IOS Review Jan 17 2010 -- Woo hoo!

[LawnGuylandGirl]

Last fall we booked this trip on the IOS (Western Car; Jan 17-23) because we wanted to experience a big ship and spend a few winter days in the sun. Little did we know how terrific and timely a trip it would turn out to be! We had a nasty bout of H1N1 and pneumonia before the holidays and this trip helped us recover 100%.

 

The IOS is a beautiful, well-run, friendly ship. Despite sailing with a full capacity, we never waited in line, never were turned away, and never felt crowded.

 

The food is fine. Not great but not terrible either. There was always something I found to be enjoyable in the dining room. The Windjammer is nothing to write home about. Other than the salad bar and carving stations, the same old tired and limp trays were offered every day. But that is the ONLY negative on this ship, and there are so many choices and places to eat that it really did not matter.

 

Our balcony cabin was well-laid out and roomy enough. The shower is tiny! But the living space is more than adequate.

 

Staff, from the steward to the room service, could not be friendlier or more accommodating.

 

Spa services were lovely, even though the actual spa accommodations were rather spartan, more ike the waxing room at my local nail salon than a true spa. But the massage and facial was to-die-for and yes, you can negotiate with them.

 

I can't comment on many of the activities, because there were too many we didn't have time or inclination to avail ourselves of. The Flowrider, for instance, looks awesome, but it isn't something I would do even when well, no less recovering from pneumonia! But the shows were GREAT!! Especially the ABBA tribute and the Ice Show. I've seen a ton of ice shows and they aren't my favorite, but Strings (because it has a violin theme) was amazing.

 

We chose beach excursions on all stops and loved them all. On Belize we went to Bannister through RCCL and it was just lovely. Getting the tender directly from the ship made it totally hassle-free.

 

On Costa we did Maya Chan which we learned about through CC. If you find yourself in Costa --- go! What a relaxing day! After an interesting taxi ride around approximately 1000 potholes per mile, you arrive on a lovely beach where you are escorted to your own private area and then waited on hand and foot. Kudos to Mark and his lovely wife! They've done a great job! Food was good, drinks were plentiful and it really was like being their personal guests.

 

Cozumel is one of our favorite stops because of the Playa Maya but this year we decided to try Nachi Cocum, and we were not disappointed. It is quieter than Playa, but the beach is just as beautiful and the pool/jacuzzi

was terrific. If I had kids with me, I'd choose Playa because there are more activities for them. But Nachi was very relaxing for adults.

 

So on to the Hot Topics: yes, there were beach hogs. The Beach Patrol didn't do much of anything other than wander around and put post-its on lounges. But it wasn't too terrible. I never had a day when I could not find a lounge. Maybe it wasn't the in the first row right next to the pool, but it was close enough!

 

Formal days: There are 3600 passengers on this ship. If half of them get dressed up and the other half don't, who really cares? Honestly, I never saw anyone inappropriately dressed in any venue on any occasion. I think two formal nights on a six night cruise is overkill, but that's just me.

 

Selling (or over-selling): We never had a problem. I have enough pictures of me in my formal outfit and standing with a fake parrot on my shoulder to last a lifetime. So when a photo op would come up, I'd politely decline and got nothing other than smiles in return. We didn't get nagged for soda cards or anyting else. Never. And as far as the drink prices? I'm from NY! I wish I could get a Cosmo for under $10 here! It all seemed very fair to me.

 

So that's it. We were lucky in that our cruise was one week after the cold spell, and the weather was gorgeous. The ship and crew are marvelous. If you have any doubts about going on this ship and/or itinerary, don't worry about them! Book and then look forward to having a great time.

 

If I can answer any questions, please don't hesitate to ask. BTW, there was a CC Meet and Mingle which I fully intended to go to but after I got to the ship was unfortunately just too tired to attend due to my recovery. However, I met several other CC'ers from IOS and Grandeur which was in 2 ports on the same days, and just to reiterate what we all know: CC'ers ROCK!!

 

Enjoy, and be well!

 

G

[rollie]

Very nice review. One question, do you remember the name of the ABBA tribute group? Was it ABBA mania?

 

Rollie

[LawnGuylandGirl]

I'm thinking it was Abbacadabra.

[tracysue]

ok, maybe i missed this - did you eat in the main dining room, and how was it?

 

I'm glad it was great! YEA!!!!

[LawnGuylandGirl]

Nope, you didn't miss it --- I forgot to mention it!

 

We did eat My Time Dining. It was fine, though I'm not sure I would do it again. Or if I did, I'd do it differently. Staff was great, there was no wait, but I felt that we were shunted into a little corner of the upper dining room and our table was literally one inch from the tables next to ours. The area was brightly lit and sandwiched between two noisy wait stations.

 

The food was average. I've had better on cruises and I've had worse. I love RC's fruit soups, so as long as I have one of those every night, I'm pretty happy. I asked the waiter's recommendation every night and my meals were always enjoyable. We passed on all desserts other than the last night's key lime pie, which was very good. (For those of you who have lobster questions: I'm sorry, can't answer those. I am highly allergic to shellfish, woe to me!)

 

Hope that helps!

[The Viking]

It is always great to hear other 's experience for the cruises we have been on and can not agree more regarding the entertainment.

 

You write that the "Staff, from the steward to the room service, could not be friendlier or more accommodating". Have you been on other RCCL cruises and what do you think of the general friendliness of the staff? We felt it was below the "norm" expecially in public areas. We had great service in restaurants and room.

 

What time did you get off the ship? Heard that it was a nightmare mid morning.

[rollie]

Thanks for the reply. We've seen ABBA mania before, and they were awesome.

 

Rollie

[LawnGuylandGirl]

Hi, Viking! To answer your questions:

 

This is my 7th cruise, my traveling companion's 8th. We've done Princess, Holland America and RCCL.

 

I don't ask much of the staff in the public areas. If I want a drink and someone brings it to me, I'm good. I don't need or expect random staff on that size ship to be anything more than competent and polite and they certainly were.

 

We were "lavender" since we had an early flight, and we never even had to wait in the dining room! We got to the door, were told we were cleared to leave, and left! Could not be easier.

 

The airport was a madhouse, though. I am very glad we were there early as it was a bit unnerving when we arrived to find the SW line practically wrapped around the terminal ... security was crowded as well. But the lines moved, everyone was polite and patient, and we made our flight in plenty of time.

[emen822]

Thanks for the review. We are sailing in April but doing the Eastern. :D

 

How did you like the new menus? I love the cold soups too. :) And also loved Nachi when we went there.

 

I would love to see that Abba tribute band but just googled the name and the schedule shows they are going to be on the Freedom, which is the ship I originally had booked. :rolleyes: Oh well. We saw a Beatles tribute band once on a ship and they were phenomenal.

 

Glad you had a good time. Welcome home to the snow. :D

Mary

[carolinamom24]

Awesome Review.. especially the additional dining information..

 

I will be sailing with my family of 8 (ages 5-69) on IOS - February 28th..

 

So, 3 questions:

1. do you recall what type of food they served each day. We are trying to determine what days we should do specialty dining at Chops..

2. we booked Nachi for Cozumeland we have 2 kids (5 and 6). Do you think we should seriously consider changing it to Playa Maya? And that's through RCCL - right?

3. We don't have anything planned for Costa Maya and thinking of winging it. But after reading your review about Maya Chan - maybe we should look into it. Do you think it's a suitable area for my 5 and 6 year olds?

 

Thanks so much in advance!!

[aggie1]

Carolinamom24 - We took our family of 8 on a New Years cruise last year which included 2 granddaughters ages 2 and 7. We stopped in Cozumel and did the dolphin encounter for the girls and their parents. Booked directly thru Dolphin Discovery and it was awesome. It was also way cheaper than booking thru the ship. Ship was going to charge for the 2 yo but she was free (with a paying adult) when we booked directly. Easy to catch a cab for 8 of us. This was the highlight of the trip for the girls.

[Ocean Boy]

Thanks for the reply. We've seen ABBA mania before, and they were awesome.

 

Rollie

 

We saw Abbacadabra on Adventure last March. They were great. They do Abba better than Abba and they are quite funny too.

[LawnGuylandGirl]

Carolinamom,

 

1) I don't remember what they served on a particular day. But your first night out, you can ask your wait person for some advice, based on your particular preference. For instance, I love escargot and would not want to miss that night!

 

2) I thought Playa Maya was awesome for kids, and you can take a taxi there from outside the cruise port easily and much more affordably than from through the cruise line. But if you have the money, the dolphin adventure is a great idea, and I imagine a 5 and 6 year old would remember it for the rest of their lives!

 

3) Maya Chan is lovely, but there isn't too much specifically for the kids. If they are happy building sand castles and you want to just sit on the beach and watch them, this is the spot for you! But that might not be enough or an active 5 and 6 year old. There is a great cruise port area there that might be more to their liking --- but you should ask people with kids what they prefer to do.

[carolinamom24]

Carolinamom24 - We took our family of 8 on a New Years cruise last year which included 2 granddaughters ages 2 and 7. We stopped in Cozumel and did the dolphin encounter for the girls and their parents. Booked directly thru Dolphin Discovery and it was awesome. It was also way cheaper than booking thru the ship. Ship was going to charge for the 2 yo but she was free (with a paying adult) when we booked directly. Easy to catch a cab for 8 of us. This was the highlight of the trip for the girls.

 

Aggie1 - Thanks for the suggestion on the dolphin encounter.. I will definitely check it out espeically if it will save us some $$..:)

[carolinamom24]

Carolinamom,

 

1) I don't remember what they served on a particular day. But your first night out, you can ask your wait person for some advice, based on your particular preference. For instance, I love escargot and would not want to miss that night!

 

2) I thought Playa Maya was awesome for kids, and you can take a taxi there from outside the cruise port easily and much more affordably than from through the cruise line. But if you have the money, the dolphin adventure is a great idea, and I imagine a 5 and 6 year old would remember it for the rest of their lives!

 

3) Maya Chan is lovely, but there isn't too much specifically for the kids. If they are happy building sand castles and you want to just sit on the beach and watch them, this is the spot for you! But that might not be enough or an active 5 and 6 year old. There is a great cruise port area there that might be more to their liking --- but you should ask people with kids what they prefer to do.

 

LawnGuylandGirl:

Thanks for your reply.. I may just check out Playa Maya.. I just hate to bring up the subject that our family of 4 is considering something else and possibly cancelling out of our Nachi reservation. My brother in law did a lot of the leg work and I know my sister would be soo annoyed. But you know, if the kids are happy, than mommy and daddy are happy..

 

Also, in your review you mentioned the massage at the Spa was negotiable? Did I read that correctly? And if so, how exactly does that work? Do you just out right ask? or was the price negotiable because it was a non-sea day? Thanks!

[LawnGuylandGirl]

I'm sorry; I didn't mean that Nachi was not good for kids! I'm sure it will provide a wonderful time, too! Playa has MORE going on but that doesn't mean nothing is happening at Nachi. Maya Chan in Costa is not my first choice for kids but I am positive they'll have a good time at Nachi in Cozumel. Nachi is all-inclusive while Playa (last time I was there) wasn't necessarily. Both are easy to get to and back from; you don't need to go on a cruise tour if you don't want to. Just grab a cab outside the port. The prices are posted as well, so you don't have to worry about getting ripped off.

 

Yes, I did negotiate in the spa. I went the first day for a brief evaluation before booking a facial -- and before that I told the lovely young lady that I did not want a sales pitch, and she complied. After the eval, she told me what she recommended and I told her what I wanted to spend. We came to a very nice agreement which she cleared with her management and I gave her a very nice tip and we were all happy.

 

Couple of things: I was not fussy about the day or time of the treatment, so although it was on a sea day, they were able to fit me into an early slot which might have gone begging. I combined the facial with the massage so they were able to consolidate the treatments into a shorter time period. In other words, I was flexible so they were able to accommodate my needs and my purse. I hope it works out the same for you!

 

That being said, though, the beach clubs do have masseurs on the beach and they are very reasonable, so you might prefer to save some money and do that instead!

[carolinamom24]

Awesome Awesome!! Thanks for the clarification... You have been so helpful!! Reading your review is getting me excited.. February is just around the corner.. and I am counting the days down to our cruise and seeing the rest of my family from NY.

 

Have a wonderful weekend and stay warm.. I hear it's snowing up there!:D

[tracysue]

I know you were on the western cruise.... does anyone know - are there massages available when indy does the eastern? :rolleyes: nothing like a massage!!!!!

 

thanks all!