My 04-17-05 Rhapsody Review

[carla dawn]

I am still depressed..being home and not on the RHAPSODY.. tHIS WAS OUR SECOND TIMETO SAIL ON HER AND WE HAD A GREAT TIME..iT ENDED TOO SOON THOUGH.

 

 

We live in San Antonio and drove to Galveston ,stopped for breakast and arrived at EZCruiseparking around noon. We were parked and a van picked us and our luggage up from their lot and we were on the shop before 12:45pm. Please be aware if you are using ezcruise that you will needto tip the person who loads your luggage from your car onto the van and then another person unloads it at the pier and THEN you have the porters at the pier to tip!!! The same thing on the way backto your car..That was alot of tipping!!! We had the express check in at the pier and had our pictures taken and were in our cabin before 1pm. We had a jr suite and it was wonderful. The room was plenty big enough for myself, husband and two children ages 8 and 13yr. We did get a roll-a-way bed after the first night however because my 8 and 13yr old could not sleep together without argueing. The roll-away bed was good for them.

Our cabin steward was a great lady and she did an excellent job.She made up our room twice a day and was so fast. The best we have ever had on any ship.. I really enjoyed the balcony. The husband didn't care one way or the other, he spent little time on it. I however read magazines, just luled and watched the ocean. I really liked it.

 

We had early dinner and sat at table 50 which was a large table and by the window. I didn;t really like the location because each night at dinner iot seemed that the setting sun was in my eyes.. I am very sensitive to the sunlight..It actually gave me a headache one night at dinner. They do not have a shade that can be pulled over the window so not much could be done.. ANd that was the worst thing that happened on my cruise... Everything else was wonderful!

 

I enjoyed all of the shows and especially the comedy shows. Carl Banks was hilarious. The Hill Brothers were also so funny! Kenny James ,the singer was good .I bought his cd and he autographed it for me.

 

My husband won around $200 in the casino on a 25 cent machine. There were people winning left and right...All week. One of our tablemates won $1000 on a nickle machine..

 

In Key West we stopped at Sloppy Joes for dinner and had the sloppy joes. They were so good. Loved them.Then just walked Duvall street, shopped and went to the Sunset show at Mallory Square. Then went to the Ghost nad Legends walking tour. It was good. We went on the other Ghost Tour last year.

 

FYI..to anyone who wants to bring beer on board. My husband brought a 12pack of Miller Light cans in his luggage and when we got to Key WEst he asked the pursers desk if he could buy more and bring it back on the ship. They told him as long as it wasn't a case he could. So while in Key West he bought 18 more cans and we had no problem bringing them back onto the ship. So that was his supply of beer for the week. I also helped him drink it. That saved us so much money. WE ended up only spending $456 on our sign and sale account.Last year we spent over $1200.. So you can see what a savings that was. We also brought a 12pack of sodas and water .

 

WHile at the Cayman Islands we did the stingray swim and snorkel,. And thank you to everyone who pursuaed me to book off the ship. The ship tours were so crowded. Ours only had 18 people on the sailboat we were on. We thought we booked with Nativeway ..we were picked up at the dock by nativeway and the bus took us to two different ships/boats. At the first stop the driver said he wanted 6 people to get off and go on the boat that was waiting. Then he took the rest of us to another boat. We ended up being on a tour with Capt Bryan. He was good and I was glad we were on his ship. Still not sure how we ended up with Capt Bryan since we booked with Nativeway but not complaining.. WE paid $30 per adult and $25 for the two kids. They offered free water and punch. SNorkel gear was also included. This was tyhe best excursion..The water was gorgeous and we really loved it and will go again next year. There was a video photographer on board named Jody who videotaped the entire excursion and was selling the video or dvd at the end. We choose not to buy it and he gave us a hard time about it. Telling us that we were making a huge mistake not buying it and how my daughter was scared to death to touch the stingray and then she finally did and he got it on tape and we should really buy it..blah,blah..First of all; my daughter was not scared to death to touch the stingray..Not at all ,,I guess this was his selling technique./ Trying to make people feel guilty if they didn';t buy it.. I truly did not like this guy and my husband was getting fed up with him.. He came over to us several times trying to make us buy the video...Very pushy.

 

In Cozumel my husband and son went to Paradise beach and had a good time. Me and my daughter went shopping instead.

 

The food was very good. Loved the key lime pie and the flourless choc cake. Yummy!!! We requested a shrimp cocktail every night and rec'd one each night. We ate in the windjammer for breakfast and lunch. I had lunch in the dining room one day and ordered the BBQ ribs which were very good.

 

I went to the Quest and you are all correct!! It was so much fun.. We didn't win but it was hilarious just seeing my brother in law with my bra and my sisters on his head. Also loved seeing hiim wear lipstick and earrings..ha.ha.

 

Our departure was so fast. I love the new departure process. We were a pink color tag .Our expected departure time was 9:15 but we were called about 5 minutes early. We left our cabin at 8:20am went to eat breakfast and only had to wait maybe 10 minutes before our tag was called. We left the ship and the us immigration is now located at the pier as you leave. We were picked up by ezcruise immediately and were back at our car before 9:30. We were home by 1pm..

 

Gosh I really miss the ship and wish I were on it now.. It will be another year before our next cruise. Don't know how I will stand it!!?? But I guess I will..

 

Any questions, let me know..

 

Carla

[ckrobyn]

Carla,

 

Thanks for the great review...glad you had such a good time!

 

I know....we all can sympathize....it's a BUMMER to be off the ship :(

[carla dawn]

AS far as I remember there were no new menu items on the dining room menu..

 

And we did not eat at Ben & Jerry's except once when my daughter had an ice cream bar at pool side. The ice cream bar was 3.50..I did price the ice cream scoops and it was 3.50 for one scoop of ice cream.. Crazy prices.

 

The ships soft serve ice cream machines were broken all week. Each day we were told they were trying to fix them..But did not get them fixed for the entire cruise. I am wondering if they were not fixed because Ben & Jerrys were on board??!! That is my conspiracy theory..ha ha.If the ice cream machines were working Ben & Jerry's would not have as much business...

 

 

We did not play bingo butbrotherin law did and the cards were $35. No one won the big jackpot until the final game on Saturday.

 

Did not use the spa. We were trying to keep our bill down.

We did receive our Crown & ANchors gifts on the first formal night. They were the toiletry bags.

 

We did receive the coupon books but forgot to use them except for the $2.00 casino coupons. There were coupons for buy one get one free soda or mixed drinks.Can't belive we forgot to use those..10% off any spa treatment, I think 25% off wine. 25% off any Ben & Jerry's product. 25% off the SeattlesBestCoffee. a free single bingo card which purchase of bingo , $5 casino credit.also a $2 casino credit. One for a free ships 5x7 photo with any photo gallery purchase.

 

Carla

[springtxbill]

I don't remember seeing the soft serve machines ever working on our cruise on 20 March also.:)

[vickiw0318]

No, no, not any soft serve? One of the true delights on a cruise ship....

 

What am I going to do in October? I mean, I can't come home without gaining weight!

[just sailing]

We sailed on the Rhapsody April 3 which was our second trip on this ship in the past 4 months. We were in a Junior Suite and the balcony was great. We really enjoy the ports of call and the great staff. Our stateroom attendant was Dean and he is excellent. The Champagne Bar is the very best and Gilbert is an outstanding bartender and his assistant Girlie is outstanding as well.

 

The schooner bar is a must with Derik Lewis and Karoke. He is very talented and he keeps everyone laughing. The casino staff was very friendly and professional and the slots were paying pretty well.

 

We went on the Ghost tour in Key West and it was too long. Wouldn't do it again. Went to seven mile beach in Cayman and enjoyed it and to Palm Beach in Cozumel and it was nice. We also took a tour of the Island in Cozumel and really enjoyed it.

 

We are going back in 10-9-05 and 2-12-06 and can hardly wait. Any questions just ask.

 

Richard

[Twill612]

Carla Dawn,Thanks for the review. My husband and I will be sailing on the Rhapsody this coming Sunday, May 1st to Ocho Rios, Jamaica,Grand Cayman and Cozumel. We're looking forward to it. This will be my 2nd cruise and his 1st. I went on Royal Caribbean once before in 2001 leaving from Los Angeles to Ensenada, Mexico. It was only a 4 day cruise. I can't remember the name of the ship but it was really nice. I am so excited to finally be able to cruise again. I am almost 4 months pregnant so this will be one of our last vacations for a while so I look forward to having a nice time on the cruise. Thanks for the info about tipping at EZ Cruise Parking. We're driving down there from San Antonio also. It never even crossed my mind about tipping elsewhere besides on board so I have to make sure I get my single bills ready then.

[Cruise Cat]

Carla - Thanks for the Review. Could you order Ice Creme from Room Service?

[SUGARSHACKER]

Carla:: Would your recommend the E-Z cruise parking instead of the port parking. I do not wish to leave my car at the motel, and I have always used the port parking but it is really getting expensive. Thanks in advance for your information. Good Night and God Bless. Sharon

[waterbound]

Carla.. we were on the same cruise as you guys.. It was just me and my boyfriend.. this was our 6th cruise together, but my first Royal Carib cruise.. I have always cruised with Carnival, but my boyfriend cruised on RCI before I met him so we did get the C & A perks.. we also parked with ezcruiseparking and thought they were wonderful.. we have cruised one other time out of galveston and this was much more affordable!! felt perfectly safe leaving it there.. The driver on our bus was the one who got the bags on and off so we tipped him a few dollars and then tipped the porter a few.. when we came back we picked up our own bags, so we forwent the tip to the porter then.. the driver again lugged the bags on and off the bus for us so we tipped him.. they were extremely heavy, so it was worth it..

 

we also had a really good time.. there were a few things that I really didnt like.. and personally I think I prefer Carnival .. but I think its just because Im a very simple person and prefer things that are less fancy.. for example we went to the Captains welcome aboard party and only fruit punch and champagne was served.. I prefer mixed drinks.. so I didnt drink anything at that party.. the past guest party was only champagne, so I brought my own drink in.. The room was extremely small.. we booked an inside guarantee and was supposedly upgraded to a larger room.. which was scary to me because there was hardly any room to move in there as it was extremely small.. but we werent in the room that much so it was all ok.. it sure is a beautiful ship though.. we were on the 4th deck and just loved walking thru the main area where that big blue thing was hanging from the ceiling (dont know the technical name).. I would call it the atrium.. the waterfall thing was so pretty.. I did eat at Ben and Jerrys twice.. The chunky monkey was to die for!! The ice cream machine actually was working one day.. towards the end of the day.. we saw it sitting there all week with the cords showing and then one night were walking on that side of the deck and noticed a kid getting some ice cream.. so I got a vanilla/chocolate twist and it was good.. that was one of the things I missed about Carnival is that I loved my daily twist ice cream cone :D I tried the internet a few times and that was a huge disappointment!! I spent around $40 using the internet and was only able to check my email once and send my son an email and post one post on this board.. that was it.. it was soooooooooo slow.. I wouldnt waste my time on that anymore..

 

My favorite food was the macaroni and cheese in the buffet area every day at lunch time...

 

I agree that Carl Banks was hilarious!! We also enjoyed The Hill Brothers.. It was so funny when that guy was laying down on the stage and he jumped up so fast!! We were disappointed that they did the first production show with the dancers on the night of Key West and it was only one show.. We were still off the boat and missed it.. I would have thought they should have done it another night or something..

 

In Key West we went to the Mel Fisher Museum and then just walked around and shopped and ate at Hard Rock.. We went to Mallory Square for the sunset celebration.. we got a kick out of some of the performers.. Not sure if you saw that guy that was swallowing the sword but he was so obnoxious we finally walked away.. after that we just walked around and ate and had some drinks..went to Hogs Breath, Fat Tuesday and Hard Rock for food and drink... We loved doing Key West at night.. We had done KW before but during the day..

In Grand Cayman we did the aquaboats thru the ship and it was such a blast riding them.. my boyfriend drove.. we got to ride them closeby the ships that were out there... took us to a place to get off and snorkel and then onto the shipwreck site to snorkel... the only complaint is that its difficult to get back on the boat once you get off to snorkel.. had bruises all over my upper arms from my boyfriend trying to help pull me in..

In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamaran sail and snorkel.. this was our 4th time together to do this excursion and a blast as always.. this was the first time with RCCL though and noticed the difference in the people onboard.. much more subdued than the Carnival bunch that we've been on with in the past.. but it was very nice to just relax.. after we snorkeled they took us to their own beach.. our catamaran was the only one on the beach so it was so secluded and serene.. very nice!!

 

Again I think I personally prefered Carnival.. but its just a personal decision.. we did have a great time on Rhapsody and I wouldnt have any problems cruising her again.. I mentioned to my boyfriend that I wouldnt mind trying Voyager of the Seas.. He talked several times all week about trying the rockwall but he never did it.. The workers on Rhapsody were great..

[Trainacomin]

Carla:: Would your recommend the E-Z cruise parking instead of the port parking. I do not wish to leave my car at the motel, and I have always used the port parking but it is really getting expensive. Thanks in advance for your information. Good Night and God Bless. Sharon

 

 

Sugarshacker,

I was on the Rhapsody on the April 10th cruise. I used EZ Cruise and will use them again in September when we cruise the Elation. They were great! We met a couple that parked in the port parking and paid 70 for the week. I paid $40 booking it in advance online.

I was a bit worried because we have a brand new car but it was in great hands and nothing to worry about.

 

Clint

[BonnieNYTX]

This could be a new thread survey... who had free soft serve ice cream on the Rhapsody since Ben & Jerrys made its debut? On our other cruises I got used to my ice cream treat every afternoon. I would hate for the free ice cream to be phased out to benefit Ben & Jerrys. :( But, now there is Seattle's Best and we still can get free coffee? Right??? LOL

Glad to see that late seating now has an early Showtime. Any thoughts on that? I think it will make for a more relaxed dinner not having to hurry out to get good seats for a show right after dinner. This is what we did on our previous cruises and we barely got 2 seats together. Nobody put a gun to our heads to go to the nightclub but... it was there and we wanted to take advantage of the entertainment. An early nightclub show will give us more options for after dinner fun. :D

Carla, Waterbound,Richard, loved reading the reviews and all the info on the Rhapsody. Richard when you went to 7 mile beach did you go to a specific spot or just tell the taxi driver 7 mile beach. I assume taxis back to the tender are readily available? I can't get enough info! It's wonderful to read how highly people think of "The Friendliest Ship". We'll find out for ourselves on July 3. Until then, please keep those reviews coming!

[CessKinKoS]

Great review!

 

I sure hope the soft serve machine is back up when i'm on, IN SEPTEMBER. They have plenty of time to get it working...

 

Thanks for the tip about bringing beer onboard! It'll help when I round up my "posse" and all the things they'll want to bring.

[carla dawn]

To all who asked about the parking....a BIG YES..we will certainly use ezcruiseparking from now on. The price was less and the service wonderful. I will know what to expect as far as the extra tipping from now on.And even with the extra tips it is still cheaper and more convenient than the port parking..

 

They were at the back of our suv within 5 mintues of us pulling into the lot to load up our luggage and ourselves. Then upon arrival back to galveston they were there waiting at the pier.. I loved it.. Great service.. We did have to get a porter to leave the terminal however since we had 7,,,yes 7 suitcases plus carry-ons.. I am glad we brought them all too.. We had many souveniers to bring back and three bottles of alcohol...

 

We are wanting to book for next year and go to Jamaica this time. But I will miss Key West. It is probably my favorite port of call. Just love the laid back atmosphere..

 

Sure wish I had known that the ice cream was up and working for one evening. My kids were really looking ofrward to that.. Oh well. And I am not sure about ordering ice cream from room service. We never thought of that. But I know whenever we ordered ice cream for dessert it was the regular kind..not soft serve.

Oh man,, I miss the food...I guess its Quizno's for my lunch today..Not bad,, but not free and cruise food.......ha.

 

Carla

 

P>S There were only 16o kids on board and never saw a problem with them. My 13yr old son and 8yr old daughter both made friends the first day and they both had a great time. My son hung with the other teen-agers in a group of maybe 7-8 and they never got into any trouble or mischeif.. We never even witnessed the elevator buttons being all pushed..Not once....Amazing that all the kids behaved the way they were supposed to....And glad they all did.!!

[just sailing]

Bonnie:

 

We just told the cabby 7 mile beach. I think where we ended up was called Royal Palm. They had a restaurant there that wasn't very good, but the beach was nice. As far as getting a cab. We had an early tender so we were off the ship before 8:00 am and we had to wait till the cab was full before they would take us which took about 45 minutes. What they called a cab was a van. That wasn't any fun. We had the same problem coming back so we ended up walking it was only a couple of miles.

It really just depends on the time of day and how many people are coming and going. Hope this helps.

[BonnieNYTX]

Hi Just Sailing, thanks for the info. It WAS helpful. What time did you leave the beach to head on back to the ship? I'm sure once we step foot off the tender there will be tons of taxis at our beck and call but waiting 45 mins doesn't sound like much fun :( It's getting back that I am concerned with. We're going in July and I doubt we will be able to walk miles in the broiling sun to get back to the ship. I am jotting down the name of the area of the beach you mentioned to put in my ever expanding cruise folder. Did they have chairs and umbrellas to rent? I don't want us to turn into lobsters.. we just want to eat them. LOL Was the beach rocky? Do you suggest water sandals so our feet don't get cut up? When we have enough beach we'll probably do some shopping and then head on back to the ship to relax before the mad rush to get back on. We did the turtle farm, hell and the city tour a few years ago when we were on the Majesty. Now we just want to relax and go at our own pace. We don't scuba so we have limited options.

Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

[just sailing]

We had to get back for the city tour around 1:00 P.M. so we left the beach early. The problem we had was when you get off the tender they send you to the taxi area and kinda place you on the next one thats leaving. It looks like they try to control that as much as possible. It is cheap though $6.00 for the two of us. Next time I will probably leave the pier area and find one in downtown depending on the time of day. The beach had chairs for free no umbrellas except in the open air restaurant. I would take sandals but I doubt you will need them the sand is great, rocks are not a problem. I think we were back on the ship around 2, and we didin't have to wait for more than 10 minutes. Since you have been there before I am sure you will have no problems. Hope this helps. Richard

[waterbound]

To all who asked about the parking....a BIG YES..we will certainly use ezcruiseparking from now on. The price was less and the service wonderful. I will know what to expect as far as the extra tipping from now on.And even with the extra tips it is still cheaper and more convenient than the port parking..

 

They were at the back of our suv within 5 mintues of us pulling into the lot to load up our luggage and ourselves. Then upon arrival back to galveston they were there waiting at the pier.. I loved it.. Great service.. We did have to get a porter to leave the terminal however since we had 7,,,yes 7 suitcases plus carry-ons.. I am glad we brought them all too.. We had many souveniers to bring back and three bottles of alcohol...

 

We are wanting to book for next year and go to Jamaica this time. But I will miss Key West. It is probably my favorite port of call. Just love the laid back atmosphere..

 

Sure wish I had known that the ice cream was up and working for one evening. My kids were really looking ofrward to that.. Oh well. And I am not sure about ordering ice cream from room service. We never thought of that. But I know whenever we ordered ice cream for dessert it was the regular kind..not soft serve.

Oh man,, I miss the food...I guess its Quizno's for my lunch today..Not bad,, but not free and cruise food.......ha.

 

Carla

 

P>S There were only 16o kids on board and never saw a problem with them. My 13yr old son and 8yr old daughter both made friends the first day and they both had a great time. My son hung with the other teen-agers in a group of maybe 7-8 and they never got into any trouble or mischeif.. We never even witnessed the elevator buttons being all pushed..Not once....Amazing that all the kids behaved the way they were supposed to....And glad they all did.!!

 

Carla.. I agree about the kids being well behaved.. I couldnt believe it.. I hardly even saw any and when we did they were extremely well behaved..

[BonnieNYTX]

We had to get back for the city tour around 1:00 P.M. so we left the beach early. The problem we had was when you get off the tender they send you to the taxi area and kinda place you on the next one thats leaving. It looks like they try to control that as much as possible. It is cheap though $6.00 for the two of us. Next time I will probably leave the pier area and find one in downtown depending on the time of day. The beach had chairs for free no umbrellas except in the open air restaurant. I would take sandals but I doubt you will need them the sand is great, rocks are not a problem. I think we were back on the ship around 2, and we didin't have to wait for more than 10 minutes. Since you have been there before I am sure you will have no problems. Hope this helps. Richard

 

Richard. If there are no umbrellas I don't think we will be at the beach. My husband is fair and doesn't sit in the sun for more than approx. 1 hour unprotected. I just have to hunt a place down that has umbrellas. How far is the downtown area from the pier area? Sounds like a good idea to pick up a taxi w/o waiting all that extra time. Sometimes the sand at a beach can be like talcum powder but in the water it can be rough. That was my concern. Sounds like a good idea to get to the beach early as you did and then have the rest of the day for shopping, lunch and other excursions. Again, thanks.

[susanNjay]

Sorry we never met you!

--Susan

[susanNjay]

To all who asked about the parking....a BIG YES..we will certainly use ezcruiseparking from now on. The price was less and the service wonderful. I will know what to expect as far as the extra tipping from now on.And even with the extra tips it is still cheaper and more convenient than the port parking..

 

P>S There were only 16o kids on board and never saw a problem with them. My 13yr old son and 8yr old daughter both made friends the first day and they both had a great time. My son hung with the other teen-agers in a group of maybe 7-8 and they never got into any trouble or mischeif.. We never even witnessed the elevator buttons being all pushed..Not once....Amazing that all the kids behaved the way they were supposed to....And glad they all did.!!

 

I agree on the EZ cruise parking...good savings and great service!!

I cannot believe there were 160 kids on board! I think I saw (not heard) about 10 different kids, other than the night they performed for us in the dining room.

Awesome cruise!!

--Susan

[susanNjay]

we also had a really good time.. there were a few things that I really didnt like.. and personally I think I prefer Carnival .. ..

 

I noticed that the Carnival ship that was in port with us in Cayman and Cozumel was bigger than ours...we watched in Cozumel as the lines for the Carnival ship seemed to stretch forever and their passengers had to wait a very long time to board the ship. Also, in Cayman, for our stingray city excursion, we had only 5 RC passengers and 25 Carnival passengers, and I would say they were pretty rowdy compared to us...also we spoke with several of their passengers and they said that there were always lines on the ship for everything--the only line I ever waited in on the Rhapsody was the dessert line in the Windjammer...what a sacrifice!! It was worth the wait!

 

but I think its just because Im a very simple person and prefer things that are less fancy.. for example we went to the Captains welcome aboard party and only fruit punch and champagne was served.. I prefer mixed drinks.. so I didnt drink anything at that party.. the past guest party was only champagne, so I brought my own drink in.. ..

 

I saw them carrying mixed drinks around at the welcome aboard party--but I didn't get one. We were second seating.

 

 

My favorite food was the macaroni and cheese in the buffet area every day at lunch time... ..

 

yes, it was very good!

 

I agree that Carl Banks was hilarious!! We also enjoyed The Hill Brothers.. It was so funny when that guy was laying down on the stage and he jumped up so fast!! We were disappointed that they did the first production show with the dancers on the night of Key West and it was only one show.. We were still off the boat and missed it.. I would have thought they should have done it another night or something.. ..

 

I agree on Carl Banks. We loved his act, and the Hill Bros. The production show--well, we didn't feel any disappointment in missing it...we didn't really like the rock on broadway show much--the singing was terrific, but the dancing was not.

 

In Cozumel we did the Fury Catamaran sail and snorkel.. this was our 4th time together to do this excursion and a blast as always.. this was the first time with RCCL though and noticed the difference in the people onboard.. much more subdued than the Carnival bunch that we've been on with in the past.. but it was very nice to just relax.. after we snorkeled they took us to their own beach.. our catamaran was the only one on the beach so it was so secluded and serene.. very nice!! ..

 

I'd like to try that Fury Catamaran sail--it sounds great!

 

Again I think I personally prefered Carnival.. but its just a personal decision.. we did have a great time on Rhapsody and I wouldnt have any problems cruising her again.. I mentioned to my boyfriend that I wouldnt mind trying Voyager of the Seas.. He talked several times all week about trying the rockwall but he never did it.. The workers on Rhapsody were great..

 

We also enjoyed the Rhapsody immensely...we are looking at the Splendour for next April, though. My hubby liked the Splendour better than Rhapsody--he said he felt like the cruise director and staff just "clicked" better on Splendour...of course, the Rhapsody bunch has some newcomers, so they may not have hit their stride yet!

 

All in all, it was terrific!

 

--Susan

[fixing2]

Anybody signed up for this cruise. I am signed up with a group of about 60 from a Houston Dance studio. I would like to find out how to sign up to scuba dive at stingray city. I am certified etc.