Jump to content
Cruise Critic Community

Just off Rhapsody of the Seas Tampa - Western Caribbean

ScottC4746

By ScottC4746,
in Royal Caribbean International

 Share

Recommended Posts

ScottC4746

ScottC4746

Posted
Posted

This was sailing date 3 Dec 2016 7 nights.

BOARDING: Was a nightmare. When I booked it was a 4 PM sailing. We were notified it was pushed to 8 PM and received a text and email not to even arrive before 5 PM to board by RCCL. Other Cruisecritic.com people and I reached out to RCCL only to be told I don't know or oh well. Others reached out to the Port of Tampa who did a marvelous job ensuring that our luggage was taken care of before we could board and shuttles set up to go to Ybor City and discounts at the aquarium (which I highly recommend). None of this was supplied by RCCL nor were we notified of them by RCCL. I decided to arrive at 1:30 and was able to drop the luggage that early and check in and get my Sea Pass card. At about 4:15 or so they started the boarding process. No organization whatsoever by RCCL and the Port of Tampa did not realize they were going to have to organize it on their own. Sail time got bumped to 10 PM

CABIN: 7640 very nice D2 cabin with a lovely balcony. Plenty of space in the cabin with ample storage space.

MAIN DINING ROOM: Dress code HA HA HA LOL LOL! Even on formal night people were allowed in in tshirts and shorts. They had theme nights such as 70's attire, 50's 60's attire, white and red attire. Serving the first night due to late boarding was open seating. Quality was meh. Escargot was very salty but did improve later in the cruise. Service was slow as molasses some nights and quick on others. This is based on 8 PM second seating dine time.

WINDJAMMER: Quality and temperature issues but it is a buffet.

ENTERTAINMENT: Daily trivia contests and Sudoku contests. Kudos to the Entertainment Director on this cruise. We were supposed to have a show called Piano Man but due to the computer issue relating to the theater, they had to cancel and they made sure we had some great entertainment set up to replace it every night. Pipped in music was lounge singers in the public area. Very nice and relaxing. The final farewell show was a little cheesy but a great comedian. Male singers one of them was flat --- very flat.

SOLARIUM: Excellent job keeping kids out.

PARK CAFE: Horrible! Could not make a panini. It was just warmed up but not toasted and the cheese never melted.

BEVERAGES: I am a Classic Old Fashion kind of guy on cruises and it was hit or miss. No two drinks were made the same nor the same quantity. Some were filled to the brim, others 3/4 full.

STATEROOM ATTENDANT: Ida was fantastic. He even remembered our names and called us by name.

Overall rating **** out of *****

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ScottC4746

ScottC4746

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Did they give you a reason for the late departure?

 

We only found out from our cabin steward, it was a customs issue since it had been in Italy so long. When it arrived in Miami every nook and cranny had to be inspected and all linens and pillows removed and inspected.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
Clarea

Clarea

Posted
Posted
We only found out from our cabin steward, it was a customs issue since it had been in Italy so long. When it arrived in Miami every nook and cranny had to be inspected and all linens and pillows removed and inspected.

Makes sense, it's not uncommon for the first cruise after a transatlantic to be delayed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
troykahack

troykahack

Posted
Posted
We only found out from our cabin steward, it was a customs issue since it had been in Italy so long. When it arrived in Miami every nook and cranny had to be inspected and all linens and pillows removed and inspected.

 

So, likely for our security... I am fine with that but boarding so late I guess is something we now must give up to ensure our safety.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
TXfisherman

TXfisherman

Posted
Posted

I was just on the Rhapsody T/A before this cruise. Calling the Park Cafe horrible is being nice. On one cheese panini the guy barely toasted it (literally left it in there for maybe 3 seconds). I also ordered a ham panini for my wife and was told they do not go in the press... I should have known at that point to tell him to 'nevermind', but he finally said he would call his manager out of the kitchen and ask if he could... he was obviously told yes, and proceeded to leave it in there for 3 seconds as well... we never went back.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jlaw212

jlaw212

Posted
Posted

We will be on rhapsody on 12/17, we usually plan things out in advance of our cruises, but there isn't a whole lot of information about this one yet. If you have any compasses that would be great. Also interested to know if they are using the new menus (and order of menus) / what nights are formal / did they install the freestyle soda machines (thought I read somewhere they did during the refurb)

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ScottC4746

ScottC4746

Posted
  • Author
Posted
Any issue with the Belize tenders? I've had a really long wait from the ship (2+ hours) and really short (less than 15 minutes) the 2 times we've been.

 

They announced it is normally 45 minutes one way but they hired high speed ones so it took 15 each way. No long queues however we were on a shore excursion so we got priority and waited until things calmed down before trying to go back and had no issues either way.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
ScottC4746

ScottC4746

Posted
  • Author
Posted
We will be on rhapsody on 12/17, we usually plan things out in advance of our cruises, but there isn't a whole lot of information about this one yet. If you have any compasses that would be great. Also interested to know if they are using the new menus (and order of menus) / what nights are formal / did they install the freestyle soda machines (thought I read somewhere they did during the refurb)

 

I did not keep any copies. The "new" menus feature a spice and a blurb about it and supposedly a dish features it, but that was not the norm. The second night and 5th night was formal however, as long as you were street legal they allowed you in the dining room in the evening i.e. shorts, sandals, and t-shirts.

Since I could not use Freestyle Sodas I really did not count but one on deck 6 by the Cafe LAttitudes, one by Windjammer and I think one inside. Those were the only ones that jumped out at me.

Link to comment
Share on other sites
pandorasboxxxy

pandorasboxxxy

Posted
Posted
We will be on rhapsody on 12/17, we usually plan things out in advance of our cruises, but there isn't a whole lot of information about this one yet. If you have any compasses that would be great. Also interested to know if they are using the new menus (and order of menus) / what nights are formal / did they install the freestyle soda machines (thought I read somewhere they did during the refurb)

 

The freestyle machines were installed by noon the day after boarding. one on each side of the windjammer and one on deck 6 by ben and jerry's.

 

I don't think these are new menus.

 

compasses I uploaded to http://**********/a/maH2Q

Link to comment
Share on other sites
jamer

jamer

Posted
Posted

Agree totally with ScottC4746. Boarding was nightmare. Too bad not everyone knew arriving early (as RCL emails said do not arrive early) would have benefits, instead of waiting in line outside terminal for 1 1/2 hour.

Centrum was decorated for Christmas, Main Dining Room deck 5 was decorated but nothing else. Dining on deck 4, Windjammer nothing. Dress code.Laugh..T-shirts & short even on Formal nights. Service was different each night and menu was nothing to write home about. Was told if we wanted shrimp cocktail we could ask.Servers tried their best..Sarah & Yas were great.

Windjammer..poor quality and setup..buffet or not. Park Cafe..a Joke.

Cabin & Attendant Kunal were great. Had put in special needs request at time of booking, needed distilled water for BIPAP machine. No distilled water use bottle in room..no charge (golly thanks).

Roatan..use Lifeboats(they were lowered 1 deck down under our cabin at 6:30am..wake up call!!!) to pier "ship to big to dock" NCL Getaway had no problem docking at pier.

We really tried to be open minded about this cruise with all its twists & turns and condescending communications and out right lies from RCL..but.. if we did not know better from past RCL cruises, we would never return to RCL.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share
Go to topic listing
  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • Hurricane Zone 2024
      • Cruise Insurance Q&A w/ Steve Dasseos of Tripinsurancestore.com June 2024
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Cruise Critic News & Features
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...