My wife, ten year old granddaughter and I sailed with RCI for the first time on October 19, 2008. We had previously sailed on Diamond Princess (30 days), HAL's Volendam (14 days) & Statendam (14 days).
The first impression of the ship docked at Circular Quay in Sydney was WOW!!!!!. We went on board a little earlier than the advertised 1530. There was no waiting at Customs or at the ship's check in counter. I had previously completed the on line Sail away pass. We were on board within 10 minutes of arriving at the dock. Brilliant.
We had upgraded at the last minute from a balcony state room on 7 deck to a junior suite on 8 deck. For the extra few dollars we had much more state room space, a refrigerator & pay mini bar (free on HAL) a bath tub as well as a shower & a larger balcony. For us, money well spent. The state room was well presented & clean on our arrival.