Review: Rhapsody 14 nt Round th Horn, 28 FEB thru 13 MAR

[relaxatsea]

Bon voyage and wishing you smooth sailing!

 

Looking forward to your next installment!

 

Thanks again,

 

Barbara and Orlando (cruising March 13 from B.A.)

[JamesEM]

Have a great cruise.

[hancogran]

Can't wait to read the rest of your review! South America is on our bucket list. We are scheduled to sail Rhapsody in April, 2017 on an eastbound Transatlantic so I'm anxious to see what you have to say about the ship. Have a fantastic cruise! :)

[Beachammo]

Great start.....

 

We were suppose to be on the March 13th horn trip. Had to cancel. I hope Royal keeps this itinerary going foward.

[Bfson]

We arrived at 330 for check in. Mob scene. SLOW. Folks arriving at 1030 say it was easy. From noon on a zoo.

 

At check in you will need sea pass, credit card, the tiny computer printout they gave you at passport control when you first entered Chile, and the form showing you have prepaid the Argentian reciprosity fee.

 

Tidbits: wifi slow but not as bad as in the past; room service slow and inaccurate (we ordered 2 items and they took twice the estimated time and forgot one) crew seems happy, lunch in MDR very good

[CRUISEBOY305]

Thanks for the review. I have friends on board your sailing.

 

Been to various parts of South America but a Around the horn cruise is on my bucket list. :D

Edited March 1, 2016 by CRUISEBOY305

[aviator1945]

CRUISE DAY 1, SUNDAY 28 FEB: SAILAWAY!

(Continued)

 

DW and I left the ibis Valparaiso at 10:30 am. Just as we stepped out, a taxi pulled up near the entrance with a passenger who had just disembarked from the Rhapsody, so we quickly asked the driver how much he would charge for taking us to the ship with our two large bags. The answer was CLP 7000 (~USD 10), perhaps a bit steep for Valparaiso, but so what, in my country a similar ride would have cost twice as much. Ten minutes later we arrived at the Passenger Terminal, where the embarkation formalities had just begin. Dropped off our bags with the porters and stepped inside the very spacious terminal. Identified ourselves with our passports and SetSail documents and were assigned an agent who took care of our paperwork. Filled in the usual RCI health form, still with questions related to Ebola, but nothing on Zika. I noticed that behind the scenes a ship's doctor was present. Finally a security check, before boarding a comfortable shuttle bus that would take us the two or three miles to shipside. In all, the entire formalities process was completed in less than half an hour and in a very professional manner. Clearly RCI's port agent and other involved officials had done their homework. Our checkin experience was just as pleasant here in Valparaiso as it had been on previous occasions in places like Fort Lauderdale, Barcelona, or Singapore, for example. Nothing at all like the horror stories that we had read in reviews of RCI and other companies' embarkation procedures in South America.

 

We boarded the ship at 11:30 am, just when the Windjammer buffet was opening. Had lunch, after which we went to the MDR in order to verify that our MTD reservations were in order. This turned out not to be the case; when we made our dinner reservation on the RCI website, the timings offered were the Brazilian ones with earliest option starting at 7:30 pm. But as there were relatively few Brazilian guests on the Round the Horn cruises, it had subsequently been decided to revert to the European/North American timings, which for us were more convenient.

 

When we had checked in at the Valparaiso Passenger Terminal, DW and I had decided not to have a debit card account, but rather to try a cash account. So after boarding the ship, we checked with Guest Services, and the maximum credit on a cash account is USD 500 per cabin, which can be settled onboard with our debit card without a "hold" being placed on the card. The problem with holds is that many banks, including ours, take up to two weeks after the end of the cruise before they release them, which means that our money would be tied up even though all outstanding card debt had been settled with RCI at disembarkation. A minor inconvenience with a cash account is of course that every now and then I will need to stand in the Guest Services line to settle my account, but that can be done early mornings or late at night, when not so many other guests are there. By the way, since the Vision class of ships does not have the system whereby you can check your account balance interactively on your cabin TV, Guest Services needs to manually arrange a printout in order for you to know your current standing. Even if you have a credit card account, it's a good idea to have your account balance checked at least once during a long cruise, in order to avoid unpleasant surprises at the last moment due to incorrect charges levied.

 

The guests that were disembarking in Valparaiso were apparently very fond of the ship, so much so that they were not keen on vacating their cabins in order for housekeeping staff to prepare for embarking passengers. Whereas in most cases embarking guests have access to their cabins around 1 pm, this time it was well after 2 pm when we could finally get in.

 

We had found this cruise in November 2015 while on a Transatlantic voyage on the Allure, and at that time there were only guarantee cabins available in the Oceanview category. But as we had booked guarantee cabins previously on other ships and had always been lucky to get better deals than we had hoped for, we had no problem booking guarantee this time as well. Besides, there was a pretty good senior discount attached to the deal, so it was really a no-brainer when we booked this cruise and fulfilled one of the items on our bucket list. And this time when we made final payment the RCI rep told us that we had just paid for a guarantee Cat. I cabin (cheapest OV on the ship) and had gotten a Cat. F cabin (highest level OV apart from family size).

 

After a few minutes in the cabin our stateroom attendant Marco (from Brazil) came and greeted us and explained the various features of the cabin. He also gave us a good safety briefing on what to do in the event of an alarm.

 

At 5:15 pm the customary muster drill took place. I have often wondered, but never before actually asked, what happens in case I'm in the theater, for example, if there were to be an alarm. The correct action is to immediately go to the muster station, and not take any detour via my cabin. Now that's ok if I'm sailing in a warm climate like the Caribbean, the Med or the South Pacific, but what if I'm in a cold climate like in Alaska, around Cape Horn, or in the North Atlantic in early spring or late autumn? I discretely asked one of our muster station staff, and was told that in such cases there were staff from the Evacuation Control Team that would from the cabins fetch whatever warm clothing that was needed, along with any necessary medications (a good reason not to keep medicines in the safe). Would be a good idea if this were told officially during the muster, since otherwise there might be guests that would take the detour via their cabins, which would be inappropriate.

 

At 6 pm we went for dinner in the MDR. Our waiter, Roldan (from the Philippines) introduced himself and the assistant waiter, Denise (from Brazil). I selected spinach salad as the entree and pork chop as the main course. To end the meal I selected the cheese platter, as I just about always do on every cruise.

 

During the course of the dinner Captain Dimas introduced himself over the public address system, informing us about some of the weather and navigational details for the following days. I enjoyed listening to him; his style was very clear and understandable.

 

At 8:15 pm our CD Michelle hosted the Welcome Aboard Showtime. The main attraction was a world class juggler, "Jaz Danion" from France, who entertained us with his masterly balancing acts, certainly difficult to achieve in light of the motion of the ship.

 

CRUISE DAY 2, MONDAY 29 FEB: SEA DAY

 

As usual the day began with breakfast in the WJ. The ship was from time to time rocking and rolling, nothing particularly serious though. But depending on what part of the ship that one was in, it was easy to feel the difference. The motion in the ocean was most clearly felt on the higher decks, like in the WJ on deck 9, whereas in our cabin midships on deck 2 it was hardly noticeable.

 

After breakfast I took a nap, waking up just in time for the published lunchtime at 11:30 am in the WJ. When we arrived there, breakfast was still being served. Gradually by noon breakfast had morphed into lunch. Interesting to note how the WJ is managed on different ships. On the bigger ships it is often closed after breakfast and re-opened at lunchtime, whereas here on Rhapsody it seemed open without interruption, at least in the morning.

 

Meet & Mingle was held at 2 pm in the Shall We Dance lounge on deck 6, hosted by Activities Manager Daniel. Quite a good crowd showed up, and it was nice to connect some of the people with their aliases on CC. There was some unhappiness regarding the embarkation procedures the previous day; there had apparently been long lines at some point during the day. I told of my opposite experience, and of our strategy of arriving early at the Passenger Terminal, which had served us well.

 

Captain Dimas' Welcome Aboard Reception took place in the evening, during which he was available for pictures before delivering his customary speech. Evening dress was suggested as formal, and just about everybody had heeded that advice; in fact, I didn't notice anyone being casually dressed. But then again, very few tuxedos were in sight either. Most of the men were wearing black, blue or gray suits, while the ladies had nice dresses or in a few cases evening gowns.

 

Later in the evening CD Michelle presented Brazilian Tenor Jorge Durian, who gave a fabulous performance singing well-known songs in a wide number of genres from Frank Sinatra (My Way) to Sacred (Ave Maria), something for almost everybody.

 

During the evening the RC Aerialists had a performance scheduled in the Centrum. Unfortunately I missed it, since I wanted to make sure that I would get a good seat at Jorge Durian's concert.

 

(Will try to post this from land based wifi in Puerto Montt; if not successful, I'll use one of our free ship's wifi in a couple of days' time.)

[Sand$!]

This is wonderful detail on the trip you are taking. Much more than I have ever found recently. I am doing the transatlantic in April on Rhapsody as my first ever cruise. Looking forward to reading more. Thank you.

Edited March 1, 2016 by Sand$!
Mis spelling

[LMaxwell]

Following along. I know some people on this trip and have seen some photos from them online. Very unique and interesting itinerary.

[PCWalton1]

What a great start. Looking forward to the next installment. :)

[aviator1945]

CRUISE DAY 3, TUESDAY 1 MAR: PUERTO MONTT

 

The day started a bit gray and dreary. DW and I showed up as usual for breakfast in the WJ at 7 am, and daylight had just barely begun. It wasn't long until the ship reached the waters off Puerto Montt, where we anchored near the Silver Spirit, which had already arrived. Tendering to Puerto Montt, which was a seven minute journey, started within an hour.

 

We chose a shore excursion that would take us by bus to Frutillar and Puerto Varas, a couple of towns in the Chilean Lake District. But first we briefly toured Puerto Montt, the district capital which was founded in 1852 by Chilean President Manuel Montt, who was promoting immigration from foreign lands, in particular Germany, into this part of the country. The architecture of older buildings in the district is reminiscent of that in the Black Forest region in Germany. Our tour continued to Frutillar along the shores of Lago Llanquihue, one of the largest lakes in Chile. In Frutillar we made a half hour stop at a museum and garden dedicated to the memory of the first German settlers. The dahlias were beautiful, even though this was near the end of their season. We also walked down to the shores of the lake to admire its clear water and black sandy beaches. After Frutillar the bus continued to Puerto Varas, only a few minutes away. We were lucky in that the weather had gradually improved so that by now we had a clear and cloudless sky with excellent visibility, which enabled a perfect view of the Osorno volcano. We spent around 45 minutes in Puerto Varas, strolling down the streets and buying some souvenirs along the way. We were there around siesta time, so a few of the shops were closed, otherwise it might have been more crowded, since this was also 1 March, the first day of the new scholastic year. Puerto Varas is also known as the "City of Roses", with lots of beautiful rose bushes lining the streets. From Puerto Varas we returned to the tender dock in Puerto Montt.

 

During the entire tour we had been looking for what might be a good wifi setup, but had found none. Not until the final moments on shore did we discover a wifi access point in the tendering terminal at Puerto Montt, courtesy of the Port Authority. We arrived there around 3.30 pm, among the first ones to return to the ship from excursions, and with only a handful of others connecting to the internet. I quickly arranged my review of the previous two days and posted it at around 3.50 pm, while DW was communicating with her FB friends. At around 4 pm several more tour buses returned to the port, and it wasn't long before roughly 100 people were trying to connect to the internet, which then slowed to a crawl, from what had initially been a pretty good speed. No point in spending more time there; instead we boarded the tender for the seven minute return trip to the Rhapsody.

 

In the evening CD Michelle presented a Showtime Production starring entitled Piano Man, starring the RC Singers & Dancers. Great show!

 

(This comment is made on Day 4: In order to post this I'll now try to connect to our first 24-hour session of ship's wifi. Currently we are cruising in the Pacific Ocean.)

[aviator1945]

Can't wait to read the rest of your review! South America is on our bucket list. We are scheduled to sail Rhapsody in April, 2017 on an eastbound Transatlantic so I'm anxious to see what you have to say about the ship. Have a fantastic cruise! :)

 

In NOV 2016 the Rhapsody will be visiting the dry dock in Cadiz, Spain for a couple of weeks. So in APR 2017 she'll be in ship shape (no pun intended). So far no details released by RCI. If there is a Captain's Corner on our cruise, I'll try to ask.

[Crism]

Fantastic so far!

 

What language is primarily spoken by the crew and during the shows, Portuguese, English, or Spanish?

[Bfson]

So far English is the dominant language. Announcements in English, then Spanish, and then German. Enrichment lectures in English.

[hancogran]

In NOV 2016 the Rhapsody will be visiting the dry dock in Cadiz, Spain for a couple of weeks. So in APR 2017 she'll be in ship shape (no pun intended). So far no details released by RCI. If there is a Captain's Corner on our cruise, I'll try to ask.

 

Thank you so much! Right now it's not looking good for our Transatlantic in April. It has been "sold out" for the past month or so, and most of us are suspecting it will be canceled and Rhapsody will stay in North America. We are all waiting for the new 2017/2018 European schedules to be released this week to see if we find out anything. :confused: Any information you find out will be greatly appreciated. Have a great cruise!:)

[aviator1945]

CRUISE DAY 4, WEDNESDAY 2 MAR: SEA DAY

 

This morning I decided to sleep a little longer than usual, skipping breakfast, although DW attended WJ as usual. The reason for my sleep-in was that we and all other C&A members at Platinum level and above were invited to a brunch at 9.45 am in the Shall We Dance lounge, hosted by Activities Manager Daniel on behalf of Captain Dimas. There were fog patches here and there during the morning, with visibility at times as low as a few hundred meters (around 1000 ft) so I'm sure that Captain Dimas preferred to remain on the bridge in order to supervise operations. As for the brunch, entertainment was provided by the Sunny Duo (violin + guitar). The Loyalty Ambassador (sorry, but I forgot her name) and Pablo, in charge of the NextCruise Office briefly spoke. The European cruise schedule would be released within the next couple of days, and Pablo invited those interested to visit his office to get an early shot at these cruises. Later, after the brunch, I spoke privately with Pablo about RCI and South American cruises, and was told that the company had decided to withdraw from South America and deploy elsewhere so that there would be no cruises in this region for the foreseeable future after April this year. Sister company Celebrity, however, would continue their sailings here. I also asked Pablo about how shipboard reservations were handled in terms of which of RCI's offices would be responsible. The answer was that it all depended on the address of the customer. For example, a customer with a US address would be handled by the US office, whereas a customer with a European address would be handled by the appropriate office in Europe, etc. Pablo confirmed that different markets had different terms and conditions.

 

A Daytime highlight was an enrichment lecture with Patrick Goodness, originally from Wisconsin, now living in Costa Rica. He spoke of Chile's Fjord Land: Nature, Animals, History, Mythical Lost Cities & How Chile Got Its Name. The lecture was well attended.

 

Tonight's Headliner Showtime performance was by "Hector Is Magic", a Spanish Illusionist and Magician, who did his show in English and Spanish sequentially. Much of the performance was based on audience participation.

 

During the latter part of the afternoon fog had returned and the ship's horn was blowing intermittently. But as of 9:45 pm when this post is written, visibility has improved again. At present we're in the Pacific Ocean, a few miles due west of Isla Emeralda and the plan is to enter the Chilean Fjords south of Isla Mornington. My Google Maps isn't giving me any distances, but from the navigational charts posted near Guest Services I'm guessing that will be around midnight or shortly thereafter, ship's time (around 10 pm EST). I'm sure that they have more exact timings available on the bridge..... Then we'll be winding our way through the Fjord Country and the Magellan Straits to reach Punta Arenas early Friday morning.

 

The internet connection onboard Rhapsody reminds me of 20 years ago when I was using dial-up services. So she sure ain't like the Allure. I definitely would not pay money for a slow connection, but a couple of free days based on DW's and my Diamond membership is ok. And we're lucky to be able to get a wifi connection in our cabin (Deck 2, midship). We know of others that have to go to public lounges in order to connect. Wouldn't it be nice if RCI could upgrade to VOOM internet fleetwide?

 

(Posting these lines on Wednesday @ around 10 pm ship's time. Will try to connect and post a few more lines midday tomorrow before my free internet turns pumpkin...)

[JamesEM]

Thanks for your reports....

[clarkg]

You must have some amazing pictures. Any chance of posting some of them?

[aviator1945]

CRUISE DAY 5, THURSDAY 3 MAR: CHILEAN FJORDS & STRAITS OF MAGELLAN

 

As DW and I were about to leave our cabin for WJ breakfast, Captain Dimas came on the PA system and announced the fulfilment of a surprise that he had promised us yesterday: the arrival in the Asia Fjord (even though we are in South America!) and its associated glacier El Brujo. We were among the very first to arrive in the WJ, which enabled us to get front row window seats while having our breakfast. We got very close to the glacier, much closer than we got to the Hubbard Glacier when we did our Alaskan cruise on Celebrity Mercury in 2010 (that was before we had discovered CC). After breakfast we went out on deck and took pictures in the cold. We hope to post later, but probably not while still underway on the cruise, because first we need to figure out how to post jpg files to CC (any advice would be most welcome!). Captain Dimas gave us guests plenty of opportunities for photography during the two hours that we remained at the glacier. Inch by inch we slowly made a 180 degree turn in the fjord before continuing our journey to Punta Arenas.

 

(This partial review of Day 5 is being posted while we still have access to free ship's wifi. The remainder of Day 5 will be posted tomorrow, subject to the availability of good land based wifi in Punta Arenas.)

[aviator1945]

CRUISE DAY 5, THURSDAY 3 MAR: CHILEAN FJORDS & STRAIT OF MAGELLAN

 

(Continued)

 

The Asian Fjord with its El Brujo glacier was clearly one of the highlights of the cruise. After the ship left for Punta Arenas I decided to spend some time checking out emails. Fortunately I also decided to post the early morning installment to CC, since right after our lunch in WJ, Cruise Lecturer Patrick would be delivering another of his enrichment talks, this time about the history of the Strait of Magellan, Tierra del Fuego - The Land of Fire, and Ushuaia - The City at the End of the World. As usual a very interesting lecture by Patrick.

 

After Patrick's lecture I went to our cabin to squeeze the final remaining minutes out of our 24-hour internet time. But lo and behold, the ship's royal wifi had gone kaputt, perhaps because there were so many folks doing the same as DW and I were, sending and receiving internet messages to and from friends and loved ones. In the Cruise Compass everybody had been advised to disconnect their wifi when not using it, but I suspect that this was perhaps not always happening. Anyway, no big deal, since I hadn't paid for the internet. Easy come, easy go!

 

The weather during our stay at Asia Fjord had been a bit cloudy and cold, but with good visibility. Later on during the day it become more varied, with a few brief showers interspersed with some bright sunny spells. Much of the rest of the afternoon I spent resting, since I knew that Day 6 would begin bright and early with breakfast, almost immediately followed by a shore excursion around Punta Arenas.

 

After dinner in the MDR we enjoyed a concert in the theater by the very talented Russian Violinist Inna Tolstova. She offered a highly varied program of both classical and pop music. So far I have found the entertainment on Rhapsody to be much to my liking.

 

Soon it was bedtime and a good night's sleep.

 

(This installment Is being posted from land based wifi during midday on Day 6, while in Punta Arenas, at Museo Regional Salesiano Maggiorino Borgatello. Ship's tour stops there. PW: museoidb2014 download 2Mbps Upload 0.4Mbps Better than the ship!)

Edited March 4, 2016 by aviator1945

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Thanks to Aviator 1945 for the great review. We're also onboard so I hope it's OK to share some of my pictures of the Glacier, Magdalena Island Penguins and Mt Osorno.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sent from my SM-G920V using Tapatalk

Edited March 4, 2016 by suzyluvs2cruise

[mariamtzj]

Great review and pictures! We board on the 13th..

Can you tell me if they are offering religious services? We were on a Panama Cruise a couple of years ago and they had a priest doing services a couple of times per week.

[PCWalton1]

Thank you Aviator1945 for continuing the posting under trying conditions. And thanks Sue for the amazing pictures. :)

[jonbgd]

In NOV 2016 the Rhapsody will be visiting the dry dock in Cadiz, Spain for a couple of weeks. So in APR 2017 she'll be in ship shape (no pun intended). So far no details released by RCI. If there is a Captain's Corner on our cruise, I'll try to ask.

Really enjoying the review want to go around the horn someday

 

We were on the Allure TA last Nov with you and we sail on the Rhapsody this year on the Nov TA after the drydock

 

SO how does the Rhapsody handle the ocean compared to the Allure?

Do you miss all the bells and whistles of the Allure?

[suncityga]

In NOV 2016 the Rhapsody will be visiting the dry dock in Cadiz, Spain for a couple of weeks. So in APR 2017 she'll be in ship shape (no pun intended). So far no details released by RCI. If there is a Captain's Corner on our cruise, I'll try to ask.

 

Fantastic review!!! Thank you for your time and effort in sharing with all of us. :)

 

We are also interested in any details concerning the dry dock in Cadiz... we are booked on Rhapsody's Transatlantic crossing immediately after the dry dock. One of the things we have heard is that the dry dock might be just a 'routine 5 year' check since Rhapsody was in dry dock a couple of years ago.