Tradman

In reference to the Jaded comment- we sailed her for the first time in November 2016 and loved it. It was our third cruise ever, with our first being on Monarch OTS and our second being Carnival Fascination. I will say, it was good being back on RCCI. As you can see, IOTS was our first BIG ship. Was very cool.

I called to check on something two days ago and asked the rep if he had any updates on the dry dock. He stated that it looked like a big refurb was scheduled.

Lastly, according to some deck site I found online, it shows Labyrinth being changed to Raven. I guess it's still gonna be a club?

I'm thinking that the Freestyle machines wont be installed on IOTS because according to a feature about the Freestyle machines, they are only available on ships that are State-side (unless this is being updated, which I really hope it is).

I'd really like to know if IOTS will be getting slides and what new restaurants my RCCI employee was referring to (he did not know specifics).

Any more news on this drydock and what to expect? We booked yesterday for the Thanksgiving 2018 sailing and the RCCI agent said that there would be several new restaurants on board.

Troy,

I'm not a constant cruiser, and so I do not know all the ins and outs of all of these kinds of matters. I had never seen such a request before but I have friends who cruise all the time who also had never heard of this (on RCCL). As such, my request for info was not to abuse anyone or any policy, but to better determine how to plan my day prior to arriving at the terminal. I agree- this could potentially make the boarding process smoother, but I also do not want to board later than what is possible if it's something that is no big deal.

Haha. Thanks guys!

Hmmm...

Well, this is what they sent:

"This is Royal Caribbean with important information regarding your sailing on November 19th onboard Independence of the Seas. In order to enhance your check-in experience and ensure a smooth boarding process we ask that you arrive to the terminal based on your assigned deck.

DECK 9 & 10: 1:00 PM - 1:30 PM

DECK 8: 1:30 PM - 2:00 PM

DECK 7: 2:00 PM - 2:30 PM

DECK 6: 2:30 PM - 3:00 PM

DECK 2 &3: 3:00 PM - 3:30 PM"

We are booked for this coming weekend, November 19th on IOTS. I got an email with boarding times for our deck at 2-2:30pm.

Is this hard and fast, or a suggestion? In all the cruises I've taken in the past I've never seen this before- basically if you got there around 11 am you'd simply line up at the terminal and get on board when you made your way to the check in desk.

We will already be in the area- should we not arrive at the terminal before 1:30 or so?

Sorry it took so long to reply- I set it up to send me instant email notification when a reply was made but I did not get one.

Anyway, we are set up for 7667 right now, which looks to be a pretty good central location. Of the two cruises we took before, we loved inside because it's DARK and allows us to sleep well when the sun comes up and we have no plans.

However that being said, because there are me and my wife and a 4 and 8 year-old, the possibility of the outside room being bigger with a sofa couch is enticing. However, being a guarantee, the rep at RCCL could not say what it would be.

I called to see what perks may be available on Independance of the Seas 5 night coming up and the lady offered me a complimentary upgrade from Inside to a Guarantee Ocean View. She said it would be either deck 2, 3, or fwd 6, 7, 9, 10 but MOST were on 2 and 3. We are currently booked into a mid-ship inside room on deck 7.

This will be the first time our girls age 4 and 8 will cruise. We'd like the slightly more room but I've never done a guarantee before.

Thoughts?

I too had the same questions- we are driving down the night before the Nov 19 sailing on Independance and had read about free parking at the hotel you stay at the night before. Is this a good thing or is it safer to simply pay and park at the port's parking? We are a family of 2 parents and 2 young girls under age of 8.

Thank you so much for the review. There's tons of reviews on here for so many trips, but another one is still always helpful- at least in my opinion. We are trying to decide between taking our 2 and 5 year olds on a Disney cruise (first cruise ever for either of them) or waiting another couple of years so that the 2 year old is 3 or 4, and in the mean time take a RCL trip.

Thanks again!

Enjoying your review very much. We've been on two cruises ourselves (my wife and I- RC Monarch and Carnival Fascination) and are looking to book a Dream cruise for our two little ones (2 and 5). This has been a great insight into book with such young ones.

My question doesn't pertain to only the Fantasy, but more to Dream or Magic and I would wager a bet that in actuality, the answer to my question pertains to all the Disney ships.

Question: If we take our little one before she turns 3, will we have to pay for her time in the nursery? IOW, it's my understanding that the kids clubs start at age 3. What kind of day programs are available for toddlers that are under age 3 but are not infants? (She walks, talks and will likely be potty trained before our cruise).

Thanks!

Thank you so much for the prompt replies and photos! That's very helpful. It appears that these areas are in a shaded zone, which is good for young ones' skin.

Thanks again!

Yes, I just came to the realization that Magic was docked this past Fall as I had really wanted to sail on Dream, but now Im more open to Magic knowing there were some nice updates made.

Thanks!

That's what I was thinking, but wanted to be sure since I havent yet seen any photos of that particular area.

Thanks for your reply!

Hi guys

My wife and I are strongly considering Disney Dream or Magic sometime between Spring Break and Summer. We have a 5 year old and a child who will be 2 when this cruise takes place.

Many, many factors are swaying us toward Disney whom we've never cruised with before. In fact, we've only cruise CCL last summer (2013) and then RCI (Monarch) in 2009, and none of these with our children.

I understand why little ones that are not potty trained cannot go in the pools, but with swim diapers on do they have access to another water play area on Dream or Magic?

Thanks!