Rhapsody 6/11/10 Review - Alaska

[CruisingBunny]

First cruise review...loved it so much I couldn't resist! Fair warning - lots of photos here!

 

(Pre-cruise in Seattle):

So we flew out of OIA and ended up arriving in Seattle in the late afternoon. We were so glad we decided to fly out a day before the cruise because our connecting flight ended up being 2 hours late and had that have been cruise day we would have missed the ship! We stayed at The Maxwell Hotel which I really liked and would definitely stay there again if we ever go out to Seattle in the future. The staff was nice and was very helpful in getting us cabs, answering questions about the city, giving directions, etc. Here's a photo of our room and the view out our window.

 

We had dinner reservations at the Space Needle so we headed over there and went up to the viewing deck (which is free if you are eating dinner there). Our buzzer thingy (indicating our table was ready) went off right away so we quickly looked around and snapped some photos then headed down to dinner. The view was amazing and dinner was expensive but fabulous. Here are some photos of our entrees (Vegetable Gateau & Oven Roasted Jidori Chicken) and a drink I got (the Mt. Rainer). Everything was delicious!

 

 

We headed back to the hotel to relax for the night since we were planning on getting up early to see the city a bit before boarding the ship. Here's a night shot of the Space Needle from our hotel room.

[CruisingBunny]

Day 1: Seattle/boarding the Rhapsody:

Got up and took a taxi to Pike's Market which was pretty cheap, I think about $6-8 bucks. Loved the atmosphere there. Here are some pics I took there.

 

 

I did buy a peach from the market and it was wonderful. We then walked over to Seattle's Best Coffee even though we aren't really coffee drinkers we wanted to try a "local" place. Workers there were friendly and the coffee was good.

 

So we walked all through the downtown for a while which was really nice. Weather was cool and overcast - just like we like it! I would love to live there! Took the monorail back towards the Space Needle area and then walked back over to the hotel where we packed up all our stuff and grabbed a taxi over to the port. Boarded the ship early and grabbed lunch in the Windjammer. It was extremely crowded and we ended up sitting at an outside table by the pool area. We tried the Honey Stung Chicken since everyone on here raves about it and an assortment of other things. Walked around and checked out the ship before headed to our room - a standard balcony. Here is a photo:

 

We hung out on deck as we sailed away and snapped some photos of the city.

 

Went down to the casino for the gaming lessons which was fun. Went to the Welcome Aboard show that was kind of boring. Our last cruise was Freedom last year and the entertainment here wasn't nearly as good. I remember going to all the shows on Freedom but we skipped quite a few this cruise. Also went to the MDR this night although I forgot my camera and don't remember that much else! Both our waiter and assistant waiter (Noel & Edin) were really nice and answered all of our nosey questions about ship life and the ports.

[CruisingBunny]

Day 2 (At Sea):

Woke up in the morning....feeling nauseated. DH felt okay so I thought maybe I just needed some food in my stomach. Headed up the WJ and could hardly stand it because the boat the rocking so much. Back and forth, up and down, it was horrible. I've been on two cruises before this (one of which I remember having very bad weather) and I've never gotten sick before. Went back to the cabin and DH started not feeling so good either. Took some Bonine (same as meclizine) that I had purchased at home just in case. It didn't help at all. We both went back to bed. We had overheard someone saying that the Pursers desk was "giving out the patches like candy" so went down there to get one. But no, they said they don't do patches so we got some packets of the free meclizine they were handing out. I felt so bad that DH called the medical facility and they said all the could do was give an injection or a suppository. I took more meclizine. It made me extremely drowsy so I slept some more. At some point towards the evening we were feeling a little better so we ordered room service - some chicken noodle soup that wasn't that great and also the Honey Stung Chicken with Sweet Potato Fries which was good.

 

 

We skipped the MDR and shows this night and basically "slept it off" and prayed that the whole cruise wouldn't be this way! My mom went to the MDR and said it was practically empty.

[CruisingBunny]

Day 3: Juneau

Thankfully we woke up today feeling okay and the weather was much better. I think we docked around 11am and we headed down since we had one of the first times for a Gold Panning excursion. It was raining and there were a TON of people crowded around the area trying to find their excursion. I thought it was really disorganized. We found a person holding the sign for our excrusion and she said to just "stand over there". So we waited and waited. And luckily DH heard someone call for the excursion (I was listening and didn't hear it because there were so many people and it was loud) so we hurried over to the motorcoach and boarded. The excursion was pretty good - we actually panned for gold in river and there were a few locals there doing the same.

 

 

We both found some gold and put it into our little plastic vials. Before we knew it, it is was time to head back. The bus driver stopped in the town to let anyone off who wanted to shop do so and took everyone else back to the ship. We walked around for a while. Found a gelato place that was really good.

 

We decided we hadn't seen enough of Juneau so we walked over to the Mt. Roberts Tramway building and decided to use their shuttle over to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was more expensive than the ones offered in little booths in that same area (it was $19/pp) but I read about a bad experience someone had on here where they had trouble getting back to the ship. It was already getting later in the afternoon so we didn't want to risk it. It was a nice drive and the girl driving the bus pointed out some scenic things along the way. I'm very glad we decided to do this - we got some good pics of the glacier and saw a little more of Juneau than just the immediate town by the ship. Here are some photos of the Mendenhall glacier we took.

 

Since we had been on our excursions we sorta missed lunch so we stopped by a creperie - DH got the lemon, and I got the nutella. It was hard to choose because the whole menu sounded so good. Also at some point while in town, I found the DI and picked up my free Juneau charm (a polar bear).

 

 

 

After that we walked back to the ship, which docked at the furthest point from town. Not sure if that is where it always docks or if it is a first come first serve type thing. Everyone kept saying (even the CD on the ship) that the Mt. Roberts Tramway, town, etc was "right off the ship". I would say that it was at least a 15-20 min walk (and we walk fairly quickly) from the dock to the beginning of "town". Just an FYI in case anyone is crunched for time. Of course you can always take a shuttle but we didn't want to pay any extra and were trying to burn off some calories for all the desserts we had been eating!

[CruisingBunny]

Day 4: Skagway

We had an early excursion this morning - the Yukon White Pass Railway - which was at 8:30am. It was a lot of fun, we boarded the train and they narrated pretty much the whole thing. You are also able to get out of your seats and go outside on the platform to take photos which DH and I did off and on the whole ride. Lots of great photos from this excursion but they really don't do it justice - it's just one of those things you need to see in person!

 

 

Got off the train which ended in town. Walked around for a little bit - it's pretty small so it didn't take long. Went and got my free charms (there was bonus one here of a train in addition to the totem pole). We went back to the ship to drop off some stuff and grab some lunch.

[CruisingBunny]

So we were sitting in our room trying to decide if we should go back out or not and we were thinking about the cemetery we passed while on the train. We decided we wanted to go check it out so we went into town to the visitor center, grabbed a map, and began walking. It was about 2.5 miles away but we walked through the neighborhoods and saw some of the houses and scenery along the way. We had heard the story about Soapy Smith and Frank Reid on the train so we got to see their grave sites. Also saw the large golden nugget. We passed a couple on our way up the cemetery and they told us to make sure we hiked up the trail a little ways to see Reid Falls so we did. It was beautiful!

 

 

 

After this we walked all the way back to the ship - another 2.5 miles. The scenery on the way:

 

Got back to our room and rested for a while. Went up to the Viking Crown Lounge and had some well deserved drinks. Spent the night in the casino, MDR, and relaxing.

[CruisingBunny]

Day 5: At Sea - Tracy Arm Fjord

 

So the previous night at dinner, the waiters told us that the best part was around 5:30am even though on the itinerary it said we would be there from 7am-12pm. So we got up early and went up to the top deck and there was basically nothing going on. Lots of people up - guess they all got that same speech from their waiters. It did finally get interesting I would say around 8:30am. We started passing little pieces of ice by the boat and were tracking how far we were into the fjord by the map on the TV. Once it finally looked like we were as far into it as we could go, we left our room again and this time we saw the massive glacier in front of the ship. It was beautiful as you can tell. We loved the blue hue.

 

 

They were selling hot cocoa and coffees up on the deck also but it was free in the WJ so we got ours from there. Kept walking around and finally spotted some seals chilling out on top of the icebergs. We spent a great deal of time up on the top deck just gazing at the glaciers and scenery. After we were done with our photos we went back down to the room. I think we were all said and done with the fjord by around 10am. Wonderful start to the day!

 

[CruisingBunny]

Went to the centrum and watched some of the "Chef's Corner Cake Decorating". There wasn't a whole lot going on so we went to the gym for a little bit. Cleaned ourselves up and got some drinks (Wildberry Lavaflow - now one of my favorites! & Chocolate Martini).

 

 

Hit the low limits roulette table and played some slots. Went to the MDR and DH decided to buy a shooter. They were different colors each night but they made one special in the blue since we wanted that color.

 

 

Then of course we went to the Love & Marriage Show which was funny as usual. We were exhausted from having been up all day so we just went to bed and found this surprise on our bed which we didn't even get on our honeymoon cruise!

 

[CruisingBunny]

Day 6: At Sea

 

We forgot to set our clocks the previous night so we slept right through breakfast!

 

Went to the MDR for lunch for the first time. They had a "Tutti Salad" where you go through a line and make your own salad. It was one of the best salads I've ever had. They had tons of options for cheeses, meats, veggies, etc. DH and I still prefer the WJ but it was a nice experience since we had never done it before.

 

We pretty much just spent this day relaxing. Went to the Headliner show "Ballroom Fever" which was okay. This was the night they did the equivalent of a "Midnight Buffet" - it was called "Big Band Bites" and was from 11pm-12am. The food wasn't that great but liked the carvings and we appreciated the effort. Here are some photos...

 

[CruisingBunny]

Day 7: Victoria, BC

Arrived at around 9am - we didn't book any excursions for this port since we had done so much in the Alaska ports. We got off the ship and decided to take the motorcoach into town - this was $7 per person for an all day pass. I'm glad we did cause it would have been a long walk. Got into town and explored some of the shops and walked over through the Empress Hotel just to see the inside of it. Then walked down by the waterfront to Bastion Square and eventually decided to walk over to the Craiggdaroch Castle.

 

 

We decided to just walk back to the bus stop to get a ride back to the ship and on the way passed a chocolate shop. We thought to ourselves we really can't go to Victoria and NOT stop at a chocolate shop so in we went! Picked out 5 chocolates and also ordered a mug of hot chocolate. This cost about $15 bucks. Ah well, we'll probably only be there once in our lifetime so it was worth it!

 

 

All the chocolate were wonderful - one was a champagne truffle, one was hazelnut, one was coffee...really wish I could remember the names but I can't! The hot chocolate was nice and rich also. We struck up a conversation with a couple of the locals sitting by us and learned some about the city. They told us this was the best chocolate shop and that all the locals go to this one, probably because it is off the main touristy road we were dropped off on. This turned out to be one of our favorite things we did on our entire trip! I highly recommend it if anyone is looking for a chocolate place to go to.

[CruisingBunny]

Stopped off and bought some Canadian souvenirs then got on the bus back to the ship. Just an FYI - you can pay in USD but receive any change in Canadian. We just kept it for a souvenir (as if we didn't have enough already!). Went to the Headliner Show tonight which was Olympic gymnast Lance Ringnald. He was incredibly funny and it was our favorite show of the cruise. Don't miss it if you ever have the chance to see it.

 

 

One last photo of the city of Victoria...

 

 

Overview: Great ship, good food, really friendly staff and amazing scenery! It's a must do! Would love to do the other itinerary that goes to Ketchikan. Maybe some day! :D

[critterchick]

What a great review! We love Rhapsody. I'm glad you had a good time on her!

[JustUs275]

Thanks for the great review - I enjoyed the pictures and narratives! :)

[wolfcathorse]

OP- please confirm who the captain was for your sailing

[critterchick]

OP- please confirm who the captain was for your sailing

 

I have it on good authority that Rick Sullivan is back onboard.:)

[birdylady]

Thanx for the memories. We were on her the end of May. It's nice to hear how other people enjoyed their trip.

 

Erika

[xeriod]

We were on that same cruise. My wife wanted to see the gymnast show and I thought " boring ". Was I wrong ! He was funny, entertaining and one of the better ship shows we have seen.

We also suffered on that first sea day. First time I ever got sick on a cruise. Seems that first sea day can be rough a lot of the time.

[pcur]

Thank you so much for the review and the pics!

 

We are on this cruise in September, and it's really good to know about the rough seas the first night. We tend to get lazy about our "pre-cruise bonine", so I will make sure we take a dose at dinner the night before the cruise. I do much better if it's in my system for 24 hours before we sail.

 

Loved the pics!

[tuffy0317]

What a great review! We are considering an Alaskan cruise next summer with my Dad (52), brother (25) and grandparents (mid-70's), but are worried that DH, my brother and I will all fall into the "way to young to be doing this" category.

 

Any thoughts on this (not sure how old you are!)?

[ExAstris]

We were on that same cruise. ... We also suffered on that first sea day. First time I ever got sick on a cruise. Seems that first sea day can be rough a lot of the time.

 

Same here! This was the first time I've ever had it affect me. Not pleasant to discover that it can happen to you.

[ExAstris]

What a great review! We are considering an Alaskan cruise next summer with my Dad (52), brother (25) and grandparents (mid-70's), but are worried that DH, my brother and I will all fall into the "way to young to be doing this" category.

 

Any thoughts on this (not sure how old you are!)?

 

Well, I'll only speak for myself since I don't want to be sleeping on the couch anytime soon. I'm 27; wife is somewhere in that general vicinity. :)

[CruisingBunny]

OP- please confirm who the captain was for your sailing

 

 

Captain was Stein Roger Bjorheim.

[gtonboard]

Thanks for the comprehensive review! I'm sure we will use lots of the info -- especially about the seasickness warning!