jo24

The invite should definitely have been in your room if you were signed up. I'm surprised that nobody (ship staff) knew where it was.

On Independence, the location is usually listed as Pyramid Lounge but is frequently changed to the MDR - this happened to us in May but we received the invitation so knew. It's a shame you missed out on it. Ours was run by Activities Manager Tim Connor, so the activities staff would have known where it was during your cruise.

Hi carmensmom - we are new to RCI as well and will be on the IOS next Monday - after coming here with almost the exact same question...we have booked a cabin on the 6th deck right in the middle of the bump. I will come back here with my review, views etc. We've been on 10 cruises prior but never on RCI. I am sure we will have a lovely time - once we get used to finding out where things are etc. In addition, this will be our first time out on a ship of this size. I believe I may have looked at every single video on youtube and feel as if I have a fairly good handle of where things are located.

 

I can say this about RCI thus far - we made all of our reservations through them directly. I am very impressed with the service I have received. If the service on the ship is of the same calibre, we are going to be just fine.

 

Ciao,

Eileen

Have a great cruise on IOS! I sailed on her for the first time in May and will be back on in November and I just can't wait. I'll be really interested to read what you think of the ship.

From what I have read it is a dance party of sorts where everyone has wireless headphones on and can sometimes choose from different music channels. It means nobody else in the room, without the headphones, can hear the music.

Must be quite amusing to watch actually!

Yes, there is the Connoisseur Club on Deck 5 on Independence of the Seas. There is also 'events' held for cigar smokers, such as outdoor 'Cigars Under The Stars' but this is not always guaranteed.

Wow, great first RCCL ship - mine was Allure :)

I can thoroughly recommend any show in the AquaTheater, the new broadway show should be well worth it and also if there is an ice show. There are brilliant parades in the Royal Promenade. Definitely go to Park Cafe - they do great made to order salads and roast beef (kummelweck) sandwiches (this is included in your cruise fare). In 7 nights it is highly unlikely you will see everything!!

JW_Concierge@rccl.com

There is an underscore between JW and Concierge :)

Definitely contact the concierge. They should be able to help or let you know exactly what to do. If you don't receive a reply, then go straight to shore excursions when you get on board and speak to them.

Have a great cruise :)

I don't think that it is too far. Essentially you are walking the length of the boardwalk and that never seemed too far to me.

You will be in a great location to watch the shows in the AquaTheater and people watch from the balcony.

Obviously the balcony has no privacy - people from the boardwalk/aquatheater can look up and the people on the opposite side will be able to see straight across and in but this may not be a concern to you.

You will have a great cruise, Allure is amazing!

Also from UK, so I get what you are saying ;)

I cruised mid-November and the weather was great. Wasn't ridiculously hot, so was great for sunbathing or taking trips. There was one day in St Thomas that is was too humid for me but out of the whole trip, that wasn't too bad.

Hoping the Concierge in IOS gets with us about Barefoot Beach for Labadee.

Currently it is Raj on IOS and he seems very good with communication. However, he is long overdue for vacation so not sure who his replacement will be. If you don't get an email, just send one to them, they will be more than happy to help :)

I am currently 3 for 3 with concierge emails. Whilst I got emails before my 2 Allure cruises, that is where the service stopped... Nizar Laatiri was amazing on IOS in May. Should hopefully be getting my email for IOS in about 3 weeks, so will be able to see if it is still Raj or not!

I'm not honestly sure Allure has 'quieter' weeks! I have sailed on her 3 times - November, May and August. I agree with Sherri914 that the first couple of weeks of November were great (I sailed 11th November) but didn't notice much difference on any of the weeks - I had a great time each time!

The email just about covers everything you are entitled to. Just remember that the concierge is there to make your cruise even better. They can help with dinner reservations, ice show tickets if needed, shore excursions, spa treatments etc. Don't forget the nightly happy hour for drinks before or after dinner!

Kkross - Yes, usually about a week before you sail you will get an email from the concierge letting you know what they are there to help with!

I noticed on the docs for my upcoming cruise it said... 'Please note that the maximum limit for luggage for your cruise is 200lbs (90KG) per guest.' The people taking any 'extra' items must be worried now! :p ;)

There is no way to know for definite at the moment. The link Bob has given is where Donna keeps an up to date list, so best thing to do is keep an eye on that for the most updated info :)

I definitely can on the RCI UK website - can make whole or part payment - both are in the same location. I also booked direct with RCI.

Had no problem in May having them opened on Independence - had 3 GS's in a row; so one enormous balcony! They were opened before we sailed out of Southampton by our stateroom attendants.

Learned a new English word today!:)

No problem! I'm gutted every time a ship leaves port without me hence why I said what I did to OP!! ;)

Personally, I wouldn't cancel.

I have cruised during hurricane season and had the best weather out of the 4 of my cruises! The previous year, similar week, there was a hurricane... You just never know.

Also, I'm not sure what the issue with being re-routed is. I know you won't be going where you booked but regardless, you are on a cruise!

If you cancel and the weather is perfect, you would be gutted.

I just received an welcome email from Nizar Laatiri stating he is the Concierge for the suite/D+/P CL lounge on the Serenade of the Seas. That came out of left field. Mario had mentioned two others he thought may be replacing him.

 

From what I've read Nizar has held previous positions as the Diamond concierge. Everyone seems to like him a lot and say he is very hard working.

 

Does anyone know what his nationality is? Any photos out there?

Nizar was our suite concierge on Independence in May. The day we got off he moved to Explorer. If I remember correctly, he is Tunisian.

I cannot say enough good things about him - he is superb! He made my cruise in May. He was hopeful to return to Independence in time for the TA in November, so whilst I am very sad he won't be there, you will be well looked after :)

I remember reading some previous reviews of people below venues and of course, there was some noise. Some people were quite bothered by the level of noise and some said it wasn't too intrusive.

I guess it depends on how much noise bothers you, how well you sleep etc. Could you look at moving to somewhere that isn't below a venue like this?

I'd strongly suggest doing a search of your cabin for both Allure and Oasis (as they will be identical) and looking for actual reviews. There are also cabin reviews on http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1223724 If you search for your cabin or ones near it, you might find some more info.

This close to sailing it may well be full... or it may be another IT glitch! My advice would be to keep checking.

Alternatively, I would book as soon as you are on the ship as some seats are held back for reservations.

Have a great cruise!

Oh I do hope you do Anthem from Southampton, not just for another fantastic review but because you will be sailing from my closest cruise port! I live an hour from Southampton so would be great to see your take on things :)

Thanks so much for taking the time to do this review. It is great that overall you had such a good experience.

Jewel is my 'target' ship for 2016 and after reading your review, I wish it was sooner!

Thanks again :)

That's right that Explorer sails from Southampton in 2015... but, in 2016, she will be operating in Asian and Australien waters, so Explorer needs a replacement as well.

For 2016, I thought about Navigator, Freedom or Indy from Southampton, together with a Quantum Class ship (either Ovation or Anthem)...

IMHO it is very likely that Adventure stays in San Juan year-round...

I'm aware that Explorer should have a replacement and as I said, I doubt it would be Independence but I would love it to be a Freedom class.

Like Langley Cruisers, I don't think that there is a separate check in for Gold C&A but this can vary. However, groups boarding together is never usually a problem.

Have a great cruise!