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Rhapsody Mediterranean review including compasses, photos, and more

BermudaBound2014
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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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I'm up exceptionally early (5:30 am) to watch the sail into kotor. The fjords are lovely but it is still quite dark out. As the season progresses and it gets light later, I might recommend sleeping in this morning a bit and catching the views on sail away this evening.

 

Last night was formal night and quite a disappointing menu (I'll post below). Redemption was found in an excellent beef Wellington and chocolate fondu dessert which were both top notch in my book.

 

They had Michael

Jackson show in centrum. Having just debarked Msc divina a few weeks ago i can say without a doubt that the Msc version was superior in every way.

 

We have a private tour scheduled in kotor to take us to locean national park so it will be another long day of hiking for us.

 

Before I forget, here are the wine menus. Please let me know if these are not legible and I will retake tonight :)

89291a0390c70a70a0699cdcc71774b6.jpg

 

 

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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There are quite a few of us up this morning to watch the sail into kotor- doesn't look like the windjammer will open until 6:30 (like normal). I do think rhapsody should show a bit more effort to coordinate dining with arrival/departure times. Seems so simple a fix. One lady was a bit put off that she was told to wait an hour for continental breakfast - seems like wheeling out a tray of pastries would serve everyone well.

 

 

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Edited by BermudaBound2014
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Virtopia

Virtopia

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Would you be able to check to see if there are any 2 tops near the window? I'm traveling solo and would like a nice seat for comfortable dining. Can you possibly also get an email address so I can make this request to the dining room? Thanks!!

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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Saturday August 13: kotor

 

Another spectacular day. With ports like Venice and santorini it's hard to compete but kotor is up there in the list of my very favorite ports!

 

I woke at 5:30 to watch sail in. Strange they didn't even have a continental breakfast out until 6am as there were quite a few people up for the sights. Little touches like that go a long way.

 

Ship cleared early. We were on first tender at 7:10. At 7:20 we were on our way. Booked a tour with Milo (see trip advisor). Our guide was Milos cousin Marion (spelling unsure). He met us at the gate and we were in our way by 7:30.

 

First stop Budva which was lovely. Then we went to St. Stephan - again lovely. Then we started up the mountain on our way to Lovcen national park. We stopped in the city of crnjuryk (wrong spelling) and got out and walked around taking pictures. This was a BEAUTIFUL city- very very quaint and quiet. Went to a church that housed the hand of St John and also a piece of the original cross Jesus was killed on. Lovely stroll along old mountain city. Reminded me of a scene from the sound of music.

 

After beautiful drive through countryside we ended up Lovcen national park. It was 500 steps to the top of the monument and worth every one! 360 panoramic views that were breathtaking. Highly recommend.

 

After Lovcen National Monument Marion took us to the oldest bar in the Montenegro region to see how they smoke ham. Bob and Marion shared a shot of special liquor and we had beer and soda. We chatted with bar owner to find out grandmother was born in Detroit. Small world.

 

After beer we took serpentine old trail back to town. The road was spectacular (see photos). Only thing is I felt a little car sick by the time we reached the sea. Marion offered to stop for me but I was ok. We were dropped off at 2:15 pm in front of old Walled city gate with time to wander streets of old kotor which is quite magical.

 

Marion was wonderful. He kept offering us to see if we needed restroom or wanted coffee or lunch. He informed us about his country with its rich and dynamic history. We were never rushed and felt very welcomed. He nearly refused tip also, but we felt he earned extra. Total cost for the entire day including tip was $150 euro. DH wants to come back and stay a week just in Montenegro it was that beautiful.

 

I realize I am a few days behind with posting compass but I have all of them. We have internet on flight back to the states so I will post them rather than fight for time onboard. Tomorrow is zadar. We have another private tour booked. The we Debark the "friendliest ship in the fleet" and stay in Venice for three additional days. Until then, chow :)

 

 

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NewfieGuy1972

NewfieGuy1972

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7426274f50ff8ac95aa0546891527b51.jpg

 

Thanks again for doing this....sorry to be a bother, but I've purchased the Ultimate Beverage package for our upcoming cruise which entitles us to 40% off bottles less than $100. Would you mind finding out if that is exclusive of the 18% grat or not?

 

I guess a real world example would be, what would I end up paying (what would be charged to my account) for a bottle of the Beringer, Merlot which is listed for $97.

 

If you wouldn't mind asking the server or bartender that (or if anyone else here knows for sure) it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

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Clarea

Clarea

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Thanks again for doing this....sorry to be a bother, but I've purchased the Ultimate Beverage package for our upcoming cruise which entitles us to 40% off bottles less than $100. Would you mind finding out if that is exclusive of the 18% grat or not?

 

I guess a real world example would be, what would I end up paying (what would be charged to my account) for a bottle of the Beringer, Merlot which is listed for $97.

 

If you wouldn't mind asking the server or bartender that (or if anyone else here knows for sure) it would be greatly appreciated!

 

Thanks!

I believe the Ultimate gives you 40% off bottles over $100. I have seen some documents from RC that do say under $100, but that seems to be a misprint because later documents say over $100.

 

They take the 40% off the price of the bottle than add 18% to the discounted price.

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NewfieGuy1972

NewfieGuy1972

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I believe the Ultimate gives you 40% off bottles over $100. I have seen some documents from RC that do say under $100, but that seems to be a misprint because later documents say over $100.

 

They take the 40% off the price of the bottle than add 18% to the discounted price.

 

It's pretty clear to me that the 40% Discount is for bottles under $100...see attachment!

Wine_Discount.jpg.39bf7a0b931cda2d76968444774d3343.jpg

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NewfieGuy1972

NewfieGuy1972

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LMFAO...point taken...it is possible that's its based on itinerary based? Cause I got to my document by logging in and looking at my cruise planner?

 

And the version I'm looking at is version v41? Perhaps I can keep both URL's and get the 40% off both?

 

https://secure.royalcaribbean.com/royal/media/royal/shared_assets/pdf/beverage-flyer-cruise-planner-v41.pdf

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BermudaBound2014 Great Review Rare

BermudaBound2014

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We are home now- sorry I got behind a bit. This was a wonderful 19 day holiday for us but the last week has been a whirlwind. I will add debarkation and our final nights in Venice Information, but in the meantime below are my notes from zadar.

 

Sunday August 14th

 

Last night was quest at 10;45 in shall we dance lounge. As always, funny times. Ship went to sleep a bit early last few nights as I think this long itinerary might be catching up with people. Rhapsody staff calls itself the "friendliest ship in the fleet" and from what I can see I agree. Even on day 10 all the passengers are still happy. I would say most passengers are from UK, then Spain (Spanish speaking). USA and Italian seem about equal. Really nice international mix.

 

We went for breakfast for the first time. They have a nice buffet set up with cereals, fruits, yogurts with toppings, etc.... DH ordered his salmon omelette and said it was quite good. Morning wait staff was fine but we have grown fond of our Lyndon from Trinidad. For the person who inquired, there are zero tables for two along the windows on the main floor of the dining room. The tables for two are located along the perimeter of the circle in the center of the dining room. I have pictures to post later so you can see what I mean (don't let me forget :)).

 

We ran into the couple who was also bumped from our original table (that held 6 with 10 people assigned). Unfortunately the same thing happened to them night two as well. They claimed it took 3 nights to find a permanent table.

 

In zadar we did a private tour with Zadar guided tours. Found all information online via trip advisor. Ivan was our tour guide. Cost was 160.00 Euros and included sack lunch and entrance to Paklenica national park. All communication was handled by Leonica who was very easy to work with. I would recommend this company.

 

We got off boat at 10:10 and Ivan was waiting for us. We drove straight to Paklenica which was a nice drive. It took about one hour. Not spectacular but Ivan was a nice conversationalist and spoke about the war that devastated Zadar with bombings in the 90s. Ivan and his family fled Zadar but eventually returned.

 

The hike in paklenica was quite challenging. Admittedly I did not make it to the top this time but DH and Ivan went on without me while I found a lovely spot along the river to rest and watch the rock climbers. It was very interesting to see the Zadar community out enjoying national park with lots of babies and dogs. We chose paklenica because it is the highest (and least busy) of all 3 parks near Zadar. I would not recommend this hike for beginners.

 

After paklenica Ivan took us to zadar town center to hear the sea organ and we walked through the town. Ivan was very enthusiastic about his hometown, but after ports like kotor, Santorini, and Venice we weren't all that impressed. I suppose it is not fair to compare destinations though, and zadar does offer a nice location (only hours away from several National Parks).

 

On a side note, rcl offered bus tickets to town center for $12.00 pp, but a cab was only 20.00 total so that wAs least expensive option. I would not recommend just going to town center in zadar. The beauty of zadar is found in the national

Parks. Again, I would recommend zadar guided tours to visit paklenica, Krka, plitvice lakes, etc...

 

We were sad to say goodbye to our lovely table mates from the UK. They have invited us to stay with them in south Hampton and I do believe we may accept their gracious offer since we plan a sail to fjords of Norway in 2018 (next year is Galapagos). We bid our farewells to Natalia and Lyndon and ended up closing the schooner bar with all our new friends. Since we were staying in Venice an additional 4 days we were under no pressure to wake early for debarkation.

 

It is always sad to see all the suitcases in the hallway but since we had additional 4 days in Venice we weren't overly sad. It was a fantastic cruise on a happy positive energy ship with a terrific itinerary. I feel grateful to hAve sailed her.

 

A photo from Paklenica

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Bostonjetset Great Review Rare

Bostonjetset

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Thanks for the wonderful review and all the pictures!!

 

I remember you from your posts on my review of this itinerary last May and I'm so glad you had a safe and fabulous trip. Wasn't Kotor just amazing? Of course all the ports on this itinerary are pretty amazing but Kotor had a special, "still unspoiled by mass-tourism" quality about it that I fear will not last for much longer. I feel we were both lucky to get there when we did.

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