We booked 2 cabins, category E1, both on deck 7 with balcony for my husband and myself rooming with our 20 yr old son while our daughter, age 23, and her fiancé shared the other cabin. Roomy balcony space for 2, but the cabin was small for 3 adults with the extra bed being a pullout from the wall which hung over the bed. Not a good configuration since both my husband and I hit our heads on the bed above at one point or another. (If possible, upgrade to a better room category with a sofa bed--there aren't many in the E1 category). It took about an hour to completely check-in (we got there at 12:30 p.m.); our room key worked fine but my daughter's room key did not and the issue did not get resolved until the evening of the first day. After 3 trips to the guest relations desk, a workman fixing the lock, 2 trips accompanied by the RCI worker, and a visit by the supervisor, they wound up with a master key until that evening. My understanding is that 1/3 of the rooms were having some sort of a key issue (not sure what that was about or if it is normal for RCI). Compensation wound up to be 2 hrs. of comp. internet--they tried to use the free drink compensation but it was definitely too much of a hassle to settle for just that. Luckily, that was the only problem for the remainder of the cruise.

We chose this ship for its amenities since my husband likes more entertainment options while the younger adults like more activities, and the ship did not disappoint. The kids took Flow Rider lessons (although it was a group lesson, each one had a significant amount of private time on the water with an instructor). My husband loved the music options (he loves rock and more upbeat music), while the young adults loved the disco--age 18+ can enjoy. Open ice skating was also enjoyed by the "youngsters". A unique amenity (at least for our family) was the Promenade with all the shops and several eating establishments--not so choppy as on some other cruise ships. However, the general lack of main elevators made wait times difficult, especially on "at sea" days.

One thing I particularly appreciated about this ship was the response of the security personnel--one evening I couldn't locate my 20 yr old (it was after 4:30 a.m. and completely unlike him to not leave a note or let us know what was happening). After 2 trips around the ship with no sight of him I talked to someone at the desk who promptly printed out his photo and had 3 security personnel looking for him (they found him within 20 min.) Thank you RCI for a professional and prompt response to an anxious situation. Read more