Cabin Review

I stayed in cabin 3186, an Ocean View grade, on the third deck (the lowest passenger deck). I booked it because of the reasonable rate, an amidships position, on a low deck, creating maximum stability.

The cabin was quite spacious with it double bed near the window. The cabin next door had its bed nearer the door, so I assume the layout alternates. A sofa converted into another bed.

The bathroom was a little bigger than most standard ones on other ships and the shower was pretty spacious. It had a glass door which avoids having to wrestle with a shower curtain during your ablutions. RCI have done away with shampoo dispensers in the shower and now provide bottled products which is so much more up-market.

One neat feature is that the bathroom has a night light permanently on, inside. It is Ideal for those that need to make nocturnal visits.

A kettle was provided, which for Brits is arguably the most important innovation of them all. However only tea bags and milk were provided, there were no coffee sachets. Maybe the American’s have read that us Brits all drink tea?

Something which did amuse me on this ‘smart’ ship was the simple way to alert your cabin steward that your room needs cleaning. You simply stick a magnetic sign to the outside of the door. In contrast NCL have a system switches and lights on some of their ships, for this. RCI’s have chosen a low-tech solution.

The safe was quite small and is probably not big enough for large cameras or Laptops etc.

The interactive TV allows you to check your account etc. However my one had a mind of its own jumping between menu-screens, on occasions, all by itself.

Although it did display your on-board account and expenditure, in an itemised form, it did not display a total. Unless you are good at maths, you only find out the accurate total when a paper statement comes through your door on the final morning. How cunning of RCI.

There was a mini-bar fridge.

The wardrobe was quite small. Storing two people’s cloths for a two week cruise would be a challenge. It had an upper and lower rail to maximize space: however this was not a very useful feature when handing women’s long dresses or long coats. Just eight coat hangers were provided for two persons.

The cabin would have really benefited from a few coat hooks.

The cabin air conditioning was the most noisy that I have heard on a new ship. I had to turn it to low in the night, to reduce the noise which had been keeping me awake. Fortunately we were not cruising in a hot climate.

The ship is full of piped muzak, including the stateroom corridors, even at 1.00 am in the morning. How annoying.