Nice! I'm on the cruise that gets back on the 14th!
I'll answer as many as I can
- You should be able to board from early afternoon-ish as people normally go to the windjammer for lunch on the first day. And on the last day you'll be told when to disembark for luggage ect.
- The entertainment should be great, I went on independence last year in may for 4 nights, and I only actually watched one show But my family said that they we're fantastic, so I think I'll be looking out for some good ones this year Also, there are two shows per night, one for early seating diners and one for the latter. There are some ice skating shows as well, but they aren't as frequent.
- Dining-wise; the main dining room is fantastic! The buffet is kinda busy most of the time, but you'll always get a seat and everything else. The only speciality restaurant I went to (Well, not really speciality ) Was johnny rockets, the american grill thing. But that was only like $6 pp and unlimited fries, onion rings (Not sure what happened here? ) and milkshakes ftw! And there's a pizza place on the promenade called sorrento's which is pretty decent too
- I'm not sure about excursions as they are pretty damn expensive. But look at what you will be doing and what suits most of the members in your group would be my advice.
- Finally, I really do recommend the unlimited soda fountain package. Its like $6/$7 a day and it is basically unlimited soda, like coke, sprite etc. But it will definitely add up in the end, as drinks are very expensive in my opinion.
But apart from that, all I can say is have fun!