Review Rhapsody of the Seas Sep. 26- Oct 7, 2016

[cc-riderslc]

Long overdue review of Rhapsody of the Seas. This is my attempt to pay it forward for all the wonderful reviews I read before starting off on our trip.

 

We sailed the Rhapsody of the Seas from Venice September 26 – October 7, 2016 for 11 nights. Overall the cruise was excellent, the ship in good shape and the ports of call outstanding.

 

Arrival: we flew into Venice on Air Canada Rouge. Yes it is a budget airline but when you are in coach every carrier feels like a budget airline. This one was not worse or better than any other. The attendants were friendly and hot meals were served. They have their own entertainment system which you hook into with WIFI. The movies were old but there was enough to keep you busy for a few hours. Most importantly we departed and arrived on time both inbound and outbound! After arriving in Venice Marco Polo Airport we claimed our luggage and walked out. It really is that easy. We arrived at 7:30 in the morning on the day of the cruise departure and knew if we went straight to the pier we would just have to sit around and wait to board so we opted to take the water bus from the airport to the cruise port. It is quite easy to do. First the airport offers free luggage carts so we got a cart, loaded our luggage and exited the airport. To the left there is a covered walkway with signage pointing towards the water bus dock. We just followed the signs and walkway and within 10 minutes we were there. We purchased our tickets at the dock and caught the 9 am Alilaguna blue line boat. This is not a sightseeing boat ride per se but it does provide a nice ride with stops at several places and a nice view of Venice as you actually will circle the island by the time you reach the cruise port. It took 2 hours to make the trip and we were dropped off right next to the Rhapsody of the Seas. In fact it was exciting to approach the ship from the water as we went right alongside her in the port area. By 11:15 we were in the terminal, checked in by 11:30. We had number 7 and had to wait about 15 more minutes to board so that was a very easy boarding process for us. We went straight to the buffet for lunch as the rooms were not ready until 1 pm. The buffet was not crowded at that time and it was easy to find a table. At 1 pm we put our suitcases in the room and started out to explore a tiny section of Venice. Mostly we wanted to scout out our hotel for our post cruise stay which was across the Constitution Bridge near the train station. We were concerned about the effort it would take to get the luggage across the bridge and concerned about finding the location of the Hotel Villa Rosa which is located down an ally. It was a beautiful, sunny day and very warm. We used the people mover from the cruise terminal to Piazzale Roma then turned left across the parking area where you could easily see the bridge. Just passed the train station we found the ally where the hotel was located and then just explored the area. There is enough to keep you busy a couple hours on a pretty day in this area and that is about all we had since we had to be back on the ship “all aboard” by 4 pm. We returned the same way with no difficulties. I also should mention there are a few shops around the pier area if you just wanted to get a taste of shopping in Venice.

 

Venice departure: Muster drill commenced on time at 4:30. ( you don’t need to take life jackets but you do stand outside on the deck) It only lasted 15 minutes and we were on our way to stake out a place to stand and watch the sail away from Venice. It is as beautiful as advertised. Try to stand on the port side of the ship if you can. From this vantage point you will see the center of Venice city. I was also amazed at the size and beauty of the yachts moored along the side of the canal. Dinner was at 6 pm which was perfect as we were just getting out of the canal and heading to open waters.

 

Dining Room Dinner: Food was ok. I always found something to eat that satisfied me but I can’t say it was much more than ordinary. Service was also just ok this first night but improved the second night on when we got a new assistant waiter. He was very good and had a good relationship with all of us at the table. One complaint to make note of, we were hounded by people to upgrade to the paid dining. Not just on this first night but on the second night as well. I felt like hanging up a “no soliciting” sign on the table. Honest it was that bad.

Dining Room Lunch: I really did enjoy lunch in the dining room. We ate there twice. I especially liked the set up for the salad bar and pasta station. This might only be offered on sea day, I can’t remember for sure. The salads are made to order, you choose what you want on it and they have a wide variety of toppings. The pasta bar will have 2 or 3 selections to choose from and you again pick what you want in the pasta. It wasn’t too crowded when we went. I just liked the options.

 

Windjammer Café: Not too bad. A good variety at the buffet. Breakfast was much the same but there are only so many breakfast foods and they had them all so not much more could be done. Lunch had some variety to it, especially at the section offering local varieties which changed each day. Again there was plenty of choice so no one went hungry. We did eat dinner here once, in Kusadasi, because we got back too late from the tour we took, and once our last night in Venice for the same reason. Dinner was about like lunch. Lots of choices.

 

Park Café: Located in the solarium we really never did eat here. Ok, we stopped by and got a cookie or something like that a time or two but that is about it. It served some breakfast items and for lunch some sandwiches, soups, etc. Only problem here is the seating. It seemed to always be packed so you ended up taking the food outside to the deck or some other place to eat.

 

Ice Cream: I had read reviews the self-serve ice cream machines were not working on some cruises. On ours they were working just fine. We took advantage of them several times and the ice cream was good.

 

Entertainment: I thought the evening shows in the Broadway Melodies Theater were outstanding. Probably the best I have seen in a few years. In the production shows every singer had a wonderful voice. I have to say the past few years there has always been a weak singer in the bunch but this time all four singers were great. Piano Man was the first production show we say which was full of energy, song and dance. Next night it was Gary Williams for West End’s “Rat Pack”. Once again very entertaining and he made it a point to get the audience involved. The next night, also from London’s West End was Lindsay Hamilton. Another great singer with lots of audience participation. I also give her credit for surviving an unforgivable mistake by the staff. She had a very riveting entrance number which was just reaching its peak when the code red announcement came over the loud speakers. This should have been turned off in the theater but was not and so the whole production came to a stop while this was repeated several times. Somehow she managed to make light of it and move on but it certainly upset one of her most dramatic numbers. Gary Williams appeared again the next night, followed the next night by another production number, Pure Country, which was every bit as good as the first production show. There was a pop violinist from the Britains Got Talent show, Analiza Ching, with some great numbers and a high energy show. Another production show, Ballroom Fever, followed the next night. A highlight for many was “The East Coast Boys”. They did Frankie Valli and Four Seasons songs and were spot on. Good job Royal Caribbean on the entertainment choices you provided.

I do need to mention that the idea of entertainment in the Centrum doesn’t work. It is always crowded. There are very few seats. The sight lines are poor. Many times you can’t even see what is going on. Some of the audience participation shows, like Dancing with the Stars were just plain vulgar. The staff lost total control on several nights and they should take another look at ways to entertain because passengers lying on the floor and “dry humping” with staff just doesn’t do it for me. Enough said.

 

Rhapsody of the Seas: I last sailed on Rhapsody of the Seas way back in 2000 so I wasn’t sure what to expect 16 years later. I was very happy with what I found. The ship was clean and in good shape. There had been a couple of accidents with the Rhapsody during her cruises in the Mediterranean prior to our boarding but really nothing was noticeable. It is smaller so much easier to get around than the newer larger ships are. Since we were on an 11 night cruise and 9 of those days we were in a port we didn’t need or want all the bells and whistles of the newer ships. We couldn’t have taken much advantage of them even if they were available. I also like how the Captain was accessible and I enjoyed his question and answer session, along with other department heads, in the Centrum area. He was asked some tough questions but was very straight forward with his answers.

 

Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle: There were about 30 or so people at the Meet and Mingle. My biggest complaint is I didn’t receive an invitation announcing the time and place and neither did the 2 couples we were travelling with. We had all signed up. I called the front desk the first night to ask where it was going to be held and the person that answered had no idea what I was talking about. She did however go ask questions of someone else and did come back with a time and place. We all received a gift as we entered and the assistant cruise director also gave away some gifts with a raffle drawing. It really wasn’t much more than that but I did get to meet some passengers who had joined us on a couple of tours so that was nice to get to know them. I just wish there was better communication about this meeting.

 

Ports of Call: To me this is what this cruise is all about. The ports. I enjoyed all of them. I only wish Royal Caribbean were going to offer this itinerary in 2017 but unfortunately they have really trimmed back the Eastern Mediterranean offerings.

Katakolon, Greece, the gateway to Ancient Olympia. This is a small port city. You can walk the one street from the port and back in 30 minutes. Unless of course you are shopping and then it can take hours. We opted to start with a private tour operated by Olympic Tours by Niki Valchou. Our guide was Ioanna Papakosta who was excellent. She was very willing to talk about life in Greece as we drove to the site which we all found interesting. She also had a great sense of humor which is always a plus for a guide. Her English was excellent. The site itself is fun to tour, especially if you can use your imagination to picture how it looked back in the time of the ancient Olympics. We visited the museum first, then out into the archeological area. Ioanna painted pictures for us as we walked around and learned more about the Olympics. You can’t resist lining up at the starting line in the stadium area where the races were held. After the tour we had some free time in the neighboring Olympia city to shop and eat lunch. They have a good ATM there where those in our group got some Euros. It worked flawlessly. I had an older Credit Union card that I wanted to use because it had the best rates but it only had the magnetic strip on the back. To my surprise it went through just fine. We ate at the restaurant Socrates on the main shopping street. It was quite good, not expensive and the portions were large. There was a little hang-up when the proprietor didn’t want to accept a credit card from each couple so we ended up with one person paying for the 6 meals which their card and we had to pay them back later in the cruise. We got back to the ship with a couple of hours to spare so we walked in the town of Katakolo and did some shopping and took some pictures.

Chaina, Crete Greece. We just did a self-guided walking tour here. You can find enough information online to form your own. The ship actually ported in Souda, about a 10 to 15 minute ride to the old town. It worked out fine. The buses are lined up just as you exit the cruise terminal building. Several booths are set up to buy the inexpensive tickets and there was no waiting for a bus. An empty bus pulls up just as the full bus departs. The bus drops you off next to the market. It is a beautiful old building with lots of shops selling everything from souvenirs to fresh food items. Highlights touring the town include the leather street, Knife Street, the museum, churches and of course the beautiful Venetian harbor. We ate lunch at the harbor overlooking the water and the light house. It was a fun stop and you could make it relaxing as well.

Athens, Greece. We had been to Athens for 3 days about 5 years ago so we opted to not take a tour and just take the X80 bus into Athens, which took us about 45 minutes on the day we were there. The bus is easy to catch. First we had to take a shuttle bus from the ship to the cruise terminal entrance. They are free and run on demand. Once at the entrance just exit and keep to the left. You will see a parking lot with all the tour buses in it. Just walk through that parking area and once you come out of the parking you will see a kiosk to buy the bus ticket. It is manned by a person who will sell the ticket at 4.50 E per person roundtrip. The bus stop is just behind you to the right up a slight incline. Maybe 20 years away. The bus runs every 30 minutes. We only waited for a few minutes before it came. It wasn’t crowded and we had no problems getting a seat. It stops near the Acropolis and then again next to the main square, Syntagma. This is where we got off. We used the Rick Steve’s audio guide to tour around the city and saw all of what we wanted to see. Changing of the guard, several churches, the Plaka and Anafiotika, Roman forum and Tower of the Winds, Monastiraki Square where we had lunch on Souvlaki Row. We ate at Thanasis Restaurant at the outdoor tables. We were pondering over the menu when the waiter told us he knew just what we wanted and took off. When he came back he had some great souvlaki, French fries and cokes. He literally feed my wife a mouthful of food and then waited to see if she liked it. After she said yes he took a napkin and patted her mouth and was pleased as could be with himself. It was hilarious. But seriously it was excellent food and we enjoyed the time to stop and relax. We continued on our tour by visiting the Library of Hadrian and then the Ancient Agora. We then walked back to Syntagma Square to the bus stop in front of McDonalds. They have an electronic sign there telling us when the bus would arrive. We still had a half an hour so we walked over to the bakery to buy some baklava. The baklava here is outstanding. Don’t miss the chance to get some from a local bakery. Since we stepped onto the bus in Syntagma, the first stop on the return trip, we were able to get seats. Many who got on later at the Acropolis stop had to stand. The return trip only took 30 minutes. Once there hop on the shuttle bus and it stops right in front of the ship. I like Athens. Yes it is big and in places dirty but in the Plaka and archeological areas it doesn’t feel that way.

Thessaloniki, Greece. Who knew this was such an interesting a beautiful stop? We started off with a private tour arranged by Harris Solakidis of Zoom Transfers. This was a Cruise Critic group I organized and there were 12 of us on the tour. We were picked up in front of the cruise terminal and taken out into the countryside to the town of Vergina. Here we explored the Ancient Tomb of King Phillip II, father of Alexander the Great. This is the most unique museum I have visited. It is all underground, covered by a mound of dirt much like it was when it was discovered. The tombs are large mausoleums and you see them just as they were made. Beautiful. And the artifacts they recovered from the tombs and surrounding area are in a darkened area of the museum with bright lights shining on them. As I said it is unusual to see a museum such as this. Following the museum tour we were given a half an hour to explore the few shops and restaurants in the city before boarding the minibus back. It is a beautiful little town, nicely landscaped and clean. We even saw a Pomegranate bush (tree) loaded with bright red fruit. As an added extra when we got back to Thesaloniki we had some time before we had to board so our guide took us to the sea walk so we could see the White Tower and statue of Alexander the Great. This too is a beautiful area filled with people riding bikes, walking with families, etc. Nice town and nice people.

Kusadasi, Turkey. Some people in our group were worried about safety here but we didn’t have any problems. The people, the vendors, are desperate for people to buy their goods. So many cruise lines have cancelled this call that they are very worried about the ability to survive. They seemed to be extra kind to us. I organized a Cruise Critic tour group here and we went to the biblical city of Ephesus with Magic Steps travel. Our guide was Tanar. What an excellent guide. Request him if he is available. Our tour included Ephesus, which I think is beautiful even in ruins, the Terrace Houses inside Ephesus. It costs another $10 to visit but well worth the visit. We visited the House of the Virgin Mary, the Museum in Selkuk that holds some of the artifacts from Ephesus, the Temple of Artimis, which at one time was a Wonder of the World but now only has one pillar left standing and a stop at the Carpet factory. We had lunch at the factory which is usually how these tours with lunch are done. It was a wonderful lunch on an outdoor patio. Learning how they make carpets in interesting and the carpets are beautiful. I don’t like the hard sell you get at these kinds of places. But it is what it is. After the tour we had time in Kusadasi to shop in the bazaar which is always interesting and fun.

Rhodes, Greece. Home of the crusaders. If you wanted to live in the time on Knights, walled cities, moats and castles this is the place for you. The ship ports within a 10 minute walk of the old town. We just wanted to walk the town and visit the Palace of the Grand Masters and shop a little. That we did and enjoyed it very much. It is a multicultural city with a little bit of everything. We even saw a merchant selling octopus from his boat as we walked along the pier.

Dubrovnik, Croatia. What a gem this city is perched on the edge of the beautiful Adriatic Sea. We took a tour here offered by Dubrovnik Private Tours a division of MSI Resources. They picked us just outside the gates and took us out to the country of visit Cavtat. We went high up into the mountains for a view down at Cavtat and the deep blue sea. After we visited the city which has a Mediterranean feel to it. After we returned to Dubrovnik but not before stopping at another overlook to see the bright red rooftops contrasting with the blue sea. The city is walled, the streets are paved in marble and the people were very friendly. Our guide, Peter, was especially grateful for the USA for helping them during the war in the early 1990’s. You don’t often hear praise from people in this area of the world but he was truly grateful. We saw many things and learned the history while we walked through the streets. We had a pizza lunch while sitting outside along the small street. The city is full of small alleys and streets. After it was all over we took a cab back to the ship. I found I really liked Dubrovnik.

 

Now the cruise ended in Venice with an overnight stay on the ship. We arrived at 3 pm so we had another great view of Venice as we cruised the canal to the port. We opted to do a cruise ship tour to Murano and Burano this afternoon. We wanted to go there anyway and we felt like we could save some time by getting off the ship first and boarding the water bus right there next to the ship. That part did work out good but the group was large and that just isn’t that fun. For example when we visited the glass shop and saw the glass blowing demonstration we were way up at the top of some bleachers and really couldn’t see as well as those up front. And in Burano and the lace making shop we couldn’t even get in the shop to hear what was being said. The group was too large and the building too small. It was fun anyway and the two islands are very quaint and beautiful.

 

Next day we departed about 8:30 am, claimed our luggage which was easy to do, and then pulled that luggage a couple of hundred yards to the people mover. They have a lift along with the escalator so we used the lift since we had luggage to get to the upper floor where we boarded the train. It is just a short ride into Piazalla Roma. We then had to pull our luggage across the Constitution Bridge (which we had explored the day we arrived). It is slow going but doable. There are also porters who will carry your bags for you for a fee, and even some unauthorized porters who will just grab your bag and go expecting money at the bottom and one couple in our group found out. There are also just some kind people who will grab a bag and help just to be helpful. We met a couple of those people as well. We stayed at the Hotel Villa Rosa. I quite like the hotel. It is modern, has a very nice breakfast and is close to nightlife once you come back from touring. It is also a great price compared to other hotels. We were there very early but they will hold your luggage for you so you can start seeing the city. In our case one of our 3 rooms was already made up so they let us lock all our luggage in that room so we could leave. They have a 24 hours front desk which I liked because we didn’t have any deadlines on which we needed to return to check in. We could just do that when we got back. The water bus stations are just a 5 minute walk from the hotel so we bought a 24 hour pass on got on the slow boat to San Marco Square. While it was fun leaving at 9 in the morning was like rush hour, the boats were packed and we couldn’t get a seat at all. We just had to stand the entire boat ride. It is fun to see Venice from the canals at water level. We had pre-booked tickets to the Secret Tour at Doges Palace so we headed straight there so we didn’t miss the tour. I am glad we booked this tour. It was informative and we visited places in the palace where the general entrance tour doesn’t go. We saw where Casanova was imprisoned and the guide gave us the complete story of his stay there. We even went into the attic where they have a museum display of old swords, guns, etc. Once that tour is complete you can begin where the general tour starts by visiting all the rooms just loaded with gold and paintings. So opulent. We must have spent about 2 hours in the Doges Palace. After that we went right next door to St Marks Basilica and paid the couple of extra euros to go the museum and walk out on the terrace next to the horses. It is quite a view from there. We then wandered around the small alleys making our way on foot to the Rialto Bridge. Shopped around the area and visited the vegetable marked (there were still about 4 or 5 vendors there at 5 pm.) Then we took the waterbus back to the hotel, got a recommendation for dinner from the front desk and left to eat at Ostaria al Vecio Pozzo, just a local restaurant hidden in some back alleys. Definitely a local place but so much fun to eat like that. On our way back to the hotel we passed a Magnum Ice Cream bar where we stopped for ice cream. You start with a Magnum bar, did it in any kind of chocolate you want and then add toppings to it. Yummy. After that we stayed out until about 10 pm shopping and just looking around the area near the hotel.

The next morning we got up early, had a nice breakfast at the hotel and pulled once again the luggage across the bridge to meet our transfer service. We used Airport Taxi Transfers which was a very good service. It was 45 euro total for 6 of us with luggage. The driver was where he was supposed to be for the pickup and was very friendly. One thing to note about the Venice Airport. It is under construction and we had read stories that it is very crowded and hard to check in. We didn’t find that problem but what we didn’t know is that the check in for Air Canada (and Delta too) is not in the main hall. It is actually across the street and down some elevators. We wandered all over the main terminal before we found out we were in the wrong place. I guess Air Canada and others are in this temporary check in area during construction. Anyway once we found out where we needed to be it was easy and we boarded the plane without any difficulty.

It was a great trip. If you are going next year I envy you already. Have a great time!

[stickyshocker]

You have no idea on how helpful this review is to me, it ticked off all the boxes!.. Thank You!

 

 

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[easyboy]

Very informative review. Thanks for the feedback.