Home from the Rhapsody

Well, after our long wait to cruise on the Rhapsody, it's over now and we're home. This will be a short review with some of the highlights. Also, unfortunately I must add several complaints.

Getting on the ship last week after driving in terrible fog went very smooth. We were in our cabin in about 45 minutes from the time we parked at the Dolphin Lot. Getting off the ship this morning was even smoother, due to the fact that we were among the first to disembark. We were in our car driving home by 9 o'clock. Got home about 11 o'clock.

The ship itself is gorgeous! Everywhere we turned, my mouth dropped at the beautiful sights. Christmas decorations were everywhere! Lots of trees, all decorated differently. A big gingerbread scene was set up in the Centrum, along with a big Santa being pulled by his reindeers! Our experience this week was almost surreal.

We throughly enjoyed our balcony cabin and used it a lot. Especially in Key West and Cozumel since we docked on that side. It was great relaxing out there and watching the people hurring to get back to the ship! We had plenty of room for 3 and the bed was very firm and comfortable. The sofa bed seemed fine for our daughter. Our cabin steward, Natasha, was just great!

We will think twice about booking the cabin directly under the Royal Suite again, though! I'm not sure how many people occupied that cabin, but it sounded like a heard of elephants every night till around midnight and also every afternoon when we decided to take a nap. Slamming doors, yelling at kids, playing the piano, and banging so loud it sounded like the kids were jumping off the beds onto the floor time and time again.:mad:

Another note, our toilet in our cabin was blocked up 3 times during the week. We were told it was due to "baby wipes" being tossed down them. I guess the system on the ship will not allow for things like that to be flushed. Something to think about if you bring babies on board with you.

The ports were all great. We stopped in Costa Maya instead of Grand Caymen. Did lots of shopping and spent part of the day enjoying the ship's pools, hot tubs, etc.

We went to Larraf magic show and it's not to be missed!! The Toxic Audio Show was simply amazing!! :D And the All-Crew Review was really great! I would suggest getting balcony seats. Great view!

The food on this cruise was very good most of the time. Lobster night (Thurs.) was the best! My husband and I both had 2 each. There were some exceptions though, like the rolls that were hockey pucks in disguise. And I didn't care for some of the seafood dishes. My husband had steak a couple of times and said they were very good. The desserts were great! We all tried the flourless chocolate cake and it was heaven! Our waiter was Royal. Yes, that's his name. Excellent waiter!

One complaint regarding the dining room seating though. We were comfirmed for a small table since last Feb. and were assigned to a large table in an awful location back in a separate room in the corner (they called it the pizza room:confused:. ) We had that problem fixed by the second night and moved to a very nice table on deck 5 overlooking the captain's table.

Another complaint was the fact that our TA added the special 25th anniversary formal dinner for us, also comfirmed last Feb. We got absolutely nothing. Not even a "Happy Anniversary". We saw no point in saying anything after the fact, since the moment had been ruined by then.

The kids on this cruise for the most part were pretty well behaved with the exception of the ones who were jumping down the stairs 8 and 10 at a time, and of course the ones in the cabin above us. My husband was carrying two cups of very hot coffee when one of them ran into him. He was able to keep the coffee from spilling on him but it went all over the floor, and he had to go get fresh cups.

For those of you sailing this week, you will be happy to see the Seattle's Best Coffee and Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream shops open! The coffee started at $2.75 I believe, and Ben and Jerry's is $1.50 for a bar. Scoops will be probably be more.:)

We saw an elderly woman being taken off by ambulance when we docked in Key West. We asked our steward what happened to her and she said she had fallen in the bathtub. I felt very sorry for her.

All in all, we had a great time on this cruise. Hopefully the dissapointing moments will fade. We'll take another cruise in a year or so, not sure if it will be with Royal Caribbean. If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask. :D

Hi, Sophie! I just posted to our roll call thread. Sorry I didn't get the chance to meet you. Or if I did, I forgot. :o My head was in a fog most of the cruise with an upper respiratory infection.

Sorry about your cabin and table location experiences. That sucks! We thoroughly enjoyed our corner aft on deck 8 and had great tablemates - Barb (FloGale), dh & friends Ron & Peg, Lisa (Chianti31) & Keith (detective20).

We had a cake and singalong for our 30th anniversary but they didn't do it on formal night like I expected. We got a new waiter after 2 nights. Our first one was awful but the replacement more than made up for it.

We had problems with our toilet too. UGH! That was about the only complaint I had about the entire cruise but they always came up and fixed it quick. They have signs everywhere telling you not to flush anything but toilet paper!! Obviously some people don't pay attention! :rolleyes: :p

We also loved LaRaf and Toxic Audio! Awesome shows. We saw Larry and Rafael (LaRaf) in Costa Maya and Cozumel walking around with their dog. Apparently performers who live on the ship are allowed pets!

Oops - clicked on submit before I was done! :p I hope everyone will check in on the roll call thread and tell us their experiences. Would love to hear how everyone else fared. :)

Just one Question Sophie..On the 2.50 for coffee..Is that for just regular coffe or was that expresso, latte, or some other coffe speciality. As i recall Seattle's Best just coffee was free on the NOS. Thank you for a very detailed review.

Woops..One more question Sophie..How was the Midnight Buffett??? and what night?? Thanks

Woops..One more question Sophie..How was the Midnight Buffett??? and what night?? Thanks

As for the midnight buffett, we did not attend and I can't remember what night it was held. Sorry I wasn't much help.

Did anyone else who sailed last week with us notice the ship that was also sailing for the better part of Saturday on the way back to Galveston? I think it was the Carnival Conquest heading back to New Orleans. Even at a distance, you could tell it was a very big cruise ship. Just curious.

Thanks for the review. Question, what nights are formal? Thanks in advance!!

Hi Sophie,

My wife and I were on the Rhapsody with you last week. We were in a balcony corner aft on deck 7 and yes our toliet backed up also. I don't know if you noticed, but there were sewer spells on deck 7 quiet a bit. The cruise was great though. I will have to agree with you about the things you said. We took our daughter and her friend and they were the hit with the crew, especially the dinning waiters. Of course, being 25 and single was a nice plus for them.

I have enjoyed your post on the meet and mingle. We normally participate, but I decided not to on this cruise. I guess the highlight of this cruise was waiting on the noon report from Capt Rolf. He was something else. We did book another cruise on the Rhapsody while on board, but haven't decided whether we will go or not. We are scheduled on the Naviagator next December, so we might just do one cruise next year. Wish we could have met y'all.

Jeff

Hi Sophie:

The ship on Saturday was Carnival's Elation. I was looking at it through my binoculars that day and night. Also, on Wednesday night on the way to Costa Maya, we sailed along Celebrity's Galaxy.

Hi Tybug: Formal nights are on Monday and Thursday(Lobster Night).

Fausto

Thanks TX! That's what I thought, but just wanted to be sure. :D

So this ship isn't stopping in Cayman right now? Does anyone know how long they are going to detour to Costa Maya?

NB

They are suppose to start stopping there again in January.

Jeffw47, would you tell me how you liked the corner aft cabin on deck 7? We're sailing on the Rhapsody in March and have cabin 7652. Did you have that cabin or the one on the other side? We've never had an aft cabin before, so I'm hoping I'm going to like it.

Fausto, I hadn't thought about that ship maybe being the Elation. It makes perfect sense now! They were headed for the same port! We need to invest in a good pair of binoculars!

Jeffw47, we were in 7512 which is the first cabin forward. We really liked that location. It was great when we were docking and Capt. Rolf would come out and "steer" the Rhapsody just so. He was so close, we talked to him several times from our balcony. It was great! When we docked in Key West, he shouted down to the people standing along the pier, "Is this Key West?" They yelled back "Yes!" He turned to us and said, "Well, I guess we made it!" Too funny!! We got several great pics of him "posing" for us while he out there. We didn't feel a lot of movement at the front except on Saturday comming home. But still, none of us ever felt seasick. We also liked not having anyone walking by our cabin.

The only annoying thing was our neighbor. On the first day of the cruise, he developed a habit of comming out on his balcony and knocking on the wall between our balconys, sticking his head clear over to our side and asking, "Is anybody home?" Then he would stand there talking to us until we usually had to make an excuse to go inside so he would leave us alone. After a while, we would open our balcony door as quietly as possible, go out and hope he didn't show up again. This continued all week up until the last morning when I saw his reflection in our dressing table mirror waving at us from around our balcony! My husband was standing there in his underware! I refused to go out, but my husband finished dressing, went out and talked to this guy for a couple of minutes and said we needed to get going. Our luggage color had been called. Funny thing about this story, his wife, girlfriend, or whatever she was, never made a sound the whole week. We saw her once going into the cabin by herself. Too bad you can't pick your cabin neighbors!

quote:

We will think twice about booking the cabin directly under the Royal Suite again, though! I'm not sure how many people occupied that cabin, but it sounded like a heard of elephants every night till around midnight and also every afternoon when we decided to take a nap. Slamming doors, yelling at kids, playing the piano, and banging so loud it sounded like the kids were jumping off the beds onto the floor time and time again.

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Another good reason people should leave their kids/babies at home when they cruise.

Sophie ,

I have cruised the Rhapsody twice and also like it very much. Peoples children were the only thing that made the cruise miserable at times.

quote:

 

We will think twice about booking the cabin directly under the Royal Suite again, though! I'm not sure how many people occupied that cabin, but it sounded like a heard of elephants every night till around midnight and also every afternoon when we decided to take a nap. Slamming doors, yelling at kids, playing the piano, and banging so loud it sounded like the kids were jumping off the beds onto the floor time and time again.

 

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Another good reason people should leave their kids/babies at home when they cruise.

 

Sophie ,

I have cruised the Rhapsody twice and also like it very much. Peoples children were the only thing that made the cruise miserable at times.

Perhaps it was >>>

The Lets yank the kids out of school week so they can run wild on the ship while getting a great cutural and educational experience. :rolleyes:

(good grief)

Keep kids in school :mad:

Sophie,

We were lucky that we had really good neighbors. I have to admit, I really liked being at the very end of the ship. It was really quiet. I looked your cabin up and I was wondering if you could see the Capt Rolf come out when we docked. Carol and I really enjoyed his noon report. What a sense of humor!! He was the best Capt we have ever had in sailing, whether it was Carnival or RCCL. I have to agree with you about some of the kids. There was a pack of them on deck 7 that was starting to get a little out of hand towards the end of the cruise.

Asrubin,

We were in 7652 and it was our first balcony. What a cabin to pick for our first balcony. You are going to just love it. Lots of privacy especially in the corner. It is huge. A table, 2 chairs and 2 lounge chairs. Also a chance to lay out in the sun most of the time without going to the pool. As Sophie will tell you, it is really nice sitting out on your balcony when you come into port drinking coffee. It would have been nice at Key West when they docked to see something, but we were so far back we just watched the guys tieing the ropes to the dock. Have a great cruise and if you have any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

Jeff

When were the formal nights on this cruise? When was C&W night?

Thanks

Hi Flagger,

Just returned from 12/5 Rhapsody....formal nights are Monday (at sea) and Thursday (Costa Maya.) C and W night is Wednesday ( a day at sea.) I sometimes thought it was C and W night all week :rolleyes: .

Hi Debandbill,

I don't think I could have said it better. :-)

Hi All!

We're going on Rhapsody in about 4 weeks (23/01/05)- soooo excited! Can someone tell me if there is a minigolf on board? (My husband- 34 years old and owns his own business- LOVES mini golf! What a goof!).

Thanks so much. The ship sounds great!

Hi BoBo,

No there is no minigolf anymore. I think it went away when they put up the rock wall. Sorry. But, you should enjoy the ship very much. It is still a very nice ship with a great crew.

Hi, Bobo,

Glad to hear you are sailing on the Rhapsody on the 23 January 05 sailing, my family and I are too. Have you seen our roll call thread yet? It is a chance to meet and chat with others on the same sailing. Try this link http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=15424 and sign on.

Jeffw47, would you tell me how you liked the corner aft cabin on deck 7? We're sailing on the Rhapsody in March and have cabin 7652. Did you have that cabin or the one on the other side? We've never had an aft cabin before, so I'm hoping I'm going to like it.

You are going to LOVE IT! We were in 7652 in October....the balcony is HUGE....the staterroom is large and roomy and lots of storage and closet space. The fridge kept drinks cold. Take some clothespins to clip your wet items on the chairs/loungers on the balcony...guests next to us lost some swim trunks and a towel....oops We spent a lot of time on the balcony...read, dozed, watched the sunset, had breakfast and people watched in port! Great location!! Di:)