We were on the January 9 sailing of the IOS. We love the cruise vacation and are avid readers of this site for information and hints. This is my first review, and I am posting because this was our first time taking our son (age=almost 4). We chose this ship after sailing on the Liberty last year. DH loved the flow rider and we found the ship to be very family friendly. It did not disappoint. We specifically waited until DS was at least 3 and potty trained so he could participate in the kids club. I worried after reading a post about how strict they were with the potty training- seriously, what 3 year old can wipe their own butt? We had prepared him to ask the counselor to call us if he had to go #2, but it never really became an issue. The kids club was great! RCCL does a poor job of describing it on their website, but lucky for you I am going to share. They have separate areas for each age group with age appropriate toys, computers, art, and games. The first evening they have an open house for kids and parents to explore. When you enroll your child they give you a cell phone to use for the week in case they need to contact you. (Only works on the ship- keep in mind if you go off ship for excursion). Starting the following day, they have a separate compass listing all the activities and times for the kids club. There are basically 3 groups of time (morning, afternoon, evening) but the beautiful thing is you can come and go as needed. We did not use the club during the day. We went to H2O zone or off the ship on port days, and DS still naps so we went back to room for nap in afternoon. We did use club every evening (7-10pm). DS loved it and we appreciated the adult time. I was impressed with all the stuff they did with the kids and the free things they gave them (nowadays they charge you for everything!). they got a stuffed octopus, a hooded towel, a pillowcase, and a bandanna. I should mention they also have a kids dining program. This is mixed ages and limited space (I think you have to sign up each day and the sheet is only avail 24 hours ahead of time...). They take the kids to Johnny Rockets. We thought DS was too young for that. Our plan for dinner was to have early seating (an adjustment since we have always done late). We took DS to dinner with us and then I ran him up to kids club at 7pm. This worked well with some help from our head waiter. Our waiter was very good, but didn't have children (he was a newlywed). I couldn't get him to bring DS's food quickly (he would serve it with the adult entrEes). With some help from the head waiter we got into a groove and I was able to get him fed and upstairs at 7pm. As far as the kids menu, it didn't change every nite like ours. It did have decent variety and you could ask for things not on there too. I requested a bunch of grapes for DS to munch on as an appetizer each nite. That kept him busy.

On sea days, we like to be out at the pool and this time was no different- well, except that we were at the H20 zone this time... getting deck chairs was never a problem. I didn't get to lounge much anyway, since I had to keep an eye on DS. The pools on this class of ship are fresh water but boy-o-boy chilly! Even the kids were cold! I was glad I brought his long sleeve swim shirt! DS liked to jump in the hot tub to warm up. The hot tubs were not super hot- I assume for the kids.

Port days were a pleasant surprise. I wasn't expecting to do much since DS was too young for any of the organized excursions. We also did not bring a car seat, so we ruled out some of the things we usually do (love orient beach but it is on opposite side of island- long, questionably safe cabride...). On St.Maarten we took the water taxi to town. Got off at the first stop and walked to the beach right there. I don't remember it being that nice on previous visits, but they really did some work. Soft sand, good seashell hunting, view of the ship. The water did have a 2 foot drop off but once he got his first taste of salt water, DS adjusted and all was good. it was an easy day and lots of fun. I wish we had brought some sand toys but I had decided they took too much room. Next time I will make room! We also have been less than impressed in the past with Labadee. We usually go right once off the ship to the beach by the jet skis. Not a very nice beach. This time we went left and parked ourselves at the 2nd beach (I think it was called Barefoot beach). Wonderful. Fabulous. Great view of ship. Nice sand. Water was much more graduated and DS could walk out quite far. This beach is small so get there early for a good spot. We didn't stay for BBQ. Went back to ship and ate at Johnny Rockets. Oh- This might be a good place to also mention San Juan. I did a little shopping but we sometimes don't even get off here as we are not big gamblers. The big coup this trip we discovered was dining at Portofino that nite. We made our reservation for 7:15 so I could get DS in kids club (no kids in specialty dining). Portofino was empty so we had extra special service. They said on San Juan nite the crowd is typically later cuz people are ashore. Didn't think about that! The added bonus was we had a table by the window and were enjoying our dessert, watching the glorious view as we departed San Juan. Highly recommend! Read more