RC in Galveston: which ports?

[dreamer13]

I was checking out the Rhapsody and noticed some weeks it goes to key west, and some weeks it sails to montego bay, jamaica. The other ports are the same: george town,and cozumel.

 

Which is better Key West or Montego Bay?

[springtxbill]

I myself would like KW better.:)

[clackey]

I was checking out the Rhapsody and noticed some weeks it goes to key west, and some weeks it sails to montego bay, jamaica. The other ports are the same: george town,and cozumel.

 

Which is better Key West or Montego Bay?

Hola Dreamer,

 

We had the same predicament. After much research we decided to take the Granduer out of New Orleans. We didn't like the time frame for Key West and I had read to many bad reviews on Jamaica to want to go there, so we went with the Granduer. Read up on the destinations here on the CC boards. If anyone has an opinion it shows up here. What ever you decide I am sure it will be a fun trip.

[05mak05]

We've been to both ports and much prefer Key West. The sunset is glorious!

And, don't miss the guy on the waterfront with the trained alley cats that jump through the rings of fire. Montego Bay is not our cup of tea.

[cruisinqt]

I went on that exact same cruise and would choose Montego Bay, Jamaica hands down over Key West Florida. The reason is because the Rhapsody arrives in Key West pretty late in the day. We thought about the beach but it was going to be getting dark soon so we decided to go to the butterfly farm. But that closed at 5:00 pm so we couldn't do that. Most of the watersport excursions were out of the question because of the late arrival. We ended up walking around town, eating dinner at a nice restaurant, we shopped for souvenirs, and then we went back to the ship. If we didn't have the kids with us we might have went dancing and drinking, I hear Key West is known for it's partying. But as for us, Key West was okay, but nothing to write home about mainly because of the timing of the Rhapsody's arrival.:(

 

But as for Montego Bay, they have a place called Sunset Beach Resort that can be seen from the ship and is a $5 taxi ride (for whole family) away. It's all inclusive and includes food, alcohol, water toys, 3 swimming pools (one with a swim up bar), and 3 beaches. It is only $20 for adults and $10 for kids to enter. We loved the free kayaks, the free paddlboats, the free pool table, the free and most excellent alcoholic beverages, and they had several free restaurants with a good selection of food. The caribbean jerk chicken was very good. They even include beach towels for you to use, showers to clean up in, and lounge chairs to relax in on the beach. One thing everyone complains about in Jamaica is the pushy vendors that try to get you to buy their stuff. We had no problem with that since vendors are not allowed inside Sunset Beach Resort. This place is an upscale resort with well to do people surrounding you. For more info. on Sunset, go to the Jamaica board. It's talked about a lot there. Or you can do a search here at CC for Sunset. :)

 

If I were given the choice, I would choose Montego Bay based on the late arrival in Key West and the fact that you could have a great all-inclusive vacation at an up scale resort in Montego Bay for very little money. When we went on the Rhapsody, they only went to Key West we had no choice. But just recently they started going to Montego Bay and now we are seriously considering giving the Rhapsody another try basically because we can go to Montego Bay instead of Key West. Those who have had bad experiences in Montego Bay didn't go to Sunset. Every review of Sunset has been extemely positive.;)

[dreamer13]

cruisinqt-- when did you actually get off the ship at key west--the arrival time is set for 3, but how long does it take to actually step on land?

 

also, did you have any problems getting a taxi to sunset beach?

[05mak05]

I don't remember just exactly how long it took to get off the ship in Key West but no more than 15 minutes. I actually think it was quicker than that. The "Rhapsody" is in port 9 hours which is the same as the other ports but does offer less daylight hours. The daylight hours vary from month to month. The dining room for the evening is "open seating" which we thought was very thoughtful allowing everyone to take in every second of the glorious sunset.

However, I've also heard that Sunset Beach in Montego Bay is a great place to hang out for the day. Either way, the "Rhapsody" is a fabulous ship with a great crew and fabulous food! It's worth the trip just to meet Peter Benfield, the Cruise Director, who is funnier than Jay Leno and nicer than Oprah!

 

To see pictures of the sunset, go to http://www.keywest.com or http://www.key-west.com

 

You can check to see how many ships are in port at http://cruiseclues.com/portschedules.htm

 

SUNSET TIMES FOR KEY WEST:

January 5:50 pm

February 6:12

March 6:29

April 7:43

May 7:56

June 8:12

July 8:20

August 8:11

September 7:46

October 7:14

November 5:47

December 5:38

 

Sunset times are for the beginning of each month.

[cruisinqt]

We arrived in Key West at 3:00 pm as scheduled, but it was around 3:40 when we finally stepped on land because of the crowds. The butterfly farm and several other places that were supposed to be great places to visit all closed at about 5 pm. We figured by the time we got into a taxi and drove there we wouldn't really have much time to look around.:( We took the trolley which was nice and the shops stayed open late which was great too. But we avoided the beaches for the same reason. We figured that we wouldn't have much time to swim and then when it got dark we would probably have to go back to the ship and shower off the sand and change into something warmer. Since many of the snorkeling tours and other watersports take several hours, there wasn't as much of a selection of that sort of stuff since it would be getting dark soon. I think the best thing to plan to do in Key West since most of your time there is evening time is to plan on going dancing or clubbing, I hear Key West is known for it partying.;)

 

In Montego Bay, Jamaica, all of the taxi drivers know about Sunset Beach Resort. Just tell them you want to go to Sunset and they will take you there no problem. In fact, our driver offered to pick us up at Sunset at a later time and show us around town if we wanted to. So we told him when to be there to pick us up and he was there and waiting as planned. There were tons of taxi's there wanting to give us a ride but we were glad to have our own guy waiting there for us. Just be sure to use a gov't taxi with the red license plate called JUTA taxis. I hear the local guys are more expensive and not as reliable.

 

The taxi fare for our whole family to Sunset was only $5. But if you go anywhere else it's $4 per person. That's because Sunset is very close to the ship but the main town area is further away. We spent $16 to and from the main town area in taxi fare so we could go shopping. When we got to the pier, they had the same exact merchandise for the same price. There is a huge shopping area right there by the pier. We could have saved the $32 in taxi fare and just took a $5 cab back to the pier. We would have gotten the same merchandise without paying the high taxi fares. I guess you live and learn.:rolleyes:

[joyinam]

Two years ago, we did the Key West Rhapsody itinerary. This Sept, we're doing the "other one." When we booked - it was Montego Bay. If you look out there NOW, it's been changed to Ocho Rios. Neither RCCL nor my travel agent alerted me - I just love to play around on the website, and noticed it myself. When I asked my travel agent, she confirmed. We are THRILLED! I've always wanted to go to the falls, but didn't want to bus it from Montego Bay to the falls; now we'll definitely be able to go. Re: Key West, it's QUICK to get off the ship, we went to a little museum and then walked around enjoying the street performers. We decided to enjoy the sunset "away from the crowds" though, and returned to the ship, found some chairs on the upper deck, and enjoyed a private 'sunset showing!" We liked Key West, and look forward to the Jamaica experience, too. Two very different experiences - think they'd be hard to "compare." Have fun deciding!

[tinsel57]

Key West is not a beach place. You have time and can still take the trolley tour to give you an over all look at Key West. And there is lots of music, shops, bars and don't forget the famous Mallory Pier SunSet celebration, champagne sunset sails, etc.

 

Yes there are other things like the museums and touring Hemingway's etc but you are correct, arriving at 3 limits things. I think it will allow you time and light to do any private boating excursions, though, and I think they still have the glass bottom boats that take you out to see the reefs. The kids and those that don't want to get wet seem to enjoy it. Young people all will enjoy Mallory Sunset celebration as well but there is a fair amount of night life there. And very enjoyable night life at that!! ;)