally I would go for deck 6. We have previously sailed on the Independence and will also be doing the Canaries cruise - but in November. We always book deck 8 as we like to be higher up the ship. We have crossed the Bay of Biscay - on the outward journey it was like a mill pond on the return the sea was rougher, but because the Independence is such a big ship, with stabilisers, the movement was not that bad as we thought it would be. Although, I know it depends on the individual person as some people can feel ill with the slightest movement while it doesn't bother others. Also, we always prefer to be on a deck where there are no bars etc., above in case of possible noise, so this may be worth taking into consideration (The On Air Club (karaoke) is on deck 3 not directly above cabin 2615 but close to) Hope this is of some help, if you have any other queries please ask.

[wg6530]

If those are the only two choices, I'd probably pick 2615 for newbie cruisers. For seasoned cruisers who don't get seasick (that's me), I'd pick 6531.

 

 

Are you sure those are the only options? If you want to post the date of the sailing and category, some people can look to see if other cabins for might be available.

[I'll give it a go]

Hi, thank you for the advice, Karaoke, now that definately needs some consideration!

regarding other queries:

 

Can you take pool towels to the beach when in port or do I need to bring my own?

 

What is the cost of : Least expensive (sorry always on a budget) bottle of wine, beer, G&T ?

I'm sure they'll be more, you might be sorry you offered

 

Thanks

[I'll give it a go]

Hi, I'm sailing from southampton on Independence 19th Oct 2010. I can get oceanveiws but £500 more than I've paid for inside, has to be 4 berth. Travel agent couldn't get me an inside 4 berth but then I found one several nights later online so grabbed it, It must have been on hold for someone and then released or maybe someone upgraded. Thanks for your advice it's one all now!

[Modena]

Hi,

 

With regard to alcohol - as far as I can remember the least expensive wine is around 20 dollars a bottle and around 4-5 dollars for a pint of beer - a 15% gratuity is also added.

 

When we were on the Independence you had to sign for a pool towel and if it wasn't returned or lost they said there would be a charge - I think it was about 20 dollars - so I wouldn't advise taking them off the ship. Luckily we had taken our own.

[I'll give it a go]

So, four beach towels, that's one case full for starters!

wine £13.25 ish and beer £2.65 - £3.30 ish, I can live with that, just.

I was trying to look at wine package prices to pre book but my sailing is too far off to show prices, does anybody know current cost are they priced the same for cruises from Uk?

[Modena]

Sorry, I've given you incorrect information. I've got confused with dollars and pounds. We paid at least £20.00 for a bottle of wine - not dollars. You are charged in dollars on the ship. There is a price list on the RC website if you go on the onboard experience and then to the wine and dine package. Once again sorry for the misinformation.

[I'll give it a go]

That makes more sense, I was thinking "what's all the fuss about alcohol prices, $20, that's okay", £20 not so great but it is what it is, less Ben & Jerry's for the kids ;).

I'll check out site re packages

Thanks again

[heatherb1958]

I can help with the cabin issues as we stayed in 6529 right next to 6531 and also 2607 just a few doors down from 2615 when we did a B2B2B last year

 

We were on Indie last November with one of the roughest storms to hit the Bay of Biscay with apparent winds 120kph across the deck:eek:. It was rocking and rolling for 3 days 'til we got down to the Canaries, we had to miss Madeira.

We never are sea sick but I was very glad we weren't in cabin 6529 for the first leg of our cruises as I went up there to see what it was like.

Cabin 2607 had no noise issues whatsoever so should be the same for 2615.

 

When we moved to 6529 there were some noise issues but not from any bar venue. If you look at deck 7 there is a little corridor that goes from port to starboard and in that corridor there is a storage room for the room steward's carts/trolleys/bedding/hoovers etc etc and it is NOT carpeted. I woke at 6am one morning to what sounded like kids jumping off beds so I went to investigate and found a room steward banging about in there !!

So if I had to choose between those two cabins that we stayed in it would be deck 2.

We did not have connecting rooms so your point about having the sofa is a valid one , shame

[I'll give it a go]

How fab are you and how brilliant is this forum. 2615 it is then, unless my numbers come up in the meantime of course. As I see you quite like cruising ;) prehaps you can tell me:

When is the best time to get the best priced upgrade ( wondered whether nearer the time, if a 4 berth oceanview was avaiable, what sort of increase in price might I be looking at)

For future information, If no flights are involved what is the latest time you can make a booking to sail from Uk, on the day? day before? & do they reduce price a lot?

Thanks for all the info re cabins I'll just keep fingers crossed for good weather:)

[heatherb1958]

How fab are you and how brilliant is this forum. 2615 it is then' date=' unless my numbers come up in the meantime of course. As I see you quite like cruising ;) prehaps you can tell me:

When is the best time to get the best priced upgrade ( wondered whether nearer the time, if a 4 berth oceanview was avaiable, what sort of increase in price might I be looking at)

For future information, If no flights are involved what is the latest time you can make a booking to sail from Uk, on the day? day before? & do they reduce price a lot?

Thanks for all the info re cabins I'll just keep fingers crossed for good weather:)[/quote']

 

I don't like to assume but take it the questions are aimed at me ?:);)

Independence out of Southampton is rarely a bargain unless you book very early for the free parking, early booking discounts and OBC . The ship sells very well because families don't have to worry about luggage allowances, delays in flights at airports etc. etc. because of this you will not see 'cheap' upgrades like you see in the Caribbean sailings or out of some Med ports.

Register yourself with a few online TA's for their e.mail listings,don't ask which ones it is forbidden to mention on CC , occasionally there are some bargains on Indie from Southampton.

I have seen 72 hours mentioned for the cutoff for bookings, ships have to have their passenger manifest for security asap.

[I'll give it a go]

Thanks Heather, indeed my questions were ment for you:o only found your response this morning. Cruising from Southampton does seem a very hassel free option, no wonder it's so popular, I'll take your advise and get registering now.

I'm not telling the kids about the cruise until Mothers Day, that will be 8 days I've kept it to myself, I's killing me.

Thanks again for all your input

[Missus Makkem]

dont worry about ice cream as they have a diy station of a Mr whippy type round about the Windjammer and it is free, the kids can make their own choc/vanilla usually, its a soft frozen yoghurt but i love the taste.

Everyday they have a drink of the day advertised in the Compass, some nicer than others and I think they run about $5/$6 plus 15% gratuitie.

 

PS Mothers day is this Sunday 14th so not long to go

[heatherb1958]

Thanks Heather' date=' indeed my questions were ment for you:o only found your response this morning. Cruising from Southampton does seem a very hassel free option, no wonder it's so popular, I'll take your advise and get registering now.

I'm not telling the kids about the cruise until Mothers Day, that will be 8 days I've kept it to myself, I's killing me.

Thanks again for all your input[/quote']

 

Your welcome:).

 

I thought it was the kids who are supposed to surprise the mums;).

 

By the way congrats on booking your first cruise and being able to keep it to youself so far. You will be wowed with Indie as soon as you see her when you arrive at the dock. Our first cruise was 10 years ago and and have been hooked ever since. We don't have any responsibilties now so it is easier for us to take advantage of any offers flying around:D.