joromay

I had an aft junior suite on the Rhapsody for my Alaska cruise in 2014. The cabin was nice, but the balcony was huge!!!! The only perk was that we got expedited boarding, but other than that, it is not considered a "suite" and you don't get the perks that come with a regular suite bookings. If you need extra room, then change, but for me, I would probably keep what I have.

Thanks everyone! Very helpful.

 

 

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I was just wondering if anyone knows if there is a way to find out how full the ship will be? I'm going on the Anthem of the Seas on July 28, so I'm sure it will be booked solid, but is there any way to find out? Just trying to get a sense on how packed it will be. Thanks all! We can't wait!

With all that said, if that sounds like a nightmare situation to you, you should not sail out of New Jersey... you should fly to Miami and sail from there. You'll find a cruise out of Miami (or New Orleans, or Galveston, or any of those southern ports) will tend to be hugely smoother (in terms of ocean conditions) than a cruise out of Bayonne/Boston/New York etc. would be.[/size][/color]

 

My very first cruise was through the Panama Canal; starting in San Diego and returning to Miami. I commented to my husband that the Pacific Ocean was very aptly named because I never felt the motion of the ocean until we crossed into the Atlantic. I have no fear, I was just curious and more worried for my friends than for myself. You know when you recommend a restaurant to friends because it's your favorite, and they didn't like it? Well, that's the situation I'm in since four of them have never cruised before and the other one cruised once about 25 years ago!

 

In any case, I think we'll have a great time, but just wanted to check on that. Thanks for your review and your response, and I can't wait for my vacation!

These are great! Thanks so much! She can't wait!!!

Thank you for the wonderful video. Anthem will be our fifth cruise and third with RCI (Vision and Rhapsody) but the first for friends that we invited. After the storm and the norovirus my friends were ready to cancel but ended up deciding to stick with us. We sail in 65 days and can't wait! I've read so many negative reviews that your naming them the best ship after 35 cruises leads me to believe we made the right choice and my friends will be happy. Here's hoping for a great cruise. Just curious, I've heard that you can really feel the motion on this ship. Did you find that to be true?

65 more days before we cruise and I can't wait! Does anyone know if you can pre-register kids for the kids club or is that done on board? Also, does anyone have a compass with daily kids' activities. Disney had a separate compass for the kids, not sure if RCI does as well. Thanks all!

Thank you both; very helpful to know! My daughter is very excited!

Thanks so much! I was hoping this could be reserved ahead of time to avoid having to stand in line, but it is what it is! You mention "sold out;" I thought this was free?

Booked for AOS the end of July and cannot figure out how to make a reservation for the Circus School. Does anyone know how this works? I have booked all the other activities, but can't seem to find this one. Thanks; we are really excited about our cruise and can't wait. This cruise is to celebrate my daughter's birthday and she is really looking forward to Circus School.

It is possible that it is already booked because I made reservations for my July 28 sailing. Good luck!

Thanks so much! She is really excited about it!

I was wondering if anyone knows how you communicate with the kids club? Do they give you a beeper or other form of communication device to let you know if there is a problem or if child wants to leave? My child is 9 and will not be checking herself out so I was just wondering how this would work. Thanks!

Thank you so much for taking the time to give such useful tips. I was wondering if you had experience with the kids club. My specific question is about how you communicate with the club for younger children. On Disney they gave us a phone. Just wondering what they're doing on Anthem. Thanks and glad you had such a great time. We're going in July and I can't wait

Truly, you guys are the best! Thank you so much for all the helpful information. I have rethought our decision and will not buy the package unless my drinking habits go up substantially!:):cool:

Thank you both so much. This is very helpful!!!

Booked on Anthem for July and have been debating whether or not to get a drink package or pay as we go. We are not big drinkers but will enjoy a glass of wine or two with dinner. I like premium coffees and maybe the drink of the day. Does anyone have a sense for how much these cost on board so that we can figure out which would work best for us? Thanks!

Hi I was wondering if you could give me a sense for prices of drinks (beer, frozen drink, wine by glass, premium coffee) because I'm debating whether or not I will need a package. Thanks!

Thanks for the followup on Seattle Shuttle ! Glad they worked out for you. Ill have to check them out.

 

Are you doing a trip review on the Alaska forum? or did you put it on the REVIEWS forum?

 

 

I posted it on the Alaska forum thread you started; hope you like it and thanks for starting that!

Here's my review on ROS; had a wonderful time! Only thing I neglected to add on the review is that embarkation and debarkation were a breeze! We were on board before 11 am and when we got to our cabin at 1 pm, our luggage was already there waiting for us. Debarkation was just as easy with us walking off the ship by 7:30 am. I had so much angst about this trip before I left because I had read quite a few negative reviews, but I have to say I really enjoyed the Rhapsody. I don't think service is quite as good as it was when I went on the Vision of the Seas in 2001, but it was still very good and I have no complaints whatsoever. I think what we're seeing on cruise ships is just a sign of the times with cutbacks, etc. Plus, I think crew members work very hard and sometimes people just forget to acknowledge that they are hardworking people, away from their families for months at a time, trying to do their job while we're enjoying ourselves. In any case, enjoy my trip report and enjoy the Rhapsody, we sure did! http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=259579

Fabulous pictures! We just got back from Rhapsody of the Seas, and we did the railway which was absolutely fabulous. Your pictures are just amazing!!!! Thanks for sharing!

We just got back from the Rhapsody of the Seas and my 7 year old LOVED Adventure Ocean. In fact, that's all she wanted to do. They had some great activities for them and she never wanted to leave. We even took advantage of their after hours program (10 pm - 2 am) for an hour and half one night and it was worth the $10.50 they charged. They were either pirates parading around the ship that night or a pajama party (I can't remember). Anyway, as someone mentioned, they all have programs, but in my experience, Disney and RCI probably have the best ones.

We just got off the Rhapsody of the Seas on Friday with an 11:15 am flight from SeaTac. We did self-assist and were off the ship by 7:30 a.m. and our shuttle service got us to the airport by 8:30 a.m. We were very lucky that there was little traffic, but I can see how it can be very hectic. If you can get off the ship early and have your shuttle service or taxi leave the pier by 8 or 8:30 am, you should have no problem making that 12:15 pm flight.

I just got off this ship on Friday and debarkation was a breeze! You will get a piece of paper in your cabin a few days before asking how you want to get off; if you want to take your luggage with you, you will check walk off with no assist and the day before departure, you will get another piece of paper that tells you which group and what time. We were in Group A, Section 6 and just walked off the ship at 7:30 a.m. We were a group of 11, and I scheduled with Seattle Shuttle for both arrival and departure pick-ups. They were wonderful and I would highly recommend them. But make a reservation because it can be crazy out there on the pier, especially on departure day. There are plenty of cabs around, but I found the cabs in Seattle to be very small, so you will probably not fit four people in one cab with suitcases. There are plenty of cabs around, but for you, the shuttle service is better as they will charge you about $10 per person whereas the cab will be about $50 per cab.

I submitted a member's review, but I may do a follow-up since I forgot to discuss embarkation and debarkation which were a total breeze! I had stressed so much about this and it was no problem! We were on board by 10:30 am, in our room by 1 pm (with luggage waiting outside the room when we first got there) and we walked off ship with our luggage by 7:30 am. Absolutely no problems whatsoever!