Independence of the Seas - Jun 21, 2025 - Jun 29, 2025 (8 Night Northern City Escapes Cruise) - RoyalCaribbeanBlog.com Group Cruise

[AshleyDillo]

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/event/royalcaribbeanblogcom-cruise-aboard-independence-of-the-seas

[CowboyMedic]

On 11/29/2023 at 4:01 PM, AshleyDillo said:

https://www.royalcaribbeanblog.com/event/royalcaribbeanblogcom-cruise-aboard-independence-of-the-seas

I'll tell my TA to add me to the RC Blog group cruise when I contact her. It was a pure coincidence but I'm glad I can finally make a RC Blog cruise.

[twangster]

I'm in.  I think.  

[fedcop2]

Thanks for the redirect.  Can't wait to see everyone.

[Marc Van Niekerk]

Booked this when it was first announced but we are 50/50 on whether we will be going.

First glance at potential flights makes this a tough sell.

[AshleyDillo]

On 3/20/2024 at 2:37 PM, Marc Van Niekerk said:

First glance at potential flights makes this a tough sell.

What are you basing the flights on? I can't find flights that far in advance on my end yet. I'm trying to estimate based off of what it would cost to go June this year and what the pricing is for a flight 6 months from now.

[twangster]

On 3/20/2024 at 2:37 PM, Marc Van Niekerk said:

Booked this when it was first announced but we are 50/50 on whether we will be going.

First glance at potential flights makes this a tough sell.

Consider Air2Sea.  If possible a US gateway city may further reduce costs as Canadian airports have wicked taxes and fees.  If you aren't too far from the border and a major US airport that can make a huge difference.   

A2S recently had a $500 discount on many European destination for this year.  They negotiate wholesale rates and commit to seats on some airlines so it really does make sense to leverage that IF you can make it work for your situation.  

 

[Marc Van Niekerk]

To be fair, we have based our research on a similar time frame this year instead of next.

Air 2 Sea is always a good consideration, and we will investigate.

Travelling to a US airport tends to not be very economical for us in our searches for US ports because of the time, distance and weather factors. It may be a different story for Europe in summer.

We also just learned that Iceland Air while a great cost is a bit of a unicorn in how they ticket their flights.  Usually, when we book (even with Air2Sea) the Locator ID provided is active within a few days on the airline site for seat selection and other items. Iceland Air does not activate until 'ticketed' which happens for them when they are paid in full which is not the case for Air2Sea.

 

[DieselsCruzzzzin]

I know we are still over a year away but I saw that they added an excursion option for Copenhagen which looks like something that would be easy to do on your own. Who’s up for an insider bar crawl in Copenhagen
 

[CowboyMedic]

Anyone doing the 3-Night Bruges/Brussel, Belgium trip that is before this one? I just booked it. 11 nights cruising Europe.

[CowboyMedic]

We are flying into the UK a week before and exploring Scotland and Greater London. We'll do the 3 night to Belgium then continue on for a B2B. See y'all on the ship in June.

[AshleyDillo]

I just added on the 3nt before this cruise.  Now time to finally book my flights!

[Nothing but the Faix]

My Wife and I will be on Indy OTS for the cruise plus we booked the 3 nights to Bruge before the cruise for a B2B European trip.  Also, we will be celebrating our 30th anniversary on this trip.

[DieselsCruzzzzin]

I know we are still a few months away but is anyone planning on exchanging money before the cruise to bring with you? I would like to have a little cash on me in the local currency but going to need 4 additional different currencies  (euro, pounds, NOK, DKK). I’ll definitely be taking some euro and pounds but for Norway and Denmark I don’t think I would need much so debating if it’s even worth it…
 

Also, does anyone have experience in if any of these countries charge to use a restroom?!?