This was only our second sailing with RCI although we have done several Med cruises from Southampton with other lines. The embarkation was the smoothest I have ever encountered, there were plenty of staff around to help and the queue was non-existent, before we knew it we were boarding the ship.
We were told our rooms would be ready at about 2pm so we grabbed a snack from the Windjammer and enjoyed a peaceful hour sat near the pool people watching. The announcement about the rooms being available came earlier than the predicted 2pm which was a nice surprise.
We had originally booked a Grand suite as our teenage son was going to be sharing with us and I knew I would find an ordinary balcony stateroom too small but at the last minute his older sister decided to join us so they ended up with an inside stateroom along the corridor and all of a sudden my husband and I had the luxury of a Grand suite all to ourselves! Our cabin was obviously very spacious although the balcony was much smaller than is offered with a GS on IOS. However I liked the fact that it was enclosed and private even though it was smaller although having one sunbed did seem a bit odd. Unfortunately, although our stateroom was clean it was obviously in need of a refurb. One of the sinks leaked badly in to the cupboard underneath, something I didn't discover until my toiletries were all soaked. On closer inspection I realised that the back of the cupboard was quite rotten so it had obviously been a problem for a while. The air-conditioning in the bathroom also leaked so we had to keep towels on the floor to prevent accidental slips. The kettle would only work if we stood there holding the button in all the time and opening and closing the drawers required muscles of steel and was so noisy I felt sorry for anyone underneath us. On top of this the soft furnishings and headboard were badly stained and there were a few nicks out of the furniture.