Rhapsody 8/1 Review

[Sports Mama]

What a wonderful week my husband, son (12 years old), and myself had on the Rhapsody of the Seas. We were entertained, pampered, and feed by a very attentive and friendly crew. We also had an opportunity to meet some wonderful people on board. Especially my fellow Cruise Critic buddies!!!!! In this review I will cover embarkation, stateroom, dinning rooms/food, activities/entertainment, ports of call, and disembarkation. Overall, the ship was is in wonderful condition. Sometimes we would feel some vibrations. We could not feel them in our cabin, but on the last night we were sitting in the schooner bar and also in the kids area on deck 10 you could really feel the vibrations. It didn’t really bother me a whole lot.

 

Embarkation

 

We arrived at EZ Cruise parking around 11 a.m. (I would suggest not going any earlier, because they will not shuttle you to the pier until this time.) At EZ Cruise parking you just drive your car to their lot and they will take your traveling party and your luggage directly to the pier. This was extremely convenient for us and the price was only $35 for the whole week. Once we were at the pier we walked straight to the x-ray machines and then to the check in desk without really waiting. Once we were checked in we waited in the waiting area for about 20 minutes. You were not allowed to board the ship until 12 p.m., but at 12 p.m. sharp they started boarding the passengers. I heard from some people that boarding was a madhouse for those who arrived between 1 p.m. and 2 p.m. The embarkation process was extremely smooth and stress free. I would highly recommend EZ Cruise parking.

 

Stateroom

 

We stayed in an inside cabin 3057. I was a little worried about having an inside cabin, because I usually book an ocean view. I really didn’t mind it at all. We were in our cabin so little that it really didn’t make a difference. I took an alarm clock and a nightlight and I was set. I did use the ship’s camera at night, which they would televise on TV in your stateroom. Before I went to sleep at night I would turn the TV to the camera station, mute the sound and voila’ I would have the morning light to help me get up. (Thanks to the past cruisers for the tip.) The cabin was in good shape and Vincent; our cabin steward was awesome. The cabin was adequate in size for the three of us. I would suggest taking a power strip, because there was only two outlets by the vanity area. We had plenty of closet space and I was able to put the luggage underneath the beds. I personally, would have liked more drawer space, but I managed fine.

 

Dinning Rooms/Food

 

For dinner we ate mostly in the dinning room, but two nights we ate in the Windjammer. We always had breakfast in the Windjammer and for lunch we would either eat in the Windjammer or the Solarium Café. Overall the food was pretty good. I was really worried about this since, some negative comments have been made on this in the past. Some of the foods my family and I enjoyed were the NY strip, lobster, shrimp cocktail, salads (especially the honey Dijon vinaigrette dressing), crème of asparagus soup, onion soup, and the deserts. In the Windjammer we loved the breakfast. They always had a lot to choose from. Even though they offered pretty much of the same things, which was a huge variety, every day we still ate a lot of different items during breakfast. I thought the overall food quality in the Windjammer was pretty good, no it wasn’t five star quality, but it was still good. We really enjoyed the hamburgers, hot dogs, and the pizza in the Solarium Café. We did not attend the gala buffet, so I am unable to make any comments. I was way too tired to go and too full. Our waiter, Fredrick and our asst. waiter, Eilona were wonderful. Our headwaiter Serge was one of the best we have ever had. He came by our table every night to check on us and even saw him helping his other waiters out in serving, to make sure everyone had a great dinning experience. We were also lucky to have great tablemates too. We always looked forward to dinner in the dinning room for the food, company, and the service.

 

 

Entertainment

 

WOW, great entertainment on the ship!!! First night, Don Barnhart, comedian performed. He was okay. I wasn’t too impressed. The second and fifth night the Royal Caribbean dancers and singers performed. They were really a talented bunch and I enjoyed their performances. On the third night, the magic and grand illusionist LaRaf performed. Wow, this is worth seeing. They only have one show, so get there early. On the fourth night, we were in for a treat. We got to see Herb Reed and The Platters. They were great!!! On the sixth night, Michelle Murlin, Broadway singer and Brad Cummings Comedian Ventriloquist performed. Michelle was wonderful and Brad was great. Brad had me laughing so hard that my stomach hurt. On the last night Dario Vasquez, a juggler performed and he was very impressive. We really enjoyed him a lot. Derek Lewis in the schooner bar and Doc Dockery band were great. You must visit Derek Lewis in the schooner bar. He would make people do Kamikaze Karoake and do other silly things as they passed by to go to other places. Oh, what fun!! I believe after this week the Doc Dockery band’s (8/15/04) contract is up and they are doing some other things and he said they may come back to RCCL, but not the Rhapsody (After 34 weeks of visiting the same ports I would imagine it gets old.). Peter the cruise director, who was filling in for another cruise director was absolutely fabulous. He was very funny and entertaining. What an awesome cruise staff he had. Some of the pool activities (men’s belly flop, men’s sexy legs contest, and the horse racing) were a lot of fun. My son participated in some of the activities for his age group and really enjoyed most of them. He met a lot of friends and they had a good time. Yes, there were a lot of kids on this cruise and I heard some complaining about the elevators and the teens. I think that for the most part the kids handled themselves pretty well.

 

Ports of Call

 

Key West – My family and I was not really crazy about this port. My husband and son rented a Jet Ski and then we walked around and did a little shopping. Unfortunately it started clouding up around sunset and eventually rained. I felt sorry for everyone who booked a sunset cruise.

 

Grand Cayman – We snorkeled with the stingrays. We used Native Way Water Sports for our excursion, along with other Cruise Critic members. Native Way was just awesome and would highly recommend them. The sting rays are a must see at this port.

 

Cozumel – We did a discovery scuba dive with Eagle Ray Divers. WOW, this was the highlight of our cruise. We went to two reefs that were a pretty good ways from a lot of the tourist stops. The water and the sea life are incredible. Eagle Ray Divers was absolutely wonderful!!!! There was great shopping right off of the pier. One suggestion, just make sure you allow enough time to get to your excursion if you are booking on your own. We docked a little late and the line for the taxis took some time.

 

Disembarking

 

We really didn’t have any problems. As long as everyone understands that this process takes time. We were the yellow tags (which I believe is the 5th color called out of 9) and we were off the ship and in our car driving home around 10:30 a.m. When we left the ship we collected our luggage and met EZ Cruise parking at the pier and they shuttled us back to our car. I would highly recommend EZ Cruise parking.

 

Overall we had an awesome and memorable vacation. The crew of the Rhapsody was great and they always were very friendly and attentive. One of my favorite parts of the cruise was meeting all my new found friends on cruise critic at the M&M party and getting to know them better. What a fun bunch they were.

 

[sailor moon]

Thanks for the review! Glad you had a great time. We will be on the Rhapsody for the 2nd time this coming Thanksgiving. I am sorry Captain Charles retired (we hads him last August) but I have heard that the new Captain is great. How was the CD?

[Sophie]

Great review! I had been looking forward to reading it. I can't wait till it's my turn to cruise on the Rhapsody!

[Sports Mama]

Sailor Moon--

 

The new cruise director Peter was wonderful. We really enjoyed him a lot. He was very funny. I believe he is filling in for the other cruise director who took off for a couple of months. I believe Peter works on the Brillance (I'm not completely sure about which ship, but I think the Brillance is the one).

[gbcruise]

Sports Mama-

Thankyou for a wonderful review. This is the first time I have heard about the camera on the T.V.

 

Sophie-

Since I know you are absorbing every detail as I am trying to do I am looking forward already to a long review when you get back. We sail 3 weeks after you do so I know the info that you have will be very up to date at that point. Isn't the anticipation just so fun!!!

[Firefighterhoop]

Thanks for the review! Cant wait to go TOMORROW!

[gbcruise]

Firefighterhoop-

Planning on giving us a review when you come back??? Please, please, please????

[mikefast]

We, too, loved the Rhapsody. We have been on her twice and plan on going again for a family reunion in the fall of '05. As far as the ports of call, they are all fun, but we really don't even mind if we don't leave the ship.

[Firefighterhoop]

I will for sure give a review either sunday night or monday on here and on the Rhapsody review page!

 

Scott

[Sophie]

 

Sophie-

Since I know you are absorbing every detail as I am trying to do I am looking forward already to a long review when you get back. We sail 3 weeks after you do so I know the info that you have will be very up to date at that point. Isn't the anticipation just so fun!!!

Yes, I am absorbing everything I can read about this ship, as you are! And I promise I will post a review after our cruise!

[cruzzer]

Sailor Moon

 

Finally found you! Are you still interested in attending the party this Fall?

I am asking everyone to e-mail me your name/s and e-mail.

It make it sooo much easier for me.

We're still missing about half of the original group from the old Cruise Critic boards.

Hopefully everyone will show up soon.

The new thread on Cruise Critic is at:

 

Fun Stuff

Floataway Lounge

Look for us at Any Cruisers Out There From San Antonio, Texas???

 

Keep in touch,

Lois

[mohendry]

Sports Mama - wonderful and positive review. How exactly does the ship's camera work? My sisters will have inside cabins on our next cruise and it would be wonderful if it is on the Grandeur too. Is it only for inside cabins?

[cruzzer]

Sailor Moon

 

Me again,

Forgot to give you my e-mail address:

 

LRH@satx.rr.com

 

L.

[Sports Mama]

mohendry--

The ship camera works in every cabin. All you have to do is turn on the TV and turn to channel 32 ( I believe this is the correct one). There is also a couple of channels that shows the itinerary and how far you have gone. I thought this was kind of neat too. I am not sure about the Grandeur. I would imagine that most of the RCCL ships have one. Hope you have a wonderful cruise.