Rhapsody 7/31-8/7

[Grace'sMom]

Hi all.

I returned home on Sunday night from our Rhapsody cruise. I went with my mother, brother, husband and our 4 year old daughter. We had a great time. The Rhapsody was very nice and the crew was fantastic. I loved our cabin steward (Nicholas) and our waiter and assistant waiter (Lipika and Patrick). They could not have been nicer. We also lucked out because we had wonderful table mates. A mother, daughter and son. Lipika did card tricks every night at our table and the kids all loved it.

The weather was fantastic. With all the hurricanes lately, we were a little worried. The second morning I looked out the window and the water was so smoothe that it looked like glass. It was amazing- I have never seen water that smoothe! Everyone was talking about it. Also saw dolphins swimming several times.

This was our second cruise, first one with RCCL. One thing I loved about this cruise was that since we were on a Caribbean cruise, (along with lots of other cruise lines!), we saw a lot of other ships sailing along with us. At night, to look out across the ocean and see two or three other ships sailing, it was beautiful. Very dark sky and water, then beautiful ships, all lit up. I know it sounds sappy, but I loved it! Also, the sky was absolutely amazing! I think we only had one or two nights with clouds and some lightening, which also looked pretty in the distance, but all the other nights were clear and it was so neat to sit up on the top deck and see all the stars. I live in Dallas, so there is a lot of "light pollution" here and although we can see stars, it is nothing compared to what we saw on the ship. The Milky Way looked beautiful with all the star clusters. Make sure you take binoculars on your cruise!

Well, now that I have made myself sound like I geek.....I guess I'll keep going.

On my last cruise we were diverted because of a hurricane, and we ended up in Veracruz, Mexico. (where they filmed the movie Predator) We were the only ship in the port.

But on this cruise we were in ports along with 5 or 6 ships. I know this is probably the norm for most cruises, but I missed out on that the last time and I really did enjoy seeing other ships in port. The Mariner is beautiful. We also saw two Carnival ships, I think the Elation was one of them. It was huge. I wish I had written the names of them down- I am totally blank right now. Can't remember the other ones.

We did go to the pool every day because our 4 year old daughter wanted to swim. I only got in the pool once, my mother twice, hubby not at all. I had read about babies in the pool on this board before our trip and was curious about what I might see. Sure enough, there was a family who had a daughter around 5 or 6, then a baby who was maybe 1-1 1/2. They had her in the pool constantly. I saw the Deck Partol come by on several occasions and ask the mother to take the baby out of the pool, but as soon as they left, she would put her back in. This went on all week. I also saw something else that was pretty gross, too gross to even mention on this board, but at that point my husband looked at me and said, "And you wonder why I don't want to get in the pool?" I did hear that they drain the pool every night and re-fill it, so that's good.

 

We may be considered boring by other CC members, but we never took part in any of the activities on board. I never saw the theater until Sunday, when we were waiting to get off the ship. :rolleyes: My husband, mother and brother decided to play Bingo on the last day and hubby won some money (about $500), so that was fun. I also took our daughter to the kids area a few times and she loved it. We all read a lot.

Our cabins were nice and I loved having a window. The view was nice, but I also really enjoyed having the extra light to get dressed and put on make-up! On our last trip we had an inside cabin and I remember having trouble seeing what I was doing. (it was this yellow-ish light and I never knew how I was going to look when I left the room!)

The food in the dining room was ok. I know it's subjective and I will get slammed no matter what I say. It wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fabulous either. The warm chocolate cake was great- especially with vanilla ice cream on the side. :)

Loved renting scooters in Key West- I highly recommend it. I'm pretty sure I heard the guy say you had to be 18 to drive one, but you can always ride on the back of one. We also decided to eat dinner in Key West and went to a place called Conch Republic. I had delicious crabcakes. Wish I had one now!

Grand Cayman was nice- we went to the beach and relaxed. Lots of hurricane damage from several years ago. You can tell that there is money there. Very friendly people there too! Beautiful water.

Cozumel was very nice. and very HOT! We went to the shopping district and enjoyed it.

See, I told you we were boring! :) We just didn't do any of the activities that most people do. We didn't want to have any kind of set schedule either- just wanted to hang out and relax. Our tablemates did the Stingray City in Grand Cayman and LOVED it. They also swam with the dolphins in Cozumel and said it was a lot of fun.

I have only posted a few things on this board under this name (was under another name a few years ago), but I read it all the time. I have learned a LOT here! Lots of good tips and advice. I did pick up a couple of tips that I thought were great-

the first one is getting an over-the-door shoe bag for all your toiletries. (did I spell that right?:D ) It is the greatest thing ever!!! I got one for my mom too and she just loved it. I had forgotten how little room there is in the bathroom for storing stuff. Our shoe bag held everything from skin care stuff to make-up, deodorant, first aid kit,hairbrushes, etc.....it was just great and I want to say thank you to everyone who has ever recommended getting one for your cruise! It was a lifesaver.

Also there were tips about clothespins. Yes, they're great for keeping your curtains closed, but there was a tip about hanging a few of them aorund the bottom of your shower curtain to keep it hanging down, instead of blowing around and sticking to your legs. Great tip!

One evening the ships was...well I wont say "rough"...just that you could feel some movement. I get motion sickness easily, but I started taking my Less Drowsy Dramamine the night before our trip, as did our whole group, and we never got sick at all. But that night with the movement there were quite a few people in line at the Purser's desk asking for dramamine. In fact, a girl a few doors down from me was very ill and said she had taken 6 of them and was not any better. I'm not trying to tell anyone what to do here, but I highly recommend taking the Less Drowsy Dramamine every night before bed. It wont knock you out and wont keep you up either. If you wait until you're sick to take something, it wont work. Have fun on your cruise, don't be ill in your cabin!:)

Well, I guess that's it. We had a wonderful time on our trip and I'm looking forward to my next cruise! (I don't know when or where, but I'm already looking into that!)

The Rhapsody was a wonderful ship with a fantastic crew and I know if you have a trip booked on her, you will have a great time!

[shmthaus]

Thanks so much for your review. It takes a little while to start being active on the ships. Our first two we didn't really participate, but our third one we went wild.

 

Got second place in belly flop, entered the hairy leg contest, our group won the Quest, DW got a henna tattoo that helped win the Quest..... I think you get the idea.....

 

Just be glad that you had the opportunity to sail Rhapsody and be sure to come back. We love her and can't wait till November.....

[GBelle]

Since you were on the Rhapsody recently, do you recall if there was a self-laundry on the ship or was it just ship sponsored laundry pickup/delivery?

 

We will be sailing on the ship in December and it would be nice to know ahead of time.

Thanks.

[wolfganghowell]

They have laundry service but not self serve. We use it every cruise - the prices are very reasonable and they have half price if you need a tux,suit or dress pressed.

[ginag]

Thanks for sharing your review. I can't wait for my turn!!

[sandgrand]

What beach did you go to in Grand Caymen? We did a $20.00 per person hotel/beach excursion on our last cruise and the beach was very very crowded and small. I have heard there is a public beach. Any information will be helpful for we sail in December '05. Also - please give info about the theater. I did not know Rhapsody had one? (Price, size, same movies as in room ???) Thanks for the review - I enjoyed it.:)

[Grace'sMom]

Hi Sandgrand...

 

We had been told to go to one of the nicer hotels, then pay a few dollars to use their beach and chairs. We grabbed a cab and asked to go to the Hilton and the driver smiled and said "OK", then he took us to a nice beach and dropped us off. No, it wasn't the Hilton. I also saw a guy working at the counter/hut give our driver a few dollars for bringing us there.:) So I guess they pay drivers to take them to their beaches. We were on the 7-mile beach, but I can't tell you exactly where. It was very clean and nice though. Beautiful water. Also I should point out that we got a cab as soon as we got off the ferry and went straight there- not lag time. Within a couple of hours it started getting crowded, so I think if you want an umbrella and chairs you better get there early.

 

As far as the theater goes....I guess I don't have my cruise lingo down yet. I shouldnt have called it a "theater", I should have said "Broadway Melodies Show Lounge". As I said earlier, we never attended any shows during our cruise, and I got to see it they day we were leaving. It's very pretty. (but they don't show movies there)

 

Lots of good movies in the room on this cruise. Million Dollar Baby was very good and so was that movie with Samuel L. Jackson where he's a basketball coach (can't remember the name). There's also a channel with all the old movies which I love and one night they were playing Imitation of Life, with Lana Turner. It is one of my favotire old movies and it's a tear jerker. There's also a "Retro" channel that plays old shows like Welcome Back Kotter, Charlie's Angels, Chico and The Man, Gilligan's Island. Lots to choose from!

 

I keep thinking of little things to mention.....

 

On Formal nights, almost every man in the dining room was wearing a suit, but I never saw a single tux. I even saw them turn a guy away- he looked like he was about 18-20. He showed up in a t-shirt and a tie- really nice look. ;) They wouldn't let him in the dining room. I always enjoy formal night- it's nice to see people looking presentable for a change instead of greased up with suntan oil, sweaty and hot in tank tops and shorts. ( no offense to anyone!) Speaking of hot and sweaty, those poor elevators never get to rest and some days they were rather stinky. But what can you expect when everyone has been sunbathing and then they need to ride the elevator to their room? It happens.

 

Sandgrand, I guess this was wayyyyyyyyyyy more than you wanted to know, huh??? :rolleyes:

[cruising grandma]

We were also on this cruise. We had a wonderful group from our roll call at the meet and mingle party, exchanged gifts, and have made lots of new friends! You should have joined us! We exchanged email addresses and hope to have a reunion cruise someday. One in our group won the bellyflop contest(he's a school assistant principal). We bought a horse for the horserace, and although it didn't win, we had a wonderful time! Also, Schooner's has a great musician, and we enjoyed quest, too. There were children knocking at our door for items needed for a scavenger hunt. (One of them knew us from cruisecritic party.) These boards are so helpful for everyone!!! We did go to several shows in the show lounge. There were two broadway style singing/dancing shows, a comedian, passenger talent show, magician, comedy juggler, etc. Our dining table was perfectly located to see and hear the fantastic musicians there. We had a GREAT cruise, and this was our 22nd.(sixth this year). Please go to the meet and mingle parties and make friends. It will only take a little of your time, and you may get to know some very special people!

 

After shopping in Grand Cayman in the morning, we took a taxi to 7 mile beach. Taxis were readily available, and cost $4 per person to go to the public beach on 7 mile Beach. There were loungers and umbrellas, clean restrooms, and a restaurant, and a place to rent jetskis. Taxis also waiting to take you back for the same price. They fill them up(minivans) before leaving. Cozumel you can taxi own your own to Chankanaab and swim with the dolphins(less expensive, and same as ship's excursion except you can stay longer.) Key West, try chocolate covered key lime pie on a stick, also try the fruity wines at Key West Winery. Main thing is meet people and enjoy your week!

[BonnieNYTX]

Grace'sMom, your cruise experience sounds awesome. We were on the Rhapsody last month (waaa I miss it) There is no law that states you must participate in any or all activities. A cruise is what YOU make it and apparently you chose well because you seem to have had a wonderful time. Everyone has their own comfort level. Cruising Grandma, I missed out on the choco covered key lime pie but we did have dinner in Margaritaville. Thanks for your reviews. Just reinforces the fact that the Rhapsody rocks. She's quite a ship, isn't she?

[kenandlaura06]

Thanks for the review!